In light of the controversies surrounding chapter eight of Pope Francis apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia, the role of conscience has taken center stage. The questions for us are: what is conscience and how is it formed? Is it informed only by formal principles that permit exceptions in hard cases, or is it formed both by…
On 17 February, Pope Francis released a letter written for those gathered for the World Meeting of Popular Movements held in California from 16-19 February — a meeting organized by the Vatican. Such meetings regularly take place in the Vatican and are initiated by Pope Francis himself in his attempt to work together with a variety of grassroots…
Christ said at His ascension, “Go forth and make disciples of all nations.” This singular command permeates all aspects of Catholic life, both public and private. As Catholics, we are called to conform our entire life to the Gospel message. Conformity with the precepts of the Gospel message – which forms the essence of conversion…
The following is Part IV of a series. Read Part I, Part II, and Part III at the links. Tradition, Doctrine and Magisterium (Continued) Ecumenism The 1928 encyclical Mortalium Animos condemns modern notions of ecumenism. It says the Catholic Church is the one true Church, to which separated Christian ecclesial communities should return. It says…
The following is Part III of a series. Read Part I, Part II, and Part IV at the links. Asking Questions and Reading the Signs The current confusion in the Church has been compared to the Arian crisis. When priests, bishops, and other Church leaders start to do and teach strange things, each Catholic has to…
The 2016 presidential election in the United States presents an occasion for us to reflect upon the Catholic view on what constitutes a good and just government. In order to understand the Catholic perspective, we must first ask the question: what is the nature and origin of the government? The traditional magisterium of the Church…
Many are familiar with Aristotle’s view of virtue. Simply put, Aristotle proposed virtue as the mean between two vices – but the virtue, he continued, does not fall directly between the two. Instead, it falls closer to one than the other. Thus, for example, he proposed bravery to fall between cowardice (the defect of the…
The noted Italian Catholic politician and philosopher Rocco Buttiglione has emerged as one of the most prominent defenders of Pope Francis’ Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia (AL). Well, even the most brilliantly qualified apologist is going to have an uphill battle if he seeks – as Buttiglione does – to demonstrate that this very confusing document…
Whereas the Son’s own surrender to the love of the Father, on the level of fallen creation, is consummated in his sharing of our death, our reunion in him, in this very death, consummates our ecstasy, our ravishment with the Risen One, our Ascension in his own, in which is celebrated the Marriage of the…
While teaching a theology class to men in formation for the diaconate, I asked, “When was the last time you heard a homily on Hell?” None of the sixteen could recall. “And Heaven?” Only two. The exchange reminded me of an observation made by Christoph Cardinal Schönborn in his book Loving the Church (Ignatius Press,…
After the German publisher Droemer Verlag first released it on 9 September 2016, much has already been deeply discussed and variously reported about Benedict XVI’s new interview-book, Benedikt XVI. Letzte Gespräche (Benedict XVI – Last Conversations) which so far has only been published in the German language. It has been shown, for example, how the…
