I just finished reading what I thought was a pretty excellent starting point for a good discussion on ecclesiology and ecumenical dialogue between Catholics and non-Catholic Christians (Protestants, non-Catholic Charismatics, Orthodox, etc.). I was referred to the site by one of the nicest commenters I’ve ever heard from (or of) via my e-mail. Much thanks… Continue reading Is The Catholic Church the Kingdom of God?
Tag: church structure
Priestly Celibacy: Eunuchs for the Kingdom
I don’t feel comfortable sharing the full content of my e-mails back and forth with Reese (Currie), but this didn’t seem too personal, so I thought I’d see what people thought. Do these points make sense, and are they compelling? Are there other and better things I should be saying? I. Priestly CelibacyI wanted to… Continue reading Priestly Celibacy: Eunuchs for the Kingdom
What the Road to Damascus Taught St. Paul
It’s the year of St. Paul. – for those of you who aren’t aware or are not Catholic, the pope declared a year, from June 28, 2008 to June 29, 2009, to celebrate St. Paul’s unique contributions to the faith. There really is at least a year’s worth of discussion one could do just on… Continue reading What the Road to Damascus Taught St. Paul
Il Papa! Papal Infallibility, pt. 4: Q & A
This is the last in a four-part series I wrote, upon request, about the papacy and papal infallibility. Part 1 examined what papal infallibility, and is not; Part 2 briefly explains how papal infallibility flows from the idea of a papacy, before examining Matthew 16:17-19, the foundational text for the papacy, in depth; Part 3… Continue reading Il Papa! Papal Infallibility, pt. 4: Q & A
Il Papa! Papal Infallibility, pt. 3: The Good Shepherd Calls a Shepherd
This is part three of an exploration of the origins of the papacy and the idea of papal infallibility. Yesterday, we looked at how papal infallibility is the natural result of a Holy Spirit protected Church lead on Earth by one man. This raised the obvious question: did Christ establish a Church to be lead… Continue reading Il Papa! Papal Infallibility, pt. 3: The Good Shepherd Calls a Shepherd
Il Papa! Papal Infallibility, pt. 2: Jesus Establishes His Church (and Pope).
Now that we’ve established what papal infallibility is, and more importantly, isn’t, let’s look at the merits of infallibility. Papal infallibility is the protection of Church teachings by the Holy Spirit. This infallibility isn’t really a power of the pope’s, at all: it’s a power of the Holy Spirit, used to prevent the pope from… Continue reading Il Papa! Papal Infallibility, pt. 2: Jesus Establishes His Church (and Pope).
Il Papa! Papal Infallibility, part 1: What it is and isn’t.
I think the role of the papacy and more specifically, the idea of papal infallibility, serves as one of the bigger barriers between Catholics and non-Catholic Christians, and I think it’s been the subject of a lot of misunderstanding and even misinformation. One Protestant I spoke to recently said, “I just have issues with the… Continue reading Il Papa! Papal Infallibility, part 1: What it is and isn’t.