Matthew J. Franck

A couple of weeks ago, I boarded a New Jersey Transit train near my home to go to Newark airport. From my seat near the rear of the car, I saw a poster with a photograph of five pretty young women of various ethnic and racial backgrounds, all smiling and laughing. Above the photo the poster read, . . . . Continue Reading »

There is no shortage of coverage and commentary on the latest revelations about Anthony Weiner (or “Carlos Danger”) and his, shall we say, poor impulse control. I hope readers will forgive me for adding to it. Some folks are weighing in about how dignified his wife Huma Abedin was . . . . Continue Reading »

On college campuses, where I have spent most of my life, it is not that hard to gin up faculty outrage when administrators are credibly accused of assaults on “academic integrity.” Mitch Daniels, former governor of Indiana and now president of Purdue University, has been so . . . . Continue Reading »

While the Obama administration finds its own signature health care legislation so complicated to administer that it is now putting off implementation of the large-employer insurance mandate until 2015 (i.e., after the congressional midterm elections), it is forging ahead with its oppressive HHS . . . . Continue Reading »

You know that someone has bad news to relate when he begins by saying, “well, it could have been worse.” That is what the defenders of conjugal marriage are saying after the brace of Supreme Court rulings issued yesterday on challenges to that truth that is as old as the human race, that marriage is between a man and a woman. The net effect of the rulings is further damage to marriage, and to the power of the law to uphold the truth about it… . Continue Reading »

The redoubtable Fr. Robert Barron, in one of his regular (and regularly illuminating) forays into film criticism (when does this guy have time to go to the movies?), reviewed the new Superman movie Man of Steel at RealClearReligion. I recommend the review—not sure about the movie, on the . . . . Continue Reading »

“Democrats Defend Killing of Viable Fetuses to Appease Vocal Base” But of course, we are not surprised to see ” G.O.P. Pushes New Abortion Limits to Appease Vocal Base .” It’s good to know there some constants in the universe that we can rely upon. . . . . Continue Reading »

That’s my argument at Public Discourse today: Some astute observers have noticed the dimensions of the problem and called attention to it. The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty filed a brief in both marriage cases now pending in the Supreme Court, arguing that the Court should not interfere . . . . Continue Reading »

While everyone is quite rightly outraged by the abuses of the IRS in singling out conservative group for audits, intrusive inquiries, and endless delays on approval of their tax-exempt status, it has occurred to me that there is one simple solution to the problem that would not require nearly as . . . . Continue Reading »

Responding to a recent piece by Anne Hendershott on the decision of Cardinal Sean O’Malley not to attend the commencement at Boston College because Irish prime minister (and abortion-rights advocate) Enda Kenny was selected for an honorary degree and address to the graduates, a letter-writer . . . . Continue Reading »