I have been having a discussion on my own blog regarding the differences between NFP and Contraception and I thought Vox Nova readers may be interested in it. Thanks to Melanie for telling me about this outstanding discussion on the struggles of NFP from a guy’s perspective. My husband read it and laughed. One reader, Maria from the discussion wrote this and it is the best explanation I have found to date to explain WHY Catholics are against Contraception but... Read more
Part I Part II Part III Part IV Part V Having examined Maistre’s views of sovereignty and the similarity he saw between the establishment of laws within a nation and the development of Christian doctrine, it is finally time to turn to his notions on papal infallibility. Before we do so, we must reflect some more on his beliefs about sovereignty, because they relate as to why he believed papal authority was superior to any other. Maistre believed that providence determined the duration... Read more
The archbishop of Dublin, Diarmuid Martin, had some very critical things to say about Catholic parents who choose schools based on a lack of diversity. Here’s a flavor of his remarks: “[I] would be unhappy if Catholic secondary schools were to become mainly elitist. I hear of parents – even those who might fit into the social categorisation of ‘good Catholic parents’ – making decisions with their feet or with their four-wheel-drives to opt out of diversity in schools… Mobility... Read more
Apropos of last Sunday’s post on Tocqueville and next week’s visit by the Pope to America, here is a short essay describing some possibly Tocquevillian themes in Benedict’s first encyclical, Deus Caritas Est: Upon being inducted into the Académie des Sciences Morales et Politiques of the Institut de France in 1992, then-Cardinal Ratzinger remarked that Tocqueville’s “Democracy in America has always made a strong impression on me.“ Describing Tocqueville as “le grand penseur politique,” the context of these remarks was... Read more
My post the other day on the origins of WWII got me thinking about an article from Foreign affairs from a few years back arguing that various cognitive biases endemic in human psychology make people more likely to support going to war than is rationally justifiable. Here’s a sample: Excessive optimism is one of the most significant biases that psychologists have identified. Psychological research has shown that a large majority of people believe themselves to be smarter, more attractive, and... Read more
Nothing demonstrates both the depravity and the hypocrisy of the modern Republican party than the saga of the Northern Mariana islands. Nothing else can portray in so stark a light the vast chasm between pro-life rhetoric and the corporate sleaze. Sure, the fact that the modern GOP exploited the Christian vote and blasphemously seized the mantle of faith– like the Pharisees of old– for their own political purposes is by now an old story, told by insiders like David Kuo.... Read more
The world’s first vegetarian, Cain*, was also the world’s first murderer. Coincidence? Not according to the folks at the aptly named VegetariansAreEvil.com: In Genesis , Chapter Four, Eve bears Cain and Abel. ‘And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.’ That ‘but’ in the middle of the sentence is the first clue to disapproval. This disapproval is confirmed by verses three to five. Abel and Cain bring offerings to God: Abel of his... Read more
Part I Part II Part III Part IV Where did Maistre think sovereignties and political states came from? As has been noted, he believed that their true foundation lies in the providence of God. Each state is different and therefore could require different kinds of sovereignties. This was his “political relativism.” [53] States were, for him, quite organic. “Nations are born and perish like individuals; they literally have fathers, and teachers ordinarily more famous than their fathers, although the greatest merit of these... Read more
True transcendence unites the masculine and the feminine in an integration that transforms its constituent elements. It ends their fragmentation into ‘females’ and ‘males,’ into the ‘me’ and the ‘not-me.’ The whole paradox of human destiny is to become onself by becoming something other. Man becomes a god according to grace, and the exterior is no longer distinguished from the interior. Humility and Love (the Servant and Friend of the Bridegroom) are the single criterion of grace received — the... Read more
I wonder if this: Hungry Haitians stormed the presidential palace Tuesday to demand the resignation of President Rene Preval over soaring food prices and U.N. peacekeepers battled rioters with rubber bullets and tear gas. Food prices, which have risen 40 percent on average since mid-2007, are causing unrest around the world. But nowhere do they pose a greater threat to democracy than in Haiti, one of the world’s poorest countries where in the best of times most people struggle to... Read more
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