While the pro-life movement continues to flourish around the world, there is plenty of evidence of the diminishing vitality of the pro-choice movement and their tired rhetoric. In fact, last week HLI received a form letter about “reproductive rights” from…

Have you ever wondered when the first Novena was prayed? Look no farther than chapters 1 and 2 of the Acts of the Apostles to see that the disciples were gathered together in the Upper Room on the Day of…

Pope Benedict has put on his schedule a meeting with presidents and other top personnel of Catholic universities in the United States. The former university professor himself is well aware of the impact academia can have on impressionable young souls, for good or bad, and he knows that the U.S. is home to the largest single concentration of Catholic universities in the world, so there is a lot at stake in this talk. My hope is that he will set them straight about a few items that these most intelligent people in higher education seem to be confused about. I would think that a few of the following issues would be of highest importance, as regards both theory and discipline.

The Gospel of John records various key statements that Jesus uttered about himself which begin with the words "I am…" These statements reveal basic aspects of who he is and what he does for the world. They also reveal basic…

In Persona Christi, the priest stands for the Bridegroom in ministering to His Bride, the Church. In bringing new life to the Bride in the sacraments, especially the Eucharist, he acts in a husbanding role and as a father. He cultivates.

The marriage bed is the altar of the domestic Church. Just as the priest brings new life spiritually (zoe) to the Bride on the altar, the husband brings new biological life (bios) to his wife on the marriage bed. In confecting and administering the Eucharist the priest brings new life to the family of Heaven, and the husband brings new life to the family on earth. In each case God is directly involved. Only through the Holy Spirit at the hands of the priest can bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Christ; and in human intercourse, only God can create a soul through the union of husband and wife.

Sunday marked the official end of Lent and the beginning of the high holy days of our faith. Holy Week is not just any week of the year: it is the hinge upon which our Christian faith and life hangs.…

The fight for life in Jamaica continues, and it is hard to express how valiantly the good pro-life people here are taking up the battle. Since the Press Conference that was held at the beginning of Lent there has been no end of public debate and discussion of the issue of abortion in Jamaica. This has been to the advantage of the defenders of life because it has allowed the truth to come to the light: instead of being hidden in the darkness where evil does its best work, the Jamaican people are actually getting a good look at what abortion is, what damage it does, and what the consequences will be for their society if they liberalize their law. It just goes to show the truth of what HLI has always said: the people of a country never ask for abortion, and when they truly know what abortion entails they reject it.

In every country where abortion is being promoted, the insistent mantra of the abortion promoters is the lie that "unsafe (i.e., illegal) abortion" is damaging women's lives and should be replaced by "safe and legal" abortion.

The transformation of abortion from illegal to legal is supposed to make it — magically — safe for women. That was but one of the many lies about abortion that the US Supreme Court swallowed in 1973 when it legalized this killing procedure. While the abortion industry itself admitted that most of the illegal abortions were done by trained doctors in the comfort of their offices, very few arguments were as persuasive as the one that said women would be served by eliminating "back-alley" abortions and replacing them with abortion on demand. This pernicious lie is still a favorite argument of the abortion industry around the world, and they must marvel at how easily people fall for it.

St. Ignatius Loyola would undoubtedly be happy that a fellow Spaniard, Fr. Adolfo Nicolás, is once again at the helm of the Society of Jesus, but I doubt St. Ignatius would be happy about the state of his order at…

Teach us true respect for all / Stir response to duty's call / Strengthen us the weak to cherish / Give us vision
lest we perish.

These inspiring words are from the Jamaican National Anthem. They perfectly encapsulate the kind of commitment…

It goes without saying that the annual March for Life is one of the most exciting and unifying events in the international movement to defend life. 100,000+ pro-lifers converged on our nation's capital this week, more than half of whom…

As we gear up for next Tuesday's March for Life in Washington DC, I offer this list of challenges to the pro-life movement in America. If we really wish to beat the abortion culture, we have to mature as a…

The feast of the Baptism of the Lord which we will celebrate this Sunday is one of the greatest feast days in the Church's calendar but also one of the least understood. Although Baptism speaks to us of washing or…

On January 22nd of this year, we have to sadly admit that our country has lived with unfettered, legal access to abortion for thirty-five long, brutal years. Not only have millions of innocent lives been unjustly snuffed out in America…

Someone needs to ask the US bishops conference (USCCB) movie reviewer, Harry Forbes what part of the concept "Catholic" he does not understand. Mr. Forbes gave a glowing review to the film, The Golden Compass, and put all American Catholic…

The sports world recently greeted the news that this year's Heisman Trophy Winner, Tim Tebow from the University of Florida, was almost a casualty of abortion. Twenty-some years ago he was not the strapping 6'3", 235 lb. beloved sports hero…

The apparitions of Our Lady of Guadalupe which occurred in Mexico in 1531 were an evangelization experience unsurpassed in all of Church history with the possible exception of the Day of Pentecost. December 12th marks the feast of Our Lady…

We have begun the great and holy season of Advent, a yearly time of renewal and focus of our faith. I will not bother you with another sermon about the dangers of materialism in the lead-up to Christmas, but if…

For years, Catholic pro-lifers have been warning that abortion, sterilization and contraception cause the collapse of an individual's morality and the destruction of families. Now, demographers are indirectly telling us that these evils are destroying entire nations and continents. Unfortunately,…

On Sunday, November 4th, Rev. Thomas Brennan, S.J., revealed publicly to a parish at St. Joseph University in Philadelphia that he was a homosexual. The priest chose to "come out" during a so-called "Diversity Week" allegedly dedicated to honoring Jesuit…

Many have asked me my opinion about Harry Potter. There is, among good Catholics, a general unease about the series, but the sense of disquiet is very, very difficult to define. I am at a bit of a disadvantage to…

"Ask and you shall receive, that your joy may be full." (Jn 16:24)

I have a great joy to share with the world, a joy that by all accounts is undeserved. October 26th marked the Golden Jubilee of my parents' wedding! Their children,…

Several months ago, I heard a provocative description of martyrdom from Fr. Robert Cook, President of the new Wyoming Catholic College. His idea was that martyrdom in the modern age is not necessarily one of bloody (red) martyrs who die…

The following is an excerpt from my upcoming book on exorcism. One chapter of the book is entitled, "Pro-Life and Exorcism" and is devoted to reflecting on the evil of abortion from a spiritual perspective. As a caution for those…

There were howls of laughter when Fox News published an article raising the question of whether the devil may have influenced Cho Seung-Hui to commit the Virginia Tech massacre. Fox just reported the comments of various Christian leaders on the…

In an age of sophisticated dissent against Christ and His Church, the purity of the Ancient Faith needs defense so people do not put their faith in "another gospel," says St. Paul (Gal 1:7). In the face of modern challenges…

It's hard to believe that Ash Wednesday snuck up on us like a thief in the night, but here we are ready to turn over a new spiritual leaf again. Lenten conversion is not a superficial renewal like cleaning an old…

As many of our readers know, the Portuguese referendum to legalize abortion failed last Sunday due to small voter turnout. Had suppression of voter turnout been a strategy of the pro-life movement (like it was in Italy for the stem cell…

Merck's lucrative HPV (Human Papillomavirus vaccine) is now being proposed as mandatory by twelve states for girls 11 years old and above. Yes, the word is mandatory. Remember that the culture of death is not a benign dictator: it becomes…

The Super Bowl is such an American phenomenon, mesmerizing a world taken in by the new religion of sports, that 230 countries and territories of the world will watch it on Sunday. I have no problem with people watching American…

In politically-correct circles nowadays, it is not kosher to suggest that grand conspiracies are causing our world's ills. However, the supreme authority of our Church in the person of Pope John Paul II and his encyclical letter, "The Gospel of…

M. Scott Peck coined the term "the people of the lie" in his 1983 book of the same name, and if there was ever an inveterate lie that was concocted entirely to deceive, manipulate and kill, it is the term…

December 28^th was the Feast of the Holy Innocents in the liturgical calendar of the Roman Catholic Church. This feast celebrates the deaths of innocent children who literally died for (in place of) Christ and whom the Church has venerated as…

Latin America never ceases to amaze me. In particular it is Central America with tiny countries smaller than the size of most of our states which is shining a light to the rest of the world right now. Despite our…

The US population is set to cross the 300 million mark next week, a sign that our population is prosperous not only in dollars but also in people. But instead of celebrating, many Americans will look at their kids, nervously…

A friend of mine offered a tongue-in-cheek reflection about the recent flare-up of Islamic fanaticism concerning the pope’s remarks. “There is a large group of picketers in front of the cathedral demanding that the pope apologize for Notre Dame’s loss…

Dear Mrs. Gates:

For many years the world has paid close attention to the foundation that bears your name. No one faults you or your husband for funding excellent programs to keep kids in school and assisting with the advancement of…

While the pro-life movement in America is busily working to overturn Roe and take back the legal territory lost to surgical abortion, the killing industry is actually gaining a huge amount of ground in another direction: they are going cellular. That…

In this post-feminist age when men are still learning remedial masculinity, we have a model of manhood lived heroically which we would do well to emulate.

Purity and Martyrdom

In the early twentieth century Poland gave us that manly priest, John Paul…

Modern means of communication give us the ability to see the ugly face of terrorism graphically: heartless beheadings, brutal murders, suicide bombings, the bloody deaths of innocent people and the like. No one can deny that terrorists who vow the…

George W. Bush’s very first presidential veto this past Wednesday was just right. With it, President Bush stopped the congressional rampage to lavish more money on those who conduct immoral research on (embryonic) human beings. His veto told turn-coat politicians…

In what seems like a well-scripted one-two punch of the culture of death, the world’s two richest men have dazzled our fawning media and society with their dangerous magic in the past several weeks.

The sequential announcement of the pending retirement…

In the past month I have had occasion to take two trips to Caribbean islands, but don’t think I am enjoying exotic vacations! My trips are motivated only by HLI’s mission, which is to plant the pro-life movement in areas…

The poet Wordsworth spoke succinctly of our struggles with human weakness: “The world is too much with us,” he said. We are supposed to live in the world, but not of the world, but that is a difficult balance to…

Without a doubt, the greatest hypocrisy of The Da Vinci Code is author Dan Brown’s abuse of women in the name of feminism. I mean that precisely. A fundamental agenda of his book is his effort to exalt “the divine feminine”…

The 79-year-old “progressive” Jesuit Italian Cardinal Carlo Martini, former Archbishop of Milan, recently in an interview with L’Espresso magazine pronounced his infallible statement on condom use for married couples: “Certainly the use of prophylactics can, in some situations, constitute a lesser…

Were it not for my work on the front lines of the pro-life movement I would have a hard time understanding the schizophrenia that accompanies the culture of death. However, double minds and divided loyalties abound wherever abortion and birth…

Different Movies for Different Eyes

I have no morbid curiosity about the devil, mind you. He got a few lines from the Lord in the Gospels and he does not need any more attention from me. However, Hollywood does seem to…

At the very founding of our nation, words of wisdom from Patrick Henry and other patriots helped to form the American soul in understanding the true nature of freedom. Freedom of conscience is the essence of freedom. He said, “A…

The Catholic Church in America is going through some hard times right now. It is Christ’s way of purifying His bride to make her “holy and immaculate” (Ephesians 5:27). Our faith in the Church is being purified too, which will…