Out of the Smothering, Into the Sunlight

As the Catechism, along with solid human reason, have it, men and women are different. But they are also complementary, each with their particular ‘genius’. As such, their roles in the various societies we form should overlap, but they should also be distinct. Since the most fundamental, and most perfect, society is the family, every other society should in some way model the family. The more disordered and warped this gets, the worse off we all will be. As the family goes, said Pope John Paul II, so goes society. And the converse is true as well.

Two articles struck me of late. The first is an intriguing piece in First Things, (the author goes by what seems an unpronounceable pseudonym)on the notion of the ‘longhouse’ – used here analogously, describing what happens to a culture that is governed primarily by the maternal instinct of women. Motherhood is good, indeed very good, but all things in moderation and in their own place. The ‘longhouse’, as the author posits, implies over-mothering, the coddling of a dark, closed, cramped environment, with an overemphasis on safety, caution, risk avoidance, complaisance, what might be called ‘why-can’t-we-all-just-get-along-ness’. This gets even worse when it is imposed on all with the full coercive power of the state. Then we get the uber-mothering with full-on aggression and violence. Stay safe, or I’ll beat you into submission.

For proper balance, societies require mothering and safety – but also, especially in the face of great evil – courage, forthrightness, self-reliance, willingness to fight and, even more so, to die.

The reader may make up his own mind. X-Y, Venus-Mars, male-female, husband-wife. We all need balance, harmony, complementarity, in the right order, under God.

The second is a related piece on the recent near-simultaneous resignations of two leaders, Jacinta Adern of New Zealand and Nicola Sturgeon of Scotland, both of them amongst the most extreme Covidian zealots, all for lockdowns, mass-coerced ‘vaxxing’, closed borders – the whole lot, with not much in way of balance and harmony. They are also, by the bye, all for the insanity of transgenderism and many of the other evils of our era – under the gas-lit rubric of ‘compassion’ – with Ms. Sturgeon getting flummoxed on public television trying to justify allowing a doubly-convicted male rapist into a female prison after he identified, yes, as a woman.

As the author concludes, the two leaders had their day when their policies could be decreed by fiat, and police batons, in a climate of hysterical fear or imposed and brutally censored consensus; but they are now seen by too many as errant, if not outright evil, nonsense, when exposed to the full light of truth.

We may conclude with the first author’s exhortation:

Still, we must resist the soft authoritarianism of the Longhouse’s weepy moralism. We must not succumb to hysterical pleas for more safety, more consensus, more sensitivity. Ennobling work awaits us. But we must first recognize the Longhouse for what it is and be willing to leave its false comforts behind.

Just so.

A Closed, Unsustainable, Descending Loop

As a follow-up to my thoughts on Payette’s payout, here be a stark image of where are here in Canada. As the graph shows in, well, graphic terms, since 2025, the public sector has contributed to 95.5% of economic growth. The private sector – which funds the public sector, or is supposed to – has[…]Continue reading→

Remembering Father Alphonse de Valk

(Today marks the sixth anniversary of the death of Father Alphonse de Valk, C.S.B., a faithful, courageous and indefatigable Basilian priest, pro-life-and-family apostle, and the founder of Catholic Insight magazine. Here is what we wrote those on his entering into eternity five years ago, as we continue to remember him in our prayers and thoughts)[…]Continue reading→

Presidential Pardon of Weronika Krawczyk

As a good news, follow-up to our story from Poland, of the persecution of Weronika Krawczyk for her pro-life views, we heard that she has been granted a presidential pardon. One might still wonder why one needs a presidential pardon for simply holding the long-held belief that the child within the womb is a child,[…]Continue reading→

Pope Leo and a Rosary for Peace

Pope Leo XIV has asked Catholics across the world to join him in a Rosary for peace today, at 18:00 Rome time (6 pm), which would be noon from where I write (EST). If you are able, whether at that time or another, and in whatever way you pray, to join in intercession with the[…]Continue reading→

Payette’s Payout

I was glancing through some headlines, and noticed a mention of Julie Payette – engineer and astronaut and sometime the Queen’s representative in Canada – which brought back vague memories. She was appointed Governor-General by Justin Trudeau in 2017. Ms. Payette resigned in 2021, amidst claims that she created a ‘toxic work environment’, with allegations[…]Continue reading→

Saint Stanislaus of Szczepanów

We celebrate Saint Stanislaus today (+ April 11, 1079), in light of this Easter Octave, a bishop and martyr who accepted the episcopacy only at the direct order of Pope Alexander II. He proved a wise and courageous leader of his flock, put to death by his own king, Boleslaus, for rebuking the monarch’s ‘immoral[…]Continue reading→

Weronika Krawczyk and Injustice in Poland

Catholic Action in Poland has issued a formal statement appealing to the President of the Republic of Poland to pardon Weronika Krawczyk—convicted for warning other women against an abortion-performing gynaecologist. Catholic Action (AK) emphasizes that no apology is owed to a doctor who has performed numerous abortions and proposed others; furthermore, the organization considers the[…]Continue reading→

Three Easter Musical Gems: Bach, Palestrina and Byrd

A very blessed and glorious Easter! Christus surrexit vere, alleluia! As we begin this Easter Octave with the great Solemnity of Easter, music to lift the soul would be one of Bach’s Easter cantatas, composed during his time at Leipzig in the early 1700’s, for the six Sundays of this festive season, leading up to[…]Continue reading→

Saint Isidore of Seville, the Internet and Industriousness

Today, April 4th, muted this year by Holy Saturday, is the commemoration of Saint Isidore of Seville (560-636) a bishop and doctor of the Church during a tumultuous age, when civilization was crumbling, coming apart at its very seams, which may sound sort of au courant. Then again, the form of this world has always[…]Continue reading→

An Ancient Homily for Holy Saturday

The time between Good Friday and Easter Sunday is one of waiting, in silence, as the world wonders – anticipates – what will happen, after the death of Christ. We re-live this time each year in the anamnesis of our liturgy, and in turn look forward to the glorious re-creation of all things at the[…]Continue reading→