The pre-conclave era has its first bumper crop, unsolicited advice for the new pontiff and the Church.  Following the laws of supply and demand, the value of this crop is diminished by its very abundance. As such, I am reticent to throw my golden nugget onto the pile of leaden advice, yet I must.

I have no advice on what geographical region from whence the new Pope should ascend, nor do I care about the color of his skin.  I don't know if charisma need be among his charisms.  I would not presume to tell the future pontiff or the cardinal-electors what should be the focus of his pontificate. 

Orthodoxy aside, there is one thing and one thing only that I would ask from our new pontiff....READ MORE

CNN has an editorial called "Why next pope must open up church and usher in Vatican III" prominently featured on its website. It rails against the Catholic Church and advises the Church that it must "modernize" or perish.

CNN giving the Catholic Church advice on pretty much anything is like the wonder twins while in the shape of a dove and a birthday cake giving Batman advice on how to be more menacing. No, it's like Justin Bieber re-mixing Mozart to make it better by adding a rap verse about junior high school heartbreak.

If you're wondering how seriously Catholics should take the advice of CNN. Let's compare the two institutions:

Catholic Church:
Founded 2000 plus years ago.

Truth? What was my initial reaction upon hearing the news of the Pope's resignation? I was ticked.

While it is certainly possible for a Pope to resign, no Pope has done it for the last 600 years. The Papacy has a 'til death do us part' thing to it.  We are supposed to bury Popes, not throw them retirement parties.

While my mind understands that this Pope must have a very good reason for resigning, my heart still breaks a bit.  Maybe that is the reason I am so upset, I don't really understand the reason.  The Pope's simple statement on the matter is that the Papacy requires "both strength of mind and body are necessary, strength which, in the last few months, has deteriorated in me to...READ MORE

They were a tornado of plaid and elbows running out the doors of their Catholic elementary school. Four of them waved a green piece of paper above their heads excitedly but the kindergartener was just running because she doesn’t know any other speed.

I hardly had time to imagine what was on the green paper before they slammed themselves against the van all eager to be the first to announce something. In the maelstrom of words I made out the phrase “talent show.”

The girls were particularly excited. The 13 year old climbed into the front seat, which still feels strange to me. She told me she was going to perform something by Taylor Swift with two of her classmates. The 11 year old also...READ MORE

Question: Is it sexist to ask young women to be ladylike?

It would seem so.  Earlier in the week it was reported that a Catholic High School asked its young women to sign a pledge not to curse.

The media descended with its charges of sexism and the school quickly relented and opened the pledge up to boys.

While I am not in favor of either gender cursing, I have no problem with asking young women to be superior to their male counterparts.  Even in a coed school (which may or may not be such a great idea) we need to teach our boys to be men and our girls to be ladies.  And guess what, ladies don't curse (much).

I think it is perfectly sensible and reasonable to single out girls for...READ MORE

Displaying individual stupidity is what "America's Funniest Home Videos" does but so much more hilarious and quite frankly scarier than inadvertent crotch kicks from three year olds is the macro scale of government stupidity.

Here's the background: The birth dearth in Russia has achieved such calamitous proportions that Russian Emperor-for-eternity Vladmir Putin is responding with what can only be termed something so mind bogglingly crazy that the entire continent might have to be fitted with a strait jacket. This is the kind of stupidity that would embolden alien attacks if there were actually aliens.

Low birthrates have put the future of the entire country in doubt. So, given the...READ MORE

The relief of Cardinal Mahony of public duties in L.A. by Archbishop Gomez is likely just the beginning of the end for Cardinal Mahony.

As the Deacon's Bench reports via Rocco Palmo, the current steps have little canonical impact and most of Cardinal Mahony's faculties and prerogatives derive directly from Rome.

However, in all likelihood, Archbishop Gomez consulted with Rome in his effort to distance the Diocese from the evil work of these men and that the other Vatican shoe is sure to drop soon.  I hope real soon.

All this got me to thinking about Cardinal Mahony's legacy.  For those of us who watched it at the time, it is hard not to think of Cardinal Mahony without also thinking...READ MORE

I took the children down to the March for Life this year and it was a great experience. It's too bad we all nearly died.

And by nearly I don't mean kinda' close. I mean we were in a really bad situation where really really bad things seemed at least as likely as anything neutral occurring.

The snow fell in Washington D.C. right near the end of the march. Honestly, the weather wasn't too bad. But I think that D.C., Maryland, and Delaware were so ready for it they started dumping beaches of sand everywhere.

We were traveling home and about the time it was getting dark out I noticed a number of cars pulling over to the side of the road on the freeway with their hazards flashing. Hmmm....READ MORE