A Canticle for Leibowitz—and for 2016
I’d been running into references to the book every now and then for years. People told me I really ought to read it. But somehow I never got around to that. Then a friend forced […]
culture
Pope Francis vs. Gender Ideology
In Krakow with the Polish bishops two weeks ago, Pope Francis declared that, “We are experiencing a moment of the annihilation of man as the image of God.” He specifically included within this defacement “[the ideology of] […]
Book provides a deeper understanding of Catholicism in 20th century
Robert Royal’s wide-ranging book A Deeper Vision: The Catholic Intellectual Tradion in the Twentieth Century is an account of the vitality of the Catholic mind in the twentieth century, engaging both the intellectual (philosophy, theology, […]
Thomas Aquinas and the Art of Making a Public Argument
There is, in many quarters, increasing concern about the hyper-charged political correctness that has gripped our campuses and other forums of public conversation. Even great works of literature and philosophy—from Huckleberry Finn and Heart of Darkness to, believe it […]
English summers and Catholic pilgrims
Summer is here and the tourists are arriving in London. Americans are often a bit disappointed when they find that England isn’t like the World War II movies: there are no clipped voices and trimly-dressed […]
Shakespeare and the Fading of the Catholic World
Last week the world marked the 400th anniversary of the death of the greatest writer in the English language and one of the three or four most significant artists the human race has produced. William Shakespeare […]
The Consequences of Campus ‘Victimhood’ Culture
Denver, Colo., Apr 29, 2016 / (CNA/EWTN News).- “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.” This quote from British author Evelyn Beatrice Hall (often […]
Western Civ in the Crosshairs—and A Glimmer of Hope
Students at Indiana University-Bloomington recently went into panic mode at the sight of a Dominican friar, who they mistook for a Ku Klux Klan member. Funny? Yes, but also sad. It is a further sign […]
Human Liberty and “The Obsolete Man”
Is there a common thread between Christians and other “enemies of the faith” murdered by the scores in the Middle East, Africa, and elsewhere; “enemies of the state” beaten or disappearing in Russia, China, and […]
The Benedictine Option
Rod Dreher has suggested something he calls “The Benedict Option” as a response to the decline in religious faith and practice — and in the face of the increasing hostility toward them — in contemporary […]