Deal W. Hudson
The Biden Catholics at the National Catholic Reporter are feeling righteous. The editorial staff has demanded that the Catholic supporters of President Trump “confess their complicity in the failed coup.” Beginning with the fact that there was no attempted “coup,” the NCR crowd has provided much high-flying moral outrage worthy of an SNL sketch—“Sackcloth and … Read more
If you wanted to radically diminish the influence of Christianity in America, what would you do? You would make it against the law. You would bring the law down on the Christian faith by labeling its core teaching as “hate speech.” The claim that same-sex attraction is an unnatural state, and that homosexual acts … Read more
A few days ago, former President Barack Obama announced that “there’s no actual evidence that there was anything illegal or fraudulent taking place.” That the former president is lying is obvious: Obama cannot be unaware of the evidence, from multiple whistleblower reports, to the multistate discovery of uncounted, wrongly counted, and ballots counted multiple times, to the huge vote … Read more
Most conversations in Washington these days end up running down the list of likely GOP candidates who will run for the presidential nomination in 2012. The strengths and weaknesses of Newt Gingrich, Tim Pawlenty, Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum, Mike Huckabee, Michele Bachmann, Sarah Palin, and Haley Barbour are quickly calculated; but when it comes to … Read more
Following the Bart Stupak betrayal, several pundits declared the end of the pro-life Democrat. For months, Congressman Stupak and a small group of Catholic House members had held out against Obamacare, insisting it be stripped of funding for abortion. But when the bill returned from the Senate with abortion funding intact, Stupak revealed himself to … Read more
Sometimes I’m sad for my children, who know only the digitalized world. Some of the greatest joys of my life are lost to them. When they fall in love with a writer, a composer, a director, or an actor, they will never have to go on a quest to find that missing book, recording, or … Read more
Long before I became a Catholic at age 34, I opposed abortion. I came to this position on the basis of reason alone — as an Evangelical I had not been schooled on this issue. Evangelicals, by the way, did not start their anti-abortion activism until the 80s, taking over leadership from Catholics like Dr. … Read more
Reading Nietzsche taught me one thing: People can talk about values and really be interested only in getting their way. Case in point: All the talk about political “civility” is more about power than good manners. Specifically, it’s about marginalizing everyone who finds it necessary and appropriate to speak passionately on the subject of abortion. … Read more
When Peter O’Toole was denied an Oscar for his astonishing performance in “Venus” a few years ago, I turned off the television declaring, “That’s it for me and the Oscars!” I can’t recall all the times I’ve made that promise and failed to keep it. It should probably go onto my iConfess app list of … Read more
My daughter came home from her college Sociology class yesterday and told me that her instructor had alluded to the following “fact” about Pope Innocent VIII several times. from Wikipedia: The unsympathetic Roman chronicler Stefano Infessura provides many lively details, among them the apparent attempt to revive Innocent VIII on his deathbed by blood transfusions … Read more
Recently I paid my $1.99 and downloaded the new iPhone app for confession. Seeing the app was subtitled “a Roman Catholic App,” I figured it wasn’t going to suffer from “Catholicism Lite.” (Whether the new app would meet the demanding standard of John Allen’s “Taliban Catholicism,” I was about to find out.) Since its release, … Read more
John Allen, senior correspondent for the National Catholic Reporter, routinely uses the phrase “Taliban Catholicism” to describe “an exaggerated allergy to anything that smacks of secularism, liberalization, or corruption by modernity — an angry form of the faith that knows only how to excoriate and condemn.” Allen says it’s become part of the “standard stump … Read more
The upheaval in Egypt appears to be a political revolution in its purest form: a united, non-violent effort against a military dictator from across the spectrum of Egyptian people, including leftists, Christians, Muslims, Arab nationalists, Nasserites, and the Muslim Brotherhood. More than 100 Egyptians have been killed, with thousands more injured, and there has been … Read more
Last week Creative Minority published a story about Ralph McCloud, the director of the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, revealing that he served as the treasurer of a political campaign during his first year on the job at the USCCB. The candidate, as it turns out, was an abortion supporter. McCloud has responded, and Creative … Read more
It’s always something of a shock to me when an art critic I respect starts talking about politics. What startles me is how quickly someone who is intelligent, cultured, and well-educated can sound downright stupid. Such is the case with the New York Times’ Michael Kimmelman. On the front page of today’s Art section, Kimmelman … Read more
The Catholic Advocate State of the Union Live Blog is back by popular demand. Join Deal Hudson and Matt Smith along with leading pro-life activists and journalists for a LIVE discussion during President Obama’s State of the Union tonight. Visit the Live Blog page on the Catholic Advocate website to sign up. When you click on the … Read more
Bill Donohue at the Catholic League has just issued a press release on a situation brewing at the U.S. Air Force Academy. On February 10, the USAFA will hold a National Prayer Luncheon. Lt. Gen. Michael C. Gould, the superintendent, invited Marine 1st Lt. Clebe McClary to speak. McClary is a decorated Vietnam War veteran … Read more
The story about President Obama’s support for infanticide as an Illinois state senator came immediately to mind last week when a Philadelphia abortionist was arrested on eight counts of murder. One of the counts faced by Dr. Kermit Gosnell includes the death of a woman following an abortion at his office. The other seven were … Read more
A new story from the Creative Minority Report says that CCHD director Ralph McCloud worked as treasurer for a pro-abortion politician during his first year at the USCCB. Ralph McCloud was named head of the CCHD in November 2007. In his first year as head of the CCHD, according to public records, McCloud also worked as … Read more
Mine was a circuitous route from philosophy to politics, and there are few recent events that better illustrate the difference between my origin and ultimate destination than the tragic event in Tucson last week. Already, the pundits are talking about the “post-Tucson climate” of politics going forward, one where “rancor” and “vitriol” should have no … Read more