Barron’s Barren Word?
The response of Bishop Barron’s Word on Fire ministry to recent allegations of sexual misconduct by a prominent employee reveal a culture that prioritizes legalese over compassion.
Pope Pans Putting Pets in Place of People
While there is nothing wrong with pets, placing them over people certainly is.
Intermittent Social Media Fasting
The trend of intermittent fasting has been embraced in Christian and secular groups. Some people utilize a 9 a.m.-5 p.m. eating regimen, thereby fasting for 16 consecutive hours. Others, on occasion, fast for a full 24 hours once a week. Fasting in and of itself offers more than dietary benefits. The Desert Fathers practiced fasting … Read more
Removing the Judases From the Church
In my last Crisis article, I shared my difficult and painful experience of sexual misconduct inflicted by a Jesuit priest. Second to this traumatic experience was reporting the incident and being informed that nothing will happen to the accused. For those who have not, by the grace of God, experienced clergy abuse or misconduct, it … Read more
Tie the Millstone
After reading David Larson’s two-part series in Crisis on the horrific abuse that members of the clergy enacted on vulnerable adults, I became aware, by the grace of the Holy Spirit, of a troubling experience of sexual misconduct that occurred over ten years ago that I had completely forgotten and buried out of shame. In … Read more
Boldness is a Catholic Virtue
If one were to visit Kerala (the southernmost state of India, known for the early Christian community founded by St. Thomas the Apostle) and drive through the various towns and villages, one would find bold displays of Christianity amid a predominantly Hindu country. A Catholic parish is not hidden away in a town but exhibited … Read more
Be Angry, but Do Not Sin
Let us be honest with ourselves—we are angry. A cursory review of social media substantiates this. There is a limitless list of reasons why we are angry. We can point to COVID-19, economic hardship, politics, Church scandals, and theological grievances. We might be angry over less big-picture concerns, including strife among family members, friends, and … Read more
Choosing Not to Work is a Sin
Depending on where one receives the news, there are conflicting reasons given as to why employers are having a hard time filling vacancies. I had a shuttle driver share with me his belief that there are too many people “taking a long vacation on Uncle Sam’s dime.” Whether or not one agrees with this belief, … Read more
Liturgy, Interrupted
Sudden rumors that Pope Francis may issue possible restrictions on his predecessor Pope Benedict XVI’s Summorum Pontificum has caused an uproar among devotees of the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM). Eric Sammons highlighted here at Crisis the growth and passionate desire among some of the faithful for the traditional form of the liturgy, and he noted … Read more
We Need to Name the Evil
Many Catholics are divided on the subject of abortion. Even though Church teaching on this matter is crystal clear (CCC 2270-2275), Pew Research reported that more than half of U.S. Catholics favor legalized abortion (i.e. “pro-choice” Catholics), and a subset from this group upholds that the Church ought to reverse her teaching on abortion to … Read more