Sargent Shriver, brother-in-law of John, Bobby, and Ted Kennedy, founding director of the Peace Corps, and one-time Democratic vice-presidential nominee (among numerous other accomplishments), passed away this week. I only met him once in person, but we exchanged phone calls and a series of letters regarding our shared interest in Catholic history, and I came to … Read more
Matt Smith, writing at Catholic Advocate, gives the most asute assessment of the Scott Brown victory I have seen. I especially like Smith’s comment on the reaction of White House aides like David Axelrod: They must have been watching the American Idol try-outs in Chicago instead of the returns. The vote in Massachusetts was about … Read more
 The funeral of the late Sen. Ted Kennedy provoked a highly charged debate among Catholics about civility. In the midst of this discussion, Archbishop Raymond L. Burke, the prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, came to Washington, D.C., to be honored by InsideCatholic.com at its 14th Annual Partnership Dinner at the … Read more
 “To call a spade a spade,” a phrase whose origin can be traced back to Plutarch, is defined by Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable as to be “outspoken, blunt, even to the point of rudeness.” The question of when Catholics should be outspoken, in this sense, has arisen over the heated reactions to … Read more
This week brought the unhappy news that Massachusetts senator Edward Moore Kennedy has been diagnosed with a malignant tumor. The growth is located in the parietal lobe, that portion of the brain responsible for some sensory perceptions — taste, touch, movement — and for both the reception and expression of speech, and for math … Read more