In a recent online exchange, someone accused me of not being a “real traditionalist.” I suppose that the jibe was supposed to chafe, but it landed pretty far afield. Not only is this not the first time such an accusation (if one could even call it that) has been leveled against me, but it’s an…
Today, someone sent me the latest column at First Things by American Catholic writer and papal biographer George Weigel, entitled “WYD-1993: The Turning Point.” I am not, in general, a fan of Weigel’s work, which I find by turns dull and frustrating – often both. This column is no exception, and yet it serves as…
I am a guy who grew up on comic books and sci-fi. They have always played a role in my imaginative thinking, and I’ve enjoyed this recent span of movies that have brought so much of that part of my childhood to life. (I know a number of you are very anti-pop culture, but there’s…
Within 24 hours of the exposé published by laicized priest and former seminarian of the Lincoln Diocese Peter Mitchell, the diocese admitted that its late longtime vocations director. Msgr. Leonard Kalin, had been reported for “conduct contrary to prudence and moral law” – allegations the diocese claims it addressed “during his time in priestly ministry.”…
The debate over the pope’s recently announced changes to the Catechism on the subject of capital punishment are being hotly debated in every corner of the Catholic world. Some are saying this change is a mere “development of doctrine.” Some think it’s not a change in doctrine at all, but an adjustment to practical application.…
Yesterday, we reprinted an essay by Peter Mitchell at The American Conservative about his experiences with the seminary culture in Lincoln, Nebraska under vocations director Msgr. Leonard Kalin. Mitchell, a heterosexual priest who accepted laicization after his own admitted failures in keeping his vow of celibacy, spoke of an environment of “totally inadequate and abusive formation” for the…
Just as the latest round of homosexual network and sex abuse allegations in the Church are reaching a fever pitch, Pope Francis – who has been eerily quiet of late – dropped a nuclear theological bomb into our midst. From Crux: According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the death penalty now is no longer…
In light of today’s news that the pope has “changed the Catechism of the Catholic Church about the death penalty, saying it can never be sanctioned,” we are reprinting this as a reference point for concerned Catholics. –SS, 8/2/2018 When the first version of this column was originally published in March 2015, it was occasioned…
I’ve spent every one of my 40 years on this planet as a Catholic with no direct contact to the sexual abuse crisis that is currently dominating the headlines in every Catholic publication, and not a few non-Catholic ones besides. I was an altar boy for many years, starting at a young age. I befriended…
The Diocese of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania has just released the names of over 70 members of its clergy who have been accused of sexual abuse in cases spanning back to the 1940s. At a news conference this morning, Bishop Ronald Gainer of Harrisburg released the list, revealing that since becoming bishop in 2014, he has overseen an…
I’ve been sitting at my desk for the better part of three hours, skimming through news and social media, trying to get a sense of things this week. It’s not entirely clear to me what I should say. In my entire lifetime as a Catholic, I don’t think I’ve ever seen or felt anything like…
