Quote of the Week: Vladimir Soloviev On Muhammad

Last updated on: January 27, 2010 at 6:42 am By Henry Karlson

Constantine the Great and Charlemagne suggest themselves for comparison. They were both religious-political actors, just as Muhammad was. All three connected their politics with religion, wrote laws and conducted wars in the name of God; all three understood religion as a practical principal, as the foundation for a sociopolitical unification of people; all three were representatives of well-known theocratic ideals, and each of them left after himself a certain theocratic organization. According to personal qualities, all three were people candidly... Read more

Dorothy Day interview videos

Last updated on: January 26, 2010 at 11:21 pm By Iafrate Michael

Thank you to the Vox Nova reader who notified us about two rare Dorothy Day interviews from the 1970s that he posted on YouTube. (more…) Read more

¡No le aflojes!

Last updated on: January 26, 2010 at 4:16 pm By Sam Rocha

In loving memory of Andres Rocha (1913 – 2010). Requiescat in pace. No le aflojes mijo. Don’t let up son. These were last words I heard my Abuelito Rocha say to me. He died a peaceful death in his home yesterday at 2 o’clock. He was born in 1913 on a horse ranch in south Texas. He was one of the last vaqueros of the mythic American West. But his life was not a rosy myth. He worked hard for... Read more

Orwell, You Were 16 Years Off

Last updated on: January 26, 2010 at 9:20 am By Henry Karlson

Big Brother Bush. He was watching over us. Protecting us. Doing whatever was needed to keep us safe. And now his advocacy of the culture of death has given him a pro-life award! As reported by LifesiteNews: Jannuary 7, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Legatus, a membership organization for Catholic business leaders, will present President George W. Bush with its prestigious Cardinal John J. O’Connor Pro-Life Award at its annual Summit, Feb. 4-6, in Dana Point, Calif. Previous recipients of the award... Read more

9 Months For Marriage Prep?!?!?!

Last updated on: January 25, 2010 at 11:53 pm By M.Z.

Over at Father Zuhlsdorf’s blog WDTPRS, there is an interesting discussion over Bishop Olmsted deciding the Diocese of Phoenix will require 9 months of marriage prep. As one who married outside the church, I just have to say this is insane. Additionally, a full NFP course will be on the menu. Nothing says I love you more than asking the woman you love to get married, so that you can have sex and avoid pregnancy. (more…) Read more

It’s All About Community Rating

Last updated on: January 25, 2010 at 3:34 pm By Morning's Minion

The more I think about it, the more I realize that the leading contentious issue in the healthcare debate is community rating. This has become even clearer reading the blog of leading healthcare expert, Uwe Reinhart. Community rating basically means you charge all people in the risk pool the same amount, and not base payment on age or health status. Here is how Reinhart defines the issue: ““Community rating” refers to the practice of charging a common premium to all members of a... Read more

Two Feminist Saints: One Orthodox, One Catholic

Last updated on: January 25, 2010 at 6:23 am By Henry Karlson

When they were born, Sts Grand Duchess Elizabeth and Edith Stein were as different as one could be: Grand Duchess Elizabeth was born in 1864 as a princess in the House of Hesse and a granddaughter of Queen Victoria while Edith Stein was born in 1891 Breslau to a large and fairly religious merchant-class Jewish family. It is unlikely that anyone, save with a gift of prophecy, could have foreseen that they were going to die as Christian martyrs after... Read more

The Sad Irony of the Recent Supreme Court Decision

Last updated on: January 24, 2010 at 4:54 pm By Henry Karlson

A day before the anniversary of Roe vs Wade, the Supreme Court has given another major court decision: a 63 year old law which forbade corporations and unions from directly funding political campaign advertisements, as with later campaign finance reforms, was struck down on the basis that it went against the Constitution because it limited free speech. This time, many of the people who rightfully decried Roe vs Wade have applauded the Supreme Court’s ruling. The sad irony of the... Read more

Illegal Immigrants, The Boston Tea Party and the Law

Last updated on: January 23, 2010 at 2:08 pm By Henry Karlson

I’ve been thinking about the assumption of many people that illegal immigrants and their supporters in the United States must be anarchists who have no respect for the law. While for some of them this might be true, it would be a very small portion of them. The problem I have with this generalization is that as a culture, our history does not recognize this view. Instead, we have normally recognized that a bad law has no moral authority, and... Read more

If I Were a Nihilist…

Last updated on: January 22, 2010 at 3:18 pm By Morning's Minion

I am disheartened and disgusted with the current state of play with the healthcare bill. They are so close, and yet the Democrats manage to confirm all the worst suspicions about their cravenness, cowardice, and incompetence. Of course, the nihilists in the Republican party are dancing with glee, as nothing makes them happier than the failure of healthcare reform. If I were a nihilist myself, I would say – take a lesson from the Republicans. Forget good policy. Focus only on... Read more

What does "Gethsemane" mean in Aramaic?