there is the Church
Back in 2017, when I began planning this website, many of my fellow Pope Francis-supporting friends weren’t entirely enthusiastic about my idea. After all, why should I give any attention at all to the pope’s detractors? Doing so, they asserted, would give credence to their claims and conspiracy theories, as well as their faulty understanding of the Magisterium and papal primacy. Wouldn’t it be better to simply ignore them and let them fade away into...
Since the release of the open letter signed by Aidan Nichols and others, many of Pope Francis’s critics on social media are defending it with the same talking points they’ve used to defend their positions on the “dubia” and many other initiatives critical of the Holy Father. They are applying lines like, “we need clarity from the pope,” or “We love Francis but he needs to correct some things.” Apparently, they haven’t read it closely...
Several years ago, I realized that I hadn’t seen a friend of mine for a few months. He and his family were active in my parish. He was a young man with a very lovely wife and a bunch of rambunctious little boys. They could always be found in the narthex during the 11:30 Sunday Mass, working hard to wrangle the kids and doing their best to participate in the Mass. He was active in...
This year’s meditations on the Stations of the Cross at the Colosseum, led by Pope Francis, were written by Italian Sister Eugenia Bonetti, who has worked with victims of sex trafficking for decades. Crux recently wrote about her background and her decision to accept the invitation to compose the prayers: The 80-year-old nun, who has dedicated much of her life’s work to rescuing women from human trafficking and sex slavery, was convinced to say yes...
On Monday I wrote a short piece on Pope Francis’s trip to Loreto, where he visited the Holy House that is believed to have been Mary’s home when she was visited by the angel Gabriel at the Annunciation. My piece focused on his address (in which he defended the traditional Catholic teaching on marriage and the family), and the fact that he officially signed his new apostolic exhortation on young people, entitled Christus vivit (“Christ...
Update: The exhortation has been released and is available on the Vatican website. The Exhortation, signed on March 25, was released today, April 2, the Memorial of the Death of John Paul II. Update #2: It is also posted on Zenit’s website, which is much more mobile-friendly. Today, during a pilgrimage to Loreto, Pope Francis signed the text of the soon-to-be-released Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation, which is the fruit of the 2018 Synod on Young People,...
In recent days, a number of articles defending the legitimacy of Francis’s papacy have appeared on websites that are usually critical of the Holy Father, including a two-part blog post on One Peter Five by Robert Siscoe (click to read parts 1 and 2). Siscoe, who co-authored a 2015 book entitled True or False Pope? Refuting Sedevacantism and Other Modern Errors, appears to be a member of what is colloquially known as the “Recognize and...
With all the attention Cardinal Joseph Zen has been getting with regard to his protests against the China/Vatican deal, most American Catholics probably aren’t aware that Hong Kong has two retired cardinals. Taking a much different approach than his predecessor, Cardinal John Tong, has offered his support for the agreement, and has spoken of the hope that a unified Catholic Church in China represents. While the bishop of Hong Kong does not have jurisdiction over...
Lent is upon us, and even though it started a little later than usual this year, WPI is a bit behind schedule in posting about it. Yesterday evening, Pope Francis and the officials of the curia began their annual Lenten retreat. Zenit reports: The meditations are presented by Abbot Bernardo Francesco Maria Gianni, O.S.B., Oliv., of the Abbey of San Miniato al Monte, and their theme will be: “The City of the Ardent Desires,” For...
In recent days, I’ve been thinking about the Church’s teaching on Human Life and Dignity. Here are some thoughts and reflections on the subject. In the past, we’ve written about Pope Francis’s views on abortion, and last month we shared a quote from his address to Italian pro-life leaders: Voluntarily extinguishing life in its blossoming is, in every case, a betrayal of our vocation, as well as of the pact that binds generations together, which...
So don’t be rash and reckless and believe that you will get away with it. You may get away with it once but you don’t know what’s next. Don’t say: “God’s compassion is great, he’ll forgive me my many sins”, and so I continue doing what I want. Regarding this, the advice of the father or grandfather is: “Don’t wait to convert yourself to the Lord, don’t postpone it from day to day because the...
Today from the Vatican, Pope Francis spoke about the late Cardinal Augustin Bea to participants in a series of scholarly lectures hosted in honor of the 50th anniversary of the prelate’s death. Cardinal Bea, a German Jesuit, was one of the most influential churchmen during the Second Vatican Council, and was instrumental in improving relations between Catholics and the Jewish people. Much like his fellow Jesuit, Francis, Cardinal Bea faced a great deal of criticism for...
Adam Rasmussen
Benjamin O'Hearn
Brian Killian
John Cavanaugh-O'Keefe
Claire Navarro
Daniel Amiri
D.W. Lafferty
Joe Dantona
John Paul Shimek
Lillian Vogl
Mark Hausam
Mike Lewis
Paul Fahey
Pedro Gabriel
Pete Vere