When Fra’ Matthew Festing abdicated his position as Grand Master of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta — at the pope’s direct request — it left many scratching their heads. How could he allow himself to be pushed out so easily? How was it that his earlier resistance to interference in the sovereign order over which…
I’ve never been to Norcia, but before the seemingly-endless series of earthquakes that ravaged the town and destroyed the Basilica of St. Benedict, I would imagine it as my friend Hilary White described it, or as it was captured so beautifully in the photographs and descriptions (like the one above) offered by Julian Kwasniewski. Just the other…
It’s hard to believe that it’s almost May. 2017 is speeding by, and it seems like it’s all we can do to just keep up. Every day, a little voice in the back of my head reminds me: “Hey! Say thank you to all the people who make this possible!” I even have a reminder email…
Over the past few months, we’ve covered the saga of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta rather extensively. If you’re unfamiliar with the main events surrounding this thousand-year-old chivalric Catholic order toppled by Pope Francis, this summary is probably the best place to start. To recap: since that summary was written, several additional events of…
On March 20, I wrote a post about my growing suspicion that the Anonimi della Croce blog — purportedly run by a pseudonymous Italian priest called “Fra Cristoforo” who claimed sources within the pope’s inner circle — was in fact a form of disinformation, used by those who would seek to discredit any who shared the many…
While the wicked are confounded, Doomed to flames of woe unbounded, Call me, with Thy saints surrounded. – from the Dies Irae, sequence of the Requiem Mass One of the most profound moments of religious experience in my life was the first time I attended a Requiem Mass. For those unfamiliar with the term, the Requiem is the…
Archbishop Georg Gänswein has been seen by many as a gatekeeper of the two popes. As personal secretary to the Pope Emeritus and prefect of the Pontifical Household of Pope Francis, he has unparalleled access to the minds of both. In an interview yesterday, Gänswein puts to rest the suspicions that the former pope is unaware of the…
As a result of H. Reed Armstrong’s recent article on the influence of Hans Urs von Balthasar and Henri de Lubac on the thinking of the contemporary Church, I found myself perusing an analysis of von Balthasar’s “Delirious Hope that All be Saved” by Dr. Christopher Malloy, professor of theology at the University of Dallas. In…
During the 2014 and 2015 synods on marriage and the family, the issue that rose to greatest prominence and concern was the so-called “Kasper Proposal” — a pastoral allowance suggested by Cardinal Walter Kasper of Germany that would create provisions to give the sacraments of Confession and Holy Communion to Catholics who are divorced and living…
I was away from my office for most of the day today, and while I was gone came some sad news: John Vennari — husband, father, Catholic champion, and editor of Catholic Family News — has passed on to his eternal reward after a difficult battle with cancer. I know that his wife, children, and…
Under Pope Francis, Rome has moved with surprising haste to take concrete steps to bring the Society of St. Pius X closer to a regularized canonical situation. While SSPX Masses have always been seen as valid (though of questionable liceity), other sacraments offered by priests of the society which require jurisdiction from the local ordinary —…
