Would Catholics be better off in America today if scientists discovered a “Catholic gene?” Sadly, I think we would. Sadly, I think our culture promotes and celebrates victimhood and punishes morality. Sadly, I think the discovery of a papal mitre in our double helix could be a legal benefit to Catholics.

Rather than just a life-style choice that’s so un-21st century, Catholics could warrant legal protection similar to the laws that prohibit racial or gender discrimination. In the past if a Catholic pharmacist refused to sell an abortifacient contraceptive the Catholic pharmacist could lose their job.  But if Catholicism was discovered to be a genetic defect some of the secular new age...READ MORE

Over the weekend, the protestants of the Anglican communion acted like protestants.  Good.

This past weekend the General Synod of the Church of England rejected a compromise over women’s ordination aimed at maintaining the unity of the Church of England.  The compromise would have allowed for male Bishop’s only for those who reject female ordination and female bishops for the rest.  A two-tiered episcopacy intended to maintain some semblance of unity.

The acceptance of women Bishops in the Church of England is now a foregone conclusion.  Believe it or not, this is a good thing.

This closes for the good the escape hatch for those in the Church of England who maintain they are orthodox in...READ MORE

A friend of mine worried to me many years ago that his wife was hanging out with a woman who’d recently been divorced. He said he believed that their friendship was having a negative effect on his marriage. At the time I didn’t see how that could be but it seems I was wrong. My friend’s wife left him within that year.

That’s purely anecdotal I know but now there are scientists now saying divorce leads to more divorce.

Scientific research coming out of Brown University studied the marriages of 12,000 people and discovered “divorce clusters” and have concluded that if a friend of yours divorces the chances of you getting a divorce increase by 75 percent.

The researchers even concluded...READ MORE

Some Jews walks down the street of a European city.  Yarmulkes sit atop their heads.  Recognizable as a Jews, they don’t make it very far before they attract unwanted attention.  At first they were mocked, then they were spit upon, while their attackers make Nazi salutes.

Nazi Germany 1939?  No.  Amsterdam, 2010.

Last week, a television broadcast showed how three Jews with skullcaps, two adolescents and an adult, were harassed within thirty minutes of being out in the streets of Amsterdam. Young Muslims spat at them, mocked them, shouted insults and made Nazi salutes. “Dirty Jew, go back to your own country,” a group of Moroccan youths shouted at a young indigenous Dutch Jew.

But this is...READ MORE

Yesterday was a good day. The Archbold’s did the 4th of July up right. All five children wore red, white and blue to Church. We sang “God Bless America” at the top of our lungs. We played outside while listening to country music on the radio and I barbecued hot dogs and burgers on the grill and didn’t even burn them (a lot.)

We ate inside because there were so many bugs flying around that with a concerted effort they could’ve carried away the two year old girl by her pigtails. As the sun set at the end of the day my wife and I debated taking the children back outside to watch the fireworks. That means I wanted us all to go out to the local high school to watch the fireworks and my wife...READ MORE

I know he doesn’t want me to and I know he thinks it is useless but, Christopher Hitchens, I am praying for you.

Christopher Hitchens can be smart, acerbic, funny, mean, insightful, and thick.  He defends Western Civilization while, via his outspoken atheism, semantically chipping away at the Christian pillars that support it.  In short, Christopher Hitchens is a frustrating person.  Christopher Hitchens is also very sick.  He writes…

I have been advised by my physician that I must undergo a course of chemotherapy on my esophagus. This advice seems persuasive to me. I regret having had to cancel so many engagements at such short notice.

There are no good cancers to have, but if you were...READ MORE

I’ve worked in public relations so I know some of the rules. You know who breaks all of them? Pope Benedict XVI. I’ve got to imagine that Pope Benedict’s PR man would be pretty frustrated with him about now if he had one.

I’d imagine his message to the Pope would be something like this:

“Benny baby how’s it goin’? Fantabulous. Great great great. But I gotta’ tell you I’m getting a little concerned that you’re veering a wee bit from my recommended plan. You did get the plan, right? I gave it to one of the cardinals to forward to you. I’ll have to get his name from my assistant but he was a little old Italian cardinal with a red hat. So you can probably find him based on that.

Anyway,...READ MORE

One can imagine that Cardinal Kasper has feelings akin to those experienced by an old school salesman in a world of cell phones and web conferences.  For them, it is all about the meet and greet, the personal connection, and the bond formed between men.  He is still doing his job the same way he always has and to the best of his ability, yet it just doesn’t seem to work anymore. He hasn’t changed, but the job has.

Cardinal Kasper, the Church’s head ecumenist, is 77 years old and rumor has it his retirement is imminent.  In a press conference the Cardinal spoke about the end of his tenure.  In his remarks he looked backwards and forwards.  The theme of his remarks, as always, is dialogue.

...READ MORE