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Columns

The Catechism of the Catholic Church at 25

By George Weigel

For those expecting a Q&A format like the old Baltimore Catechism, the Catechism of the Catholic Church was a surprise. While divided into 2,865 bite-size sections, the catechism is a discursive exposition of Catholic faith in full. Its structure, which mirrors the Catechism of the Council of Trent, reaches back to the early church and the patristic catechumenate. Thus the catechism’s four parts reflect the four pillars of Christian initiation: the “Profession of Faith” (the Creed); the “Celebration of the Christian Mystery” (the Sacraments); “Life in Christ” (Christian Morality); and “Christian Prayer.”

10/10/17
Reading Time 3 min

The hollow man

By Greg Erlandson
What savagery lies in the breast of man?   Two recent television epics ask us to contemplate this question. The first is Ken Burns and Lynn Novick’s magnificent documentary, “The Vietnam War.” The other epic is the massacre in Las Vegas. A lone gunman used his hotel room as a sniper’s nest, ambushing 22,000 concertgoers. […]
10/10/17
Reading Time 3 min

A patron saint for actresses

By Thomas J. Craughwell

For the story of St. Pelagia we have two primary sources. The first is an entirely reliable account of the conversion of a notorious actress recounted by St. John Chrysostom in his Sermon 67. The second source is a detailed life of St. Pelagia written by a man who calls himself James the Deacon and claims to have known her. 

10/6/17
Reading Time 3 min

Patience, praise and pain

By Fr. Jack Peterson, Ya

Allow me to propose three words: patience, pain and praise, and a few questions for our reflection on today’s readings.

10/6/17
Reading Time 3 min

Diocesan parishes are ready for the V Encuentro

By Fr. José Eugenio Hoyos

One of the reasons and objectives of the V Encuentro Nacional de Pastoral Hispana, an initiative of the bishops of the United States, is to encourage the Catholic faithful to listen with deep attention to the needs, challenges and aspirations that the growing Hispanic population faces in their daily lives. 

10/5/17
Reading Time 2 min

Hurricane Harvey and the kayaking priest

By Christina Capecchi
Hurricane Harvey stranded Father David Bergeron in his pick-up truck the night it ripped through Houston. The 38-year-old priest had been visiting his brother and had to pull over on an overpass three miles from his home in the flood-ravaged southeast side.   He couldn’t make it any farther or go back, so he curled […]
10/4/17
Reading Time 3 min

What does ‘America first’ mean?

By Russell Shaw
A few weeks back I woke up one morning to the news that 200 U.S. troops were participating in war games with the Egyptian army. My immediate, unpremeditated reaction was: Good grief — Egypt. What next?   A little checking soon showed me that those 200 American soldiers were simply reviving — on a small […]
10/4/17
Reading Time 3 min

How to feed a starving soul

By Elizabeth Foss
I have shepherded three books into the world this year. A fourth sits poised, ready and waiting, until its season arrives. Those spines stacked one atop the other, staring at me unblinking from my dining room table, tell me that I have been disciplined enough to do the work of publishing: the research, the writing, […]
10/4/17
Reading Time 3 min

The catechism is a gift to the church

By Fr. William P. Saunders
Twenty-five years ago — Oct. 11, 1992 — Pope John Paul II, by means of the Apostolic Constitution Fidei Depositu, promulgated the first edition of the Catechism of the Catholic Church (in French). This date was not chosen randomly, but marked the 30th anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council in 1962. Having […]
10/4/17
Reading Time 4 min

What is an episcopal vicar?

By Zoey Maraist
Some aspects of diocesan life are so important to a bishop that he appoints a priest to oversee them on his behalf. Those appointees are called episcopal vicars.
10/4/17
Reading Time 2 min

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