Yes, I said it, but I count myself among the mad, so that’s okay. I said it, and a lot more, to America magazine’s Sean Salai, S.J., even though — and this is the honest truth — I’m not sure how I even got on his radar. Following his terrific interviews with Camille Paglia and Romanus Cessario, I feel very much like an off-speed pitch. [Aside – Yes, I know I’ve been using a lot of baseball analogies, lately; I’m... Read more
You may have noticed a disturbance in the atmosphere. Or the appearance of arguments backed up with numbers and statistics. Do not be afraid. It is just the Catholic Channel, expanding again, to accommodate two new bloggers, Larry D’s Acts of the Apostasy, which strikes out in satire, and Jane the Actuary’s um…Jane, the Actuary, which brings a mind locked into the logic of numbers to bear on subjects as disparate as politics and prayer. Larry really is a satirist.... Read more
She explains why, over at The Daily Beast: It is true that I feel intimidated by a conservative culture that seems intent on creating boundaries around Christianity rather than open doors. But it is also true that I wrote this article knowing that at least a few of them will probably like it—some might even tell me it needed to be written. The image of Christianity and progressivism as a newly hip fusion genre—it’s fucking edgy, man—is a strong siren... Read more
I meant to write about this earlier this week, but I got distracted by something stupid and ultimately not worth my time. This, however, is worth your time, and not at all stupid: a terrific piece from Lisa Hendey, who looks at female Catholic bloggers and how their motivations and sense of mission can evolve as they move forward: In an age when many discount the role of women in the Church, I hold an opposite perspective, one edified by... Read more
No one could have been more surprised than me to hear it. At the 2015 CPAC Bloggerbash, this blog — your little ol’ Anchoress — was named Blogger of the Year. I mean, seriously, when the tireless Dr. Melissa Clouthier called me up to wonder if I could swing down real quick and accept it, she can confirm that my first response a “say whuuuuut?” that could have placed me in the middle of Arlen, Texas. I couldn’t make it... Read more
Regular readers know I’ve said this often and since at least 2008: the inability of the West to acknowledge Islamic extremism with a fluent language of faith — their apparent feeling that modern secularist enlightenment can handle events invoking and inviting supernatural forces — means they lack the means to fully address an evil that will be dissuaded by neither bombs nor sanctions. Today, in a follow-up to his earlier piece, “What ISIS really wants”, Graeme Wood presents some reader... Read more
ISIS, having seriously misread the effect of their last bloody theatrical, have taken nearly 100 Christian hostages from several Syrian villages. Islamic State militants have abducted at least 90 people from Assyrian Christian villages in northeastern Syria, a monitoring group that tracks violence in Syria said on Tuesday. The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the militants carried out dawn raids on rural villages inhabited by the ancient Christian minority west of Hasaka, a city mainly held by the... Read more
On Scott Walker and the absolutely absurd media histrionics concerning his refusal to both take responsibility for Rudy Giuliani’s comments, and also confirm President Obama’s Christianity for the world, I can’t help wondering, why does the press seem to want and need Obama to be a Christian? I don’t remember them much caring for it that Dubya was one. The answer to whether or not someone believes President Obama (or anyone) is a Christian is really simple. If I were... Read more
In a manner of speaking, anyway. A parishioner from a parish in Maine sent me a link to a live-streamed video of their Ash Wednesday mass, wherein the priest jumps off of the Ash Wednesday homily I have said I would give, if I ever had the chance. Check it out (homily begins at about 18:30) and let me know what you think! And since I’m talking about me and Ash Wednesday, I might as well go the full-on “shameless... Read more
I don’t know why but I just can’t bring myself to produce my annual “Suggested Lenten Reading and Resources” post. It’s not that I have no recommendations; like a vaudeville comedian, “I got a million of ’em.” I just have no head for gathering it all together in one spot. I think I need to shake things up, do something different. Maybe the Holy Spirit wants me to hit precise targets — make sure certain people see certain books —... Read more
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