Regular Contributions
Plugged into the System Catholic Schools and Compulsory Education: Book review of Designed to Fail: Catholic Education in America By Steve Kellmeyer Bridegroom Press, 2005 (221 pages)
Think the education system is merely limited by funds? Maybe there was a problem from the beginning causing our kids to fail. Stephanie Block analyzes whether Steve Kellmeyer’s book Designed to Fail hits the nail on the head or slips off the mark.
Same Sex Marriage: When Two Can Never Be One
The term oxymoron is derived for a Greek phrase meaning “pointedly foolish.” And that is exactly what the talk about same-sex “marriage” amounts to, for it contains within itself a contradiction as great, say, as the idea would be for motionless football or batless baseball [ed. note: or baseball card packs without bubble gum]. Were…
Baseball Cards Without Bubble Gum, 20 Years On
I recall finding out, to my horror, in the early 1990s, that Topps Baseball Card packages were no longer including their trademark brittle piece of gum that had been a mainstay of American boys’ youth since the late 1940s and early 1950s. At the time, my card collecting days were over but they were not for my…
If that was yesterday… Marriage catechism needs updated
From the old Baltimore Catechism… My how times have changed… That’s not even scratching the surface of Our Lord’s words: Have ye not read, that he who made man from the beginning, Made them male and female? (Matt. xix. 4). Yet, people have hinged all their happiness on the idea that marriage is something different….
Needed: Catholic Cab Drivers and Bartenders
Some years back–in an interview on EWTN–Francis Cardinal George, Archbishop of Chicago, was addressing some of the pressing needs of the Church. He said–and I paraphrase–“we need Catholic cab drivers and bartenders.” It was a comment that elicited a chuckle, but the truth of it was very serious and speaks to the way the Church understands…
Some People think ‘Losing Their Head’ is the Way to Imitate John the Baptist
Was John the Baptist a mere political activist, speaking truth to power? Why did St. john the Baptist survive death threats when Peter wilted at mere questions from bystanders? How and what can we learn from St. John the Baptist on his feast? What does he tell us about religious liberty?
Acrobats, Daredevils, and … “Thank You, Jesus”?
This evening, Discovery Channel aired a two hour special wherein Nik Wallenda walked across the Grand Canyon on a tightrope, with no fall protection. The Wallenda family is several generations deep of acrobats, and tight wire performances. They aren’t amateurs at this sort of performance, but I was taken aback by something different. Besides Joel Osteen being…
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.
