On July 30, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton provided a stalwart rationale for U.S. foreign policy on worldwide religious freedom, which is rooted in the 1998 International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA) signed by her husband. Secretary Clinton asserted: “For the United States … religious freedom is a cherished constitutional value, a strategic national interest, and a foreign policy priority.” This statement”of religious freedom as a strategic national interest”is the most powerful statement on this issue made by this administration… . Continue Reading»
October 11, 2012 will mark the fiftieth anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council. It is perhaps both a tribute to that council and a challenge to it, that Pope Benedict XVI has chosen that date to commence a “Year of Faith” which will continue until November 24, 2013, the Solemnity of Christ the King… . Continue Reading»
Freedom in the U.S. is poised to collapse sooner rather than later, according to Os Guinness in his new book, A Free People’s Suicide: Sustainable Freedom and the American Future. The reasons pertain both to external relations”imperial overreach and hubris in particular”but results more particularly from the increasing internal decadence among its people and leaders… . Continue Reading»
When Cardinal Carlo Martini, the former Archbishop of Milan, died on August 31st, many must have wondered what kind of leader the Church had just lost. “Progressive Catholic Icon … Dies After Saying Church ‘200 years’ Behind,” headlined CBS news on September 3rd. The following day, the Catholic News Service reported Pope Benedict’s tribute: “The late Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini was a ‘generous and faithful pastor of the church,’ who not only studied the Bible ‘but loved it intensely and made it the light of his life.’” … Continue Reading»
The late Christopher Hitchens wanted to be remembered for the excellence of his intellect. No doubt, those hopes will be met. As probably the best contemporary practitioner of the extended essay, he and the views he so pungently expressed will impact our societal discourse for many years to come. After his terminal diagnosis became public, Hitchens wrote, in a characteristic turn of phrase, that he was “living dyingly.” … Continue Reading»
In a bid to save Catholic education, major Catholic archdioceses are closing many schools and turning others over to the control of regional boards. This sad necessity has become an occasion for soul-searching within the Catholic educational bureaucracy. As Catholic leaders combat the causes of plummeting enrollment, they might look beyond the obvious financial barriers to examine the curricula and culture offered in their schools… . Continue Reading»
Bad Bishops have been blasted throughout Christian history. St. John Chrysostom is supposed to have said, “The road to hell is paved with the skulls of bishops” (though he never used the precise phrase). In the Middle Ages in Germany near Bingen am Rhein, a legend arose about Bishop Hatto. Having summoned the poor to buy bread from him at prohibitive prices, he instead locked them in a barn, informed them they would die like rats, and set the barn alight… . Continue Reading»
You likely think, gentle reader, that the 2012 presidential race is a contest between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney. That, of course, is true, insofar as the names on our Nov. 6 ballots go. But the 2012 race for the White House is something more, something more profound”something with deeper historical roots in modernity’s wrestling with political power and how that power contributes to the common good… . Continue Reading»
What do Charles and John Wesley have to teach Catholics in the United States about the New Evangelization? With the release of Disciples Called to Witness: The New Evangelization (USCCB, 2012) and the Catholic Church’s upcoming synod on the “New Evangelization,” these two ministers seem as relevant as ever to how we think about evangelization in the modern world… . Continue Reading»
The first time I observed American Christians creating idols of their ideologies was during the presidency of George W. Bush; I saw people put enormous faith in a president and his policies because”through their post-9/11 prisms”they came to regard his election as God-ordained. Especially within the online political forums I frequented from 2001-2003, Bush seemed nothing less than an agent of the Lord meant to avenge America’s dead, and in so doing either bring peace to the nations or usher in the messianic age… . Continue Reading»
