Pope Francis welcomed actress and activist Whoopi Goldberg to a private audience recently, and he told her she was “really important.” I used to have a really hard time with news stories like this one. The pre-COVID, self-righteous version of me would have lost it. You can’t get more pro-life than I am,...
Credo: A Compendium of the Catholic Faith by Bishop Athanasius Schneider is promoted by its publisher, Sophia Institute Press, as offering “a clear and readable summary of Catholicism as a whole, given in the pastoral style of the apostles.” The marketing copy claims that the book’s author “shares a bold new articulation of timeless...
Consider the following four propositions regarding eternal salvation: “Outside the Church there is no eternal salvation.” “Those who through no fault of their own do not know the teaching of the Church may attain eternal salvation.” “Baptism is necessary for eternal salvation.” “God offers ways to eternal salvation apart from Baptism.” Are all...
Pope Francis’s apostolic exhortation on St. Thérèse of Lisieux, C’est la confiance (“It is confidence”), discusses at length an aspect of Theresian spirituality that is widely known but not widely examined. Thérèse is an enormously appealing saint, with there being no one “type” of Theresian devotee. Readers of midcentury literature might remember the...
In the latest episode of The Debrief, Dominic and I discuss Pope Francis’s new exhortation on St. Therese, we briefly talk about the Synod, and then we take a look at the problematic content of the new book Credo by Bishop Athanasius Schneider and published by Sophia Institute Press. Links: Exhortation “C’est la...
In reading some articles presently published on Catholic websites, one might get the impression that the story of Cain and Abel is an apt parable for the state of the Catholic Church, especially in the United States. Who is to be identified as the victim and who as the aggressor would no doubt...
I just finished reading Pope Francis’s new exhortation, C’est la confiance, which was released earlier today and focuses on the life and message of St. Therese of Lisieux. I found it so rich and inspiring that I think as soon as I publish this post, I will read it again! You may recall...
A reflection on the readings of Sunday, October 15 — the Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time In last week’s Gospel, we heard the parable of the wicked tenants of the vineyard. Not only did they withhold from the landowner the share of the harvest that was his due, they mistreated and killed the representatives...
Again, let no private individual, whether in books or in the press, or in public speeches, take upon himself the position of an authoritative teacher in the Church. All know to whom the teaching authority of the Church has been given by God: he, then, possesses a perfect right to speak as he...
(All quotes from Laudate Deum unless otherwise noted; numbers in brackets refer to paragraph numbers.) Laudate Deum, the Pope’s recent Apostolic Exhortation, conveys a sense of urgency. Humanity is on the wrong course, and time is running out. Pope Francis quotes Solovyov, who spoke of an “age which was so advanced as to...
[TRIGGER WARNING: This story involves descriptions of sexual grooming and abusive behavior.] Click here to read Part 1. Editor’s note: Many Catholics view the Church’s sexual abuse crisis as primarily involving minors. But as experts and advocates — such as Awake Milwaukee — point out, a significant number of reports of priests engaging in abusive...
[TRIGGER WARNING: This story involves descriptions of sexual grooming and abusive behavior.] Editor’s note: Many Catholics view the Church’s sexual abuse crisis as primarily involving minors. But as experts and advocates — such as Awake Milwaukee — point out, a significant number of reports of priests engaging in abusive and grooming behavior involve...
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