Ever since Vladimir Putin came to power in Russia twenty-two years ago, Western observers have tried to discern his ideology. Is he a Russian nationalist bent on reconstituting the Russian Empire or a neo-Communist, angry over the collapse of the Soviet Union? Perhaps he’s simply a “patriot” without any actual ideology but … Read more
The afflictive thing about living in our polarized society is the terrifying thought that there is something permanent in our incompatibility with each other. No one desires the present unpleasantness. We sincerely wish that we could get along. However, most people want a quick fix. They want magic buttons to push that … Read more
The left’s new darling is Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (“AOC”). The 29-year-old congresswoman from New York catapulted into the political scene in November as the face of a new “democratic” socialism. The media hang on to her every word and fawn over every gesture. Her “New Green Deal” is the talk of the … Read more
Symbolic acts and gestures often have a greater persuasive power than words and reasoning, though one completes the other. This is why the Divine Savior constantly used both symbolic gestures and employed metaphors and parables. This is also why the Church has always surrounded herself with symbols to make visible the beauty … Read more
There have been many attempts to apply socialism to the modern workplace. One of these was the program of former president of France François Mitterrand who sought to implement what he called self-managing socialism in 1981. Like all such schemes, it was a dismal failure. He could not make the moldy principles … Read more
An estimated 190,000 to 2 million Chinese are incarcerated for various reasons. The prisoners include religious and political dissidents, unregistered Christians and counter-revolutionaries. They are victims of trumped-up charges brought against them by local police, who then place them in horrible “re-education camps” with sentences of up to four years without a … Read more
The French Revolution of 1789 was based on the ideological philosophy of the Enlightenment summarized in the famous trilogy, “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity.” By imposing full equality on society, the advocates of this philosophy sought to bring about complete freedom and an idyllic brotherhood among men. The Guillotine’s “Fraternity” As is well known, … Read more
Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke stated that it is “critical at this time that Christians stand up for the natural moral law,” especially in defense of life and the family, in an interview with CNA/EWTN News on November 28, 2011. The Prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura warned about the … Read more
Soon after entering the protest perimeter at Zuccotti Park a piece of communist propaganda was thrust into my hand. The flier starts: “It’s not just Wall Street… capitalism must be destroyed.” As I continued reading, other lines jumped off the page: “Only communism can live up to the aspirations the Occupy Wall … Read more
The destruction of a large part of the Assyrian army by God before Jerusalem in 701 B.C. only provided a brief respite for the incorrigible city. It refused to take advantage of God’s mercy and continued in its sinful ways with the predictable results. By the final years of the seventh century, … Read more