How many times have I heard priests exclaim their enthusiasm for ‘full participation’ at Mass. It is a kind of modern Catholic mantra. Indeed, not only a Catholic mantra, it has become an ideological slogan before which all must bow. So, in the name of ‘full participation’ we have overturned 2000 years of church architectural tradition and built round churches, fan shaped churches, churches that are auditoria, churches that are circus tents, churches that are stadiums–all in an attempt to... Read more

My article for Imaginative Conservative website this week is a review of Dr Taylor Marshall’s excellent novel,Sword and Serpent Taylor takes us to fourth century Rome to tell the story of St George and the Dragon. He’s done a great job weaving together legend, myth, history and a traditional hero’s quest story. His accomplishment in Sword and Serpent is a remarkable blend of historical fiction, fantasy, and myth. Using the fact that the story of St. George is rooted in history, but... Read more

My article for Aleteia this week echoes Pope Francis’ message at his audience on Wednesday. Take some time off and relax! Beginning a three-part teaching in support of the family, Pope Francis began with the subject of celebration. His down to earth teaching in his usual accessible style was a reminder of the third commandment to keep holy the Sabbath day. The pope said rest and celebration are part of the very order of creation, “We recall the conclusion of... Read more

I should say straight up that I am not a political animal. I’m Amish. That is to say, my usual response to politics is to shrug and say, “A plague of both your houses.” My cynicism about politics springs from several instincts. The first is that anybody who wants to be in power probably shouldn’t be, while those who should be in power run the other way. History has shown that ambitious men and women are all too often the... Read more

One of the most disgusting things we are witnessing in the present political turmoil in the United States is how much xenophobic racism is still around. Not only does it disturb me that it’s there, but it disturbs me even more that it’s here. What I mean is that I  am instinctively and naturally a conservative. That means when I’m choosing the lesser of two evils (another term for voting) I’ll pull the Republican lever. With Donald Trump’s bloviations–we see... Read more

With the rise in violence, abortion, sexual immorality, the breakdown of family, abuse of children, extreme economic inequality, pollution, genocide, terrorism and war many people are saying, “Surely God can’t allow this to continue.” People ask if God is going to punish us. They remember what happened to Sodom and Gomorrah. They think of natural disasters like gigantic earthquakes and volcanoes or an asteroid hitting our planet and wiping out a major part of life on earth. “If things get much... Read more

John Allen reports here on the continued conversations about how to  best deal with divorced and re married Catholics. Every pastor feels sympathy for the spouse who has been abandoned by a creep of a husband or a tramp of a wife. The innocent party in a marriage break up has to suffer? Why can’t we have the freedom to admit them to communion? It sounds good, but Allen spots some of the pitfalls. For the sake of argument, let’s say... Read more

The other day some rumors started flying that one of the newly appointed bishops of LA–Fr David O’Connell, was on the record as being in favor of married priests and women priests. The comment was from a statement somebody, somewhere dug up about Fr O’Connell from 2002. I’m sure if it is true that he shouldn’t necessarily be held accountable for a comment made over ten years ago in one interview. Nothing that I have seen suggests that Bishop Elect... Read more