The question of economics is central to the crisis in the Church, due to the fact that a great many of the controversial things in society that we lament — abortion, contraception, and divorce, to name just a few — …
Category: Theology
No Other Gods: Three Questions That Can Help You Sift Pagan Chaff from Christian Grain
Ex umbris et imaginibus in veritatem “From shadows and images into truth”1 Various translations are possible, since imagines can be translated: ideas, appearances, phantasms, likenesses, simulacra, symbols, etc. For Newman, the darkness from which he had emerged could be described, …
Extra Ecclesiam, Nulla Salus: How Is the Church Necessary for Salvation?
What does it mean for someone to “know that the Church is necessary for salvation”? The documents of the Church always say: If someone knows this but does not act upon it, he cannot be saved. Are there really such …
The Antichurch Cookbook? Vatican’s New Directory for Catechesis (Part I)
NB: See the rest of this series, plus other articles on the same topic here. Readers are also encouraged to acquire a traditional Catholic catechism; see our list, or check Tradivox. Introduction The Vatican’s new Directory for Catechesis has received rather scanty attention in the …
The Flight to Eternal Rome and the Mass of the Revolution
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 …
‘Is My Baby in Hell?’ A New Book on Limbo
Is My Baby in Hell?: Hope for Parents of Unbaptized Infants Michael Lofton R&T Press 106 pages $12.99 paperback, $2.99 e-book Michael Lofton is the host of the Reason and Theology show and is currently pursuing his Th.D. with Pontifex …
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 …
Climbing the Ladder of Creation with St. Bonaventure, the Seraphic Doctor
Most Catholics who have a decent acquaintance with theology will be familiar with the writings of St. Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) — at least, with questions from his Summa theologiae. Apart from Franciscans who are devoted to their own tradition, however, …
How Students Should Learn, and How Teachers Should Teach
The term “Magisterium” is a relatively new term that became prevalent in the past few generations of Church history. Before this, there was a distinction made within the Church Militant between the Ecclesia Docens (“Teaching Church”) and the Ecclesia Discens …
Purgatory: They Shall Be Saved, but Only So as by Fire
When Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ instituted the Holy Mass as a perpetual sacrifice of His Body and His Blood for the remission of our sins (Mt. 26:26–28; Mk. 14:22–24; Lk. 22:19–20; 1 Cor. 10:16–18; etc.), it is clear …