Our reading today is from the Book of Benedict XVI (A Life: Volume Two), in which he recounts to biographer Peter Seewald what often happened, even during the great decades of St. John Paul II’s papacy: “Whenever I went to Germany in the 1980s or 1990s. . .I always knew the questions in advance. They … Read more
We probably won’t know until later today what the American bishops voted to do about the grave scandal of wayward “Catholic politicians” who have become some of the most defiant supporters of abortion in the nation. Joe Biden, somewhere along his politically ambitious way, has been persuaded to say – against all evidence provided by … Read more
I’ve been critical– on this page and via the Papal Posse at EWTN, among other venues – of many things Pope Francis has said and done. With a proper respect, I believe. But more than everything else – more than the indirect infidelities in Amoris Laetitia; the cringe-making chumminess with McCarrick, Zanchetta, Battista Ricca, and … Read more
In normal times, debates about a figure like Christopher Columbus would just be a part of the usual work of historians and others seeking to understand some portion of the human past. But these are not normal times. And it is clear that the violent attitude of many recent protesters towards the explorer who opened … Read more
What about the salvation of souls? An astute woman who has written for The Catholic Thing just sent me this: I don’t know if you read [Washington D.C.] Archbishop [Wilton] Gregory’s official statement in the coronavirus section of the archdiocesan website about suspending public Masses. I am bringing this to your attention (if you haven’t … Read more
Francis was elected to be a reformer, yet in the six years since he became pope, the rot in the Church has only become worse. Even when, as at present, the Catholic Church exercises very little direct political or social power, its continued witness to the world after two millennia retains a compelling grandeur. Empires … Read more
Many people – even many Catholics – who only follow Church matters vaguely, have been puzzled by the Vatican’s conspicuous lack of a sense of urgency about the sexual abuse crisis. Yes, there’s a “summit” on abuse that starts today, but only after months and with a program that looks very carefully stage-managed to keep … Read more
came across an advertisement for a financial institution recently that, sad to say, displayed more wisdom than we usually find today among many people, including many Catholics: “Trust is binary. Either you have it or you don’t.” A bold statement these days, by anyone. For the politically correct, “binary” distinctions are not only stupid and … Read more
Claims of innocence are not going to be enough any longer, nor the protections of the old-boy networks. Take the case of Cardinal Kevin Farrell, one-time auxiliary bishop of Washington D.C., who claims, implausibly, not to have known anything irregular about McCarrick, with whom he lived for six years. Perhaps he means to say that … Read more
