The Dispatch
“Holy Virgin, Holy Mother, assumed into Heaven, pray for us.”
The witness of Mary needs to be highlighted for the benefit of all women and for the good of all society. In her dual identity […]
Hans Urs von Balthasar
Books
Mary for Today provides timeless insights for our deeply confused age
“Can’t you see, this is me, I’m a woman,” sang musical superstar Tina Turner. None of the obituaries or commemorations of Ms. Turner, who died recently at age 83, seem to have any doubt that […]
The Dispatch
How the Mystery of the Trinity illuminates the mystery of atonement
Margaret M. Turek, S.T.D., is Professor of Theology and Chair of Dogmatic Theology at St. Patrick’s Seminary and University. After studying and earning degrees at the University of San Francisco (where she studied in the […]
Features
Games theologians play with truth and morality
Not too long ago, Randall Smith accused Cardinal Robert W. McElroy of playing Jenga with Catholic theology. Jenga is a game in which players take turns removing crisscrossed wooden blocks that make up a tower, […]
The Dispatch
Staring death in the face: “Lazarus, come out!”
Readings: • Ez. 37:12-14 • Psa. 130:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8 • Rom. 8:8-11 • Jn. 11:1-45 “Lazarus, come out!” With that simple, dramatic command, the Incarnate Word spoke words that demonstrated his power over death. It concludes one […]
The Dispatch
Advent is Apocalyptic
Readings: • Is 2:1-5 • Ps 122: 1-2, 3-4, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9 • Rom 13:11-14 • Mt 24:37-44 Advent is apocalyptic. Perhaps you’ve never thought of it in that way. But today’s readings are revealing. […]
The Dispatch
Why Vatican II Was Necessary
Writing my new book, To Sanctify the World: The Vital Legacy of Vatican II (Basic Books), afforded me the welcome opportunity to dig into the Council’s 16 texts and the many fine commentaries on them. […]
Chapp's Schtick
Vatican II: Five views sixty years on
Everybody I know seems to be writing something on Vatican II these days and I began feeling a bit left out of the fun. So, I thought I would jump into the mosh pit of […]
Books
New book introduces readers to central focus of von Balthasar’s theology
Richard Clements, who has a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Purdue University, is the author of The Meaning of the World Is Love: Selected Texts from Hans Urs von Balthasar with Commentary (Ignatius Press, 2022). […]
The Dispatch
“Communio” at 50: A conversation and an invitation
Fifty years ago, Hans Urs von Balthasar, Henri de Lubac, and Joseph Ratzinger, among others, founded the theological journal “Communio,” which set out, as Balthasar put it, to “fight at all costs against the deadly […]