The About.com Catholicism GuideSite is more than this blog, and more even than the thousands of pages of content that you can find by clicking on the tabs at the top of the page, the "Must Reads," and the links in the "Browse Topic" section. One integral part of the site is the Catholicism Forum, and over the last year I have worked hard to draw your attention to interesting and thoughtful threads in the forum.

Last week's Forum Friday, however, resulted in not a single post to the thread I highlighted. A number of readers left comments on the Forum Friday blog post itself, but few seem to have entered the forum.

That got me thinking: When you go to the forum, how do you get there? Is there a particular link that you always follow? Do you arrive by web search? Do you always come through these Forum Friday blog posts?

Please take a moment to leave your answer on this thread: "How Did You Find Your Way to the Forum?" I hope to use your answers to figure out ways to drive more traffic to the forum, and thus to make it a more interesting place to spend your time.

Reader Preston Bolinger has asked an interesting question through our Questions About Catholicism form:

I got into an argument with a friend of mine about Catholic priests. I told her my brother is a Catholic priest and is married, but she said that was impossible. I need some kind of proof to let her know that she is wrong.

This is a question that is likely to be asked more often in the near future. Those who have followed Pope Benedict's overtures to disaffected Anglicans know that married Anglican priests who convert to Catholicism will be allowed to receive the Sacrament of Holy Orders, thus becoming married Catholic priests. This is an exception to the practice of clerical celibacy in the Roman rite of the Catholic Church, but just how unusual is it for the Church to allow married men to be ordained priests? Read more...

(Photo © Scott P. Richert)

We've got not one but two contests this Wordless Wednesday. For regular readers of the Catholicism GuideSite, the first one should be easy: Since Saint Philip shares a May 3 feast day with Saint James the Lesser in the Roman calendar, why did I post this stained-glass window of Saint Philip today?

The second contest this week will be familiar: Identify as many traditional symbols of Saint Philip as you can in this stained-glass window, and then briefly explain the reason why each is identified with Saint Philip. In next week's Wordless Wednesday post, I'll acknowledge the commenter who identifies and explains the most symbols, as well as the commenter who explains why I posted this image of Saint Philip when I did.

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Ross Douthat, the conservative columnist for the New York Times, rose to fame for his blogging on the website of The Atlantic. After six months away from blogging, Douthat now has a new blog, "Evaluations," on NYTimes.com.

In one of his first entries, "Pro-Lifers and the Patriarchy," the Catholic Douthat makes some observations that are undoubtedly correct:

Conservative Christians’ attitudes toward women in the workplace, in particular, have evolved dramatically across the last two decades, even as their pro-life convictions have remained essentially constant. . . .

During the ‘08 election, you’d often hear media types buzzing about how [Sarah] Palin was a bad mother for putting her political ambitions ahead of her family; you’d almost never hear that from pro-lifers. Some of this reflects partisan biases, obviously—but some of it reflects a real sea change in how religious conservatives view women in the workplace.

While Douthat does not come right out and say it, he seems to regard these changes in "attitudes" as moves in the right direction:

Indeed, you might say that the pro-life movement has done an impressive job of embracing, albeit slowly, the positive achievements of the feminist revolution, while remaining steadfast in its opposition to that revolution’s darker consequences. (Well, O.K., you might not say that, but I probably would.)

What Douthat does not consider in the course of the post is whether there might actually be a reason for "religious conservatives" (let alone Catholics like myself and Douthat) to view such developments with skepticism. Read more...

On November 10, 1791, the first bishop of the United States, John Carroll, wrote a beautiful prayer to be recited in parishes throughout his diocese. A cousin of Charles Carroll, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, Archbishop Carroll understood the necessary role that religion plays in guaranteeing political order, and that is expressed in the very structure of his Prayer for Government.

The prayer begins with an acknowledgment of the central role of the Church before asking God to guide our political leaders and our fellow citizens. It ends with a prayer for the repose of the souls of all those who have gone before us—an appropriate reminder in this Month of the Holy Souls in Purgatory that our obligation to our fellow man does not end with his death.

As we in the United States prepare to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday, I have chosen Archbishop Carroll's Prayer for Government as our novena of the week.

Advent will soon be upon us, and as in most years, the first Sunday of Advent falls three days after Thanksgiving in the United States. That may help explain why, over the years, Advent has become less a period of preparation for the birth of Christ than a pre-celebration of Christmas. Most Christmas parties are held during Advent, rather than during the 12 days of Christmas (the period between Christmas Day and Epiphany), and the entire month of December becomes one big feast.

Combine all that with the hustle and bustle of Christmas shopping, early gift exchanges, the baking of Christmas cookies, and plenty of eggnog, and too often we may find ourselves on Christmas Day physically prepared but not spiritually so.

The answer lies in a return to tradition. Read more...

In my two-part series on Richard Dawkins' most recent attack on the Catholic Church, I explained that Dawkins and other New Atheists often focus their hatred on the Eucharist, not just because it is an obvious religious symbol, but because it represents an older, more comprehensive worldview that they reject. Convince Catholics that the Eucharist is simply bread and wine, and you can convince them that their religion is entirely without any basis other than the claims of authority.

But are the New Atheists right? Does our Faith depend entirely on authority? Or does experience of Christians verify the claims of that authority?

I recently published a piece, "O Sacrament Most Holy," in which I describe some of my own experiences that have convinced me that the Catholic Faith is indeed true. Now, I'd like you to do the same. In this thread in the Catholicism Forum, please post your own stories of experiences that brought home to you the reality of that which we know by faith.

I look forward to reading your responses, and I may feature some in a future blog post!

Reader "JoAnnKatherin," writing on our Questions About Catholicism form, asks a question that I hear almost every day:

Does the Catholic Church still believe in Purgatory? My friend said that her church bulletin printed that there is no Purgatory. Is this true?

Of all of the teachings of Catholicism, Purgatory is probably the one most often attacked (sometimes unintentionally) by Catholics themselves. But to paraphrase Mark Twain, the reports of Purgatory's death have been greatly exaggerated. Read more...

(Photo © Scott P. Richert)

I skipped Wordless Wednesday last week, because I was too wrapped up in writing "Why Richard Dawkins Cannot Stomach the Eucharist." Therefore, I did not announce the winner of the previous week's contest.

Nancy Parode, the About.com Guide to Senior Travel, got one of the symbols found in the stained-glass window of Saint Simon the Zealot in the very first comment. Top honors, however, are split between readers Michael and Martha, who between them identified all of the symbols and offered explanations for most. You can find their answers in the comments.

There will be no contest this week but a solemn prayer on this Veterans Day for all those who have served our country.

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On November 9, 2009, Pope Benedict XVI released the Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum Coetibus, which governs the creation of "personal ordinariates for Anglicans entering into full communion with the Catholic Church." The document, which was announced on October 20, is the culmination of two years of work in response to the October 2007 request of the Traditional Anglican Communion for "full, corporate, and sacramental union" with the Catholic Church. (Since the announcement, the U.K. branch of the TAC has voted to take the Holy Father up on his offer.)

If the October 20 announcement was a surprise, the contents of the Apostolic Constitution are an even greater one. Read more...