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When you read Samuel Alito’s draft opinion closely, you’ll see it’s a consummate act of statecraft…
I have to confess that when the news broke last night and I read that careful, exhaustive, impressive opinion from Justice Alito, my eye moved to those key points for which I was looking, and there I fell into a mild despair. For the Justice preserved, as one of the defining strands of his opinion, that the human standing of the child in the womb would be left as a matter merely of belief. And as one justice put it a while back, the people in the States may simply be invited to mull over their “value judgment” on when that child in the womb becomes human—and how much they would “value” the protection of that child. But it became clearer to me last night that any disappointment of mine should be overborne by the vast good that Samuel Alito accomplishes here. Alito has carefully ...
Why we hunger for beauty…
This essay is excerpted and adapted from comments delivered on April 29 at the Scala Foundation’s conference “Art, the Sacred, and the Common Good.” Back in my Jesuit high school days, when dinosaurs walked the earth—this was the 1960s—Bob R. was one of my best friends. I haven’t seen Bob in many years, but I still think of him with affection. We were both weird. We were book buddies and debate partners, we took Latin and Greek together, and we shared the experience of reading bits of Catullus and Virgil, Xenophon and Homer in the original. Bob had wonderful parents. His dad was a great guy, but his mother was extraordinary. She was a beautiful woman—in her early fifties, poised, trim, well-dressed, feminine. But that’s not what I meant then—or what I mean now—by the word “beau...
Cardinal Pell Highlights ‘Somewhat Incomplete’ Account Given by Cardinal Becciu at Vatican Finance Trial…
As prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy, Pell led an effort called for by Pope Francis to bring order and accountability to the Vatican’s finances, which have long lacked centralized procedures, controls, and oversight. Pell clashed in that role with Becciu, who as sostituto of the Secretariat of State served effectively as the pope’s chief of staff. Becciu at one point acted to cancel a contract Pell had made for an external audit of Vatican finances. Reflecting on Becciu’s statement at the trial, Pell said he wanted to focus “on Cardinal Becciu’s final remarks on the AUD 2.3 million [$1.6m] paid to Neustar for the internet domain ‘.catholic’ on 4/9/2015. Was the payment from the Council for Social Communications or from the Secretariat of State? The introduction o...
Should Catholics worry about abortion protests disrupting Mother’s Day Mass?
Don’t engage protesters, D.C. advisory says A tweet by Twitter user Matt Gorman shows that St. Peter’s Catholic Church on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., is preparing for protesters to disrupt Masses this weekend. “All are welcome to join us for Mass at St. Peter’s,” a photo of an alleged announcement from St. Peter’s says. “Even though the disruption of the Holy Mass is a grave offense to every person of faith, we will strive to continue worship of God and exercise fraternal charity in any case.” The statement instructs parishioners that if Mass is interrupted, to pray in a “prayerful posture,” to stay in the church and follow the pastor’s directions, and to not engage protesters. More in US Reporter Mary Margaret Olohan of The Daily Wire reported that another church in Wash...
Why does it take so long to build and almost no time to destroy?
One of the questions I have asked God is, “Why does it always take so long to build something up while it only seems to take moment to tear it down or destroy it?” Destruction is always so much easier than construction. Decades, centuries, even a millennium of building a culture (e.g., Christendom) seems to have vanished overnight. All I get from God is, “Never mind, just keep working.” It would seem that God finds value in the work, not just in the results. Even so, my question (my frustration, actually) remains. However, I will do what He asks and keep on teaching, building, and working. The following commercial speaks humorously to my concern. Months of mathematical analysis is destroyed in a moment by a tuned-out man who does not recognize the beauty or value of what he erases. [embedd...
Pope Turns Up the Heat on Simmering TLM Debate, Calls Critics ‘Closed-Minded People’ Discussing ‘Outdated Issues’…
Pope Francis recalled reforms made when he was a child by Pope Pius XII, particularly when Pius XII reduced the fasting requirement before receiving holy Communion and reintroduced the Easter Vigil. “All of these things scandalized closed-minded people. It happens also today,” he said. “Indeed, such closed-minded people use liturgical frameworks to defend their views. Using the liturgy: this is the drama we are experiencing in ecclesial groups that are distancing themselves from the Church, questioning the Council, the authority of the bishops … in order to preserve tradition. And the liturgy is used for that.” Pope Francis spoke to the Pontifical Liturgical Institute, an institute in Rome whose school of liturgy has had increasing influence in liturgical norms coming from the Vatica...
‘Trial of the Century’ points to long overdue reform in separation of powers…
Listen to this story: ROME – Veteran Italian journalist Massimo Franco has a new book out called The Monastery: Benedict XVI and Nine Years of a Shadow Pope. The core thesis, unobjectionable so far as it goes, is that without Benedict ever desiring it, the Mater Ecclesiae monastery where he resides in the Vatican has become a rival center of power to the Santa Marta residence of Pope Francis. Without getting into the heart of Franco’s argument, there’s one point in the book that deserves to be unpacked lest it create exactly the wrong impression. Franco quotes from an interview with German Cardinal Gerhard Müller, the Vatican’s former doctrinal czar, who was removed in 2017 by Pope Francis in favor of his fellow Jesuit, Spanish Cardinal Luis Ladaria. Among other things, Müller comments on ...
German Synodal Path is “unacceptable,” warns Cardinal Ranjith…
The Sri Lankan cardinal discussed a wide variety of topics with the Register April 29. VATICAN CITY — In an extensive video interview with the Register, Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith welcomed Pope Francis’ reform of the Roman Curia, said the German Church’s Synodal Path is unacceptable, and sounded the alarm for his native Sri Lanka currently facing a devastating economic crisis and allegations of criminality at the highest levels of politics. Speaking in Rome on April 29, the cardinal archbishop of Colombo called the changes the Pope is making through his new apostolic constitution for the Roman Curia, Praedicate Evangelium (Preach the Gospel), “very good” but, he added, real reform won’t be achieved “unless that attitude inside the heart of each person changes.” [embedded conten...
Follow Lewis Carroll’s rules for online arguments…
COMMENTARY: Even friends need rules for talking to each other, and his ‘Eight or Nine Wise Words About Letter-Writing’ are a good place to start. Some of my friends would call my old friend a fascist and some of hers would call me a communist. Not that she’s close to being a fascist or I to being a communist. People aren’t always good at distinctions, and some people like extreme labels. They live to divide people. My friend and I hold very different views of politics and of Church affairs. Different enough that people have said with jaws dropping, “You’re friends with her?” Yes. I like her. I respect her. She’s lovely company. We have a lot in common. She’s a painter and I’m a writer, and we’re both serious about our crafts. Of course we’re friends. But these people can’t get ...
Thanks to a classy gesture from a Blue Jays fan, this young Yankees fan will remember Aaron Judge’s home run the rest of his life…..
[embedded content] From MLB.com… Join Our Telegram Group : Salvation & Prosperity
The Top 10 Catholic books to help you know and defend your faith…
1. Catholicism and Fundamentalism, Karl Keating This is a modern classic work from the godfather of today’s popular apologetics movement. Not only do you have some of the very best arguments answering the anti-Catholic claims of Fundamentalists, but each well reasoned response is animated by Keating’s incomparable style and wit. 2. Handbook of Catholic Apologetics, Peter Kreeft & Ronald Tacelli The most exhaustive apologetics work ever written and a must-read Catholic book for any apologist. It comes as close to covering the full gamut of apologetics as any book to date. And it does so using arguments that offer “reasons for the hope that lies within” our Catholic faith while also seeking to understand opposing views. 3. Why We’re Catholic, Trent Horn A top candidate for the “one book”...
Around September or October each year, Australia becomes the scene for a remarkable and rare natural phenomenon: “surfable,” tubular clouds known as the Morning Glory…..
The Morning Glory signifies power of a very different kind for the local Gangalidda indigenous people. To the Gangalidda, Walalu, the Rainbow Serpent, creates each Morning Glory – or kangólgi, as they call it. According to tradition, the Gangalidda ancestors ride along on the cloud to watch over their people and their land. For the modern Gangalidda, this is a good omen of the highest order. Other than for those closely studying meteorological charts, the first hint that a Morning Glory is on the way may be in the town’s pub: when condensation forms on the beer glasses in the evening, there’s a good chance a Morning Glory will arrive the following dawn. Amanda Wilkinson, owner of Burketown’s Savannah Lodge and town resident for 30 years, uses a different early warning sys...
