The Catholic Difference is a weekly column syndicated by the Archdiocese of Denver.
The Problem of the Self-Worshiping Community
In his recently published book, The Spirit of the Liturgy, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger offers an instructive commentary on the famous scene from Exodus in which the people of Israel fall
Changing the Guard at the U.S. Embassy-Vatican
Ever since formal diplomatic relations at the ambassadorial level were established between the United States and the Holy See in 1984, the U.S. government has been represented at the Vatican
A Papal Gift to Russia
Just about a year ago, my wife and I, with four Polish and American friends, were having lunch with John Paul II in the papal apartment. An hour into our
The Clinton Legacy
The forty-second president of the United States began to define his legacy hours after his 1993 inauguration, when he signed a series of executive orders deepening the federal government’s involvement
A Jubilee Scorecard
The Great Jubilee of 2000 concluded on the Solemnity of the Epiphany, January 6. For a quick review of some of the highlights (and low-lights) of this remarkable year-plus, here’s
Bach Converts Japan
A famous scientist of secular persuasion once proposed that, if humanity wanted to put its best foot forward in trying to communicate with extraterrestrial life, we ought to broadcast all
To those about to be ordained (Part 2)
As I wrote last week, I have been exceptionally blessed in recent years by the friendship of the faculty and students of the Pontifical North American College in Rome. What
To those about to be ordained (Part 2)
As I wrote last week, I have been exceptionally blessed in recent years by the friendship of the faculty and students of the Pontifical North American College in Rome. What
To those about to be ordained (Part 1)
One of the great graces of my life in recent years has been the extraordinary friendship extended to me by the faculty and students of the Pontifical North American College
In Defense of the First Freedom
Then there was the sacred parking barrier. It seems that the San Francisco highways department had left one of those ugly concrete parking barriers behind the tea garden in Golden
The Communist Manifesto revisited
Imagine what would happen if, in the year 2000, a publisher decided to mark the 75th anniversary of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf by issuing a handsome new commemorative edition, designed
Teachers, not Managers
Great events like the Second Vatican Council always have unintended consequences. Knowing that the office of bishop had gotten short shrift at Vatican I when that Council was prematurely closed
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