During a talk to the United States Conference of Mayors today that centered on President Obama’s gun control efforts Joe Biden said, We’ll not be able to stop every act of senseless gun violence or any other kind of violence, we know that in the future. … I think we can begin again, not because of guns alone, but I think we can begin an endeavor that stops the coarsening of Ame... More

Words matter. But so do actions. And allusions to equality, human rights and tolerance don’t mean anything if they‘re not backed up with real-world examples. To be sure, not every elected official, nonprofit organization, or religion for that matter, is going to be perfect – there will always a few bad apples in every batch. But the number of attacks, both politically and physically, by thos... More

For a movement that refers to itself as the philosophical heir of the nonviolent civil rights movement, gay rights activists have been doing some pretty hateful things lately. In case you needed evidence that their allusions to peace and tolerance are nothing more than empty words, look no further. The National Organization for Marriage has uncovered a video that shows Fr. Gerald O’Reilly, a ... More

By now, you’ve probably heard of Karen Klein, the 68-year-old school bus monitor from upstate New York who was mocked and harassed by a group of teenagers. Klein, a widower and whose oldest son committed suicide about 10 years ago, was taunted by a mob of kids because, among other things, she was overweight. The entire encounter was posted on YouTube and can be viewed here. Fair warning: it is ... More

Welcome to the Lunchtime Reader, where we assemble important stories to keep your eyes on. New York Times blogger and number-cruncher Nate Silver, who is a liberal respected on both sides of the aisle for his election projections, says that “Obama has gone from a modest favorite to win re-election to, probably, a slight underdog.” http://cvote.to/7Q Canon lawyer Ed Peters has some comments on... More

Yes, someone actually did this. As I feared, the Father Frank Pavone situation is getting worse. A dispute that should be worked out through the normal canonical channels is needlessly spilling into the public debate. And this effort by third parties to gin up public support for Fr. Frank is misplaced. My father describes the histrionic antics of one group “The Center For Bio-Ethical Reform&... More

Rep. Carol Shea-Porter (D-NH) lost re-election to CatholicVote-endorsed Frank Guinta 10 days ago. But she still hasn’t called Frank Guinta to congratulate him on his victory. We often hear people complain of a lack of civility in politics today. People repeatedly condemn the barrage of attack ads that dominate the television and radio airwaves. But after a tough and spirited campaign, we hav... More

Before I sign off the blogsphere for a much-needed Holy Week hiatus from politics, I wanted to briefly reflect on the utter lack of charity and civility in our current political climate. Sr. Mary Ann Walsh of the USCCB has written a fine blog post on the subject and we would do well to heed her words: We need to address this climate. The intolerance and incivility did not begin with legislation pa... More