Is moral argument, particularly morality flowing from religious beliefs, taboo in criminal justice? A recent controversy highlights how some lawyers shun the moral reasoning at the foundation of the American legal system. In February, U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Edith Jones gave a controversial speech defending and endorsing the American system of capital punishment. . . . Continue Reading »
A few weeks ago I came upon the odd fact that, before and during World War II, the Royal Navy built battleships with fourteen-inch main battery guns, whereas Britain’s principal naval rivals, Germany and Japan, were building ships with fifteen- and eighteen-inch main batteries; moreover, the RN’s chief ally, the United States, had been building battleships mounting sixteen-inch guns for decades. . . . Continue Reading »
I recently received the following message from a stranger: “So basically, the ‘orthodox Catholic’ game you all play is just that . . . a game?” It was in reference to a Catholic man with whom I am friendly, and like very much. She had apparently read on social media that this man was planning to marry another man. . . . Continue Reading »
When considering the pastoral language the Church should use in speaking about homosexuality, the guiding principle must be what then Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger wrote about the subject in 1986, writing as the head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith: “Only what is true can ultimately be pastoral.” . . . Continue Reading »
Father’s Day is the perfect American invention: equal parts moralism and money-making. Early in the twentieth century the dominant forms of Protestantism urged temperance and campaigned, successfully, for Prohibition. This famous episode in American history was part of a larger moral project, one very concerned with reinforcing what we now call family values. . . . Continue Reading »
Will Davis Campbell, who died earlier this month at age 88, was one of the last surviving icons of the civil rights movement. Born on a cotton farm in southern Mississippi, Campbell served as an army medic in the South Pacific during World War II. He frequently referred to himself as a bootleg preacher with neither parish nor pulpit. . . . Continue Reading »
Pro-lifers continually pray for the reversal of Roe v. Wade. And with many on both sides of the abortion divide now agreeing that the decision is badly flawed, that could happen one day. But what if the overturn comes from the other direction? The potent possibility of a “reverse reversal” (if you will) hit me while listening to pro-life lawyers discuss the current status of abortion litigation . . . Continue Reading »
Romney’s infamous 47 percent comment did not come from nowhere, but neither did it come from Romney’s personal idiosyncrasies. There was the Wall Street Journal’s “lucky duckies” editorial about lower middle-class families who had little or no income tax liability. There was Ari Fleischer’s column complaining that workers just below the median did not pay enough in taxes. . . . Continue Reading »
The crisis in family life which has convulsed the West since the 1960s has meant that a good portion of the Church’s teaching mission over recent years has been dedicated to outlining a coherent and compelling vision of Christian marriage, and rightly so. But this should not lead Christians to downplay the nobility of the celibate life, which Christian tradition has always held in the highest regard. . . . Continue Reading »
Recently the Evangelical Environmental Network and Young Evangelicals for Climate Action took a delegation to Malawi for first-hand examination of global warming’s ostensible impact. One participant wrote for Religion News Service (RNS): “At first blush, it is difficult to understand why there is so much suffering in Malawi,” but the “changing climate neutralizes the benefits of Malawi’s natural resources. . . . Continue Reading »
