Joseph Ratzinger’s accomplishments as biblical expositor and theologian have been gratifyingly acknowledged over the past six days. Yet his insights into the drama of modern social and political life have rarely been mentioned. Continue Reading »
Therefore, let me offer a modest proposal: Let’s celebrate all the obligatory holy days of the universal church on the day the Church intends them to be celebrated. Continue Reading »
As always with Ratzinger, his reflection weds fidelity and creativity. Continue Reading »
When the Church solemnly commits Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI to the Lord at the funeral Mass today, the curtain will come down on one of the most important and fruitful eras in two millennia of Catholic intellectual life. Continue Reading »
For me, two couplets will always capture the essence of Pope Benedict XVI: faith and reason, realism and hope. Continue Reading »
At this Catholic moment, when so many are disturbed by ecclesiastical dysfunction, it is good, at Christmastide, to reflect on Mary and the Church—and on what Mary’s initial act of discipleship, that fiat, means for us today. Continue Reading »
Christians today are effectively living in partibus infidelium—in formerly Christian lands where infidels now press toward a future world we Christians can’t share. Continue Reading »
German Catholicism is often said to be in a de facto schism. That is an inadequate description. The German Catholicism manifest in the documents of the Synodal Path is in apostasy. Continue Reading »
Talent, be it musical or rhetorical, is wonderful until it’s directed toward absurd or corrupt ends. Continue Reading »
At the end of a lengthy reflection on Advent, Alfred Delp writes: “Light the candles wherever you can, you who have them. They are a real symbol of what must happen in Advent, of what Advent must be, if we want to live.” Continue Reading »
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