Unpacking Vatican II Dei Verbum chapter 3, part 7 In my previous post, I explained why Dei Verbum says the Bible must be interpreted in its historical context. I focused on scientific issues, but the implications are much broader. Christians are not beholden to the ancient writers’ assumptions about slavery and women, for...
Plato, one of the main philosophical influences on Catholic theology, believed in the existence of what are called the “transcendentals.” In Plato’s philosophical system, the transcendentals are “properties co-extensive with being”: abstract concepts around which existence and the material world are, in some sense, oriented. Other ancient philosophers believed in transcendentals as well,...
Richard Dawkins wrote in The God Delusion: “The God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous and proud of it; a petty, unjust, unforgiving control-freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully.” Unfortunately, “the Old...
The most immediate image that comes to mind reading John Cornwell’s new book, Church, Interrupted, is a flower in bloom. At Where Peter Is we have struggled to keep pace with the controversies and misinformation spread about Pope Francis, and our proximity to all of the negativity colors our perspective. We can easily...
A reflection on the Sunday readings for March 21, 2021 — the Fifth Sunday in Lent This is the story of Sister Ann Rose Nu Tawng, a Burmese nun. As you are likely aware, recently the military assumed power in Burma (Myanmar) in a coup that overthrew the democratically elected government. Many young people...
“In light of the above, it is clear that we can never separate, let alone oppose, faith and charity. These two theological virtues are intimately linked, and it is misleading to posit a contrast or “dialectic” between them. On the one hand, it would be too one-sided to place a strong emphasis on...
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. With that being the case, his example of living chastely had little bearing...
Last night I joined Rachel Amiri, Melinda Ribnek and Paul Fahey for a lively discussion about the Feast of St. Joseph, the CDF’s response on blessings for same-sex unions, the concerns and struggles of LGBT Catholics and the Amoris Laetitia Family Year that begins today. Some aspects of the conversation were difficult. We...
St. Joseph’s many titles make one thing clear about his saintly role: it sounds exhausting. It also sort of sounds like our modern, busy lives, doesn’t it? Thus a devotion to the Sleeping St. Joseph, recently popularized by Pope Francis, has arisen and not without good reason: in the past year no shortage...
One of the most foundational books ever written on Black Catholicism is The History of Black Catholics in the United States by Fr. Cyprian Davis, OSB. Though it was written nearly three decades ago, the impressive scholarship and detail Davis includes in every chapter is an impressive feat that chronicles the struggles, hardships,...
The Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith’s response to the question of whether the Church has the power to bless same-sex unions, and the reaction that ensued upon its publication, is a moment of reckoning for Catholics. Although the Catholic understanding of sexuality will always engender opposition among many, we would not...
We’re approaching the beginning of the “Amoris Laetitia Family Year,” marking the fifth anniversary of Pope Francis’s landmark exhortation on the family and to celebrate the joy of love and the family. This special year will be kicked off with an online event this Friday, March 19 (the Feast of St. Joseph), sponsored by...
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