5 Things You Can Do Right Now as ISIS Threatens Iraqi Christians and Shiites – UPDATE

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 12:25 am By Elizabeth Scalia

The headlines are coming fast and furious, and they are horrifying: Execution or Exodus: Iraqi Christians face grim choice Iraq is heading towards a humanitarian, cultural and historical disaster Jihadists seize Iraq monastery A Desperate Cry from Iraqi Christians Religious Freedom in Peril “ISIS took the keys of their convent in Mosul.” ISIS Attacks 1800 Year Old Christian Church, And Completely Burn It Down And Destroy It ISIS in Mosul, Iraq “No aid to Christians and Shiites” Pleading at the... Read more

The Good, the Bad and the Legal

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 12:25 am By Ben Conroy

Ireland was up in front of the UN Committee on Human Rights last week, and received something of a shellacking for our alleged record of human rights violation. A good deal of it was entirely deserved, but when committee members started saying that Ireland’s anti-abortion laws (still relatively strong, though recently weakened) were in violation of International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (one of two 1966 treaties that put into force the Universal Declaration of Human Rights), my eyebrows... Read more

That Hillary Doesn’t Realize She’s Over Says a Lot About Her

Last updated on: July 30, 2015 at 9:48 pm By Elizabeth Scalia

Well, we’ve been watching the roll-out of Hillary Clinton’s latest Coy Presidential Campaign that Pretends Not to Be, and if Bertie Wooster were assessing it, he’d likely say that so far “it’s come up a smeller.” Despite President Obama’s assertion that at some point (around half a million bucks a year or so) one has earned enough money, many of Hillary’s verbal gaffes have centered around her apparent belief that she still needs to scrape and save and make do,... Read more

The Carmelite Nuns of Compiègne Wore Priestly Collars

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 12:25 am By Elizabeth Scalia

As with the Martyrdom of St. Charles Lwanga and his companions we today remember a group of martyrs whose story is not nearly as well-known as it should be. And as with Lwanga and the Ugandan martyrs, the martyrdom of the Carmelite nuns of Compiègne speaks urgently to our own age, and offers instruction: After the fall of the constitutional monarchy and the execution of King Louis XVI in 1792, Maximilien Robespierre created rituals to honor the Cult of the... Read more

Homosexuality, Celibacy and Partnership: An Awkward Question

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 12:25 am By Ben Conroy

Guest Blogger: BEN CONROY I don’t need to tell anyone that the Catholic Church’s relationship with gay people has been a fraught one. But I don’t think it’s pollyannaish or foolishly optimistic to say that there are intimations, signs, and beginnings of a better approach to the whole question, one that is consistent with both orthodox teaching and the lived experience of gay people. It’s been led by a group of gay Catholics – like Eve Tushnet, Aaron Taylor, Gabriel... Read more

Changing Hearts, Minds, and ‘Senses’

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 12:25 am By Ben Conroy

In the last post, we talked about ‘senses’, the gut feelings, unquestioned assumptions, and ‘unknown unknowns’ that frame our thoughts and beliefs, often deciding what we choose to accept and reject. We concluded by posing some questions: How do people form and change their narratives, their “senses”, their social imaginaries? Can it even be done? How can we know our unknown unknowns, anyway? And aren’t Catholics as sense-bound as the next guy? Not being Damon Lindelof, I try to make... Read more

Benedictine Hospitality in Israel

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 12:25 am By Elizabeth Scalia

Thanks to an oxygen-depriving case of pneumonia that cut the trip short, too many of my memories of Israel reside in a nebulous haze that has prevented me from writing about my experiences there. On this great feastday of Saint Benedict of Nursia, however, my Oblate’s heart cannot help but share with you the experiences of Benedictine hospitality with which I was blessed and graced, even during so short a visit. The first occurred in Tabgha, at the Church of... Read more

Outwitting the Language Assassins (SYNOD)

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 12:25 am By Ben Conroy

Greetings to one and to all! Guest blogger Ben Conroy here. First of all, a go raibh míle maith agat to the magnificent Anchoress that is as heartfelt as it may be cheesy. It’s an overwhelming honour to be posting here, and I will do my very best to live up to the ludicrously generous introduction Elizabeth has given me. As the Patheos Catholic Channel’s Synodal Summer Symposium draws to a close, I keep thinking of the passage from Mary... Read more

US Bank “Blessing” Brouhaha; Not a Hill to Die On? – UPDATE

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 12:25 am By Elizabeth Scalia

Over at Kathy Shiffer’s place, she links to a story about a woman who goes beyond “Have a Nice Day!” and is suing US Bank, for her “right” to do so. Except, from the story at Christian Today, it kinda sounds like this woman was making a pest of herself and her faith, not merely wishing blessings but putting people on the spot, too: The former Walton branch employee had worked for the bank for over 20 years. She said... Read more

The Sickly Anchoress, Getting an Assist from Ireland

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 12:25 am By Elizabeth Scalia

So, this is how things happen, sometimes: Leah Libresco mentioned on Facebook that she would be heading to Ireland with her mother, and wondered if anyone would be interested in having her speak to their group while she was there. Naturally, because she is an endlessly interesting young woman who has countered the culture in a most public way, people did want to engage as you can see here. I am not her agent but one young Irishman, seeking to... Read more