On June 26, 2015, the Supreme Court handed down its decision in the case of Obergefell v. Hodges—the case that forced all states to acknowledge, facilitate and conduct homosexual “marriages.” To its supporters, and many of its opponents, the Supreme Court’s decision appeared final. The Rubicon had been crossed. The Court had spoken, and the … Read more
The debate over the hiring of Prof. Susan Ostermann as director of Notre Dame’s Liu Institute for Asia and Asian Studies is over. It triggered a massive uproar that surprised many by its intensity. In the end, the appointment was a carefully managed and measured defeat for the school’s administration, which was forced into damage-control … Read more
“In the end, Marx’s tragic vision is one where the descent is final—an abyss where revolution consumes its own, and redemption is neither sought nor granted. It is a world abandoned to its illusions, where humans, having cast off the divine, are left to wander in the wreckage of their own making.” -Robert Orlando, Karl … Read more
“If you are not calling on the one true God and Jesus, His Son (or the Blessed Virgin Mary, the saints, or St. Michael and the good angels), there is only one other spiritual option, and that is Satan.” “Will Satan reward his human minions for their servitude? No. Rather, he will use them and … Read more
On March 8th feminists around the world, in an egalitarian spirit, will celebrate “International Woman’s Day.” Their goal: A “gender equal world (…) free of bias and discrimination” to “forge gender equality.” On the other side of the moral battle, Catholic ladies reply to this egalitarian stance by celebrating March 8th as a day of Christian … Read more
There is a friendship crisis in America. The number of Americans who say they have no close friends has quadrupled since 1990. Lower-income Americans are far more likely to report feelings of loneliness or social isolation, and 31 percent of those aged 18-29 report feeling lonely all or most of the time, increasingly replacing personal … Read more
Some tragic things are so symbolic that they demand a commentary. Remaining silent is not an option. Such is the case of a new trend among well-heeled women suffering from the pains of divorce. They have taken to making “divorce” rings to celebrate their newfound “freedom.” Wearing one is a form of therapy that helps … Read more
The industrialized world often mistreats the consumer. With so many mass-produced and standardized products, I sometimes feel standardized myself. There are limits to standardization. Some products present no problems since we benefit from their uniformity. Others cause us to lose our personality since we have to adapt to them. For example, I have no problem … Read more
I recently read an article in a local paper about the desperate situation in Venezuela. It told the doleful tale of an economy in crisis with shortages, blackouts and widespread corruption. At a certain point, the article mentioned that the average worker’s wage was about one dollar… a month! I did a double-take at the … Read more
Once again, thousands of Catholics gathered for the Los Angeles Religious Education Congress (REC). It is America’s largest Catholic religious educational conference of the year, and this year marked its seventieth anniversary. The idea of any religious educational conference should be to help people learn how to teach fellow Catholics to grow in their faith … Read more
