Like the Church in most Western countries, the Catholic Church in Germany is in deep trouble. Last year 221,390 Germans renounced their membership in the Catholic Church, and in the past three years more than 700,000 people have exited. Other statistics are just as grim: fewer Baptisms, fewer First Communions, fewer Confirmations, fewer Catholic weddings, … Read more
The bomb has been dropped. Today Pope Francis issued his motu proprio Traditionis custodes severely restricting the celebration of the traditional Latin Mass. In effect, it wipes out Pope Benedict’s 14-year-old motu proprio, Summorum Pontificum, which was issued in order to help those faithful who “continued to be attached with such love and affection to … Read more
I’ve noticed a fear pervading many Catholic discussions about the problems in the Church today. Whether the topic is something Pope Francis said, or the role of Vatican II, or the latest bureaucratic blatherings of the USCCB, there’s a fear that something will happen that will falsify the Catholic religion—that the Catholic Church is a … Read more
Although Pope Francis has a global reputation as a humble, gentle pastor, those who follow him closely know he’s not averse to handing out strong criticisms when he sees fit, including throwing out insults at times to fellow Catholics. And no insult is more central to his repertoire than the term “rigid.” For Pope Francis, … Read more
The Massive Secular State (MSS) looms like a forbidding shadow over the future of the Catholic Church. This form of government is aggressively secular, and aggressively growing. It is also anti-Catholic—designed, whether explicitly or implicitly, to work against the desires of the Church. And although the Church has long battled various governments, the MSS is … Read more
We are at a time of grave crisis for the Catholic Church in America—steep declines in attendance, lost moral authority, and significant public scandal regarding pro-abortion “Catholic” politicians, just to name a few issues. So in the midst of this mess, what were our shepherds, the successors to the Apostles, doing when they (virtually) gathered … Read more
Recently I ran into an old friend whom I hadn’t seen in a few years. Although we live in the same city, we originally “met” 20 years ago in a formerly-prominent Catholic blogger’s combox. Seeing him reminded me how long I’ve been active in the online Catholic world, and it also reminded me how toxic … Read more
The rumors appear to be true: Pope Francis is planning to rescind Summorum Pontificum, Pope Benedict’s 2007 motu proprio liberalizing the celebration of the traditional Latin Mass (TLM), which Benedict dubbed the “Extraordinary Form” of the Latin Rite. This at a time when the TLM has been flourishing while most of the Church is experiencing … Read more
Can non-Catholics be saved? If so, how? These questions have been debated by Catholics since the time of the early Church. Back then, Catholics wondered about the Jews and Gentiles who lived before Christ, as well as believers who were martyred for the Catholic Faith but had not yet been baptized. In later centuries, the … Read more
A serious, even existential, threat to Catholicism looms on the horizon, and it’s hidden all around us. It could very well decimate the ranks of the Church, and perhaps is already doing so. It is insidiously dangerous because it upends the very foundations of Catholicism. I’m not talking about the abuse crisis, or the lack … Read more
How do you solve a problem like Vatican II? While perhaps not as catchy as the classic Sound of Music tune, this question is far more complex than trying to marry off the future Baroness von Trapp. Catholics have been arguing over the council since before it even ended in 1965. While it was intended … Read more
When the abortion-tainted COVID-19 vaccines were first introduced, the initial question rightly raised by Catholics was, “Can I receive this vaccine?”; i.e., is it morally permissible? However, too few Catholics bothered to ask the second important moral question, “Should I receive this vaccine?” After all, we are not called to live a minimal life of … Read more
When I logged into Twitter on Easter Monday morning, I was pleasantly surprised. As anyone who has spent time on Twitter knows, timelines related to Catholicism or politics (as mine is) tend to lean strongly negative. Yet on Easter Monday morning, I was flooded with tweets celebrating new members of the Catholic Church. It was … Read more
Today is the Wednesday of Holy Week, also known as Spy Wednesday, when we remember the most infamous act of betrayal in human history: Judas agreeing to deliver Christ to His enemies for 30 pieces of silver. This act of betrayal is still shocking to the Christian; we cannot imagine how an apostle, so close … Read more
One year ago today, darkness engulfed the United States. On March 18, 2020, the final holdout American dioceses suspended public Masses, making it impossible (or at least disobedient) for a lay Catholic in this country to attend Mass. I followed the shutting down of public Masses closely, creating maps on Twitter so Catholics could see … Read more
Bishop Robert Barron first came to fame in the Catholic world for his fight against what he called “beige Catholicism.” The founder of Word on Fire rightly saw that a milquetoast, flaccid expression of Catholicism—so common in parishes across the country and embraced by the liberal elements of the Church—is a death knell for the … Read more
It’s been a predictable cycle over the past few years: the price of Bitcoin rapidly rises, and news feeds are filled with Bitcoin-related articles. Heck, I even wrote one of those articles for the Federalist four years ago when Bitcoin was trading around $1,000. Then the price falls or is stable, and Bitcoin returns to … Read more
Although it was 16 years ago, I remember it vividly. I was driving down I-270 in Maryland toward Washington, DC, listening to Rush Limbaugh on the radio. This was unusual for me, because my work didn’t allow me to be driving very often during his noon–3 PM time slot. At this time the Terri Shiavo … Read more
Recently a local Catholic homeschool group announced a “Mom’s Day of Reflection” at a Catholic community center. The day would allow homeschool moms—those most harried of creatures—to have a chance to relax, reflect, and recharge. There was just one problem: one of the moms didn’t think the group would enforce mask-wearing sufficiently at the event. … Read more
It’s a dark time for faithful Catholics in America. The president declares himself a “devout” Catholic, but his policies openly defy the moral teachings of the Church. The vice-president is an ardent anti-Catholic who has shown a taste for authoritarianism. But what’s happening in the nation’s capital is only a disturbing reflection of our broader … Read more