President Obama’s tour through the Midwest in a coal-black Darth Vader-mobile begs comparison with past presidential excursions. I’m thinking of those made by presidents Harry Truman and Woodrow Wilson. First, the president repeated his Trumanesque mantra about his version of a “do-nothing Congress,” dominated by a minority who put the good of the party above […]
After six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them; his face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as light. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, conversing with him. Then Peter said to Jesus […]
Here’s a fact that was not lost on my teenage daughter: The infamous debt-ceiling deal doesn’t actually reduce much of our debt until she finishes high school, graduates from college, and has potentially purchased a minivan and a pair of mom jeans. Did I mention she’s just about to start ninth grade? “Wait,” my daughter […]
I’m an animal lover. At this time, two dogs, a cat, and a hamster are part of our family. For ten years, I’ve uplifted the spirits of nursing home residents and staff by bringing dogs in to visit. My kids and I regularly witness the power of our furry friends. At one nursing home, there […]
This summer brought with it the recurrence of America’s fascination with all things Parisian. Actually, it is more than fascination and more like a deep romance which persists over time, only slightly diminished by the ebb and flow of diplomatic relations between the two great but, really, not so different U.S. and French republics. In […]
There’s an art to the way one lives one’s life. Perspective, serenity, openness to beauty, the ability to see goodness in things – these qualities are only possible when one is in balance. And right now film director Gavin O’Connor is in balance, though perhaps a precarious one, pulled as he is in so many […]
We Christians – all of us, Catholics, Protestants, and Orthodox – need an effective rebuttal to the harmful anti-church insistence that Thomas Jefferson, writing in his capacity of President, held that the Constitution forbade any religious expression in any public place. We have often argued correctly that when Jefferson said “church” he meant either a […]
How “Complicit” is the UN in Asia’s Sex Selective Abortion Crisis? A new book has raised hackles among abortion advocates about just how much the UN Population Fund is to blame for more than 160 million missing girls in Asia: aborted in the quest for sons. Mara Hvistendahl’s Unnatural Selection: Choosing Boys Over Girls, and the […]
If we were to really take an honest look at our lives, we would probably be struck by how far we still have to go in the spiritual life. For one seeking to grow spiritually there is no such thing as good enough. No matter how good others think we are we will always see that we still […]
When Saint Paul met Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus he was about thirty years old. Paul was the son, as he testified in his own letters, of a Pharisee, who also was the son of a Pharisee. Circumcised eight days after his birth according to the Law of Moses, Paul came from a […]
For those of us decrepit enough to remember the original* made-for-TV Planet of the Apes with Charlton Heston (human) and Roddy McDowell** (ape), Rise of the Planet of the Apes is a high-tech, far cry from the DISCOUNT HALLOWEEN COSTUME STORE RUBBER-MASKED primate sci-fi drama. Rise is about Big Pharma and Big Research and Big […]
Full text of the Pope’s address to young professors Dear friends, I have looked forward to this meeting with you, young professors in the universities of Spain. You provide a splendid service in the spread of truth, in circumstances that are not always easy. I greet you warmly and I thank you for your kind […]
The price of gold has gone on a tear this summer, from slightly under $1500 per ounce to well over $1800 per ounce, and it looks like it wants to go higher. What gives? Well, if you bought gold last spring, you’re looking pretty smart. And if you bought gold a decade ago at $300 […]
It was with a heavy heart that I read a recent article in the New York Times about an expectant mother’s decision to have one of her twins killed in utero. The sadness that this entire episode evokes is compounded by the reality of how America came to a place where such a story could be […]
As we all know, the end of the world is coming soon. No, I don’t mean the eschaton, the final event in which the Son returns all things to the Father. That will be, by all accounts, a very cinematic event, full of all sorts of special effects. It will be, no doubt, very entertaining […]
A few weeks ago I published an article entitled “Responsibility, Solidarity, and Healthcare,” its several points being: Covering routine, non-catastrophic healthcare increases costs and reduces access to healthcare in two ways a. it makes the health care cost more b. it makes insurance more costly The Catholic principle of solidarity means that we should not […]
St. Augustine said, “In essentials, unity. In non-essentials, liberty. In all things, charity.” What an excellent summary of how to live out a love of Freedom. A love of our own freedom, and a love of the freedom of others. And this freedom is not simply “religious freedom” or “political freedom” but a freedom in […]
Most reasonable people would agree that tossing a set of car keys to a drunkard is irresponsible even if the inebriated party manages to slur out a solemn pledge to drive carefully. That’s just common sense, right? So, what should we call a willingness to place the nation’s healthcare system in the hands of the […]
I am grateful to Your Majesty for your presence together with the Queen, and for the kind and deferential words with which you welcomed me, reviving in me the unforgettable gestures of kindness which I received during my previous Apostolic Journeys to Spain, and most particularly during my recent Visit to Santiago de Compostela and […]
We have all heard, ad nauseam, about the so-called “greenhouse effect.” Even little children can tell you how the build up of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere traps heat by increasing humidity and thickening the cloud layer. Except that it doesn’t — at least to the degree that the U.N climate models have been programmed […]
There is a well-known story about a young man throwing starfish out into the ocean. An older man walked by and asked him what he was doing. The young man replied that he was throwing the starfish out into the ocean so that they would not die in the heat of the sun. At that, […]
As the August 2 deadline for a debt-ceiling deal drew near, many expected a big deal that would significantly change the direction of federal fiscal policy. After weeks of tumultuous negotiations, partisan bickering, and impassioned histrionics, the agreement that finally emerged was, to put it bluntly, no big deal. Ironically, the most accurate assessment I […]
It happens every year: after weeks and weeks of summer break, there are times when I just can’t take one more minute of family “togetherness.” The bickering. The teasing. The incessant need to be entertained. Sometimes I let the kids out of the car at the bottom of the 500-foot driveway and make them run […]
Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments as follows: Tomorrow there will be a day-long symposium in Baltimore held by practitioners in the field of mental health who will make the case that society unfairly stigmatizes “Minor-Attracted Persons,” a.k.a. adults who are sexually attracted to kids. Run by a non-profit group, B4U-ACT, psychiatrists and others […]
