Early today, in a move that surprised even his closest aides in the Vatican, Pope Benedict XVI announced his resignation, effective February 28. A consistory to elect a new pope follows immediately. Here is the full text of his resignation letter, courtesy of Sandro Magister at Il Espresso: Dear Brothers, I have convoked you to this Consistory, not only for the three canonizations, but also to communicate to you a decision of great importance for the life of the Church.... Read more
Because of yesterday’s blizzard in the Northeast, I didn’t get to mass today. The reason, however, is not what you may think. The Saturday vigil mass was canceled: the snow had stopped 7-8 hours earlier, but there was blowing snow all day, and the Governor of CT did not reopen the roads until 4 pm. Nevertheless, the plows went through on our street—a first pass, but enough to drive on. This morning I was scheduled to be one of the... Read more
This year I’ve begun watching the engaging British period drama Downton Abbey, in which the prevailing attitude toward Catholics, for most of the show’s characters, is predictably English. I personally find a great source of amusement in their occasional offhanded jabs; for example, a few weeks ago I got a good chuckle from the throwaway line, uttered by the aristocrat Lord Grantham to a visiting Anglican bishop, “There always seems to be something of Johnny Foreigner about the Catholics.” In... Read more
In a Church downtown Old wood pews, High Altar lit, Gothic arches over sinners, Stone like milk and honey, mixed; Father at the altar Some bread, cradled like the child Christ In his tender, humble hands; Then angels kneel and a city goes quiet, as Christ comes. Read more
Throughout the whole gun-control debate one of the arguments against increased gun control was the need for self defense. Often the tenor of these arguments leaves me feeling a bit uneasy because I get the sense that those making the arguments put their hope for salvation (from violent intruders) in their guns. I often end up feeling that for some people guns have become idols. I sometimes attempt to respond by affirming the obligation to defend one’s family but questioning the necessity... Read more
Earlier this week, Michael Sean Winters debated Acton Institute’s Fr. Robert Sirico. I was not there, and I have not seen any video, but Michael Sean has published three blog posts on how he addressed Sirico. All three are absolutely brilliant. I’m not going to editorialize, but I encourage you to read all three. First, the issue of economics. Second,the issue of ethics. Third, the issue of theological anthropology. Read more
Ironically for a trip that was meant to focus on the interaction of various religions with one another, particularly Hinduism and Catholicism, the first place we visited was a small city/state called Auroville and had little to do with religion or Hinduism. Ironically, because Auroville claims to be a spiritual community that lives “beyond” religion. It is the Disney World of “spiritual but not religious.” We were taken around the place by a woman named Lisa, a woman of German... Read more
John O’Malley, SJ has a marvelous article at America Magazine on how not to understand Vatican II. I refer you to the whole piece, but as a teaser I give you here his 10 principles to avoid: 1. Insist Vatican II was only a pastoral council. 2. Insist it was an occurrence in the life of the church, not an event. (An “occurrence” is something that happens but has no lasting impact, an “event” does.) 3. Banish the expression “spirit... Read more
To mark the 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade this week, the blog of the USCCB (worth perusing in its own right) has featured guest posts by four Catholic women, myself included. Lisa Hendey of Catholic Mom writes about the ways technology has informed our knowledge of prenatal life. Mary DeTurris Poust of Not Strictly Spiritual relates what she has learned from her children’s reaction to the tragedy of abortion. Sarah Vabulas of Catholic Drinkie reflects on the meaning of potential in every life. ... Read more
This week is about as full as a week can get here at my parish in DC. We celebrate Martin Luther King, as well as the presidential inauguration; the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity takes place; and we will host Cardinal Sean O’Malley in our Mass for Life before the March for Life on Friday. I have found the intersection of these particular events is striking. This week, we pray for Christian unity. We pray that the Holy Spirit... Read more
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