Blame it on the guns. No, blame the judges who banned Godtalk in schools, along with most lessons about right and wrong. No, our lousy national mental health care system caused this hellish bloodbath. No, the problem is the decay of American families, with workaholic parents chained to their desks while their children grow up in suburban cocoons with too much time on their hands. No, it’s Hollywood’s fault. How can children tell the difference between fantasy and reality when... Read more
Dave Brubeck had a problem and, as a short concert intermission turned into a long and mysterious delay, the jazz master sheepishly came back on stage to make a confession. It seemed that his son Chris had locked his electric bass in a dressing room and the Baylor University stage crew couldn’t find the right key. Without that bass, the Two Generations of Brubeck ensemble — pianist Brubeck backed by sons Chris, Dan on drums and Darius on electric keyboards... Read more
The first question was simple: “Siri, when is Christmas?” After the two-tone “BEED-EEP” chime, the voice of the Apple iPhone responded: “Christmas is on Tuesday, December 25, 2012. I hope I have the day off.” Then matters got complicated: “When is Advent?” Siri searched her memory and said: “I didn’t find any events about ‘Ed Fant.’ ” Trying again: “When is the Advent season?” Siri cheerfully responded: “I am not aware of any events about ‘advent season.’ ” After several... Read more
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the second of two columns on current debates about Holy Matrimony and civil unions. Gay-rights advocates know the formula and so do their opponents: If gay marriage becomes a civil right, then religious believers who dare to defend ancient doctrines on marriage will become de facto segregationists and suffer the legal consequences. The problem for the left is that this happens to be true. “Before we shrug and reply, ‘So what if it’s religious? It’s still... Read more
EDITOR’S NOTE: First of two columns on current debates about Holy Matrimony and civil unions. If the American public has truly changed its mind on marriage, then it’s time for Catholic priests to start saying, “We don’t,” instead of continuing to endorse the government’s right to legislate who gets to say, “I do.” At least, that’s an option that Catholics, and by implication other religious traditionalists, must be willing to consider, according to scholar George Weigel of the Ethics and... Read more
Since the goal was to explore the cultural ties that bind, Father John Kavanaugh asked the young Catholics in a St. Louis classroom a basic civics question: How many national and world leaders could they name? The Jesuit didn’t allow the seventh graders to include celebrities and entertainers, which meant that actor Tom Cruise didn’t make the list. In the end, they ended up with 12 names. “You started off with the pope and the president, of course. Then things... Read more
Popes rarely produce viral sound bites, but legions of Catholic bloggers continue to pass around a quote from Pope Benedict XVI in which he openly blessed the passion that drives them to their keyboards. “Without fear we must set sail on the digital sea facing into the deep with the same passion that has governed the ship of the Church for 2000 years,” he said, in a 2010 Vatican address easily found at YouTube. The goal is to live in... Read more
Political insiders know that the Alfred E. Smith Dinner strives to honor decades of civic and religious traditions. In election years, it’s a tradition that the presidential candidates appear — wearing formal, white-tie attire — and satirize their own public images, while also aiming a few gentle shots at their opponent and the ranks of elite journalists in attendance. Thus, Republican standard-bearer Mitt Romney, with a nod to his Mormon fuddy-duddy reputation, reminded the audience of wine-sipping socialites that, “Usually... Read more
The television talking heads all agreed that the election was over, which ignited celebrations among the staff and supporters of winner Richard Nixon — including the world’s most famous evangelist. “We did it,” proclaimed the Rev. Billy Graham, according to iconoclastic journalist Joe McGinniss in “The Selling of the President 1968.” Graham, he added, went “directly into Nixon’s room, without explaining whether ‘we’ meant Billy Graham and Richard Nixon or Billy Graham and God or perhaps all three together.” Years... Read more
With the White House race nearing an end, it’s time for America’s political pundits to face that fact that millions of voters will in fact be worried about Mitt Romney’s Mormon faith on Election Day. Many will be offended by what they believe are the intolerant, narrow teachings of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on marriage. Others will be worried about Mormonism’s history of opposing abortion rights. “There really is a large group of people in America... Read more
Terry Mattingly
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