Have you been called partisan recently? I think it happens to me about five times a day. Either in an e-mail, or a comment, or, worse, in an e-mail about my alleged partisanship which is sent to my boss… or to just random people at my work with important-sounding titles, people who could probably get me in trouble. I get called “partisan” a lot. Though I don’t like being labele... More

Joan Frawley Desmond has published an excellent and balanced recap of the Wisconsin fight over reforming government unions and how local bishops responded to the struggle. It’s not a rosy picture — Bishop Morlino of Madison in particular laments the divisions and partisanship which defined the Catholic debate throughout its course. But it’s important going forward that we underst... More

I tend to be an even-tempered guy but I’m losing patience with the attempt by many folks to blame “right-wing politics and politicians” for the Tucson attack. Quite simply, I find this attempt indefensible and yes, reprehensible, because it dishonors the dead. When I heard about the news of the Tucson shooting, my first reaction was to pray for the victims. That’s still ... More

My favorite part by far of Bishop Thomas Olmsted’s press conference was his answer to this question (I’m paraphrasing): “You’ve been called a lot of names, and received a lot of praise, from both sides of the blogosphere – how do you deal with that?” His response is, well, see for yourself: In other words, Bishop Olmsted is neither liberal nor conservative, n... More