Rick Santorum was defending himself when he responded to George Stephonopoulus on ABC’s This Week: “To say that people of faith have no role in the public square? You bet that makes (me) throw up.” Stephonopoulus had given Santorum an opportunity to renounce an old statement about Kennedy; instead Santorum doubled down. It was the … Read more
Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi is fighting for the mandate in Obamacare designed to force all health care plans to provide free (that is without a co-pay) contraception, morning after pills, and sterilization. She insists that this is a battle for women’s health. Those who see this as a question of religious freedom have largely let the … Read more
There they go again. The mainstream media has once more dug up a statement made by Rick Santorum about religion in an attempt to paint him as a member of some sort of new, clandestine Catholic Inquisition, poised to take over the American government after the next election. He can only be stopped if free-thinking … Read more
Do you feel a twinge of despair at what is happening in the American political stadium? Are there any Catholic voters daunted at the prospect of having to choose between two narcissist egomaniacs come November, to say nothing of the bizarre characters parading about in the Republican primary? Are you irked by the relentless, dumbed-down … Read more
Yesterday’s Michigan primary, in which the one-time dark horse Rick Santorum came within a hairsbreadth of beating Mitt Romney in his home state (his father was its governor) will have the elites in Republican party circles racing frantically for their checkbooks, in the hope of putting out the prairie fire that is Santorum’s burgeoning candidacy … Read more
Last week, Jason Jones wrote a piece discussing Mitt Romney’s past pro-life (or pro-choice) political record. Jones is certainly correct that Romney’s pro-life past is hazy at best. But there is an alternative option to the “The Three Possible Romneys” that Jones puts forth. And it’s not simply “sitting this [election] out,” as Jones recommends. … Read more
He came to explain his Bosnia policy to the nation on November 27th. But sitting in the glare of television lights, clutching his hands for dear life, the president interrupted his Oval Office address for a bit of campaigning. His target was the Catholic vote. “A few weeks ago, I was privileged to spend some … Read more
I half expect to stumble upon a YouTube video of Rick Santorum galloping through a field, lance in hand. Coming upon a small hill, he spurs his trusty steed onward, picking up speed as he nears the crest. Suddenly, he sees the arm of the enemy swing toward him. Pulling his head close to the … Read more
It was a great way to start Lent. On Ash Wednesday, in an eagerly anticipated case, a federal judge in Washington State issued a ruling that strongly affirmed the centrality of the rights of conscience and religious exercise. The court ruled that Christian pharmacists could not be required to stock and dispense medication that violated … Read more
Should prolife voters support Mitt Romney? By this I first mean “in the primaries” of course, but beyond that I mean to ask “ever.” Conversely, supporters of legal abortion should be equally repulsed by the former Massachusetts governor—as should anyone who takes the abortion issue seriously, or who wishes for a president possessed of a … Read more
Earlier this month in a Catholic Exchange piece I said that those in support of the HHS mandate think that the Catholic position prohibiting contraception is irrational; I failed to mention that they also think the prohibition is immoral. This is why, in addition to focusing primarily on religious freedom, we must also directly address contraception. I … Read more
According to the Christian Science Monitor, the Russian Prime Minister is seeking re-election to the presidency (for a third term) and is setting out his policy platform. The fourth of his programmatic articles trying to convince Russians to vote for him in three weeks time (or else!) deals with his plans to reverse Russia’s population … Read more
To win the culture war, the Church is going to have to break a lot of bad habits. And old habits die hard. A new generation of bishops now recognize the perils of allying with the American government that Pope Leo XIII warned against a century ago.
Obama’s health care act shows that decrees issued by government bureaucrats have displaced the rule of law.
Developments on a university campus suggest it is time for the Supreme Court to update its famous definition of abortion.
A mist gathers around the Capitol. Glowering clouds obscure the sun. Dark Forces are pulling the levers of power. The very laws of the land are being forged to enslave freemen (and freewomen) by a sinister power beyond our ken. Somewhere, a council has gathered. Blofeld, Mrs. Danvers, Prof. James Moriarty, Cruella de Vil, Sauron, … Read more
A fascinating theory has been advanced by Dick Morris, which, in turn, is being considered by Rush Limbaugh and other leading conservatives. Morris speculates that the Obama HHS mandate on contraception, sterilization, and abortifacients is a fight with the Catholic Church that Team Obama wants — and with the focus based narrowly on contraception, not … Read more
Religious-freedom infringement occurs quite a bit in American legal practice, and it makes sense that it does; for, those in charge of securing the common good of the community, as well as the rights of individuals, have the right and obligation to ban practices that are a direct and serious threat to it.
Although Barack Obama is the first black President of the United States, he is by no means unique, except for his complexion. He follows in the footsteps of other presidents with a similar vision, the vision at the heart of the Progressive movement that flourished a hundred years ago. Many of the trends, problems and … Read more
A quiet, closed-door meeting in Washington next month will be of crucial importance in shaping the Church’s response to the nation’s biggest church-state crisis in decades. When some 40 bishops of the administrative committee of the national bishops’ conference gather March 14-15 at conference headquarters, they’ll be looking at the Obama administration’s January mandate to … Read more