MONDAY EDITION
The age in which we live: Readers seeking Asia Bibi news may need to look in op-ed pages
. . .this week’s “think piece” — which actually contains background on the news. The headline, in tis recent opinion piece at The Washington Post: “My client’s death sentence for blasphemy was overturned. She still cannot leave Pakistan.” ☩ Terry Mattingly of Get Religion
Archbishop Eamon Martin of Armagh urges Irish Catholics to resist new abortion law
The primate of All-Ireland has insisted that the country’s new abortion law that took effect on January 1 has “no moral force” and it “must be resisted” by Catholics. ☩ Michael Kelly of Catholic Herald
Did Jesus Have a Miraculous Birth?
You might think that the question we are asking has an obvious answer, since Jesus wa ☩ Jimmy Akin of JimmyAkin.com
Music & the Education of the Christian Soul
In Plato’s Republic, Socrates leads a group of ambitious young Athenians on a search for the best way of life. Their verbal construction of a perfectly just regime is not motivated by idealism, real or feigned, but by genuine perplexity about the one thing human beings cannot help desiring: happiness. Glaucon, Adeimantus, and their companions want to know what benefit justice provides in the soul that could possibly outweigh the riches, powers, and pleasures intelligent and enterprising men such as themselves expect to acquire through artful injustice. ☩ L. Joseph Hebert, Jr., Ph.D. of The Imaginative Conservative
Pope risks rare double ‘own goal’ in case of Argentine Bishop Gustavo Zanchetta
ROME - In many ways 2018 was a tough year for Pope Francis with the explosion of fresh clerical abuse scandals in several parts of the world, and in light of news that an Argentine bishop working at the Vatican at Francis’s personal invitation has been accused of sexual abuse, 2019 doesn’t appear to be starting off any easier. ☩ John L. Allen, Jr., of Crux
Does the Church Exclude?
Exclude,” and the noun “exclusion,” have become contentious moral terms. They are perceived as bad opposites to “include” and “inclusion,” concepts that are often regarded as among the great social goods of our day – so much so that hospitals, universities, government agencies, and businesses now have offices dedicated solely to issues of “diversity and inclusion.” ☩ David G. Bonagura, Jr., of The Catholic Thing
Return to Liturgical Glory?
☩ Mark Nowakowski, Ph.D., of Benedict XVI Institute for Sacred Music and Divine Worship
The basilica with the second largest collection of relics in the world – after the Vatican
☩ Marie Fournier of Aleteia
Chateaubriand, the author who wanted to return France to its Christian roots
☩ Benjamin Fayet of Aleteia
Union of Orthodox churches in Ukraine a cause for rejoicing
☩ Adam A.J. DeVille, Ph.D., of The Dispatch in The Catholic World Report
When Does a Catholic Book Need an Imprimatur?
☩ Cathy Caridi, J.C.L., of Canon Law Made Easy
Surprise! It's time for another one-sided look at the birth of a new church – the Women Priests
It’s time for another GetReligion post about mainstream press coverage of the Women Priests (or “WomenPriests”) movement. ☩ Terry Mattingly of Get Religion
Sex Scandal & Cover-Up
The Witch Hunt Against Australia’s Cardinal George Pell: Five Facts You Need To Know
Yes, the cases against Australia's Cardinal George Pell are nothing less than a wild-eyed anti-Catholic witch hunt by the Australian government against the Catholic Church. ☩ David F. Pierre, Jr., of TheMediaReport.com
The Vatican investigating the third accusation of abuse against ex-Cardinal McCarrick
Crux has learned that the Vatican is now investigating a total of three cases of abuse against the former archbishop of Washington, one of which has yet to be publicly reported. ☩ Christopher White of Crux
German cardinal Marx a lightning rod in Francis’s papacy
ROME - Any administration’s internal drama, whether it’s a presidency, a papacy or a CEO’s tenure, is generally shaped by the clash of competing visions and personalities. In the great piece of theater that is the Francis papacy, there’s no doubt that one of the key protagonists in the cast is German Cardinal Reinhard Marx. ☩ Elis Harris of Crux
The Zanchetta situation is a microcosm of the current crisis
The allegations against Bishop Zanchetta involve misrule, bad blood, & sexual impropriety connected with the seminary he personally founded. ☩ Christopher R. Altieri of The Catholic World Report
Cardinal Marx Pushes for ‘Further Adaptations’ of Church Teaching in 2019
In his New Year message, the head of the German bishops’ conference also appeared to argue for a revision of clerical celibacy in light of a “shocking” report of historical clergy sexual abuse published in Germany last year. ☩ Edward Pentin of National Catholic Register
Ireland’s Catholic Collapse
☩ Rod Dreher of The American Conservative
Can We Know Who is Saved?
☩ Casey Chalk of Crisis Magazine
Please Don’t Look At The Trans Crazy
☩ Rod Dreher of The American Conservative
Bishop Frank Caggiano condemns anti-Semitic graffiti at Bridgeport cathedral
☩ CNA via The Catholic World Report