Weekly Summary: 5/9/26
The week in review, from the perspective of a veteran Catholic journalist
Have you been seeing everything that I post on this Substack?
As you’ll see below, I post quite a few short Notes during the week. If you’re missing some of them, be sure that your subscription preferences are set properly. Of course if you’re not a subscriber, you’re probably missing them all!
This week, noticing that one of my posts was behind a paywall, one reader questioned why I want to be paid for my work. Well, doesn’t everyone?
As I explained to that critical reader, I have bills to pay, too. I’m trying to strike a balance here. At least 90% of my Substack commentary is free. I hope that’s enough to entice interested readers into paying for the remainder. I realize that you all have limited resources, and if you’re satisfied with knowing most of what I think, no harm done.
In any case, as my recovery from Lyme disease continued, this week I kept busy:
Articles
Pope Leo faces two major challenges to his authority, from opposite ends of the Catholic spectrum. The SSPX plans to ordain bishops without papal approval; the German bishops are forging ahead with blessings for illicit unions, ignoring warnings from Rome. The two cases remind me of the parable of the two sons (Matt 21: 28-31). The coming weeks will show whether either “son” is willing to do the wishes of the Holy Father, and how far the Pope is willing to tolerate the acts of wayward sons.
President Trump’s repeated charge— that Pope Leo “thinks it’s just fine for Iran to have a nuclear weapon”— is a blatant falsehood. Should we chalk this up as just one more example of overblown presidential rhetoric? If conservative American Catholics want to give Trump the benefit of the doubt, I suggest they extend the same courtesy to the Pontiff.
Is there a “state of necessity” in the Church today? Who has the authority to answer that question? Taking another look at the challenges from the SSPX and the German hierarchy, I argue that Church leaders would inspire more confidence if they would frankly admit the severity of the current crisis. [Note: this post is behind the paywall.]
This week on the Home Front discuss a provocative new film, The Story of Everything, in which leading scientists explode the theory that the origin of the universe and of life on earth is merely the product of random material processes. In light of hard scientific evidence and elementary logic, that theory is untenable. While pop science (propped up by the media and the educational establishment) clings to the materialist belief, serious inquiry points to the role of a Designer.
Notes
The early resignation of the Archbishop of Moscow raised a question that we’ve been asking for years: Why not offer some explanation for a prelate’s early retirement, rather than tossing him into the category of the “dash-2 bishops” whose departure is often prompted by scandal.
With the Archdiocese of New York offering an $800-million settlement to sex-abuse victims, the total cost of the scandal is headed toward $6 billion (if it hasn’t reached that figure already). Think how much the Church could have done with that sum, if it hadn’t been forced to pay the “sin tax.”
Speaking of scandals, the Vatican’s “trial of the century” continues to raise eyebrows. A hat-tip to Ed Condon of The Pillar, who notes that the blunders by Vatican prosecutors may add still more costs to the millions already lost in a real-estate boondoggle.
And a New York Times headline warns: “U.S. Schools Face a Crisis as the Number of Children Drops.” Call me cynical, but I suspect that “crisis” will become an excuse for an increase in public-school budgets.
