Politics
None of the Above: The Only Vote Worth Casting in November?
As I listened to John McCain’s victory speech Tuesday night, spelling out the themes of his general election campaign—no apologies for the Iraq war, fight the “global war on terror” like it’s World War IV, keep taxes low, and global markets free—in other words, stay the course, the harsh reality of having to choose between him … READ MORE >
Politics
God, Government and Freedom—A Response to ‘None of the Above’
When we discuss the role of government in protecting the common good, especially the poor and the weak, Catholics can and do have differences, as evidenced by Angelo Matera’s recent article and its comments. I’d like to lay out a few principles in order to take a somewhat different tack. There’s no doubt that capitalism is the greatest … READ MORE >
Faith
Christian Witness in the Aftermath of Hate
I was ordained a priest on May 23rd. My life now is bound more intensely than ever to the central Mystery of our faith, the Presence of Christ in the Holy Eucharist. I never imagined that so soon in my priestly life would I see the Eucharist attacked so publicly. You may have seen these stories in the press. On June 29th, the feast of Sts. … READ MORE >
Spirituality
Well-Springs of Belief: An undiscovered contemporary classic
As Holy Week began and I reviewed my slack observance of Lent—that is, as I reflected on “things done and left undone”—I found I had wasted my soul more than anything through needless distraction. Pascal pointed out how kings have their minstrels and courtiers and fools to ward off the possibility of self-reflection, as he diagnoses … READ MORE >
Issues
Letting Bill Clinton Off Easy
When I saw the popular YouTube clip of pro-life protestors from Franciscan University of Steubenville interrupting Bill Clinton’s speech at a campaign rally in their town this week, my first reaction wasn’t the satisfaction that was registered all over the Catholic blogosphere—at either their audacity or Clinton’s cherry-faced loss of aplomb. … READ MORE >
Issues
Driving a Wedge into the ‘Evangelical Center’ on Gay Marriage
Why is it taboo within the cultural left to “privilege” marriage in any way? Several years ago I came across a snarky little news item in New York Magazine titled: “The Smug Marrieds Head Underground: Pro-marriage propaganda to invade subway.” What sort of propaganda was this? They were subway billboards produced by an abstinence … READ MORE >
Faith
After the Pope: Time to Hit the Books?
It’s going to take a while for all (or any) of us to absorb the significance of Benedict XIV’s first apostolic visit to the United States. Unlike his predecessor, the larger-than-life John Paul the Great, who from the first displayed an actor’s genius for what one observer described as “the symbolic gesture”, Benedict’s public demeanor is … READ MORE >
Faith
GodSpy 2.0: Engaging Secular Culture
After a lengthy hiatus, today—Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent— we resume publishing GodSpy in a new daily blog/magazine format. It’s never been our style at GodSpy to do much public navel-gazing about what we’re doing. We prefer to let individual writers have their say, and focus on what’s happening in the outside world. So forgive me … READ MORE >
Faith
America: Encounter the Pope
The Pope is coming to America. I’ll be with the crowds in D.C. and New York this week, live-blogging my experience of the pope’s visit, and the experiences of the pilgrims and bystanders around me. Secular media coverage has positioned America front-and-center of the trip. I’d like to do the reverse. In my mind, the pope isn’t just coming … READ MORE >
Politics
JFK, Barak Obama and the role of religion in American political life
When Democratic presidential nominee Barak Obama spoke in mid-March about race, the speech was hailed as a watershed moment in American politics. Laudatory comparisons were made to John F. Kennedy’s speech to the Greater Houston Ministerial Association on September 12, 1960, where he addressed head on the question of whether a Catholic … READ MORE >
TV
HBO’s The Wire: Dignity or Despair?
HBO’s The Wire finales this Sunday at 9 p.m.., and the themes of this fifth and final season—centered around the newsroom of the Baltimore Sun, where the show’s creator David Simon once worked as an editor— have been integrity and honesty, or as Simon says—“just how far you can go on a lie.” A Sun reporter who fakes quotes, … READ MORE >
Science/Tech
Emancipate the Embryo! Britain set to enter ‘brave new world’
British Members of Parliament must decide this month on a vast range of ethical issues contained in the Labour Government’s most far-reaching shake-up of fertility and embryology legislation in almost 20 years. The awesomely complex ethical issues raised by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology (HFE) Bill will be hotly contested when its … READ MORE >
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