I am back from Madrid where I gave the final address at the VII Congreso Católicos y Vida Pública¯the seventh congress on Catholics in public life. My theme was “The Catholic Case for the Secular State.” The lecture was apparently well-received by the thousands of . . . . Continue Reading »
“In Strong Terms, Rome Is to Ban Gays as Priests.” That’s the front page headline in today’s New York Times . The headline and the story is a mix of fact and mendacity of a low order. The long-awaited instruction from the Congregation for Catholic Education, leaked a few . . . . Continue Reading »
There’s a set of English town names that sound more like settings for P.G. Wodehouse comedies or Agatha Christie mysteries than real places¯Bishop’s Waltham, for instance, a little place in Hampshire where Ivy Smith was baptized this month. I mention this only because she was 101 . . . . Continue Reading »
Reading by Osmosis You know ¯ My sister osmoted The Mill on the Floss , a marvelous book, and gave us a gloss: concerning a man named John Stuart Mill with terrible teeth that made him quite ill. . . . . Continue Reading »
Liberté, égalité, fraternité is the motto of the French Republic, but the fraternité seems to have gone up in the smoke of burning cars over the last few weeks. And so the French government has appointed a commission to see whether another distinctive mark of . . . . Continue Reading »
As Allen Hertzke spelled out recently in FIRST THINGS (see "The Shame of Darfur," October), one of the great changes of recent years has been the determination of evangelical Protestants in this country to get serious about human rights, and about religious freedom in particular. Michael . . . . Continue Reading »
Monday I was down in Washington, having joined a working study group for an ambitious new project on “Religion and U.S. Foreign Policy.” This is a joint endeavor of the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life and the New York-based Council on Foreign Relations. Under the leadership of Luis . . . . Continue Reading »
The New York Times regularly serves up a target-rich supply of news and commentary and, as with shooting fish in a barrel, pointing out its gaffs is a sport of which one can quickly tire. Yet from time to time there is an item that makes irresistible the question, “What on earth do these . . . . Continue Reading »
"I’d like to say to the good citizens of Dover," announced Pat Robertson , speaking of the Pennsylvania town that has just kicked anti-evolutionists off its school board, "if there is a disaster in your area, don’t turn to God. You just rejected him from your city." . . . . Continue Reading »
The phone call came on Saturday saying that Fred had died. He was the oldest of the six Neuhaus boys and I the youngest. He died at home in Thousand Oaks, California. It was cancer and, after the usual treatments, the last month was devoted simply to making him as comfortable as possible. He is the . . . . Continue Reading »
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