A sub-category of News.
As a conclave approaches, it is important to put forward some suggestions that one hopes will be considered relevant by the Cardinals called to elect the successor of Peter. In truth, given the importance and centrality of these themes, it should not even be doubted that they are considered important for a future Pontiff, but…
According to James Hitchcock, a professor of history at Saint Louis University, “St. Pius V…was an ascetic Dominican who had been head of the Inquisition and who vigorously implemented the decrees of Trent, including publishing the Catechism, Missal, and Breviary…authorized by the Council.”[1] In this article, I will highlight the Holy Father’s reform of the…
The Catholic Church stands once again at the cusp of a pivotal historical moment: a conclave looms; and the Chair of St. Peter, the most enduring office of spiritual and sociopolitical authority in the world and in history, awaits its next successor. This isn’t just another election. It is, rather, a watershed moment in salvation…
Now that the papacy of Jorge Mario Bergoglio is behind us, it is worth not only assessing his papacy but also the papacy itself. While conservative Catholics criticized Francis’ doctrinal ambiguity, his watered-down moral teaching, and his support for compromised prelates, it is only fair to ask ourselves what his motivations were. I think they…
A few minutes by foot from where I presently write in Rome is the Basilica of St. Peter on the Vatican Hill. This was the traditional Roman Station for this Sunday in ancient times. The present church replaced the original built by the Emperor Constatine in the 4th century. It soars with its vast vaults…
Your Eminences: The following document emerged from discussions over the past year among theologians, pastors, and canonists, who had been encouraged to produce this document by a senior cardinal. Originally our thought had been to seek for signatories—knowing, as we do, how many notable figures in the Catholic Church are in agreement with or sympathetic…
The Mass developed organically from the night of the Last Supper until 1962, when the last Missal according to the Old Rite was published, although this statement must not obscure the fact that what took place that night itself already had a very ancient ritual history. During these two millennia, the extremely gradual changes that…
In the previous essay in this series, we honored Blessed Otto Neururer, the first priest to be executed by the Nazis. We also acknowledged those better-known victims of the Third Reich’s anti-Christian pogrom, St. Maximilian Kolbe and St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein). It is also fitting, however, that we should commemorate some…
Of all the correspondence compiled by St. Paul documenting salvation through the Event of Jesus Christ—who alone set about redeeming us all because in Adam’s fall we sinned all—the Epistle to the Romans is clearly the lengthiest of them all. It is also the most impressive, easily eclipsing everything else he wrote. “An alpine peak…
I don’t know about you, but sometimes I really hate modernity. I know, I know, not everything was better in the past. For one, I am very grateful for things like indoor plumbing and refrigeration, and I am well aware that men have been sinners from the get-go, and therefore every age has its drama…
