2026-06-06T00:41:07-04:00

Last updated on: June 6, 2026 at 12:41 am   By

Catholic League President Bill Donohue included my name with regard to some very strange claims, in his piece, Playing Favorites with Two Popes (1-3-20). He wrote, concerning the slapping incident that I posted about yesterday: (that he cited with no link). Several commentators blamed the woman. Dave Armstrong at Patheos said her reaching out to him with both arms was “shocking and staggering.” [then cites International Business Times, The Guardian, and John Allen at Crux] Why is it okay for those on the... Read more

2026-06-06T00:41:07-04:00

Last updated on: June 6, 2026 at 12:41 am   By

vs. Eric Giunta This came about with Eric’s lengthy response in the combox of my recent post, Pope Francis Condemns Evangelism? Absolutely Not! He wanted a vigorous (and cordial) discussion? He got one. His words will be in blue. Pope Francis’ words will be in green. ***** The problem, Dave, is that Pope Francis’s obsession with condemning “proselytism” makes no sense unless he is, in fact, condemning historic evangelization, and instead considers “real evangelization” to be mere do-gooderism: performing good works... Read more

2020-01-02T15:17:14-04:00

Last updated on: January 2, 2020 at 3:17 pm   By

First posted on Karl Keating’s Facebook page. His words will be in blue. ***** Mine was not a chapter-by-chapter examination, but rather, critiques of five separate portions that I took particular exception to. The series is now done. Most of the book was taken up with “palace intrigue” and internal affairs of Cardinals, and what Karl calls “administrative or leadership style and actions”, etc. I’ve never had an interest in that, so I didn’t interact with it. I was specifically... Read more

2026-06-05T23:55:51-04:00

Last updated on: June 5, 2026 at 11:55 pm   By

Pope Francis was greeting the crowds during his New Year’s message at the Vatican, when a woman forcibly grabbed his hand and pulled him toward herself. The pope could be seen (in the video) immediately — seemingly involuntarily — grimacing in pain (my strong impression, anyway). Then he slapped the woman’s hand as she was shaking his, scolded her, and walked away with a scowl. These are the bare facts. I will examine them more closely in a minute. CNN (the... Read more

2020-01-01T17:41:12-04:00

Last updated on: January 1, 2020 at 5:41 pm   By

In one address (7-26-14), Pope Francis distinguishes apologetics and evangelization from proselytization: Dialogue is so important, but to dialogue two things are necessary: one’s identity as a starting point and empathy toward others. If I am not sure of my identity and I go to speak, I end up bartering my faith. You cannot dialogue without starting from your own identity, and empathy, which is a priori not condemning. Every man, every woman has something of their own to give... Read more

2020-01-01T11:53:13-04:00

Last updated on: January 1, 2020 at 11:53 am   By

A few years back I ran across a woman online who used to be a Baptist and had become a Catholic. She expressed perfectly how the term “Mother of God” is so vastly misunderstood by a good portion of Protestants, in describing how she used to think: I felt that I was saying that a human being born at a certain time in history (a creature) had “created,” had given life to, God Himself, Who had not previously existed. Such an outrageous,... Read more

2019-12-31T14:15:17-04:00

Last updated on: December 31, 2019 at 2:15 pm   By

These are fairly “random” thoughts of mine that were originally my replies on a very active combox discussion on my Facebook page (May 2014). As so often, I am a bit in the middle again, and can see good points on both sides. So hopefully this is some food for thought for those who have pondered the issue. * * * * * I have maintained that if one has a call, it won’t be thwarted by merely being an altar boy or not. If a... Read more

2026-06-06T00:41:07-04:00

Last updated on: June 6, 2026 at 12:41 am   By

Genesis 38:9-10: “But Onan knew that the offspring would not be his; so when he went in to his brother’s wife he spilled the semen on the ground, lest he should give offspring to his brother. 10 And what he did was displeasing in the sight of the Lord, and he slew him also.” It is an historical fact that no Christian communion sanctioned contraception until the Anglican Lambeth Conference in 1930. Protestant historian Roland Bainton states casually that the... Read more

2019-12-30T14:24:19-04:00

Last updated on: December 30, 2019 at 2:24 pm   By

Perhaps Pope Francis thinks a bit like I think: traditionalists and even radical Catholic reactionaries (who are usually orthodox) know much better than liberals, who are fundamentally dishonest and heterodox. Liberals are beyond reach of persuasion, whereas traditionalists and reactionaries may still be reached with reason. Consequently I write probably 8-10 times more material about radical Catholic reactionaries than about theological liberalism, even though I think both are equally dangerous and harmful and have web pages in which I refute... Read more

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