In the Divine Praises, Saint Joseph is called the “most chaste spouse.” Personally speaking, and given the dogma of Mary’s perpetual virginity, in the past I’ve implicitly reduced Joseph’s chastity to the simple fact that his wife was a virgin....
Earlier today, March 15, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) published a document concerning the blessing of same-sex unions. While it’s only two pages long, and the Vatican provided additional commentary to clarify it, it’s guaranteed to...
In a 1969 German radio broadcast, Father Joseph Ratzinger, the future Pope Benedict XVI, predicted where he believed the Church was headed. Ratzinger envisioned that the Church of the future generations would lose political power and social acceptance. He said:...
Book review of The Church’s Best-Kept Secret: A Primer on Catholic Social Teaching Mark Shea New City Press Earlier this month, Catholic writer and evangelist Mark Shea penned a mea culpa for the times he has put political ideology above...
In a homily given to the College of Cardinals before he was elected pope, then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger famously coined the phrase, “the dictatorship of relativism.” Commenting on St. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, the future pope spoke about how we...
A few weeks ago my wife and I joined the millions of people who watched Netflix’s new original series, The Queen’s Gambit. While I wasn’t sold on it at first, by the final episode I was completely invested. Although religion...
O man, do you not realize by what means Christ pursues you in order to call you back? Saint Peter Chrysologus wrote this in the 5th century as a part of a reflection on the Nativity. These words remind me...
On December 8th, 1870—150 years ago today—Pope Pius IX declared St. Joseph the Patron of the Universal Church. In honor of today’s anniversary, Pope Francis announced this morning a Year of St. Joseph, that begins today and will be celebrated...
I don’t think Pope Francis is recognized enough for his skill as a theologian. It is the Pope Emeritus who is, rightly, widely recognized as possessing a brilliant theological mind. Francis, on the other hand, is seen as the great...
UPDATE: Here’s the video. Tonight at 6:30pm (EST) I’m giving a presentation on Pope Francis’s new encyclical, Fratelli Tutti. St. Thomas Aquinas parish in East Lansing, Michigan invited me to give an hour-long presentation (followed by a brief Q&A). You...
Smart Catholics and Where Peter Is are collaborating to offer a two hour live conference to celebrate the pope’s upcoming encyclical on human fraternity, Fratelli Tutti. Join us this Sunday, October 4th, 5:00-7:00pm EST. We will be having two live...
Pope Francis is signing a new social encyclical, Fratelli Tutti, this weekend. The Holy Father has spoken about human fraternity throughout his pontificate, so it’s not a surprise that he chose this topic for an encyclical. In preparation for this...
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