Commentary

After I saw Cabrini, the new biopic of the great missionary saint who served the immigrant poor in New York, I perused some other Catholic reviews of the film, and something struck me as odd. The reviewers seemed to admit, tacitly or explicitly, what I observed in my own viewing: the film contains...

In the past, I’ve listed my favorite films I saw for the first time in the last year along with my books in the article on that topic. This time, I have decided to give the movies their own article for the sake of space. As you may know, I co-host Criteria: The Catholic Film Podcast with...

Like any journalist I hate to be beaten to a story, and this week Catholic World News (CWN) was late on a big one. Yet I have no regrets. If you’ll join me for a few minutes behind my editorial desk, I’ll explain why—and in the process, tell you something about CWN and about the...

After a month of Vatican insistence on listening to all perspectives, it is ironic, to say the least, that the next big news story was the removal of an American bishop, apparently for talking too much. But never mind the mixed messages. The ouster of Bishop Joseph Strickland could harm the cause...

Rome’s rumor mills are buzzing. According to multiple sources, a new Vatican document is being prepared, which would impose still tighter restrictions on the celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM). If approved in its current form, our informants tell us, the document would bar...

True, today’s declaration from the Vatican does not change Church teaching. Fiducia Supplicans earnestly insists on a distinction between giving a blessing to a homosexual couple and blessing their relationship. Good luck conveying that distinction to the world. Anyone can ask a priest for a...

“Today it is a sin to possess atomic bombs; the death penalty is a sin,” Pope Francis told a gathering of Jesuits in Lisbon earlier this month. These are stern, clear, uncompromising statements. But, the Pope continued, “it was not so before.” Thus in the past, the Pope...

It’s time for the Catholic Culture staff’s roundup of our favorite things we read in the past year. This time we have lists by Dr. Jeff Mirus, Phil Lawler, Dr. Jim Papandrea, and Thomas Mirus. Dr. Jeff Mirus Looking back over the books I liked but did not find time to review...

Today dozens of media outlets are reporting that Pope Francis did not deliver a homily at Palm Sunday Mass. That’s true, but no particularly remarkable. Many priests choose to skip the homily on Palm Sunday, after the lengthy reading of the Passion. What is remarkable is that the Pope did not...

For many years—during the pontificates of John Paul II and Benedict XVI—worried Catholics like me wished that the Holy See would intervene to fix the damage caused by liberal American bishops. Now the roles are reversed, and I pray that our bishops, joining with bishops of other...