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Contraception is a sin. The Church has always taught this, and the Church will always teach this…..
An Aug. 8 tweet from the Pontifical Academy for Life (PAV) claimed that Humanae Vitae (HV) did not teach a truth guaranteed by the Church’s infallibility. While we were writing this commentary on it, the tweeted statement (full text here) was deleted without explanation. But the confusion at the heart of the tweet is widespread and will not go away with the tweet. It is this. Although Paul VI chose not to include in HV any formal, ex cathedra and manifestly infallible definition, the perennial teaching against contraception he reaffirmed in the encyclical had long been proclaimed infallibly, by the concurrence of popes, bishops and their priests throughout the world in presenting it, for decades and centuries, as a settled and unchangeable teaching of divine law. Screenshot of the st...
Have archaeologists discovered Bethsaida, the hometown of Sts. Peter, Andrew and Philip?
Archaeologists pose near the inscription found on the north shore of the Sea of Galilee Courtesy of the El Araj Excavation Project Archaeologists and religious scholars have long searched for the birthplace of Saint Peter, one of Jesus Christ’s 12 apostles and the first pope of the Roman Catholic Church. Now, archaeologists in Israel say they have uncovered a new artifact that proves the location of the ancient village of Bethsaida, where the important religious leader was born, along with his brother, Saint Andrew, and another apostle, Saint Philip. While excavating what they believe to be the lost “Church of the Apostles” basilica at the El-Araj dig site on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee, researchers discovered a large inscription, written in Greek, that ref...
Archbishop Rembert Weakland, Disgraced Former Archbishop of Milwaukee, Dead at 95…
article Rembert Weakland MILWAUKEE – Rembert Weakland, who served as the ninth Archbishop of Milwaukee from 1977 until his retirement in 2002, died at Clement Manor in Greenfield, where he lived, after a long illness. He was 95. Weakland’s name and the name of former Archbishop William Cousins were removed from buildings in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee in 2019 as part of the Catholic Church’s continuing response to the clergy sexual abuse of minors. Background on Weakland A news release from the Archdiocese of Milwaukee says Weakland was appointed archbishop of Milwaukee by Pope Paul VI on September 20, 1977. He was ordained a bishop on November 8, 1977, at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist in Milwaukee, and on the same occasion was installed as MilwaukeeR...
Next Sunday, remember that popes can admire resignation without dropping hints…
Listen to this story: ROME – This coming Saturday, Pope Francis will hold a consistory to create new cardinals, followed by two days of meetings with all cardinals to discuss his reform of the Roman Curia. In between he’ll visit the central Italian city of L’Aquila, and although papal outings inside Italy generally are low-key affairs, this one is destined to draw saturation coverage. The reason is because L’Aquila is home to the tomb of Celestine V, the last pope to voluntarily resign the papacy before Benedict XVI. When Benedict visited Celestine’s resting place in 2009, he left behind the pallium, or stole, which he’d received at his election – and, with the benefit of hindsight, that gesture was seen as foreshadowing Benedict’s own resignation in 2013. As a result, observers will be hy...
Hell’s road is easy, but hope makes the hard way sweeter…
At just the right moment, on the 21st Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year C, Jesus reminds us that hell is real and “many” are on the road to destruction while many who expect to enter heaven “will not be strong enough.” It’s just the right moment because there have been several attempts to do away with hell recently. Rumors persist that Pope Francis has rejected the idea of hell, though the opposite is true. Meanwhile, traditionalist Catholic Facebook friends of mine — one a prominent Catholic writer — have suddenly turned against the idea of an eternal hell, and are trying to lead as many as they can into their own unbelief. But Jesus is very clear about hell this Sunday. When someone asks, “Lord, will only a few people be saved?” Jesus doesn’t answer yes or no, exactly. Instead, he explains h...
Angelo Becciu: ‘The Pope Told Me I Will Be Reinstated’ as Cardinal…
Cardinal Angelo Becciu. Credit: Alamy Images Cardinal Angelo Becciu said Sunday that he has been invited to attend an upcoming consistory for the College of Cardinals, claiming that Pope Francis told him his rights and privileges as a cardinal will be reinstated. Becciu was sacked from his curial positions in September 2020, and forced to resign his rights as a cardinal, after Vatican prosecutors met with Francis and laid out possible evidence of criminal financial activity by the former papal chief of staff. “On Saturday the pope telephoned me to tell me that I will be reinstated in my cardinalatial functions and to ask me to participate in a meeting with all the cardinals to be held in the next few days in Rome,” Becciu told the congregation at a Mass he was celebrating in his nati...
The embattled Church in Nicaragua needs more — more help from the Vatican, and more support from Catholics worldwide…..
When should a global religious authority make its voice heard to defend the least among us? And when is silence, grounded in prayer, the more prudent course? The Vatican has struggled with such questions throughout its diplomatic history. During the past century, critics challenged Pope Pius XII’s nuanced response to Adolf Hitler’s aim of exterminating European Jewry. More recently, Pope Francis has been accused of ignoring the Chinese government’s attacks on religious and political freedoms, as the Vatican pursues a policy designed to unify the country’s divided Catholic community. Closer to home, human-rights activists have flagged the Holy See’s muted public response to the steady erosion of democratic norms in Nicaragua, where President Daniel Ortega and his wife, Vice Pres...
What was that crazy Rosary attack article in The Atlantic really all about? Here’s what…..
No doubt about it. The early favorite for the wild headline of 2022 has to be “How the Rosary Became an Extremist Symbol” atop that viral feature from The Atlantic. And that now-deleted graphic with the rosary made of bullet holes? That will show up in media-bias features for years (maybe decades) to come. Yes, I know that the editors tried to tone that down with a replacement headline — but it’s the original screamer that perfectly captured the article’s thesis. Oh, and the editors updated a mistake in the second line of the original headline with that new sub-headline: “Why are sacramental beads suddenly showing up next to AR-15s online?” Attention Atlantic editors: Here is a quick guide to the seven Roman Catholic sacraments. Correction, please. So here was the first question in this we...
Cardinal Visits Bishop Taken Away by the Nicaraguan Dictatorship: ‘His Spirit Is Strong’ …
By David Ramos Matagalpa, Nicaragua, Aug 19, 2022 / 16:07 pm The archbishop of Managua, Nicaragua, Cardinal Leopoldo Brenes, met with the bishop of Matagalpa, Rolando Álvarez, hours after the bishop had been abducted by the Daniel Ortega dictatorship during the early hours of August 19. In a statement released this afternoon, the archbishop reported that the “physical condition” of Álvarez “has deteriorated,” but “his mind and spirit are strong.” In its message this afternoon, the archdiocese of Managua expressed “its solidarity and closeness with the sister diocese of Matagalpa, in the face of the sad event experienced this morning.” “The Archbishop Cardinal Leopoldo Brenes had the opportunity to visit and talk with Bishop Álvarez in a ...
Traditional stained-glass windows are making a comeback in churches around the country…
Artists discuss the colorful catechism behind their creations that reflect faith and history. “In general, the faithful in the United States have rediscovered the rich tradition of stained glass. When they compare it to the last 50 years, they find many of our churches wanting,” Duncan Stroik, award-winning architect, author and professor of architecture at the University of Notre Dame, told the Register. “It is consistent with their preferences in architecture and liturgy.” “Modern has been out — anything that smacks of the ’50, ’60s, ’70s. No one seems interested in reviving any of that,” agreed Joseph Beyer, artist and president of the Beyer Stained Glass Studio (BeyerStudio.com) in Philadelphia. “The Munich school windows retain popularity because they are so beautiful and mesh so well...
Airlines are bumping passengers at a record pace. Here’s what to do if it happens to you…..
It’s a situation that’s becoming increasingly common: You’re waiting for your flight to start boarding, when the gate agent announces the plane is overbooked and some passengers will need to be bumped to a later flight. How does this happen, and what can travelers do about it? Planes only make money when they are flying full of paying passengers, so airlines sell a small percentage of seats more than the aircraft allows, assuming that people will not show up because they missed their connecting flight, got stuck in traffic, or simply changed their plans. Most of the time, the system works and there’s no need to bump anyone. But in 2022, airlines are overselling more flights, which means passengers are getting bumped more often too. According to recent statistics from the Department of Tran...
Looking for something to watch on your next family movie night? The classic Western ‘Shane’ (1953) is the perfect choice…..
Shane should prove to be a perfect choice for your next family movie night. Hollywood is not lacking movies about courage; it is, however, desperately lacking films about fortitude. The wise man knows the difference: while courage may or may not involve love, St. Augustine clarifies that fortitude is “love bearing all things readily for the sake of the object beloved.” Augustine’s teacher, St. Ambrose, provides us with an even clearer picture: Fortitude is not lacking in courage, for alone she defends the honor of the virtues and guards their behests. She it is that wages an inexorable war on all vice, undeterred by toil, brave in face of dangers, steeled against pleasures, unyielding to lusts, avoiding covetousness as a deformity that weakens virtue. In 1953, George Stevens produced a mov...
