Every religious person is always Cletus the Slack-Jawed Yokel. Case in point, New Scientist pondering faith healing. It turns out that people aren’t skeptical about things they aren’t skeptical about, or, as the mag puts it, religious people shut their brains off. The inference is obvious. No word yet on how few neurons are firing when somebody writes “Amen” to on of P.Z. Myers rants or repeats some new meme from Ditchkins in a combox echo chamber. Also, there’s little... Read more

Could you ask your readers to pray for the Rev. Msgr. Harry Jerome? Msgr. Jerome Baptized, Confirmed, and gave my wife First Holy Communion on Holy Saturday the week before he officiated our wedding 9 years ago. He was especially dear to us and we were shocked to hear of his death on 30 April 2010. He died at the age of 72. Father, may his soul and all the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God,... Read more

Could you ask your readers to pray for the Rev. Msgr. Harry Jerome? Msgr. Jerome Baptized, Confirmed, and gave my wife First Holy Communion on Holy Saturday the week before he officiated our wedding 9 years ago. He was especially dear to us and we were shocked to hear of his death on 30 April 2010. He died at the age of 72. Father, may his soul and all the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God,... Read more

there’s this: From the good people at AirMaria. Read more

Here’s a cool 360 degree panoramic video that lets you stand around *inside* a Texas stadium as it’s demolished. Courtesy of these folks. http://demos.immersivemedia.com/data/ClientDistribution/TexasStadium/IMPlayer.swf?config=http://demos.immersivemedia.com/data/ClientDistribution/TexasStadium/config.xml In the immortal words of the Presidents of the United States of America: Poke and destroy!Poke and destroy!Poke and destroy!I’m a boy, I wanna poke and destroy!Poke and destroy!Poke and destroy!Poke and destroy!I’m a boy, I wanna poke and destroy! Read more

Headlines like “Pope, in respite from scandal, visits Turin Shroud“ reminds me of this: The press, for two solid months has attacked the one guy who has done more to deal with this pestilence than anybody else. They leave in their wake a public made vastly more stupid and ignorant about Benedict, full of moral panic and shrill self-righteousness, but not one whit more able to do anything constructive for victims, vast numbers of whom they care nothing about because... Read more

A reader writes: I wanted to give an update to you and your readers on the prayer request I sent in a few weeks ago. At 5:00 on May 1, our son Tobias Joseph was stillborn due to an infection. He was baptized and we will bury him this week next to his sister Natalie Claire. My wife and I thank everyone for their prayers, which I believe helped keep Toby with us this five extra weeks, and will help... Read more

don’t get out much and don’t see or hear about people like Immaculée Ilibagiza. Indeed, such people sometimes get so trapped in their Bubble that they never even find out about Louis Pasteur. Me: Given the choice between a Know-Nothing Libertarian talking hairdo not noted for his philanthropy and the “selfish” Louis Pasteur (who in addition to being a Catholic bent on saving his own butt, was also a doctor whose Catholic faith urged him to save quite a lot... Read more

from literary artists and ruling classes of the Country That Used to be England. Read more

In which we look at the first corporal work of mercy. Read more