Kaine, Trump and Clinton, Oh My
I have an article posted this morning on Crisis magazine, on How Catholic is Kaine, Hillary Clinton’s Vice-Presidential running mate. Feel free to peruse.
I should have added the irony that Donald Trump’s running mate, Mike Pence, a former Catholic, and now apparently a Protestant, describes himself publicly as ‘100% pro-life’. The scandalous irony is that the lapsed Catholic Pence is more Catholic than the proclaimed ‘devout Catholic’ Kaine. The Protestants are living out our Catholicism better than we Catholics. Such is our ecumenical age, I suppose.
Whatever his faults and failings, at least Donald Trump professes a commitment to life issues, something Clinton would never do. She is ‘100 % pro-choice’, in the modern idiom, or idiocy, as one may choose. Last night, the two candidates traded barbs at the annual Alfred E. Smith Memorial dinner, a tradition where those vying for the presidency take a break and meet each other for the last time before the election, in a friendly ‘Catholic’ atmosphere (the original Al Smith was the first Catholic presidential candidate in 1928, with John F. Kennedy being the first Catholic president in 1961). Anyway, at said dinner, which was supposed to be a good-natured event, Trump was booed and jeered for his edgy jokes against Clinton, seemingly going beyond the vague line of ‘good nature’. And there was Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the host, seated uncomfortably between Trump and Clinton, smiling wanly and, one might think, forcedly.
For how can you smile and joke with someone like Clinton, sitting there with her rictus grin and eyes a-fixed, licking her chops until she and her husband take their place once again as the rightful heirs of the presidency? Mark Steyn was onto something when he found it curious that the presidency in America is evolving into an hereditary monarchy, the unjust usurpations of which were the very thing the youthful United States rebelled against in 1776?
But now, the new presidency-monarchy is not even constrained even by a faint vestige of noblesse oblige. At least the kings and queens of the ancien regime had to make some appearance to be on the people’s side, and were constrained by constitutions, laws and the ever-present threat of revolt. But one glance at the Clinton foundation and its corruption will give one the feeling that the Clintons seems smug and secure, and there is only one side the Clintons are on, and it does seem to be the side of the angels.
Carney’s Amoral Majority
After five defections – euphemistically described as ‘crossing the floor’ – and three by-elections, Mark Carney and his Liberals how have their coveted majority. One wonders what bowls of pottage were offered in back-room deals. In the archaic monarchical system that is the Dominion of Canada, this majority allows the newly-minted Prime Minister to rule[…]Continue reading→
Saint Kateri , Canada’s Protectress
This was the title given to Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, by Pope Benedict XVI, when he canonized her on October 28th, 2012, along with six others, in Saint Peter’ Square (she had been beatified by Pope John Paul II back in 1980). With Saint Joseph as our protector, along with the Canadian martyrs, we seem to[…]Continue reading→
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→
A Tale of Two Benedicts
A grace-filled Holy Week to all our readers! As we await and prepare for the Resurrection about to dawn upon us, we might keep in mind two Benedicts: Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, requiescat in pace, elected on this day in 2005; and today’s commemoration of the mystic pilgrim, Benedict Joseph Labre, who died on this[…]Continue reading→
My Name is Bernadette
April 16th is a propitious day, for besides the anniversary of Father de Valk’s death, who founded Catholic Insight in its print form decades ago, and the commemoration of the ‘two Benedicts’, mentioned in accompanying posts, today we also recall Saint Bernadette Soubirous, the young visionary to whom the Virgin Mary appeared numerous times at[…]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→
Saint Lydwina of Schiedam and Suffering Joyfully
Saint Lydwina of Schiedam (1380 – 1433) was one of the countless and glorious ‘victim souls’ in the history of the Church, those whose lives are filled with suffering, often of an unimaginable intensity, but who suffer joyfully. She was a fifteen-year old Dutch girl, out skating one day, when she fell and broke one[…]Continue reading→
The Glorious Martyrdoms of Martin and Maximus
As we enter into Eastertide, we recall on this 13th of April Pope Saint Martin I (+655), one of the noblest, if most tragic, of the successors of Saint Peter. Born in Umbria, Italy, he was of noble lineage, with great intelligence combined with charity and love of the poor and the Church. While still[…]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→