Recently Ralph Martin has published what appears to be an important book entitled, Will Many be Saved? The majority of Martin’s book is spent arguing that we need to stop assuming that most people will be saved, and indeed Augustine and Aquinas would probably agree with him. The last chapter of the book argues that the Church needs restore a little hellfire and brimstone, as it were, into its preaching in order to successfully evangelize. He explains that thanks in... Read more
David Gibson highlights a long-missing piece of Christian iconography: At its heartwarming core, Christmas is the story of a birth: the tender relationship between a new mother and her newborn child. Indeed, that maternal bond between the Virgin Mary and the baby Jesus has resonated so deeply across the centuries that depicting the blessed intimacy of the first Noel has become an integral part of the Christmas industry. Yet all the familiar scenes associated with the holy family today –... Read more
On November 29, the Community of San’Egidio held a ceremony in Rome to honor Connecticut, which last April became the fifth state in five years to abolish the death penalty. As part of this ceremony they illuminate the Colosseum–they have done this for every state and nation that has abolished the death penalty. Since I worked for many years on the abolition of the death penalty as part of my pro-life witness, I wanted to share with everyone this profoundly... Read more
Eight years ago on this day – the feast of St. Francis Xavier – I began to be converted. Following an unofficial yet well-honored Mennonite tradition, I was doing a year of post-college voluntary service in Haiti under the church-based development organization Mennonite Central Committee. And in an ironically Mennonite twist, I was first drawn to the town’s Catholic parish through singing. I don’t remember exactly how this happened, but I somehow ended up attending a couple of parish choir rehearsals... Read more
Last Friday, the United Nations General Assembly voted to recognize Palestine as a “non-member observer state,” upgrading its former status as a “non-member observer entity.” The vote was 138 to 9, with 41 abstentions. The United States voted against. Church bells across the West Bank rang out in celebration, and the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem issued a statement congratulating the Palestinians and noting that “this step marks a significant shift to meet the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people and... Read more
My friend and mentor Ivan Kauffman has finally published this long-simmering and very timely article in America. I encourage everyone (every Catholic in America, if I had my druthers) to read the whole thing; it’s right up there with Bishop Richard Pates’ article which I quoted extensively this past August. Here’s a section that gets to the heart of it: There are three options open to us, not just two—left, right and Catholic. The options offered by both the left and... Read more
We are pleased to present this guest post by Aaron Matthew Weldon. This is the second part of a series of posts by Aaron. Part was entitled Losing to Preserve. In my last post, I began to reflect on how the disestablished Church engages the world, suggesting that Pope Benedict XVI offers a way forward that might be characterized as losing our life to save it. What might it mean to lose in order to save? I will continue to... Read more
We are pleased to present this guest post by Leanne Ogasawara, who writes from Japan, where she is a freelance translator and writer. Now he knows the dear price men have to pay Not to follow Christ, by the experience Of this sweet life and of its opposite A best seller since medieval times, I’ve long wondered, why it is that everyone prefers Dante’s Purgatorio anyway? Am I the only one who– while utterly unable to imagine hell–... Read more
The new translation of the Roman Missal has been in use for one, having come into use on the first Sunday of Advent last year. The new translation was discussed extensively in the month following: (see here, here and here for posts on Vox Nova). Now that we have had one year of experience in the pews, what have been the results? Have people adapted? Have they accepted the new translation? US Catholic has attempted to quantify the experience by... Read more
Today Pope Benedict is officially elevating six bishops from around the world to the role of cardinal. When he named the last set back in January, I reflected on concerns that the high ratio of Europeans (especially Italians) to those from other parts of the world appeared to reflect more Romanitas than catholicity. This time, however, the opposite is the case – especially considering that two of the six represent Eastern rites. Given the unfortunate polarities we have in the Church these... Read more
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In