Commentary
When does Easter ‘officially’ end?
Catholics recognize Easter as the first Sunday after the first full moon on or after the spring equinox. But, as it turns out, they can continue saying “Happy Easter” into May or, in some years, into June. Easter lasts for a total of 50 days,…
The deepening crisis of conservative jurisprudence
In a recent Supreme Court decision, Justice Neil Gorsuch ruled that opposition to “gender-affirming care was protected simply as a matter of free speech. And that orthodoxy, as Gorsuch now understands it, is that there are indeed no truths—no…
Why Pope Leo’s upcoming trip to Algeria is so significant
Once a hub of Christianity, Algeria was home to Christian theologian and philosopher St. Augustine of Hippo. Born in present-day Souk Ahras, St. Augustine is viewed as one of the most important church fathers of the Latin Church in the Patristic…
Evelyn Waugh’s death, sixty years on
On Easter Sunday, April 10, 1966, Evelyn Waugh was at his most benign. He had not seemed this content for years. With his family, he had just heard Mass, celebrated by his favourite Jesuit, Fr Philip Caraman SJ, in the ancient, beleaguered…
The politics of Judas – The Catholic Thing
What motivated Judas Iscariot to betray Jesus Christ? Money? Revolutionary sentiment? If either, why did Judas bemoan his betrayal? If Judas did have such political motives, then his actions are more comprehensible to us. But the explanatory…
Cardinal Sarah: The Church is nothing without God
“The Church is nothing without God,” Cardinal Sarah said in a recent interview. “God must truly be placed at the centre of our existence, at the centre of our life, at the centre of our concerns.” He added: “If we detach the Church from this…
Canterbury’s new archbishop and the Collapse of Anglican Unity
A sign of that collapse was the absence of sixteen (of forty-two) Anglican primates from the enthronement of Sarah Mullally, the new archbishop of Canterbury. Four could not attend due to extenuating circumstances. The other twelve represent…
At 84, a Canadian woman with back pain was offered euthanasia and speaks out
Miriam Lancaster’s story sparked “outrage” after she shared that she was offered medical the option of suicide after arriving at a Vancouver, British Columbia hospital with back pain. “The first person that I remember coming to speak to me was a…
God Is Mocked – The Catholic Thing
Atheists blaspheme and giggle like schoolboys. They think themselves daring, subversive, deliciously cunning. But their mockery is utterly conventional. They can do no better than mimic blasphemies learned from the Gospels. Mocking God is not an…
First word from the Cross
Jesus begs forgiveness for those who crucified him. He provides the pattern for Christian martyrdom: fidelity to God and charity toward enemies. “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you (Matthew 5:44),” Jesus teaches in the Sermon…