UPDATED POST When I was an Anglican I remember one of the stories that came out of a Lambeth Conference (the once a decade meeting of all Anglican bishops in Canterbury) An Episcopalian bishop got into an argument with an African over homosexuality. He finally said to the African in a patronizing, snooty Anglican way, “When you Africans become a bit more sophisticated and educated you will also come to a more subtle understanding of human sexuality.” The African retorted,... Read more

In 2004 Dr Irving Weissman, director of the Stanford Institute of Stem Cell Biology and Regnerative Medicine injected brain cells from aborted human fetuses into the developing brains of healthy mice where the cells grew into normal human neurons. The popular press called it he “StuartLittle Experiment”after the children’s book character who is a feisty humanoid mouse. Was Weissman trying to create some sort of science fiction mouse-human monster? No. He said that allowing the mice to develop into adults... Read more

I remember a curmudgeonly priest once shocking me by saying, “Women have a place in the church…on their knees…either scrubbing the floor or praying.” Errm. Maybe or maybe not. In fact, although ordination is reserved to men in the Catholic Church, my article for Aletia this week shows that ministry of women in the Catholic Church is growing in a remarkable and positive way. In his recent book, The Future Church: How Ten Trends Are Revolutionizing the Catholic Church, veteran church... Read more

One hears rumbles and grumbles from time to time about priests who think they know better than the church and treat the liturgy like a suggestion rather than a script. You know the sort of priest who feels that he has to improve the language of the liturgy by “making it more understandable” Others are desperate to make Mass more entertaining. Insecure souls who long for the adulation of their audience, they jazz up the music and change the words... Read more

There are some very clear reasons why Catholics don't evangelize, and they are difficulties that run right to the foundation of our understanding and practice of the faith. Read more

Memo: from: His Eminence, Thornblade, DMn President and Director of Communications Department of Infernal Security Re-Education Division   to: Heads of Department – Bowelbages University CONFIDENTIAL Diabolical Doctors, It has come to our attention that there has been a dangerous lapse in security. Our surveillance systems have been compromised, and transcripts of lectures and conversations have fallen into enemy hands. Be reminded that you are responsible for all listening devices, drones, security cameras, two-way mirrors, monitoring systems and third-party observation... Read more

My latest blog post for National Catholic Register discusses the inner dynamic of prayer: What is it and why does it work? When we pray for specific things we are putting it all into God’s hands. We may say, “Give us this day our daily bread” but we also say, “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” When we do both together we join our will with God’s will and great power can be the result.... Read more

You remember the three “R’s” of “Readin’ Writin’ and “Rithmatic”? Consider three “R’s” that are tearing apart global Anglicanism: Relevance, Relativism and Revolution. Edward Pentin writes here about the formal schism that faces the worldwide Anglican Communion. To put it briefly, the modernists in the Anglican Church are facing a widespread walkout by those who adhere to historic Christianity. The big issue this time is homosexuality. The liberal Anglican churches of the UK, USA and Canada are ramping up their... Read more

My latest post for The Imaginative Conservative website asks who the mysterious character Tom Bombadil from Lord of the Rings is supposed to be or represent… One of the mysteries of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings is the character of Tom Bombadil. Who is this odd, hill-leaping, silly-song-singing, farmer in the dell? Is this cavorting, yellow-booted bumpkin a darling that Tolkien could not kill, a rustic mechanical who simply had to have a part in the great saga? Was Bombadil no... Read more

Satan is a snake. Remember that. He is a liar and the Father of Lies. He is at work in your life trying to tempt you into sin and to draw you away from God, but he is also at work in the world, trying to deceive you, confuse you. He wants you to lose your faith and turn away from God. Here are ten of his tricks. Watch them and be aware of what he is up to. 1. Relativism –... Read more