The Dispatch
Grumpy priests and Saint Thomas Becket
We Catholics tend to have unrealistic expectations about our priests. We want every one of them to deliver brilliant, engaging homilies just like Venerable Fulton [...]
A Church that goes out to the hungry and brokenhearted
Features
My first ministry job was teaching high school theology, and in my first year, I was assigned a semester-long morality class for an unruly group of sophomores. It was a good Catholic school, but, like [...]
Nigerian Christians react to U.S. bombings of ISIS targets
Features
The Trump administration has followed through on an earlier warning to use military force to protect Nigerian Christians if the Nigerian government failed to do so. On Christmas Eve, the U.S. military bombed ISIS targets [...]
Essay
“God from God, Light from light, true God from true God …”
Editor’s note: This homily was preached, in slightly different form, at the Church of the Holy Innocents, Manhattan, on Christmas 2025. ————- Let me set the stage for our reflection on this glorious Solemnity of [...]
Features
Nigerian Christians again face threats of deadly attacks during Christmas
A US-based humanitarian organization has issued a grave warning that armed groups are planning coordinated attacks against Christian communities in northern Nigeria during the Christmas period. The non-profit organization, Equipping the Persecuted, provides essential support [...]
Books
New book examines the relationship between Judaism and the Catholic Church
The historical relationship between Judaism and Catholicism is complex. Deep and abiding theological differences endure, and yet Jesus himself said that “salvation comes from the Jews” (Jn 4:22), and Pope Pius XI said that, “Spiritually, [...]
Essay
Persona humana at Fifty: Why the Church’s sexual ethics still matter today
December 29th will mark the fiftieth anniversary of Persona humana, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith’s (CDF) “Declaration on Certain Questions Concerning Sexual Ethics.” Issued in 1975, the document reaffirmed Catholic teaching on [...]
Essay
St. Joseph’s doubt and the angel’s gift
Readings: • Isa 7:10-14 • Ps 24:1-2, 3-4, 5-6 • Rom 1:1-7 • Mt 1:18-24 Looking on thee, O Unwedded One, and dreading a hidden wedlock, O Sinless One, the chaste Joseph was riven in [...]
Features
Bishop James V. Johnston: “Make time to be quiet in the presence of the Lord. Go to Adoration…”
Bishop James V. Johnston, Jr., 66, was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, the oldest of four children. He attended Catholic schools through high school, and then earned a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of [...]
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I. Lumen Gentium, the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church of Vatican II, states that the Mohammedans “profess their faith as the faith of Abraham, and with us they worship the one, merciful God who will [...] -
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The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith released today a “Doctrinal Note on Some Marian Titles regarding Mary’s Cooperation in the Work of Salvation” (Mater Populi Fidelis), and it has raised a few eyebrows along with [...] -
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Amanda:
"There is no need to add anything else." Good grief, if the Catholic Faith were built strictly on those things…
Charlie Russo:
Thanks to all who commented. Hopefully by working together to shine a light on this craziness we can push back…
Carl E. Olson:
Just like in first century Corinth. Or Galatia. Etc. Such is the way of real people in the Church.
