Status Quaestionis Ecclesia semper reformanda est (The Church is always to be reformed). This phrase originated in the Nadere Reformatiae of the Dutch Reform during the 1600s, and first appeared in the 1674 work, Beschouwinge van Zion … [Read more...]
The Holy Spirit and the Contemporary Reform of the Catholic Church
December 15, 2014 by Father Philip-Michael F. Tangorra, STL
A Pastoral Society
The Renewal of Catholic Culture and the Flourishing of Human Society
December 2, 2014 by Deacon Peter Trahan, MATh
Introduction In the Catholic intellectual community, there is a growing call for the renewal of Christian culture as a solution to the impoverishment of 21st century society. This intellectual movement has two momentums: on the one hand, … [Read more...]
Reflections on God’s Providence
Pope Francis and the Synod on the Family
November 14, 2014 by David Vincent Meconi
November always begins with our remembering what true life in Christ looks like—All Saints—and ends with our anticipation of a new chance at that same rejuvenation—Advent. In the Christian calendar, November is the month of transition: the l … [Read more...]
Fall Reading for October 2014
October 29, 2014 by Book Reviews
History of the Catholic Church: From the Apostolic Age to the Third Millennium. James F. Hitchcock (Ignatius Press: San Francisco, 2012) 584 pages. (Reviewed by Fr. Brian Van Hove, SJ) The Word Made Love: The Dialogical Theology of … [Read more...]
The Roman Synod of Bishops
Editorial, May 2009
May 1, 2009 by Fr. Kenneth Baker, SJ
About every three years I have published an article on a Roman Synod. They usually take place every three years. Representing HPR, I have covered twelve of them since 1971. This month I thought it would be helpful to explain briefly what a … [Read more...]
Twentieth Century Catholicism
THE CHURCH CONFRONTS MODERNITY. Catholic Intellectuals and the Progressive Era. By Thomas E. Woods, Jr. (Columbia University Press, 61 West 62nd St., New York, N.Y. 10023, 2004), 228 pp. HB $29.50.
April 9, 2009 by Book Reviews
In the first two decades of the 20th century, American intellectuals moved away from a Christian view of the world and opted for a secular philosophy of Pragmatism and empiricism. Two of the main figures of the day were William James and … [Read more...]
The Church as True Pilgrim
THE CATHOLIC CHURCH THROUGH THE AGES: A History. By John Vidmar, O.P., Paulist Press, 997 Macarthur Boulevard, Mahwah, N.J. 07430), 360 pp. PB $18.95.
April 9, 2009 by Book Reviews
We are somewhat inundated with new church histories featuring interpretations that allow for no trace of magnanimity toward the Church’s actions in the midst of her various conflicted episodes. One notes with frustration that some of t … [Read more...]
Function of Catholic laity
CATHOLIC LAITY IN THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH. By Russell Shaw (Requiem Press, P.O. Box 7, Bethune, S.C. 29009; 2005), 191 pp. PB $14.95.
April 9, 2009 by Book Reviews
As with all his writings, Russell Shaw’s latest Catholic literary product, Catholic Laity in the Mission of the Church, is rich, balanced, reasoned, lucid, concise, poignant, and widely accessible. In the volume, he takes up a theme that he … [Read more...]
A Good Place to Start
PILGRIM FELLOWSHIP OF FAITH. The Church As Communion. By Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger (Benedict XVI); edited by Stephan Otto Horn and Vinzenz Pfnur; translated by Henry Taylor (Ignatius Press, P.O. Box 1339, Ft. Collins, Colo. 80522, 2005), 379 pp. PB $17.95.
April 9, 2009 by Book Reviews
Pope Benedict XVI, the former Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, is a professor, scholar and author of many books and articles. This volume, for example, includes a bibliography of 79 pages of his many different publications. When he accepted the … [Read more...]
The Roman Question
ROME IN AMERICA: TRANSNATIONAL CATHOLIC IDEOLOGY FROM THE RISORGIMENTO TO FASCISM. By Peter R. D’Agostino (The University of North Carolina Press, P.O. Box 2288, Chapel Hill, N.C. 27515, 2004), 315pp. HB 59.95.
April 1, 2009 by Book Reviews
A crucial moment for the modern papacy was brought about by the “Risorgimento” (1848-70) which led to the confiscation of the papal states in order to reunite the Italian peninsula. Catholic belief, at least since the time of Constantine, he … [Read more...]
Ravenna and the Roman primacy
How is it that no other bishop but the Roman bishop ever claimed a universal primacy in the Church?
February 1, 2009 by Msgr. Daniel S. Hamilton
After two decades of modest progress, the Joint International Catholic-Orthodox Theological Commission, meeting in Ravenna, Italy, October 8-14, 2007, issued a study document on ecclesial communion, conciliarity and authority[1. … [Read more...]
The Magisterium: A Precious Gift
Without an authority able to teach divine truth unerringly, we could never be sure we correctly understood divine revelation.
November 1, 2008 by John Young
The Magisterium is one of God’s greatest gifts to his Church. For without an authority able to teach divine truth unerringly, we could never be sure we correctly understood divine revelation. History confirms this, showing the variety of i … [Read more...]
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