Is the Organ Really a Sacred Instrument?

Journalist Peter Seewald: Pope Benedict is “one of the most misunderstood personalities of our time” | Paul Senz | The German journalist reflects on his latest book-length interview with Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI.

A Malta Laetitia | Carl E. Olson | The bishops of Malta say divorced and remarried Catholics can receive Communion. Abps. Chaput and Sample say otherwise. Welcome to Pope Francis' messy Church.

“Only a blind man can deny that there is great confusion in the Church.” | CWR Staff | An interview with Carlo Cardinal Caffarra about "Amoris Laetitia", the reasons for the dubia, criticisms of the 4 Cardinals, and "the division among shepherds"

The Maltese disaster | Edward N. Peters | Why I think the Maltese bishops have effectively invited the Catholics entrusted to them to commit a number of objectively gravely evil acts.

Catholics and the Present Confusion | Fr. James V. Schall, S.J. | The divorced and the homosexuals are convinced that the Church has changed its doctrine at least implicitly, if not explicitly.

What is "Pro-Life"? | James Kalb | Why do "seamless garment" Catholics tend toward views like those of the soft secular left, while those who focus on core life issues are more likely to be active in the pro-life movement?

Close papal confidant: "2 + 2 in #Theology can make 5." | Carl E. Olson | Fr. Spadaro's tweet has a decidedly nominalist (or voluntarist) bent to it, for it rests on the apparent belief that God can indeed act contrary to what and who is he is.

Byzantine and Catholic in the Secular Northwest | Jim Graves | An interview with the Very Reverend Fr. Richard Janowicz, pastor of Nativity of the Mother of God Ukrainian Catholic Church in Springfield, Oregon.

Is the Organ Really a Sacred Instrument? | Joseph P. Swain | Those of us who believe the organ is a sacred instrument have to take the question--“is the organ really a sacred instrument?”--and make it real, a spiritual matter for pastors and parish councils.

The Bomb That Never Detonated | Fr. James V. Schall, S.J. | On the 1970s, Paul Ehrlich, overpopulation, and why poverty is mostly caused by bad ideas and lack of virtue, not lack of resources.

"Silence" and Apostasy | Dr. Jared Ortiz | Two elements deserve more attention if we are to understand what Endo is doing in his novel: the times when God does speak and what life is like post-apostasy.

Judas and St. Peter in Scorsese’s “Silence” | Dr. Thomas P. Harmon | The novel and the film adaptation do not valorize apostasy, but shed light on the reality that every Christian is asked, “Are you not also one of his disciples?”

Jihad: Searching for a Motive | William Kilpatrick | Some Catholic leaders insist that terrorist attacks are motivated by money, selfishness, and oppression, but not by religion. Jihadists, however, disagree.