Lifesite News, the people who drafted Benedict XVI into their private war on Harry Potter, are upset because people are “some choice pull-quotes” from the new encyclical in order to distort his message. Read more

In this week’s “manufacturing consent” moment, the NY Times conducts an interview with Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader and never stops for one second to pause over her open and naked eugenics enthusiasm: Q: Are you talking about the distances women have to travel because in parts of the country, abortion is essentially unavailable, because there are so few doctors and clinics that do the procedure? And also, the lack of Medicaid for abortions for poor women? JUSTICE GINSBURG: Yes,... Read more

I am asking you and your readers for prayers. A friend of mine is in imminent danger of turning her back on the religious vocation she embraced some years ago. Please pray fervently for her! Father, hear our prayer for your daughter, that your will for her be made clear and that she find the grace to follow it through our Lord Jesus. Mother Mary, pray for your daughter and obtain this grace for her. Remember, O most gracious Virgin... Read more

Fr. Dwight Longenecker is coming your way! Read more

“Every major religion’s texts were written at a time when women were regarded as little better than talking cattle.” As I have said before, one of the things contempt does it blind us to the thing we hold in contempt. No effort is made to understand what is we hold in contempt because we imagine that, being contemptible, it is not worth understanding. That may work if something is genuinely contemptible. But if it’s not (as for instance, “religion” is... Read more

A reader writes: I don’t know, this just strikes me as odd. This site at CNN is headlined, “Pope Challenges Capitalism Ahead of G-8“. The thing is that I have the encyclical on a Word Doc and when I do a word search of the entire thing, “Capitalism” never comes up. My reader fails to appreciate the sport of encyclical reading. The goal is not to find out what the encyclical says or (Heaven forfend!) learn from it. The goal... Read more

I was recently introduced to your blog “Catholic and Enjoying it!” and thought you might be interested in the ideals and activities promoted by The Foundation for Sacred Arts. The Foundation for Sacred Arts is a Catholic non-profit organization that has been founded to stimulate a renewed vibrancy in the patronage and production of Christian sacred arts (art, architecture, music); and to advance the pursuit of excellence in conformity with truth, goodness, and beauty in these arts; for the glory... Read more

George Weigel’s preposterous attempt at subjecting the new encyclical to JEPD exegesis continues to garner all the plaudits it deserves from people who are not dedicated to hacking away at it until it says what NRO wants it to say. From early notices which hail his deeply respectful assessment of the encyclical as “duck-billed platypus” as “arrogant“, to later assessments like “Shorter George Weigel: The only parts of the Pope’s new encyclical that really matter are the ones that line... Read more

I take it from the feedback on the previous post that most people got my point, so I’m happy. However, a few people had various questions/comments that I thought worth noting. One person asked: According to what I’ve read on liberal sites, serious commentators are attacking what they perceive to be Palin exploiting her children as political props. I don’t know whether I agree with that view, so don’t attack me–I’m merely reporting that view and inviting you to respond.... Read more

Various folk in my comboxes are mad at me because I don’t think Sarah Palin is the Savior of the GOP. One guy (whose post full of vituperation and name-calling was sadly deleted) freaked out in a particularly memorable way and, before bravely signing off anonymously as “Sick of Shea’s BS” wrote: “I can’t read this blog. It’s worse than the pro-abort websites. Dishonest scum like Shea make me ashamed to be Catholic.” All because I posted a Tom Tomorrow... Read more