I am traveling this week so I must produce this column early and hurriedly. I am unable to devote the hours and hours of labor necessary to produce anything as seamlessly smooth as my previous submissions. (You detect, I trust, a little of my sly, winsome humor.) What I’m saying is: You all cut me some slack this week. What I do have are a couple of items, both, in my judgment, deserving some little skewering … Continue Reading »
The young obstetrics and gynecology resident watched as the two-pound fetus was placed in a bucket, crying and struggling to breathe. Although the other medical personnel who participated in the illegal abortion pretended not to notice, the medical student recognized they were overstepping the bounds of morality by picking and choosing who should live and who should die… . Continue Reading »
Barring an international conflagration or another 9/11, both of which may God forbid, the 2012 election is going to be fought on the question of America’s fiscal future: Will the United States get a grip now, and over the next several decades, on the costs associated with an aging society? Or will we spend-and-borrow ourselves into virtual insolvency? … Continue Reading »
All cities are noisy, but Rome is one of the noisiest. In Rome one learns quickly to block the sound of late night public debate, and the buzzing of the appropriately named Vespas that fly down the streets well into the wee small hours. Otherwise, one does not sleep until 2 a.m. or later, when”for about four hours”Rome observes a grudging silence… . Continue Reading »
At long last, the United States is rightly celebrating a key success in the struggle against international terrorism: We have brought to justice Osama bin Laden, longtime head of al-Qaeda and a prime architect of the 9/11 attacks. No defender of democracy or the lives of the innocent can be sorry to hear that bin Laden will no longer be able to lend his spurious moral authority to calls for jihad against the West… . Continue Reading »
Blessed John Paul II was a witness to the power of holiness in history. He showed us the beauty and heroism possible in the human person redeemed by Jesus Christ and living as a child of God. Holiness is the key to understanding his witness for our times. He was a poet, a philosopher, and playwright… . Continue Reading »
I spent Easter in Omaha. The Great Vigil liturgy at St. Cecilia’s Cathedral was transcendent, with the music of Vittoria, Palestrina, and Byrd providing exquisite accents to contemporary plainsong. But it’s the beginning that always hits me in the gut. My heart beat faster with each urgent declamation of the Exsultet, the ancient hymn sung after the procession of the paschal candle that culminate: “This is the night when Jesus Christ broke the chains of death and rose triumphant from the grave.” … Continue Reading »
Thirty years ago, as her wedding day approached, Princess Diana’s uncle tastelessly reassured the curious press that she was in fact a “bona fide” virgin. Today, on her son’s wedding day, almost every press outlet has reassured us that the royal bride’s virginity is no longer an issue. No one would expect the bride and groom to “adhere to an ideal that fell out of fashion several generations ago.” … Continue Reading »
Religious discussions of the federal budget often generate more heat than light. The debate tends to feature sloganeering (“What Would Jesus Cut? Who Would Jesus Bomb?”) and political theater (“Fasting for a Better Budget”), name calling and grandstanding (“Bully! Hypocrite!”). Just this past week, on Good Friday in fact, the formation of a “new Christian coalition, called the Circle of Protection,” was announced, intended “to resist budget cuts that undermine the lives, dignity, and rights of poor and vulnerable people.” The “Circle of Protection” refers to the sacred space surrounding “programs that meet the essential needs of hungry and poor people at home and abroad.” … Continue Reading »
There was a student exchange program with the Methodists and the Roman Catholics when I was at Trinity Lutheran Seminary in Columbus, Ohio. Most guys, by my recollection, signed up for Biblical studies at the Methodist seminary, a much shorter drive. Boring, I thought. I instead hauled myself up to the Pontifical College Josephinum and signed up for Mariology in Ecumenical Dialogue and Sacramentology… . Continue Reading »
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