Anthony Esolen: The sick need mercy, especially a man at odds with his own body. But compromise principles? Never. Jesus never did. When the Pharisees came to Jesus to ask for what reasons a man might put away his woman, Jesus does not refer to the opinions of Hillel or Shammai, the titans of the […]
Michael Baruzzini on the recognition by science of Fr. George Lemaître, co-discoverer of the Big Bang, who found no conflict between faith and reason. On October 29, 2018, the International Astronomical Union announced its recommendation that the erstwhile “Hubble Law” be referred to as the “Hubble–Lemaître Law.” The law relates the distances of galaxies to their […]
David Carlin wonders if there’s anything Americans of all types can agree on. Ceaseless and passionate commercial activity, perhaps? But that’s not enough. A few weeks ago I wrote on the great divisions troubling American society at the moment and the possibility of a second civil war. The concluding paragraph of that column included this: “I console myself with […]
Robert Royal in Rome: Will bishops reimagine a Church of change resembling the society it’s meant to evangelize, or the age-old, infallible Bride of Christ? A formerly evanescent creature called “Synodality” has been spotted with increasing frequency in these last days of the Synod on Young People, Faith, and Vocational Discernment (to give the synod its full working […]
David Carlin: Beware of churches, whether Catholic or Protestant, that advertise themselves as “welcoming,” because that suggests institutional suicide. In my hometown of Newport R.I., there is a beautiful old Episcopal church, Trinity Church. The parish was established in 1698, an Anglican beachhead in Puritan New England; and the church building itself, modeled on some […]
Ines A. Murzaku: The Sino-Vatican deal on the appointment of bishops, really does resemble, as Pope Francis has suggested, the status quo . . . of the 12th century. During the in-flight press conference as he was retuning from the Baltic countries, Pope Francis recalled how kings and emperors once controlled bishops’ appointments. He expressed relief […]
Brad Miner reviews “Gosnell,” the dramatic film about the arrest and trial of the abortionist who was “America’s Biggest Serial Killer.” There have been notorious murderers brought down for reasons other than their most horrific crimes. Al Capone, mob boss, was felled by tax evasion; Dr. Kermit Gosnell, abortionist, by illegally selling prescriptions for painkillers. I’d […]
Two statements came out from the Vatican over the weekend, basically during the pause in the Synod for the Sunday observances. Both dealt with the McCarrick case, and were partly a reaction to the constant presence of that case and – indirectly – other abuse cases in synodal conversations about the Church and young people. […]
Randall Smith: Many Catholics who decry sex-abuse cover-ups were fine with bishops who looked the other way with regard to their own sexual sins. Some say that people are leaving the Catholic Church over the current scandals. This confuses me. In whom did you have faith? The priest? The bishop? Or God? If your faith […]
Carlos Caso-Rosendi on accusations of sex-abuse coverups made against Pope Francis while Archbishop of Buenos Aires. The Enemy is in the Church. In the last month or so, various Catholic news outlets have asked me to research the veracity of various accusations made against Pope Francis while he was Archbishop of Buenos Aires. Did he cover […]
Fr. Timothy V. Vaverek: If the Vatican previously investigated abuse, those results must be shared; if Rome didn’t investigate, we need to know why not. Representatives of the American bishops have now met with Pope Francis to discuss the much-needed investigation of the McCarrick Affair. This is understandable since any process involving the ex-cardinal and […]
Fr. Timothy V. Vaverek: The passivity of some bishops on sex abuse is itself an abuse of power that denies justice and charity to the people of God. Countless voices are being raised among bishops, priests, and laity calling for credible investigations of the McCarrick scandal, sexual abuse cover-ups, and the crisis in sexual morality, […]
James Kilpatrick on a new film, Faithkeepers, that documents the plight of Christian families under Muslim rule. Why wasn’t it shown at WMOF2018? Faithkeepers trailer: Imagine that you find an envelope outside your door. In it are six bullets and a note: “With these six bullets we will kill you and your family.” Imagine that a few days […]
Robert Royal writes that most U.S. bishops appear to await their November annual meeting to craft a new sex-abuse policy. But we can’t wait months. I came across an advertisement for a financial institution recently that, sad to say, displayed more wisdom than we usually find today among many people, including many Catholics: “Trust is binary. […]
Fr. Timothy V. Vaverek, STD on our current crisis: With Christ we can tolerate mistaken or wicked popes, cardinals, bishops, priests, religious, and lay people. Note: Many people write asking: What are we supposed to do amidst all the turmoil in the Church and the world at the moment? Fr. Vaverek provides a no-nonsense, bracing answer below. […]