Owing to its density and complexity, the traditional Roman liturgy—and the same, of course, would be true of any traditional liturgy—gives rise to multiple “hierarchies” of participation, which I will call here “ecclesiastical, sanctuarial, and congregational.” What I have noticed is that a complex and subtle gradation is of the essence of the rite, although…
Editor’s Note: In light of the news that Pope Francis has changed canon law to accommodate official women “lectors” and “acolytes,” we are re-publishing this article, which originally appeared here on July 17, 2015. In many contemporary debates concerning the priesthood, one rarely hears a genuinely theological account of what makes a priest a priest.…
Sixteen years ago this summer, when the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter was just making inroads here in the Archdiocese of Phoenix, the first priest they sent was a newly ordained young man from France named Fr. Stéphane Dupré. My little (at the time) family got to know him quite well during his time here,…
Our Lady spoke to St. Bridget a divine warning that seems to be a message directly from Heaven to His Holiness Pope Francis: Know this too: that if some Pope concedes to priests a license to contract carnal marriage, God will condemn him to a sentence as great, in a spiritual way, as that which…
In the past, Western Catholics have at times tried to force their own discipline on Eastern Catholics (the name of Bishop John Ireland still haunts the conversation). We now recognize that this was a mistake, and one that is not likely to be repeated, given the correct insistence that Catholicism thrives within a diversity of…
By Giuseppe Pellegrino Amidst all the controversy surrounding the book, has anyone stopped to actually read and reflect on the majestic words and profound theological reflection offered to the Church in the excerpts published Sunday in Le Figaro of the new book From the Depths of Our Hearts? Underneath the din and darkness of the…
By Giuseppe Pellegrino & Steve Skojec Le Figaro has published a preview today (French language; paywall) of a forthcoming book co-authored by Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI and Cardinal Robert Sarah in support of priestly celibacy, entitled “Des profondeurs de nos cœurs” – “From the Depths of our Hearts,” scheduled to be released on January 15. The…
For years, a friend of mine wrestled with his vocation. Should I be a priest? Should I get married? Which one, Lord, are you calling me to? One roadblock stood in his way. Surprisingly, celibacy was not holding him back; rather, it was the Church’s teaching on the superiority of celibacy over marriage. Like my…
One day, following Mass, a Polish man, in his fifties, shared a childhood story with me. It seems that he and his brother were serving Mass with another boy who, to their frustration, was being deliberately unruly and obstinate. The two brothers, no doubt higher in the pecking order of altar boys, made threatening gestures…
The Amazon Synod is finally over. Three weeks of nonsense, tree-hugging, and pagan idolatry was mixed in with the important issue of the supposed female diaconate. The issue of the female diaconate was studied in 2002. Pope Francis later convened a commission in 2016 to study the issue again, and earlier this year, it revealed…
In what seems to be growing concern about the true mission, vision, and motivation of the upcoming Pan-Amazon Synod, two Catholic bishops from the missions in the Amazon have made public statements questioning a foundation of the Vatican’s October event: the synod’s working document. How can, as one bishop put it, a synod “of this…
