“The destruction of words is a very beautiful thing!” exclaimed Syme, a character in George Orwell’s famous novel 1984. Syme promoted Newspeak, the new language forged by the totalitarian state to manipulate the citizens’ minds. The Deconstruction of Language Each social revolution has manipulated language to blur reality, tailoring it to its … Read more
Once while in Rome, a friend and I passed in front of a shop window with several jars of cherry compote and other fruits. I told my friend: “I generally like fruit jams much more than natural fruit, and so I think cherry compote is much better than fresh, raw cherries.” Eternal … Read more
In several recent pronouncements, Pope Francis has hinted that the current coronavirus pandemic is a revenge of nature. “A Revenge of Nature”? In a March 22 interview with Spanish journalist Jordi Évole, Pope Francis was asked whether the present pandemic is not “a revenge of nature”? The pope answered with a popular … Read more
The Church has had some difficulty interpreting the pandemic crisis from a theological viewpoint. This is because contemporary theology has replaced the traditional conception of God’s Creation, according to which He created everything out of nothing and produced a whole collection of things mysteriously ordered for salvation. Contemporary theology no longer accepts … Read more
The classic philosophical definition of a person is “an individual substance of a rational nature.” A person possesses a center point of being, autonomy and self-sufficiency, which irrational beings do not have. To be a person, one must have a nature capable of self-consciousness, self-possession and self-control. Definitions like this have long … Read more
Many North Americans, Latin Americans, and Europeans are justifiably skeptical of the global environmental movement. It shows many of the characteristics, not of a serious scientific movement, but of a political ideology or even a quasi-religious sect. The overwhelming majority of its leaders and foot soldiers espouse a not-so-hidden socialist ideology that … Read more
A Pastoral Revolution: Six Talismanic Words in the Ecclesial Debate on the Family, Guido Vignelli Language changes over time, so the linguists say. Many changes creep in as people use and reuse a word over centuries. Sometimes, though, a change in meaning is quite deliberate. That is the topic of … Read more
“Something there is that doesn’t love a wall,” wrote poet Robert Frost. In the opening line to his famous poem, “Mending Wall,” Frost explores one of the mysteries of fallen human nature. Everyone feels both a need and aversion for order. His questioning of the role of walls tries to explain this … Read more
The story of American public education begins with Horace Mann. It was Mann who popularized the idea that American schools should teach all students, be non-sectarian, and tax-supported. A little less than a half-century passed between Mann’s death and the advent of John Dewey. That half-century may well be the most dynamic … Read more
Protesters are burning and trampling upon the American flag again. When veterans counter-protest against this behavior, some people suggest that they should not protest saying soldiers die so that others might have the freedom to burn the flag in the public square. This “soldiers-die-so-protesters-can-burn-flags” slogan has become a mantra repeated everywhere. Many … Read more