Doctrine

The Vatican announced today that Pope Francis has established a new Pontifical John Paul II institute for “Marriage and Family Sciences” to replace the previous academic institution founded by John Paul in 1981. In an apostolic letter Summa Familiae Cura issued motu proprio and... Read more

“I do not know any country where, in general, less independence of mind and genuine freedom of discussion reign than in America.”  ∼ Tocqueville, Democracy in America Alexis de Tocqueville was the great French chronicler of the early United States.  Nearly 200 years ago, he spotted... Read more

On December 8, 1854, Pope Pius IX defined the dogma of the Immaculate Conception, the doctrine that God the Father chose and prepared a Mother for his only-begotten Son who was “ever absolutely free of all stain of sin, all fair and perfect” and who “would possess that fullness of holy... Read more

Sometimes one is asked “What are the differences between Catholics and Protestants?” This can be quite a difficult question to answer, for there are so many different places where one might begin. But now, thanks to the ever-helpful Orange Order, answering this question just got a little bit... Read more

Paul VI issued his encyclical in 1968, after a commission of theologians and experts spent four years meeting to study in-depth whether the Church could be open to the contraceptive pill or other artificial forms of birth control. In his encyclical, Pope Paul VI reaffirmed that sexual... Read more

When looking at the American Catholic Church and the surrounding culture, the honest, orthodox Catholic is left with at least two sobering conclusions: we are losing the culture war both outside the American Catholic Church and inside its precincts. The Obergefell v. Hodges decision (same-sex... Read more

On June 12, Bishop Thomas Paprocki of Springfield, Illinois issued a decree regarding same-sex “marriage” (SSM) and “related pastoral issues”.  In it, he reaffirmed traditional Catholic teaching that marriage can only be “a covenant between one man and one woman …” and... Read more

In the Scriptures at daily Mass this week (the fifth week of Lent) we have pondered the lengthy debates that the Jewish leaders pressed upon our Lord. They are recounted in John’s Gospel as well as elsewhere. At the heart of the debate is Jesus’ divinity and His appropriation of divine... Read more

I have been reading, with both profit and delight, Thomas Joseph White's latest book, The Incarnate Lord: A Thomistic Study in Christology. Fr. White, one of the brightest of a new generation of Thomas interpreters, explores a range of topics in this text—the relationship between Jesus' human... Read more

CNN has long struggled to understand religion. But the host of an upcoming documentary takes that cluelessness to a whole new level. So picture this: You visit a restaurant known for serving the best cuisine from around the world. You're about to sample the fare, when you discover that the... Read more