4+ day, 3+ hour ago  (84+ words) First Things James F. Keating is associate professor of theology at Providence College. He writes The Fourth Watch: A newsletter about Catholicism. Reading'for obvious reasons'Henri Daniel-Rops's The Church in the Dark Ages, I have been repeatedly struck by the truism" On…...

6+ day, 3+ hour ago  (54+ words) First Things Fr. Brian A. Graebe is a priest of the Archdiocese of New York. He is the author of Vessel of Honor: The Virgin Birth and the Ecclesiology of Vatican II. Create an account below to continue reading. Or, subscribe for…...

6+ day, 3+ hour ago  (462+ words) Until very recently, cultural Christianity was at its lowest ebb in American history. Whence the urgency of today's critics?" We should first define our terms. "Cultural Christianity" refers either to the relationship of "cultural Christians" to the Christian faith, or…...

1+ week, 5+ day ago  (340+ words) As the sanctuary started to fill, conversation grew but never became raucous. Young people streamed in'including one young man sporting a pair of "YOLO" socks, which seemed ironic, given the holiday'but also plenty of presumed parents and Gen X supporters....

4+ week, 3+ hour ago  (279+ words) The local church retained its parishioners only through inertia. Habit kept them coming to Mass. To my young eyes, pastoral work seemed like a desperate effort to plug the leaks in a sinking ship, as the clergy had no answer…...

1+ mon, 2+ day ago  (308+ words) I was all the more disappointed, therefore, to discover that the report lacked basic historical grounding. The document's main section, its "Detailed Synthesis of the Themes Emerging from the Synodal Deepening," opens with the words, "The entry of women into…...

1+ mon, 4+ day ago  (269+ words) Almost one year in, Pope Leo's vision for his pontificate is still coming into focus. But there are a few key characteristics that are worth noting. First, and most obvious, Leo is not Francis II." From what we've seen so far,…...

1+ mon, 1+ week ago  (349+ words) What is immediately noticeable is that Leo's exegesis of the documents is as serene and placid as the documents themselves. And while the Vatican II decrees are rightly taken at face value'in the form they were approved by the world's…...

1+ mon, 1+ week ago  (108+ words) In chapter 8, Shrimpton describes how Newman battled to keep the oratory school firmly Catholic, which may inspire today's Catholic parents and educators, who have watched in dismay as Catholic parishes have allowed their schools to bend ever further in a…...

1+ mon, 2+ week ago  (279+ words) Despite nationwide pushback, however, Notre Dame continued to back the appointment publicly. The university issued a statement to EWTN News, saying that Ostermann was "well prepared" to "advance our dedication to serving as the preeminent global Catholic research institution." Then,…...