Posts
“The Interests of a Few”
The theories of the social contract…were elaborated at the end of the 17th century (cf. Hobbes): that which would bring harmony among men was a law recognized by reason and commanding respect by an enlightened prince who incarnates the general will. Here, too, when the common…
Controlled Burn, Alinskyian organizing, and Common Core (Book Review)
Controlled Burn Alinskyian organizing and Common Core: A Book Review of A Match on Dry Grass: Community Organizing as a Catalyst for School Reform By Mark R. Warren, Karen L. Mapp, and the Community Organizing and School Reform Project, Oxford University Press (2011) The title of this book, A Match on Dry Grass, is a…
Footnote 62: Fatherhood
https://media.blubrry.com/bellarmineforumfootnote/bellarmineforum.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/BF-Footnote-Podcast-Fatherhood-010514-df.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadDo fathers make a difference? Two distinguished observers of the American scene think so. Professor Walter Williams and Dr. Patrick Fagan offer findings that don’t fit in to the politically correct view of our society and culture.
Medjugorje
For decades now, I’ve been assaulted by people who insist that Medjugorje is worth attention. They would send messages, daily messages, and talk of it endlessly. Some are still that way. I’ve never been convinced. I’ll talk about Fatima all day long. The alleged events at Medjugorje have always struck me as “off.” Since I’m on a roll of…
Fr. Hardon: Three reasons why the devil is so strong today.
Fr. Hardon gives the 3 reasons causing “the rise of heresy and the participation of priests & religious in the acceptance of homosexuality … why is the devil so strong today.
Catholic Dictionary: Menticide?
I was looking for something recently in my copy of Fr. John Hardon’s Modern Catholic Dictionary when I noticed an entry that caught my eye: Menticide. Mind killing. “The systematic effort to break down the beliefs and allegiances of a person by physical or psychological means, in order to substitute one’s own. Also called brain-washing, it…
From Under the Rubble…Landmines in the Path of Dialogue
On August 20, 2005, Pope Benedict XVI insisted in Cologne that “Interreligious and intercultural dialogue between Christians and Muslims … is, in fact, a vital necessity, on which in large measure our future depends.” But is such a conversation possible? That question is the focus of an important new monograph, The Prospects and Perils of…
Weeping Statue of Mary in Israel? Probably not.
In the past couple of days news stories have sensationalized the story of a statue at the home of a Greek Orthodox family in Israel. Ordinarily, Greek Orthodox don’t have statues, rather they have icons. There’s some controversy among orthodox on the propriety of icons, in fact, so it’s surprising to see this. The raw…
A New Roman Question
Being a Latin teacher and an attorney (a deadly cocktail if ever there was one), I read with great interest the reports of Justice Antonin Scalia’s comments this past week of the possibility of the reappearance of internment camps here in the United States. The reason for such reappearance was left vague, other than to mention…
FEMEN and the Gerasene Demoniac… Full of Devils
News today that Femen has raided a cathedral in Spain. They are screaming “Abortion is sacred.” The woman is naked, has an upside down cross painted on her back, violent, and seems to have a problem with identity, “My name is Femen, for we are many.” I can’t help it but to think of the demoniac…
