Category Archives: politics

Francis & Bernie: Two Demagogues Meet

Crux: ROME (AP) — Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders said in an interview with The Associated Press that he met with Pope Francis, describing the meeting as a “real honor.” Sanders said the meeting took place Saturday morning before the … Continue reading

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Two “Brothers”: Pope Francis and the Chekist

Cross-posted on the Corner. The Pope’s decision to meet his “brother”, Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill in, delightfully, Havana (you can find some details here of the way that the persecution of Christians has spiked since last year’s Francis-brokered deal between … Continue reading

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Pope Francis, (Partly) Explained

Hayek: But the near-universal acceptance of a belief does not prove that it is valid or even meaningful any more than the general belief in witches or ghosts proved the validity of these concepts. What we have to deal with … Continue reading

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Mosquito as “Enforcer” of Social Solidarity

America Magazine is, in its own way, an entertaining corner of the religious left published by Jesuits. It’s a reliable source of by-the-numbers leftism supplemented by pious distortions, holy evasions, extra helpings of sanctimony and regular hosannas for the Dear … Continue reading

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The Vatican and Brexit

The Roman Catholic Church has always been somewhat suspicious of the nation-state, an institution it regards as an obstacle to its own claims of universal authority, so this story from the Daily Telegraph comes as no surprise: The Vatican wants … Continue reading

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Multiculturalism as Sacred Idea

An intriguing suggestion from Ed West in The Spectator: I’d go as far as to say it that immigration has become a sacred idea, and that many believe multiculturalism to be a moral good in itself, whatever the end result. … Continue reading

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New Heights in Wishful Thinking

A Facebook friend posted this today: This person isn’t particularly political – a well-intentioned but corny meme isn’t really the stuff of those more consumed by politics, in my experience – but their taken-for-granted progressivism was kicked into gear following … Continue reading

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Jerry Brown Gets It Right

Credit where’s credit is due: I am not exactly a member of the Jerry Brown fan club, but the California Governor’s decision to sign his state’s cautiously drafted assisted suicide law (perhaps too cautiously: to take one example, those with … Continue reading

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On ISIS, Enchantment and Authoritarians against Totalitarians

Over on his blog, Sam Harris interviews Mark Riebling, the author of Church of Spies: The Pope’s Secret War Against Hitler. The historical ground covered is interesting—how could it not be?—but these passages, in particular, caught my attention: Conservative, even … Continue reading

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The Political Religion of Jorge Mario Bergoglio

This intriguing piece by Claudio Ivan Remeseira is a (very) long read, but (very) well worth it. It underlines yet again how much Pope Francis remains shaped by the intellectual and religious traditions of his homeland. That might be disappointing … Continue reading

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