True Catholic Social Justice
The most important thing in the Catholic Church is the glory of God. Secondly, the salvation of souls. The term "social justice" has been commandeered by SJWs, but let's admit that real social justice is still on the top-ten list of important things in Catholicism. About five years ago, I ran into a North American priest in Rio De Janeiro. We traveled around the city a bit, and I explained to him why my two great passions were ending abortion and ending child sex-slavery. After my long explanation, he simply said, "So abortion kills children's bodies and child-trafficking kills their souls?" He got it perfectly. In fact, as I look [...]
On Schism
Johannesburg, South Africa used to be the gunshot wound (GSW) capitol of the world. Several years ago, I was reading about how a Joburg paramedic was treating a conscious GSW patient. After a body sweep to find the exact number of GSWs, the paramedic found an exit wound in addition to the single entrance wound. Finding the exit wound made the medic exclaim, "This means you're going to live! This means you're going to live!" (Keep in mind that GSW patients frequently survive. Other victims may die hours later in the Operating Room, unlike the movies where the victim always dies on-scene.) I've been very curious about that story for [...]
Why Did So Many Gay Men Enter the Priesthood in the 20th Century?
Here are 10 very important Nota Benes to read before the account of homosexuality in the American Catholic Church: 1. This is not a gay-bashing blog-post. I have good friends who have struggled with same-sex attraction. Most of them were smart enough not to enter seminary or religious life. I say "smart" because it would be stupid to go live with 100 people you're sexually attracted to for over seven years in a celibate vocation. 2. I do not believe anyone is born “gay,” so the correct Catholic term is actually “someone who struggles with same-sex attraction.” However, for the sake of brevity, I will often use the term “gay” [...]
May Catholics Attend a “Gay Wedding” for Pastoral Reasons?
This was a real email I got tonight. My response also follows verbatim. Hi, Fr. DN, I asked three local pastors in the area I live in in NJ about what Catholics should do if they are invited to same sex marriages. They all said that if it is a close relative that you should attend so as not to lose the relationship or bond with that relative. Does the Catholic Church have any dogma on this? Thank you, Karen Dear Karen, Those priests are wrong. You would be committing grave mortal sin in participating in the attempted "marriage" of same-sex people by going to their "wedding." Your sin would [...]
What Catholics Are Missing in the Death Penalty Debate
WAIT. WAIT. WAIT. Before skimming this article to see if you like my conclusion on the death penalty, please realize that this blog post is a work on systematic theology, not moral theology. Systematic theology is a consideration of the levels dogma in the Catholic Church. Indeed, the question of By What Authority must precede visceral reactions to difficult issues that divide Catholics today like the death penalty or gay "marriage." Against the better judgment of half-my-mind, I’m going to give you (here in the first paragraph) the dogmatic conclusion of this blog post that will be proved below: The Catechism of the Catholic Church is not infallible. The [...]
Prophesy of St. Francis of Assisi
“Act bravely, my brethren; take courage and trust in the Lord. The time is fast approaching in which there will be great trials and afflictions; perplexities and dissensions, both spiritual and temporal, will abound; the charity of many will grow cold, and the malice of the wicked will increase. The devils will have unusual power; the immaculate purity of our Order, and of others, will be so much obscured that there will be very few Christians who obey the true Supreme Pontiff and the Roman Church with loyal ears and perfect charity. “At the time of this tribulation a man, not canonically elected, will be raised to the Pontificate, who, [...]
Thunderclouds of Mary
This is actually one of my most hope-filled posts, but follow me down the bad rabbit hole of humanism for a minute before we come rocketing up to the glory of God: Most conservative pundits say that the world is now worse than previous centuries. However, most professors of world history at American and European universities teach that (except for modern wars) we now live in a world much safer, thanks to medicine, secularism and globalism. Of course, I would want to point the latter group to the millions of yearly abortions, but the Western academy will not accept that the unborn constitute an actual genocide of slaughtered human beings. [...]
What Exactly is the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary?
On 13 October 1884, Pope Leo XIII entered a trance after finishing Mass in the Vatican and he saw Jesus and Satan talking: Satan: “I can destroy Your Church.” Our Lord: “You can? Then go ahead and do so.” Satan: “To do so, I need more time and more power.” Our Lord: “How much time? How much power?” Satan: “75 to 100 years, and a greater power over those who will give themselves over to my service.” Our Lord: “You have the time, you will have the power. Do with them what you will.” Pope Leo XIII then went to compose his prayer to St. Michael to be prayed after [...]
Prayer of Praise and Offering of Love for the Life of the World
Blessed are You, Magnificent Holy Father of Gentleness and Majesty. Nothing compares to you, the Holy, Almighty One of Israel. Thank you Father for your power—You to whom all things in heaven, on earth and under the earth, do bow and obey. I now see that You alone are worthy, O God. I praise you and worship you with holy hands, night and day in the temple with Simeon. Yahweh, the Holy One of Israel, how sweet are you to me who cries “God alone!” Kyrie Eleison. I adore you profoundly in the Sacred Heart of Jesus, all aflame with the Holy Spirit. I pierced the meek and mild heart [...]
Two Modern Myths of Ancient Church History
Myth 1: Catholic means universal, as in what all Catholics believe in the 21st century. Truth: Catholic is that which is believed everywhere, always and by all.Many people believe that the term "Catholic" means universal in Latin. This is true, but the Greek root of this word is even older: As you can see, Catholic means "according to the whole." By whole, that means everything in the Bible and oral tradition (2 Thess 2:15.) It means the fullness of the truth. The modern myth is that "Catholic" means universal—but only today. The problem with this definition is that it falls short of the original Patristic definitions of Catholic. The [...]