Satan plays a long game. We know from the Gospel of Luke that Satan intended to sift like wheat Peter and the apostles. Writing recently in National Review, Fr. Benedict Kiely has called the Church’s present trial the “summer of shame.” Before our eyes, the successors of the apostles are being sifted as well. Many…
It’s already the middle of August. The full heat of summer has not yet left us, but the nights and mornings have lost their claustrophobic grip, giving way to cooler air and gentle breezes as autumn awaits. In the Vatican, however, things are only getting hotter. One wonders if they can smell fire and brimstone…
Dear Fathers, I want you to know, even though I and many others are very angry right now, I was brought up to trust you. To revere you. To see you as intrinsically worthy of respect and honor. Even of obedience. There is no memory I possess, no matter how far back, in which I…
A long-time observer of the modern ecclesiastical scene wrote to me to share his perspective on the broader significance of the McCarrick scandal. With his permission, I here publish his thoughts, which have been slightly edited for publication. Most commentators do not begin to understand the true nature of the problem. The ring of criminal…
When I woke up on August 2 to a tweet that Pope Francis had made changes to paragraph 2267 of the Catechism, I knew that I was in for an exhausting phase in my post-conversion life. Without even reading the text in full, or examining the letter to the bishops, or comparing the new wording…
“And he shall speak words against the High One, and shall crush the saints of the most High: and he shall think himself able to change times and laws, and they shall be delivered into his hand until a time, and times, and half a time.” –Daniel 7:25 I wrote before, years ago, that I believe…
It has become a truism today that art and artistry constitute some personal experience, individualistic interpretation, or emotional self-expression. And while many pieces of art today are designed to be abstract, the meanings of which are left to the imagination of the viewer, not for one moment should one assume that there is no deeper…
It’s Saturday afternoon, and I’m cleaning out my office. Among the tasks I’ve tackled so far is the stack of paperwork on my desk awaiting my attention. Much of this paperwork consists of letters from supporters of 1P5. I read everything that comes in, but I can’t always respond to everyone individually. I wanted to…
“He’ll be a bishop someday.” That was the prediction in the parish I attended fifteen years ago. Our pastor was a nice man – likable and affable. No one had anything negative to say about him. The best word I can use to describe him is “safe.” He didn’t court controversy and did his job…
In a recent online exchange, someone accused me of not being a “real traditionalist.” I suppose that the jibe was supposed to chafe, but it landed pretty far afield. Not only is this not the first time such an accusation (if one could even call it that) has been leveled against me, but it’s an…
Today, someone sent me the latest column at First Things by American Catholic writer and papal biographer George Weigel, entitled “WYD-1993: The Turning Point.” I am not, in general, a fan of Weigel’s work, which I find by turns dull and frustrating – often both. This column is no exception, and yet it serves as…
