Why Catholic Teaching is ‘Increasingly Embarrassing’ to Church Leaders; Part II

. . .“The fundamental point to make is this:  we have an official theology that no longer treats the unconverted nature of the world as living under the dominion of the devil, & so inevitably in a state of spiritual war against Christ & His Church”. . .

by Edward Pentin

of the National Catholic Register

. . .it’s a shocking & ultimately sad story:  The Catholic University of America has summarily suspended William Rainford, dean of its school of social work, simply for tweeting his disbelief in. . .Julie Swetnick, the least believable of the three women who emerged during the last days of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s protracted confirmation hearing to accuse him of decades-old sexual wrongdoing. . .

These Catholic Colleges are Boasting Record Enrollment Numbers . . .families are increasingly realizing the value of academic excellence rooted in the Catholic intellectual tradition. . . by Kelly Salmon, of Aleteia Live Perpetual Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament – Adorecast Fr. James

“You Catholics Don’t Like People Like Me. . .” . . .I am getting tired of some people who ‘broad-brush-stroke’ people into groups defining them solely by their association with their religion, politics, etc.  Let’s just say it is rampant everywhere in

The Great Schism That Could Pull the European Union Apart . . .Europe is once again divided – this time between liberalism’s defenders in the west & north, & states in the south & east who increasingly reject it. . . by

The Wigan Teacher Who Bore the Stigmata
. . .her Cause is currently stalled, but bishops are taking a renewed interest in Teresa Higginson. . .
by Simon Caldwell,
of Catholic Herald

The Crisis of the Catholic Church Under Pope Francis

A Symposium Conducted by Michael Brendan Dougherty

. . .the reform of the Divine Office in the Roman rite ordered by the Second Vatican Council, & which took place between 1964 & 1971, was just as drastic & thoroughgoing as the reform of the Mass that resulted in the 1970 Roman Missal under Pope St. Paul VI, commonly referred to as the “ordinary form” of the Roman Rite today. . .

The Catholic Herald is Launching in America

. . .will celebrate the riches of Catholicism & promote accountability in the Church. . .

by William Cash,

of Catholic Herald

Why Catholic Teaching Is ‘Increasingly Embarrassing’ to Church Leaders, Part I . . .philosophy professor Thomas Pink explains why forgetting that we live in a fallen, unconverted world of largely unbaptized people has led many Church leaders to falsely believe the Church

Pope Francis Removes Bishop Holley as Head of Memphis Diocese
. . .Archbishop Joseph Kurtz of Louisvile, Kentucky, was appointed the temporary administrator. . .

The Stare of Medusa & the Return Gaze of Christ

Contemporary Life Is Not Just Unreal—It’s Irreal

. . .you look over your fence and see your neighbor in his backyard, with a big pot over a roaring fire.  Clouds of steam are rising from it, & they bring to you the sharp sweet smell of something cooking, something you know very well, but somehow it doesn’t fit the scene. . .

. . .no, I assume, despite some language to the contrary in a follow-up tweet, that Fr. Martin does not mean to impugn penance by an innocent person on behalf of another in general.  Rather, since he is careful to limit his opinion to “this case,” he seems to hold that, given the widespread & grave nature of these particular sins of the clergy (& he seems to be thinking of more than the sexual sins that I chiefly have in mind here), penance by the innocent laity is, based on these facts, “simply wrong” because it would “victimize people all over again,” as he added in the follow-up to the tweet already quoted.  It is this opinion with which I take issue. . .

. . .moral relativism has replaced a belief in sin within our culture, which is something that needs to be reversed if we ever hope to achieve a more loving, generous, & merciful society. . .

A Case for Daily Mass in Catholic Schools
. . .if we are serious about passing on the Christian faith in a meaningful way to the next generation, who I’m told are fleeing like millennials from Facebook, daily mass attendance is a beautiful way to engage their hearts & imaginations. . .

The Veiled Virgin: Another Miracle of Transparent Marble

. . .while marble busts of veiled women were quite popular in the 19th century, Strazza’s Veiled Virgin was deemed “a perfect gem of art”. . .
by Daniel Esparza,

of Aleteia

Fr. John Barth, Maryknoller Missionary in Africa
. . .The Good News is shared with people who need some good news in their lives for a change. . .
by Jim Graves,
of the National Catholic Register

Why Women Are Wearing a Chapel Veil Again

. . .a resurgence in the optional devotion of wearing a mantilla, or chapel veil, has many people in the pew scratching their heads.  Why would women, especially younger women, return to a practice that is described as submissive & subordinate?  The answer to this question lies in the motivation leading to the devotion. . .

Is the Youth Synod’s Final Document Already Written?
. . .Pentin said some sources had indicated that the final document’s main substance was in fact already written, hence the synod’s deep secrecy, missing mid-term report, & nebulous voting procedures. . .

Islamists Vow to Kill a Christian Woman if a Pakistan Court Acquits Her

. . .accused of blasphemy, Asia Bibi has languished on death row in Lahore since 2010. . .

by Marlo Safi

Stigmatic, Healer, & Visionary from Michigan

. . .the modest man who many have not heard about has amazing touched the lives of tens of thousands, suffering, & healing so many of them. . .

Venerable Sandra Sabattini, a Modern Saint for Young People
. . .she continues to offer a witness through her normal yet countercultural life. . .
by Theresa Civantos Barber,
of Aleteia

No Catholicism, Please, We’re British
. . .the former Archbishop of Canterbury, 2018:  The former head of the Anglican Communion has joined Richard Dawkins in attacking a policy that would allow the Catholic Church to open new schools. . .
by Rod Dreher

#Synod2018: Wherein Fr. Zed Rants

. . .“If I ought to write the truth, I am of the mind that I ought to flee all meetings of bishops, because I have never seen any happy or satisfactory outcome to any council. . .” – St. Gregory Nazianzus. . .

A Great Orthodox Schism

. . .the Russian Orthodox Church has formally cut all ties with the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Istanbul. . .

by Rod Dreher

Students want Supreme Court Catholic’s Name Removed from a Building

. . .it seems some students at the Savannah College of Art & Design wanted to make a post-Brett Kavanaugh confirmation “#MeToo” statement, & it went back in time 27 years to do it. . .

from The College Fix

Synod 2018 Concerns in a Couple of Sharp Sentences; Then Fr. Zed Rants

. . .another rigged Synod is now underway with predictable results.  All we need to know to verify that is the information that Archbishop Bruno Forte is on the drafting committee again for this confab.  He is responsible for inserting pro-LGBT propaganda in the written record of the earlier Family Synod. . .

Quæritur: ”I Feel That My Faith is Just Being Torn Apart”
. . .if you hear a bunch of rubbish from someone, ignore it.  You can find The Faith in the pages of the Catechism of the Council of Trent & in the Catechism of the Catholic Church as well as in a number of other great sources, such as the writings of great saints, especially Doctors of the Church. . .

5 Unbelievable But True Miracles
. . .in common speech, one may call the improbable or newly discovered a miracle, but as Catholics, we know a miracle to be an extraordinary divine act of God. . .
by Billy Ryan,
of uCatholic

Paul VI & the Canonization of Vatican II
. . .on October 14, 2018, Pope Francis will canonize Pope Paul VI as the 82nd saint among the 266 popes.  Paul VI will become only the 8th papal saint since A.D. 1000, but the 4th of the 20th century, joining Pius X, John XXIII, & John Paul II.  What are we to make of this fact? . . .

Where There Are No Children, There Are No Grown-Ups
. . .it is a truism that children need adults to help them grow up.  It is, however, less known but equally true that adults need children to help them grow into the fullness of maturity. . .

5 Celebrities You Didn’t Know Are Catholic . . .it might surprise you, but Catholicism in Hollywood is not as rare as you think. . . by Billy Ryan, of uCatholic Live Perpetual Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament – Adorecast If You’re Bored at

Certain Sins Bring Infestation of Demons: Horrid Sodomite “Parties” Close to the Most Important Places in the Vatican . . .a pro-life news site reports a close collaborator of Pope Francis, formerly head of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts, Francesco Cardinal

The Misplaced Priorities of Youth Synod Organizers . . .reading through the Instrumentum Laboris (IL), the working document for the Youth Synod, one gets the impression that the biggest challenge young people face in life is discovering their sexuality.  Fortunately, the Synod Fathers stand

The Catholic Crisis, in Perspective . . .“In spite of everything the newspapers say,” says the German theologian (& Baroness) Nina-Sophie Heereman, “the future of the [Latin-rite] Church belongs to the U.S.!” . . . by George Weigel, of The Dispatch via

An Underrated Catholic Novelist . . .Lucy Beckett’s latest novel deals with perennial questions about the existence of God, the meaning of suffering & evil. . . by Francis Phillips, of Catholic Herald Live Perpetual Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament – Adorecast Where