Catholic Church

By E. Christian Brugger, EWTN - In popular parlance, scandal often is used to refer to moral outrage. For example, a good priest might say, “The Catholic faithful are being scandalized by the conduct of their leaders.” Here, he is referring to the shock, anger and feelings of betrayal suffered by those who are surprised and disgusted to learn of their leaders’ complicity in wrongdoing... But Catholic theology uses the term more precisely. Scandal is leading another to do evil by word or example.

By Christopher Thompson, National Catholic Register - The environment? Really? It would not be an understatement to say that Cardinal Blaise Cupich’s recent interview with an NBC affiliate in Chicago did not come off as well as he might have expected. Hoping to deflect some of the acrimony surrounding the latest news he’s quoted as saying, “The pope has a bigger agenda; he’s got to get on with other things [such as] talking about the environment and protecting migrants and doing the work of the church.”

By Fr. Gerald E. Murray, The Catholic Thing - Excellency, you stand at the center of a devastating and spiraling crisis in the Church triggered in large measure by your past and present behavior. In your statement published by the Archdiocese of Washington on June 20th, you incredibly maintained your innocence of the two charges of sexual molestation brought by a former minor seminarian of the Archdiocese of New York, claiming you had "absolutely no recollection of this reported abuse, and believe in [your] innocence."...

By Msgr. Charles Pope - Some people suggest that the Church should speak less of sin and instead emphasize positive things. After all, it is said that one can attract more flies with honey than with vinegar. In that vein, we in the Church have been collectively de-emphasizing sin to a large degree for decades, and yet our churches have been getting emptier and emptier. Maybe this is because people are just a little more complicated than the flies in the old saying.