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A Rivalry Of Government Hackers

March 14, 2014 Frontpage Comments Off on A Rivalry Of Government Hackers

By ANDREW P. NAPOLITANO The government is caught up in another scandal in which federal agents have been accused of hacking into one another’s computers. When the CIA was established in 1947, Congress and President Truman were concerned that it might not confine itself to spying. Its sole statutory purpose was to steal secrets from foreign governments so that the U.S. would know what they were planning and could prepare for any behavior adverse to American government interests. By its nature, it was operating in secret, and because it lacked transparency, it lacked accountability. One of the statutory mechanisms to achieve accountability was to require the CIA to report to two committees of Congress, but in secret. Over the years,…Continue Reading

A Book Review . . . The Heart Of The Romantic

March 13, 2014 Frontpage Comments Off on A Book Review . . . The Heart Of The Romantic

By MITCHELL KALPAKGIAN The Romance of Religion. By Dwight Longenecker (W Publishing Group: An Imprint of Thomas Nelson: Nashville, Tenn., 2014, 221 pp.). $15.99. Available through SpecialMarkets@ThomasNelson.com or www.amazon.com. This is a lively, robust book that is as profoundly serious as it is lighthearted and mirthful. In short, crisp sentences that ring with a cheerful human voice and a playful, witty intelligence, Fr. Dwight Longenecker glances at the human condition, the classics of literature, and the familiar stories of the Bible with a human wisdom that engages and fascinates as it explains the importance of religion as a “romance,” a term rarely attributed to this body of knowledge that is commonly viewed with only high seriousness and solemn piety.

A Leaven In The World… Ubi Petrus, Ibi Ecclesia

March 12, 2014 Frontpage Comments Off on A Leaven In The World… Ubi Petrus, Ibi Ecclesia

By FR. KEVIN M. CUSICK “Where the Pope is, there is the Church.” One of the reasons why this Latin adage has remained in use is that it addresses in a succinct manner a perennial struggle experienced by faithful Catholics everywhere. Human criticism of the actions of a Pope goes all the way back to St. Paul as recorded in the Scriptures. Even Christ Himself took St. Peter, the first Pope, to the woodshed over his threefold denial of the Lord in the aftermath of the crucifixion. Struggling with the human foibles and styles of the men who accept the office of Vicar of Christ on Earth is therefore not new and one of the crosses each Pope must carry…Continue Reading

The Catholic Church And Scripture Reading

March 11, 2014 Frontpage Comments Off on The Catholic Church And Scripture Reading

By JOHN YOUNG I heard a priest declare in a homily that in the days before Vatican II that Scripture reading was a “no-no” for Catholics. Other Catholics, whether clerical or lay, while not going that far, believe that the Church before Vatican II didn’t encourage lay people to read the Bible. Frank Sheed, in his book The Church and I, published in 1974, states that even the committed laity, before the Second Vatican Council, “…saw theology as all-sufficient, Scripture as a quarry from which we could dig out supporting texts” (p. 288). According to Sheed, Catholics in general simply didn’t appreciate Scripture as something that should permeate their lives and vitalize their theology.

Thoughts On Son Of God Movie

March 10, 2014 Frontpage, Uncategorized Comments Off on Thoughts On Son Of God Movie

 By PEGGY MOEN          I saw the Son of God movie on March 9, after its opening weekend with a second-place box office rank.       Its strongest point is its portrayal of the intrigue and politics leading up to the Passion. The cowardice of Caiaphas in the face of Pilate’s threats and brutality, and then Pilate’s fear of Caesar, are well scripted and well acted. Judas delivers the immortal line “What’s in it for me?” when Caiaphas approaches him to betray Jesus.       Also strong is the movie’s beginning and ending with a monologue by St. John the Evangelist, setting forth salvation history through the Word at the beginning, and the martyrdom of all the apostles except John…Continue Reading

Religious Conscience Bill… Massive Lies Leave Media In Need Of A Cleansing

March 10, 2014 Frontpage Comments Off on Religious Conscience Bill… Massive Lies Leave Media In Need Of A Cleansing

By DEXTER DUGGAN PHOENIX — Arizona’s entrenched establishment was prepared to do serious economic damage to its own Grand Canyon State in order to win what it wanted with massive lies. That’s the worrisome conclusion after Gov. Jan Brewer vetoed SB 1062 on February 26 amid gales of false assertions that the bill would mean widespread, unconstitutional discrimination against homosexuals, thus setting off “devastating” economic repercussions to Arizona. It was an “anti-gay bill” whose bigotry affronted business executives and potential tourists by allowing religious extremists simply to refuse to give homosexuals any customer service, the establishment claimed — and the liberal national media echo chamber reverberated. “I know the entire business community is galvanized, in a way that I’ve never…Continue Reading

Words As Weapons

March 9, 2014 Frontpage Comments Off on Words As Weapons

By DONALD DeMARCO I may be pegged as being ultraconservative for saying this, but, nonetheless, I dare to say that the primary purpose of words is to express thought. “One of the disadvantages of wine,” Samuel Johnson once remarked, “is that it makes a man mistake words for thought.” The inebriate spouts drivel, even though he may be deluding himself into thinking that he is waxing eloquently. It may also be said that one of the disadvantages of supporting an unsupportable ideology it that it, too, makes a man mistake words for thought. Thus, gobbledygook substitutes for thoughtful expression. “Choice” is not a thoughtful defense of abortion. “Compassion” does not justify euthanasia. “Equality” does not give legitimacy to same-sex “marriage.”…Continue Reading

The Kerfuffle At Fisher More College

March 8, 2014 Frontpage Comments Off on The Kerfuffle At Fisher More College

By REY FLORES Earlier this week, there was a big kerfuffle about the Traditional Latin Mass being prohibited at the very traditional Fisher More College by newly appointed Bishop Michael Olson in the Diocese of Fort Worth, Texas. The initial reports in cyberspace had Bishop Olson painted as a Latin Mass-hating bishop, taking orders from the Vatican and its allegedly left-leaning Pontiff. Later reports had the president of the college, Michael King, as a scoundrel who made a bad real estate deal that left the school with the proverbial barrel and suspenders around the remaining student body and faculty. As of my writing this column, there is still much speculation, as well as hard feelings and a damaged Catholic collective.

A Leaven In The World… Rights To Traditional Mass, Reception Of Communion Stir Controversy

March 7, 2014 Frontpage Comments Off on A Leaven In The World… Rights To Traditional Mass, Reception Of Communion Stir Controversy

By FR. KEVIN M. CUSICK When has going to any Mass been considered a problem? The mission of the Church is the salvation of souls in Jesus Christ which, practically speaking, means getting them to Mass where He is truly present in the Eucharist and speaks in the Word through the Holy Spirit. But at a small Catholic college in Fort Worth, Texas, this appears in the eyes of the bishop to be a problem, not a solution. The episcopal crackdown on Fisher-More College became public last week in a post on Rorate-Caeli.blogspot.com. The ordinary, Bishop Michael Olson, has demanded that celebration of the Extraordinary Form Mass offered daily at the college chapel for years cease immediately and that only…Continue Reading

The Liberal Counteroffensive On The Obamacare Mandate

March 7, 2014 Frontpage Comments Off on The Liberal Counteroffensive On The Obamacare Mandate

By JAMES K. FITZPATRICK I don’t know why the supporters of Obamacare’s mandate requiring Catholic institutions to provide insurance coverage for contraception and abortifacients have not been forced in public to defend the stark inconsistency of their position. You would think the liberals who support Obamacare would be scrambling to explain their double standard. It is, after all, the American left that has been defined for nearly a half-century now by their stand for dissent and the rights of the individual. They were the ones who told us that opponents of America’s military campaigns around the world should not be forced to serve in those wars; who told us that Jim Crow laws need not be obeyed by those who…Continue Reading