I originally wrote the following essay on October 17, 2016. Though the election is long since over, it seems even more relevant now... A storm is approaching. We've been watching it build on the horizon for decades, and now it's here. The first sprinkles of rain have already hit us, and with the wind now... Continue Reading →
Galileo Galilei was born in February of 1564 and died in is home in January of 1642. He was 77 years old, which is quite a long life for that time period. Life expectancy in Europe during that time period was between 30 to 40 years. Galileo lived to nearly double the maximum life expectancy,... Continue Reading →
I've always been interesting in future trends, and I've found that when it comes to religion, the future can be surprisingly predictable, thanks to the fantastic records kept not only by various denominations, but also by research think-tanks (like the PEW Research Forum for example). I've also found that even real estate companies do a... Continue Reading →
Yes, I watched HBO's The Young Pope series. I bought a temporary subscription to HBO and binge-watched the whole series in just a few weeks. Why? Because I wanted to review it here, for the benefit of my readers, and anyone else who might happen to do a search on the topic. Here are my... Continue Reading →
Your Excellencies, this is meant to be read as a friendly challenge, with nothing but love and respect as the tone and subtext. Please don't interpret it any other way. Do you have a parish in your diocese that's floundering? By that I mean, is it financially in trouble, and have you seriously considered the... Continue Reading →
The Amazon Synod is scheduled to begin in just a couple weeks, and it's been the talk of much consternation among conservative and traditionally-minded Catholics for almost two years now. I completely empathize with the concerns of my conservative and traditionally-minded Catholic brethren. I think their concerns are valid and should be taken seriously. On... Continue Reading →
What would happen if the Catholic Church ordains women? A growing number of Catholic laity seem to be fine with the idea. A fairly good size of Leftist clergy seems to be fine with it as well -- even advocating it. So let's play a little game of "what if?" Suppose in some alternate universe,... Continue Reading →
In a recent jet-presser at 30,000 feet, Pope Francis commented that he felt "honored" that some traditional-Catholic Americans were attacking him. Why does this not surprise me? It seems obvious to me that he doesn't care for those Catholic Americans who consider themselves "orthodox" or "traditional." On the flip side, I think it's fair and... Continue Reading →
It appears that what we have going on here is an ecclesiastical game of "chicken." Bonn and Rome are on a head-on collision course, and both are waiting to see who turns first. The objective of the German Bishops Conference in Bonn is to set the agenda for radical changes in the German Church BEFORE... Continue Reading →
