Catholic Exchange

This Lent, Live as if Jesus Christ is Indeed Lord of Your Life

• Archives
• Saturday, February 28th, 2009
• Archbishop Charles Chaput

Seventy years ago the great French Catholic writer Georges Bernanos published a little essay called “Sermon of an Agnostic on the Feast of St. Théresè.”  Bernanos deeply loved the Church, but he could also be brutally candid when it came… Read More

Finding the True Joy in Christmas

• Archives
• Saturday, December 27th, 2008
• Archbishop Charles Chaput

Each year in December, the noise, anxiety and party going of the season tend to obscure the reality we celebrate.  But this year, in the midst of our country’s troubling economic problems and the uncertainty they breed, some of us… Read More

On Gratitude and Advent

• Archives
• Friday, December 12th, 2008
• Archbishop Charles Chaput

The 2008 election has come and gone, but with a difficult economy, an on-going war and an incoming administration committed to troubling policies on abortion and other sanctity of life issues, the challenges facing us as a country seem just… Read More

Public Servants and Moral Reasoning

• Archives
• Tuesday, September 9th, 2008
• Archbishop Charles Chaput

To Catholics of the Archdiocese of Denver:
When Catholics serve on the national stage, their actions and words impact the faith of Catholics around the country. As a result, they open themselves to legitimate scrutiny by local Catholics and local… Read More

On the Courage to Be a Christian

• Archives
• Monday, August 25th, 2008
• Archbishop Charles Chaput

The Roman statesman Cicero once said that, “nothing can be useful if it is not at the same time morally good.” It’s another way of saying that the end never justifies the means. Our goals may be admirable, but if… Read More

Forty Years Later: Pope’s Concerns in Humanae Vitae Vindicated

• Archives
• Friday, July 25th, 2008
• Archbishop Charles Chaput

In presenting his encyclical, “Humanae Vitae,” Paul VI cautioned against four main problems that would arise if Catholic teaching on the regulation of births was ignored. First, he warned that the widespread use of contraception would lead to “conjugal infidelity… Read More

Episcopal Ordination Reflection: A Bishop’s Heart

• Archives
• Wednesday, June 4th, 2008
• Archbishop Charles Chaput

Archbishop Chaput’s column this week is taken from the homily he delivered at the episcopal ordination of new auxiliary Bishop James D. Conley on May 30 at the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception.
As I was preparing my thoughts… Read More

The Role of the Priest in Public Affairs

• Archives
• Monday, May 26th, 2008
• Archbishop Charles Chaput

Catholic leadership in the secular world belongs to laypeople, not to clergy or religious. The visible role of the priest in public affairs-if by public affairs we mean political affairs-should normally be pretty small.
It’s very dangerous for the Church… Read More

Priests: Ordinary Men Made Extraordinary by Grace

• Archives
• Saturday, April 5th, 2008
• Archbishop Charles Chaput

A friend of mine grew up in a family where her father worked for General Motors. When she was young, the company transferred her dad around the Midwest every few years. The good news is that she made many different friends, some of whom have lasted a lifetime. The bad news is that she never really set down roots until adulthood. She has no single city or town from her childhood that she remembers as "home."

Military families often have the same experience. Assignments come and go during an armed forces career. Families must learn to find "home" in each other and in faithful friends who understand the unique rhythm of a family life ruled by larger obligations. A life on the move can be fruitful and rewarding, my friend likes to say. But easy, it's not.

Church Has a Duty to Form the Human Heart in God’s Truth

• Archives
• Sunday, February 24th, 2008
• Archbishop Charles Chaput

Over the past few years, as I've talked about Catholics and the obligations of citizenship, two quotations have always guided my thinking.
The first is from the French writer Charles Péguy. Péguy once said that "Freedom is a system based… Read More