They had a problem in Tyler, Texas. The Catholic hospital wasn’t abiding by Catholic teaching. It was performing sterilizations. The administrators went through some creative mental gymnastics in saying it was going by a “good faith” interpretation of Catholic teaching, as reinterpreted by certain ethicists. The bishop is shocked–shocked!–to learn there are dissenters in his…

Let’s do a little remembering, this Thanksgiving. Let’s remember why we celebrate this day. I’m going to begin with a little history first, and use this history as an entry into a Scriptural reflection. Let’s start with the Pilgrims. Who were they? They were English Protestants in the early 1600s who sought to worship God…

A couple of posts I made last year: Secularizing Thanksgiving History of Thanksgiving

Come, Ye Thankful People, Come Come, ye thankful people, come, raise the song of harvest home; All is safely gathered in, ere the winter storms begin. God our Maker doth provide for our wants to be supplied; Come to God’s own temple, come, raise the song of harvest home. All the world is God’s own…

20,000 Muslims protest outside a Coptic church in Cairo. A full accounting of the extent of the anti-Christian carnage in Orissa is just beginning.

At a recent dinner of the Federalist Society, Attorney General Michael Mukasey defended the Bush administration’s abridgment of liberty in the fight against terror. While others laughed at his jokes and applauded the iron fist, one man stood up and shouted, “Tyrant!” before walking out–Washington state Supreme Court justice Richard Sanders, who is of course…

Thanksgiving is not about giving thanks to random people. Why do we have the holiday? Consider the words of Abraham Lincoln, who established it in 1863: The year that is drawing toward its close has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that…

A Lutheran pastor reflects on life in small towns at First Things. Small town life has its advantages and disadvantages, but they are not the obvious ones. When the media focused on small towns, viewers got the feeling that they were visiting a distant nation not their own. They were clearly delighted to be somewhere…

Benedict Fitzgerald is suing Mel Gibson, claiming he wasn’t paid enough for cobbling together Scripture, Anne Catherine Emmerich, and Mary of Agreda to produce the script of “The Passion.” He wants another $10,000,000. Some old links to things I’ve written on the subject of Gibson’s Passion: The Passion of the Christ: Crisis and Opportunity in…

Yes, at some airports. Topping the list: DFW, Detroit, O’Hare, and Bush. At the bottom: Las Vegas, Atlanta, and Reagan.