Equality and Non-discrimination: Catholic Roots, Current Challenges By Jane F. Adolphe, Robert L. Fastiggi, and Michael A. Vacca. Reviewed by Christopher Siuzdak. (skip to review) Christian Ethics and Moral Philosophy: An Introduction … [Read more...]
The Charism of Priestly Celibacy
March 20, 2020 by Fr. Frederick L. Miller, STD
Teaching a course on Holy Orders in the seminary, which includes a unit on celibacy, has led me to reflect often on my own experience in the seminary from 1964 to 1972. During those years, everything was being questioned. Near the top of … [Read more...]
Book Reviews – October 2019
October 30, 2019 by Book Reviews
The Smoke of Satan By Philip F. Lawler. Reviewed by Sean J. Donnelly. (skip to review) Mind, Heart & Soul: Intellectuals and the Path to Rome By R.J. Snell and Robert P. George. Reviewed by K.E. Colombini. (skip to … [Read more...]
Real Celibacy Is an Invitation from Divine Beauty
February 12, 2019 by Deacon James Keating
The personal call of Christ to follow him in a life of chaste celibacy brings a seminarian into a suffering that involves his whole person. Seminary formation serves such a man by assisting him to integrate chastity within his body. Such … [Read more...]
Aquinas as Biblical Exegete
His Interpretation of Paul’s “Thorn in the Flesh”
January 28, 2019 by Lawrence B. Porter, STL, PhD
No doubt Thomas Aquinas is most famous as a systematic theologian who made great use of philosophical sources such as Aristotle’s Metaphysics. Nevertheless, when Aquinas first taught at the University of Paris, he held the title of Magister … [Read more...]
The Noonday Devil
January 1, 2019 by Fr. William P. Clark, OMI
The ninety-first psalm speaks of “the scourge that wreaks havoc at high noon.” It also expresses confidence in God’s protection from that scourge, as well as other evils. Based on that psalm some spiritual writers speak of the “Noonday Devil … [Read more...]
Being Single in the Church
Pastoral Approaches to a Growing Demographic
April 27, 2016 by John O'Brien, S.J.
In the 2015 film, Brooklyn, there are a number of scenes in which young Eilis Lacey, a recent immigrant from Ireland, goes to several dances organized by her local church. There, she and her friends are courted by young gentlemen, one of … [Read more...]
On Understanding Priestly Celibacy: A Suggestion
June 13, 2015 by Fr. James Swetnam, SJ
Discussion has recently arisen about priestly celibacy in the Catholic Church. Such discussion is not new. This time the discussion involves a pope, Pope Francis. The discussion springs from an interview with Eugenio Scalfari (published in … [Read more...]
Spring Reading for April 2015
April 27, 2015 by Book Reviews
The Charism of Priestly Celibacy. Edited by John C. Cavadini (Notre Dame: Ave Maria Press, 2012) 184 pages; $13.25. (Reviewed by Fr. Jeffrey Kirby) --------- The Classical Moment: Selected Essays on Knowledge and Its Pleasures. Fr. … [Read more...]
Questions Answered
March 2014
March 21, 2014 by Fr. Brian Mullady, OP
Can you tell me the origin of the discipline of celibacy and why the Western Church puts so much emphasis on it? Has the Church changed its teaching on the subject of condom use to prevent the spread of the HIV virus? Question: In … [Read more...]
Combating the Contraceptive Understanding of Celibacy
August 22, 2013 by Dr. Eric M. Johnston, PhD
On the one hand, we must appreciate how sex is holy. It might be good to say “holy” instead of “good.” Ironically, the idea that celibacy is a sacrifice treats sex as a good in the same way that a candy bar is a good. But this view belongs t … [Read more...]
Questions Answered
July 2, 2013 by Fr. Brian Mullady, OP
Has the church changed her teaching on condom use to prevent the spread of HIV? Can you tell me the origin of celibacy as a requirement for the priesthood and why the Western Church puts so much emphasis on it? Question: In the d … [Read more...]
Discernment and Communion
June 6, 2013 by Fr. Bryce Sibley
If young people want to properly discern a vocation, they need an expert to help guide them. In the Church of San Luigi Dei Francesi in Rome, there are the three famous paintings of the life of St. Matthew by the great Baroque artist … [Read more...]
John Paul II’s “Triptych” of the Human Person
January 8, 2013 by Charles Dern
This article focuses on the first part of Pope John Paul II's Theology of the Body which broadens the vision of humanity from not just this life (historical man), but to what God intended for man before the Fall (original man), as well as w … [Read more...]
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