Catholic Church

April 9, 2019

Bitter Easter in China. In the Game With Rome, a Blowout for Beijing, by di Sandro Magister

By di Sandro Magister, L'Espresso - The Chinese regime is also applying its agreement with the Holy See this way. With the bulldozer that under police escort - see photo - razes to the ground on April 4 the building of a parish in Qianyang, which had on its top floor a room for the Mass and on the ground floor a free clinic for the poor, run by nuns... The fault of the pastor and of the two thousand faithful of this “clandestine” parish is the same as that of the diocese of which it is part, that of Fengxiang, in Shaanxi, the only diocese in all of China in which none of the baptized, from the bishop to the last of the faithful, has yet agreed to enroll in the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association...

April 9, 2019

James V. Schall, S.J.: “Who Are You?”

By James V. Schall, S.J., The Catholic Thing - We are not gods, nor do we blend into some “all” wherein we no longer exist in our singular identity. It is precisely the abidingness of our singular identity that is the most important thing about us. “I” am the one who did/did not do this or that. It is that singular, unique identity by which John is not Joseph, Suzie is not Sally, which enables us to identify the specific cause of things that come to pass in this world.

April 9, 2019

It’s Not Enough to Listen to the Young

By William Kilpatrick, Crisis Magazine - In his new exhortation on youth, Christus Vivit (Christ is Alive), Pope Francis returns again and again to the theme that the Church must listen to youth... Although Christus Vivit contains much that is inspiring and even moving, the good parts are often undercut by its insistence on the wisdom of youth. On the one hand, youth are encouraged to be open to the wisdom and experience of older people both in their families and in the Church; on the other hand, the Church is at risk of becoming a “museum” if it doesn’t listen carefully to the young.

April 9, 2019

Msgr. Charles Pope: The Seven Deadly Sins: Gluttony

By Msgr. Charles Pope - Gluttony is eating or drinking inordinately, contrary to reason. It is a sin opposed to the virtue of temperance because it is the immoderate indulgence in the delights of food or drink. Gluttony can involve more than merely eating too much. Drunkenness is also a type of gluttony because it is excessive indulgence in intoxicating drink... A person can be excessive in what, when, how, and how much he eats. St. Thomas Aquinas and others have distinguished five ways gluttony can be manifested.