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Our rivals may not be as powerful as we think…
By Phil Lawler ( bio – articles – email ) | Jan 18, 2023 Sometime in my impressionable adolescent years, I saw a film clip from the Vatican, showing the procession of bishops entering a session (the opening session, maybe?) of Vatican II. My memory is of a solemn, stately march; I marveled at the precision with which it must have been organized. Now that I am older—closing in on the age when bishops are obliged to retire—I realize that my youthful memory has played tricks on me. I have watched bishops enter churches in procession on many important occasions, including the sad events at the Vatican in the past few weeks. These processions are certainly solemn. They may be stately. But precise? No. Soldiers march in precise formation. Marching bands stay in stride. Bishops do not...
Opening 50th Annual March for Life in Washington, Bishop Thanks Pro-Lifers But Warns of Tall Tasks Ahead…
Listen to this story: WASHINGTON, D.C. – Celebrating a Mass for the first National Prayer Vigil for Life in a post-Roe v. Wade nation, a senior U.S. prelate offered a message of gratitude for the efforts of pro-life advocates over the years but also a reminder of the tall task ahead. “Today we have so much to celebrate. For the first time in the 49-year-history of the March for Life, we can say that Roe vs. Wade, a blight on our nation, our system of justice, and our culture, is no more,” Bishop Michael Burbidge of Arlington, Virginia, said in his homily, drawing applause. “This is a moment for joy, and for gratitude; a moment to recall the countless souls who have dedicated themselves to political and social action, to prayer, and to service in the name of this cause.” “But even as we cel...
She witnessed the worst excesses of Mao and his Communists. Now she has a warning for the world…..
HONG KONG — Yuan-tsung Chen, an author, leaned forward in an oversize velvet chair to tell the story of the man so hungry that he ate himself. Once, that tale had seemed unbelievable to her. “I thought that was an exaggeration,” she said. But living in a village during the Great Leap Forward, Mao Zedong’s calamitous attempt to catapult China into communist plenty in the late 1950s, changed her view on what extreme hunger could drive people to actually do. “It wasn’t anyone’s exaggeration, it was as true as real life, but nobody would say it,” Ms. Chen said, recalling the desperation and starvation caused by Mao’s experiment. Historians estimate that up to 45 million people died over the course of five years. Now, sitting at a restaurant in one of Hong Kong’s most opulent hotels, Ms. Chen, ...
Cardinal Schönborn Calls Archbishop Gänswein Book ‘Unseemly Indiscretion,’ Confirms Key Detail of Benedict Papacy…
In his book, Archbishop Gänswein also addressed the fact that Cardinal Schönborn and Cardinal Ratzinger were on a first-name basis. ROME — Austrian Cardinal Christoph Schönborn on Wednesday confirmed he was the person who encouraged Joseph Ratzinger to accept the conclave’s decision — if elected — to become the successor to Pope John Paul II as supreme pontiff of the Catholic Church. Benedict’s longtime secretary, Archbishop Georg Gänswein, revealed Cardinal Schönborn’s identity in his book titled Nothing but the Truth (“Nient’altro che la verita”), which was published in Italy last week. CNA Deutsch, CNA’s German-language news partner, reported that Cardinal Schönborn on Jan. 18 confirmed Archbishop Gänswein’s assertion that Cardinal Schönborn had written Cardinal Ratzinger “a little lett...
Philadelphia Flyers’ Ivan Provorov Sparks Media Firestorm With Refusal to Wear Rainbow ‘Pride Jersey’ at NHL Game…
The defenseman cited his Russian Orthodox faith in his decision to decline the sweater at Tuesday’s ‘LGBTQ+ Pride Night’ In the car the other day, I was listening to two hosts on Toronto’s sports radio station. They were discussing the decision by Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Ivan Provorov not to wear a rainbow warmup jersey during the pregame skate-around. The jersey was meant to show that the Flyers are “inclusive” of the LGBTQ community. It was a solution in search of a problem. Provorov said donning the jersey went against his Russian Orthodox Christian beliefs. He told the media: “I respect everybody, and I respect everybody’s choices. My choice is to stay true to myself and my religion. That’s all I’m gonna say.” The National Hockey League has a policy stating that no player ...
Will the defense of marriage be the hill on which you die? If so, you will be sustained by a great and mighty cloud of witnesses…..
Will the defense of marriage be the hill on which we Catholics die? Of course, that rather depends on how willing we are to stake everything upon a truth that, however much we believe it to be grounded in divine revelation, is nevertheless rejected by almost everyone else, including great numbers of our fellow Catholics. Which would be Joe Biden Catholics, wouldn’t it? Countless cafeteria Catholics, as it were, whose numbers, to judge by current approval ratings, appear to be legion. Are we prepared to stand against these people for the sake of a mere marital bond? Do we really believe, in other words, the teaching of the Catholic Church concerning the union of one man and one woman? That it constitutes a sacrament indissoluble in the sight of God? And will we, in mounting its defense, be ...
Behind Bill W. and Alcoholics Anonymous there was a Catholic priest — Father Ed Dowling…
On a cold night in November 1940 in New York, a meeting took place between two men. It would wind up affecting U.S. history and changing the lives of millions of people, most of them alcoholics . The meeting was between Bill Wilson, who a few years earlier had founded a group called Alcoholics Anonymous, and a Jesuit priest named Father Ed Dowling. Wilson’s cause of helping drunks get sober was the result of a religious experience that freed him of his addiction to booze. But the program was not going well. The “Big Book,” his Bible outlining his 12-Step program, was not selling. Wilson was tired of dealing with drunks. He was depressed. Then a visitor arrived at his door. Dowling, a Jesuit priest, would be essential in helping Wilson gain the strength to carry on. He would also be essenti...
How steep is Poland’s drop in Mass attendance?
Around 28% of Poland’s Catholics attended Mass in 2021, according to the latest official statistics. The new figures were said to indicate a “dramatic fall” in church attendance in one of Europe’s most Catholic countries. So, what does the new data say? How do researchers interpret it? And what is the Church doing in response to the decline? The Pillar takes a look. What the figures say On Jan. 13, the Institute for Catholic Church Statistics (ISKK) released its 2021 “Annuarium Statisticum Ecclesiae in Polonia,” a yearly numerical overview of Poland’s Catholic Church. Since 1980, the institute has reported the percentage of “dominicantes” (Sunday Mass-goers) and “communicantes” (recipients of Holy Communion) out of the total number of baptized Catholics who are able to fulfill the obligati...
Are younger Catholic priests growing more conservative?
Father Alessandro da Luz elevates the chalice as he celebrates a traditional Latin Mass Aug. 11, 2020, at Our Holy Redeemer Church in Freeport, N.Y. (CNS photo/Gregory A. Shemitz) In the wake of the deaths of Pope Benedict XVI and Australian Cardinal George Pell, media outlets — both Catholic and secular — have featured significant commentary about the political and theological divisions in the Catholic Church. One month ago, those themes were taken up in the Wall Street Journal. “American Catholic priests are becoming more conservative, even as their flocks are becoming more liberal,” wrote Francis Rocca on Dec. 18. To further investigate the claims of the article, Our Sunday Visitor consulted Stephen White, director of the Catholic Project at The Catholic University of America on the que...
The good news: Prince Harry would make a great Episcopalian. The bad news: Prince Harry would make a great Episcopalian…..
If low-church Anglican evangelicals were active in the whole naming-saints thing, you know that the process would already be in motion to honor Queen Elizabeth II. The quiet dignity of her Christian faith was at the heart of her long life of service. This brings us to what I would argue is a valid religion-angle story linked to “Spare,” the tell-all confessional memoir Prince Harry has released from the media-friendly alternative palace that he is creating with Meghan Markle here in America. Here is the basic question: In what church will Harry and Meghan raise their children? This points, of course, to broader questions about the seismic changes inside England’s Royal Family after the passing of Elizabeth the Great. Yes, some of these questions are linked to the complex ecumenical history...
Diocese of Des Moines, Iowa, Bans Use of Puberty Blockers, Transgender ‘Preferred Pronouns’ in Schools and Parishes…
According to Cox, the new policy on transgenderism was developed at the request of the diocese’s schools and with the cooperation of school leaders and parents. The Diocese of Des Moines, Iowa, has banned the use of puberty-blocking drugs, transgender pronouns, and the use of bathrooms opposite of one’s biological sex as part of an effort to “welcome and minister to those coping with gender dysphoria while following Catholic Church teaching,” a diocesan representative told CNA. The new policy, which went into effect Monday, consists of seven new rules regarding transgender ideology at the diocese’s 17 schools (including two high schools) and 80 parishes. The policy on “designations and pronouns” bans the use of preferred pronouns that contrast with the person’s biological sex on school cam...
St. Anthony the Abbot, a holy death, and a blubber bomb…
Hey everybody, Today is the feast of St. Anthony the Great, and you’re reading The Tuesday Pillar Post. The saint we celebrate today is remembered throughout the Church as the “father of monasticism,” or the “father of all monks,” — and really, he deserves that title. But Anthony is really the reluctant father of those monks, and that’s worth noting. Here’s what happened: Anthony was born in the third century, to a wealthy family of Christians in southern Egypt. When he was 20, his parents died suddenly, leaving Anthony to care for his young sister. But soon after, Anthony was attending the Divine Liturgy, when he heard these words read from the Gospel: “If you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.” They struck the young man ...
