If you ever want to see how bad things have become find an article in the mainstream media about the Pope or the Catholic Church, then jump down to the comments page. You’ll probably find the most sweaty, irrational, blasphemous, ignorant and rage-filled rants imaginable. I saw one this morning which called for the Pope to be killed. I realize that one should not generalize from the rage of a few internet crazies, however, if you spend any time at... Read more

Guest blogger Todd Unctuous is top commentator for MSM. With a degree in Media Studies from Scranton Community College, Todd writes for many papers and websites, and is known for his incisive writing, objective reporting and razor sharp comment. A dear friend of mine who is a devout Catholic has written a fine piece for USA Today on the daunting task the new Pope of Rome will be facing when he is elected next month. He notices that the Renaissance... Read more

I’d rather be a hypocrite than a heretic. A hypocrite is a person who knows the truth and believes the truth, but doesn’t live by it. People and complained about bad popes, and some of them were real stinkers, but they were hypocrites not heretics. A hypocrite knows the truth but fails to live by it. A heretic changes the truth according to how he lives. Bad popes were hypocrites not heretics because the may have fornicated and murdered and... Read more

With the resignation of Pope Benedict and a front runner named Peter, the world is buzzing with the latest end-time prophecy. This one is based on the alleged prophecies to St Malachy indicating that the next pope will be the last pope before the second coming. I’ve written about it already this week here. What are we to make of such prophecies? Apart from this particular prophecy with its dubious origins, there is something larger going on within our culture... Read more

Jump over here for my latest column at Patheos. It analyzes the changing face of the papacy and how Benedict’s resignation will affect the future. Read more

The significance of ashes on the head as a sign of repentance is rooted in the Old Testament, but there are interesting observations to be drawn from the New Testament on ashes. To see the significance we have to ask what ashes are. Ashes are the residue from fire burning fuel. The fire of the Holy Spirit is a purifying fire, and the fuel the fire of the Holy Spirit consumes is every waste and useless aspect of our lives.... Read more

Some Catholics have been upset at the speculation going on about the new Pope. This speculation, we’re told, goes against the Holy Spirit. “The Holy Spirit will choose the next pope not you! You are not a cardinal!!” Right. OK. I understand. However, this criticism betrays a lack of understanding in how the Holy Spirit works. The Spirit is not some sort of extraterrestrial who zooms down to whisper in the cardinals’ ears in the Sistine Chapel. The Holy Spirit... Read more

  Here’s the piece published on National Review Online today…expanded a bit. In the year 1140 an Irish bishop named Malachy visited Rome with a group of monks. They climbed the Janiculum Hill to thank God for the safe completion of their journey. While there (as the story goes) Malachy had a vision in which he “saw” 111 popes to the end of time.  Each pope was chronicled with by a short, cryptic epigram in Latin. What makes this ancient... Read more

The Catholic Church has a tradition of selecting elderly “caretaker popes” who end up being “history making popes.” When Pope John XXIII suddenly called the Second Vatican Council the church was turned upside down. When Benedict XVI created the Anglican Ordinariate he made history. Never before had a new structure been established to allow Protestants to have their own “church within the Church”. Benedict used the new media as no other Pope had done, churned out brilliant Biblical studies making... Read more