Author: T. S. Flanders

Understanding Sin: Suggestion and Pleasure
In my last piece on this topic a few people pointed out to me a glaring omission. Here I will attempt to remedy this and briefly discuss a few crucial distinctions that we must keep in mind. Suggestion to Sin …

Scrupulosity: Pride Disguised as Virtue
Prummer defines scrupulosity as “a state of groundless fear rather than the judgment of a sound mind” (no. 144). He identifies the signs of scruples: an excessive anxiety about previous confessions, protracted accusations of irrelevant details, stubbornness that refuses to …

Why Heretics Hate Mary and We Should Love Her More
Marian devotion is the cure for heresy and the healing of all heretics. We must turn to her for refuge from the heretical depravity now consuming the Church. Marian devotion is the destruction of error, the fount of humility, and …

Papal Infallibility: Peter and Paul Are Interdependent
We see in the Latin liturgical tradition an interesting thing: with the major feast on June 29 as well as the minor feasts, both apostles are always commemorated [1]. If the feast is chiefly of the Prince of the Apostles, then …

Conspiracy and Catholic Doctrine: A Defense of Taylor Marshall
After the revelations of Theodore McCarrick and the corroboration of the Viganò testimony, all reasonable men can agree that an infiltration exists within the hierarchy of the Catholic Church. Part of the solution to this grave problem is to investigate …

Is Patriotism a Virtue?
Note: Skip to the On the Contrary if you are not familiar with a Thomistic article. Objection 1: It seems that Patriotism is not a virtue. For our Lord said, My Kingdom is not of this world (Jn. xviii. 36) …

Declaration of Truths Paves a Way Forward for the Post-Vatican II Church
The Declaration of Truths recently signed by five bishops provides the Church with a clear document capable of uniting Catholics against the enemies of Holy Church. But in order to unite, faithful Catholics of every stripe will need to agree …

I Left Eastern Orthodoxy for the Church Led by Pope Francis, and I Don’t Regret It
I converted from Eastern Orthodoxy to Catholicism shortly after Pope Francis was elected. I have never regretted this decision because I have seen what it is like to live without the Roman primacy, and I will never go back. The …