Existence and the Word

Existentialist philosophy and analysis, to the extent that it measures “the predicament of man and his world in the state of estrangement” (Paul Tillich) corroborates what Christian theology has always referred to as Original Sin. As a school of philosophy it seems pretty well dead now, but important insights of the original existentialists remain valid,… Read More Existence and the Word

St. Thomas Aquinas and  the “Life-blood of Catholic Theology”

Josef Pieper, the renowned Thomist, in his 1953 study, The Silence of St. Thomas (St. Augustine’s Press, South Bend, Indiana) reminds theologians and students of St. Thomas Aquinas that while Pope Pius XI in his 1923 Encyclical Studiorum Ducem insisted that the Angelic Doctor is to be esteemed by all Schools of Theology, he also reminded all… Read More St. Thomas Aquinas and  the “Life-blood of Catholic Theology”

The Popes and Slavery: Setting the Record Straight

Fr. Joel S. Panzer, The Catholic Answer and EWTN, 1996 When did the Catholic Church condemn slavery? According to some notable figures, the Church did not finally condemn slavery until recently. Judge John T. Noonan stated that it was not until 1890 that the Church condemned the institution of slavery, lagging behind laws enacted to… Read More The Popes and Slavery: Setting the Record Straight

Elon Musk’s X Deploys American “Liberty” for More Sex

“Sexual expression, whether visual or written,” he speciously says, “can be a legitimate form of artistic expression,”  proving he’s no better or more conservative than the rest of them, despite how giddy with pride he makes many conservatives feel, especially those who wrap their egoism in blockbuster podcasts touting American Patriotism and righteousness. Even Catholic… Read More Elon Musk’s X Deploys American “Liberty” for More Sex

An Ancient Interview With David L. Gray on Freemasonry

Freemasonry’s relationship with Catholicism has been back in the news lately, so I thought it might be interesting to post this ancient (and technically crude) interview with former Freemason and now Catholic theologian, David L. Gray. Dr. Gray  talks about his journey from one so-called Enlightenment to Jesus Christ, Alpha and Omega,  the Light of… Read More An Ancient Interview With David L. Gray on Freemasonry

Jean-Jacques Rosseau and the Antinomian Principle

“… the political fantasies of Jean-Jacques Rousseau have a great deal to answer for. For two centuries, his sentimentalizing utopian rhetoric has provided despots of all description with a means of pursuing conformity while praising freedom. It is a neat trick. Words like “freedom” and “virtue” were ever on Rousseau’s lips. But freedom for him… Read More Jean-Jacques Rosseau and the Antinomian Principle

The Lord’s Prayer, Freedom, and the Spiritual Vaclav Havel

Vaclav Havel waves to crowds in Prague, shortly before becoming Czech president in December 1989. Kamila Valenta writes in America, “I was 17 years old when I heard the Lord’s Prayer spoken in public for the first time. It was in November 1989 during the Velvet Revolution, which brought freedom to Communist Czechoslovakia. The crowd… Read More The Lord’s Prayer, Freedom, and the Spiritual Vaclav Havel

The DOJ and Catholics

“The FBI memo cited the discredited Southern Poverty Law Center, including a list of organizations the SPLC brands “radical traditional Catholic hate groups.” As I explain in my book “Making Hate Pay: The Corruption of the Southern Poverty Law Center,” the SPLC took the program it used to bankrupt organizations associated with the Ku Klux… Read More The DOJ and Catholics

Keeping Out the Jacobins

“The French Jacobins selected France as savior of the world. The new Jacobins have anointed the United States.” Pedro L. Gonzalez.Aug 25. “I’ve been reading The New Jacobinism: America as Revolutionary State by Claes G. Ryn, first published in 1991. It’s a short but insightful polemic about the pernicious influence of neoconservatism—the “New Jacobinism”—on American… Read More Keeping Out the Jacobins

Scientific Authoritarianism Erodes Private Property and Human Liberty

Note: The following pertains to far more issues than arise in our time of Covid-19. Regarding the Covid vaccine however, in my opinion the issue is not so much the ultimate efficacy of these vaccines (which is a scientific, statistical, and safety question), the issue is our freedom to make an informed personal decision /… Read More Scientific Authoritarianism Erodes Private Property and Human Liberty

Deplorable Restrictions on Religious Practice in Ireland

In recent months, we have witnessed a string of very disappointing and frankly disgraceful incidents concerning the implementation of draconian Covid-19 restrictions. This time, the targets of the Government’s enforcement program, as well as the harassment of a certain councillor in Limerick and her political tag-alongs, were the parishioners of several Catholic churches throughout the… Read More Deplorable Restrictions on Religious Practice in Ireland