The Vatican in the Family of Nations: Diplomatic Actions of the Holy See at the UN and Other International Organizations in Geneva By Silvano M. Tomasi. Reviewed by Christopher Siuzdak. (skip to review) The Papacy: What the Pope Does … [Read more...]
Benedict XVI and the Absence of God
April 30, 2019 by Joel R. Gallagher
Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI’s extraordinary letter on the sexual-abuse crisis in the Church generated expected, imprudent mixed reactions in the media and on social media. Almost immediately, some media organizations ran headlines that c … [Read more...]
Walking through Mud
How to Find Joy in Your Suffering with the Sorrowful Mysteries
April 20, 2019 by Karen Eriksson-Lee
Thirteen years ago, life changed dramatically for me and my children, then 10, 8, and 6. It’s the year I started walking through mud up to my neck. You know that feeling, right? It’s hard to get out of bed, to do once easy routine chores . . … [Read more...]
Book Reviews – April 2019
April 20, 2019 by Book Reviews
Reflections on the Sacred Liturgy, Vol. I: Lent & Holy Week By Fr. Thomas Hoisington. Reviewed by Stephanie A. Mann. (skip to review) Off the Hook: God, Love, Dating, and Marriage in a Hookup World By Timothy P. O’Malley. Reviewed b … [Read more...]
Clericalism
Betrayal of the Body of Christ
March 28, 2019 by R. Thomas Richard, PhD
Why Is Clericalism so Bad? The most lethal consequence of clericalism, I believe, is the deadening it inflicts upon the Body of Christ, His Church ordered and intended for maturity — for holy, fervent, fruitful and glorious life! The c … [Read more...]
Book Reviews – March 2019
March 28, 2019 by Book Reviews
Servant of All: Status, Ambition, and the Way of Jesus By Craig C. Hill. Reviewed by Matthew K. Minerd, PhD. (skip to review) The Priestly Blessing: Rediscovering the Gift By Stephen J. Rossetti. Reviewed by Fr. John Cush. (skip to … [Read more...]
The “Experience” of Modernism
February 12, 2019 by Jeffrey Tranzillo
The Instrumentum Laboris (IL), or working document, of the recently concluded synod on youth states quite starkly that “personal experiences cannot be placed in question” (IL 55).[1. Instrumentum laboris, XV Ordinary General Assembly of Syn … [Read more...]
Fr. George Rutler’s Calm in Chaos: Catholic Wisdom for Anxious Times
A Review Essay
February 12, 2019 by Roseanne T. Sullivan
In his introduction to his book of essays titled Calm in Chaos: Essays for Anxious Times (Ignatius Press, 2018), Father George W. Rutler writes, “These essays touch upon confusions in the Church that are not without precedent but that are o … [Read more...]
Patience a Spiritual Sign
Pope Francis and Tertullian on Patience
January 17, 2019 by Fr. Brendan Lupton
Pope Francis set forth the vision for his pontificate in his first apostolic exhortation Evangellii gaudium, a clarion call for evangelization through joy in the modern world. A fitting diptych to this first document is his most recent … [Read more...]
Book Reviews – January 2019
January 17, 2019 by Book Reviews
A Bloody Habit: A Novel By Eleanor Bourg Nicholson. Reviewed by Fr. John Patrick Cush. (skip to review) Was the Reformation a Mistake?: Why Catholic Doctrine Is Not Unbiblical By Matthew Levering and Kevin J. Vanhoozer. Reviewed by Dr. … [Read more...]
Finding Christ in the Beggar, Finding Christ in the Chalice
December 20, 2018 by Ann R. Morrill
If you cannot find Christ in the beggar at the church door, you will not find Him in the chalice. – St. John Chrysostom.[1. Attributed to St. John Chrysostom, this may be a short paraphrase of Homily 50.4 on the Gospel of Matthew.] The m … [Read more...]
Book Reviews for Winter 2018
December 20, 2018 by Book Reviews
Minor Setback or Major Disaster? The Rise and Demise of Minor Seminaries in the United States, 1958-1983 By Robert L. Anello, MSA. Reviewed by Fr. Scott Jones. (skip to review) One Beautiful Dream: The Rollicking Tale of Family Chaos, … [Read more...]
A Spirituality of Advent
November 30, 2018 by David Vincent Meconi
Advent is a time of preparation. It has many parallels to Lent: we don the purple, we suppress the Gloria (awaiting the angels to sing it again for the first time at Midnight Mass), and we are given weeks to allow the Holy Spirit to prepare … [Read more...]
The Necessity of Confession and Its Seal
November 30, 2018 by Fr. John M. McDermott, SJ
Any Catholic reading the report of Australia’s Royal Commission of Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse must be appalled by the multiple instances of child abuse in ecclesial institutions perpetrated by priests, religious, and l … [Read more...]
Book Reviews for Late Autumn 2018
November 30, 2018 by Book Reviews
The First Society: The Sacrament of Matrimony and the Restoration of the Social Order By Scott Hahn. Reviewed by Matthew Rose. (skip to review) In Praise of the Useless Life: A Monk’s Memoir By Paul Quenon. Reviewed by Matthew K. M … [Read more...]
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