Bishop Strickland: Laying His Life Down for His Sheep
Like Christ, Bishop Strickland understands the duty of a shepherd is to become, unhesitatingly, a victim for his sheep.
An Open Letter to Our Bishops
In times past, it was everywhere understood that care of the soul was the principal function of the bishop’s office. Alas, that is no longer true.
The USCCB Just Showed Its Hand
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops is a bloated, corrupt organization teeming with left-wing bureaucrats who don’t have the Church’s best interests at heart. Crisis Magazine has said so on several occasions. It remains our opinion that all Catholics—laymen, priests, and bishops—would be better off without it. That said, the USCCB’s committee elections at this … Read more
For Catholics, There’s Only One Choice
As the grandson of immigrants, I was raised to think that to be Catholic automatically meant being a Democrat; after all, it was the Democratic Party that had been so involved in assisting the newly-arrived with possibilities for financial security and upward mobility. The first presidential election in which I could vote (as a seminarian … Read more
Why Is the Media Lying About the Church’s Finances?
The Associated Press released a dubious report claiming the Catholic Church in the United States received over $1.4 billion in Covid-19 aid which was used, in part, as payoff money for families who have experienced sexual abuse by priests. Across the globe, the Associated Press claims, “the church’s haul may have reached—or even exceeded—$3.5 billion, … Read more
Bishops See Black When They Ought to See Red
The first step on the way to solving a problem is to understand what the problem is. Consequently, we can’t look to America’s bishops to offer solutions to our nation’s most pressing problem because most of them simply don’t get it. The biggest problem we currently face is an attempt to overthrow our country’s system … Read more
Defund the USCCB
“Judas was the first Catholic Bishop to accept a government grant.” — Peter Kreeft An integral part of Pope Paul VI’s vision of a more “synodal” Church, his muto proprio Ecclesiae Sanctae called for the establishment of national bishops’ conferences. These conferences would advise the Holy See with mundane administrative tasks (e.g., determining priests’ salaries) as … Read more
God Bless Our Cops
“When men follow justice, the whole city blooms, the earth bears rich harvests, and children and flocks increase, but to the unjust all nature is hostile, the people waste away from famine and pestilence, and a single man’s sin may bring ruin on a whole city.” — Hesiod From Rome to Washington, the Successors to … Read more
‘A Crisis of Saints’: An Interview with Archbishop José Horacio Gómez
On November 12, the Most Reverend José Horacio Gómez, Archbishop of Los Angeles, was elected president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. His Excellency graciously granted Crisis his first substantial interview since his election. Your Excellency, some Catholic intellectuals today are questioning whether we Catholics can be loyal citizens of the American republic. They say … Read more
Is It Time to Abolish the USCCB?
“If I must speak the truth, I feel disposed to shun every conference of Bishops: for never saw I Synod brought to a happy issue, and remedying, and not rather aggravating, existing evils…” — St. Gregory of Nazianzus, 382 A.D. Heedless of St. Gregory’s warning—or perhaps unaccountably ready to entertain openness to “existing evils”—Vatican II … Read more
U.S. Bishops Approve the Pope’s Capital Punishment Ban
Sæva indignatio. Few writers in the history of English letters could express “savage indignation” at human folly as did Jonathan Swift who wrote those words for his own epitaph. Our times give ample opportunity to empathize with him, and that is never more so than when clerics get together in large numbers. Bishops have many … Read more
Immigration Lessons from McDonald’s
Some weeks ago, I spent a few days in downtown Salt Lake City. This bastion of Mormonism is probably not the first place one would think of when considering the plight of the homeless, but nonetheless they have their share. Across the street from my hotel was a McDonald’s. Venturing to the fast food establishment … Read more
What Diocese Will Quote St. Thomas on Citizenship and Immigration?
Even as Christian thinkers respond to divorce, gay “marriage,” and mass feticide, we should also give extra thought to the patriotic question, which is more closely related to the pro-life movement and the defense of marriage than we might at first suppose. As C.S. Lewis has pointed out, the different facets of natural law stand … Read more
The Burqa, the Baker, and the Bishops
Denmark has become the latest European country to ban the Islamic full face veil in public. Wearing the niqab, which shows only the eyes, or the burqa, which covers the entire face, will result in a fine of 1,000 kroner ($156) for the first offense. In addition, anyone who coerces a person to wear a … Read more
Why Doesn’t Liberation Theology Apply to the People of Iran?
Liberation theology, which was out of favor under John Paul II and Benedict XVI, seems to have made a comeback under Pope Francis. Francis has rehabilitated several liberation theologians and even appointed some to advisory positions. Meanwhile, high ranking prelates in the Middle East support Palestinian efforts to liberate themselves from the supposedly oppressive rule … Read more
Do the Bishops Want Us to Continue Subsidizing Porn?
No, the bishops do not want us to subsidize porn usage on the Internet but that is the reality of a position agreed to by a committee of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops on something called “net neutrality.” Bishop Christopher Coyne of Burlington, Vermont (who is chairman of the Communications Committee of the USCCB) … Read more
The USCCB Should Follow the Catechism on Immigration
The bishops of the United States roundly condemned President Trump’s new plan to possibly end the Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals (DACA) in six months unless the Congress passes legislation to authorize the program. (Trump is only possibly ending it since he tweeted later that he will revisit the issue if Congress does not make … Read more
A Catholic Defense of Capital Punishment
Defending himself against the accusation of capital crimes, Socrates famously asserted that the main concern should not be the value of a man’s life, but the value of his life insofar as it is good and just. Socrates crucial point is that justice is more important than life itself, for an unjust life, as he … Read more
The Virtue of Piety: The Catholic Response to the Alt-Right
Last week, in the pages of Crisis, Jerry Salyer diagnosed the pagan roots of the growing movement known as the “Alternative” or “Alt-Right” in the writings of French political theorist Alain de Benoist. Salyer’s implication that Catholics should avoid the Alt-Right because of its paganism and innate hostility to Christianity is correct. Moreover, his call … Read more
What Catholics Can Learn About Islam from a Former Muslim
Many Catholics look upon Islam as an ally in the struggle against militant secularism. Since Muslims are opposed to permissiveness, pornography, same-sex “marriage,” and other aspects of the secularist agenda, many Catholics assume that they must share similar values about marriage and sexuality. But this is not the case. The Islamic emphasis on modesty and … Read more