Anglican Women Priests On the now customary plane home press conference Pope Francis once again firmly closed the door to the possibility of women priests saying, "Women priests. That cannot be done." Go here for my short debate on the Catholic understanding of priesthood and why women cannot be ordained. Go here for a [...]
St Michael St Michael and All Angels. Today's feast day reminds me of that section in C.S.Lewis’ science fiction books where his hero Ransom discusses the reality of the angel-like beings the Eldils. It’s a cool argument. He suggests that the Eldils (angels) are invisible to humans not because they are less real, but more [...]
Bishops of the Celtic Orthodox Church My article for Imaginative Conservative this week explores the delightfully weird world of wandering bishops or episcopi vagantes. One area of eccentricity that never ceases to interest and delight are the “episcopi vagantes” or wandering bishops. These schismatics are often quaintly bizarre. On the fringes of lunacy, they set [...]
This picture of Madison Square Garden last night reminded me of the pictures you sometimes see of Joel Osteen's church and other mega churches. Permit us a bit of triumphalism, but the Catholic Church is the original mega church. We are full of faults and flaws because we are full of sinners, but a papal visit [...]
In a brilliantly titled essay my friend Joseph Pearce dismantles the current idiocy that William Shakespeare was gay. Contrary to Friedlander’s own glib acceptance of the myth of Shakespeare’s homosexuality, isn’t it unlikely that Shakespeare would have escaped punishment in a culture in which homosexual practice was punishable by death if the sonnets were so transparently [...]
The Pope's visit has been an astounding success with tens of thousands crowding to get a glimpse of him, the President and his family going out to greet him and the Majority Leader reduced to tears and chucking in his job as a result. What's happening? Are we about to witness a religious revival in America? [...]
For me here is the best moment of the Pope's visit so far. The man has given a speech to thousands at the White House. The next day he gives a historic speech to both houses of Congress with the Supreme Court Justices in the front row. Then he comes out on the balcony of the [...]
Somebody has said there are an equal number of people who are delighted by what the pope has said and an equal number who are distressed by what he didn't say. Here are ten things to remember about a papal visit which should help put things in perspective. 1. In Congress, at the White House and at [...]
This article in National Catholic Register confirms that the Pope's unscheduled visit to the Little Sisters of the Poor was a visual and symbolic shout out to emphasize his point on the White House lawn about religious freedom. Matt Archbold comments on the controversy here. Pope Francis paid a short visit to the Little Sisters of [...]
My article for Aleteia today analyzes the Catholic understanding of poverty. Pope Francis speaks so much about poverty and wealth that you might assume that the Catholic Church thinks wealth is intrinsically evil and poverty intrinsically good. This is to misunderstand what is a subtle and profound understanding of the relationship between the spiritual and the [...]