Good Friday morning! A few links to get the day started: The school-reform debate gets serious: When one low-ranked school in Rhode Island couldn’t agree on a plan for improvement, the school board sacked all 75 teachers at once. That’s one way to get their attention… Woman live-tweets her experience taking RU-486 to abort her … Read more
Since the beginning of his pontificate, it has been widely understood that Pope Benedict XVI is working on a “reform of the reform” of the Catholic liturgy. The pope’s statements suggest that his intention is to clear up many of the distortions of Vatican II with regard to the liturgy, to combat widespread liturgical abuses, … Read more
President Barack Obama gave his first State of the Union address last night. With his popularity in a steady decline over the past six months, Obama needed his speech to rekindle the enthusiasm for his leadership that elected him in the first place. Thus far, there is no evidence to suggest he was successful. If … Read more
The Senate’s health care reform bill is dead. So it goes. What next? Will Democrats attempt to pick off Olympia Snowe to restore their Senate supermajority? Unlikely, with moderate Dems uneasy and both liberals and moderates in the House spoiling for a fight. Will they go the “reconciliation route” and push through a scaled-down version … Read more
The Catholic Health Association, readers will recall, recently insisted there was no “disagreement” between its position on abortion funding and the bishops’ conference. CHA had appeared to endorse the Senate version of the health care bill containing unprecedented federal funding for abortion but was forced to backtrack in response to criticism. Now an article … Read more
First Free-for-All of the new year! Let’s see what 2010 has in store: Monsignor Guido Marini, the papal master of ceremonies, calls for a “reform of the reform” in the liturgy. The best and worst jobs in the country. In last place is…roustabout. Where do you fall on the list? Good news! Turns out you … Read more
In the most recent edition of Dappled Things, Jeffrey Tucker — a regular, lively InsideCatholic contributor and a must-read on all things related to Catholic liturgical music — has a piece entitled simply “A Fix for Catholic Music.” In it, he identifies the three “crucial” components he believes are missing in efforts to reform the … Read more
Knowing that I had spent the summer in England, a fellow law professor recently asked me whether “the Republicans” had hired me to advertise against the president’s health-care plan. My response was, “No, but they could have.” I would have done it for free. Watching the health-care debate from the other side of the Atlantic … Read more
With his popularity ratings plummeting and public resistance to his health-care reform proposals increasing, President Barack Obama spoke to Congress and a national television audience for 48 minutes last night. Though touted as his “health-care speech,” the more important subtext was the future of Obama’s presidency itself. He has let it be known that his … Read more
As the White House backs away from the so-called public option in health-care reform, Catholic experts are hopeful that the proposed government control of the nation’s medical care will be put aside. They argue that rejecting the public option will better serve a culture of life, maintain the present high quality of health care, serve … Read more
The newly launched USCCB Web site on health care tackles the question: “Are the bishops promoting socialized medicine by advocating for universal access?” That’s a good question, since the prospect of a government takeover of health care has created a growing chorus of complaints about the present bills before the Congress.The bishops’ answer to the … Read more
If ever there were a time when Catholics should not trust the United States government, it is now. The president, his administration, and the congressional leadership are removing all the abortion restrictions put in place since Roe v. Wade. And yet, the bishops are backing a proposal to give the federal government complete control … Read more
What’s the biggest obstacle to positive reform in the Church? Reactionaries in the Roman Curia? Conservatives in the conference of bishops? The Code of Canon Law? The correct answer is none of the above. The biggest obstacle to reform is the roadblock thrown in its way by self-styled reform groups themselves. By advocating changes … Read more
Early in the morning of December 12, 2006, 25 unmarked cars filled with federal agents pulled up in front of the Swift & Co. plant in Grand Island, Nebraska, to arrest illegal immigrants. “Operation Wagon Train” was part of a six-state effort to crack down on Swift, which was known to be employing undocumented workers … Read more
“What Goldwater was to Reagan, McGovern was to Obama,” New York Times writer Sam Tanenhaus wrote about the 2008 election, in reference to the two fathers of America’s modern political movements. The first story, about the conservative ascendancy in the Republican Party, has been told. The second, covering the liberal ascendancy in the Democratic … Read more
Early in 2007, the Washington Post heralded the remarkable academic and financial turnaround of twelve inner-city parochial schools in Washington, D.C., operating as the Center City Consortium (CCC). But the hard-won triumph for the consortium’s administrators and donors was short-lived: By late summer, eight of the CCC schools were on the block, part of a … Read more
Joseph Pearce’s Small Is Still Beautiful is one part commentary on and one part updated application of E. F. Schumacher’s famous Small Is Beautiful. The constant reference to a book that many consider a minor classic is both a strength and a weakness of Pearce’s own book. Imitating Schumacher, Pearce wants to return us to … Read more