I just recently read, over at John Allen’s All Things Catholic, about Manilla’s new archbishop. He sounded intriguing, so I did a little looking and found his highly acclaimed address to the World Eucharistic Congress in Quebec. It’s just under an hour if you watch all six parts on Youtube, but I’ll share my favorite segment here: Not only does Bishop Tagle get the commonly botched doctrine of Eucharistic Sacrifice exactly right (not that I’m too surprised, he is... Read more
Three weeks ago, I stumbled across a used copy of the classic Otto Klemperer recording of this great work. Even though I already own four other recordings of the work, I could not pass up the bargain price of ten dollars. ( I know, it’s still a vice). Since then, I have not been able to get the opening coro and chorale off my mind. This always happens whenever I listen to the Matthew Passion. As an attempt to let... Read more
A couple of days ago, I wrote about the collective mouth-foaming among the American Catholic right pertaining to the new Vatican document on financial reform. They basically came up with all sorts of excuses to ignore, mock, or insult the document because it didn’t fit with their cozy American way of looking at the world. The call for a world authority with regulatory powers does not sit well with an American exceptionalist nationalism. The call for more actions to reduce inequality and rein in... Read more
A rather popular error in “traditionalist” Latin circles is one which suggests the absolute necessity of baptism for salvation. This comes from the idea that, “Outside of the Catholic Church, there is no salvation,” and baptism is the entrance to the Catholic Church. This position is commonly named “Feeneyite,” after Fr. Feeney, who taught such a position. This idea denies the possibility of salvation in the Christian era to anyone who has not been baptized, even if they are ignorant... Read more
Several years ago in college, I heard a representative of the organization Evangelicals for Social Action speak on the need to get beyond “either/or ministry.” It was at that time that I was introduced to the word “dichotomy,” of which he gave several examples, mostly related to ministry and missiology: word or deed, physical needs or spiritual needs, the earth going to hell in a handbasket or the kingdom of heaven being brought to the earthy, and such like. In... Read more
Amid the welter of accusation and recrimination that marks not only our national politics but the Catholic blogosphere, it’s easy to forget that millions of American kids are hurting. Schools are an important venue for collecting data on child and family homelessness because studies have shown that up to 87% of homeless families manage to keep their kids enrolled. In my own little seaside town of 25,000, our school department just announced that there are 200 homeless children among us. ... Read more
In order to save the world which ‘lieth in the evil one,’ Christianity must mingle with the world; but in order that the human representatives of the divine fact, the earthly guardians and instruments of transcendent truth and absolute holiness, may not compromise their sacred dignity in the practical struggle against evil, nor forget heaven in their desire to save the earth, their political action must be indirect. As the divine Father acts and manifests Himself in creation through the... Read more
Everyone familiar with the tactics of right-wing American Catholics saw this coming. We all knew that today would be a day of downplaying whatever the Vatican was going to say about the financial crisis because we all knew that the Vatican wouldn’t say anything like what George Weigel or Thomas Peters would say about it. Ho hum. Now here’s the thing. We could spend all week debating the merit of the ideas in the scandalous note (and we will), and... Read more
It’s been a while this I’ve seen such a fit of collective apoplexy among our friends on the Catholic right. They are incensed by a document on global financial reform put out by the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace. Let’s look at some of the reactions. (more…) Read more
Shakespeare’s Henry V provides a rousing interpretation of what King Henry must have said to rally his troops on St. Crispin’s Day. Central to it is the idea of the few who are tied together by blood, forming a fellowship which should be remembered throughout time: We few, we happy few, we band of brothers; For he to-day that sheds his blood with me Shall be my brother We are called to a similar fellowship with Christ. We... Read more
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