For reasons that are both understandable and regrettable, apologetics, the science of demonstrating the reasonableness of religious doctrine, is not often mentioned in public life these days. In part, this is due to the demands of charity and prudence, to avoid unnecessary and often acrimonious strife among religious denominations in a nation which has benefited […]
The Greek government is in a gigantic financial hole and is teetering on the brink of defaulting on its debt. It has been able to limp along since last year only with bailouts from outside of Greece. According to the latest reports, the Greek government will run out of money in October unless it receives […]
The ancient idol on the island of Rhodes Stood grimly astride the strait. But here we suffer a colossus of toads, Our country to desecrate. Salvage my soiled nation – long …..uncleaned, Proudly in thrall to sin and war. Release her from the postmodern fiend. Let her radiance shine once more By Robert Struble, Jr.
In mid-September the Governor of North Carolina convened a special legislative session to consider a state constitutional amendment defining marriage as a relationship between a man and a woman. Amending the state constitution in North Carolina requires two-thirds of both houses of the legislature and a majority of the public to support it on the […]
It has often been said by my fellow pro-lifers that it is simply untimely to expect the general population to understand the reasons why the practice of contraception not only leads to but, in many instances, causes abortion. And the problem with that argument is that, while we hesitate, Planned Parenthood and its allies sow […]
Does the Church deny couples the opportunity to marry? If your answer is yes, then we need to rethink our understanding of why the Word became flesh. The Incarnation is the fountain of the grace of the sacraments and the Church would never deny anyone that grace. However, there is more than merely the desire […]
Here’s a pop quiz: What percentage of elementary school children in the District’s public schools is proficient in math? What about reading? What is the proficiency of D.C. high school students in these areas? The answer: less than half. Scores on the 2011 D.C. Comprehensive Assessment System exams showed only about 43 percent of elementary […]
When I finished purchasing a product, the server handed me the bag and said, “Here you are; have a good day.” Remember in the Gospel story that the official came to Jesus, trying to justify himself, “An official asked him this question, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus answered him, […]
This series was developed in order to collate some—by no means all—of the foulest instances of Muslim persecution of Christians that surface each month. It serves two purposes: Intrinsically, to document that which the mainstream media does not: habitual, if not chronic, Muslim persecution of Christians. Instrumentally, to show that such persecution is not “random,” […]
Sometimes our journey is lined with detours. We think we know where God wants us to be but then he sends us in another direction. For Pete Bauer, every time he seemed to draw closer to his goal, he was sent down another road. In the end, however, every detour proved to be a time […]
Whether it’s an election year or not, I see to it that Priests for Life echoes loud and clear the duty of citizens to inform themselves about where the candidates stand on the issues. This evaluation starts, of course, with where they stand on violence against human beings, because if public servants cannot tell the […]
Meditation and Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion (Isaiah 55:6-9; Psalm 145: 2-3,8-9,17-18; Philippians 1:20-24,27; Matthew 20:1-16) Knowing and Doing the Will of Our Heavenly Father “Which of the two did his father’s will?” (Matthew 21:31). This is a familiar story. A father sends each of his two sons to work in his vineyard. The […]
The Stubborn, the Blind and the Dumb Take Stonewall and Jack by their halters And lead them out of the stable To graze in the bright green meadow, They will come without question behind you But if God takes a man by the shoulders And leads him out of his prison Of death to walk […]
I think it’s pretty fair to say that the whole IVF/artificial insemination social experiment has been a process of putting the desires of adults over the best interest of children. Latest case in point: recently, the New York Times reported that the grossly under-regulated and greedy U.S. fertility industry has been allowing dozens of different […]
We’ve all heard lots about it, but what exactly is in that highly-publicized Dodd-Frank Act? Lots of things. For starters, the name of the Act is a lot longer: It’s the “Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.” Its aim is to promote financial stability through a host of new regulations and regulatory agencies, […]
The Nazareth Mines (Poem about the Immaculate Conception) When Rome was Of the world – And Master Moon Was free – And Mistress Midnight Bedizened – In show-star Finery. A tiny sparkle Caught Miss Mistress Midnight’s Eye – And captured Master Moon Who paled And gasped a sigh – But Rome still Of the world […]
Do not Forget A fig tree grows beneath my window Yes, it’s true, a fig tree grows, My wife has eaten of the fruit, Green and inside red as rose Red as blood, red as wine Red inside as April, ripe As red bud blossoms or the sky Of summer dawn’s uprisen night A fig […]
The recent release of the movie WARRIOR has prompted many different “takes” on the story. I would like to focus on the impact of addiction as portrayed in the film. The Conlon family, having been torn apart by the father’s violent alcoholic behavior, is in a situation that many people, unfortunately, can identify with. Alcoholism […]
“But that’s not fair!” Most parents have heard this phrase umpteen times. The notion of fairness, also known as justice, is wired into us. It makes us aware that each of us has certain rights that need to be respected. But it also means that we each have duties. If others have the right to […]
A Palm Beach jury just awarded a couple, Rudolpho Santana and Ana Mejia, $4.5 million in damages in a wrongful birth suit. Their son, Bryan, was born in October 2008 without arms and with only one leg. Their suit was against the mothers obstetrician and sonographer, saying if they had done their jobs, detecting the anomaly […]
Even with its highly optimistic fertility projections, the new UN population forecast predicts a grayer world than the one imagined by its 2009 report which used much lower fertility estimates. Perhaps most significant is the steep rise in society’s proportion of the old (65 years or older) and very old (80 years and older). By […]
The First Epistle of Peter is the second of the seven “catholic” or universal epistles written and circulated to the faithful throughout the world during the first century following the birth of Jesus Christ. The Apostle Simon Peter wrote this short letter, in just 105 verses. Or the letter might have been dictated to Silvanus, […]
I’ve only recently come to realize the nature of the hurdle this country faces in trying to turn around a stalled economy and horrendous deficit. Here it is: liberal Democrat politicians have fully convinced huge numbers of people that our economic/fiscal mess is the result of two principal demons: 1) “the rich” and 2) the […]
Somewhere in the Analects of Confucius, the Master says that the first step in solving a problem is to call things by their right name. When things are mislabeled, it is very difficult to think about them correctly. On the other hand, if you do not wish people to think correctly about an issue, the […]
