One of my deepest hopes for Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to America is that it will have something of the same tectonic effects that John Paul II’s visit to Poland had in 1979. We are, like the Poles at that time, a people living “under the ice,” in the memorable phrase of Timothy Garton … Read more
The revival of the Catholic Faith in England in the 19th century saw the establishment of various feasts and traditions, in the conscious desire to restore and revive things that had been lost. One such feast day was that of Our Lady of Ransom. This ancient medieval title was restored to Mary, and a Guild … Read more
Such is the paranoid tendency of our hyperbolic Western media that one could be forgiven for thinking Russia is reverting to its Communist past. But if we ignore the hysteria of the press (in whose interest it is, after all, to have crises instead of stability) and actually dig beneath the surface, we might actually … Read more
While reading recently the third edition of After Virtue by the great living philosopher Alasdair MacIntyre, I was struck once again by the notion of the “philosophia perennis.” This is the notion that there is one, and only one, recurring and inevitable set of mutually dependent universal truths on the nature of man, and of … Read more
The diamond wedding anniversary of Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh last November brought pages of nostalgic images in the British press. The people of 1947 look so physically different from those of modern Britain: thinner, more cheerful, more formally dressed, more active, the faces less inert, the features somehow more defined. Is it … Read more
On December 4, Seamus Hasson, president of the Becket Fund, will argue on behalf of public school students who want to keep “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance. Two years ago, the politically liberal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals (San Francisco) struck down the recitation of the Pledge because it contains “under God.” Judge … Read more
There is a debate going on in Britain about Catholic schools. It is taking place at several levels. At the level of government, there is much lip service paid to the value of “faith schools” because of their undeniable popularity, but there is also considerable tension about them. The expression “faith schools” is irritating — … Read more
I’m one of those people who roots for the moderate Muslim. And yes, they do exist. After the big flap last year following Pope Benedict’s remarks about Islam, the mainstream media never got around to informing you that his invitation to dialogue was answered by a number of imams and Islamic scholars, and the conversation … Read more
The Postmodern Imagination of Russell Kirk by Gerald J. Russello (University of Missouri Press, 264 pages, $44.95) The conservative ideas of Russell Kirk are enjoying something of a revival. The Intercollegiate Studies Institute just published an impressive edition of his essays, and scholars are producing new interpretations of his work. Perhaps the best sign of … Read more
It is an old truism that there is Tradition and there are traditions. Catholic apologist types typically illustrate this by showing clear examples of Big-T Tradition (the Creed, or the canon of Scripture) vs. small-t traditions such as, say, birthday cakes, Thanksgiving turkeys, or Super Bowl beer. All of these are human traditions, and none … Read more
Early last December, Vatican archaeologists uncovered what they believe to be the tomb of St. Paul in Rome. Tradition had it located under the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, and that is just where they found it. Of course, at this stage, the researchers can make no firm conclusions. There’s little that can … Read more
The Church canonized only four Gospels. However, Robert Funk, the leader of the Jesus Seminar, wants to add the Gospel of Thomas and the Sayings Gospel Q to our canon. This poses the question: Why did the Church canonize four Gospels and no more? The answer is that Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are the … Read more