I’m heartbroken. I’m demoralized. I don’t know how else to describe it. Allegations of misconduct have been made against the inimitable American Catholic priest, author, and speaker, Fr. George Rutler. He has denied the accusations. An investigation is ongoing. But no matter what, this feels like a kick in the teeth. I’ll return to his…
“He that walketh with the wise, shall be wise: a friend of fools shall become like to them” (Proverbs 13:20 DRB). There are, I know, exceptions to this “rule,” but let’s stipulate that men who enter the priesthood are good guys: They like people, generally interact well with people, expect good things from other people,…
On November 28, 1680, 340 years ago, under the reign of Pope Innocent XI, the eleventh pope he served, the genius symbol of Roman Baroque art died in Rome at the age of 81: the architect, sculptor, painter, and set designer, Gian Lorenzo Bernini (Naples 1598 – Rome 1680). Pope Urban VIII (1568-1644), with whom…
Holy relics are a distinctive feature of Catholicism. Would you expect to see the bones of some ancient martyr on display at your local Evangelical church? To most non-Catholics, holy relics are just plain weird. Sadly, veneration of holy relics even among Catholics has also been a practice often relegated to “old-fashioned” Catholics—a quasi-superstitious holdover…
Every best gift, and every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no change, nor shadow of alteration. – James 1:17 What a year. What a bizarre, impossible, difficult, amazing, crazy year. But there is so much to be thankful for, even in the midst of all…
A reader sent me the following question: Dear Dr. Kwasniewski, The question that all of Viganò’s essays and your own raises is: Why at this point should we remain in communion with the Catholic Church—you know, the one that most people (reasonably?) think is headed by Pope Francis and the bishops in communion with him?…
The Holy Bread of Eternal Life: Restoring Eucharistic Reverence in an Age of Impiety Peter Kwasniewski Sophia Institute Press 336 pages $17.95 Paperback; $9.99 eBook I feel compelled to provide some context before beginning. Last week my family and I attended an evening daily Mass at our local parish. We live in a small town,…
BETWEEN THE LINES of the report of the secretariat of state on Theodore McCarrick The McCarrick Report published by the Secretariat of State on November 10, 2020, has been the object of numerous comments. Some point out its shortcomings, while others praise it as a proof of Bergoglio’s transparency and the groundlessness of my…
The other night, I had a weird dream. Now, I don’t put a lot of stock in dreams, because in general, I think that’s a bad idea. But I think this one was probably my brain trying to figure out how to process some things. My wife Jamie and I have hoped, for quite some…
In a recent letter, a reader writes in reference to our feature, No More Platitudes: It’s Time to Take a Hard Look at the Crisis of Catholicism — “You actually talk about the issues with honesty and candor.” Another says, “Right on … No more platitudes. Time to call a spade a spade.” A third writes…
A good Orthodox Presbyterian friend of mine and I like to spar back and forth about the faith, to talk about raising our kids rightly in the eyes of God (even in Comrade Northam’s Virginia), and, more recently, to discuss the philosophy and writings of Nassim Nicholas Taleb. His four book “incerto” has been massively…
