James D. Conley, the Bishop of Lincoln, Nebraska, is in many respects a pretty typical example of the conservative-to-traditionalist flank of the American episcopate. He was critical of the Obama administration in its day; he inherited his see from the...
As Pope Leo XIV wraps up his two-week vacation at Castel Gandolfo, Catholic commentators have continued to speculate on and debate his views and priorities. They are prognosticating on the kind of pope he will be and on the decisions...
There exist a number of widespread criticisms of, or points of discomfort with, real or perceived Catholic doctrine on what we might call humanitarian grounds. The Catholic vision of the cosmos comes across to many non-Catholics and even to some...
Reading the news every morning is nothing short of chilling. Not only because of the sheer number of stories about violence or war around the world, but because the existential burden of the victims—their suffering, their despair, their muffled cries...
Francis’s Critics, Vatican II, and the Theology of the People For all the accusations of doctrinal confusion—and even hints of heresy—it’s important to remember that Pope Francis’s magisterium was firmly rooted in the Second Vatican Council, and more specifically in...
Every year on the Fourth of July for as long as I can remember, my family has gotten an ice cream cake, adorned it with candles, and sang “happy birthday” to America. This resilient tradition has looked different throughout my...
On July 1, on her Substack, Vatican journalist Diane Montagna released a leaked report from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF)[1] in response to the 2020 global consultation with bishops on the implementation of Pope Benedict’s 2007...
The bombings of Iran by Israel and the United States are clearly immoral when weighed against Catholic doctrine regarding war. According to the church’s second teaching on war known as the “just-war theory” – which stands in stark contrast to...
Peace is not built with boasts or patriotic fanfare. If you truly desire peace, defend life. As St. Augustine wrote in the fourth century, peace is not merely the absence of war but “the tranquility of order.” Real peace—lasting, meaningful...
This past evening, the United States military bombed Iran. The President of the United States declared the mission a “spectacular military success,” “an operation the likes of which the world has not seen in many, many decades,” and maintained that “Iran’s key...
Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, o ‘Lord, Lord… did we...
“You shall not oppress a resident alien; you well know how it feels to be an alien, since you were once aliens yourselves in the land of Egypt” (Exodus 23:9). Last week the traditionalist publication Crisis Magazine posted a scathing response to the Michigan...
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