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“Look, here is water. What is to prevent my being baptized?” So said the Ethiopian Eunuch travelling with Philip (Acts 8:36). In these times of the coronavirus (COVID-19), most dioceses in the United States did not celebrate the sacraments of initiation at the Easter Vigil. Some dioceses are celebrating them at the Extended Form of the Vigil of Pentecost. For others, however, the sacraments of initiation (baptism, confirmation, and the Eucharist) will have to be celebrated in small groups or at least in celebrations of greatly reduced numbers in the weeks ahead. But not to worry: the sacraments of initiation have always taken place at different times of the year, and the Church makes provision for this possibility. Unusual Circumstances and Pastoral Needs? If you’ve ever read through a lit...

It’s a strange quirk of history that the Diocese of Hong Kong is part of the Archdiocese of Guangzhou. That technically gives the archbishop of a diocese in the People’s Republic of China control over the diocese of the special administrative region where different legal rules apply. The Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association (CCPA) that controls Catholicism in China — both official and underground after the 2018 deal between Beijing and the Vatican on bishop appointments — does not operate in Hong Kong. The same is true of the Diocese of Macau in that special administrative region. The Diocese of Hong Kong is a de jure suffragan diocese of the Archdiocese of Guangzhou but in practice it is an immediate subject of the Holy See. The Diocese of Macau is exempt and an immediate subject of the...

Gregory the Great was indisputably amongst the greatest popes to lead the Church (AD 590-604), and he did so as his world was crumbling around him.  The Roman Empire in the West had fallen, the infrastructure of Rome lay in ruins, the Tiber was constantly flooding, and famine and the bubonic plague were decimating a population already in steep decline.  And the plague had just taken the life of Pope Pelagius II in February of 590. Evagrius Scholasticus, a church historian who died that year in Antioch, lost most of his family to the plague, which had spread throughout the empire.  His account is eerily similar to the pandemic we now face:  The ways in which the disease was communicated, were various and unaccountable: for some perished by merely living with the infected...

Four hundred years after the trial, the mere mention of the name “Galileo” is often considered a powerful one-word refutation against the Catholic Church. Why? Because, according to the popular telling of the “Galileo Affair,” it was Galileo who: 1) proved heliocentrism, despite a Church that officially declared heliocentrism to be a heresy; 2) was tortured and martyred by the Church, and; 3) discovered that Scripture—and by extension, the Catholic Church—was a fraud.  But is that what actually happened? It’s important to revisit the Galileo case here, not only because it affects the way some view the Catholic Church, but also because it affects the way we view faith and science going forward. Galileo and the Catholic Church: historical and philosophical background For some Catholics,...

West Virginia is known by many for its stunning scenery immortalized in John Denver’s song “Country Roads.” But perhaps not many Catholics know that the southern state is home to what is considered “the smallest Catholic church of the 49 states.”  Measuring 12×24 feet, the Lady of The Pines Catholic Church is found in Silver Lake, an unincorporated community in Preston County, West Virginia. During the end of the 1930s, Silver Lake began to attract vacationers looking to rent out cabins on the nearby man-made lake. A park and a campground were built in 1930, hosting activities like boating, swimming and picnicking. That’s when “the smallest church of America,” which at the time included 49 states, was born. Built as a family church, it hosts one tiny altar and 12 rows of one-seat pews...

Antonio Irastorza is blessed by the prayers of the good sisters, whom he visits when he can. Many people as far away as London rely on the prayers of these Carmelites. (Courtesy of Antonio Irastorza) The Tangiers Carmel’s surprising link to the financial heart of London. K.V. Turley LONDON — There is a community of enclosed Carmelite nuns who are gaining a reputation in London. The community, the Carmelite Sisters in Tangiers, lives in Morocco, however, many miles from the British capital. So how have these contemplatives attracted a devoted and grateful group of supporters and friends in London, centered mainly in the capital’s business district known simply as: “The City”? In recent years, bankers, stockbrokers and City lawyers have started talking of these Carmelite nuns as “the heavy a...

John Wencker, “St. John Chrysostom Preaching Before the Empress Eudoxia,” c. 1880 COVID-19 has helped highlight the gap between the methods of modern communication available to the Church and their pitiful use in practice. The episcopal shutdown of public celebration of the Mass in the United States has put focus on what might be called “palliative pastoral care” to address the faithful’s inaccessibility to “the source and summit of the Christian life” (Lumen gentium, 11). One of the ways in which that care has been offered is through online Mass, whether live-streamed or recorded. Many bishops have recommended that Catholics avail themselves of those online opportunities, both to provide some kind of connection to the Mass as well as retain the particular character of Sunday. At the same ...

What do you think of this? Recent data for COVID19 in Italy shows a drop in new daily cases and deaths after Pope Francis prayed for the world during his Urbi et Orbi Eucharistic blessing on March 27. Italy took extreme measures throughout the past couple of months to prevent the spread of COVID19. The country enforced a two-month lockdown, which suspended public Masses, closed schools, restaurants, shops, etc. The government recently eased the restrictions on May 18. Along with these measures to slow the spread, Pope Francis prayed for the world in a special Eucharistic blessing in St. Peter’s Square. The live televised prayer and blessing aired on March 27. Following that date, the rate of new daily deaths and cases dropped in Italy. Furthermore, it raises the question: Did Pope Fra...

Governor Tim Walz of Minnesota. (Wikimedia (CC BY 3.0).) On May 20, the bishops of Minnesota said they would allow parishes to resume public Masses at one-third of church capacity on May 26, in defiance of the statewide order. MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — The governor of Minnesota has issued an order allowing for the resumption of limited public worship gatherings, days after the bishops of the state said they would allow public Masses to resume in defiance of previous guidelines. The bishops maintained that the original guidelines were unfairly restrictive toward religious services, as businesses and other entities in the state are slowly being allowed to reopen with new safety protocols in place to help guard against the novel coronavirus. Archbishop Bernard Hebda of Saint Paul and Minneapo...

“I revealed your name to those whom you gave me out of the world. They belonged to you, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. . . .And now I will no longer be in the world, but they are in the world, while I am coming to you.” (Jn 17:6, 11) These verses from our Lord’s High Priestly Prayer (Jn 17) reveal three truths to consider as we look ahead to Pentecost. First, we are not of this world. Jesus prays to His Father, “I revealed your name to those whom you gave me out of the world.” (Jn 17:6) He is speaking about the Apostles primarily, but also about us. It’s not the only time He speaks of such alienation from the world. He had told the Apostles earlier at the Last Supper, “[Y]ou do not belong to the world, and I have chosen you out of the world.” (Jn 15:19) And again in...

The first president’s cool head and respect for science helped a young America survive smallpox and yellow fever  The coronavirus needs no introduction. For months, the disease has stalked the globe, slaying tens of thousands, infecting millions, and erasing trillions in lost economic activity. Artists’ renderings of the critter as a blue sphere sprouting red frilly excrescences have hung on our small screens like so many imaginings of the Death Star—infection as celebrity. Beside it, nearly all the familiar mug shots, from Kanye and Kim to Harry and Meghan, have faded into irrelevance. But not President Trump, however, crisis-managing via daily TV appearances, Drs. Deborah Birx and Anthony Fauci ever at his side. Governor Andrew Cuomo of hard-hit New York joined them in ubiquity, giv...

One of the most powerful prayers on the face of the Earth is the Divine Mercy Chaplet. This applies especially for the dying. Our Lord once told St. Faustina these words: “My daughter, encourage souls to say the Chaplet which I have given to you. It pleases Me to grant everything they ask of Me by saying the Chaplet…Write that when they say this Chaplet in the presence of the dying, I will stand between My Father and the dying person, not as the just Judge but as the merciful Savior.” (Diary of St. Faustina, 1541) What an amazing promise made by Our Lord! He will stand between the dying person and His Father as the merciful Savior! Let me share with you a conversation I once had and how it relates to the life of St. Faustina in regards to praying the Chaplet for the dying. I spoke with a n...