Topics
From the NOR Dossiers
A Cinematic View by Robert E. Lauder
Clerical Complicity… Out of Africa… The Marx Brothers as a Sign of God?… Trivialized Sex, Cheap Film… Memories of Great Comedies from the Past… and more
VIEW DOSSIERAbortion
What Goes on Inside the Clinic… Consumed by Zeal for the Culture of Death… Eugenics in the USA… Graphic Images: An Apologia… Bumping Off Baby… Pro-Abortion & Anti-War?… Unwanted Children? Disposable as Last Sunday’s Paper… and more
VIEW DOSSIERAmerica: History, Culture & Politics
Losing Our Religion… American Libidocracy… Twilight of the Idols… The Most Segregated Hour… This Land is Not Our Land… and more
VIEW DOSSIERAmerican College of Louvain
The Catholic University of Louvain In Belgium, Parts I and II… ‘Crash Nash’… Shriveled Is Good… and more
VIEW DOSSIERAnglican Communion
What Does the Anglican Patrimony Have to Offer the Church?… A Slow-Motion Implosion… Lifeboats on the Tiber… more
VIEW DOSSIERAt the Movies
The “Biggest Nothing” in History… Surprise! A Hollywood Film that Treats Fatherhood with Respect… Peering Into the Abyss… more
VIEW DOSSIERAtheism
Are There Atheists in Heaven?… A Laborer in Darwin’s Vineyard… Hell as the Atheist Heaven… Has Science Made God Superfluous?… more
VIEW DOSSIERBalthasar & Speyr
Balthasar, Christ’s Descent & the Empty Hell… The Dubious Adrienne von Speyr… The Inflated Reputation of Hans Urs von Balthasar… and more
VIEW DOSSIERBasil's Travels
God & Man in Kyiv… Graffiti in Warsaw, Mormons in Krakow, & Basements in Auschwitz… At Mass in Lenin’s City… and more
VIEW DOSSIERBiblical Scholarship & Controversies
Which Church Is the Real Bible Church?… The Jesus Seminar: Making Uncomplicated Things Complicated… The Ineffectual Jesus of the Jesus Seminar… more
VIEW DOSSIERBiotechnology & Posthumanism
On Man’s Many Attempts to “Kill Death”… Breaking the Species Barrier… Human Alienation & Our Biotech Future… and more
VIEW DOSSIERC.S. Lewis
“Mere Christianity” as Merely Protestant… C. S. Lewis: His True Stature in Dispute… The Best Book Written About C.S. Lewis… more
VIEW DOSSIERCapital Punishment & the Death Penalty
Is There a Biblical Basis for Capital Punishment?… Sister Prejean’s Lack of Credibility… Vengeance Is NOT Mine, Says “the Lord”… more
VIEW DOSSIERCatholic Education Trends
Fr. Ted’s Big Trade… Catechesis & the Average Catholic… The Secularizing of Catholic Universities… Conformed to the World?… more
VIEW DOSSIERCatholic Home Schooling
“But What About Socialization?”… Home-Schooling for Survival… Home-Schooling & Sacramental Preparation…
VIEW DOSSIERChesterton
The Optimistic Pessimism of G.K. Chesterton… A Curmudgeon for Our Times… Distributism’s Significance for Our Social Predicaments… more
VIEW DOSSIERChrist & Neighbor by John C. Cort
Shame on You, Harvard!… The Rich & the Miserable… Neither Karl Marx Nor Adam Smith… The Sins of the Right & the Left… and more
VIEW DOSSIERChristian Classics Revisited by James J. Thompson Jr.
Evelyn Waugh’s Brideshead Revisited… Ronald Knox’s The Belief of Catholics… Edwin O’Connor’s The Edge of Sadness… and more
VIEW DOSSIERCommon Cup Debate
Bacterial Roulette?… The Common Cup & the Common Bug (by E. Coli)… and more
VIEW DOSSIERCommunism & Marxism
The Soviets’ Doomed Battle with Byt… Kindred Spirits, Fellow Victors… Croatia: “The Ramparts of Christendom”… If Not Communism or Capitalism, What?… The Crumbling of Communism: Good for the Catholic Church?… and more
VIEW DOSSIERConversion Stories
Exotic Seed, Sown Deep in the Persian Dust… From Murderer to Monk… My (Crooked) Path to the Monastery… Why Attila the Hun Would Have Sacked a Protestant Rome…
VIEW DOSSIERCOVID-19
On Feeling Safe… Will the Coronavirus Lockdowns Usher in a Mustard-Seed Church… Dying Alone During the Pandemic: The Example of St. Augustine… Countering the COVID-19 ‘Expert’ Narrative… and more
VIEW DOSSIERCultural Counterpoint by Jason M. Morgan
“Raising Awareness”: Reducing Philanthropy to Vanity… Denizens of a Pale Blue Dust Mote… Emblem of an Exhausted Era… Finding Security Behind Closed Doors… and more
VIEW DOSSIERDorothy Day & the Catholic Worker
No Catholic Church, No Dorothy Day… The Catholic Worker: Is It Still Catholic?… The Gentle Catholic Radicalism of Peter Maurin… more
VIEW DOSSIEREconomics & Catholic Social Teaching
Cooperation & Supernatural Brotherliness… What Does It Mean to “Serve Mammon”?… Why Consumerism Still Consumes Us… more
VIEW DOSSIEREcumenism & Ecumania
A Trialogue With C.S. Lewis, Martin Luther & Thomas Aquinas… The Catch-22 of Ecumenical Relations With Evangelicals… and more
VIEW DOSSIEREpiscopacy in the Catholic Church
Cardinal Cupich’s Uncertain Trumpet… The Church’s Strange Reappraisal of Islam… Canon Fire: Burke vs. Wuerl… Wily Guys… more
VIEW DOSSIEREschatology & End Times
The Antichrist in Political Philosophy… Isaac Newton: End-Times Prophet… Your Final Destination… Last Judgment (Lite)… more
VIEW DOSSIEREuthanasia & Assisted Suicide
All Aboard the Suicide Train… True Medical Care or the Law of the Jungle?… The Return of the Physician-Executioner… and more
VIEW DOSSIEREvolution & Intelligent Design
Is a Gender War Woven into the Fabric of Creation?… Darwinian Departures from Reality… Must Human Evolution Contradict Genesis?
VIEW DOSSIERExorcism, Possession & the Problem of Evil
Devil or Disease?… Why Is There Evil in the World?… Perfect Possession… Peering Into the Abyss… The Dark Side of Self-Sacrifice… more
VIEW DOSSIERFanatical Feminism & Women Religious
The Prayers of Moloch’s Modern Priestesses… Feminists: The Worst Misogynists?… Our Testosterone-Depleted Church…
VIEW DOSSIERFatima: Secrets & Conspiracies
Marian Misconceptions… An Epic in Search of an Ending… The Private Interpretation of Private Revelations… more
VIEW DOSSIERFlannery O'Connor
Fragmented Lives of Incomplete Reckoning… Tyranny of the Perverse Will… From the Grotesque to Love… Flannery O’Connor: And Her Own Received Her Not… and more
VIEW DOSSIERGoodbye, Good Men & U.S. Seminaries
Picking on the Average Joe Who Stood Up for the Little Guys… U.S. Seminaries: Condition Stabilized… Killing the Messenger…
VIEW DOSSIERHarvard Diary by Robert Coles
Rembrant’s Old Ones… Moral Smugness… Gang Members: Their Street Education… Voluntary Poverty… more
VIEW DOSSIERHell
Hell and Other Destinations… Is Hell Closed Up & Boarded Over?… Hell, Air-Conditioned… and more
VIEW DOSSIERHigher Education
The Cult of Diversity at Providence College… Ivy League Culture Wars… Is Georgetown Still Catholic?… and more
VIEW DOSSIERHomosexuality & Gay Pride
The Truth About the Homosexual Rights Movement… It’s Good for Business… The Unwelcome Ex-Gay Phenomenon… more
VIEW DOSSIERHumanae Vitae
Conveying the Message of Humanae Vitae to the People of Today… The Triumph & Tragedy of the Most Misunderstood Document in Modern Church History… Why Humanae Vitae Got It Right… The Spirit of Humanae Vitae… more
VIEW DOSSIERIntegralism
Integralism: A New Totalitarianism?… Francis or Fundamentalism: A False Dichotomy… The Stale Good Guy/Bad Guy Formula… and more
VIEW DOSSIERInterviews & Dialogues
The Odyssey of an American Priest in Guatemala… An Interview With a Carmelite… Pope John XXIII through the Testimony of Silvio Cardinal Oddi… On the Canonization of Pope Paul VI… and more
VIEW DOSSIERIslam
Are Islam & Democracy Compatible?… The Church’s Strange Reappraisal of Islam… Prayer Postures: What They Mean & Why They Matter…
VIEW DOSSIERJust War Theory & the Iraq War
The Blood Crying Out from the Ground… The Woeful Plight of Iraqi Christians… Fuel Conservation: No War Needed… War’s Challenge to the Christian Conscience… more
VIEW DOSSIERLanguage & Its Destruction
On the Deconstruction of Language… “On This Rock I Will Build My Celebration Center”… Ev’ry Knee Shall Lock…
VIEW DOSSIERLast Things by David Mills
This feature closes each issue with poignant and humorous observations of people and events… and more
VIEW DOSSIERLatin Mass
At Mass, Actions Speak Louder Than Words… Where Has All the Latin Gone?… The New Mass Just Can’t Be Fixed…
VIEW DOSSIERLavender Mafia Files
Protecting the Lavender Mafia?… Why Won’t Our Bishops Solve the “Gay” Priest Problem?… Gay Priests Set the Tone…
VIEW DOSSIERLegion of Christ
Why the Popes Failed to Act… Power, Money & Mind Control… The Self-Destruction of a Cult of Personality… more
VIEW DOSSIERLetters from England by John Warwick Montgomery
Jesus & the Bell Curve… The Religion of Dr. Johnson… Dracula or Jesus?… The Virgin Birth: A Problem?… more
VIEW DOSSIERLiterature & Literary Criticism
Is Modern Man Too Healthy for Literature?… Flannery O’Connor & the Representation of Mystery… Reading as Sacrament…
VIEW DOSSIERLiterature Matters by Michael S. Rose
What “Old Books” Have to Teach Us About Being Human in the 21st Century… Dracula By Bram Stoker… “William Wilson” By Edgar Allan Poe… and more
VIEW DOSSIERLiturgy, Liturgical Rites & Devotions
Liturgy that Speaks to the Soul… Altar Boys: The Problem or the Solution?… Turning Catholics Into a Stiff-Kneed People… and more
VIEW DOSSIERMarriage, Divorce, & Annulments
How Remarried Catholics Can Validly Receive Communion… Blessed Are the Shack-Ups… ‘Til Annulment Do Us Part?… more
VIEW DOSSIERMary, Mother of God
Marian Devotion as a Way of Life… Return to the Message of Fatima… The Virgin Birth: Where Science Meets Scripture… and more
VIEW DOSSIERNeoconservatism
Delusions of Grandeur… A Pox On Both Your Houses… What Is a Neoconservative & Does It Matter?… and more
VIEW DOSSIERNeuhaus
A Striking Rejection of Magisterial Teaching?… An Ex-Lutheran Still in Recovery… The One-World Church… If Everyone Is Saved…
VIEW DOSSIERNew Age, Paganism & Gnosticism
The Variety & Theological Implications of Private Revelations… Our Pantheistic Sisters… Yoga & Christianity… Neo-Pagans Are Giving Ancient Paganism a Bad Name… and more
VIEW DOSSIERNew Oxford Notebook by Pieter Vree
Father Figuring… At Last, a Reckoning?… Ecce Papa Franciscus!… An Outcast Among Organization Men… and more
VIEW DOSSIERNews You May Have Missed
Congratulations, It’s a Cyborg… Jesus Christ, Extremist… Identify-as-a-Boy Scouts… Get Me to Taco Bell on Time…
VIEW DOSSIERPakistani Refugees
Overcoming Our Culture of Indifference… In Bureaucracy’s Grip… Learning the Meaning of Longsuffering… From a Witness in Bangkok to a Near Martyr in Karachi… and more
VIEW DOSSIERPoetry
The Final Match… Thaws… Who Taught You?… Sonnet… John XXIII… The Soaring Birds of Freedom
VIEW DOSSIERPolitical Correctness
The Unbearable Whiteness of Being… The Fraudsters of Islamophobia… Don’t Call It ‘Adultery,’ Call It ‘Loving More’… and more
VIEW DOSSIERPop Culture & the Entertainment Industry
The Birth-Control Box in the Living Room… Peering Into the Abyss… Smoke If You Must, But Get Rid of That Execrable TV…
VIEW DOSSIERPope Benedict XVI
Is Benedict to Blame?… Sex, Lies & Dossiers: The Vatican at the Crossroads… The Kasper-Ratzinger Debate… more
VIEW DOSSIERPope Francis
Chronic Confusion, Polarization & Polemics in the Church of Francis… A Pontificate of Mercy or a Merciless Pontificate?… more
VIEW DOSSIERPope Pius XII
Pope Pius XII: Vindication… Heroes or Villains?… The Latest Skirmish in the Pius Wars… Not Hitler’s Pope… more
VIEW DOSSIERPope St. John Paul II
Kindred Spirits, Fellow Victors… The Pope as Playwright… Neither East nor West: On the Pope’s Radical New Encyclical… and more
VIEW DOSSIERPope St. Paul VI
On the Canonization of Pope Paul VI… Pope Paul VI’s Prophetic Warning… A Belated Apology to Pope Paul VI… and more
VIEW DOSSIERPriest Sex Abuse Scandal
Priestly Pedophilia: Soul-Murders or Merely “Incidents”?… How Many of Our Priests Are Leading Secret Lives?… and more
VIEW DOSSIERPro Life Issues & Culture of Death
The Nowhere Between Life & Death… Planned Parenthood: Seventy Years of Defying the Law… Graphic Images: An Apologia… Bumping Off Baby… more
VIEW DOSSIERPublic School Education
The Common Core: A Curriculum for Clever Robots… The Corruption of Children’s Literature (Even in Catholic Schools)… more
VIEW DOSSIERRace Relations
Should Christians Pay Reparations for Racial Injustices?… I Am Not White… The Liberal as Graceless Pharisee… Religion & Race in the South… and more
VIEW DOSSIERRadical Traditionalism
Traditionalist & Progressive Totalitarians in the Church… Why Catholic Orthodoxy Is Not ‘Catholic Fundamentalism’… and more
VIEW DOSSIERRevert's Rostrum by Casey Chalk
Learning the Meaning of Longsuffering… Humanae Vitae: A Manual for Better Sex?… The Strange Magnetism of Virtual Fisticuffs… and more
VIEW DOSSIERSacred Music
Rising from the Mire… In Praise of Honest Sentiment… Why the Music Is So Bad… Offering Our Musical Best at Mass… and more
VIEW DOSSIERSame-Sex Marriage
The Catholic Church After Obergefell… Faulty Analogy… “Gay Marriage” Is Not Marriage. Here’s Why… Love on Trial… and more
VIEW DOSSIERShakespeare
The Catholic Dramatist in a Protestant Land… An Academic Undoes the Renaissance… Shelter From the Storm… more
VIEW DOSSIERShort Stories
Screwtape 2020… A Trialogue with C.S. Lewis, Martin Luther, & Thomas Aquinas… Miracles Do Not Speak Halfway… Socrates on Pot… more
VIEW DOSSIERSt. John Henry Cardinal Newman
The Two Worlds of John Henry Newman… Newman’s Advice to Anglo-Catholics… Newman’s Prophetic Challenge to Clericalism…
VIEW DOSSIERSt. Thomas Aquinas & Thomism
Can Neo-Scholasticism Make a Comeback?… Can Thomism Save Science?… Dumb Ox?… Can We Revitalize Catholic Higher Education?… more
VIEW DOSSIERTechnology
On Nurturing Man’s Spiritual Relationship with Technology… Social Media & the Decline of Human Reason… The Technological Society: Where What’s Artificial Seems Natural… On the Fundamental Evil of Fragmentation… and more
VIEW DOSSIERTransgenderism & Conflation of the Sexes
Are There Male & Female Virtues?… Our Testosterone-Depleted Church… Effeminacy in the Service Of Capitalism… and more
VIEW DOSSIERTravelogues
Freak Bus Across Afghanistan… The Divine Life of St. Nazianz… Postcards from the Ruins of a Christian Civilization… and more
VIEW DOSSIERUniversal Salvation
Presumption: A Pathetic Self-Deception… Automatic Forgiveness… Vengeance Is NOT Mine, Says “the Lord”… and more
VIEW DOSSIERVatican Watch
A Coming “Crackdown” in the U.S.?… The Mansour & Kisnik Cases… A Clear Line… The Appointment Process… and more
VIEW DOSSIERVital Works Reconsidered
When No Man Was His Own… A Thomistic Vision of Man’s Final End… Purgatory on Earth… What Is Free Time For?… and more
VIEW DOSSIERWacky Theologians
Reverend Mother Libertine… A Legacy of Dissent… The Hydra of Heterodoxy… Idiocy Undisturbed… and more
VIEW DOSSIERWalker Percy
Walker Percy, the Episcopal Church & Kierkegaard’s “Apostle”… Human Alienation & Our Biotech Future… Attempting to Discredit Walker Percy… and more
VIEW DOSSIERWomen's Ordination & the All-Male Priesthood
The Emasculate Priesthood… Understanding the All-Male Priesthood… Why Was Christ a Male & Why Did He Ordain Only Men?… more
VIEW DOSSIER"Catholicism's Intellectual Prizefighter!"
- Karl Keating
