Diverting the Focus of the Shepherd
The often uneasy relationship between bishops and the Vatican has come to the forefront in recent years, as increasingly unpastoral directives are being issued by Rome.
The Vatican Assault on Religious Life Claims More Victims
An Italian monastery worth millions is another in a succession of religious houses being shut down by the Vatican for questionable reasons.
Is the Vatican Resurrecting the Failed “Ruthenian Option” for Traditionalists?
More than a century ago the Vatican cracked down on a small liturgical group within the Church in an effort to establish unity, to disastrous results. Is history repeating itself with today’s traditionalists?
The Vatican vs. Frank Pavone
It was recently announced that the Vatican dismissed Frank Pavone, the founder of Priests for Life and long-time pro-life leader, from the priesthood. How should Catholics respond to this news?
The Sad Case of Frank Pavone
While Pavone’s laicization understandably raises many emotions among pro-life Catholics, it’s not as simple as “ Vatican bad, canceled priest good.”
Mariana Mazzucato’s Reveal
Economist Mariana Mazzucato’s appointment to the Pontifical Academy for Life was scandalous enough due to her pro-abortion stance, but looking at her work reveals even more problems with her appointment.
On the Empty Papal Chair Conspiracy
One Vatican specialist (Sandro Magister) headlined a recent article thus: The Hundred Days of Francis and the Enigma of the Empty Chair. And there it was, at the top of his and a hundred other articles, now the most famous chair in Christendom, conspicuously empty, with all around it immaculately becassocked curial cardinals, bishops and … Read more
The Butler Did It: The Pope’s Valet is Found Guilty of Theft
The trial of Paolo Gabriele, the Pope’s former valet, last week found guilty of aggravated theft of confidential documents from the papal apartments, predictably drew worldwide attention. As the first major criminal trial at the Vatican in modern times, and one that opened up the Vatican and papal apartments to unprecedented scrutiny, it was always … Read more
Subsidiarity on Earth and in Heaven
Several years ago I attended a lecture at Marquette by John Allen, the Rome correspondent for the National Catholic Reporter, in which he addressed the stereotype of the Vatican passing down commands to be implemented by 5000 bishops and subordinate clerics, as well as the various religious orders. He dissipated the stereotype with a depiction … Read more
The “Quiet Car” of the Soul
I have to admit that it really didn’t impress me very favorably the first time I read it: “Silence and Word: Path of Evangelization”—that will be the theme of next May’s World Day for Social Communications, the Vatican announcement said. That’s really strange, I thought. After all, even as it stands World Communications Day isn’t … Read more
A War Prevented: Pope John XXIII and the Cuban Missile Crisis
The Holy See is the oldest continuing international organization in the world. Its Secretary of State office was established in 1486, and that is also when its first permanent representatives were established in Venice, Spain, the Holy Roman Empire, and France. Today, the Holy See maintains diplomatic relations with 176 states. It is also the … Read more
What’s So Great About Catholicism?
With its divine foundation, sanction, and mission, nothing could be more glorious than the Catholic Church. But, of course, many people — even many baptized Catholics — don’t see it that way. Yet when the sins of men — secular material progress, or our own self-centeredness — blind us to this, they blind us to everything. The Renaissance, a … Read more
Must the Roman Curia be Italian?
Although he’s not very well known in the U.S., save among members of the Sant’Egidio community (of which he’s the founding father), Andrea Riccardi is a major figure in the Catholic Church in Italy: a historian of the papacy, a commentator on all things Catholic, and a player in various ecclesiastical dramas. Most recently, according … Read more
A Misguiding Note from the Vatican
The recent Note issued by the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, “Toward Reforming the International Financial and Monetary Systems in the Context of Global Public Authority,” has liberals jubilant and conservatives apoplectic with its call “to create some form of global monetary management” (Sec. 4). This Note is a compilation of papal Social Teaching … Read more
A Global Central Bank: Unjust!
Do we need a supranational authority to enforce social justice? The Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace (PJCP) seems to think so. Its new document, “Towards Reforming the International Financial and Monetary Systems in the Context of a Global Public Authority,” calls for global economic regulation by a supranational body and a central world … Read more
The New Vatican Document on Finance: Right Diagnosis, Deadly Cure
Let’s say you go to the doctor with a pain in your gut, and the doctor very astutely discovers that you have been poisoned. He knows how and when it happened. He knows the precise kind of poison that victimized you. Then he gives your prescription: more poison in higher doses. You would be at … Read more
China-Watching in the Vatican
Whatever its other accomplishments, Henry Kissinger’s new book, On China, ought to cause serious reconsideration of that now-familiar refrain, “China-is-the-lead-country-of-the-future.” Kissinger’s analysis of Chinese history has been criticized, as has his reticence about evils like the massacres at Tiananmen Square. But his conclusion — that China’s future depends on the resolution of the conflict between … Read more
Date set for Assisi peace gathering…with one important change
News out of the Vatican over the weekend: Pope Benedict XVI will call people of goodwill to join him in working for peace during a “day of reflection, dialogue and prayer for peace and justice in the world” to be held in Assisi on Oct. 27. At the start of the year, the Pope announced … Read more
Behind the scenes at the Vatican
David Gibson of Commonweal alerts readers to a two-hour special airing on the History Channel tonight, giving a behind-the-scenes look at life in the Vatican and some rare footage of Pope Benedict at home and at work: The show provides an overview of the history of the Vatican, and focuses on everyday life in the … Read more
Reforming Caritas International
Several weeks ago, the Vatican announced that it would not grant the necessary approval for Lesley-Anne Knight’s second, four-year term as secretary general of Caritas International, a global network of 165 Catholic agencies working primarily in the Third World on development and health-care issues. Predictably, the Vatican black ball was deplored by some leaders of … Read more