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November 13, 2019

Note from the Managing Editor:

I have an acquaintance who taught at Boston College at a time which overlapped with Peter Kreeft's tenure there.

My friend once described Kreeft as an idea-obsessed academic.  "Imagine walking across the BC campus and catching sight of Peter, head down, mumbling to himself while strolling along composing yet one more book in his head." 

Despite his occasional abstractedness, Peter Kreeft is no academic and has no pretensions to being one.  He's a populist in the best sense.  He's all about simplifying and clarifying ideas which are, when full blown, rather unwieldy.

I like Peter Kreeft's writing, especially his latest book, Ask Peter Kreeft: The 100 Most Interesting Questions He's Ever Been Asked.  Kreeft explains in his Introduction that when he's giving a talk, the time he leaves for Q & A is always the most interesting.  In my opinion, this is the very best of Peter Kreeft.

See what you think.  We have an excerpt below. - J. Fraser Field



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"Science must not impose any philosophy, any more than the telephone must tell us what to say." - G.K. Chesterton



New Resources


 
Right Judgment and Love - Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque, V.H.M. - from Thoughts & Sayings of St. Margaret Mary

Be humble towards God and gentle with your neighbor.


 
Ask Peter Kreeft - Peter Kreeft - from Ask Peter Kreeft: The 100 Most Interesting Questions He's Ever Been Asked

I've given thousands of lectures around the country and have always made it a practice to allow for as many questions as possible. Here are the most interesting ones I've been asked, and the answers I gave. (Here is a selection of those questions and answers).


 
The Urgency of Religious Freedom - Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap. - Crisis

As I was getting ready for tonight, I remembered a line from the Israeli peace negotiator who said that pessimists are simply optimists with experience.


 
Science Increasingly Makes the Case for God - Eric Metaxas - Wall Street Journal

The op-ed, "Science Increasingly Makes the Case for God," is unofficially the most popular article in Wall Street Journal history.


 
Souls in Purgatory, Missal of Eberhard von Greiffenklau (c. 1425-1450) - Jennifer Healy - Magnificat

Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord! (Ps.130:1)


 
Is Purgatory in the Bible? - Tim Staples - Catholic Answers

This may well be the most common single question I receive concerning our Catholic Faith whether it be at conferences, via email, snail mail, or any other venue.


 
Our Patient and Indulgent Mother Church - Father George W. Rutler - Crisis

A few decades ago, I had lunch with Daniel Carroll in Howard County, Maryland, during which he used a pop-up toaster in his grand dining room, which was hung with ancestral portraits.


 
Christian Freedom Fighter Harriet Outperforms Expectations at Box Office -
Josh M. Shepherd -The Stream

With her Christian faith present from start to finish, new biopic "Harriet" overcame low awareness and some backlash to shine at the box office.


 
Accommodating Paradoxes - Father George W. Rutler - From the Pastor

Life in New York City can be hard for anyone who has difficulty accommodating paradoxes.

Editorials of Interest:


Editorials of Interest


Cardinal Burke: 'I'm Called the Enemy of the Pope, Which I Am Not' - NY Times

A conversation with Cardinal Raymond Burke.


Archbishop Cordileone Discusses 'The Mass of the Americas' - Crisis Magazine

San Francisco shepherd expounds on the soul-transforming power of beauty.


The strange case of Pope Vigilius - Edward Feser

The Church is indestructible. Even bad popes cannot destroy it, as history shows. Catholics are well advised to learn more about this history, so as to get a more balanced and sober perspective on current events.


Anticipating Advent: 9 ways to live the season well - NC Register

This is a time of expectation that should feel sacred but celebratory.


Defending the Religious Sense - First Things

"Progressives," having won the culture wars (for now, anyway), in victory have abandoned even the pretense of neutrality. In control of education, media, arts, and corporations, they now advance within even the Catholic Church.


Medieval Catholicism explains the differences between cultures to this day, researchers say - National Post

Researchers claim that they can trace all sorts of differences between cultures, from donating blood to strangers to paying your parking tickets, to the influence of medieval Catholicism.


Vatican's $200 million London property deal financed with borrowed money, sources say - CWR

Investments totalling $200 million in a luxury London apartment building were funded through a short-term loan package organized through Swiss banks, at the impetus of Vatican Cardinal Angelo Becciu.


Fearlessness and the American Bishops in Rome - First Things

The American bishops' task during the ad limina cycle that begins this month and concludes in February 2020 will be to correct the cartoon view of the Church in the United States that is widespread in the Vatican these days.


'I just wanted to be a priest': Archbishop Gomez elected president of USCCB - CNA

When he became a priest four decades ago, Archbishop Jose Gomez did not expect that he would one day lead the largest archdiocese in the U.S., or the country's bishops' conference.


Young Catholic Activists Show the Oldies Hsow It's Done - Crisis Magazine

It turns out Alexander Tschugguel, who threw the Pachamama statues into the Tiber attends the same parish as I do in Vienna.


Australian High Court allows Cardinal Pell to appeal sex abuse conviction - CNA

The Australian High Court announced Tuesday that Cardinal George Pell has been granted leave to appeal an August decision by the Court of Appeal in Victoria to uphold his conviction for child sexual abuse.


Lost in a Dark Wood: Final Thoughts on the Amazon Synod - The Catholic Thing

The real goal may always have simply been married priests and women deaconesses, and further development of "synodality."


The Amazon Synod's Self-Subverting Vision - The Catholic Thing

My general impression is of a deep disaffection with Christendom as it has existed for centuries, and an attempt to replace it with a different structure, located in the Amazon, at least at first.


Minnesota bishop kept admitted child abuser in ministry, did not investigate allegation of abuse - CWR

Depositions of Crookston Bishop Michael Hoeppner were released today, in which the bishop admits that he did not properly address an allegation of sexual abuse of a minor by a priest that an alleged victim brought to him in 2011.


As Halloween approaches, an exorcist speaks on the reality of Satan - NC Register

An interview with a London priest who battles the devil.



A terrorist's suicide and the matter of hell - CWR

Where does the recently deceased Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi currently reside?


Safe injection sites: A dose of despair - Catholic Philly

Enabling others to use illegal, life-threatening substances clearly violates divine law. But that matters little to a society that seeks a pill for every pain, so let's examine a few other reasons why safe injection sites fail.


The Rise of 'Hate Speech' Policing in Europe - The Daily Signal

Free speech is increasingly under attack on college campuses — but if you think it's bad here, look across the pond to Europe.


Tips for dad: How to talk to your son about sexuality - Aleteia

When, how, and at what pace should we impart information to our sons about sexuality?


Use and Abuse: The Exploitative Reality of Surrogacy and Egg Donation - Public Discourse

No one has the right to a child, and the bodies of women and children should never be treated as commodities.


A godly gem in Hell's Kitchen - NY Post

Father George W. Rutler, pastor of the newly renovated St. Michael's Church on West 34th Street, reminds New Yorkers a luxury condo in the sky is not equal to a place in heaven.


Saint John Henry Cardinal Newman and
Saint Justin Martyr, pray for us

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