“The apostolic exhortation Amoris laetitia, issued by Pope Francis on March 19th 2016 and addressed to bishops, priests, deacons, consecrated persons, Christian married couples, and all the lay faithful, has caused grief and confusion to many Catholics on account of its apparent disagreement with a number of teachings of the Catholic Church on faith and…
The news coming in from around the world is grim. Photos and videos of beheadings, in all their grisly detail, flood our inboxes and social media feeds. Media personalities, celebrities, and world leaders have all denounced this barbaric behavior by saying that it does not represent true Islam. But are such assertions true, or simply…
Please excuse me if this veers too far into stream-of-consciousness. I’m very, very tired. I left home on July 5th to see to some personal business on the other side of the country, and I just got back last night. My wife and I spent 19 days away from home, drove over 5,000 miles, all with…
Every day people are faced with making many decisions. Big or small, important or unimportant, this is part of life. And in life, we have to choose some things in preference to others. But choosing doesn’t always involve just “things”. Choosing also involves philosophies. Ways of living. Ways of being. Ways of believing. And often…
Have you ever sat in Mass and felt like this?! I know I have. There have been many times where I have just zoned out. I realise the priest has got to the end of his sermon and I haven’t really heard a word because I was daydreaming. I suppose it doesn’t help when most…
Despite attempts by its authors to maintain confidentiality, the appeal to Rome made by 45 theologians and Catholic scholars in the hopes of creating curial pressure for the pope to correct the errors of Amoris Laetitia has been leaked to at least one media outlet. The UK’s Catholic Herald published a piece yesterday with some additional details of…
It is integral to human nature: our focus is principally determined by what we are looking at. When we speak to others, we make eye contact. When we move from place to place, we point ourselves in that direction. Pilots face forward. Drivers too. Surgeons don’t stare at the back wall of an operating theater. I’ve yet to…
Last week saw the release of an important interview (PDF link) given by Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, Archbishop of Vienna and one of Pope Francis’ most trusted theological advisers and spokesmen, to the Roman Jesuit journal La Civiltà Cattolica. The topic was the Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia (AL): This interview has already made waves round the world,…
I just returned from a vacation spent in the company of an old friend. Because it rained during much of our trip, we ended up talking quite a bit over the course of a week. We talked about our lives. Our families. And our love for God. Turns out, we have a lot in common. One…
At Crisis Magazine, Austin Ruse has a piece that is, I think it’s fair to say, unfortunately necessary. First, he lays out the facts of the martyrdom of St. Maria Goretti, her canonization, and the way she has been characterized by two popes. Quoting Pope John Paul II on the centennary of Maria Goretti’s death,…
One of the rules of effective communication is not to say things when you’re angry. But I can’t stop being angry. Every day there is an endless parade of stupidity, malice, debauchery, and violence that assaults our senses and steals our peace. This week, I’ve been helping an elderly family member with a move, and…
