I thought I would clarify what this blog is about, for newcomers, or for people that are just wondering.

This blog is basically about whatever I want it to be about and whatever interests me. And what is that? Catholic stuff, literature, politics and some aspects of pop culture and human behavior. I make no attempt to be comprehensive, so what appears here is not necessarily an indication of what I think are the most important events of the day – it’s more a function of what I can put on the table that not many others are serving up, either in terms of news or opinion. So yeah, the presidential race is very important, but what’s the point of me spending tons of bandwidth blogging on that when others do it much better and more knowledgeably? So the point there is, don’t come away with the impression that I think that The Da Vinci Code is the most potent threat to humanity today, for example. It’s just the topic of the past few days that I have a strong interest and some expertise in – so I offer it to you.

I also tend to pick subjects that I think are reflective of broader and deeper problems or themes. So, for example, I got kind of hammered a few months ago for giving as much attention to Andrew Sullivan’s faith struggles than some say he deserved. Well, the reason I did so was that Andrew Sullivan was doing in public what millions more are doing in private all the time, and not just over homosexuality, but over other issues and questions as well. His case gives us an opportunity to hash over the nature of personal faith in relation to the broader tradition of faith in which we choose to make our home.

And so it is with the Blessed Sacrament case – priests are moved all the time, and parishes get upset at these moves all the time. The issue here is broader, because there’s a history and context – of the bishop protecting criminal priests – that makes the case not only more interesting, but more significant in terms of these questions of authority and the abuse of it that we’ve been discussing for two years now.

The Da Vinci Code matter has its implications as well. The concerns are not that one fiction writer has written one book. Who cares? It’s the response, which extends far beyond the normal response to a novel to the way people, especially Catholics, understand Christian origins and the implications of that for Christian faith.

Finally, a couple of more points. I’m a working writer, and what that means is that I have so much creative energy (especially with a toddler around), and I really must direct most of that creative energy towards my professional projects. So, depending on the situation in my head, sometimes you will see more original brilliance here, and sometimes less. That’s just the way it is. It’s also the reason I don’t ask you to directly support this blog. I want absolute freedom, which means the freedom to make the blog anything I want, even nothing, if that becomes necessary. The only thing I suggest is that you check out the bookstore and consider buying my and my husband’s books if you so desire.

And as for comments: I installed comments because I was getting about 40 emails a day giving me further links and comments on posts. Ridiculous! So we have comments, which I welcome and treasure. It’s a vital part of this blog, and I thank all of you who participate!