DeJak
What Our Grandparents Have Always Done
I’ve been following opera and Italian food expert Fred Plotkin for a number of years now. Politically, philosophically (in large measure) and theologically, we would likely find ourselves opponents. He is a self-described “pleasure activist and egalitarian,” whereas I assent to an orthodox understanding of a divinely ordered hierarchy in the universe and recognize–in a phrase that may…
The Totalitarianism of Equality
Even though I have differed in some conclusions from the late Fr. John Courtney Murray, S.J. in discussing the life of the Church in the context of the United States, I have always agreed with his proper framing of the question: The question is sometimes raised, whether Catholicism is compatible with American democracy. The question is…
The Canonization of John Paul II and John XXIII and “Traditionalist” Pusillanimity
On this Quasimodo ( Dominica in albis, Low, and Divine Mercy) Sunday, I am shocked at the pusillanimity of some of the so-called traditionalists in the Church. A great gift has been given to the whole of the Church with SS. John XXIII and John Paul II and yet, some traditionalists foment an attitude of “hunkering down”…
Popule meus, quid feci tibi?
For your Good Friday Meditation: Victoria’s Setting: Palestrina’s Setting:
When the Pope Finds “Selfies” Inappropriate
The intellectually-challenged media loves to report on the Pope posing for “selfies,” but they ignore something more interesting. One of the things that has impressed me about His Holiness Pope Francis from the beginning of his Pontificate is the solemnity with which he celebrates the liturgies of the Church. It is a striking contrast from the previous…
Congratulations to the Bellarmine Forum’s John B. Manos!
Read the good news here! Ad multos annos!
Ash Wednesday–Station at S. Sabina
The traditional devotion of the Roman Lenten Stations (or the Stational Churches of Rome), allows us to unite our hearts and minds in our Lenten devotions with the Church of Rome as we spiritually visit the ancient churches and basilicas of the City (Stationalium Ecclesiarum Urbis visitatio). For your devotional life this Lent, consider making…
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…
Frank Morriss, Herald of Hope…Requiescat in Pace
Frank Morriss–Catholic, husband, father, grandfather, WWII Vet, lawyer, author, and Bellarmine Forum Board Member died this morning in his home near Denver, Colorado. Our hearts and prayers are united to him and his family at this time and we kindly ask all of our supporters and benefactors to remember him today and tomorrow at their Masses. He…
The Four Cardinals: Unambiguously Pro-Life
40 years ago, the Four Cardinals of the United States testified before Congress in a show of conviction and principle that has been one of the clearest expressions of the Church’s teaching on the dignity of human life in our history. The truth that an unborn child is a human person from the moment of conception…
