The world is full of talented failures — people who either didn’t live up to their abilities, or who did, but in a way that diminished their humanity and their character. God made us to be better than that. And our nation and our Church need His people to be better than that. Scripture tells … Read more
You may know the name of John Courtney Murray. He’s worth remembering. Father Murray was the American Jesuit who helped craft the Second Vatican Council’s landmark Declaration on Religious Liberty. A year after World War II ended, with millions dead and Europe and Japan in ruins, Murray wrote that “those who deny the sovereignty of … Read more
The Christian Post reports that over 100 religious groups are protesting a piece of legislation that would ban faith-based groups from receiving federal funds if they use religion in their hiring practices. The language can be found in HR 5466 – a bill introduced in the House in May by Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI). The … Read more
I can’t decide where I stand on the ban of the burqa (full veil) in France. I want to be against it — on the grounds of religious and personal freedom — but I see the challenges the niqab (face veil) poses to national security. It’s one thing to cover the top of your head, … Read more
If you wonder if there is any limit to the anti-Catholicism of pro-abortion “Catholic” politicians, you should try to get your arms around this story. Yesterday, Martha Coakley, the Democratic candidate for Ted Kennedy’s Senate seat, was asked in a radio interview whether doctors and nurses working in a hospital emergency room have religious freedom. … Read more
The 29th section of Caritas in Veritate concerns religious freedom. What is at stake here is not the usual “church and state” hassle. To clear the air, Pope Benedict XVI states that he is not concerned here with fanaticism, in which violence is used to promote the goals of religions. It is self-evident that this … Read more
The California Supreme Court has followed Massachusetts in finding that the “right to marry” includes the right to call a same-sex relationship a marriage. In doing so, they have done violence to the concept of marriage. They have ignored the difference between “may” and “can.” It is not that two persons of the same sex … Read more