September 11
Twelve years have passed since the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington. Those who can remember can’t help but remember where they were and what they were doing when they learnt the terrible...
View ArticleThe crisis of masculine identity
The Mask You Live In looks like it will be an interesting film. Its kickstart campaign has raised $101,000 of its $80,000 goal, so I guess production is now underway. The film is directed by Jennifer...
View ArticleThe scourge of porn
Three years ago, Martin Daubney was editing a soft porn magazine. You’d be right to imagine he defended porn on the grounds of free speech and expression. Now he is an outspoken critic of pornography....
View ArticleViolence in Melbourne
The state of Victoria is afflicted by some of the world’s most permissive and pernicious abortion laws. The annual March for the Babies seeks to redress this state of affairs. This year’s march, which...
View ArticleThe race that used to stop a nation
For the past fortnight, I’ve asked many people, in the course of general conversation, to indicate any tips they have on the Melbourne Cup. To my surprise, the majority of people have responded with...
View ArticleOn abortion
Last Wednesday — on the Feast of St Joseph — a friend reported on a pro-life prayer vigil she joined outside the East Melbourne abortion clinic on Wellington Parade. I’m reproducing it here, because it...
View ArticleExposing abortion secrets
This year’s Lenten programme from the Brisbane Archdiocese is very good. Each week is focused on the Sunday gospel, and incorporates both a homiletical reflection, and a personal testimony. This week’s...
View ArticleLiberal v. progressive
Andrew Sullivan has an interesting post this week. Sullivan, for those who don’t know, is one of one of the grandfathers of blogging, launching The Dish back in 2000. He is also one of the grandfathers...
View ArticleAlways winter, never Christmas
I was nine years old when I read C. S. Lewis’ The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. I can still remember the dread which these words carried: “I’m crying because I’m such a bad Faun,” sobbed Mr Tumnus....
View ArticleThe shifting sands of the Catholic blogosphere
Diary of a Wimpy Catholic was once my daily go-to. I commonly referred to Max Lindenman as “everybody’s favourite blogger, or mine anyway.” But I tuned out in recent times, and hadn’t given his blog...
View ArticleFilipino “culture wars”
Sandro Magister is always worth reading. In his latest (translated) post, he addresses the present legal battles in the Philippines, which has pitted the Catholic president against the bishops...
View ArticleThe thrilling romance of orthodoxy
During my Evangelium presentation on Monday, I spent only half my time presenting two alternate versions of a “Catholic lifetime reading plan.” (I’ll post them here tomorrow.) The rest of my...
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Fr John Hardon’s Catholic Lifetime Reading Plan
Father John Hardon SJ, Servant of God, 1914-2000, was a great man. With parents like his, it’s no wonder. When he was still an infant, his father, who was a construction worker, was killed in a...
View ArticleWhen debate becomes “intolerant”
To paraphrase Fulton Sheen, the modern world is not suffering from intolerance. It is suffering from tolerance. In a turn of events which is as bizarre as it is predictable (thanks George Orwell!),...
View ArticleCreate a civilisation of life
Some time ago, I contributed to a crowdfunding campaign which raised $2 million for the Gosnell movie. Dr Kermit Gosnell, you might remember, is an American abortion doctor who was convicted of...
View ArticleBalancing truth and love
We’ve all had uncomfortable conversations which we’d rather avoid. In those moments it’s tempting to misrepresent one’s true thoughts and keep the peace. Priests have lots of these conversations,...
View ArticleThe case for gay marriage. Is it equality or freedom?
The latest issue of Quadrant is full of thoughtful and thought-provoking articles. As ever. This is why I read it. Christie Davies approaches a topical issue from a secular conservative viewpoint: ‘Why...
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The sensual allure of gluttony
One evening earlier this week, a friend and I were walking up Drummond Street in Carlton. The neighbourhood is very familiar to me, not only from my seminary years, but also from my university years....
View ArticleSanta and Christmas
So PJ Media reports this happened in Texas earlier in the month: A pastor made a scene on Friday by preaching about the falsehood of Santa Claus at a mall. He walked around the Santa exhibit, where...
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