Sidney Callahan

John Tierney s column in the N Y Times Science pages 12 30 08 describes the new psychological findings that people who are religiously devout have more self-control than others It s old news that religious people tend to do better in school live longer have more satisfying marriages and

As a pro life grandmother I am grateful for the moral teaching of the new Vatican Instruction Dignitas Personae I d also like to voice to a few added points on family concerns First off all of us who recognize the conceptus as a new member of the human family will be happy to find the embry

How do you ldquo recant rdquo and begin to believe something you don rsquo t believe The Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith or CDF is ordering Father Roy Bourgeois M M to recant his belief and support for women rsquo s ordination If not he will be excommunicated in thirty days

Snap crackle and pop Or is it snap crackle and puff nbsp Last month I was present as British journalist Christopher Hitchens huffed and puffed in a tirade against religion Hitchens as a leader of the new atheists brigade was proclaiming his message and promoting his new book God is Not Grea

Why am I as a mass going staunchly pro life Catholic voting for Obama Of course I disagree with his views on Roe vs Wade but I think that his policies and programs more comprehensively follow Catholic social teaching than McCain s–and they even result in fewer abortions There s a lo

How about doing virtue scans on the candidates in this crucial election Surely such background checks and assessments would lead to better choices than simply listening to campaign rhetoric and spin nbsp Predictions of actual responses to future challenges can be most accurately based on virtuous

I welcome Sarah Palin rsquo s selection as McCain rsquo s running mate for a mixture of reasons From a political perspective I think her youthful inexperience and her female gender will weaken the Republican ticket sexism like racism is not dead nbsp And anything that makes it less likely tha

Why go to mass Like other Americans many Catholics claim to be spiritual but not religious They cannot believe that missing mass is a mortal sin who does nor do they feel obligated to support their parish But Catholics today do appreciate friendship sex and communication however they

Have you heard about vicarious religion The phrase made me laugh out loud when I spotted it in Peter Steinfels terrific review of A Secular Age by Charles Taylor subscriber only Apparently this is a description of the penumbra of belief remaining in those for whom religion is but a

The Pope s visit is stimulating a lot of different reactions on many fronts even if the drama of the sexual abuse issue tends to hog the media s attention Another appreciative response for me is focused on Benedict s active support of the UN and its international work on human rights Ameri