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Letting go of dread Question: I have serious scrupulosity and have worked closely with several priests. I have been told if I follow their advice, I will go straight to heaven when I die. How can they make this statement? I am in grave doubt. — Name withheld, Cleveland Answer: Since you do not state what the advice is, I cannot comment on that aspect. It is true that no one here, even a priest, can state unequivocally that a person will “go straight to heaven” when they die. The only exceptions might be someone who was baptized moments before...

YouTube video providing good examples why socialism is not Biblical.

The Look of Christ Msgr. Charles Pope • August 4, 2016 • I have a large icon of Christ in my room (see photo at right). What icons from the Eastern tradition do best is to capture “the look.” No matter where I move in the room, Christ is looking right at me. His look is intense, though not severe. In the Eastern spirituality, icons are windows into Heaven. Hence, this icon is no mere portrait that reminds one of Christ, it is an image that mediates His presence. When I look upon Him, I experience that He knows...

Liturgical VestmentsFr. William Saunders The liturgical vestments worn at Mass have evolved over time. Nevertheless, since the earliest days of the Church, liturgical vestments have been worn by priests for the celebration of the Mass. Even though priests of the Old Testament wore vestments in their liturgical rites, the “Christian” vestments are not really adaptations of them.Rather, the vestments of the Christians developed from the dress of the Graeco-Roman world, including the religious culture.Nevertheless, the Old Testament idea of wearing a special kind of clothing in the performance of liturgical rites did influence the Church. St. Jerome asserted, “The Divine...

Pope Francis has lamented that children are being taught at school that gender can be a choice, adding that his predecessor, Benedict XVI has labeled current times 'the epoch of sin against God the Creator'. Francis weighed in with his view on gender and what he said was that of the emeritus pontiff while meeting privately last week with bishops from Poland during his pilgrimage there. The pope said he wanted to conclude his remarks by reflecting on this: 'We are living a moment of annihilation of man as image of God.' Francis said: 'Today, in schools they are teaching...

Remnant readers will have noticed that over the past three years not only this newspaper but the Catholic press in general, along with the Catholic blogosphere, have become increasingly devoted to a running commentary on Francis’s Latest Unprecedented Bombshell (FLUB). This is just as Francis wishes, for without an almost weekly FLUB he would drop out of the news cycle so assiduously exploited by “media wizard” Greg Burke, formerly of FOX News, who has just replaced as papal press spokesman the crafty spinmeister Father Lombardi, king of the “official denial” that denies nothing and the “official clarification” that clarifies nothing....

Priest for Times of Terror: The Curé d’ArsSean Fitzpatrick Last week in France, a priest was murdered by Islamic terrorists during Mass. Fr. Jacques Hamel was 86 years old; a thin, small man with white, wispy hair, hollow cheeks and hooded eyes. It is thought-provoking to compare this French priest’s appearance to another French priest who lived and died nearly 160 years ago; one who also had a diminutive frame, shrunken face, deep-set eyes, silvery hair—and a holy death. One week after the passing of this parish priest as he celebrated Mass, the Church celebrates the passing of the patron...

What is Life? Msgr. Charles Pope • August 3, 2016 • What is life? It seems the simplest and most basic reality, but it is hard to define in a way that is satisfying. One philosopher I know defined it as “ordered energy.” But does that really advance the understanding of the mystery we call life?Consider an example: I have in one hand a small rock, and in my other, an acorn. They are similar in both shape and color. Now I place each of them in the ground and water them. The small rock just sits there; even...

The President of the Italian Episcopal Conference, Angelo Bagnasco criticized those Catholics who were disconcerted and in many cases indignant at the invitation made to Muslims to pray in Italian churches on Sunday 31st July: “Really, I don’t understand the reason – he said – there doesn’t seem to me to be any real reason.” In his view, the adhesion of thousands of Muslims to pray at the altar would be “an expression of condemnation and absolute disassociation on the part of those – Muslims, but not only – who are unaccepting of any form of violence.” In reality, as...

One of the most important prelates in the Catholic Church in Hungary has warned that the enormous waves of migrants rolling into Europe are due in no small part to a Muslim “will to conquer,” by expanding their territory into the continent. “Jihad is a principle for Muslims that means they must expand,” said Archbishop Gyula Marfi in an interview Wednesday. “The earth must become dar al-Islam, that is, Islamic territory, by introducing Shariah—Islamic law.”

Crack the Whip and the Common Good - Our Lives Are More Connected Than We Think Msgr. Charles Pope • August 2, 2016 • We like to think that our personal decisions have little or no impact on others, but our lives are far more intertwined than we imagine. This is especially the case today, when social media can allow sinful and foolish ideas to catch fire and “go viral” in a flash. And although this happens with edifying information and helpful ideas as well, the bad stuff seems to spread more quickly. Why? Well, this is a fallen...

The Islamic State terror group has come out publicly to reject Pope Francis’ claims that the war being waged by Islamic terrorists is not religious in nature, assuring the pontiff that their sole motivation is religious and sanctioned by Allah in the Qur’an.

A Tour Guide in the Land of Ruin Msgr. Charles Pope • August 1, 2016 • At Mass we are reading from the later chapters of Jeremiah the Prophet, who wrote in the time of the Babylonian exile. As such he serves as a kind of tour guide for us through a land of ruin, one that seems all too familiar to us today.The Northern Kingdom of Israel had been destroyed by the Assyrians in 721 B.C. The Southern Kingdom of Judah, ignoring numerous warnings and calls to repentance, later experienced the same fate; the Babylonians laid siege and...

The Pope’s response to the violence unleashed by Islamic terrorists is not “do-goodery”. It is a “powerful and determined response”. The gesture of Muslims who decided to show their solidarity with Christians in the wake of the savage assassination of Fr. Jacques Hamel, is "an innovative and important sign," says Bruno Forte, a theologian and archbishop of the Italian archdiocese of Chieti-Vasto. Before catching his flight from Krakow to Italy, after the World Youth Day celebrations, he spoke to Vatican Insider about the presence of Muslim faithful in churches. Yesterday, there were Muslims who attended mass in many churches to...

Denial is a river in Buenos Aires: "I don't think it is right to equate Islam with violence," he told journalists during his return from a trip to Poland [on July 31]. Pope Francis defended his decision not to name Islam when condemning the brutal jihadist murder of a Catholic priest in France in the latest of a string of recent attacks in Europe claimed by Islamic State (or Isil). "In almost every religion there is always a small group of fundamentalists. We have them too," he said. "If I have to talk about Islamic violence I have to talk...

The story you are about to read is true. The names have been changed to protect the guilty. The innocent don’t need such protection, but there aren’t any innocent people in this tale. Some years ago, I was living in a small, mid-western town populated mostly by people whose livelihood centered on agriculture. It was a typical one-parish town, with a Catholic church more than a hundred years old, quite beautiful from the outside, and sadly “renovated” on the inside. The high altar was gone, replaced by a heavy table, and facing the people a simple wooden cross sans corpus...

Beware the Deception of False Prophets Msgr. Charles Pope • July 31, 2016 • In today’s first reading (Monday of the 18th Week) the Prophet Jeremiah denounces the false prophets of his day, who promise all sorts grand visions for Israel despite its sin. Jeremiah says to the people, By breaking a wooden yoke, you forge an iron yoke! (Jer 28:13) In other words, by failing to repent (breaking the wooden yoke) you shall know an iron yoke. (Think about the addiction to sin of many who do not show restraint earlier in life.) To the false prophets of...

Ever heard of Bishop Nunzio Galantino? Crux’s John Allen reported on him back in May. Excerpts: If you’re seeking the prototypical “Pope Francis bishop,” you need look no further than Nunzio Galantino. Francis overlooked all 500 Italian bishops to pluck Galantino out of obscurity and name him head of all Italian bishops. Galantino, appointed by Benedict XVI in 2011, was very last of all the bishops in a poll of the Italian episcopate requesting their input in who should govern them — yet Francis went to the back of the line to elevate him. Why? Allen writes: What did Francis...

You Can’t Take It with You, But You Can Send it on Ahead! Five Teachings on Wealth Msgr. Charles Pope • July 30, 2016 • The Gospel today is not merely a warning against greed; it is an instruction on income and wealth given by Jesus to help us root out greed. As the Gospel opens, the problem of greed is presented. Following that, a prescribed perspective on wealth is offered. Let’s take a look at both parts of this Gospel. I. The Problem that is Portrayed – The text begins, Someone in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher,...

Yes, Bergoglio said this to young people, many of whom are wrestling with all sorts of temptations right now. For the record, saying God wants us to be morally weak is a vicious and damnable lie. From Catholic News Agency: God prefers us weak, Pope Francis says off-the-cuff to youth Krakow, Poland, Jul 30, 2016 / 09:28 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The weaker we are, the more God's mercy can transform our lives. Pope Francis made these impromptu remarks on Saturday to crowds of young people gathered outside of Krakow’s St. John Paul II shrine. “Today, the Lord wants us to...