19 March AD 2024

MONDAY EDITION

Acting Boldly, Why We Need It For Healthy Parishes

No more playing it safe, indefinite, answers to commitments. Your yes means yes & your no means no. . . ☩ Under Thy Roof

Xinjiang: The Largest Outdoor Prison in the World

Under the pretext of “de-radicalization,” CCP has extended its control of the population in Xinjiang to every aspect of daily life. ☩ Xiang Yi at Bitter Winter

What Happens When A Parish Starts Perpetual Adoration

“The Catholic Church has always offered and still offers to the sacrament of the Eucharist the cult of adoration, not only during Mass, but also outside of it”. . . (Pope Paul VI) ☩ Patty Knap at National Catholic Register

Africa & the Blood of Christians

Religious persecution there is horrific. And America's military interventions have only made things worse. ☩ Doug Bandow at The American Conservative

Josephus, the first-century Jewish historian who wrote about Jesus -

"There was about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man, for he was a doer of wonderful works," he wrote in the year 93. ☩ John Burger at Aleteia

Will there ever be a pope from the United States?

here are numerous obstacles preventing an American from being elected to the papacy ☩ California Catholic Daily

On Conscience & Refraining from Communion

☩ Rob Marco at Catholic Stand

Orthodoxy: The ‘Equilibrium’ That Sets Us Free

☩ Dave Armstrong at National Catholic Register

Saint Alphonsus Liguori’s 3 Rules for Fundraising

☩ Brice Sokolowski at CatholicFundraiser.net

Another Internet Atheist Distorts Christian Teaching & History

Oliver Waters has a problem with Western Civilization. You may not have heard of him, but that’s okay. He represents a self-congratulating group you’ll find everywhere in blogs and on Facebook, a group I call “internet atheists.” ☩ Tom Gilson at The Stream

Arizona home helps women rebuild lives after prison

Women leaving prison can face numerous challenges – from finding housing & employment despite a criminal record to repairing relationships with family members & friends. ☩ Catholic News Agency via The Catholic World Report

Integralism, authority, & inequality

Notre Dame theology student Timothy Troutner has written a Brobdingnagian critique of integralism at Notre Dame’s Church Life Journal. Pater Edmund Waldstein, O.Cist., has responded, correctly identifying a desire to baptize anarchism at the heart of Troutner’s critique. Such a plan, however, is contrary to the consistent teaching of the Church from St. Augustine to St. Pius X. ☩ P.J. Smith at Semiduplex

Pope Francis Appoints French Patristics Scholar to Handle SSPX Talks

Msgr. Patrick Descourtieux, a former official at the now abolished Pontifical Commission ‘Ecclesia Dei,’ is a distinguished patristics scholar who is said to be sympathetic to the SSPX and traditional communities. ☩ Edward Pentin at National Catholic Register

The Battle for Rust Belt Catholicism

Catholicism has entered a dark period in America. The Church’s disgraceful handling of sexual-abuse scandals—with shocking new reports routinely emerging—plays a direct role in shrinking congregations and closed churches, especially in the Rust Belt. ☩ Charles F. McElwee at City Journal

Fugitive priest accused of abusing boy faces trial

A priest who was captured in Morocco after fleeing the U.S. decades ago is facing a federal trial on charges that he sexually abused a New Mexico boy in the early 1990s at an Air Force base & veterans’ cemetery. ☩ Associated Press via Crux

Transgender Ideology Is More Irrational Than You Realized

Trans people tell us reality is defined by what they identify as. Not only do they think of themselves as the opposite sex, but they really are the other sex. Reality itself changes to match their mental state. ☩ Tom Gilson at The Stream

Why do Roman Catholics kneel at Mass?

The physical posture is an ancient one, used by Christians since the very beginning. ☩ Philip Kosloski at Aleteia

13 Must-Have Resources for Brand New Catholic Parents

Maybe you’re a new parent & you’re feeling slightly overwhelmed at the task of raising little people & building a domestic church. Perhaps friend, siblings, or cousins of yours are new to this parenting thing & you want to help them out. Here are 13 resources for brand new Catholic parents! ☩ Chloe Langr at epicPew

The Liberal Hypocrisy On Sex

Prior to the sexual revolution, our society had a certain legal and moral consensus on sexual behaviour. Then certain factions in society started pushing for a cultural shift that produced the sexual revolution based on a desire to liberalize sexuality in western society. ☩ Brian Holdswarth at uCatholic