One should not make too much of a recent contretemps at the Pontifical Academy for Life, because it's not really as if the fate of the Vatican hangs in the balance. Yet the dust-up is nevertheless worth pondering, primarily because it captures three recurrent tensions in Catholic life, with consequences far broader than the immediate future of one pontifical body. After a brief review of the controversy, I'll unpack each.

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Screen grab of Fr. Thomas Williams in a television appearance.

A high-profile American priest in the Legionaries of Christ has acknowledged having had a sexual relationship with a woman and fathering her child, adding another chapter to the growing scandals surrounding the controversial religious order.

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Bishop Bernard Fellay, superior of the Society of St. Pius X, is pictured near a photo of Pope Benedict XVI at the society's headquarters in Menzingen, Switzerland, May 11. (CNS/Paul Haring)

ROME -- Cold feet, of course, are fairly common before any wedding. It’s thus probably no surprise that as Rome and the traditionalist Society of St. Pius X, popularly known as the “Lefebvrists,” prepare to walk down the aisle, important voices on both sides of the match are having some second thoughts.

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Tiene siempre más lectores, en todas las naciones del mundo. Llega al escritorio del Papa y también a la misión más alejada. En China y en las mezquitas musulmanas. Números y relatos de una historia de éxitos

En el tránsito del latín a las lenguas modernas se han perdido muchas riquezas de los textos originales. En un libro, el liturgista más estimado por el Papa hace el inventario de los daños y explica cómo remediarlos

Un congreso ha roto el silencio sobre Jean Daniélou, uno de los más grandes teólogos del siglo XX. El misterio de su muerte. La hostilidad de sus hermanos jesuitas. La entrevista que no le perdonaron