insult and compliment

In Praise of Dishonesty

  For several years, I was represented in Congress by a man whom I admired. He worked hard, listened to a diverse group of constituents, and, at least in my own neighborhood, did much good. He consistently advocated for the pro-life movement. But then came a scandal: He had...
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The Child Is Real

He came to a midweek theology class I offered but not to Sunday church. He was drinking the truths about God like the young adult he was, totally innocent of Christianity. Creation, the cross, the resurrection, the importance of the body: All of this was news to him. Theology was...
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Getting Over the Post-Roe Blues (Part I)

  When the Supreme Court handed down its Dobbs decision overturning Roe v. Wade, the pro-life community in the United States celebrated. After 50 years of working tirelessly and witnessing faithfully for the dignity of all human lives—especially for unborn child and mother—a...
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A Searcher for Truth

  I read with sorrow the obituary [Norah Vincent, Who Chronicled Passing as a Man, Is Dead at 53 – The New York Times (nytimes.com)] of Norah Vincent, who, at age 53, committed medically-assisted suicide in Switzerland on July 6. I did not know of her previously. It is...
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Real Deficiency

  Scenes that touch on abortion from a pro-life perspective are rare in mainstream Hollywood movies, and therefore worth acknowledging, even celebrating, when they appear. Recently I was watching Creed II, the (believe it or not) seventh sequel in the Rocky series. Like...
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The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

  At least since the ninth century AD, the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary has been celebrated on August 15, and there is evidence of faith in the Assumption dating from much earlier than that. So in 1950, Pope Pius XII defined this faith as follows (Apostolic...
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Insurance that Would Benefit Us All

  My eldest son has moved from having a job into the world of having a career. At some point, we asked him about his benefits package, as he is fast approaching an age when he will need to provide his own insurance plan. He assured us that he has medical insurance with all...
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Vanity and the Gospel of Life

Abortion is the sacrament of those suffering the futility of self-deceit—a condition that tinges much of the world. Mothers and fathers vainly pretend they are not parents to the unborn child. Clinicians pretend they are delivering health by dealing death. The community pretends...
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The End of Shame

  I was ashamed, and I was confounded, because I bore the disgrace of my youth (Jeremiah 31:19).   Recently, while reading Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov, I came across this admonition, given by an old monk to a licentious and foolish father: “And above all do not be so...
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To Change the World

    “The future belongs to people with children, not with things,” wrote Charles Chaput in First Things a few months ago. If you are young and you want to change the world, counsels the Catholic archbishop emeritus of Philadelphia, then “get married, stay faithful to one...
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