Issue: March 2000
Pastoral Letter on "Presbyterorum Ordinis"
If there is a keynote, one predominant idea which characterizes the conciliar decree on priests, it is that of the link between the priest and our Lord...
Life, Liturgy, and the Pursuit of Happiness
Yes, Christmas has been commercialized, secularized, and paganized, but that is not the whole of our problem; it is only one manifestation of our problem. Christmas, like the Mass itself, is part of a greater whole. It is only one aspect of the Liturgy. Our problem lies in the fact that we have ceased to live the liturgical lives of our ancestors... The restoration of Christendom will not happen apart from the restoration of the Liturgy.
Calvin Revisited
The influence of John Calvin (1509-1564) has been immense, perhaps even more so than that of Luther. Certainly, without the bellowing revolutionary Luther, Calvin would not have been able to do anything; yet without Calvin, the revolt would not have had the political impact that it did in France and especially the United States.
Questions & Answers
Fr. Peter R. Scott answers the question: How should Catholics view dancing?
Pope Pius XII and the Jews
Yves Chiron, himself an historian, takes John Cornwell, author of Hitler's Pope: The Secret History of Pius XII, to task for failure to consult substantial archives available for consultation that would have disproved his allegations against Pius XII.
Debunking Cornwell
Fr. Peter Gumpel, S.J., postulator of the cause for beatification of Pius XII, debunks point by point the baseless accusations of the bigoted historian John Cornwell.
Divine Impatience: The Gifts of the Holy Ghost
How does the very reality of the gifts reveal a certain Divine "impatience" with man? Whereas the virtues, whether acquired or infused, exist as habits which enable our own rational intentions to bear fruit in naturally good or supernaturally meritorious acts, the gifts of the Holy Ghost are dispositions which leave us "open" to movements of our soul which the Holy Ghost Himself initiates.
Letter from India
A fascinating look at the ins and outs of the custom of arranged marriages in India, with insightful commentary and considerations by a Society priest posted there.
"Brain Death" Is False
Dr. Paul Byrne and Fr. George Rinkowski explain how "brain death" is a misnomer and certainly no synonym for death. Extensively researched and footnoted.
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