If you have accepted God’s calling on your life to serve His people as a shepherd and a leader, then you have my respect. I honor you for your service, and I recognize your sacrifice. Pastoral ministry is anything but easy, and only those who have served as pastoral leaders know the immense pressures you … Read more
I suppose it’s a kind of privilege, of the kind one never asks for: We now live in times of an uncanny similitude to the very first Christmas in history. We’re ex-citizens, now subjects, of a once-great and free republic. Wealth, corruption, and luxury bloated it into an empire. We are ruled by a senile … Read more
I want to tell you a story of an ancient sage who changed the world. This wise man fought for justice, championing the cause of the poor and the oppressed. He rejected organized religion, showing tolerance — not judgment — for the outcast and the socially marginalized. He promoted universal love and the brotherhood of … Read more
Is Pope Francis laying down breadcrumbs for LGBT groups to sue his church into compliance with same-sex unions? Last week, Jason Jones interviewed theologian John Gravino about the “Great Catholic Reset.” That’s a plan Gravino believes exists within church circles, and that Pope Francis favors. It’s relevant to all Christians because it entails entangling Church … Read more
Fr. Altman says Bishop Callahan told him he was “divisive” and “ineffective.” Altman countered that he’d in fact grown his parish by leaps and bounds. He galvanized faithful Catholics around the country with his online preaching. Despite the challenges of the last year, Altman’s parish even thrived financially, becoming an unmistakable asset to the diocese … Read more
If there is any one thing that strikes me looking back at this calamitous and difficult year it is that we are experiencing a deep crisis of trust. Who can we believe? Who is telling the truth? On whom we can rely for accurate information? It is into this void that a flood of conspiracy … Read more
I’ve tried. I promise you I’ve tried to understand them. I’ve read social media posts of friends I disagree with. I’ve listened to perspectives wildly different than mine. I’ve made an honest effort to avoid creating echo chambers in my life … for better or for worse. After all my self-perceived open-mindedness, I still cannot … Read more
When it comes to discussions about faith and politics, perhaps the most commonly quoted verse is Matthew 22:21: “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” The point seems clear: The government and church are distinct domains with their own spheres of authority. Since we are … Read more
We Catholics were deeply scandalized when Pope Francis sent then-Cardinal McCarrick (yes, the child molester now hiding from reporters) to negotiate a deal with Communist China. Its terms remain partly secret. That piece of transparency hearkens back to the 1939 Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. Two apparent enemies inked a deal against the West, the secret provisions including … Read more
Great story by Christopher Manion from last August painting the parallels between two sexual perverts. There are several parallels, some of them ominous, between two recent scandals that have dominated both religious and secular headlines. The powerful Catholic Cardinal Theodore McCarrick passed out money, promotions, and power. The popular billionaire Jeffrey Epstein passed out lavish … Read more