Bishop Caggiano of Bridgeport, Connecticut, brings back St. Michael prayer after every Mass

Bishop Caggiano Brings St. Michael Prayer Back in Bridgeport | liturgy guy: This week His Excellency Frank Caggiano, Bishop of the Diocese of Bridgeport, announced that effective September 15, 2018 all 82 parishes will be expected to recite the St. Michael’s prayer after each Holy Mass.

This initiative is in response to the recent sexual scandals with minors that have rocked the Church (most involving homosexual acts). The Leonine Prayers that were promulgated in 1884 by Pope Leo XIII included the St. Michael prayer. These prayers were said after every low Mass for at least 80 years. That they were ever stopped, giving a great entry to Satan and his minions, was a tragedy for the Church. Hopefully the Church will once again benefit mightily from that stalwart prayer of fortitude.

How the media fails Church coverage

How the Media Fails Church Coverage | commentaryAHMARI: The Catholic Church—the religious body which I joined in 2016 and which I affirm to be Jesus Christ’s One True Fold—is going through an ordeal. It is an ordeal, perhaps, of the kind that only comes about once every half a millennium or so. As a believer, my feelings seesaw between fear and joy. I fear for the future of the Church. I take joy in the long overdue cleansing, even if it means breaking the false truce between orthodox and heterodox forces in the Church.

3 reasons why I believe Archbishop Viganò

Three Reasons Why I Believe Archbishop Vigano | Fr. Dwight LongeneckerLONGENECKER: London’s Catholic Herald has done some fact checking on Archbishop Vigano’s testimony and come up with this article.

The essential charge in Archbishop Vigano’s testimony is that Pope Benedict quietly disciplined Cardinal McCarrick, that Pope Francis knew about it, but over-ruled and re-habilitated Cardinal McCarrick.

In other words, Pope Francis knew about egregious homosexual abuse violations, and also knew about proceedings against one of his priests (in this case one of his cardinals) and rather than upholding the disciplinary procedures, over turned them and rehabilitated the offender, thereby contributing to the culture of excusing sex abuse by clergy and helping to cover it up.

Is Archbishop Viganò telling the truth? Let’s examine the evidence...

Pope Francis and McCarrick: where does the evidence lead? | CatholicHerald.co.ukHITCHENS: Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò’s testimony, published on Saturday, goes on for 7,000 words and names more than 30 public figures, mostly to denounce them. But at its heart are a small number of very serious allegations about Pope Francis’s treatment of Theodore McCarrick. Since the letter’s publication, some more evidence has emerged against which to test Viganò’s major claims. How do the allegations stand up?

That Theodore McCarrick crisis: The New York Times started this nasty poker game. Now what?

That Theodore McCarrick crisis: New York Times started this nasty poker game. Now what? — GetReligionMATTINGLY: Step into the journalism Wayback Machine for a moment, please.

So how did this wild game of Vatican news, commentary and rumors get started? While reporters continue to jump up and down on Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano (his infamous letter is here), U.S. papal nuncio from 2011-2016, it may help to look back at the first card that was played in this poker match.

Well, let's say that this was the first card played in public.

‘We have absolutely no credibility’ — Archbishop Chaput asks Pope to postpone Youth Synod

BREAKING: US archbishop calls on Pope Francis to cancel Youth Synod in light of abuse crisis | News | LifeSite: Archbishop Charles Chaput of Philadelphia told a conference that had met to discuss the “young people” of the Church that in light of the abuse crisis in the Catholic Church he had written to Pope Francis asking him to cancel the upcoming Youth Synod set to take place in Rome.

“The bishops would have absolutely no credibility” in the upcoming Youth Synod, Chaput told the Cardinal’s Forum, an annual gathering to provide academic formation of seminarians and continuing education for lay people, yesterday. The synod's planned dates are set for October 3-28, 2018.

‘We deserve answers now’: Catholic women pen letter to Pope Francis

‘We Deserve Answers Now’: Catholic Women Pen Letter to Pope: A group of lay Catholic women have written an open letter to Pope Francis, demanding that he answer the questions raised by the recent allegations in the letter from former U.S. nuncio Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò.

In the opening of their letter, the women recall a quote from Pope Francis on the role of women in the Church: “You have said that you seek ‘a more incisive female presence in the Church’ and that ‘women are capable of seeing things with a different angle from [men], with a different eye. Women are able to pose questions that we men are not able to understand.’”

Jesus makes the Law more demanding

The Sacred Page: Jesus Makes the Law More Demanding: 22nd Sunday of OTBERGSMA: It’s commonly thought that Jesus came to make things easier on everyone, and relax the moral laws that the Pharisees kept so rigidly. So the Pharisees become the image of hated religious conservatives, people who think that there actually is right and wrong which doesn’t evolve with changing times.

The truth is a little more complicated. In this Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus teaches on the nature of God’s Law. It is not that God’s Law is not demanding or that it changes with time. God’s Law, however, does not consist primarily in do’s and don’ts of external behavior, as important as that can be. It is primarily a rule of the soul, a guide for our interior person, which then reflects itself in our actions.

A theory for the canonical prosecution of an ‘Uncle Ted’ type of prelate

A theory for the canonical prosecution of an ‘Uncle Ted’ type of prelate | In the Light of the LawEDPETERS: To the extent that the burgeoning crisis in the Church (one I think scarcely paralleled in Church history) now involves the Roman Pontiff, canon law is of limited—not none, but limited—value in dealing with some of its key aspects, including its most urgent aspect, the credible allegation that Pope Francis knowingly protected and even favored at least one homo-sexually active prelate and certain of his enablers in the Roman Curia and a national episcopate.

Respectful of the nature of the Church as willed by Christ, no mechanism of canon law provides for the removal of a pope from office.

Exorcism’s ultimate power is the Word of God and the prayer of the Church

Exorcism’s Ultimate Power Is the Word of God and the Prayer of the Church - Community in Mission : Community in MissionPOPE: When thinking of deliverance and exorcism there is a tendency to imagine that they involve wresting demons from their place through the menacing use of sacramentals (e.g., crosses, holy water, relics) and a battle of personalities between priest and demon. All of these are commonly and rightly used in both formal exorcism and many types of deliverance prayers.

However, the truest power of exorcism is as a ministry of the Word and a battle for the mind. At the heart of the formal Rite of Exorcism are the officially sanctioned prayers of the Church along with selected Scriptures. These remind the demons of the authority of God, shine the light of truth on what they have become in their fallen state, and underscore to them that they have already lost.

An interview with Msgr. Charles Pope

An Interview with Msgr. Charles PopeBUNSON: I suppose if there was ever a time that I took pride in wearing my clerics in a sinful way, God has certainly taken that away. And as I walk up and down the street now, I feel almost a little embarrassed. And so I say, well Lord, I’m going to take the humiliation. I’m going to take the humility and I am going to offer it up because I think it’s just... it is just so angering to some of us priests who have tried so hard to live faithfully that some of our brothers be smirched all of our reputations — and now again, not just about our reputations. There’s victims... people have been hurt and this just angers and upsets us. You know, you want to kind of almost like a father, any good father — I mean, I’m saying this allegorically of course — but if his daughter has been hurt by a neighborhood boy, he wants to grab his shotgun, you know? And a lot of us have that kind of anger. Let’s go get these guys. I mean, these are our children too. I mean, we were called spiritual fathers and even if some of them are close to us in age, there’s still, there’s this fatherly care we have for our flock and it’s just so offensive to me that some fathers would turn on their own children in a kind of a spiritual incest.

From a moral-historical perspective, this crisis is worse than you realize

From a Moral-Historical Perspective, This Crisis is Worse Than You RealizeWIKER: Contrary to Cardinal Donald Wuerl’s early and oft-quoted assessment, the Catholic Church is in fact facing a “massive, massive crisis.” Greater clarity about the nature of this crisis can be had by looking at the larger moral-historical perspective.

There is only one reason why pedophilia is even a moral issue today: historically, the Catholic Church made it one. Sex with boys and girls, but especially boys, was an accepted part of ancient Greek and Roman culture, the culture into which Christ Himself, and hence the Church, was born. Christianity rejected this common pagan sexual practice as a distortion of sexuality, and evangelized accordingly. If it were not for the success of Christianity’s evangelical efforts, the laws against pedophilia still on the books today would never have been there at all.

Of bad hearts, broken hearts and holy hearts

Of Bad Hearts, Broken Hearts and Holy HeartsBECKER: I read with interest Amy Dockser Marcus’s recent Wall Street Journal story about the tension between new genetic technologies and old eugenics. “Gene editing offers the prospect of finding cures for intractable diseases,” she writes, “but it has also raised concerns that it might one day be used to engineer humans who are more intelligent, beautiful or athletic.”

You might read that sentence and be tempted to ask, “Why not?” I mean, who wouldn’t want to be more intelligent, beautiful, and/or athletic? And, what’s more, what parents wouldn’t want those things for their kids?

Seminarians served as McCarrick aides during abuse investigation

Seminarians Served as McCarrick Aides During Abuse InvestigationCONDON: The Archdiocese of Washington has confirmed that seminarians were permitted to serve as assistants to Archbishop Theodore McCarrick while the archbishop was being investigated for the alleged sexual abuse of a teenager.

In 2011, McCarrick moved from a parish rectory to a house adjacent to the seminary of the Institute of the Incarnate Word (IVE), a religious order, in Chillum, Md., within the Washington archdiocese.

According to two former IVE seminarians on campus at the time, McCarrick lived in a separate house on the grounds, which he paid for himself, or at least arranged to have purchased for him.

The IVE initially assigned McCarrick a priest to serve as secretary for him once he was living on the property. Sources confirm that the priest was assigned to live in the house with McCarrick.

Aftershocks of cover-up accusation against Pope felt in Rome

Aftershocks of cover-up accusation against Pope felt in RomeALLEN: Though the Vatican may be trying to ignore the tempest generated by explosive allegations from a former papal ambassador that Pope Francis knew about misconduct allegations against ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick and ignored them, that didn’t stop reverberations being felt in Rome on Wednesday.

True to his pledge in an in-flight press conference Sunday night to not “say a word” about the charges, Pope Francis during his regular Wednesday general audience didn’t allude to the McCarrick charge. He did recall his weekend trip to Ireland, which featured an apology for the “sins, scandal and sense of betrayal” of the clerical abuse scandals, said that his meeting with survivors left a “deep impression,” and called for “honesty and courage” in facing the situation.

98.6 degrees is a normal body temperature, right? Not quite...

98.6 Degrees Is A Normal Body Temperature, Right? Not Quite | WIRED: You wake up at 6 am feeling achy and chilled. Unsure if you’re sick or just sleep-deprived, you reach for a thermometer. It beeps at 99 degrees, so you groan and roll out of bed and get ready for work. Because that’s not a fever. Is it?

Yes, it is. Forget everything you know about normal body temperature and fever, starting with 98.6. That’s an antiquated number based on a flawed study from 1868 (yes, 150 years ago). The facts about fever are a lot more complicated.

A plethora of Percys: On fidelity to Christ and ecclesial coherence

A Plethora of Percys: On Fidelity to Christ and Ecclesial Coherence | God-Haunted LunaticBECKER: “If it does not please you to serve the LORD,” Joshua tells the Israelites in today’s first reading, “decide today whom you will serve…. As for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.” Note that Joshua’s affirmation of loyalty to the God of Israel is not a declaration of personal preference, but a summation of his clan’s corporate identity. He’s announcing that he and his family, and, ultimately, his people, consider fidelity to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to be essential to who they are, and that nothing – not even the prospect of annihilation at the hands of the Canaanites – can make them budge.

Our Lord will come like a thief to take back what is His

He Will Come Like a Thief to Take Back What Is His - Community in Mission : Community in MissionPOPE: One of the more interesting and surprising images the Lord used for Himself was “thief.” Thievery suggests unjust possession. In this sense, the Lord is clearly not a thief; rather, He is using a simile. He says that He is like a thief, not that He is a thief. Indeed, how can the owner of all things unjustly possess what is already His? The impact and indictment of the reference is on us, not on the Lord. That He would seem to any of us to be like a thief is indicative of our injustice, not His. Too easily we forget that the things we call our own are God’s and God’s alone. We are stewards, not owners. When the Lord comes to take what is rightfully His—and has always been His—we should be grateful to hand it back with interest (see the Parable of the Talents). To those who have forgotten that they are mere stewards, the Lord will seem to come to steal from them. They will see His coming as a threat because He will put an end to their schemes and worldly wealth.

SDG reviews ‘Operation Finale,’ the new movie about Adolf Eichmann

SDG Reviews ‘Operation Finale’GREYDANUS: It was the experience of reporting in Jerusalem on the 1961 Adolf Eichmann trial for The New Yorker that led the philosopher Hannah Arendt to coin her famous phrase “the banality of evil.”

Eichmann — by some reckonings Hitler’s deadliest lieutenant and the architect of the Holocaust, decorated by the Nazi regime with high honors, including the War Merit Cross and the Iron Cross — turned out under inspection to be, not a psychopath, an evil genius or a monster of hate, but something more inconceivable. Unreflective, unoriginal, uninsightful and plain uninteresting, he was, simply, an insipid functionary, a dull little man.

The story of bombshell charges against the Pope is getting more surreal by the minute

Story of bombshell charges against Pope more surreal by the minuteALLEN: If there’s one thing anyone who’s covered the Vatican for a long time ought to have learned by now, it’s never to say a particular story just can’t get anymore surreal, because trust me - it always can.

On Tuesday, veteran Vatican journalist Edward Pentin, who broke the story about Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò’s bombshell letter accusing Pope Francis of covering up abuse charges against ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick and calling on the pope to resign, added a new twist to the evolving narrative.

6 cases where the sexual abuse scandal touches Pope Francis

Six cases where the sexual abuse scandal touches Pope Francis | Opinion | LifeSite: Recent revelations concerning Pope Francis and negligence over sexual abuse of minors are calling into question his strong words condemning the cover-up of sexual abuse.

In March 2014, in an announcement that received massive publicity, Pope Francis promised a new, more improved Vatican response to the clerical abuse of minors. He reaffirmed that the Vatican would institute zero tolerance for pedophile priests. He announced the creation of a new papal commission on child protection made up of Cardinals, experts, and victims of clergy abuse. This past May, Pope Francis spoke of the scandal again by saying, "This is a tragedy, we must not tolerate the abuse of minors. We must defend minors. And we must severely punish the abusers." Yet, there appears to be a gulf between his words on reform and the reality.

Did the Book of Sirach pinpoint the Church’s abuse crisis?

Did the Book of Sirach pinpoint the Church’s abuse crisis? | Catholic CultureMIRUS: Let me explain the thought process I followed in concluding that this text is actually a condemnation of the root behavior that has led to the Church’s abuse crisis.

I began by remembering what I already know, that the Old Testament is not anti-woman. Every book that includes passages identifying the faults of women also includes passages identifying the feminine virtues. Every book that bemoans how unhappy a bad wife can make her husband also notices the happiness that a good wife brings. (Consider this simple verse from Sirach itself: “A wife’s charm delights her husband, and her skill puts fat on his bones” (26:13). In the Old Testament, for every Jezebel there is a Judith; for every Delilah there is a Ruth.

The man who tried to walk around the world backward

Plennie Wingo Attempted to Walk Around the World Backward: A man in Abilene walks this morning, like every morning, down a bone-dry farm-to-market road outside town. He is out before the sun because he walks backward. That is to say, he walks in reverse, and he chooses this time of the day so he may behave in this odd fashion cloaked in darkness lest his neighbors see him and make him for crazy. His own mind is fairly certain on the point, but he’ll admit there is room for doubt.

Viganò vs. mainstream press? Trying to find the bright line between ‘news’ and ‘commentary’

Vigano vs. mainstream press? Trying to find bright line between 'news' and 'commentary' — GetReligionMATTINGLY: It's an old question, one that your GetReligionistas have had to ask many times over the past 15 years.

Read the following material and ask this question: Is this hard-news writing or editorial commentary? The context – #DUH – is that blunt letter written by Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano. He is the former Vatican ambassador to the United States from 2011-2016 who has accused Pope Francis of taking part in earlier efforts to protect and rehabilitate the fallen Cardinal Theodore McCarrick.

The story of how Archbishop Viganò’s report came to be

The Amazing Story of How Archbishop Vigano's Report Came to Be - OnePeterFive: This report, originally published by Italian blogger, journalist, and author Aldo Maria Valli, tells the story of how Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, former apostolic nuncio to the United States, came to publish his now infamous report about the cover-up of clerical abuse in the highest echelons of the Church and a hint of what it has cost him. As Valli reports near the end of his story, Viganò told him he had “already purchased an airplane ticket. He will leave the country. He cannot tell me where he is going. I am not to look for him. His old cell phone number will no longer work. We say goodbye for the last time.”

The probability of you existing at all is unbelievably low

The Probability of You Existing at All Is Unbelievably Low - Community in Mission : Community in MissionPOPE: I was alerted to a fascinating article by Ali Binazir, who sets forth mathematically the probably that each of us exists. It turns out that when taking into account the astonishing number of possibilities of parents meeting, grandparents meeting before them, and so on going back generations, and then adding the vast number of sperm and ova in possible combinations over decades of the marital act in all those generations, the odds of me existing just as I do are about 1 in 102,685,000. That’s a number so huge it hurts to think about it.

National Review Board calls for lay investigation of all misconduct claims

National Review Board Calls for Lay Investigation of All Misconduct Claims: The body charged with advising the U.S. bishops on sexual abuse prevention has called for an independent lay-led investigation into all allegations of sexual misconduct in the Church and for revisions of the Dallas Charter.

The National Review Board (NRB), which is constituted by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), issued the call in a sternly worded statement Aug. 28, in which it condemned a “culture of silence” in the Church hierarchy.

In a press release circulated by the U.S. bishops’ conference, the board, which is entirely composed of lay specialists from different fields, said that they have been raising concerns about episcopal complacency “for several years” and called for specific reforms.

Doctrine exists for worship and not simply for itself. Doctrine apart from worship is barren...

Orthodoxy, worship, and Saint Augustine – Catholic World ReportTSAKANIKAS: When one asks a person to lead the Doxology, the respondent usually begins: “Glory be to the Father, and to the Son…” In Catholic tradition, a doxology is an act of praise and self-surrender to God. It is an act of worship to the Most Holy Trinity in which one remembers, understands, and loves God and so becomes more like God in the exercise of the infused theological virtues. We become like what we worship. Notice that when one asks a person to begin the Doxology, the respondent does not begin to pray: “Doctrine be to the Father, and to the Son…” The “dox” in “doxology” is about “glory” (and worship) while the means to this authentic worship is a concern about doctrine.

Cupich says Viganò letter is a ‘rabbit hole’ that distracts from ‘talking about the environment and protecting migrants’

Raw Interview: Cardinal Cupich Responds to Questions About Cardinal McCarrick and Bombshell Vigano Memo - NBC Chicago: Cardinal Blase Cupich spoke to NBC 5 about the explosive allegations of a former high-ranking church official who claims the Pope knew about charges of sexual misconduct against an American cardinal and says that cardinal was responsible for Cupich's appointment in Chicago.

"The Pope has a bigger agenda," Cardinal Cupich said. "He's got to get on with other things, of talking about the environment and protecting migrants and carrying on the work of the church. We're not going to go down a rabbit hole on this."

Watch Cardinal Cupich's interview below for answers to these and other questions.

So what happens next? Here are 11 predictions, and some marching orders

The Sex Abuse Crisis: Get Real | Fr. Dwight LongeneckerLONGENECKER: I’ve been as furious as most Catholics about our “summer of shame” and I’ve spouted off on Twitter and elsewhere. I’ve also read lots of other people’s comments of fury and frustration.

We have to be honest and admit that much of the fury is not only about the sex abuse and cover ups, but it is pent up rage and frustration among conservative Catholics who feel marginalized by progressives at this stage. In other words, some of the rage is about the Catholic civil war–not just about sex abuse.

Archbishop Viganò responds to criticisms of handling of 2014 Nienstedt investigation

Archbishop Vigano responds to criticisms of handling of 2014 Nienstedt investigation (Updated) – Catholic World ReportOLSON: In an August 26th written statement seen by some media outlets, including CWR, Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò responded to reports that he ordered a stop to an investigation of then-Archbishop John Nienstedt of St. Paul and Minneapolis. Viganò flatly denies these assertions, stating, “These accusations – that I would have ordered the two auxiliary bishops of Minneapolis to close the nvestigation on the life of archbishop Nienstedt – are false.”

St. Augustine knew that suffering is a medicine

St. Augustine on Suffering as a Medicine - Community in Mission : Community in MissionPOPE: The feast of St. Augustine this Tuesday provides us yet another opportunity to learn from him. We can ponder his teaching on suffering and its role in preserving us from something far worse. When asked, most people identify their most serious problems as those related to their physical health or their finances; family and career are also often mentioned. Frankly, our biggest problem is pride and all the sins that flow from it. Nothing is more serious than our sins, which can destroy us forever. Worldly problems are temporary. They can make life unpleasant or at worst kill us, but then we get to go home and meet God if we are faithful.

Viganò testimony receives mixed response from US bishops

Vigano Testimony Receives Mixed Response From US Bishops: Multiple bishops have responded to a testimony published over the weekend by a former apostolic nuncio to the United States, which called for the resignation of Pope Francis and several cardinals and bishops, who are alleged to have covered up sexual abuse allegations against former cardinal Theodore McCarrick.

In the testimony, Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, 77, who served as apostolic nuncio in Washington D.C. from 2011 to 2016, wrote that Benedict had “imposed on Cardinal McCarrick sanctions similar to those now imposed on him by Pope Francis” and that Viganò personally told Pope Francis about those sanctions in 2013.

Viganò’s serious claims deserve thoughtful consideration, not overheated reaction

Why we stay, and the Vigano Testimony - Denver CatholicWEIGEL: The Sunday Mass scriptures during this summer of horrors have often been eerily appropriate, beginning with Jeremiah’s polemic against malfeasant shepherds who mislead the Lord’s flock (July 25) and continuing through the story of many disciples’ defection after the “hard words” of the Bread of Life discourse (Aug. 26). And it’s entirely understandable that more than a few Catholics have choked on the word “holy” these past few months, when asked to affirm it of the Church during the Creed and the Offertory. But while understandable, that still bespeaks a misunderstanding. The reason why is given immediately after the defection story in John 6: 60-66, when the Lord asks the Twelve if they, too, are going to bail on him and Peter answers, “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.”

Italian journalist Marco Tosatti says he helped pen Archbishop Viganò letter

Italy journalist says he helped pen bombshell against popeWINFIELD: An Italian journalist who says he helped a former Vatican diplomat pen his bombshell allegation of sex abuse cover-up against Pope Francis says he persuaded the archbishop to go public after the U.S. church was thrown into turmoil by sex abuse revelations in the Pennsylvania grand jury report. Marco Tosatti said he helped Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano write, rewrite and edit his 11-page testimony, saying the two sat side-by-side at a wooden table in Tosatti's living room for three hours on Aug. 22.

5 facts about the great St. Monica that will inspire you never to give up hope

5 Facts About the Great St. Monica That Will Inspire You to Never Give Up Hope | ChurchPOP: The Catholic Church celebrates the feast of St. Monica, the mother of St. Augustine of Hippo, on August 27. She is particularly known for her perseverance in prayer.

Here are some amazing facts about this incredible saint that are sure to inspire your faith in God’s omnipotent power!

‘Fight in the army of Christ the King’ — Bishop Robert Barron speaks candidly on the sex scandal, McCarrick and Viganò

New Advent: ‘Fight in the army of Christ the King’ — Bishop Robert Barron speaks candidly on the sex scandal, McCarrick and Vigano: “Friends, many of you have asked for my thoughts on the McCarrick abuse crisis, the Pennsylvania grand jury report, and the recent report from Archbishop Viganò. We're all devastated by the horrific suffering of these many victims, and we're all wondering what to do next.

“I shared some thoughts a couple weeks ago, in an article, but I thought it might be helpful to have a more candid conversation today, building on the USCCB's statement just released (https://bit.ly/2od0uW5), which I wholly support.

“Please watch the discussion below, and together let's pray for the victims and the entire Body of Christ.”

How to come into (or stay in) the Church during a time of scandal

Catholic Church & Sex Abuse: Theologian Urges Faithful to Help Heal Wounds | National ReviewLOPEZ: ‘I intended to be anything but Catholic,” Dawn Eden Goldstein remembers. She grew up in a Reform Jewish household but “fell into agnosticism” in her late teens and become a rock-music historian in New York City. In 1999, she says, she “encountered the love of Jesus Christ” and became a nondenominational Christian.

Her impression of the Catholic Church was influenced by Christians who told her that its teachings were “unbiblical.” All her biases were confirmed when the scandal hit in 2002. On top of all the natural anger and disgust, her sensitivity ran deep, having been molested as a child.

5 “impossible” things that can happen on other planets

New Advent: 5 “impossible” things that can happen on other planets: A lot of things happen on Earth, but there are still some things that just don't ever happen here. But, that doesn't mean that what's impossible here is impossible everywhere else in the universe. Whether it's clouds that rain rocks or glass, wind that's 29 times faster than sound, having 2 shadows or even being able to fly in some places, this is a collection of some of the most ridiculous places that we know of so far in our strange universe.

Brews, a beard, and a beauty — a Catholic love story

Brews, a beard, and a beauty – A Catholic Love Story – TOM PERNAPERNA: Here is the story: Although I had been to Catholic Beer Club gatherings before, I really wasn’t that interested in driving 35 miles on a Friday night to 20th Street and Indian School Road to attend this one. One of my former St. Mary’s students, and now a good friend (himself getting married in October), persuaded me to come with some grandeur story of good beers and Catholic women. As I was standing in the bar drinking a pint, two women approached me (Yes, you read that right ... they approached me ... and it was the beard that did it too) – Megan and her wingman, Kim. They were taking a poll on who would wear name tags in a bar so you know who belongs to the Catholic Beer Club. Megan was adamantly against them, but everyone else seemed to be on board with the idea. As they were walking around the bar, Megan saw me and mouthed to Kim that she thought I was cute. Kim did a 180 turn and said to me, “excuse me sir, are you with Catholics and beer?”

The 6 habits of highly ineffective Church people

The 6 Habits of Highly Ineffective Church PeoplePOPE: This most recent storm — which began even before the Grand Jury Report — and the strong reaction among Catholics has caught many bishops off guard. It has served to highlight many structural problems in the Church which have given rise to the justifiable anger of so many. This cauldron did not suddenly boil over. It has been simmering for years — decades, really. Too many Catholics have suffered too long under bishops who have become increasingly distant and out of touch, speaking to issues that are of lesser interest and ignoring concerns about liturgical abuse, dissent and misbehavior by priests.

You shouldn’t leave the Church — you should lead the Church

New Advent: You shouldn’t leave the Church — you should lead the Church: Fr. Mike Schmitz says now, more than ever, we need to live virtuous and holy lives and become the saints the Church needs.

Answering 6 questions raised by Vigano’s critics

Answering Vigano’s Critics | The American ConservativeDREHER: It has been only two days since Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano published his damning indictment of Pope Francis and some senior cardinals in the Catholic hierarchy. Below, in boldface, I offer defenses offered by Francis supporters, and reasons why these claims don’t hold up.

First, it is said that Vigano’s statement is nothing but politics, and should therefore be dismissed.

It is undoubtedly the case that Vigano is playing church politics with his statement. In fact, Vigano did himself no favors by framing his charges in terms that align with the civil war inside the Catholic Church. Nevertheless, the truth or falsity of these claims does not stand or fall based on Vigano’s motives. Whistleblowers are rarely disinterested parties. One must separate Vigano’s motives from the substance of the claims themselves. This morning, a former nunciature official in Washington confirmed to Catholic News Agency that “Vigano said the truth.”

The Viganò letter could spark a conflagration in the curia

The Vigano letter could spark a conflagration in the curia | CatholicHerald.co.ukDESOUZA: The blistering indictment of Pope Francis by Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, published while the Holy Father was on a difficult trip to Ireland, is such a novelty that it will take time to digest properly. For any prelate, let alone a former apostolic nuncio, to call for the Pope’s resignation is certainly shocking. That a pope should resign is in itself an unhappy thing, as the abdication of Benedict XVI demonstrated. To call for his resignation indicates that the Church has entered treacherous waters. It harms Viganò’s case that he proposes a remedy of such severity in a document that is intemperate when it should be sober, and skirts defamation when it should be cautious in attributing motivations.

Pope Francis: ‘I will not say a single word’ about allegations of McCarrick cover-up

Pope: ‘I Will Not Say a Single Word’ About Allegations of McCarrick Cover-Up: Pope Francis said Sunday that he will not comment on claims by a former Vatican ambassador to the U.S. that the Pope knew about allegations against Archbishop Theodore McCarrick and reinstated him in ministry. The Pope said people should make up their own minds about the claims.

Asked whether it was true that Archbishop Carlo Viganò, the statement’s author, had informed him in 2013 about Archbishop McCarrick’s alleged sexual misconduct with priests and seminarians, and if it was true Benedict XVI had previously imposed sanctions on the former cardinal, the Pope said he was distracted by the previous question and would have preferred to talk about the trip.

Tyler’s Bishop Strickland on Archbishop Viganò allegations: ‘As your shepherd I find them to be credible ... I urge all to pray fervently’

Bishop Strickland’s Public Statement to the Diocese – Diocese of Tyler: Dear Priests, Deacons, Religious and all Holy Faithful of the Diocese of Tyler,
A letter (see below) by Archbishop Vigano, former Nuncio to the United States, raises grave allegations and calls for the resignation of numerous high ranking prelates including Pope Francis.
Let us be clear that they are still allegations but as your shepherd I find them to be credible. Using this standard the response must be a thorough investigation similar to those conducted any time allegations are deemed to be credible. I do not have the authority to launch such an investigation but I will lend my voice in whatever way necessary to call for this investigation and urge that it’s findings demand accountability of all found to be culpable even at the highest levels of the Church.
As this unfolds I urge all in the Diocese of Tyler to pray fervently for Holy Mother Church and beg the Intercession of Our Blessed Mother. We are the flock of Jesus Christ. He is Lord of His Church and His Holy Spirit will guide us through this darkness.
Almighty God Father, Son and Spirit have mercy on your Church and cleanse her in the fires of your Love.
Blessed Virgin Mary, Pray for us
All Sainted Popes & Bishops in Heaven, Pray for us
All Holy Men and Women, Pray for us
I direct all priests to include this notice in the masses on August 26, and post it on their websites and other social media immediately.
Most Reverend Joseph E. Strickland
Bishop of Tyler

Former nuncio Viganò drops bombshell: ‘Pope Francis knew that McCarrick was a serial predator’

Ex-Nuncio Accuses Pope Francis of Failing to Act on McCarrick’s AbusePENTIN: In an extraordinary 11-page written testament, a former apostolic nuncio to the United States has accused several senior prelates of complicity in covering up Archbishop Theodore McCarrick’s allegations of sexual abuse, and has claimed that Pope Francis knew about sanctions imposed on then-Cardinal McCarrick by Pope Benedict XVI but chose to repeal them.

Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, 77, who served as apostolic nuncio in Washington D.C. from 2011 to 2016, wrote that in the late 2000s, Benedict had “imposed on Cardinal McCarrick sanctions similar to those now imposed on him by Pope Francis” and that Viganò personally told Pope Francis about those sanctions in 2013.

Questions raised about McElroy's response to 2016 McCarrick allegations

Questions raised about McElroy's response to 2016 McCarrick allegations: The Bishop of San Diego has explained why he did not respond to a 2016 letter alleging sexual misconduct on the part of Archbishop Theodore McCarrick and other Catholic clerics. The letter was sent to Bishop Robert McElroy by psychotherapist Richard Sipe.

McElroy has been reported as a frontrunner to succeed Cardinal Donald Wuerl of Washington, DC. Calls in recent weeks for the cardinal’s resignation follow an Aug. 14 Pennsylvania grand jury report on clerical sexual abuse, which questions the cardinal’s handling of sexual abuse allegations during his tenure as Bishop of Pittsburgh.

McElroy now faces questions regarding accountability and transparency surrounding abuse reports.

Does this shock you? The 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time...

The Sacred Page: Does This Shock You? The 21st Sunday in OTBERGSMA: There are many times in life when circumstances force you into making a decision that has lasting consequences. There are times when you have to decide whether to accept an offer on your house or turn it down, whether to take a job or decline it, whether to propose marriage—or accept a proposal—or enter religious life. Often we don’t want to decide, yet circumstances force us, and even not deciding will constitute a kind of decision. These are stressful times, times of crisis. The readings for this Sunday likewise put us in the position of having to decide whether we are going to trust God and his Word, or cast off on our own, trying to find salvation somewhere else.

McCarrick protégé Joseph Cardinal Tobin appointed to Vatican youth synod

USCCB: Cardinal Tobin Appointed to Youth Synod: The U.S. bishops’ conference has confirmed that Cardinal Joseph Tobin of Newark, New Jersey, has been appointed by Pope Francis to participate in October’s 25th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, which will meet to discuss young people, the faith and vocational discernment.

Cardinal Tobin will join Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, Archbishop José Gomez, Archbishop Charles Chaput, Bishop Frank Caggiano and Bishop Robert Barron, who, according to a July 23 USCCB press release, were elected by the U.S. bishops’ conference to attend the conference, after which their election was ratified by Pope Francis.

In Ireland, Pope Francis decries failure of bishops in abuse scandal, defends ‘right to life’ of unborn

In Ireland, Pope Francis Decries Failure of Bishops in Abuse Scandal: In Ireland on Saturday, Pope Francis said the anger of Catholics at bishops’ failure in response to the sexual abuse crisis is appropriate and that he shares those feelings.

“With regard to the most vulnerable, I cannot fail to acknowledge the grave scandal caused in Ireland by the abuse of young people by members of the Church charged with responsibility for their protection and education,” he said to Irish authorities Aug. 25.

What Fr. James Martin should have said in Ireland

What Fr. James Martin Should Have Said in Ireland - Crisis MagazinePROSEN: Somehow, almost overnight, our culture decided that a “LGBT” identity is something that one is born with. There is no research proving this. As a matter of fact, the American Psychological Association website states, that although much research has been done, scientists have not reached a consensus on the causes. However, our culture speaks of people being born “gay or lesbian” as if it is common knowledge.

During an interview for his book, Fr. James Martin, SJ was asked what he would say to one who identifies as “LGBT” and is struggling with this. Martin stated, “God made you this way. You are wonderfully made just like Psalm 139 says you were knit together in your mother’s womb … this way. This is a part of your identity.”

I’m blaming ‘Brother Sun and Sister Moon’

I'm Blaming Brother Sun and Sister Moon | Fr. Dwight LongeneckerLONGENECKER: Do you remember the sappy film about St Francis called Brother Sun, Sister Moon?

Its all about St Francis. The movie was made in the late 60’s and directed by the native of Florence, Franco Zefferelli. Zeffirelli himself is a homosexual, and has been accused several times of being a predator, and the film oozes a kind of sumptuous, Botticelli-esque eroticism.

Here’s the deal about the movie: it portrays St Francis as the proto-flower child of the 1960s. 1968 was the year that marks the sexual revolution, and Brother Sun Sister Moon was a deliberate propaganda piece for the hippie movement.

How to bowl a strike

How to Bowl a Strike | The Art of Manliness: There is something inherently manly about bowling. Maybe it’s the primitive nature of tossing what is essentially a giant rock at a group of weak, perfectly aligned pins, only to see them explode and crash together. Or maybe it’s because bowling is the only sport where eating nachos is an integral and encouraged part of the game. Whatever it is, the point is, it’s a great deal of fun, especially when your ball spends more time blasting through pins and less time floundering in the gutter.

Fr. James Martin criticizes ‘homophobic’ pastors at World Meeting of Families

Fr. James Martin Criticizes ‘Homophobic’ Pastors at WMOF: Jesuit Fr. James Martin addressed Thursday more than 1,000 people at the World Meeting of Families in Dublin.

His Aug. 23 talk, “Showing Welcome and Respect in our Parishes for ‘LGBT’ People and their Families,” encouraged Catholics to “welcome LGBT persons and their families,” into parish life.

The priest said those with “homophobic” pastors, “either silently or overtly,” are “out of luck.”

Parishes, he said, should strive to listen to LGBT parishioners — “trust that the Holy Spirit will guide them in their formation as Christians and Catholics,” rather than “simply repeating Church teaching without considering their lived experience.”

Jesus Christ offers true love to homosexual persons. Father James Martin offers only false comfort...

Fr. Martin’s False Comfort | Joseph Sciambra | First ThingsSCIAMBRA: At the age of sixteen, after an indifferent Catholic education, I inexplicably paid a visit to the local priest.

I didn’t know quite why I wanted to see him. It was during the height of the AIDS crisis, and I was scared, because I had recently come out to myself. I was a sad, lonely kid with no male friends or role models. I had abandoned the Catholic faith, but I wanted to talk with a man—any man—and I didn’t know where else to turn. Nervously fumbling on a few simple words, I sat down in the reconciliation room and told the priest, “I’m gay.” He assured me that God understood. God had “made me that way.” His attempt at compassion and understanding brought forth memories of my middle- and high-school “religion” classes, which had emphasized the primacy of the conscience. According to the priest, I should practice “safe sex.” This was the proper role of the conscience: It should lead me to act “responsibly.”

Seton Hall announces ‘independent review’ of seminary accusations

Seton Hall Announces ‘Independent Review’ of Seminary Accusations: Seton Hall University has announced an independent review of accusations of sexual abuse and harassment against seminarians. The university is sponsored by the Archdiocese of Newark, and is home to Immaculate Conception Seminary and St. Andrew’s Hall college seminary.

In a letter published on the university website on Tuesday, Aug. 22, Seton Hall President Mary J. Meehan wrote that recent reports of sexual abuse and harassment by priests, and the “reported failure of many in the Church’s leadership to hold them accountable,” had prompted the university to take action.

Pope warns Catholic lawmakers of “two menacing ideologies — secular relativism and religious radicalism”

Pope to legislators: “The Christian politician called to witness" - Vatican News: Pope Francis met with the International Catholic Legislators Network (ICLN) during their 9th annual conference, telling them that their position as Christian’s with authoritative roles is to spread laws based on the teachings of the Church in order to aid Christians and other religious minorities who are being persecuted worldwide.

C=JL² is the metaphysical math and source of all creation; it is the grand unified theory

C=JL� This is the Metaphysical Math and Source of All Creation; It is the Grand Unified Theory - Community in Mission : Community in MissionPOPE: In my years as a priest, I have often had people ask me why God, who we say needs nothing and is fully content and joyful in Himself, created anything outside Himself. Does His act of creation indicate that He lacked something or that He needed others?

This is difficult for us humans to understand. To some degree that difficulty arises from us, who are often motivated most by need. We tend to project our own realities onto God. But need and incompleteness are not the only things that motivate.

Catholic News Agency pulls off an investigative coup in the ‘Uncle Ted’ McCarrick saga

Catholic News Agency pulls off investigative coup in the 'Uncle Ted' McCarrick saga — GetReligionDUIN: On the same day that I did a post on how Catholic media are treating the (now former) Cardinal McCarrick affair, Catholic News Agency came up with a bombshell of a story that illustrates the kind of reporting other media should be doing on this scandal.

Upon hearing about how McCarrick’s sexual predictions were well-known decades ago in the Archdioceses of Newark and New York, reporter Ed Condon dug around and found several priests from that era who agreed to talk off the record. The reporter came up with not only killer quotes, but many anecdotes on how Catholic seminaries of that era were male meat markets in every sense of the term.

Orthodox priest cleanses his city’s downtown with holy water after gay pride parade

Orthodox Priest Cleanses His City's Downtown with Holy Water After LGBT Parade (Pictures Inside) | ChurchPOP: Talk about spiritual warfare.

An LGBT pride parade took place this last weekend in Odessa, Ukraine. LGBT pride parades are not particularly noteworthy these days.

But what happened after the parade this weekend is: an Eastern Orthodox priest visited the parade site and cleansed the space with holy water. (Pictures below!)

The head of the Missionary Department of the Eastern Orthodox Diocese of Odessa Fr. Oleg Mokryak led the cleansing, with help from a group of laypeople. Together, the dispensed holy water on people, the road, and on monuments as they walked, explaining to onlookers that they were specifically cleansing the area following the LGBT parade.

It’s time to end the imperial episcopate

The End of the Imperial Episcopate | Jay Scott Newman | First ThingsNEWMAN: The Empire—in all its forms—is long gone. Christendom is dead. The Church is reeling from grave scandal, and Christians are crying out to heaven for reform and purification. It is time to end the Imperial Episcopate. After the gospel triumphed in the Roman Empire, the Church gradually acquired forms of life borrowed from imperial organization. Many of those forms still serve us well. But over time some of those forms have ceased to make sense and have become impediments to the evangelical freedom of the Church. I believe this is evident in significant aspects of how bishops now live and exercise their Catholic ministry.

The managerial class: Why top companies are usually our enemies

The managerial class: Top companies are usually our enemies | Catholic CultureMIRUS: Most people who fully accept the teachings of the Catholic Church tend to be conservative politically. Insofar as there is a strong strain of conservative thought in favor of the natural law, this is generally a good thing. Insofar as there is also a strong strain of conservative thought which dismisses the common good, it is generally a bad thing. Contemporary conservatism is an uneasy alliance between those who value tradition, including philosophical tradition and the natural law, and those who value untrammeled pursuit of individual self-interest, which is a mirror in the economic sphere of the social dysfunction advocated by liberals.

Why do Catholics speak so often of ‘the Church’ instead of ‘Christ?’

Why do Catholics speak so often of “the Church” instead of “Christ”? | Catholic CultureMIRUS: In a recent discussion of the mission of CatholicCulture.org, an interesting question came up: Why do we have the word “Catholic” in our name, and not the word “Christ”? Similarly, one of the mission slogans I use frequently is to “enrich faith, strengthen the Church, and form Catholic culture”. Why do I include the terms “Church” and “Catholic”, and not the names “Christ” or “Jesus”?

The answer to this question actually marks a significant difference between Catholics and Protestants, who more frequently mention “the Lord Jesus”. Never mind for the moment that Protestants can hardly refer to “the Church”, since they do not have a “church”. While all Protestants are baptized Catholic, as Protestants they have no apostolicity, no succession in grace and orders, and no Christic unity of governance. The Orthodox can properly refer to themselves as “a church”; Protestant bodies are churches only in a more conventional sense. But such “churches” are not really churches, but sects or gatherings or communities or fellowships.

We need fewer of those who are a ‘sage on the stage’ and more who are a ‘guide on the side’

The One Mistake Catholic Leaders Make That Holds Back Renewal - Catholic Missionary Disciples - College Station, TXLEJEUNE: The presenter had whipped the crowd into a fury. They were as fired up as almost any crowd of Catholics you could imagine. Even the flies on the wall could feel the passion and zeal start to fill the room. The crowd started to believe they were going to be the beginning of great renewal in the Catholic Church.

But, then they left and little lasting impact could be felt.

This could have been a Catholic conference.
It could have been a Catholic retreat.
Maybe it could have been a class at your parish.
It could even have been Mass at your local parish, with a pastor who is a great preacher.

There are many different settings where this could have happened.

But, what was it that caused the people who attended to fail to implement what was talked about into their lives? It is because the life of a disciple of Jesus isn’t meant to be passively accepted, it is meant to be actively modeled.

Would the sex scandals go away if women could be priests?

Would a female priesthood disrupt sex abuse? – SIMCHA FISHERFISHER: Let’s just let women be priests.

Right? Let’s just let women have some power for once, and put a screeching halt to all the abuse, all the lies, all the cover-ups.

I keep hearing this argument, and now I’m going to respond.

First, one more time, with feeling: female Catholic priests are an ontological impossibility, and the Church could not ordain women even if it wanted to, any more than it could ordain butterfly as dragonflies. We like butterflies. But they are not dragonflies, and dragonflies are not butterflies. So it’s not going to happen. The Church is not going to start ordaining women priests.

In times of crisis, we need individuals like these to step up

In Times of Crisis, We Need Individuals Like These to Step Up – TOM PERNAPERNA: The words I am about to share with you have been on my mind and heart ever since the Pennsylvania Grand Jury Report was released. I find myself writing about it today because I just watched an incredible homily from a good friend. Over the past days, I have found myself confused, angry and betrayed. We were told that these scandals and problems that we endured in the early part of the century were no longer with us. Things had been cleared up. There are new procedures in place. It won’t happen again. That simply was, and is, a complete falsehood.

The sex scandals have cost the Catholic Church more than $3 billion so far

The Clergy Abuse Crisis Has Cost The Catholic Church $3 Billion : NPR: Sixteen years after an investigation in Boston highlighted the dimensions of the sex abuse crisis in the Catholic priesthood, the financial and reputational cost to the Catholic church continues to grow.

Lawsuits by abuse victims have so far forced dioceses and religious orders in the United States to pay settlements totaling more than $3 billion, and at least 19 have filed for bankruptcy protection.

Attorney James Stang, whose firm has represented abuse victims in most of the bankruptcy cases, acknowledges that big payouts can't compensate the victims for their suffering, but he argues it's important to hold church leaders accountable for their negligence in allowing the abuse to happen and abusers to go unpunished.

In troubled times, a priest must pray and conform his heart to God

In Troubled Times, A Priest Must Pray and Conform His Heart to God - Community in Mission : Community in MissionPOPE: In times like these when Church reform is so urgent, priests must refocus and re-center their lives more clearly than ever. Through prayer and study every priest must guard his heart and, in so doing be more empowered to help God’s people do the same.

Two images come to mind, one of prayer and the other of study, but both of them summon the priest to guard his heart and center his mind on God and what God teaches.

Pope’s Wednesday Audience: ‘In the saints we see what our hearts desire: authenticity, true relationships, radicalism’

Pope Francis: Saints show the heart's true desire: The lives of the saints are attractive because they demonstrate the radical and authentic relationship with Christ each person is called to, Pope Francis said Wednesday.

“Why are the saints so able to touch the heart?” he asked at the general audience Aug. 22. “Because in the saints we see what our heart deeply desires: authenticity, true relationships, radicalism.”

This example can also be found in those “saints next door,” he noted, such as parents who teach their children to live “coherent, simple, honest, and generous” lives.

How to stay faithful as we endure and confront the crisis

How to Stay Faithful as We Endure and Confront the CrisisLANDRY: Two weeks ago, I wrote a column attempting to respond to many of the questions friends and reporters had about the crisis of sexual infidelity among clergy. Since that article, I have received many more emails and phone calls, and I would like to continue attempting to answer the questions posed as candidly as I can.

Much has happened in the last fortnight. The Pennsylvania attorney general’s report concerning nearly 300 accused priests in six Pennsylvania — even though most of the cases concern the period before 2002 when the Church started to get her act together with regard to the sexual abuse of minors — brought home once again just how sordid things can get when the priests and prelates get corrupted.

NPD may be the hidden psychological problem behind the sex scandals

The Problem With the Bishop Scandals | The CatholicPsych Institute: The US Conference of Bishops FINALLY admitted what the deepest problem is. “Our Church is suffering from a crisis of sexual morality.” Why do I say they are referring to themselves? Because this is the official statement released after McCarrick’s scandal broke. This isn’t the parish council’s crisis, or the church janitor’s crisis, no, this is the Bishop’s crisis.

That’s actually not the point of this post though. We’re finally all on board with what the deepest problem is. It’s a spiritual crisis of sexual morality, and the fingers are being rightfully pointed at the top. However, there’s also an equally devious psychological crisis occurring that no one is talking about. Some people are dancing around the issue by talking about the “structure,” “organization,” and “clericalism” in the hierarchy. That’s not it though. It’s also not just a homosexuality problem (though that is an equally important issue here). At the root of those problems, I believe, is a psychological disorder known as Narcissistic Personality Disorder.

Pat Cross cartoon: The Roots of the Sex Scandal

The Roots of the Sex Scandal: Cover-up, infidelity, homosexuality, licentiousness...

‘I'm still paralyzed’ — What should an innocent priest do when a stranger yells ‘pedophile!’ at the store?

"I'm Still Paralyzed": What Should a Priest Do When a Stranger Yells "Pedophile!" at the Store? | ChurchPOP: Of course this happens now.

Everyone knows now about the extremely evil sex abuse crisis in the Catholic Church. Children, teens, even adult seminarians and priests have all been preyed upon by their ecclesiastical superiors.

In addition to the horrific evils the victims have suffered, the Church’s hierarchy has obviously lost a lot of credibility. People used to trust the clergy, but that trust has been broken. Catholics and non-Catholics are now suspicious of priests and bishops.

Pope will meet abuse survivors in Ireland, Vatican confirms

Pope will meet abuse survivors in Ireland, Vatican confirms | CatholicHerald.co.uk: Pope Francis will meet survivors of sexual abuse during his trip to Ireland from August 25-26, but it will be up to the survivors to decide whether any information about the meeting will be released, said the director of the Vatican press office.

Greg Burke, press director, said that from the moment the Vatican decided the World Meeting of Families 2018 would be in Dublin, it was clear that the Pope would have to acknowledge the crimes committed against thousands of Irish Catholics by priests in parishes and by priests, religious brothers and nuns in schools, orphanages and other institutions.

Assailant attacks Byzantine priest in sacristy, shouting ‘This is for all the kids!’

Assailant attacks Byzantine priest, shouting 'This is for all the kids!' | Deacon Greg KandraKANDRA: From my friend and brother deacon Daniel Dozier, who received this communication from the chancery of the Parma Eparchy: Fr. Basil Hutsko was attacked and knocked unconscious this morning in the altar servers sacristy at his parish in Merrillville, Indiana after celebrating Liturgy. The attacker choked him and slammed his head to the ground. Fr. Basil lost consciousness. Before going unconscious Fr. Basil heard the attacker say, “This is for all the kids!”

Why Dorothy Day never expected much of the bishops

Dorothy Day, Bishops, and the ChurchMILLS: “As a convert, I never expected much of bishops,” said Dorothy Day, at the age of 70. She’d been dealing with them up close for over four decades. “In all history, popes and bishops and father abbots seem to have been blind and power-loving and greedy. I never expected leadership from them. It is the saints that keep appearing all through history who keep things going. What I do expect is the bread of life and down through the ages there is that continuity.”

It’s a useful lesson now, when the sins of our priests and bishops dominate the news. It’s one I described in my own way a few days ago in Scandal in the Church. Day could deal with the failings and the sins of the Church’s ministers, especially her bishops, because she so loved the Mass and everything else that God gave her daily, through chosen but fallen men. Here are some of her thoughts about the Mass.

Cardinal Tobin responds to allegations: ‘No one has ever spoken to me about a gay subculture in the Archdiocese of Newark’

Cardinal Tobin Denies Knowledge of ‘Gay Subculture’ in Newark: In an Aug. 17 letter to the priests of Newark, Cardinal Joseph Tobin has said he has not been told by priests about a “gay subculture” in the Archdiocese of Newark.

The letter was written in response to a CNA report published the same day, in which Newark priests described their experiences in seminary and ministry in the archdiocese. Cardinal Tobin’s letter specifically addressed allegations, included in CNA’s report, of sexual misconduct on the part of two priests.

CNA’s article included testimony about homosexual activity in the Archdiocese of Newark from six priests who spoke to CNA on the condition of anonymity. The priests’ experience spanned across several decades under the leadership of Archbishop Theodore McCarrick and Archbishop John Myers.

Pope St. Pius X — restoring all things in Christ

Pope St. Pius X — Restoring All Things in ChristMANN: There have been 12 popes named Pius; the first (Pope Saint Pius I) in the second century; the latest (Pope Pius XII) reigning from 1939 to 1958. Popes named Pius have seen the Church through tumultuous times. Enea (named after Vergil’s Aeneas) Silvio Bartolomeo Piccolomini, who took the name Pius II in 1458, tried to raise a crusade against the Ottoman Empire, which was invading Eastern Europe, but died on his way in Ancona on the coast of the Adriatic Sea in1464. Pope Pius IV (1559-1565) should be forgiven any nepotism that inspired his naming one of his nephews a cardinal, for St. Charles Borromeo, the Archbishop of Milan, became of the greatest reformers of the Counter-Reformation era. He implemented the programs of the Council of Trent as a model for other bishops to emulate. After St. Pope Pius V was canonized in 1712, the next pope named Pius to be canonized was Pope Pius X.

Infidelity is a poison in the bloodstream of the Church. The solution is fidelity, fidelity, fidelity...

A Crisis of Infidelity | Robert P. George | First ThingsROBERTGEORGE: At the heart of the recent Catholic scandals is infidelity—literally the lack of faith. There are priests, including bishops and even cardinals, who do not believe in God, or whose belief in God is merely notional (as definitively evidenced by their lack of fear of Him). In any event, they don't believe what the Catholic Church teaches about morality (and by morality, I mean not only sexual morality, but also our obligations to love and respect, and not to exploit or abuse, others), or at least they are unwilling or unable to embrace that teaching and embody it in a consistent way in their lives and ministries. So they are unfaithful to, among other things, their vows of chastity and the Church's teachings about sex and marriage and the duty never to exploit or abuse.

Letter of His Holiness to the People of God

Letter of His Holiness to the People of God (20 August 2018) | FrancisCOATOFARMS: In recent days, a report was made public which detailed the experiences of at least a thousand survivors, victims of sexual abuse, the abuse of power and of conscience at the hands of priests over a period of approximately seventy years. Even though it can be said that most of these cases belong to the past, nonetheless as time goes on we have come to know the pain of many of the victims. We have realized that these wounds never disappear and that they require us forcefully to condemn these atrocities and join forces in uprooting this culture of death; these wounds never go away. The heart-wrenching pain of these victims, which cries out to heaven, was long ignored, kept quiet or silenced. But their outcry was more powerful than all the measures meant to silence it, or sought even to resolve it by decisions that increased its gravity by falling into complicity.

Strengthening faith in a time of crisis

Strengthening Faith in a Time of Crisis - Crisis MagazineSTAUDT: A crisis that strikes so centrally at the integrity of the Church necessitates a response from each one us. There must be general reform in the Church, but I’d like to explore how each one of us can respond to the Church’s crisis with a commitment to stronger faith and personal reform. In focusing on this personal response, I am by no means equating personal sin with the deep corruption we are discovering nor seeking to take focus away from needed calls for practical change. The crisis to which I am responding, however, goes beyond the recent scandals to the underlying crisis of faith that has weakened the Church as a whole. Although the main thrust of this reflection predated the recent scandals, from a talk I gave in the spring, I offer it now in hopes that it may help focus us on our response to them.

Pope writes letter on scandals; asks all Catholics to pray, fast and fight ‘the culture of abuse’

Pope Francis: All Must Help Root Out Culture of Abuse: Pope Francis has personally responded to the grand jury report on clerical sexual abuse in six Pennsylvania dioceses by calling on “all members of God’s People” to help “uproot the culture of abuse” in the Church and urging “every one of the baptized” to “feel involved in the ecclesial and social change that we so greatly need.”

In a letter addressed to the “People of God” published Monday, the Pope said with “shame and repentance” the Church authorities were “not where we should have been,” did not act in a “timely manner,” and failed to realize the “magnitude and the gravity of the damage done to so many lives.” “We showed no care for the little ones; we abandoned them,” the Pope wrote.

Acceptance of homosexuality runs deep in American parishes

Parish Rot — Acceptance of Homosexuality Runs Deep in the American Church | The Stream: As has been obvious to many Catholics for many years, broad swathes of the American Church have been very cavalier and accepting of homosexual behavior, despite the fact that the Church is crystal clear that such behavior is gravely sinful.

So, I wanted to share a brief story. When I decided I had to become Catholic, I went to a local RCIA Program. So, I went to my first class. The instructor was a nice lady. But she had one major flaw: She took it upon herself to tell the students that she disagreed with the Church’s teaching. On what you may ask? You guessed it: homosexuality.

Costly Truth – A homily for the 20th Sunday of the year

Costly Truth – A Homily for the 20th Sunday of the Year - Community in Mission : Community in MissionPOPE: In the Gospel this Sunday, we continue with Jesus’ great treatise on the Eucharist.

Although many of the Jewish listeners who hear Him speaking in the synagogue at Capernaum are grumbling and murmuring in protest at His insistence that they eat His flesh and drink His blood, Jesus does not back down. In fact, He “doubles down” and quite graphically teaches a very real, as opposed to symbolic, call to eat His flesh and drink His blood. Let’s examine Jesus’ teaching in four stages.

Bishop Morlino: ‘Homosexual subculture within the hierarchy is wreaking great devastation’

Bishop Robert C. Morlino's letter to the faithful regarding the ongoing sexual abuse crisis in the Church: If you’ll permit me, what the Church needs now is more hatred! As I have said previously, St. Thomas Aquinas said that hatred of wickedness actually belongs to the virtue of charity. As the Book of Proverbs says “My mouth shall meditate truth, and my lips shall hate wickedness (Prov. 8:7).” It is an act of love to hate sin and to call others to turn away from sin.

Fuel for the fire: St. Sebald and Eucharistic transformation

Fuel for the Fire: St. Sebald and Eucharistic Transformation | God-Haunted LunaticBECKER: Today’s Gospel couldn’t be plainer: Eat Jesus and become Jesus. “For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink,” says the Lord. “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him.” It’s what happens every Sunday – for some folks, every day – if we’re properly disposed and we present ourselves for Holy Communion. The priest holds up the consecrated host and states simply, “The Body of Christ.” If we bow and say “Amen,” then we’re affirming that spectacular claim, and if we go further and actually dare to receive him – to consume him, to appropriate all that Christ is to ourselves, and, in so doing, to be totally appropriated to him – then we tacitly agree to do our best to act as his emissaries in the world. We accept the charge to become extensions of his divine person here and now, and we look forward to the Cross in the form of all kinds of crosses – from minor hassles to martyrdom – as we go about living and loving as Christ did.

After Wuerl's pullout, Pope in Ireland may have to face not just crime but cover-up

After Wuerl's pullout, Pope in Ireland may have to face not just crime but cover-upALLEN: An already challenging trip to Ireland for Pope Francis next weekend became even more vexing on Saturday, as news broke that Cardinal Donald Wuerl of Washington, D.C., had pulled out of a keynote speech at the World Meeting of Families which is the official purpose of the pontiff’s visit.

Wuerl withdrew because of the tempest caused by a Pennsylvania Grand Jury report questioning his record on handling sexual abuse charges as the bishop of Pittsburgh in the 1990s and 2000s. In that context, the no-show adds additional pressure on Francis to tackle the abuse scandals head on while he’s in a country which, arguably, has been more scarred by them than any other place in the world.

Yeahhh... this is exactly the right time to dress our clergy in pastels...

Yeahhh... this is exactly the right time to dress our clergy in pastels. | Fr. Z's BlogFr. Z's BlogZUHLSDORF: The Devil always tells us openly what he is up to. Italians are really good at this sort of pithy wisdom. Like, Il diavolo non può nascondere la coda. The Devil can’t hide his tail. I wonder how obtuse are the people organizing the World Family meeting in Ireland truly are. Frankly, the meeting ought to be rescheduled. At the very least, certain homosexualist activists should not be speaking there. Now I see the design for the designer vestments for the Masses there...

Where is Jesus in the midst of the Church’s sex-abuse crisis?

Where Is Jesus in the Midst of the Church’s Sex-Abuse Crisis?: Father Thomas Berg is a priest of the Archdiocese of New York, a former Legionary of Christ and professor of moral theology, vice rector and director of admissions at St. Joseph’s Seminary in Dunwoodie, New York. He is author of Hurting in the Church: A Way Forward for Wounded Catholics. He spoke recently with CNA’s Courtney Grogan about the challenges Catholics face amid the Church’s sexual abuse and misconduct scandals. The interview is below, edited for clarity and length.

On Pope’s Irish trip, question isn't if he’ll meet victims but what happens next

On pope's Irish trip, question isn't if he'll meet victims but what happens nextALLEN: No matter when Pope Francis might come to Ireland, it wouldn’t be an easy trip. This is a culture, after all, lacerated north and south, facing the impact of runaway secularization and some of the world’s most appalling clerical sexual abuse scandals.

Right now, however, feels like a particularly tough moment.

In the run-up to Francis’s arrival next Saturday morning, consider what’s been bubbling...

Cardinal Wuerl withdraws from World Meeting of Families keynote in Dublin

Cardinal in Pennsylvania withdraws from World Meeting of Families in Dublin: A Cardinal who was heavily criticized for his handling of child sexual abuse allegations in the Pennsylvania grand jury report has withdrawn from a scheduled appearance at the World Meeting of Families in Dublin next week, it has been confirmed.

Cardinal Donald Wuerl, the Archbishop of Washington, was due to give the keynote address, entitled “The Welfare of the Family is Decisive for the Future of the World,” in the RDS at 2.30pm next Wednesday.

Active homosexuality in the priesthood helped cause this crisis

Active Homosexuality in the Priesthood is at the Root of This CrisisPOPE: There is a line in the Acts of the Apostles that I once found humorous: So the word of God continued to spread, and the number of disciples in Jerusalem continued to grow rapidly. Even a large number of priests became obedient to the faith. (Acts 6:7) Of course the priests referred to here are the priests of the ancient Temple, the Levitical priests. In the past, such a line seemed ironically funny to the average Catholic who heard it.

But that humor, in recent days, seems more darkly true and less ironic. Indeed, in the past two decades — and now, once again — the reputation of the priesthood and episcopacy has been sullied by the deeply sinful, unchaste, unnatural and unconscionable acts of some priests and bishops. They have harmed many victims and disgraced the priesthood. They have engaged in great evils, often repeatedly and with no accountability. But they will answer to God for what they have done.

Reflections on 25 years of Pope John Paul II’s Veritatis Splendor

Reflections on 25 years of "The Splendor of Truth" - Vatican NewsWELLS: On August 6th, the Feast of the Transfiguration, the Church marked the 25th anniversary of Pope St John Paul II’s landmark encyclical, Veritatis splendor. St John Paul himself explained the reason for the encyclical: Although the Church has “at all times developed and proposed a moral teaching regarding the many different spheres of human life,” in our times, “it seems necessary to reflect on the whole of the Church’s moral teaching” which “risk being distorted or denied.”

The Feast of Wisdom — the 20th Sunday of Ordinary Time

The Sacred Page: The Feast of Wisdom: 20th Sunday of OTBERGSMA: Every Catholic should take the time at some point in their life to watch “Babette’s Feast,” a beautiful movie about a French cook in Denmark who wins the lottery and spends her entire earnings on a lavish feast for the two old spinsters she works for, and all their friends.

Babette’s Feast was an obvious and intentional Eucharistic allegory, and one can’t help thinking of it while reflecting on the readings for this Sunday...

The death penalty debate and the Church’s magisterium

The death penalty debate and the Church’s magisterium | In the Light of the LawEDPETERS: I follow the death penalty debate, of course, but I am more concerned about how that debate impacts some ecclesiologically important aspects of the Church’s teaching function.

As for the death penalty itself I find the arguments organized by Feser and Bessette in their treatise, By Man Shall His Blood Be Shed (Ignatius, 2017), upholding the liceity of the justly administered death penalty, convincing. Specifically I regard the liceity of the death penalty as having been established with infallible certitude by the Church’s ordinary magisterium and am undecided only as to whether that infallible certainty proclaims a “primary object” of infallibility (i.e., an assertion to be believed) or establishes a “secondary object” of infallibility (i.e., an assertion to be definitively held). I lean toward the latter.

Dear Cardinal DiNardo and USCCB: Do the right things, and we will have your backs

Dear Cardinal DiNardo and USCCB: Do the Right Things, and We Will Have Your Backs - The AnchoressSCALIA: Thank you for your recently-released statement addressing the revelations concerning both Archbishop Theodore McCarrick and the Pennsylvania Grand Jury report.

Many American Catholics are grateful to read that the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops is committed to investigating, reporting on, and resolving questions and circumstances surrounding both issues. We ask that you please shine a hard light on the matter of Archbishop McCarrick. A truly objective, thorough, and forensic examination of his story is essential, and as you “develop a concrete plan for accomplishing these goals” in time for your November meeting, we will pray that the Holy Spirit guides you into wise discernment and courageous action, that you may truly begin to address the cesspit in which our Church seems mired.

Let the world know that Judas did something bad. Better they hear it now than later...

Egyptian PR, Church PR – Christian Renaissance MovementEAMONNCLARK: There is a well-known principle of studying history known as the “criterion of embarrassment.” We see it vindicated in our own day in America every time some self-righteous SJW campaigns to demolish a statue of a Confederate general or what have you, and they call it “progress.” The Romans called it “damnatio memoriae” – the destruction of a person’s memory. It often involved scraping out their names from stone epitaphs… not far off from the methods of the SJW’s. And we see similar things done throughout the world in every age in an attempt to cover up the bad things to make the culture look better than it really is.

Cardinal Burke: Pope must ‘take action’ to clean up ‘homosexual culture’ in Church

Cardinal Burke: Pope must ‘take action’ to clean up ‘homosexual culture’ in Church | News | LifeSite: This week Cardinal Raymond Burke addressed the new wave of clergy abuse scandal giving insights and observations as to how it needs to be addressed.

In an interview with Thomas McKenna of Catholic Action for Faith and Family, Cardinal Burke discussed the recent scandals involving clergy and members of the hierarchy.

When asked about what is at the root of the crisis Cardinal Burke said "it seems clear in light of these recent terrible scandals that indeed there is a homosexual culture, not only among the clergy but even within the hierarchy, which needs to be purified at the root. It is of course a tendency that is disordered." He highlighted that "it has been considerably aggravated by the anti-life culture in which we live, namely the contraceptive culture that separates the sexual act from the conjugal union."

Will you, this moment, let Jesus' Good News saturate your soul with grace?

The Church Needs GOOD NEWS! - Catholic Missionary Disciples - College Station, TXLEJEUNE: I don’t know about you, but the last few weeks have been pretty rough. First there was the story of Archbishop (former Cardinal) McCarrick. Then we had the report from Pennsylvania drop this week. It is so depressing. Last night it reached an apex when my wife and I cried with our two oldest kids after one of them asked me to explain what was going on. I told them about the evil acts of our leaders and how they hurt so many, my kids just couldn’t take it. In some ways, their idea of the Church was crushed and it hurt so much. Evil hurts. This isn’t supposed to happen. We are supposed to be able to look up to our leaders in the Church.

Why do I stay Catholic? Because of my faith in Jesus Christ. There is a plan, and I plan to see it revealed...

What the Pennsylvania Church Scandal Means to This Catholic: I was born and raised in the Catholic Church. I have not always been the most faithful, mind you, but I’ve tried. If nothing else, I do what I can to set a good example for my daughters.

It seems like my whole life has been filled with stories and jokes about priests and altar boys. These scandals aren’t new – Massachusetts comes to mind – but they do get a lot of media attention, and it’s frankly not hard to see why. The Church is supposed to be a beacon of Christian life and morality for all its flock, but the Church is run by man, and man is deeply flawed.

The intercommunion proposal of the German bishops is unbiblical

The Intercommunion Proposal of the German Bishops is Unbiblical - Crisis MagazineKRANICK: The German bishops are at it again. They are pushing the controversial agenda of intercommunion in certain instances for “mixed marriages” of Catholics with Protestant spouses. Accordingly, the German bishops published guidelines entitled: “Walking with Christ—tracing unity. Inter-denominational marriages and sharing the Eucharist.” It was released even after Pope Francis sent a letter, via the prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), Archbishop Luis Ladaria, S.J., to Munich cardinal Reinhard Marx, president of the German Bishop’s Conference, in order to stop its publication. The guidelines argue that Protestant spouses should be allowed to receive the Eucharist, because it may cause “grave spiritual distress” to the spouse and the marriage if they are not permitted to do so. The German bishops plan to continue pushing the measure at the bishop’s conference plenary assembly in September.

The Catholic bishops who failed us all (WSJ paywall)

The Catholic Bishops Who Failed Us All - WSJPECKNOLD: A Pennsylvania grand jury this week published a 900-page report detailing sexual abuse of more than 1,000 children by some 300 Roman Catholic priests over 70 years. The grand jury had spent two years gathering subpoenaed archives from Pennsylvania’s six dioceses. It sought not only to share the victims’ stories but to document an entrenched culture of coverup reaching the highest levels of the U.S. church.

On bitter rage, deep grief, righteous anger, and the future of the Catholic Church

Archbishop Chaput’s Weekly Column: On Anger, Grief, and the Future – Archdiocese of PhiladelphiaCHAPUT: This has been an ugly week: first for the survivors of sex abuse; second, for Catholics across the state; third, for the wider public. For many, rage is the emotion of choice. The latest grand jury report is a bitterly painful text. But rage risks wounding the innocent along with the guilty, and it rarely accomplishes anything good.

The Stoics believed that anger is never a healthy thing: It always involves an inhuman appetite to hurt others, and it always poisons the soul. But this isn’t the Christian view. The anger Jesus showed toward the Temple moneychangers, the Sadducees, and the Pharisees was not merely acceptable but right and good. The anger Philadelphians felt toward the Archdiocese after the 2005 and 2011 grand jury reports was likewise well placed and justified.

New allegations surface regarding Archbishop McCarrick and Newark priests

New Allegations Surface Regarding Archbishop McCarrick and Newark Priests: Recent allegations against former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick include reports that he made sexual advances toward seminarians during his tenure as bishop of Metuchen and archbishop of Newark.

CNA recently spoke to six priests of the Archdiocese of Newark, and one priest member of a religious order who was a seminarian in New York in the early 1970s, while McCarrick was a priest of the Archdiocese of New York.

Citing archdiocesan policy and concerns about ecclesiastical repercussions for their candor, the priests agreed to speak to CNA only under the condition of anonymity. The priests spoke individually to CNA, and their accounts were compared for confirmation.

Why men like me should not be priests...

Why Men Like Me Should Not Be Priests | Daniel Mattson | First ThingsMATTSON: I am the sort of man the Catholic Church says shouldn’t be a priest. I experience what the Vatican calls “deep-seated homosexual tendencies,” which, according to the Church, make me an unsuitable candidate for the priesthood. The 2005 Vatican instruction on the question of homosexuality and the priesthood states this clearly: “The Church, while profoundly respecting the persons in question, cannot admit to the seminary or to holy orders those who practise homosexuality, present deep-seated homosexual tendencies or support the so-called ‘gay culture.’” This teaching wasn’t new. In 1961, the Vatican declared that men with homosexual inclinations couldn’t be ordained. Seminarians who “sinned gravely against the sixth commandment with a person of the same or opposite sex” were to be “dismissed immediately.”

Archdiocese of Philadelphia investigates sexual harassment allegations at St. Charles Borromeo seminary

Philadelphia Archdiocese probes sexual harassment allegations at St. Charles Borromeo seminary - Philly: The Archdiocese of Philadelphia has launched an investigation into allegations that a former student at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary sexually harassed a freshman at the Wynnewood school during the 2010-11 academic year, according to a letter sent to priests and deacons Tuesday.

The letter, signed by Auxiliary Bishop Timothy Senior, stated that the alleged violations of the seminary’s sexual harassment policy have been turned over to the archdiocesan director of investigations.

The probe is the result of a series of complaints that “surfaced on social media last week,” according to the letter.

Cleansing the Church of clerical sacrilege

Cleansing the Church of Clerical Sacrilege | Dominic Legge, O.P. | First ThingsLEGGE: It is time for clergy and laity to begin a movement for the purification of the Church. The shameful sexual sins and crimes of clergy—including cardinals, bishops, and priests—can no longer be tolerated. Tolerance is precisely what has allowed these problems to multiply for decades and persist up to today. As Fr. Thomas Berg recently explained, the issue is sexually active priests and bishops. In the main, the persistent problem is with homosexually active priests. Fr. Roger Landry argues—rightly, I think—that most priests who persist in infidelity with women eventually leave the priesthood, but priests who cheat on their vocation with men often continue to live a double life. Most of the issues stem from this kind of duplicity. Networks of active homosexual priests have developed: They protect and promote their own and others who will tolerate them. They become a major problem when they insinuate themselves into positions of power (in a seminary, in a chancery or diocese, in a religious order, in the Roman curia)—as occurred in the case of Theodore McCarrick.

What to make of the Catholic reaction to McCarrick and the Pennsylvania grand jury report

What to make of the Catholic reaction to McCarrick and the Pennsylvania grand jury reportJDFLYNN: Among the sexual abusers mentioned in the Aug. 14 Pennsylvania grand jury report, one priest merits particular attention.

Rev. David Szatkowski, SCJ, is mentioned in the section of the report concerning the Diocese of Allentown. In 2011, he was arrested and charged with sexually assaulting a child.

In August of that year, Szatkowski, a seminary professor, attended an academic conference in Wisconsin. The priest, drunk late one night during the conference, approached a group of teenage girls outside his hotel, talked with them for a while, telling them that he was a lawyer and acting, in the words of one witness, “touchy.” Eventually, witness accounts and police reports say, Szatkowski forcibly embraced a 15-year-old girl and groped her breasts.

The little-known Chinese sacrificial hat, and reflections on inculturation in China

New Liturgical Movement: The Chinese Sacrificial Hat, and Reflections on Inculturation in ChinaDIPIPPO: The early Jesuit missionaries to China obtained many concessions from the Holy See to adapt Catholic rites and customs to the genius of the Chinese people. Beginning with Pope Paul V’s bull of 1615, permission was granted for a translation of the Roman Missal and Breviary into Chinese, for the continuation of ancestor worship (considered a merely political, social, and cultural practice, not a religious ceremony), and for other unique customs aimed at local inculturation.

“Will you also go away?”

"Will You Also Go Away?" - The Coming Home NetworkGRODI: How does one adequately address the growing scandal in the Church? Specifically, as I consider this in relation to our work in the Coming Home Network, how do we explain to non-Catholics why they should still consider coming home to the fullness of the Church — and why must Catholics remain?

As we see in the above Scripture — and as has been said by many during this difficult time — scandals have been present in the Church from the very beginning: one among the Twelve betrayed his calling, his loyalty, betrayed Jesus and sent Him to the cross — one whom Jesus Himself had called into ministry!

Sometimes our grief is too heavy even to put into words. But Jesus knows all about our troubles...

A Grief Observed - Community in Mission : Community in MissionPOPE: I like many of you am grieving these days. I will not speak directly to it here, but I think you know why I am grieving.

I don’t do grief well. But I have learned to study it in others and thus find my way.

My father died more than 10 years ago, and except for essential papers related to his estate, I simply boxed up most of his papers and stored them in the attic of my rectory for future attention. At long last I am sorting through those boxes. Among his effects were also many papers of my mother’s, who died about two years before he passed away.

About withholding donations to the Church

About withholding donations to the Church | In the Light of the LawEDPETERS: Various voices are calling for the faithful to withhold donations from the Church in response to the McCarrick scandal, the Pennsylvania grand jury report, and so on. Other voices are urging Catholics to resist such calls. As the calls pro and con seem, so far, to fall within the bounds of Canon 212 § 3, I say, have at it folks. May the better arguments win. But we should note a few relevant canonical and practical points.

America’s 30 Major League ballparks, ranked

The 30 Major League Baseball Stadiums, Ranked: Baseball’s oldest park, Boston’s Fenway, dates to 1912. The newest stadium, SunTrust Park in Atlanta, opened its doors just last year. That century-plus span of ballparks includes a wide range of architectural styles, from buildings that celebrate the past to buildings that, frankly, we wish were part of the past already. So let’s rank all 30 current MLB stadiums based solely on the buildings.

President of U.S. Bishops' Conference announces plan to address ‘moral catastrophe’

President of U.S. Bishops' Conference Announces Effort That Will Involve Laity, Experts, and the Vatican as U.S. Bishops Resolve to Address "Moral Catastrophe": Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), has issued the following statement after a series of meetings with members of the USCCB's Executive Committee and other bishops. The following statement includes three goals and three principles, along with initial steps of a plan that will involve laity, experts, and the Vatican. A more developed plan will be presented to the full body of bishops at their general assembly meeting in Baltimore in November.

FAQs on Pope Francis in Ireland, including size, pricetag and blowback

FAQs on Pope Francis in Ireland, including size, pricetag and blowbackALLEN: In the run-up to a papal trip virtually anywhere in the world, there are certain stories one can expect the local press to pursue with the precision of clockwork. As a rule of thumb, those topics include:

How big a deal is this?
How much is it all going to cost?
Who’s not happy about it?
Ireland has a vigorous press culture, which means that as Pope Francis’s Aug. 25-26 visit to cap off the Vatican-sponsored World Meeting of Families draws near, reporters on the Emerald Isle are being especially assiduous about covering the usual ground.

The season of living bread

The Season of Living Bread | Catholic AnswersNASH: If you’re old enough — or perhaps have just seen them on the internet—you may recall the famous Coke commercials of the 1970s, in which a multicultural group of young people proclaim about the soft drink, “It’s the real thing!”

Well, if I may elevate the theme a bit, the Eucharist could be described as the ultimate “Real Thing,” for in it Christ offers himself on behalf of the most ethnically diverse group possible—the whole world—and salvifically nourishes us with his body and blood.

How can Jesus’ limited human body be in more than one place? For Protestant Reformers like Ulrich Zwingli, as well as many Christians today, the miracle of the Eucharist is impossible precisely because of the finitude of Christ’s human nature.

Global Britain was built as a narco-empire

Global Britain was built as a narco-empire | The Spectator: China, wrote Adam Smith, is ‘one of the richest, that is, one of the most fertile, best cultivated, most industrious and most populous countries in the world’. It was an obvious exemplar for a man who was trying to write An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. In the late 18th century, when Smith published his seminal work, Britain had not only already begun to build an empire; it was about to learn from the experience of losing parts of it too, as the colonies in North America detached and went their own way.

Maria Gaetana Agnesi was a woman of science

A Woman of Science: Maria Gaetana Agnesi - Crisis MagazineRUTLER: A cavalcade of women whose scientific achievements have had an important impact on the way we live and do things, challenges any attempt to stereotype these geniuses as colorless drones or “nerds,” which is merely a neologism of Dr. Seuss from 1950. For instance, the mathematician Gabrielle Emilie Le Tonnelier de Breteuil was an elegant if wayward mistress of Voltaire, and also had a child by a minor poet, the Marquis de Saint-Lambert, while sustaining the affection of her long-suffering husband, the Marquis Florent-Claude du Chastellet-Lomont. In 1749, she died at the age of forty-three, having given birth to a short-lived girl at her desk while translating some of Newton’s Principia. The newborn was placed on a large leather-bound volume illustrating infinitesimal calculus. A generation earlier, the German entomologist Maria Merian raised eyebrows when she outfitted herself for a dangerous journey to study insects in Suriname.