Saint Joseph, Master of Contemplatives
There was no tension in Mary's spouse between the active and the contemplative life, for both were expressions of love. The example of his bride and the daily presence of Jesus helped him reach the heights of contemplation. And this is why saints exhort the faithful to take St. Joseph as the master of their own interior life.
Vanhoye, the Biblicist who said no to women priests
French Cardinal Albert Vanhoye, the oldest member of the Sacred College and a renowned exegete, died in Rome on July 29. Esteemed by Ratzinger, he became secretary of the Pontifical Biblical Commission and headed the working group that drafted “The Interpretation of the Bible in the Church”. It was a long-awaited document that, among other things, put a stop to the excesses of the feminist approach such as the idea of women priests, which Vanhoye took care to demolish in one of his writings on the Letter to the Galatians.
McCarrick on trial, but it's not Benedict XVI's fault
Theodore McCarrick is to take the stand for pedophilia. He had already resigned as a cardinal in 2018, after Pope Francis suspended him from exercising any public ministry. It’s wrong to insinuate a sort of impunity guaranteed with previous pontificates. Here's why.
Benedict XVI shows the Church the way (not just in Germany)
In an interview with the periodical Herder Korrespondenz, Benedict XVI highlights the growing distance between the authentic ecclesial mission and the “institutional Church”, made up of bureaucracy and documents without “the heart and the spirit”. A situation that does not only concern the Church in Germany, but is more general and feeds “the exodus from the world of faith”. Recalling his precious year as chaplain in Bogenhausen, Ratzinger reminds us that God alone is the answer against totalitarianism, past and present.
The Church raises a wall against non-vaccinated persons
Access to Masses celebrated by the Pope in Slovakia is prohibited to those who are not vaccinated. And in Italy, the bishop’s daily newspaper launches a crusade against those who oppose mandatory vaccination. Fully espousing the pro-vaccination cause and the adoption of the Green pass, the Church of mercy that advocates tearing down all walls, is building one around the Mass.
Ireland, virus used to forbid Communions and Confirmations
It’s months now that the Dublin government has kept a ban on celebrating First Communions and Confirmations under the pretext of avoiding the festivities that follow. The bishops denounce an attack on religious freedom, but it is also a testimony of how increasingly anti-Catholic Ireland has become.
Latin mass thrown out along with Benedict XVI
With the Motu proprio that does away with the vetus ordo, Pope Francis erases Benedict XVI's effort to ensure the development of the Church in continuity with Tradition, to prevent the Second Vatican Council from being understood as a rupture.
The Eucharist and St Joseph, model for priests
In dealing with the Body and Blood of Jesus truly present in the Eucharistic species, the priest must imitate the sentiments of piety and adoration that St Joseph had in nourishing and raising his divine Son during the long years of His hidden life. And the example of Mary’s virginal spouse also points to perfect chastity as an ontological dimension of the priesthood.
Medjugorje, another world is possible
The impressive and universal witness of faith experienced last Friday, on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the first apparition of Medjugorje, in one stroke swept away endless disquisitions on masks and social distancing. After months of being deserted due to free movement restrictions, long queues were seen again at the confessionals. At Medjugorje one lives in another dimension, where “the Lord’s glory” is “seen upon you”, while elsewhere a “deep darkness covers the people”. From here one can set out to strengthen the mission in the world.
“I was the first journalist to cover Medjugorje”
The first news of extraordinary events in a small village in Herzegovina unknown even to maps; the reactions of the Communist regime; the arrest of the parish priest; the testimony of a flash of light that appeared in the sky. We publish some excerpts from the chapter dedicated to Medjugorje in the book “Verità e beffe del secolo passato” [(“Truth and Mockery of the Past Century”), Marcianum Press]. It’s the autobiography of Graziano Motta, our Middle East specialist. At the time, Motta was ANSA’s correspondent from Belgrade and was the first Italian journalist to report on the events of Medjugorje.
Who gains if US bishops reject public sin?
The public sins of rulers are never only a "personal" matter. The pastors of the Church have the duty to protect their flock from scandal. We do not know how any possible clear position from American bishops will provoke reactions on a political level. However, one thing is certain: reiterating the Church's teaching on the need to refuse the Eucharist "to those who obstinately persevere in manifest grave sin" will lead to healthy reflections on Who is substantially present in the Blessed Sacrament.
Calling private property a secondary right assists regimes
Calling private property a 'secondary' right makes it susceptible to restrictions by oppressive powers. To say, on the other hand, that private property is a primary right, but that its use must be well regulated, leads us to discuss the proper roles of individuals, families and natural societies. On the other, requests to limit private property rights favour state and supranational powers, as is happening right now. Let us reflect on the language used by Francis at the United Nations Conference.
