Many Catholics and also non-Catholics who, while they do not embrace the Catholic faith, respect the Catholic Church for her teaching regarding faith and morals, have asked me how it is possible for Catholics to receive Holy Communion, while at the same time they publicly and obstinately promote programs, policies and legislation … Read more
With Pope Francis’s approval, on February 22, the feast of the Chair of Saint Peter, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith published a Responsum to a dubium regarding the blessing of a same-sex union. The dubium received at the Dicastery read: “Does the Church have the power to give the blessing … Read more
In her Autobiographical Manuscripts, Saint Therese of the Child Jesus recounts the joys of her pilgrimage to the Holy House of Loreto in Italy. She traveled there with her family when still very young. She comments: “I was indeed happy when on the way to Loreto. Our Lady had chosen an ideal … Read more
The end seemed to have come. The Prophet of Nazareth had died on a cross, like a vile slave. The apostles, terrified, had disappeared; some women, after following Him to His burial place, were returning home weeping. The chief priests and pharisees were unquestionably triumphant, and nevertheless, astonishing to say, they seemed … Read more
The Holy House of Loreto is Our Lady’s house from Nazareth. Jesus spent His adolescence there when they returned from Egypt. The Angels later transported the House to Loreto, Italy. The ecclesiastical historian Father Réné François Rohrbacher (1789-1856) narrates this impressive episode about how the Popes protected the House. “The local authorities … Read more
Let us be with the Holy Church, whether under persecution or during Her triumphal ‘Palm Sunday.’ Even if the Holy Church is devastated by the wolves of heresy, let us stand with Her, fighting for Her, suffering with Her, praying with Her. The Holy Father Leo XIII says, and subsequent Pontiffs have … Read more
Imagine a photograph of a soldier. His uniform is incredibly rumpled. The straps of his grimy helmet are unfastened. A barely discernible cross painted on that helmet indicates he is a chaplain. In his right hand is the bowl of a broken pipe with the stem. The photographs’ caption explains that he … Read more
Just over a month since the first alleged same-sex “marriage” in Argentina was celebrated by a Salesian priest—a scandal which indirectly had an impact on Pope Francis—the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith outlawed ceremonies to bless same-sex “unions.” And the Pope accomplished this in the form of a response to … Read more
During his Iraq trip (March 5–8), Pope Francis said more than once that Abraham is at the root of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. On arriving, he told civil authorities that he was coming to that land “linked through the Patriarch Abraham and a number of the Prophets” to the religious traditions “of … Read more
This year is marked by gloomy and unknowable prospects. Here are some thoughts on the virtue of confidence that will strengthen the soul. “Have confidence, I have overcome the world.” Our Lord Jesus Christ “And I say to you, Ask, and it shall be given you: seek, and you shall find: knock, … Read more