Back in 1998 the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and its prefect at the time Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, released the document “Concerning Some Objections to the Church’s Teaching on the Reception of Holy Communion by Divorced and Remarried Members of the Faithful”. While it was written over sixteen years ago, Cardinal Ratzinger was…
Have you ever wondered how much of Jesus’s public ministry is not reflected in the Gospels? We already know that a good deal of His earthly life was not recorded. But even the sections on his active ministry seem, as far as the narrative is concerned, somewhat truncated. It’s a very short synopsis of three very active…
Damian Thompson has an excellent post over at the online edition of The Spectator regarding the controversy that has preceded the Synod on the Family (“Communion for divorced: Pope Francis has created a crisis”). To his credit, Mr. Thompson goes beyond the internecine warfare which has garnered most of the headlines in the months leading…
It’s officially October, which means a yard full of leaves, pumpkin spice everything, and the Synod on Marriage and Family starts on Sunday in Rome and runs through October 19th. There are already some doctrinal clashes going in, so please add the proceedings to your prayer intentions. In case you’re not subscribed, the latest episode…
The quirky “Bad Catholic” writer Marc Barnes — who has left Patheos Catholic and is once again blogging from his own digs — has a pretty amusing takedown of the weird-looking lions that show up in paintings of St. Jerome. He writes: According to the legend, Jerome was hanging with his religious brothers when a lion limped towards them.…
I have a special affinity for St. Michael the Archangel. As a young man, I found his commission to battle the forces of evil so appealing that I chose him as my confirmation saint. I have always taken recourse to the St. Michael prayer in times of difficulty and spiritual combat, and for those reasons,…
Many Catholics have heard stories about a group called the “SSPX” (The Priestly Society of St. Pius X) without ever really knowing much about their story, the context of their situation, or the complexities and nuances involved. They have become almost a Catholic version of the bogeyman, their name used as a short-hand description of any schismatic…
As the Catholic Church nears the much anticipated Synod on the Family (October 5-19) an increasing number of bishops are playing a dangerous game of expectations setting. In a largely unprecedented manner, prelates are utilizing the media to promote their views, seeking to drive a progressive agenda through interviews and pastoral statements. Those bishops who…
The Friday Podcast is available now. You can catch it here. From the show notes: Today Steve talks Summorum Pontificum’s 7 year anniversary. PLUS, The Roman Rumor mill: Cardinal Burke’s alleged “demotion,”; the pope’s alleged irritation over a new book from Ignatius Press on the traditional Catholic understanding of marriage ad family in advance of the…
Last December, news broke that Cardinal Burke had been removed from the Congregation for Bishops. Before the end of the year, I heard from a reliable source that Burke was also expected to be removed from his position with the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. Though the latter change had not yet…
It’s 3PM on Friday here on the East Coast, which means that if you’re like most of the working world, your brain has already involuntarily checked out. It may already have wandered to a nice glass of whatever you’re having. I won’t bore you with a long post. But I did want to draw your…
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