On social media and in email, people are expressing concerns about some of what they are hearing (or not hearing), coming out of the still-young synod. I am, so far, much more alarmed by the expectational excesses that are being created in the secular press, and in a few Catholic media venues as well, by people who should know better, but can’t resist an impulse to politicize and to pretend that by the end of this thing, the doctrines will... Read more
From Crux, we learn that Reformers are telling Pope Francis not to wait for the bishops, but to just let ‘er rip and “fix” the church, according to their notions, which they assume he shares: In the run-up to the Synod, the group is sending a letter to Pope Francis requesting a review of the arrangements for the summit. One recurrent theme in the meeting was a surprising note for many Catholic liberals, who over the years have called for... Read more
His scorn was withering. . .He had described his foes in Parliament as “good, honest men who are ready to die for their opinions, if only they knew what their opinions are.” Of Baldwin’s government, he said: “So they go on in strange paradox, decided only to be undecided, resolved to be irresolute, adamant for drift…all powerful to be impotent.” – Leo Rosten, on Winston Churchill** Well, I read that last night and thought, were Churchill around here, he might... Read more
If you’re not already fully repelled by everything in our world being politicized, this might do the trick. Seriously, when I watched these two videos — which take a page from the political propaganda playbook — my stomach turned. I actually had a visceral reaction to the overt manipulation at work, here. Propaganda videos, complete with dark music and heavy messaging on one side and fluffy light and goo on the other, are repellent enough in in the political arena.... Read more
There has been “so much” Nun News this year that I have already posted not one, but two “mini-roundups” on the happenings concerning Catholic female religious. But on this Feastday of Saint Therese this is the big one — I’ve been collecting information for months — so settle in, and let’s get to it. If you are unfamiliar with some terms, see this quick, helpful glossary. Go here for some perspective on habits and why some communities wear them while... Read more
Do you know why, as Pope Francis rightly noted (as Benedict did, before him), proselytizing doesn’t work? Because it is not Incarnational. It has nothing in common with the example set by the Word when he condescended to join humanity and “set his tent among us”. Not near humanity, but still apart; not above humanity, overseeing it, but among and with and in commonality with us. When Proposition 8 was roiling California in 2008, a group of Evangelical Christians decided... Read more
Back in February, EWTN showed a wonderful multi-part video tour of the Holy Land, hosted by a high-energy, vivacious and very faithful young woman named Diana von Glahn, who also produced the series, with her husband, David. You can watch that whole travelogue, and also visit some US Eastcoast shrines, here. As you will see, von Glahn has an eye for beauty, an openness to try new things and the kind of steady, centered faith that allows her to be... Read more
The rumors appear to be true, and it looks like Pope Francis is “demoting” Cardinal Raymond Burke from being prefect of the supreme tribunal of the apostolic signatura to “cardinal patron” of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta. Burke is only 66 years old; the current “cardinal patron”, Paolo Sardi, has just turned 80. That’s kind of interesting. There’s lots of analysis around, and some odd tweets. Everyone seems to be seeing this as a demotion — some are using... Read more
Carl McColman has lost his beloved daughter, Rhiannon: Many well-meaning friends and loved ones say things like “At least she’s in a better place now” or “She’s no longer stuck in a wheelchair” or “Well, her suffering is over.” That’s all true and I believe it — thank heaven for my faith, or I think my sense of being plunged into an abyss would be far more engulfing than it is. And I don’t mean to criticize the genuine love... Read more
This morning, the New York Times published an exquisitely-written dose of reality via Roger Cohen. If “only Nixon could go to China” then perhaps only a NYT columnist could spell this out and thus permit us to credibly acknowledge that things are as grim as we have all known, in our guts: It was the time of unraveling. Long afterward, in the ruins, people asked: How could it happen? It was a time of beheadings. With a left-handed sawing motion,... Read more
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