In 2001, as the full breadth of the sexual abuse scandal in the U.S. Catholic Church hit the pews, disbelief turned to outrage at our parish, St. Ignatius in San Francisco. Everyone demanded, “How did this happen?” Fingers pointed at the bishops, and their long lax handling of clerical abusers with counseling, penance, transfer, and … Read more
In this classic and controversial Crisis Magazine article, H.W. Crocker III lists ten things Catholics should be proud of. Do you agree? With its divine foundation, sanction, and mission, nothing could be more glorious than the Catholic Church. But, of course, many people — even many baptized Catholics — don’t see it that way. … Read more
Ordinarily this column is devoted to people I have known. Our current national crisis is an excuse for me to mention three exceptions. I cannot say I really knew Winston Churchill, but once my father took me to see him when he was visiting Bernard Baruch in Manhattan. He had no idea who I was … Read more
Change and unity — the two words surely epitomize Barack Obama’s campaign for the presidency. Last week’s Democratic Convention extolled change hourly, in a relentless drumbeat. The only relief came when unity was emphasized. What nags at the back of the mind is that the call for “change” and “unity” is not so much an … Read more
A colleague of mine was once in over his head with investors to whom he owed millions of dollars. On one particular day, they paid him a polite visit at his home, asking about the status of the investment and hoping for some indication of how soon they would receive their promised return. My colleague … Read more
Pope Benedict XVI has left America a treasure of wisdom that will take some time to unlock. Just a few of a wide variety of pearls include the relationship of freedom and truth, the primacy of human dignity and human rights, the “responsibility to protect,” the place of religion in the public square, and the … Read more
When I moved my family to New Hampshire in the fall of 2001 and we were casting around for a good parish (not as simple as it sounds — Catholic life here in the most secular state in the country hasn’t been done many favors during the reign of Cardinal Law’s former lieutenant, Bishop … Read more
A new and unusual film festival focused on pro-life issues will be held in San Francisco this coming Friday, March 7. The Cinema Vita Film Festival is “dedicated to encouraging emerging filmmakers, showcasing movies about contemporary issues concerning life, and exploring life’s deep significance.” Sponsored by the Archdiocese of San Francisco, the Diocese of Oakland, … Read more
A term paper on Aristotle ended with the following sentence, not in quotation marks: “After all, a good man can only be truly good in the company of other good men.” The sentence struck me. Was it a citation from some place? I checked Google. The references it gave were no help. Many passages used … Read more
Subjectivism, deconstructionism, postmodernism, multiculturalism—there is a blight on scholarly research today, cast by the epistemic “isms.” No field is safe. Even in physics, the “isms” are attempting to spin every idea as nothing more than one person’s opinion or the accidental product of historical evolution. Physicist Alan Sobel exposed this effort when he sent a … Read more
On September 29, 2003, a frustrated Rev. David Mullen sent a letter to newly installed Archbishop Sean O’Malley of Boston, pleading for help. “Talking About Touching” (TAT), a controversial safety education program designed for children in kindergarten to fourth grade, had just been accepted in the Archdiocese of Boston. He wrote: I am most … Read more