There are two things they say we’re not supposed to talk about in public. But be careful. The consequences of our silence are real...

(20 ) Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila - Posts | FacebookAQUILA: We've been talking a lot about religious freedom as Catholics and as part of that conversation, I'd encourage you to watch this video. It shows how we got to where we are, and some ideas for how to talk about our faith in today's charged climate. As the description says, there are two things you can't talk about in public, and the consequences of our silence are real. Learn how this happened and why we need a new approach...

States have slowly been adopted assisted suicide legislation. Almost any state could be next...

Ask Politicians About Assisted Suicide or It Becomes Law | Matthew SchneiderSCHNEIDER: States have slowly been adopted assisted suicide legislation. This is unethical as it is taking a life before it is over. It often means the elderly or disabled are pushed towards taking pills to kill themselves. Almost any state could be next. And as a Catholic, this is a top voting issue as it involves the taking of human life. Until Roe v. Wade is overturned...

Michael Warsaw of EWTN: Voting for life is preeminent issue

Michael Warsaw of EWTN: Voting for life is preeminent issue: "People have to vote for life. There's no question about that. Life is the preeminent issue," said Michael Warsaw, chairman and CEO of Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN), the world's largest religious media network, and publisher of the National Catholic Register...

Elon Musk asks this confusing riddle during job interviews. Can you answer it?

Elon Musk Job Interview Riddle: How to Solve the One Mile Riddle: You never know what to expect from Elon Musk, whether he’s saying settlers will die on Mars, claiming the sun will someday power all of civilization, or naming his new baby after a spy plane. So it may come as no surprise that interviewing for a job with the Tesla and SpaceX CEO may involve, well, a few surprises.

Taking a broader view of Vatican “anti-corruption” reforms

Taking a broader view of Vatican "anti-corruption" reformsALLEN: When he was the Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was infamous for rarely giving interviews. An Argentine reporter told me in 2013 that he once went out to a site where Bergoglio was saying Mass to cover the event, and then spotted him heading for the subway afterwards...

Father Michael McGivney, founder of the Knights of Columbus, beatified; feast day will be August 13

Life of Father McGivney | Knights of Columbus: The founder of the Knights of Columbus, Father Michael J. McGivney was a central figure in the growth of Catholicism in America, and he remains a model today. His example of charity, evangelization and empowerment of the laity continues to bear fruit and guide Knights of Columbus around the world.

Give the devil enough rope and he’ll hang himself. Give him enough power and he’ll hang us first...

Give the Devil Enough Rope ~ The Imaginative ConservativePEARCE: These might not seem very reassuring words as many of us find ourselves facing pre-election stress syndrome. So much seems to be riding on this particular election that it’s easy to lose our peace of mind in angst-ridden concerns about the future of our nation and the world.

Actress Patricia Heaton calls for praying daily Rosary ahead of 2020 election

Actress Patricia Heaton Calls for Praying Daily Rosary Ahead of 2020 Election |: Praise God for celebrities like Patricia Heaton! Hollywood actress Patricia Heaton encouraged her Twitter followers to “pray a daily rosary” and “tune out” social media as we “head to the brink.” While Heaton did not mention the election, many of her tweets focus on Christ’s call to love during this time of division in our country, including through this year’s presidential election.

Without All Saints Day, our Halloween would never end

This Sunday, the Saints Stop Our Endless Halloween | The Gregorian Institute at Benedictine CollegeHOOPES: The Solemnity of All Saints readings describe an explosion of grace that is still reverberating and lighting up a dark, twisted world. A Saturday Halloween night is the perfect metaphor for a world without Christ: Rootless pleasure seekers dressed to reflect their fantasies and fears stumble through a dark, cold, decaying autumn world...

Catholic leaders in Pakistan condemn abduction, forced Islamic conversion, marriage of 13-year-old Christian girl

Catholic leaders in Pakistan condemn forced conversion, marriage of Christian girl, 13: Catholic leaders in Pakistan are demanding the government “take serious notice” of the kidnapping and forced conversion and marriage of a Christian girl in Karachi earlier this month...

I was ousted as Florida State University’s student senate president because of my Catholic faith. Now I’m taking a stand...

a: Public universities are supposed to be marketplaces of ideas where free expression is encouraged, not shut down. Unfortunately, that hasn’t been my experience...

Blessed Franz Jägerstätter and a third-party vote

ssSPENCER: The issue of protecting the life of unborn children in the womb has been the central issue for American Catholics for almost half a century. Furthermore, many Catholics think they have an obligation to vote for the pro-life candidate who has the greatest chance of winning...

Election 2020: For many Americans, religion will play a major role at the ballot box

Election 2020: For many Americans, religion will play a major role at the ballot boxLISI: With less than a week to go before Election Day, a new poll finds that four in 10 Americans factor in personal religious beliefs into their voting decisions. The survey, conducted by Saint Leo University Polling Institute, asked 1,500 people — 500 of those voters in the battleground state of Florida — about the role of faith in American political life...

Why the digital mob fears the power of little-read books

Why the Digital Mob Fears the Power of Little-Read Books| National Catholic RegisterMAIER: How do we stay sane and free in the era of Big Tech? There’s no way to abolish our tools. And even if we could, they provide us with too much genuine good, along with the bad. At the personal level, as Neil Postman would say, freedom starts with understanding our environment, how it works, and how to resist its intrusions...

‘Court packing’ to protect abortion is a real threat to the pro-life cause, but also a risk for Democrats

cBEALE: If a Biden presidential administration and a Democratic Congress expand the number of Supreme Court justices — a practice popularly known as “court packing” — it could swing the nation’s highest court leftwards, but could also be politically risky for Democrats, political scientists and court observers say.

Walking in St. Benedict’s footsteps: Karl Keating’s recent pilgrimage along the Cammino di San Benedetto

wPENTIN: “Listen and attend with the ear of your heart,” St. Benedict of Nursia, the founder of Western monasticism, once said. This is easier said than done in our increasingly anxious and information-saturated world, which is perhaps one of the reasons why pilgrimages have grown in popularity in recent years.

After attack on basilica, Cardinal Sarah warns West: “Islamism is a monstrous fanaticism which must be fought with force and determination”

Cardinal Sarah: West Must Wake Up to Threat of Islamism After Terror Attack on French Church| National Catholic Register: Vatican Cardinal Robert Sarah said Thursday that the West must wake up to the threat of Islamism after three people were killed at a French church by an attacker shouting “Allahu Akbar.” The Guinean cardinal wrote on Twitter Oct. 29 that “Islamism is a monstrous fanaticism which must be fought with force and determination.”

Shouting “Allahu Akbar,” Islamist terrorist stabs to death three people in basilica in Nice, France

Three Dead in Terrorist Attack at French Basilica| National Catholic Register: An attacker killed three people at a church in Nice and wounded others, police in the French city said Thursday. The incident took place at the Basilica of Notre-Dame de Nice Oct. 29 at around 9am local time, according to French media. Christian Estrosi, Nice’s mayor, said that the perpetrator, who was armed with a knife, was shot and arrested by the municipal police.

Philadelphia and the new “tolerance”

Philadelphia and the New "Tolerance" - Ethics & Public Policy CenterMAIER: Philadelphia is a tough place. It’s the home of the famously overserved football fans who, as a special Christmas treat several decades ago, pelted their stadium’s Santa Claus with snowballs. It’s also the home of outstanding universities, medical centers, and major corporations, all oddly underappreciated. Philadelphia gets no respect...

Pope Francis appeals for peace in Cameroon after deadly school attack

Pope Francis appeals for peace in Cameroon after deadly school attack: Pope Francis appealed for an end to violence in Cameroon Wednesday after seven students were killed in an attack on a school in the city of Kumba. “I participate in the suffering of the families of the young students barbarically killed last Saturday in Kumba, in Cameroon. I feel great bewilderment at such a cruel and senseless act...

Fornication is a mortal sin and those who do not repent of it will go to Hell

A Reminder that Fornication is a Serious Sin that Can Exclude Us From Heaven - Community in MissionPOPE: We are in a sinfully confused cultural setting in which many either celebrate or make little effort to avoid what God calls serious sin. The Church must not lack clarity, yet pulpits and classrooms have often been silent. This has led to parents themselves to be silent—and silence is often taken as tacit approval...

Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation signals a new chapter for Catholics and legal abortion

acbDESOUZA: The late-night swearing in of Justice Amy Coney Barrett by Justice Clarence Thomas, the longest-serving member of the Supreme Court, on Monday was a story not just about lawyers, but about Catholics and America’s abortion law...

5 ways of dealing with anti-Catholic bigotry, according to Al Smith

5 Ways of Dealing With Anti-Catholic Bigotry, According to Al Smith| National Catholic RegisterMILLS: It’s usually offered in indirect but aggressive ways. Behind a lot of American political arguments is the belief that Catholics don’t belong in the political world — unless we’re willing to set our faith aside. It comes out in claims like calling the commitment to the unborn child’s right to life...

What I learned from Ave Maria University football

What I Learned from Ave Maria University Football| National Catholic RegisterCLARK: Many years from now, as we look back and try to explain the Year 2020 to our grandchildren, part of that conversation will be about the things we missed while the world was in isolation and quarantine. We will talk about the closing of the churches and the inaccessibility of the sacraments, but we’ll also reference the more worldly things we missed.

AP editors, it is clear, are only interested in voices on one side of the Catholic divide

rMATTINGLY: Let’s discuss a few issues behind your recent feature that was sent to newspapers everywhere with this headline: “Barrett was trustee at private school with anti-gay policies.” The key, of course, is “policies” — a vague term that way too many mainstream journalists consistently use in place of the simple word “doctrines.”

Our Lord did not commission St. Peter as a Catholic Oracle of Delphi. But He did promise him that the gates of hell would not prevail against the Church...

Priest Parables | Catholic CulturePOKORSKY: Many parishioners are anxious when there is a change of pastors because a priest or a pastor is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re going to get. (Pastors can share the same concern about their new parishioners!) Official Church documents rightly describe the exalted role of the priest and generally describe a vision of the priesthood worthy of imitation...

The Vatican has expanded All Saints/All Souls indulgences this year, because some people have gotten a little too used to “celebrations on television”

Vatican Extends Plenary Indulgence for the Dead Throughout November| National Catholic Register: The Vatican has extended the availability of certain plenary indulgences for the souls in Purgatory, amid concerns about avoiding large gatherings of people in churches or cemeteries and including those confined to home due to the pandemic.

Political tact doesn’t stop the Pope from (indirectly) tweaking Trump

tALLEN: “A foolish consistency,” Ralph Waldo Emerson once famously wrote, “is the hobgoblin of little minds.” People and institutions of all sorts channel their inner Emerson all the time, invoking iron-clad principles when they’re convenient but finding loopholes when they’re not. The Vatican is no exception, and the past weekend brought two examples when it comes to getting involved in civil politics.

It’s official: Senate votes to confirm Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court

Senate votes to confirm Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court: The Senate on Monday voted to confirm Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court. Barrett was sworn in as a Supreme Court Justice in a White House ceremony shortly after the vote Monday evening.

Saying “Catholics need abortions too,” pro-abortion protesters disrupt Masses across Poland

Polish women disrupt church services in protest at abortion ban - CNN: Protesters have disrupted church services across Poland in the latest in a series of demonstrations following a near-total ban on abortion, announced last week. Sunday marked the fourth day of protests after Poland's top court ruled on Thursday that abortion due to fetal defects is unconstitutional...

Benedict XVI distances himself from embattled Catholic community

Pope Benedict XVI Distances Himself from Embattled Catholic Community| National Catholic Register: Pope emeritus Benedict XVI has distanced himself from a Catholic community with which he had maintained close ties for decades. The German magazine Herder Korrespondenz reported Oct. 25 that the Pope Emeritus had taken the step regarding the Catholic Integrated Community. Referring to the group by its German initials, IG, Pope Benedict told the publication...

When Joe Biden saved ‘Roe v. Wade’

When%20Joe%20Biden%20Saved%20%u2018Roe%20v.%20Wade%u2019%7C%20National%20Catholic%20RegisterKENGOR: The date: June 29, 1992. The place: the Amtrak station in Wilmington, Delaware. Two men spot one another. They wave; they smile; they run; they dash into one another’s arms. They can’t stop hugging. They are jubilant, ecstatic — literally moved to tears. Why? Because Roe v. Wade was just saved. And they played a crucial role. The two men are both U.S. senators: Joe Biden of Delaware and Warren Rudman of New Hampshire.

Senate set to confirm Amy Coney Barrett to Supreme Court Monday evening

Senate set to confirm Amy Coney Barrett to Supreme Court Monday evening: Amy Coney Barrett is expected to be confirmed to the Supreme Court on Monday evening, after the Senate held a rare Sunday session during which a majority of senators moved to advance her nomination to a full vote.

5 pandemic-era habits every man should keep

5 Pandemic-era habits every man should keepPAOLELLI: don’t know about you, but for me the pandemic hasn’t been just about washing my hands until they’re raw or living like a hermit. Getting back to basics and working from home has given me the ability to implement some positive habits into my everyday life—a few of which I’ve been trying to master for years without success.

Why I trust working fathers (and why bureaucrats become tyrants)

Why I Trust Working Fathers (And Why Bureaucrats Become Tyrants)CRAIG: Some people grew up as army brats, the experience of which shaping their worldview. I grew up as a construction brat (on construction sites), and I know it shapes me, especially my trust of working fathers and mistrust of entrenched experts. On the job site there’s a common mistrust of people that are high in offices, look down (literally and more) on workers, and come across as arrogant...

“Mr. Smith Goes to Washington”: Rebuilding moral community

"Mr. Smith Goes to Washington": Rebuilding Moral Community ~ The Imaginative ConservativeONALEEMCGRAW: The struggle between good and evil that Frank Capra depicts in “Mr. Smith” is clearly understood by viewers as reflecting timeless truths about citizenship and living together in a free society. Even in the fractured public square we inhabit today, members of opposing political tribes can recognize our common humanity in the heroic and humble character Jimmy Stewart portrays.

The Gospel, standing on one foot — A homily for the 30th Sunday of the Year

The Gospel, Standing on One Foot - A Homily for the 30th Sunday of the Year - Community in MissionPOPE: There was an expression common among the rabbis of Jesus’ time, wherein one rabbi would ask another a question, and request that the answer be given while “standing on one foot.” This is a way of saying, be brief in your answer. That idea may be behind the question that is raised in today’s Gospel by the scholar of law...

A family guide to spiritual warfare

Respect Life Radio Podcast - Kathleen Beckman: A Family Guide to Spiritual Warfare | Free Listening on Podbean App: Kathleen Beckman writes: How is my relationship doing with my loved ones and what can I do to help each and every single person in my family experience the love of God, the affirmation and the encouragement? And are there any living within my home who are not experiencing true liberation in Jesus Christ...

Beyond ‘Moviegate,’ deep questions remain on Vatican’s China gamble

bALLEN: Two storylines are fighting it out to dominate Vatican coverage, and so far it’s no contest: A media frenzy over manipulation and censorship of a few seconds of papal verbiage on civil unions in a new documentary has overwhelmed the Vatican and China renewing their deal on the appointment of bishops for another two years...

Exodus is a foreshadowing of the coming of Christ and His Church

In Exodus, We Find Glimpses of Christ's Future ChurchKRANICK: The signs and symbols of Exodus offer a preview of the coming Redemption. The Exodus was the fore-look of the Incarnation. The types of the Old Testament gave way to the reality of Christ, the Church, and the Sacraments. These types can be seen in the main characters of Exodus, in Moses, and Aaron, and Joshua. They can be seen in the main events of Exodus...

Imagining Malcolm X in 2020

xNASH: As one who grew up in the Motor City, I have long been interested in and drawn to African-American culture, including studying the subject at the University of Michigan. As a young child, I remember Martin Luther King, Jr., his stirring speeches, and the tragic day he was killed in April 1968.

Pope Francis to create 13 new cardinals, including Archbishop Wilton Gregory of Washington, D.C.

Pope Francis to create 13 new cardinals, including Washington Archbishop Gregory: Pope Francis said Sunday that he will create 13 new cardinals, including Washington Archbishop Wilton Gregory, at a consistory on Nov. 28, the eve of the First Sunday of Advent. The pope announced his intention to add to the College of Cardinals from a window overlooking St. Peter’s Square, after leading the Angelus Oct. 25.

The Lord is eager to engage the battle. Are you?

The Lord Is Eager to Engage the Battle; Are You? - Community in MissionPOPE: The Gospel for Thursday of the 29th Week of the Year speaks of a great cosmic battle taking place all around us. In it, Jesus speaks of His mission to engage our ancient foe and to gather God’s elect back from the enslaving clutches of Satan, who was a murderer and a liar from the beginning (cf John 8:44).

Vatican’s CDF announces excommunication of Tomislav Vlašić, former Medjugorje spiritual director

tv: A laicized priest who had been the spiritual director to six people who said they experienced visions of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Bosnian town of Medjugorje has been excommunicated. Tomislav Vlasic, who had been a Franciscan priest until he was laicized in 2009...

Here’s the bottom line on the Pope’s movie mystery: “If you don’t fix it, you bought it”

bALLEN: When I was a child growing up in a small Western Kansas town, my mom from time to time would take me to Main Street to visit the shops. Most had some version of the following sign on display, meant as a warning to be careful with the merchandise: “You break it, you bought it.” There’s a PR corollary that could be said to go like this...

Mexican broadcaster: Vatican held back Pope Francis’ words on same-sex civil unions in 2019 interview footage

ev: A Mexican broadcaster said Thursday that the Vatican held back footage from a 2019 interview that it conducted with Pope Francis, in which the pope called for the passage of civil union laws for same-sex couples. That footage appears in a documentary on Pope Francis released this week, but the Vatican has not yet explained the situation.

What should a Catholic make of Q and QAnon?

What Should a Catholic Make of Q?| National Catholic RegisterARMSTRONG: Are you a follower of QAnon? Do you even know what it is? The QAnon (also known as “Q”) movement is largely seen as paranoid and cult-like by liberals but has found a soft landing among some conservatives and evangelicals. Supposedly, Q is a highly-placed government insider who claims knowledge...

‘Catholic voters’ will split their votes in this election, but how will that affect swing states?

rrLISI: The U.S. election season has come down to its final days. Both national polling and those in battleground states see former Vice President Joe Biden with a lead. President Donald Trump has been traveling across the Rust Belt in hopes of winning key states like Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, as voters are told...

What every Catholic needs to remember about the pope’s opinions on civil unions (or anything else)

wecPOPE: My plea to our Holy Father, once again, would be that he refrain from interviews with secular sources, press conferences in airplanes and off-the-cuff remarks. It is best to stick with issuing carefully-reviewed statements through official channels and to speak a lot less in general. His remarks about climate change, economic models and the presidential race in the United States are a mere annoyance to some Catholics...

There is less in the Holy Father’s comments than meets the eye, but it remains a significant statement, and what exactly it means remains unclear...

ssDESOUZA: The global headlines reporting that Pope Francis is in favor of civil unions for same-sex couples presented the Holy Father’s comments as a dramatic shift in the Catholic Church’s teaching on homosexual relationships. There is less here than meets the eye, but it remains a significant statement...

Plot thickens over origins of Pope’s civil union remarks

Plot thickens over origins of pope's civil union endorsementWINFIELD: Questions swirled Thursday about the origins of Pope Francis’ bombshell comments endorsing same-sex civil unions, with all evidence suggesting he made them in a 2019 interview that was never broadcast in its entirety.

“Properties of a wound” — The eucharistic miracle that occurred after Blessed Carlo Acutis’ death

"Properties of a Wound": The Eucharistic Miracle That Occurred After Bl. Carlo Acutis' Death |: Have you heard of this Eucharistic miracle? Fr. Mark Goring of St. Mary’s Parish in Ottawa, Ca. explained an amazing Eucharistic miracle that occurred a few days following the recently-beatified Bl. Carlos Acutis’ death.

How different languages tell time, and how cultures around the world perceive time differently

New Advent: How different languages tell time, and how cultures around the world perceive time differently: How many hours are in a day? Which direction is clockwise? Can hours shrink? Depends on your language...

The Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict is far away and obscure to us. But pay attention. For Christians in that region, everything is at stake...

aaTADIE: The disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, on the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan has been the scene of bloody clashes since Sept. 27, following several months of rising tensions. It is the latest escalation of an old and unresolved conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over this region of the South Caucasus with an Armenian ethnic majority...

Pope John Paul II and President Ronald Reagan were a match made in Heaven

Pope John Paul II and Ronald Reagan Were a Match Made in Heaven| National Catholic RegisterKENGOR: The election of November 2020 comes 40 years to the near-exact date of the election of November 1980. It was an election of great consequence for the world, especially in a major battle confronted by the United States and the Vatican.

At Amy Coney Barrett hearings, Sen. Chris Coons turned John Paul II’s theology of the body upside down

acbDESOUZA: The Senate Judiciary Committee vote on the nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett falls on the Oct. 22 feast of Pope St. John Paul II, who proposed his concept of the “feminine genius” as a counterpoint to anti-Christian feminism. Yet there was something else from John Paul simmering below the surface at the Barrett hearings — another one of his creative teachings, the theology of the body...

Vatican and China renew secret deal over appointment of bishops

Vatican and China Renew Deal Over Appointment of Bishops| National Catholic RegisterPENTIN: The Holy See has announced it has renewed its controversial Provisional Agreement with China on the appointment of bishops. In a short statement, the Holy See said it considers the “initial application” of the Agreement “to have been positive” and that the accord is of “great ecclesial and pastoral value.”

Pope Francis calls for civil union law for same-sex couples, in shift from Vatican stance

Pope Francis calls for civil union law for same-sex couples, in shift from Vatican stance: In a documentary that premiered Wednesday in Rome, Pope Francis called for the passage of civil union laws for same-sex couples, departing from the position of the Vatican’s doctrinal office and the pope’s predecessors on the issue.

The 30 year anniversary of Benedictine College’s great mascot heist

The 30 year anniversary of the great mascot heist - The Circuit: Phil Lombardi, Fr. Dan Andrews and three others began their Saturday morning at breakfast before their lives would change forever in October of 1990. During breakfast, Andrews asked the group if they wanted to go to the BC soccer game against Rockhurst that day. The group replied ‘yes’ and piled into Andrews’ 1973 Volkswagen van and set off to Kansas City, Missouri.

A ‘perfect’ chocolate chip cookie and the chef who created it [scroll to end of article for recipe]

cookie: Calling your chocolate chip cookie “perfect” is a bold move. But the British pastry chef Ravneet Gill had no problem doing it. So far, no one’s contested her claim.

Pope reverts to mask-less old ways amid growing criticism from left

Pope reverts to mask-less old ways amid growing criticism: A day after donning a face mask for the first time during a liturgical service, Pope Francis was back to his mask-less old ways Wednesday despite surging coronavirus infections across Europe and growing criticism of his behavior and the example he is setting.

“Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful”

Useless Houses | LifeCraftCUDDEBACK: I wonder what features were typical of ‘useless houses’ in Athens. Did they have the ancient equivalent of a state-of-the-art entertainment center dominating the family room, or a master bath big enough to host a luncheon? Was it that size, number, and arrangement of rooms did not reasonably correspond to real human life of the household community?

Science always points to God

Science always points to God | Catholic CultureMIRUS: I have always been fortunate to know scientists who don’t confuse the domain of science with their own philosophical presuppositions. It is, after all, one of the most common—and probably the most absurd—of all contemporary secular claims that the physical sciences somehow disprove the existence of God...

Surprise! There’s a secret organ in your head — the first new one scientists have found in 300 years

New Organ Discovered: There's a Secret Organ in Your Head: Scientists have found a previously undiscovered organ deep inside the human head, where the nasal passages meet the back of the throat. Yes, the news is an extraordinary-sounding surprise, but the researchers say the discovery is likely a fourth pair of salivary glands—not a second brain or transistor radio...

It’s shocking to hear Our Lord compare Himself to a thief. Let’s look at some of the implications...

thiefPOPE: One of the more interesting and surprising images the Lord used for Himself was “thief.” There is a reference to this in the first reading for this Wednesday of the 29th week of the year. Now, thievery suggests unjust possession. In this sense, the Lord is clearly not a thief; He is using a simile...

Lessons from the life and legacy of Blessed Karl, the last Habsburg emperor

Blessed Are the Peacemakers: Lessons From the Life and Legacy of Blessed Karl| National Catholic RegisterTURLEY: Sometimes it is hard to believe that saints were once flesh and blood: So often we see church statues of the blessed that look unreal. Harder still is it to recall that some of these saints had children and that today their descendants are living, breathing men and women. St. Gianna Molla is one such example. His Imperial Royal Highness Imre von Habsburg-Lothringen, archduke of Austria...

Embryonic stem cell research underperforms in California

Embryonic Stem Cell Research Underperforms in California | Matthew SchneiderSCHNEIDER: Do you remember the top bioethical topic of discussion in 2004? It was California voters approving a $3 billion bond for embryonic stem cell research. Now they are asking for even more money 16 years later. But despite promising all kinds of therapies 16 years ago, there is still no FDA-approved therapy using human embryonic stem cells.

Is this the end of the College of Cardinals as a polite society?

Is this the end of the College of Cardinals as a polite society?ALLEN: By tradition, both the United States Senate and the College of Cardinals have been a sort of Country Club in which members, whatever their disagreements, treat one another with courtesy. That culture of civility disintegrated long ago in the Senate, and if Cardinal Joseph Zen has anything to do with, it may not be long-lived in the Church either...

As fears of formal schism rise, German bishops press ahead on intercommunion and ‘Synodal Path’

gbPENTIN: As reports emerged recently of Pope Francis’ “dramatic concern” about the state of the Catholic Church in Germany and news that he received Germany’s apostolic nuncio for private talks on Monday, the country’s bishops pressed ahead on their goal of shared Communion with Protestants despite strong objections from the Vatican.

In times of explosive uncertainty, we need to cling to the single thread that is God

Hitting Rock Bottom and Staying There: Jean de Brebeuf and Mother Seton - Seton ShrineLICKONA: Chaos reigns right now in my little county in the middle of upstate New York. For many months we were a blessed bubble of freedom from COVID-19. But now cases are rising quickly, and panic is setting in. Crime is up: yesterday a neighbor filmed a man stealing from cars and porches in the middle of the day. Drug use is up. And why not? A drug can seem like a logical answer, a way to escape the terror for a moment of sweet forgetfulness.

Video: Amazing animation showing how ingenious medieval engineers built the Charles Bridge in Prague

New Advent: Video: Amazing animation showing how ingenious medieval engineers built the Charles Bridge in Prague: From Lionel Page on Twitter

Video: Giant John Paul II mural created in Stalowa Wola, Poland

New Advent: Video: Giant John Paul II mural created in Stalowa Wola, Poland: From Visegrad 24 on Twitter

Thomas Howard and the wonder of our earthly and heavenly homes

thMERING: The widely beloved author and professor Tom Howard has gone on to his eternal rest. He rose to prominence in Evangelical circles in the late 1960s with his book Christ the Tiger (1967), then entered the Anglican Communion before he finally, as he explained, “read his way into the Catholic Church.” News of his becoming Catholic in 1985 was monumental enough to justify a three-part series analyzing it in Christianity Today, the flagship Evangelical magazine in North America...

Amy Coney Barrett’s “civic grace” is an antidote to the culture of contempt

Amy Coney Barrett's 'Civic Grace' the Antidote to Culture of Contempt | National ReviewLOPEZ: “Dude, I want you to punch Donald Trump in the face.” During Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation hearings, Democratic senator Cory Booker of New Jersey quoted a man who approached him at a town hall. “Dude, that’s a felony,” is how Senator Booker described his response...

Cardinal Zen on Cardinal Parolin: “Parolin knows he himself is lying. He knows that I know he is a liar. He knows that I will tell everyone that he is a liar”

Ex-Hong Kong bishop calls Vatican line on China 'sickening': Catholicism’s most prominent voice on China has defined a recent talk by Italian Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s Secretary of State, laying out the reasons for renewing a controversial 2018 deal on the appointment of bishops, as “sickening,” and accused Parolin of “lying with eyes open.”

Thoughts on the soap opera of the Vatican’s latest femme fatale

ffALLEN: If you want to sell a scandal story, there’s really nothing like having a femme fatale at the heart of it all. You might think pulling that off would be problematic in the Vatican, legendarily perceived as an all-male domain, yet such female characters never seem to be in short supply whenever a new meltdown erupts. What drove the second Vatileaks scandal in 2015-2016, at least in terms of media interest...

On the wickedness that withers and the truth that perdures

On the Wickedness That Withers and the Truth That Perdures - Community in MissionPOPE: Over the years, in meeting especially with teenagers in Sunday School, I have used an old Jim Croce song to instruct them that worldly norms, and worldly leaders come and go. What is “hip” and cool today is considered silly and out of date tomorrow. My advice to them was to stay close to the Scriptures and teachings of the Church which are time-tested and do not change...

To love in the face of an offense — this is a secret form of mercy that God longs to share with us, a wisdom that is unfamiliar to this world...

Beginning to Pray: The Pathway of ForgivenessLILLES: What if the neighbor whom I trust sins against me and robs me of the dignity that is due, am I still to love him? Such a neighbor has taken a hostile stand toward me and has become my enemy. Christ commands me to love my enemies, to be concerned over the plight of those who have betrayed me...

4 issues on the table for Pope Francis and the future of the Church

MVGAGLIARDUCCI: Until now, Pope Francis appears to have escaped the criticism and attacks levied against the Church. Even when it comes to the recent Vatican financial scandals, Pope Francis’ name is never mentioned. It is strange since the Pope, though he never took any responsibility for what happened, always presented himself as a guarantor, a leader committed to clarify and solve the most difficult situations...

Hooded protestors set fire to two historic Catholic churches in Chile

In Chile, archbishop condemns arson attacks that destroyed Catholic churches: The Archbishop of Santiago de Chile condemned arson attacks that destroyed two Chilean churches Sunday, and called on Catholics to carry out acts of reparation for the attacks.

God and God alone — A homily for the 29th Sunday of the Year

God and God Alone – A Homily for the 29th Sunday of the Year - Community in MissionPOPE: The Gospel for Sunday contains lots of interesting juxtapositions: hatred for Jesus but grudging respect, real questions vs. rhetorical ones, politics and faith, duties to Caesar and duties to God. The word “juxtaposition” comes from the Latin juxta, meaning “near” and positio, meaning “place” or “position”. Juxtaposition is the placing of two things near to each other...

Florida janitor rides his mop bucket, umbrella and leaf blower into well-earned glory

New Advent: Florida janitor rides his mop bucket, umbrella and leaf blower into well-earned glory: Credit: Brian Kahrs via Storyful

San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone says prayers of exorcism at protest site where statue of St. Junípero Serra was toppled

SF archbishop performs exorcism to cleanse protest site: The archbishop of San Francisco performed a short exorcism ceremony Saturday outside a Catholic church where protesters had earlier toppled a statue of Father Junipero Serra, saying the ceremony was intended to drive out evil and defend the image of Serra.

Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone performed the ritual before some 150 supporters before holding a special Mass inside St. Raphael Catholic Church and an expected march to a Planned Parenthood clinic, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

Pope’s Sunday Angelus: Catholics must “affirm God’s primacy in human life and in history”

Pope Francis: God is supreme: Catholics, by virtue of their baptism, must affirm to the world God’s primacy in human life and in history, Pope Francis said Sunday. In his weekly Angelus address Oct. 18, the pope explained that “to pay taxes is a duty of citizens, as is complying with the just laws of the state. At the same time, it is necessary to affirm God’s primacy in human life and in history, respecting God’s right over all that belongs to him.”

Cardinal Becciu “vigorously” denies interference in Cardinal Pell trial, threatens to sue journalists

Vatican finances: Cardinal Angelo Becciu 'vigorously' denies interference in Cardinal George Pell trialBROCKHAUS: Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu again denied having interfered in any way with the trial of Cardinal George Pell, after Italian media reported an allegation that Becciu might have wired money to Australia as a bribe during Pell’s trial.

Flannery O’Connor is an antidote to our own unraveling

Southern Slowdown: Flannery O’Connor in Perspective| National Catholic RegisterSALONEN: When a northerner enters the Deep South, everything seems to slow. Maybe it’s the heat that halts the hurry, or the mint juleps that quell the quick. I observed this several summers ago when two fellow Catholic writers and I visited Andalusia Farm in Milledgeville, Georgia, home of famed Catholic novelist Flannery O’Connor. And I rediscovered it during an exclusive interview with the writers-directors of the new, award-winning documentary, Flannery.

Resident of Casa Santa Marta, home of Pope Francis, tests positive for COVID-19

Vatican: Coronavirus case in Pope Francis' residence: The Holy See press office said Saturday a resident of the Vatican hotel where Pope Francis also lives has tested positive for COVID-19. The person has been temporarily moved out of the Casa Santa Marta residence and placed in isolation, the Oct. 17 statement said. Anyone who came into direct contact with the person is also observing a period of isolation.

This Sunday, Jesus makes both parties angry (and so should we)

This Sunday, Jesus Makes Both Parties Angry (and So Should We) | The Gregorian Institute at Benedictine CollegeHOOPES: Jesus is confronted with a partisan trap in the Gospel this Sunday, the 29th Sunday of Ordinary Time. To get out of it, he utters a phrase that has shaped the world we live in — a phrase whose full implications most of us still need to apply to our lives. He tells both parties to give “Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.” Jesus faces a trap set by the pro-tax Herodians and the anti-tax Pharisees...

Thomas Howard (1935-2020) lived a life of integrity and honor. His character influenced an astonishing number of people...

RIP Thomas Howard: 1935-2020 - Catholic HeraldMILLS: The popular and in some cases almost idolized Catholic writer Thomas Howard has died, at the age of eighty-five. The scion of a major American Evangelical family — his older sister being the Evangelical superstar Elizabeth Elliot — he went to the Evangelical mecca, Wheaton College, and was expected to rise in that world, his gifts apparent to everyone. In one of his early books...

4 people who heroically resisted Nazism

4 Heroic Resisters to NazismCLARK: As Hitler and Nazism rose to power, millions of people resisted in many different ways. Some were well-known for their objection; prudence dictated that others remained clandestine. Some fought Nazism with the weapons of war; others fought back with the pen. Some landed on beaches of foreign lands; some never left their towns. Though most of the resisters never met, they formed a beautiful coalition of truth and love...

Clarifying Catholic teaching on vaccines

Clarifying Catholic Teaching on Vaccines re: Fr. Michael Copenhagen | Matthew SchneiderSCHNEIDER: Several times people have sent me talks or writings by Fr. Michael Copenhagen claiming that he explains the actual Catholic teaching on vaccines. This is despite the fact that he disagrees with the overwhelming majority of bishops and theologians, as well as official Vatican statements. I maintain the position of the Vatican and the majority of theologians. I have responded in personal correspondence or in general terms before.

Bishop McElroy’s variation on the ‘seamless garment’ theme

Bishop McElroy’s variation on the ‘seamless garment’ theme | Catholic CultureLAWLER: Bishop Robert McElroy says that Catholics should not be single-issue voters. He packages a familiar argument—that abortion is not the only key pro-life issue in this year’s political campaigns—in an attractive new form: “To reduce that magnificent, multidimensional gift of God’s love to a single question of public policy is repugnant and should have no place in public discourse...”

Cardinal Farrell’s new post, and a priest’s belated vindication

Quick Hits: Cardinal Farrell’s new post, a priest’s belated vindication | Catholic CultureLAWLER: At Catholic World Report, J. D. Flynn offers some perceptive observations about the appointment of Cardinal Kevin Farrell to head a new committee charged with supervising financial transactions that involve Vatican secrets. Cardinal Farrell, Flynn reminds readers, is already the camerlengo, the official responsible for handling the material properties of the Holy See during a papal interregnum...

Bishop Daly challenges Bishop McElroy’s statements on abortion and the 2020 election

Bishop Daly Challenges Bishop McElroy’s Statements on Abortion and the 2020 Election| National Catholic Register: Bishop Thomas Daly of Spokane told the Register Wednesday that he strongly disagreed with San Diego Bishop Robert McElroy’s guidance to Catholic voters, offered during a virtual discussion organized by St. Mary’s College just three weeks before the 2020 presidential election. In his Oct.13 remarks, Bishop McElroy indicated it was acceptable for Catholics to support Democratic nominee Joe Biden’s pro-abortion-rights stance because...

Florida martyrs remembered at Mass of thanksgiving for the cause of their canonization

Florida martyrs remembered at Mass of thanksgiving for their sainthood cause: At a Mass on Monday said in thanksgiving for the cause for canonization of the martyrs of Spanish colonial Florida, the Bishop of Pensacola-Tallahassee emphasized that martyrs were not just in the Old World, but in what is the United States as well.

Singer Stevie Nicks says Fleetwood Mac exists because she aborted her child

Singer Stevie Nicks Says Fleetwood Mac Exists Because She Aborted Her Child: Singer-songwriter Stevie Nicks said in a recent interview that Fleetwood Mac would not exist had she not aborted her child in 1979. The Fleetwood Mac singer told The Guardian that since Ruth Bader Ginsberg’s death, “women’s rights have been on [her] mind.” She said that abortion is her “generation’s fight,” adding her abortion story. Nicks got pregnant while dating Eagles lead singer Don Henley and during Fleetwood Mac’s “height” of fame.

Italian ‘security consultant’ appeals extradition to Vatican over financial crimes

Italian ‘security consultant’ appeals extradition to Vatican over financial crimes: A self-described geopolitical analyst at the center of the most recent Vatican financial scandal is being held in an Italian jail pending extradition to the Vatican. Cecilia Marogna was arrested October 13 by Italian financial authorities after a warrant was issued by Vatican prosecutors through Interpol.

What we get wrong about medieval libraries

What We Get Wrong About Medieval Libraries | Time: When we picture the libraries of the Middle Ages, we see heavy tomes chained to wooden benches, far away from an accessible open space. It is a place forbidden, guarded jealously by the hooded librarian of The Name of the Rose, Malachi of Hildesheim—a domain of men. No books can leave this prison.

The dogma lives loudly in the Catholic Church

The Dogma Lives Loudly in the Catholic Church| National Catholic RegisterAKIN: In 2017, Catholic law professor Amy Coney Barrett was being confirmed for the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, when Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) famously told her, “The dogma lives loudly within you.” What on earth did she mean? Feinstein probably didn’t think about it too much and was just seeking a soundbite for her pro-abortion constituents.

Women don’t need more feminism — we need the Father’s love

Women Don’t Need More Feminism — We Need the Father’s Love| National Catholic RegisterGRESS: Two weeks after my 16th birthday, my father passed away. After nine months of dramatic decline from pancreatic cancer, he died surrounded by family. I remember our last conversation. “Will you stay home from school?” he asked. “No,” was my reply. I explained that I needed to go to school because if I didn’t go, my friends would be mad at me. One of our teachers made a deal that if we all showed up for class, there would be no test...

Pope names new prefect of Congregation for the Causes of Saints, replacing disgraced Cardinal Becciu

Pope Francis names new prefect of congregation for saints’ causes: Pope Francis named a new prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints Thursday following Cardinal Angelo Becciu’s dramatic resignation from the post last month.

The pope appointed Bishop Marcello Semeraro, who has acted as secretary of the Council of Cardinal Advisers since it was established in 2013, to the position Oct. 15.

The 72-year-old Italian has served as bishop of Albano, a suburbicarian diocese located about 10 miles from Rome, since 2004.

DC YouTube priest Father Bill Byrne, brother of Sister Dede Byrne, named bishop of Springfield, Massachusetts

DC YouTube priest named bishop of Springfield, Massachusetts: Pope Francis Wednesday appointed Fr. William “Bill” D. Byrne, a priest of the Archdiocese of Washington and the presenter of a popular YouTube series, to lead the Diocese of Springfield, Massachusetts. Bishop-elect Byrne, 56, is also the younger brother of Sr. Deirdre “Dede” Byrne, POSC, a surgeon, retired army officer, and religious sister who spoke at the 2020 Republican National Convention in August.

How do we know that Jesus is risen?

How Do We Know That Jesus is Risen? - Community in MissionPOPE: If I were to ask someone how we know that Jesus Christ rose from the dead, most would answer, “Because it says so in the Bible.” While this is true, it is not really the most correct answer. The proper answer is that we know that Jesus is risen from the dead because the Apostles said so. They were eyewitnesses to this fact. Jesus himself attests to this when he said...

Pope meets Pell: ‘Vindication’ yes, ‘resurgence’ not so fast

Pope meets Pell: ‘Vindication’ yes, ‘resurgence’ not so fastALLEN: After having been freed from jail in April when Australia’s High Court ruled unanimously he never should have been convicted of child sexual abuse in the first place, and after watching his erstwhile Vatican archenemy not just fall but plummet from grace last month, Cardinal George Pell completed his comeback tour Monday with a half-hour audience with Pope Francis.

Your personal traits and talents must shape your Catholic mission

Catholic mission: Properly shaped through our humanity | Catholic CultureMIRUS: One of the most delightful Biblical texts illustrating the role of human creativity in doing God’s will is found in Exodus chapter 17, where Jethro offers advice to Moses on a better human way to fulfill his Divine commission. For those of us who are not good at building organizations, the text is also a cautionary tale. The idea of extending what we perceive as a Divine calling through the action of a number of persons...

6 schemes of Satan to guard against, according to St. Paul

Six Schemes of Satan to Guard Against According to St. Paul – The Five BeastsREIDTURNER: The word for “purposes” comes from the Greek noema and is usually rendered “device”, “scheme”, or “purpose”. According to St. Paul these “schemes” are well-known. Digging into Paul’s epistles we can uncover six, as well as the strategy he offers for dealing with them.

Here’s a behind-the-scenes exclusive with the ‘Fatima’ movie stars

Meet the Seers of 'Fatima': Here's a Behind-the-Scenes Exclusive with the 'Fatima' Movie Stars |: Universal Pictures dropped a never-before-seen clip from the Fatima movie, and ChurchPOP is the first to release it! This clip comes from the upcoming Oct. 27 DVD release. The clip goes behind-the-scenes of the Fatima movie with stars Stephanie Gil (Lucia), Alejandra Howard (Jacinta), and Jorge Lamelas (Francisco). The children discuss their real-life friendship, what they thought of the Fatima story...

Italian woman arrested in connection with Cardinal Becciu financial scandal

Italian woman in Vatican financial scandal investigation arrested | Reuters: A 39-year-old Italian woman was arrested on Tuesday in connection with the Vatican’s latest financial scandal, police said.

Cecilia Marogna had worked for Cardinal Angelo Becciu, a top Vatican official who was fired by Pope Francis last month and accused of embezzlement and nepotism. Becciu has denied all

wrongdoing.

Here are 50 great jokes to keep little kids (and their dads) amused...

The 50 Best Jokes for Little Kids | The Art of Manliness: While we’ve compiled the best jokes for kids of all ages, as well as the best riddles, and even non-cheesy knock-knock jokes, little kids — roughly between the ages of 3 and 7 — need a category all to themselves.

Totalitarianism’s toll, as told by the people who lived it

Totalitarianism’s Toll, as Told By the People Who Lived It| National Catholic RegisterDESMOND: Five years ago, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence suddenly found his state under siege. The White House, tech business leaders and even the NCAA had all expressed their outrage over the Hoosier State’s new Religious Freedom Restoration Act, alleging that it offered business owners a “license to discriminate” against “LGBT” customers. Facing the threat of a damaging national boycott against his state, Pence pledged to amend the law.

“I have no agenda” except public service, Amy Coney Barrett tells senators on second day of confirmation hearing

'I have no agenda' except public service, Barrett tells senators: Judge Amy Coney Barrett explained to senators on Tuesday that she has no personal agenda to overturn previous decisions if she is confirmed to the Supreme Court, and that she would consider each case on its own merits, according to the law.

Analysis: Vatican finances and Cardinal Parolin’s crisis of credibility

Analysis: Vatican finances and Cardinal Parolin’s crisis of credibilityCONDON: On Saturday, the ongoing saga of Vatican financial scandal – or reform, if you prefer – continued with the approval of several new changes to Vatican City law on transparency and economic oversight. It also included the announcement that Cardinal Pietro Parolin will no longer sit on the reconstituted oversight board of the Institute for Works of Religious (IOR), commonly called the Vatican bank...

Louisiana church reconsecrated after ‘demonic’ desecration, while details about Fr. Travis Clark emerge

Louisiana church reconsecrated after ‘demonic’ desecration, while details about Fr. Travis Clark emergeJDFLYNN: Archbishop Gregory Aymond on Saturday consecrated a new altar at the Louisiana parish where a priest reportedly filmed a pornographic video atop the parish altar with two women last month. Details have emerged about the priest, who is expected to face criminal and canonical charges after the episode. Those who know the priest say he kept to himself, while a seminary professor said Clark was a poor student who made little effort, which should have been a red flag...

If you want to guide someone to Christ, then you must collaborate with Christ

If you want to guide someone to Christ, then you must collaborate with Christ | Knowing Is DoingTORRE: In his encyclical on Evangelization-Evangelii Nuntiandi, St. Paul VI describes the purpose and content of evangelization as the means to bear witness, in a simple and direct way, to God revealed by Jesus Christ, in the Holy Spirit, to bear witness that in His Son God has loved the world that in His Incarnate Word He has given being to all things and has called men to eternal life...

Warships and verities: The Royal Navy now has more Equality Officers than warships. Never was so little owed by so few to so many...

Warships and Verities| National Catholic RegisterBOGLE: The Royal Navy now has more Equality Officers than warships. The Anglican bishops of London and Gloucester, among others, are women. Schoolchildren are taught about “gender diversity.” New history textbooks play down the specific achievements of men, and especially the overwhelmingly male sacrifices in war. So it was unsurprising that a kindly Anglican friend felt she was being helpful when she affirmed gently that...

How pets can aid us in becoming more Christlike

How Pets Can Aid Us in Becoming More Christlike and Better Serve Others| National Catholic RegisterMILLS: “There is no reciprocity,” wrote the Welsh Catholic writer Alice Thomas Ellis. “Men love women. Women love children. Children love hamsters. Hamsters don’t love anyone; it is quite hopeless.” Our friendship with our pets may not be quite hopeless, but it does complicate our lives, because it’s a funny kind of relationship. They’re not human, but they’re not things either...

Amy Coney Barrett’s scandal revealed: She seeks to live real Christianity

Amy Coney Barrett Seeks to Live Real Christianity | National ReviewLOPEZ: ‘Staggering friendliness.” That’s how one reporter described his encounter with People of Praise, the apostolic community that Amy Coney Barrett and her family belong to. I’ve always heard wonderful things about Barrett, knowing more than a few people who teach or have studied at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind., where the Barretts have lived. No doubt some of that goodness has to do with People of Praise...

Yin-yang of Washington Post on Amy Coney Barrett: Wait. Pope Francis embraces charismatics?

Yin-yang of Washington Post on Amy Coney Barrett: Wait. Pope Francis embraces charismatics? — GetReligionMATTINGLY: It would appear that the goal on the cultural and religious left is to find a way to link Judge Amy Coney Barrett to all of that strange charismatic Christian stuff like healing and speaking on tongues while avoiding anti-dogma language that would raise warning flags for Sunday-morning-Mass Catholics. She may as well be a fundamentalist Protestant...

Our Lord wants to warn us urgently of the sins that can most commonly exclude us from Heaven. Here are 5 biblical lists of mortal sins...

Five Biblical Lists of Mortal Sins - Community in MissionPOPE: The first reading for this Wednesday of the 27th Week of the Year, from Galatians, speaks to sins that exclude one from the Kingdom of Heaven. If one dies unrepentant from committing any of these sins, one cannot go to Heaven but rather must be excluded in Hell. It is an important reminder to pay heed to the toll that sin takes on our heart, our character, and ultimately our destiny.

Pope Francis meets with Cardinal Pell at the Vatican

Pope Francis meets with Cardinal Pell at the Vatican: Former Vatican finance czar Cardinal George Pell met with Pope Francis in a private audience at the Vatican Monday. The Holy See press office said that the audience took place Oct. 12, but gave no further details. A video of the meeting showed the pope shaking the cardinal’s hand, while saying: “It is a pleasure to meet you again.”

In the dizzying saga of Cardinal Becciu, one thing’s clear: He served at the pleasure of the Pope

In dizzying saga, one thing’s clear: Becciu served at Pope’s pleasureALLEN: Fans of the TV show “West Wing” probably remember an episode in which an internal White House memo is leaked to the press accusing President Josiah Bartlett of timidity and compromising his positions to placate critics. In response, Chief of Staff Leo McGarry crafts a strategy of “Let Bartlett be Bartlett,” meaning forgetting about the politics and being bolder in pursing the president’s agenda.

Why did God make me? God made me to know Him, to love Him, and to serve Him in this world, and to be happy with Him forever in the next...

WDTPRS Collect 19th Sunday after PentecostZUHLSDORF: Years ago I had an experience which confirmed the value of old-fashioned methods of catechism: rote memorization and repetition aloud, “dinning” it in. I was called to a hospital to assist in a man’s difficult death. I gave him Last Rites and talked with the family as they struggled with the end of their loved-one’s life. An estranged daughter, beyond her middle years, which had clearly been pretty rough, was severely bitter...

The theme of today’s Gospel is “Party or perish!” Let’s look at it in five stages...

Party or Perish A Homily for the 28th Sunday of the Year - Community in MissionPOPE: The past three Sundays have featured shocking parables about our readiness, fruitfulness, and decision as to whether to accept and enter the Kingdom of God. The Lord has used the image of a vineyard extensively: a vineyard into which workers are dispatched at different times of the day but who have different attitudes about what is due to them at the end of the day...

‘To be always united with Jesus’: Carlo Acutis, born in 1991, is declared ‘Blessed’ in Assisi

Beatification of Carlo Acutis: The First Millennial Is Declared ‘Blessed’| National Catholic Register: With the beatification of Carlo Acutis in Assisi Saturday, the Catholic Church now has its first “Blessed” who loved Super Mario and Pokémon, but not as much as he loved the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. “To be always united with Jesus, this is my life program,” Carlo Acutis wrote at the age of 7. The young Italian computer whiz, who died of leukemia at 15, offering his suffering for the Pope and the Church, was beatified Oct. 10 in a Mass at the Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi.

If you sup with the devil, you’d better bring a long spoon...

If You Sup With The Devil | Francis X. Maier | First ThingsMAIER: In dealing with China, it’s a piece of folk wisdom the Vatican might want to take more seriously. Concordats have a long and checkered pedigree in Christian history. Over the centuries in Europe, emperors, kings, and governments often had a role in selecting bishops and in regulating the public life of believers. The Church survived them all. More recent Vatican diplomacy...

Socialists should remember that if you can kill little children to get what you want, you can do anything. You can kill socialists, for example...

The Socialist Who Justifies Murdering Children | The StreamMILLS: It’s not a good look. Especially not for a leader of a movement that stresses human equality and fights those who oppress the poor and the marginalized. Bhaskar Sunkara tweeted “The question isn’t what we think justice demands. I think killing little Romanov children was justified. But it’s not surprising why these views are controversial given most people’s ethical and moral frameworks.”

The death even of someone who’s not exactly a friend knocks a hole in your world. It takes away someone who ought to be there...

The Man Who Died This Morning | The StreamMILLS: He wasn’t exactly a friend, the man who died this morning. We enjoyed talking when we met, but neither of us sought out the other’s company. We lived in very different worlds. He was a wildly successful businessman, who’d created a business that recycled materials people actually wanted to buy. I was a writer who tried to create words people wanted to read.

The new Catholic church for the University of Virginia evangelizes with beauty

New church on University of Virginia campus evangelizes with beautyCALDWELL: In recent years, the Catholic Church in the United States has witnessed something of a renaissance of traditional sacred art. After decades in which churches were built in the modernist style, architects are turning to traditional design when building or refurbishing churches, and artisans are being commissioned to create interiors that recall the beauty of churches from centuries ago.

Former abortionist Dr. Kathi Aultman: “I understand how the Nazis could do what they did. Because I was doing it...”

Dr. Kathi Aultman: The goal of late-term abortion is a child’s death: Late-term abortion is “not what the normal OB/GYN would do,” said Kathi Aultman, M.D., a former abortionist. “Even when the mother's life is in danger, you wouldn't do a late-term abortion. You would do a C-section or an induction and deliver the baby. And you would try to take care of the baby the best you can. Even if the baby has fetal anomalies, you would deliver the baby and take care of it”...

The Church in New York will not be shuttered: Catholic bishops stand up to government bigotry

Andrew Cuomo vs. New York Catholic Church: Church Takes a Stand | National ReviewLOPEZ: Yesterday, the Catholic diocese of Brooklyn filed a lawsuit against New York governor Andrew Cuomo. The governor has new shutdown rules in his new hot-zone rules. Under Cuomo’s directive, three zones are being created — red, orange, and yellow — with red zones falling under the most severe restrictions. In orange zones, attendance at religious services is restricted to a maximum of 33 percent capacity...

How bipolar alcoholic Townes Van Zandt saved my life, and how my plain-spoken chain-smoking OxyContin-addict friend led me to the Catholic Church

OxyContin, the Holy Spirit, and Townes Van Zandt - OnePeterFiveHIMMEL: Her hair was red, but not nearly as red as the area rug that sat atop the aqua-green carpet in her living room. She was short and plump, yet not as round as the peanut M&Ms we ate while drinking coffee and discussing theology. Though nearly sixty years old, her Irish eyes sparkled with a childlike joy that, for a long time, I didn’t realize was caused by an opioid coursing through her veins...

Techie teen Carlo Acutis, a ‘saint of the ordinary,’ is the latest halo to sprout in Umbria’s rich soil

Techie teen, ‘saint of the ordinary’ latest halo to sprout in Umbria’s rich soilALLEN: Though no one’s done the math, it’s possible the central Italian region of Umbria has produced more Catholic saints per capita than anywhere else. Something about the rolling hills, mountains and streams here seems to inspire mystics and seekers; as Italian poet Vittorino Andreoli put it, in Umbria, “Places are built to be part of a city of heaven, not an angle of the earth.”

4 principles for Catholics during election season

Four Principles for Catholics during Election Season - Word on FireBARRON: Every four years, Catholics face an intense dilemma in regard to the vote. There are ardently Catholic Democrats who wonder how their co-religionists could possibly choose a Republican candidate, and there are ardently Catholic Republicans who express precisely the opposite opinion. And both sides, typically, look with eagerness to their bishops and priests to resolve the tension...

St. John Vianney and St. Anthony Claret, among others, practiced a simple devotion called “blessing the hour.” It goes like this...

Blessing the Hour – Christian Renaissance MovementEAMONNCLARK: There are a few Marian devotions which have become extremely popular over the centuries. The rosary of course, but also the Angelus (at 6:00 AM, 12:00 PM, and 6:00 PM), and the ubiquitous May Crowning devotions. All beautiful and worthy exercises of piety. However, there is another devotion which is shorter, simpler, and practiced by several saints, including St. John Vianney and St. Anthony Claret, two of my personal favorites. It is called “blessing the hour.”

Reversing Roe v. Wade will not settle the abortion debate. But a post-Roe America will have expelled a rotting bone from the national throat...

The toxic waste of Roe v. Wade - Denver CatholicWEIGEL: Great Britain’s parliamentary democracy has no constitutional text, but rather a “constitution” composed of centuries of legal traditions and precedents. So when British courts make grave mistakes, those mistakes can be fixed, more or less readily, by Parliament. The American situation is quite different. Given a written constitution and the principle of judicial review...

‘Infuriated’ archbishop removes and burns desecrated altar, says New Orleans priest’s actions were ‘demonic’

New Advent: ‘Infuriated’ archbishop removes and burns desecrated altar, says New Orleans priest’s actions were ‘demonic’: The Archdiocese of New Orleans has removed and burned the altar at of Sts. Peter and Paul church in Pearl River after a priest was caught filming sex acts on the altar with two women...

The New Orleans altar desecration isn’t the last of it. We’re going to continue to learn of some hellish stuff in the Church. Hold fast to Christ...

A Window into Hell in New Orleans and a Call to Repair and Rebuild with Vigilance at Virtue | National ReviewLOPEZ: So, about this repulsive story out of New Orleans about the priest and the women and the altar. I want to say it doesn’t get much worse, but I know better than that. A priest friend of mine said to me earlier that his problem with the death penalty is that while it is wrong, it really should be reserved for certain things. Child rape, obviously. And this. If you’re a priest, the altar, the Confessional, and the tabernacle...

Miami Archbishop Thomas Wenski blasts ‘handmaiden’ criticism of Amy Coney Barrett

Miami Archbishop Wenski Blasts ‘Handmaiden’ Criticism of Amy Coney Barrett| National Catholic RegisterHADRO: The chair of the U.S. bishops’ religious freedom committee responded Thursday to the ongoing scrutiny of Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett’s religious beliefs. Those who are “raising the issue” of Barrett’s religious beliefs during consideration of her nomination to the Supreme Court, he said, “are not honoring the principals of our Constitution and thereby contribute to undermining the rule of law in our nation.”

Vatican ‘not optimistic’ that exiled Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz will return home to Belarus

Vatican ‘not optimistic’ exiled Belarus archbishop will returnALLEN: According to the Vatican’s top diplomat who recently returned from a four-day mission in Belarus, the exiled Archbishop of Minsk, refused reentry on Aug. 31 by President Alexander Lukashenko over his criticism of the government’s handling of pro-democracy protests, isn’t likely to be going home anytime soon. Gallagher said limits the government likely would seek to impose as a condition of return upon 74-year-old Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz...

This Sunday, why we still refuse God’s invitation

This Sunday, Why We Still Refuse God’s Invitation | The Gregorian Institute at Benedictine CollegeHOOPES: This Sunday, the 28th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year A, the Gospel and readings describe how great the Christian life is, now and in heaven, and how unsuited for it many of us are — literally unsuited, in the Gospel. We are unsuited for heaven, first of all, because we can’t be bothered to change our course now in order to go there. Jesus tells the Parable of the Wedding Feast, in which a King...

Why does Jesus call us “wicked”?

Why Does Jesus Call Us Wicked? - Community in MissionPOPE: What is going on here? Why does Jesus call us wicked First let’s make sure that the translation from the Greek is a good one. The Greek expression used is πονηροὶ ὑπάρχοντες (poneroi hyparchontes). Poneroi is defined “bad, of a bad nature or condition,” but it is also defined as “full of labors, annoyances, hardships.” Hyparchontes is defined as “from the very beginning” or “being inherently...”

Shocking (and demonic) allegations emerge from arrest of New Orleans priest who desecrated altar with prostitutes

Shocking allegations from Louisiana priest's arrest last week: New, salacious details from police about the arrest of a Pearl River priest last week add to an already devastating period in the Archdiocese of New Orleans’ ongoing church sex abuse scandal. Court documents filed by Pearl River Police state that a passerby saw the lights on inside Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Church near 11 p.m. on Sept. 30, and stopped to witness the shocking actions of the church’s pastor.

Catholic priest freed two years after kidnapping by jihadist group

Catholic priest freed two years after kidnapping by jihadist group: An Italian Catholic priest was freed Thursday two years after he was kidnapped by a jihadist group.

The office of the president of Mali announced Oct. 8 the liberation of Fr. Pierluigi Maccalli, a member of the Society of African Missions.

Do you want a better version of yourself, or do you want God?

Do You Want a Better Version of You... or Do You Want God?CRAIG: Fr. Edward Leen is too little known. His book Progress in Mental Prayer changed my life. If you’re sick of the current version of yourself (not progressing much at all), or not sure what version you want to be, it might be high time for the spiritual kick in the mouth that Leen starts the book with. I have a conversion story much like others...

5 extraordinary actions of the Devil — infestation, oppression, obsession, possession and subjugation

The Extraordinary Actions of the DevilBECKMAN: According to exorcist Fr. Francesco Bamonte, “the extraordinary actions of the devil refer to his particular actions on matter. Important: it is far more interesting to demons to keep people enslaved to sin and to bring them ultimately to the greatest misfortune — eternal damnation — than it is to provoke a series of misfortunes.”

Knighthood may be dead, but chivalry is still alive — so we must battle to uphold the good, true, and beautiful

Now Is the Time for War - Crisis MagazineFITZPATRICK: If you ever want to get a glimpse into the liberal mind, just watch a couple episodes of John Oliver’s “Last Week Tonight,” if you can stand it. Oliver is the Left, and his rhetoric is a startling slice of what Catholics are up against, and it is significant. John Oliver is a particularly strong litmus test because he is witty, edgy, quick, sometimes funny, smart, slick, data driven, and filled with hate...

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg: The sexual state in a black robe

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg: The Sexual State in a Black Robe| National Catholic RegisterMORSE: Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was doubtless a fine person and dedicated to her ideas. I pray for God’s mercy on her soul, and solace to her family. But sadly, her ideas and her legacy on the U.S. Supreme Court have aided Sexual Revolutionaries in the deconstruction of sexual morality and the family. And the contentiousness that has already emerged around the process of replacing Ginsburg proves one thing beyond doubt...

Hong Kong Catholic activist Jimmy Lai: ‘The Lord is suffering with me’

Catholic Hong Kong Activist Jimmy Lai: ‘The Lord is Suffering with Me’| National Catholic Register: A recently arrested Hong Kong entrepreneur and media executive said this week that he plans to stay in Hong Kong to face criminal charges stemming from his support for democracy on the island territory. The executive, Jimmy Lai, said that the Chinese Communist Party wants to supplant religion with government control.

50 years ago, Solzhenitsyn received the Nobel Prize for reminding us of a ‘forgotten God’

50 Years Ago, Solzhenitsyn Received the Nobel Prize for Reminding Us of a ‘Forgotten God’| National Catholic RegisterKENGOR: “In 1949, some friends and I came upon a noteworthy news item in Nature, a magazine of the Academy of Sciences.” So opens Alexander Solzhenitsyn’s majestic The Gulag Archipelago, a seemingly odd start for a classic on the Soviet gulag, the nation’s forced labor camps. Readers initially wonder where the author is headed with a sort of ho-hum report from not a political journal but a science journal...

Editor of magazine called “the leading intellectual voice of the American left” posts chilling and revealing tweet: “I think killing little Romanov children was justified”

Child Regicide And Jacobin | The American ConservativeDREHER: Today I was having an exchange with a reader who talked about his students who are gone into woke militancy. He said that he now understands why Dostoevsky described the young radicals of the 1860s as “possessed.” This identity-politics leftism has seized their minds, and nothing else matters. The professor said that some of them — kids he knew before they got woke, and with whom he got along well — now look at him with inhuman hatred...

Mike Pence and Kamala Harris clash on abortion, Amy Coney Barrett during debate

Mike Pence and Kamala Harris clash on abortion, Amy Coney Barrett during debate: Vice President Mike Pence and Democratic vice-presidential nominee Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) sparred over accusations of anti-Catholic bias, the Knights of Columbus, and filling a Supreme Court vacancy before election day. The candidates spoke during the in-person debate held on Wednesday evening at the University of Utah.

What the rancorous Trump-Biden presidential debate says about us

What the Rancorous First Presidential Debate Says About Us| National Catholic RegisterPOPE: The recent presidential debate and the discussion in its wake reflect a disturbing trend. While this trend has been growing for decades, the increase in severity has picked up steam in our overheated culture. It is easy to put all the blame on the candidates and the moderator, but we must recognize that they reflect us. America is at a boiling point. Two divergent views of what our country has been, and should be...

This colorized footage of a snowball fight filmed in 1886 is captivating

This Colorized Footage of a Snowball Fight Filmed in 1886 is Captivating: Just a few days before multiple historians went on the record with WIRED to explain why people shouldn’t be colorizing old footage and photos, yet another video that does exactly that went viral online. This time, the subject was the iconic film ‘Bataille de boules de neige’ from 1886.

Chinese bishop resigns as deadline for renewing Vatican deal nears

Chinese bishop resigns as deadline for renewing Vatican deal nears: Ahead of the expected renewal of the Vatican-China deal this month, the former underground bishop of Mindong has announced his complete resignation from public life.

Bishop Guo Xijin, 62, wrote in a letter published by Asia News Oct. 5 explaining that he was retiring to concentrate on prayer because he does not “want to become an obstacle to progress.”

Teachers impart knowledge, but football coaches train the will...

Training the Will on the Football Field | Stephen Schmalhofer | First ThingsSCHMALHOFER: If young men are not taught in the classroom about causes worth fighting for, reasons to keep faith, models of bravery and ability, and channels for rivalry and ambition, another institution provides them: high school football. On the football field, a young man learns how to will himself through the fears of being embarrassed in front of a crowd, of being injured by an intimidating opponent, and of disappointing his teammates...

Archbishop Sheen was right: America’s cultural decline began “the 6th of August, 1945” when we nuked Hiroshima. Even today, the moral arguments for abortion and the bombing are remarkably similar...

Who Lost the Culture? | Catholic CulturePOKORSKY: Most regular visitors to this site would probably agree that our culture is broken. When did it break? Maybe we lost the culture in 1973 when the Supreme Court presumed to make the “right to abortion” the law of the land. Perhaps the sexual revolution of the 1960s marked the beginning of the end. But our cultural decline may have begun as far back as 75 years ago, in the skies over Hiroshima when the Americans dropped history’s first atomic bomb on that city.

When I was a Swiss Guard, I learned that the Rosary was my most powerful weapon

Former Swiss Guard: My Most Powerful Weapon - Cameron School of Business BlogENZLER: On the liturgical calendar October 7th is the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary. This feast celebrates the naval victory of the Holy League fleet at Lepanto which in 1571 saved Christian Civilization from defeat at the hands of the Ottoman Empire. Pope Pius V knew well the tremendous importance of resisting the aggressive expansion of the Ottomans and the certain consequences of defeat at their hands...

17 things every Catholic should know about Carlo Acutis

17 Things Every Catholic Should Know About Carlo Acutis| National Catholic RegisterMURPHY: As we approach the beatification of Venerable Carlo Acutis on Oct. 10, here are some interesting facts and details to know about this young soon-to-be-saint. An inspiration to so many, including young children and teens, Carlo died a young boy at the age of 15 after a brief battle with leukemia. May we all strive for sainthood and learn from Carlo's example...

In a new era of menacing wildfires, there are lessons to be learned from the people who stay and defend their properties

The Future of Wildfire Fighting Is on All of Us | Outside Online: The night before Paradise burned, Kathryn and Doug Houston had been up late dealing with a malfunctioning fire alarm. So Kathryn was feeling tired as she headed out to the barn to feed the chickens and her old horse, Gus, at around 7 A.M. It was a cold and windy morning, November 8, 2018, and she was hoping for rain; it was late in the year for it to be so dry...

Loving one another is the way to go

Loving one another is the way to go - Our Sunday VisitorLOPEZ: It’s 1 a.m., and there’s a helicopter hovering overhead. Seems typical for New York City these days. I was part of the crowd that fled New York for a bit during this pandemic year. So maybe I’m part of the problem. Upon my return, some days, I feel like all I see is human misery. That obviously isn’t the whole story, but consider a few scenes...

Pope Francis meets with Australian nuncio, amid €700,000 bank transfer allegation

Pope Francis Meets With Australian Nuncio, Amid 700k-Euro Bank Transfer Allegation| National Catholic RegisterPENTIN: Pope Francis today received in private audience the apostolic nuncio to Australia amid allegations that hundreds of thousands of euros were sent from the Secretariat of State to the nunciature in Canberra around the time of Cardinal George Pell’s trial for sexual abuse. Vatican sources have told the Register that the Pope summoned Filipino Archbishop Adolfo Tito Yllana to Rome in order to learn more about what happened to the funds...

October is the month of St. Dominic, the Rosary, and Our Lady of Fatima

The Month Of October . . . Dedicated To The Rosary, St. Dominic, Fatima The Wanderer NewspaperFOLEY: October is the month traditionally dedicated to the Holy Rosary, a devout practice, which according to tradition, originated at the time of St. Dominic (1170-1221). Like many traditional beliefs, this position has come in for criticism, but it does seem to be well-founded once we look at the history of the saint. And it is such a constant and firm tradition in the Church, and one supported by such great authority, that to question it is really to be unreasonable.

Every penguin in the world comes from Earth’s lost eighth continent

Zealandia: 8th Continent Facts - All Penguins Come from Zealandia: Researchers have found fossils they say determine almost conclusively that every penguin on Earth originally came from modern-day New Zealand. The small landmass we see today is only the topmost points of a sunken landmass once known as continental Zealandia, backnamed from the Dutch imperialist name for New Zealand: Nieuw Zeeland, not to be confused with the human-built micronation of Sealand.

What angels can teach humans about being human

What Angels Can Teach Us About Being Human | Church Life Journal | University of Notre Dame: he feast of the Guardian Angels, on 2 October, comes just after the feast of the Archangels, of Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael on 29 September. Who are these angels, and from whence do they come? What should we make of these ministering spirits (Heb 1:14), who present the prayers of the saints and enter into the presence of the glory of the Holy One (Tob 12:15)?

Should Americans be worried about a “Big Man” style dictatorship? No. It can’t happen here. But something worse can happen...

It can’t happen here: A review of Live Not By Lies – Catholic World ReportMAIER: As events would have it, we don’t need an American Caesar or the theatrics of a Rubicon crossing. Our political institutions and public consciousness can be, and are being, transformed from the inside out, without any melodrama. The result will be a comfortable servitude, a “soft totalitarianism,” run by a technocratic, progressive elite, and supported by Big Data and a compliant capitalism...

What St. Paul teaches us about respect for authority

St. Paul on Respect for Authority - Community in MissionPOPE: In daily Mass we have been reading from second chapter of the Letter to the Galatians. In it, St. Paul recounts his personal history and describes his authority. St. Paul’s story is interesting for three reasons: It shows that St. Paul did not ascend to the office of apostle (bishop) overly quickly but rather was formed in the community of the Church for quite some time and did not go on mission until he was sent...

Biden doubles down on abortion, pledges to “pass legislation making Roe the law of the land”

Biden doubles down on abortion law pledge: Former vice president Joe Biden, the Democratic Party’s nominee for president, repeated his pledge to codify a right to abortion into federal law should the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision be overturned by the Supreme Court.

Speaking at an outdoor town hall event airing on NBC Monday, Biden was asked what he would do to protect “reproductive health rights” should Judge Amy Coney Barrett be confirmed to the Supreme Court.

5 books for couples to enjoy together and discuss

5 Books for Couples to Enjoy Together and Discuss – Wonder MagazineFRASER: The best way for couples to grow more deeply in love with one another is to not seek the other first, but to seek God first, to fall ever more deeply in love with our ultimate Beloved. Here are some book recommendations for books by Sigrid Undset, Sheldon Vanauken, Joseph Pearce and others to help guide you on the way.

Colorado replaces Columbus Day with Mother Cabrini Day

Honoring Colorado’s saintly Mother - Denver Catholic: She was an Italian immigrant, a loving servant of those in need and the very first American saint, who also happened to walk the streets of Colorado. And now, to recognize the inimitable legacy she left behind in the Centennial State, she has a day named in her honor.

Respect is a good thing. So what do we mean by the “sin of human respect?”

What Is the “Sin of Human Respect”? - Community in MissionPOPE: On one level “human respect” seems like a good thing. After all, we ought to respect, honor and appreciate one another. What then is meant by the “sin of human respect”? It is that sin wherein we fear man more than God; we are more concerned with what people think of us than what God thinks of us. This is an unholy, sinful fear, and is at the root of many of our sins, both of commission and of omission.

‘Fratelli Tutti’ is marked by mountains of repetition, conceptual vagueness, and utopian aspirations

Breathing Fire - The Catholic ThingROYAL: The late great physicist Stephen Hawking once speculated that, besides the mathematical equations he and others had developed about the nature of the universe, something was needed to “breathe fire” into them – i.e., make them a reality. Reading through Pope Francis’ latest encyclical, Fratelli Tutti, released just this weekend, you can’t help feeling that it, too, is seeking some concrete, creative fire.

At St. Thomas University in Houston, this 91-year-old professor is using 21st-century technology to teach the classics amid the pandemic

Professor uses 21st century technology to teach the classics amid pandemic - CBS News: For more than five decades, Professor Emeritus Charles Krohn has nourished the soul of his students, teaching the classics at the University of St. Thomas in Houston — and he wasn't about to let the coronavirus get in the way. "They couldn't run me off, so I just stayed around when the pandemic hit," said Krohn. But that's meant embracing technology and a whole new way of teaching — at the age of 91...

Restoring humanity: Overcoming liberal individualism through a vision for rebuilding culture

Restoring Humanity: Overcoming Liberal Individualism through a Vision for Rebuilding Culture – Building Catholic CultureSTAUDT: In a recent post, “I Believe in Me: Naming the New Ideology,” I focused on the ideology that surrounds us in modern media, education, and much of the culture. It works in iconoclastic fashion, breaking down traditional structures of family, religion, and government, leaving the individual supreme. We see it unleashing a revolution in our society right before our eyes...

Pope Francis fills committee to monitor internal Vatican financial decisions

Pope Francis fills committee to monitor internal Vatican financial decisions: Pope Francis on Monday named Cardinal Kevin Farrell president of a committee to monitor internal Vatican financial decisions which fall outside of new accountability norms. Called the “Commission for Reserved Matters,” the five-member group is tasked with overseeing financial agreements which are exempted from Pope Francis’ new public contract law, promulgated June 1.

‘Fratelli Tutti’ ghostwriter says Pope Francis is trying to promote work, not welfare, and says Argentines shouldn’t be taking the encyclical personally

Pope Francis doesn't propose 'welfarism,' says close papal advisorSANMARTIN: Pope Francis’s latest encyclical, Fratelli Tutti, on the theme of human fraternity and a call for the world to be better after the COVID-19, was released on Sunday, and one of his ghostwriters urged Argentines not to take it personally and to read the pope in full. Fernandez is the Archbishop of La Plata and former rector of the Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina...

Like ‘Quadragesimo Anno’ a century ago, ‘Fratelli Tutti’ tries to shed light on a dark time

Like a century ago, a papal encyclical tries to shed light on a dark timeALLEN: A great global crisis has rocked the world, leaving millions afflicted and sowing fear everywhere. The shock polarizes societies, radicalizes opinion, and reinforces trends to a new kind of politics – loud, angry, premised on demonizing others and promising to restore lost national glory. Unless something dramatic changes, the stage seems set for a long, bloody conflict...

Sinner, please don’t let this harvest pass

Sinner Please Don't Let This Harvest Pass - A Homily for the 27th Sunday of the Year - Community in MissionPOPE: There is an urgency and clarity about today’s Gospel that is often lacking in modern Christians, including the clergy. In this Gospel, the message is urgent, provocative, and clear: there is a day of judgment coming for every one of us and we simply must be ready. The message is a sobering one for a modern world that is often dismissive of judgment and certainly of Hell...

Encyclical Letter ‘Fratelli Tutti’ on Fraternity and Social Friendship

Fratelli tutti (3 October 2020) | FrancisCOATOFARMS: “Fratelli Tutti.” With these words, Saint Francis of Assisi addressed his brothers and sisters and proposed to them a way of life marked by the flavor of the Gospel. Of the counsels Francis offered, I would like to select the one in which he calls for a love that transcends the barriers of geography and distance, and declares blessed all those who love their brother...

At Sunday Angelus, Pope releases new encyclical ‘Fratelli Tutti,’ outlining his vision of ‘fraternity and social friendship’

Pope’s New Encyclical ‘Fratelli Tutti’ Outlines Vision for a Better World| National Catholic Register: Pope Francis has called for a “better kind of politics,” a more “open world,” and paths of renewed encounter and dialogue in his latest social encyclical, a letter that he hopes will promote a “rebirth of a universal aspiration” toward “fraternity and social friendship.” Titled Fratelli Tutti (Brothers All), the eight-chapter, 45,000-word document...

As a pope named ‘Francis’ heads to Assisi, a lot is riding on his new encyclical

As Pope named ‘Francis’ heads to Assisi, a lot rides on new encyclicalALLEN: When a new pope is elected, the first decision he’s asked to make is whether he accepts the job, and the second is the name by which he wishes to be called. The first answer is generally pro forma but the second can be monumental, sketching an outline of an entire papacy in one word. Such was certainly the case in March 2013, when Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina indicated he wanted to be called “Francis.”

Dossier To Vatican alleges Cardinal Becciu covertly channeled money to Australia

Dossier To Vatican Alleges Cardinal Becciu Covertly Channeled Money to Australia| National Catholic RegisterPENTIN: Vatican prosecutors are investigating allegations that Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu funneled 700,000 euro through the apostolic nunciature in Australia — an action that one Italian newspaper suggests could be linked to the strained relationship between Cardinal Becciu and Australian Cardinal George Pell. According to an article in today’s Corriere della Sera, officials in the Secretariat of State...

The world’s “return to normalcy” will mean parents once again becoming their kids’ first teachers

A Return To Normalcy – Hearth & FieldHANNING: This past March, the American education system underwent its most significant transition since World War II. As Spring came, the pandemic forced all education, public, private, lower, and higher to a temporary halt. Schools pivoted and transitioned as best they could to online, remote, and hybrid methods of education. Likewise, parents attempted to adjust to the new normal. Unlike other abnormalities brought on by the pandemic...

The mystical life of our guardian angels, as revealed by the saints

The Mystical Life of Guardian Angels, Revealed by the Saints |: How often do you call on your Guardian Angel?

The Catholic Church teaches that God assigns every person with at least one Guardian Angel. Several saints, including St. Padre Pio, St. Gemma Galgani, and St. Faustina had mystical encounters with their guardian angels.

Don’t forget to call on your guardian angel! He hears you and guides you at all moments!

7 suggestions to help beginning homesteaders “stick the landing”

Stick the Landing – Hearth & FieldCRAIG: Many people are finding contentment in the rebellion of homesteading. It is rebellion because it dislodges us from so many machines, as we say “no” to being a cog in a wheel. Growing food gets you out of ridiculous tax systems and a consumer-based economy at the same time. The term economy, after all, means “household management”, not how much money we wasted consuming as consumers.

Guardian angels and other protectors, as seen in a commercial

Guardian Angels and Other Protectors, as Seen in a Commercial - Community in MissionPOPE: Most of us struggle with the fact that God allows bad things to happen. Why does he not intervene more often to protect us from attacks of various sorts and from events that cause sadness, setbacks, or suffering? While the answer is mysterious, the clearest response is that God allows suffering in order that some greater blessing may occur. To some degree I have found this to be so in my life; some of my greatest blessings required that I accept painful things as well...

Hours before president’s coronavirus diagnosis, Trump, Biden pitch to Catholics at virtual Al Smith Dinner

Trump, Biden pitch to Catholics at annual Al Smith Dinner: Hours before President Donald Trump announced that he had contracted the coronavirus, the president and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden offered remarks at a virtual Al Smith Dinner Thursday evening, with each making a pitch to Catholic voters. Biden emphasized his personal connection to the Catholic faith, while Trump touted his record on religious liberty and abortion.

Raffaelle Mincione used former Vatican fund to invest in mafia-linked bond managed by Torzi company

Mincione used former Vatican fund to invest in mafia-linked bond managed by Torzi companyCONDON: An investment fund created for the Holy See Secretariat of State to invest Church assets was used to purchase millions in a bond of debt products issued by companies, some with alleged mafia links. Both the investment fund and the bond, which packaged hospital receivables into a debt security, were managed by companies belonging to two businessmen at the center of the ongoing Vatican financial scandal.

This Sunday, Our Lord warns us how we might lose our vineyard

This Sunday, How to Lose Your Vineyard | The Gregorian Institute at Benedictine CollegeHOOPES: This Sunday, the 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A, Jesus tells a parable so clearly intended to unsettle the Jewish leaders he is speaking to that we can forget the ways it should unsettle us, too. The key line is the last: “Therefore, I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that will produce its fruit,” he says to his listeners...

Paul Kengor: What the Devil and Karl Marx have to do with America now

Respect Life Radio Podcast - Paul Kengor: What the Devil and Karl Marx have to do with America now | Free Listening on Podbean App: Paul Kengor is a professor of political science at Grove City College and author of books, including "The Devil and Karl Marx: Communism's Long March of Death, Deception, and Infiltration," recently published by TAN Books.