Jeanie Hannaman

By Sheryl Collmer, Crisis Magazine -It might have all been different... We might have been forced to watch child sacrifice elevated to a national sacrament, sales of potassium iodide and fallout shelters exploding in anticipation of nuclear strikes, twerkers and groomers and drag queens in the White House Christmas videos. Innocent men and women held hostage here and abroad might have given up hope at their utter abandonment, along with the millions of children sold into slavery.

By Leah Libresco Sargeant, First Things - The letter to the faithful was carefully circumlocutious, as the USCCB explicitly permits Catholics to receive the Eucharist standing or kneeling. The USCCB states that, “[t]he norm . . . is that Holy Communion is to be received standing, unless an individual member of the faithful wishes to receive Communion while kneeling” and that, per Redemptionis Sacramentum, “it is not licit to deny Holy Communion to any of Christ's faithful solely on the grounds, for example, that the person wishes to receive the Eucharist kneeling or standing.”

By R. Jared Staudt, Catholic World Report - We keep things in discreet categories in our culture. Religion too often remains within the church’s walls, kept apart from the forces that drive society. That’s a large reason why we have secularized the festivity of Christmas. We view faith as private and even divisive, so we gather at the end of December for a winter celebration defined by Santa, snowmen, and the new year. The quaint manger scene can remain because it’s harmless, largely drowned out by bright lights, reindeer, and pop music.