The Moynihan Letters

    Here is the new cover of our Special Issue, "Mary: Behold Your Mother," now at the press. This issue, at 100 pages, in one of the largest we have ever printed during our 30 years. We focus on the gaze between Mary and the Child Jesus because of its intimacy. When a mother embraces her [...]

    "It was thought that, after the Council, sunny days would come for the history of the Church. Nevertheless, what came were days of clouds, of storms, of darkness, of searching, of uncertainty.” —St. Pope Paul VI, on June 29, 1972, speaking about the disappointed hopes of many Catholics in the years following the Second Vatican [...]

Madonna and Child (also called Madonna of the Book, because there is a book in the lower left of the complete painting, link), by Sandro Botticelli, 1483 The Story of Mary      A blessed Advent to all, and best wishes to all family members, that this season will be filled with hope and [...]

    Above, the late Marie Czernin with Pope St. John Paul II on March 29, 2002. She had written a meditation for the 14th Station of the Via Crucis in the Colosseum that year, the stations recalling the death of Christ on the Cross. And John Paul II greeted her     Thirty days have now passed since [...]

    Above, Marie Czernin with Pope St. John Paul II on March 29, 2002. She had written a meditation for the 14th Station of the Via Crucis in the Colosseum that year, the stations recalling the death of Christ on the Cross. And John Paul II greeted her     Two days ago, on October 28, in Vienna, [...]

Budapest's Chain Bridge and St. Stephen's Basilica     Letter #114, 2022, Tuesday, October 11: Budapest         I am writing from Budapest, Hungary, where I have spent several days, and had several long and fruitful meetings which have given me much hope.     ***     In the Sermon on the Mount, which many commentators see as an outline [...]

    Today I am sending out a brief but heartfelt and important statement written by Cardinal Francis Arinze on a recent decision of the Flemish bishops regarding a special blessing for same-sex couples which the cardinal wishes to reach the general public.     Arinze's brief statement concerns the report that the Flemish bishops' conference, defying a prior [...]

    Today, again on Marco Tosatti’s website Stilum Curae, Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò published a meditation on the Seven Dolors of the Blessed Virgin Mary, commemorated by a feast day today in the Church. (link)     It is a brief reflection on some of the “dolors” (sorrows) that the Church is now experiencing, as the Archbishop relates them to [...]