Sanctifying Time
Recovering the Church’s tradition of regular and recurring religious practices throughout the day and in the course of the week, month, and year is not just folklore. It responds to a basic human need.
No First Confessions as the Solution to Clergy Sexual Abuse?
Invoking the sex abuse scandal as a reason to keep children from Confession is an argument that doesn’t hold up to scrutiny.
Love and Dignity
I admit a certain ambivalence about organizing a document around “human dignity” because I am unsure we’ve adequately prepared the ground to support that discussion, especially with non-Catholic circles.
Does Confession Have a Place in the Paschal Triduum?
The logic behind not scheduling confessions in the Paschal Triduum is based on an anachronistic reading of liturgical history irrelevant to contemporary pastoral practice and needs.
The Real Absence of Virtual Services
The Church does not think “virtual” participation is “real participation” in the way the Church understands it.
After the Alabama Supreme Court’s IVF Decision, What’s Next?
In the wake of the Alabama Supreme Court IVF-related decision, Democrats want to glom onto this ruling to push abortion-on-demand while Republicans seem to be declaring their love for in vitro fertilization in the hope of not being controversial.
Ashes to Go
The distribution of ashes in the context of the liturgy points to the deep union of liturgy with all sacramental life, including blessings.
Is Death Healthcare?
The advent of Physician-Assisted Suicide sets out the question squarely: Do we now consider death is legitimate “treatment,” a form of “healthcare”?
What Do You Think of When You Think of January 6th?
The importance of January 6th as the Feast of the Epiphany has been lost due to the events of three years ago as well as the moving of the feast to a convenient Sunday.
Too Many Masses Around Christmastime?
The fact that Catholics are questioning attending Mass two days in a row is a sign of how far we’ve fallen.
Elite “Ethics” (and the “Ethicist” Advising Them)
Modern ethics has gotten so ridiculous it’s become impossible to parody.
Hijacking Subsidiarity
Local communities need real local roots, not local franchises of global corporations.
Minors’ Gender “Transitioning”: Just Askin’
There are a whole host of questions that can be raised to show the inconsistencies of those who advocate for young people to gender “transition.”
The Moral Message of La Salette
Our Lady appeared but once at La Salette but her message had a strong moral content, even if it might perhaps not register as such to moderns.
The First Thing About Work Is Getting Out of Bed
It is good for people to work together. It is good for people to get out of their beds, bedrooms, and houses to associate with different people for part of the day in order to do something, maybe even something creative.
Was John the Baptist “Welcoming”?
Since “welcoming” is a contemporary obsession of some ecclesiastics, and Vatican II instructed us to better ground our theology in Sacred Scripture, we can profit from examining John the Baptist’s approach to “welcoming.”
Eucharistic Thanksgiving
The word “Eucharist” itself literally means “thanksgiving.” So why does thanksgiving seem ever more removed from our celebration of the Eucharist?
Religion: Stuck in the Throats of the Elite
Our nation’s elites demand religion be pushed to the corners of society, given little voice and fewer rights.
To Catch a Killer
Enforcing the small laws can lead to a reduction of violations of the big laws, not on the basis of “broken windows” theory but a Catholic theology of sin.
Moral Theology and the Affirmative Action Decision
What can Catholic moral theology tell us about the rightness—or wrongness— of affirmative action?