I don’t want to spend a great deal of time on the text of the speech. You can read it for yourself. But there are a few of points I want to highlight and ask questions about. First, I said in my post yesterday morning that the White House address was a missed opportunity to talk…
Did you see Pope Francis’s remarks about the protection of the unborn at the White House this morning? Mr. President, I want to take this opportunity to encourage you to foster a culture of life in this great nation. Accepting the urgency, it seems clear to me also that this unconscionable taking of innocent human life is…
As the Holy Father’s plane touched down upon American soil today, I was reminded once again of the power of the papacy. It is the Successor to Peter, the Vicar of Christ himself, who has come to our country. What an incredible moment this is for our country, and an incredible opportunity for the Catholic…
There’s a LOT going on in the Church right now as we ramp up towards the Synod next month. I’m sorting through news and submissions looking for the stories we should be covering, and discarding those that are a distraction. It is, to borrow a cliche, like drinking from a fire hose. But life,…
Mark Silk is a guy who evidently fancies himself as knowing something about Catholicism. And journalism. But neither of these things is in particular evidence in his most recent piece for Religion News Service. On Tuesday evening, a few hours after the Vatican announced Pope Francis’ streamlining of the Catholic marriage annulment procedure, Cardinal Raymond Burke,…
Last night I finally had a chance to get back to Ed Pentin’s fantastic book, The Rigging of a Vatican Synod. There was a particular section that, once I read it, led to an almost audible “click” as pieces fell into place in my mind. Allow me to explain. On Monday, as I was preparing for my…
Over at Creative Minority Report, Pat Archbold has posted a lengthy excerpt from the prophecies of Ven. Bartholomew Holzhauzer, who seems to have used his God-given gift to predict our present moment in history: “The fifth period is one of affliction, desolation, humiliation, and poverty for the Church. Jesus Christ will purify His people through cruel wars,…
It has been announced that two letter Motu Proprio are expected from Pope Francis tomorrow, each on the intended reformation of the annulment process. From Rorate Caeli: The Vatican today announced that a press conference will be held at noon tomorrow for the presentation of two Apostolic Letters of Pope Francis, given motu proprio: Mitis iudex…
Benedict Nguyen is a civil and canon lawyer who writes for the National Catholic Register. In a piece published yesterday, he tries to piece together what legal implications Pope Francis’s odd letter to Archbishop Rino Fisichella on the Jubilee year for Mercy really has. First, on the issue of abortion: Because of the importance of the Holy Father’s desire…
On Monday, news spread quickly that Pope Francis is granting priests of the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) faculties to hear confessions during the upcoming Year of Mercy. Unfortunately, some misinformation about the SSPX was distributed along with the good news. Although I am in no way affiliated with the society, I have studied their…
In a papal letter released today to the President of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization — the topic being the start of the Jubilee Year of Mercy — Pope Francis included a paragraph that reads as follows: A final consideration concerns those faithful who for various reasons choose to attend…
