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An excerpt from the article: Can the claim of the Catholic magisterium to formulate and impose obligatory laws on God's people be supported by the Scriptures? For the sake of argument, let's concede that church leaders have the authority to impose new obligatory rules. In that case, though we would not expect these rules to be written in the Bible, we would expect that they do not contradict the teaching of the inspired Scriptures. We open the Bible to investigate. First we find this passage... So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival...

Featured Term selected at random:UNIVERSAL DOUBT The state of suspension of positive judgment on any and every truth. Normally it is only a methodical form of doubt; when real, general doubt is pure skepticism. All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.

Colombo (AFP) - Pope Francis on Tuesday cancelled a planned meeting with Sri Lankan bishops, with one security official saying he was "exhausted" after a long journey from the airport exposed to the hot sun. The 78-year-old, who arrived in Colombo Tuesday on an Asia tour that will also take him to the Philippines, took over an hour to travel into the city from the airport on roads thronged with well-wishers.

Should People Stop Saying “Absolutely” So Much? Absolutely! – A Short Rant on an Overused Expression and Why it Should be Avoided By: Msgr. Charles PopeOne of the most overused terms in modern speech is the word “absolutely.” As in, “Do you want some gravy with those potatoes?” “Absolutely!” Or, “Would you agree that solution ‘X’ is the best solution to problem ‘Y’?”  “Absolutely!” What to call this … an expression? A semantic substitution for “yes?” A logism? A hyperbole? A grandiloquence? A periphrasis? Why this obsession with saying “absolutely” or its strange step-sister, “exactly”?It is a strange paradox...

Very long... suggest reading at the link. Basically he seems to blame women and feminization for the ills of the church, for loss of manliness, and even for homosexuality!

Nearly three-quarters of the public (72%) now thinks religion is losing influence in American life, up 5 percentage points from 2010 to the highest level in Pew Research polling over the past decade... The share of Americans who say churches and other houses of worship should express their views on social and political issues is up 6 points since the 2010 midterm elections (from 43% to 49%). .. It finds a slight drop in support for allowing gays and lesbians to marry, with 49% of Americans in favor and 41% opposed – a 5-point dip in support from a February...

“The future of the Church, once again as always, will be reshaped by saints” — Joseph Ratzinger, 1969.Forty–six years ago, Father Joseph Ratzinger gave a series of conferences that were later published in book form under the title Faith and the Future (Ignatius Press). What was the future in 1969 has become the present. Joseph Ratzinger’s words are stunningly prophetic. Read them. The future of the Church can and will issue from those whose roots are deep and who live from the pure fullness of their faith. It will not issue from those who accommodate themselves merely to the passing...

I’ve been plowing through season five of “Downton Abbey,” the saga of the aristocratic Crawley family and their servants in early 20th-century Britain, which premieres on Sunday, Jan. 4, on PBS’ “Masterpiece Classic,” and a few thoughts have come to mind. They’re not particularly organized, but here goes (warning, if you want to remain utterly spoiler-free, you may want to stop now. I don’t tell, but I do hint).Creator and writer Julian Fellowes is a Catholic, and while not born to British aristocracy, he married into it (meeting his wife while having an affair with someone else’s), and has become...

January 13, 2015Tuesday of the First Week in Ordinary Time    Reading 1 Heb 2:5-12 It was not to angels that God subjected the world to come,of which we are speaking.Instead, someone has testified somewhere: What is man that you are mindful of him,or the son of man that you care for him?You made him for a little while lower than the angels;you crowned him with glory and honor,subjecting all things under his feet. In “subjecting” all things to him,he left nothing not “subject to him.”Yet at present we do not see “all things subject to him,” but we...

We are Charlie" How not to be indignant at the murder committed in cold blood? The attack that killed 12 people in the editorial office of Charlie Hebdo fills us with horror. As a result of a newspaper and its options, it is freedom of expression that is subject to terrorism. Unanimous reactions that have arisen, from right and left, among believers as from unbelievers, call out not to give in to fear and to defend a plural society. We have decided to put online [on our site] a few cartoons of Charlie Hebdo that relate to Catholicism.

Featured Term selected at random:MONITION An official warning, provided by canon law, either personally or through a third person. The purpose of a monition is to warn a person that if he or she does not amend, certain formal measures will be taken against them, e.g., canonical censure; suspension of a priest from his pastoral duties; removal of a bishop from his office; dismissal of a religious from his or her institute. Monitions may be given either publicly or secretly. If public, they should be made before a notary, or before two witnesses, or by letter. (Etym. Latin monitio, from...

A Parable on the Lies of the Devil and the False Promises of the World By: Msgr. Charles PopeOne of the great illusions under which we labor is that if we just get one more thing from this world, then we’ll be happy. Perhaps if we just had a little more money, or a better job, or the latest iPad, or if we were married to so-and-so, or if we just lived in a better neighborhood … then we’d be satisfied and content at last. But “at last” never comes, even if we do get some of the things...

January 12, 2015Monday of the First Week in Ordinary Time    Reading 1 Heb 1:1-6 Brothers and sisters:In times past, God spoke in partial and various ways to our ancestors through the prophets; in these last days, he spoke to us through the Son, whom he made heir of all things and through whom he created the universe, who is the refulgence of his glory, the very imprint of his being,and who sustains all things by his mighty word.When he had accomplished purification from sins,he took his seat at the right hand of the Majesty on high,as far superior...

Guiding Our Children to Discover Their Vocation Jessica Archuleta We all know there is a vocations crisis in the Church. We have a shortage of priests, deacons, and religious. Fewer people than ever want to get married or stay married (I would also add, there is a shortage of single people who are living out holy lives).To add to the problem, there is a lot of talk about discerning one’s vocation that can be confusing to young people. Some are waiting for a sign–some great experience that will leave them without a doubt as to God’s calling in their lives. Others feel they must follow a...

Wading in the Troubled Water Saves You, Not Taking a Bridge Over It – A Homily for the Baptism of the Lord By: Msgr. Charles PopeToday’s feast of the Baptism of the Lord provides a moment to reflect not only on the Lord’s baptism, but also on our own. For in an extended sense, when Christ is baptized, so are we, for we are members of His body. As Christ enters the water, He makes holy the water that will baptize us. He enters the water and we follow. And in these waters He acquires gifts to give us, as...

January 11, 2015The Baptism of the Lord    Reading 1 Is 42:1-4, 6-7 Thus says the LORD:Here is my servant whom I uphold,my chosen one with whom I am pleased,upon whom I have put my spirit;he shall bring forth justice to the nations,not crying out, not shouting,not making his voice heard in the street.a bruised reed he shall not break,and a smoldering wick he shall not quench,until he establishes justice on the earth;the coastlands will wait for his teaching. I, the LORD, have called you for the victory of justice,I have grasped you by the hand;I formed you, and...

“Father Benedict”: Five Must-Reads James Day “If we look closely, in every moment, we are at a crossroads: do we want to follow the self, or God?”—Pope Benedict XVI, 13 February 2013As the two-year anniversary of Benedict XVI’s resignation from the Chair of St. Peter approaches, a decision that ultimately gave the church and the world the papacy of Francis, the impact of Joseph Ratzinger—Benedict XVI’s canon of thought to both theology and culture is only beginning to dawn. Dr. J. Steven Brown, the editor of the essential compendium A Reason Open To God, which features dozens of Benedict’s greatest...

Featured Term selected at random:VOW OF CHASTITY The vow by which a person freely gives up the right to marriage, and adds the obligation of the virtue of religion to the duty of abstaining from all indulgence of sexual pleasure. All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.

Catholic Theologians Protest ‘Deep-Seated Racism’ Of US, Compare Eric Garner To Christ A "statement of commitment to racial justice." More than 400 Catholic theologians signed a statement protesting the “deep-seated racism” of the US and compared Eric Garner to Jesus Christ. Written by St. Louis University Professor of Theological Ethics Dr. Tobias Winright, it is called a “statement of commitment to racial justice.” Advertisement-content continues below What prompted the writing of the statement was the killing of blacks by police officers. The statement reads: The killings of Black [sic] men, women and children—including but not limited to Rekia Boyd, Eric...

January 10, 2015Saturday after Epiphany    Reading 1 1 Jn 5:14-21 Beloved:We have this confidence in himthat if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in regard to whatever we ask,we know that what we have asked him for is ours. If anyone sees his brother sinning, if the sin is not deadly,he should pray to God and he will give him life. This is only for those whose sin is not deadly. There is such a thing as deadly sin,about which I do not say that you...