fbpx

Tagged: Pope Benedict XVI

To be a Disciple of Christ

A reflection on the readings for Sunday, October 10, 2021 — The Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time Imagine a young person who is aspiring to be a professional athlete suddenly spots a famous sports star down the street. Chances are that the...

The Church Will Become Peripheral

During these first eight years of Pope Francis’s time on the Chair of Peter, one theme that has come up again and again is the periphery. Francis made “going to the peripheries” a priority—perhaps even the priority—of his pontificate very...

I was not an ultramontanist then

When we publish articles defending Pope Francis, some of our critics accuse us of being “ultramontanists.” Another line we frequently hear is, “Where were these guys during the papacies of Benedict XVI and John Paul II?” I can only speak...

Repent and Believe in the Gospel

In a homily given to the College of Cardinals before he was elected pope, then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger famously coined the phrase, “the dictatorship of relativism.” Commenting on St. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, the future pope spoke about how we...

Catholics Are Losers

American Catholics should embrace losing.  It’s not as if we haven’t had ample opportunity over the last several years. We should know by now that U.S. Catholics often find ourselves among the least respected groups in modern society, particularly for...