I ran across a lovely column by Fr. William Grimm, a MaryKnoll Missioner in Japan, on the difference between faithfulness and loyalty. This is something I have struggled with myself, and he has really captured something important. Here are the highlights: Looking at dogs and their fidelity, I realize that this virtue — whether in a dog or a human — is grounded in history. It is actualized in the present, based in the past. That seems obvious enough. Neither... Read more
Vox Nova is again pleased to present a guest post by Fr. Carl Diederichs of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee Bread In The Wilderness Father Carl Diederichs All Saints Catholic Church In the Gospel we proclaimed today, March 2, 2014, Jesus continues to teach us how to live as His disciples (Matt 6:24-34): He begins by saying, “No one can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other.... Read more
One year ago, Pope Benedict XVI carried out what will surely go down in history as the most radical act of his pontificate: leaving it. It was this startling act – the first papal resignation in six centuries – that made possible the next great surprise: the election of his successor, the first pope to take the name Francis. It is not necessary to pretend there are no differences between the two popes in order to recognize the connection between... Read more
I recently conducted an interview with Michael O’Brien at The Jesuit Post in which he commented on the current state of dystopian literature. He observed: In short, authority in any form is presented as tragically flawed, and the solution presented is individualism combined with physical powers and, increasingly, distorted supernatural or preternatural powers. We all agree that tyranny is bad, but most people think it will be countered only when we, the “good” people, have enough knowledge and power—power of... Read more
I’VE RECENTLY DISCOVERED A RELATIVELY NEW SINGER-SONGWRITER ON THE SCENE, a man named Mike Rosenberg, who is better known by his stage name, Passenger. He’s explained that his nickname describes his approach to songwriting: He’s a passenger going through life, describing what he sees out his window. And what he sees is — or, more precisely, his powers of perception are — extraordinary. His breakout hit, “Let Her Go,” sold more than a million copies back in October, so it’s... Read more
Recently, the new business school at the Catholic University of America (CUA) received a decent donation from the Koch Brothers. In response to a barrage of justifiable criticism, university president John Garvey and business school dean Andrew Abela penned an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal declaring that they would keep the money and that their accusers could take a flying leap. If this is an exaggeration, it is only a slight one. The tone of the piece is petulant... Read more
Recently my colleague Kyle has posted a discussion of a video on the virtue of modesty. I found it fascinating as a cultural artifact, since it assumes without question so many of the many tropes about modesty which dominate in discussions of this virtue by conservative Christians. In particular, it frames modesty as a female virtue. Or, another way of looking at it is to use a bit of feminist analysis: it presumes that the male gaze is normative: both... Read more
I’ve mentioned this before, but Capitalism has a self-destructive tendency to concentrate wealth and power at the top, leading eventually to economic collapse because the only people with purchasing power are a few very rich people. Progressives wish to correct this tendency through support for labor, reasonable regulations and progressive income tax rates. This ensures that gains from economic progress are shared by all. Furthermore: In an unrestrained Capitalism, this concentrated wealth equates to the concentration of economic, social, political... Read more
Downton Abbey has clearly become a cultural phenomenon on both sides of the Atlantic. Like Brideshead Revisited before it, it seems to capture a certain zeitgeist—a certain nostalgia for a simpler time, especially against a backdrop of economic crisis and cultural malaise. But wait, progressives warn us, we should not romanticize this period! We should not be swept away by the elegance, they say, and ignore the stark injustices and unpleasant realities of that time. After all, this was a... Read more
Recently I wrote a critique of the Pro-Life movement, suggesting that it was in the grips of a totalizing ideology. Several commentators responded by arguing that this sort of attack was a reflection of partisanship, that it did nothing for the Pro-Life movement, and that I was turning a blind-eye to similar faults among progressive Catholics. This was not my intent, but I think these were substantive comments and worthy of further consideration. What kinds of criticism of the Pro-Life... Read more
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