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 …
Category: 1P5 Blog

The Bad Catholic Guide to Derpy Lions
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 …

Michaelmas – The Feast of St. Michael the Archangel
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 SSPX Held a Mass of Reparation in Oklahoma City. This is What That Looks Like
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 …

Belgium Takes Aim at the Family
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 …

1P5 Podcast Episode 5 – Now Available
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 …

Quo Vadis, Cardinal Burke?
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 …

1P5 Digest and New Podcast – Available Now!
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. …

9/11 and Saint John Paul II
It was 4:30AM in New York City and in Washington DC on the morning of September 12, 2001. More than just a new day was dawning, however. It was also the dawning of a new era. Just the day before, …

The Science of Evil Just Caught up to Thomas Aquinas
In the Summa Theologica, St. Thomas Aquinas argues with specificity the maxim that many Catholics have often repeated in the contemplation of evil as a choice: even in committing evil, man always seeks a perceived good. From the Summa: Now a certain …