Wonderful news! Pope John Paul II is now Venerable Pope John Paul II, and Pope Pius XII is now Venerable Pope Pius XII. Thanks be to God! And my finals are now over. Thanks be to God! And my girlfriend is now officially Catholic. Thanks be to God!
Author: Joe Heschmeyer
Learning from the Irish Sex Scandal
The Irish, if you’re not aware, are going through a sex abuse scandal similar to what we faced in the US, only compounded by the fact that these abuses often occurred at boarding schools with plenty of other problems (including physical abuse). All of this was sort of dumped on a relatively unsuspecting Irish public… Continue reading Learning from the Irish Sex Scandal
Sow the Seeds of Abortion…
…Reap the crop of infanticide. A woman murdered her newborn baby, but because the umbilical cord was still attached, it was just a postnatal abortion. She won’t be charged. This is that nightmare scenario pro-lifers have been warning about, where legal abortion leaves the womb.
A Good One-Sentence Kicker
Chris commented on my Thursday post. The comment’s good, but the kicker’s great: “Is it logical to say that because heretics questioned a doctrine, the doctrine itself was therefore ill-defined?” That sentence, had I thought of it earlier, would have been great. It explains the reason that the Catholic Church doesn’t require “universal and continuous… Continue reading A Good One-Sentence Kicker
St. Clement, Sola Scriptura, and Mary
After a post I wrote about sola Scriptura, John Armstrong suggested that I read The Shape of Sola Scriptura by Keith Mathison. The book is written by a creedal Protestant – that is, he believes in sola Scriptura, but believes that any interpretation of the Bible which falls outside of the historic Creeds is wrong.… Continue reading St. Clement, Sola Scriptura, and Mary
Healthcare: His Amendment’s Good, but Casey’s Unprincipled
The USCCB has really done a good job with this, a side-by-side comparison of the Hyde Amendment, Congress’ own health plan, and the Nelson/Hatch/Casey amendment, which was tabled by the Senate last Tuesday. Its point is glaringly obvious: the Nelson/Hatch/Casey amendment is almost verbatim the same as what the Senate just reaffirmed in the Consolidated… Continue reading Healthcare: His Amendment’s Good, but Casey’s Unprincipled
Answering the Specific with the General
I’m wondering how many times I’m going to make the comments section of iMonk’s post on Catholic radio an integral part of my posts, but hopefully two isn’t too many. The reason I’m posting from the now-closed comments section is that I’ve observed a trend lately which I think needs exploring, and I think this… Continue reading Answering the Specific with the General
Great Arguments Against Neo-Malthusianism
I was surprised to hear that Tertullian, an early Christian apologist, was an early fearmonger about overpopulation: In the year 200 AD, there were approximately 180million human beings on the planet Earth. And at that time a Christian philosopher called Tertullian argued: ‘We are burdensome to the world, the resources are scarcely adequate for us…… Continue reading Great Arguments Against Neo-Malthusianism
G.K. Chesterton, Sam Harris, and Margaret Downey on American Morals
John Armstrong has a good primer on the great G.K. Chesterton, easily one of the finest Catholic writers of the 20th Century. One of the commenters made reference to an essay Chesterton had written on American morals from 1929. It is called, incidentally, “On American Morals,” and it’s delightful: America is sometimes offered to us,… Continue reading G.K. Chesterton, Sam Harris, and Margaret Downey on American Morals
What Devout Catholics Aren’t.
Diogenes’ most recent post is only 35 words long: “If you can read this NSW Premier Kristina Keneally is in ‘utter agreement’ with the teachings of the Catholic Church but wants female priests, the vow of celibacy relaxed and supports abortion. thank a catechist.” To which I would would add: “A devout Catholic, Nickoloff is… Continue reading What Devout Catholics Aren’t.