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All Catholic commentary from November 2014
Standing 'gradualism' on its head
Father Frank Brennan, an Australian Jesuit who is currently teaching at Boston College Law School, is disappointed with the final document from the Synod. He was hoping for more dramatic changes. So he writes: For the moment, I would not see much pastoral point in sharing this document with...
Yet another revealing 'error' in a Vatican translation
Surprise, surprise! When the Vatican finally released an English-language version of the final report from the Synod, the translation contained at least one blatant omission. And I bet you can’t guess what effect this “error” will have on readers’ understanding. Credit...
Emphasis on the wrong syllable
Every time a son or daughter of the Church criticizes a priest’s contradiction of Church teaching from the pulpit, for example, or rejects a self-proclaimed Catholic politician who supports abortion, “liberal” Catholics rally around and emphasize that such persons are wonderfully...
Episcopal action on the SSPX: A basic strategy for unity
In the past few days, two bishops have been reported as announcing the excommunication of Catholics who attend Masses offered by priests of the Society of St. Pius X. First we heard from Bishop Marcello Semeraro of Albano, Italy, who reaffirmed the policy of his predecessor. Today there are...
Three Catholic thinkers on 'the rules' of art
1. G. K. Chesterton, The Everlasting Man: There are no rules of architecture for a castle in the clouds. 2. Étienne Gilson, Forms and Substances in the Arts: Everything can legitimately be tried, given up, revived, varied, adorned or stripped of its adornments, for in...
Radio silence?
Don’t you immediately see the problem with this headline from St. Louis Public Radio? Priest Silenced By Vatican Shares His Story If Father Tony Flannery is “sharing his story” on the air, he isn’t being silent, is he? As a matter of fact, if the Irish priest is traveling across the ocean...
Is the Pope purging conservatives?
“Does Pope Francis have an enemies list?” That’s the eye-catching headline on John Allen’s column for the Crux site. Allen notes that three bishops have recently placed under scrutiny by the Vatican: Bishops Rogelio Livieres Plano in Paraguay, Mario Oliveri in Italy, and Robert Finn in Kansas...
Bergoglio’s List: Pope Francis and political oppression in Argentina
Within hours of the election of Jorge Mario Bergoglio to the papacy, the world press began to retail stories that Fr. Bergoglio may have been complicit in serious human rights violations under the military regime which ruled Argentina between 1976 and 1983. This innuendo was based primarily on...
Conservative prelates needn’t panic
I have my own take on the question of whether Pope Francis is purging conservative prelates, and it may be useful to suspend my dislike of the terms “conservative” and “liberal” as Catholic descriptors just long enough to make my point. In the recent controversy over the...
Catholic controversy and serenity of faith
We have just gone through a month or so of rather heated controversy in the Church, primarily surrounding the Synod of Bishops. This was amply reflected in our writings and discussions here. Sometimes tensions ran high. In some quarters they are still running high. For example, in the last...
New economic standards: Pope Francis' most important reform?
Don’t look now, but the most important reform of this pontificate may have been introduced this week. Did you notice? Many nervous Catholics are still discussing the fallout from the October meeting of the Synod of Bishops, worrying that when the Synod meets again next year, there could...
Feastday Highlights: Dedication of St. John Lateran
Every five years several feasts interrupt the cycle of the Liturgical Calendar; these feasts take precedence over the Sundays in Ordinary Time: September 14, the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, November 2, the Commemoration of all the Faithful Departed, and this Sunday, the feast of...
Catholicism, evolution and young earth creationism
Pope Francis’s recent remarks that evolution and Catholicism are compatible caused great deal of excitement in the secular media. While this compatibility will come as no surprise to educated Catholics, it is not the same as saying that Catholics cannot be creationists. However, in an...
Helping troubled marriages; making good marriages stronger
With Pope Francis and the recent Synod of Bishops attempting to place marriage and the family at the heart of evangelization, it is an excellent time to consider the ways in which we can strengthen and protect our marriages against the stresses, misunderstandings and conflicts that tend to break...
Why Cardinal Burke cannot lead a 'loyal opposition'
In the quiet little New England town where we live, we’ve just been through an unusually contentious local election. The aftermath has reminded me of an important lesson that I learned years ago. When the votes were counted in our local contests, one losing candidate issued a gracious statement...
How many devils can dance on a pinhead?
Though permission was granted on our comment form, simple charity demands that I withhold the name of the reader who submitted the following email in response to this story from November 4th: New York bishop bans travel to west Africa, citing Ebola threat. See if you can count the number of...
An American martyr, overdue for recognition
Exactly twelve years have passed since the brutal slaying of Mary Stachowicz. Seven years have passed since I suggested the opening of a formal cause for her beatification. My own opinion doesn’t count for much, but Bishop Thomas Paprocki (who knew her well) agrees that “she died...
Adding Trust to your Christmas list
For those who love the Church’s revived emphasis on Divine mercy, a beautiful and touching Christmas gift would be the new coffee table book on St. Faustina, simply entitled Trust. Anyone familiar with the enormously popular Divine Mercy Chaplet will understand the importance of St. Faustina...
Replacing problems with persons: Eve Tushnet’s new book, Gay and Catholic
Over the last three days I’ve read Eve Tushnet’s remarkable book, Gay and Catholic. Tushnet, who is now in her mid-30s, realized that she was “gay” in middle school, admitted it to herself at age thirteen, and told her parents shortly thereafter. But while in college she...
The Foundation of Prayer for Priests
In 2007, in light of increasing attacks on the priesthood from within and without, and particularly after the scandals that had done such damage to the Church, the Vatican’s Congregation for the Clergy saw the need to begin a global movement of prayer for priests. To that end, the...
This year's best interview with an American cardinal
No, I don’t mean the troubling “60 Minutes” interview with Cardinal O’Malley. About that, the less said, the better. If you’re interested in a wide-ranging interview with an influential American cardinal who actually speaks his mind (and if you don’t want to be interrupted by commercials for...
Standing against the culture: Pope Francis, since Friday, on life, marriage and the Gospel
1. On Human Life: To Association of Italian Catholic Doctors, November 14. The dominant thinking sometimes suggests a "false compassion", believing that it is: helpful to women to promote abortion; an act of dignity to obtain euthanasia; a scientific breakthrough to...
American influence at the Vatican and in the Synod
With the departure of Cardinal Burke from this role as head of the Apostolic Signatura, there is now not a single US prelate in a leadership position in the Roman Curia. Nor is there an American holding the #2 spot in any Vatican congregation or pontifical council (although Archbishop Augustine...
Light of the World: Morality vital, but mercy first
I doubt anyone has forgotten the famous words of Pope Francis in his premier interview with Antonio Spadaro, SJ of La Civiltá Cattolica back in September of 2013. Many were struck especially by this comment: We cannot insist only on issues related to abortion, gay marriage and the use of...
Yesterday's news, tomorrow
“The Ordinary Council of the Synod of Bishops will meet on 18 and 19 November…” Thus opens an announcement issued by the Vatican Information Service today—which is November 20. It’s standard operating procedure for Vatican officials to hold a press conference to...
It is a failure of mercy to deny sin
Previously, I promised to explore how we too often obscure the life-changing mercy of the Gospel, despite our best intentions (see Light of the World: Morality vital, but mercy first). We will discover very quickly that this failure usually arises from our own complacency—our refusal to...
Anatomy of Conversion
Each person is drawn to God in slightly different ways. There are probably as many “motives of credibility” in the Catholic Church as there are personality types. But as I mentioned yesterday (see It is a failure of mercy to deny sin), most conversion stories turn on a moment when the...
Art and theology, beauty and truth, work together in the New Evangelization
“Beauty is truth, truth beauty.” But the poet Keats is wrong; that is not all we need to know in life. In an unusual and rewarding new book, Father Robert Imbelli guides readers along the path of beauty toward the realization that all truth, all beauty, and all goodness reflects the...
A suggestion for First Things: separate civil divorce from Christian marriage
First Things is a journal with a proud tradition of fostering intellectual debate. (Remember when the late Father Neuhaus hosted a symposium on the question of whether the US government had lost its legitimacy?) Now a new editor, R.R. Reno, has stirred things up again by publishing, and strongly...
Public perception demands a way of mercy
In last week’s discussion (It is a failure of mercy to deny sin), I explained how the love and mercy of God are undermined by human efforts to be “nice”. This frequently takes the form of denying or minimizing sins in accordance with the spirit of the times, which obscures our...
What Pope Francis told European Parliament, and what Pope John Paul II said
If you are convinced the Pope Francis has made a radical break from the policies and pronouncements of his predecessors, I have two challenges for you: First, read the text of the Holy Father’s address to the European Parliament and pick out a sentence (other than the time-sensitive...
No 'Francis effect' in Strasbourg
Jean-Marie Guénois, the religion correspondent for Le Figaro (and an old friend), has tweeted several perceptive observations about the Pope’s visit to Strasbourg today. Guénois has been a member of the Vatican press corps for more than 20 years, and been aboard the papal plane for more than 50...
Living Advent Simply with Food and Family
The season of Advent which opens the new Liturgical Year begins this Sunday after Thanksgiving. The Church provides this time as another opportunity to renew, refresh, and prepare. Trying to balance living a Catholic culture during these days is a challenge. Many of us are already overwhelmed with...
O Earthly Lord, vouchsafe to us high speed Internet.
Ah, the glories of calling for government expenditures! It seems two USCCB committee chairmen have endorsed a proposal by the Federal Communications Commission for the United States to spend $1.5 billion more per year to ensure that all schools have high speed Internet access. Of course,...
The gift of orthodoxy: A mercy and a challenge to mercy
It is said that even the Devil is orthodox. I have used this expression myself, and it can be very effective. It is a convenient way to emphasize that orthodoxy does not guarantee the love of God and neighbor which Our Lord identified as the very foundation of the Christian life. So it is a useful...
Celebrating St. Nicholas: New Picture Book Review
A review of a new book that meets my child saint books criteria almost completely: The Legend of Saint Nicholas by Anselm Grün, illustrated by Giuliano Ferri, published by Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, originally published in German. This picture book (24 pages) appeals to all ages, and is a perfect book to read aloud together without losing interest of younger listeners. The story is short but reverently captures the essence of St. Nicholas as a saint, a shepherd/bishop, and intercessor.
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