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Category Archives: Commentary
Poke And Faint
I feel a certain sadness now and then as the years move along. Things once easily accessible to a younger body are beginning to slip out of reach. My phone’s health app assures me my biological age is seven years … Continue reading
Posted in Commentary
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Moral Panic Explained
Mike Lewis at WPI explains the full episode behind the theft of statues at the Vatican’s Amazon synod two years ago. According to Vatican correspondent Austen Ivereigh, they didn’t even do “research”: I noticed that they never actually asked an … Continue reading
Posted in Church News, Commentary, The Blogosphere
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The Wrong Question
A tough spot for the headline writers at the NCReg with this question from yesterday: How Do I Convert People Who Hate the Church? Here’s a hint: you can’t even convert yourself. Grace is an action of God, not a … Continue reading
Posted in Commentary, evangelization
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Creepy Confessions
I have never had a bad experience at the Rite of Penance, but I’ve heard from people who have. Those people are pretty much all women. That’s a subjective observation, as guys seem to complain less frequently about confessors. So … Continue reading
Posted in Commentary, Liturgy, Rite of Penance
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What Next?
Two series wrap up this week. Three more posts on the Holy Father’s address to the Diocese of Rome to open the 2021-23 universal synod. This coming weekend we’ll reach the end of the Way of Beauty. What’s next? Not … Continue reading
Posted in Commentary, synodality
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On Women, Men, and People
Somehow, I’d find recent fuss (like here at the NCReg) about avoiding the term “woman” a bit more convincing if the same media outlets and writers were avoiding the generic “man” when referring to people in general. It seems so … Continue reading
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A Trash Bin
I think American football is in a downward spiral in many ways. As much as I admire players engaged in their communities, especially those protesting racial injustice especially in the face of white Republican owners, there are incidents like this … Continue reading
Posted in Commentary, Sports
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Deathbed Sacraments And Other Honors
Paul Inwood at PrayTell asks how we understand ministry. He cites a possible problem with an ordination of a man on his deathbed. This doesn’t strike me as a hill I’d want to get injured on, let alone die. Bishops … Continue reading
Posted in Church News, Commentary, Ministry
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Satisfaction at Work, Pandemic Era
Who could have imagined that bossy people like work a lot more than the bossed? I wonder about church employees. In my current parish, we have seven people rotate half to full days as receptionists at the church office. The … Continue reading
Again, What If We Didn’t Fire People?
Is it a hope that Catholic organizations wouldn’t fire lay people? I know I’ve asked the question here in the past, at least once. Heidi Schlumpf at the NCRep muses on the tide turning. I wonder though. As I know … Continue reading
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Fruits of Founders
I noticed on cruxonline, a note about “Scandal-ridden Legionaries of Christ named in Pandora Papers.” A social media friend suggested fire, demolition, and salt for the order founded by an acknowledged criminal and grave sinner. As the linked article confirms, … Continue reading
Posted in Commentary, Saints
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Two-For-One Holiday
I noticed that we have two holidays tomorrow, according to the press secretary of the mean communist deconstructing our once-great country. Pick the one that aligns better with one’s politics, history, culture, ethnic heritage, etc.. I guess. Maybe my fellow … Continue reading
Posted in Commentary, Politics, US History
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Sex And The Modern City
Ah, so much hand-wringing on sex these days. I noticed a young man who was shocked–shocked!–to learn that college football at some schools isn’t about sex as much as it is about sport. And maybe even a dash of academics … Continue reading
Posted in Commentary, Politics, social media
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The Cooperation Question
I know the development of covid-19 vaccines involved touches on a troublesome past. Brett Salkeld does some of the moral theology lifting for us here. To be honest, the complaints from the political pro-life movement were not enough to make … Continue reading
Posted in Commentary, social media
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Godparent Ban Again
I’ve heard of and seen news bits on the Catania archbishop, Salvatore Gristina, banning godparents in his diocese. Not the first time this has happened in Italy, as mentioned and commented upon here last year. I went to the NCReg … Continue reading →