If one in a state of mortal sin — no matter what the sin — has not sacramentally confessed and been absolved, he must not receive Holy Communion. There are no exceptions. Judge Sara Smolenski, Chief Judge of the 63rd District Court in Kent County, Michigan, was recently advised by her pastor, Father Scott Nolan, […]
Catholics cannot avoid responsibility for the current moral morass. No one is exempt from the duty to repudiate error and speak the truth. The books of First and Second Maccabees, which we read every year at this time in the Divine Office, are especially pertinent for us today, when religious syncretism and outright idolatry are […]
Pray for an apostolic exhortation that glorifies and lifts up Jesus Christ as the only way to salvation. I, like many of you, feel overwhelmed by the events of the past month in Rome. Many an evening, late into the night, I have come before the Lord in the rectory chapel in lament for the […]
Bishop Robert Barron recently published Letter to a Suffering Church: A Bishop Speaks on the Sexual Abuse Crisis. It is an excellent book — a meditation, really. It gives a sobering summary of the sexual-abuse crisis and a historical perspective and offers encouragement to believers in the aftermath of the recent and horrific events. It also comes […]
By Monsignor Charles Pope There comes a time when something is so egregious and boldly sinful that it must be met with strong ecclesial and canonical penalties and remedies. We have certainly seen this in the Church with the Archbishop McCarrick case and other matters and scandals of a similar nature. And, as we […]
Let there be fulfilled in us the Scripture that says, “Even the anger of man will serve to praise you, O Lord” (Psalm 76:10) Many today rightly speak of the need for courage in the midst of the current sexual abuse scandal and its coverup. It does indeed take courage to speak out and engage […]
In the Liturgy of the Hours this week, we read a remarkable attributed to St. Macarius, a bishop of the early Church. I marvel at its vivid imagery, and yet at the same time, questions arise in my mind as to the general application of the text. In effect, the text states that if the […]
The annual Fall Meeting of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), which took place in Baltimore earlier this week, was a disappointment on many levels. Yet there were also moments of light and strength coming from a good number of bishops. They spoke with clarity, acknowledging the seriousness of the crisis both in […]
By Msgr. Charles Pope Our collective cowardice must be transformed into a clear, loving witness that is willing to endure the scorn of the world to reassert the truth of the Gospel. As the annual Fall General Assembly of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) approaches (Nov. 12-14 in Baltimore), we do well to ponder […]
In thin-skinned times such as these, Archbishop Viganò’s most recent letter shines forth as a clarion call to Catholics everywhere. As I finished reading Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò’s third letter, I had an immediate sense that I had just read something that is destined to be one of the great pastoral and literary moments of the […]