At a recent holiday gathering, I was with some adults inside the house while the children were outside playing some team sport. It was bitterly cold but that did not seem to diminished the noisy activities outside in the snow. As I was conversing with someone else, we both noticed a little … Read more
The recent (January 30) statements by the Auxiliary Bishop of Los Angeles, Robert Barron, that he will not fight for the abolition of the same-sex “marriage” ruling has scandalized even his admirers.
It is Christmas time, and the world stops for a brief moment. It does not stop long because there are too many important things to be done to waste on festive and unproductive folly. It can only be a short pause on Christmas day before the world must almost immediately return to … Read more
It is Christmas and we all think back on Christmases past not without a bit of nostalgia for what the feast represents. We think back on Christmas trees, manger scenes and midnight Masses. We recall family dinners, marveling children and Christmas carols. Such memories fill us with joys in a brutal world … Read more
Communiqué: The American TFP Endorses Bishop Athanasius Schneider’s Solid and Courageous Statement on the Synod Based on solid arguments, Bishop Athanasius Schneider has issued a timely statement on the Synod of Bishops’ Final Report in which he comments on items 84 to 86. Grounded in perennial Catholic teaching, his considerations are a … Read more
The ceremonies of Holy Week, in which we remember the sorrowful Passion and Death of Our Lord Jesus Christ and His glorious Resurrection, lead us to meditate on the seriousness of sin and on the infinite justice of God, as well as on His infinite mercy. Reparation to God’s Offended Justice Indeed, … Read more
In a strange coalition, conservative and liberal Catholic publications made an appeal to Catholics: “We, the editors of four Catholic journals — America, National Catholic Register, National Catholic Reporter and Our Sunday Visitor — urge the readers of our diverse publications and the whole U.S. Catholic community and all people of faith … Read more
The question seems absurd as any child preparing for First Communion knows the answer: “No! To receive Holy Communion one must be in the state of grace.” The Sin of Adulterous Concubinage The same 7-year old knows that a serious fault against any of the Ten Commandments (for example, adultery or concubinage) … Read more
“Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Pauperist Heresies Heresies requiring material poverty for eternal salvation have sprung up since the dawn of Christianity. Here we refer more particularly to medieval miserabilists. Under the influence of the Cathars or Albigensians, who adopted the Manichean principle that … Read more
A narrow-minded, vulgar, egoistic and even idolatrous woman — this is how Irish author Colm Tóibín presents the Blessed Virgin Mary in his novel (now making its debut on the stage) titled The Testament of Mary. His blasphemous play is being presented at the Walter Kerr Theatre, a Broadway theater, starting Tuesday, … Read more