Extra, extra! News and views for Wednesday, September 25, 2024

How Many Popesplainers Can Dance on the Head of a Pin? – “Pope Francis recently added yet another item to the long list of doctrinally problematic statements he has issued through the course of his pontificate.” The popesplainer’s safety dance (Edward Feser)

Lost Chesterton Essay – “The essay in the Strand is linked to Chesterton’s membership in the Detection Club, which Ahlquist in his introduction calls a “secret society of mystery writers … who met regularly in a private room at L’Escargot” in Soho, in central London.” Lost GK Chesterton essay about detective stories published for first time (The Guardian)

Crossing Ideological Wires – “In the New York Times, Michelle Goldberg has described me as ‘the right-winger calling for social democracy.’ Meanwhile, one of my many critics on the Reaganite right has labeled me a ‘pro-life New Dealer.’” The Workers and the Church (Plough)

Prefect Failure? – “The prefect for the Dicastery of Bishops, Cardinal Robert Prevost, has been publicly accused of never having opened a canonical case into alleged sexual abuse carried out by two priests in the Diocese of Chiclayo, Peru, which he led from 2014 until 2023, when he was called to Rome.” Cardinal Prevost never investigated abuse claims, alleged victims say (The Pillar)

AI and Ourselves – “What a machine does is not a matter of ‘intelligence.’ It simply uses a series of algorithms for logical calculations to achieve programmed results.” AI, Its Promise and Its Peril (What We Need Now – Substack)

Synod’s Concrete Proposals – “The October gathering could lead to several big changes that impact daily life in the Catholic Church.” 7 Ways That the Synod on Synodality Can (Still) Change the Church (National Catholic Register)

Diocese of San Diego Disses Homeschoolers – “A newly issued policy in the Diocese of San Diego forbids homeschool groups from using space at area parishes, while allowing parishes to rent space to non-Catholic schools on a case-by-case basis.” San Diego diocese bans homeschool groups on parish properties (The Pillar)

Garrigou-Lagrange and Sanctifying Grace – “This theology may come and go out of style, but it cannot ever be truly defeated or irrelevant or antiquated, for its source and end is Victory, Being, and Eternity Itself.”  Vatican II and the Lasting Influence of Garrigou-Lagrange’s Mystical Theology (Church Life Journal)

Vatican Chastises the U.N. – “The future should be constructed on a foundation of principles, including the inherent, God-given dignity of every individual, the promotion of integral human development, the equality and sovereign dignity of all nations, and the establishment of trust between them.” Cardinal Pietro Parolin Delivers Statement at the Summit of the Future (Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations)

Delayed Benefits – “We grow when we decouple ourselves from obsessions over outcomes. Detachment permits the denial of the insatiable beast of instant gratification in exchange for joy in the present wait.” The Rebuilding Year (Theology of Home)

(*The posting of any particular news item or essay is not an endorsement of the content and perspective of said news item or essay.)

Catholic World Report