Nathaniel Peters

One of the groups that performed for Benedict XVI in DC sent us their promotional material and some free CDs, and I was intrigued the moment I saw their name. The Suspicious Cheese Lords is an all-male a cappella group from DC, where they sing and record early music, more specifically, Renaissance . . . . Continue Reading »

In today’s St. Louis Platform there’s an excellent article with interviews from two of the victims of clerical sexual abuse who met with the pope in Washington, DC. Here are some excerpts, but the whole thing is worth reading: Olan Horne, 48, a survivor of clerical sex abuse, believes . . . . Continue Reading »

The exciting news of the the day does not come from Pennsylvania, but from Rome, where it was announced that John Henry Cardinal Newman will be beatified. A leader of the Oxford Movement, a catholic reform movement in the Anglican Church, Newman later converted to Catholicism and founded the . . . . Continue Reading »

In October, I wrote about dying languages—languages whose use is declining—and why they are worth saving. In today’s New York Times , there was a small article on Syrian villages where Aramaic, the language probably spoken by Jesus, is still used, but by increasingly fewer people. . . . . Continue Reading »

A sensible word from the Wall Street Journal on the Pope and how his celebration of immigration is the right and Christian thing to do, in contrast to virulent rumblings from the some corners of the American political scene: “You know the restrictionists have gone head-first into the fever . . . . Continue Reading »

Via Argent by the Tiber , here’s the musical line-up for the Mass in Yankee Stadium. Note the musical difference between this and the Mass in Nationals Stadium, which involved less traditional music and more music from the many peoples comprising American Catholicism. To me, it also seems to . . . . Continue Reading »

For those in the New York area this weekend, here are two events to put on the calendar: 1. Friday: Papal Candlelight Vigil , 9:00 pm - 12:00 am, 5th Ave at 72nd Street. The Archdiocese will provide 1000 candles for the faithful outside the Pope’s window. I wouldn’t be surprised if he . . . . Continue Reading »

Kenneth Woodward, a contributing editor on religion for Newsweek , has an editorial in the New York Times on what Benedict might say on Catholic education tomorrow. One notes first that Mr. Woodward has added his name to the list of people who are eager to tell Benedict what he should be saying to . . . . Continue Reading »

A couple days ago, a signed copy of Safire’s Political Dictionary , the fifth edition of the popular tome by the linguistic and political columnist William Safire, arrived on my desk. I’d seen it in a catalogue and, thinking it would follow in the footsteps of Dr. Johnson’s . . . . Continue Reading »

In the Easter issue of Dappled Things , a magazine devoted to the artistic and cultural life of young Catholics in America, First Things contributor Matthew Milliner writes on how Catholics can renew the world of contemporary art. Playing off the title of Joseph Bottum’s article ” When . . . . Continue Reading »