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FBI releases video of attack on firebombed Buffalo pregnancy center, says FACE Act charges possible…
By Joe Bukuras Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Nov 14, 2022 / 14:07 pm The FBI has released a video and photos of the June attack on the upstate New York pro-life pregnancy center, CompassCare Pregnancy Services, that shocked pro-lifers across the nation during a string of violent assaults against pregnancy centers country-wide. The FBI also announced a reward of up to $25,000 for any information leading to the arrest of the arsonists. And in another notable development, the FBI’s press release states that those responsible for the vandalism could be charged with a violation of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, or FACE Act, which has been used predominantly, if not exclusively, against pro-life activists. “FBI Buffalo is seeking the public’s help to identify the individuals respons...
What ‘active participation’ at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass really means…
By Phil Lawler ( bio – articles – email ) | Nov 14, 2022 Vatican II called for active participation by the laity in the Eucharistic liturgy. No one, to my knowledge, disputes that active participation is desirable. The question is: what does “active participation” mean? Let me offer an answer, in a roundabout way. Eighteen years have passed—yet the memory is still fresh—since that happy evening when Keith Foulke grabbed a bouncing ball, tossed to first base, and the den in the Lawler household exploded in jubilation. After years of painful disappointment, we had won the World Series! Did you notice that I said we won? Unless I am much mistaken, nobody who wore a Red Sox uniform that night was aware of the Lawler family’s existence. We had thrown no pitches, fielded no flies, st...
Archbishop Timothy Broglio of the Archdiocese for the Military Services Elected USCCB President…
The archbishop has been a staunch defender of religious-freedom protections for those serving in the military. BALTIMORE, Md. — Archbishop Timothy Broglio of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, was elected Tuesday to head the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) for the next three years in a vote of 138-99. Archbishop Broglio will be taking the role after serving for three years as secretary of the conference. Archbishop Broglio was viewed as a likely candidate for the role after he was nearly elected to serve as vice president for the USCCB in 2019 but lost a runoff election to Detroit Archbishop Allen Vigneron. The USCCB vice president usually goes on to serve in the role of president, but Archbishop Vigneron is ineligible for the role of president due to the fact that...
The Holy Rosary really is ‘the Bible on a string’…
Wednesday, October 26, 2022 Jim Davis – Florida Catholic Trinitarian Father Daniel Houde holds a giant rosary along with participants at Our Lady of the Holy Rosary-St. Richard School’s celebration of the feast of the Holy Rosary, Oct. 7, 2022.Trinitarian Father Daniel Houde, pastor of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary-St. Richard Church and School, blesses rosaries and Miraculous Medals before distributing them to the school children on the feast of the Holy Rosary, Oct. 7, 2022.Large rosary beads and Miraculous Medals were given to children of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary-St. Richard School to mark the feast of the Holy Rosary, Oct. 7, 2022.A student at Our Lady of the Holy Rosary-St. Richard School, prays during a school-wide event to mark the feast of the Holy Rosary, Oct. 7, 2022...
Let’s look at the Trilemma Of C.S. Lewis: Was Jesus mentally ill?
In the previous pieces for this series, we referenced C. S. Lewis’s Trilemma, essentially his argument: in claiming He was God, Jesus was either a liar, insane, or God. In the previous installment, we addressed the question: Was Jesus a liar? Below, we’ll address Lewis’ next possibility: Was Jesus mentally ill?
Willem Cardinal Eijk of Utrecht, Netherlands, Asks Pope for Encyclical Warning Against Gender Theory…
Cardinal Wim Eijk, the Archbishop of Utrecht in The Netherlands, has asked for a papal encyclical warning against gender theory. The request was made in meetings with Vatican officials during the Dutch bishops ad limina visit in Rome. “I have asked if it would not be good for the pope to issue an encyclical on gender thinking”, the cardinal said Wednesday evening at a press conference in Rome, Dutch newspapers Nederlands Dagblad and Katholiek Nieuwsblad report. “Gender theory is being pushed in all kinds of organizations and we as a Church have not said that much about it,” Eijk said. According to the cardinal, there is a need for an encyclical, an important papal document in which the teachings of the Church are explained and, if necessary, further developed. The Dutch cardinal, who is a ...
Minutes from a Demonic Meeting…
33rd Sunday in Ordinary TimeBy Fr. Victor Feltes Once upon a time, an unknown number of years ago, there was an important meeting of demons. Amidst hell’s fires and shadows, with putrid smoke hanging in the air, the demonic hierarchy plotted their next strategy for how to mislead humanity. Since the rebel angels cannot hurt God directly, they tempt and attack those he loves, hoping to corrupt and dominate us. When the Lord Jesus comes again to rule the earth with justice, the demons do not want us to experience his healing rays; they want us to burn and suffer like themselves. As the demons met and brainstormed schemes, one of them suggested, “What if we try deceiving them that there’s no such thing as evil?” The chairman, after pouring out a stream of insults, said, “The humans will never...
Revitalizing Christian faith and culture in a post post-Christian era…
Detail from “Triumph of Christianity” (1582) by Tommaso Laureti. (Image: WikiMedia Commons) It was 2020, in the depth of COVID lockdowns, when one priest began writing. The unthinkable was taking place: Easter in the United States would be “canceled”. Churches would be shuttered. It was in this environment that Christendom Lost and Found: Meditations for a Post Post-Christian Era was written — a series of meditations about the state of the Church and Christendom, along with thoughts about where we ought to go from here. Catholics are in jeopardy, and too few are willing to acknowledge where they stand, even as the sand beneath them shifts and slides. In his latest book, Father Robert McTeigue, S.J. implores readers to assess honestly the state of Christian culture and societies...
Major Archbishop Shevchuk Denounces ‘Genocidal’ War in Ukraine…
The leader of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church last week met Pope Francis as well as Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, the Vatican’s Secretary of State, and other dicastery heads. In Rome for the first time since the war in Ukraine began, Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk also celebrated the Divine Liturgy in St. Peter’s Basilica — in front of the tomb of St. Josaphat on Nov. 12, the saint’s feast day. The Mass saw the participation of many bishops from Ukraine who had come to Rome for different reasons. They were joined by Archbishop Gintaras Grušas, president of the Council of the European Bishops Conferences. In an exclusive interview with CNA, Archbishop Shevchuk took stock of his week in Rome. He provided a perspective on the history and role of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. An...
Be not afraid. Be well-prepared…..
32nd Sunday in Ordinary TimeBy Fr. Victor Feltes Today we see the Sadducees come forward and put a question to Jesus, but who were the Sadducees? They were a Jewish religious group less popular than the Pharisees but in some ways more powerful. The Sadducees were the party of high priests, aristocratic families, and wealthy merchants, and they were well-represented among the members of the Jewish high council, the Sanhedrin. Theologically, unlike Pharisees, the Sadducees only accepted the first five books of the Bible as scripture: that is, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. These five books are called the Torah (the Law) or the Pentateuch. The Sadducees denied the inspiration of all the other Old Testament books and only accepted religious beliefs which they thought wer...
We are on a journey through a passing world…
During the month of November, the Church has us ponder the Four Last Things: death, judgment, Heaven, and Hell. As the golden gown of autumn gives way to the lifeless look of winter, we are encouraged to see that our lives are on a trajectory that leads to autumn and then to the winter of death. But those who have faith know that this passage to death ultimately leads to glory. Scripture says, And the world passes away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever(1 John 2:17). In today’s Gospel, the Lord Jesus gives us a kind of road map of life and calls us to be sober about the passing and perilous nature of this world. There is an historical context in which our Lord speaks. There were political rumblings in Israel in the early 30s AD that would eventually le...
I just spent 25 days in the hospital after a serious health scare. Here are three things it taught me about Catholic medical care…..
ROME – Readers may have noticed that I’ve been absent from the Crux site for more than three weeks. The reason, which I didn’t announce in advance, is that I recently had to have a fairly major surgery on my esophagus, and then I spent more than three weeks in the hospital here in Rome recovering. Although I’m home now, my recovery is not complete. I have to spend the next couple of weeks on a largely liquid diet, performing physical therapy exercises and going through a series of follow-up appointments, all calculated to make sure I get back to something resembling normal. I was lucky to be in excellent hands – my surgeon, Dr. Giuseppe Maria Ettorre, is considered among the best in the country, and recently performed an abdominal surgery on former Italian President Giorgio Napolitano. I w...
