To Give a Defense
Nitpicking and fisking the Nashville Statement, a document that (based on numerous problems) I don’t think Catholics ought to sign. Read more
Nitpicking and fisking the Nashville Statement, a document that (based on numerous problems) I don’t think Catholics ought to sign. Read more
It was I, dear reader, who said, on this very blog—here—that if Mr. Trump wanted to, he could save the Little Sisters of the Poor from the Obamacare mandate by signing an executive order. Even LSD News, of all places, noted that the president was keeping the Obamacare requirement. Oh, I was contradicted for that one: It’s a bit more complicated than just an executive order. And lest you say, oh, please, you think Mr. Trump reads your blog? …... Read more
Let me tell you—people say I don’t read, that’s fake news—I read a book about Adam. Slowly. Cause this is a big job, people say you did a lot in business, but this is a big job—bigger than I thought it would be. So I don’t have as much time to read, but I read it. It took 100 days. But Adam—people don’t know this—Adam, he was a tough guy, had to be, the first man, but he had a... Read more
In his first letter to the Corinthians, chapter 11, St. Paul tells us why it is so important to have a proper disposition before we receive the Eucharist. In verse 18, he begins by rebuking the Corinthians for their “divisions” and “factions.” (The more things change.) He also condemns some abuses that crept into the common meal prior to the Eucharist. The rich, who could bring a large share of food and drink, ended up gorging themselves to the disadvantage... Read more
If Trump wanted, he could exempt the Little Sisters of the Poor from the contraception mandate with an executive order. Why hasn't he? Read more
The hypocrisy of Sen. Dick Durbin knows no bounds. He is a Catholic who publicly dissents from his Church on abortion. And yet he has no difficulty in telling fellow Democrats that if they are pro-life, they have no place in the party. So as Durbin sees it, you have a higher obligation to your political party than you do to your Church. You should obey men rather than God. Fortunately, according to Deacon Greg Kandra, Sen. Durbin’s bishop has... Read more
True it is that I have said myself: Pope Francis should answer the dubia on Amoris Laetitia. I have also said, consistently, time and again, on this wery blog, that AL is orthodox, is entirely consistent with Familiaris Consortio, and that anyone who reads it otherwise is in error. I just wish the pope would say that himself, rather than leave it to Schonborn and Müller. That said, I find most of those who rally, circulate petitions, ventilate in the... Read more
Eleven years ago today, my daughter was stillborn. That day, in the hospital, a nurse who provided grief support to parents who’d experienced perinatal loss visited with me. (Kim, who had eclampsia and had had a seizure the prior morning, was still spending a large part of the day asleep and half-aware of what was going on.) During the conversation, the nurse suggested to me that I write something for my daughter and have it buried with her, in order... Read more
Sean Spicer, spokesman for the Reich, stupefied the masses when he said: “I think when you come to sarin gas, [Hitler] was not using the gas on his own people the same way that Assad is doing.” Hitler was much better than Assad! But this claim that Hitler never gassed his own people? Think Progress says it is “false.” NBC News says it is false. Everwhere, people are saying it is false. Actually, Mr. Spicer is right: German Jews were... Read more
A reader points to Canon 194 as a possible opening for deposing a heretical pope. The canon lists certain conditions under which a person is “removed from an ecclesiastical office by the law itself.” These are: A person who has lost the clerical state; [i.e., the priesthood] A person who has publicly defected from the Catholic faith or from the communion of the Church A cleric who has attempted marriage even if only civilly The canon adds an important qualification:... Read more
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