1. Bitter Winter — on Christians in China.

2. Alexandra DeSanctis’s piece on propagandizing children about abortion — a disturbing video that stars a woman who literally has the word abortion tattooed on her lip.

3. Charles Camosy in the New York Times:

Outside of an abortion context, an obstetrician-gynecologist doesn’t generally speak to a mother about her fetus. She talks to her about her baby. Family and friends organize baby showers, not fetus showers. A mother-to-be has a baby bump, not a fetus bump. She is “with child,” not “with fetus.” It is not unusual for major news outlets, such as the BBC, to use the phrase “unborn babies” when they report on new prenatal surgical techniques. We have shifted our language in ways that hide the dignity of the vulnerable, in this instance and on issues far from the abortion debate as well. This is part of what Pope Francis calls “throwaway culture.” What he is describing is often connected with the excesses of consumerism, a culture in which human beings whose dignity is most inconvenient are discarded as mere objects. Such a culture requires the use of language that deadens one’s capacity to show concern for those who need it most.

Also, he has a book coming up I’m looking forward to taking a look at.

4. Fr. James Martin S.J.:

. . . acknowledging that women’s bodies are their own does not diminish my own reverence for the living body in a woman’s womb. Thus, I cannot deny that I see the child in the womb, from the moment of his or her conception, as a creation of God, deserving of our respect, protection and love. Mysterious, precious, unique, infinite, made in the image and likeness of God. Holy.

5. Ed Mechmann on Andrew Cuomo’s insistence on abortion expansion in New York State

6. Maureen Ferguson: Democrats double down on abortion rather than heed Claire McCaskill’s Sage Advice


7. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard deserves thanks for her oped in defense of religious liberty.


8. Belgium bans kosher and halal food prep

9. The first new church in Turkey since 1923

10. Four ways to extend Christmas. (I’m still sending out Christmas cards myself . . . )

11. The New Yorker on evangelicals and Trump

(And even if you don’t read the article, you want to read Karen Swallow Prior’s book on books and virtue)

12. 6 Reasons Leaders Should Read Literature

13. Mental Illness and the Church: Some Brief Thoughts on Some Ways to Engage Better

14. Peter Steinfels and the Pennsylvania grand jury report

15. Gerry Bradley, too

16.

As I prepare to be received into the Catholic Church, I am constantly surprised by joy, as Lewis said. Oh there are plenty of frustrations, fears, and disappointments. But my God—Christ’s Church is real, it has been maintained for 2,000 years, and I am finally coming home. Wow. — Joshua Charles (@JoshuaTCharles) January 8, 2019

17.

Apply before February 1st for our 2-week summer institute designed for Christian men and women between the ages of 18-35 who have a serious interest in working in a field that impacts the Middle East https://t.co/3BaXINXGx3 pic.twitter.com/jpg9HM4ebB — The Philos Project (@philosproject) January 5, 2019

18. Young Catholic women should take a look at the Given Institute and consider applying to their upcoming leadership forum.

19. I’m talking with Sohrab Ahmari about faith and conversion and politics and things in NYC at the Sheen Center in March. Consider joining us.


20. John J. Miller on reading the Bible from cover to cover.


ALSO:

I wrote some about the Fellowship of Catholic University Students SEEK event in Indianapolis just after New Year’s here and here. You can watch some of the talks, if you’re inclined, here.

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