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Featured Term (selected at random:KNOWLEDGE OF GOD According to the First Vatican Council, "God, one and true, our Creator and Lord [can] be certainly known by the natural light of human reason from the things that are made" (Denzinger 3026). God's first witness of himself, therefore, is in the world of creation as declared by St. Paul: "Ever since God created the world, His everlasting power and deity -- however invisible -- have been there for the mind to see in the things He has made" (Romans 1:20). Moreover, the human mind "can even demonstrate" his existence and attributes by...

As crazy as it is may now sound, perhaps Pope Francis is the one who can reconcile the SSPX.I’ve floated this idea before. I don’t have any illusions that Francis likes much of anything about the SSPX. The other day I had a chat with a South American journalist who agreed with my suspicions that then-Card. Bergoglio’s impressions of the SSPX in Argentina were not favorable in large part because of Bp. Williamson and Bp. de Galaretta. Not hard to believe at all.But… just maybe… could Francis be the one to get the job done?I saw at VIS that SSPX...

Judging by the media reports on the Extraordinary Synod to be held in Rome this October, the bishops present will be mainly concerned with issues such as the admission to the Eucharist of divorced and remarried persons, the speeding up of annulment processes, and the possible revision of the Church’s teaching on contraception. Implicit in most of the reports is the view that a liberalization or “relaxation” of the Church’s present discipline in these matters could help to ameliorate the pastoral problem or concern that the Synod is called to examine. What could be said about this view?First, it...

In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus says, To what shall I compare the people of this generation? What are they like? They are like children who sit in the marketplace and call to one another, ‘We played the flute for you, but you did not dance. We sang a dirge, but you did not weep.’ He goes on to remark that the people thought John the Baptist was crazy because he did not eat or drink, yet when Jesus both ate and drank they called Him a glutton and a drunkard. (see Matt 11:16-19).Indeed, this world has many contradictory and...

The Beginning of the End of Abortion -- 40 Days for Life, September 24 -- November 2Mission 40 Days for Life is a community-based campaign that takes a determined, peaceful approach to showing local communities the consequences of abortion in their own neighborhoods, for their own friends and families. It puts into action a desire to cooperate with God in the carrying out of His plan for the end of abortion. It draws attention to the evil of abortion through the use of a three-point program:·         Prayer and fasting·         Constant vigil·         Community outreachThe 40-day campaign tracks Biblical history, where...

September 24, 2014Wednesday of the Twenty-fifth Week in Ordinary Time    Reading 1 Prv 30:5-9 Every word of God is tested;he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.Add nothing to his words,lest he reprove you, and you will be exposed as a deceiver. Two things I ask of you,deny them not to me before I die:Put falsehood and lying far from me,give me neither poverty nor riches;provide me only with the food I need;Lest, being full, I deny you,saying, “Who is the LORD?”Or, being in want, I steal,and profane the name of my God. Responsorial Psalm...

Got Zeal? An excellent collection of quotes on the utter necessity for zeal for the salvation of souls. Remember these quotes when you hear anyone say that proselytism is “solemn nonsense”, or that they have no desire to convert a person or persons to the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, outside of which there is no salvation. St. James the Apostle: “He must know that he who causeth a sinner to be converted from the error of his way will save his own soul from death and shall cover a multitude of sins” (St. James 5, 19-20). St. John...

Be sober, be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking some one to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experience of suffering is required of your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, establish, and strengthen you. - 1 Peter 5:8-10 The other day some nitwits did something like a satanic “black mass” in city government facility of Oklahoma City. You know the controversy, so I...

I am delighted that the Vatican and the Society of St. Pius X are talking again. This means that hope for a reconciliation of the SSPX with the Church has not been abandoned. But in thinking about this today, I realized something quite significant. Because the SSPX is not territorial in nature, its very adherents constitute a growing obstacle to reunion with Rome. What I mean by this is best explained by considering an alternative case. In Catholic history, the problem of schism has most often been territorial. For reasons that are largely socio-political, leaders in one region or another...

Prince William, right, at an Independence Day Mass at St John's Co-Cathedral in Malta (Photo: CNS) Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge, has attended his first public Mass in an official capacity, Buckingham Palace has confirmed.During a visit to Malta last weekend, the second in line for the throne went to Mass in St John’s Cathedral in Valletta, the island’s capital.The Prince, attending in an official capacity as part of the celebrations of the 50th anniversary of Malta’s independence, was seated beside British High Commissioner Rob Luke, just a few seats away from Maltese President Marie Louise Coleiro Preca.Prince William...

In which Teófilo reflects about two recent developments in the Church, the onslaught against the Culture of life, the words of Pope Francis, and the five non-negotiable moral teachings of the Church, and the letter Teófilo wrote to Pope Francis a year ago. Brethren: Peace be with you. As you know, I am and always will be a faithful son of the Church and servant of the current Successor of Peter. That loyalty is based upon faith and it is unconditional. I make no excuses for disobeying Pope Francis or any Pope whatsoever, even when he speaks as a personal...

Featured Term (selected at random:ANTIOCHENE RITE A ritual used throughout the Patriarchate of Antioch. The pure Antiochene, in its oldest form, eliminated the Pater Noster and the names of the saints in the Mass. This form was early displaced by the Liturgy of St. James from Jerusalem, which became the ritual of all Western Syria. Originally Greek, the Liturgy of St. James was later translated into Syriac. The Greek version is now used twice a year by the Orthodox; the Syriac version by the Jacobites in Syria and Palestine and by the Syrian Catholics. A Romanized form of this liturgy...

Cardinal Raymond Burke, prefect of the Apostolic Signatura, speaks with CNA Sept. 15, 2014. Credit: Joaquin Piero Perez/CNA. Vatican City, Sep 23, 2014 / 04:04 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Next month's Synod on the Family has undergone an attempted hijacking by some media sources, which are fueling expectations that impossible changes will be made to Church doctrine, said the head of the Church's highest court. “I don’t think you have to be brilliant to see that the media has, for months, been trying to hijack this Synod,” said Cardinal Raymond Burke, prefect for the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura –...

In yesterday’s post the great drama of Human Life was pondered as Scripture sets it forth. We are caught up in a great and cosmic battle and must choose sides. There are two armies and no third way given. Sadly most have lost any sense of the battle and of the drama of life despite the battle lines being clearer than ever.As a kind of follow-up to yesterday’s post it is valuable to see how the drama of human decision is portrayed in an unlikely place: the parables. I say “unlikely” because most casual readers of the Bible tend to...

First, do NOT read this article if you can’t handle the cold, hard truth. Go back to your Vampire Diaries. Second, Catholics love sex. If you don’t believe me, read a little European history. Oh, and look at your own family. (Nuff said? Okay.) Third, why on earth is sex such a big deal? It would be far easier for Catholics to just relax, already, and do what everyone else is doing – guilt free! Right? Wrong. Read on, if you dare… Not About Your Self-Esteem You can relax, because I am not going to deliver a lecture on your...

September 23, 2014Memorial of Saint Pius of Pietrelcina, Priest    Reading 1 Prv 21:1-6, 10-13 Like a stream is the king’s heart in the hand of the LORD;wherever it pleases him, he directs it. All the ways of a man may be right in his own eyes,but it is the LORD who proves hearts. To do what is right and justis more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice. Haughty eyes and a proud heart–the tillage of the wicked is sin. The plans of the diligent are sure of profit,but all rash haste leads certainly to poverty. Whoever makes a...

A new survey by The Irish Catholic has found that there are four times the number of men beginning studies for the priesthood in England and Wales than there are in Ireland. A survey of seminaries showed that 57 men entered a priestly formation program in England and Wales this year compared to 14 men who entered the seminary in Ireland, despite the fact that Ireland has 4.65 million Catholics while England and Wales have only 4 million. Fr Willie Purcell, Ireland’s National Coordinator for Diocesan Vocations, told The Irish Catholic that the Church in Ireland needs to adopt strategies...

There are basically two groups agitating for annulment reform, one saying that there are too many annulments, the other saying that there are too few. Let me suggest that (a) the first group is mistaken if it thinks the annulment problem lies in the annulment process (ie, Book VII of the 1983 Code and Dignitas connubii) and (b) the second group seeks not so much reform of the annulment process as its effective abolishment. The first group (those holding that there are too many annulments), can scarcely suggest any procedural reforms (short of requiring tribunals to stamp DENIED on every...

DER ZOR, Syria (A.W.)—The Islamic State (also known as ISIS) destroyed the Armenian Genocide Memorial Church in Der Zor, news agencies in the Middle East reported. The reports surfaced as Armenia was celebrating the 23rd anniversary of its independence on Sept. 21. Armenia’s Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian issued a statement condemning the destruction of the church, which housed the remains of victims of the Armenian Genocide, calling it a “horrible barbarity.” Nalbandian called upon the international community to cut the Islamic State’s sources of supply, support, and financing, and eradicate what it referred to as a disease that “threatened civilized...

First, the moderation queue is ON.Before you reach to my rant (below), there is a must read piece at the blog of Prof. Ed Peters, canoniste extraordinaire, about the two groups who are tugging on the annulment process issue. Peters doesn’t have a combox over there (perhaps wisely), so there can be some discussion here. Since his piece is longish, I post only a bit. Read the whole thing THERE. Sample: The annulment argument: a quick quide to the two sidesThere are basically two groups agitating for annulment reform, one saying that there are too many annulments, the other saying...