Is there another shoe yet to drop in the Church sex abuse scandal? Mary Ormsby of the Toronto Star thinks so, and suggests the next group of victims to come forward may be heavily female. That would reverse the findings of the John Jay study, which concluded that over 80 percent of the victims were … Read more
The current issue of First Things has an important piece by Timothy Reichert examining the social impact of contraception. He argues that the modern contraceptive culture has led to “a massive redistribution of wealth and power from women and children to men.” The popular use of birth control has split the “market” governing gender relations … Read more
Maybe I have a sick sense of humor, but I got a laugh out of this one: According to the UK’s Telegraph, a desperate man in Sweden called a suicide crisis hotline to get some help. The Lutheran priest on the other end fell asleep and began snoring while the poor guy was talking. Happily, … Read more
The following advertisement contains an attractive topless man. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. Most people have seen this ad for Old Spice by now. The actor, Isaiah Mustafa, now known as “the man your man could smell could like,” has become a cult celebrity, according to Advertising Age. Proctor & Gamble Co. (owner … Read more
When I was an Anglican priest and the feminists were arguing for women’s ordination, those who were opposed used the theological argument that the fatherhood of the priest was an indispensable part of a patriarchal system of belief, and that the patriarchal system of belief was indispensable to the Judeo-Christian revelation. In other words, in … Read more
Michael Hirschorn at New York Magazine says that CNN has become the sick man of broadcast journalism. Things have certainly changed since the early days of cable. The rise: It’s easy to forget that CNN was once revolutionary. Founded in 1980, back when the idea of watching a channel other than ABC, NBC, or CBS … Read more
Recently, one of our local high schools celebrated a state championship in track and field. Not remarkable, unless you consider that it was the school’s 16th championship in a row. On the same day, the same high school’s swimmers swept to victory in the state finals. It was their 21st straight championship. This school is … Read more
In “The Femivore’s Dilemma” in last Thursday’s New York Times, Peggy Orenstein looked at the surprising intersection between feminism and locovorism. Apparently, there is a noticable movement of American women leaving high-level careers to raise organic produce, home school, can vegetables, and raise chickens. Femivorism is grounded in the very principles of self-sufficiency, autonomy and … Read more
Sufferers from Mariaphobic Response Syndrome have certain passages they love to bang away at in order to make sure that nobody thinks Mary is special or anything. Indeed, so zealous is the tendency of some Christians to diminish Mary that some even like to bang away at things Scripture does not say about Mary. … Read more
The only thing that explains Sen. Harry Reid’s latest verbal gaffe is stress and exhaustion — he needs a long vacation. Standing on the floor of the Senate yesterday with notes, yes, with notes on the podium in front of him, the majority leader said, I met with some people while I was home dealing … Read more
One common complaint among Evangelicals or fundamentalists is that Catholics honor Mary “too much.” It’s a highly specialized complaint, much like the concern over Catholic “graven images” that completely overlooks the Evangelical’s own bowling trophies. After all (and I speak from experience here), Evangelicals have no problem honoring Paul. They write hundreds of books about … Read more
Damian Thompson has a few words for traditional Anglicans still agitating for concessions from Canterbury: The Anglican Church will eventually ordain women. Either accept that, or leave. I am not saying that if you are an Anglo-Catholic who opposes women’s ordination then you must now seek to join the Ordinariate that Pope Benedict has set … Read more
It’s a heated debate: Should Congress go along with the request — recently made by President Barack Obama, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, and Admiral Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff — to repeal the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy that was adopted by Congress and President Bill Clinton in 1993? Should … Read more
A friend passed along an article written by author Laurence M. Vance, about American Right to Life’s recent assault on Dr. Ron Paul’s pro-life position. Vance comes out swinging: The right-to-life movement is a failure. Although millions of dollars have been spent on lobbying, marches, and protests since the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, millions of women … Read more
It’s just not the Super Bowl without controversial advertising! But this year’s most talked-about ad is coming from an unlikely source: A national coalition of women’s groups called on CBS on Monday to scrap its plan to broadcast an ad during the Super Bowl featuring college football star Tim Tebow and his mother, which critics say is … Read more
Of all the things I remember about the Texas March for Life in Austin last January, the memory that stands out the most is the look on the faces of the counter-protesters who followed us along Congress Avenue and down to the capitol that frosty morning. When I glanced over to see the source … Read more
Congressman Chris Smith’s rally speech on Friday afternoon packed a punch, as usual. Smith and his wife, Marie, have been champions of human rights for many years. (Marie heads up the Parliamentary Network for Critical Issues, which provides pro-life news, information, and networking to members of democratically-elected legislatures around the world.) Here he takes on … Read more
“Tell me,” the wife of one of my husband’s friends began a recent phone conversation, “that you do not start your husband’s car for him every morning.” “Oh, of course not,” I told her. “Only on cold mornings I do.” Astonished silence met my ears. The discussion that followed reminded me of one that took … Read more
For years, I have been fascinated by the endless parade of officials that move through the Vatican offices and councils. There’s something comforting about it; I feel as though I can almost see the Church’s “always changing, yet ever the same” nature on display. And so, National Catholic Reporter writer John Allen’s blog post on the Pope’s recent appointment of Dr. Flaminia Giovanelli to serve … Read more
Krista Gesaman at Newsweek has published a story claiming younger women are missing from today’s March for Life. The problem with the story is that she offers no evidence, and in trying to disguise her lack of evidence the story becomes incoherent. Gesaman’s argument goes like this: 1. The March for Life route is shorter … Read more