The Abrahamic Family House is scheduled to open in Abu Dhabi in 2022. It will consist of three main buildings—a mosque, a church, and a synagogue. A project of the Higher Committee of Human Fraternity (HCHF), the Abrahamic Family House was inspired by the 2019 Document on Human Fraternity signed by Pope Francis and Grand … Read more
Critical Race Theory and the arguments and actions both for and against it are constantly in the news—headlines tell us how it is variously mandated, praised, cursed, or banned. Yet, through the din, a larger question is taking form: how did the teaching industry become a political behemoth largely opposed to Western and Judeo/Christian values? … Read more
Othello is the first of a triumvirate of tragedies written by Shakespeare during a particularly dark period of English history. Taken together with Macbeth and King Lear, both of which were written shortly afterward, Othello exhibits the angst and anger felt by Catholics following the reintroduction of laws which made the practice of the Catholic … Read more
Whether cohabiting couples, out and proud gays, “social” alcoholics, serial monogamists, or persons engaged in any one of the number of socially acceptable sins, they are members in churches—maybe yours—who have gone unchallenged for behaviors and lifestyles that are incongruent with Scripture and Church teaching; and many are in leadership roles. Most egregious are Catholic … Read more
Today marks the 47th anniversary of the establishment of the Commission for Religious Relations with Muslims by Pope St. Paul VI. A distinct body from the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue (PCID), it was erected in order to promote and stimulate religious relations between Muslims and Catholics. At the time the Holy See, like many … Read more
The Catholic world is abuzz with news that a prominent Anglican Bishop converted to Catholicism. Michael Nazir-Ali, the retired Anglican Bishop of Rochester, England, and once close to being tapped as the Archbishop of Canterbury, was received into the Catholic Church on the Feast of St. Michael (September 29). Needless to say, many Catholics were … Read more
A few years ago, a visitor traveled to Grand Rapids, Michigan, to tour Sacred Heart Academy, a classical, K-12, parochial Catholic school that has turned around completely after nearly closing its doors. The visitor said, “This is incredible. This is like looking into the past.” Fr. Robert Sirico, then the pastor of Sacred Heart Parish, … Read more
After more than a decade of successful leadership in university expansion and academic excellence, The Catholic University of America’s President John Garvey announced his retirement last month. In a laudatory article in The Washington Post, President Garvey is described as having led “the most successful era of fundraising in university history, resulting in more than … Read more
In September 2020, the USCCB Committee on Doctrine published “Catholic Hymnody at the Service of the Church: An Aid for Evaluating Hymn Lyrics.” Initial promise notwithstanding, there has not appeared to be too public a follow-up to the document. Coming out in September last year, its impact was likely limited, as the big pew missalette … Read more
If I were a convert, which I am not, I think I’d rather resent hearing the Pope tell me that I’d made a mistake in becoming one. It seems rather off-putting, don’t you think, to go ahead and pope, only to have the real one in Rome suddenly announce that maybe you shouldn’t have? What’s … Read more
October 19 is the feast day of St. Isaac Jogues in the General Calendar. He was a Jesuit missionary working and living among the Mohawk Indians in the 1630s and 1640s before being tortured and beheaded on October 18, 1646. Few Catholics, especially Catholics in America, even know of the story of the North American … Read more
Gavin Newsom, the current governor of California, is the kind of person who should be kept as far from the reins of power as possible. His life and career are marked by selfish ambition, adultery, lying, and even matricide. He’s the kind of man who cheats on his then-wife, Kimberly Guilfoyle—now the girlfriend of Donald … Read more
Much has been written in Crisis and elsewhere about the declining marriage and birth rates in Western society and the rising average age of the marriages that do occur, including among Catholics. Many factors appear to contribute to this pattern: the epidemic of sins such as pornography use and fornication; the educational and wage-earning gap; … Read more
The National Education Association, at their annual meeting June 30-July 3, 2021, pledged to spread the controversial Critical Race Theory in public schools in all 50 states and 14,000 local school districts. Their agenda, according to a report by CatholicVote, includes a “national day of action” in October, when they will join with Black Lives … Read more
This year, if you want to make your Thanksgiving meal as awkward as can be, stand up from the table in front of your extended family, clear your throat, and recite a nice long poem. Your in-laws will visibly blanch, and the chattering toddlers will grow silent. This will be no mere political argument or … Read more
Nancy Pelosi continues to stand against her Church’s teaching on abortion by literally calling out bishops she disagrees with (even the one in charge of her very own diocese). Not only does she speak about abortion from a contradictory Catholic position, she also explains her opinions in a fashion that proves that she has an … Read more
I dread the final season of The Chosen because that is when they will kill my dear friend Jesus. This may sound heretical, but I have never felt exactly this way about Him before. There has always been a kind of veil between Him and me, a fog that even His light cannot fully pierce. He is … Read more
Earlier this month the Archbishop of Cincinnati announced his plan to restructure the archdiocese in light of changing demographics and the declining number of priests. The goal: to reduce the number of parishes by 70% over time. Pause for a moment and reflect on that: a major United States archdiocese plans to shut the doors … Read more
“From the beginning of creation,” said Jesus, when the Pharisees, seeking trouble, tried to pin Him down on the matter of divorce, “God made them male and female. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. So they are … Read more
For years now, ordinary Catholics have been barraged with a number of trendy buzzwords and catchy slogans: “A listening Church,” “accompaniment,” “pastoral,” and more. While these words are not necessarily wrong or inappropriate for ecclesial discourse, they often serve as a Trojan horse through which heterodoxy and heteropraxy emerge. As preparation for the “Synod on … Read more