Once again, shocked onlookers painted from familiar palettes as they described the latest young man to march into the public square with his guns blazing. The alleged killer was a moody, quiet loner who excelled at school. He was a normal guy who loved movies and super-hero tales, only he cheered for the villains. When seen in bars, he was usually sitting alone. Journalists also quoted people who knew the family and said that James Holmes was once, as The... Read more
At the altar, the priest extends his hands over the bread and wine, then makes the sign of the Cross and leads worshippers into the most sacred moments of the Mass. The prayer is familiar: “To you, therefore, most merciful Father, we make humble prayer and petition through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord: that you accept these holy and unblemished sacrifices, which we offer you firstly for your holy catholic Church.” The atmosphere is reverent, or it’s supposed to... Read more
When describing his painting “Candlelight Cottage,” the late Thomas Kinkade said its “candlelight has a cozy, intimate quality — especially when it’s suffused in the soft mist of this fine English evening.” Actually, the cottage windows are glowing so brightly that the entire interior appears to be in flames. This painting, noted National Catholic Register critic Simcha Fisher in 2011, only makes sense as “a depiction of an oncoming storm, with heavy smog in some spots and total visibility just... Read more
A New Orleans preacher, preaching to a New Orleans crowd, can expect a few “Amens!” if he quotes lyrics from Billie Holiday’s bluesy “God Bless the Child” while talking about God’s love for sinners who get saved. But what if he’s preaching at the pastors’ conference before the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention? All the people said, “Amen!” What really mattered was that the preacher was the Rev. Fred Luter and his turbo-charged call for salvation and social... Read more
Here’s good news for President Barack Obama: The slice of Americans who believe he is a Muslim is down to 11 percent, according to a new Gallup Poll. That number was up to 18 percent two years ago, in a Pew Research Center survey, after hitting 11 percent in 2009. This time around, 52 percent of Democrats knew the president is a Protestant Christian, as opposed to 24 percent of Republicans. Only 3 percent of Democrats said Obama is a... Read more
Christopher Kerzich is preparing to permanently embrace a truly retro, timeless look. The basics — black jacket, black pants and black shirt — will be stark and radical, providing a kind of “this is who I am” vibe. Black fedoras, scarves and long overcoats are optional. For accessories, he’ll have a silver cross and a white collar. In other words, Kerzich is a seminarian at the North American College in Rome, preparing for his 2014 ordination as Catholic priest in... Read more
Gay activist Dan Savage went straight for the jugular in his recent remarks on bullying at a national conference for high-school journalists. The problem, he said, is the Bible. To state the matter in terms that can be used in family newspapers, the sex-advice columnist repeatedly proclaimed that the Bible contains far too much bovine excrement. “People often point out that they can’t help … with the anti-gay bullying, because it says right there in Leviticus, it says right there... Read more
The ratification of the 18th Amendment banning the manufacture, transportation or sale of alcoholic beverages had obvious implications for Catholic priests and Jewish rabbis, as well as for tavern owners. Thus, legislators wrote an exemption into the bill that defined the Prohibition era allowing the sacramental or medicinal use of alcoholic beverages. The wine on Catholic altars and Jewish Seder tables remained real — thanks to the Volstead Act’s fine print. “If the act had failed to exempt wine for... Read more
With the sounds of protests echoing across the campus, President Barack Obama knew his 2009 commencement address at the University of Notre Dame would have to mention the religious issues that divided his listeners. “The ultimate irony of faith is that it necessarily admits doubt,” he said. “It is beyond our capacity as human beings to know with certainty what God has planned for us or what He asks of us.” With this sweeping statement Obama essentially argued that religious... Read more
St. Ignatius Loyola was clear from the beginning that a Jesuit education would involve more than texts and classrooms, teaching that students should “absorb along with their letters the morals worthy of a Christian.” Thus, the motto of the Society of Jesus can be found in gilded letters across the front of Georgetown University’s famous Gaston Hall: “Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam Inque Hominum Salutem (For the Greater Glory of God and the Salvation of Humanity).” In other words, a Jesuit... Read more
Terry Mattingly
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In