Why did the Wall fall, 30 years ago?
November 9 marked the 30th anniversary of the peaceful breach of the Berlin Wall — the symbolic high point of the Revolution of 1989, which would be completed seven weeks […]
perspective
perspective
The ‘synodality’ masquerade
During the 2001 Synod of Bishops, Cardinal Francis George of Chicago, who’d suffered through a lot of synodal speechifying and small-group discussions over the years, made a trenchant observation: “Jesus […]
perspective
A time to reflect on death
November is a month when the Church asks us to pray for the dead. After celebrating those in heaven on Nov. 1, we pray for all the faithful departed who […]
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How to cultivate contemporary vocations
This week we observe Vocations Awareness Week, a time set aside to promote awareness of the call to the priesthood, diaconate and religious life. These personal callings to become more […]
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Fearlessness and the American bishops in Rome
I once knew a Congregationalist minister — Yale Divinity School graduate, decorated World War II chaplain, veteran campaigner for then-unpopular liberal causes — of whom it was said (sometimes by […]
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King Coal and the dignity of workers
I grew up hearing stories about life in the coal mines. They were delivered in my grandfather’s heavy Italian accent, and often concluded with a punchline I didn’t entirely understand. […]
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A new cardinal honors an entire nation
ROME. Even the greatest enthusiasts of the present pontificate might not assert that Pope Francis has an inspiring liturgical style. Like the old-school Jesuit he resembles in many ways, the […]
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The prophetic voice of Cardinal Robert Sarah
Pope St. John XXIII sought to initiate a new period of optimistic engagement with the modern world by opening the Second Vatican Council in 1962. He spoke of opening the […]
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Reconciling the sins of the past
Father Randy Dollins is the Vicar General and Vicar for Clergy for the Archdiocese of Denver. In this column, he shares some reflections on the Church in Colorado moving forward, […]
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The Catholic origins of Halloween
By Father Ángel Pérez-López, PhD, STL The word “Halloween” is a contraction of the expression “all hallows’ eve” or “all saints’ eve.” It is a deeply Catholic holiday. We must […]
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The ideological hijacking of Pope St. John XXIII
ROME. With his liturgical memorial (October 11) falling on the fourth full day of the Special Synod for Amazonia, which sometimes seems bent on recycling every tried-and-failed nostrum from 1970s, […]
perspective
Historical clarity and today’s Catholic contentions
One of the curiosities of the 21st-century Catholic debate is that many Catholic traditionalists (especially integralists) and a high percentage of Catholic progressives make the same mistake in analyzing the […]
