To Win Back Women, We Must Elevate Public Discourse
Conservative Catholicism must move on from the performative trad e-girls and back to wiser voices, male and female, if we are to win women back from feminism.
The Year of Catholic Death: 1968
Although the Holy Catholic Church will persist until the end of time, there have been moments in time when it has seemed beyond hope of resuscitation. The year 1968 was one of those moments.
Why Every Catholic Is a Traditional Catholic (Or Should Be)
The weapon of choice for all radical ideologues is the manipulation of words and their meanings, and the latest target has been ‘tradition.’
And in This Corner, No One
If you hate or despise American ways, if when you think of American history you think first and second and third of its evils, you cannot have any strong interest in the assimilation of immigrants to those ways.
What’s Old Is New
We see the “rediscovery” of the TLM taking place in people who were not alive when either Archbishop Lefebvre or John Paul II were and who have no emotional baggage or trauma from the indult era.
The Toothpaste isn’t Going Back in the Tube: Tradition and the War of Attrition
Traditional Catholicism is not going anywhere, and the more pressure you apply, the more it shines, like a diamond, or better yet, like a sword beaten between hammer and anvil.
Tradition or Annihilation
If we want to avoid the Church’s effective annihilation, we must return to Tradition, in everything from liturgy to catechesis to public morals and even modesty in dress.
Tradition and Treachery
Kneeling is good for the soul. It lifts you up by making you, in stature, no more than a child.
Whatever Happened to Lent?
A New Idea of Lent has invaded the entire Church. A gauzy altruism has taken the place of a rigorous program of penance and prayer.
The Treasured Past Is the Future
A revival of the Church will come in the restoration of Catholic culture.
Which Is Greater: The Pope or Tradition?
Pope Francis has made a habit of denigrating those who look to the past for answers. But isn’t tradition an important part of Catholicism? We’ll look at the proper relationship between the pope and tradition.
A Unified Theory of “Backwardism”
What was so awful about the pre-Vatican II Church that its memory needs to be obliterated and those who hold to doctrines that are ancient in provenance must be labeled as “rigid” and psychologically damaged?
Look at That: Ecology and Culture
When the astronaut Edgar Mitchell recalled seeing Earth from a lunar vantage point, he offered a priceless quote: You develop an instant global consciousness, a people orientation, an intense dissatisfaction with the state of the world, and a compulsion to do something about it. From out there on the moon, international politics look so petty. … Read more
Why Christian Sexual Morality is Rejected
There are good arguments for traditional Christian sexual morality (CSM), but even so it’s fallen out of favor. Many in the Church have given up on it, saying it’s at most an ideal no one can be held to. What would be needed to bring it back and make it effective? A complete answer seems … Read more
Patrick Deneen Explains Why Liberalism Failed
Extreme freedom can’t be expected to lead to anything but a change to extreme slavery, whether for a private individual or for a city. ∼ Plato’s Republic, Book VIII line 566 The capacity for self-criticism used to be a signature characteristic of the liberal mind, but clearly liberal introspection isn’t what it used to be. In looking … Read more
Do Ideals Matter Anymore?
Man is a rational animal. From a moral standpoint, that means he aspires to act—and often does act—in accordance with principles that join together to form an ideal of life. He’s also social, so his ideals aren’t simply individual. In part that’s because they relate to social functions. What is it to be a proper … Read more
The Crown: A Celebration of Traditionalism
Historical television dramas usually aren’t my cup of tea. They’re too preachy. Political correctness is irksome enough now; the last thing we need is to fight today’s culture wars yesterday. I realize how infuriating it must be for liberals that they are unable to bring deceased reactionaries back to life for their much-deserved tongue-lashings. Historical … Read more
Should We Rely on Good Sense or Expertise?
In public discussion today, expertise has acquired the authority once held by good sense. The change reflects a change in attitudes toward society and politics. Educated, influential, and well-placed people now want a society run by global markets, financial institutions, and public administration based on supposedly neutral expertise. As such people’s response to Brexit shows, … Read more
When Should We Ignore Tradition?
In a recent column I noted that tradition is not self-contained or absolute. It’s complex, so that superior, subordinate, and parallel traditions often come into conflict. Local tradition may say one thing, Church or national tradition quite another. Also, tradition is not about itself but about goods toward which it’s oriented, so it’s relative to something … Read more
Tradition: Its Necessity and Its Discontents
I noted last month that living well is difficult apart from a definite and well-developed tradition of life. Otherwise we simply won’t know what we’re doing, and we’ll have to make up everything as we go along without any idea of ultimate results or significance, or of what we might be missing. Such claims for the necessity … Read more