It’s been over twenty-two years since I entered the Catholic Church. I was in my late 40s. I never knew the pre-Vatican II Church, with its older liturgy and its older perspectives. Therefore, I don’t feel – or some might say, suffer from – the nostalgia and occasional regrets of my chronological contemporaries. I also suffer [...]
We note that Druidism, or druidry, has become an official religion in the UK. According to the Associated Press: The Druid Network, a group of about 350 Druids, will receive exemptions from taxes on donations after the semi-governmental Charity Commission granted it the status of a religion charity, just like mainstream religions such as the Church [...]
I mentioned in this space some time ago that I’m a regular contributor of comments to a blog called Calculated Risk, an economics and finance blog. Many of those who comment there are perceptive, articulate, well-educated, often funny. But nearly all these attractive people have one thing in common: A fascination with money, wealth, and the [...]
How does an atheist die? Obviously, he dies the same way as everyone else. God doesn’t vanish because one of His creatures denies His existence. The universe, of which the atheist is a part, doesn’t evaporate when he expires. Angels will be the same as they ever were, and the spirits of those we call the [...]
I spend a lot of computer time reading and contributing to a blog called Calculated Risk. It’s a finance and economics blog, although people tend to wander very far from the topics, especially when business hours have ended. Many of the contributors are highly educated, articulate, and funny. They can be good electronic company. Some of [...]
I just came across the news that Dr. Kenneth Howell, who had been fired from his position as a professor at the University of Illinois on the complaint of a student, has been reinstated. The link is here: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2010/jul/10072912.html I don’t know the circumstances of the reinstatement, but it seems very possible that the ideal of [...]
I came across this news story on LifeSiteNews.com the other day. http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2010/jul/10072207.html I quote from the first paragraph: “AUGUSTA, Georgia, July 22, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) filed suit against Augusta State University Wednesday on behalf of a counseling student who was allegedly told that her Christian beliefs are unethical and [...]
In the reading for June 30, in Mark chapter eight, Jesus, true God and true man, drives devils out of two possessed men. He hurls these resident devils into a herd of swine, which plunge into the sea and drown. You’d think that the people in the nearby town would thank Jesus for expelling demons from [...]
I came across an interesting story by John L. Allen Jr. in the online edition of the National Catholic Reporter. John Allen is a hardworking journalist respected even by colleagues who differ greatly with most of what appears in NCR. A recent book of his about Opus Dei, an organization with which I am somewhat familiar, [...]
I’ve been thinking about the “Scandal” lately. I believe that the Holy Father is right when he says that wounds have been inflicted on the Church. Unfortunately, some of them have been self-inflicted. But wounds heal, and we have a physician called Christ. My wife and I attend Mass at the Franciscan Monastery here in DC. [...]
