Dear Internet: No, the Vatican is not a walled city. And yes, the Catholic Church cares for millions of refugees.
First, while there are still ancient walls (some retaining walls) surrounding parts of the Vatican, the Vatican open to everyone. Here's a photo I took in October. See what I mean? This photo, circulating online, is an ancient retaining wall near the Vatican Museums, but people are waiting to get in, which they can just by going through a metal detector. That is, it's open.

I deleted a tweet linking to an article (retweeted below from @americamag) on why I am pro-life. I noted that pro-life means being pro-all-lives (including not just the unborn, but the poor, migrants, LGBTQ people, etc). This led to, believe it or not, death threats... Catholics must find a way to speak with one another in charity, especially about caring for those some consider to be "them." Sunday's Gospel shows Jesus telling the people of Nazareth that his mission extends to everyone, not just them. This, among other things, enrages them...

Croagh Patrick (meaning St. Patrick’s hill, or stack) is a mountain in County Mayo, Ireland, where, by tradition, St. Patrick spent 40 days in prayer and fasting.  Often called the “Reek” (another word for rick or stack), it is not too far from Knock, where I spent a few days... ...last week with the Irish bishops, and so one afternoon, one of the bishops graciously drove me to this beautiful site, an important pilgrimage spot in Ireland.  On the last Sunday of July, thousands of pilgrims, many barefoot, climb the entire mountain as an....

Gospel: Today we read a remarkable story about Jesus of Nazareth. He returns to preach in the synagogue in his hometown. Initially, people like what he has to say, which is, essentially, a proclamation of himself as the fulfillment of Scripture, as the Messiah. But when he... ...critiques them for their lack of faith, they not only reject him, they try to kill him, by throwing him off a cliff (Lk 4). There are many ways of looking at this story, usually called "The Rejection at Nazareth." The first is from the crowd's point of view. Jesus...

With opposition to Pope Francis among some priests (and even bishops), it's worth remembering how some priests who found themselves at odds with their superiors reacted in the past. Pedro Arrupe, SJ, former superior general of the Society of Jesus, after suffering a stroke... ...was removed from his post in 1981 by St. John Paul II. His "vicar," or assistant, Fr. Vincent O'Keefe, SJ, an American Jesuit widely seen as Arrupe's choice for successor as superior general, was also removed from his position....

Gospel: Today Jesus uses the image of old wineskins and and old piece of cloth to illustrate the quality of newness of the reign of God (Mt. 9). You don't put a new patch on an old piece of cloth since the original cloth is already shrunken and, when washed, the new piece... will pull away. Likewise, you don't put new wine in old wineskins because when the grapes ferment more, the wine will expand and burst the old skins. As C.H. Dodd said, Jesus used similes and metaphors from "nature and everyday life" to help people understand God's reign...

I would have more sympathy with web designers who refuse to serve certain people because of deeply held religious beliefs, if those certain people weren't always same-sex couples. Do they, e.g., refuse to serve people who are divorced, which Jesus himself condemns (Mt 19:9)?... Do the refuse to serve non-Christians (which would surely be illegal) who don't believe in the Incarnation or Resurrection? Could a Catholic refuse to serve a Protestant?

The response is usually, "Well, this is about objecting to their offensive practices, not their beliefs..."

Gospel: Can you see that small grey chapel to the left of this photo? That's called the Chapel of the Primacy of Peter, and it's where today's Gospel happened (Jn 21:1-14), in which the Risen Christ prepared breakfast for the disciples... (who would have had this view of him from their boat). Inside the Chapel is a stone called the "Mensa Christi," the Table of Christ, where he is supposed to have cooked the meal. Just to the right is the Mount of Beatitudes, where, by tradition, he preached the Beatitudes...

For the last five years, I've been working on a book on the Raising of #Lazarus, today's beautiful Gospel reading from Jn 11, called "Come Forth." The book includes some images of Lazarus from art, as well as photos of current-day Bethany, Al Eizariya. The first is the oldest... ....known image of Lazarus, in the Giordani Catacombs, from the 4C.

Next is James Tissot's image, which depicts the current-day layout of the tomb with remarkable accuracy. Tissot spent months in the Holy Land in the late 19C trying to capture the landscape and peoples...

Today someone, perhaps inadvertently, attributed to me a quote from Cardinal McElroy that I tweeted out, after linking to his article. The response was a deluge of hateful tweets, DMs & spam on all my accounts: "sodomite," "fairy," f----t," "fornicator," "heretic," "apostate"... Even after the original tweet was deleted later in the day, the hate and anger continued. And even though I've been on social media for years, I'm still amazed by the rage that people feel towards LGBTQ people (and sometimes me). Here's the thing: I have strong feelings...

Remarkable statement from the German Bishops Conference on LGBTQ people (1/27/23): "This year, the German Bishops' Conference is also focusing its commemoration on the queer victims of National Socialism, i.e. homosexual and bisexual people..." "...as well as transgender and intersex people. The Auxiliary Bishop Ludger Schepers (Essen), who is responsible for LGBTQ* pastoral care from the Pastoral Commission of the German Bishops' Conference, explains:

Gospel: Today on the #Presentation of the Lord, we read about the Child Jesus being brought to the Temple and the utterances of Simeon and Anna (Lk 2). But at the end of the reading comes something important: the few lines about the "Hidden Life..." "[T]hey returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him." Other than Jesus being found in the Temple at age 12, this is all that is written about his life before his public ministry...

Gospel: "Is this not the carpenter?" say the people in Nazareth, when they hear Jesus preach (Mk. 5). I.e., "Who him? The carpenter?" Jesus's occupation received so little respect that in Mt and Lk, written a few decades later, they say, "Is this not the son of the carpenter?"... ... thus transferring the occupation to Joseph. Jesus, like Joseph, was a "tekton," which can be translated as carpenter, craftsman, woodworker, construction worker or day laborer. He was not rich by any means, and perhaps had only a limited education. (Read John Meier's...

One of things I most appreciated about Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI were his writings, especially his encyclical "Deus Caritas Est" and his series of books "Jesus of Nazareth." Not only was he a brilliant theologian, but he could really *write*, and had a distinctively subtle... ...and lucid style. My three favorite quotes of his:

"Being Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction."

"Deus Caritas Est"

Notes for media friends covering Thursday's Funeral Mass for Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. Here are some common errors. First, and by far the most common mistake: a Mass is "celebrated" (not "done," "given" or "made"). Pope Francis will be the "celebrant" (or "presider," which is.. ... slightly different, but an acceptable synonym.) The celebrant is not the "leader" or "chief priest." The Pope and the "concelebrants" (cardinals, bishops and priests celebrating with him) will be wearing "vestments" (not "robes"). Cardinals and bishops may wear a "miter"...

Dear friends: Many people will be reflecting on the life of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, who died today after decades of service to the church. What moved me most about his papacy were three things, two well known, the other perhaps not as well known. First, his resignation... ...as pope in 2013 was one of the most remarkable acts of humility in church history. It caught nearly everyone off guard, not only because he was the first pope to resign in centuries, but also because acts of humility of that magnitude are vanishingly rare...

Gospel: On the Feast of St. John, we read how the Beloved Disciple reached Jesus's tomb first, looked in and immediately believed (Jn 20). Why does the Beloved Disciple arrive there first and why does he immediately believe, whereas we're not told anything... ...about Peter's belief? Many New Testament scholars see a subtle elevation of John over Peter, reflecting the community for whom the Gospel was written. But recent scholarship (especially from Ben Witherington, III) suggests that the Beloved Disciple might be Lazarus...

Equating LGBTQ people, including transgender people, in any way, with the "demonic" leads inevitably to more hatred, harassment and violence. Stigmatizing and dehumanizing language will mean even greater suffering for an already at-risk community...
newwaysministry.org/2022/12/14/usc… A line from a new book, "The Ruin of All Witches," by Malcolm Gaskill, on witch hunts in Springfield, Mass., in 1651 is apposite. In the midst of epidemics, poverty and, most of all, competition between neighbors over scarce goods, the colonists' anger was turned outward:

Gospel: Happy Feast of the Immaculate Conception, which centers on the doctrine that Mary was born free from original sin. It is sometimes confused with the Virgin Birth, when the Virgin Mary gave birth to Jesus. That confusion is often compounded because today's Gospel... ...is the story of the Annunciation, when the Angel Gabriel appeared to Mary to announce the birth of Jesus (Lk 1:26-38). Today we focus on Mary's place in salvation history and her own unique holiness....

Delighted to share the news that "Building a Bridge," a documentary about LGBTQ Catholics that premiered at @Tribeca, is now available INTERNATIONALLY via iTunes! Thanks to Evan Mascagni, Shannon Post and all the creative team @Building_film and @JourneymanVOD

https://twitter.com/JourneymanVOD/status/1600533400858796034

And special thanks to executive director Martin Scorsese!

I'm always surprised that nearly all religious liberty cases seem to focus on denying LGBTQ people things that most other people can get: a website designed, a cake baked, a job offered. Moreover, few cases focus on far more basic religious beliefs that could be offended. Viz.... I'm not arguing anyone should do this, but a Christian web designer could say, "I'm not creating a website for a non-Christian religious ceremony (bar mitzvah, Buddhist ritual, Hindu wedding, etc.) because the customer doesn't believe in Jesus, and I cannot support that...."