R. R. Reno

The Vatican has put forward new norms for handling clerical sexual abuse. The spin in the AP story in the New York Times offers occasion for reflection. Thought #1: The story says, “The bulk of the new document merely codified the ad hoc norms for dealing canonically with pedophile . . . . Continue Reading »

Italians newspapers are reporting intensified investigative interest in Cardinal Sepe of Naples. (For English language reporting, see a recent article in the Irish Times .) Cardinal Sepe may, perhaps, be a true son of southern Italy, using his position to distribute goodies funded by the massive . . . . Continue Reading »

As predicted, the French lower house passed a largely symbolic measure that bans full face coverings in public . In a posting last week , I pointed out that whatever one thinks of the French ban, it fits into a more than one-century-long tradition of enforcing (or at least trying to enforce) a . . . . Continue Reading »

It’s summer, and I’ve let my reading go a little. Only today did I catch up with a perceptive discussion of the recent Supreme Court decision, Christian Legal Society v. Martinez, posted by Robert K. Visher on The Public Discourse . The majority in Martinez upheld the decision of the . . . . Continue Reading »

Today’s New York Times breaks more news about the investigations of the Belgian church. It’s an ugly story, a very ugly story. A bishop, his 10-year-old nephew, sexual molestation—-and the all too familiar story of ecclesiastical retreat from reality as the Belgian hierarchy . . . . Continue Reading »

Am I the only one who finds this youtube video kinda creepy? Yes, Charlie Chaplin lampooned Hitler decades ago in The Great Dictator (1940). But the critical edge was plain to see. This video, which has Der Fuehrer singing the theme song to The Jeffersons , is more in the spirit of Mel Brooks, who . . . . Continue Reading »

The scientific popularizers”Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, Steven Pinker, and others”don’t go in for nuance, as David Hart has pointed out again and again in our pages. They cheerfully champion the most reductive sort of materialism, including the idea that free will does not exist … Continue Reading »

The folks at Azure have generously unlocked my article on Henry James , which I wrote about earlier in the week , recommending it to readers who are interested in thinking about literature from a conservative perspective. If you like the essay, please consider subscribing to Azure . The quarterly . . . . Continue Reading »

A friend recently expresses chastened sentiment. “Great books and good philosophy,” he sighed, “don’t really help us become virtuous, do they?’ Well, mostly no, they don’t. In my youth I hitch-hiked across America many times, worked all sorts of jobs, and spent a great . . . . Continue Reading »

The machinery of French legislative authority is going into motion to pass a law that will ban the full veil in public , with a vote scheduled for July 13. Put forward by President Sarkozy, the ban was originally opposed by the Socialist Party. But the Socialists, who represent the main opposition . . . . Continue Reading »