A sub-category of News.
Philosophers from Aristotle to Aquinas remind us to begin with first principles: to see things as they really are. Even Marcus Aurelius counseled, “Of each particular thing, ask, what is it in itself?” Strikingly, this same wisdom is expressed in The Silence of the Lambs (1991), albeit through the words of a villain. In the…
September 8th is the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, where we recall her birth and role in the divine plan for our salvation. The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary is one of only three birthdays honored in the liturgical year: the others being that of St. John the Baptist and that of Jesus…
Fr. Robert Hugh Benson was a British priest and science fiction novelist who lived at the turn of the 20th century in Britain. In his 1911 novel, The Dawn of All, the protagonist, Msgr. Masterman, wakes up as an amnesiac in 1970s Britain to find that the whole world has become Catholic and takes the…
Virginia Senator Tim Kaine’s remarks that the idea rights come from God is a “theocratic” notion representative of the mindset of Iranian ayatollahs is the latest controversy lighting up social media. One might be tempted to dismiss it as momentary outrage clickbait, but resist the temptation. Why? First, because the claim is not true. It…
The onset of Hansen’s Disease, known in antiquity under the broad rubric of “leprosy,” comes with patches of skin that change color, grow numb, and progress toward ulcerations, paralysis, even the absorption of extremities back into the body. Untreated, it may bring blindness, disfiguration, and social ruin. Though today we know that the cause is…
This week, I was honored to host His Excellency Bishop Joseph Strickland on my new podcast channel: In preparation for our discussion, I sent His Excellency a total of seven questions covering a myriad of topics, namely: Prior to our live discussion, Bishop Strickland thought it would be helpful to prepare written responses to my…
In my book Faith of Our Fathers: A History of True England, I sought to present a panoramic overview of two thousand years of English history, from the first century to the 21st century. Its premise was that “true England” was the England which had remained true to Truth Himself, Jesus Christ, and to His…
Back in March I wrote an article “Catholics Are Rapidly Losing Ground” in which I commented on a recent Pew Survey showing dire numbers about Catholicism, including the fact that for every person who becomes Catholic, over eight leave the Church. I didn’t try to sugar-coat the news and bluntly stated that this was very…
Since Pope Leo XIV’s election, the encyclical Rerum Novarum, the foundation of Catholic Social Teaching, has been mentioned countless times. It is, arguably, Leo XIII’s most famous encyclical, and for good reason. But anyone familiar with his writings will tell you he also wrote several other tremendous encyclicals on a wide variety of topics. One…
The Russian philosopher Vladimir Solovyov (1853-1900), who was praised by Pope John Paul II for establishing “a fruitful relationship between philosophy and the word of God” and who, in his epic work Russia and the Universal Church displayed an unequivocal profession of faith in the Catholic doctrine of the Roman primacy, said: Indeed, the serving…
