Rituals of Faith

Pope Leo XIV has named Sr Brambilla to the Dicastery for Bishops. He also as expected confirmed numerous previous members including Cardinals Parolin, Roche, Cupich, Arborelius, Aveline, Tobin, Gugerotti, Fernández, Makrickas, You Heung-sik

We have a lot of data points confirming there is no national mass Catholic conversion among American youths. Staffers in DC, however, certainly think it's happening. That's because - among them specifically - there absolutely is an ongoing conversion movement. At social gatherings, the quantity of Catholic converts running around is a running joke. OCIA classes are packed. Masses at parishes near concentrations of young professionals are often standing room only. Anecdotally, it certainly seems like Catholicism is spreading through the conservative white-collar world. There are some reports, for instance, of OCIA classes at elite universities seeing record growth. There's been a noticeable uptick of Catholicism on social media as well, at least relative to other faith traditions. Literate right-wingers, unfortunately, are a small regionally concentrated demographic. Any internal shifts they experience are thus unlikely to show up in national survey data. This, plausibly, explains the discrepancy.

The FSSP releases a shockingly scathing statement on the SSPX, written by Fr. Martin Ramm Here are some highlight quotes "We wish to apply this petition... That God may lead all who erred back to unity of the Church - to the separated brethren (Vatican term for non-Catholic Churches) of the SSPX" "A schism is not overcome by denying it.... The SSPX emphasizes that it recognizes the Pope because it prays for him. However, this recognition remains purely verbal. Praying for someone does not... actually acknowledge their authority. While the papacy is recognized “in itself,” the specific Pope has no binding authority over the actual actions of the Society." "Besides the explicitly advocated dogmatic sedevacantism, there is a subtle practical sedevacantism. Acting... as if the Pope did not exist. This... is clearly recognizable in the SSPX. When they speak of “fidelity to Rome,” they mean an abstract “Eternal Rome,” not the concrete, present Church... They consciously distance themselves from what they pejoratively call the “institutional Church.” In this way, the Society effectively sets itself as the standard for ecclesiolatry." "Despite all the differences from Protestant churches, striking structural parallels cannot be overlooked."

I don’t think anyone’s ready for how much the boomers have propped up the Catholic Church financially. I know this medium is largely anti-boomer, but the day will come when the priests they make fun of for being too liberal are not there to run to the hospital. The day will come when the boomer parishioners aren’t there generously donating and volunteering. Although many of these Catholic experts only want the people they like in church, these boomers are good people who do good things and we will miss them. The Younger generation excels at telling us how we should be doing things, but as a general rule, don’t help much financially or in volunteering. Sincerely, A Gen X priest

Erasing our history cheapens who we are. We are not a great nation in spite of our sins, but because we’ve found the strength to overcome them. Trump’s attempt to whitewash the American story is wrong.