I often relay the anecdote that it was Steven Ray’s book on the papacy, Upon This Rock, that gave me the final intellectual push to convert – but mostly it was the opening quote, which brought me about 90% of …
Beware the Divider, Already In Our Midst
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published on September 15, 2015. As internecine attacks and infighting seem to be on the rise among those who have attempted to hold the line against the Bergoglian “reforms”, we thought it would be …
Rise of the Benevacantists: Who Is Pope?
The papacy of Pope Francis has set many new bars for the Church. Many of us, who are faithful Catholics, have been shocked and dismayed as he appointed heterodox clergy and prelates; promulgated highly ambiguous documents that appear to challenge …
The Transgender Church
Even a year ago, I was completely blind to the spiritual danger of the rising transgender movement. I conceptualized transgenderism as a treatable societal malignancy, which would not cause widespread problems if it could somehow be contained within the confines …
Make This a Black Friday the Bishops Won’t Forget
Thanksgiving is now past, and while leftovers are being refrigerated and families are saying their goodbyes, much despair is held by lay faithful. We are still reeling following the less than fruitful meeting of the USCCB in Baltimore a little …
In Defense of the Jesuit Order (Sort Of)
Editor’s note: The following is not the position of 1P5, but we submit the author’s opinion to help inform discussion on the question of the always troublesome (these days) Jesuits. As we lament their present state, it is worthwhile to …
Words of Consolation: Chesterton, Tolkien, and the Crisis in the Church
Like many Catholics who love their faith, I have struggled to find an explanation for the current crisis in the Church. Despite countless hours of research and analysis, I still find the situation deeply mysterious. It seems that the impossible …
Napoleon, the Postmodern Crisis, and the Novus Ordo
As Pope Pius VI lay dying in Valence, France in 1799, a prisoner of the rising Napoleon, Talleyrand thought the First Consul had in his custody the last of the popes. Like the Holy Roman Empire, the anachronistic institution of …
New Church, New Faith, New Pope
In 2013 Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor told Paul Vallely of The Independent, “Four years of Bergoglio would be enough to change things.” In a story published in March 2017, LifeSiteNews quoted from a speech given by former cardinal Theodore McCarrick that …
On Deposing Popes: A Historical Review
This article is also available as a printer-friendly PDF document. Asking the Question Throughout his five-year reign, Pope Francis has been a controversial figure. He has pushed for novelties and innovations to both the papacy and the Church itself, from …
