Letter to the Editor: A Response to Hitchens

A reader responds to the reflection by Dan Hitchens, to which we linked the other day:

The blatant omission by Dan Hitchens of the coercive experimental vaccine mandates by Pope Francis within the Vatican, and its intended reverberation through Christendom, raises the distinct possibility that this “balanced analysis”, for that is the veneer he wishes to paint upon the reader, is nothing more than an apologetic piece in favour of Deep Church.

Dan gives us thesis v antithesis and then a moderate and emotive solution synthesis, a third-way to cozy “faithful to the pope” Catholicism.

Hegel would be proud. Ugh!

Certainly, the cooperation of the Pope and the Vatican in the ‘coercive experimental vaccine mandates’ has divided the Church, and is a scandal to many Catholics. To this day, Vatican City State is one of the few places left on earth restricted to those with a ‘green pass’, signifying they’ve received the mRNA injection, can certify they have had Covid or have tested negative for Covid within a given time frame. Every employee had to receive the purported ‘vaxx’, or be barred from entry and considered unlawfully absent from employment, with ultimate termination if one did not comply. So much for mercy, compassion and freedom.

The effect of these mRNA ‘vaccines’ is still vehemently debated, with much – one might say overwhelming – evidence signifying the risk of harmful side effects, often grave, at least to some segment of the population, along with their lack of efficacy in preventing what they were purportedly designed to prevent. Of course, correlation does not necessarily imply causation, but it’s certainly a significant clue, and one that is in the main dutifully ignored, for reasons that are not fully clear. There is even evidence that the data are being deliberately manipulated and massaged.

Sad, that the current Magisterium – for we know not how much of this is the Pope, and how much those behind him, the ‘deep Church’, as the correspondent says – has allied itself, even coerced cooperation, with what is at least dubious science, if not worse. Such mandates are beyond the reach of papal authority (and beyond the directives of the CDF in December 2021) – medical interventions do not fall under divine revelation, nor are they necessarily connected thereto, and do not bind in conscience.

The truth will win out in the end, as it always does.

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→