Concerning a roving band of 14-16 year-old youth whose mischief ended in a murderous shooting spree, Philly Mayor Michael Nutter had some choice remarks. While he chose to use profanity in expressing himself, he hit on an important truth. One remark — this one sans the potty-mouth word — is something parents must take to heart:

“Their little butts should have either been in bed, getting ready for bed, or doing some homework,” Nutter added. Read More »

Catholicism.org note: The Feast of the Holy Family in the traditional rite is always the Sunday after the Epiphany. This liturgical year, that’s January 8, 2012. In the novus ordo, which follows a different reckoning, the feast falls on December 30, 2011. Read More »

Annie Elizabeth in Defende Nos a Proelio quoting Germaine Greer in Saturday’s London Telegraph:  “One of the worst things about the travellers that we have here in the UK, the article suggests, is that they’re Catholic.” My comments are in bold. Read more here.

We live in a hypereroticised culture. And it’s getting worse. Examples abound, but from the last fortnight or so of news, we can cite the controversy of a ten-year-old model posing provocatively in Vogue magazine, just like a “grown up,” with poofy lips and all. Another hint of the growing cult of Eros, this one of the homo- variety, would be the effort to pressure the producers of “Sesame Street” to have Bert and Ernie get married on that children’s show. Worst of all is the case Read More »

LifeNews: American Christians may one day find themselves facing legal penalties simply for believing marriage can only exist between a man and a woman, a fate already suffered by believers in other countries, said the leader of America’s most influential Catholic pulpit this week. Read full report here.

Shortly after sending out the last Ad Rem, I received this email, which I got to today in my queue of backlogged emails. My correspondent — let’s call him “Sal” — is a professional man whose “Uncle Frank” had something to say about the economics of women entering the workforce. Sal graciously gave me permission to share it:

Some time ago, when feminism took hold of the country, my uncle Frank and I were talking about the economy and taxes. He said to me, “They (the women) are working for free.” Read More »

Catholic Culture: The public spokesman of the Mexico City archdiocese has announced that he will appeal a July 1 court ruling that he engaged in illegal political activity when he said that Catholics should not vote for candidates who support same-sex marriage. More here with link to AP article.

Those of us who gave up biological fatherhood to embrace the counsel of celibate chastity did so fully cognizant that we were giving up a good — and a great good — of standing in the place of God the Father in a created human family. We celibate men stand in a unique position to observe the challenges and the blessings that fathers receive. None of us would be up to the task of living our vocation if we had not been sufficiently “fathered” in our life. All of us, the more we learn and age, see the vital importance of the role of the father, not only in vocations, but also in the practice of religion, and in the the very stability of society at large. Read More »

I was stunned to read that the Giant’s Mark Strahan was pushing for same-sex “marriage.”  In fact, this is what prompted David Tyree to speak out and give his support for the National Association for Marriage.

Catholic OnLine: As an athlete, Tyree’s catch in the closing seconds of Super Bowl XLII, pivotal to his team’s victory was the undeniable highpoint of his sports career. Since retired, Tyree is now focusing on social issues which are important to him. Read more on this here.

CNA reports: Citizens of the island of Malta have voted to legalize divorce, making a choice that the country’s Catholic bishops have warned will lead to family breakdown and a loss of religious identity. Read more here.