St. Augustine: Soft on crime?

Last updated on: October 27, 2007 at 3:02 am By Iafrate Michael

I thought of our own Morning’s Minion when I read this quote today in the recently published, and quite impressive, collection Empire and the Christian Tradition: New Readings of Classical Theologians. After requesting clemency for a condemned criminal, Augustine of Hippo exchanged letters on the matter with Macedonius, vicar of Africa. In those letters, Macedonius insists that criminals should be pardoned only when they show some sign of remorse. Augustine replied: In no way, then do we approve of the... Read more

Giuliani and McCain on Waterboarding

Last updated on: October 27, 2007 at 3:02 am By Morning's Minion

Rudy the moral relativist: “I’m not sure it is either [whether waterboarding is torture]. It depends on how it’s done. It depends on the circumstances. It depends on who does it.” McCain knows better: “Anyone who knows what waterboarding is could not be unsure. It is a horrible torture technique used by Pol Pot and being used on Buddhist monks as we speak. People who have worn the uniform and had the experience know that this is a terrible and... Read more

Is Brownback Really on the Verge of Backing Giuliani?

Last updated on: October 26, 2007 at 8:20 pm By Morning's Minion

The Republican party as a home for pro-life Catholics? The charade is in its last throes, as Dick Cheney might say.. Read more

Dorothy Day’s Pacifism–The Result of Reason and Praxis

Last updated on: October 26, 2007 at 7:23 pm By Policraticus

Dorothy Day, who is on the path to sainthood, was an intellectual. But more importantly, she was a manifestation of what deep Catholic faith becomes. Very few have had the courage to live their Catholic faith beyond their front porch like Dorothy Day…the Desert Fathers, the martyrs, St. Francis of Assisi and Bl. Teresa of Calcutta come immediately to mind. These are the ones who hung on every word of Christ, and these are the ones who convict me of... Read more

Huckabee Economics

Last updated on: October 26, 2007 at 3:35 pm By M.Z.

Update Below The Fold The business community in Arkansas is split. Some praise Mr. Huckabee’s efforts to raise taxes to repair roads and work with an overwhelmingly Democratic legislature. Free-market advocates are skeptical. “He has zero intellectual underpinnings in the conservative movement,” says Blant Hurt, a former part owner of, and columnist for, Arkansas Business magazine. “He’s hostile to free trade, hiked sales and grocery taxes, backed sales taxes on Internet purchases, and presided over state spending going up more... Read more

I’m Anti-Gun Shot Wounds, Much More Grazing Shots

Last updated on: October 25, 2007 at 9:56 pm By M.Z.

I’m a social conservative through and through; I’m pro-life – much more so after the first trimester… – Martin A. Knight (RedState) This was in a post supporting Rudy Giuliani. Can someone tell me how it really matters if somone is much more pro-life after the first trimester? Over 75% of all abortions are done in the first trimester. I really don’t want to be too hard on the guy, but I’m not the one advertising my pro-life bonafides as... Read more

The Author Of a Work Holds the Authority To Interpret It

Last updated on: October 25, 2007 at 8:01 pm By Henry Karlson

There has been considerable talk about the Harry Potter book series of late because J. K. Rowling recently revealed that Dumbledore was gay. Some people have taken this as proof that the series is unfit for Christian youth. Others have taken this as proof of Rowling’s sympathy towards diversity and applaud her efforts to provide a gay role model for today’s youth. Whether or not these interpretations are justified (since there are other interpretations one could make of this fact),... Read more

Comedic Catholics

Last updated on: October 25, 2007 at 6:07 pm By Policraticus

As many of you likely know, Steve Carell of The Office and Stephen Colbert of The Colbert Report are both practicing Catholics. By the way, be sure to check out Carell’s new movie, Dan in Real Life, which is as comical as it is dramatic. Katerina and I caught the sneak preview last weekend, and we both recommend it for its positive portrayal of family and its authenticity. Anyhow, here are two clips featuring the two Steve’s together in their... Read more

The Challenge of Homosexuality and Gay Marriage

Last updated on: October 25, 2007 at 5:19 pm By Morning's Minion

Over at dotCommonweal, J. Peter Nixon provoked a vigorous debate about homosexuality by linking to a recent study on the attitudes of the young toward Christianity. The study find that the young (defined as 16-29 year olds) are more hostile toward Christianity than those in previous generations. And while a decade ago, the majority of non-Christians had a favorable impression of Christianity, this has fallen to 16 percent (and 3 percent when it comes to evangelicals). And the culprit seems to be... Read more

Vox Nova At The Movies: Dekalog

Last updated on: October 24, 2007 at 6:54 pm By Henry Karlson

How do you go about portraying the Ten Commandments on film? Do you show the Exodus, or do you go about trying to establish the way the Ten Commandments can be experienced (and broken) in the lives of ordinary men and women? And if you do the latter, how do you go about doing this? Is there too much to go through for one movie? The answer for acclaimed director Krzysztof Kieślowski was simple: write a story based upon each... Read more