“Ensoulment” is the word which describes the point at which the body of the conceptus is said to be informed by a human soul. (The notion of a living being having “no soul” is a philosophical oxymoron, since the soul … Continue reading
Category: Articles
The Principle of Totality
On September 14, 1952, Pope Pius XII gave an address to the First International Congress on the Histopathology of the Nervous System. On that occasion, the Holy Father discussed the Principle of Totality at length and in the contrasting terms … Continue reading
How the Popes and Other Catholic Leaders in the 19th Century Responded to Modernity
The eighteenth-century Enlightenment mounted a severe offensive against the Church, one which combined various malignant cultural and intellectual trends that had gradually come into ascendancy since the Renaissance. “For the most part, the Church did not respond to this attack … Continue reading
The Relationship of Americanism to Modernism
It would be a gross oversimplification to put an equal sign between the words “Americanism” and “Modernism,” as if the former were merely the American embodiment of the latter. However, while we must avoid this facile identification of the two, … Continue reading
What did St. Pius X mean when he called Modernism “the synthesis of all heresies”?
This phrase – “the synthesis of all heresies” – shows up toward the end of the Encyclical Pascendi Dominici Gregis, placed in the context of a rhetorical question.[1] After an apology for taking so long to explore the entire scope … Continue reading
How the Renaissance Papacy contributed to the Reformation
The Catholic historian, A. Dufourcq, called the papacy of 1447 to 1527, la papauté princière, “the papacy of princes.”[1] This trenchant appellation conveys Fr. Maurice Sheehan’s meaning when he says “these popes were more men of culture or rulers than … Continue reading
Apostle of the Infinite: The Life of Saint Vincent Pallotti
Nineteenth century Rome was not the uneventful place one may imagine. Rome of the 1800s saw Mazzini, Garibaldi, and their Masonic cohorts dare to assault the Vicar of Christ and send him into exile. It saw fickle mobs capable of … Continue reading
The Relationship between the Virtues and the Gifts of the Holy Ghost
The gifts of the Holy Ghost resemble the infused virtues in a number of ways. Both are operative habits which have God as their efficient cause and the perfection of man as their final cause. Both reside in the human … Continue reading
Catholics, Non-Catholics, and the Natural Law
Given the general decline in public morals, and given the fact that, as an institution, the major promoter of the natural law is the Catholic Church, some are led to conclude that the natural law is a “Catholic thing,” or … Continue reading
The Three Integral Parts of a Moral Act (and a bit of fun)
The three parts of a moral act: object, intention, and circumstances. I was instructed to explain them in terms of three scenarios. I had a little fun. Here was the assignment: “Albert kills Ernest. Describe three different imaginary situations based … Continue reading
The Magnificat, Hymn of the Incarnation
(The following is a talk he gave at the 2007 Saint Benedict Center Conference.) THE MAGNIFICAT (Luke 1:46-55) Author: Mary, a transcendently beautiful Jewish maiden. Age: Fourteen. Home: Nazareth, in the province of Galilee, Palestine.Year of composition: Nine months before … Continue reading
Review of Harvard to Harvard: Part III
This is the final installment of our review of Abbot Gabriel’s book. The “Regularization.” When Abbot Gabriel told me that there would be things Brother Francis would not agree with in his book, I assumed that these would be matters … Continue reading
Review of Harvard to Harvard: Part II
In the last edition, I mentioned that my review of Abbot Gabriel’s book would cover both its positive and its negative aspects. I also mentioned that, should the parts we view as less favorable get more attention, it is not … Continue reading
Review of Harvard to Harvard: Part I
The Abbot of St. Benedict Abbey in Still River has made an important contribution to the historical literature on Father Feeney and his Crusade. Abbot Gabriel Gibbs, O.S.B., one of the early members of the Slaves of the Immaculate Heart … Continue reading
What’s in That Latin Footnote?
Videtur etiam Ecclesiam catholicam inter illas Communiones comprehendi, quod falsum esset. Don’t get it?
