Tag: apologetics

The Church and Copernicus

Copernicus, without a doubt one of the most important scientists in history, has become a pawn, centuries after his death, in attacks on the Church. For years, those attacking the Church for being “anti-science” had a single person they could point to: Galileo. And those defending the Church pointed to Copernicus, who came some seventy… Continue reading The Church and Copernicus

Is There Salvation Outside of the Church? And Other Questions.

Leon Suprenant was asked the following question on his blog: I have a Protestant friend who has asked me two questions. I was wondering if you could help me with them. Thanks!!! First, the conclusion of the Papal Bull “Unam Sanctam” states: “Further, we declare, say, define, and pronounce it to be altogether necessary for… Continue reading Is There Salvation Outside of the Church? And Other Questions.

How Can Bad Priests Consecrate the Eucharist?

I. How Can Pedophile Priests Turn Bread and Wine into the Living God? A Protestant on a Catholic forum I was reading had some serious issues with the idea that evil (particularly pedophile) priests were still able to consecrate bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ. He quoted a former priest named… Continue reading How Can Bad Priests Consecrate the Eucharist?

Matthew 23:37, Free Will, and Irresistable Grace

I. Where Catholics and Calvinists Agree on the Free Gift of Salvation.Both Catholics and Calvinists believe that man is justified before God through the free gift of God’s Grace, and that this grace not only precedes anything good we might do, but is a requirement for it. In other words, we can do no good… Continue reading Matthew 23:37, Free Will, and Irresistable Grace

The Twilight of Modernism

A reader writes… Most Catholics and most others are pro life. It doesn’t mean they want to recriminalize abortion, contraception, return to the days before divorce was easily available or further stigmatize homosexuality, neither do they embrace the culture of pseudo celibate, closeted Gay, clergy. They aren’t misogynists, homophobes, child sodomizers or heretic burners. Most… Continue reading The Twilight of Modernism

Do Catholic Sinners and Heretics Disprove the Church?

I. A Perfect CircleFirst of all, I hope you’ll indulge me another art analogies, given this recent one. Giorgio Vasari, in his Lives of the Artists (the book which first named the “Renaissance”), recounts a possibly-legendary story about the famous artist Giotto di Bondone, on pg. 22: Pope Benedict IX, who had planned to have… Continue reading Do Catholic Sinners and Heretics Disprove the Church?

Can a Catholic Be Pro-Life?

That question hopefully seems absurd. A Catholic cannot not be pro-life. But an anonymous blogger named “Steve” has further polluted the Internet with a post over at the hateful-Reformed blog Triablogue about Frank Beckwith. If you’re not familiar, Beckwith was head of the Evangelical Theology Society (ETS), but after reading up on the Early Church… Continue reading Can a Catholic Be Pro-Life?

What About Life-Saving Abortions?

I. The Sr. McBride Excommunication You can tell how fair CNN’s treatment of the recent Margaret McBride case was by the headline: “Nun excommunicated for approving life-saving abortion.” Or from the first paragraph, describing how it was an “agonizing decision” to have an abortion. Or from the second paragraph which describes “The problem: St. Joseph’s… Continue reading What About Life-Saving Abortions?

Brief But Important

Maggie Gallagher argued at National Review Online’s The Corner that the Pill led to abortion, because it made the idea that we could and should separate sex from reproduction seem sane. My only qualm is that it’s not really “reproduction,” but birth, which folks were worried about. An “accidental pregnancy” which can be “taken care… Continue reading Brief But Important