All posts about Mike Potemra

It’s the sort of headline that belongs in a kook tabloid, or on a book review of a Malachi Martin fantasy. But the allegation is made by (hitherto) respected exorcist Gabriele Amorth, who says in a new book that “Yes, also in the Vatican there are members of Satanic sects.” According to the Catholic News Agency... by corner.nationalreview.com | related posts

The recent controversy over the “Gitmo Nine”—Justice Department lawyers who previously served as counsel to terrorism suspects—has unearthed a fascinating fact, one I didn’t remember, from colonial history: that John Adams served as lawyer for the British soldiers accused in the Boston Massacre.... by corner.nationalreview.com | related posts

Historian Diarmaid MacCulloch’s respons e to my post from a couple of weeks ago raises issues both of interpretation and of fact, which must be carefully distinguished from each other. First, the issue of interpretation. From his long response, we are entitled to gather that he shares the view of the liberals who... by corner.nationalreview.com | related posts

I spent my boyhood years in Montreal, a sojourn from which I retain a love of hockey, snow, and -- most of all -- poutine , the world’s greatest food. But one thing I never got used to in the Canadian character was a kid-brotherish resentment of the superpower next door; as a proud American, I thought it would... by corner.nationalreview.com | related posts

I have long had a high opinion of the man who (since February 2009) has been the new Catholic archbishop of New York, Timothy Dolan: I have read some of his writings, heard anecdotes about his joviality, and seen him occasionally on TV. But I wasn’t quite prepared for the splendid impression he makes in real... by corner.nationalreview.com | related posts

I was just flipping channels and came across what I thought was a remarkable instance of truth in advertising. It was a true-crime show about mothers who are accused of killing their children, and I could swear I heard the announcer identify the show as 20/20 Ennui . Wow, how appropriate, I thought: The show labels... by corner.nationalreview.com | related posts

One of the worst parts of human-rights abuses is the damage they can do to the soul, to the human person’s honesty and integrity. Forgive me if someone else has already posted about this story from Malaysia -- but I think it deserves attention: Three women who were caned under Islamic law for having had sex... by corner.nationalreview.com | related posts

An accurate, and quite pointed, line from a friend of a friend: “ I heard that Obama just received the Gold Medal at the Olympics for the ‘downhill,’ and how everyone was amazed how someone can go down that fast in such record time . . .” And it is amazing. I remember everyone telling me back in January 2009... by corner.nationalreview.com | related posts

Responding to my post of last night on Bible graffiti on the A train: “Nice observation! Just so happens I saw some surprisingly good wall writing today too. On the train from downtown Vienna to the airport I saw written . . . ‘Hamas Sucks!’”   Here’s hoping that that rebellious youth puts down his... by corner.nationalreview.com | related posts

Those are the words of Father James Martin, S.J., about the news that Brother André Bessette, C.S.C., will be formally declared a saint on October 17 - and I must say I am equally delighted by the announcement.   Brother André (1845-1937) was known as the “miracle man of Montreal” because of the widespread... by corner.nationalreview.com | related posts

I have seen it -- quite literally, on the A train I was riding uptown. Right next to a notice saying you shouldn’t hold the doors of the train, someone had scrawled, and circled, with a magic marker: “1st Corinthians 2:9.” I looked it up: “But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have... by corner.nationalreview.com | related posts