Scott's Catholicism Blog

In response to the Reader Question: How Do We Know Who the Popes Were?, a reader from Brazil writes:

I have a question regarding Apostolic Succession. It is said it was never interrupted since Jesus, St. Peter the first pope, until now. With the occasion of the Western schism between 1378 and 1417, when there were two popes in the Church, was the Succession also maintained?

This is a very interesting question, even though the answer is quite simple. Read more...

Every month, Pope Benedict XVI announces his prayer intentions for the month--particular things that he wishes all Catholics to pray for. (When, for instance, we pray the rosary and say the prayers at the end for the intentions of the Holy Father, these are the intentions for which we're praying.)

Pope Benedict offers two intentions each month, one general, and one for a particular Catholic missionary activity. Read more...

(Photo © Scott P. Richert)

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In June, our prayers were dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus; this month, our devotion is directed to the Precious Blood, which was "shed for the many, for the remission of sins."

Many non-Catholics find our devotion to the "body parts" of Jesus Christ to be a little odd. In addition to the Sacred Heart and the Precious Blood, there are devotions to the Five Wounds; to the shoulder wound, where Christ carried the Cross; and to the wounds caused by the crown of thorns, to name just a few.

Faced with Protestant discomfort with these devotion, many Catholics have abandoned or downplayed them. But we should not do that. Read more...

Rome is known not only as the See of Peter but as the Apostolic See, because on June 29, 67, not one but two Apostles were martyred there. Saint Peter was crucified upside down near the Vatican hill, and his body was buried under the site of the present-day Basilica of Saint Peter; while, outside the city gates, Saint Paul was beheaded near the site of the present-day Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls, constructed over the Apostle's tomb.

Saints Peter and Paul are traditionally displayed in icons as holding the Church up between the two of them. This is a symbol not only of the importance of the two Apostles but also of the importance of the Apostolic See from the earliest days of the Church--a fact attested to in the early recognition of this feast, which was celebrated by the mid-third century.

In 2008, there is even greater cause for celebration on this feast day. Read more...

Five centuries after the shattering of Christendom, and ten after the Great Schism of 1054 that divided the Eastern and Western Churches, many Christians--even many Catholics--have become complacent about the divisions in the Body of Christ.

Yet Christ's prayer on Holy Thursday that we may all be one, as He and His Father are one, was not simply a devout wish but a divine command. Numerous news reports (and even more rumors) indicate that the SSPX has rejected (or, at least, not fully accepted) the conditions that the Vatican has set for the restoration of full unity. This sad news comes at the very time that the Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I is in Rome to celebrate the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul on June 29, in a sign of hope for the reunion of East and West.

Now, more than ever, our prayers for unity are needed. Following Christ's example, we should pray To Obtain the Reunion of the Christians of the East, and offer more general prayers for Christian unity in A Devout Exercise for the Unity of the Church.

A reader writes:

Have you ever heard of a type of priestly ordination called "Promised"? The pastor of our local parish recently resigned, and I've heard that he only had a "promised" ordination.

He said Mass for years, and heard Confessions, and performed all of the sacraments (to my knowledge). I know he said Mass since I attended dozens of his Masses.

Not knowing the details of the particular circumstances that the reader is referring to, I can only answer the question in the abstract. Perhaps a better way to state it is: Are there different types of ordinations? Read more...

On the Feast of Corpus Christi, a number of Catholic commentators took note that those who approached Pope Benedict XVI to receive Holy Communion knelt and received the Host on the tongue. In fact, a kneeler had been set up at the point of distribution to make it clear that the faithful were to receive Communion kneeling.

This posture, of course, is the traditional one for receiving Communion in the Western Church, which is why Catholic churches historically had altar rails at which the faithful would kneel for the reception of the Host. But since the promulgation of the Novus Ordo, the new Mass of Pope Paul VI, it has become increasingly common to receive Communion standing and, in the United States in particular, on the hand.

Some suggested that the Holy Father distributed Communion in the traditional manner only because it was the Feast of Corpus Christi--of the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ--and that he was making a point about the sacredness of the Eucharist. A new interview with the master of ceremonies for papal Masses, however, makes it clear that he was indeed making a point, but that this was not a one-time thing. Read more...

(Photo © flickr user mamjodh; licensed under Creative Commons Some Rights Reserved)

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June 24 is the Feast of the Birth of John the Baptist, the cousin of Christ who leapt in his mother Elizabeth's womb when the Virgin Mary came to visit her. Traditionally, Catholics have seen John the Baptist's leap as a type of Baptism, and thus believe that he is one of only three people born without Original Sin--Christ Himself and the Blessed Virgin being the other two.

John the Baptist dedicated his life to calling the Jews to repentance. He is called the Forerunner of Christ, because he "prepared the way of the Lord" through his "voice crying out in the wilderness." In traditional iconography, he is depicted with wings like an angel, because angels are messengers between God and man.