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Category: Analysis

Abrogated

Obviously there’s a lot more to say, but I think the key to Pope Francis’s decision to abrogate “Summorum Pontificum,” Benedict’s document that liberalized the use of the extraordinary form of the Roman Rite, in the motu proprio “Traditionis Custodes”...

The modernist root of radical traditionalism

Recently, “Pints with Aquinas” podcast host Matt Fradd posted a quote on his Facebook page by the well-known Companions of Christ priest Fr. Mark Goring, in which the Canadian-born pastor said, “The Lord is anointing the traditionalists. When people go...

The flight of the doctrinal butterfly

Neither Pope Francis’s Magisterium, nor the Second Vatican Council’s documents, can be interpreted through a proper hermeneutic of continuity if one does not understand the concept of “doctrinal development.” Those who criticize those teachings, however, will often try to invalidate...

Flames

Is it our job to divide?

Is division a necessary part of being a truth-telling Christian? Some Catholics, including clergy, point to Jesus’ statement in Luke 12 as a clear indication that divisiveness is part of our calling as Christians: Do you think that I have...

German schism vs US schism: Competing narratives

Catholic News Service had a report today on a statement by Bishop Georg Bätzing of Limburg, president of the German bishops’ conference, following his private audience with Pope Francis this morning. The article quotes from Bätzing’s statement, which says he...

“I am not worthy”

“Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof.” We say these words at every Mass, conscious of our smallness before the greatness of God in the Sacrament of his Love. At the same time, much of...

NFTs: A Catholic Primer

Why should a Catholic care to know anything about non-fungible tokens (NFTs)? Aren’t NFTs just another iteration of the tried and true formula of taking a thing, putting it on blockchain, and making money? Capitalism in a highly regulated and...

The Church Will Become Peripheral

During these first eight years of Pope Francis’s time on the Chair of Peter, one theme that has come up again and again is the periphery. Francis made “going to the peripheries” a priority—perhaps even the priority—of his pontificate very...

The Refugee Crisis and the Catholic Response

Refugee resettlement in the United States has become the latest hot-button issue in the debates over who is permitted to enter (or remain in) the most prosperous nation on the planet. Church ministries and advocates are hardly staying on the...

The perspicuity of Tradition

Francis’s papacy has sparked a fierce debate about the ability of the Magisterium to authoritatively interpret Tradition. Sadly, arguments about this matter typically end in a deadlock with the papal critics. Those of us who support Pope Francis often quote...