Mary Rose Somarriba

If there’s something we’ve learned from the fiasco last week with our leaders risking a government shutdown rather than let go of government funding for the nation’s largest abortion business, we’ve learned exactly what companies are supporting Planned Parenthood these days, . . . . Continue Reading »

The existence of new religious apps for iPhone and Android, such as iMissal and the Confession app, reveal increasing numbers of people using their smart phones to assist them with religious practices. But they also present us with new questions about the acceptability of cellphone use in sacred . . . . Continue Reading »

I had the pleasure of seeing the play   Arrah-na-Pogue at New York’s Storm Theatre last night. Monica Weigel wrote a lovely review of it for us yesterday, and I couldn’t agree with her more: Set during the Rebellion of 1798, the play, billed as a “classic Irish comedy,” . . . . Continue Reading »

Some food for thought from today’s Wall Street Journal . . . . . Continue Reading »

A sad goodbye to the scholar and FT writer Stanley Rothman , who died earlier this month at age 83. His name lives on through his son, David J. Rothman, who just reviewed Christian Wiman’s book of poetry in the latest issue of FT [subscription required]. Eternal rest grant unto him O Lord, . . . . Continue Reading »

In his column today , Ross Douthat captures well the paradox of how we view the fetus today in America: In every era, there’s been a tragic contrast between the burden of unwanted pregnancies and the burden of infertility. But this gap used to be bridged by adoption far more frequently than it . . . . Continue Reading »

Ourselves Unborn: A History of the Fetus in Modern America by Sara Dubow Oxford, 320 pages, $29.95 Imagine seeing a fetus in a jar. Many Americans have recently, thanks (or no thanks) to George W. Bush’s book Decision Points , which includes a description of his seeing such a thing as a . . . . Continue Reading »

The New York Times just announced this “breaking news alert”: In an upset, New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan elected president Tuesday of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, defeating a vice president who had been widely expected to win the job. . . . . Continue Reading »

This year’s Life Prizes have just been announced. In past years, the $600,000 in awards have been split among winners such as Lila Rose (who recently wrote about her pro-life adventures in the October issue of FT). This year’s winners are: Jeanne Head (a UN representative for National . . . . Continue Reading »

According to a recent report in the U.K., a hard-working cafe owner has been ordered to tear down an extractor fan—because the smell of her frying bacon ‘offends’ Muslims. Mrs Akciecek and her husband Cetin, 50,—himself a Turkish Muslim—work more than 50 . . . . Continue Reading »