Jefferson and Aquinas Meet, True Happiness, Handy Map of Hell, and much more!

The Best in Catholic Blogging

Why are Prominent Pro-Lifers Swimming the Tiber? - Kevin Birnbaum, Our Sunday Visitor

Thomas Jefferson & Thomas Aquinas: An Imagined Encounter - Fr. J. Augustine Di Noia OP, First Things

Doing Good, and Avoiding Evil - Stephen Phelan, HLI America

The Secret of True Happiness - Father Christopher Jamison, Catholic Herald

A Handy Map Of Hell - Patrick Archbold, Creative Minority Report

Amateur Philosopher Stephen Hawking’s Ramblings - Monsignor Charles Pope, Archdiocese of Washington

Nice Fornication - Anthony Esolen, The Catholic Thing

Dear Critics: Don’t Blame Vatican for Doctrines You Don’t Like - Archbishop Timothy Dolan, Archdiocese of New York

Syria: Father Paolo Dall’Oglio Says “The Arab Spring Appears to be Over” - La Stampa/Vatican Insider

The Funniest Religious Joke of All Time? Or a Painful Truth? - Joe Heschmeyer, Shameless Popery

Flavor Company that Uses Embryo Cells Hides Partner Company Names - Kathleen Gilbert, LifeSiteNews.com

The Starting Point for Economic Thought - Thomas Storck, The Distributist Review

Breaking Discoveries from the Third Century? - Mollie Ziegler, Get Religion

For the latest round-up on the best punditry in the Catholic blogosphere click on the ThePulp.it.

Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki of Cologne attends a German Synodal Way assembly on March 9, 2023.

Four German Bishops Resist Push to Install Permanent ‘Synodal Council’

Given the Vatican’s repeated interventions against the German process, the bishops said they would instead look to the Synod of Bishops in Rome. Meanwhile, on Monday, German diocesan bishops approved the statutes for a synodal committee; and there are reports that the synodal committee will meet again in June.

Palestinian Christians celebrate Easter Sunday Mass at Holy Family Church in Gaza City on March 31, amid the ongoing battles Israel and the Hamas militant group.

People Explain ‘Why I Go to Mass’

‘Why go to Mass on Sundays? It is not enough to answer that it is a precept of the Church. … We Christians need to participate in Sunday Mass because only with the grace of Jesus, with his living presence in us and among us, can we put into practice his commandment, and thus be his credible witnesses.’ —Pope Francis