Blog

In the early 1900s, eugenics is seen as cutting-edge thought in human health and development. It pushes back against Darwin’s noble instinct and uses the coercive power of the State to limit undesirables by the restriction of marriage and even compulsory sterilization. As shocking as it may seem, the United States backs forced sterilization. After all, it is scientific! Indiana in 1907 becomes the first state to force individuals to be sterilized, and more than thirty states follow. The U.S. Sup …

In the Gospels, Jesus appears to make contradictory statements regarding the kingdom of God. The Lord indicates that the “kingdom of God is at hand” (Mark 1:15) but also says “my kingdom is not of this world” (John 18:36). Theologians struggled with reconciling these statements in relation to the Church and developed the understanding that the Church is the “already and the not yet.” The Church is already the kingdom of God because some of its members, the saints, are in communion with God in he …

Born on the Feast of the Annunciation in 1347, Catherine was the twenty-third child of the wool dyer Jacopo Benincasa and his wife Lapa. From a young age, Catherine was devoted to Christ and the Church. She wished to join a group of third-order Dominican women known informally as the Mantellate or “Cloaked Sisters” and formally as the Sisters of Penance of St. Dominic. The group of laywomen wore a white woolen dress with a white veil and black cape and lived in their own homes. Her family d …

The Second Vatican Council was the first ecumenical council in nearly a century and was the most attended ecclesial gathering in Church history. Its business was conducted over four sessions from October 1962 to December 1965; however, the man behind the vision of the council died in the summer of 1963 after the conclusion of the first session and there was serious discussion over whether it should continue. His successor Pope Paul VI (r. 1963-1978) quickly silenced the question concerning the c …

Augustine’s magnum opus not only answered the immediate objections of his contemporaries; it provided (and provides) a foundation of authentic Christian historical perspective. As a young man, Augustine had known well the pagan mentality, as he rejected the Faith and embraced the cults of false gods. Eventually, through the patient prayers of his saintly mother Monica, Augustine converted and found peace. The pagan scapegoating of the Church disturbed Augustine, so he dedicated thirteen years to …