Wednesday, as I attempted to link to several Vatican web pages in my “Contraception Inception Deception” blog post, I repeatedly received error messages that the site was unavailable. Little did I know that the Vatican was under attack. Cyber-attack, that is.

Catholic News Agency/EWTN reports that a loose-knit group of hackers known as “Anonymous” attacked and brought down the Vatican website on March 7.

According to an entry on the “Anonymous” Italy blog site, the attack was in response to the “doctrines, liturgies and the absurd and anachronistic precepts” that the Church spreads worldwide, citing the sexual abuse of children, and various historical and other alleged misdeeds. The...READ MORE

Radical feminism, not unlike the dream-thief character Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) in the movie “Inception,” has stolen into our subconscious and implanted an insidious idea that refuses to die. The idea: That contraceptives and their evil twin, abortion are “health care”, that public funding for them are a necessity, and that they are positive goods. Like Cobb, radical feminists have planted a whopper of a lie. The question is how will we get out of it?

In the film, Cobb uses a totem (a spinning metallic top), to tell if he’s in the dream. We, too, have totems - a tool for differentiating between the false dream and the reality. The antidotes are Pope Paul VI’s 1968 encyclical letter Humanae...READ MORE

Fifteen hours after departing Rome, I returned home late on Saturday evening.

There’s nothing like foreign travel to help you appreciate the simple things - the hug of a child, the loving glance of your wife, being able to follow a schedule, home-cooking, and your local Church.

The next morning, it was off to early Mass. Being in the heart of the Church (Rome) gives you a new appreciation for the heritage that we as Catholics are a part of. Attending Mass Sunday morning, I somehow felt more alive, more connected with Christ, and better able to pray. After gazing upon the beauty of Rome’s artwork, I had a new appreciation for the stained-glass windows, the statues, and the beautiful...READ MORE

As I bid Rome ciao, I have four Italian observations.

First, from the moment I took the costly cab from the airport to my hotel, to my afternoon wine and cheese at the wine bar last evening, I’ve been surprised by the music that I hear commonly playing in Italy. Very often it is not Italian music, but American music. Even more surprising is that it’s music largely from the 1980s, much of it which has been altered with a kind of techno-dance beat. This is surprising for two reasons. First, since it’s the music I grew up with it’s rather difficult for me to understand it as a high point culturally in music, and secondly, it’s just odd. Imagine, if you will that you were from Mexico or...READ MORE

As you read in my previous post, the highlight of my third day in Rome was visiting the Lux in Arcana Vatican Secret Archives exhibit. The image to the left is taken from the trial of Galileo. At the bottom you can clearly see Galileo’s signature. Everyone else I talked to who had seen the exhibit raved about it. If you’re visiting Rome anytime between now and when the exhibit ends in September, do yourself a favor and GO SEE IT! It’s like walking through the key events in Church history.

So, my final day in Rome brought time well-spent at the Capitoline Museum, which even without the Vatican Secret Archive’s exhibit is something to behold - filled with statuary and other fantastic...READ MORE

Italian Food Just Tastes Better
Talk to any visitor to Italy and they’re bound to tell you that two things that they are really struck by are the food and the art. Sitting down to breakfast yesterday at my hotel - Marriott Park Hotel - I can attest to both. How is it, I wonder, that the Italians can take very ordinary food and make it taste incredible? Take for example the case of a waffle and plain yogurt.

For breakfast I had a fresh waffle. Not just any waffle, mind you. This waffle was unlike any I’ve ever tasted before, and it wasn’t just because I was hungry and in a foreign city. The waffle was light, airy, and crisp with an incredibly fresh flavor. The plain yogurt the restaurant...READ MORE

My second day in Rome was a full one. In the morning, we were treated to a bus tour of Rome, which included long stops at both the Church of St. John Lateran, the Holy Staircase, and the Colosseum. A striking thing about Rome is that as you traverse the neighborhoods, you see modern buildings and Churches right next to ancient ruins, defensive walls, monuments, and ancient Roman aqueducts. To see one culture and time period semi-preserved against another time period and culture is rather striking. One can’t help but think that so much of what exists today will not possibly stand as long as some of these ruins have lasted.

When in Rome, one has to get used to doing things on Rome time....READ MORE

Yesterday (Wednesday), journalists were given a sneak peak at the Verbum Domini exhibit at the Braccio di Carlo Magno Museum just next to St. Peter’s Basilica in St. Peter’s Square, by its director, Dr. Scott Carroll. Dr. Carroll took us through the exhibit’s many galleries pointing out some of the earliest Hebrew, Greek, and Latin texts. One highly interesting exhibit featured essentially recycled papyrus taken from ancient mummy cartonnage. Dr. Carroll explained that papyrus that had been written on was sometimes used for mummy cartonnage. Through a process of dismantling the cartonnage, they’ve been able to discover some of the earliest texts, including several which were on exhibit,...READ MORE