A costume party at the GOP convention? Among those protesting this week at the Republican National Convention, representatives from the radical feminist group CodePink are making a strong statement for women (or is that “womyn”?) by dressing up as vaginas to oppose what they’re calling the Republican “war on women.” Talk about a powerful statement. […]
A new study just out from Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois, shows that girls as young as six are being conditioned by secular media to view themselves as sex objects. Yes, you read that right sex objects. At a time when they should be learning to read and exploring their artistic creativity, they are instead taking […]
It is ironic that, as a Catholic, the most difficult part of having a chronic health issue isn’t the health issue itself but is the big question: Should I pray for healing…or should I carry my cross? And it is that question that often keeps us spiraling through a journey that is already burdensome and […]
According to the Compendium issued by the Holy See in 2004, “the primary and fundamental” core principles of Catholic social doctrine are “the dignity of the human person, the common good, subsidiarity and solidarity.” All other authentic expressions of Catholic social justice stem from these “permanent and universal” principles. Simple enough, right? And yet, the […]
Worried conservatives reacted negatively to the news that Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York had invited Barack Obama to the Al Smith Dinner in October. But the cardinal plainly believes the invitation serves the best interests of the Church—declaring war on the President of the United States by excluding him from this politically tinged festive […]
If “all politics is local politics,” it must be said: This is a bad week to be a Missourian. No, I don’t live in Missouri. But I’m a conservative and a pro-life advocate, so thanks to Rep. W. Todd Akin, I must necessarily worry about the U.S. Senate race in Missouri, a contest that should […]
As someone who has suffered from a chronic health condition most of her adult life, it was with great interest that I began researching health and fitness many years ago. I wanted to understand what I was going through but also wanted to see it all in the light of my faith. The mainstream medical […]
Even before Gov. Mitt Romney made his vice presidential selection last week, Catholic voters were at the center of this year’s presidential election. President Barack Obama’s controversial contraceptive mandate — and his refusal to brook any meaningful compromise for religious institutions that object to it — had sparked a fierce backlash among many Catholics and […]
It must be said: What NBC newswoman Andrea Mitchell knows about suburban moms would fit on the back of a postage stamp. Ms. Mitchell, reporting from Virginia at the Saturday rally where Mitt Romney introduced Rep. Paul Ryan as his vice-presidential running mate, announced with authority that Mr. Ryan was “not a pick for suburban […]
Maybe it comes from watching too many M*A*S*H reruns where Father Mulcahy seemed to be right there whenever a soldier needed him, but I always assumed that our service men and women had easy access to a chaplain whenever they need one. I also assumed they could easily attend regular religious services. But with U.S […]
“From the beginning therefore he [man] is called to work. Work is one of the characteristics that distinguish man from the rest of creatures, whose activity for sustaining their lives cannot be called work. Only man is capable of work, and only man works, at the same time by work occupying his existence on earth. Thus work […]
We are living at a time when the Church in the United States must vigorously defend herself against attacks on religious freedom. In particular, the government is trying to force believers to violate their consciences when it comes to what kind of services their companies’ health insurance policies will cover. Priests for Life is proud […]
Will the present whiff of secularist persecution be a help toward healing what ails American Catholics as a Church? Leaving aside predictions, I’ll only say: it may. Cardinal Timothy Dolan has a flair for getting people’s attention. The Archbishop of New York did that recently by declaring the Big Apple “mission territory.” Many other bishops […]
Sunday, August 5 was the date of our first annual parish picnic; little did we know that it would be a date marked on calendars for another reason. As we gathered to begin the 11:00 a.m. Liturgy, an ambulance raced down the street past the park. I’m sure most of the parishioners offered a Hail […]
Try to define progressivism. In fact, ask progressives to try to define progressivism. All we really know is that they’re, well, progressing. They and their ideas and their politics are always changing, evolving. This means that what they believe and hold fast and dear today may not be what they believe and hold fast and […]
I remember when my first son was in need of his first haircut. I took him to a professional stylist and, with 35mm camera in hand, clicked away, literally walking around and around his seat, so that, once developed, the pictures would immortalize that very special day in my life, in his life, in the […]
Some months back, my sister came to visit, and we had an interesting chat. Chris lives in New York and is a vice president at a very large and internationally-known corporation. She’s at the top of the corporate world, and at the forefront of women making their way in a “man’s world.” We were talking about the need […]
Remember “live and let live” — or, as the gay-rights variation goes, “live and let love?” Remember that heady time not so long ago when Americans concerned about the unintended consequences of same-sex marriage were told that we had nothing to fear because the redefinition of marriage to accommodate gays and lesbians would not affect […]
President Obama’s position on gay marriage has won some converts, from (perhaps) the entirety of the Democratic Party to (especially) young people. As to the latter, one of them emailed me recently. A good-hearted, thoughtful young man, who this fall will be a freshman at a very liberal college in the Northeast, I’ll leave him […]
A chicken, a big-city mayor and a duck walk into a bar. The bartender looks up and says, “What is this, a joke?” Ba-da-bum. Unfortunately, last week’s brouhaha over remarks made by Chick-fil-A President Dan Cathy is not a joke, nor is the bullying his company is experiencing at the hands of Boston Mayor Thomas […]
“So basically you are a ‘vanity press,’” was the question posed to me that really sounded more like a statement of fact—and an unattractive one at that. “Well, we offer a variety of publishing services and some of those services are that authors do, indeed, pay to have their books published with us,” were the […]
Last month, President Barack Obama declared that “the private sector is doing fine.” Last week, he claimed that his main first-term mistake was a mere failure to “tell a story to the American people.” But Obama’s biggest blunder of the summer may be the bizarre claim he made at a campaign rally in Virginia last […]
In recent years social critics like Robert Putnam (Bowling Alone) and Charles Murray (Coming Apart) have documented and deplored a decline of community among Americans. It’s a development that affects churches along with other institutions of civil society. But “decline of community” is an abstraction and hardly self-explanatory. A story told by a man I […]
Every parent worth his or her salt at one time or another has done what the NCAA did this week when sanctioning Penn State University. Confronted with the misdeeds of our children, we parents often are forced to act in a manner that quickly and emphatically sends a message: Your actions have consequences, not only […]
