Why the West Needs the American Founding (The American Spectator): “The Founding shows that the West’s deepest traditions can be reconciled and made to sustain a free society.”
Theology of the Shoddy (Catholic Culture): “The Theology of the Body Institute (TOBI) recently released a piece of content which received an abnormal amount of attention, much of it negative.”
Flourishing Traditional Marian Franciscan Community in UK to Be Dissolved (National Catholic Register): After years of growth in vocations, conversions and media outreach, the Family of Mary Immaculate and St. Francis has sought dissolution due to lack of ‘practical and canonical support.’”
Magnifica Humanitas Refounds Catholic Social Teaching (First Things): “The measure of Magnifica Humanitas cannot be taken today, so soon after its release. We won’t know for many years what sort of legacy it might have. But if it does have a legacy, it just may be the salvaging of the Church’s ‘social doctrine.”’
James Talarico and the Myth of the Moderate Democrat (Amac): “Following a riveting Republican primary that saw state Attorney General Ken Paxton defeat incumbent John Cornyn for the Texas Senate seat up for grabs this November, all attention now turns to the general election.”
Leo XIV ousts Ruffini. The Pope strikes his first blow against the Palazzo Pio clique (Silere Non Possum): “Today, 2 June 2026, Pope Leo XIV brought Paolo Ruffini’s mandate at the head of the Dicastery for Communication to an end, entrusting its leadership to Maria Montserrat ‘Montse’ Alvarado.”
Leo XIV: What does his first encyclical tell us? (MondayVatican): “Leo XIV’s encyclical letter, Magnifica Humanitas, has a Latin title, but it doesn’t yet have a Latin version.”
Leo XIV contra the new Babel: Reflections on the pope’s landmark encyclical (Edward Feser – Blogspot): “While artificial intelligence (or AI) gets significant attention, the encyclical is actually devoted to a much larger theme, of which AI is only a part.”
A Stranger They Will Not Follow: The Good Shepherd and Ignatian Discernment (SpiritualDirection.com): “If your heart is not at peace, do not follow a new idea, thought or suggestion. These strange voices are not the Good Shepherd.”
The Christology of the Stairs: Medieval Raised Sanctuaries vs. Modern “Worship Spaces” (The Sacred Images Project): “The sanctuary … represents a reality that is objectively higher than and separated from ordinary life, and it made perfect sense to the medieval Christian mind to show that reality physically.”
(*The posting of any particular news item or essay is not an endorsement of the content and perspective of said news item or essay.)
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Re #6 – Leo ousts Ruffini. The pope strikes his first blow against the Palazzo Pio clique.
To repeat – prayers and good wishes to Montse!
Thank you for the article about raised altars & stairs. That was very interesting.
Monday Vatican, Latin slipping
Weighing with many topics at once, you can catch glimpse of the Devil running a subtle campaign on many fronts simultaneously, in plain sight, party spirit.
I would like to commend Gagliarducci for his effective essay presentations as he keeps sharpening the style and holding on commitments. Bless.
Regarding the hit piece on Talarico. Does the writer actually think that Paxton is a good option? Paxton is toxic. How anyone could vote for him is beyond me.
I heard someone say it was a choice between a TX politician who’s lost his way and another who lost his mind.
🙂
A choice between getting punched or getting kicked. Such a deal. Why did Trump repudiate John Cornyn? He was pretty solid for the GOP.
“Paxton is toxic.”
Says the board’s resident pinata who when flustered, resorts to complaints about insults.
Other than your reflexive support for everything leftist, exactly what recommends an abortion-loving Presbyterian seminary drop out?
Toxic to who? You? I doubt any politician is a saint in training, but Paxton won because Cornyn outlived his usefulness.
Try just once to offer a coherent, logical comment instead of your emetic graffiti.
So you prefer Paxton over Cornyn? Why was Cornyn no longer useful? He seemed a pretty solid Republican. Perhaps he wasn’t obsequious enough for Trump?
Why so aggressive? Are you compensating for some shortcoming? Support for everything leftist? I’ll compare my portfolio against yours anytime. You try to be a “tough guy” with insults. Did you ever wear the uniform and serve overseas? You sound like a frustrated bean counter who has masculinity issues.
If Silere non possum is theoretically a Pope Francis recommended platform for honest media coverage of the Vatican – is there a connection with outspoken defender of Marko Rupnik Nataša Govekar’s key position in the Dicastery of Communication?
Silere non possum comes across as honest to the point of nuanced hostility toward politics within the Vatican particularly the Dicastery of Communication. Is Silere a much too honest maverick? It would seem so, unless there’s some Byzantine rationale beyond human reasoning that there is a connection of Silere with Ms Govekar.
Furthermore, the placement by Francis of arch Rupnik defender Nataša Govekar appears to be, by less than a wild guess, made for that very reason.
Silere warns that EWTN’s Maria Montserrat Alvarado is being thrown to the wolves. Will Maria have the metal to raise the Rupnik trial issue? And if she, Montse, does will it likely be addressed nicely?
Well, against the odds I take the position of Cleo. I hope she does. Nicely. But with honest courage.
@ Leo XIV ousts Ruffini. The Pope strikes his first blow against the Palazzo Pio clique