Speaking of the New Oxford Review, and given the latest portentous and even apocalyptic events in Iraq, I’d like to mention the folks at NOR as being on my list of “real Catholic heroes of the Iraq War.” For years they condemned the war in no uncertain terms, even though I’m sure it alienated many of their very conservative and pro-military readers. Here’s a sample:

“Let’s be honest — and, yes, we realize that many conservative Catholics don’t want to know the unvarnished truth: It turns out that our soldiers died and suffered to set up a training ground for Islamic terrorists in Iraq. Bush has it backwards: The U.S. is creating many more terrorists in Iraq than it is eradicating.”

from What Does the Pope Know About World Affairs?

You’ll have to pay a couple bucks to read the whole article but I highly recommend it. Better yet, get a subscription.

For me personally their website was very influential because once I became acquainted with some of their powerful writings against the war, I began to explore their vast online archives on all things Catholic. They, along with others, helped to bring me back, with “a twitch upon the thread.”