The National Abortion Federation (NAF) have announced that The Very Reverend Katherine Hancock Ragsdale is to be their President and CEO. “We are pleased to announce that Katherine will be staying at NAF as our President & CEO,” said Sue Carlisle, MD, NAF’s Board Chair. “In her short time at NAF, Katherine has demonstrated her unwavering commitment to serving our members and her great vision for the future of NAF, the NAF Hotline Fund, and NAF Canada. After working with... Read more
Fr James Martin SJ has put the cat among the pigeons with a controversial tweet questioning whether the prohibitions of homosexual activity in the Bible can stand up since the Bible does not condemn slavery. Fr Martin’s question is, “If the Bible accepts slavery, but we’ve changed our mind on that matter, why should the Bible necessarily be right about the prohibition of homosexual actions? I’ve answered the basic question regarding Biblical interpretation here on my main blog, but there is... Read more
Those who are following the Amazonian Synod in Rome will have heard about the furore over the feminine image first used in a tree planting ritual when the synod was kicked off, and which has since been used in various indigenous type rituals in Rome–including an Amazonian Way of the Cross yesterday. Critics say the carved image of a naked, pregnant woman is the Peruvian Earth-Fertility Goddess Pachamama. Catholic defenders say it is an indigenous image of the Blessed Virgin... Read more
It’s never easy to categorize paganism because it is, by its very nature, amorphous, subjective and lacking any central doctrinal or moral authority. Paganism in the ancient world was syncretistic and free flowing, gathering up various streams of spirituality, philosophy and devotional and ritualistic practices. It is the same today. In fact, one could observe that paganism, with its undefined borders and subjective syncretism, is the understandable form of religion for our post modern age, just as it was in... Read more
Today is the Feast of the Holy Guardian Angels, and after our recent pilgrimage to France and a visit to Mont St Michel, I’m tuned in to the angels like I haven’t been for a long time. Over at my main blog you can read my account of how I met my guardian angel at Mont St Michel when I was on retreat there many years ago. I also discuss the phenomenon of angels and the supernatural and how we... Read more
A Catholic priest friend of mine commented recently, “We’re in a sixteenth century situation.” You might remember that the sixteenth century was one of enormous upheaval, turmoil and crisis. Martin Luther was on a roll, Henry VIII was on the rampage, the political situation was tense and meanwhile the Renaissance popes fiddled while Rome burned…this was not quite literally true. The Medici Pope Clement VII didn’t fiddle while Rome was sacked and burned, but he did flee for his life... Read more
With the proliferation of casinos, state lotteries, raffles and games of chance of every sort I was pondering the philosophy of gambling versus the theology of Christianity. One offers providence. The other chance. One offers faith. The other fate. One offers hope. The other dope. One offers Our Lady. The other offers Lady Luck. Seriously, the person who walks by faith believes in God’s guiding hand. The one who is addicted to gambling trusts the roll of the dice, the... Read more
Is there any other Christian denomination or church that still holds to the Lord’s uncompromising teaching on marriage? Today’s gospel was this: Some Pharisees approached Jesus, and tested him, saying, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any cause whatever?” He said in reply, “Have you not read that from the beginning the Creator made them male and female and said, For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his... Read more
We cannot rejoice in the death of any man, and any suicide is a tragic waste of life. However, Jeffrey Epstein’s recent downfall and fate should make us take a long, hard look at the philosophy Epstein obviously shared with many other men and women in our society. It can be called the Playboy philosophy for want of a better term. Pioneered by Hugh Hefner, and snowballing in the sexual revolution, it portrays sexual relations as no more than a... Read more
When trying to make sense of the recent mass shootings we are faced with mindless violence–an absurd, howling kind of insane violence. It seems like the devil himself is stalking the streets–seeking whom he may devour. An exorcist told me one of the most disturbing and maddening things about exorcism is that one can rarely diagnose the problem completely. “You see,” he said, “the devil is a liar and the father of lies. Once you have identified the demon you... Read more
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