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.
Pandemic or climate change, make good excuses for a lockdown
The IPCC, the UN entity that is concerned with studying climate change, has reached the conclusion that lockdown is good for the planet because it is reducing CO2 emissions. Indeed, what we went through during the worst months of the pandemic should be seen as a small contribution towards reaching the goals set by the Paris accords. Thus, in order to reach them we would have to resort to an almost permanent lockdown. And so they have finally achieved a perfect fusion between catastrophism caused by climate change and that of the pandemic. They are both forms of millenniarism which say that economic development is a (collective) sin and its expiation requires the paralysis of the economy and the reduction of growth.
New foods from America spice up baroque monastery cuisine
During the two centuries following the discovery of the Americas, monastery dishes had been enriched with tomato sauces, pasta and bean soups, turkey stews with wine, roast peppers with garlic, corn soup, pineapple cakes, chocolate biscuits and many other delicacies. But the monks' recipes also contained medicinal herbs and spices: Louis XIV had one copied.
- THE RECIPE: MEATBALLS IN PEPPER SAUCE
Trump has already won over Christians, the poor
The first televised debate between U.S. presidential candidates, Donald Trump and Joe Biden, was essentially a draw. A notable American correspondent for Italian media and author of “The Lone Warrior” (on Trump's re-election challenge), Glauco Maggi, said Trump did not do as well as he could have. On the other hand, debate viewers have now also seen how weak the Democratic challenger, Joe Biden, really is. Now the test is winning the hearts and minds of undecided Americans in the last critical month before voters head to the polls in early November. Trump has already done the impossible, as a New York billionaire and accused “racist” winning over the vote of the poor, Christians and, ever more so, the vote of African Americans.
Turkey fans Nagorno Karabakh conflict in expansionist bid
In the Caucasus, war has broken out once again for the control of the small mountain region of Nagorno Karabakh between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Nagorno Karabakh is the site of one of the many "frozen" conflicts that erupted following the collapse of the USSR and which was never actually resolved with a real peace treaty. This time Turkey is the nation fanning the flames of a renewed conflict whose age-old causes date back to the Armenian genocide of 1915.
Becciu, Zen reveal the crisis of faith in pastors
The image of the Church that is emerging these past few days, after Cardinal Becciu's sacking, is anything but edifying. But more than the corruption, what is creating scandal is the inability of our pastors to judge all this in light of the faith. We don’t need popes and bishops who are good politicians and economists, we need holy pastors.
Cardinal Zen's last cry for China and Hong Kong
On the eve of renewing the "secret" agreement between China and the Vatican, Cardinal Joseph Zen, Bishop Emeritus of Hong Kong, spent four days in Rome in the hope of meeting Pope Francis to update him on the situation in Hong Kong and the Catholic Church in China. Zen, did not receive a response from the Holy Father. He told the Daily Compass: "I have come to warn [the pope] that the appointment of a pro-Chinese government bishop in Hong Kong would spell disaster for decades to come." Regarding the Holy See’s agreement with China he said: "The idea of striking accords with Beijing is insane. It's like trying to make a pact with the devil. There’s no grounds for dialogue whatever the argument.
