In February 2015, the world was stunned by a video released by ISIS, the Islamist terrorist movement, showing the beheading of twenty-one Christians who preferred death rather than submitting to Islam. They were kidnapped Coptic Orthodox Christians and were slaughtered in Libya. Order Today: Return to Order: From a Frenzied Economy to an Organic Christian … Read more
The expression “a picture is worth a thousand words” means that multiple and complex ideas can be conveyed with a single image. Perhaps one could say that a video with audio, dialogue, and animations is worth a million words. That would be particularly true regarding the 83’ video recently released by Disney—a giant of the … Read more
“Buona Sera!”—“Good Evening!” With this commonplace greeting, devoid of any solemnity or unction, Francis addressed the thousands of faithful waiting in St. Peter’s Square for their newly-elected pope. These words set the style of his pontificate: informality, abandonment of protocol and disdain for ceremony. Ten years later, recently deceased Cardinal George Pell stated that this … Read more
Everyone knows that the sun remains king of the skies in full splendor when an eclipse—a fleeting phenomenon—occurs and the moon’s shadow covers the earth. Likewise, when God allows His Church to go through crises, and shadows of confusion, error and heresy seem to overwhelm it, we can be sure that the Church of God … Read more
Shortly after returning from his Africa trip (January 31–February 5, 2023), where he celebrated a Zaire rite Mass to the sound of drums and dances,1 Pope Francis hastened to take another step to hinder even further the celebration and attendance of the traditional Latin Mass. On February 20, Arthur Cardinal Roche, Prefect of the Dicastery … Read more
Pope Francis has inaugurated a new kind of magisterium—media interviews. Amid relaxed conversations with journalists, he addresses complex doctrinal topics that require precision and clarity. “Talismanic Words” Journalists pick through his confusing expressions looking for soundbites to turn into headlines for their media outlets and then spread them worldwide. One could call these slogans “talismanic … Read more
Last November, Pope Francis gave the Jesuits of left-leaning America magazine an extensive and exclusive interview on “a wide range of topics . . . including polarization in the U.S. church, racism, the war in Ukraine, the Vatican’s relations with China and church teaching on the ordination of women.”1 “I Am a Communist, and So … Read more
On September 20, 2022, the Belgian-Flemish bishops’ released their “liturgy” for celebrating homosexual union ceremonies—a parody of real marriage. In a previous article,1 we wondered rhetorically whether Pope Francis would condemn the bishops’ homo-heresy. Order Today: Return to Order: From a Frenzied Economy to an Organic Christian Society—Where We’ve Been, How We Got Here, and … Read more
The media—and particularly Catholic media—highlighted October 11’s commemorations of the opening of the Second Vatican Council’s 60th anniversary. Illustrative photos show the massive procession of bishops entering Saint Peter’s Basilica for the Catholic Church’s twenty-first ecumenical council in 1962. However, one might ask whether there is a real cause for celebration. Our Lord said that … Read more
On September 20 this year, the bishops of Flanders, Belgium, approved and published a liturgy to bless and celebrate the union of same-sex couples. A communiqué titled “Homosexual Persons Are Pastorally Close, for a Hospitable Church That Excludes No One”1 was signed by Cardinal Josef De Kesel of Mechelen-Brussels, Bishop Johan Bonny of Antwerp, Bishop … Read more
