Read & Reflect

Vatican: Rupnik acquittal rumors ‘absolutely unfounded’

The Vatican said Wednesday that the canonical trial of Fr. Marko Rupnik is still in process, after rumors emerged this week that the disgraced former Jesuit had been acquitted.Fr. Marko Ivan Rupnik. Centroaletti via Wikimedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).Two online publications reported on Monday that Rupnik had...

Spiritual calisthenics and staying where you are

Remember the Shake Weight? Remember the Abdominizer? Remember the Ab Roller, ThighMaster, Bowflex Xtreme?Once we believed all we had to do was buy this stuff, set it up, and inevitably proceed to become ripped, buff, jacked, swole, or achieve buns of steel, possibly for only five easy payments of $1...

Trial of former Broome bishop begins

The criminal trial of 76-year-old Australian Bishop Christopher Saunders on historic sexual abuse charges began this week, with the bishop facing the prospect of lengthy incarceration if convicted.Bishop Christopher Saunders. Pillar file photo.Saunders, who served as Bishop of Broome, Western Austra...

Munich priests to Marx: Blessing guidance creates loyalty conflict

Twenty-six priests in Germany’s Archdiocese of Munich and Freising have reportedly written to Cardinal Reinhard Marx, saying that his request that they follow national guidelines on blessings has presented them with a loyalty conflict, because the Vatican has criticized the guidance.Cardinal Reinhar...

DOJ files to revoke citizenship of Capuchin priest convicted of abusing minors

The U.S. Department of Justice has filed to revoke the citizenship of a Capuchin priest from Mexico who was convicted of sexually abusing minors while working in a parish in Washington, D.C.If the federal government’s case against 53-year-old Fr. Urbano Vazquez Ortega succeeds, he will likely be dep...

The seven sleepers, and good ole' Qitmir

Hey everybody,Ed Condon’s on vacation, so I’m afraid you’ve got me for the Friday Pillar Post.And so that you know, next week will be a tricky one for us. Ed continues some time away with his family, Michelle will be away with hers, and I’ll be at Cub Scout camp for just a couple days with my younge...

How free is the pope to choose German bishops?

Archbishop Hubertus van Megen formally took up the role of apostolic nuncio in Germany Thursday, when he presented his credentials to President Frank-Walter Steinmeier in Berlin.German bishops await the opening Mass of the bishops’ conference’s spring plenary assembly on Feb. 23, 2026, at Würzburg C...

Anger

[Daily Rosary Meditations] Fully Alive

Mystical Love in the Middle Ages

As we have seen throughout this series, love that is not objective but is based on feelings, oftentimes irrational and lost in passion, is called Eros by the Greeks. This ascending love, per Pope Benedict’s terminology, still contains a spiritual component, one that has led many thinkers, both pagan...

The Prophetic Voice of St. Elijah: A Call to Contemplation in a Troubled World

As the Carmelites celebrate St. Elijah shortly after the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, his figure emerges not merely as a biblical memory but as a prophetic presence for our own troubled age. Elijah’s name—El Javeh, “The Lord is God”—is itself a confession of faith, spoken against every form of...