Weekly Summary 7/18/26
The week in review, from the perspective of a veteran Catholic journalist
As you’ll see, I post a lot of Notes in the course of a week. If you don’t have time to read everything I post, I understand.
If you can wait until the weekend, sign up for this Weekly Summary, take a look at what I’ve written, and settle down with your favorite items.
Articles
Brian Burch, the US ambassador to the Holy See, scored a diplomatic coup when he hosted a Fourth of July dinner party with Pope Leo XIV as his guest. But in the aftermath of the event he prompted criticism—some of it deserved—when he sought to minimize the political differences between Washington and Rome. To me, the brouhaha seemed to highlight the difficulties caused by the overly prominent role of the Vatican Secretariat of State.
And speaking of church-state entanglements, the German Catholic Church draws in billions of euros through the Kirchensteuer, the state tax system, which places a surtax on registered religious believers. The system gives a monetary incentive for Catholics to leave the Church— which German Catholics are already doing by the hundreds of thousands. Worse, it suppresses the charitable impulses of the faithful, makes official church agencies resemble secular efforts, and discourages authentically Catholic initiatives.
On our Home Front podcast, Leila and I discuss the unfashionable [pun intended] topic of modesty, which reflects the equally unfashionable reality that men and women look at each other differently. Then we turn to the disturbing subjects of euthanasia and organ-harvestings, which are now linked in a ghoulish illustration of the Culture of Death.
Notes
Detroit’s Archbishop Weisenburger assures his flock that “the Church is bigger than just the buildings in which we worship.” That’s good, I suppose. But some of those buildings will be closing soon, as the Catholic population of the archdiocesean area (extending beyond the city limits) continues to plummet.
England’s new prime minister, Andy Burnham, describes himself as “not a Catholic in that full sense of the word;” he acknowledges that he’s simply a “cultural” Catholic. Not a “devout” Catholic like Biden or Pelosi, you understand. But he shares their views on… but you already know how this story goes, don’t you?
Back in 1988, at the time of the first illicit ordinations of SSPX bishops, then-Cardinal Ratzinger remarked that the break was attributable in part to the unwillingness of bishops to correct obvious theological errors. He said: “The only way to make Vatican II credible is to present it clearly for what it is: a part of the whole and sole Tradition.” That message is no less true— in fact a great deal more urgent— today.
The Michigan Catholic Conference has joined a coalition calling for a No vote on a referendum to call a statewide constitutional convention. I agree with the logic of that position; if I were in Michigan I’d vote No myself. But I question why “the official voice of the Catholic Church in Michigan” should weigh in, since loyal Catholics might take different positions.
The Vatican has denied rumors that the notorious Father Marko Rupnik has been acquitted at a canonical trial. But that’s all we know about the trial. Four years into the process, we don’t even know what charges have been brought against him. Three years after the Jesuit order expelled him, the Vatican still urges us to be patient.
A new diocesan bishop has been ordained in China, the Vatican announced. Ordinarily the bishop’s appointment is announced in Rome first, and then his ordination is scheduled; this time the process was reversed. If you suspect that the Chinese regime went forward with the ordination first, and then the Vatican acquiesced, you’re not the only one.
A new survey finds that 22% of the American Catholic bishops are “comfortable” ordaining priests who have deep-seated homosexual tendencies. I wonder how many more are uncomfortable, but go ahead with the ordinations anyway.
Back to the Rupnik case: a lawyer representing the women who accuse Rupnik of abuse reveals that the victims have not been called to testify. They don’t even know whether Rupnik is on trial for his assaults on them, or for some other offense(s).
And in other developments that I didn’t mention on Substack (until now), our 23th grandchild (12th granddaughter) was born, beautiful and healthy. And the Red Sox completed a 15-game winning streak before finally dropping a game. It was a good week.
