Halfway through season two of the Netflix hit series Stranger Things, I made the decision to stop watching. Owing to monstrous laziness, I kept putting off writing down the reasons why I stopped. This month, I dumped Netflix altogether. You could say scuttling Stranger Things was of a piece with nixing Netflix (a lovely idea … Read more
In many ways, the following is an attempt to respond to Pope Francis’s invitation to help reform the Church. Specifically, this short missive intends to shed light on a couple of the problems affecting the episcopacy and how we the faithful can support our bishops’ ministry. I believe there is a strong case to be … Read more
The first Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum of Pope Benedict XVI was promulgated when I was a friar in religious formation. As young friars, we wanted to take advantage of the opportunity the pope was extending to experience the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM), and we quickly fell in love with everything about it. Learning and celebrating … Read more
Recently I heard of an extraordinary minister of the Eucharist who, during visits to a nursing home, was offering the Holy Sacrament to everyone, regardless of religious affiliation. She claimed that Jesus loves and welcomes everyone, and offering the Eucharist to any and all is an extension of that love. When some friends disagreed with … Read more
“If only I had been there with my Franks!” said the warlord Clovis when he heard the story of how Jesus, innocent of all wrong, had been condemned to death and crucified. It’s easy to be the hero in your own imagination. Eleven men eager to get out of the jury room and get on … Read more
The religious right has often been looked down upon by many Americans involved in the political scene. For them, it shouldn’t exist. According to the secular liberal tradition, the public square is supposed to be value-neutral. Any religious intrusion into political matters is to be discouraged. The secular left is especially fearful of mixing politics … Read more
Has the Catholic Church been infiltrated by anti-Catholic forces intent on its destruction? This is the thesis of Taylor Marshall’s new book, Infiltration: The Plot to Destroy the Church from Within. The book has already generated a lot of controversy, with one critic accusing the author of “McCarthyism” and “wild assertions.” Marshall’s main assertion is … Read more
What is the relationship between cultural relativism and moral relativism? In trying to answer this question, we find some remarkable issues converging. If we ignore these convergences, we will miss opportunities to improve upon the moral tenor of our personal lives and the moral character of our society at the same time. Allan Bloom opens … Read more
Thomas Paprocki, the bishop of Springfield (the state capital of Illinois), has issued a decree barring the Illinois State Senate President and House Speaker—both ostensibly Catholics—from receiving Communion in the diocese. The June 2 decision took place in response to enactment of abortion legislation codifying in state law an unlimited abortion liberty through birth, in … Read more
Yogi Berra said, “It ain’t over till it’s over.” It’s a logic that would be refreshing these days. Here’s a variation that may help with some current controversies: if you want to end an argument, finish it. In other words, one way to end some arguments used for certain causes would be simply to follow … Read more
I once heard someone say that the most popular time for pastors to leave town is Trinity Sunday. How true that is, I don’t know. What I do know is that during fifty plus years in the pews I have never heard a comprehensive sermon on the subject. I suspect my experience is not unique. … Read more
My readership and the traditionalists in my parish exploded at the recent Catholic Herald article, titled “The Catholic turn to socialism is something to celebrate.” I am surrounded by socialists at work and have a lot of time for those with their hearts in the right place, especially regarding social justice. That said, I thought … Read more
A jarring dose of reality is currently rocking the already-distorted world of “LGBT-friendly” Catholics across the globe, courtesy of the Vatican’s Congregation for Catholic Education’s new resource, “Male and Female He Created Them: Towards a Path of Dialogue on the Question of Gender Theory in Education.” What’s the earth-shaking reveal found in this document that … Read more
“I am an historian, not a prophet.” ∼ John Lukacs Clamat enim quodammodo omnis historia, Deum esse (“In a way all history cries aloud that God is”). ∼ Pope Leo XIII For more than 60 years, from the mid-1950s on, John Lukacs wrote and spoke on the passing of the modern age. With his death … Read more
Bishop Miler Magrath (Maolmhuire Mag Raith) of Ireland (1523-1622) wrote his own epitaph for the tomb in Cashel in which he was finally laid in his one-hundredth year. The syntax is convoluted as was his life: “Here where I am placed I am not. I am not where I am not. Nor am I in … Read more
Speaking at the University of Notre Dame in October 2016, just a few weeks before a national election that seemed sure to put a second Clinton in the White House, I noted that [Q]uite a few of us American Catholics have worked our way into a leadership class that the rest of the country both … Read more
The number of Americans who claim no religious affiliation—dubbed “the Nones”—has been growing steadily for two decades. The Nones are now a slightly larger percentage of the American population than Catholics. But they are not all atheists: half say they believe in God. The problem for many of them is organized religion: over 70 percent … Read more
Rebuking our former governor (and current Vice President), our mayor in South Bend tells us that it is his Creator who made him gay. Although he cites neither Scripture nor philosophical argument, Mayor Buttigieg bases this assertion presumably on his own experience. The common argument, which the mayor alludes to, is that having discovered strong … Read more
In a recent essay in this magazine, I failed to adequately define terms early in the piece and subsequently created confusion for some readers. This article will seek to rectify that problem and explore new dimensions in the original thesis. When a major airline suffers a plane crash, one of the first things investigators look … Read more
Early on in the essay, “Is a Sense of Humor a Virtue?,” John Lippitt asks the question, “Could it be, then, that exposure to a ‘virtuous’ sense of humor can make a difference to my character, and therefore be a useful tool in moral education?” At first glance it may appear self-evident that if one … Read more