Go to Part I As the Church was the sign and sacrament to the world, there was a direct link between the reputation of the Church’s ministers and the mission of the Church itself.[1. Liguori cites the “rigorous discipline” of the early Chu … [Read more...]
The Importance of the Value of Reputation, Part I
June 23, 2023 by Michael J. Mazza
Note: This article is derived from a part of the author’s JCD thesis, “The Right of a Cleric to Bona Fama” (Pontificia Università della Santa Croce, 2022). It is difficult to put a price on the value of someone’s reputation. Throughout Sc … [Read more...]
Can Forgiveness Help Heal a Hurting Church?
September 30, 2022 by Rev. Thomas V. Berg, PhD
“Love is the greatest strength of the powerless . . . Love is all-powerful and will even overcome hatred. And only love can do this!” ― Václav Havel Forgiveness is a great wellspring of personal healing. It can repair shattered relati … [Read more...]
Book Reviews – September 2022
August 30, 2022 by Book Reviews
The Light Entrusted to You: Keeping the Flame of Faith Alive. By John R. Wood. Reviewed by Aaron Martin. (skip to review) The Education of a Historian: A Strange and Wonderful Story. By John W. O’Malley. Reviewed by Christopher Siuzdak. ( … [Read more...]
The Wheat and the Tares
A Reflection upon Contemporary Priestly Formation
May 27, 2022 by Kevin Symonds
In St. Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus tells the parable of the tares (13:24–30). Some tares had been sown by an enemy and grew up alongside the wheat. The wise owner of the field instructed his servants to let both grow together until the harvest “ … [Read more...]
To Be Transformed by God and Others
May 27, 2022 by Fr. Pius Youn, OP
The mission statement of the St. Thomas More Catholic Newman Center in Tucson, Arizona, which is affiliated with the University of Arizona, is “To be transformed through an encounter with the Spirit of Truth and the Love of God.” Having bee … [Read more...]
The Sad Tale of Spiritual Father vs. Spiritual Son
March 26, 2022 by Dr. Janet E. Smith
Due to the overwhelming response to Msgr. Bochicchio’s essay on the inherent injustices in the way the Dallas Charter (drafted in part by then-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick!) has been implemented, we are here rerunning Dr. Janet Smith’s har … [Read more...]
An Open Letter to My Bishop and to All U.S. Bishops
February 26, 2022 by Msgr. Paul L. Bochicchio
I write this letter after much prayer and reflection and with the utmost respect for the complex issue of leadership in the church. I am not naïve regarding the challenges that bishops and church leaders face in the light of many crises a … [Read more...]
The Cohabitation Dilemma
January 28, 2021 by Rev. Thomas G. Morrow
The number of couples who choose to live together without marriage has risen dramatically in the past fifty years, from near zero to 60%. For Catholics the percentage is almost 50%. One subject regarding this which has received little … [Read more...]
Clergy Sex Abuse: Why Do We Still Need to Talk About This?
Often at the scene of a horrific accident, police will tell bystanders to “Move along. There is nothing to see here.” The Catholic Church sex abuse scandal is a terrible tragedy and many laity feel they are being given this very mess … [Read more...]
Questions Answered – June 2020
June 24, 2020 by Fr. Brian Mullady, OP
Absence of God? Question: Pope Emeritus Benedict published a letter last year in which he attributed the pedophilia crisis in the clergy to an absence of God. Our Church and clergy are wholly dedicated to God, right? Can you explain how … [Read more...]
Questions Answered for December 2019
December 28, 2019 by Fr. Brian Mullady, OP
What Are Cardinals? Question: There has been a lot of controversy in the Church in the last year about how Theodore McCarrick could have risen to the rank of cardinal. What is the function of the College of Cardinals? Answer: Though … [Read more...]
An Anthropological Reflection on the Church’s Sexual Scandal
Assuaging God for the Rape of Abel
October 30, 2019 by Deacon Thomas Baca
The kind of penitence that must take place to move the Church away from the precipice of destruction is the kind that comes from a much deeper well of ancient understandings of man who is flesh and spirit. We must mine the deeper … [Read more...]
Questions Answered – September 2019
September 30, 2019 by Fr. Brian Mullady, OP
Love in Context of Abusive Relationships Question: Am I wrong and sinning if I do not like family members who mistreat me? Answer: This question actually has two prongs to it. The one has to do with the relationship of volitional to … [Read more...]
Alternate Views on the Root Causes of the Bishops’ Clergy Sex-Abuse Cover-Up
July 26, 2019 by Rev. Martin R. Tripole, SJ
The Church is now in the throes of the second wave of the clergy sex-abuse crisis, which began June 20, 2018, with the exposé of former cardinal archbishop of Washington Theodore E. McCarrick’s abuse of minors and seminarians. Since then, at … [Read more...]
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