I find that both sides of the same-sex marriage debate most often use stale, simplistic arguments that fail to respond to the critiques of the opposing side. The lack of nuance and intellectual seriousness, outside of a handful of very thoughtful voices, is almost certainly the result of people simply preaching to their own choir,… Read More How About a Real Debate on Gay Marriage?
The 2011 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) contraceptive mandate has garnered ample media attention as a polarizing issue among U.S. Catholics and the general public. A rhetorical icon for the religious liberty debate, contraception orients discourse about religious freedom to personal practices, political opinions, and religious beliefs. A vital issue for many… Read More Institutional Religious Freedom: Broadening the Scope
When tragedy strikes, as it did last week in Boston, many of us turn instinctively to hold and squeeze those closest to us. We feel sympathy and empathy for those afflicted by the loss of their dearest loved ones, and it reminds us to treasure those we love and to unabashedly express our affection. We… Read More Love and Loss
Boston has been my home for almost six years. It didn’t take me long to love it. I’m not sure if it’s the blue-collar feel to a city that prides itself in not being New York, if it’s the way Bostonians are so passionate about their hometown and hometown teams, or the patriotism that pervades… Read More A Virtuous Response to Terror?
Have you blinked yet? More stunning news from Rome. The Vatican has confirmed that Pope Francis the Radical will appoint women to key leadership posts in the Roman Curia. These comments from papal spokesman Father Frederico Lombardi, SJ follow public statements made by Cardinal Oscar Andres Rodriguez Maradiaga of Honduras saying he was backing more posts… Read More Vatican confirms that Pope Francis will appoint women to key positions
More big news from Rome today. According to a senior Vatican official, martyred Salvadoran bishop Oscar Romero will soon join the Church’s official canon of saints. During a homily yesterday, Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia–who is in charge of Romero’s cause for canonization–announced that Pope Francis had “unblocked” Romero’s path to sainthood. Romero’s cause for canonization had… Read More Vatican official: Romero’s canonization ‘unblocked’ by Pope Francis
Satire has been a salve for many Americans in the past week. Witness The Onion’s rapidly re-tweeted article, “Jesus, This Week,” which suggested that “Maybe next time we have a week, they can try not to pack it completely to the fucking brim with explosions, mutilations, death, manhunts, lies, weeping, and the utter uselessness of… Read More Liberty, Idolatry, and the Culture of Violence
