Senate blocks immigration bill

Last updated on: June 28, 2007 at 4:04 pm By voxnovablog

“But we won’t ignore people in need, and we won’t be quiet about laws that don’t work — or that, in their “working,” create impossible contradictions and suffering. Despite all of the heated public argument over the past year, Americans still find themselves stuck with an immigration system that adequately serves no one. We urgently need the kind of immigration reform that will address our economic and security needs, but also regularize the status of the many decent undocumented immigrants... Read more

Out of Africa

Last updated on: June 28, 2007 at 9:43 am By Henry Karlson

Can Catholics in the West learn something from Catholics in Africa? Even though Cardinal Arinze is an important and influential leader in the Church, it seems, on the most part, Africa is ignored by us. Why is it? Are we too focused upon our own immediate surroundings that we don’t take the time to explore what is happening in the wider world? Whatever the reason, monumental events are going on in Africa, and Catholic Bishops are making valiant struggles for... Read more

Double Dose of Motu Proprio

Last updated on: June 27, 2007 at 8:56 pm By voxnovablog

Pope Benedict XVI is getting some business taken care of before vacation…two motu proprio‘s in less than a month! The Holy Father promulgated De Aliquibus Mutationibus In Normis De Electione Romani Pontificis on June 11, 2007, which overturns John Paul II’s decision in Universi Dominici Gregis to modify the papal elections by permitting a single majority to elect the Roman Pontiff if after three days the conclave has failed to do so by two-thirds majority. Pope Benedict’s motu proprio, which... Read more

On Germany and Iraq

Last updated on: June 27, 2007 at 7:13 pm By Morning's Minion

A recent Commonweal issue included a review of a book entitled The Fire– The Bombing of Germany, 1940-1945 by Jorg Friedrich. The reviewer was James Sheehan. The book describes the bombing of civilian targets as a key battle tactic by the UK and the US during the second world war. The idea was to break the morale and destroy the productive capacity of the Germans. All in all, about 600,000 Germans were killed, and three and a half million homes... Read more

On the Catholic principle of double effect

Last updated on: June 27, 2007 at 1:06 pm By voxnovablog

While I certainly appreciate Nate’s passion for recognizing the sanctity of all human life, I am, nevertheless, deeply troubled by the tenor of his post. And although I am far from being an expert in this area, it does seem to me that Julian is quite right in characterizing Nate’s understanding of the principle of double effect as “simplistic.” But more than that (and this goes to the heart of what bothers me most), Nate’s post is striking in its... Read more

Voter’s Guide For Unserious Catholics

Last updated on: June 27, 2007 at 2:06 am By voxnovablog

1) Draw devil horns on each of the prospective candidates. Whichever candidate looks least like like devil gets your vote!2) Using any part of a candidate’s full name, vote for the candidate who is named after the most canonized Saints.Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton – Hilarion, Hilary of PoitiersBarack Hussein Obama – noneJohnny Reid “John” Edwards – 18 (15 Johns, 3 Edward)Fred Dalton Thompson – Thomas the Apostle, Becket, More, and AquinasRudolph William Louis Giuliani III – Wilfrid_of_Ripon, Louis XIV,Samuel Dale... Read more

Remember when I said that converts were nothing but trouble?

Last updated on: June 26, 2007 at 7:20 pm By voxnovablog

Father Richard P. McBrien apparently has little use for converts like me. Carl Olson, a fellow convert, responds accordingly. Read more

Cowardly New World

Last updated on: June 26, 2007 at 6:37 pm By Henry Karlson

While we have been led to think that science can solve every human ill, it is quite clear, this is a dream without a foundation: science cannot answer ever question, such as those in the field of ethics. As scientific research goes forward, we will find many, new questions confronting us as a race. While we should never forget about such horrors as abortion, embryonic stem-cell research, cloning, and euthanasia, the future will bring new horrors before us, raising their... Read more

Saint Josemaria Escriva

Last updated on: June 26, 2007 at 1:42 pm By voxnovablog

In case y’all were unaware, today is the feast day of Saint Josemaria Escriva. I realize that Escriva is a controversial figure, to both Catholics and Non-Catholics alike, but I greatly admire (and share) his vision for the Catholic laity (i.e., that “work is a way to holiness“). It is also my opinion, that much of the controversy surrounding Escriva (and Opus Dei for that matter) is vastly overblown by those who have an axe to grind against traditional Catholicism.... Read more