I remember a sweet story told by an Anglican bishop about Jesus' descent into Hell. The priest was catechizing the children and he said, "And where did Jesus go after he died?" A little boy thought long and hard and finally he put up his hand and said, "I think he went to the deepest, darkest corner of [...]
If you are watching Mel Gibson's Passion of the Christ, did you know I am responsible for a scene in the movie? Well now, the tale goes like this: I was living in England and Mel Gibson had completed the rough cut of the movie but was worried that he would not be able to get [...]
The tired and emotional progressives at National Catholic Reporter have published a piece which actually praises the brutalist "Catholic" suburban architecture of the seventies and eighties. This article quotes Michael deSanctis a theology professor and church building consultant from Gannon University in Erie, Pennsylvania. DeSanctis says, Restoration-minded pastors, most who came of age well after Vatican II, are [...]
When I was a priest in the Church of England the authorities introduced a delightfully Anglican phrase, "two integrities". We were all supposed to embrace "two integrities". So when it came to the issue of women's ordination for example, we were supposed to "listen carefully and dialogue with those with whom we disagreed." We were supposed to [...]
When I was in Oklahoma a few weeks ago some good folks from the parish drove me out to visit Clear Creek Monastery. After lunch with the monks I happened to meet the oblate master, Fr Francis Bethel. Bethel was one of the original students of the teacher John Senior at University of Kansas. He went [...]
Wall Street Journal reports here today: Within 20 years, more babies will be born to Muslim women than to Christian women world-wide, the latest sign of the rapid growth that could make Islam the world’s largest religion by the end of the century. As John Allen reports in Future Church the center of Christianity is shifting from [...]
This article from Slate outlines the arguments the 7th Circuit Court has made regarding the employment rights of homosexuals. They have formally equated sex discrimination in the workplace with discrimination against homosexuals. On Tuesday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit issued a landmark decision in Hively v. Ivy Tech holding that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act [...]
Here are 10 things you can pursue to not only avoid sin, but to lead a full, happy, peaceful, abundant and holy life.
Over at CRUX John Allen speculates on how the American bishops might push the envelope over immigration reform. He suggests that the American cardinals and Archbishops might make another visit to the Mexican-US border like the one Cardinal O'Malley made in 2014. You might remember the Cardinal took advantage of a photo op and gave communion [...]
Dante Alighieri In re-reading Dante for Lent I am reminded of the legacy of waste and shame he communicates in his vision of hell. The damned experience the frustration of the waste and shame of their lives. This is terrible enough, but more terrible is the fact that while they have regrets they do [...]