Let us take a great civilization historically devoid of pornography, and examine what happens once the door is opened a crack, for smoke to enter:

I just returned from a Catholic wedding celebration, where most of the guests at the reception were not invited to the wedding Mass. It was held at an up-scale, suburban hotel with wine flowing from the moment one walked in, (no need to save the finest Cabernet for last here- it was there from the get-go) the chairs covered in fine linens, lavish flowers decorating every table, and a live band and a DJ set up. The young couple impressed me as being very down-to-earth, genuine decent young people. But as the evening wore on, and I intensified my people-watching, the following observation by a Benedictine College Economics prof sums up quite nicely my feeling that it identifies what is going on in the lives of many Catholics these days, myself included: "....a ctive decisions to sin, such as the decision to be greedy, ...happen, of course, but that was not the path to sin for most people. Rather, it was the simple urge to be comfortable, to make life easier for oneself and o...

Hamilton College, A small, prestigious liberal arts school in New York is set to host and fund a workshop on orgasms for undergrads on Monday.   I n my  book's third chapter  I observed, "The Devil’s goal is to seduce, to lead people away from faithful obedience to God. All that he does with regard to human beings is willfully evil, in order that he might bring them spiritual, supernatural, eternal death.  On this Pope Paul Vi remarked, “This matter of the Devil and of the influence he can exert on individuals as well as on communities, entire societies or events, is a very important chapter of Catholic doctrine which should be studied again, although it is given little attention today ….” Let us pray for the folks at Hamilton, and while we are at it, Brown University.

From the New York Times :  "Six months into his papacy, Pope Francis sent shock waves through the Roman Catholic church on Thursday with the publication of his remarks that the church had grown “obsessed” with abortion, gay marriage and contraception, and that he had chosen not to talk about those issues despite recriminations from critics." Shortly after publication his now infamous America interview, The Holy Father proceeded to do what the  Times would have him tell the faithful NOT to do in a r ecent audience : A widespread mentality of the useful, the “throw away culture” which today enslaves the hearts and intelligences of so many, has a very high cost: it requires eliminating human beings, especially if physically or socially weaker. Our answer to this mentality is a decisive and unhesitant “yes” to life. “The first right of a human person is his/her life. He/she has other goods and some of them are more precious; but life is the fundamental good, condition f...

Sexual activity was just one of a range of topics explored in The Crimson’s email survey of the incoming freshman class. The survey drew 1,311 respondents—nearly 80 percent of the Class of 2017—although not all of them completed every question on the survey. Exploring beliefs, anxieties, habits, and vices, the final installment of a four-part series on the survey’s results looks at how the newest members of the Harvard community live their lives when they are not building their resumes.

A dear friend and colleague posted a biographical piece recently.   The political and spiritual journey of a black Catholic staffer at the Democratic National Committee who quits his job in response to the Obama administration’s aggressive pro-abortion tactics and becomes a proud Republican.