A sub-category of News.
Above: a colossal statue of Carlo Borromeo erected in Arona, Italy in 1697. Doctor in civil and ecclesiastical law, an aristocrat by birth on his father’s side—Count Gilbert of Arona—and also on his mother’s side, Margaret (the sister of Pope Pius IV), who descended from the Milanese branch of the famous Medici family, Charles Borromeo…
The Church is mater et magistra—mother and teacher. And as teacher, she has divided the liturgical year into seasons, each having their own emphasis—their own “curriculum” as it were. In November, the Church has us remember our end. Starting with All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day, the month is dedicated to remembering the faithful…
Russell Moore’s latest panic about the “Nazification” of American Christianity is a sermon in search of a swastika. His argument—that scattered online trolls and a handful of fringe youth groups somehow signal the rise of a Fourth Reich in the pews—is comical. America’s churches aren’t breeding grounds for fascism. In truth, they’re barely holding on…
Boomers run the Catholic Church. Now, I know that many in the Baby Boomer cohort react to the term “Boomers” like a black person reacts to a white Republican using the N-word, but hear me out for a minute. By “Boomer,” I simply mean the views that dominate that age group and what it’s most…
Some people traveling around Italy have found themselves in front of churches and basilicas that require an entrance ticket for admission and visitation. Of course, this fee is not for participation in liturgical celebrations. However, if someone wished to enter for a devout visit (that is, not purely touristic, but inspired by a spiritual desire)…
The skies are growing darker. The air is crisp, even biting. The torn-up Main Street in my sleepy little Pittsburgh borough is ever so slowly prickling up with snowflake banners, evergreen, and sparkling lights. My son is buzzing whenever he rolls past the newest Santa decoration in the department store. The magic of Christmastime is…
Fr. Joe became a priest at the perfect American moment. In the summer of ’85, America’s dads and moms gathered with their children in family rooms, laughing together at the wholesome storylines of The Cosby Show and Family Ties. Springsteen’s Born in the U.S.A. seemed to pour from every car radio, each track reflecting the…
The Church is in the midst of a serious crisis, the crisis of Modernism. Modernism is a deadly and insidious heresy, but what is not often stated is how it arises. It is a fact that Modernism, like an evolving disease, has many forms. While Modernism has many components, it all boils down to trying…
Every time November rolls around, I can’t help but recall the most traumatic news story for American kids coming of age in the late ’70s and early ’80s. We witnessed major plane crashes in San Diego, Chicago, and Washington. We watched assassination attempts on President Ronald Reagan and Pope John Paul II. But nothing is…
The fall general assembly of the USCCB lumbered into session last week at the Marriott Waterfront in Baltimore, as they do each November. The ponderous livestream of bishops, all doing their best to be flavorless, was, to say the least, somnolent. There were approximately two minutes of interest on day two, when Bishop Strickland stood…
