The Catholic Thing

By Brad MinerBy first a note from Robert Royal: There's just over a week until I begin my brief course on Pope Leo and the Augustinian tradition. Don't miss this chance to learn more about our American pope, the religious tradition he was formed by, and the ways in which he seems to follow or depart from the legacy of perhaps the greatest thinker in the early Church, St. Augustine of Hippo. You...

By David WarrenEdgar Allan Poe mentioned three things, in connection with the Earthly Paradise, or perhaps there were four; I don't pretend to be a Poe expert. But so far as I remember, they were: life in the open air, the love of a good woman, and the creation of some original form of beauty.These struck me at the time (I was a teenager, and not yet consciously a Christian) as a useful list, so...

By Stephen P. WhiteToday the Church celebrates the Solemnity of Ascension. (Depending on where you are; check your local listings.) It's worth pondering: Why did Christ ascend? Why, having conquered death, did He not remain? Wouldn't it have been simpler for a manifestly divine, resurrected Jesus to walk the earth, for however many millennia it might take, converting sinners by the unmistakable...

By Robert RoyalIt's often been said, though perhaps not often enough lately, that the Devil can cite Scripture for his purposes. Whether the Evil One is operative in many of the current approaches to Scripture – in university departments and some Church circles – is a question best left to true authorities and even exorcists. But there's no question that the people who wrote Final Report of Study...

By Randall SmithI read recently that Cardinal Reinhard Marx says he will allow the blessing of same-sex unions, contrary to Vatican directives. Fr. Davide Pagliarani, the Superior General of the Society of St. Pius X, says he intends to ordain new bishops without a papal mandate. And Luxembourg's Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich says women's ordination is essential to the Church's future; "I cannot...

By David G Bonagura, Jr.Mother Church is still celebrating the record number of converts who were received into her family at Easter. Her task now, like that of all mothers, is to nourish her children so they grow in wisdom, age, and grace before God and man. As mothers with adult children know well, this task has no expiration date: the Church dispenses the gifts of salvation to each child until...

By Rev. Peter M.J. StravinskasHomily preached by the Reverend Peter M. J. Stravinskas, Ph.D., S.T.D., at the Church of St. Pius X, Forked River, New Jersey, for the Confirmation of Nolan Santos.'I am a link in a chain, a bond of connection between persons,' wrote our latest doctor of the Church – the great St. John Henry Newman – in one of his more famous meditations. His words have been coming...

By Fr. Gerald E. MurrayThe Catholic Church is accustomed to attacks upon her teaching. The history of heresy over the centuries reveals the never-ending efforts of those who seek to replace Catholic doctrine with various errors. What the Church has only recently become accustomed to is attacks upon her teaching coming from some of her shepherds, especially from the never-ending pronouncements...

By Samuel TrizuljakThis year is special for American Catholics in two ways. First, there's the upcoming 250th birthday of the American Republic on July 4, 2026. But there's another anniversary to celebrate. Today is the first anniversary of the election of Leo XIV, the first pope to hail from the United States.I'm from Bratislava, Slovakia, and have long had a keen interest in all things American...

By Michael PakalukIf I were created a Cardinal and dispensed from the canonical requirement to be ordained a deacon or priest – my vocation is as a layperson – this is how I would counsel the Holy Father on the first anniversary of his pontificate."Holy Father, the first thing you must do is correct Francis, because only the pope may aptly correct a pope. There is no need to judge his motives....