Writing at Catholic Advocate, Matt Smith suggests, “One Document Elena Kagan Might Want to Re-Read This Weekend.” Commenting on Kagan’s promise to Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) that she would take another look at the “The Federalist Papers,” Smith writes, The Federalist Papers were written after the Constitutional Convention as part of what today would be … Read more
Elena Kagan’s Homework for the Holidays
Writing at Catholic Advocate, Matt Smith suggests, “One Document Elena Kagan Might Want to Re-Read This Weekend.” Commenting on Kagan’s promise to Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) that she would take another look at the “The Federalist Papers,” Smith writes, The Federalist Papers were written after the Constitutional Convention as part of what today would be … Read more
In the Shoes of a Shepherd: A Week in the Life of an American Bishop
My first meeting with the bishop of Phoenix is at his home rectory of Sts. Simon and Jude. He’s halfway through Tuesday morning prayer with three other priests when I enter the small, unadorned room. Before I can register that there are only four seats, Bishop Thomas Olmsted kneels on the hard floor and motions … Read more
Intellectual Poison: How Thomas Hobbes Ruined Biblical Scholarship
Granting all the wonderful, important things modern scriptural scholarship has given us, it bears within it something dreadfully wrong. If you have had the misfortune of coming into earshot of all too many of our contemporary scriptural scholars, they will assure you that scholarship, properly speaking, must strip both the Old and New Testaments of … Read more
Bury the Dead
“The body,” I was taught growing up, “is just the shoe box for the soul. What matters is the shoes, not the box. So when it’s time to go to heaven, just put the shoes on and throw the box away.” This good solid dose of Gnostic thinking was drilled into me since … Read more
Grave Matters: Life and Death as a Mortician
Steve Schroeder parks in front of Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church in Salt Lake City, Utah. As he climbs up the front steps, his pin-striped suit flows comfortably over him as though he were shaped to it. From polished shoes to teeth, his appearance is sharp, meticulous. So it’s jarring when the first person … Read more
Remembering Abita: Life and Faith in a Southern Town
Because my parents’ marriage failed early, I spent my childhood with my great-aunt Mamie Schlumbrecht and her husband, Albert, on a five-acre chicken farm outside Abita Springs, Louisiana. Abita, which is about 35 miles north of New Orleans in St. Tammany Parish, is now a chic town — the famous home of an excellent microbrewed … Read more
What movies best represent the seven virtues and the theological gifts? The Regina Coeli Academy in Philadelphia is putting together a list of recommended films for students. One of the founders, Barbara Henkels, asked me to put the word out for some recommendations, which I am delighted to do. Here is my preliminary list for the virtues: … Read more
What Movies Best Exemplify the Seven Virtues?
What movies best represent the seven virtues and the theological gifts? The Regina Coeli Academy in Philadelphia is putting together a list of recommended films for students. One of the founders, Barbara Henkels, asked me to put the word out for some recommendations, which I am delighted to do. Here is my preliminary list for the virtues: … Read more
Even More Giant Lizards!
Ever since I happened across a book on giant lizards in my youth, I’ve been fascinated by komodo dragons and their relatives. And while this story may not be quite a terrifying as the komodo dragon one Margaret and my boys recently experienced while watching Life, it’s still a fascinating one: A dragon-sized, fruit-eating lizard that lives … Read more
‘Life’ from the Mouths of Babes
Thanks to Margaret’s helpful reminder last week (and “aided” by the unexpected appearance of a fever that nearly wiped me out for the entire weekend), the boys and I were able to catch up on the first four episodes of Life – Challenges of Life, Reptiles and Amphibians, Mammals, and Fish – airing on The Discovery … Read more
‘Life’ Goes On
It’s raining here in Baltimore today, and the mood on the Web is similarly bleak, so I thought we could all use a little reprieve from the doom and gloom — hence, the awesomeness in the trailer below for the Discovery Channel’s Life series. I managed to catch the premiere on TV last night, and … Read more
Another Pyrrhic Victory for the Pro-Life Movement
Well, the Massachusetts Miracle (or Massacre, depending on who’s talking) is history, and the Abortion-Care Behemoth (and quite possibly Obama’s presidency) is finished, by all reports. So now, as pro-life victory celebrations over the election of Rudy Giuliani with a Pretty Face wind down, I’d like to vent a bit. Look at this … Read more
Chris Smith at the March for Life, and more…
Congressman Chris Smith’s rally speech on Friday afternoon packed a punch, as usual. Smith and his wife, Marie, have been champions of human rights for many years. (Marie heads up the Parliamentary Network for Critical Issues, which provides pro-life news, information, and networking to members of democratically-elected legislatures around the world.) Here he takes on … Read more
March for Life as a Political Statement – Revisited
Two years ago, my first column for Inside Catholic came in the form of a controversial piece about why, as a pro-life Catholic, I no longer attend the March for Life. In my newness to the format, and taking into consideration the complexity of the issue, I failed to make an argument that was balanced and … Read more
Newsweek Writer Incoherent About March for Life
Krista Gesaman at Newsweek has published a story claiming younger women are missing from today’s March for Life. The problem with the story is that she offers no evidence, and in trying to disguise her lack of evidence the story becomes incoherent. Gesaman’s argument goes like this: 1. The March for Life route is shorter … Read more
When Dolphin Persons Attack
When I happened across this clip a few days ago, I immediately thought of Zoe’s recent post on the smartness (and potential “personhood”) of dolphins: For those who might not recognize the narrator immediately, that’s Sir David Attenborough. He’s the “star” of the twin BBC productions, The Blue Planet and Planet Earth. They are absolutely fantastic; I … Read more
Stupak Says USCCB Should Be Tougher On Health Care
From todays’s New York Times comes a story by Jodi Kantor about Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI). It contains the following very interesting tidbit: (Mr. Stupak says he urged the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops to toughen its stance on the legislation; representatives from the conference and the National Right to Life Committee did not return calls.) … Read more
Ben Nelson’s “Craven Betrayal” Raises More Questions
Kathleen Gilbert at LifeSiteNews has a fascinating interview with Julie Schmit-Albin, executive director of Nebraska Right to Life. On the surface the interview tells the story of a senator who made rather boastful promises of sticking to his pro-life convictions but abruptly broke those promises with a nonsensical cover story of adding “Stupak-plus” language to … Read more
Three Pastors: Life, Death, and Religion in Muslim Iran
In November 1993, not far from ancient Babylon, where Daniel was thrown into the lions’ den and Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were pitched into Nebuchadnezzar’s fiery furnace, the Rev. Mehdi Dibaj huddled in a Mazandaran Province prison cell praying about how he could defend himself from capital charges. A compactly built 60-year-old man, his short, … Read more