Regular Contributions
Pope Francis Through the Lens of St. Ignatius
A continuing theme of the Bellarmine Forum’s coverage of the Pope.
Standing Ground: When the bureaucracy gets it, so does the rest of the world
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) doesn’t have the best record for taking the moral high ground. Generally, realpolitik trumps. There is the case of the USCCB application for government money to assist victims of human trafficking. Government money always has strings. The USCCB, to its credit, made it clear that, as a…
Congratulations to the Bellarmine Forum’s John B. Manos!
Read the good news here! Ad multos annos!
Defending CCHD: Alinskyian organizing is intrinsic to the Catholic Campaign for Human Development vision
After three years of intense scrutiny into problematic Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) grants, the American Life League and other concerned groups gave the beleaguered “charity” some space to reorganize. CCHD’s 2013 collection came and went with hardly a peep from its critics and the next year of grants was announced unchallenged. CCHD allies,…
Father Hardon on St. Joseph: the Secret of True Love
On this solemn feast of St. Joseph, it is good to have a reminder of just who the saint really is. What follows is a short snippet from a lecture by Fr. John Hardon: Saint Joseph deserves our admiration for his other virtues, but, he is to be especially imitated in his love for Jesus and…
A Dehumanized Form of Development
The presumed frontrunner to serve as the next President of the United States recently delivered the keynote address to the UN where she characterized abortion as essential to “human development.” Per CNN: Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton used a Friday speech at the United Nations to tie women’s reproductive rights with the broader goal…
Ash Wednesday–Station at S. Sabina
The traditional devotion of the Roman Lenten Stations (or the Stational Churches of Rome), allows us to unite our hearts and minds in our Lenten devotions with the Church of Rome as we spiritually visit the ancient churches and basilicas of the City (Stationalium Ecclesiarum Urbis visitatio). For your devotional life this Lent, consider making…
Lent Preparation: Mite Boxes and Almsgiving
Yesterday, I received in the mail a very simple little device: a mite box. Meant to be like a little donations box in the church, the mite box is perfect to be placed in the home during lent in an area where it will be seen as a way to remind us during lent that we…
Pope Francis to Bishops: “we do not need a manager, a CEO of a company”
Just today, Pope Francis spoke to the Congregation of Bishops (reported in Italian here). Yesterday, I asked “if the pope will take care of the Vatican, and I will take care of cleaning myself up, who takes care of the middle?” It appears Pope Francis answered that question today! Speaking to the Bishops, he declared:…
PBS Frontline: Secrets of the Vatican – a secular review of the symptoms of error
Yesterday, PBS Frontline ran a show titled, “Secrets of the Vatican” – an hour and a half show. PBS’s own description of the show is as follows: In Secrets of the Vatican, FRONTLINE tells the epic, inside story of the collapse of the Benedict papacy and illuminates the extraordinary challenges facing Pope Francis as he tries…
