Regular Contributions
L’Affaire Bottum
Among the vicissitudes of life, Belloc asserted that the loss of affection among friends is the worst thing in the world. I thought of this when reading Joseph Bottum’s recent coming out as a supporter of same-sex marriage. It struck me that this coming out should not go without comment in that Dr. Bottum was…
Exorcising the Vatican? Pope Francis style. With Fatima, St. Michael, and Leo XIII
Recently the news ran headlines that Pope Francis called for the Fatima Statue of Mary to be brought to the Vatican — in their words “to consecrate the world.” I…
Buzzword Compliant or Kool-Aid Drunk?
The National St. Vincent de Paul Council and its subsidiaries have an honorable history of addressing serious social problems at their roots, within the family, using a holistic approach long before the concept of a “holistic” approach was in vogue. If ever there was an organization engaged in a compassionate and genuinely helpful response to…
Lynching the Population Research Institute
Florida’s Bishop Lynch gets defensive over complaints against Catholic Relief Services Bishop Robert Lynch, ordinary for the Diocese of St. Petersburg, writes the blog titled For His Friends. On August 7, he posted “Hurricane Heading towards Africa,” an article in which he excoriates the Population Research Institute (PRI) for revealing that several African bishops have…
Mary’s Assumption Stands to Disprove Gnosticism: You aren’t Dragging yourself, or anyone else, to Heaven
Some time ago, and throughout the years, I’ve heard various people say, “I want to drag souls to Heaven.” I’m sure that in the cases where I’ve heard it, the person didn’t realize what they were saying. They can’t drag themselves, let alone anyone else, to Heaven! If we take that phrase literally then it…
Why People Don’t Get Pope Francis: He’s Too Traditional
I will admit to an immediate apprehension when the media takes an especial liking to a particular Catholic bishop or even the pope. I am even more apprehensive when I see a prelate “ham it up” for the cameras, never miss an opportunity to speak to some media outlet, or look like he is taking…
The Transfiguration shows that Baptism changes us? Why were Moses and Elijah there? (they fasted)
When Moses returned from the mountain with the tablets of the commandments, we are told that his face shone (the Douay Rheims reports that his face was horned). Moses did not even see the Lord face to face, but yet his body was changed, literally. Today, on the feast of the Transfiguration, we read the Peter,…
No Holiness In Dissension From the Pope
Recent days have seen much media attention focused upon the words and person of the Holy Father, Pope Francis. Not a little bit of this commentary has been disconcerting, not only from those who would twist his words to fit a secular agenda, but also from those who are supposedly faithful but seem to want…
Bomb-Throwing Jesuits
The tomb of St. Ignatius Loyola is situated at a brilliant side altar in the Society of Jesus’s Mother church in Rome, the Church of the Gesu. One of the most striking features of the tomb of St. Ignatius is the sculpture to the right of the altar entitled “Religion Overthrowing Heresy and Hatred” by…
Suffering the Ignorant Orthopraxis of Our Day
One of the things I really like about how God ordered this world is precisely how unassuming some of the greatest things He has worked really are to the passer by. If you didn’t look, you wouldn’t notice. It’s so easy to take them for granted until you look with the eyes of faith that…
