Introduction and Part II “Evil is a passion adherent to matter, but God is not the cause of evil. He has given men knowledge and understanding, the power of discriminating between good and evil, and free will.”[1] We are culpable for the evil we do; we follow our passions out of “negligence and indolence.”[2] We must understand that this is true for all which do evil. Whether it is some fallen human or devil, all evil is “a result of... Read more
Two weekends ago, I spent a lot of time driving. Since I don’t regularly listen to the radio, I decided to tune into Catholic radio stations as much as possible, to get a representative sample of the content. I was very surprised with what I heard: I enjoyed Fr. Benedict Groeschel’s reflections on St. Augustine; I was annoyed by the pious lingo (something like the Catholic “shop talk” I’ve heard on retreat core teams or at Franciscan University of Steubenville... Read more
There seems to be a lot of confusion over non-US legal systems and some intentional attempts to exploit prejudices in this regard. There have been claims that there isn’t a presumption of innocence, which facially isn’t true. Of course people make the argument that the presumption of innocence is a formality and in practice defendants are considered guilty until proven otherwise. This argument is made about the US justice system, and this is the type of argument being made against... Read more
Last Monday’s Republican debate at St. Anselm’s College in New Hampshire was billed by CNN as the first major event of the 2012 presidential campaign. The choice of a Benedictine institution was weirdly appropriate because the debate also kicked off our quadrennial Catholic scrap over electoral politics. A year from now, the battle will be fully engaged. The two camps will have emerged from their respective quarters to savage each other on the deck of the ship of state, contending... Read more
The story has made the rounds of two twin brothers, Franciscan friars, who died within hours of one another at the ripe age of 92. A beautiful obituary has been published in the NY Times. They are exemplars of being “minores”, least brothers, and should be an inspiration not only for Franciscans but for all who want to live poor and humble, walking in the footsteps of Christ. From the opening: They were like paired birds of Franciscan brown.... Read more
Vox Nova is happy to present this guest post by Father Greg Mayers C.Ss.R. Many of us here at Vox Nova are interested in the work of Rene Girard. Father Mayers gives those unfamiliar with Girard a useful introduction in what follows. There is a new theory out about how we became human, how the transition happen between a higher primate species and the human species. The theory is not in competition with the theory of evolution, which is a... Read more
I recently returned from Twickenham, England, the home of Catholic satirist Alexander Pope, where I gave a workshop titled “How Far Can We Go? Talking to Young People about Physical Intimacy,” at the 3rd International Theology of the Body Symposium. It was a very fruitful experience. Apart from making all kinds of interesting connections with other conference participants, I had my thoughts on several issues stimulated by the excellent feedback I received in the Q & A sessions of my workshops. ... Read more
When Christ gathers the nations at the Last Judgement, I imagine that the first thing He will say to America is, “Did you betray Me with a kiss?” America likes to think of itself as a nation uniquely destined by God Almighty to establish justice in the world. Ancient Rome, the Rome of the Caesars, thought of itself the same way, but the United States has, from a Christian perspective, done far worse: Rome merely claimed the Pantheon of Greek/Roman... Read more
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I thought the question of altar girls had been settled twenty years ago. In the face of mass disobedience by pastors and parishes in the United States and Europe, abetted by bishops who either quietly encouraged the practice or turned a blind eye to it, the Vatican allowed altar girls in the early 1990’s. There was much wailing and gnashing of teeth by conservatives at the time, but it quickly died down. Now, however, the question has appeared again, in... Read more
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