How A Cardinal Landed in D.C. – Sources “close to the process told The Pillar [that] Cardinal Cupich privately represented the nomination [of Brian Burch to be the next U.S. ambassador to the Holy See] as antagonistic towards Pope Francis personally, requiring an appointment for Washington in response.” How Cardinal McElroy came to Washington (The Pillar)
Monks and New Tech – “A group of Carmelite monks in the mountains near Meeteetse, Wyoming, are building a Gothic monastery using cutting-edge technology.” Carmelite Monks Near Meeteetse Use Modern Tech To Build Gothic Monastery (Cowboy State Daily)
America’s Soul, Not for Sale – “We are seeking a harmonized Christian culture, a re-emergence of American manufacturing and energy independence, the avoidance of unnecessary wars, the shrinking of an unaccountable bureaucracy, and the just union of our legal system with natural law. “ The High Cost of Cheap Foreign Labor (Homefront Crusade)
She Followed God, Not Social Convention – “To get any insight at all into what Jesus’ childhood and upbringing were like, you have to do something that sometimes makes Protestants uncomfortable: study Mary.” The Mother of All Meaning (Providence Magazine)
Hopkins’ Christological Poem – “Gerard Manley Hopkins’ ‘As Kingfishers Catch Fire’ ranks among the English Jesuit’s most famous poems, garnering tremendous attention among literary critics as well as the general reading public (especially Christians).” A Jesuit Philosopher and a Jesuit Poet: A Thomistic Reading of Hopkins’ “As Kingfishers Catch Fire” (St. Austin Review)
Technology’s Siren Song – “In August 2023, The Free Press announced an essay contest for Gen Z: write about a problem facing American society and how to fix it…. three were chosen for publication. The main theme in each? The problems of technology, social media, and the lack of traditionally human living.” Girls Deserve Reality (Word on Fire)
The Chaldean Diaspora – “In the 21st century, the ancient Chaldean Catholic Church is a truly global institution. The Eastern Church has spread far beyond its Iraqi homeland, to Europe, Oceania, and North America.” The book of before and after (The Pillar)
Trouble in Paradise – “I hadn’t thought about Elaine Pagels for many years, but Manning’s gimlet-eyed analysis reminded me of a longish column about Pagels I wrote many years ago. As a public service, I reprint it here with a few minor tweaks and updates.” A Critical Look at Elaine Pagel’s Religious Scholarship (American Greatness)
A New Feminism – “Feminism, understood as the peculiar modern ideology of the 20th century, has reached its self-destroying zenith in the erasure of woman in gender ideology and in the putative ‘right’ to intentionally end the life of one’s developing unborn child.” Rights, Duties, and Relations: Toward a Pro-Woman Feminism for the 21st Century (The Heritage Foundation)
Estranged Parents of Transgenders – “When a child comes out as trans, parents are supposed to celebrate a drastic change in their child’s personality, radical new beliefs, a gleeful assault on their healthy bodies, and a sharp contraction of their future possibilities.” The Story of Estrangement: Why the Parents of Trans Adults Stay Silent (Fairer Disputations)
Gates of the Vatican – “The cardinals are already meeting to discuss who should be the next pope.” The scandals haunting Pope Francis: Scheming cardinals are sharpening their knives (Unherd)
Restoration of Notre-dame – “A church is not a museum. It is a place where the Christian people gather to celebrate the sacraments of Christ.” An Installation, Not a Liturgical Space (Commonweal Magazine)
(*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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@Gates of the Vatican
A long article related to the next conclave. But find the time, this is a must-read.
Peter, My assessment is yours. Thompson’s tone is neutral and his treatment even-keeled. At the same time, Thompson packs the essay with well-summed and prime facts. His words are worth their weight in gold. The gold is greater than the weight of mud and dirt Bergoglio has dug up to smear and fling to the faithful and within God’s Holy Mother Church. Finally, the essay offers reason for hope and optimism re the future (imminent is not soon enough) conclave.
@ How A Cardinal Landed in D.C.
In the world of Byzantine politics a step back frequently signals the inevitable step forward. Would Pope Francis, the decider, be satisfied with an inconsequential middle roader? If Cupich favored McElroy for reasons of promoting the Synodal agenda, and Francis knew well that McElroy would faithfully encourage [perhaps enforce considering Francis’ agenda] the Synodal ecclesial concept it would be difficult to imagine him rejecting McElroy.
Appointment of Burch certainly added to Francis’ decision though it doesn’t appear to be the overall reason. Furthermore, McElroy is well credentialed and articulate, with his studies in social theory at Stanford grounded in interface justice, maintaining a balance. Although we know McElroy [as does Cupich, Tobin, together America’s Three Caballeros] has an agenda, which is precisely that of Pope Francis’ on all the major issues from climate, social justice, abortion and exceptionally so regarding the promotion of homosexuality.
Although we know McElroy [as does Cupich, Tobin, together America’s Three Caballeros] has an agenda, which is precisely that of Pope Francis’ on all the major issues from climate, social justice, abortion, and particularly as alluded to homosexuality, the bane of Christianity.