The Dispatch
On the intimate nature of Confession
When my wife and I began dating, it wasn’t long before I realized I had finally, after many years, found someone I could be myself [...]
Ideas have consequences
Books
Richard Weaver, the political philosopher, once wrote that “ideas have consequences.” And therein lies a tale. In June 2001, exactly 20 years ago, a friend of mine and his wife attended a meeting in Washington, [...]
Ahmad Al Aliwi Al Issa, jihad, and questionable narratives
Analysis
In the wake of the March 23rd killing of ten people at the King Soopers grocery store in Boulder, Colorado, two Catholic bishops quickly responded with words of solace. They prayed for the victims and [...]
Essay
Whether there is a moral obligation to be vaccinated
Objection 1. It seems there is a moral obligation, for one is obligated to care for one’s own body and to care likewise for the body of the neighbor, who by divine command is to [...]
Books
Claude McKay’s Harlem Shadows and the Light of Faith
I recently paid tribute to the poet Claude McKay, a singular figure in American literature. He was the first great poet of the Harlem Renaissance who inspired a generation. After a late-life conversion, in 1944, [...]
Columns
New memoir captures the Catholicism of the Immigrant Church era
In the column I wrote as we began Lent, I reflected on the somewhat scandalous tradition of Carnival as practiced in the traditional Catholic cultures of the Mediterranean. Northern Catholic cultures tended to delay their [...]
Columns
Left, Right, and Church teaching: Seasonal reflections on politics
What life are we leading today? And what is it for? Lent has been a time to reflect on such things, and Easter and Spring are seasons of rebirth. But sometimes reflection brings little comfort, [...]
Essay
The Great Reset, Catholic Style
Catholic social teaching has been called the “Church’s best kept secret”, and with good reason. The two foundational encyclicals (Pope Leo XIII’s Rerum Novarum [RV]and Pope Pius XI’s Quadragesimo Anno [QA]), other encyclicals on social [...]
Essay
“I am the man, Thomas, I am the man…”
I am the man, Thomas, I am the man; Look at these nail scars here in my hands. Jesus didn’t utter those words, as far as we know, during his post-Resurrection encounter with St. Thomas [...]
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In the column I wrote as we began Lent, I reflected on the somewhat scandalous tradition of Carnival as practiced in the traditional Catholic cultures of the Mediterranean. Northern Catholic cultures tended to delay their [...] -
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Archbishop José H. Gomez of Los Angeles, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), made the following remark as part of a longer statement about the violence in the United States Capitol: “I [...] -
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Edward J Baker:
Imagine if Catholics throughout the world could provide a united witness to accept the pain and consequences of suffering a…
TVESDAY EDITION – Big Pulpit:
[…] . . The Paschal Candle: Its History, Meaning, & Symbols – Joan Lewis at Joan’s Rome Papal Pokes in…
