Charles Peguy (1873-1914): “It will never be known what acts of cowardice have been committed for fear of not looking sufficiently progressive.” Elsewhere, I recently published a piece pleading for the universal reinstatement of the Traditional Latin Mass. This …
Category: Church & State
How the US Naval Academy Is Dancing with the Devil
As a 1998 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, I regularly get messages from classmates during the football season following a good win or a painful loss. This year’s poor performance against Notre Dame elicited the expected string of angry …
Christ the King and Original Sin
It is often asserted that the Christian societies of old were oppressive, torturous regimes stifling human freedom. This is false. Witness the countless sermons preached by the saints against the worldliness of their day. Men were not forced to go …
Yes, Catholics Can Do Politics
Already by the winter of 2017, I had spent nearly two years as a secular, “conservative” political commentator on various internet platforms. I observed and took part in many of the discussions that dominated the first years of the Donald …
Why Even Secular People Should Defend the Seal of Confession
A few days ago, Sandro Magister wrote an article on his widely followed blog Settimo Cielo entitled “Worldwide Attack against the Seal of Confession: Either Prison or Excommunication.” He was referring to the pillar of Catholic doctrine on sacramental confession, …
Vatican II’s Confusing Counsel on Conscience and Human Dignity
The Dubious Consciousness of Contemporary Man The modern doctrine on the dignitatis humanae, or dignity of man, has encouraged and even ensured the laïcité, or secularization of the political sphere. The Second Vatican Council’s Dignatis Humanae at first approaches this …
Is Patriotism a Virtue?
Note: Skip to the On the Contrary if you are not familiar with a Thomistic article. Objection 1: It seems that Patriotism is not a virtue. For our Lord said, My Kingdom is not of this world (Jn. xviii. 36) …
Pope Francis Is Wrong about the Death Penalty. Here’s Why.
In light of today’s news that the pope has “changed the Catechism of the Catholic Church about the death penalty, saying it can never be sanctioned,” we are reprinting this as a reference point for concerned Catholics. –SS, 8/2/2018 When …
Broken America and the Departure of Anthony Kennedy
Justice Anthony Kennedy recently announced his resignation from the United States Supreme Court. Good riddance. What Shakespeare said about a traitor’s life in Macbeth applies equally well to Kennedy’s life on the Supreme Court: “Nothing in his life became him …
The Kingship of Christ and the Anti-Kingdom of Modernity
Right after the Obergefell vs. Hodges decision was announced, the media quickly reported on the “conciliatory” and “moderate” language of Donald Cardinal Wuerl: “The law of the land is the law of the land,” says Archbishop of Washington Cardinal Donald …