Few things threaten the integrity of one’s sense of human dignity than the times and seasons when we feel we are powerless. At these times, when we feel we are at the mercy of forces beyond our control, whether sickness…
Classical philosophical thought has always considered love to be a quasi-deterministic force. Love, both in the human world, and the natural world which contains it, is something which seems to apply its own energy to the will of all creatures.…
The most effective form of censorship, bar none, is self-censorship. When a critical mass of people have surrendered themselves and their convictions to the tyranny of silence, to the authoritarian gag, one of the first prerogatives of a free and…
Recently I received in my inbox an email with Bishop Robert Barron’s article Inclusivity and Love, which, especially after Cardinal McElroy’s insipid and vacuous rambling in America Magazine (which I do not have the stomach to link), is remarkable in…
The Church this time of year is filled with holy and earnest expectation. We hear, year after year, the sighs of the Bride, the Church, for the presence of the Bridegroom. The calls become louder and more extravagant as we…
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to an unfortunately necessary resurgence of study of the use of disinformation campaigns on the part of governments and officialdom in general. One book that has particularly gained fresh attention is Dr. Timur Kuran’s Private…
Preparedness is the native stance of any organization which knows its ultimate purpose. Many famous persons and institutions are well known and regarded for their ability to tackle various challenges, in accord with rigorous training and discipline. To be truly…
There are several teachings in the New Testament which are absolutely puzzling unless you have a view of the Church as simultaneously being the Mystical Body of Christ, and a polity, based upon that fact, with the authority to pass…
At this summer’s greatly anticipated meeting of the USCCB, the topic of “Eucharistic Coherence” gained center stage. In reading the National Catholic Register’s reporting of the meeting, I was struck by a comment that Bishop Robert McElroy of San Diego…
With sincere sadness, I read Steve Skojec of OnePeterFive‘s essay Against Crippled Religion. I had heard that the piece was making the rounds all over the Catholic web, and so I finally got around to reading it. It is evident…