In Memory of a Great Man, Recall His Journey

1. In memory of Fr. Richard Neuhaus, here is his essay on "How I Became the Catholic I Was".

2. Now you tell us -- one of the inventors of the hormonal contraceptive pill, has come to regret the "demographic catastrophe" that has resulted. When Church leaders warn warn about this, they are widely derided if not ignored. But when a scientist -- a member of the secular high priesthood -- says so, perhaps more people will notice.

3. The headline says it all: "NIH grants $2 million to study effectiveness of cell phone sex-ed soap opera". They won't spend a dime for abstinence-only education, but they throw dollars at nonsense like this. I wish I could get a bunch of federal money for some of my hairbrained schemes.

4. In just six years, the number of Catholic marriages in the UK fell by 24%, twice the rate at which civil marriages declined. We've seen similar declines, albeit over a longer period of time, here in the US. There is a grave vocational crisis going on, and it isn't just about the priesthood. It needs to be addressed by all levels of our Church -- from the pulpit, in the schools, and in families. Here are some good websites that are trying to stem the tide from the USCCB and the Knights of Columbus. Spread the word.

5. Yet another reason to be very leery of the idea of married priests. Of course, the real problem, as we know from the Scandal, is not a person's sex or their marital status, but the lack of virtue and susceptibility to sin. But here's the odd thing -- doesn't the Episcopal Church here in the US have a sitting bishop who did basically the same thing, except that he's now notoriously living with a man?

6. The solution to the energy crisis has now emerged -- using emissions from cremations to heat homes. Weird.