Columnists

Russell Shaw
2

This Fiesty Manifesto is Just What American Catholics Need

by on Apr 07, 2012 in Catechesis, Columnists, Featured, History, Law & Justice, Live in Christ, On Books
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“Social issues.” It’s a squishy, equivocal term suited to a mentality ill at ease with the hard-edged implications of “moral issues” and “morality.” What implications? That there are definite moral truths that show some things to be always and everywhere wrong and deserving of condemnation. Not what the “social issues” mindset cares to hear. There’s […]

Marcellino D'Ambrosio, Ph.D.
2

The Eucharist: The Body of Christ?

by on Apr 05, 2012 in Catechesis, Columnists, Featured, MyChurchParish.com
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On Holy Thursday, the night before he died, the Lord Jesus made some startling changes in the ritual of the Passover meal.  Instead of being content with the traditional Jewish table blessing over the bread, Jesus proclaimed “take and eat for this is my body.”  Over the third cup of wine, known as the cup […]

Jann FritzHuspen
0

Movie Review: We Bought a Zoo

by on Apr 05, 2012 in Columnists, Featured, On TV and Movies, Video
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Benjamin Mee (Matt Damon) and his two children, Dylan (Colin Ford) and Rosie (Maggie Elizabeth Jones), lost their wife and mother, Katherine, just six months ago. The family is grieving and Benjamin is floundering in his job as a journalist. Dylan (fourteen) is moody, angry and in regular trouble at school. Rosie (seven) misses her […]

Marybeth Hicks
6

Trayvon Case Shows ‘Racist’ Epithet Persists

by on Apr 04, 2012 in Columnists, Featured, The Social Order
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If there’s one way to determine whether an event has devolved into a circus maximus, surely it must be the entry into the public debate by Roseanne Barr. The erstwhile comedian and celebrity took up the Twitter cause last week on behalf of the late Trayvon Martin, the black teenager killed on Feb. 26 by […]

Rev. Tucker Cordani
1

‘You are Gods’

by on Apr 01, 2012 in Catechesis, Columnists, Featured, MyChurchParish.com
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It has been said that the worst human sinfulness happened that day on Calvary when the creatures attempted to kill the Creator.  The very people that God came to save rejected him and nailed him to the cross but in doing so they did not realize that they were rejecting themselves and the own love […]

Dr. Paul Kengor
0

Obama, the Russians, and Missile Defense: Historical Parallels

by on Mar 31, 2012 in Columnists, Featured, Government & Politics, International Issues
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President Obama has caused quite a stir with a private comment made to Russian President Dimitri Medvedev. In discussing missile defense, Obama suggested he would be prepared to yield to Russian demands after the November election. “This is my last election,” said Obama, not knowing his words were being picked up by an open microphone. […]

Colleen Carroll Campbell
0

Etch-a-Sketch or Mr. Flexible?

by on Mar 30, 2012 in Columnists, Featured, Government & Politics
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It was a fitting blunder for a candidate with authenticity issues. Asked last week on CNN if the protracted Republican primary season had eroded former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney’s ability to appeal to independents in the fall, Romney advisor Eric Fehrnstrom foolishly acknowledged a universal truth in presidential politics: the fact that candidates spend the […]

Jann FritzHuspen
1

99¢ Can Buy You a Practical Answer to Our Nation’s Woes

by on Mar 28, 2012 in Columnists, Featured, History, Live in Christ, On Books, The Social Order
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Archbishop Charles Chaput has written one of the most insightful pieces of our time on modern journalism and the role, or should I say, “non-role” of religion in today’s public square. His searing piece, A Heart on Fire: Catholic Witness and the Next America, is a must read for all those who seek to live […]

Marcellino D'Ambrosio, Ph.D.
1

Lazarus

by on Mar 25, 2012 in Catechesis, Columnists, Featured, MyChurchParish.com
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Some find it hard to accept that God would love some people more than others.  That wouldn’t be fair, they say. But God became man.  If he did not love some more than others, Jesus wouldn’t be fully human.  For human beings have family and friends.  While we can do good and even risk our […]

Marge Fenelon
0

Five Practical Ways to Pray with Mary

by on Mar 23, 2012 in Columnists, Featured, Live in Christ, Women
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During Pope Benedict XVI’s General Audience on March 14 about praying with Mary, he pointed out times in Mary’s life that were pivotal to salvation history and in which she demonstrated particular aspects of prayer. When I read the Pope’s words, I was inspired to take them a step further and to explore ways in […]

Fr. Frank Pavone
1

October Baby Opens Today

by on Mar 23, 2012 in Columnists, Contraception & Abortion, Featured, On TV and Movies
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I don’t recommend many movies, but today one that you really should see is coming into theaters nationwide. It’s called October Baby, and it deals in a masterful way with a difficult topic — abortion. Abortion is not and should not be an abstract debate. When I’m asked how the pro-life battle has evolved over […]

Russell Shaw
1

Newman, the Supreme Court, and Broadcast Pornography

by on Mar 22, 2012 in Columnists, Featured, Law & Justice, MyChurchParish.com, On Media
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Reading about two free speech cases now before the Supreme Court, I found myself thinking of Cardinal Newman. I’ll get to Cardinal Newman in a minute, but first let me say a word about those cases pending in the court. The basic issue in FCC v. Fox Television Stations and FCC v. ABC is the […]

Dr. Paul Kengor
11

Santorum or Romney? Culture War or Class War?

by on Mar 16, 2012 in Columnists, Featured, Government & Politics
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The question for Republicans right now seems obvious: Would you prefer Rick Santorum or Mitt Romney to run against Barack Obama? Well, it depends on whether you prefer to engage President Obama on cultural grounds or on terms of class warfare. Obama and his chief political strategist, David Axelrod, are going to give us one […]

Colleen Carroll Campbell
1

What if Newborns Had No Rights

by on Mar 16, 2012 in Columnists, Contraception & Abortion, Featured, Parenting
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It’s a provocative question abortion opponents have been asking for years: If it is ethical to kill an unwanted child before birth, why not kill her afterward? Pro-lifers pose that question rhetorically, as a means of exposing the weakness of pro-choice arguments that devalue the human fetus until the moment she clears the birth canal. […]

Marge Fenelon
0

Reverencing our Spouses

by on Mar 16, 2012 in Columnists, Featured, Marriage
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Some years back, Mark and I visited with friends of ours, an older couple for whom we had great admiration. Dick and Pat showed near perfect complementarity, worked like a team, and had a way of disagreeing without actually disagreeing. This couple had a way of filling the room with peace and joyful energy at […]

Louie Verrecchio
9

The Church’s Mission: Apostolic or Political?

by on Mar 14, 2012 in Columnists, Featured, History
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In a recent column at CatholicCulture.org, Phil Lawler criticized the bishops of the United States for issuing statements on “too many debatable political issues” rather than sticking to matters that fall more properly within the scope of their teaching authority. As an example, he pointed to a newly released USCCB statement that “appeared to give […]

Fr. Frank Pavone
8

An American Takeover of America

by on Mar 13, 2012 in Columnists, Featured, Law & Justice
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Senator Roy Blunt, who sponsored the amendment in the Senate that, had it received a few more votes, would have protected conscience rights of employers, said, “This is a debate that might be settled at that building across the street,” referring to the Supreme Court. Indeed, as of this writing, eight different lawsuits have been […]

Russell Shaw
0

The Mandate Controversy and the Bishops’ Response

by on Mar 08, 2012 in Columnists, Contraception & Abortion, Featured, Government & Politics, MyChurchParish.com
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In determining to fight President Obama’s famous—or should I say infamous?—contraception mandate, the American bishops, I suspect, were devoutly hoping two things would not happen. The first undesired outcome was that the issue would become politicized. The second was that it would be seen as an argument over contraception itself. Predictably perhaps, both have occurred, […]

Ebeth Weidner
0

Living Together . . . Why It is Not a Good Thing

by on Mar 08, 2012 in Columnists, Dating & Singles, Featured
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Even if you aren’t a Christian, even if you are an atheist, living together is NOT a good idea.  Yeah, everybody is doing it now. It’s the norm.  Who needs to get married when you have people ready and willing to move in with you?  But, here’s why it’s not a good situation. First of […]

Louie Verrecchio
7

George Weigel’s Mission Impossible

by on Mar 07, 2012 in Columnists, Featured, History, On Media
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Even if you don’t agree with him, you have to admire George Weigel’s moxie. It can’t be easy serving as the spokesperson for a “conservative” Catholic movement that labors so mightily against the preponderance of evidence to reconcile every last scintilla of conciliar innovation with the Faith handed down from the Apostles. Yet, he does […]

Msgr. Richard Soseman
1

As an Athlete Running the Race

by on Mar 06, 2012 in Columnists, Featured
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Jesse Owens was one of the fastest human beings who ever lived. Known as the Buckeye Bullet, he became famous at Ohio State in 1935 when, in the span of just 45 minutes at a Big 10 track meet, he broke three world records and tied a fourth. As a member of the U.S. Olympics […]

Fr. Frank Pavone
0

Super Tuesday and Being Human

by on Mar 06, 2012 in Columnists, Contraception & Abortion, Featured, Government & Politics
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I write on Super Tuesday, but my reflections here pertain to the entire election season of 2012, and in fact, of every election cycle. If you look at the writings of the Catholic Church regarding political responsibility, you often see reference to what is important to “Catholic social teaching” and a “Catholic conscience.” And, of […]

Jann FritzHuspen
1

Consolations

by on Mar 03, 2012 in Catechesis, Columnists, Disability, Sickness & Suffering, Featured, Humor, Science
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Do you know what it means to receive a consolation from the Lord? In the work of prayer for example, it is when you feel a deep sense of His presence. But even in our day-to-day lives we can receive consolations from the Lord. These come in the form of a perk, or a little […]

Marcellino D'Ambrosio, Ph.D.
1

Why is Lent Forty Days?

by on Mar 02, 2012 in Catechesis, Columnists, Featured
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In the English language, the special season before Easter is called “Lent.”  The word comes from the “lengthening” of daylight hours as we progress from the darkness of winter to the new light of spring.  But other languages, such as Spanish, have a name for this season that is derived from the word for forty.  […]