This morning, a thousand people stripped to their underwear and ran near-naked through the streets of downtown Detroit. I don’t know how I missed this event last year, but the Cupid Undie Run is apparently big stuff, not only here in Michigan but in cities across America. This isn’t Ann Arbor’s “Naked Mile,” in which a bunch of drunk fraternity boys run through a college town under cover of night, as overwhelmed police look the other way. This is... Read more
Last year, when St. Josaphat Church in Detroit sustained significant damage to its steeple in a windstorm, the parish brought in a company which used a drone to capture close-up views of the damage. I like to visit the places where Detroiters have gathered to pray, and I’ve written before about St. Josaphat here and here, and the effort to restore their steeple and reopen the church. Anyway, Sweetest Heart of Mary is one of three historic churches–along with St.... Read more
Who’s the Daddy? Possible answers: The cable guy, the mailman, the cab driver, the bartender, and the guy at the club. In a story reported on CBS Detroit, a ninth grade biology worksheet asked students to determine, using blood types and DNA possibilities, the identity of a fictional baby’s father. The worksheet was sent home with students at Romeo High School, about 30 miles north of Detroit. The purpose of the assignment was to help students understand the complexities of... Read more
“You either believe all that stuff you say you believe, and you act accordingly, or it’s all a lot of hooey and you’re the hoo-er.” –Elizabeth Scalia I want to chat a bit today about my boss, the editor of the rowdy bunch of Catholics here at Patheos, the indomitable Elizabeth Scalia. Elizabeth is already well known and loved as a writer: Her The Anchoress blog here at Patheos, as well as her columns at First Things and other sites,... Read more
Cardinal Bernardin was not, as some have alleged, soft on abortion. This week the cardinal’s long-time assistant, Mary Hallan FioRito, made that point in a letter published in the Wall Street Journal. I have often heard from ardent pro-lifers that Cardinal Bernardin’s “Seamless Garment” policy did great damage to the cause of the unborn. The “Seamless Garment,” they say, placed abortion on an even plain with poverty and unemployment and immigration—other societal issues which are important but which, according to... Read more
Tell me: Where am I supposed to buy aspirin and sundries now? I’m trying to be politically correct and support consumer sentiment; but my drug store options are shrinking! It’s no longer politically correct to support CVS or Rite-Aid or Walgreens. So where’s a girl supposed to get shampoo and bandaids and birthday cards and the occasional candy bar? CVS PHARMACY Recently I wrote about CVS Pharmacy‘s new plan to discontinue sales of all tobacco products. I was pleased by that positive sign; however,... Read more
Deacon Greg Kandra, over at The Deacon’s Bench, had this story: Gabriel Axel, the director whose 1987 film “Babette’s Feast,” received the first foreign-language Oscar awarded to a Danish motion picture — and heralded a growing popular interest in all things food — has died in Copenhagen at the age of 95. And according to the New York Times obituary, Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, now Pope Francis, told journalists in 2010 that “Babette’s Feast” was his favorite film. It’s my favorite... Read more
Last week on this blog, someone threw a grenade in the combox. It was one of those unsubstantiated rants, something like, “The Catholic Church should take care of its own business. Priests abuse children with much greater frequency than people in other helping professions (teachers, ministers, etc.)” It was blatantly untrue, and I called the writer out on it. The incident reminded me, though, just how much some people still take at face value the untruths and misstatements that are... Read more
Two Italian men protesting Italy’s economic crisis demanded an audience with Pope Francis, threatening to burn themselves to death if their request was denied. One of the protesters, speaking to the Italian newspaper La Repubblica, said, “There’s no work, they don’t give you a home, they don’t give you anything!” The protesters, who claimed to be members of Italy’s “Pitchfork movement,” also demanded to be granted political asylum in the Holy See. The protesters’ plot was foiled by police officers,... Read more
The Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals today upheld a judge’s ruling that North Carolina’s anti-abortion “Choose Life” license plate is unconstitutional. At issue is that there is no plate supporting the competing (pro-abortion) viewpoint. There is no plate which reads “Abortion Is Good” or “Choose Death”. Actually, there were some proposals from the abortion rights side which were proposed but rejected in 2011, when North Carolina lawmakers approved the “Choose Life” plate. Rejected proposals included a “Trust Women” plate... Read more
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