The Sequesters — John and Jane — have been married for eight years. They aren’t Hollywood Stars, professional athletes, or nightly-news anchors, so they’re not exactly multi-millionaires. John does have a good job, though. His employer’s business in recent years has been growing, and John has gotten an eight- or ten-percent raise every year for […]
Since the announcement of Pope Benedict XVI to renounce the Papacy at the end of this month, the Internet has been buzzing with the legend of the “List of St. Malachy.” This list is said to contain the names of all the Popes beginning with Pope Celestine II to the end of time. The total […]
Not so long ago, most ecclesiastical officials and Catholic academicians emphasized solidarity as a political ideal. Owing to a common misunderstanding of both government and solidarity, that emphasis was almost always at the expense of subsidiarity. In recent years, however, the tide in favor of subsidiarity has begun to turn. It remains true that concern for […]
The Church, by which I mean hierarchy, clergy, religious, and laity, must step up and face the challenge posed by the militant gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered, and queer activists — the GLBTQ coalition. It is simply not enough to defend marriage; we have to explain to the people in the pews, to our children, and […]
For medical reasons, some members of the Fenelon Clan are unable to precisely follow the Church’s precept to fast during Lent. Because of our conditions, we could receive dispensation from fasting altogether, but to us, that seems like the easy way out. We almost feel as if we’re cheating. So, we fast to the measure […]
Have you ever had someone tell you to get over it when you’re expressing the pain of a failed relationship? It’s not easy to get over it. Whatever “it” is, you have been affected, and you can’t control your feelings or your memories. In your mind, you wonder how you are supposed to get over […]
Plutocracies are societies where majority wealth is controlled by a shrinking minority. They are driven by economies powered and consumed by the wealthiest class over a mass population dependent upon their fortunes. Wealth creation is the principal motivator in these economies and corporations are their vital actors. Snatching public policy away from the hands of […]
Last week a UN commission that formulates social policies acknowledged the role of the family as the natural and fundamental unit of society, rejecting attempts by western nations to re-define the family. The Commission on Social Development concluded its annual session by adopting a resolution observing the International Year of the Family in 2014 that […]
“[N]ews reports abound which are often unverified or unverifiable, or completely false…” –Communique this morning from the Vatican’s Secretariat of State, released at the Vatican Press Office The Vatican Speaks Out Evidently concerned that the upcoming papal conclave to elect a successor to Pope Benedict XVI (the conclave is now expected to be held between […]
I overheard him make the plans. On his way home from work he picked up the perfect wrist corsage. He wore his nicest suit, and waved to the kids and I as he drove to her house to pick her up for a night of dancing. I knew all about her, but I was okay. […]
“…As we grow older the world becomes stranger, the pattern more complicated…” –T.S. Eliot, The Four Quartets, East Coker The Witnesses Last night, my phone rang twice, just before 3 in the morning. In the morning, I found three emails from the same person, a priest I know. He called again this morning. He wanted […]
The first time I saw women holding Silent No More Awareness Campaignsigns, I was overwhelmed with contradictory feelings. “I regret my abortion”? Did I read that correctly? Aren’t these women ashamed of themselves? Then I felt the warmth of my own shame burning my cheeks followed by chills and tears. I had to face the truth: […]
“Therefore is my spirit overwhelmed within me; my heart within me is desolate” — Psalm 143:4. The Secret Report Given to the Pope on December 17 Today a veil of secrecy was shredded in this eternal city. Today therefore marked the beginning of a difficult, important struggle for the purification of the government of the […]
What is the place of failure in the Christian life? Not long ago, I spoke with a Calvinist friend who has been “barred from the table” (not allowed to partake in the Lord’s Supper) due to his personal struggles with sin. As a Catholic, I can understand this, for we also refrain from receiving the […]
Single men and women who living out faithful lives in the Church are often met with tension with regards to what it means to be seemingly vocationless or “in limbo”. Fortunately, there are a number of people in the Church (leaders, religious, priests, and single lay Catholics themselves) who are working tirelessly to address the […]
A new book by Alex Schadenberg, executive director of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition (EPC), challenges the myth that vulnerable people are not at risk under euthanasia and assisted suicide legislation. Using only data gathered from peer reviewed journal articles and studies, Schadenberg proves this assertion false in Exposing Vulnerable People to Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide, published in […]
For the last several weeks I’ve been teaching an online course about the role of the Catholic laity. We’d just gotten to the subject of personal vocation when the startling news came through: Benedict XVI was stepping down as pope. Posting a question that Monday morning to get my students’ discussion rolling for the week, […]
meandfolly.blogspot.com Like Us On Facebook FollowMeOnTwitter
Benedict’s vision for an alternative political economy resonates with people of all faiths and none.
Carlos Beltramo also contributed to this article. Some thought that Benedict XVI, already old when elected, would be merely a transitional figure, a caretaker who would serve for a few years and then hand over the Church that he inherited from the Blessed John Paul II to a younger man. But neither the Church nor […]
In January, Catholic Lane shared the story of two young men from Bismarck, ND visiting Kenya for the first time with their adopted AIDS orphan brother. It was a story that had come full-circle, of an AIDS orphan growing up and returning home to help other orphans. Here is part II. We wake up early […]
We understand the sacraments as “visible signs of an invisible reality.” While this is true, it really doesn’t tell us much about the sacraments. A visible sign of what? What is the reality? The questions (and answers!) contemporary Catholicism provides are clearly not satisfying.
There is an old adage in homeschooling that says not to make any life-altering educational decisions in February. This time of year is the homeschooler’s valley of tears. A little more than halfway through the school year, stuck in the house most of the time, feeling painfully inadequate to the task at hand, it is […]
God does not call the equipped, he equips those he calls. That is, if they answer his call. Mother Angelica used to say that any dodo will do—those not worried about their lack of ability, but willing to say yes to God. She was just such a dodo who volunteered to serve him. In spite […]
