Get ready for conspiracy season, opening day is almost here.

Prepare thyself for an onslaught of information, speculation, and defamation over the next few weeks as the Pope prepares to visit Fatima this month.

Speculation about the contents of the famous third secret of Fatima had become such a cottage industry among among some Catholics that they were determined not to let a little thing like the secret being revealed in the year 2000 get in their way.  If you have a successful business model, you stick with it I suppose.

It is fair to say that the Pope’s visit to Fatima will, of course, make the famous secret once again a hot topic as it is intensely interesting.  However, Antonio...READ MORE

Tolerance just ain’t what it used to be.

Besides Lord and Savior, We’ve heard Jesus called many things.  Some say he was a prophet, some say he was a post-modern hippie in pre-modern times, some say he was just an ordinary guy who thought love was a good idea, and many more.  But I never heard Jesus called this name before.  The police in the UK think that Jesus was a hooligan.  That’s right.  A hooligan.

What other conclusion can you come to after hearing this story. Dale Mcalpine, a part-time Christian preacher in the UK was handing out leaflets on the street when he got into a conversation about homosexuality with a passer-by and a police officer.  He told them that he believes as the...READ MORE

Subsidiarity.  Learn it. Live it. Love it.

Last year during the run up to the eventual passing of the Obamacare bill, President Obama had to take to the airwaves several times to promote the bill.  One significant reason why was the dextrous dubbing of care rationing panels as ‘death panels’ by former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin.

When Palin gave a name to the fear, the poll numbers for the bill really began to crash.  President Obama and his supporters were livid.  They ran to any network that would put them on air to decry the use of the term and to personally ridicule Palin for saying it.  They said over and over and over again, there is no such thing as a Death Panel.

So now the deed...READ MORE

In all the media hype surrounding the sex abuse scandal, haters of the Church have wondered if that scandal could destroy the Church and the priesthood.  The short answer is no, but a scandal like this one could. (Not destroy permanently, of course. Nothing could do that.)

Father David Verhasselt, a priest in the parish of St. Catherine of Alexandria Church in the diocese of Milwaukee, has been placed on administrative leave because he is under investigation for breaking the seal of confession.

The charge is so serious that Archbishop Jerome Listecki has even barred Fr. Verhasselt from visiting the church.

According to local news in Milwaukee

“The allegation itself has internal...READ MORE

Last week it was widely reported that a Federal judge, in an absurd decision, killed the National Day of Prayer.

No she didn’t.

It has also been widely speculated that the decision of the descriptively named Judge Crabb will be over-turned by a higher court and the National Day of Prayer will live again.

No it won’t.

Don’t get me wrong, I think this absurd decision - a decision which willfully ignores everything the framers thought and stood for - should be overturned.  However, The National Day of Prayer was dead long before Crabb killed it and it will take more than reversal on appeal for it to ever really live again.

Truth is, the National Day of Prayer signifies nothing more than a...READ MORE

Prophecy has a bad rap.

When people think of prophecy, wild visions of predicted doom rush to mind.  One cannot divorce prophecy from the prediction of future events, no sense in arguing that point.  But in seeing only the obvious, many people lose sight of the purpose of this important gift of the Holy Spirit, to provide hope.

The Old Testament prophets did not primarily concern themselves with events in the future or portray the future as some abstract freight train of destiny filled with unstoppable momentum.  Rather, God sent prophets to tell the people what they are doing wrong, to rebuke them for turning away from God and the commandments, and to cajole them with visions of a future...READ MORE

The announcement that Archbishop Jose Gomez of San Antonio has been appointed co-adjutor archbishop for Los Angeles and successor to Cardinal Mahony leaves the mainstream media very confused.

The media is alternately ecstatic and apoplectic over Pope Benedict’s choice for the city of Angels.  Several news outlets, notably the LA Times, have already written several articles about what to expect from Archbishop Gomez and have even tried to send thinly-veiled warnings.  But in most of the coverage, the media makes the same mistake that it always makes when it tries to cover religion like politics.  They attempt to view all matters through the lens of politics and feel compelled to attempt to...READ MORE

There is a big shakeup going on in my diocese.  Pastors are being relocated throughout the diocese and because of a shortage, many priests will become first time pastors. My parish will not be exempted and the pastor of my parish will be moving to my aunt and uncle’s parish.

They announced yesterday before Easter mass that an auxiliary Bishop for our diocese will be conducting an informational session this week to answer questions and to see what we desire in a pastor.

So I ask myself, what DO I desire in a pastor?

I suppose when we think of an ideal pastor, many of us conjure up images of Bing’s Fr. O’Malley, young, vibrant, and with great business sense or perhaps of the lovable old...READ MORE