On May 17, 1992, Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer, the founder of Opus Dei, was beatified by the Pope in a ceremony in Rome that drew a crowd of over 200,000, perhaps the largest crowd in the Vatican since the declaration of the dogma of the Assumption in 1954. The remarkably quick pace of the beatification … Read more
The situation of the Church today, in regard to the lay vocation, is extraordinarily paradoxical. A staple topic of the last twenty years has been “the emerging layman” in the Church, and there is no question that the laity are now much more visible. Yet there is currently a very strong tendency, even among those … Read more
Last August, U.S. News and World Report published a cover story which would undoubtedly flabbergast most of the world, and should certainly appall anybody who takes Christianity seriously. The theme of the article, entitled “Middle-Class Squeeze,” is the sad tale of the contemporary middle class, which is said to be having a very rough time … Read more
The Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has asked Father Charles Curran of Catholic University to “reconsider and to retract those positions which violate the conditions necessary for a professor to be called a Catholic theologian.” Unless he does so, he will be unable to continue teaching theology at C.U., in accordance with … Read more
What this fall’s extraordinary synod holds in store for us is obviously a matter of speculation for the moment, but a plausible starting point for such speculation is the current state of the Church. The central fact of late twentieth century Catholicism is that it is the era succeeding the Second Vatican Council. For all … Read more
The bishops of the United States have decided to issue a pastoral letter on the U.S. economy, and the first draft produced by the committee established for that purpose has been published. The first thing that needs to be said is that it is very much the bishops’ right and even responsibility to address themselves … Read more
Those who say they are opposed to abortion but refuse legally to prohibit it are not opposed to abortion as Catholics are opposed to it. There is a growing number of Catholic politicians who put distance between themselves and the teaching of the Church on abortion, not the least of whom are the Democratic Party … Read more
If you wanted to influence the personal ideals of future Americans, would you rather have the power to name the next President, the Chairman of General Motors, or the producer of a prime-time TV program? It’s not a particularly easy question to answer, I think, and one’s response might well vary with the particular ideals … Read more
Any high school debater knows that his first job is to define the terms of the resolution he has to debate. In this case, everyone knows who this pope is, but what is a “socialist”? As I have tried to come up with a simple definition, I have been more and more impressed with the … Read more
Mr. Peters, in his fifth paragraph, describes our present situation (virtual abortion on demand) as a compromise of the vilest sort. I should make it clear that I do not regard it as a compromise at all, and did not at all have that in mind when I argued that Catholics might have to fight … Read more
After Al Smith lost his race for the Presidency in 1928, he jokingly remarked that he had sent a one-line telegram to the Vatican: “Unpack”. It took unusual good grace to joke about the matter, given that he undoubtedly lost many votes due to anti-Catholic sentiment in America. The ghost of anti-Catholic bigotry, it has … Read more
TTHE UPCOMING REVISION of canon law includes a number of controversial canons on education. American Catholic educators have been especially critical of Canon 767: “In every kind of institution in higher studies those who teach theological disciplines should have a mandate from the competent theological authority.” Exactly what the canon does is a matter of some dispute, but it is clear … Read more