The Moynihan Letters

Pope Francis greets members of the International Theological Commission (Vatican Media)     "One of the great sins we have had is to 'masculinize' the Church." —Pope Francis, today, speaking to the International Theological Commission in Vatican City (full text below)         Letter #171, 2023, Thursday, November 30: Theology         Although his health is not yet the [...]

    The Defender (link) is a newsletter published by Children's Health Defense (link), an organization founded and headed by Robert Kennedy, Jr., 69, (link), the son of the late Senator Robert Kennedy (link), assassinated on June 6, 1968, at the age of 42, and the nephew of President John F. Kennedy (link), assassinated on November 22, [...]

    The text I send out today might be considered by some as "controversial," even theologically dangerous...      Because it seems (seems!) to cast doubt on a central pillar of the Catholic faith and practice: the papacy, the Holy See — that divinely instituted, spiritually protected office held by each Pope since Peter... the central authority [...]

    Retired Argentine Archbishop of La Plata, Hector Ruben Aguer. Below is a new essay Aguer has written about what he sees as the attitude of his fellow Argentine, Pope Francis, regarding, and canceling, priests...     Letter #168, 2023, Wednesday, November 29: Aguer     And now (rather late in Rome -- middle of the night) a piece that [...]

    For those of you interested in the Mass, here is a useful reflection on the antiquity of the "old Mass," in use throughout the Catholic Church up until it was replaced by the "Novus Ordo Mass" of St. Paul VI, promulgated in 1969, with the revised Roman Missal appearing in 1970.     This author, Michael Charlier, [...]

    "We are in the presence of a style of government that does not trust, and does not rely on, filters and institutional mechanisms." —Prof. Massimo Faggioli, on the present style of the government of Pope Francis     "My thesis on this pontificate is that it represents a phase of very strong acceleration towards the globalization of [...]

    "We are in the presence of a style of government that does not trust, and does not rely on, filters and institutional mechanisms." —Prof. Massimo Faggioli, on the present style of the government of Pope Francis     "My thesis on this pontificate is that it represents a phase of very strong acceleration towards the globalization of [...]

    “The glory of God is man alive, but the life of man is the vision of God.” —St Irenaeus of Lyons, c. 180 A.D.     Letter #164, 2023: Giving Tuesday, November 28     Dear friend,     Greetings!     For more than 30 years I have been publishing Inside the Vatican magazine — the "Zero Issue" was in April 1993, [...]