A three-judge panel of the U.S. Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that the key feature of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, better known by many as “Obamacare,” is unconstitutional. The “individual mandate” portion of the legislation — a provision which requires all Americans to purchase health insurance or suffer a monetary […]
A couple of years ago, a pastor asked me to provide a catechetical training day for teachers in his Catholic school and CCD program. One of my first questions to him was what issues had developed that required my assistance. The Pastor voiced to me his concern over poor doctrinal formation he suspected the children […]
The world’s longest ruling head of state, Mu’ammar al-Qadhdhafi (the correct transliteration of his name), would have been ruler of Libya for exactly 42 years on Sept. 1. As he leaves the scene, his wretched reign deserves an appraisal. Qaddafi took power at the age of 27 in the waning days of Gamal Abdel Nasser, […]
Pop quiz — I’ll give you the plot; you name the movie: Up and coming rookie sports star in need of an attitude adjustment accidentally strands himself in a small heartland America town where he runs into a former top performer in his sport who left the limelight years ago but has profound life-changing wisdom […]
Mystery Tremendous Doorway but no door And yet no entrance in, Chamber but no floor, Windows in the wind O mystery tremendous Of which there is no telling, People all around us Celled in separate dwellings Will there be release When all has come to be And separateness has ceased? Tremendous mystery Will all the […]
The Canons Regular of St. Augustine, a group of priests who live in community and serve parishes, recently landed in Long Island, New York. Their blend of community life and diocesan ministry is ancient, but a first for the U.S. The Order’s new American foundation, the Canonry of St. Leopold, offers fresh possibilities for U.S. […]
The UN has reversed a decade of speculation about a demographic winter in the West, and now says that every country will achieve replacement fertility by 2100 resulting in a global population of 10 billion. The problem is there is no basis for their turnabout. UN agencies are hailing new numbers as evidence of overpopulation […]
Ok, fess up. Are you a good parent or a bad one? Last week, bad parents were all over the news, so if you weren’t plastered throughout the media for pouring hot sauce down your son’s throat, shaving your daughter’s head for lying, or otherwise terrorizing the little ones in your care, you’re not as […]
The Incredible Edible Catholic Egg Incredible, Edible, Catholic egg. For you I’d sell An arm and a leg. Delighting rich And simple Folk. Hard-boiled White Around the yolk. Sometimes scrambled. Sometimes Fried. Often next To bacon’s Side. Spittering, Sputtering, Splashing grease But into my life You bring Such peace. For after Matins’ morning Prayer I […]
The headlines are teeming with the news that in one state after another, Planned Parenthood is falling prey to common sense. In Arizona the world-famous preborn-baby-killing company has had to stop aborting babies in three of its facilities. According to news reports, “[W]omen will no longer be able to terminate their pregnancies at the Planned […]
