From the Telegraph: Thousands of Roman Catholic schools and churches have been banned from membership of Amnesty International because of its new policy on abortion. (more…) Read more
From the Telegraph: Thousands of Roman Catholic schools and churches have been banned from membership of Amnesty International because of its new policy on abortion. (more…) Read more
Many Christians talk about and debate the “occult” and fear the use of magic in the world, with an almost unnatural fear of magic, believing that if one is even in its proximity, one is tainted for life. While there is a great amount of truth to this, there is often much confusion as to what magic is, and why much (but not all) of its use has been condemned. They do not understand there are many kinds of magic,... Read more
At today’s liturgy for the Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time we heard a challenging passage from Luke’s Gospel proclaimed. Here is the text, to refresh our memory: While some people were speaking about how the temple was adorned with costly stones and votive offerings, Jesus said, “All that you see here– the days will come when there will not be left a stone upon another stone that will not be thrown down.” (more…) Read more
As my previous post might indicate, I really like Touchstone magazine. And, I should add, I am all for “Evangelicals and Catholics Together.” So, what follows is meant in charitable fun. The current issue of Touchstone includes a six-player symposium, “Evangelicals Today: Six Evangelicals Assess Their Movement.” One of the questions discussed is “what would you say to an Evangelical tempted to become Catholic or Orthodox?” (“Tempted”?). And, one contributor states — meaning well, I’m sure: “I have great admiration for... Read more
In the current issue of Touchstone, Robby George has a short, clear, and — I think — spot-on essay called “Morality of Majority.” (Here, by the way, is a link to Touchstone’s blog, “Mere Comments,” which is always engaging.) A bit: . . . Catholicism . . . preaches democratic ideals and promotes democratic institutions in the political sphere. . . . This teaching is put forth not as a mere prudential matter, much less as some sort of modus... Read more
One of the oddest films I’ve ever seen is Wim Wenders’ The Million Dollar Hotel. Based upon a story idea by U2’s Bono, the movie is about the investigation of the murder of Izzy Goldkiss in the middle of a run-down hotel filled with social misfits. (more…) Read more
I know some of my fellow Vox Novans disagree with me on this one, but I’ve always thought the outcry over sexual abuse by Catholic clerics was an example of the traditional American zeal for witch hunts (Salem, McCarthy) meeting traditional American anti-Catholicism, the latter made more potent by the ascent of secular liberalism. Now, John Allen discusses a new John Jay study with some interesting findings. It turns out that, when it comes to child abuse, the Catholic Church is not unique.... Read more
A state needs a police force with sufficient power and might to protect the interests of the state. The primary interest of the state should be the common good, and this means that the people of the state are to be protected from harm. Yet the way to protect the people from harm seems to be through the threat of violence before harm is done, and the use of violence once it has been done. If this is the case,... Read more
My short reaction. It is too long. Focus for the most part has been on 3 paragraphs. There’s even more than a few who have focused on just a couple of sentences of the document. No one appears to have had trouble finding exactly what they want to hear in this document and that is a problem. The highest praise folks seem to give it is that it doesn’t get anything wrong. It purports itself to be voting guide, but... Read more
They match their employees’ donations to Planned Parenthood (list of companies that match gifts from the official PP website). Click here for more background. Read more
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