The camauro appears in the portraits of popes before the Reformation. Its revival for a single occasion by Pope Benedict XVI was surely within his well-known program of the “hermeneutic of continuity." From left to right: Pope Innocent V … [Read more...]
Articles
A Dialogue with the HHS Mandate
Editor’s Note: The so-called HHS Mandate, enacted by the United States Department of Health and Human Services in January 2012, has been the subject of growing controversy and pending lawsuits. It requires nearly all private health i … [Read more...]
Making sense of another ambiguous “compromise”
Bishop's Corner The scholar, Yuval Levin, has stressed that the new HHS mandate proposal, “like the versions that have preceded it, betrays a complete lack of understanding of both religious liberty and religious conscience.” To live w … [Read more...]
Pope Benedict’s Resignation
For the latest information on Pope Benedict's decision to resign, go to Catholic World Report at: http://www.catholicworldreport.com/Default.aspx … [Read more...]
Legislation creating ”same-sex” marriage: What’s at stake?
Bishop's Corner
Marriage comes to us from nature ... neither Church nor State invented marriage, and neither can change its nature. At the beginning of the New Year, 2013, a law is being proposed in the General Assembly to change the legal definition … [Read more...]
Christian Life and Education: The Christian Belief in God
The sacramental vision of an authentically Christian education enjoys the sense of the holy in all things, and imparts a kind of sanctity to the study of all disciplines, seeing in each an avenue to the Creator Logos ... (it) is an aspect … [Read more...]
Catholicism
Catholicism is not simply another “religion ... the sacrifice of the cross (the Mass) is not something that a natural religion could or did figure out. It had to be made known to man by God himself. I. A brief, accurate statement of wh … [Read more...]
Imitation of Jesus, Priest and Victim, and the Grace of Celibacy
By reason of our priestly consecration, we are called to be perfect imitators of Christ; we are called to be priests and victims in the manner of Jesus who is the Priest and Victim. (This was a talk delivered at a day of recollection for … [Read more...]
What Evangelicals Can Learn From Catholics
The biggest thing that Evangelicals can learn from Catholics is how to worship ... liturgy, when celebrated reverently, can also give worshipers a connection to the sacred that is just not available through the type of worship service ... … [Read more...]
Revisiting Humanae Vitae
What has been summarized as his most profound theological contribution, Theology of the Body, John Paul II labeled the entire work a “rereading of Humanae Vitae.” Two days after the publication of Humanae Vitae, Pope Paul VI remarked dur … [Read more...]
Why Do We Believe?
The dynamics of Catholic faith-building are thus severely attacked today by many in the sciences who quite glibly point out that the evidence of science trumps the evidence of religion. The Year of Faith is a most appropriate time to … [Read more...]
Doctrinal Homily Outlines for the Year of Faith
...the Scriptures are not a systematic presentation of the faith. Nevertheless, the doctrines of the faith are contained in Sacred Scripture, so the Lectionary readings can be the basis for preaching about doctrine. Pope Benedict XVI h … [Read more...]
Cantor, Psalmist, and Cleric: The Pastoral Care and Responsibilities of the Soloist Musician
Next to the ministry of priests and deacons, the ministries in parish music—particularly music for Mass—are the most visible in many Catholic communities. With the advent of the new Missal, ... music ministries have the opportunity to beco … [Read more...]
Are doctrine and morals too controversial?
January 2013 Editorial
What happens to a parish, and to its parishioners, when the pastor refuses to preach Catholic doctrine and morals on the grounds that they are now “too controversial”? Cardinal Francis George and Cardinal Timothy Dolan are well known fo … [Read more...]
Beauty: A Necessity, Not a Luxury
Just when I am about to succumb to the sadness and living death of nihilism, some piercing ray of beauty breaks open my heart, and the breath of possibility returns. I recently visited the Botanical Garden in St Louis. Amid the sights … [Read more...]















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