Making things right
One of the criticisms I heard about my article on the papal hand-slapping controversy was that I was trying to excuse Pope Francis of his wrongdoing. Of course, I was very clear in my article that the Pope had not...
Category: Church News
It’s Japanese.
I’ve watched the video of Pope Francis slapping–in something of the manner of a YMCA self-defense class; his movements are a standard way in martial arts to break an unwanted grip on one’s arm–a young Asian woman in St. Peter’s...
What have we become?
In his New Year’s Day homily, Pope Francis denounced violence against women as a “blasphemy against God, who was born of a woman.” CNN immediately tried to capitalize on this for sensationalistic purposes, by tying his speech to the incident...
On yanking and slapping hands
Today is the Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God: one of the holy days of obligation of the Christmas Octave and the first day of the New Year of 2020! So what better way for a...
On the delay of Fulton Sheen’s beatification
Tuesday afternoon, the diocese of Peoria, IL, issued a press release that shook the US Catholic Church. In it, Bishop Daniel Jenky announced that the long-anticipated beatification of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, scheduled for December 21, would be postponed indefinitely....
George Murry: Advocate of Liberty & Justice for All
As a Catholic in a small Ohio diocese, it is always interesting when our local Church shows up in the national news. This week, my bishop—the Bishop of Youngstown, Ohio—George Murry was elected as the chairman of the USCCB Committee...
Links: Pius X vs Francis; Cardinal Burke; Abp Gregory ordains 10 in DC
Happy Trinity Sunday, and Happy Father’s day! Today Pope Francis visited the city of Camerino in Italy, which was struck by earthquakes 3 years ago that took the lives of nearly 300 people. Vatican News reports that in his homily,...
Kiss the person, not the office
“Hypocrites, well hath Isaias prophesied of you, saying: This people honoureth me with their lips: but their heart is far from me. And in vain do they worship me, teaching doctrines and commandments of men” — Mt 15:7-9 (DRV) As...
Links of interest (week Nov 18-24)
Greg Daily provides us with a fresh historical perspective on the Amoris Laetitia controversy. Dissenters may claim to defend the tímeles Catholic view on marriage, but Trent actually introduced novelties that were resisted at first by some of the concilliary Cardinals. However,...
Perspective on the China/Vatican deal
On Saturday, September 22, a long-anticipated “provisional agreement” between the Chinese government and the Vatican was announced regarding the process of appointing bishops in the Catholic Church in China. Officially, this agreement puts an end to the decades-long division between...
Fake news and seething contempt for Pope Francis
Some Catholics disagree with much of what Pope Francis says and does — this is undeniable. Believe it or not, I don’t think there is anything intrinsically wrong with criticizing a pope on prudential matters, at least when done thoughtfully...
Yes, the background is relevant: Behind Viganò’s “Testimony”
Two important stories broke on Saturday night (or Sunday morning, depending on where you are), and journalists and commentators around the globe have weighed in from all angles. There’s the story, and then there’s the story of the story. The...
Gänswein: Benedict will not comment on Vigano’s accusations
The following is a translation of an article from Die Tagespost. The original article can be found here. The private secretary of Pope Emeritus Benedict denies reports which claim that Benedict confirmed the reports of former Vatican diplomat Vigano. The...
Interview with Catholic author Stephen Walford, Part 1
Ever since he burst onto the the scene in January 2017 with a 5000-word essay in La Stampa entitled “Amoris Laetitia: Where Truth and Mercy Embrace,” Catholic writer Stephen Walford has found himself at the center of the often heated...
Virgins and the Vexing of Ed Peters
The Holy See has published a new document, Ecclesiae Sponsae Imago, addressed to bishops outlining instructions on the Order of Consecrated Virgins within their dioceses. This Instruction was put forward to answer questions being asked by many women and bishops...
McCarrick update, the Prosperity Gospel, Francis in Vogue, Scandal in Honduras – Links for 7/20
Here are some of the important stories we’re following this week: 1. The Cardinal McCarrick scandal has gotten even worse. Yesterday the New York Times reported that a 60-year-old man came forward to describe the sexual abuse he suffered from...
Fatima diocese: An interesting approach to Amoris Laetitia
In last June 28th, António Marto, the Portuguese bishop of Leiria-Fatima, was made cardinal. This is a validation of his ministry, since António Marto has been said to be supportive of the Pope’s approach, namely by adopting a merciful demeanor toward...
McCarrick and the abuse of seminarians
On June 28, I posted about the recent revelations of credible and substantiated abuse accusations against Cardinal McCarrick by a former teenage altar boy. I also discussed Cardinal Joseph Tobin’s revelation that there have been three past accusations directed at...
The Reckoning: Lisbon’s faithfulness to Amoris Laetitia
On Feb 6th this year, Manuel Clemente, the Cardinal-Patriarch of Lisbon, issued guidelines on how to interpret and implement Amoris Laetitia‘s (AL) polemic Chapter 8 in his diocese. I wrote an article about it on this blog, titled “The Patriarchate...
The dubia, synodality, and the joy of the Gospel
On June 21, Pope Francis fielded questions from journalists aboard the volo papale from Geneva, Switzerland to Rome. A German reporter named Roland Juchem asked him about a proposal of some of the bishops of his country to admit the...
Adam Rasmussen
Angela Rasmussen
Brian Killian
Carlos X. Colorado
John Cavanaugh-O'Keefe
Claire Domingues
Daniele Palmer
David Wanat
Daniel Amiri
D.W. Lafferty
Henry Karlson
Joe Dantona
John Paul Shimek
J. Patrick Yodzis
Mark Hausam
Massimo Borghesi
Matt Palmer
Mike Lewis
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Nathan Turowsky
Paul Fahey
Pedro Gabriel
Pete Vere
Rachel Dobbs
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