“I see our work as sort of a subset of our vocations—it’s not the essence of our vocations, but it’s part of what we do as our calling.” Thus says Kevin Lowry, author of Faith at Work: Finding Purpose Beyond the Paycheck, and a graduate of Franciscan University of Steubenville. This is a really good interview, touching on the importance of bringing virtue into the wor... More

Genesis 3:1-71 Now the serpent was more subtle than any of the beasts of the earth which the Lord God made. And he said to the woman: Why hath God commanded you, that you should not eat of every tree of paradise?2And the woman answered him, saying: Of the fruit of the trees that are in paradise we do eat: 3But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of paradise, God hath commanded us... More

"Sire, the peasants are REVOLTING!" "You said it, they stink!" Really hard to see the Administration’s political end-game or the calculation behind the HHS mandate. My first thought is, “Wow, that was dumb.” They clearly did not believe crazy uncle Joe and the other prominent, experienced-in-Church-politics male Catholic in the room when they said this would ... More

I’ve been so caught up in covering the Obama/HHS mandate story (and updating this list with the latest bishops’ statements – now up to 140) that I haven’t had much time to reflect and present the picture I’m seeing unfold. Obama spoke at the National Prayer Breakfast this morning, ironic considering his decision to attack religious liberty last week. Politico makes cl... More

Bishops across America are raising their voices against the onerous mandate issued by the Obama Administration through Kathleen Sebelius at HHS commanding Catholics to subsidize contraception, sterilization and abortifacient pills. UPDATE: thank you to everyone who has sent me more statements by bishops reacting to this news. They are included here. Bishop James Conley of Denver: Let’s be clear... More

Planned Parenthood and friends today are celebrating what they perceive as a victory over the U.S. Catholic bishops. In truth it’s an attack on religious liberty and more Catholic and other freedom-loving Americans need to make their voices heard. And as lay Catholics we should be outraged by both what Cardinal-Designate Timothy Dolan calls a “foul ball” by the administration but by ... More

Liberals are crowing about what they see as a huge victory for them — and they are right — because this victory comes at the expense of religious liberty. Welcome to the Obama 2012 reelection plan: ignore and marginalize people of faith, pander to the far-left’s sexual-political priorities. This via the far-left site ThinkProgress: Today, in a huge victory for women’s health, H... More

Welcome to the Lunchtime Reader, where we assemble important stories to keep your eyes on. There is little room for dissent with Kathleen Sebelius in charge, says WSJ columnist Bill McGurn. He gives a shout out to the new CatholicVote ad in his column. (Subscription might be required). http://is.gd/gzNO77 Too soon to call it a comeback, but Rick Perry climbs up to 13% in the latest Iowa poll. Per... More

Welcome to the Lunchtime Reader, where we assemble important stories to keep your eyes on. Rivals fail to stop Newt Gingrich’s momentum during Saturday’s Iowa debate. http://bit.ly/vDTlAm Seven former employees offer to testify against Planned Parenthood. http://bit.ly/tiSpYu Jon Huntsman praised abortion champion Kathleen Sebelius when Barack Obama nominated her as head of the Dept. of Health... More

A funny thing happened on the way to the pharmacy: Kathleen Sebelius did the right thing. It has pro-lifers scratching their heads and pro-aborts apoplectic. The New York Times summarizes what happened: For the first time ever, the Health and Human Services secretary publicly overruled the Food and Drug Administration, refusing Wednesday to allow emergency contraceptives to be sold over the counte... More