We are still trying to figure out the thought of Pope Francis. Examining several insights in his collection of writings and talks, entitled, Only Love Can Save Us, will help. Embedded in letters, homilies, and talks he wrote between 2005 … [Read more...]
“We Will Be Judged by Love”—and Other Insights of Jorge Bergoglio
Religious Freedom, Slavery, and Usury
Three Challenges to the Hermeneutic of Continuity
Early on in his pontificate, Benedict XVI laid down the challenge of reading the Church’s teaching according to a hermeneutic of continuity, rather than according to what he characterized as a hermeneutic of rupture.[1. Benedict XVI, A … [Read more...]
Past and Present Conceptions of Tradition: Looking at the Synod on the Family
“Tradition” is one of the most important concepts in Christianity, and yet, it is a term very often misunderstood among Catholics, let alone other Christians. I propose that this is precisely why the Extraordinary Synod on the Family, which … [Read more...]
Questions Answered
Does the Church state that there is an ideal form of government? What Magisterial status does the teaching of the popes on contraception enjoy? Can it be changed? Must we believe it? Plato, St. Thomas Aquinas, and A … [Read more...]
An Essay on Natural Family Planning
The Catholic Church has never opposed family planning, but she teaches through her Magisterium, or teaching authority, that man may not, of his own volition, separate the two meanings of the conjugal act, the unitive and the procreative, … [Read more...]
The Role of Doctrine in Inspiring Believers to Moral Greatness
In order to demonstrate this essential coexistence of nature and grace in the life of the Church, and the life of the believer, it must be shown that doctrine is necessary for salvation, not superfluous, but essential to the Church’s m … [Read more...]
Fifty Years Later–Vatican II’s Unfinished Business
Today, 50 years after the opening of Vatican II, the misinterpretation of one of its most salient documents, Lumen Gentium, continues to drive a number of Catholics in the United States into one of two camps, the “right” or the “le … [Read more...]
Are doctrine and morals too controversial?
January 2013 Editorial
What happens to a parish, and to its parishioners, when the pastor refuses to preach Catholic doctrine and morals on the grounds that they are now “too controversial”? Cardinal Francis George and Cardinal Timothy Dolan are well known fo … [Read more...]
In defense of dogma
Editorial, May 2010
I want to raise my voice in defense of dogma. Since the Vatican Council dogma has been neglected, downplayed and even reviled by some theologians. This has been the result of the emphasis on Holy Scripture, because the Council urged … [Read more...]
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