Regular Contributions
A Little Catholic “Education” History: Getting Alinsky into the Catholic Parish
Recently, while preparing an article on Common Core national standards, someone suggested that I might be interested in the “open letters” written by a group called Catholics for Truth in Education operating in Illinois from 1974 into the 90s. Interestingly enough, a set of these “open letters” just happened to have been sitting on my…
Did Cardinal Pacelli (Pius XII) really say this?
Sometimes bombshell quotes sound just a little too good. Pius XII supposedly said we’d be searching for Our Lord in our own Churches as Mary Magdalen did… or did he?
St. Joseph’s Name Added to Eucharistic Prayers
Quiz: when was St. Joseph added to the Roman Canon? (No cheating, no googling) and by which Pope? How long did it take the USCCB to act on the addition? Read this for the answers.
Explaining Common Core: And why you don’t want this in your schools
Since 1965, states have been given over 118 BILLION dollars (in addition to those supplied at the state/county level) through ESEA [the Elementary and Secondary Education Act] has supported a system in which 1 in 7 adults are functionally illiterate. Are the Marxists pushing new stuff into education (again)? Catholics wouldn’t go along with that, would they? Read Stephanie Block’s exposition.
There is a rather extensive list of “dangers” she sees in Common Core, including the denial of “absolute truth in God,” “making all truth relative and determined by group consensus,AND MORE!
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…
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…
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…
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…
