Blog & News
So Obvious
Benedict said what the Vatican abuse summit dared not: "Homosexual cliques" ruined seminaries. He said what prelates at the Vatican’s recent summit on clergy sexual abuse would not say: Homosexual cliques “significantly changed the climate in the seminaries.” Benedict’s essay has broken the hierarchy’s seemingly impenetrable wall of silence regarding the major source of the Church’s sexual misconduct and cover-up problem.
Socialism Condemned
Sometimes you hear Christians says, “We can be faithful Catholics and socialists with regard to economics, because we aren’t atheists like Marx.” Actually, that’s not true. Popes have spoken explicitly and condemned socialism on economic grounds and in terms of social justice. Pope Leo XIII, in particular, puts the smack down on socialism.
Mother Angelica
In memory of Mother Angelica, foundress of the EWTN Catholic media empire, Archbishop Jerome E. Listecki wrote an article, Mother Angelica used power of media to evangelize. He explained that the Church used the term “social media” for the technology of communication. A document of the Second Vatican Council, Inter Merifica, uses the same term. Mother Angelica was called to use the media for evangelization. She did so to proclaim the Good News and share Catholic teachings in the modern era.
Saved by Childbirth
The Heresy of Relativism: Justifying abortion gives testimony to the pervasiveness of the heresy of relativism in our culture today. Relativism says that if you believe an action is moral, then it is moral. Anything can be moral if you want it to be; there is no absolute morality or truth. The truth is that God is the author of life, as well as the Commandment: “Thou shalt not kill.”
Oil & Grace
Grace builds on oil? Naturally! My children have wonderful imaginations. Broom handles become wizard staffs. Legos become bath toys. While this is probably wonderful for some sort of developmental task, it creates problems. When someone goes to sweep, they can’t find the broom head. The plumber is called to retrieve small plastic blocks from the drain.
Church Suffering
What are Gregorian Masses for the Church Suffering? Gregorian Masses are special Masses offered for a deceased person for 30 consecutive days. The purpose of Gregorian Masses is to help obtain the deliverance of a soul from Purgatory. This goal is made possible through the dispensation of God’s mercy.
Give Up This
The Catholic Church has never taught that wives are to have as many children as possible. There are natural, non-contraceptive ways through which Catholic couples are permitted to moderate their number of offspring. In 1968, Pope Paul VI issued the encyclical, Humanae Vitae, Latin for “On Human Life.” This encyclical explains the opposition of the Catholic Church to the use of artificial contraception.
Forgotten Sacrament
Two questions faithful Catholics often hear from Protestants, non-believers, and, unfortunately, fellow Catholics are: (1) Why do Catholics have to confess their sins to a priest? and (2) Why can’t Catholics simply make a confession directly to God? Since Vatican II, lines for Confession in Catholic churches have become much shorter, while the lines for Communion have become much longer. Why is this?
Humanae Vitae
The following excerpts are taken from a longer article published in the online news magazine, The Catholic World Report, on 23 May 2018, about the prophetic encyclical written by Pope Saint Paul VI, dated 25 July 1968. Humanae Vitae is Latin for “On Human Life.”
Key to Success
Greetings! My name is Scott Brouk (second from left), and I am a lifelong parishioner of Saint Wenceslaus Church in Saint Louis, Missouri. I went to my parish school for grades one and two, and I remember how cool it was to actually run home for lunch because I lived just a block away (and I still do!).