European Union

Time for All to Leave the EU?

The European Union elections begin today. The complaint often heard about the gulf between the people and the ruling elite is not new and is not the central problem with the European Union. The British and European “remainers,” on the other hand, are making a fuss in favor of the status quo at a time … Read more

Notre Dame: A Fiery Sign?

Was the near destruction of Notre Dame Cathedral simply the result of an accidental fire? Or was it also a prophetic sign? In the Bible, the destruction of a city or a temple is often linked to immorality or unbelief. The fire and brimstone that was rained down on Sodom was punishment for the sins … Read more

Europe’s War on Christianity

As the influence of Islam on European society has increased, so have anti-Christian attitudes. While civil authorities have gone out of their way to accommodate both Muslim immigrants and Muslim beliefs, their treatment of Christians has been quite different. One form that the accommodation of Islam has taken is an increased policing of Christian activities … Read more

A Letter From Spain in the Year 2050

In the year 2050, Spain, once a proud global empire of strong-willed people, has become Brussels’ poster child. Few countries have transformed their anthropology so thoroughly and quickly. Modernization, technocratization and Europeanization have been pushed so dramatically that it looks like an EU super-vassal state. The quest for democracy has long since given way to … Read more

Do Catholics Have Legitimate Fears about Immigration?

In a number of talks and statements over the years, Pope Francis has scolded Europeans for their fear of immigrants. He came back to that theme early in March following electoral gains by “anti-immigrant” parties in Italy. According to a Reuters report, “Pope Francis on Sunday expressed concern over national policies dictated by fear.” On … Read more

What Ireland’s Abortion Referendum is Really About

This year Ireland will hold a referendum on the issue of abortion. The date has not yet been set but the vote will probably take place in May. Since 1983, enshrined in the Eighth Amendment to the Irish Constitution, there has been a constitutional ban on abortions taking place in the Irish Republic. This prohibition … Read more

Eastern European Resistance to Islamization

If you’ve ever seen Casablanca, you won’t have forgotten the scene in Rick’s Cafe where the German officers who are singing “Die Wacht am Rhein” are drowned out by the French patrons who burst into a rousing rendition of the “Marseillaise.” Something similar happened last week at the National Opera in Cluj Napoca, Romania. A … Read more

Paris Statement Defends Old Europe and Its Values

“Our beloved home will not be fulfilled with the European Union. The real Europe is, and always will be, a community of nations, at once insular, sometimes fiercely so, and yet united by a spiritual legacy that, together, we debate, develop, state—and love.”  ∼ The Paris Statement, #12. Aristotle had trouble comprehending the feasibility of Alexander’s … Read more

No Exit (from Islam)

The world is abuzz with talk of Brexit—the British vote to leave the European Union. Britain’s reclamation of its independence is now prompting talk that other nations might exit the EU—the Netherlands, Denmark, Greece, Italy, and a dozen more. Over on this side of the Atlantic, the Brexit initiative has renewed discussion about the U.S. … Read more

What Comes Next After Brexit?

The British have voted to leave the European Union. In all likelihood, other European countries will follow suit, a real nightmare for Brussels bureaucrats. The British vote is another indication that the West’s attempt at reducing man to materialist categories has failed and that the only way to save the EU is a return to … Read more

What is Multiculturalism and Should We Embrace It?

Multiculturalism is a thorny topic. It is also a topic on which any truly rational discussion is very difficult. The problem is that many people equate criticism of multiculturalism with racism. Since nobody wants to be accused of racism (quite rightly), it is easier and safer to avoid talking about anything that might get one … Read more

The New Age of Anxiety: Navigating the European Wasteland

The Sibyl of Cumae is one of those mysterious figures from antiquity. She was a prophetess and priestess of the ancient world. In his Metamorphoses Ovid relates that the god Apollo offered the Sibyl any wish she desired. “I pointed to a heap of dust collected there,” the Sibyl later explains to Aeneas, “and foolishly … Read more

How the EU Betrayed its Christian Founding Principles

When many conservatives hear of “European integration,” they roll their eyes. The term evokes sclerotic, secularist Brussels bureaucracy out of touch with ordinary Europeans that wants to control every detail of nominally sovereign member-states’ lives. Recently, Pope Francis has vowed to speed up the cause for beatification of one of the European project’s founders Alcide … Read more

Secularism at the Ukrainian Catholic University

You cannot please both God and the world at the same time. They are utterly opposed to each other in their thoughts, their desires, and their actions.  ∼ Saint John Vianney A fellow I know well in L’viv, who works with western European sponsors of projects aimed at improving local legal and civic management, shared with … Read more

The Dangers of World Government

Many people believe that ever more comprehensive global governance is needed for the well-being and even survival of humanity. During the Soviet/American Cold War such concerns mostly had to do with the threat of nuclear warfare. Now they’re more likely to relate to ecological catastrophes resulting from economic and population growth. Either way, the system … Read more

Europe: A Land Without Love

The current issue of Foreign Affairs published an essay by Ivan Krastev and Mark Leonard called “Europe’s Shattered Dream of Order: How Putin Is Disrupting the Atlantic Alliance.” The authors cite a 2014 WIN/Gallup International survey reporting dismal results from respondents regarding the virtue of patriotism in Europe. Only 29 percent of French respondents, 27 … Read more

A Catholic Response to Utopian Modernity

The world goes its own way without much regard for the Church, because it has very little regard for truth—that is to say, for reality. The problems go to the roots of current ways of thinking. The modern movement of thought began as an attempt to attain security and certainty by emphasizing what is practical … Read more

Lies, Damned Lies, and UN Meetings

Some years ago the UN representative of the Girl Scouts claimed her human rights had been violated when her picture was taken at a public meeting. The UN has a tendency to make everyone a bit crazy but most especially crusty feminists. Once one of them proclaimed that the UN was a safe space for … Read more

Political Correctness Reaches New Low in UK

In Nineteen Eighty-Four, the Ministry of Love promoted nothing but hatred and the Ministry of Truth spread nothing but lies. Although totalitarianism of the kind described and analyzed by Orwell has all but disappeared from the face of the earth, give or take a country or two, totalitarianism of another, softer kind is marching its … Read more

God, Democrats, and the Europeanization of America

The battle at the Democratic convention to exclude God from the party’s platform is no minor moment. Do not underestimate what transpired there. And while it speaks to so many things, at many levels, it reminds me of the recent battle within the European Union to exclude God from the EU constitution. That comparison is … Read more

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