Were the Republicans to run a Catholic for president who supported, say, segregation, the bishops wouldn’t hesitate to condemn that figure and warn their congregations not to vote for him. But the bishops apply no such condemnation or warning to Joe Biden, who is a dissenter in favor of abortion rights and gay marriage. Even … Read more
Most popes urge austerity as a means of saving one’s soul. Pope Francis urges it for a different reason: to save the planet. In keeping with that temporal focus, he called this last week for humans to adopt “simpler” lifestyles not for reasons of spirituality but out of “respect” for the earth: We also need … Read more
Scientists told us that church services during the coronavirus pandemic are “a dangerous environment.” They said we couldn’t go to church, or we would risk killing our elderly neighbors. That was likely true until we learned to wear masks and social distance. Now the evidence suggests that it is highly unlikely for the virus to … Read more
In 2016, the Vatican was pulling for Hillary Clinton. Just days before the presidential election, Pope Francis renewed his criticism of politicians who speak about erecting “walls.” This led Slate and other publications to run such headlines as “It Sure Sounds Like Pope Francis Doesn’t Think Americans Should Vote for Trump.” Several Francis-friendly prelates ran … Read more
Perhaps the deepest and most troubling mystery of Kamala Harris’s tenure as a prosecutor centers on the disturbing issue of sexual abuse of children by priests,” writes Peter Schweizer in Profiles in Corruption. “During her decade-and-a-half tenure as a chief prosecutor, Harris would fail to prosecute a single case of priest abuse and her office … Read more
It aligns itself with an anti-religious movement. One might think the Catholic Church would stand against the orgy of iconoclasm that we are witnessing across the country — toppled statues, defaced churches, and the like. But, no, the feeble voices of priests and bishops join the creepy chorus of the mob. In California, the mob … Read more
They find him guilty of being Catholic. In Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò’s recent letter to Donald Trump, he writes, “just as there is a deep state, there is also a deep church that betrays its duties and forswears its proper commitments before God.” Naturally, the deep church resented the letter. But it particularly didn’t like … Read more
The riots have exposed the depth of America’s civilizational crisis. Yet where are the supposed religious leaders of that civilization to decry it? They are difficult to find. To the extent that clergy have been visible at all in the crisis, they emerged not to stop the mob but to join it. Their statements rest … Read more
Wherein the hierarchy defers to the state. Donald Trump wants to open up churches more than some church leaders do. No sooner had he proposed that churches be deemed “essential” services than some church leaders began criticizing him. At CNN, Father Edward Beck quickly penned a column saying “Mr. President, we don’t need to open … Read more
The Bible is replete with stories of people who suffer chastisements for placing strange Gods before the true God. But for Pope Francis, who this last week participated in a “multi-faith” prayer event, the chastisement of coronavirus could lift if we all just pray to the strange Gods of our choice. “I would like to … Read more