I was doing some research for an article on the statue of Baphomet which was unveiled in Detroit last weekend when I discovered some very interesting details. For those of you who are not up to speed, the Satanic Temple unveiled a nine foot statue of Baphomet–or Satan. As I looked at the image and read up on it I saw that the Devil is portrayed as transgender or androgynous. Rising from his lap is the pagan Caduceus–the rod with... Read more

As I predicted, the public relations machine at Planned Parenthood are now portraying themselves as being “harassed” by “a concerted smear campaign orchestrated by the most extreme elements of the anti-choice activists.” They object to the fact that the David Dalieden and the Center for Medical Progress spent years allegedly putting together a fake company, falsifying documents and lying about who they really were. It’s easy enough to pick up that hand grenade and lob it back. Planned Parenthood was... Read more

My article for Imaginative Conservative this week is a review of my visit to Norcia and the monks’ marvelous new CD In June, I was blessed to visit Italy for a week. As we made our way from the rough and tumble of Rome down the winding roads of Umbria, the peace of the Italian countryside began to sink in. We were headed to Norcia to visit a former student who is a novice at the newly re-established monastery there.... Read more

Have you noticed how many Catholics seem to have forgotten purgatory? When a loved one dies they say, “Aunt Hilda has gone to be with the Lord” or “Daddy is in heaven now.” or they comfort the bereaved by saying, “George is with his beloved Gladys now.” or at Catholic funerals the preacher consoles the loved ones with talk about the departed being in heaven now. This isn’t Catholic. It’s Protestant. Most Protestants believe in the Calvinist doctrine of eternal... Read more

This week’s article for Aleteia is a meditation on how Pope Francis reflects the virtues of Saint Francis St. Francis is loved by both Catholics and non-Catholics alike because his life too, was one of significant and prophetic action. He was a poet and prophet through the simplicity of his life, the power of his example and the witness of his action. This too has a deeper spiritual significance because at the heart of the Christian message is the truth... Read more

Fascinated by the Center for Medical Progress weekly Planned Parenthood videos? Get ready for the sequel of the summer blockbuster: Planned Parenthood: the Victim. I’ve already spotted these lines in news reports: “It’s Going to be a Long Summer for Planned Parenthood” and “Planned Parenthood Endures a Decade of Harassment” UPDATE: The New York Times has finally reported on the story with an opinion piece which predictably casts Planned Parenthood as the victim: The Campaign of Deception Against Planned Parenthood Jonathan... Read more

Last week’s Planned Parenthood video featured Dr Deborah Nucatola explaining in detail how she “crushes here” and “crushes there” using ultrasound to help position her forceps so she can keep the baby’s internal organs intact for be “re-imbursed” later. Now we have Dr Mary Gatter discussing how she will instruct her doctor to use a “Less crunchy” method of abortion to keep the internal organs intact for later financial “compensation.” These are both professional, educated American women discussing quite calmly... Read more

  Center for Medical Progress have released their second video catching Planned Parenthood top executives in the sale of baby parts. This time the person discussing the price for baby livers is Dr Mary Gatter. She states that it is “not all about the money” but she haggles for top dollar and laughs about “wanting a Lamborghini.” She also outlines, like her colleague Dr Deborah Nucatola, how they alter the abortion technique in order to get specimens that are suitable... Read more

My post for Imaginative Conservative website this week explores the possibility of religious groups having their tax exempt status removed because of their policies on marriage. As a Catholic priest, who is also a graduate of Bob Jones University (BJU), I caught with interest Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito’s question when oral arguments about same-sex marriage were being heard in May. Justice Alito referred to the 1983 case in which the Supreme Court decided that Bob Jones University’s ban on... Read more

Do you remember this detail from Sunday’s Mass gospel? He instructed them to take nothing for the journey but a walking stick— no food, no sack, no money in their belts. They were, however, to wear sandals but not a second tunic. What was our Lord thinking about? Was he trying to set up a kind of proto Franciscan order? Did he mean they should really have a walking stick, nothing for the journey, no food, no sack, no money... Read more