Rebuilding a Faithful Society

Rebuilding a Faithful Society by John Grondelski at National Catholic Register. [Princeton professor] Robert George… launched “Fidelity Month” June 1 in response to public concern about America’s social fragmentation. The Wall Street Journal recently reported a poll whose results point to precipitous declines in American belief in values like “patriotism,” “religion,” “family” and “community” — values that once upon a time held Americans together despite all their other differences. The observance seeks to “encourage fidelity to God, our spouses and families, our country and communities.” Read

June is for the Sacred Heart by Stephen P. White at The Catholic Thing. The month of June is dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The love of God made manifest in the crucified Christ has been a focus of devotion and piety since the very beginning of Christianity…. In the Sacred Heart of Jesus, we discover the humility of God that overwhelms and destroys pride…. our own hearts are moved to contrition…. our own selfishness is burned away in the consuming fire of his love and mercy…. we encounter the love that created, ordered, and sustains all things…. we find the strength and grace to love as he loves…. we find refuge and peace even in the midst of – especially in the midst of – the trials and tribulations of the age. Read

Simple – and Not So Simple – Gifts by Robert Royal at The Catholic Thing. Today is Memorial Day. It’s altogether right and fitting to remember that we’re here today because hundreds of thousands of Americans, ordinary people called to extraordinary things, willingly gave up their lives…. Probably 25,000 dead on the American side in the Revolutionary War; around 620,000 (both sides) during the Civil War, i.e., the struggle to preserve the union and put an end to slavery. More recently, 58,000 in Vietnam. Another 7000+ in Afghanistan and Iraq. And more, sadly, to come. For all the controversies surrounding every one of these conflicts, we – who despite our troubles, by historical standards, live lives of rare tranquility and ease – need to remember them with no little gratitude. That is how civics teachers in schools once would have presented this holiday. Read

Tradition and the Signs of the Times by James Kalb at Catholic World Report. We are dependent on each other, and love of our fellow man is part of saintliness. So we should pay attention to how people affect each other. As St. Paul noted, “Evil communications corrupt good manners” (1 Cor 15:33). If we live among unholy people most of us will be dragged down, and if we act badly we will drag others down. So we should ask about what leads to sanctity not only for ourselves but for the rest of the world, and become part of whatever that might be. Read

Classical Education Comes to Bedford by Ray Domanico at City Journal. What is the purpose of schooling? [Joseph McCleary, president of Hawthorn School] described the failed national attempt to raise standards through Common Core in the mid-2010s as well-intentioned but exclusively focused on a utilitarian notion of education—preparation for college and career. McCleary was more enamored of a vision proposed by G. K. Chesterton, who, in 1924, described education as “the soul of a society as it passes from one generation to the next.” McCleary sees this idea as central to the Hawthorn School’s mission. Read

Hope in an Age of Nay-Saying by Carl R. Trueman at First Things. If what a college is really doing is best demonstrated by what its best students say and think, then I found real hope—real, joyful hope—on Saturday as a young woman, Meredith Johnson, spoke about the true nature of home [in her speech during the Grove City College graduation ceremony]. That she is both a student of mine and the daughter of a former student of mine made her speech even more powerful to me. Here is proof positive that teaching is a joy and a privilege whose significance goes beyond the momentary classroom encounters. Her argument was simple but profound, biblical and Christian: The best homes are those that prepare us for our next home. And our ultimate home is heaven, a final destination that should have a serious effect on the shape of each of the temporary homes that mark our sojourn along the way. Read

Suit Filed by Christian College Aimed at HUD Policies Undermining Sexual Distinctions by Charles J. Russo at Catholic World Report. [T]he College of the Ozarks, a small faith-based institution of about 1,600 students in Missouri [is] challenging the HUD’s interpretation of the Fair Housing Act (FHA)…. The approach taken by the Administration and HUD Directive blatantly stand the First Amendment’s declaration that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof” on its ear. Simply put, it is inconceivable that the government might treat people of faith who are remaining true to the millennia old beliefs as being at risk of being charged with discrimination for violating federal law, or being subjected to accusations of bigotry, by maintaining their sincere religious beliefs that object to housing men who identify as women in female-only dormitories. Read

Award-Winning Gay Teacher Suspended for Speaking Out Against Transgenderism by Tony Kinnett at The Daily Signal. Shelton told the board: “Two plus two equals four. The world is not flat. Boys have penises; girls have vaginas. Gender is binary and cannot be changed. Biology is not bigotry. Heterosexuality is not hate. Gender confusion and gender delusion are deep psychological disorders. No caring professional or loving parent would ever support the chemical poisoning or surgical mutilation of a child’s genitalia.” …. At this point, someone muted Shelton’s microphone and a board member informed the teacher that his time was up. Applause broke out from the audience. Read

Fairfax Trained Teachers to Disregard Objections to 'Equity Grading' by Jeremiah Poff at Washington Examiner. Teachers in Virginia's Fairfax County Public were required to undergo professional development training… on responding to people who oppose equity initiatives…. One of the slides describes a person who “struggle[s] to differentiate between equity and equality” and how this person believes “fair is equal.” …. The slide… recommends using other people in the room to "dilute the Fairness-Seeker's voice." For another scenario, the slideshow describes the "Minimizer," who may say things like "I don't see color" or that the world is inherently unfair. Read

Southern Poverty Law Center Adds Parental Rights Groups to ‘Hate Map’ by Tyler O’Neil at The Daily Signal. The Southern Poverty Law Center, which brands mainstream conservative and Christian organizations as “hate groups,” placing them on a map with chapters of the Ku Klux Klan, added a slew of parental rights organizations to that “hate map” for 2022 and labeled them “antigovernment groups.” “Schools, especially, have been on the receiving end of ramped-up and coordinated hard-right attacks, frequently through the guise of ‘parents’ rights’ groups,” the SPLC’s “Year in Hate and Extremism” report claims. Read

Throwback Thursday

Ashamed of the Gospel? The End of Comfortable Christianity by Robert P. George at Touchstone Magazine in June 2015. The days of socially acceptable Christianity in the West are surely over. The days of comfortable Christian orthodoxy are past. It is no longer easy to be a faithful Christian, a good Catholic, an authentic Evangelical witness to the truths of the gospel. A price is demanded and must be paid. There are costs of discipleship—costs that are burdensome and painful to bear… The saving message of the gospel of Jesus Christ includes, integrally, the teachings of his Church on the profound and inherent dignity of the human person and the nature of marriage as a conjugal bond—a one-flesh union. Believing these things is a crucial part of the gospel…. "If," Jesus said, "anyone wants to be my disciple, let him take up his cross and follow me." We Christians in the West, having become comfortable, had forgotten, or ignored, that timeless gospel truth. There will be no ignoring it now. Read