Image credit: Detail from the Census at Bethlehem by Pieter Bruegel, brightened by someone.
Some nice pre-Christmas reads:
Not really a Christmas read, or nice either, but maybe will give you a little bit of peace, or at least clarity, about the Frank Pavone story as we head into Christmas. Important details for me were: yes, there's a big discrepancy between how his and other cases were handled -- blame it on the other dicastery; and, apparently the single biggest deciding factor in these cases is how the accused responds to correction.
This isn't Christmasy either, but enlightening and a good weekend read. An interview with Pierre Manent. Pretty sure he's right about the US.
Another not-Christmasy read, but important: Glenn Ellmers puts the FBI decidedly on the naughty list, and this prior to the recent Twitter revelations.
Two worthy sets of year-end book recommendations. Catholic World Report and Claremont Review of Books.
Rachel Lu on hope for the US after all: Make Spirits Bright.
Mary Eberstadt reflects on her book Why The West Lost God at its 10 year mark: Secularization Revisited: There's Hope for Faith
