Do You Know Why You Can Blame Catholics for Gay Marriage?

Last updated on: April 29, 2015 at 2:51 pm By Artur Rosman

Today I would like to continue in the vein started by my discussion of the profoundly heteronormative orientation of Catholic monasticism. Now, American anti-Catholicism is a reality. Catholics are blamed for some of the following: being illiberal, the “barbaric” crimes of the Inquisition (therefore totalitarianism), stifling science, being bad American patriots, and generally, for not being Protestant. I could continue this litany indefinitely. The one thing Catholics haven’t been blamed for is gay marriage. Yet. That will require a lesson in historical memory. The... Read more

Does Catholic Monasticism Have a Sexual Orientation?

Last updated on: April 14, 2015 at 1:29 pm By Artur Rosman

The answer to the the title question is, surprisingly, “yes.” But the reasons for it are even more surprising. You might remember Fabrice Hadjadj from my post on converting the world not being an end in itself, or the post about St. Augustine praying over a man’s hemorrhoids (and the problem of radical evil). Here he is giving you the lowdown on the sexual orientation of Catholic monastics in an interview I recently translated: Monika Holvoote: The second important... Read more

Scientifically Examining the Turin Shroud: Resurrection Sunday Deux

Last updated on: March 29, 2016 at 6:18 pm By Artur Rosman

There are those who automatically shrilly say their faith doesn’t hang upon The Shroud of Turin whenever the object is mentioned. My faith doesn’t hang upon it either, but that’s beside the point. The scientific wars surrounding this potential relic are really, really fun to follow. However, Larry Chapp says that Catholicism is the most worldly of all religions and so this artefact has a bearing on that. In connection with today being Resurrection Sunday in Orthodox Christendom, I’d like... Read more

Mein Kampf Against Hitler: Comparing von Hildebrand to Bonhoeffer

Last updated on: April 10, 2015 at 12:41 pm By Artur Rosman

Dietrich Bonhoeffer was recognized as a hero of World War II Nazi-resistance with the posthumous publishing of his letter exchange with Eberhard Bethge entitled Letters and Papers From Prison. It is a little strange to see a saint-cult built around somebody who vaguely argued for a “religionless Christianity.” Granted, this concept was much more descriptive rather than proscriptive (as Altizer’s “Death of God” theology and later Mark C. Taylor’s a/theology erroneously took it to be). Bonhoeffer’s Christian heroism has become... Read more

So You Think Moses Can’t Liturgical Dance? Forget #SalonChristianitySecrets!

Last updated on: April 9, 2015 at 12:35 pm By Artur Rosman

Twitter might be abuzz with #SalonChristianitySecrets inspired by a Religion Dispatches piece on Holy Saturday republished on Salon about Jesus going to hell (GASP!). I’ve made a couple of contributions myself. The Washington Post might be busy demythologizing Dietrich Bonhoeffer. But that’s not the real news. The real news is that a Seattle has proven that Moses can dance. And how! After that you might want to walk with Moses. And if you want to read more theologically sound reflections on... Read more

Worstward Ho(pe): Christ and Apollo and Moving!

Last updated on: April 8, 2015 at 9:53 pm By Artur Rosman

I firmly believe that moving is the process of rearranging old constellations of junk into new constellations of junk. We recently moved into a new apartment, again. The euphoria of packing everything up was followed by the letdown of having to unpack it and is now limping into the valley of the shadow of death (or debt, if you want to pry into my finances). I’ve found the noonday demon whispering to me, saying, “How will you ever get all... Read more

Religion is at Once Theoretical and Practical

Last updated on: April 7, 2015 at 12:43 pm By Artur Rosman

The difference between theory and practice is fairly clear. It is like the difference between playing baseball and playing fantasy baseball. The fantasy baseball might approach levels of virtuosity in their ability to judge the potential performance of a player on any given day, but nobody expects them to hit a 95MPH fastball. On the other hand, the baseball player is not only (usually) able to hit that fastball, but also has a theoretical knowledge of the game. For example,... Read more

Death as an Object of Faith II: To Live Facing Holy Saturday

Last updated on: December 27, 2016 at 12:03 pm By Artur Rosman

What follows is a longread essay by Dariusz Karlowicz that appeared in his award-winning Polish-language collection entitled The End of Constantine’s Dream. This is the second and last part of that essay, “Death as an Object of Faith: Meditations for Holy Saturday.” You can read the first part here. You can also now purchase my translations of Karlowicz’s The Archparadox of Death and Socrates and Other Saints. The following translation is my own published with the author’s permission. To Live Facing Death... Read more

Holy Saturday: Death as an Object of Faith

Last updated on: December 27, 2016 at 11:46 am By Artur Rosman

What follows is a longread essay by Dariusz Karlowicz that appeared in his award-winning Polish-language collection entitled The End of Constantine’s Dream. The following translation is my own published with the author’s permission. Part II is now up right here. Death as an Object of Faith: Meditation for Holy Saturday Holy Saturday: The drama of Holy Week dies down for a moment. But our thoughts race ahead, because they are hesitant about stopping near scenes of mourning, at physically repelling pietas,... Read more

Pope Francis and Kristeva Celebrate JP2’s Suffering With Joy

Last updated on: April 2, 2015 at 10:30 am By Artur Rosman

Today Pope Francis celebrated the 10th anniversary of John Paul II’s passing with the following words: Pope Francis said St. John Paul II showed sick people how to “carry the cross of suffering with joy” on the eve of the 10th anniversary of the Polish-born pope’s death. He made a connection with the events we commemorate during Holy Week: “We remember him as a great Witness of the suffering Christ, dead and risen,” Francis said. Now, the only thing better... Read more