Extra, extra! News and views for Wednesday, October 9, 2024

Pope Passes Over Patriarch – “But one appointment … seems like an especially Francis move — the elevation of a 44-year-old Australian, the Ukrainian Catholic Bishop Mykola Bychok of Melbourne — who is not the major archbishop of his sui iuris Eastern Catholic Church…” “The ‘red hat challenge’ for Ukrainian synodality” (The Pillar)

25 Synod Jesuits – “[G]iven the rather modest proportion of religious brothers, priests, and bishops in the world Church who are members of the Society of Jesus, one would expect, at least statistically, perhaps two or three members, experts, or facilitators at Synod-2024 to be Jesuits. There are twenty-five. ” Synod Diary #4 in First Things (Gaudium et Spes 22)

Defining Synodality Theologically – “Since Pope Francis’ 2015 speech, synodality has grown from a theological concept into a guiding principle of Church governance.” 9 Years Ago, This Papal Speech Set the ‘Synodality’ Machine in Motion (National Catholic Register)

Inferno – “Hell exists. The threat of condemnation for unrepented mortal sins is real. But we rely on the musings of theologians and poets for metaphors for the punishments of hell that comport with the terrors of the Lord’s warnings.” Priests in Hell (Catholic Culture)

The Church and Scandal –  With every scandal coming through the men who hold offices in the existential Church of history, as well as the laity who betray Christ, the woes accumulate and study of the Church (ecclesiology) grows more and more complex. A Primer on the Church for Healing Divisions (Part I) – The Essential Nature of the Church: Communio and Mystery (Adoremus)

The Shia Community – “Unlike many movements that adopt the mantle of liberation for political gain, Hezbollah’s portrayal as a liberating force is tied to a long-standing cultural memory of foreign oppression, from the Ottoman Empire to the French Mandate. ” Hezbollah’s Role as a “Liberator” (RealClear Defense)

The Orthodox and Marriage – “Representatives of the Orthodox churches and the Oriental Orthodox churches met to discuss the cause of Christian unity. A causal reader might ask: So what?” An extraordinary statement from the world’s Orthodox leaders (Catholic Culture)

A Cultural Phenomenon – “As with Borges’s mythical and mythically infinite library, the potential answers to the question What is Catholic culture? multiply in a riot of possibility nearly beyond all telling. ” What Is Catholic Culture? (Church Life Journal)

Beijing Crackdown on Religion – “The sudden order to remove the symbol of the cross from the roof and entrance of a village church in China’s Anhui province cited unspecified ‘safety’ hazards.” Xi and Mao replace Jesus and Mary in Chinese churches (The Telegraph)

The Soul of Literature – “The boring parts are generally an imitation of some aspect of the world that the writer finds inexplicably mysterious and wonderful, like a shady grove of trees, a child’s steadfast gaze, or a woman’s face.” Don’t Skip the Boring Parts (Intellectual Takeout)

Minimum National Standard – “The abortion industry, Democrats, and their fellow travelers in the media, have continually conflated the 15-week protection with a “national abortion ban” — and all-too-frequently, Republicans have let them get away with it.” What Vance said right about abortion at VP debate (American Family News)

(*The posting of any particular news item or essay is not an endorsement of the content and perspective of said news item or essay.)