As a diocesan seminarian studying with the Sulpicians in Paris, a young Basil Moreau wrote to the rector at the seminary in Tessé about an unquenchable desireabout, actually, a vocation. Continue Reading »
• Richard J. Mouw has written a wonderful book, Called to the Life of the Mind: Some Advice for Evangelical Scholars (Eerdmans, 2014). A bright young student raised in a tradition of conservative Evangelical pietism, Mouw recalls that his pastors “often viewed the intellectual life against the . . . . Continue Reading »
The Obama administration dropped its call for taxes on 529 college savings plans. These are tax-preferred savings vehicles that allow families to put away money to pay for Junior’s college expenses when the time comes. The outcry against this proposal was not surprising, and it makes no sense to undermine the program. Continue Reading »
We have a strange transformation taking place on campus today. Back in the ‘60s, at Berkeley and elsewhere, students formed Free Speech Movements and struck down one propriety and norm after another. Continue Reading »
I disallow laptops in my classroom. No screens, only books, paper, and pencil. The obvious reason is the distraction factor. Stand in the back of a classroom of fifty-plus students, survey the dozens of screens propped open, and count how many show social media, pictures, text messages . . . Continue Reading »
The Boston Globe’s Christmas gift to Gordon College was a slap in the face. The Globe listed Kim Driscoll, mayor of Salem, in its list of honorable mentions for Bostonian of the Year. In the article she was lauded for voiding a city contract with the college over its Conduct Statement, which does not permit homosexual practice. Continue Reading »
I am a very proud alumnus of the Franciscan University of Steubenville. I earned a bachelor’s degree there, I earned a master’s degree there, I met my wife there, and I was formed, intellectually, spiritually, and personally, there. Scott Hahn has called Franciscan a “greenhouse for holiness.” The lives of alumni engaged in missionary and charitable apostolates across the globe are evidence for that claim. Continue Reading »
Yesterday I drew attention to the unfortunate fact that the Biology Department at the University of St. Thomas was directing its students toward pro-abortion activism. Okay, that was a bit too strong. I should have written “listed.” The Biology Department’s website listed NARAL and Planned Parenthood as volunteer opportunities. Continue Reading »
The Biology Department of the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota publicizes volunteer opportunities on their webpage.Good idea. We should all be encouraged to serve the common good as best we can. Continue Reading »