A Protestant colleague sent a playful e-mail from Rome a few weeks back, asking, “Don’t you think the Sistine Chapel is a little over the top?”
To which Kara Johnson, a colleague at our magazine, Convivium, gave the perfect response: “Totally over the top. Over the lip of the vault and into… heaven!” Continue reading
Is the justice system infallible? Is every law just, every police investigation done fairly; does every trial arrive at the truth, is every sentence reasonable? Of course not. Yet there is a widespread conceit that every outcome of the criminal proceeding is owed deference as if it were adjudicated by King Solomon himself. Continue reading
Native leader loses track of the facts at St. Kateri’s canonization
The making of saints is a joyous affair, with a gracious spirit abounding toward all, and a determined effort to ignore any discordant notes. I recall, for example, at the beatification Mass for Cardinal John Henry Newman my surprise at seeing Bishop Remi De Roo, the retired bishop of Victoria, sitting not a few paces away from Pope Benedict XVI. Bishop De Roo had been keeping a determinedly low profile since leaving his diocese plagued by financial scandal, so it was a surprise to see him at all. Continue reading
The federal government has given itself 30 more days to decide whether it will allow the sale of Nexen Inc., Canada’s 6th largest oil company, to the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC). The sale, approved by Nexen shareholders, is worth some $15-billion, and would give CNOOC a stake in our oil sands. Continue reading
The days are quite significant in our Church’s history
As the present grows more distant from the past, what actually happened becomes confused with what people think happened. Even pious priests fall victim to the temptation. Take, for example, Fr. C. John McCloskey III. He wrote this recently about the election of Blessed John Paul II: Continue reading