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Confession to a priest for the forgiveness of sins is one of the classic “Catholic distinctives,” the defense of which makes up so much of the substance of Catholic apologetics. Many Protestants say confession is another Roman “work” that complicates the simple matter of salvation. Do you have sins? Just confess them directly to God. You don’t need a priest to be a go-between any more than you need Mary, the saints, a pope, or little pieces of bread. That Jesus indeed instituted the sacrament of confession, that this institution can be proved from Scripture, that the early Christians practiced it and the Catholic Church duly carries it on today, are important points to explain and defend. But today, I want to reflect instead on five ways that confession, like the Sabbath, is made not just ...

Every war is a defeat for humanity, because men and women endowed with reason should be able to resolve their differences without mass violence. Reason, however, can be corrupted by ignorance, passion, ideology, pride, and innumerable other vices. And the distortion of reason can make the slaughter of others, including innocents, seem not only permissible, but even imperative. Thus within his own warped frame of reference, Vladimir Putin’s barbaric assault on Ukraine makes sense — to him. A few days before his forces invaded Ukraine expecting an easy victory, Putin declared Ukrainians a non-nation occupying a non-country that, by right of history and culture (including religious history and culture), belongs to Great Russia. So by his (dim) lights, Putin was restoring the proper order of t...

By Phil Lawler ( bio – articles – email ) | Apr 01, 2022 In recent columns I have suggested that in order to form a balanced moral perspective on the war in Ukraine, we should understand: the sober moral reasoning demanded by the just-war tradition, and the need to think dispassionately about the issues at stake; and the Russian view of the issues—since even if we condemn the invasion we must understand what provoked it. In this third and final installment, I want to explore a dimension of the conflict that too many analysts have overlooked: the religious dimension. “The Russian Orthodox Church has taken an active role in forging the ideology that undergirds Mr. Putin’s geopolitical ambitions,” reported the Wall Street Journal, in one of the rare media examinations of this key ...

Journalism has had its share of villains like Walter Duranty, but the media can also provide an invaluable service toward truth. When I attended Christendom College 30 years ago, I was blessed to attend Dr. Warren Carroll’s “Communist Revolution” course. Along with reading his book on the same topic, we listened to his three-hour lecture once a week. Throughout the semester, as I heard and read horrifying accounts of the communists, I had recurring nightmares. Considering what we were learning about, the bad dreams were understandable. We examined the influence of Rasputin, who proved nearly impossible to kill. We studied the murder of the Russian royal family in 1918. We learned about the Soviet strategy in Afghanistan of dropping bombs disguised as toys. We read about the systematic murd...

The behavior of truck drivers can sometimes be perplexing for noncommercial (i.e. commuting) drivers, who are often curious about why the massive vehicles they’re sharing the road with have spikes on their wheels or stuffed animals strapped to their grilles. Another puzzler: Why do truck drivers flash their lights at oncoming traffic? Consider it a method of communication, writes Broken Secrets. When truckers flash their headlights or hazard lights, they’re doing it as a courtesy to let you know that there might be a situation ahead that’s going to require your attention. That can mean anything from congested traffic due to an accident or a police presence to hazardous road conditions or a traffic jam. You might get a quick burst of flashing lights even if you’re following a truck in...

Last year, I did an interesting experiment during Lent where I decided to show up at a Catholic church every day to take part in something called the Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. This is not at all a Protestant practice nor something I grew up with, but I wanted to keep vigil, as it were, and Catholic churches were the only places that were consistently open during daylight hours for prayer. This, I decided, would be a discipline where my main sacrifice during Lent would not be food or chocolates but time. [If you want to understand a little of what adoration is, click on this website from St. Julia’s near Boston. Notice their “Café Julia.” It’s one of the only Catholic Church in the country with MY name mentioned.] Anyway, it takes time to schlep to a church every day for at least ...