And seeing the multitudes, he had compassion on them: because they were distressed, and lying like sheep that have no shepherd. – Mt 9:36 In an interview last month with Asia Times, Pope Francis opined at length about China. China, where Communist policies have ended the lives of roughly 100 million men, women, and children, and where a…
It’s election season in America again. And since January 22nd, 1973, U.S. conservative voters have had their political autonomy held hostage by a single court decision. Roe v. Wade, by the very gravity of the issue it decided, forever changed the American political landscape, forcing conscientious pro-life voters to focus on this issue to the virtual exclusion…
Today, Rorate Caeli published an absolutely essential interview with His Excellency, Bishop Athanasius Schneider of Astana, Kazakhstan. They have graciously given permission to other Catholic outlets to re-publish it in full, which we are doing here today. In this interview, Bishop Schneider answers questions about the crisis in the Church, the potential for schism and the quasi-heretical nature…
Last month I wrote an article imagining what would happen if Catholic Church leaders were in charge of Coca-Cola when the company introduced New Coke. I was being tongue-in-cheek, of course, but my goal was to show that failed ideas in the Church are sometimes harder to kill than a horde of zombies. A friend…
“But let your speech be yea, yea: no, no: and that which is over and above these, is of evil.” – Mt. 5:37 Every parent knows the truth about setting an example. Children are perceptive. They’re wired for subtext. They don’t care about what you say nearly as much as what you do. If you…
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 How Does the Complete Mass Build Motivated Focus? How Does the Minimal Mass Induce Blur? Motivated vs. Coerced Focus In order to clarify the reasons why the “complete Mass”[1] is highly beneficial to the people, but the “minimal Mass”[2] is much less so, it will be helpful…
A few days ago, when speaking with a close friend, I said, “Pope Francis has been quiet for a while now, but I can feel it coming. A whole new barrage is just around the corner.” Somewhere, deep in my soul, I heard the distant whistle of incoming ecclesiastical artillery. The Vatican war machine appears to be…
While the Synod of Bishops on the Family was being conducted in Rome last October, the revelation of a letter expressing the concerns of 13 cardinals over the proceedings marked a turning point in the event. As I reported at the time, it was on 8 October, 2015, that a close friend of the pope himself –…
The East Coast of the United States is bracing for a possibly “historic snowstorm.” Earlier this month, we observed the 20th anniversary of another historic snowfall — the Blizzard of 1996. The fact that two decades has passed since that unique and memorable event makes me feel incredibly old, but it also brings me back. I remember distinctly…
Many are familiar with the various statistics that suggest we are exposed to more information in a week, month, and year than our ancestors encountered in a lifetime. Whatever the exact amount is doesn’t matter—we are utterly swamped with data. Even those of us who guard our eyes from the sordidness of the secular media fight an…
Reflections on a Recent Essay by Msgr. Charles Pope on the Future of the Traditional Latin Mass The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it. Matthew 13:45-46 The Parable of the Pearl…
