Posts

Text "From Under the Rubble" over a background of rough, gray and brown stones with some green moss."

From Under the Rubble…Big Brother Makes It Personal

Four years ago, Obama’s Chicago crew borrowed a page from the Three-Card-Monte hustlers in Manhattan’s Central Park. With the nation distracted by the perils of Obamacare, Democrats quietly hijacked the student loan program from the private sector and handed it to the federal government. “We’ve eliminated the middleman,” they cawed, “and the savings will go…

Read More...
A man in a suit and tie sitting in an armchair, smiling, with bookshelves filled with books in the background.

L’Affaire Bottum

Among the vicissitudes of life, Belloc asserted that the loss of affection among friends is the worst thing in the world.  I thought of this when reading Joseph Bottum’s recent coming out as a supporter of same-sex marriage.   It struck me that this coming out should not go without comment in that Dr. Bottum was…

Read More...

Footnote 42: Christians Suffering in the Middle East

https://media.blubrry.com/bellarmineforumfootnote/bellarmineforum.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/BF-Footnote-42-Christians-suffering-in-ME-073113.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadTen years ago, President George W. Bush invaded Iraq to “end evil in the world.” How has that worked out for Christians in the Middle East?

Read More...
A composite image featuring Pope Francis and Our Lady of Guadalupe with text discussing copyright infringement. The background is dark, with the figures in color and a prominent warning about stolen images. Text reads: "THE IMAGE WAS STOLEN! Despite the composite being fair use, it was also a beautiful composite, probably the best composite ever. Known by a lack of fair use knowledge anyway that it was stolen, but in 2023 - 10 years later - we got a demand for infringement and license fees for using 'Pope Francis' in this image - and they wanted a license fee as if we used a 8000x6000 size image on a commercial product making money off the use or something! We'd win in court - like in all those other cases we had to go through. But the cost of this litigation costs these days? You would very see your collage was fair use."

Exorcising the Vatican? Pope Francis style. With Fatima, St. Michael, and Leo XIII

Recently the news ran headlines that Pope Francis called for the Fatima Statue of Mary to be brought to the Vatican — in their words “to consecrate the world.”  I…

Read More...

Buzzword Compliant or Kool-Aid Drunk?

The National St. Vincent de Paul Council and its subsidiaries have an honorable history of addressing serious social problems at their roots, within the family, using a holistic approach long before the concept of a “holistic” approach was in vogue. If ever there was an organization engaged in a compassionate and genuinely helpful response to…

Read More...
Text "From Under the Rubble" over a background of rough, gray and brown stones with some green moss."

From Under the Rubble…A Bang and a Whimper

Bishop Robert Lynch of St. Petersburg recently complained, “I am convinced that many so called Pro-Life groups are not really pro-life but merely anti-abortion.” Of course, this canard is common among the professional pro-abortion crowd, but it sounds strangely out of tune coming from a Bishop who, in the past, has been supportive of the pro-life…

Read More...

Footnote 40: Professor Charlie Rice on His Book, Right or Wrong

https://media.blubrry.com/bellarmineforumfootnote/bellarmineforum.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/BF-Footnote-40-Rice-ND-HV-073113.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadFootnote discusses Right or Wrong, the impressive new book by Bellarmine Forum Chairman Charles E. Rice, professor of Constitutional Law at Notre Dame Law School. What is Notre Dame’s approach to Church teaching, especially Humanae Vitae?

Read More...
Catholic Relief Services and USAID logos with red heart and dollar signs, promoting aid from the American people. Text reads "CRS Catholic Relief Services" and "USAID From The American People"."

Lynching the Population Research Institute

Florida’s Bishop Lynch gets defensive over complaints against Catholic Relief Services Bishop Robert Lynch, ordinary for the Diocese of St. Petersburg, writes the blog titled For His Friends. On August 7, he posted “Hurricane Heading towards Africa,” an article in which he excoriates the Population Research Institute (PRI) for revealing that several African bishops have…

Read More...
Dormition icon detail showing the sliced hands of Anthonius

Mary’s Assumption Stands to Disprove Gnosticism: You aren’t Dragging yourself, or anyone else, to Heaven

Some time ago, and throughout the years, I’ve heard various people say, “I want to drag souls to Heaven.” I’m sure that in the cases where I’ve heard it, the person didn’t realize what they were saying. They can’t drag themselves, let alone anyone else, to Heaven! If we take that phrase literally then it…

Read More...
A person dressed in white papal robes kneels at an ornate altar with gold candelabras and intricate decorations. The setting is richly adorned with yellow and red patterns, indicative of a Catholic church interior.

Why People Don’t Get Pope Francis: He’s Too Traditional

I will admit to an immediate apprehension when the media takes an especial liking to a particular Catholic bishop or even the pope.  I am even more apprehensive when I see a prelate “ham it up” for the cameras, never miss an opportunity to speak to some media outlet, or look like he is taking…

Read More...