Dwight Longenecker's Blog, page 152

What is “Excommunication” Anyhow?

After the Pope’s harsh words about the mafia, with “Excommunication” screaming across the headlines–what exactly is excommunication? In the public’s eye it is the strict face of Catholicism. This is the disciplinary arm of the church and echoes of the Middle Ages are heard: a time in which Popes issued solemn bulls of excommunication cutting [Read More...]

Corpus Christi

Great homily for Corpus Christi by Msgr Pope here. Are you a mouse or a man? So here comes the question. Back in seminary days we were all given the example of a mouse who runs across the altar and takes a consecrated host and runs off and eats it. And we were asked, “Does he [Read More...]

Greedy Child Killers Excommunicated by Pope

Kathy Schiffer jumps me to the gun in this post. I was just about to observe that Pope Francis’ harsh words about the mafia killers in Calabria might just as well be applied to the money grubbing abortionists and the politicians who back them up in our country but Kathy went there already in her [Read More...]

Popes Should Resign

Marc Barnes posts here on why it is a good thing that Pope Benedict stepped down: This is what I mean when I say that Benedict gave us a universal principle — if it was proper for him to resign upon an honest recognition of deteriorating strength, then it is proper for any Pope to resign under [Read More...]

What’s The Use of Dialogue?

The Bishops who spoke at the Catholic Media Conference emphasized the need for dialogue in the media. Archbishop Kurtz coined a phrase, “dialogue not diatribe” In his keynote he said, I believe that the Catholic press will be called over the next decade to influence the new digital frontier by carving out a place for [Read More...]

Is Religion All in Your Head?

I remember how they wired up the visionaries at Medjugorje while they were experiencing their apparitions. The scientists wanted to study what was going on in their brains as they “saw” the Blessed Virgin. Religious experiences of the mystical kind occur throughout human experience and in most every kind of religion. But what is happening [Read More...]

Believing Because the Pope Tells Us To

  When I was an Anglican I struggled with the dogma of the Immaculate Conception. I understood it and accepted that it might be a pious opinion and didn’t mind if Catholics believed it, but why did they have to go and make it a dogma for all Christians to believe? I picked a fight [Read More...]

Therese Koturbash — A Rejoinder

To the readers of this blog: below please find a comment from Therese Koturbash of womenpriests.org To be perfectly honest, after listening, watching and praying about the question of women’s ordination for about ten years in the Church of England I do not have much appetite to continue the discussion in the Catholic Church. Therefore, [Read More...]

Patheosi Class Picture

A group of Patheos bloggers explained how to blog the faith without losing your soul at this year’s Catholic Media Conference. Sr Rose Pacatte, Deacon Greg Kandra, Frank Weathers, Fr Eric Sidrup SJ, Yrs Truly, Katrina (The Crescat) Fernandez and Kathryn Lopez  

Archbishop Welby in Difficulty

After his visit to Pope Francis, Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby acknowledges that having women bishops will cause difficulties in the search for church unity. John Bingham at the Daily Telegraph reports here. Don’t you just love English understatement? It reminds me of the classic English story of the Scott expedition to the Antarctic. [Read More...]