It’s a story about how freedom is all. I speak of the Little Sisters of the Poor, an international congregation of Roman Catholic nuns who have devoted their lives to caring for the elderly poor. I am lucky to know more about this remarkable organization than many. In 2007, I wrote a column about Gorman […]
In the question period after a talk I’d given on my new book, American Church, a woman raised an important point: “If the Church in the U.S. faces as many problems as you say, why is it doing so much better here than in much of Europe?” Great question. My answer–which I also give in […]
Our country is at a very, very serious crossroads,” warns Michael Warsaw President & CEO of Eternal Word Television Network, Inc. In the newly released documentary, Domestic Threats to Religious Liberty, Warsaw refers to the 2012 HHS Mandate’s coercion of all employers to provide gravely immoral services as, “the most important issue in our lifetime.” Catholics Witnesses in […]
Religious freedom, persecution, and martyrdom in the age of Obama. Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, the Vatican’s Apostolic Nuncio to the United States, is a well-traveled man, having served in Iraq, Kuwait, Great Britain, Strasbourg, Nigeria and, now, the United States. As a churchman and a diplomat, the Archbishop is in a unique position to analyze […]
What comes to your mind when you hear the familiar Bible passage from Luke 2:8-10, where the angels appear to the shepherds to proclaim the birth of a savior and His peace? Do you picture cute, little, cherub-faced boys and girls? Do you imagine shepherds that look like those sappy Precious Moments figurines you see […]
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 […]
On Friday, a federal judge in Colorado granted a preliminary injunction barring the HHS mandate from taking effect against a small, family-run business that holds strong beliefs that abortion-inducing drugs, contraceptives, and sterilization violate their religious faith. The Newland family owns and operates Hercules Industries, a private, for-profit HVAC equipment manufacturer. Their 265 full-time employees […]
The Fortnight for Freedom may be over but we must continue to stand against the Health and Human Services Mandate to force Catholics to pay for contraception and abortion. There are many reasons to oppose this. It makes a mockery of the First Amendment. It pushes on an unsuspecting public birth control pills which many […]
Today begins the U.S. Catholic bishops’ “Fortnight for Freedom,” a two-week period of prayer and social action organized in response to President Barack Obama’s contraception mandate. Rallies and prayer vigils for religious liberty are planned in nearly 100 dioceses across America. If the virtual blackout of last month’s anti-mandate lawsuits is any indication, though, national […]
“He moved about freely with them in Jerusalem, and spoke out boldly in the name of the Lord. He also spoke and debated with the Hellenists, but they tried to kill him.” (Acts 9:29, NAB) When St. Paul began traveling throughout the Roman Empire, truly going into the culture of death in order to proclaim […]
[Thursday], the Becket Fund and a Christian church in Texas scored a huge victory for religious freedom. After five years of litigation, the Elijah Group, an evangelical Christian church in Leon Valley, Texas, has finally gained the right to use its building for worship without discrimination from the city government. The settlement follows a […]
Last week, President Obama made news when he suggested that it would be “unprecedented” for the Supreme Court to declare unconstitutional a law passed by a “strong majority of a democratically elected Congress.” His comments were prompted by the less than favorable reaction of the Supreme Court during oral arguments on the constitutionality of his […]
No, I’m not exaggerating. The American experiment in religious liberty is officially over. The First Amendment provided institutional structures that allow different religions to peacefully coexist. All groups agree to not try to capture governmental structures for the benefit of their own particular denomination. But the Obama administration has ended that truce. The administration made […]
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 […]
Barack Obama may have just lost the election. He has foolishly gone to war in an election year with tens of millions of Catholics, Protestants and Jews – Democrat, Republican and independent alike. He has thrown down a radical feminist gauntlet and dared the Church to pick it up. They’ve picked it up. From running […]
On January 31st 2012, the third section of the European Court of Human Rights issued a judgment in the case of Sindicatul Pastorul cel bun c. Roumanie (no. 2330/09) whereby it determined that the refusal to register a trade union established within the Orthodox Church was contrary to freedom of association guaranteed by Article 11 […]
Al Mohler absolutely dismantles Nicholas Kristof in this new piece. The cause of this skewering? Kristof’s “Beyond Pelvic Politics” column in The New York Times. Mohler notes, After asking his most pressing question, “After all, do we really want to make accommodations across the range of faith?,” he makes this amazing statement: “The basic principle of American life is that we […]
The newspeak and apologetics of HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius came straight out of George Orwell’s 1984. After pretending that President Obama allegedly reversed his mandate (his mandate that persons of good will should be forced to pay for abortifacients, sterilizations, and contraceptives), newspeak Kathy explained: “The President reached-out to religious groups.” It seems this Barack […]
Certainly by now you’ve heard that the present Administration, through the Health and Human Services Department, is mandating that all employer healthcare insurance plans provide coverage for procedures which violate the beliefs of the Catholic Church, and Catholic institutions. Basically, the new rules require the Church, and the institutions operating faithfully under the aegis of […]
Humor me for a moment and just imagine if the following purely fictional (at least as of this writing) HHS press release was issued: Affordable Care Act Ensures Elders Receive End-of-Life Services at No Additional Cost WASHINGTON—The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced today that it is adopting additional Guidelines for Elder Care […]
The big Catholic news item in the United States these days centers around the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) mandate requiring nearly all employers to offer health insurance plans that provide zero-deductible coverage for “preventative services” like sterilization and contraception, including drugs that cause abortion. When the mandate was first proposed, the United […]
Are you like me? Reading the coverage of the HHS mandate for insurance to cover contraception and sterilization and wondering why the bishops are only now speaking out against it when citizens have been forced to pay taxes that fund contraception, sterilization and even abortion for a long time. “Hey, it’s about time!” Yes, this mandate […]
In March of 2010, I had the opportunity to preach to members of Congress and their staff who were gathered at the worship service held inside the Capitol just prior to the vote on Obamacare. In that sermon, I told them that Christianity transforms politics and government, because every human being in Christ has access […]
Today, the Sixth Circuit issued a major victory for the constitutional rights of individuals with religious beliefs. The court held that Eastern Michigan University may have violated the Constitution by expelling a counseling student based on her religious beliefs about homosexual conduct. “No individual should be forced out of their profession solely because of her […]
