It almost sounds like a joke, right? “Stop me if you’ve heard this one, before: A man carrying some Chick-fil-A swag, a coupla rounds of ammo and a gun goes into the Family Research Center and…”: A suspect is in FBI custody after a security guard was shot in the lobby of the Family Research Council, a conservative Christian organization based in downtown D.C. Authorities are calling the guard a hero for wrestling the gun away from the shooter and... Read more
Whenever my younger son is particularly happy he lets out with a dazzling grin and it always thrills me, because I recognize therein my grandmother’s smile. She died when I was ten years old, but practically at the moment of his birth, I recognized her distinctive mouth and smile in him. I frequently marvel at the fact that I see in him something of a person he never knew, and that in my grandmother, I’d been seeing a feature that... Read more
When Mitt Romney selected the Catholic Paul Ryan to be his running mate, he probably thought it would lock in “the Catholic vote” in one neat move. He couldn’t possibly understand that what he’s really done is revealed a few trenchant truths about Catholics in America, to whit: 1) We are not monolithic in our thinking. This should not surprise anyone; a quick Facebook turn through the timelines of Catholics in-various-degrees-of-obedience to Rome will demonstrate keenly that Catholics run the... Read more
Deacon Greg is probably one of the least “political” writers at Patheos, but he is still a newsman and his Catholic perspective has him rounding up articles on Paul Ryan and also culling specific Ryan/Catholic issues from the headlines, like this one: Ryan’s Budget a “Quandary” for some Catholics” Meanwhile, just in time for the electoral season (and destined to live beyond it), Patheos has created a sort of one-stop landing page for all of your “mixing my faith with... Read more
I expect this story will go down the media memory hole very quickly, but I have to say, this female frat-house business rings true for me: Soon after Schriro and Barr were hired in January 2009, male staffers were treated like lapdogs, Hayes claims. Barr “moved the entire contents of the offices of three employees, including name plates, computers and telephones, to the men’s bathroom at ICE headquarters,” the suit says. Barr also stole a male staffer’s BlackBerry and fired... Read more
My Photo, Rome, 2010 I’ve said before that were I not a Benedictine I would probably be a Dominican. They have so many cool tertiaries (Hello, Pier Giorgio and Catherine of Siena!). So, in honor of the feastday of St. Benedict, let’s hear about the meaning of the Dominican habit — which is essentially unchanged since its beginnings — from some of his spiritual children who take delight in wearing it: Brother Lew, OP, gives us the garment’s history (and... Read more
In honor of Saint Dominic, the Dominican Nuns of Summit, NJ are giving us an opportunity to stock up on their wonderful soaps, cremes, room sprays, books and more, from their online Cloister Shoppe: TWO DAY SALE August 7-8 ENDS MIDNIGHT 8/8 20% off orders over $25 Put in dominic20 in the coupon box at checkout. Excludes wholesale and sale items. I need to order some more of their excellent liquid hand soap, which my family loves, and their hand... Read more
I know I’ve been very quiet — sorry about that — I am feverishly working on a deadlined-project and hope to be back to normal output in another day or so…if I survive. In the midst of that project, though, I did manage to put together a little column for First Things. Something sort of fun, and sort of light, because there are only a few brain cells left: A gift for wordplay is the sign of an active, engaged... Read more
Longtime Patheos readers are familiar with Father Michael Duffy, although they may remember him best as Seminarian Michael Duffy, who shared with them his thoughts on the clerical collar as both yoke and witness and the seminary as seedbed for lifelong growth. Deacon Greg noted his June 9th ordination for the Diocese of Rockville Centre, and today we welcome him as our newest blogger as he launches “Father, Where Art Thou?”; A Newly-Minted Priest Explores His Fatherhood. By beginning the... Read more
(Image courtesy of shutterstock.com) Over at Egregious Twaddle, Joanne McPort asks (and answers) whether the church can survive the times: The received narrative paints a Church disproportionately and irreconcilably divided between The People, a vast international sea of those who reject doctrinal pronouncements, tradition, and authority in favor of relevance, inclusivity, and individual conscience, and The Bishops (among whom the Pope is just one of the boys), a tiny aged and withering cabal of whited sepulchers fanatically and fruitlessly clinging... Read more
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