There is a battle raging for control of the Catholic Church. Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano’s recent claim that Pope Francis covered-up Theodore McCarrick’s sexual indiscretions is the latest battle in a political holy war between conservative Catholics (supporters of Benedict...
Benedict XVI
Did Pope Francis Know About Cardinal McCarrick’s Alleged Sexual Abuse and Cover it Up?
Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, a former apostolic nuncio in Washington D.C., claims that Pope Francis knew that former Archbishop Theodore McCarrick was a “sexual predator and not only covered it up, but brought McCarrick into his inner-circle. Vigano’s 11-page report reads...
Is Catholicism a “Two-Party System?”
One of my favorite religion writers, Mark Silk, thinks so. Here is a taste of his recent piece at Religion News Service: Although Crux’s John Allen likes to pretend otherwise, Roman Catholicism is now clearly divided between the Party of Francis and...
Pope Francis’s Visit in Historical Context
If you haven’t heard, Pope Francis will be visiting the United States later this month. In order to place his visit in historical context, Newsweek is running a piece on the history of papal visits to the United States. Only...
Why I Like “Evangelii Gaudium”: Part Two
Here is part two of my continuing series on Pope Francis’s Evangelii Gaudium. Liberal Catholics and non-Catholic liberals absolutely love Francis’s treatment of consumer capitalism in this document. My Facebook feed is loaded with liberal friends who are gushing all...
Solidarity Hall on George Weigel
A group of Catholic intellectuals, writing at the new website Solidarity Hall, have posted an open letter to Catholic thinker, author, and public intellectual George Weigel. It is a response to Weigel’s new book, Evangelical Catholicism. The letter is one...
Image of the Day
This pic is pretty cool, assuming that it is not photo-shopped. Three Popes in one shot....
Tal Howard on the “Agony of Papal Exits”
Benedict XVI resigned peacefully, but this has not always been the case for popes who exit the office. In his recent Anxious Bench post, Tal Howard of Gordon College reveals the dark side of papal exits. The Apostle Peter was...
The Emeritus Pope
It’s official. Benedict XVI will now be known as “emeritus pope.” He will continue to be called “Your Holiness” and will continue to wear the white cassock associated with the papacy. Some Catholics are worried that this new title and […]
Winters: Benedict XVI Was a Political Progressive
Writing at The New Republic, Michael Sean Winters balances Benedict’s conservative doctrine with his progressive politics. Winters argues that “one of the most dominant themes in Benedict’s teaching, especially in the wake of the economic meltdown of 2008, is a […]
A Quick Analysis of Canon Law Regarding Papal Resignations
Here are the rules, compliments of Mark Movsesian at the Center for Law and Religion at St. John’s University in New York. It just shows you. Even an institution as ancient and traditional as the papacy still retains the ability […]
Benedict is Not the First Pope to Resign
In case you have not heard, Benedict XVI will resign the papacy on February 28th. David Austin Walsh of the History News Network has the historical angle of Pope Benedict’s resignation covered. Benedict XVI is not the first Pope to […]
Why Won’t the American Catholic Laity Embrace Benedict XVI’s View of Capitalism?
Heath Carter, a historian at Valparaiso University, asks this question today in an insightful post at Religion in American History. Here is a taste: What do the pope and the Occupy movement have in common? No, this is not the...