Articles

What is Moral Conscience?

Refuting four mistaken ideas about conscience in light of the natural law tradition. My experience as a teacher, counselor and confessor has repeatedly confirmed that there is a tremendous amount of confusion, especially among Catholics, … [Read more...]

Confronting the Claim of Eastern Orthodoxy to be the True Church

Understanding the conflicting claims of Catholicism versus Eastern Orthodoxy Among the lapsed from the Catholic Church in the turbulent post-conciliar period are those Catholics who became so disenchanted with the liturgical disarray and … [Read more...]

On the Promises of God to Mankind

“People of faith tend to have children; those who are persuaded of the randomness of existence tend not to.” — David Goldman, It’s Not the End of the World; It’s Just the End of You, 2011.[1. David Goldman, It’s Not the End of the World; It … [Read more...]

Scripture’s Seamless Garment and the Foundational Life Issue

The “seamless garment argument” versus the Biblical seamless garment, and how this ties into the primacy of a defense for the unborn In 1984, Cardinal Joseph Bernardin gave a talk which was meant to be supportive of a “consistent ethic of … [Read more...]

Chosen from Among Men

In Processu

When a bride makes thoughtful consideration of the necessary qualities to be found in her bridegroom, it surprises no one that she would look for a certain depth of heart in the relationship, an ability to properly perceive the difficulties … [Read more...]

Pastoral Authority and Spiritual Warfare

In sharing in the priesthood of Christ, the pastor upholds his own fatherhood (governing), receives his teaching authority, and can uphold his own ministry of healing and holiness (sanctifying).

“Draw your strength from the Lord and from his mighty power. Put on the armor of God so that you may be able to stand firm against the tactics of the devil. For our struggle is not with flesh and blood but with the principalities, with the p … [Read more...]

“Non Angli, sed angeli!” The Pope’s visit to Britain

The Pope’s visit to the U.K. in September may be the catalyst for a revitalized British faith.

The visit of Pope Benedict XVI to Britain, September 16-19, marked a very special moment, and one which may still have wider repercussions for the rest of the world. Its high point was the beatification of John Henry Newman (1801-90) at … [Read more...]

St. Thérèse’s Teacher: Our Lady of the Little Way

St. Thérèse believed that the Blessed Mother was the living embodiment of “The Little Way.”

In July 1937, forty years after St. Thérèse’s death, Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli, later Pope Pius XII, came to Lisieux to give a first blessing to the basilica then being constructed in honour of the Little Flower.  He had a meeting in the Carm … [Read more...]

Pope Benedict XVI: Theologian of the Bible

The Pastores Dabo Vobis Award in Honor of Fr. Kenneth Baker, S.J. (learn more)

The twentieth century was a tumultuous time in the Catholic Church for all concerned with the interpretation of the Bible. For the past few decades, this topic has been a principal concern of one prominent theologian. His interest in the … [Read more...]

Liberal education and the priesthood

The winner of the second annual Pastores Dabo Vobis Award in Honor of Fr. Kenneth Baker, S.J.

“Like all great churches, that are not mere store-houses of theology, Chartres expressed, besides whatever else it means, an emotion, the deepest man ever felt—the struggle of his own littleness to grasp the infinite. You may, if you like, f … [Read more...]

Razing the bastions, yet again

Be confident, bold and loving, for Christ has won!

In his 1952 Razing the Bastions (Schleifung der Bastionen) Hans Urs von Balthasar challenged the Church to replace any posturing of fear with a more world-friendly embrace.[1. Han Urs von Balthasar, Razing the Bastions, trans., Brian McNeil … [Read more...]

The practice of excellence

Human flourishing means seeing what is and acting accordingly.

“A man properly nurtured in poetry will quickly spot shoddy, poorly made works and ill-grown things, and his joy and aversion will be properly placed; he’ll approve beautiful things, joyfully take them into his soul, and from their nurture g … [Read more...]

On the beatification of John Paul II

The pontificate of John Paul II was a gift from God to the faithful entering the third millennium.

The unique significance of a recent Vatican announcement has settled on the minds and hearts of Christ’s faithful. The joyful news of the beatification of Pope John Paul II on the first of May contains layers of meaning for the Church and t … [Read more...]

Toward a Gospel witness: Confronting child abuse

The Church’s response to this evolving crisis has been, at the very least, disturbing.

We live in a culture that celebrates progressive liberation from sexual taboos and constraints. The sexual transgressions of days gone by have been rapidly refashioned into the conventional sexualities of today; even more risqué sexualities … [Read more...]

The divine will and human freedom: A Thomistic analysis

The unity of divine and human wills, as well as human freedom, are vital to Aquinas’ theology.

At the center of Nietzsche’s rejection of Christianity is the idea that Christianity involves an attack upon the human will. In The Antichrist he says the following: "The Christian conception of God…is one of the most corrupt conceptions of … [Read more...]