Tag: papacy

The Prophetic Pope Paul VI, and the Consequences of Contraception

Pope Paul VI (1977) Pope Paul VI gets a lot of grief from both conservative and liberal Catholics.  His pontificate, which lasted from 1963 to 1978, was at a particularly tumultuous time in the Church and the world.  But whatever else may be said of Pope Paul, his encyclical on  contraception, Humanae Vitae, seems downright prophetic.… Continue reading The Prophetic Pope Paul VI, and the Consequences of Contraception

Understanding Christ’s Humanity and Divinity

Christ Pantocrator (from the Hagia Sophia) A couple days ago, I was asked: If Jesus Christ is both fully human and fully God, was He human before the Incarnation? If He wasn’t, why would the Nestorian position be heretical, since Christ is fully divine and His humanity was only a later addition? And if He… Continue reading Understanding Christ’s Humanity and Divinity

The Orthodox Question: Why Catholic and Not Eastern Orthodox?

At some point, many people considering the Catholic Church face this question: “Why become Catholic, and not Eastern Orthodox?” After all, Orthodoxy can look mighty appealing. You get a lot of the things that are desirable in Catholicism — Apostolic Succession, visible authority, ecclesial unity, Tradition, beautiful Liturgy — without having to accept the pope… Continue reading The Orthodox Question: Why Catholic and Not Eastern Orthodox?

Revisiting the Reformation Pope: A Defense of Pope Leo X

Pope Leo X, the pope at the time of the Reformation, came in for a lot of abuse at the hands of the early Reformers.  For myself, I think we should be careful about judging Leo X based solely on what his enemies said of him.  After all, if one were to judge Obama solely… Continue reading Revisiting the Reformation Pope: A Defense of Pope Leo X

Answering Four Common Protestant Objections to the Papacy

Andre, a Protestant on his way into the Catholic Church, recently had something of an exit interview with his former pastor. His pastor made some last-ditch attempts to scuttle Andre’s belief in the papacy. I’ll present each of the pastor’s arguments against the papacy (as described by Andre), followed by a brief response: (1) I… Continue reading Answering Four Common Protestant Objections to the Papacy

Has the Papacy Evolved Over Time?

A reader e-mailed me to ask me to write about whether and how the papacy evolved over time.  The short answer is that the papacy has evolved, and will continue to evolve, but that the bedrock principle of papal primacy is one that’s unchanging. To explain what I mean, let me start by pointing to the… Continue reading Has the Papacy Evolved Over Time?

St. John Chrysostom and St. Augustine on Matthew 16:18 and the Papacy

In yesterday’s post, I stated my intention to set the issue of whether or not Peter was the “Rock” in Matthew 16:18 aside to have a more fruitful discussion on Christ’s promises in that passage. It didn’t quite work out that way in the comments, which have almost all been about … whether or not Peter was… Continue reading St. John Chrysostom and St. Augustine on Matthew 16:18 and the Papacy

Sheep Without a Shepherd

If Scripture is as clear as Protestants claim it is, and we Christians are left with sola Scriptura (“Scripture alone”) to determine the authentic content of the faith, why can no two groups of Protestants seem to agree what exactly our beliefs as Christians are supposed to be? In response to yesterday’s post, Drew (a… Continue reading Sheep Without a Shepherd