About ten years ago, I was a confused, libertarian, atheist college freshman, and I was about to embark on a revolution – first downward towards Hell and then upwards towards Heaven. As a complacent atheist who grew up in New …
Category: The Church
Are Catholics Bound to Assent to Vatican II?
Mr. Dave Armstrong has been a successful Catholic author and blogger for some two decades. To his great credit, he is one of the few Catholics who provides a substantial critique of the traditionalist movement.[1] Without a doubt he has …
Asking Sedevacantists: A Church without Popes Forever?
Recently, an event of significance for sedevacantists came to pass. The last bishop consecrated to be appointed to office in 1958 — i.e., during the reign of Pope Pius XII — finally passed into eternity. That this is so can …
Man Cannot Live on Vatican II Alone
It’s a Friday. A boy and his father head out in their boat to fish. The plan is to catch supper. “Dad, we’ve been out for two hours and haven’t caught anything,” remarks the boy sullenly. “The water is too …
Papal Infallibility After One Hundred and Fifty Years
Saturday, July 18, 2020, marked the 150th anniversary of the definition of papal infallibility by the first Vatican Council in the constitution Pastor Aeternus, as a dogma of the Catholic faith, to be held by all Catholics under pain of …
Can a Catholic Ever Disobey a Pope?
“No one is ever allowed to disobey the pope. Period.” The statement is made repeatedly on social media, usually in an attempt to end a debate. It’s taken as a given. No sources cited, no documentation provided. It’s merely assumed. …
The Kitsch Council
Back in 1994, my inquiry into the claims of the Catholic Church took a decisive turn. I transitioned from reading books in the safety of my own home to visiting actual parishes and signing up for RCIA. At this point, …
Vatican’s Appeasement of China Goes a Long Way Back
It was Mark Twain who, albeit tritely, said it best: “history doesn’t repeat itself, but it sure does rhyme.” Spectators from all sides of the Pachamama controversy, whether they be Catholic or apostate idol-worshipers, might be interested to learn that …
Joy Will Keep You Afloat in Desperate Times
“The Catholic Church is an institution I am bound to hold divine — but for unbelievers a proof of its divinity might be found in the fact that no merely human institution conducted with such knavish imbecility would have lasted …
What It Really Means that Benedict Visited His Brother in Germany
An ailing Benedict XVI made a short trip home to Germany to visit his even more infirm brother. In more sane times, this would have caused normal human reactions from Catholics, such as wishing the brothers well and perhaps offering …