The last big centennial celebration was in 1976, when I was graduating high school. I’ll be traversing the plains of eternity by the time the next one comes around, and so, probably will you. SO LET’S MAKE IT BIG! Some ideas follow later in this newsletter.

Opinions expressed in this newsletter, unless otherwise attributed, are my own.

Sheryl Collmer, editor
June 1, 2026
sherylc@coracusa.com

It was not fully developed, though. Further, the interpretation and analysis of it by Church authorities was usually sophomoric. This led to multitudes of people dying needlessly because of the lack of martial vigor in the Church. Islam launched its war of extermination against Christianity with the conquest of Spain and the Iberian Peninsula beginning in 711. By the time Christianity launched the Crusades to defend Christians almost 400 years later, fully a third of Europe was already under the Islamic yoke. The bulk of the Christian lives lost and quite a few of the Islamic ones lost can be accounted to the restraint of the Christian world. Had Christian nations acted with vigorous resolve, the Islamic invasion could have been checked by 750 A.D. and Muslims would not have felt encouraged to go further.

In the early 1200’s, St. Thomas Aquinas systematized the theory of just war in his massive Summa Theologiae. Masterful as it is, it is not defined doctrine. It is more like the mid-point in a contemplation that was begun with Sts. Ambrose and Augustine. It is important because, if it is not significantly more developed and refined, the Church will forever be dismissed in such matters as insufficiently grounded in reality to have anything practical or useful to say.

Some of the deficiencies merely have to do with continuing to impose 13th century standards on current realities. States can licitly respond to an “imminent threat.” But in the 13th Century you could tell when an imminent threat was posed by the massing of troops along a border. When you have missiles that can reach 6000 miles in a matter of minutes, imminent threat is in an entirely new context. If you have a state that has such missiles, already props up terror around the globe, and brags that it will use them on you as soon as it has the full nuclear capability, that is an imminent threat.

It irritates me enormously that even scholarly commentators I have relied on do not seem to know some of the basics of existing just war theory. The Church acknowledges that some matters are the primary prudential responsibility of the hierarchy – and others are the primary prudential responsibility of the laity. Setting up the general criteria for a just war lies in the primary responsibility of the Church. Applying those criteria to any specific conflict is the primary responsibility of lay leaders. In discussing this, I have talked to a few Priests and Bishops who understand that distinction, but I have yet to see a Catholic commentator, even those I most admire, who does. If they are going to talk knowledgably and usefully on this subject, they are going to have to up their game dramatically.

As for me, I am slowly and steadily working up a set of propositions to refine the heart of what makes for a just war. Though I will publish it fully before I die (if I live long enough) I will discuss it in pieces here as we go. The first of these is: The only legitimate purpose of war is to secure a just peace. This does not invalidate any of the other existing criteria, but simply overtly states the purpose. You still have to exhaust all other reasonable avenues first. The second proposition is: Once you have decided that war is the only path to peace, you must prosecute it with vigorous resolve. Vigorous prosecution brings wars to the swiftest end. Ending them quickly saves the most lives.

Above all, at this early stage, men need to get it clear that advocating for the status quo when the status quo is wicked – and murderously violent for many – is NOT to advocate for peace. It is just to advocate for a wicked status quo. So quit dressing it up as refined morality.

It has been several centuries since nations (at least in the formerly free world) have gone to war for national glory. Thank God! But we need to do far more to ensure that we are guided by sound principles of Judeo-Christian ethics if we are not to descend back into barbarism. We cannot do that when the Church has reduced itself to the role of annoying kibitzer when such serious matters arise.

A few recommendations for trustworthy sources of news:

Jeff Childers, Coffee and Covid, my first read in the morning and my news bedrock. Truly, if you read/listen to him every day, it will change the way you view the world (for the better).

Elizabeth Nickson, Welcome to Absurdistan. Unflinching delivery of sometimes difficult, but often hopeful, news.

Rod Dreher, Rod Dreher’s Diary. A thoughtful and informed look at current developments from the author of The
Benedict Option. I don’t agree with everything this Orthodox Christian writes, but I respect his thinking.

Chris Jackson, Hiraeth in Exile. The most reliable source I know for Church news. No one else wants to report the
shenanigans that are Jackson’s stock in trade.

Victor Davis Hanson, In His Own Words. Highly trusted source for military history and conservative strategy.

Dave, X-22 Report. Dave is accused of being a bug-eyed, Q-anon conspiracy theorist, so of course I like him. The fact that he’s produced nearly 4,000 daily podcasts and had guests the caliber of Devin Nunes, Captain Seth Keshel, Dr. Simone Gold, Eric Trump, Kash Patel, General Mike Flynn, and Dr. Peter McCullough, tends to overcome the voices that want to deride him as a nutcase.

It took me awhile to learn this word well. A centennial is 100 years, and a quin- (five) centennial is 500 years, so half of that (250) is a semi-quincentennial. Now say it five times fast to seal it in your brain.

America’s 250th anniversary, commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, is fast approaching! I haven’t heard much buzz about it apart from our patriotic president, who is determined to make it a real celebration. Our local East Texas news station published a list of July 4th events, and my hometown of Tyler didn’t even make the list. It seems obscene to pass this July 4 as though it’s nothing but a picnic and fireworks display, same ol’, same ol’.

Washington DC is getting a fresh coat of paint, graffiti is being covered, monuments beautified, all in time for this year’s Independence Day. President Trump is fundraising personally to get the capitol in great shape. I think we all should think of things to do that make this July 4th different from all other years.

America’s Block Party: host a party on July 3 or 4, and be part of a simultaneous nationwide celebration. See this website for resources for your party:

america250.org >

Flag run: Teague McCoy, a young patriot who has been running the flag all over Florida has virtually no credentials. He just goes out with the flag and a big smile, and over time, has started a movement, now numbering almost ¾ million people. His simple goal is to unify Americans. Sign up on the website to receive notifications where he’s going next:

unifyusaofficial.com >

I can’t wait for him to come to Texas!

Meanwhile, you can organize your own flag run/walk. Plot a route, divide it into manageable sections, and have people sign up to carry the flag and hand it off to the next person. We have a loop that circles Tyler; I wonder if we could run the flag all the way around the Loop??

Visit a historical venue: Philadelphia, Washington, Colonial Williamsburg, Lexington and Concord. Check out locations of Revolutionary War national battlefields here:

americanrevolutioninstitute.org >

Although the Civil War was 85 years later, battlefield towns like Vicksburg, Gettysburg, Chattanooga typically have magnificent Independence Day celebrations.

My dream Fourth of July would be at Mount Rushmore. And there’s Washington DC, where the celebration will be huge:

dc250.us >

I’d like to be there just to see the refurbished Reflecting Pool that’s raised such a ruckus.

Home celebrations: if you don’t see yourself outside much in the middle of the summer, at least give American history a glance. Young Washington will be out in theaters on July 3. On video, try John Adams with Paul Giamatti and Laura Linney, The Crossing with Jeff Daniels, The Patriot with Mel Gibson, 1776, a musical, and a host of documentaries like The American Revolution by Ken Burns, and Benedict Arnold, Hero Betrayed. Note that Amazon has put many titles on sale for the 250th anniversary.

If you’d rather read, try 1776 or John Adams, both by David McCullough, Alexander Hamilton or Washington: A Life, both by Pulitzer prize winner Ron Chernow or The American Revolution: An Intimate History, the companion book to the Ken Burns series.

The most important thing about this Fourth of July is that we recognize what it actually means for this grandexperiment to have endured for 250 years, so that we can honor those who’ve passed it on to us.

The newest episodes:

Ep 11 The Courage Quest >

Ep 12 The Community Challenge >

Ep 13 The Gratitude With Grit Guide >

Ep 14 The Legacy Liberation >

If you missed any of the ten earlier episodes, find them here:

Lectio Vitae >

These audios made a good companion on long walks.

Perhaps the best thing I read in all the kerfuffle about Leo’s first papal encyclical was Why I Don’t Read Papal Encyclicals, by Darrick Taylor.

I downloaded the 85-page behemoth and was determined to read it so that I could make a personal decision about it, amidst wildly divergent opinions.

After reading the above article, though, I believe I will excuse myself from what was going to be an onerous task, and pop over to adoration instead.

The Civil Commission Report on October 7 Crimes By Hamas Against Women and Children (that’s the full official title) continues to spark interest two weeks after its release… though not nearly as much as it deserves. By the time the report came out on May 12, the anti-Israel machine had had more than two years to somehow make the victims of preplanned and organized sexual violence and murder, the bad guys. The efficiency of that propaganda machine cannot be called anything but a spectacular success, to the shame of civilized society.

I covered this report in the last newsletter, but a new article was published last week on Beyond These Stone Walls. The author, Fr. Gordon Macrae, brought out, in part, the targeting of Thai workers, the second largest nationality to be killed on October 7. The Hamas terrorists had been trained to speak commands in Thai, which means they expected to encounter Thai men, who’d come over to Israel to work in agriculture.

Read more >

New pastoral letters:

• • A Catholic Discussion of the New Encyclical >
  • An Emergency in the Church: Synod Study Group 9 Report >

New podcasts:

• • A Mother’s Love >
  • Silencing the Holy Ghost >

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