Susan Klemond is a freelance writer living in St. Paul, Minn., who writes news and feature articles for the Register, OSV Newsweekly, and the Catholic Spirit, the diocesan paper for St. Paul-Minneapolis. She also has worked in marketing, editing, and magazine production. The recent resignation of Spanish bishop and exorcist Xavier Novell Goma has drawn attention to challenges exorcists can face. As the Church’s representatives, exorcists are given Christ’s authority in his name to deliver or protect persons or objects from Satan’s power and withdraw them from his dominion — but several exorcists say they need the Church’s support to …

K.V. Turley is the Register’s U.K. correspondent. He writes from London. Why did the best-selling author sign the petition to retain the traditional Mass 50 years ago? We have a mystery to solve.  The suspect is none other than Agatha Christie: best-selling author and undisputed “Queen of Crime.”  The mystery starts with a document composed in 1971. It came from the Vatican, where the then-reigning pontiff, Pope Paul VI, issued an indult permitting what was known as the Tridentine Mass to continue to be said in England and Wales.  What was striking about this document, which is generally only of interest solely …

Robert Mixa is the Education Fellow of the Word on Fire Institute. He received his M.T.S. in Biotechnology and Ethics from the Pontifical John Paul II Institute. He and his wife live in Dallas, TX. You can read more of his thoughts, reviews, and interviews at RobertMixa.com. Aesthetic education matters. Noble art cultivates noble souls. Until recently, most civilizations have understood this, encouraging educators to introduce the youth to art, beauty, and good taste. This is what is known as an “aesthetic education.” But how many educators do this today? When taste has been reduced to mere preference—wherein the distinction between …

Reverend Peter M.J. Stravinskas is the editor of The Catholic Response, and the author of over 500 articles for numerous Catholic publications, as well as several books, including The Catholic Church and the Bible and Understanding the Sacraments. This is a salutary moment for people on both sides of the aisle to engage in a sincere examination of conscience: Have I weaponized the Sacred Liturgy, using it for ideological purposes, rather than for the glory of the Triune God? As we approach the month’s mind marker of Traditionis Custodes, and with the benefit of literally hundreds of articles produced, including my own reflection here at CWR within …

By Rachel Hoover Rachel Hoover is a technical writer by day and a critic and essayist for several Catholic publications in the early evening. She holds a B.A. from Christendom College and lives in Nashville, Tennessee. The tract in the pre-1970 Mass of the Common of the Blessed Virgin begins: “Rejoice, O Virgin Mary, thou alone hast destroyed all heresies. Who didst believe the words of the Archangel Gabriel.” Why is Our Lady the destroyer—or Exterminatrix—of all heresies? Because she believed the words of the Archangel Gabriel; her fiat of absolute faith in God is enough to overturn every heretical un-belief the rest …

By Thomas Griffin – Thomas Griffin teaches apologetics in the religion department at a Catholic high school on Long Island. Read more at www.EmptyTombProject.org. The American Medical Association House of Delegates recently released a statement calling for sex to be removed as a legal designation from birth certificates. Sandra Fryhofer, the chair of the board of the AMA, stated: “Designating sex on birth certificates as male or female, and making that information available on the public portion, perpetuates a view that sex designation is permanent and fails to recognize the medical spectrum of gender identity.” The AMA continued its statement calling for sex …