Over at Aleteia there is an interesting post about last week’s International Conference of family and life movements held in Rome (January 22-24). With the theme, “The Vocation and the Mission of the Family in the Church and in the …
Liturgy, Adaptation, and the Need for Context
Historically authentic productions of Shakespearean plays are occasionally in and out of fashion. Recently a movement championing “original pronunciation” purports to let us hear Shakespeare’s words precisely as they would have been spoken when the plays were originally written …
What’s Going on at the USCCB? More trouble at CCHD and CRS
As a publisher of a Catholic website, I receive lots of information that may be of interest to readers. Lately, that has included press releases about the activities of USCCB-related organizations like the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD). The …
Motherhood’s Trials: a Means of Redemption
There are worse things in life than losing a child before birth, but I have experienced very few of them. The truth is, it wasn’t the first second-trimester loss that nearly did me in, it was the second. It was after that miscarriage …
Contraception, Marriage and the Culture of Death
While Humanae Vitae is viewed today as the Catholic Church’s official response to the increasing acceptance of birth control within marriage, the actual teaching contained within Pope Paul VI’s landmark 1968 encyclical is much more profound and prophetic than many …
How Old Do You Have to be to Rationalize Abortion?
Tonight, I was looking at photos of the March for Life. As I was scrolling through them, Ivan, my six-year-old, came into the room. “What’s that, Daddy?” He asked, as he looked over my shoulder. I found myself wondering if I …
Down the Rabbit Hole: On the Virtue of Prudent Speech
Poland, 1982: A young woman early into her fifth pregnancy sits in a doctor’s office at the end of an examination. “You know, ma’am, you really need to be more responsible about your fertility. You don’t have to breed like …
Blessed Sacrament Profaned in Manila: Archbishop Villegas Responds
“When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” (Mt. 9:36) Last Sunday, there was a Mass in Luneta, the large urban park in Manila where a reported 6 million …
Pope Pius XII on Large Catholic Families
Below is an excerpt from an address given by Pope Pius XII to the Directors of the Associations for Large Families of Rome and Italy in January 20, 1958, the nineteenth (and final) year of his papacy. Throughout the address …
Was the Eucharist “Desecrated” At a Papal Mass in the Philippines?
There’s a video making the rounds on Facebook depicting distribution of Communion during Sunday’s papal Mass in Manila. In it, we see various individuals — not a few of whom appear to be laity — placing the Eucharist in the hands …