I wasn’t a particularly devout teenager. I knew it was important to go to Sunday Mass, but I honestly found it rather dull at times. So it was tremendously satisfactory when, one Sunday, there was high drama. A man got up from the congregation during the priest’s sermon and shouted at him. From where … Read more
In this much-debated Crisis Magazine classic, historian James Hitchcock explains why he doesn’t much care for Chesterton, Belloc or Lewis. At an ecumenical conference, a Greek Orthodox bishop went around the breakfast table asking half a dozen people their favorite work of C. S. Lewis. There was animated discussion until my turn came, … Read more
So here we are again, with another discussion about Catholics and the royal family. We have been here before, each time some royal falls in love with a Catholic, or even when royal marriages in general are discussed. This time it’s a bit different: There is no specific royal eyeing the aisle with … Read more
There’s a certain type of pleasant American one meets at parties who likes to reminisce about visiting Britain in the 1950s. Standing, glass of wine in hand, in a room filled with people dressed in that muddy mix of clothes described as "smart casual," he tackles his subject with enthusiasm. Oh, he remembers … Read more
Recently my eye was caught by a news item announcing that teenagers are to be handed “morning after” abortive pills over the Christmas season as they attend clubs and parties. Meanwhile, a firing of muskets in a Christmas tree ceremony in a country town has been banned because people might be frightened by the noise. … Read more
The implosion of Catholic religious orders in the 1970s shook the foundations of the Catholic Church in America, threatening both the financial viability of parish schools and the transmission of faith and morals to subsequent generations. Decades later, the clergy sex-abuse crisis produced another earthquake from which the Church has yet to recover. Â Most … Read more
It’s hard to write about Twilight without writing about the hysteria. But I’ll leave the Googling to you, dear readers, and keep to what I actually saw: girls lined up, a couple hundred deep, at around 9:15 last Thursday night — for the midnight show on Friday. Lots of Twilight T-shirts, a few reading “Team … Read more
The immigration debate is singularly polarizing in our political climate today. From cries for “compassionately conservative” acceptance of those immigrants doing the jobs “Americans won’t do,” to Tom Tancredo’s insistence that “the pope’s immigration comments may have less to do with spreading the gospel than they do about recruiting new members of the church,” the … Read more
On May 5, 2007, I resigned as president of the Evangelical Theological Society (ETS), and two days later I resigned my membership, one I held for more than 20 years. I did so because I quickly realized — after news of my April 29, 2007, public reception into the Catholic Church had spread like wildfire … Read more
The newest Bond pic borrows too much from that other spy franchise. Â Â When you get older, fellow agent Rene Mathis tells James Bond, “villains and heroes get all mixed up.” Â Indeed, a conspicuous moral ambiguity infects virtually every scene in Quantum of Solace, the long-awaited follow-up to 2006’s franchise “reboot” Casino Royale. … Read more
When St. Thomas More was led to the scaffold at the Tower of London, he joked to his executioner: "Please help me safely up. For coming down, I’ll cope by myself." The British sense of humor is one of the things that, unlike our cooking, has generally given pleasure to the world. And … Read more
I don’t know if Bill Maher would call himself a comedian these days, but it’s fair to say that his roots are in comedy. Religulous, his new film, features at least a couple clips from his stand-up days, including one from The Tonight Show back in the Carson era. A young Maher is riffing on … Read more
Rebellion has long been a popular theme in film — particularly that which arises out of the struggle between the working classes and the elites. Unfortunately, the specific details of these stories often lead one straight to controversy. Take, for example, the recently acclaimed Pan’s Labyrinth: Guillermo del Toro’s fairytale is overwhelmed by the struggle … Read more
I cycle past the house often. It stands at the end of the street, next to what was once, long ago, the village green — still a pleasant area in busy suburbia. It’s a solid Victorian house, one of several in a row. They look out across the road to the grounds of a large, … Read more
These are perhaps the most famous gates in the world — certainly among the most photographed. Â We gathered outside, a vast crowd of us, forming a neat line — as British people still do when in traditional mode — talking, taking photographs, fussing about. Â This is a Buckingham Palace garden party, one of … Read more
Director Yôji Yamada, creator of more than 70 films and a legend of Japanese cinema, has always been most famous for his contemporary dramas and TV series (his Otoko wa tsurai yo series alone has 48 installments). But like many Japanese directors, he was drawn from a young age to the samurai films of Akira … Read more
Last month I began a look at the flood of fantastic summer releases, which only confirms for me that we are indeed in a golden age of recording. This month I’ll pick up where we left off. Â Three new CPO releases convince me that only now are we getting a fuller glimpse of the … Read more
Antwerp is home to glorious churches, but it’s difficult to pray in them. At the cathedral dedicated to Our Lady, a large section at the base of the nave, with a glorious view of the whole church under its superb gothic arches, is set aside for prayer. But it feels bleak. The Blessed Sacrament is … Read more
The Batman franchises have long struggled to find the correct balance between good and evil. In the original Batman, Tim Burton’s love for the visually (and emotionally) bizarre, combined with Jack Nicholson’s apparent inability to control himself, produced a film whose focus quickly shifted from Michael Keaton’s mildly-tormented title character to Nicholson’s wildly over-acted Joker. … Read more
In Britain, as in other Western countries, registered charities can claim various tax and other privileges. It’s a system that ensures that a whole range of useful community activities — from running churches, clubs, and youth organizations to catering for the otherwise neglected needs of specific groups — can be carried out without undue financial … Read more