Jesus Astonishing Other Teaching on Marriage by
James Ware
Christian catechesis on marriage has traditionally focused and rightly so on Jesus teaching regarding the origin, nature, purpose, and indissolubility of marriage in his encounter with the Pharisees on the question of divorce and remarriage (Matt. 19:1–12; Mark 10:1–12). The
Catechism of the Catholic Church, for example, in its two treatments of matrimony (one in Part Two, in the discussion of the sacraments, and the other in Part Three, in the discussion of the sixth commandment), quotes or alludes to one or both of these texts no fewer than twenty times. However, another occasion of our Lord s instruction on marriage has not received nearly as much attention: Jesus teaching on matrimony given in his -interaction with the Sadducees on the topic of the resurrection (Matt. 22:23–33; Mark 12:18–27; Luke 20:27–40). The
The Church in Crisis
Reviewed by Eduardo J. Echeverria, The Catholic Thing, December 14, 2020.
Ralph Martin, president of Renewal Ministries, director of graduate theology programs in evangelization and a professor of theology at Sacred Heart Major Seminary, has written an extraordinary book, A Church in Crisis: Pathways Forward. His analysis of this crisis, in a time of confusion and division, is comprehensive in scope, examining its ecclesial, doctrinal, and moral dimensions. The book falls into two main parts: the first gives an in-depth analysis of these dimensions, and the second outlines pathways forward to attain “real and deep renewal in the Church.”
12/16/2020 at 3:16 PM Posted by Kevin Edward White
Most Rev. Salvatore J. Cordileone
December 14, 2020
In a recent article published in First Things Archbishop Charles Chaput, the Archbishop emeritus of Philadelphia, provided valuable clarification on some foundational moral and doctrinal principles that are very much being called into question in our own time, namely, the extremely grave evil of abortion, the consistent teaching of the Catholic Church on worthiness to receive Holy Communion, and the responsibility of Catholics in public life.
I pray that Archbishop Chaput’s timely and thoughtful article will motivate a more candid and honest discussion and resolution of these issues among the Church’s pastors and lay Catholics who are prominent in public life in our country.
Death penalty hits historic low ‘despite federal execution spree’
Demonstrators are seen near the Federal Correctional Complex in Terre Haute, Ind., showing their opposition to the death penalty July 13, 2020. (CNS photo/Bryan Woolston, Reuters)
By Carol Zimmermann • Catholic News Service • Posted December 17, 2020
WASHINGTON (CNS) A new report Dec. 16 by the Death Penalty Information Center said the use of capital punishment reached a historic low this year in the United States even with the return of federal executions by the Trump administration.
Seventeen people were executed in 2020, down from 22 in 2019. This lower figure stems in part from the coronavirus pandemic, but the report also notes that before the pandemic struck, the nation was set for a sixth straight year of lower numbers of death sentences and executions.
He continued: When a believer, moved by the Holy Spirit, prays for sinners, no selection is made, no judgment or condemnation is uttered: they pray for everyone. And they pray for themselves. At that moment they know they are not that different from those for whom they pray: they feel they are a sinner among sinners and they pray for everyone.
The pope highlighted the parable of the Pharisee and the publican, recorded in Luke 18:9-14, in which Jesus contrasts the prayer of a self-satisfied Pharisee with that of a humble tax collector. The lesson of the parable of the Pharisee and the publican is always alive and current: we are not better than anyone, we are all brothers and sisters who bear fragility, suffering and being sinners in common, he said.