The Return to Order Moment

If a pollster went through the average American Catholic parish and asked the people in the pews when the current crisis in the church began, he would get a variety of answers. Probably the most popular answer would be, “What Crisis?” Unfortunately, all too many Catholics live in blithe ignorance that a crisis even exists. They have been lulled to sleep by homilies telling them that warm, unfocuse...

Notre Dame of Paris is more than a historic site. It is more than a grand cathedral. It is more than an expression of a great culture. Indeed, Notre Dame of Paris is a symbol of Christian culture itself. Since the catastrophic Two Thousand Nineteen fire, the process of rebuilding Notre Dame is becoming a focus of a massive dispute. On one side are those who want to see the great Cathedral restored...

The Gospel According to Saint Matthew, Chapter 24: Verse 6 says “And you shall hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that ye be not troubled. For these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.” Those words, perhaps, occurred to many on February 24, Two Thousand Twenty-two when Russian troops invaded Ukraine, after weeks of speculation that such a move might take place. Nonetheless, many pe...

Two Thousand Twenty-Two marks the seventieth anniversary of Queen Elizabeth the Second’s accession to the Throne of Great Britain. Her appeal to large numbers of Americans is curious. To many, she represents grace and elegance. Others admire her steadfast sense of purpose. For a few, it may simply be the fact that she has endured so long. Whatever the source of her appeal, it is undeniable. This p...

No one can deny that the United States is in a state of flux. Change is in the air, and none of our political prognosticators can tell us the directions of that change – even though many pretend to. Two phrases have taken increasing prominence in those political discussions – secession and civil war. Much of this may be the loose talk that accompanies uncertainty. However, more sober observers are...

No other devices have changed daily life more than the computer and its near relation – the Internet. Around the world, millions use them to gain access to information both significant and trivial. New uses are greedily absorbed by “early adopters” who eagerly await the newest toy. “Artificial Intelligence” is that newest toy. The idea of a computer that surpasses human intelligence is one that de...

Perhaps the biggest question facing traditional Catholics is one of loyalty. Loyalty to the office of the Papacy – often referred to as “Ultramontanism” – and to the teaching office of the Magisterium is part of being authentically Catholic. Yet, often, the actions of the popes themselves cause great concern, especially when they appear to violate long-held standards. So, how can a conscientious C...

Historically, Protestants have dismissed The Blessed Virgin Mary and sought to remove her from her rightful role in the story of Mankind’s salvation. Against this backdrop, Catholics have always been Our Lady’s defenders. After all, it was she who brought Our Lord into this world. Unfortunately, many Catholic leaders, even those in the highest reaches of the Church now seek to diminish Our Lady's...

As we move into the Year of Our Lord 2022, it is appropriate to take a look back at the year just past. It has been a time of great turmoil. The "mainstream" media presents the various conflicts as being won by leftists. However, that is an illusion. Indeed, every leftist pseudo-victory is more than balanced by the gathering forces that counter this desperate leftist power grab. This podcast looks...

This week, we are presenting a statement from the American TFP titled “Resist the Betrayal of the West.” This statement was published in Crusade Magazine in the March-April Two Thousand Twenty-one issue. We bring it to you now because the days around New Years’ Day are a time when many people take stock of their lives and resolve to do better in the following year. Indeed, Two Thousand Twenty-one...

Our Christmas gift to you is a meditation by the only diocesan parish priest to have been canonized a Saint – indeed, he is the patron Saint of Parish Priests. Saint John Marie Vianney (1786-1859) is known to many as the Cure d’Ars. His priesthood began in August 1815, only two months after the Battle of Waterloo. The Church in France lay in tatters after the disaster of the French Revolution and...

Critical Race Theory has been called “an idea that is so absurd that only an intellectual could believe it.” Indeed, many intellectuals and pseudo-intellectuals do believe it – and many of them are helping to inflict Critical Race Theory on America’s children. Critical Race Theory is part of the so-called woke movement. Wokeness, in turn, is a component of the so-called Social Justice narrative th...

President Biden is the epitome of a breed that is sometimes called the “cafeteria Catholic.” He claims belief and frequently attends Holy Mass. Yet at the same time, his actions and political positions fly in the face of Catholic teaching. That is most apparent in his promotion of procured abortion, but it does not stop there. President Biden’s vision is thoroughly modernist. It is in line with th...

There is nothing more basic than the fight between good and evil. Everything else in life hinges on the monumental struggle between God and Satan. Indeed, most people define their lives based on which side they embrace. Until recently, Satan’s favorite tactic was to convince people that he did not exist. This turned on the idea that Satan does not need for people to swear allegiance to him. He onl...

The Leftists’ War on Culture continues unabated, even while the leftists themselves deny that it is happening. All around us, we see the wreckage of cultural institutions that were once thought to be unassailable. At the same time, the left tries to convince us that everything is fine – in fact, they tell us that it is getting better by the minute! In this podcast, we focus on three aspects of the...

Most modern day people are unfamiliar with an old and erroneous set of ideas called Gnosticism. Yet, as you will hear, Gnosticism is the root of the errors that modern society faces. Both Communism and the Sexual Revolution have their roots in Gnosticism. Since modernism and post-modernism are the spawn of Communism and the Sexual Revolution, they can be called the descendants of this ancient here...

Until recently, the word woke was a past tense verb – as in the sentence, “He woke at dawn.” Now it is a noun, and a very destructive noun at that. The word is a kind of shorthand term that describes both leftists and the Marxist society into which they want to plunge us. As with most leftist ideas, “Wokeness” germinated for a long time before emerging into the light. It sat in the compost heap of...

All of the world’s societies draw near a crossroad. A time of decision approaches. Will we continue down the absurd and selfish path that society has taken for the past several centuries? Or will we take a careful look at the signs, and select a new path? These questions are too large to be answered in a half-hour podcast. All we can do here is to raise the question and suggest a course of action....

In Two Thousand Nineteen, Pope Francis began discussing a set of ideas that have come to be referred to as “The Economy of Francesco.” Vatican News described it as, “a worldwide movement of young people who aim to change the current economic models and craft a future that is more inclusive and just.” As the idea has taken shape over the last two years, one aspect of it is becoming increasingly app...

Today, the Return to Order Moment is honored to bring you two essays written by the founder of the international TFP Movement, Professor Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira. Both essays describe the virtues and actions of Popes named Gregory. However, their names, their loyalty to the Catholic Faith, and the fact that both occupied the Throne of Saint Peter are all that these two men have in common. Four Hu...

For decades, the left has peddled its own bizarre definition of freedom. It is a freedom that denies personal responsibility. In the real world, there can be no freedom WITHOUT personal responsibility. They deny personal responsibility while asserting that individual freedom is absolute. This is impossible. To give any person license to do whatever they want inevitably infringes on the rights of o...

The Chinese Communist Party wants to become the strongest power on earth. To do this, it must defeat two adversaries – the United States and the Catholic Church. It works tirelessly to accomplish both goals. China’s great advantage is that they are unified while the U.S. and the Church are divided. China has artfully manipulated those divisions to its own advantage. China is very good at hiding th...

Currently, the Congress of the United States looks like a hive of bees that have lost the ability to make honey. They know something is wrong, but they lack the intellect and imagination to do anything about it. These sentiments are reflected in many everyday Americans. Ever since the Great Depression, the government has stepped in to solve – or appear to solve – our problems. We allowed them to q...

During the Campaign of Two Thousand Twenty, Joseph Robinette Biden, Junior presented himself as the grown-up in the room. He held out the promise that he would restore order after the so-called chaos of the Trump Administration. His knowledge, seasoned by over four decades on the national stage, would guide us out of the twin disasters of Covid and the urban violence that dominated news during the...

Modern Western Culture, and especially American culture, worships the idea that everything should be new. Everyone wants new clothes, new cars, new houses, and even a new morality. To be “dated” is to be discarded. The desire for the modern carries a heavy psychological cost. When we dispose of our past, we become rootless, isolated, and alone. One of the goals of the American TFP is to help peopl...