More people are demanding to be ‘debaptized’ — here’s what’s wrong with that...
In some places, the demand for debaptisms has been going up, which could be rather surprising. “What’s a debaptism?” you might ask. “Is that even a thing? How can you un-pour water on someone?” The short answer is that No, debaptism isn’t a thing, but that hasn’t stopped people from asking for it. And yes, “debaptism” is the language they use.
Why the gonzo ‘Rome Isn’t Real and Catholics Made It All Up’ conspiracy theory keeps going viral...
8 Things You Need to Know About the Immaculate Conception...
This is the essence and importance of the Immaculate Conception...
Every year during Advent, on Dec. 8, we celebrate the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, one of the most prominent Marian feasts in the Church’s liturgical year. This celebration centers on the principle that Our Lady, from the very first moment of her existence, was free from original sin. Whereas the rest of humanity are conceived in a state of sin, she was born without this handicap...
For the glory of God and the salvation of souls, we have to muster the courage to preach purity in the face of sexual license...
Someone reminded me recently that many, especially young adults, seek in sexual license a happiness which is so far eluding them. This, of course, is true of every form of evil. The motivation for us in the moment is to satisfy some desire which, with little or no reflection, we assume will make us to be happier, or to feel better...
An ancient bishop rebukes his emperor for crimes against life — a story of St. Ambrose and the Emperor Theodosius...
On this feast of St Ambrose we do well to reflect on a story from his life. It is a story that should inspire bishops and priests. It is the story of a remarkable event that took place between the Emperor Theodosius and St. Ambrose, Bishop of Milan. What makes it remarkable is that it shows an ancient bishop (Ambrose) and a politician (Theodosius) interacting over the dignity of human life...
Tell your daughter she’s beautiful...
How can women come to have a proper perception of their own beauty? I have a suggestion toward a partial answer. A great beginning is that fathers learn to see their daughters’ beauty; and then tell them. I think we fathers too easily forget that insistent voices are telling our daughters how to see themselves. Indeed, these voices are fairly screaming. How insistent and confident is our voice, and what exactly are we saying? Here is a matter for careful reflection. It might be more urgent than we realize.
OSV Editorial: Now is not the time to obfuscate on marriage...
Antonín Dvořák — The Catholic Composer Who Gave Us More Than Music...
Antonín Leopold Dvořák was born on Sept. 8, 1841, in the village of Nelahozeves, near Prague. He was the first of 14 children and was baptized in the village church of St. Andrew. His Catholic faith remained strong throughout his life and was a continual inspiration for his music. Few composers have a been so richly endowed with musical ability as Dvořák. He claimed that he studied “with the birds, flowers, trees, God and myself.” His music was recognized for its “heavenly naturalness.” The distinguished conductor, Hans Richter, referred to him as “a composer by the grace of God.”
Coach Joe Mazzulla of the Boston Celtics tells reporters he knows only one royal family — ‘Jesus, Mary and Joseph’...
NBA coach Joe Mazzulla of the Boston Celtics answered questions during a press conference following a victory against the Miami Heat on Nov. 30. One reporter asked about the presence of Prince William and Princess Kate Middleton of Wales at the game. Did you get a chance to meet with the royal family, and if not, what was it like having them there in the building?” the reporter asked. Mazzulla answers, “Jesus, Mary and Joseph?”
Pope Francis Issues New Motu Proprio Decreeing Tighter Control of Vatican Funds and Foundations...
Today in papal history: A pope who was first an antipope, and Eisenhower meets John XXIII...
Fr. Peter Stravinskas: How to really pursue a Eucharistic Revival...
The 1998 Swiss Guard slayings are back in the spotlight with a new book, ‘Blood in the Vatican’...
Meet Cora Evans, California’s Catholic mystic (and possible future saint) who was a convert from Mormonism...
When Catholics gather for Mass on Christmas Day this year, the readings for the liturgy will include one of the most famous and powerful passages from the Gospel of John: “And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we saw his glory, the glory as of the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth.” The passage affirms the coming of the Christ Child as the fulfillment of God’s plan for the salvation of the world...
Yet more new twists in the Vatican’s most spectacular unresolved mystery...
Vatican mysteries are a bit like volcanoes, in that they may remain dormant for a long time, but when they erupt, like Mauna Loa in Hawaii right not, it’s usually something spectacular. That’s what seems to be happening right now with the case of Emanuela Orlandi, perhaps the most prodigious such mystery story of the last half-century...
Time traveling to Bethlehem — some thoughts that ought to fill us with humility and joy...
Like many of you, I have been saying the St. Andrew novena this Advent. I’ve probably said this prayer hundreds of times. And yet, there is something I missed before: I was time traveling to Bethlehem. Because God is outside of time, He knows, of course, every prayer that will ever be uttered, even unto the end of time. We tend to have the point of view that our prayers, works, and sufferings “work” now, and forward into the future.
God doesn’t care about our politics the way you think he does...
What a difference six years and a midterm make. Many Christians I know, who’d been jubilant at the prospect of a Republican red wave on election night, didn’t feel that way the next day. The history of midterm elections, the president’s low popularity rating, the low state of the economy, the hard progressive views of many Democrats, had led most of the country to believe the Republicans would sweep to victory.
This German bishops-backed website has been pushing some strange, heterodox content lately...
A quick glance at this week’s content on Katholisch.de — the German bishops’ conference-backed news website — and you will come across content that effectively parodies today’s dissenting German Church as it pushes a radical heterodox agenda through its multi-year Synodal Path that many have warned could lead to schism. Based in Bonn, where the bishops’ conference is headquartered, Katholisch.de bills itself as the news and information portal of the Catholic Church in Germany...
50 years later, we remember Apollo 17, the last time men walked on the Moon...
December’s full moon falls Dec. 7. (For those who look forward to a bright moon on Christmas Eve, sorry — at best, it’ll be the sliver of a waxing crescent.) Dec. 7 is also the 50th anniversary of the launch of Apollo 17, the last manned space mission to the moon. Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt were the last human beings to walk on the moon. Of the 12 men who strolled the moon, only four are still alive, including Schmitt.
German Bishops Assess Global Support for Agenda of ‘Synodal Way’...
The German bishops’ conference unveiled the initial results Wednesday of a study measuring global support for the goals of the country’s controversial “synodal way.” The study, co-funded by the bishops’ conference, is gauging the attitude of Catholics around the world toward the four main themes of the German initiative: power, the priesthood, women in the Church, and sexuality.
Excavations in Turkey highlight the intriguing history of the real St. Nicholas...
Jolly St. Nick, December lists, and Canada’s culture of death...
Pro-life protests gather in Malta as parliament debates legalizing abortion...
The allegory of the Jordan River...
The mighty Mississippi was once named ‘River of the Immaculate Conception’ — here’s why...
Catholic Student Center in Nebraska Receives Shooting Threat, Signed ‘Jane’s Revenge’...
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