Commentary

Next weekend, April 28-30, the Satanic Temple is hosting a convention at a hotel in downtown Boston. The Boston archdiocese has responded with a call for “intense prayer,” while discouraging public demonstrations—which would only feed the Satanists’ appetite for publicity....

Since Archbishop (soon to be Cardinal) Victor Manuel Fernandez was named by Pope Francis to head the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF), much criticism of the appointment has focused on the strange book Archbishop Fernandez wrote more than thirty years ago: Heal Me With Your Mouth: The...

Yes, there are other priests—many others, really—whose conduct has been far more egregious, whose public statements have been far more injurious to the faith. Yes, it is painful to see a leading figure in the American pro-life movement disciplined, while others who undermine Church...

Vatican II called for active participation by the laity in the Eucharistic liturgy. No one, to my knowledge, disputes that active participation is desirable. The question is: what does “active participation” mean? Let me offer an answer, in a roundabout way. Eighteen years have...

The new film Padre Pio, directed by Abel Ferrara and starring Shia LaBeouf, is ruined by a pornographic and sacrilegious scene involving abuse of a sacred image. James Majewski and Thomas Mirus contend that conscientious Catholics must not see this movie. They explain the difference...

OK, I think I understand now. The Vatican “carried out a detailed consultation of the bishops in 2020” regarding the use of the traditional Latin Mass. Although we’ve never seen the results of that consultation, Pope Francis determined that “the wishes expressed by...

Taking his cue from Cardinal McElroy—and ignoring the strong cautions from Archbishop Aquila and Archbishop Naumann, among others—Chicago’s Cardinal Blase Cupich has

Since Pope Francis issued Traditionis Custodes, restricting the use of the traditional Latin Mass, some bishops have issued dispensations, allowing their priests to continue using the Tridentine liturgy. Now Cardinal Arthur Roche, the prefect of the Dicastery for Divine Worship, has ruled that...

“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...

Update added July 2, 2023: This assessment appeared in 2017, that is, nearly six years ago, which is a long time in the Internet age. Nonetheless, the basic concerns are still relevant. While this article covers the problems presented by cell phones, clearly children should generally not have...