The Catholic Blog of Shane Schaetzel
If you’re a Catholic, and you speak English as your primary language, then you have a special heritage you may not even be aware of. The English Patrimony, lost in the Protestant world for centuries, has now been restored to the Catholic Church. I’m talking about the English spiritual heritage that was originally Catholic, from […]
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Incarnation Catholic Church, Ordinariate Parish in Orlando, Florida with Bishop Steven J. Lopes on October 23, 2016. What is an Ordinariate parish? These are specialty parishes, designed to host a specialty liturgy that was originally designed to accommodate Anglican and Methodist converts to Catholicism. Thus, they are called the Ordinariates of English Patrimony (or “Anglican […]
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Divine Worship Mass, Incarnation Ordinariate Parish in Orlando, Florida with Bishop Steven J. Lopes on August 13th, 2017 It’s a little known fact, and seldom reported, that regular diocesan Catholics, who have no historical attachment to Anglicanism or the English Patrimony, can join Ordinariate parishes as full-fledged members. This is how it works… The Ordinariates of […]
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Faithful Catholics and American Patriots now find themselves on the same team, fighting against a cabal of Modernism, Marxism and Globalism that really and truly is hell-bent on world domination. Unlike the Soviet Union or the Nazi Third Reich, this cabal is not planning the military overthrow of Western Civilization, but rather a subversive and […]
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As a Faithful Catholic, I take the traditional Catholic teaching on economics seriously, starting with Rerum Novarum from Pope Leo XIII in 1891, and culminating (I believe) in Pope St. John Paul II’s centennial anniversary encyclical on Rerum Novarum with Centesimus Annus in 1991, followed with his epic teaching on life and family in Evangelium Vitae […]
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For those of you who still might think Freemasonry is just some harmless boys club with funny hats, think again. No organization has been condemned by the Catholic Church more than the Masonic Lodge. The Catholic Church has imposed the penalty of excommunication on all Catholics who become Freemasons (or members of the Masonic Lodge). […]
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The Divine Worship Mass, otherwise known as the DWM, is a traditional Catholic liturgy of the Eucharist that is celebrated in Sacred English (thee, thou, thy, thine, etc.) as typically seen in traditional English translations of the Bible and prayer books. It follows the basic pattern of the standard Ordinary Form Mass (Novus Ordo or […]
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One of the common accusations leveled against Catholics by both Protestants and Muslims is that we worship idols. One of the reasons why this happens, particularly among Muslims, but also among some Protestants too, is that they really don’t understand what an idol is. Their knowledge of the subject is elementary, almost childlike. If they […]
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For Anglican converts to Catholicism like me, this whole year as been a déjà vu experience. When it comes to the Amazon Synod, and the ridiculous proposals being discussed in Rome this month, I can honestly say I’ve been there, brought the t-shirt, and quickly left — TWENTY YEARS AGO! The term déjà vu is […]
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On October 4, 2019, the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, Pope Francis hosted an event in the Vatican Gardens which stunned the world. Here, Amazonian natives were invited to share their ceremonial customs, together with some some religious brothers and sisters. The pope watched the ceremony nearby, but did not participate, except to receive […]
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I’ve been asked to write a short and concise battle plan for retaking the Catholic Church for traditional orthodoxy, and saving it from the crisis that is currently unfolding. The battle plan is simple and easy to follow. Victory is assured for those who follow it, both in their personal lives (short term) and reclaiming […]
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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 […]
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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, […]
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Ich, der Autor, erteile die freie Erlaubnis, diesen Artikel ins Deutsche zu übersetzen, sofern ein Link zur Originalquelle gepostet wird … via If the Catholic Church Ordains Women
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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A cappello romano or saturno (because its appearance is reminiscent of the ringed planet Saturn) is a hat with a wide, circular brim and a rounded crown worn outdoors by Catholic clergy when dressed in a cassock. Along with the biretta, it’s become very popular in the United States among priests who wear cassocks. Many of […]
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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 […]
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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, […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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As a trained catechist, and Catholic apologist, I’m frequently asked by Catholic parents how to keep their kids Catholic. Let me begin by saying you have to do it yourself! You can’t trust Catholic schools or parish catechism programs to do it for you. We have 50 years of failed history as an example. If […]
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In a recent plane interview here, Pope Francis may have inadvertently shown the cards of the Catholic Left. He spoke of a “schism” brewing among conservative Catholics in the United States, and then (almost in a provocative way) he said he’s not afraid of it. Now that’s not to say Pope Francis actually wants a […]
Read MoreIf the Second Vatican Council had not happened, there would be no ordinariates for Catholics of Anglican tradition. Consequently, this post by Bishop Robert Barron on Reclaiming the Second Vatican Council at Word on Fire is of crucial importance. He explains two opposite reactions to the implementation of Vatican II, which Henri de Lubac called […] […]
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I’ve written many times in endorsement of Rod Dreher’s book The Benedict Option. It’s a great read, and I highly recommend it. So does Archbishop Charles Chaput. The book is geared mostly toward Evangelicals, as Catholics (especially traditionally-minded Catholics) already possess many of the characteristics Dreher suggests are necessary to persevere in the current crisis, […]
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The Ordinariates of English Patrimony are growing. The parishes and communities therein are thriving, and people are starting to ask some serious questions about them. The following is a simple Q&A about it, which should clear up some of these questions… Are the Ordinariates of English Patrimony really Catholic? YES. They are 100% Catholic in […]
Read MoreThe following is a very simple and rudimentary guide to what Catholics actually believe. It is written by a Catholic, a trained catechist (teacher of the Catholic faith), and apologist defender of the Catholic faith). However, this work will be very unapologetic. It’s just going to be very simple, yes or no answers, with very […]
Read MoreI’ve grown rather weary of the “what would Jesus do?” cliche because everyone is using it now. I would rather ask “what did Jesus do?” I think that’s a better question, because it helps to prevent us from injecting our own personal feelings and prejudices into the speculation. To be sure, the Jesus most people […]
Read MoreAre Catholics considered Christian by Evangelical standards? You’ve probably heard different things from different people. The best way to determine this is to take a good look at the most commonly-agreed Evangelical Statement of Faith and see where Catholics stand in relation to that. The following is from the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE). This […]
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