I’ve already laid out my personal experiences with the death penalty. Then I presented the Church’s long-standing traditional teaching on it. (The comments on that latter piece are almost as informative, in some respects, as my info-dump presentation itself.) But today I caught wind of something that really made me deeply uncomfortable. The Vatican plans…
Several years ago my Pastor, Fr. Dennis Gordon, FSSP, asked me if I would build him a portable altar to house an altar stone from the Cristeros era. He had seen some of my carpentry skills through work I had done at a relative’s house, so he thought I might be up for the challenge. I first…
One of the things I really wanted to avoid when I started OnePeterFive is the tendency certain organizations have of pestering you with requests for financial support. From my own experience, these were the kinds of things that always wound up in my spam folder, because it was just too much. You may have guessed…
For most Americans, it was a brutal winter. We live in a house with drafty old windows, and our heating system — designed for a more temperate climate — was not up to the task of fighting off the incessant cold. The greatest weapon in our arsenal in our war against shivering has been our trusty kerosene heater. Where we…
“[T]he decline of a language must ultimately have political and economic causes: it is not due simply to the bad influence of this or that individual writer. But an effect can become a cause, reinforcing the original cause and producing the same effect in an intensified form…. [Language] becomes ugly and inaccurate because our thoughts…
The ongoing debates about the authentic Catholic position on the death penalty have grown particularly exasperating. Perhaps the worst thing of all is that we’re wasting time arguing over teaching that is incredibly well-established throughout the majority of Church history. The Church’s stance on capital punishment has always been more than merely permissive; the idea that “rendering harmless”…
On today’s episode, Steve talks to Ray McConnell: Catholic husband and father of seven who was recently diagnosed with Stage IV cancer. We talk about his diagnosis, how it impacts his faith, and the lessons we can all learn by facing death and suffering. Links to items mentioned in this episode: The Last Conversations…
Earlier this week, CNA reported that a video called “OwningOurFaith: LGBT Catholics” would be screened by the pope in a private audience yesterday morning. A Vatican official says there will be no papal endorsement for an LGBT activist video whose backers want it to reach Pope Francis. Father Gil Martinez, C.S.P., a member of the development team…
View image | gettyimages.com In the 1800s, holding the episcopal see of New York didn’t have quite the prestige it does today. There was no guaranteed cardinal’s hat. In fact, New York wasn’t even elevated to the status of Archdiocese until 1850. But the man who ruled the New York Catholic Church in New…
Rorate Caeli has the scoop on what is, if you think about it, a not-entirely-surprising story: It was only a matter of time. Ever since Bishop Richard Williamson eventually caused the Society of Saint Pius X (FSSPX / SSPX) to force his own expulsion from that Society in 2012, the watch has been on for him to…
Patheos blogger Pascal-Emmanuel Gobry thinks that the focus on mercy in the pontificate of Pope Francis leads naturally to an incredibly important initiative: A Year of Confession. Gobry writes: The Pope is absolutely right: what Christians need right now is an avalanche of mercy (which, as the Pope is well aware, is not the same thing…
