Coming soon(ish), depending on subsequent approvals, all-new prayers and responses for the Mass, courtesy of that old-fashioned fellow, Pope Benedict XVI. Why this tradition-minded pope is pushing so many retro innovations is another topic. And I’m sure anything to do with the so-called “liturgy wars” is going to provoke fire and brimstone. The middle ground…

Or rather, the Jesus Cheeto, as it’s being called. Yes, we’ve found Mother Teresa in a cinnamon bun (until it was stolen) and of course the Virgin Mary everywhere (check out this gallery). Now we have Jesus in a Cheeto, found by a Texas woman, and via the Dallas Morning News blog. According to the…

When Cardinal Ratzinger was elected Benedict XVI, one of the first–and perhaps more surprising, given its liberal bent–endorsers of the choice was PETA, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. PETA has never been shy about invoking Christianity in its cause (an ad campaign last year portrayed Jesus as a vegetarian at a Last Supper…

The most remarkable thing about last week’s 40th anniversary of the release of Humanae Vitae, Pope Paul VI’s watershed encyclical upholding the ban on artificial contraception, is how little comment it aroused. That’s because birth control is at once a major issue and a non-issue. It is a major issue for those in the hierarchy,…

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