Matthew Schmitz

In a long report on how McDonald’s is seeking to boost its image , Keith O’Brien describes the new “McDonald’s Channel,” which will one day play in its franchises: The content on the nascent channel is breezy (think Top 10 lists) and anodyne. The objective is “an . . . . Continue Reading »

Writing for the New York Review of Books , the indefatigable Garry Wills asks , “Why do some people who would recognize gay civil unions oppose gay marriage? Certain religious groups want to deny gays the sacredeness of what they take to be a sacrament. But marriage is no sacrament.” . . . . Continue Reading »

St. Paul’s medical advice to his disciple Timothy, “use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments,” holds up pretty well  according to some recent studies: Scientists have found that components of red wine seem to improve intestinal health, . . . . Continue Reading »

The Rev. Dr. Amy C. Schifrin, pastor of Mission in Christ and Faith Lutheran Churches in Iowa, writes about the time she went to a Planned Parenthood clinic to get a pregnancy test: Lacking a home physician, we made an appointment at the local Planned Parenthood clinic where I could have a . . . . Continue Reading »

Christianity Today asks three contributors whether Christians should shut down their social service programs when the state commands them to act against Christian belief. In line with my advice in response to Obama’s gay marriage announcement, Ryan T. Anderson offers a stirring . . . . Continue Reading »

One doubts whether Christ observes America’s great civic holiday for celebrating and thanking our mothers, but it’s surely a fitting day for American Christians to think of that lady, Mary. Only three years ago, Evangelical and Catholics Together released the momentous statement, “Do . . . . Continue Reading »

On the cover of this week’s  Time magazine, we see a mother breastfeeding her son of nearly four years. In my book, that’s too old for a child to breastfeed. What I’m really worried about, though, isn’t the child’s age. It’s the baring of a breast on the . . . . Continue Reading »

There has been a lot of chatter in the more traditional quarters of the Catholic web over the leaking of letters between the bishops of the Society of St. Pius X. Bishop Bernard Fellay, the head of the society and the man who has been leading discussions about its reconciliation with Rome, follows . . . . Continue Reading »

Or so argues Fr. Ryan Erlenbush in a post at the New Theological Movement : There is nothing in the description of the figure of Job which would make us think that he was not an historical person. Indeed, though one may hold that the various dialogues and discussions in the book of Job are stylized . . . . Continue Reading »

Matt Franck has a good piece at Public Discourse today offering his thoughts on Obama’s announcement of his support for gay marriage and on the Richard Grenell controversy, part of which played out on these pages. You can find Matt’s piece here. . . . . Continue Reading »