London, UK: The well-known and much respected auxiliary bishop of Astana, Kazakhstan, Athanasius Schneider, has given a wide-ranging and hard-hitting interview during his week-long tour of England this past week. Bishop Schneider spoke exclusively to me, taking on a number of controversial issues, including evangelization in relation to Jews and Muslims, the Pope’s recent comment…
The fallout from Pope Francis’ comments on Zika and contraception continue. I’ve already shared my thoughts on the need for public correction by our bishops of the error (that contraception is justified to prevent birth defects caused by viral transmission) propagated by Francis. Privately, I’ve begun to hear from moral theologians and Catholic medical professionals who…
But when Cephas was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed. – Galatians 2:11 It’s been almost a week since the Holy Father’s now-infamous comments about how contraception might be permissible for eugenic purposes (ie., to prevent pregnancies at risk of birth defects due to the alleged…
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…
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…
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 –…
One hallmark of a well-written book is its timelessness. Certainly over time, the jargon and anecdotes of the text will appear antiquated, but its argument will still resonate long after its publication. I picked up Dean Kelley’s 1972 book, Why Conservative Churches are Growing, to help me understand a paradox facing the Episcopal Church. Their…
“You Are Distancing Yourself From Wisdom” On November 27, 2015, the German-language magazine, FOCUS, published an open letter [Issue 49/2015; pp. 46-48] to Pope Francis from a former high-ranking member of the Roman Curia. The author claims to have drawn his inspiration to “omit to speak about all the good that you are doing and are…
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