David Mills

Admirers of David Hart’s writing (his “On the Square” articles , for example) may want to know about the musical work of his brother, the Rev’d Robert Hart. Actually, non-admirers of his writing may want to know about it. Here is his (Robert Hart’s) latest, a Fugue on . . . . Continue Reading »

Speaking in German, a Dutch cardinal told a tv audience “Wir haben es nicht gewusst” (we knew nothing) about the sexual abuse of children and young people by Dutch clergy, now (finally) coming to light. The allusion to the post-war German claim — the excuse — was obvious, and . . . . Continue Reading »

If readers will pardon a reminder on this feast of the Immaculate Conception: in my column on Monday I tried to explain what the Church says about this and why she asserts something that to many of our Protestant brethren seems entirely invented. See Delivered From All Stain . . . . . Continue Reading »

In Delivered From All Stain , today’s first “On the Square” article, I try to explain what the dogma of the Immaculate Conception says and why Catholics can believe with confidence something that really does, in my experience baffle and annoy, and sometimes even anger, their . . . . Continue Reading »

“Yeah, right” is the way my the more irenic of my Evangelical friends react to the Immaculate Conception, the feast day of which (a holy day of obligation) we celebrate on Wednesday. A few will go so far as to say something like “Whatever floats your boat,” while others react with something like horror or disgust. Very few, in my experience, has a very good idea of the dogma to which they’re reacting… . . Continue Reading »

In The Pope of Rome and the Christian East , an Eastern Catholic scholar surveys Benedict’s Light of the World for his statements about or of relevance to Eastern Christianity, Catholic and Orthodox. For example, on the the nature of the unity between the Catholic and Orthodox Churches: He . . . . Continue Reading »

In Light of the World , Benedict “speaks extensively on issues related to Israel and the Jewish world, confirming his unwavering personal commitment to both,” writes a Jerusalem Post writer, surveying his statements about Jewish issues in the book. The New Criterion describes the NEH vs . . . . Continue Reading »

In today’s first “On the Square” article, David Hart reflects on the reality of holiness and the places we find it. “The wonderful thing about holiness, when you really encounter it, is that it testifies to itself,” he writes in The Abbot and Aunt Susie . This is . . . . Continue Reading »

A young friend writes: My soon-to-be-wife has expressed to me her frustration that, in most literature she has read, babies always seem to be portrayed as burdens, or at least they focus on the unpleasant experiences of caring for babies. She wishes she could find some “happy baby . . . . Continue Reading »

“It seems to me that at its root, Protestantism is a denial of the authority of the Church,” wrote a young Protestant friend (one apparently attracted to the Catholic Church) in an e-mail discussion. “I know that it’s couched in terms of . . . . Continue Reading »