Do you know who developed the theory of the Big Bang? It wasn’t Albert Einstein or Stephen Hawking. In fact, it was a Catholic priest.

Fr. Georges Lemaitre, born in 1894, was both a Catholic priest and a Belgian mathematical physicist. And although many may think this some kind of contradiction (being both a priest and a scientist), it is not at all. There is no contradiction at all between science and the Catholic faith. They are both pursuits of the same truth.

The common consensus among scientists of Lemaitre’s day, including that of Albert Einstein, was that the universe had gone on forever. Space and Time were constants and infinitely old.

With the popularity of such a Steady State...READ MORE

There’s another big reason we need to rethink the power we give government.

In part one I gave examples of how the same power we give to government to make moral laws will inevitably be used to also make immoral laws.  There is another factor that determines the risk and severity of such an inevitability.  And that factor is the level of submission by our government to an unchanging, higher law.

The founding fathers of the United States recognized this as not only important, but essential and foundational to the moral integrity of the government. In fact, the entire basis for the U.S. Constitution is not so much that it gives rights, but that it recognizes and protects our already...READ MORE

I think many of us need to rethink the power we give to government. It’s not as simple as just supporting moral laws and opposing immoral ones.

The British have been trying to pass a law that would force, for example, Catholic schools to hire non-Catholic teachers - all in the name of “equality.” Fortunately, Pope Benedict was able to throw his weight around this week (i.e. make a fuss about it…i.e. point out the truth about how such a law would infringe on religious freedom) and it appears the British legislature is backing down…for now.

But this is just the latest example of the dangerous tightrope we walk when we give government the power to decide such matters. This time the bad press...READ MORE

Did Martin Luther save the bible from the Roman Catholic Church? Was John Wycliff the first to translate the Bible into the English language in 1382 so the regular-Joe could read the Bible too?

Many people answer yes to these questions. The same people also commonly accuse the Catholic Church of things like “hiding the Bible from the people.” And not letting the laity read the Bible for themselves in fear that the people would learn how wickedly warped and un-biblical the teachings of the Catholic Church truly were. So, naturally, for these reasons the Catholic Church kept Bibles locked up, hard to find and in languages nobody could understand.

This absolutely ridiculous, academically...READ MORE

Social Justice is getting a bad name. I am more and more frequently hearing people use the words “social justice” in a negative or misconstrued connotation. It just happened again on The O’reilly Factor this week (0:20-0:40 secs):

Bill O’reilly (a Catholic himself) says, “Left wing zealots don’t want any limits on spending - they want Social Justice. That means they want big money given to less affluent Americans through a variety of programs.” And of course here he is speaking in terms of government spending and government programs. Such a limited (and perhaps entirely wrong) understanding of social justice is not an anomaly. I have seen...READ MORE

I’m sure many of you have heard the latest recommendation from Pope Benedict XVI for priests to become more involved in New Media. It came in the Pope’s World Communications Day message last week (Jan 23, 2010).

Of course, Pope John Paul II was also calling for such use of New Media back during his pontificate. And certainly the Vatican deserves a lot of credit over recent years for recognizing the importance of these new technologies to put “the media ever more effectively at the service of the Word” - as the Pope perfectly puts it. Even some of the most respected voices in the world of New Media are giving the Pope props.

The Vatican went out and got a YouTube channel. They are on...READ MORE

Did you know that penance is not only for Lent and Advent? And that we Catholics are not only supposed to be doing penance on the Fridays of Lent?

Of course, penance is good to do at many times for many reasons.  But in fact, canon law says this:

Canon 1250—All Fridays through the year and the time of Lent are penitential days and times throughout the universal Church.

Canon 1251—Abstinence from eating meat or another food according to the prescriptions of the conference of bishops is to be observed on Fridays throughout the year unless they are solemnities; abstinence and fast are to be observed on Ash Wednesday and on the Friday of the Passion and Death of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

Canon...READ MORE

We live in a world filled with suffering and despair.  And we daily search for meaning amidst it all.  But there is a very important difference between suffering and despair. Suffering and despair don’t have to go together. In fact, separating the two is at the heart of the Christian message.

The full meaning of suffering is surely a mystery. In our fallen world, there is simply no escaping it. No amount of money, technology, medicine or love has managed to rid the world of suffering. Even in our richest, most advanced countries, suffering persists. It may not as often be all that visible. But inside the big homes and fancy cars. Underneath the expensive clothes and well fed bellies....READ MORE