by George Weigel When he was elected as Paul VI just 50 years ago, Giovanni Battista Montini seemed the perfectly prepared pope. He was the son of a middle-class family of Italian professionals with good Vatican ties. A competent linguist who had enjoyed a distinguished career in the Holy See’s diplomatic service, he was also […]
by Bill Dodds I’M NOT SURPRISED that this summer is bringing back many memories of times when our three children were younger. This is the first one since their mom, my wife Monica, died last winter. What surprises me, but shouldn’t, was how wise she was about making family memories. She was the one who […]
DESPITE HISs HUMBLE origins as a baker’s son from Trastevere, Cardinal Alfredo Ottaviani, longtime curial head of the Holy Office (“successor to the Inquisition,” in journalese) and scourge of the Nouvelle Theologie of the 1950s, was a formidable figure in pre-conciliar Catholicism. Cardinal Ottaviani’s approach to theology was neatly summarized in the Latin motto of […]
by George Weigel AS THE REVISED Standard Version renders the 14th chapter of the Acts of the Apostles, Paul and Barnabas remind the proto-Christians of Antioch that it is only “through many tribulations” that we enter the Kingdom of God. The New American Bible translation drives the point home even more sharply: “It is necessary […]
by George Weigel WITH HIS NEW book, American Church: The Remarkable Rise, Meteoric Fall, and Uncertain Future of Catholicism in America (Ignatius Press), mild-mannered Russell Shaw has become the bull in the china shop of U.S. Catholic history, knocking heroes off pedestals and overturning conventional story lines – all in aid of trying to understand […]
by Father Tadeusz Pacholczyk Resuscitating a patient who undergoes a cardiac arrest or stops breathing often involves multiple procedures. When a resuscitation “Code Blue” is called in the hospital (or on a TV show), something like a medical “flash mob” comes together to try to save the patient. The sequence of events typically involves a […]
by George Weigel It was a brief greeting to former colleagues. But if you read Pope Francis’s April 18 letter to the Argentine bishops’ conference closely, you get a glimpse of the man, his convictions and his vision. First, the man: Jorge Mario Bergoglio has remained very much himself, rather than adopting what some might […]
by Maureen Pratt Much has been said of the historic nature of Pope Benedict XVI’s decision to resign, but I am struck by something much more personal, something that resonates with those of us who are aging. When we approach a certain age, frailties begin to surface and they interfere with the desire to keep […]
by Father William J. Byron, S.J. AS THE WORLD awaited word on who would be elected to succeed Pope Benedict XVI as leader of the Roman Catholic Church, there was much talk about the need for reform and transparency in the Roman Curia – the Church’s central administration – and the virtual impossibility of anyone […]
by Father Eugene F. Hemrick AS FRUITFUL AS our country is and as wonderful as our Church is, there is far too much discontent in both these days. This discontent indicates to us that something essential is missing. What might it be? I believe we are experiencing growing divisions. We often hear, “In unity there […]
