On Breasts

Last updated on: July 9, 2008 at 10:43 pm By M.Z.

A number of my topical posts I’ll begin with the word ‘on’. Here it happens to invite other speculation that I’ll allow folks to privately contemplate. This topic has been addressed here before and is presently being flashed across the Catholic blogosphere. Usually such topics can be settled by appealing to religious: You don’t see Sister So-and-so breastfeeding at mass, so you needn’t do so either. The pro-breastfeeding crowd has thrown the Mary card, offering up several paintings depicting her... Read more

Chart of the Day

Last updated on: July 9, 2008 at 1:51 pm By Morning's Minion

A nice chart summarizing the recent economic expansion in comparison with past booms. Two key results stand out. First, this boom was particularly lousy in the historical context. Second, the only aggregate to outperform the post-war average was corporate profits. Note especially the weak growth in wages and salaries and in employment. Does Catholic social teaching have anything to say about this? Well, yes. In Quadragesimo Anno, Pope Pius XI wrote: “riches that economic-social developments constantly increase ought to be so... Read more

On Ordaining Women: Ought Implies Can

Last updated on: July 9, 2008 at 10:11 am By Edward Blackadder

Yesterday’s post on the Anglican Church’s decision to ordain women bishops provoked some predictable comments in the comments about the Catholic Churches refusal to do the same. For me the issue turns not so much on whether the Church should ordain women, but whether it is even possible to do so (followers of Kant will of course note that ought implies can, and therefore if something can’t be done then we shouldn’t do it). Ordination is not just some ceremony;... Read more

Green Bay Has a Bishop

Last updated on: July 9, 2008 at 9:34 am By M.Z.

One of my 2008 predictions gets proven wrong today. Bishop David Ricken of the diocese of Cheyenne, WY, has been named bishop of Green Bay. He moves into a diocese that is 6 times larger than his present one and that was in the process of parish consolidations prior to Bishop Zubik being moved to Pittsburgh. A short bio via the Green Bay Press Gazette of Bishop Ricken: Ricken was born and raised in Dodge City, Kan. He graduated from Conception Seminary... Read more

The Moral High Ground And Getting Dirty: Further Reflections on Abortion

Last updated on: July 8, 2008 at 3:53 pm By Morning's Minion

This blog seems under sustained attack, largely but not exclusively by Republican-leaning Catholics because some, but by no means all, of us favor focusing primarily on the non-legal route to end the scourge of abortion in the United States. For the Republican-leaners, the challenge is obvious: the whole house of cards they set up is predicated on the notion that the Republicans can somehow deliver on the abortion front. The others have no partisan dog in the fight, and are rather... Read more

Rising divorce cases in Iraq since US-led invasion

Last updated on: July 8, 2008 at 1:54 pm By voxnovablog

Mission accomplished? We have all heard how divorce rates have been on the rise in the Army since the start of the Iraq war. However, it seems that the problem can also be found in Iraqi families. Divorce cases have doubled in Iraq since the US-led invasion in 2003. In some areas near Baghdad, the number of divorces has quadrupled. As John Paul II stated, war is indeed “always a defeat for humanity.” I can’t help but wonder what some... Read more

What makes abortion such a moral evil?

Last updated on: July 8, 2008 at 10:00 am By Policraticus

We often hear that abortion is an evil of extraordinary moral depravity, so much so that it trumps other forms of murder. I think that’s right, relatively speaking. Let’s take a typical case of legal abortion wherein a woman chooses to have her child murdered (the euphemism, I believe, is “terminate the pregnancy”) by a licensed physician with whom she has entered into a contractual and financial agreement. The physician who actually performs the abortion is morally guilty of murder.... Read more

Administrative Note

Last updated on: July 8, 2008 at 9:23 am By M.Z.

For those curious and for those who didn’t read about it at his own blog, Gerald of the blog FKA Cafeteria Is Closed is now blogging at Gerald Naus. Some find interesting debate fodder to be his views of a year ago compared to those of today. I and many of the contributors do not, or at least not enough to go to a 3rd party blog and discuss them in a post not referencing any of the above. Some... Read more

Pet Owners Prefer McCain

Last updated on: July 8, 2008 at 8:42 am By Edward Blackadder

If the presidential election goes to the dogs, John McCain is looking like best in show. From George Washington’s foxhound “Drunkard” to George W. Bush’s terriers “Barney” and “Miss Beazley,” pets are a longtime presidential tradition for which the presumed Republican nominee seems well prepared, with more than a dozen. The apparent Democratic nominee Barack Obama, on the other hand, doesn’t have a pet at home. The pet-owning public seems to have noticed the difference. An AP-Yahoo! News poll found... Read more

Blogger’s Choice Catholic Reading List

Last updated on: July 8, 2008 at 8:30 am By soutenus

A Catholic Notebook is compiling a list of Catholic bloggers’ and readers’ favorite spiritual reading. Please head over there and add some of your titles by Wednesday! This could be quite a useful list. Add your personal favorites to this list via the com box. Read more

Who dreamed of a ladder reaching to heaven?