Catholic Shift 7

The Catholic Church Is Going Back

The actuarial tables have at long last caught up with the Modernist movement that tried and failed to subvert the Church. According to a recent report from AP News, the Catholic Church is going back to the traditions of her illustrious past. Across the U.S., the Catholic Church is undergoing…
Tolkien Long Defeat

Fighting the Long Defeat?

Spend some time scrolling through dissident Twitter, particularly those corners favored by more traditional Catholics, and you'll soon run across references to J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. Both are the subject of myriad BrainyQuotes and, especially in Tolkien's case, movie still memes. There's no denying that the works of these…
Richard Dawkins by Tom Jamieson

New Atheist, Cultural Christian

The man who was perhaps the most notorious purveyor of the New Atheist movement back in the aughts has dropped a bombshell in a recent interview. A famous atheist and evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins explained he identifies as a "cultural Christian" in an interview after learning Ramadan lights were hung…
Christ's Resurrection

The Best-Attested Miracle

Throughout salvation history, a key litmus test of a prophet's authenticity was whether his ministry was divinely attested with the occurrence of supporting miracles. Neither the presence or absence of signs and wonders were considered definitive. But if someone claiming to be God's representative received backup for his claims from…
Christ's Crucifixion

Christ Is King

And the whole multitude of them rising up, led him to Pilate. And they began to accuse him, saying: We have found this man perverting our nation, and forbidding to give tribute to Caesar, and saying that he is Christ the king. And Pilate asked him, saying: Art thou the…
Family Living

Pay a Living Wage: Challenge Impossible!

A reader writes: I read your latest post on usury and Catholic Social Teaching, and ended up in an argument with someone who claimed that it is impossible for every job to pay a Living Wage, and that the Catechism's words must therefore be interpreted as "everyone must have the…
Irish Anti-Family Referendum 1

Irish Anti-Family Referendum Defeated

A referendum that would have replaced the Irish constitution's recognition of the family's basis in marriage with accretions involving other "durable relationships" suffered overwhelming defeat on Saturday. The ballot count shows that the anti-family referendum was rejected by 67.7 percent of Irish voters. The overall Referendum Returning Officer Barry Ryan…
1990s despair

The 1990s: Decade of Despair

"If only Pat Buchanan had beaten Bush for the nomination!" "If only George Lucas had adapted the Zahn  Trilogy instead of making the Special Editions!" "If only Sega had won the fifth console generation!" "If only Clear Channel hadn't taken over top 40 rock radio!" "If only they'd kept it…
SCOTUS

State Steals Catholic Couple’s Son

Pope Francis' comparison of the societal threat posed by gender ideology to the danger of nuclear weapons has proven prophetic again. The Catholic parents of a mentally troubled teenage boy taken by the State of Indiana are appealing to the Supreme Court. In M.C. and J.C. v. Indiana Department of…
Millennials’ Spiritual Affliction

Millennials’ Spiritual Affliction

Last week's testimony from a reader who's experienced strange nocturnal visions drew overwhelming comment. Based on the flood of responses, it appears that Millennials' spiritual affliction may be a real phenomenon that bears more investigation. The following are samples of reports from the comments and from X. I used to…