Category: Church
-
The Catholic Press Warily Enters the Digital Age

Deal W. Hudson October 6, 2010 As I write, there is a Catholic Press Conference being held at the Vatican, sponsored by the Pontifical Council for Social Communications. Three representatives were invited from each country, and one of them was Greg Erlandson, president of Our Sunday Visitor. Erlandson is an astute and experienced observer of Catholic media, and…
-
The False Charge of “Politicizing the Church”

Deal W. Hudson October 12, 2010 Popular Catholic blogger Jeff Miller of the Curt Jester thinks my notion of a Catholic Tea Party is a “bad idea.” It may, in fact, be a bad idea, but if so, not for the reasons he gives. There’s no need to rehearse the entire argument because it comprises variations on a single…
-
Will the Catholic Campaign for Human Development Keep Its Promises?

Deal W. Hudson November 1, 2010 Last week, the USCCB issued its “Review and Renewal of the Catholic Campaign for Human Development.” The document contains a series of recommendations to reform CCHD grant awards in response to alarming disclosures that financial support was going to groups that supported abortion and same-sex marriage. Five groups were defunded, but…
-
Politics, Culture, or the Church?

Deal W. Hudson November 6, 2010 Anyone who has been to a Catholic conference has heard the following remark rise up out of the audience: “What we really need to do is to pray and get before the Blessed Sacrament!” Anyone who has spoken at a Catholic conference has had to confront this statement. Usually,…
-
The Catholic Campaign’s New Problem with Coalitions

Deal W. Hudson November 9, 2010 When the USCCB issued its document a few weeks ago announcing the “Review and Renewal of the Catholic Campaign for Human Development,” I wondered aloud if the CCHD would be able to keep its promises. As it turns out, one of the promises was broken the moment the document was published. “Review and…
-
UPDATE: The Catholic Campaign’s New Problem with Coalitions

Deal W. Hudson November 9, 2010 From the editor: On November 10, 2010, we received the following response to this column from the USCCB’s Department of Justice, Peace and Human Development. We print it in its entirety: Responses to the CCHD Review and Renewal The report on the Review and Renewal of CCHD has generally…
-
The Kicanas Problem

Deal W. Hudson November 15, 2010 When the Catholic bishops meet in Baltimore this week, they will elect the next president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). Usually, the chatter among Catholic punditry about who will be elected is minimal, given the longstanding tradition of elevating the vice president to the president’s…
-
Bill Donohue Is Accused of Starting the Fight over Christmas

Deal W. Hudson December 20, 2010 I was putting together my list of “ten most laughable public attacks of 2010” when I received an e-mail newsletter from Chris Korzen and the team at Catholics United. Korzen’s letter – an attack on Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League, and Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York – was…
-
Why Should the Church Continue to Perform Marriages for the State?

Deal W. Hudson December 14, 2014 We take for granted that priests, and other ministers, sign a couple’s marriage license after a wedding ceremony. At that moment the state, both the individual states and the United States, legally recognize the marriage. Priests and ministers, thus, act as agents of the government and are duly recognized…
-
Governor Christie — Go to Green Bay!

Deal W. Hudson January 8, 2015 Following the victory of the Dallas Cowboys over the Detroit Tigers, longtime Cowboy’s fan, Gov. Chris Christie, gave Jerry Jones a hug — Jones is the owner of the Cowboys. Since Christie was sitting in the owner’s box his impetuous embrace was caught on TV and broadcast to the…