The Moynihan Letters

    Letter #24, 2023 Thursday, January 19: Top Ten 2022, #8: Fr. Sean Sheehy     Today we publish the 3rd profile of our "Top Ten" people of 2022.     We honor Fr. Sean Sheehy, 80, who in his homilies spoke about sin, and sin's negative consequences for the human person and society in general.     Sheehy urged people to [...]

    Letter #23, 2023 Wednesday, January 18: "No secrets"     I just received a fascinating letter, which I publish below.     I took my distance a bit yesterday (see this link) from the "rumors" in Rome that Pope Francis may soon issue a new decree further restricting the celebration of the old Mass.     Then, I received this letter. [...]

    "I met with the deceased Pope personally more than a few times during his tenure at the Roman See and I attest his deep love for Eastern Christianity and his sincere respect of the Russian Orthodox tradition in particular." —Kirill, Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church, in a letter of condolence written to His Holiness [...]

    "Now we can finally sign the document." —Words that Archbishop Arthur Roche, 72, who heads the Vatican office in charge of the liturgy (succeeding Cardinal Robert Sarah), allegedly uttered when he heard Pope Benedict XVI had passed away at the age of 95 on the last day of 2022, December 31.     "Regarding the rumor of [...]

    "For Tyconius, the city of the devil exists both outside the Church and inside the Church – not only among the pagans but also among impostor Christians." —The author of the piece below, explaining the central idea of the Church Father, Tyconius (he was, like his contemporary St. Augustine, from North Africa; he lived from [...]

    "One sees how the power of the Antichrist is expanding, and can only pray that the Lord give us strong shepherds, who defend his Church in this hour of need from the power of evil." —A controversial sentence on the Antichrist written by Pope Benedict XVI in a private letter to a Slovakian intellectual, Vladimir [...]

    Cardinal George Pell of Sydney, Australia, greets Pope Francis during his audience with cardinals in 2013 at the Vatican. Pell passed away Tuesday night in Rome, unexpectedly, after undergoing surgery for a hip replacement. He was 81. (CNS photo).     Letter #16, 2023 Friday, January 13: Cardinal George Pell's Last Homily     Although he likely did not [...]

    Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, 81. He will turn 82 on January 16. Below, three of his recent texts     "The family... is the place where that order is realized in Charity which is the necessary premise for the social Kingship of Our Lord Jesus Christ." —Archbishop Viganò, in a letter dated January 8 for the Feast [...]