Top 10 Analysis Most Popular Analysis Stories in the Last 90 Days
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November 17, 2011 Purgatory in Scripture: New Developments Dr. Jeff Mirus
The Catholic doctrine of Purgatory and the Catholic practice of prayers for the dead stretch back to the earliest Christian period, but the emphasis on salvation by faith has typically caused
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November 08, 2011 Abortion, the Poisoning of Social Justice, and the Rush to Judgment Dr. Jeff Mirus
I have a theory. I cannot provide statistical evidence to support it, but I still think it explains a good deal about why contemporary social services and anti-poverty initiatives, even in the
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January 13, 2012 Banning Contraception? The Art of the Possible Dr. Jeff Mirus
Phil Lawler’s brilliant essay on contraception and gay marriage (On same-sex marriage, who are the real ‘extremists’?) reminds me of why we are so fortunate to have him as part of the team that runs
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December 15, 2011 Toward a Realistic View of Society Dr. Jeff Mirus
In the “While We’re at It” section of First Things last month, I found this: “Critics of neoconservatism don’t seem to grasp that support for a market economy and limited government doesn’t express
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November 28, 2011 The Moral Obligation of Reality, II Dr. Jeff Mirus
In a Sound Off! comment on my last essay (The Moral Obligation of Reality), bservaes4399 explains that he does not see how my argument moves from what is to what ought to be. This question is not to
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December 09, 2011 Evil in Human Guise: Reflections Occasioned by Plan B Dr. Jeff Mirus
It turns out that Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius surprised everybody by denying approval for over-the-counter sales of Plan B. Had the petition gone through, it would have
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January 06, 2012 Saint Death, Churches, and Catholic Scholarship Dr. Jeff Mirus
As I finished skimming R. Andrew Chesnut’s new book on the Mexican/Mexican American cult of Santa Muerte (Saint Death), I happened to notice that the first cover blurb was from Thomas Tweed, author
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January 11, 2012 Ignorance, Ideology, Sovietology and Provisional Politics at Home Dr. Jeff Mirus
In dipping into a series of essays on ideology and totalitarianism, I’ve been reminded of the ludicrous ways in which Soviet Communism was conceptualized, explained and assessed throughout the
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February 01, 2012 Clericalism Dr. Jeff Mirus
I read through Russell Shaw’s book on clericalism last night. I had missed it the first time around, when it was published by Ignatius Press in 1993. Now it is out in a new printing from Wipf and
Top 10 On the Culture Most Popular On the Culture Stories in the Last 90 Days
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December 06, 2011 Pornography—or Persons as Objects Dr. Jeff Mirus
Did you know that more than 80% of all pornographic web pages originate in the United States? As with so many other things, we Americans are the chief exporters of pornography to the world. One
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January 20, 2012 Is Homosexuality Biologically Determined? Dr. Jeff Mirus
We’ve been trained by the media to believe that same-sex attraction is biologically determined, that it is unchangeable and damaging to attempt to change it, that it has no correlation
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January 27, 2012 Archbishop Dolan’s Letdown, and Job One Dr. Jeff Mirus
What’s wrong with this picture? The leader of the American hierarchy, Archbishop Timothy Dolan, said in an interview that he was “terribly let down, disappointed and
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January 23, 2012 On Life Day, Obama Defies Reality...Again Dr. Jeff Mirus
It should come as no surprise that President Obama has once again used the day of the March for Life to signal his direct and strenuous opposition to the goals of the marchers. In a brief statement,
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December 22, 2011 Pedophilia: An Obscure Message of Hope Dr. Jeff Mirus
It may seem strange to comment on pedophilia in the period leading up to Christmas, when we would all prefer to focus on children, and indeed on the Child, without worrying about the dangers to
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December 27, 2011 Even Austrian Darkness Cannot Overcome the Light Dr. Jeff Mirus
In February of this year, an Austrian teacher, Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff, was found guilty of “denigration of religious beliefs of a legally recognized religion” because, during a
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January 02, 2012 A New Year’s Resolution: Charity in Discussion Dr. Jeff Mirus
When I reflect on my own interaction with critics over the past year, I recall those occasions when I was decidedly not conciliatory. And in surveying various discussion groups, including some
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January 06, 2012 Ghosts of Christmas Past Dr. Jeff Mirus
The Week magazine of December 30th did a good job of briefing its readers on the Puritan opposition to celebrating Christmas which afflicted America well into the 19th century. The Pilgrims who
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January 16, 2012 Challenging the Limitations of Church Authority over Politics Dr. Jeff Mirus
My In Depth Analysis (Banning Contraceptives? The Art of the Possible) occasioned two Sound Off! comments which merit further discussion. One criticizes the limitations I set on the
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December 15, 2011 Political Counsel from St. Thomas More Dr. Jeff Mirus
In the In Depth Analysis I just wrote, Toward a Realistic View of Society, I make the argument that a realistic assessment of the social order begins with an understanding of the importance of
Top 10 On the News Most Popular On the News Stories in the Last 90 Days
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December 19, 2011 The headlines say we should be worried about the Pope's health. Why? Phil Lawler
This past weekend, dozens of stories appeared in the English-speaking media, reporting that the health of Pope Benedict XVI is slipping. Most of the headlines referred to the same AP report, and the
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January 12, 2012 On same-sex marriage, who are the real ‘extremists’? Phil Lawler
Last weekend in New Hampshire, during a debate among the Republican presidential candidates, host George Stephanopoulos asked—and asked, and asked, and asked—a question about
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December 09, 2011 The Pill for nuns? Here's a better idea Phil Lawler
Two Australian researchers have captured public attention with their suggestion that Catholic nuns should take birth-control pills—for the sake of their health! The argument, put forward in
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December 29, 2011 The diminishing value of Bishop Spong’s evolving Bible Phil Lawler
Retired Episcopalian Bishop John Shelby Spong, who has made a career of rejecting fundamental Christian doctrines, takes aim at some “misconceptions” about the Bible in a CNN
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December 06, 2011 What the media don't tell you and when they don't tell it Phil Lawler
If ever there was a day when secular news coverage provided a lesson in the need for a reliable Catholic perspective on the news, today was that day. Consider: A CNN post bore the headline: Federal
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December 20, 2011 What entrepreneurs should learn from Blessed John Paul II Phil Lawler
In an era of global enterprise, when some overweight financial firms are deemed “too big to fail,” how should an honest Christian entrepreneur behave? Can the abstract principles of
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January 19, 2012 The Pope's alarming message on American religious freedom Phil Lawler
Is it humiliating for American political leaders to read that Pope Benedict sees an erosion of religious freedom in our country? It should be. If there is one boast that Americans have
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January 05, 2012 Ten Years Later, the Church in Boston Struggles to Recover Phil Lawler
Ten years have passed since the Boston archdiocese was engulfed in scandal, as the result of investigative reporting by the Boston Globe. Today the faithful in Boston are still struggling to shake
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January 24, 2012 The Mitch Daniels moment Phil Lawler
Many months ago, looking at the way the presidential race was shaping up, I made a prediction. I said that Mitt Romney would be the overwhelming Republican favorite—right up until the voting
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December 15, 2011 How Catholics might advance the debate on immigration Phil Lawler
Since the appearance of my comment on the need for clarity in the debate on immigration, several readers have written to say that immigrants living in the US are not “criminals,” since
Top 10 Off The Record Most Popular Off the Record Stories in the Last 90 Days
Top 10 The City Gates Most Popular The City Gates Stories in the Last 90 Days
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January 31, 2012 Discovered: 116,000 square miles of 'missing' polar ice cap Phil Lawler
Non-scientists like me can often feel helpless in the public debate about climate change. We have neither the skill nor the training to rebut the latest claims by certified scientific
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February 02, 2012 Fairness, decency not in evidence in the Philadelphia abuse case Phil Lawler
In the prosecution of three priests from the Philadelphia archdiocese, the level of hostility toward the Catholic Church has become so pronounced that it’s difficult to see how a fair trial
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January 31, 2012 Catholic Superheroes, Revisited Peter Mirus
I went to an Opus Dei “circle” yesterday evening, and some of the themes touched upon in the talk reminded me of a fun article I wrote for this site in 2004: Catholic Superheroes. If
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February 01, 2012 Cardinal Bevilacqua's Capabilities Dr. Jeff Mirus
You've probably already read in our news story that Cardinal Bevilacqua died yesterday at the age of 88, literally days after a Pennsylvania judge ruled once again that he was perfectly capable of
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January 31, 2012 Torture Dr. Jeff Mirus
One of our users asked in a Sound Off! comment whether the Catholic Church had a clear teaching on torture and on the use of coercive means to obtain information. The Second Vatican Council (Gaudium
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January 31, 2012 Love and Marriage Dr. Jeff Mirus
I was listening to the third track of the Classic Sinatra II album, and I suddenly did a double-take. The song was “Love and Marriage” by Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen, which
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February 03, 2012 The devout atheist Phil Lawler
Gotta love the idea of building a temple to atheism, and the behind the project. The misguided millionaire who’s funding the venture believes that “you can build a temple to anything
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February 01, 2012 To-do: Thank Komen for dropping Planned Parenthood Phil Lawler
Austin Ruse of the Catholic Family & Human Rights Institute has written to all the readers of his Friday Fax with an action item that’s well worth passing along: Yesterday it was
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February 01, 2012 Courage Reparation Dr. Jeff Mirus
A visitor to CatholicCulture.org in London, George Day, recently came across my 2010 In Depth Analysis, Homosexuality: A Special Call to the Love of God and Man. Reading it put him in mind of
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February 02, 2012 A List of the Catholic Top Ten Dr. Jeff Mirus
Inside the Vatican named its top ten Catholics of 2011 in January. No two Catholics would choose the same ten, but some of these have news stories or library articles on
