Scandal!
“And he said to his disciples: It is impossible that scandals should not come: but woe to him through whom they come. It were better for him, that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the...
Tagged: Amoris Laetitia
Douthat Chronicles a Nonexistent War
Ross Douthat’s book, To Change the Church: Pope Francis and the Future of Catholicism, is, as far as criticisms of Francis’ papacy go, well-written and enjoyable to read. As a conservative, I have appreciated Douthat’s writings on other topics as...
Father Murray and the Truth Idols
“The modern world is full of the old Christian virtues gone mad. The virtues have gone mad because they have been isolated from each other and are wandering alone. Thus some scientists care for truth; and their truth is pitiless....
The Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul
“Once we turn our back on the cross,” Pope Francis declares, “Even though we may attain the heights of glory, we will be fooling ourselves, since it will not be God’s glory, but the snare of the enemy.” In his...
Woke Catholicism
Francis has asked much of Catholics, particularly young Catholics, over the last five years. Francis’ papacy was almost immediately characterized in social media as a pendulum swing away from Benedict, away from the hardline teachings and Latin Mass and all...
Wenders: A Pope for the Fringes
The Church, as seen through the eyes of Wim Wenders and his recent film Pope Francis: A Man of His World, takes on the appearance of a Church, dirty and bruised. This of course is a reference to Pope Francis’...
This Terrifying Pope
In the pontificate of Francis, Bishop of Rome, there are a number of accusations which perpetually plague the peace of the people of God. So and so insists that the Holy Father is too vague while such and such declares...
Malforming Consciences in Ireland
I watched in sadness as the Eighth Amendment vote in Ireland unfolded. While, like most Americans, I know people with familial connections to Ireland, I had no means to influence the vote in even a minimal way. Like a bad...
Is it really confusion?
When I read Pedro Gabriel’s excellent exegesis of Chapter 8 of Amoris Laetitia last week, I was impressed by how thoroughly and definitively he had affirmed what the exhortation says about the reception of Holy Communion for those in irregular...
Clarifying Amoris Laetitia: Who can receive communion?
Introduction Catholics dissenting from Amoris Laetitia (AL) usually complain about this magisterial document’s alleged “lack of clarity,” especially on the issue of communion to those who have divorced and civilly remarried. They will point to “confusion” as proof of this...
Not a sidestep, but an affirmation
For two years, critics of Amoris Laetitia have pointed to Poland as a celebrated example of a national bishops’ conference upholding their view of “orthodoxy.” Beginning in 2016, when a senior Polish bishop vowed to never allow communion to the...
Why I Trust the Pope
I have the firm conviction that, since at least 1939, the Church of Rome has been led by saints in the persons of the Roman Pontiffs. Some may mock it, deride it, think it naive, or whatever they like; but...
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