Seeing the rise of persecution against Christians in Iraq, the far East and Africa, Mgr Pope has a great archived article here on the five stages that precede outright persecution. Can it happen in the USA – land of religious freedom? Mgr Pope observes the five stages. I. Stereotyping the targeted group – To stereotype means to repeat without variation, to take a quality or observation of a limited number, and generalize it of the whole group. It involves a simplified... Read more
You know the old playground rebuke, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names can never hurt me.” Well, that’s a lie. Names do hurt you. Calling other people names is the first symptom of genuine hatred and the first step toward violence against that person. When I disagree with a person the worst thing I can do is to put him into a group and give the group a name. Once he is in that group that I’ve... Read more
Pope Francis has been criticized in some quarters because he has said, “Proselytism is solemn nonsense.” He has also told Evangelical Christians and an atheist interviewer that he “doesn’t want to convert them.” In a meeting last week in Caserto he explained to his priests that their job was not “proselytizing” and he quoted Pope Benedict XVI who, in an address about evangelization said it was about “Attracting not proselytizing.” Does this mean Pope Francis and Pope Benedict don’t really... Read more
When I was training to be an Anglican minister I remember going to my first “Ecumenical Evensong”. It was in a village church in England in February. The weather wasn’t the only thing damp and cold. The Methodists sat on one side of the church and the Anglicans on the other. For the most part the Baptists and Catholics didn’t show up. The Methodists and the Anglicans looked at one another suspiciously and the whole thing only warmed up a... Read more
Pope Francis has waved a welcome to Anglicans who are still shivering on the banks of the Tiber . They don’t even have to swim the Tiber anymore. They can walk across the bridge called “Ordinariate” In the wake of the Church of England’s decision to ordain women bishops the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham is hosting an open day. Pope Francis has written especially to welcome all who wish to come home to Rome. The nuncio to Great... Read more
This report says that while the Vatican has yet to confirm the date, Archbishop Chaput of Philadelphia has indicated that Pope Francis will visit the city for next September’s World Meeting of Families. If the pope is planning to visit the City of Brotherly Love next fall what’s the big deal? Kathy Schiffer reports here that the pope has had invitations to visit other cities during his visit. Maybe New York to address the United Nations and Washington DC, where speaker John... Read more
Is there a demonic element to seemingly ordinary human problems? Sometimes. While full blown demonic possession is rare, it is much more common for souls to be troubled by what might be called “demonic infection”. In counseling people spiritually I have come to believe that there is a state of demonic influence in our lives which is greater than temptation and less than obsession. “Demonic infection” is when a person has opened themselves up to the influence of Satan in one... Read more
Here is my latest article for Catholic Exchange. It’s unlocks an interesting detail about St James and the dating of the New Testament. Bible scholars piece together details of evidence to build up a full picture of the New Testament authorship and dates. Their work is like that of a detective—picking up a hint here and a scrap of evidence there. There is an interesting detail about St James which helps date the New Testament accurately. It appears in the work... Read more
Pope Francis has appointed Enzo Bianchi the prior of the new ecumenical monastic community of Bose in Italy to join the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity. For those who are unfamiliar, the community of Bose is one of the new ecclesial movements in the church. Like the community at Taize, it is composed of both Catholic and non-Catholic Christians. Some members are Protestant and Eastern Orthodox. This article reports on Enzo Bianhi’s appointment. He believes Pope Francis will bring a... Read more
A detail from tomorrow’s reading at Mass will be missed by many people because of the translation of “tares” as “weeds”. Most people don’t know that this particular kind of weed called “tares” actually looks just like wheat. When they are first growing together they are both green and they are very hard to tell apart. However, when the wheat ripens it turns golden and the tares remain green. The head of the wheat burgeons and becomes ripe. The head... Read more
Fr. Dwight Longenecker
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