Dwight Longenecker's Blog, page 64

Why a Pope Is Necessary

For Christianity to be both dogmatic and relevant it must have an infallible interpreter My latest blog post over at National Catholic Register discusses this idea briefly. Here’s the problem: if Christianity teaches unchanging truth how does it adapt to different cultures and different ages? If it does not adapt it ceases to be relevant. [Read More...]

Breaking News: MSM Uses Correct Catholic Terminology

Catch a breath. The Mainstream media has reported here on Pope Francis in Cuba and the reporter has used the correct terminology! The headline actually says that the Pope “celebrated” Mass. Yes. You heard correctly. The reporter used the correct terms. He said the Pope “celebrated” Mass. They did not say that the pope “Did [Read More...]

Woe to Pope Francis. Whoa!

Never forget that verse from the gospel, “Woe to you when all men speak well of you.” For the first two years of his papacy Pope Francis seemed therefore to bringing woe onto himself. Everyone was speaking well of him. This CNN article points out how things are changing. Pope Francis is getting schtick from [Read More...]

Cuba and the USA: Two Anti Catholic Regimes

  My opinion article at the National Catholic Register reflects on the fact that the Pope is visiting a country where, for fifty years the regime has oppressed the Catholic Church. What is often overlooked is that America also has a sad history of anti-Catholics and that the spirit of anti-Catholicism is still strong. Pope [Read More...]

Ten Reasons Why The Pope is Important for Politics

Too many Americans think the separation of church and state means religion should be kept out of public life. Pastors, popes and priests should keep their mouth shut except on Sundays. In their own church. With their own people. If they speak up in the public square they are told to keep quiet and not “jam [Read More...]

Tattoos and Taboos

Are tattoos taboo? If so why? Maybe because they lead to vanity and marring the image of God in which we are created. My essay for Imaginative Conservative this week ponders the issue with reference to Flannery O’Connor’s story Parker’s Back. O.E. Parker is one of Flannery O’Connor’s crazy misfits. A tough dropout who was captivated [Read More...]

Coming to America: What Will Pope Francis Discover?

My latest article for National Catholic Register ponders the sort of Catholic Church Pope Francis will find. I was born and raised in the U.S., but I was never an American Catholic. Brought up in an evangelical-Protestant, fundamentalist home, I went to England after college and became an Anglican priest. Eventually, we were received into [Read More...]

New Catholic Satirical Site Launched

My attention has been drawn to a new satirical website called “Pewsitter” The editors of the site are extremely clever. They have made the site look like a Catholic Drudge Report, and every day they post links to various new sources, blogs and online articles. What is very entertaining about the site is that they headline [Read More...]

Right Wing Left Wing or Catholic?

My article for Aleteia this week disses secular media’s obsession with viewing everything as a right wing-left wing conflict. They loved to portray Pope Benedict as a stern right wing arch conservative neo Nazi. Now they love to portray Pope Francis as a kind, loving and gentle socialist. Both are crazy wrong The simple fact [Read More...]

Can Catholics Support Carly?

Virtually all commentators have declared Carly Fiorina the winner of last night’s debate between Republican candidates. The lady is poised, articulate, passionate and well informed. Her high points were her fiery denunciation of Planned Parenthood in which she called out Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama–daring them to watch the videos published by the Center for [Read More...]