In an interview with KTO, a French Catholic news channel, on March 17, 2024, Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu, Archbishop of Kinshasa (Democratic Republic of the Congo) and President of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM), discussed the Fiducia supplicans Declaration that authorized the blessing of same-sex couples. He regretted the method used by the Vatican to publish Fiducia supplicans: without prior consultation and with a particular timetable. “I do not believe that this text was necessary at that time,” he said, recalling that the first session of the Synod on Synodality had just ended in Rome and that a second session …
The deep grammar of a(nother) papal faux pas
Christopher R. Altieri is a journalist, editor, and author of three books, including Reading the News Without Losing Your Faith (Catholic Truth Society, 2021). He is a contributing editor to Catholic World Report. We often hear that Pope Francis is either a revolutionary reformer with something like the ecclesiastical version of the Midas touch or he is a gaslighting grifter who’s at least half a heretic and thoroughly corrupt. Neither is correct. It turns out that “shitposting” is a technical term. There’s a great literature, approaching a whole subfield of academic communications studies, treating the practice of tossing cheap and easy provocations into digital …
Rediscovering the memorable Saint Anthony of Padua
Dawn Beutner is the author of The Leaven of the Saints: Bringing Christ into a Fallen World (Ignatius Press, 2023), and Saints: Becoming an Image of Christ Every Day of the Year also from Ignatius Press. She blogs at dawnbeutner.com. It is somewhat disappointing that most Catholics only call upon the brilliant, articulate Saint Anthony to help them find their car keys. After all, he can do much more for us than help us find items we have lost. Catholic saints sometimes become popular for strange reasons. Saint Nicholas, bishop of the early Church, may have inspired the legend of Saint Nick, but he bore little …
Cause for hope in new data on Eucharistic faith?
Reverend Peter M.J. Stravinskas founded The Catholic Answer in 1987 and The Catholic Response in 2004, as well as the Priestly Society of Blessed John Henry Cardinal Newman, a clerical association of the faithful, committed to Catholic education, liturgical renewal and the new evangelization. Father Stravinskas is also the President of the Catholic Education Foundation, an organization, which serves as a resource for heightening the Catholic identity of Catholic schools. A recent poll conducted by Vinea Research says that “69% of Catholics who attend Mass at least yearly believe that the Eucharistic elements become the invisible substance of Christ.” But there is a serious problem …
Everyone on Earth (Including You) Is Either in a State of Grace, or a State of Mortal Sin
COMMENTARY: The lines between a sinful act and a state of sin have been blurred. It’s time to clarify them Father Jeffrey Kirby is the pastor of Our Lady of Grace parish in Indian Land, South Carolina, and the host of the daily devotional podcast Morning Offering With Father Kirby. The Church is commissioned by Christ to give the faithful — especially those in states of sin — the gifts of doctrinal integrity, candid teaching, and time. (Photo: Igreca2n / Shutterstock) Father Jeffrey Kirby CommentariesJanuary 18, 2024 In recent moral teaching, it has become clear that the gravity of a person living …
Opinion: Fiducia Supplicans
Dr. Robert A. J. GagnonPhilip PrimeauFr. Jerry J. Pokorsky Dr. Robert A. J. Gagnon is the author of The Bible and Homosexual Practice and professor of the Bible at Houston Christian University. He holds a BA from Dartmouth, an MTS from Harvard Divinity School, and a PhD from the Princeton Theological Seminary. The Vatican’s Dicastery (i.e., administration; formerly, Congregation) for the Doctrine of the Faith has issued, with Pope Francis’s approval, a document called Fiducia Supplicans (hereafter FS) that contains a section allowing priests to offer “non-ritualized blessings” to “couples of the same sex” (III.31-41). It is a master-class example of doublespeak. On the one hand, …
The life, times, and legacy of El Cid, hero of the Reconquista
Father Seán Connolly is a priest of the Archdiocese of New York. Ordained in 2015, he has an undergraduate degree in the Classics from the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts as well as a Bachelor of Sacred Theology, Master of Divinity, and a Master of Arts in Theology from Saint Joseph’s Seminary in Yonkers, New York. In addition to his parochial duties, he writes for The Catholic World Report, The National Catholic Register, and The Wanderer. Detail from Charles de Steuben’s “Bataille de Poitiers en octobre,” which depicts Charles Martel (mounted) facing Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi (right) at the Battle of …
The Vatican Does Not Understand The Church In The United States
by Jayd Henricks Last year I wrote a piece that respectfully argued that the Holy Father does not understand the Church in the United States. I wish I could say I was wrong, but the piece has held up. Pope Francis does not seem to understand the Church in the United States, especially its relationship to Vatican II. A recent interview from his diplomatic representative to the United States, His Eminence Cardinal Christophe Pierre, appears to shed some light on the Holy Father’s misperceptions. In a recent interview with America Magazine, Cardinal Pierre claimed, “There are some priests and religious and bishops [in the United …
Six things I wanted to say to the Mom who traveled to kill her baby
Susan Ciancio is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame and has worked as a writer and editor for nearly 19 years; 13 of those years have been in the pro-life sector. Currently, she is the editor of American Life League’s Celebrate Life Magazine—the nation’s premier Catholic pro-life magazine. She is also the executive editor of ALL’s Culture of Life Studies Program—a pre-K-12 Catholic pro-life education organization. As pro-life people, we know there is a better solution to a surprise pregnancy—one that preserves the life of the innocent baby and that seeks to better the life of his mother. A recent article …
Opinion: Papal attacks on young priests are uncharitable and damaging
Reverend Peter M.J. Stravinskas Stravinskas H was ordained a priest on May 27, 1977. Father Stravinskas holds a bachelor of arts degree in Classical Languages and French from Seton Hall University, a master of arts in School Administration from Seton Hall University, a master of arts in Biblical Theology from Immaculate Conception Seminary (Darlington), a doctor of philosophy in School Administration from Fordham University, and a licentiate of sacred theology from the Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D. C. He also has earned a doctorate in sacred theology from the Marian Institute at the University of Dayton and the …