Catholic News Agency columnist, author and speaker w/ particular focus on applying the hermeneutic of continuity to Vatican Council II.
In a recent column at CatholicCulture.org, Phil Lawler criticized the bishops of the United States for issuing statements on “too many debatable political issues” rather than sticking to matters that fall more properly within the scope of their teaching authority. As an example, he pointed to a newly released USCCB statement that “appeared to give […]
Even if you don’t agree with him, you have to admire George Weigel’s moxie. It can’t be easy serving as the spokesperson for a “conservative” Catholic movement that labors so mightily against the preponderance of evidence to reconcile every last scintilla of conciliar innovation with the Faith handed down from the Apostles. Yet, he does […]
In the Gospel reading for the First Sunday of Lent in the Ordinary Form of Holy Mass, Jesus proclaims, “The Kingdom of God is at hand,” but what does that mean? Is this Kingdom still to come such that we might participate in bringing it to fulfillment, or is the reign of Christ the King […]
When asked to comment on the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ rejection of the so-called HHS “accommodation,” White House Press Secretary, Jay Carney, said, “I would simply note with regard to the bishops that they never supported healthcare reform to begin with.” Apparently, either Mr. Carney’s memory is failing or his trousers are ablaze. […]
Humor me for a moment and just imagine if the following purely fictional (at least as of this writing) HHS press release was issued: Affordable Care Act Ensures Elders Receive End-of-Life Services at No Additional Cost WASHINGTON—The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced today that it is adopting additional Guidelines for Elder Care […]
The big Catholic news item in the United States these days centers around the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) mandate requiring nearly all employers to offer health insurance plans that provide zero-deductible coverage for “preventative services” like sterilization and contraception, including drugs that cause abortion. When the mandate was first proposed, the United […]
After initially intending to complete this series in three parts (Part I, Part II, Part III), it appears that it may be useful to tie up any remaining loose ends with an overview of the propositions put forth in the Declaration on Religious Liberty of Vatican II, followed by Fr. Murray’s own reflections dated the […]
The Archdiocese of Los Angeles, the largest in the United States, rang in the New Year with some disturbing news: Auxiliary Bishop Gabino Zavala had resigned in shame after publicly admitting to having sired two children with the same woman more than a decade ago. (I use the word “sire” intentionally, as “fathering” is something […]
As reported by ABC News, while fielding questions at a campaign event in Windham, NH on January 5th, Rick Santorum was challenged to defend his faith by a voter who said, “We don’t need a Jesus candidate, we need an economic candidate.” “My answer to that,” Santorum responded, “We always need a Jesus candidate. We […]
At the conclusion to Part 2, we weighed certain of Murray’s arguments in favor of an historically nuanced understanding of the traditional teaching on religious liberty. We will begin Part 3 with what he labeled the “decisive proof.” Murray goes on to quote the Syllabus of Errors of Pope Pius IX, extracting from it what […]
Careful examination of Fr. Murray’s corpus reveals that he takes great liberty (no pun intended) in his treatment of the traditional teaching on religious freedom. However, he does so in such a way that the casual observer may either miss it altogether, or may perhaps just consider it so subtle as to be irrelevant to […]
Everyone knows that religion is noble, and since no one in his right mind would possibly argue that liberty is not a precious right, it only stands to reason that “religious liberty,” as it is so often invoked these days, must be especially good! Now, it’s just a hunch mind you, but I suspect that […]
After years of discussion, preparation and anticipation, the new English translation of the Roman Missal – Third Edition was officially implemented in the United States on November 27th. The “reviews” are now starting to show up in newspapers, blogs and other media. As I read them, it seems as though most of the “people in […]
We conclude our reflection on the mysteries of the rosary with an examination of The Luminous Mysteries 1. The Baptism of the Lord Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come […]
We continue our reflection on the mysteries of the rosary as a means of entering more deeply into the sacred mysteries made present in Holy Mass with an examination of The Glorious Mysteries. 1. The Resurrection of the Lord And in the end of the Sabbath, when it began to dawn towards the first day […]
Anti-Semitism must be exposed by the light of truth so it can be soundly defeated – the operative phrase here being the light of truth, and by this I mean whole and entire; with neither attenuation nor ambiguity. On this, surely all can agree. In practice, however, this appears to be a real challenge for […]
I recently came across a perennially timely quote by William Penn — the colonial American proponent of democracy and religious freedom who founded Pennsylvania: “A people who will not be ruled by God are destined to be ruled by tyrants.” Even though Penn was a Quaker who was harshly critical of other faiths, in particular those […]
We continue our reflection on the mysteries of the rosary as a means of entering more deeply into sacred mysteries made present in Holy Mass with an examination of The Sorrowful Mysteries 1. The Agony in the Garden And going out, he went, according to his custom, to the Mount of Olives. And his disciples […]
The Joyful Mysteries continued… 3. The Nativity of the Lord And it came to pass that when they were there, Mary’s days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her first born son and wrapped him up in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger: because there was no room […]
A number of saints have described the rosary as an effective weapon for helping Christians prevail in the spiritual battle that ever rages in our midst. In fact, so great is the rosary’s power that St. Pio of Pietrelcina even went so far as to say that it’s not simply a weapon; rather, “it is […]
Shortly after the first of many meetings between the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) and the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) in October of 2009, I wrote in my column: Regardless of whether or not the meetings result in the SSPX arriving at full communion – something each of us should […]
Most reasonable people would agree that tossing a set of car keys to a drunkard is irresponsible even if the inebriated party manages to slur out a solemn pledge to drive carefully. That’s just common sense, right? So, what should we call a willingness to place the nation’s healthcare system in the hands of the […]
As debate surrounding the recently published John Jay Report (Causes and Context of Sexual Abuse of Minors by Catholic Priests in the United States, 1950-2010) continues, more and more Catholics are coming to the unavoidable conclusion (contrary to “official findings”) that the overwhelming majority of abuse cases were directly related to homosexuality. One may further […]
“I fed you with milk, not solid food; for you were not ready for it; and even yet you are not ready, for you are still of the flesh” (1 Cor. 3:2-3). To wit, I would submit that the changes that have taken place in the sacred liturgy since the Council closed find their impetus […]
