In a nutshell – the benefits package under Obama comes “without abortion” services and under Romney is “with abortion services”. Funny how you don’t hear much about that from Catholic Vote and fellow travelers, isn’t it? Read more
In a nutshell – the benefits package under Obama comes “without abortion” services and under Romney is “with abortion services”. Funny how you don’t hear much about that from Catholic Vote and fellow travelers, isn’t it? Read more
Joseph Ratzinger and James Alison are two of my favorite living theologians. Both are men of towering intellect whose profound creativity and lucid exposition are capable of making Christian doctrine come alive to the contemporary reader. Both are ecclesially-minded and deeply traditional at heart while at the same time being capable of new articulations that keep the tradition fresh and meaningful. Besides their similar gifts and temperment, Alison (the younger of the two by almost two generations) seems to have... Read more
I was going to pass on this topic since this topic was well discussed in posts by brettsalkeld, samrocha, and Henry Karlson. But I recently discovered that a colleague of mine, Vijay Prashad, a professor of international studies, had been making extensive comments about this in the press. His thoughtful (though controversial) opinions have provoked a serious right-wing backlash, beginning with a smear attack by Bill O’Reilly and continuing with hate mail and threats. So I am making this post... Read more
Fr. Rhonheimer has written an extensive clarification of his views on the ideas of “continuity in reform” which I posted on on earlier. I find his arguments much more lucid in this post, and I think they provide a useful framework for analyzing other ruptures and discontinuities that have emerged or are emerging in the Church, such as usury, slavery, capital punishment, the just war theory, etc. Read more
S.L. Frank, The Meaning of Life. Trans. Boris Jakim (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2010). “Love is the foundation of all human life, its very essence; and if, in the world, human beings appear to themselves to be isolated and self-enclosed fragments of being which must assert themselves at the cost of other lives, by contrast, human beings who have found their genuine essence in the world-embracing unity are conscious of the fact that without love there... Read more
We all know the issues, and we all know the inconsistencies. John Boehner speaks at Catholic University, with barely any fuss, while a similar visit by Obama to Notre Dame caused great ruptures. This story is covered well by Michael Sean Winters and our friends at Faith in Public Life. In both cases, we have prominent national leaders who deviate from core aspects of Catholic social teaching in certain areas. But we are told that one is rock-solid “non-negotiable” and... Read more
Every new mom learns pretty quick that her life as she has known it has ended and a new chapter has begun. One of the easiest means of this discovery besides the lack of sleep, and constant feedings, is when she looks down at her new, clean, shirt that she has been fortunate enough to change into, much to her dismay, she sees baby spit up, or snot rubbed on the shoulders or the front. After awhile, the dismay turns... Read more
There is a rather outrageous political piece on Crisis Magazine by John Zmirak called “Amnesty Equals Abortion.” The point of it is to say that if and when we give amnesty to illegal immigrants, they will support pro-choice Democrats in elections. If more pro-choice Democrats get into office, we will see an increase in abortions. Therefore, amnesty equals abortion. My initial reply said what the title of this post was this (more…) Read more
There has been a lot of noise made about the doctrine of hell lately. And, of course, the standard arguments are made: a loving God wouldn’t damn anyone vs. a loving God gives us freedom (through which we may damn ourselves) so that we may genuinely love in return. For the record, I’m with Father Barron and his articulation of hell, which puts me squarely in the second camp. I am also quite sympathetic to the articulations of Kyle Cupp... Read more
Catholic News Service recently had a brief report on a conference at Catholic University of America on Rerum Novarum, Leo XIII’s encyclical on labor and capitalism. I was struck by two quotes from John Sweeney, former head of the AFL-CIO, who was one of the keynote speakers: “Let us remind our entire church that ‘Rerum Novarum’ is not a cafeteria of suggestions and ideas from which we are free to pick and choose, but the modern expression of an unbroken... Read more
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