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New: "Sons of Saint Patrick: A History of the Archbishops of New York, from Dagger John to Timmytown" by George Marlin & Brad Miner

Now available from Ignatius Press:

Sons of Saint Patrick: A History of the Archbishops of New York, from Dagger John to Timmytown

by George Marlin & Brad Miner

Sons of Saint Patrick tells the story of America's premiere Catholic see, the archdiocese of New York—from the coming of French Jesuit priests in the seventeenth century to the early years of Cardinal Timothy Dolan. It includes many intriguing facets of the history of Catholicism in New York, including:

• the early persecution of and legal discrimination against Catholics
• the waves of catholic immigrants, most notably from Ireland
• the Church's rise to power under New York's first archbishop, "Dagger" John Hughes
• the emerging awareness in the Vatican of New York's preeminence
• the clashes between America and Rome over the "Americanist" heresy
• the role New York's archbishops have played in the life of America's greatest city—and in the world

The book focuses on the ten archbishops of New York and shows how they became the indispensable partners of governors and presidents, especially during the war-torn twentieth century.  Also discussed are the struggles of the most recent archbishops in the face of demographic changes, financial crises, and clerical sex-abuse cases.

Sons of Saint Patrick is an objective but colorful portrait of ten extraordinary men—men who were saints and sinners, politicians and pastors, and movers and shakers who as much as any other citizens have made New York one of the greatest cities in the world. All ten archbishops have been Irish, either by birth or heritage, but given New York's changing ethnic profile, Cardinal Timothy Dolan may be the last son of Saint Patrick to serve as its archbishop.

George J. Marlin is Chairman of Aid to the Church in Need U.S.A., an agency under the guidance of the pope. A former Executive Director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, he is a contributing editor to the Catholic Thing, an online publication. Marlin is the author or editor of twelve books including The American Catholic Voter: Two Hundred Years of Political Impact and Fighting the Good Fight: A History of the New York Conservative Party. His more than 450 articles have appeared in over two dozen periodicals including the New York Times, the New York Post, the New York Daily News, the Washington Times and National Review. His most recent book is Christian Persecutions in the Middle East: A 21st Century Tragedy.

Brad Miner is Senior Fellow of the Faith & Reason Institute in Washington, D.C., and Senior Editor of the Catholic Thing. He is the author of six books, including The Concise Conservative Encyclopedia and The Compleat Gentleman: The Modern Man's Guide to Chivalry. Mr. Miner is the author of scores of magazine and newspaper articles that have been published in Publishers Weekly, National Review, the Wall Street Journal, Crisis, Newsmax, the University Bookman, and First Things, among others. A number of his recent essays appear in The Catholic Thing: Five Years of a Singular Website, an anthology published in 2013.

"Deeply researched, readable, and engrossing, Sons of Saint Patrick is a towering work of scholarship and an invaluable contribution to the entwined histories of New York City and the Catholic Church. Drawing on unsealed documents and their vast knowledge of local politics and organized religion, authors George J. Marlin and Brad Miner show how the archbishops of Gotham have functioned as 'the leader of the world, or at least of a world', fusing the Lord's work with the often thankless business of combating anti-Catholic sentiment, declining church attendance, and shrinking budgets. Required reading for anyone who cares about the greatest city on earth and the civilizing role played by leading Catholics in its march toward modernity."
— James Rosen, Chief Washington Correspondent for Fox News, and Editor of A Torch Kept Lit: Great Lives of the Twentieth Century by William F. Buckley, Jr.

"Sons of Saint Patrick is a work well researched, informative, and insightful, dotted throughout with welcome anecdotes, as it paints a history of New York's Catholic growth through its ten often-colorful archbishops. I enjoyed the read!"
 — Cardinal Edwin F. O'Brien, Grand Master, Order of the Holy Sepulchre

"The Archdiocese of New York has been, and arguably still is, the most influential Catholic institution in the United States. The archbishops of New York are the reason this is so. George Marlin and Brad Miner draw vivid verbal portraits of these ten men who accomplished much for both Church and State."
 — Father Gerald E. Murray, Pastor, Holy Family Church, New York and a member of EWTN's "Papal Posse"

"Sons of Saint Patrick is bursting with religious and social history, administrative detail, and hardball politics. Marlin and Miner show ten very different men—all sons of Erin—leading their flocks, loving their country, and serving and defending their church."
— Richard Brookhiser, Author, Alexander Hamilton: American and Founders' Son: A Life of Abraham Lincoln

Peter, Trump, and Francis

Peter, Trump, and Francis | Carl E. Olson | CWR

No pope and no body of bishops—or laity, for that matter—have the authority to change, revise, reverse, alter, or fundamentally rework what has been gifted to the Mystical Body of Christ in Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture.

Last summer, while visiting family in Montana, I had a conversation with my brother-in-law—an Evangelical Protestant—about the papacy in general and the pontificate of Francis specifically. Chris's questions were very thoughtful and not contentious in any way; he was genuinely interested in what Catholics believe about the pope. So, for instance, he asked a common and understandable question: "Is the pope able to change doctrine or belief?" The question, he added, was inspired in part because he had read Francis was trying to change Church teaching in some ways; it was both confusing and fascinating to someone who had a master's degree from an Evangelical seminary and also had a certain level of interest in things Catholic.

My response was threefold. First, I said, it's essential to understand the Church teaches that Jesus Christ gave the apostles what is called "the deposit of faith"—consisting of Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture—and that the apostles, in turn, entrusted this depositum fidei "to the whole of the Church" (CCC 84ff; cf Dei Verbum 10). This body of belief and doctrinal truth cannot be changed or altered, but can be—must be!—defended, defined, explained, explicated, and otherwise conveyed. However, the "task of authentically interpreting the word of God, whether written or handed on, has been entrusted exclusively to the living teaching office of the Church..." (DV 10)

Secondly, I told Chris, the pope holds a unique place in the Magisterium, or teaching office, of the Church. So, for instance, the "task of interpretation [of the deposit of faith] has been entrusted to the bishops in communion with the successor of Peter, the Bishop of Rome"; the Petrine office, in other words, always has a central and essential role in "unpacking" this deposit of faith.

Third, it's vital to understand that no pope and no body of bishops—or laity, for that matter—have the authority to change, revise, reverse, alter, or fundamentally rework what has been gifted to the Mystical Body of Christ in Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture. This is why the Second Vatican Council stated, "This teaching office is not above the word of God, but serves it, teaching only what has been handed on, listening to it devoutly, guarding it scrupulously and explaining it faithfully in accord with a divine commission and with the help of the Holy Spirit, it draws from this one deposit of faith everything which it presents for belief as divinely revealed" (DV 10; cf CCC 86)

I then said (perhaps not as well or as clearly as I hoped) that the authority of the pope is both tremendous and remarkably limited. It's not just that the pope cannot change anything in divine revelation, but that his office is one largely defined by negative powers. That is, the pope rarely puts forth "new" ideas or interpretations, but far more often exercises his authority by saying, "No, that is false" or "No, that is heretical" or "No, that is unbalanced". And when he does define some particular point, it is almost always in order to save it from a false, mishapen, or lacking interpretation. Thus:

But when either the Roman Pontiff or the Body of Bishops together with him defines a judgment, they pronounce it in accordance with Revelation itself, which all are obliged to abide by and be in conformity with, that is, the Revelation which as written or orally handed down is transmitted in its entirety through the legitimate succession of bishops and especially in care of the Roman Pontiff himself, and which under the guiding light of the Spirit of truth is religiously preserved and faithfully expounded in the Church. The Roman Pontiff and the bishops, in view of their office and the importance of the matter, by fitting means diligently strive to inquire properly into that revelation and to give apt expression to its contents; but a new public revelation they do not accept as pertaining to the divine deposit of faith. (Lumen Gentium, 25; emphasis added)

All of that is an introduction of sorts to some excerpts from a few recent articles about Pope Francis and what he is doing—or seems to be doing.

Continue reading on the CWR site.

First novel in series of post –WWII murder mysteries debuts detective priest “Father Gabriel”

San Francisco, February 15, 2017 – Catholic author Fiorella de Maria is a masterful story-teller, often weaving in history – and its impact on current events – into her novels. An exciting new series of books follows this path, beginning with The Sleeping Witness: A Father Gabriel Mystery. The story opens when the tranquility of Saint Mary’s Abbey is shattered by the discovery of a gruesome crime in a cottage on the abbey grounds. A foreign artist and war hero seeking refuge from the world has been murdered. Marie Paige, the frail, sickly wife of the village doctor, lies beside him beaten into a coma.
 
The police arrest Marie’s husband, convinced that they are looking at a crime of passion. But Dr. Paige finds himself with an unlikely champion: Fr. Gabriel, a blundering but brilliant Benedictine priest who believes in his innocence and feels compelled to search for the truth.
 
In a country struggling to come to terms with the devastation of the Second World War, even a secluded English village has its share of secrets and broken lives. It is not long before Fr. Gabriel and his companions find themselves embarking on a dangerous journey into the victims’ troubled war histories and a chapter of Europe’s bloodiest conflict that is almost too terrible to be acknowledged.
 
Publishers Weekly claims, “Catholic writer De Maria deserves a wide audience.”
 
Lucy Beckett, author of A Postcard from the Volcano, says, “This exciting murder mystery set in a peaceful English village has a satisfyingly tangled story, and its uncannily perceptive detective, an aging Benedictine monk, is always one step ahead of the police.”
 
“This marvelous mystery is not a formulaic reworking of an established genre but a wonderful work of detective fiction in its own right. I hope that this lovable Benedictine detective might have many more mysteries to solve in the future. More of the same please!” says Joseph Pearce, author of Literary Converts.
 
Michael Richard, author of Tobit’s Dog, says, “De Maria’s clear and confident writing produces a ‘can’t put it down’ effect. This story will stay with you for a long time.”

Author Fiorella de Maria explains her inspiration for this book and series, “The Fr. Gabriel Mysteries are set in rural England at a time of uncertainty and austerity, as a nation struggles to rebuild following the carnage of the Second World War. For those whose lives are shattered by wars, the conflict never truly ends. The sense of loss, of dislocation, may be felt for many years. The characters Fr. Gabriel meets and the crimes they commit, are all shaped by recent events and the key to the mysteries are almost all to be found in the past.”
 
About the Author:
Fiorella de Maria was born in Italy of Maltese parents. She grew up in Wiltshire, England, and attended Cambridge, receiving a BA in English Literature and a Masters in Renaissance Literature. She lives in Surrey with her husband and four children.  A winner of the National Book Prize of Malta, she has published three other novels with Ignatius Press: Poor Banished Children, Do No Harm and We’ll Never Tell Them.
 
Fiorella de Maria, the author of The Sleeping Witness, is available for interviews. To request a review copy or an interview with Fiorella de Maria, please contact: Rose Trabbic, Publicist, Ignatius Press at (239) 867-4180 or [email protected]

On dogma, "Amoris Laetitia", immigration, bishops, and much more

Another edition of "Carl's Cuts", featuring the sporadic and always scattered observations, bloviations, opinions, and non-magisterial musings of the Editor of CWR

• So much to discuss, and I won't come close to getting to it all. But, first, I suggest we observe a moment of respect for Dogma, which is so often treated shabbily and disdainfully, especially by cowards, fools, and sycophants:

From the age of fifteen, dogma has been the fundamental principle of my religion: I know no other religion; I cannot enter into the idea of any other sort of religion; religion, as a mere sentiment, is to me a dream and a mockery. As well can there be filial love without the fact of a father, as devotion without the fact of a Supreme Being. What I held in 1816, I held in 1833, and I hold in 1864. Please God, I shall hold it to the end. ...

Secondly, I was confident in the truth of a certain definite religious teaching, based upon this foundation of dogma; viz. that there was a visible Church, with sacraments and rites which are the channels of invisible grace. I thought that this was the doctrine of Scripture, of the early Church, and of the Anglican Church. Here again, I have not changed in opinion; I am as certain now on this point as I was in 1833, and have never ceased to be certain.

That from Apologia Pro Vita Sua by Blessed John Henry Newman, who was not a coward or a fool, or anything resembling a sycophant.

• Back on January 8th, on the Epiphany of the Lord, the Chicago Sun-Times reported that Cardinal Blase J. Cupich of Chicago was "presiding over the opening mass for National Migration Week at Holy Name Cathedral. People from more than 40 countries participated in the service, many dressed in their native garb. The service was meant to answer Pope Francis’ call 'for a culture of encounter with all immigrants and refugees.'" This stood out:

In his homily, Cupich compared the strife of present-day migrants to the magi who sought Jesus Christ after his birth. Cupich said “there is great joy that the church experiences day after day as it works with migrants and immigrants,” helping them find jobs or places to live.

The comparison is curious. The magi from the East were not migrants; they were not fleeing their country; they were not looking for a place to live; they did not require assistance in finding a permanent residence. And, having visited the Christ Child and the Holy Family, we read, they were "warned in a dream not to return to Herod, [and] they departed to their own country by another way" (Matt 2:12). This is not to express some partisan point about immigrants and refugees, but to note the misuse of Scripture for political ends by certain Church leaders. Cardinal Cupich refers to "following the light of diversity", as if the magi's decision to follow the star can be crammed into a discussion about immigration policy that appears to have only two sides: the enlightened, loving side that welcomes everyone regardless, and the bigoted, fearful side (equated somehow with Herod's fears) that seeks to shut down borders altogether. (Here is the full homily; more on the Cardinal in Chicago below.)

• Following the Trump administration's executive order on immigration—which inspired the New York Times to deem President Trump a Christian theocrat and the U.S. bishops to question if he possessed any Christian virtues—Archbishop José H. Gomez of Los Angeles wrote an essay for CNA that had a little bit of everything in it.

Continue reading at www.CatholicWorldReport.com.

New: "The Sleeping Witness: A Father Gabriel Mystery" by Fiorella De Maria

Now available from Ignatius Press:

The Sleeping Witness: A Father Gabriel Mystery

by Fiorella De Maria

In this unusual murder mystery, the tranquility of Saint Mary's Abbey is shattered by the discovery of a gruesome crime in a cottage on the abbey grounds. A foreign artist and war hero seeking refuge from the world has been murdered. Marie Paige, the frail, sickly wife of the village doctor, lies beside him beaten into a coma.

The police arrest Marie's husband, convinced that they are looking at a crime of passion. But Dr. Paige finds himself with an unlikely champion: Fr. Gabriel, a blundering but brilliant Benedictine priest who believes in his innocence and feels compelled to search for the truth.

In a country struggling to come to terms with the devastation of the Second World War, even a secluded English village has its share of secrets and broken lives. It is not long before Fr. Gabriel and his companions find themselves embarking on a dangerous journey into the victims' troubled war histories and a chapter of Europe's bloodiest conflict that is almost too terrible to be acknowledged.

Fiorella De Maria was born in Italy of Maltese parents. She grew up in Wiltshire, England, and attended Cambridge, receiving a BA in English Literature and a Masters in Renaissance Literature. She lives in Surrey with her husband and four children.  A winner of the National Book Prize of Malta, she has published three other novels with Ignatius Press: Poor Banished Children, Do No Harm and We'll Never Tell Them.

"Catholic writer De Maria deserves a wide audience."
— Publishers Weekly

"This exciting murder mystery set in a peaceful English village has a satisfyingly tangled story, and its uncannily perceptive detective, an aging Benedictine monk, is always one step ahead of the police."
— Lucy Beckett, Author,  A Postcard from the Volcano

"This marvelous mystery is not a formulaic reworking of an established genre but a wonderful work of detective fiction in its own right. I hope that this lovable Benedictine detective might have many more mysteries to solve in the future. More of the same please!"
— Joseph Pearce, Author, Literary Converts

"De Maria's clear and confident writing produces a 'can’t put it down' effect. This story will stay with you for a long time."
— Michael Richard, Author, Tobit’' Dog

New: "Saint Mary Magdalene: Prophetess of Eucharistic Love" by Fr. Sean Davidson

Now available from Ignatius Press:

Saint Mary Magdalene Prophetess of Eucharistic Love

by Fr. Sean Davidson

Adoration is love, and eucharistic adoration is love of Christ present in the Blessed Sacrament. In the Gospels there are few people who understand love for Jesus as well as Mary Magdalene, which is the reason she is a prophetess of eucharistic love.

This work is an extended meditation on the life of Saint Mary Magdalene, known as the "Apostle to the Apostles" because the Risen Christ appeared to her first and then sent her to announce the Resurrection to the apostles. Based on the biblical texts traditionally associated with Mary Magdalene, this book helps readers to learn from her inspiring example and to enter more deeply into adoration of Jesus Christ truly present in the Blessed Sacrament.

In telling the story of Mary Magdalene's profound conversion after the Lord had to expel seven demons from her soul, this book shows how she is a shining witness to the transforming power of an encounter with Jesus Christ. Mary Magdalene is the perfect model for those who have experienced the redeeming love of Christ and who seek to deepen their devotion to him and to the Eucharist.

Father Sean Davidson is a member of the Missionaries of the Most Holy Eucharist.  He spent two years serving at the magnificent Basilica of Saint Mar y Magdalene in Provence, France, where he received the inspiration for this work. He is currently serving at the Eucharistic Retreat Center in the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception, Long Island.

"Saint Mary Magdalene reminds us of the need to recover the primacy of God and the primacy of adoration in the life of the Church and in the liturgical celebration."
— Cardinal Robert Sarah, Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship, Author, God or Nothing: A Conversation on Faith

"Saint Mary Magdalene has finally been given her deserved praise and understanding. Her amazing story of renewed life, restored love and relentless devotion to Christ as Savior is deeply inspiring!"
— Mother Dolores Hart, O.S.B., Author, The Ear of the Heart: An Actress’ Journey from Hollywood to Holy Vows

"This bracing immersion into the life, heart and soul of one of the most misunderstood and misrepresented of saints, is rooted in Scripture, history, and deep contemplation. It calls us to emulate Magdalene's 'holy recklessness' and her radical adoration of Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament."
— Carl Olson, Author, Did Jesus Really Rise from the Dead?

"Those longing to sit quietly 'at his feet' in times of eucharistic adoration will find Saint Mary Magdalene already there, with her tears, her ointment, her devoted love  and her deep attentiveness to his hidden presence. This thoughtful exploration of Magdalene's life and her gifts of contrition, gratitude and adoration will inspire all who long to dwell quietly in his presence in the company of the saints."
— Dan Guernsey, Author, Adoration: Eucharistic Texts and Prayers throughout Church History

"Drawing from Scripture and scholarship, Father Davidson paints a soul-stirring portrait of the 'Apostle to the Apostles' that speaks directly to the heart of the reader. Filled with remarkable insights, this is a highly engaging and deeply moving look at how the encounter with Christ can truly change your life."
— Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers, Author, Behold the Man: A Catholic Vision of Male Spirituality

"The life of Saint Magdalene bears witness to the infinite mercy of Christ, and our world stands in great need of an outpouring of divine mercy today. This work goes to the heart of the identity of this holy woman who was above all an ardent adorer in spirit and in truth. May her example enkindle a new fire of love for Christ in our hearts."
— Father Florian Racine, Rector of the Basilica of Saint Mary Magdalene, France, Author, Could You Not Watch with Me One Hour?

"The New Pagans and the Church" by Joseph Ratzinger (1958)

"The New Pagans and the Church" | A 1958 Lecture by Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI). Translated by Fr. Kenneth Baker, S.J.

According to religious statistics, old Europe is still a part of the earth that is almost completely Christian. But there is hardly another case in which everyone knows as well as they do here that the statistic is false: This so-called Christian Europe for almost four hundred years has become the birthplace of a new paganism, which is growing steadily in the heart of the Church, and threatens to undermine her from within. The outward shape of the modern Church is determined essentially by the fact that, in a totally new way, she has become the Church of pagans, and is constantly becoming even more so. She is no longer, as she once was, a Church composed of pagans who have become Christians, but a Church of pagans, who still call themselves Christians, but actually have become pagans. Paganism resides today in the Church herself, and precisely that is the characteristic of the Church of our day, and that of the new paganism, so that it is a matter of a paganism in the Church, and of a Church in whose heart paganism is living.

Therefore, in this connection, one should not speak about the paganism, which in eastern atheism has already become a strong enemy against the Church, and as a new anti-christian power opposes the community of believers. Yet, when concerning this movement, one should not forget that it has its peculiarity in the fact that it is a new paganism, and therefore, a paganism that was born in the Church, and has borrowed from her the essential elements that definitely determine its outward form and its power. One should speak rather about the much more characteristic phenomenon of our time, which determines the real attack against the Christian, from the paganism within the Church herself, from the “desolating sacrilege set up where it ought not to be” (Mk 13:14).

The fact that today, even given an optimistic evaluation, certainly more than half of the Catholics (here we are considering only our Church) no longer “practice” their faith, should not be explained clearly in the sense that this large number of non-practicing Catholics should simply be called pagans. It is still evident that they no longer simply embrace the faith of the Church, but that they make a very subjective choice from the creed of the Church in order to shape their own world view. And there can be no doubt that most of them, from the Christian point of view, should really no longer be called believers, but that they follow, more or less, a secular philosophy. They do indeed affirm the moral responsibility of man, but it is based on, and limited by, purely rational considerations. The ethics of N. Hartmanns, K. Jaspers, and M. Heidegger, for example, defend the more or less known convictions of many morally upright men, but they are in no sense Christians. The well-known little book published by the List-Verlag (a German publishing house—Editor’s note) entitled, What Do You Think About Christianity? can open the eyes of anyone, who has allowed himself to be deceived by the Christian façade of our contemporary public image, to the realization of how far and wide such purely rational and irreligious morality has spread. Therefore, the modern man today, when he meets someone else anywhere, can assume with some certainty that he has a baptismal certificate, but not that he has a Christian frame of mind. Therefore, he must presume as the normal state of affairs the lack of faith of his neighbor. This fact has two important consequences: On the one hand, it includes a fundamental change in the structure of the Church; and, on the other hand, it has produced an essential change of consciousness on the side of the still-believing Christians. These two phenomena will be clarified in greater detail in this lecture.

When the Church had her beginning, it rested on the spiritual decision of the individual person to believe, on the act of conversion.

Continue reading at HPRweb.com.