The Contender

Robert De Niro’s Al Capone, in the movie The Untouchables, says of his battles with the tough new Treasury Department team that’s investigating him, “One more thing, you have an all out prize fight, you wait until the fight is over, one guy is left standing. And that’s how you know who won.” He’s right.… Continue reading The Contender

Did Vatican II Change the Church’s Understanding of Church?

This morning, I mentioned Dr. Jeff Mirus’ excellent series on Vatican II. His premise is the same as our current pope’s: that Vatican II renewed and reformed, but didn’t reverse, the Church. That is, it’s the same Church before and after. So when you get folks like Cardinal Mahoney saying doltish things like “The Tridentine… Continue reading Did Vatican II Change the Church’s Understanding of Church?

A Great Series on Vatican II

Dr. Jeff Mirus at Catholic Culture has an excellent series of short commentaries on Vatican II going. So far, it includes: A funny thing about Vatican II . . . The English Editions of the Documents of Vatican II Vatican II on the Liturgy: Introduction Vatican II on the Liturgy: Overview & General Norms Vatican… Continue reading A Great Series on Vatican II

What Is the Church?

I quoted St. Francis De Sales’ Catholic Controversies last week for his argument from history. Basically: We know Christ established one core set of beliefs in his Church, and entrusted the Holy Spirit to guard that Truth; Since two Persons of the Holy Trinity are actively protecting these beliefs, we should find them continually proclaimed;… Continue reading What Is the Church?

This Rock

An earlier post by Joe describes the Catholic understanding of Matthew 16:18. Something that is not taken into account enough when discussing this verse is the location in which it was uttered. After a pilgrimage in the Holy Land a couple years ago, I can’t hear this verse without the tremendous geological and cultural backdrop… Continue reading This Rock

What Do Men Say Matthew 16:18 Means?

I recently got to see Catholicism proved through negation. Stacey and Chris have attempted to inject a bit of Catholic clarity and charity into an anti-Catholic conversation (as I did briefly) on this post, and they’ve just been getting slammed with hostile comments and told in no uncertain terms that, while the blog has literally… Continue reading What Do Men Say Matthew 16:18 Means?

Jesus on the Oneness of the Church

From Matthew 12:22-30, 22Then they brought him a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute, and Jesus healed him, so that he could both talk and see. 23All the people were astonished and said, “Could this be the Son of David?” 24But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “It is only by Beelzebub, the… Continue reading Jesus on the Oneness of the Church