Revelation as Dialogical

Dei Verbum as a Hermeneutic for Praying with Theology

Understanding Divine Revelation in its first instance as the desire of the Father to communicate himself in love to human persons serves as an opportunity for more deeply integrating one’s intellectual life with one’s spiritual life. The mov … [Read more...]

Book Reviews – November 2023

Science at the Doorstep to God: Science and Reason in Support of God, the Soul, and Life After Death. By Fr. Robert J. Spitzer, S.J. Reviewed by Thomas P. Sheahen. (skip to review) The Faith Once for All Delivered: Doctrinal Authority in … [Read more...]

Book Reviews – May 2023

Joseph Ratzinger and the Healing of the Reformation-Era Divisions. Ed. by Emery De Gaál and Matthew Levering. Reviewed by M. Ciftci. (skip to review) Benedict XVI: Servant of Love. By Bénedicte Delelis. Reviewed by Christopher Siuzdak. (s … [Read more...]

Pope Benedict XVI Has Found What He’s Been Looking For

In a relatively recent children’s animated movie sequel, “Sing 2” (yes, the sequel to Sing!), the producers succeeded in getting the famous lead singer “Bono” (from the band U2) to be the voice for the main hero of the movie. Bono is voice-o … [Read more...]

Before and After the First Papal Tweet

How Benedict XVI Promoted “Communio” in a World of Social Communications

Originally presented at a conference on “Catholicity as Gift and Task” on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Communio, at St. Bernard’s School of Theology and Ministry (Rochester, NY) on October 2, 2022. The historic date was 12/12 … [Read more...]

Conscience and the Service of Authority

Drawing Pastoral Insights from Joseph Ratzinger

There is, at present, a crisis of authority within the Catholic Church, expressed no more clearly by the clamor for democratization outfitted by the various movements of protest which attempt to raze the “old guard” of bureaucratic est … [Read more...]

Book Reviews – October 2021

The Burden of Betrayal: Non-Offending Priests and the Clergy Child Sexual Abuse Scandals. By Barry O’Sullivan. Reviewed by Christopher Siuzdak. (skip to review) Our Lady of Hope: The Soul of the Cathedral of Notre Dame. By Patrick C … [Read more...]

Co-Responsibility, Personal Vocation, and Charism Discernment

In a 2009 address to the clergy of the Diocese of Rome, Pope Benedict XVI reflected on the mission of the laity in our times by introducing a new term into the Church’s parlance: co-responsibility. The term has both ecclesiological and p … [Read more...]

The Implications of the Priesthood of John the Baptist

One of the most famous depictions of the crucifixion of Jesus is that of German painter Matthias Grünewald. Grünewald’s most recognized work appears on the center-front panel (when wings are closed) of his polyptych masterpiece, the Ise … [Read more...]

Discovering the Pearl of Great Price

Ratzinger on Relativism in the West

In the wake of a progressively globalized society, namely, the integration of the various cultures, markets, and political convictions, the world faces the question of determining a principle constituent of unification.[1. Joseph Ratzinger, … [Read more...]

Questions Answered – June 2021

Rahner and Relativism Question: Pope Benedict has responded to his critics who claim that his letter about the origin of the sexual crisis among the clergy does not present the true picture. He attributes much of it to the relativism in … [Read more...]

The Biblical Mariology of Pope Benedict XVI, Part II

Blessed Is She

In the first part of this article, I demonstrated how Pope Benedict XVI, erudite biblical theologian that he is, grounds his Mariology in an ardent love of Sacred Scripture. In this article, the second of the two parts, I will demonstrate … [Read more...]

The Biblical Mariology of Pope Benedict XVI, Part 1

Hail, Full of Grace

“The unique and unrepeatable position that Mary occupies in the Community of Believers . . . stems from her fundamental vocation to being Mother of the Redeemer. Precisely as such, Mary is also Mother of the Mystical Body of Christ, which i … [Read more...]

Hope: A Virtue for Our Time

Faith, hope, and charity are the three theological virtues — the three virtues that direct us immediately and rightly to God Himself.[1. St. Thomas Aquinas says that the theological virtues are called “Theological” for three reasons: God is … [Read more...]

The Protestant Reformation: The Cause of Modern Relativism

“Today, having a clear faith based on the Creed of the Church is often labeled as fundamentalism. Whereas relativism, that is, letting oneself be ‘tossed here and there, carried about by every wind of doctrine,’ seems the only attitude that … [Read more...]