Cardinal Timothy Dolan, American Catholicism's most prominent clerical leader, took the battle for religious liberty to America's number one rated cable news program last night. Whether or not the Constitution endures will probably be decided in the courts and the Congress, but in head to head combat, we know that Obama will prove to be no match for the affable and brilliant Dolan.
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Shakespeare in the Digital Age
By Joel Henning
"Without these Folios, published in 1623, seven years after Shakespeare's death, 18 of his plays—including 'Macbeth,' 'Julius Caesar,' 'Twelfth Night,' 'The Tempest' and 'As You Like It'—would have been lost," says Michael Witmore, the Folger's director since July, as we tour the underground stacks. "They originally sold for one British pound, worth around $200 present value," he adds. But the price has gone up in the nearly 400 years since. "In 2001," he says, "a single First Folio sold at Christie's for $6.2 million." I gingerly return the Folio I've been holding to its shelf.
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| Great Hall, Folger Shakespeare Library |
There are 232 surviving First Folios of the works of William Shakespeare, and the world's largest collection of them—82—is not in London, Oxford or anywhere else in England. The volumes are deep in the bowels of the Folger Shakespeare Library, a building tucked in among the U.S. Capitol, the Supreme Court and the Library of Congress.
"Without these Folios, published in 1623, seven years after Shakespeare's death, 18 of his plays—including 'Macbeth,' 'Julius Caesar,' 'Twelfth Night,' 'The Tempest' and 'As You Like It'—would have been lost," says Michael Witmore, the Folger's director since July, as we tour the underground stacks. "They originally sold for one British pound, worth around $200 present value," he adds. But the price has gone up in the nearly 400 years since. "In 2001," he says, "a single First Folio sold at Christie's for $6.2 million." I gingerly return the Folio I've been holding to its shelf.
Father Sammie Maletta's Sermon on Obama's Assault on Religious Liberty
On February 5, 2012 Father Sammie Maletta delivered a sermon at St. John the Evangelist Parish in St. John, Indiana. This Homily addressed how President Obama is threatening religious freedom and at war with the Catholic Church. Please take a few moments to listen and then go to http://bit.ly/zPdgpw to fight this assault on freedom of conscience and religious liberty.
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Mormon 'Manifest Destiny'
By Stephen Stone
President, Renew America
One of the curious things about Mitt Romney's 2012 presidential bid is the near-unanimous support he enjoys among fellow Mormons.He won the Nevada, Idaho, Arizona, Wyoming, and Hawaii primaries in large part because Mormons form influential voting blocs in those states.
Among Mormons in Utah — headquarters of the LDS church — he's expected to draw somewhere near 90 percent of the Mormon vote in Utah's June primary, as he did earlier in neighboring Nevada and Arizona.
Mormons have been the core base of Mitt's campaign from the outset, backing him not just with their enthusiastic votes, but their activism — as avid donors, volunteers, grassroots organizers, and online defenders. It's a rare Mormon who doesn't want to see Mitt elected president.
Dawkins Calls for Mockery of Catholics at 'Reason Rally'
From CNA
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| Richard Dawkins speaks during the National Atheist Organization's 'Reason Rally' March 24, 2012 on the National Mall in Washington, DC. Credit: Allison Shelley/Getty Images News/Getty Images |
At the March 24 “Reason Rally” in Washington, D.C., an estimated 20,000 atheists and agnostics heard author and activist Richard Dawkins encourage mockery of Catholic beliefs and those of other religions.
“Don't fall for the convention that we're all 'too polite' to talk about religion,” Dawkins said, before urging rally attendees to ridicule Catholics' faith in the Eucharist.
“Don't fall for the convention that we're all 'too polite' to talk about religion,” Dawkins said, before urging rally attendees to ridicule Catholics' faith in the Eucharist.
Monday, March 26, 2012
Arriving in Cuba, Pope Issues Clear Call for Change
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Pope Benedict XVI walks with Cuban President Raul Castro upon arrival at Antonio Macedo aiport, in Santiago de Cuba. (AFP Photo/Rodrigo Arangua) |
From Catholic World News
Pope Benedict XVI offered a prescription for change in Cuba as he arrived on Monday afternoon, March 26, to begin a 3-day visit there.
The Pope—who had said last week that Marxism has failed in Cuba—said that he was convinced “that Cuba, at this moment of particular importance in its history, is already looking to the future.” He said the future of the island nation should be shaped by “the fine patrimony of spiritual and moral values which fashioned the nation’s true identity, and he mentioned Cuban heroes like José Marti and Felix Varela. Conspicuously missing from his list of great Cuban leaders was Fidel Castro.
As he arrived in Cuba, Pope Benedict recalled the historic visit by Pope John Paul II in 1998, saying that it “left an indelible mark on the soul of all Cubans.” That papal visit was “like a gentle breath of fresh air which gave new strength to the Church in Cuba,” he said.
Gently alluding to the contentious issue of Church-state relations in Cuba, the Pope said that his predecessor’s visit ushered in “a new phase in the relationship between Church and State,” and welcomed a “new spirit of cooperation and trust,” while noting that there were many areas still in need of improvement. In greeting the Pontiff, Raul Castro had asserted that the government welcomes the activity of the Catholic Church; the Pope’s words seemed design to convey that the Church would continue to press for greater freedom.
Pope Benedict also made it clear that he would speak for change in Cuba generally. He said “we can no longer continue in the same cultural and moral direction which has caused the painful situation that many suffer.” A revival of the Cuban nation must be a moral revival, he said, noting: “In the hearts and minds of many, the way is thus opening to an ever greater certainty that the rebirth of society demands upright men and women of firm moral convictions.”
“I carry in my heart the just aspirations and legitimate desires of all Cubans,” the Pope said. Without spelling out the political implications of those words, he issued an unmistakable call for change.
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