Robert Bolt – how many people recognize the name if they see it? Yet he is probably one of the greatest playwrights and screenwriters of the 20th century. Just look through the films he worked on, and you will see: Lawrence of Arabia, Doctor Zhivago, A Man for All Seasons, and The Mission. Each of these films are masterpieces, although I have to admit, I’ve really never been able to appreciate Doctor Zhivago. If I had to choose my favorite... Read more
Let me start with a confession. My first encounter with what would be the priest abuse scandal was when I was 12ish. We were making our yearly trip to confession as part of CCD. A girl makes a comment to me asking if I’m afraid to go in there. I wonder why on earth anyone would be afraid. My second experience was several years ago. SNAP protesters showed up outside a service, not one I attended. They showed a picture... Read more
I still remember the moment when Pope Benedict XVI transformed my thinking on Catholicism and society… I was at a weekend silent retreat based on Benedict XVI’s first encyclical Deus Caritas Est. We had covered all of Part 1, which consists of a brief but dense meditation on the radical difference between Christian agape and conventional notions of love, particularly that known as eros. What I had read and what the ensuing talk covered in Part 1 was not, on... Read more
“The Church calls everyone to make faith a reality in their lives, as the best path . . . for attaining true freedom, which includes the recognition of human rights and social justice.” – John Paul II (Original February 2007 post from Evangelical Catholicism Blog) Tito from Custos Fidei had a link to an article quoting part of an informal conversation Pope Benedict XVI had with some priests from the Rome diocese, where he emphasized that the Church is not... Read more
We have recently been told that Pope Benedict is working on a new encyclical, and its content will be about social justice. Today, the news is reporting that the Pope has made yet another call for peace . He is asking for people all over the world to give up the “old systems” which have not created peace. War and peace have been in the Pope’s thoughts and meditations during his vacation. He is saddened by the wars which are... Read more
At the Oracle at Delphi, pilgrims were told to “know thyself.” Saint Antony of Egypt, the founder of Christian monasticism, embraced this command and reiterated it. “For he who knows himself knows God: and he who knows God is worthy to worship Him as is right. My beloved in the Lord, know yourselves. For they who know themselves, know their time: and they who know their time, are able to stay firm, and not be moved about by divers tongues”... Read more
In between pilgrimages to the various tombs of our Church’s holy saints (I write from Perugia, Italy), I have been reading The Lord of the Rings. I have just finished Part 1 – the fellowship of the ring. Frodo has just escaped from Boromir’s mad attempt to steal the ring, and has stolen away across the river with Sam. They will travel to Mordor in an attempt to destroy the Ring of Power. Corrupting Power I wonder about power. The... Read more
Recently, there have been many people writing about the so-called “feminization” of the Church. Many people have been critical of this and they suggest that women are leading the Church astray. I have always found the argument strange: from the very beginning women have had an active, central rule in evangelization; indeed, on Sunday we celebrate one, St Mary Magdalene, who in the East is labeled as an “Equal to the Apostles.” Contrary to the opinion of these critics, women... Read more
Do I have your attention? 🙂 Actually, despite the rather provocative title, I would like to make a serious point. Referring to Sen. David Vitter and prostitution (see here), Ross Douthat at the Atlantic makes the following argument: “Making use of a prostitution ring isn’t a private matter, and Vitter should not be sitting in the United States Senate while the “D.C. Madam” is facing up to 55 years in prison for selling what he was apparently interested in buying.... Read more
My views and concerns on health care in the United States shift frequently. I do not have faith in privatized care, having seen my own family members unable to afford medications that could save their lives and have no access to quality specialized care. As the Catholic Church has asserted, health care is a basic human right, and as the Church has also stated, the role of the State is to promote and establish justice on behalf of all its... Read more
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