On Friday, January 3, leaders of the second largest Protestant affiliation in the United States, the United Methodist Church, announced that, due to irreconcilable differences in moral theology, the competing orthodox and progressive camps within the group were going to …
Category: Moral Teaching
Responding to the Call for the Church to Bless Same-Sex Relationships
This is a question many Catholics (including clergy) are asking, and this topic has contributed to the revealing of an obvious divide among the people of the Church (which is different from the Church as the Spotless Bride of Christ …
This, Too, Reveals God: Sex and the Body in Catholic Theology
The Church on January 6 celebrates the great feast of the Epiphany of the Lord (or Theophany, as our Byzantine brethren call it [i]): the revelation of God to the nations and peoples of the world, represented by the three …
Same-Sex Attraction and a Different Kind of Bridge
Editor’s note: This article comes to 1P5 via an anonymous Catholic, whose identity we are protecting at the author’s request. In these confusing times, when so many voices are vying for attention and claiming to give answers to important questions, …
Rocketman and Vatican Financial Scandal
I really like some of Elton John’s music. I remember listening to his album Goodbye Yellow Brick Road when I was about eight years old. I remember being amazed at the fact that it was almost as good as the …
Why John Henry Newman Is No ‘Gay’ Saint
Fr. James Martin, S.J. believes that John Henry Newman may constitute a model of holiness for those with homosexual inclinations. While he draws back from concluding that Newman was certainly “gay,” he wants to proclaim the message that “a gay …
Dear Father: Less Social Justice, Please, and More Real-World Preaching
Dear Father N., Thank you for coming across town from your parish to ours to celebrate Mass for us as often as you do. As one of the few parish members (if not the only one) who doesn’t speak Japanese …
What Keeps Some Catholics from Facing the Modern Church’s Ugliness?
“The mind will protect itself from having to face something intolerable.” As I read a recent article by Rod Dreher, this line in it resonated with me. Perhaps it accessed that part of the attic where my brain stores my …
The Death of the Lebanon Cedar
The prophet Ezekiel gives us the “allegory of the cedar,” which teaches us personal and political lessons. In that prophecy, Egypt is compared to a cedar tree grown tall and beautiful. As it grew, however, it became arrogant — “its …
The LGBT Conspiracy and Eros, the Demon of Love
It’s become impossible to keep up with the activities of the relentless juggernaut known as the “LGBT community.” Seemingly every day, we see a new story more outrageous and shocking than the last. University professors and children’s book publishers are …