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What do you think about ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power?’ Is it a contribution to Tolkien’s world, or a corruption?
Few fan bases are more passionate about their subject matter than devotees of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings and the mythic universe within which it is contained. And few corporations are viewed with more trepidation these days than Amazon.com, Inc. So when it was announced in 2017 that the multinational, multiplatform company had acquired the rights to create its own Middle-earth-themed television series, speculation raged over whether the new offering would be a worthy contribution to the world Tolkien created — or a corruption of it. Now, halfway through what is planned to be the first of five seasons, we’re in position to pass at least some initial judgment on The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, Amazon’s take on the Second Age of Tolkien’s legendary world. The Register s...
Evangelicals are becoming more open to the Catholic Church — here’s why…
COMMENTARY: While deep theological differences exist, many Christians have found a way to live and work together, and to be friends and brothers in Christ. He’s the Episcopalian from central casting: the old-fashioned Kennedy haircut, the blue blazer and chinos, the bowtie, the fact that he has “the third” at the end of his name, the social confidence of a man who knows he belongs. “Geoff,” he told me, “is doing a great job.” That one sentence represents a movement among separated Christians that offers hope for the Catholic Church and for all of God’s people scattered in other bodies. Because my old friend Laurie was the president and dean of a strongly evangelical Protestant seminary and he had named Geoff his dean of students. He put him in charge of the students’ well-being and formati...
Belgium’s Catholic Bishops Publish Text for Ritual Blessing of Same-Sex Relationships…
Belgian bishops published Tuesday a new document on the pastoral care of Catholics who identify as LGBT, which includes a text allowing for a ritual blessing of same-sex couples. The bishops of Flanders said that the three-page document, entitled “Being pastorally close to homosexuals: For a welcoming Church that excludes no one,” aims to “structurally anchor [the Church’s] pastoral commitment to homosexual persons and couples.” The document was signed by the Flemish bishops, who belong to Belgium’s majority ethnic group. They are led by Cardinal Jozef De Kesel, president of the Belgian bishops’ conference, which also includes bishops from the country’s French-speaking minority. The Flemish bishops’ text said that homosexual couples who choose to live “in lasting and faithful union with a ...
Computers can never be persons…..
By Fr. Victor Feltes “In recent years, the question of artificial intelligence (AI) possessing personhood has become a hot topic of debate. Some believe that AI could one day achieve sentience and become its own entity, while others believe that personhood is something that can only be attained by beings with a soul. The Catholic Church has not yet taken an official stance on the matter [a debatable claim –Fr. VF], but it is an interesting question to consider. For example, if an AI became self-aware and could think and feel for itself, would it have the same rights as a human being? If an AI was created with the sole purpose of serving humans, is it ethical to treat it as a mere tool?” The preceding paragraph was not written by a human being but generated online by a LaMDA (Language Model...
The secret to creating a soulful, beautiful (and kid-friendly) home…
By Mary Catherine Adams When my first child was born, I remember sitting on the couch in our one-bedroom apartment, holding her as she slept, realizing that all of life had grown a thousand times more complicated. I was relieved to hold her in my arms but also so tired and so fearful that anything should happen to her. I knew that I loved her intensely but also that I did not yet know who she was. Many of us have experienced something of this: amid its many joys, parenting brings a host of complexities, some wonderfully mysterious and others overwhelming. And it just gets more complicated as children grow up: the relational dynamics, the forays into defiance and discipline, the goal to love them unconditionally and also train and challenge them to be their best selves. Decorating a house w...
Snapshots From the State Funeral of Queen Elizabeth II…
LONDON — The world gave a final fond farewell to Queen Elizabeth II on Monday as she was laid to rest at Windsor Castle following an historic Anglican state funeral at Westminster Abbey attended by hundreds of global leaders and watched by millions worldwide. The simple yet traditional ceremony — as the Queen herself had wished — was rich in scriptural references that had guided her reign, as well as passages dwelling on the Lord’s resurrection from the Anglican Book of Common Prayer. The Anglican dean of Westminster, the Very Rev. David Hoyle, led the service and in his bidding prayer remembered the Queen’s “lifelong sense of duty and dedication to her people.” With thanksgiving, he added, “we praise God for her constant example of Christian faith and devotion,” and he recalled “wit...
A new liturgical war — and the path to liturgical victory…
There appear many reasons for discouragement these days for traditionally minded Catholics. Ad orientem prayer faces dark times in many places. Latin in the liturgy seems more ancient than ever (despite Vatican II’s calls to the contrary). Gregorian chant, not heard in years in most places, anticipates no reunion tour. Given that today’s Roman Rite “embrace[s] one and the same tradition” as the Tridentine Missal (see General Instruction of the Roman Missal, 6), these are challenging times for the postconciliar Missal. A quick glance around the web, the blogs, and print matter only exacerbates the mood—these seem to report only bad news. The hierarchy governs too ideologically, we read. Liturgical abuse garners the most glaring headlines (“You saw the guitar blessing? There was more to that...
Gender ideologies and the need for Christian anthropology…
“The Creation of Adam” by Michelangelo Buonarroti is pictured in the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican Museums. (CNS photo/Paul Haring) Societal talk about gender identity and gender affirming care fills our news feeds. It concerns me especially when these refer to children. Our society may benefit from an understanding of Christian anthropology. Videos from Boston Children’s Hospital promote gender-affirming surgeries on children as young as 15 and hormone therapy on children as young as three. One professional even said some kids know from the minute they were born what gender they identify as. Well, that’s astounding! Babies only want love and food, so I’m pretty sure they don’t know or care about their gender as infants. Parents come to these medical professionals saying their ...
Queen Elizabeth II Laid to Rest at Windsor: ‘Her Allegiance to God Was Given Before Anyone Gave Allegiance to Her’…
“Even in my sorrow, shared with so many around the world, I am filled with an immense sense of gratitude for the gift to the world that has been the life of Queen Elizabeth II,” he said. The cardinal said on Sept. 8 that the queen’s “Christian faith marked every day of her life and activity.” “In her millennium Christmas message, she said, ‘To many of us, our beliefs are of fundamental importance. For me the teachings of Christ and my own personal accountability before God provide a framework in which I try to lead my life. I, like so many of you, have drawn great comfort in difficult times from Christ’s words and example.’ “This faith, so often and so eloquently proclaimed in her public messages, has been an inspiration to me, and I am sure to many. The wisdom, stability, and service whic...
Pondering the Church’s electoral college one year from now…
Listen to this story: ROME – Exactly one year from yesterday, assuming nothing unexpected happens in the meantime, Italian Cardinal Angelo Comastri will turn 80 and lose his right to vote in a papal election. By that point, ten of his fellow Princes of the Church also will have crossed the 80-year-old threshold, leaving the number of cardinal electors at precisely 120. That number, 120, is the ceiling established by St. Paul VI in 1975 for the total body of cardinal electors, though popes ever since routinely have exceeded the limit when they distribute new red hats. The reasoning is that since you never know when an election will occur, by the time it happens the number probably will have come back down to around where it’s supposed to be. In 2005 and 2013, the actual number was 115. (If ...
It’s better to be faithful in a few things than ruler over many things…
In this Sunday’s Gospel, the Lord Jesus gives a penetrating analysis of the state of the sinner and some very sobering advice to us would-be saints. Let’s look at the Gospel in two stages: I. ANALYSIS OF THE SINNER – In the opening lines of the Gospel, Jesus describes a sinful steward. DELUSION (of the sinner) – Jesus said to his disciples, “A rich man had a steward …” Notice that the man is referred to as a steward rather than an owner. God is the owner of everything; we are but stewards. A steward must deal with the goods of another according to that person’s will. We may have ownership in relation to other human beings, but before God we own nothing, absolutely nothing. Part of the essence of sin is behaving as though we are the owner. We develop the arrogant attitude that what we...
To grasp what today’s complicated Gospel means, let’s start by retelling it in modern terms…..
Great teachers make difficult things simple so that you can understand them right away. But the greatest teachers also give you lessons that you have to sit with and ponder, because the lessons you personally discover sink even more deeply into your soul. Jesus, the master teacher, does both. In last Sunday’s Gospel, he told us complicated lessons in a simple way in the Parables of the Lost Sheep, Lost Coin and Prodigal Son. But now we get a lesson we have to ponder — the Parable of the Shrewd Steward — for the 25th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year C. You know it is hard to grasp because Jesus has to explain what it means, and he draws several lessons from it, especially a lesson about money and a lesson about our task as disciples. To grasp what the parable means, let’s start by retelling it...
