It’s hard to imagine a less auspicious time for the reception of a papal encyclical on the morally appropriate means of family planning than the summer of 1968. Now, 40 years after it was issued, Pope Paul VI’s letter, Humanae Vitae, may finally be getting the hearing it deserves. Why? Because the developed world is […]

Like many things, the term “great” is terribly overused these days.  We speak of great pitchers and quarterbacks, great movie and rock stars, great columnists and journalists, etc.  By the classic definition of “great” as something or someone of major significance or importance, though, almost none of those we casually refer to as great really […]

In the course of my week I get many letters from all kinds of good people (and a few not-so-good ones…) who express their sentiments on how Human Life International impacts their lives; and every now and then I get a letter that literally causes me to shed tears of gratitude. This week was one […]

Few fights are nastier than theological quarrels. This axiom has been amply confirmed by the on-going spat that has erupted between two brothers who were crucial figures in the rise of liberation theology — the Brazilians Leonardo and Clodovis Boff.
Largely unreported outside theological circles, this dispute’s importance is more than academic. It suggests that liberation […]

One of the presidential candidates speaks about hope quite often.  He is correct when he describes hoping as an audacious act.  It does indeed take courage to look above the circumstances in which we are mired, believe in the possibility of something better, and then strive to make that belief become a reality.  He is […]

With the 40th anniversary of Pope Paul VI’s Humanae Vitae so recently behind us, it is worth noting the strength and courage of the pro-life movement in the United States. Yes, the ubiquitous culture of death still surrounds us daily, but more and more courageous individuals and organizations are rising to stem the tide. As […]

On the afternoon of Sunday, July, 27, 2008, close to five hundred of the faithful filled the tremendous Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament that Mother Angelica built in Hanceville, Alabama. They were gathered for the funeral of three children — Karen Esther, Enoch, and Rebekah.
The three children were all in the same small white […]

Ah, summer. We all know what that means: our kids are getting even fatter.
Surely you’re aware of the battle against childhood obesity. It’s in high gear during the school year. I read about it in the Washington Post.
With physical education classes offered in fewer than 10 percent of public schools, some state legislatures are fighting […]

In a landmark decision that will impact the future of gun regulation in the United States, late last month the Supreme Court struck down a handgun ban in Washington, D.C. In District of Columbia etal. v. Heller (No. 07-290) a slim 5-4 majority found the D.C. ban to violate the Second Amendment to the U.S. […]

Eighty-three years ago Walter Lippmann published a brilliant, deeply disturbing book called Public Opinion. Bearing in mind that John Dewey called it “the most effective indictment of democracy…ever penned,” Americans need to take what it says to heart in 2008 as they try to make sense of the latest race for the presidency.
Lippmann, who’d served […]

The Catholic Committee of Appalachia (CCA) is distributing a DVD, “Climate Change: Our Faith Response,” to all 27 Catholic dioceses in the Appalachian region. The 10-minute DVD is intended for religious education classes and comes with a study guide to underscore the Church’s teaching about the care of creation and humanity’s responsibility for stewardship.
The message […]

In 1850, Cardinal Nicholas Wiseman wrote his fellow-Englishmen from Rome, announcing that Pius IX had restored the diocesan hierarchy in England and that he, Wiseman, would be cardinal archbishop of Westminster. “From Out the Flaminian Gate,” a pastoral letter longer on baroque rhetoric than ecumenical diplomacy, caused a perfect storm in Protestant England. Queen Victoria […]

“And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country” — John F. Kennedy, January 20, 1961.
When John F. Kennedy challenged Americans in his inaugural address, the idea that the government should somehow provide for the individual citizen was in its infancy.  […]

“Life isn’t much fun anymore now that the wife has me doing all kinds of nutty things to economize.”
“Ah, yes, you speak of the way Americans are responding to rapidly rising fuel and food costs.”
“You got that right. The wife and I used to enjoy dining out. Now we sit around clipping coupons, searching for […]

In 1974, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) voted to hold the Games of the XXII Olympiad in Moscow, the capital of what was then the Soviet Union. Sparked by opposition to the Soviet Union’s renegade foreign policy in Afghanistan, and by that power’s refusal to let its Jewish population immigrate to Israel, the United States […]

Whenever applause breaks out in the liturgy because of some human achievement, it is a sure sign that the essence of the liturgy has totally disappeared and been replaced by a kind of religious entertainment.  
The above words were penned by our Holy Father Pope Benedict the XVI, (then Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger) on p. 198 […]

Dear Right Reverend and Most Reverend Bishops of the Anglican Communion:
At the Lambeth Conference of 1908, your brothers of a saner age offered an unequivocal condemnation of the evils of contraception, abortion, and other degrading immoralities. One century later, in marked contrast, one quarter of the churches of the Anglican Communion are boycotting the Lambeth […]

With the credit crunch and oil prices continuing to shake economies across the globe, the world’s more prominent financial centers, most notably Wall Street and the City of London, have lost much of their luster.
From Geneva to Hong Kong, thousands working in financial industries have lost their jobs. Banks, hedge funds, and private equity groups […]

“God chose us in Christ, before the world began, to be holy and blameless in his sight” (See Ephesians 1:5).
On Saturday, July 12 I had the joy of baptizing three babies, chosen by God from all eternity to live. A cause of particular joy and celebration was that two of these babies were rescued from […]

“George W. Bush is a [EXPLETIVE] theocrat!”
If I had a dollar for every time I heard that over the past eight years. Having written a book on the faith of George W. Bush, I was pummeled by liberals for not conceding that Torquemada had risen from the grave and was now running America from 1600 […]

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has a long and painful history of coercive tactics. Since its inception in 1969, pro-lifers have decried its cultural insensitivity and unrelenting top-down logic that sees human beings as disposable commodities, and overpopulation as the world’s greatest looming threat. Now, nearly 4 decades later, the UNFPA is announcing the […]

Was Humanae Vitae prophetic? Pope Paul VI’s 1968 encyclical condemning contraception has often been described that way, and, not to be coy about it, I’ve often called it prophetic myself. But with the 40th anniversary of this remarkable document at hand July 25, it’s worth considering where prophecy comes in.
Prophecy means two different things. One […]

The news that Tony Snow, a Catholic convert and national media figure, had lost his battle with colon cancer in the wee hours of Saturday morning was not a surprise, but it was still a sad disappointment. He is survived by his wife Jill and three children. God comfort them.
Tony Snow always considered himself a […]

Our civilization may be nearing its end. I offer proof: bottled water for dogs.
According to a Sun of Baltimore blog, Century Foods, a maker of nutritional supplements, has introduced three types of bottled water for dogs: one to promote healthy hips and joints, one to ensure healthy aging and a third to replace electrolytes after […]

Charities are usually founded on high ideals and goals. But the difficult part comes when those behind the good cause must come up with the cold, hard cash to fund their charitable works.
One always supposes that there are benefactors out there who will be happy to support the cause. But they rarely appear in the […]

Ask Southern Baptists to name their “religion” and most of them will simply say, “I’m a Baptist.”
Ask Roman Catholics the same question and most will say, “I’m Catholic.”
Odds are good that most Lutherans, Episcopalians, Presbyterians and occupants of other name-brand pews will take the same approach.
However, some of these believers may choose to define “religion” […]

In religion, the Golden Rule means that one should treat others as he would like to be treated.  It is considered the highest standard of personal conduct.
But when the government is involved, the Golden Rule means something quite different.  It means that the entity with the gold gets to make the rules.  And this Golden […]

Hundreds of people gathered around me, as the little children’s casket was placed next to the open grave into which it would shortly be lowered.
I prayed the words of the Church’s liturgy, “Tender Shepherd of the flock, Rachael, Joshua, Victoria, Adam, Mary, Jacob, and Grace now lie cradled in your love…. Comfort us with the […]

I nearly hemorrhaged when Lil’ Wayne approached the microphone at the 2008 BET Awards saying, “I am nothing without God, baby! I just want to say thank God, thank my family and thank Universal.” What god is he thanking? Does he worship some ancient god named “Misogyny?” There is a serious disconnect in the hip […]

Stirrings in Rome suggest that the movement to beatify Pope Pius XII may be on its way to getting back on track. If so, it’s a development that fair-minded people should welcome.
The beatification of Pope Pius, who headed the Church from 1939 until his death in 1958, got shifted to the Vatican’s back burner several […]

By now, most Americans are familiar with YouTube.  The on-line video provider, which is now owned by Google, has enabled millions of Americans to post their own videos on the Internet for all to see.  It is an equal opportunity outlet for would-be film producers, operating without censorship–or is it?
Yesterday we at PRI learned that […]

To [Christian married couples] the Lord entrusts the task of making visible to men the holiness and sweetness of the law which unites the mutual love of husband and wife with their cooperation with the love of God the author of human life [Pope Paul VI, Humanae vitae, ¶25].
It may seem odd to take a […]

Barack Obama using Christian and Jewish scriptures as mendaciously as Bill Clinton once did, when the former president took to choreographing his church visits so that photographers could see the huge gold cross on the cover of the bible that he invariably clutched face up?
Dr. James Dobson of “Focus on the Family” thinks Bill’s huggy-bear […]

The alleged crime took place at the corner of Alum Rock and Ellesmere roads in Birmingham, England, where an officer spotted two missionaries distributing “God’s Bridge to Eternal Life” tracts.
The controversial pamphlets contained comments such as, “Throughout history individuals have tried many ways to gain or earn eternal life, but every attempt has been unsuccessful.” […]

I have been blessed to have served my last two Air Force assignments in French colonial country.  The cultures of southern Illinois and northwestern Louisiana retain a lot of their French-Catholic character, complete with Mardi Gras and those wonderful French names.  This has given me a newer appreciation of the French influence in America and […]

“So you feel you’re the most qualified candidate for this position?”
“Absolutely. As you see by my resume, I graduated with honors from MIT.”
“Impressive. But tell me. How often do you go to the gym?”
“The gym?”
“Yeah, workout, pump iron, run on the treadmill.”
“Not as much as I’d like. But in my previous position, I won several […]

In part 1 of this series on “Ending Abortion the Church’s Way,” we reflected on the fact that the pro-life movement goes beyond the visible boundaries of the Catholic Church, and that it is a specifically Catholic attitude to embrace those of other religious persuasions in the defense of life. We also warned against a […]

Steve Strang knew the ground rules for the recent meeting between Sen. Barack Obama and a flock of evangelical, Catholic and liberal Protestant leaders.
The invitation to the Chicago gathering stated: “This is an off-the-record (no media) time for questioning and listening, with no expectation of endorsement.”
But it’s one thing to keep Obama’s answers off the […]

It’s June and for many in the senior classes at school there has been a graduation ceremony, and friends and relatives and out-of-town family who make a trip to see a son or daughter, niece, grandchild, brother or sister receive a diploma that signals that it’s time to move on; take the next step in life; commence.
Recently I […]

“Is your book like Scott McClellan’s?” an interviewer asked me that the other day, thereby suggesting a possible parallel between the former White House press secretary’s insider tell-all volume about the Bush administration and my new book about the issue of secrecy in the Church.
I had to disappoint him.
I haven’t read McClellan’s book, I said, […]

The US bishops have issued a very clear statement on embryonic stem cell research. It does not dwell upon the scientific nuances of the issue, but rather assists the reader to focus on the moral issues involved. The statement is not marked by condemnation, but rather by explanation. It is not a rejection of research […]

Once again journalists have carried off our means of communication like so many Sabine women or girls of Shiloh. Except, the Sabine women and girls of Shiloh actually were women. What journalists have carried off is the actual meaning of our words. It is hard to determine if the journalists are merely useful idiots being […]

For years the slogan “Friends Don’t Let Friends Drink and Drive” has been the salient reminder of the dangers of driving under the influence.
This saying has become a part of our culture, embedded into our collective consciousness as a guiding principle in those moments where car keys are in hand after one too many brews. […]

A friend recently asked: “How long do we have left as a society?”  In answer to that question I informed her about an interesting and comprehensive study that a renowned British anthropologist, Joseph Unwin, PhD., presented to the British Psychological Society in 1935.  Unwin sought to prove that the traditional monogamous model for marriage was not essential to […]

With the recent spike in gasoline prices, politicians and pundits have begun calling again for energy independence for America. Ethanol refiners continue lobbying Congress for massive subsidies while electric utilities and coal producers promote clean coal and a nuclear renaissance.
Oil executives, complaining that U.S. restrictions have hampered developing new sources of oil, advocate opening the […]

On December 10, 1948 the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted and proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This year, therefore, marks its 60th anniversary and provides us an opportunity to examine some themes in the Declaration which deserve special emphasis.
The Declaration asserts, “[E]veryone has the right to life” (Article 3). This, of […]

I haven’t missed Meet the Press in 12 years. After Mass it is an essential part of my Sunday morning ritual. I am listening to MSNBC’s ongoing coverage of Tim Russert’s sudden death today, June 13, as I am working. I have this great sense of loss, as if a family member has suddenly gone […]

Get this: Dads are essential to kids.
According to the National Fatherhood Initiative, kids who grow up without dads are more likely to grow up poor, drop out of school, end up in jail and encounter numerous other struggles in life than kids who grow up with dads.
This information comes as no shock to most men. […]

QUEBEC,QC,CA — No one can know with certainty if the choice of Quebec City as the site of the 49th International Eucharistic Congress was another example Pope John Paul II’s prophetic charism. Nevertheless, in retrospect the choice is certainly providential in its meaning.
Quebec City sits along a narrowing of the St. Lawrence River in […]

The other week, the Holy See, via the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, published a strongly-worded and unequivocal warning aimed at contumacious souls tinkering with the idea of “ordaining” women to the priesthood. The document makes clear that any such charade “ordination” will result in automatic excommunication for the guilty parties involved, across the […]