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Netroots Nation Vignette . . . Exposes The Doublethink Of Pro-Abort Political Correctness

July 21, 2019 Frontpage Comments Off on Netroots Nation Vignette . . . Exposes The Doublethink Of Pro-Abort Political Correctness

By DEXTER DUGGAN Planned Parenthood says abortion empowers women, but the unending bloodletting wasn’t powerful enough to save the short-lived presidency of its head Leana Wen, MD, who took over last November but whose womb-kicking assignment didn’t survive as long as the full course of a pregnancy. As permissive abortion faced new resistance from some state legislatures and the Trump administration, the PP board that surprisingly pushed Wen out prematurely on July 16 reportedly didn’t think she was taking the proper path to ensure the organization’s political success. But was it really Wen’s fault that she couldn’t package the mass slaughter that has edged into infanticide attractively enough in the public arena? Or had PP executives just been so fooled…Continue Reading

An Indelicate Daydream

July 20, 2019 Frontpage Comments Off on An Indelicate Daydream

By CHRISTOPHER MANION Over the past three years we’ve reported how America’s bishops have begrudgingly acknowledged President Trump’s phenomenal pro-life initiatives while opposing him on virtually everything else. From immigration and health care to global warming and foreign aid, they’ve opposed him. Today we focus on that “everything else” — what we might call “prudential” politics, addressing social and political issues on which Catholics can, and often do, disagree — often quite strongly. To sharpen that focus we’ll daydream a little. Let’s assume that our wayward shepherds woke up tomorrow, fired their USCCB and chancery “Social Justice” bureaucracies, and became blazing pioneers for individual responsibility, lower taxes, enforcement of the law, patriotism, and a free market economy. OK, you might…Continue Reading

An Earthquake And An Avalanche

July 19, 2019 Frontpage Comments Off on An Earthquake And An Avalanche

By CHRISTOPHER MANION In recent days, as California was rocked by a magnitude 7 earthquake, the Vatican and America’s Catholic hierarchy were inundated by an avalanche of their own. For a year after the McCarrick scandal broke, prelates here and in Rome had managed to preserve a semblance of credibility, adorned with trappings of a synod and new laws and earnest promises. But within the past fortnight, the rickety stonewall of coverup and omertà crumbled with increasing speed. On July 3, Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, former papal nuncio to the United States, shared new charges with LifeSiteNews. They are troubling indeed. “Not only is Pope Francis doing close to nothing to punish those who have committed abuse,” Viganò writes, “he…Continue Reading

California Senator’s Confession Bill… Not So Fast In Claiming Big Victory

July 18, 2019 Frontpage Comments Off on California Senator’s Confession Bill… Not So Fast In Claiming Big Victory

By DEXTER DUGGAN If politics is the continuation of war by other means, there are sure to be feints, disinformation, and counterfeit battle plans deployed in legislative chambers to keep the other side in disarray. It initially was reported on July 8 that a California bill requiring priests to report sex abuse of minors by breaking the confessional seal was withdrawn from consideration at the state capitol in Sacramento by its liberal Democrat author. A confessor who revealed such privileged information would be subject to excommunication from the Church. In a July 9 statement, Los Angeles Archbishop José Gomez said he was “thankful that the bill’s author, Sen. Jerry Hill, has decided not to continue pursuing its passage this year.…Continue Reading

A Book Review… How To Build A Firm Foundation For The Spiritual Life

July 17, 2019 Frontpage Comments Off on A Book Review… How To Build A Firm Foundation For The Spiritual Life

By DONAL ANTHONY FOLEY Spiritual Guidelines for Souls Seeking God, by Fr. Basil W. Maturin (128 pages, Sophia Institute Press, Paperback and Kindle). Visit www.sophiain stitute.com for ordering information, or call 1-800-888-9344. Spiritual Guidelines for Souls Seeking God is a slim but enlightening book by Fr. Basil Maturin (1847-1915). He was born in Ireland and after being ordained as an Anglican, crossed the Atlantic in 1876 to serve in Philadelphia. He was received into the Church in 1897 and ordained a Catholic priest the following year. In 1915, during World War I, after making a successful preaching tour of the United States, he returned to England on the Cunard liner Lusitania. This ship was torpedoed by a German U-boat on…Continue Reading

Neither Left Nor Right, But Catholic . . . Is American Law Still Concerned With Justice?

July 16, 2019 Frontpage Comments Off on Neither Left Nor Right, But Catholic . . . Is American Law Still Concerned With Justice?

By STEPHEN M. KRASON (Editor’s Note: Stephen M. Krason’s Neither Left nor Right, but Catholic column appears monthly [sometimes bimonthly] in Crisis. He is professor of political science and legal studies and associate director of the Veritas Center for Ethics in Public Life at Franciscan University of Steubenville. He is also co-founder and president of the Society of Catholic Social Scientists and a lawyer. Among his books are: Abortion: Politics, Morality, and the Constitution; Liberalism, Conservatism, and Catholicism; The Transformation of the American Democratic Republic; Catholicism and American Political Ideologies, and a Catholic political novel, American Cincinnatus. The views expressed here are his own.) + + + Recent news stories make one wonder if our law is casting aside a…Continue Reading

The Rush To Die; The Rush To Kill

July 15, 2019 Frontpage Comments Off on The Rush To Die; The Rush To Kill

By DEACON MIKE MANNO, JD These days we seem to be in a rush to die…or at least to kill. In France, a 43-year-old cognitively disabled man, Vincent Lambert, was ordered to die by the French courts. Lambert, who sustained his injuries in a motorcycle accident, is not on life support, as reported by most media outlets. He can breathe on his own, but needs a feeding tube for food and hydration. (This article was prepared for publication on July 6; Lambert may have died by the time readers see it.) The courts have ordered the removal of his feeding tube, which will lead to death by dehydration. Press reports indicate that Mr. Lambert, who wants to live, cried when…Continue Reading

Is Pope Francis Bypassing The German Bishops?

July 13, 2019 Frontpage Comments Off on Is Pope Francis Bypassing The German Bishops?

By SHAUN KENNEY Pope Francis writes a letter to the “people of God” in Germany as the Amazon Synod warms up for its October meeting. One topic of interest that Francis continues to draw attention to is the twin errors of Neo-Pelagianism and Gnosticism, both of which are concerns drawn from the work of Pope Benedict XVI. The distinction is drawn from an emphasis on faith and rules. Too much emphasis on rules, and one falls into the trap of Pelagianism. Too much emphasis on faith, and one falls into the trap of gnosis or hidden knowledge. It is easy for folks to put either Neo-Pelagianism or Gnosticism in the traditional roles of the right or the left, with those…Continue Reading

Has The Church Been Infiltrated?… And If So, By Whom?

July 12, 2019 Frontpage Comments Off on Has The Church Been Infiltrated?… And If So, By Whom?

By DEACON MIKE MANNO, JD Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock for the past few years (or perhaps decades), you should have noticed that the Church has been having some difficulties of late: Flouting of doctrine, lack of catechesis, scandal in the clergy, lack of leadership, and the near surrender of discipline to the world. Why? You might ask. Is there an organized effort to destroy or diminish the Church and its role on Earth? What say you to this? A lot of concerned folks in answering these questions jump to the usual suspects: Vatican II, the Novus Ordo Mass, the death (or murder?) of John Paul I, the allegedly suspicious elections of John XXIII, Paul VI, and Pope…Continue Reading

Stop “Drag Queen Story Hour” In Our Public Libraries

July 11, 2019 Frontpage Comments Off on Stop “Drag Queen Story Hour” In Our Public Libraries

By REY FLORES Back when our children were little, my wife and I homeschooled our kids. As more children were added to our growing family, the public library became a great resource for the kids’ studies. We would spend hours on end learning together the old-fashioned way, instead of just “Googling” everything. Ah yes, those were the good old days. Mind you, libraries in the early 2000s were far from perfect. I recall seeing some materials, whether they were books or videos, promoting the LGBTQ agenda. As a vigilant Catholic dad, if I saw any of these materials, I made sure my kids wouldn’t get anywhere near them. Let’s just say that I “relocated” some of these materials in places…Continue Reading