The successor of Peter fulfils this doctrinal mission through a continuous series of interventions, both oral and written, that constitute the ordinary exercise of the magisterium, as the teaching of truths that one must believe and put into practice. The acts that express this magisterium can be more or less frequent and take...
These are delicate times, in the Church and in the world. Our blessed Lord has already told us how to understand the state vis á vis the Church: Give to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s. Yet this can be treacherous when the...
There has recently been a flurry of articles about the parable of the Good Samaritan and the situation of undocumented immigrants. In an interview on Fox News, Vice-President JD Vance spoke about the ordo amoris and said that “there’s this old-school [concept] — and I think a very Christian concept, by the way...
The Vatican announced today that, following a repeated CT scan, Pope Francis has been diagnosed with bilateral pneumonia and will begin receiving additional treatment during his hospitalization. While the Holy Father is reported to be in good spirits, the Holy See press office noted that this latest development “has arisen in the context...
Pope Francis sent a courageous letter to the US bishops on February 10, 2025. In it, he calls on “ all the faithful of the Catholic Church, and all men and women of good will, not to give in to narratives that discriminate against and cause unnecessary suffering to our migrant and refugee...
The priest stood transfixed, his jaw slack. Mrs. McIntyre wondered where she had ever seen such an idiotic old man. “Christ will come like that,” he said in a loud gay voice and stood there, gaping. Mrs. McIntyre’s face assumed a set puritanical expression and she reddened. Christ in the conversation embarrassed her...
The Vatican announced today that Pope Francis is being treated for a “polymicrobial infection of the respiratory tract.” The news comes just days after the Holy Father was admitted to the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic hospital in an attempt to treat a prolonged case of bronchitis. It is commonly known that, due to a...
This is Part One of a two-part conversation with Dr. Marcus Mescher. In the first part of the conversation we discuss Liberation Theology, its origins, development, and relationship with the universal Church. We also spend time reflecting on the life and work of the Dominican theologian, Gustavo Gutiérrez. In Part-Two, we will dive...
In his compelling shift from words of blessing to words of woe in today’s Gospel, Jesus acknowledges that there’s an unavoidable distinction between the “haves” and the “have nots” in this world, but he warns that guarding our “having” to the exclusion of helping those who “have not” means that our present sense...
Also in the case of those who are forced to migrate, solidarity is nourished by the “reserve” of love that is born from considering ourselves a single human family and, for the Catholic faithful, members of the Mystical Body of Christ: in fact we find ourselves depending on each other, all responsible for...
Several years ago, Pope Francis approved the Instruction promulgated by the Dicastery for Consecrated Life called Cor orans. This document laid out precise directions for the updating of the life of contemplative nuns. One of the most startling directions was to extend the time for initial formation, that is, the time from the...
One of the themes in the immediate reaction to Pope Francis’s 10-point letter to the American episcopate pronouncing his opposition to the Trump Administration’s mass deportation program was perhaps best expressed by Catholic scholar Samuel Gregg, who criticized the pontiff’s “consistency problem” on X (formerly Twitter). Gregg noted that Francis did not so...
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