Supreme Court Punts On Pandemic Religious Restrictions

Last updated on: May 31, 2020 at 12:27 pm By Monsignor Eric Barr, STL

Supremes At Work Although it looks like Chief Justice Roberts muddied the waters as usual in preventing the court from decisively ruling on the constitutionality of religious restrictions in the face of the pandemic, a second look shows a more pragmatic reason. The court’s upholding the right of the state to set some restrictions on religious gatherings seems to rest on two points. First, religious gatherings are not like businesses because gatherings are more socially intensive and lengthy. They... Read more

A Wonderful Dali Ascension

Last updated on: May 31, 2020 at 11:59 am By Monsignor Eric Barr, STL

Hello Dali!!! Hello, Dali!!! On this Feast of the Ascension, it is worth looking at one of the most intriguing and vibrant paintings of the Ascension. But before we see what a masterpiece Dali has created, we ought to look at the Ascension itself. Only in the past several years, have I really understood the Ascension as perhaps the central dogma of our faith. Why do I say this? Well think about it. How do we have any contact... Read more

One Friday In Lent, The Papacy Embraced The World

Last updated on: April 1, 2020 at 10:31 pm By Monsignor Eric Barr, STL

As the Dark was rising, There in the dying of the light, He walked alone, Dressed in white, A candle of hope. The rain fell long, There in the dying of the light, As the Dark was rising. erb A Grand Gesture, An Iconic Moment They speak better with gestures than words–the Popes through the ages. Words can be misunderstood, easily forgotten. Not gestures, not the simple acts of humanity. We saw that last Friday, March 27 in the eerily... Read more

Sabotaging Sheen: Shepherds Suborning Sanctity

Last updated on: December 8, 2019 at 5:25 pm By Monsignor Eric Barr, STL

Lifting the Cloud on the Beatification Scandal Hard to believe that the cloud surrounding the Bishop Sheen beatification fiasco would clear so quickly and become so patently understandable. Thanks has to be given to Msgr. James Kruse, the Vicar General of Peoria and member of the Bishop Sheen Foundation. In a six page memorandum, he clearly sets out the timeline and the facts stipulating that the Diocese of Rochester sabotaged the process and that Bishop Matano enlisted other archbishops to... Read more

Sheen Cause Over?

Last updated on: December 5, 2019 at 11:59 pm By Monsignor Eric Barr, STL

Ominous whisperings from Rome tonight concerning the beatification cause of Bishop Sheen have trickled stateside. Rocco Palma, writer of the Blog Whispers in the Loggia, tweeted earlier today the following, Amid ongoing “surprise & confusion” over sudden Beatification halt, early Thursday, a house op in Rome relayed that “Sheen cause is over” – read: permanently. Given the gravity of the report, Whispers sought a formal comment from the Holy See… …6 hours later, no response. And that tweet was amid the shadowy... Read more

No Taking The Shine Off Sheen

Last updated on: December 6, 2019 at 12:09 am By Monsignor Eric Barr, STL

UPDATE #1 12/4/19: Today it was revealed by CNA that the Bishop of Rochester, NY, where Sheen once served as Bishop, requested the delay in his beatification. Here are the salient facts: Bishop of Rochester requests delay from Vatican Ambassador because of fear that Sheen might be mentioned in a New York Attorney General Report on how dioceses have handled sexual abuse cases in the past. There does not seem to be a relevant case, just a fear of one... Read more

Gay Marriage, Communion, Catholicism: When Mercy and Dogma Meet

Last updated on: December 6, 2019 at 12:05 am By Monsignor Eric Barr, STL

Gay Marriage and Communion A few days ago, Fr. Scott Nolan, pastor of St. Stephen’s Catholic Church, picked up his phone knowing he had to make a difficult phone call. Any priest would recognize the dilemma. Fr. Nolan had to tell a prominent, Mass-going, practicing Catholic Judge, Sara Smolenski, that she could no longer receive Communion at Mass. Why? Because she was “married” to another woman. Apparently, the week before, Judge Smolenski and some of her friends had appeared at... Read more

REJOICE–THE MASTER EVANGELIST BECOMES BLESSED FULTON SHEEN

Last updated on: November 18, 2019 at 8:04 pm By Monsignor Eric Barr, STL

What a great day December 21, 2019 will be! Pope Francis has declared that Bishop Fulton Sheen shall be Blessed Fulton Sheen on that day! He still is an important part in many people’s lives but none can take away the enormous influence he had on America, both with Protestants and Catholics. This great day of rejoicing will take place at the Cathedral in Peoria at 10 am. Details will be forthcoming. All this saint stuff–how will it play in... Read more

Pope Francis–Don’t Be A Litterbug!

Last updated on: November 16, 2019 at 8:58 pm By Monsignor Eric Barr, STL

Pope Francis Wants to Include Ecological Sins in Catechism At an international conference of lawyers last week, the Pope put forth his contention that a new edition of the Catechism would be including a new category of sins, titled “ecological sins”. Already, across the internet, the RadTrad’s hatred of this pope spilled over into invective about another ‘liberal’ outreach by this pontiff. As if that wasn’t enough to get their blood pressure rising, the Pope also, in his address,... Read more

Ham-Handed Bishop McElroy–No Friend Of Pope Francis

Last updated on: November 14, 2019 at 7:50 pm By Monsignor Eric Barr, STL

A Dissonant Melody In The Catholic Pro-Life Symphony At the USCCB meeting of the US bishops this week, San Diego Bishop Robert McElroy injected unnecessary dissension into the conference and confusion into America’s Catholics. A letter from the bishops accompanying a series of videos to help Catholics with the political process stated unequivocally that abortion was the “pre-eminent” social concern. McElroy said this kind of language was “discordant with the pope’s teaching, if not inconsistent…It is not Catholic teaching that... Read more