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All Catholic commentary from March 2025
Vice President Vance deftly de-escalates conflict with Pope Francis
Call it Vanceism. Or the Vance Doctrine. A more specific subset of the populist nationalism—and a more Catholic one. Vanceism is the particular strain of Trumpism that Catholics should be rooting for.
Another sloppy petition in Evening Prayer
In the Eternal Rest prayer we are attempting to tie in one or more souls, the fate of which we do not know, with what we do know about the souls of the faithful departed; we are entreating God’s mercy and affirrming what we know about that mercy at the same time.
The Apostle of a Happy Death
Let’s return to the reasonable natural-law ethics of a Greek pagan. Invoke the authentic Oath of Hippocrates.
Sicilian Pilgrimage with Mike Aquilina and Jim Papandrea
Mike Aquilina and Jim Papandrea discuss the origins of pilgrimage as a Christian spiritual practice, and the upcoming pilgrimage they are leading in Sicily!
Terrence Malick and the Knights of Columbus: Voyage of Time (2016)
The Criteria crew continues its series on the films of Terrence Malick, jumping ahead to the experimental documentary Voyage of Time, which was co-produced by the Knights of Columbus! Voyage of Time portrays the creation and development of the cosmos, the Earth, and the living creatures on it from the beginning of the universe to its end. The main point of the film is simply to evoke wonder at creation with its gorgeous photography, sound design and music.
Don’t give Trump a pass on IVF
That Trump has promised to broaden access to IVF should be no surprise; he made that promise during his campaign. What IS a surprise is that some prominent pro-lifers have urged us not to complain.
Your sexual pathology doesn’t make you special
No matter what temptations assail us, it is part of the Christian vocation to face up to the truth about ourselves, and then seek conversion and healing. When we categorize ourselves in ways that justify our disordered inclinations, we are refusing the call to conversion. A Church that condoned this would not be a truly compassionate spiritual physician, but a field hospital staffed by quacks with a reputation for filling out ample prescriptions, no questions asked.
When will we fully embrace the Council?
What Pope Benedict said in a letter to his brother bishops, as he issued Summorum Pontificum, applies to all of the Council’s teachings, not just the proposed reform of the liturgy: “What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too, and it cannot be all of a sudden entirely forbidden or even considered harmful.”
Ukraine: Painful decisions about war and peace
At some point, the sheer slaughter has to be brought to an end no matter who has the moral high ground. Martyrdom is not too great a price to pay for defending a just cause; but the continuing slaughter of those who have no choice really does become, at some point, too great a price. Both Pope Francis and Donald Trump (for what it is worth) favor a search for a settlement which: (a) Abandons recriminations as fruitless; and (b) Offers a better way forward for both parties.
Trump and Vance are right about Ukraine
You don't have to run down Zelenskyy or Ukraine to support the Trump-Vance strategy on the war. You don't have to praise Putin or Russia either. You just have to see the world as it is.
192—Latin learning and classical Christian education w/ Ryan Hammill
Ryan Hammill of the Ancient Language Institute joins Thomas for a practical discussion about how to learn Latin, as well as the central place of the classical languages (Latin and Greek) in classical Christian education, and the various schools of thought in today’s classical Christian education movement.
The structure of Catholic revolutions?
Massa’s failure to understand the people he portrays is evident especially in his concluding chapter, when he attempts to summarize his findings and explain the similarities he sees among these “fundamentalist” Catholics.
5.6 St. Peter Damian: The Medieval Jerome
St. Peter Damian (1007 - 1072 AD) is another one of our lesser-known Doctors of the Church, and yet he was, in his time, a man who could give advice to the Popes, and call for reform in the clergy and in the monasteries. Known as a Catholic reformer (long before the Protestant Reformation), he confronted clergy immorality, simony and lay investiture, as well as corruption in the process of the election of Popes, and he was a member of the first college of cardinals, as we know it today.
When Churchmen seek to rally earthly troops
It is not for priests or bishops or patriarchs (or even popes) to encourage mortal combat; their role is to proclaim the peace of Christ, and especially to minister to the souls under their jurisdictional care so that they may become more Christlike in all things.
What to do when the conclave comes
We never know the motivations of the anonymous cardinals who leak the conclave’s secrets, but we know they are untrustworthy.
The pandemic and Pope Francis
Twelve years after Pope Francis was elected and five years after the Covid lockdown, the author reflects on what has changed.
Changing the World with Pure (or Impure) Thoughts
Impure thoughts disfigure human relationships and entire societies just as Jesus said: “Everyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”
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