With Rush Limbaugh crowing about the Pope being a Marxist and arch-conservatives having hissy fits about Pope Francis,  John Zmirak voices a strident, but smart critique of Cardinal  Maradiaga’s simplistic socialism. Go here. I like his quote from Leo XIII’s harsh criticism of socialism: they assail the right of property sanctioned by natural law; and by a scheme of horrible wickedness, while they seem desirous of caring for the needs and satisfying the desires of all men, they strive to... Read more

…or at least he would if he could–because its a company that treats people right. With all the comment on Pope Francis’ comments on economics we do well to remember the Catholic principle of subsidiarity–that the solution is at the lowest level–not the highest. Because he is for the poor and condemns the rich, and because he comments harshly on mega economic institutions does not mean that he is in favor of mega institution solutions. The problem is big, and... Read more

Progressive blogger Tony Jones who is also teaches at Protestant Fuller Theological Seminary has a sort of Wittenburg Door moment on his blog about women in ministry. His self righteously angry blog post is full of bold print yelling and petty foot stomping. Part of his manifesto for change goes like this: I don’t take this lightly. I very much take Jesus’ prayer for unity in the Fourth Gospel seriously. Our eschatological hope is that the church will be one, and that we... Read more

My friend William Oddie is moving house. This means he has to shift shelves full of books. They must go. He asks here whether he should toss his Bertrand Russell. Oddie was a young atheist, then an Anglican priest, now a Catholic journalist. Soon after I became a Catholic I met William in England and asked if I ought to apply for the Catholic priesthood. He advised against it saying I could do much good in a different way by... Read more

Rod Dreher has two posts commenting on the extravagant lifestyle of America’s prosperity preachers. This one reports on the death of Paul Crouch–the founder of the Trinity Broadcasting Network. Mr. and Mrs. Crouch have his-and-her mansions one street apart in a gated community here, provided by the network using viewer donations and tax-free earnings. But Mrs. Crouch, 74, rarely sleeps in the $5.6 million house with tennis court and pool. She mostly lives in a large company house near Orlando, Fla.,... Read more

I’m re-reading The Power of Myth–Bill Moyer’s interviews with the mythologist Joseph Campbell. I’m fascinated with Campbell–who was brought up as a Catholic but left the faith. By the way, I met a fellow who gave good anecdotal witness that Campbell was reconciled with the church on his deathbed. I’m intrigued by Campbell for several reasons. First, because of his encyclopedic knowledge of world religions, myth and story. He really did master the subject. I’m also delighted that he went... Read more

Here’s the problem I have as a parish priest.  The Holy Father hints that we need to be more pastoral when dealing with Catholics in illicit marriages. Some Catholic pastors say, “that divorced and re-married Catholic needs the nourishment and strength of the sacrament! They should not be excluded from communion!” Now I want to be a nice guy as much as the next fellow. I like to be liked. More than that, I agree with the Pope. I want... Read more

Following this post yesterday about my dislike of those “resurrection crucifixes” I received this delightful email from a reader: Fr. Longenecker: Like you I am a former Protestant minister who was received into the Church and am now a Catholic Priest. The crucifix was literally the precursor that led me to the faith. I was sitting in the library of my Protestant seminary and preparing to write a paper on the 1st chapter of I Cor. I came upon the... Read more

Fellow bloggers Elizabeth Scalia and Mark Shea believed the recent “no tip racist comment on the receipt” frauds. In case you haven’t picked up the story, unscrupulous waiting staff allegedly mark up one of their receipts with a nasty comment from a customer along with there being no tip. They then publicize the story. The whole thing goes viral and suckers who feel sorry for them start sending them money. One waitress who said she was called a n*****r raked... Read more

Today a mega post on Why Catholics Should Sing Good Hymns: Here once again is a video of my favorite hymn, and here are the words by John Wesley: O Thou who camest from above, the pure celestial fire to impart kindle a flame of sacred love upon the mean altar of my heart. There let it for thy glory burn with inextinguishable blaze, and trembling to its source return, in humble prayer and fervent praise. Jesus, confirm my heart’s... Read more