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 [...]
Reading through the commentary in the press and on social media it amazes me how snarky and nitpicking people are about Pope Francis' visit. I think it was pretty much universally appreciated that he skipped lunch with Pelosi, Biden, Boehner and the other nitwits on Capitol Hill in favor of visiting with the homeless, but other [...]
I admit. I'm somewhat confused. I'm generally enthusiastic about Pope Francis, but I do wonder why does he keep going on and on to his bishops and clergy about the need to be kind and gentle and merciful? In Cuba he told the priests not to be harsh and judgmental in the confessional. To the bishops [...]
A beautiful September morning for Pope Francis to visit Washington. Kudos to Pope Francis for speaking in English at the White House You can read his speech here. It's good, but I wish he had woven in a mention of defending the unborn and the persecuted Christians around the world when speaking about our responsibility for [...]
With Pope Francis coming to America I can't believe how polarized Conservatives and Liberals are. Why can't people be smart enough to realize that both sides want the best and affirm some things that are good and true, and both sides have blind spots where they think they're right, but they're actually off beam. The value [...]
Women Priests? Deacon Kandra features a video of the closing liturgy of the women's ordination conference that just concluded in Philadelphia. Go here if you would like a glimpse of their liturgical style. I should warn those who are enthusiastic about the extraordinary form of the Mass that they will probably be disappointed. While Acts [...]
Politics is not my strong suit, but I've been musing over this question and have come up with some ideas.
For Christianity to be both dogmatic and relevant it must have an infallible interpreter My latest blog post over at National Catholic Register discusses this idea briefly. Here’s the problem: if Christianity teaches unchanging truth how does it adapt to different cultures and different ages? If it does not adapt it ceases to be relevant. If [...]
Priest with Beretta? Catch a breath. The Mainstream media has reported here on Pope Francis in Cuba and the reporter has used the correct terminology! The headline actually says that the Pope "celebrated" Mass. Yes. You heard correctly. The reporter used the correct terms. He said the Pope "celebrated" Mass. They did not say [...]
Never forget that verse from the gospel, "Woe to you when all men speak well of you." For the first two years of his papacy Pope Francis seemed therefore to bringing woe onto himself. Everyone was speaking well of him. This CNN article points out how things are changing. Pope Francis is getting schtick from both [...]