H/T to Kate O'Hare, who linked to these initially puzzling comments from Pope Francis on weapons manufacturing and just warfare: It makes me think one thing: people, leaders, entrepreneurs that call themselves Christians, and produce arms! This gives some mistrust: they call themselves Christians! “No, no, Father, I don’t produce them, no, no .... I only have my savings, my investments in arms factories.” Ah! And why? “Because the interest is somewhat higher ...” And a double face is also a curr … [Read more...]
Pope Francis’s Puzzling Comments on Guns and War: The Clue to Understanding Laudato Si’
June 22, 2015 by
Why It’s Worth Bothering About the Fortnight for Freedom
June 22, 2015 by
Some years ago my grandparents had a chance to fulfill a lifelong dream of visiting Ireland, where some of the ancestors come from. They had a wonderful time, and brought back gifts and enthusiasm, but also this comment: "There's just nothing like the good old USA." Rightly so. Three-quarters* of my grandparents are buried in national cemeteries; they took this freedom business seriously.Father's Day I had the privilege of attending the interment of a beloved father and husband, departed w … [Read more...]
Something Beautiful: A Short Guide to Praying as a Family
June 22, 2015 by
In my mailbox this month: A Short Guide to Praying as a Family, recently released by the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia. I haven't had a chance to read the entire thing yet, but what I've seen thus far is spectacular. Beautiful and useful both.You can read a review here.You can preview the book here.You can order it directly from the sisters here, or from the Catholic Company here.Excellent potential as a discussion-starter for a parents' discipleship group this fall. Cat … [Read more...]
Quick Links – SC, the Confederate Flag, Speaking Out Against Bigotry. Sursum Corda!
June 20, 2015 by
As I write this, there's a rally at the SC Statehouse about to get underway, and you can read what the organizers had planned at Brad Warthen's place. [Tip: He's a good guy to follow for all things SC Politics.]Some quick thoughts and links:1. It's time for the Confederate flag to move all the way off the statehouse grounds.2. I love this photo of the Daughters of St. Paul praying in front of Mother Emmanuel AME Church. Put that in your head as you read Peggy Noonan's tribute to the … [Read more...]
Teenagers Help Prominent Catholics Prepare Response to Laudato Si’ #satire
June 20, 2015 by
Observing the vast numbers of Catholic adults struggling to form concise, clearly-stated arguments against Laudatio Si', youth groups around the nation have mobilized. "It's hard watching my dad struggle to express what it is he really feels about the encyclical," says Justin Callahan, a high school senior and student-leader at St. Insolence parish in Western Reading, New York. "One of the things they teach us at youth leadership seminars is how to help the junior high kids tap into what's r … [Read more...]
The Terrible Problem with Laudato Si’
June 19, 2015 by
"Living our vocation to be protectors of God's handiwork is essential to the life of virtue; it is not an optional or secondary aspect of our Christian experience."Laudato Si' 217 The difficulty, the dreadful, unspeakable, shield-your-eyes difficulty with the Pope's new encyclical on the environment comes down to one nasty problem: The man is right.For the popular press, hoping all this time that Pope Francis would be something new and different, created in the image of The Today Show, t … [Read more...]
On Racism in the American South and the Shock of the Charleston Shootings
June 18, 2015 by
When I first heard about the murders at Mother Emanuel A.M.E. Church down in Charleston, the news was barely onto it. So I went where the reporters were going, which is #CharlestonShooting on Twitter. It's a hashtag that's been used before, for a different white-on-black shooting. If you peruse the comments with any sense of interest in your fellow man, you'll note the race theme real quick. At this writing, half a day later, all the evidence is pointing towards an unequivocally hate- … [Read more...]
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