One thing we Catholics have known since almost the beginning: Most statements in the Bible can be misread, misapplied, and torn out of context to serve as the pretext for hysterical balderdash. Martin Luther famously used his private reading of St. Paul’s Letter to the Romans to invent a whole new theology of salvation, … Read more
A clergyman — an old friend, actually — remarked to me recently that he is inclined to view sin and hurt as synonymous. Such remarks arise, surely, from the wish to be compassionate. The idea would be that we mortals stagger along under such burdens and pains laid on us by heredity and environment that … Read more
With all the pontification lately about the visitation of women’s religious orders, as well as the call in some corners for “more women in the Church” as a means to combat the sex-abuse scandal, Kathy Lopez of National Review Online has done a real service by speaking with an actual religious sister for her perspective … Read more
With all the pontification lately about the visitation of women’s religious orders, as well as the call in some corners for “more women in the Church” as a means to combat the sex-abuse scandal, Kathy Lopez of National Review Online has done a real service by speaking with an actual religious sister for her perspective … Read more
I’m no great cheerleader for NFP, but I have a growing respect for its medical usefulness. Here’s a story from NPR about primary ovarian insufficiency, a condition which causes infertility and a host of other medical problems. One doctor says he “got a wake-call” about 10 years ago when 23-year-old twin sisters with POI came to an … Read more
During the height of the sex-abuse scandal, how many parents wished they had the ear of their bishops — to express their frustration, to demand reform? One Belleville, IL, man did: David Spotanski was the chancellor to Bishop Wilton Gregory while the bishop was president of the USCCB, and a ten-page memo that he wrote … Read more
Yesterday concluded a three-day media communications conference at Santa Croce in Rome. Wall Street Journal reporter Stacey Meichtry has a mostly fair assessment of the challenge the Church faces in responding to the crisis. Meichtry makes some important points — namely, that the church’s response to the crisis is bound to be decentralized. Bishops cannot … Read more
At Catholic Advocate, I argue the White House and the Congress are empowering Catholic dissidents, and, as a result, the Church is paying the price. For those who say we must wait for the Church to exert its influence over politics, I say the Church in presently too weak. The vectors of influence can … Read more
At Catholic Advocate, I argue the White House and the Congress are empowering Catholic dissidents, and, as a result, the Church is paying the price. For those who say we must wait for the Church to exert its influence over politics, I say the Church in presently too weak. The vectors of influence can … Read more
At Catholic Advocate, I argue the White House and the Congress are empowering Catholic dissidents, and, as a result, the Church is paying the price. For those who say we must wait for the Church to exert its influence over politics, I say the Church in presently too weak. The vectors of influence can … Read more
Inevitably, writing for a blog called “The American Catholic“ will force you to think long and hard about the relationship between Catholic and American ideals. When I began blogging there a year ago, I held to certain prejudices found among Catholic traditionalists and progressives alike — prejudices that amounted to what I would describe as … Read more
Is there another shoe yet to drop in the Church sex abuse scandal? Mary Ormsby of the Toronto Star thinks so, and suggests the next group of victims to come forward may be heavily female. That would reverse the findings of the John Jay study, which concluded that over 80 percent of the victims were … Read more
Jesus was a Jew. This does not seem like a news flash until we turn away from observing the obvious and begin to talk about Christian discussions of soteriology. If you aren’t familiar with that three-dollar word, it basically has to do with that branch of Christian theology concerned with answering the question, “What … Read more
Somehow I missed Peggy Noonan’s article from April 17 in The Wall Street Journal called “How to Save the Catholic Church.” I’m surprised it hasn’t generated more controversy (maybe it has, and I missed that, too). Noonan believes the old ways of secrecy, silence, loyalty at all costs, and the “old-boys club” mentality can no … Read more
The threats to the Church don’t always arise where you expect them. As C. S. Lewis’s Screwtape advised young tempters, the Enemy’s best strategy is to catch us off guard and keep us there, focused on dangers in the rear-view mirror and ignoring that silly “Do Not Enter” sign up ahead. The devil, Lewis wrote, … Read more
I came across an article on the wires a few days ago at the peak of the media’s frenzied calls for Pope Benedict to step down or be arrested. It was about bikinis with padded bras for little girls, which have now been recalled. It seemed ironic that the news was saturated with pedophilia scandals as … Read more
The reports from Pope Benedict’s meeting with sex-abuse victims in Malta yesterday are quite moving: [One victim] said he had asked the Pope why the priest had abused him. “I could see the pain in his eyes. He said he did not know. He said the priest had betrayed his vows before God. We still … Read more
In October 2001, crisis Magazine published an article, titled “The High Price of Priestly Pederasty,” by Dan Michalski. Reporting on publicly known cases of sex abuse by priests, Michalski summarized his findings: So far, more than 3,000 Catholic priests in America have been accused of sexual misconduct with minors, and nearly 2,000 insurance claims have … Read more
To rebuild the trust of U.S. Catholics in the Church and its leaders and to make reparations to the victims left in the wake of this scandal, the bishops need to address several points: 1. The bishops should make clear that this is a crisis and that they are not conducting business as usual. Powerful … Read more
On Good Friday, I received this e-mail from a reader in France: Your article about the shroud of Turin makes me almost hysteric, I was almost dying of laughter. Thank you for this high piece of burlesque. Nowadays, everyone and his dog knows that the shroud was created in 1347, simply in applying the shroud … Read more