Posts
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?
A Conversation with Pasquino
Reproduced here, dear reader, is a conversation I had the other day with a longtime resident of Rome, Pasquino. While I conversed with him for awhile, I did not tape-record our conversation nor did I take copious notes–as that would have been rude. Since I did speak candidly and at length with him, however, on a great…
Roma Obscura: Bees, Brigands, and the Head of an Apostle
In the small amounts of free time that I’ve had in Rome, I must admit that I have tried to stay away from the big places. Of course, I made a visit to the major basilicas–one feels the need to visit these chief shrines of the Church of Rome–but I must be getting old because I…
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…
Roman Journal: (A bit more than a) Mid-Point Report
Greetings all, from Borgo Santo Spirito 4: The Curia of the Society of Jesus (see below right). Already I am following in the footsteps of the great Hilaire Belloc who broke every vow he made on day 2 of his Roman pilgrimage. Instead of giving you a daily update, I am giving you an update a…
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…
Standing on Two Feet? Does the USCCB get Social Justice?
For years, Catholic educators have used the visual of two footprints to explain the difference between two kinds of charitable works, that is, the traditional “works of mercy” and what is, in some places, called “social justice.” This latter work is explained in different ways, depending on the degree of fidelity given material has to…
On Pilgrimages
One hundred twelve years ago this month, Hilaire Belloc left his wife and several children (5, I believe) back in England while he made a pilgrimage across the continent to Rome for the Feast of SS. Peter and Paul. He began in his old garrison town where he served a stint in a French artillery…
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…
