A sub-category of News.
Two recent events in the seemingly endless parade of the bizarre that this pontificate is producing hit this writer all at once. One was of worldwide importance and the other, purely local. The first was the revelation that Cardinal Fernandez had authored some excruciatingly theological hard-core porn and published it some years ago. The second…
Read part I The Third Pornocracy: the Current Crisis in the Church The term “pornocracy” is brutally grotesque, and yet it is honest. It is helpful, I believe, because the term truly describes the reality of how bad the corruption is. But it also reminds us that the Church has been through two other times…
Yesterday Pope Francis said, “This isn’t dogma, just my thought: I like to think of Hell as being empty. I hope it is.” As often happens following a controversial papal statement, debate broke out online as to whether this is a legitimate—i.e., an orthodox—viewpoint for a Catholic. While that’s an important question, especially when speaking…
Above: some suggest Cardinal Rampolla was the origin, as he was accused of occult membership when he was elected pope in 1903 and then vetoed. Editor’s note: with more commentators calling this period of Church crisis a “pornocracy” in the midst of “L’affair Fernández,” this week we will finish the five part series on pornocracy…
Over a year ago, the world bid a fond adieu to Pope Benedict XVI, who passed away on December 31st, 2022, the eve of the Solemnity of Mary the Mother of God. In his insightful and invaluable reflection on the life of service to Pope Benedict XVI, Who Believes is Not Alone: My Life Beside…
In the aftermath of the emperor’s parade in his birthday suit made, supposedly, of the invisible cloth that only the most noble souls could appreciate, there was a great silence in the palace. The emperor had called his chaplain to his chamber and asked him, “Did you see the new suit of clothes that was…
It seems as if, once Christmas has passed – BAM! – it’s over. Trees are at the curb, decorations come down, music on the radio goes back to whatever it was. However, Holy Church gives us an Octave to rest within the feast of the Nativity itself and contemplate it from different angles, including the…
While current scholarship is unclear on the matter of St. Ignatius of Antioch ever having been to Rome before going there to die, there is no doubt whatsoever regarding his great love and esteem for the city. Not the pagan side of the place, of course, that being the reason for his martyrdom, but the…
The Pope knew. The Vatican knew. They knew that Tucho “Heal Me with Your Mouth” Fernández was also the author of the erotic text Mystical Passion: Spirituality and Sensuality. And then he was appointed to be in charge of the doctrinal purity at the Office Formerly Known as Holy. The new doctrinal chief continues to…
Three hundred and fifty years ago, on January 12, 1674, one of the greatest Italian composers of the 17th century, or rather “the Master of Musical Europe,” suddenly died in Rome: Giacomo Carissimi. The Jesuit Athanasius Kircher, a scientist and theologian who taught at the Roman College (the future Pontifical Gregorian University), praised him thusly…
