Discover

(Image: Adam Gonzales/Unsplash.com) Catholic media has been reacting the last two weeks to Cardinal McElroy’s recent piece on synodality and “radical inclusivism” in the Church. Responding to some of his critics, his Eminence appeared on the America magazine podcast “Jesuitical: A Podcast for Young Catholics” to explain his views more fully. Part of Cardinal McElroy’s clarifications about both his article and the general contention among Cardinals included the concept of the “hierarchy of truths.” He used this concept to position the subject matter of his article—LGBT, women’s roles in the Church, etc.—as part of a debate of truths that are of “much less important” when compared to “those elements at the heart of the Gospel.” My focus here is not those specific topics and debates over them...

Back home, at last, from Ireland. What a trip! I’m going to be thinking about this for a while. The holy wells, the medieval hermit’s cave, the ruins of ancient monasteries. There wasn’t enough time. Being there in such a “thin” place only magnifies the tragedy of Christianity’s collapse in the Emerald Isle. But look at this sign of time times in America, from Pew Research: Advertisement Pew goes on to say that About a third (35%) of U.S. parents with children under 18 say it’s extremely or very important to them that their kids have similar religious beliefs to their own as adults, according to a recent Pew Research Center survey. But attitudes on this question vary by the religious affiliation of the parents. The story that this graphic accompanie...

Happy Friday friends, And a belated happy feast of St. Apollonia to you all. As a few of you noted in emails to us, Apollonia’s feast was properly marked yesterday, not Tuesday — despite what JD told you in his last newsletter. As others of you noticed, it was not the first time m’colleague has gotten his dates rather obviously wrong when it comes to saints’ days. It’s the second time. JD is a treasured friend, an excellent journalist, a peerless interviewer, a noted balloon enthusiast, and I’d even go so far as to say a reasonably competent canonist. Though he cannot, it seems, read a liturgical calendar with any accuracy. I confess I find this difficult to believe, given his exacting, some might say irritating, obsession with detail when editing me. Today, if you would like to know...

Former Democratic U.S. Rep. Dan Lipinski of Illinois, a Catholic, is both taking on a new challenge and returning to his roots as the new Pope Leo XIII Fellow on Social Thought at the University of Dallas.  Lipinski served eight terms in Congress as a pro-life Democrat before being defeated in his 2020 primary by pro-abortion challenger Marie Newman, after abortion groups backed her with substantial funding. Prior to his time in Congress, he taught political science at the University of Tennessee and the University of Notre Dame. Lipinski spoke with the Register Monday about his new teaching role and how he views the role of Catholics in today’s divisive political climate. He also discussed the lessons to be learned from the writings of Pope Leo XIII and how pro-life politicians shoul...

As humanitarian aid trucks rolled into opposition-held northwestern Syria on Thursday bringing the first international relief there since Monday’s devastating earthquake, emergency workers who were racing to reach the last trapped survivors called for more international assistance. Seventy countries offered to send rescue teams or humanitarian assistance to Turkey, the country’s president said this week, but the international response has been markedly different for Syria, a sanctioned pariah state that remains deeply divided after years of civil war. “Our teams have been working nonstop in the past 75 hours with no breaks, no rest,” Mohamed al-Shibli, a member of the White Helmets civil defense group that operates in opposition-held parts of Syria, said in an interview via WhatsApp. The g...