CDC Tracking – Newly released documents showed the CDC planned to use phone location data to monitor schools and churches, and wanted to use the data for many non-COVID-19 purposes, too. CDC Tracked Millions of Phones to See If Americans Followed COVID Lockdown Orders (Vice)
The leaked opinion – Justice Samuel Alito’s leaked opinion overturning Roe and Casey carries implications for constitutional law well beyond the issue of abortion rights. A Return to Fundamentals (City Journal)
“Constitutional Law” – The late Lino Graglia, a law professor at the University of Texas for over 50 years, was fond of pointing out that “constitutional law” has very little to do with the Constitution. The Founders’ Constitution and its discontents (Acton Institute)
Threats received – A writer named Chris Damian published a series of posts on his “substack” blog in which he defamed Bishop Robert Barron and attempted to smear Word on Fire Catholic Ministries. Statement from Word on Fire
Misconduct – A set of allegations emerged late last week which accused Catholic media apostolate Word on Fire and its leadership of mishandling an investigation into sexual misconduct on the part of an employee. Word on Fire and the limits of canon law (Pillar Catholic)
The Humanities Matter – “When you’re involved in arts or culture and stand up in front of an audience of science or tech people, they expect you to justify the humanities.” I’m Put on the Spot—and Forced to Defend the Humanities in a Room Full of Medical Students (Ted Gioia, The Honest Broker)
A wrong made right – “The now infamous draft majority opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, leaked Monday, will overturn Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey in a rich, bold, and comprehensive manner.” Dobbs Opinion, If It Stands, Rights Supreme Court’s Wrong (The Daily Signal)
More on the leak – Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas made it clear on Friday that he and his colleagues on the bench would not be “bullied” into changing their minds about any given case. Clarence Thomas Speaks Out On Draft Leak, Says Court Can’t ‘Be Bullied’ (Daily Wire)
Oh heck, OPEC – New record-high oil price comes as the European Union edges toward oil sanctions on Russia. Gas prices hit new all-time high as EU considers blocking Russian oil, Biden keeps restrictions (Fox News)
Smaller is Better – “I still contend that Slovenia has a great deal to teach the global church, if only we have ears to hear.” In tiny Slovenia, big Catholic things come in a small package (Crux)
Face coverings – A new law in Afghanistan requires women to wear face coverings in public. Taliban orders Afghan women to cover their faces in public (Daily Wire)
(*The posting of any particular news item or essay is not an endorsement of the content and perspective of said news item or essay.)
If you value the news and views Catholic World Report provides, please consider donating to support our efforts. Your contribution will help us continue to make CWR available to all readers worldwide for free, without a subscription. Thank you for your generosity!
Click here for more information on donating to CWR. Click here to sign up for our newsletter.
On the Leaked Opinion (“a Return to Fundamentals”) we read: “Beyond any particular case, however, Alito’s opinion provides a victory for the rule of law and popular sovereignty.”
While Alito insulates his draft from broad counterattack, by narrowly confining its target to the false reasoning (textual, historical, precedent) behind only Roe v Wade, we still get more than what is asserted (above).
The reversal of Roe means, once again, that REALITY GOVERNS THOUGHT, NO LONGER THAN THOUGHT (OR WILL) DEFINES REALITY (Justice Kennedy’s later and cited fatwa in the 1992 Casey v Planned Parenthood “At the heart of liberty is the right to define one’s own concept of existence, of meaning, of the universe, and of the mystery of human life.”) The reversal of Roe v Wade also signals a cultural sea change that could play out, however incrementally, for decades and generations…if civil war can be avoided.
“God is dead,” said Nietzsche; “Nietzsche is dead,” says God.