I. The Sr. McBride Excommunication You can tell how fair CNN’s treatment of the recent Margaret McBride case was by the headline: “Nun excommunicated for approving life-saving abortion.” Or from the first paragraph, describing how it was an “agonizing decision” to have an abortion. Or from the second paragraph which describes “The problem: St. Joseph’s… Continue reading What About Life-Saving Abortions?
Tag: faith
The Elephant-Horse and Catholicism
Michael Novak, on page 43 of No One Sees God: The Dark Night of Atheists and Believers, uses a wonderful analogy: In an inn in the little village of Bressanone (Brixen) in northern Italy, there is a fresco painted many centuries ago, whose main subject is an elephant, by a painter who had obviously never… Continue reading The Elephant-Horse and Catholicism
Ecumenism and the Holy Name of Jesus
Yesterday was an absolute feast on the subject of ecumenism and the Holy Name of Jesus at Mass. I. Acts 23:6-11, the Wages of Disunity The first reading was Acts 23:6-11 (with a prologue from Acts 22:30, setting the scene): Wishing to determine the truth about why Paul was being accused by the Jews, the… Continue reading Ecumenism and the Holy Name of Jesus
Why Do Popes Call Themselves “We”?
In Pope Paul VI’s 1967 social encyclical, Populorum Progressio, he writes: 4. Before We became pope, We traveled to Latin America (1960) and Africa (1962). There We saw the perplexing problems that vex and besiege these continents, which are otherwise full of life and promise. On being elected pope, We became the father of all men.… Continue reading Why Do Popes Call Themselves “We”?
Why Doesn’t John’s Gospel Mention the Institution of the Eucharist?
I’ve wondered in the past why John’s Gospel doesn’t include the Institution of the Eucharist. John’s Gospel is heavily Eucharistic, and notes that Jesus’ Eucharistic discourse occurs at the time of the Passover (John 6:4), a year before the Institution itself. And when he gets to the Last Supper, the point at which the Synoptic… Continue reading Why Doesn’t John’s Gospel Mention the Institution of the Eucharist?
The Other Roman Sex Scandal
I. The Good and the Bad within the Media’s Reporting of the Catholic Sexual Abuse Crisis The media’s role in the sex abuse scandal has been mixed. In a lot of ways, the media scrutiny seems to have been sent by God. The allegations of widespread sexual abuse were pretty unbelievable to a lot of… Continue reading The Other Roman Sex Scandal
Movie Review: Babies
The biggest casualty in the culture wars has been babies. At the extreme, they’re literally casualties, with millions of infants being murdered in the womb. But beyond that, the societal view of babies is more negative than perhaps at any point in its past. Babies are viewed as a burden, where they were once viewed… Continue reading Movie Review: Babies
Msgr. William J. Awalt on the Eucharist
I was reading about Judge Robert Bork’s conversion to Catholicism, and he said: After I wrote Slouching Toward Gomorrah the priest at St. Anne’s Catholic Church in Washington, D.C., Msgr. William Awalt, told me that my views on matters seemed to be very close to those of the Catholic views, which was true. Not being… Continue reading Msgr. William J. Awalt on the Eucharist
St. Paul’s Vision of the Law as a Teaching Slave
Galatians 3 is one of St. Paul’s finest expositions of the relationship between Christianity and the Mosaic Law. The chapter is part of an epistle written in opposition to a camp of early Christians in Galatia known as Judaizers, who held that Christian salvation required adherence to the entire Mosaic Law. In response to this,… Continue reading St. Paul’s Vision of the Law as a Teaching Slave
Babies and Morality
The New York Times has a fascinating report on infant morality (not mortality, mind you). The author is a child psychologist/researcher at Yale. Here’s a few of the highpoints. The piece begins with an interesting anecdote: Not long ago, a team of researchers watched a 1-year-old boy take justice into his own hands. The boy… Continue reading Babies and Morality