Catholic Church

By Phil Lawler, Catholic Culture - Do you wonder why many Catholics have grown cynical about their bishops?... The Pillar news site reports that this year’s budget for the Archdiocese of Washington includes $2 million for the “continuing ministry” of Cardinal Donald Wuerl— who resigned from active ministry nearly two years ago amid what polite people call questions about his role in the McCarrick scandal... Two million dollars. $2,000,000.00. That comes out to almost $5,500 every day to support the retired cardinal in doing… what? The archdiocesan budget does not specify what the “continuing ministry” involves.

By Paul Krause, Crisis Magazine - It is no secret that it is hard for a reverent Catholic to find a beautiful Mass. The desire for reverence is not the desire for a valid Mass, for the Mass—however obnoxious or orderly—is valid thanks to the Grace of God. However, the spirit of reverence adds to the power and majesty of the Mass; moreover, the spirit of reverence is the most fervent manifestation of faith in an age not of unbelief, but of crudity and crassness.

By David Carlin, The Catholic Thing - If... you have been an American Catholic bishop in the decades following Vatican II, your chief problem as an administrator has been how to manage decline. In this respect, your task has been rather like that of post-World War II British Prime Ministers, who had to manage the decline and collapse of the British Empire... As a bishop, you had to deal with priests who abandoned the priesthood, with scant numbers of seminarians, and with a dreadful shortage of religious sisters. ...