This is from Last Testament: In His Own Words (with Peter Seewald, Bloomsbury Continuum, 1st edition: 11-4-16), Seewald’s words will be in blue. ***** Seewald: Many things about Pope Francis are unprecedented. He is the first Jesuit Pope; he is the first to choose the papal name of Francis; and perhaps most importantly, he is the first Pope from the ‘New World’. What does that mean for the global Catholic Church? Benedict: It means that the Church is flexible, dynamic and... Read more
The original Facebook title of the first part of this was: “Has Pope Francis Sometimes Acted Imprudently, Causing Confusion That Could Have Been Prevented or Minimized? I Respectfully Think So“. As the discussion went on, I delved into the related question of an educated, responsible lay Catholic populace, and so the title changed. Reactionary Thomas A. Hunt‘s words (originally posted on my Facebook page) will be in blue. ***** I know a lot of people from all walks of Catholicism,... Read more
[all excerpts from The Illustrated London News (Vol. 27: 1905-1907 and Vol.28: 1908-1910) ] The real way of reading the newspapers is to read nothing but the posters and head-lines. If we read nothing but these, we can keep, like a perpetual childhood, the belief that wonderful things are really happening on every side of us. If we are unwise enough to read the journalistic text itself, we discover that nothing has happened at all. (2 June 1906) Blessed are... Read more
[all the words below — unless indicated otherwise — are Pope Francis’ own; blue highlighting and bolding are my own] 132. Proclaiming the Gospel message to different cultures also involves proclaiming it to professional, scientific and academic circles. This means an encounter between faith, reason and the sciences with a view to developing new approaches and arguments on the issue of credibility, a creative apologetics which would encourage greater openness to the Gospel on the part of all. When certain categories... Read more
On 11-22-19, I posted my article, Bishops Viganò & Schneider Reject Authority of Vatican II (And Abp. Viganò Appears to Have Lost His Mind; Denies Indefectibility, Spews Ridiculous Tin Foil Hat Conspiracies). Renowned Professor of moral theology, Janet E. Smith (whose work — especially regarding Humanae Vitae — I have greatly admired for years), cross-linked it on her public Facebook page, with her original caption: “What some people think.” The usual “feeding frenzy” (personal attacks from others) ensued, and then I... Read more
James Swan is a Reformed Protestant anti-Catholic polemicist, who specializes in defenses of Martin Luther. I have dealt with his arguments off and on since 2002. He wrote an article, “The Protestant’s Dilemma: A Review (Part One)” (1-15-15), on Bishop James White’s blog. It was a partial review of Devin Rose’s book, The Protestant’s Dilemma: How the Reformation’s Shocking Consequences Point to the Truth of Catholicism (San Diego: Catholic Answers Press, 2014). I’d like to concentrate on one portion where he gets... Read more
Reformed Protestant anti-Catholic polemicist James Swan wrote a truly ludicrous and clueless article on Bishop James White’s blog, entitled, “On the Death of Mary: Why the Infallible Interpreter Still Needs to be Interpreted” (10-16-11). His words will be in blue. ***** As I’ve understood Roman Catholicism, it isn’t determined one way or the other that Mary died. A Roman Catholic is free to believe either. It’s one of the many marvels of Swan’s polemics, that he actually starts out with... Read more
Reply to an Evangelical Spoof of Catholic Eucharistic Beliefs Way back in 1991, the year I was received into the Catholic Church, an evangelical friend of mine (who was raised as a Catholic), who also worshiped at my non-denominational church, wrote a satirical spoof against Catholic belief in the Real, Substantial, Physical Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. He did this by concentrating on Jesus saying “I am the door” (John 10:9). By satirizing that as intending to be literal,... Read more
Abp. Viganò is supposedly the “point man” over against Pope Francis? No thank you. I was willing to hear him out, but now it is manifest that he is yet another hysterical radical Catholic reactionary and conspiracy theorist, who comes very close to denying the indefectibility of the Church: just as we have come to expect from many of the Holy Father’s critics. The big danger now is schism, not syncretism. We have bishops like Viganò and Schneider disseminating ideas like those found in... Read more
Turretinfan: the colorful, vociferous, and ever-anonymous Reformed Protestant anti-Catholic polemicist, wrote an article on Bishop James White’s blog, entitled, “Did the Acts 15 ‘Council’ Rely on the Exegesis of Scripture?” (2-18-12). I’d like to concentrate on one interesting claim that he made. His words will be in blue: ***** IV. Is the Acts 15 Assembly Normative of Anything? [ . . . ] * B. What issued from the assembly and who was “bound” by it?The assembly issued a letter... Read more
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