(OPINION) While a petition calling for the firing of Harrison Butker, one of the greatest placekickers in the NFL, has gained more than 100,000 signatures, sales of his jersey are skyrocketing. Why all the controversy?
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Tucked away in the mountain range of the Kenyan Rift Valley, amid flourishing forests overlooking the vibrant little town of Subukia lies a Marian shrine. This special Catholic site dedicated to prayer regularly hosts of thousands of pilgrims from many parts of the world. It is also the source of the legendary water of the Subukia Shrine.
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Sometimes, an important high-level finding warrants some additional reflection. I have several of these rolling around in my head at any given point. The one I wanted to zero in on is from a post that ran over a year ago. Simply put, Catholic Mass attendance is way down. About half of all self-identified Catholics said that they attended Mass nearly every week in 1972. In the most recent data, it’s about half that rate.
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(REVIEW) “Wildcat” is the perfect film for any Christian who loves or is involved in the arts and wishes to see their experiences deftly portrayed in the unique language of film. This movie gives hope that the actual inner lives and beliefs of believers can live up to their potential within this medium and provide at least one model of how to do so.
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For decades, the people of northern New Mexico have marked the Christian observance of Good Friday with a walking pilgrimage to the Santuario de Chimayó in the village of Chimayó, New Mexico. Referring to themselves as Hispanos, or Nuevomexicanos, they have lived in the region for generations.
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(ANALYSIS) There is a “Demos II” epistle from another anonymous cardinal — criticizing Pope Francis and describing seven tasks facing the next pontiff.
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On this week’s “Crossroads” podcast, we focus on a top-secret meeting of Catholic bishops and trans Catholics, their families and some LGBTQ+ activists. You probably didn’t read about this newsy meeting because the mainstream press didn’t cover it (unless I have missed something).
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(ANALYSIS) Remember that time Ireland had a pope? You probably don't. Because it never happened. Despite Ireland's rich monastic and missionary traditions — along with its hard-fought struggle to maintain the Catholic religion — there has never been an Irish pope. Italy, of course, has had hundreds of popes. France has had 15 and the Germans half a dozen.
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A major “parental rights” case in Indiana is big news — only it's being ignored by the mainstream press.
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(ANALYSIS) Think back to a time well before the internet when anyone could own a little bit of property in the suburbs. “God” had just been added to the pledge and father always knew best. Sound perfect? Great, even? This sepia-infused vision of mid-century America informs an entire political movement today.
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Not everyone will be enjoying chocolate this Valentine’s Day. For the first time since 2018, Ash Wednesday and Valentine’s Day fall on the same day. In fact, this rare occurrence is taking place once again in less than a week. It has happened three times in the last century — 1923, 1934 and 1945 — and will happen again in 2029.
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(ANALYSIS) With its lilting pop melody and sweet God talk, “On Eagle's Wings” is the hymn that conservative Catholics love to hate and Catholic progressives often wave like a red flag. President Joe Biden loves it.
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The Grammys, held this year on Feb. 4, are the largest annual awards ceremony held for music. This year, there are no real surprises in the five categories dedicated to Christian and gospel music. Instead, two notable Christian artists with great music have been nominated for some of the top awards of the night.
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(ANALYSIS) Jan. 5 marked 336 years since the death of an extraordinary woman you have probably never heard of: Catarina de San Juan. Her life reads like an epic. Born in South Asia during the early 17th century, she was captured by the Portuguese at age eight and sold to Spaniards in the Philippines.
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In Italy, a country that exudes centuries-old traditions rooted in Christianity, there exists a holiday that captures the imagination of both young and old alike every Jan. 6. The holiday — known as La Befana — is a unique blend of religion and folklore that marks the end of the Christmas season.
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Norwegian writer Jon Fosse was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature on Dec. 10, an honor universally praised as much-deserved for a writer who has been one of Europe’s greatest for quite some time. Fosse, a playwright, novelist and poet, hasn’t always been happy, but he’s been prolific. He’s also a Catholic convert.
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(ANALYSIS) “The Exorcist” is not a film about a successful exorcism, but about what we do in the face of uncertainty and the cynical grinning face of the demon doubt. It is not a film about a priest, but about a human being.
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(ANALYSIS) During Babe Ruth’s heyday, his fame didn’t only help baseball — but religion, too. Anti-Catholic sentiment was prevalent in the United States during Ruth’s era, and his proud demonstrations of his Catholic faith helped ameliorate that prejudice.
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(REVIEW) It’s deeply fitting and gratifying that the Catholic director’s career-long struggle with God would lead to possibly his best and most Christian film to date. Hopefully his work will inspire others to wrestle with God and imagine the world as well as he does.
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(OPINION) Is Ukraine a “just war”? The good news for Russia’s Vladimir Putin: A significant national leader announces that his invasion of Ukraine is a “just fight” that will end with “a great victory in the sacred struggle.” The bad news: The speaker is North Korea’s Kim Jong Un, so what’s “just” is defined by probably the most despised despot on the planet and what’s “sacred” by an atheist who works to exterminate all religion.
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