The Second Collection
by Philip F. Lawler
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Book Description
A collection of essays written between 2021 and 2025 covering the Synod process, Catholic teaching and American politics, the just war tradition, Pope Francis and the war on Tradition, The Vatican and the universal Church, and When things go wrong.
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- 1. Discussing the discussion: The Synod Process
- How I learned to mistrust the Synod process
- The dangerous ‘spirit of synodality’
- St. Patrick, meet the Synod on Synodality
- 2. Catholic teaching and American politics
- Saving the world from democracy
- A high court case that challenges the rule of law
- The Pope’s disastrous letter on immigration
- Vance vs. the bishops on immigration, I
- Vance vs. the bishops on immigration, 2
- Vance vs. the bishops on immigration, 3
- Has the American Experiment Failed?
- The Catholic Role in the American Founding
- 3. Applying the just war tradition
- Justice and War in Ukraine, 1
- Justice and War in Ukraine, 2: What Putin Wants
- Justice and War in Ukraine, 3: The crucial religious dimension
- Responding to Hamas: a just-war perspective, 1
- Responding to Hamas: a just-war perspective, 2
- 4. Pope Francis and the war on Tradition
- When Pope Francis goes off script
- Fiducia Supplicans and the defense of ritual purity
- Pope Francis, ‘doctor of the law’
- Why doesn’t Pope Francis celebrate Mass, 1
- Why doesn’t Pope Francis Celebrate Mass, 2
- The curious background of the Pope’s ‘fixer’
- The Pope indicts ‘restorationism.’ I plead guilty.
- The backward logic of Traditionis Custodes
- Understanding the Vatican crusade against tradition
- A new Vatican move against the Latin Mass—with or without canonical authority
- 5. The Vatican and the universal Church
- Red flags in the Vatican financial trial
- The Vatican, China, and the ‘spirit of dialogue’
- The Vatican (still) isn’t listening
- Competition as dialogue? A tennis player objects.
- The Vatican’s irresolute response to the threat of German schism
- Pas d’ennemis a gauche at the Vatican?
- The German bishops lead the way—out the church door
- Following the German bishops’ lead—to disaster
- 6. When things go wrong
- Fear all around me
- What to do when the conclave comes
- What the rededication of Notre Dame (should have) taught us
- Trust the science, not the scientists
- When marriage is not ‘for better’ but ‘for worse’
- How often do bishops hear the truth?
- ‘Credibly accused’ is still not ‘Guilty’
- A simpler program for the Eucharistic revival
- Cardinal Pell’s long shadow
- When will we fully embrace the Council?
- In the land of the living
