In the debate over Amoris Laetitia, many people assume Pope Francis is allowing Communion for the divorced and remarried in many cases. The debate then switches to if this is good or not. And in this debate, there is a great dichotomy in Catholic discussion. Even in other moral topics, we see a dichotomy where each side takes part of the Catholic view, but not the whole. Pope Francis presents something else that actually includes what is right in both... Read more
When the East-West Schism happened in 1054, a big issue was that the Pope inserted “and the Son” into the creed. Today, we pray that the Holy Spirit “proceeds from the Father and the Son.” This is sometimes called the Filoque controversy from the Latin word for “And the Son.” A large part of this issue was slightly different connotations of the word we translate “proceed.” In Latin, “and the Son” made a whole lot more sense than in Greek. A recent... Read more
Ireland has remained one of the few highly developed countries to outlaw all abortion. Now the protection for the unborn – known as the 8th amendment – is up for a referendum on May 25th. In preparation, Bishop Fintan Monahan has issued a pastoral letter. Basic Principles He begins by noting the Christian understanding of life. Christians believe that all life is sacred and is a gift from God. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church says ‘The human body shares in the dignity... Read more
Some dioceses are facing a serious issue with reductions in clergy and parishes. Take this recent report on Pittsburgh: The Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh counts 632,138 people as members of its fold, though less than a quarter of those congregants attend Mass weekly. Half of the diocese’s 188 parishes are running operating deficits. And the diocese anticipates the number of active diocesan priests to drop 50 percent within seven years, to 112. The same article outlines the history: [Under] Bishop... Read more
Often people see the Pro-life movement as a kind of homogeneous grouping. It is far from that. Many are young, many are old; many are white, many are not; many are Catholic, many are not; etc. In 2017, after Pence was announced as a March for Life speaker, I remember thinking, “Oh, no, the media will cover this as a Trump rally when it isn’t.” Danielle Kurtzleben from NPR reported “Anti-Abortion Rights, But Not Necessarily Pro-Trump At March For Life.”... Read more
Pope Francis has produced an excellent document on the Christian call to holiness called Gaudete et Exsultate. Here are the most important passages with minimal commentary for those who don’t have time to read it all or those who want a refresher. These quotes got too long so I split in into 2 articles to be published one day after the next. Here’s part 2, including chapters 4 & 5. Part 1 in case you missed it earlier. Again, Pope... Read more
Pope Francis has produced an excellent document on the Christian call to holiness called Gaudete et Exsultate. Here are the most important passages with minimal commentary for those who don’t have time to read it all or those who want a refresher. These quotes got too long so I split in into 2 articles to be published one day after the next. Here’s part 1, including chapters 1-3. Part 2 if you want to jump ahead. (The numbers after each... Read more
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