A critique of American materialism is extraordinarily challenging, as it is cloaked in a heresy that is subtle, smooth, and sweet. The problem is that the Pope is not really up to such a challenging challenge… Pope Francis and the Caring Society edited by Robert M. Whaples (256 pages, Independent Institute, 2017) It is perhaps [...]
Vatican diplomats are on the verge of a new relationship with China, and, moreover, about to make a deal with the communist state. It is difficult to avoid the conclusion that Rome is capitulating to an avowed atheistic enemy of religion… Taking advice from his boss, who encouraged everyone to “go out and make a [...]
In this dull utilitarian age, there seems little less useful than poetry. What good is it? There are few who get rich writing or publishing poetry, and when it comes to practicality, it is practically good for nothing. On second consideration, however, reading and writing poetry is extremely practical, and because our techno-utilitarian age is [...]
While Netflix’s “The Crown” may not be a perfectly accurate documentary on the reign of Elizabeth II, it is certainly a powerful and poignant drama. When people ask how I get so much done I like to quip, “I don’t watch TV.” It’s not really the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. [...]
Let it be known that I am not a prophet, and I will quite happily eat crow, eat my hat, eat my words… eat whatever is necessary when my prognostications prove preposterous and my prophecies prove to be not prophetic, but pathetic. Nevertheless, with my finger to the wind and my squinty eye on the [...]
People are not abandoning the churches because they are too religious, but because they are not religious enough. They understand that if a religion is about no more than mouthing spiritual platitudes and working at the soup kitchen, then they don’t need to get up early on a Sunday and troop off to church to [...]
When asked to submit an essay on Christmas gift ideas, it seemed that my list would be things I do not want. So, instead of a bumper crop of Christmas goodies, here’s a list of Christmas baddies: my twelve pet Christmas hates. 1. Shopping. Do we really need more junk? I’m fed up with all [...]
The papacy is ripe fruit for any filmmaker. As actors played the role of the pope, so each man who was elected pope stepped into a role that was bigger than himself… With the HBO series The Young Pope (reviewed by Tyler Blanski) the world has been taken once again into the irresistible intrigues of [...]
Concerned with the intrigues of the cathedral clergy and the landed gentry, Anthony Trollope portrays Victorian English life with all its high moral values and noble ideals as well as its greed, snobbery, and hypocrisy… Anthony Trollope I’ve usually prefer the underrated and unpopular. Buster Keaton not Charlie Chaplin, Dorothy Sayers not Agatha [...]
Monika Jablonska’s “Wind from Heaven” reminds us of the power of literature to renew the imagination, purify the language of the tribe, and inspire the noble pursuit of truth, beauty, and goodness. Wind from Heaven: John Paul II—The Poet Who Became Pope by Monika Jablonska (202 pages, Angelico Press, 2017) As we planned the construction of [...]
While the Reformation divided the Church, it must be said that it was brought on by her own inability and unwillingness to repent and turn to the Gospel. We can see some of the same trends today in our society and Church. As a conservative and a Catholic it is all too easy to look [...]
When imagination works and emotions are properly evoked, an inner enlightenment takes place… While working at a local Catholic High School I couldn’t help observing how the whole enterprise too often focussed on achievement rather than accomplishment. There was a constant race for “good grades” which at worst functioned like votes in a popularity contest. [...]
Gerard Manley Hopkins’ poem “God’s Grandeur” is far more powerful than William Wordsworth’s pondering and wandering on the banks of the Wye because Hopkins did not turn away from the dark reality… In England for a family celebration, we drove from Herefordshire down the beautiful Wye Valley stopping at the “bare ruined choir” of Tintern [...]
In poetry, I want startling new visions and a new way to look at the world aslant. I want a spark or surge of emotion that sneaks up on me and catches me, in the surprising turn of a final couplet or an intimate insight that disturbs… Last summer in Tuscany, after a pause of [...]