By now I should be entering on the supreme stage Of the whole walk, reserved for the late afternoon. The heat was to be over now; the anxious mountains, The airless valleys and the sun-baked rocks, behind me. Now, or soon now, if all is well, come the majestic Rivers of foamless charity that glide beneath Forests of contemplation. In the grassy clearings Humility with liquid eyes and damp, cool nose Should come, half-tame, to eat bread from my hermit hand. If storms arose, then in my tower of fortitude– It ought to have been in sight by this—I would take refuge; But I expected rather a pale ma ..read more

In a 32-28 vote, Arizona legislators passed an “abortion ban repeal” bill designed to overturn an 1864 pro-life law. Republicans have a narrow majority in the Arizona House, but the bill passed because three Republicans joined the Democrats against the pro-life measure. The repeal will now be considered by the Arizona Senate where Republicans also hold a narrow majority. Democrat Gov. Katie Hobbs has indicated she will sign the bill into law if the Senate passes it.     The post Arizona House votes to repeal law protecting life from moment of conception appeared first ..read more

Supreme Court justices appeared skeptical Wednesday that state abortion bans enacted after the overturning of Roe v. Wade violate federal healthcare law, though some also questioned the effects on emergency care for pregnant women. The Idaho case under review marks the first time the Supreme Court has considered the implications of a state ban since Dobbs.     The post Supreme Court ‘skeptical’ state abortion bans conflict with federal healthcare law appeared first on The Catholic Thing ..read more

In the spring, rumors began circulating that Chartreuse, the much-ballyhooed French herbal liqueur, had suddenly become hard to find. Countless fans took to social media to decry the shortage, question if others had any leads on bottles, posit conspiracies, or cheer when they found a bottle. The monks themselves are silent on the shortage – apparently concerned about producing too much of the green elixir, lest they contribute to the “alcoholization of the world,”     The post How cloistered, silent Carthusians made a big noise with a Chartreuse shortage appeared first on The Catholi ..read more

The “Fr. Justin” interactive Artificial Intelligence app was launched this week by Catholic Answers. The app is focused on apologetics and evangelization and is designed to answer questions about the Catholic faith using material from the Catholic Answers library of articles, talks, and apologetics materials. However, controversy over the virtual priest quickly led to Justin’s laicization.     The post ‘Fr. Justin,’ AI priest, ‘defrocked’ appeared first on The Catholic Thing ..read more

Whenever people think about Rome (say, after reading the New Testament, or Shakespeare, or scrolling through TikTok), they tend to focus on Rome’s transition from a republic to an imperial monarchy. They recall Julius Caesar crossing the Rubicon, declaring himself dictator, and being assassinated by senators hoping to restore the republic, only for his adopted son (Augustus) to take back control, defeat his rivals, dissolve the senate, and establish the empire. Meanwhile, a child was born in Bethlehem. It’s the period after this tumult, popularly known as the Pax Romana, that receives less att ..read more

The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith is putting the finishing touches to a new document that sets out clear rules on discerning apparitions and other such supernatural events. The last time the Vatican’s doctrinal office issued a general document on apparitions was in 1978, during the final months of the pontificate of Pope Paul VI.     The post Cardinal Fernández says new document on discerning apparitions ‘being finalized’ appeared first on The Catholic Thing ..read more

Amid pro-Palestine protests at Columbia University that have led to more than 100 arrests, forced classes online, and left Jewish students and faculty feeling unsafe and unwelcome, the university’s Catholic chaplain, Fr. Roger Landry, says the path forward “must first ensure that such malevolent protests, brimming with antisemitism, be stopped.”     The post Columbia chaplain: ‘Antisemitism must be stopped’ appeared first on The Catholic Thing ..read more

After first endorsing and supporting the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), America’s Catholic Bishops are now opposing the Biden Administration’s Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently published pro-abortion regulations. But these immoral regulations are a direct consequence of the PWFA. They were completely foreseeable, and the bishops ignored many pro-life warnings against supporting the Act. Consequently, regulations will now affect all employers in the U.S. with 15 or more employees and require businesses to facilitate abortion, in vitro pregnancies, and other actions ..read more

She listens, listens, holding her breath. Surely that voice is his – the one who had looked at her, once, across the crowd, as no one ever had looked? Had seen her? Had spoken as if to her? Surely those hands were his, taking the platter of bread from hers just now? Hands he’d laid on the dying and made them well? Surely that face –? The man they’d crucified for sedition and blasphemy. The man whose body disappeared from its tomb. The man it was rumored now some women had seen this morning, alive? Those who had brought this stranger home to their table don’t recognize yet with whom they sit. B ..read more