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Benedict XVI, Cardinal Sarah co-author new book on priesthood and celibacy…
The book, entitled From the Depths of Our Hearts, addresses the ‘dark time’ the Catholic priesthood is enduring because of Church scandals and ‘the constant questioning of their consecrated celibacy.’ VATICAN CITY — Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI has taken the surprising and historic step of co-authoring his first book since his resignation almost seven years ago — and by asking in it that Pope Francis not allow the ordination of married men to the priesthood in the Latin Church. The 175-page book, entitled Des Profondeurs de nos cœurs (From the Depths of Our Hearts) and written with Cardinal Robert Sarah, the prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, discusses the spiritual challenges confronting today’s priests, and draws attention to the dange...
‘A Hidden Life’ is a story of hope that one day heaven will fully transform this earth…
“But I am free.” With those simple but profound words, Franz Jägerstätter resists the temptation to compromise the truth by swearing an oath of loyalty to Adolf Hitler in order to save his life and to spare his family much suffering. This decisive moment is but one of many examples of the rich biblical themes that pervade Terrence Malick’s latest film, A Hidden Life. The freedom of which Jägerstätter speaks is not, of course, freedom as most modern Americans understand it. He does not mean the freedom to choose indiscriminately between a variety of options, nor even the freedom to roam without restrictions, but rather freedom in the classical and biblical sense. This is a freedom that is based on truth (John 8:32), and, as such, it is a freedom that can withstand suffering, imprisonment, a...
Betelgeuse is now fainter than ever recorded. It might be debris or overlapping cycles — or the star might be about to explode…..
Betelgeuse in 2015, before recent dimming. Distance from Earth to the sun Betelgeuse in 2015, before recent dimming. Distance from Earth to the sun Betelgeuse in 2015, before recent dimming. Distance from Earth to the sun Betelgeuse in 2015, before recent dimming. Distance from Earth to the sun A Fading Giant Around 700 years ago, the red star Betelgeuse began to fade. The light from that unusual dimming is only now reaching Earth, some 700 light-years away. Betelgeuse is normally one of the 10 brightest stars in the sky, but is now fainter than ever recorded. Magnitude 0 Betelgeuse now ▶ Magnitude 0 Betelgeuse now ▶ Magnitude 0 Betelgeuse now ▶ Magnitude 0 Betelgeuse now ▶ Betelgeuse typically fades and brightens in short cycles of 14 months and longer cycles o...
Requiescat in pace, Sir Roger Scruton (1944-2020). You will be missed…..
Sir Roger Scruton, the prolific British philosopher and writer, died on January 12, 2020, after a six-month battle with cancer. A renowned intellectual whose interests and commentary covered political philosophy, aesthetics, and religion, Sir Roger was more than just a man who covered many topics with penetrating insight and erudition; he was, to me, a friend and a teacher. I consider myself fortunate having just completed my master’s in philosophy with guidance under Sir Roger in the last year of his teaching. He was, during my tenure as a student at the University of Buckingham—where he ran the graduate program in philosophy—still the man of wit and charm that he had always been, a feature that attracted a diverse group of students of backgrounds and beliefs. His smile, his insight, his ...
Nigerian case shows that in fighting religious hatred, little things count…
ROME – Perhaps because Westerners tend not to take religion terribly seriously, seeing it as a private affair on par with other hobbies such as quilting or canasta, religious persecution tends to register in the Western mind only in its most spectacular form. If a bomb goes off in a church on Easter Sunday, for instance, causing hundreds of fatalities, it becomes a news story. If a lone churchgoer is harassed after a regular Sunday service, it passes largely unnoticed. To take a specific case, Christians in the Middle East had been subject to second class citizenship since the era of the Islamic conquest, and had been the object of increasingly violent harassment since the Islamic revolution in Iran in 1978 and the global radicalization of Islam that ensued. However, it took the anti-Chris...
The bountiful blessings of Baptism…
Today’s feast of the Baptism of the Lord is a moment to reflect not only on the Lord’s baptism, but also on our own. For in an extended sense, when Christ is baptized, so are we, for we are members of his body. As Christ enters the water, he makes holy the water that will baptize us. He enters the water and we who are members of his Body go with him. And in these waters he acquires gifts to give us, as we shall see below. Let’s examine this text in three stages: 1. The Fraternity of Baptism – The text says Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. John tried to prevent him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and yet you are coming to me?” John is surely puzzled about Jesus requesting baptism. And likely so are we. Why? John’s baptism of repentance presumes th...
On the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, Pope Francis baptizes 32 babies in the Sistine Chapel…
ABOVE: Photo by Vatican Media. BELOW: All photos by Joanne Bergamin. The annual ceremony on the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord carries on a tradition of Pope Saint John Paul II. Pope Francis welcomed 29 families to have their newborns baptized in the Sistine Chapel Sunday morning, the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. Pope Saint John Paul II began the annual tradition of baptizing the children of Vatican employees and embassies to the Holy See. Before the papal Mass, there was none of the usual scrambling for seats but rather an unusual amount of joyful calm for an early Sunday morning ceremony at the Vatican. Mothers, fathers, siblings, godparents and extended families were all smiling, amid the very occasional cry of one of the 32 babes in arms, which included one set of twins and one ...
A losing socialist’s lesson for conservative politics. It’s not one you expect…..
Socialists everywhere furrowed their brows. This looked bad for the cause. It looked bad for the future. In the English election three weeks ago, the Tories thrashed Labour. The country chose the conservatives over the socialists, and by a lot. Now the world’s socialists must try to figure out what went wrong. It’s worth listening in. It’s a bit like standing in the back of the Patriots’ locker room after they lost to the Titans. You’d learn a lot from hearing Bill Belichick talk about losing. Worse for Labour The Tories won so big, they can do what they want for the next five years. Labour can only protest. Worse for Labour, the party lost a lot of seats from its famous “red wall,” working class districts in the industrial north of England that had been solidly Labour for decades. Imagine...
The Feast of the Baptism of the Lord…
Happy Feast of the Baptism! The celebration of the Lord’s baptism brings to a close the Christmas season. (In the extraordinary form calendar, the Christmas season continues till Feb. 2, the Feast of the Presentation. Thus, the custom of some of leaving their Christmas tree up until “Ground Hog Day.”) We are sad to leave behind the beautiful mysteries surrounding the birth of Our Lord on which we have been meditating for the past several weeks, but the tenderness of the childhood of the Lord must give way to the maturity of his manhood and the beginning of his public ministry. John the Baptist, that greatest of prophets and remarkable saint, has been accompanying us almost from the start of Advent, and makes a critical appearance once again i...
Standing for the unborn, state by state…
From the streets of Dallas to Chicago (below) and San Francisco (above), thousands of pro-lifers will take a stand for the unborn this month. (2019 photos, courtesy of Catholic Pro-Life Community, March for Life Chicago and West Coast Walk for Life) Events around the country reflect heart of the cause. WASHINGTON — On Jan. 24, tens of thousands of people will be part of this year’s annual March for Life in Washington. Tens of thousands more — adults, teens, school groups and families who cannot travel to the nation’s capital — will be marching in 30-plus companion events held on different days in states across the country, praying for the end of abortion. Midwest The earliest companion marches and walks were scheduled to begin Jan. 10-11. One of the largest is the March for Life Chicago 20...
Why U.K. voters rejected the Church of Corbyn and its prophet Jeremy…
Britain’s opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn gestures outside a polling station after voting in the general election in London, Britain, December 12, 2019. (Lisi Niesner/Reuters) U.K. voters have rejected its messiah and his message. During the United Kingdom’s recent general election, the subject of religion was not mentioned. Unlike in the United States, religion has rarely been a vote-winner in British politics, particularly during elections. This election proved different, however. Although not recognized as such by the media, there was a religious sect taking part in the 2019 British general election. Perhaps one might call it the Church of Corbyn (CoC). Advertisement Advertisement Recently founded, this “church” comprised members who swore blind obedience to the thinking an...
Harry and Meghan will not be greatly missed…
The Royal Family got a rude – but welcome – surprise on Wednesday. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex want out of royal life. They dropped this particular bombshell consulting neither the Queen nor the Prince of Wales, which seems rude. On the other hand, they weren’t able to discuss it over Christmas when the family gathers at Sandringham; Harry and Meghan and lil’ Archie skipped family Christmas for a trip to Canada instead. Buckingham Palace, having read the news of the de facto ducal abdication along with everyone else, responded with a masterly English understatement: “It’s complicated.” The Sussexes will withdraw from royal life and become celebrities doing good works. They will gallantly pay for this on their own dime. It will not be cheap, as they intend to live a climate-offending lif...
