I have long admired Dr. John Joy’s work on the Magisterium of the Catholic Church. For instance, his doctoral dissertation On the Ordinary and Extraordinary Magisterium from Joseph Kleutgen to the Second Vatican Council published by Aschendorff Verlag is a work...
On December 18, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) promulgated the Declaration Fiducia Supplicans, which clarified questions surrounding informal blessings of couples in irregular situations and same-sex relationships. This document bears the signature of Pope Francis. A...
Since publishing my article on those who put forward dishonest critiques of Fiducia Supplicans, the new Vatican declaration on the pastoral meaning of blessings, I have received a handful of responses from people who say that they are honestly confused...
The negative responses to the Declaration Fiducia Supplicans keep coming, and they’re all over the map. And to be honest, it’s difficult to take some of them seriously. Chris Altieri of Catholic World Report didn’t need a full week to...
I think it’s time to begin again with Pope Francis. If this week in the Church has shown anything, it’s that many Catholics simply don’t get Pope Francis. Particularly in the US — although clear cracks have appeared in Germany,...
If you’ve been reading the headlines, whether in the progressive National Catholic Reporter, the extreme-right Lifesite, or nearly any news source in between, chances are you saw articles claiming Pope Francis has permitted priests to “bless same-sex unions” or “bless...
With each passing week, it seems the Tim Ballard scandal continues to grow. In the last few months, breaking stories drop with regularity — a new lawsuit, another alleged abuse victim comes forward, new details emerge about his alleged organizational...
When I began writing this column, it was the Solemnity of Christ the King; an awesome reminder that while kingdoms and kings of all sorts, up and down the centuries, come and go, our Lord Jesus Christ is King of the...
November 2023 was a dispiriting month for the reactionary wing of the US Catholic Church. In the span of a few weeks, following closely on the heels of October’s historic Synodal Assembly, three prominent American figures — Bishop Joseph Strickland,...
On the 11th hour, of the 11th day, of the 11th month in 1918 an armistice was declared, effectively ending one of the worst conflicts in history – World War I. But had the Central Powers and the opposing Allied...
The question most Catholics have in response to the decision of Pope Francis to remove the Vatican privileges of Cardinal Raymond Burke will not be, “why did he do this?” but “what on earth took him so long?” The Pope...
In the past several days, a letter from Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin to the German bishops has generated significant buzz, as it seems the Vatican has finally begun to take concrete action towards specific aspects of the German...
Help us maintain this site. Thanks!
Popular Posts