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Monthly Archives: July 2021
Scripture for the Sick or Dying: 2 Corinthians 12:7b-10
Way back at the beginning of this month (14th Ordinary Sunday cycle B) we heard this passage, one of the last Saint Paul wrote to his beloved people of Corinth. One of many confessions of the apostle recorded in his … Continue reading
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Populorum Progressio 72: The Role Of Experts
72. Technical expertise is necessary, but it must be accompanied by concrete signs of genuine love. Untainted by overbearing nationalistic pride or any trace of racial discrimination, experts should learn how to work in collaboration with everyone. Experts must be … Continue reading
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St Ignatius on Drink
The context of this quote is receiving a concern about immigrant students, and their difficulty of adapting to new foods of their host culture. … if health permits someone to habituate himself even to water, beer, or cider where these … Continue reading
Fratelli Tutti 232: Peace, Mostly Within A Nation
A reminder that peace is never a final accomplishment; it requires a constant discipline of persistence and overcoming obstacles: 232. There is no end to the building of a country’s social peace; rather, it is “an open-ended endeavor, a never-ending … Continue reading
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Traditionis Custodes Final Declaration
The final word in the document. Not really much here, other than an insistence on implementation: Everything that I have declared in this Apostolic Letter in the form of Motu Proprio, I order to be observed in all its parts, … Continue reading
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Populorum Progressio 71: Development Missions
71. We certainly rejoice over the fact that an ever increasing number of experts are being sent on development missions by private groups, bilateral associations and international organizations. These specialists must not “act as overlords, but as helpers and fellow … Continue reading
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Fratelli Tutti 231: Shaping Paths To Peace
231. Negotiation often becomes necessary for shaping concrete paths to peace. Yet the processes of change that lead to lasting peace are crafted above all by peoples; each individual can act as an effective leaven by the way he or … Continue reading
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Traditionis Custodes 8: Abrogation
Just in case there was any doubt about the place of this motu proprio in Church law, Pope Francis is explicit: Art. 8. Previous norms, instructions, permissions, and customs that do not conform to the provisions of the present Motu … Continue reading
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Populorum Progressio 70: A Social Sense
What does Pope Paul VI mean by A Social Sense? 70. We would also say a word to those who travel to newly industrialized nations for business purposes: industrialists, merchants, managers and representatives of large business concerns. It often happens … Continue reading
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Traditionis Custodes 7: Dicasteries In Charge
Formerly, the Ecclesia Dei Commission had been folded into the orbit of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF). That will no longer be the case. Art. 7. The Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the … Continue reading
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Fratelli Tutti 230: Contributing To A Common Purpose
Pope Francis quotes himself from an address of six years ago: 230. Working to overcome our divisions without losing our identity as individuals presumes that a basic sense of belonging is present in everyone. Indeed, “society benefits when each person … Continue reading
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Scripture for the Sick or Dying: Matthew 25:1-13
In assembling Scripture readings for the Pastoral Care of the Sick, consultants in Rome chose one of the parables from Jesus’ fifth and final discourse in Matthew’s Gospel. Overall, the teaching in chapters 24 and 25 address final things, especially … Continue reading
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Traditionis Custodes 6: Religious Orders
Art. 6. Institutes of consecrated life and Societies of apostolic life, erected by the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei, fall under the competence of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies for Apostolic Life. This removes religious orders and … Continue reading
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Populorum Progressio 67-69: Welcoming The Stranger
When Pope Paul VI speaks of “Welcoming the Stranger,” we are speaking of humane immigration policy: 67. We cannot insist too much on the duty of giving foreigners a hospitable reception. It is a duty imposed by human solidarity and … Continue reading
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Fratelli Tutti 229: Proactive Reconciliation
Bishops of two nations give some direction here: 229. The Bishops of South Africa have pointed out that true reconciliation is achieved proactively, “by forming a new society, a society based on service to others, rather than the desire to … Continue reading
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Catholic Sensibility 