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...
Tagged: Pope Benedict XVI
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...
Traditionalism vs Fundamentalism: An Orthodox response to Fr Dwight Longnecker
Is there such creature as the catholic fundamentalist? Responding to fellow WPI blogger Mike Lewis’s use of the term “fundamentalist” in Fundamentalist Catholics and Ecclesial Catholics, Fr Dwight Longnecker writes: [The term “fundamentalist”] was coined in the early 20th c. by...
Work Is for Man: A Deeper Look at the CDF’s Quaestiones
The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith recently published in English a wonderful summary of Catholic teaching on markets and money. Oeconomicae et pecuniariae quaestiones discusses broad principles and then applies them to specific situations, including the most recent...
Chaos and the Spirit
Catholics who are alive in Christ know that “in hope we are saved.” We know and trust that God is working, even in what appears to be chaos, to bring salvation to the world. The beginning of Lumen Gentium contains...
Don’t Backstop the Pope
Francis is the Pope of the Catholic Church, but at this unique point in our history, we have a Pope Emeritus too. Sure, the old Benedict cardboard cut-outs have been taken down, but they haven’t been thrown away. They’ve been...
The earth belongs to everyone, not to the rich
As an American it is difficult at times to think beyond the Right/Left, Capitalist/Socialist dichotomy that permeates our economic and political landscape. This often makes it difficult for Catholics on either side of the aisle to understand what the Church...
Blurred lines – much ado about nothing
When I wrote my 3-part series “Was Pope Benedict forced to resign?”, I was able to gather a lot of evidence showing how the Pope Emeritus has a positive opinion about the reigning pontiff. So, imagine my contentment when, just...
Benedict’s letter: The saga continues
First, an apology is in order. When we launched this site, one of our stated intentions was to let stories unfold in their entirety before posting our commentary. When the original story of Benedict’s letter was published, I jumped the...
The Mystery of Benedict’s blurry text
What I am about to propose, for those of you who might be interested in a plausible explanation, is a hypothetical scenario that might explain the missing paragraph from the original news reports on Pope Emeritus Benedict’s letter, as well...
A Tale of Two Humilities
“There is more value in a little study of humility and in a single act of it than in all the knowledge in the world.” — quote attributed to St. Teresa of Avilla Shortly after Pope Francis’ election, an awful...
Three Popes, Two Conclaves, One Church
For a long time, Pope John Paull II was the only pope I knew. He was the pope of my childhood, and I was married with four kids by the time he died. But his death, the funeral, and the...
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