Catholic Church

By Randall Smith, The Catholic Thing - The term “the best and brightest” often appears lately to refer to the students at elite Ivy League universities. Sometimes it’s used ironically, as when people ask of the students demonstrating for Hamas: “These are America’s best and brightest?” Well, no. But then again, they never were... This isn’t merely a comment on our purportedly “elite” academic institutions.

By Staff, Complicit Clergy - Catholics who have followed Pope Francis’ appointment of Víctor Manuel “Tucho” Fernández as head of the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) are undoubtedly familiar with the controversy which erupted after it was disclosed that Tucho had authored a book entitled “Heal Me With Your Mouth. The Art of Kissing” in 1995. But it turns out that “Heal Me” is tame in comparison to a subsequent book Tucho reportedly authored in 1998 entitled “The Mystical Passion.” News of this book recently became public when a copy of the text was uploaded to Internet Archive earlier this month.

By Phil Lawler, Catholic Culture - Here’s today screaming headline from the Boston Herald: "Massachusetts braces for nor’easter, up to a foot of snow, flash freeze, power outages: Will there be space savers in Boston?"... C’mon, folks. It’s New England. It’s January. Snow happens... The actual forecasts say there may be 6 inches of snow in Boston, and up to a foot out here in the exurbs where we live. We can handle it. ...

By Msgr. Charles Pope - There are so many wonderful details in the Epiphany story: the call of the Gentiles, their enthusiastic response, the significance of the star they seek, the gifts they bring, the dramatic interaction with Herod, and their ultimate rejection of Herod in favor of Christ... In this meditation, I would like to follow these Magi in their journey of faith to become “Wise Men.” ....