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Cardinal Fernández: New Document on Discerning Apparitions ‘Being Finalized’…
The last time the Vatican’s doctrinal office issued a general document on apparitions was in 1978, during the final months of the pontificate of Pope Paul VI. The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith is putting the finishing touches to a new document that sets out clear rules on discerning apparitions and other such supernatural events. The dicastery’s prefect, Cardinal Victor Fernández, told the Register April 23 that he and his staff are “in the process of finalizing a new text with clear guidelines and norms for the discernment of apparitions and other phenomena.” The cardinal, who met with Pope Francis in private audience on Monday, did not divulge any further details on the document, nor exactly when it will be published. The last time the Vatican’s doctrinal office issued a genera...
Pope Francis Gives Interview to CBS News on Ukraine, Gaza: ‘a Negotiated Peace Is Better Than a War Without End’…
Pope Francis pleaded for peace worldwide amid ongoing wars in Ukraine and Gaza, telling CBS News on Wednesday that “a negotiated peace is better than a war without end.” “Please. Countries at war, all of them, stop the war. Look to negotiate. Look for peace,” the pope, speaking through a translator, told “CBS Evening News” anchor and managing editor Norah O’Donnell during an hourlong interview at the guest house where he lives in Rome. The pontiff frequently talks about the Israel-Hamas war in his addresses. He made a strong appeal for a cease-fire in Gaza and a prisoner swap between Russia and Ukraine during his Easter Sunday Mass earlier this month. He said Wednesday that he calls parishioners in Gaza every day to hear what...
What should you do if your employer asks you to sign a non-discrimination policy?
DIFFICULT MORAL QUESTIONS: Beware the moral pitfalls that can turn licit toleration into sinful cooperation. Q. In a secular workplace, would it be morally wrong for Catholic employees to sign a mandatory professional code of conduct in which they agree to not discriminate against anyone based on a variety of factors, including “sexual orientation,” “gender identity” and “gender expression”? Would acknowledging these terms in writing be considered promotion of the ideology that they represent? What if the alternative to not signing such a code of conduct were termination of employment and/or revocation of a professional license? — Kaylyn A. Since you have no intention of denying any rightful moral or professional claims to your gender-confused colleagues, signing such a document should pos...
What Every Catholic Needs to Know About Conspiracy Theories, and How to Help Loved Ones Who Fall for Them…
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Catholic Answers Pulls Plug on ‘Father Justin’ AI Priest After Social Media Firestorm…
After his fall from virtual grace, the apologetics ‘expert’ to be replaced by lay character. Father Justin, we hardly knew ye. Less than two days after debuting an artificial intelligence (AI) priest character to overwhelmingly negative reviews, Catholic Answers has given “Father Justin” the virtual heave-ho. The lay-run apologetics and evangelization apostolate, based in El Cajon, California, told the Register that it will replace him on its app with a lay character named “Justin” within a week. “We won’t say he’s been laicized, because he never was a real priest!” Catholic Answers said in a written statement to the Register late Wednesday afternoon. “We chose the character to convey a quality of knowledge and authority, and also as a sign of the respect that all of us at Catholic Answers...
On the Vine: Looking Ahead to the Fifth Sunday of Easter…
Readings:Acts 9:26–31Psalm 22:26–28, 30–321 John 3:18–24John 15:1–8 In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells us that He is the true vine that God intended Israel to be—the source of divine life and wisdom for the nations (see Sirach 24:17–24). In Baptism, each of us was joined to Him by the Holy Spirit. As a branch grows from a tree, our souls are to draw life from Him, nourished by His word and the Eucharist. Paul in today’s First Reading seeks to be grafted onto the visible expression of Christ the true vine—His Church. Once the chief persecutor of the Church, Paul encounters initial resistance and suspicion. But he is known by his fruits, by his powerful witness to the Lord working in his life (see Matthew 7:16–20). We too are commanded today to bear good fruits as His disciples so that our lives...
Joe Rogan, Tucker Carlson, Elizabeth Anscombe, Consequentialism and The Bomb…
Over the past few days, there has been discussion on X/Twitter – and I suppose elsewhere – of the morality of the United States dropping the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Not that this is a new discussion, but it rose again because of Tucker Carlson’s strong statement on Joe Rogan’s show that the act was immoral. As I perused various arguments on That App, especially among Catholics, one person I didn’t see mentioned – and this rather surprised me – was Catholic philosopher and Oxford Don Elizabeth Anscombe. Anscombe was a fascinating figure – Catholic convert, student of Wittgenstein, married, mother of seven and important figure in 20th century philosophy. Gertrude Elizabeth Margaret Anscombe was one of the most important philosophers of the twentieth century. She worked on an u...
The Ancient Biblical Sermons Break All the Modern Rules — So Maybe We Should Re-Examine Our Rules…..
The first reading from Sunday’s Mass features an excerpt from a sermon by St. Peter. The contents of the sermon are very similar to others recorded in the Acts of the Apostles by Saints Paul and Stephen. What is interesting is that these ancient sermons break almost every rule (written and unwritten) of modern preaching! Consider the clip from yesterday and not the areas highlighted in red: Peter said to the people:“The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob,the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus,whom you handed over and denied in Pilate’s presencewhen he had decided to release him.You denied the Holy and Righteous Oneand you asked that a murderer be released to you.The author of life you put to death,but God raised him from the dead; of this we...
Former Car Thief Explains How Car Theft Actually Works — and What You Should Do to Protect Yourself…
[embedded content] Hondo Underwood is a former car thief. He stole hundreds of cars in and around Denver between 2016 and 2017. Services Marketplace – Listings, Bookings & Reviews Entertainment blogs & Forums
Walk by the Spirit, Avoid the Flesh…
The death of Jesus Christ on the cross revealed the greatest act of love that destroyed the works of the Devil, defeated the authority of sin and death, and provided a salvific path for all God’s children to embrace if chosen. Jesus’ death was not an accident or a mistake in judgment by a few unruly men. The entire mystery of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection reveals a divine plan of redemption to free men from the slavery of sin.[1] St. Paul reminds us of this when he proclaims that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures.[2] Jesus explained his role as the suffering servant to his disciples on the Road to Emmaus carefully narrative the salvific events that had taken place and culminating this narrative with the celebration of the...
Texas Carmelites Reject Oversight of Vatican-Appointed Federation…
Texas Carmelites reject oversight of Vatican-appointed federation Skip to content Carmelite nuns at a Texas monastery say they will not accept the Vatican’s designation of a U.S. Carmelite federation to oversee them, amid an ongoing dispute with their local bishop. An April 20 statement from the Arlington Carmel described the entrustment of their monastery to the Carmelite Association of Christ the King as “a hostile takeover that we cannot in conscience accept.” “To accept this would risk the integrity of our monastery as a community, threatening the vocations of individual nuns, our liturgical and spiritual life and the material assets of the monastery,” the statement said. “Accordingly, neither the President of the Association of Christ the King, nor any delegate of hers, is welcome to ...
The Pro-Life Movement Has a Storytelling Problem…
Many years ago, a friend visiting an Eastern European country diligently wrote several postcards, stamped them, and then dropped them in what he thought was a mailbox. It turned out to be a very elegant trash can. Of course, his postcards never made it to their intended recipients. In the pro-life movement, messaging can often be like my friend’s simple mistake where we think we are doing one thing, but with unintended results. For decades, pro-lifers have tried to communicate rich and important truths about babies, motherhood, and the family, yet the polls and the culture continually show these efforts are falling upon deaf ears. We make impassioned and intellectually rigorous arguments, and then they dissolve in the red robes and bonnets of “The Handmaid’s Tale” activists. That one image...
