What’s the Matter with Facebook?

What’s the Matter with Facebook?

At first glance, Facebook seems to be an incredible affirmation of individual self-esteem and social well-being. Here on one site, an individual can put online all those unique details, accomplishments and events that make the user so different from everyone else. At the same time, the user is free to share this … Read more

The Hat II

The Hat II 3

In the previous article, we observed the hat as a symbol of dignity; we will now analyze it as an expression of good manners and how its use decayed before it disappeared “Who’s that lady with the hat?” a friend asked during a Requiem Mass celebrated at the Paulaner Kirche, in downtown … Read more

Yet Another Politically “Bright” Idea

Yet Another Politically “Bright” Idea 1

As we near the end of 2011, the controversy over the banning of incandescent light bulbs blazes on. The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 brought together the government, fanatical environmentalists and big-business lobbyists to pass a law that will gradually outlaw the majority of household incandescent bulbs. Now, it appears … Read more

Christmas Fights Back

Christmas Fights Back 2

We hear about the famous War on Christmas that our secular society wages with great intensity. However, the latest news from the front is not encouraging for those who would worship around a holiday tree. According to a recent Rasmussen report, 88% of Americans will celebrate Christmas this year and 81% of … Read more

The Hat

The Hat 2

In different epochs, the hat became a symbol of the dignity of the one wearing it; today, it still survives as a reminder of an ancient vision of courtesy While not a surprising sight, the hat certainly awakens the dormant attention of people in today’s standardized settings. Their gazes linger, even in … Read more

Number 21 Is KIA

Number 21 Is KIA 8

September 4, 1967, Quong Tin Province, Republic of Vietnam. A routine, pre-dawn, sweeping operation by a Marine company was turning into a major battle with a large force of the North Vietnamese Army. Three additional companies of Marines were committed. Fr. Vincent Capodanno, M.M. was granted permission to accompany the reinforcements, as … Read more

The Chaplain Was a Sky Soldier

The Chaplain Was a Sky Soldier

In the early morning hours of November 9, 1967, as American artillery and aircraft pounded an 875-meter-high hill near Dak To, Vietnam, Fr. Charles Watters offered Mass at its base. Many Protestants joined the Catholics for the well-attended service. Soon, the chaplain would accompany these paratroopers of the 173rd Airborne Brigade as … Read more

Men of Honor I

Men of Honor I 1

On the evening of September 28, 2011 hundreds of Kentuckians gathered in downtown Louisville to catch a glimpse of a distinguished group of men who were visiting the state. The classic red carpet treatment one would expect for such an event was rolled out over a section of Main Street while a … Read more

Before the BBC  

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has just announced that it will be discouraging the use of Christian dating references in its programming. Anno Domini (the year of Our Lord) and Before Christ can now be replaced for the “religiously neutral” Common Era (CE) and Before Common Era (BCE). The reason given for … Read more

A Catholic Response to Homosexuality

A Catholic Response to Homosexuality 3

Interview with the Most Reverend John C. Nienstedt, Archbishop of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, by Michael Drake Archbishop John Clayton Nienstedt was born in March 1947, in Detroit, Mich. Following his studies at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit, and the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, he was ordained to the priesthood … Read more