Author: S&P
The contributions of Robert Cardinal Sarah as a prophetic spiritual father will continue…
At age 75 and in evident good health, Cardinal Robert Sarah likely has many fruitful years ahead of him, but his retirement as prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments concludes one of the most remarkable series of assignments of any prelate in the Church. Cardinal Sarah, ordained in 1969, belongs to the first-generation fruit of early missionary activity...
‘London Has Fallen’ — How COVID-19 is changing the global city forever…
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the city. London’s streets are empty of life, its byways strangely deserted. This city’s once great and endless panoply of amusement outlets and retail opportunities are closed, West End theatres and cinemas, clubs and pubs, bars and restaurants silent. Churches no less empty or strange, with their endless “do not cross” yellow tape everywhere. Th...
The Ultimate Catholic Coronavirus Vaccine Morality Explainer…
Since Covid-19 vaccines began to be discussed, Catholics have raised concerns about the moral and ethical aspects of taking them. While the Vatican and the USCCB have weighed in on the subject, a lot of Catholics still have questions. To answer those questions, The Pillar brings you The Ultimate Catholic Coronavirus Morality Explainer.™ Archbishop Thomas Wenski of Miami receives the COVID-1...
A brief history of ketchup and mustard, and how they became associated with hot dogs and hamburgers…
Around 300 BCE, people in China were experimenting with making pungent pastes out of fermented fish guts. A few centuries later, the Greek historian Pliny shared a method to treat scorpion stings using the ground-up seeds of a common plant. These are the unlikely origin stories of ketchup and mustard, two condiments that people in the United States spend over $1 billion on annually. How did two co...
You’re probably not planning enough for unlikely events…
advertisement In the wee hours of the morning on Monday, February 15, my house, like many others across the state of Texas, lost power during a winter storm. For the next 48 hours, we wore layers of clothes and huddled under blankets as temperatures indoors dropped to about 40 degrees. Even after the power came on, water supplies were low, and the city of Austin was under a boil-water order. adver...
Vatican abuse trial: Witnesses say allegations about youth seminary were ignored…
Vatican City, Feb 25, 2021 / 08:00 am MT (CNA).- Witnesses at the fifth hearing in a trial for alleged abuse and cover-up at a Vatican youth seminary testified on Wednesday to an unhealthy culture of ridicule and abuse of power. The witnesses also alleged that reports of sexual abuse were ignored or dismissed by authority figures, including the cardinal in charge of St. Peter’s Basilica....
How to sound like a Catholic when you talk about ashes and death…
A response to some bad advice given by theologian Father Ermes Ronchi in a Vatican News interview Catholics began Lent with a sacramental: the imposition of ashes. Ashes remind us of our mortality. The traditional formula for their imposition is, “Remember man, that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” The blessing of the ashes reiterates their symbolic value, “that we are dust. Pardon our...
Amazon erases ‘When Harry Became Sally,’ Ryan Anderson’s book about transgenderism…
The tech giant’s action against a controversial critique of transgender ideology comes as Democratic lawmakers step up efforts to censor conservative voices online and on cable television. Three years ago this month, when Ryan Anderson’s new book, When Harry Became Sally: Responding to the Transgender Moment, first sparked a political “uproar,” critics accused the author of mounting an “inflammato...
The devil wants to isolate you from Christ by taking you through these three steps. Don’t let him…..
The basic identity of civilization is built on an understanding of family and the community built from it. Man’s ability to know and understand his relationship with God stems from the very image and likeness God created in him. This means that our original identity with God was meant to be uncorrupted. Man’s human nature is meant to reflect the Divine nature of God because man receives his i...
“Ghost particle” that crashed into Antarctica traced back to star shredded by black hole…
A star being ripped to shreds after it approaches a black hole. Scientists have detected a neutrino — the “ghost particle” — from such an event for the first time. DESY, Science Communication Lab On Oct. 1, 2019, Earth was struck by an invisible, high-energy cosmic bullet moving at almost the speed of light. Trillions of these intergalactic bullets pass through our bodies e...
“Somebody needs to be dad” — Some surprising things I learned from confidential talks with 28 bishops…
For Catholics, the Second Vatican Council (1962–65) stands as the key event of the last 60 years. It renewed the Church’s self-understanding. It reimagined her relations with the Jewish people, other Christians, and the world. It also acknowledged in a new and powerful way the importance of the lay vocation. It did not, however, break radically with the past, notably regarding authorit...
German Catholic bishops call for change to Catechism on homosexuality…
MAINZ, Germany — A German Catholic bishop has publicly defended his support for a book of blessings and rites for homosexual unions. Bishop Peter Kohlgraf of Mainz also suggested that Catholics with homosexual inclinations cannot all be expected to live chastely and the Church should adopt a pastoral approach that acknowledges this. “Quite a few people who have homosexual attractions belong to the...
