Here and There . . .

An irregular roundup of blogs, articles and commentary.

• John Paul II and the Jews, by Rabbi David Dalin. First Things "On The Square" December 2, 2007. "More than any other pope, John Paul II was the twentieth century’s greatest papal friend and supporter of the Jewish people. Indeed, John Paul II’s extraordinary relationship with the Jews was an important chapter in the historic legacy of his pontificate, which has had profound implications for Catholic–Jewish relations in our time. . . ."

• Ratzinger, Scripture and the Development of Doctrine, by Michael Liccione. Sacramentum Vitae November 9, 2007.

• A military-pacifist's manifesto - Vivificat!: "I'm seriously considering some sort of pacificism – albeit not one which will include an absolute refusal to bear arms or defend the country. I am a military man, after all, and always will be, even after I retire. . . ."

• The Lost Art of Catholic Drinking, by Sean P. Daily. InsideCatholic.com. October 10, 2007:

  There is Protestant drinking and there is Catholic drinking, and the difference is more than mere quantity. I have no scientific data to back up my claims, nor have I completed any formal studies. But I have done a good bit of, shall we say, informal study, which for a hypothesis like this is probably the best kind. . . .

• Pre-Primary Election Anxiety Disorder - William Luse (Apologia) gives his assessment of the candidates - Ron Paul ("Picture him trying to stare down Vladimir Putin across a table. Better yet, Ahmadinejad"); Fred Thompson ("I liked him better on Law and Order. At least they made him stay awake on set"); Rudy Giuliani ("He's also a Roman Catholic who believes in serial marriage. Weak on tor...enhanced interrogation techniques"); Alan Keyes ("The most skilled rhetorician in recent American history. If I had to vote for someone who didn't stand a chance, he'd be it") et al.

• Faithful Catholic Book Publishers from Good Jesuit, Bad jesuit (taken in turn from Aquinas and More's survey of religious publishers in general, see his "The Matthew Fox Circle of Energy Reading Room" for those to generally avoid as well).

• "Lord Have Mercy" - Ross Douhat reviews Christopher Hitchen's God is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything: "I have been writing this book all my life," Hitchens declares in the conclusion, "and intend to keep on writing it." One hopes that someone near and dear to him will have the courage to firmly suggest that he stop. (Via Catholic Analysis).

• Raniero Cantalamessa - Franciscan Capuchin and Preacher to the Papal Household, has a website -- updated with his Advent homilies for December 2007.