Christopher Manion
Footnote 38: Upside Down Catholics
Upside Down Catholics: Isn’t it curious that many Catholics who insist that the Church adopt their left-wing political agenda are the same dissidents who refuse to embrace the Church’s magisterial teachings?
From Under the Rubble…The Gibbons Legacy
American Church (Russell Shaw: Ignatius Press, 2013; $16.95) Deep in the heartland of Indiana, nestled below the main altar of Sacred Heart Basilica on the campus of the University of Notre Dame, there lies a crypt housing a small altar, a few pews, a baptismal font, and the tomb of Orestes Brownson, one of the most…
Footnote 37: Negotiating With the Church
Negotiating With The Church: When people challenge the magisterial teachings of the Church and offer views that are diametrically opposed, should the Church meet them halfway in the spirit of “Consensus”?
From Under the Rubble…Authority and Its Discontents
Some forty years ago, in his groundbreaking study, Twilight of Authority, sociologist Robert Nisbet observed a disturbing trend in American culture. As respect for authority had declined among the population, he wrote, members of that population became increasingly willing to accept and actually applaud an increasingly powerful, albeit less legitimate, government. The notion of true authority, Nisbet…
Footnote 36: The Death of the Common Good
The Death Of The Common Good: Has diversity destroyed the sense of community and legitimate authority that, the Church teaches, is required for civic life?
China and Forced Abortion Forced Chen From NYU
Steve Mosher, president of the Population Research Institute, recounts how he was fired from Stanford some thirty years ago for revealing the atrocious forced-abortion policy of the Communist Chinese government. Now Chen Guansheng, who was welcomed to New York University with considerable fanfare just months ago, has been quietly shown the door because of the…
Footnote 35: Benedict’s Motu Proprio (Round Two)
Benedict’s Motu Proprio, Round Two: With Pope Benedict’s new addition to Canon Law, will the Catholic Church in the U.S. have to stop taking billions a year from the federal government?
Doublethink, Dictators, and Data Dumps
Treason doth never prosper: what’s the reason? Why, if it prosper, none dare call it treason. Sir John Harrington: When this weekly column began to run in a Catholic newspaper several years ago, it was called Room 101, invoking the name of the torture chamber in George Orwell’s Ministry of Love. That lasted about…
Is There Hope For The GOP?
In case Republicans haven’t noticed, Obama has declared war on them. Perhaps he recognizes that the party of Reagan is defenseless these days, having abdicated the principles which built the modern GOP – principles that have long enjoyed the high regard of a majority of Americans, millions of them nominal Democrats. All of this is…
From Under The Rubble…Notre Dame, Obama, And The Death of Dialogue
It’s been four long years since Notre Dame welcomed Barack Obama to campus, awarding him an honorary degree and the opportunity to address the graduating class of 2009. Among the reasons for the award, according to university President John Jenkins, C.S.C., one was central: “He is a leader who has respect for the role of…
