A Pontificate of Power

Father Raymond J. de Souza is the founding editor of Convivium magazine. COMMENTARY: Contrary to the storyline pushed by papal courtier Austen Ivereigh and others, Pope Francis exercises authority in the manner of a Jesuit superior who, after hearing those he chooses to hear, makes his own decision. Papal courtier Austen Ivereigh has written two very useful biographies of the Holy Father and another book together with him. It would be churlish to deny him a measure of celebration of Pope Francis on his 10th anniversary. Yet the occasion does not require questionable claims to be made, and, regrettably, Ivereigh has done …

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Learning from the Saints, bringing Christ into a fallen world

Paul Senz has an undergraduate degree from the University of Portland in music and theology and earned a Master of Arts in Pastoral Ministry from the same university. He has contributed to Catholic World Report, Our Sunday Visitor Newsweekly, The Priest Magazine, National Catholic Register, Catholic Herald, and other outlets. Paul lives in Elk City, OK, with his wife and their four children. “In every time and place,” says Dawn Marie Beutner, author of The Leaven of the Saints, “the saints bring the kingdom of God to earth by evangelizing, performing miracles, consecrating their lives to Christ, and sometimes just by forgiving their …

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The Anti-Synod: Flawed Theology, Intimidation Tactics, and Downright Disobedience Define Germany’s Synodal Way

Jonathan Liedl is a senior editor for the Register. His background includes state Catholic conference work, three years of seminary formation, and tutoring at a university Christian study center. Liedl holds a B.A. in Political Science and Arabic Studies (Univ. of Notre Dame), an M.A. in Catholic Studies (Univ. of St. Thomas), and is currently completing an M.A. in Theology at the Saint Paul Seminary. He lives in Minnesota’s Twin Cities. Follow him on Twitter at @JLLiedl. COMMENTARY: The problems with the Synodal Way go far deeper than the controversial proposals it’s advanced. From a distance, the main problems of …

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Bavaria’s ‘Spiritual Heart’ Is Still Pumping in Altötting

Jonathan Liedl is a senior editor for the Register. His background includes state Catholic conference work, three years of seminary formation, and tutoring at a university Christian study center. Liedl holds a B.A. in Political Science and Arabic Studies (Univ. of Notre Dame), an M.A. in Catholic Studies (Univ. of St. Thomas), and is currently completing an M.A. in Theology at the Saint Paul Seminary. He lives in Minnesota’s Twin Cities. Follow him on Twitter at @JLLiedl. Known as the ‘Lourdes of Germany,’ the Marian shrine is not just a symbol of the region’s Catholic past but is also at …

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Cardinal George Pell reflects on celebrating (and not celebrating) the Mass

Paul Senz has an undergraduate degree from the University of Portland in music and theology and earned a Master of Arts in Pastoral Ministry from the same university. He has contributed to Catholic World Report, Our Sunday Visitor Newsweekly, The Priest Magazine, National Catholic Register, Catholic Herald, and other outlets. Paul lives in Elk City, OK, with his wife and their four children. George Cardinal Pell has been a priest for nearly 60 years and served as Archbishop of Melbourne and Archbishop of Sydney, as well as Prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy, and a member of Pope Francis’ Council of …

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Roe v. Wade Has Fallen — We Are Grasshoppers No Longer!

David Vacheresse is the former general manager of EWTN Global Catholic Radio. This is not the end of our battle. In many ways, it is only the beginning. On Jan. 22, 1973, the Supreme Court of the United States of America wrongly decided a case that has now ended more than 63 million innocent, unborn lives through legal abortion. Of course, the atrocity of the death of innocent children through legal abortion didn’t start there. The National Library of Medicine reports that from mid-1970 to mid-1972 abortion clinics in the state of New York alone (which had liberalized its abortion …

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Liturgical Reboot: A Post-Pandemic Look At Reverent Worship

Joan Frawley Desmond, is the Register’s senior editor. She is an award-winning journalist widely published in Catholic, ecumenical and secular media. A graduate of the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies of Marriage and Family, she lives with her family in California. Msgr. Gerard O’Connor, director of the Office for Worship for the Archdiocese of Portland, Oregon, sheds light on what parishes across the country can do to strengthen liturgical practices in light of the Pope’s new document. Pope Francis’ new apostolic letter on the liturgy, Desiderio Desideravi, arrived June 29, as Catholic pastors across the globe continued their struggle …

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St. Bernardine of Siena, Pray for Us!

John M. Grondelski (Ph.D., Fordham) is the former associate dean of the School of Theology, Seton Hall University, South Orange, New Jersey. He is especially interested in moral theology and the thought of John Paul II. [Note: All views expressed in his National Catholic Register contributions are exclusively the author’s.] St. Bernadine did not preach some “magic formula.” He preached traditional Catholicism — lived, and not just talked about. St. Bernadine of Siena came into this world in 1380 and left it in 1444. He spent most of his life in central Italy, associated with his namesake town, Siena, near Florence. …

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Are You Prepared for the Communist Takeover?

By R. C. VanLandingham R.C. VanLandingham is a novelist. His most recent work is Peter Puckett and the Amulet of Eternity. Find out more rcvanlandingham.com. My wife and I used to watch a show called Doomsday Preppers on Nat Geo. Each episode followed a family preparing for a civilization-ending event such as the collapse of the world economic system or the eruption of a super volcano. These “preppers” accumulated and stored all the essentials needed to physically survive just about any crisis. I guarantee none of them sweated the Great Toilet Paper Shortage of 2020 or the recent gas crisis. They were prepared. Materially at …

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Catholic Sister: Pro-Lifers Must be ‘Battle Ready’ to Defend the Family

Sister Byrne said that Catholics must “fight with love” and continue to pray for elected officials. WASHINGTON —Catholics must be “battle ready” to defend the family and their faith, said Sister Deirdre Byrne at an international pro-life conference on April 30.  Sister Byrne, a member of the Little Workers of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, is a surgeon and a retired colonel in the U.S. Army. She serves as the superior of her community and works at a medical clinic in Washington, D.C.   “We have to be prepared, battle ready” as “soldiers for Christ in this dark …

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