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The Vikings were arguably the most destructive force in early medieval Europe. Libraries burned. Rare works of art looted and lost forever. Towns and villages wiped off the landscape. Lives destroyed. And the future of England, Ireland, and France — the primary targets of the Norsemen — placed in severe jeopardy. In his entry for June 793, the anonymous monk who kept The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, a year-by-year record of memorable events of his day, wrote: The pagans from the northern regions came with a naval force to Britain like stinging hornets and spread on all sides like fearful wolves, robbed, tore and slaughtered … priests and deacons, and companies of monks and nuns. And they came to the church of Lindisfarne, laid everything waste with grievous plundering, trampled the holy places w...

Pope Francis releases his message for the upcoming World Day of Prayer for Vocations, and invites young people to listen to God’s voice in their hearts so they may be signs of His love for our world. By Devin Watkins As he recovers from bilateral pneumonia at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, Pope Francis has released his message for the 62nd World Day of Prayer for Vocations, which falls this year on May 11. Entitled “Pilgrims of Hope: The Gift of Life,” the Pope’s message recalls that every vocation—be it to ordained ministry, consecrated life, or the laity—should offer the world a sign of God’s hope for every person. He noted that young people frequently feel dismay and confusion when they look to the future, given the background of insecurity, identity crises, unjust treatment of others, and ge...

“SMC Should Not Confer An Honorary Degree On Mary McAleese” by P. O’Neill “SMC Should Not Confer An Honorary Degree On Mary McAleese” by P. O’Neill “SMC Should Not Confer An Honorary Degree On Mary McAleese” by P. O’Neill “SMC Should Not Confer An Honorary Degree On Mary McAleese” by P. O’Neill “SMC Should Not Confer An Honorary Degree On Mary McAleese” by P. O’Neill Services Marketplace – Listings, Bookings & Reviews Entertainment blogs & Forums

Throughout history, there have been many and varied proposals as to what constitutes a superman. The common denominator that gives meaning to the word is the human being at his absolute best.  This is an intriguing thought and has captured the imagination of all those who aspire to the highest.  Jacques Maritain has made the case that Aristotle was the first to propose the concept of a superman. He argues that man cannot attain his summit by himself. This goal, writes Maritain, “must be sought in something other than man and nobler than man, to which he may adhere and which may raise him above himself.”  “Aristotle reasons,” he continues, “that the activity of God, which surpasses all others in blessedness, must be contemplative; and of human activities, therefore, that whic...

If I haven’t said this before, let me stress this fact about the next few days: I cannot sleep on airplanes. Not a wink. Also, the cheap seats in a packed, modern, long-range jet (steerage class for the 21st Century) contain zero room for a gravity challenged (think about it), 70something guy to work on a laptop computer. During the long flight Down Under, I barely had room for a can of Coke Zero, a paperback book and a yellow highlighter pen. New Zealand to Texas will almost certainly be the longest flight of my life, topping Delhi to Chicago years ago. There will be a long layover in Dallas and I hope to get about half of this week’s “On Religion” column written. I sure wish I could afford a comfy passenger lounge. The bottom line: The earliest Rational Sheep readers will hear from me is...

By Thomas V. Mirus ( bio – articles – email ) | Mar 18, 2025 Cardinal Timothy Dolan has written an opinion piece for The Free Press, “The Evils of Antisemitism”, in which he speaks out against the proliferation of anti-Jewish hatred in some quarters today. Such a moral stand well befits a prince of the Church. It should be a no-brainer for Catholics that hatred and violence against Jews (or anyone else) is evil. There is a danger, though, when, in their zeal to combat antisemitism, Church leaders obscure the Church’s doctrine on the role of the Jews in salvation history. This is very common today. Even many otherwise orthodox Catholics, who would otherwise reject the idea that Vatican II changed Church teaching, mistakenly believe that the Council overturned the Church’s tradit...

William Sitwell, praising the decision of the British Department of Education to cease funding the Latin Excellence Programme (LEP), recently wrote in London’s The Telegraph that “the loss of Latin from schools is a triumph, not a tragedy,” explaining that “the ancient language has little relevance in today’s society.” No one in America would have been more eager to join Sitwell than John Dewey (1859-1952), arguably a greater influence on American public education than anyone else. In Democracy and Education (1916), Dewey wrote that literary culture was “aloof from the practical needs of the mass of men” and nothing more than an “alleged humanism” that “bases its educational schemes upon the specialized interests of a leisure class.” Members of this culture “reduce themselves to exclusivel...

[embedded content] A woman’s remarkable ability to smell Parkinson’s disease has led to groundbreaking research — and could revolutionize early diagnosis… Services Marketplace – Listings, Bookings & Reviews Entertainment blogs & Forums

Q. My wife and I, once lapsed Catholics, have returned to the faith and seek to live according to Church teaching. Years ago, after struggling with infertility, we turned to IVF and conceived our now 10-year-old son, who is the joy of our lives. We have repented, understanding the Church’s teachings on this, and we find especially repugnant the fact that many embryos often die or languish in frozen storage for every successful IVF birth. Are we morally obligated to tell our son that he was conceived through IVF, or would doing so cause unnecessary distress? — Thomas, Virginia A. The Lord’s kindness and mercy are incalculable, and you can be confident that your repentance and humble reception of these gifts are very pleasing to him.  And you are right not to lose sight of the many live...

Today in Papal History marks the death of Pope Gregory I, known better to those in his hometown of Rome as San Gregorio Magno – St. Gregory the Great. Only three other popes in the history of Christendom bear that moniker – Pope St. Leo I, Pope St. Nicholas I, and (according to a growing number these days) Pope St. John Paul II – so just what sort of greatness are we talking about with Gregory? The image of Pope St. Gregory the Great that adorns the high altar of S. Gregory al Celio in Rome, the church that is built over his ancestral home and (later) monastery. Photo taken by the author. The man we now know as St. Gregory the Great was born in Italy around the year 540 AD. His family was one of great wealth and status, but also one of profound holiness. In fact, his own mother (...

On March 9, Mark Carney was elected to replace outgoing Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as the new leader of Canada’s governing Liberal Party. He won by an overwhelming margin, securing more than 85% of the total votes cast by party members. As a result of the victory, Carney will become Canada’s prime minister as soon as he is sworn into office on Friday by Canadian Governor General Mary Simon. Throughout his professional life Carney has been regarded as a proponent of globalism, which advocates for international economic and political institutions and strategies rather than an exclusive or primary reliance on national actions. Now installed as Canada’s national leader, political pundits predict he will call a snap election before the end of the month, in hopes of capitalizing on t...

Have the U.S. bishops united behind McElroy? Skip to content The installation of Cardinal Robert McElroy as the eighth Archbishop of Washington went off with a bang on Tuesday. Cardinal Robert McElroy at his Mass of installation for the Archdiocese of Washington DC. Credit: Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. The basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception was full, and the entrance processional snaked around the nave, as thousands of Catholics and hundreds of clerics from across the country arrived in fleets of buses to see the cardinal take possession of the capital see. While episcopal installations in Washington tend to draw a full house, McElroy’s arrival was especially well attended — more than 80 bishops, archbishops, and cardinals conceleb...