Editor’s note: The following is the response of Prof. Paolo Pasqualucci to some criticism of his previous article, “‘Points of Rupture’ of the Second Vatican Council,” available here. The critical remarks: “Articles such as this one, written at a time of great confusion, only inflict greater uncertainty and anxiety upon the faithful.” The author so often…
The following guest post was written by Father Eric Andersen, pastor of St. Stephen Catholic Church in Portland, Oregon. St. Stephen’s is a parish which offers both forms of the Roman Rite. Many Catholics do not know their liturgical heritage. Experiencing a Solemn Traditional Latin Mass for the first time can seem so unfamiliar. At first, one…
It has become an inevitability that in our attempts to understand the current crisis in the Church, we must look back upon the events that precipitated it. There is perhaps no more debated topic in this regard than the question of whether the Second Vatican Council was unjustly marred by a poor implementation and interpretation —…
This past Sunday, the Gospel reading was the story of “Doubting Thomas”, taken from John 20:19-31: At that time, when it was late the same day, the first of the week, and the doors were shut, where the disciples were gathered together, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst and…
Today, 7 April, the much-expected conference on “Catholic Church, where are you going?” took place in Rome. The conference was inspired by the late Cardinal Carlo Caffarra – one of the four dubia cardinals – who died last September. At the end of the conference, a Final Declaration was issued in the name of the…
When contemporary clergy preach about our relationship to the Father in Christ, they will refer to Christians, almost without exception, as “God’s sons and daughters.” The new document from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Placuit Deo, falls in line: The Christian faith has illustrated, throughout its centuries-long history, by means of multiple…
Yesterday, I received a text message from a priest friend, stating his intention to observe what some researchers believe is the actual day and time of Our Lord’s death on the cross: Today, at 3pm, is the day and time that Jesus died on the Cross according to all of the best research, though April…
A famous Argentinian nun has said that Pope Francis told her that several forms of contraception could be permissible to stop those women who want to avoid pregnancy from choosing abortion. It wasn’t long ago that the idea of a pope promoting contraceptive use — an intrinsic evil, condemned infallibly by the Church — would have seemed…
This might well have been one of the most poignant Easters in our lifetime. It was overshadowed by Pope Francis’ purported claim — later half-denied — that Hell does not exist, a claim which caused the public indignation of Catholic author and former presidential candidate Patrick Buchanan: Nor is it only in the realm of…
Isaac Withers is a 21-year-old communications intern for the Bishops Conference of England and Wales. He recently graduated from the University of Birmingham with a degree in English and Creative Writing. Withers, who grew up Catholic, spent his teen years participating in youth ministry — an activity he says was rooted in adoration and confession. He…
Yesterday afternoon I read an impressive document. It was the testimony of a Canon who was the friend of Arnaud Beltrame, the Lieutenant-Colonel who died after offering himself in exchange for the hostages in the Islamic terrorist attack in Trèbes, France. From what I have read, I believe that the diocese where this French hero…
