The popes’ penchant for wine (especially the Avignon popes)
Today the Vatican has the highest per capita consumption of wine in the world, but the link between the popes and wine has roots dating back to the 13th century. Above all, it was during the Avignon period that successive popes greatly boosted the development of vine varieties and the production and consumption of wine.
- THE RECIPE: BOEUF GARDIAN
"Turks and Azeris want us dead; we Armenians are defending Christianity”
“From where I am, while I can hear the noise of gunfire and falling shells, I see just how huge is the pack of lies spread by the western media”. Teresa Mkhitaryan, the foundress of the humanitarian association “The Seed”, speaks about the attack on her homeland now underway: “It isn’t true that hundreds of persons have died, but thousands; it isn’t true that we launched any attack, but Azerbaijan did; it isn’t true that under direct attack is Nagorno-Karabakh alone”. But here my people are reacting, “my people are bearing witness to both great courage and impressive faith”.
- PHOTOGALLERY
America’s Front Window
Milwaukee's violent protests, seen live. "What you don't see on the news is the quiet, destroyed aftermath of the “loot ‘em and leave ‘em” approach. . But the experience serves as a wake-up call, to start rebuilding, not only the shop windows, but also society.
The enemy of Chinese Catholics is in Rome
Cardinal Zen, Hong Kong’s emeritus bishop, blasts a recent speech by the Vatican’s Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin. In a personal blog post, Zen urges the truth be told about the Catholic Church in China, which concerns all Catholics around the world.
Covid psychosis is the consequence of an ageing western world
There is a pandemic psychosis that is no longer justified by the public health emergency now behind us. Nonetheless, fears about the future and returning to normal life are now characteristics of gerontocratic and infertile societies that have practically lost their vital thrust. COVID induced panic has become both a symptom and a driver of those societies’ decadence.
Fratelli Tutti: Magisterium, needle in a haystack of opinions
The faithful are called to give their assent and religious submission to the pronouncements of the Magisterium, but once again in Fratelli Tutti the Magisterium does not carry out its task, and almost the entire encyclical is a string of opinions and ideas that, while they may be interesting, fall in the category of opinions.
Wine in the abbey: for God and hospitality
Wine is the Christian drink par excellence, necessary for the liturgy, but also for hospitality, which explains why monks played such an important role in the expansion and improvement of viticulture, especially after the great barbarian invasions that ruined the immense Roman vineyard: Champagne, Cirò, Greco di Tufo, Riesling, Bardolino, Valpolicella and Lacrima Christi. The monks also have the merit of improving cultivation techniques and introducing the standalone row.
- THE RECIPE: PHEASANT IN RED WINE
Carlo Acutis proclaimed blessed to help the young believe
Tomorrow, in the Upper Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi, Carlo Acutis will be proclaimed blessed. Already called the patron saint of Internet, this young Milanese teenager excelled in using the new means of communication for the good of souls, for the Kingdom of God. The secret that took him right to paradise, however, was one alone, and more than ever real: exclusive love for the Eucharist, the living Heart of Jesus.
Fratelli tutti, religious freedom without Christ
Fratelli tutti omits the primary affirmation of one true religion by bending both the Church and freedom to a temporal dimension. It ushers in the relativisation of the Christian faith and promotes the idea that the Gospel is one of the sources of inspiration for attaining universal brotherhood. Thus the Church takes its place among the architects of a world without Christ.
Fratelli tutti, a vision in contrast with John Paul II
We’d like to compare the vision of "Fratelli tutti" with the homily delivered by St. John Paul II at the beginning of his pontificate, when he cried out “Open wide the doors to Christ”. These are two completely different visions, and Pope Francis’ encyclical marks a break in continuity with the social encyclicals prior to it. What is the simple person in the pew supposed to think and do?
Fratelli Tutti: much ado about (mostly) nothing
Pope Francis’s new encyclical Fratelli Tutti, strikes us less for the themes it deals with, or the various reflections and suggested courses of action, and more for the perplexity it creates about the true usefulness of documents written in this way. A 200-page encyclical poses several problems of content that should be properly considered, but above all else, it raises the question of why it is necessary to publish a such a lengthy document.
