Echoes - A forum of Catholic thought. The Opinion section of thebostonpilot.com

August 15, 2018Faith

Q. One of the beatitudes in Jesus' Sermon on the Mount is "Blessed are the poor in spirit." Does that mean those simple-minded people who don't ask any questions? (Lake Monticello, Virginia) A. I like ...

Culture & Events

Letter to an angry friendGreg Erlandson

My friend, thank you for writing. You have every right to be angry. The recent revelations about sexual abuses and what Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo calls the "grave moral failures of judgment on the ...

Culture & Events

The current crisisGeorge Weigel

The outbreak of the Franco-Prussian war caused the premature suspension of the First Vatican Council on October 20, 1870 and left the Church's theological self-understanding somewhat imbalanced. In its ...

Culture & Events

Bright spotsRussell Shaw

It may seem crazy to speak of bright spots in the scandal surrounding Archbishop Theodore McCarrick, and admittedly they are few in number and not terribly bright--in no way comparable to the harm this ...

Culture & Events

A crisis regarding the responsibility of church authoritiesGreg Erlandson

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- When Catholic News Service posted a short video of the Pennsylvania attorney general's Aug. 14 news conference announcing a grand jury report on clergy sexual abuse in six dioceses, ...

Spirituality

The Power of a ComplimentFather Ron Rolheiser

Thomas Aquinas once suggested that it's a sin to not give a compliment to someone when it's deserved because by withholding our praise we're depriving that person of the food that he or she needs to live ...

Spirituality

One Catholic ChurchMichael Pakaluk

The headlines last week proclaimed that Pope Francis had changed the Church's teaching on the death penalty, causing consternation among some Catholics. Why? They were reacting not simply to the evident ...

Faith & Family

A welcome revision to the CatechismArchbishop Jose H. Gomez

For some years now, I have expressed my concern that the death penalty is both cruel and unnecessary and I have called for its abolition. So, I welcome the changes to The Catechism of the Catholic Church ...

Culture & Events

So far, so goodDick Flavin

So far, so good. There you have it, my unvarnished, tell-it-like-it-is opinion of the 2018 edition of the Boston Red Sox. After almost 80 percent of the regular season has been completed, the Red Sox ...