{"id":112,"date":"2015-01-23T13:05:00","date_gmt":"2015-01-23T13:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/2015\/01\/was-pope-francis-correct-in-publicly-rebuking-as-irresponsible-a-woman-who-had-had-seven-c-sections.html"},"modified":"2017-05-24T15:19:19","modified_gmt":"2017-05-24T19:19:19","slug":"was-pope-francis-correct-in-publicly-rebuking-as-irresponsible-a-woman-who-had-had-seven-c-sections","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/2015\/01\/was-pope-francis-correct-in-publicly-rebuking-as-irresponsible-a-woman-who-had-had-seven-c-sections.html","title":{"rendered":"&#8220;Irresponsible&#8221; Pope Francis? (Woman Who Had Seven C-Sections)"},"content":{"rendered":"<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\">\n<html><head><meta http-equiv=\"content-type\" content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\"><meta http-equiv=\"content-type\" content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\"><\/head><body><div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/572\/2015\/01\/PopeFrancis5.jpg\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-3172\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/572\/2015\/01\/PopeFrancis5-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"PopeFrancis5\" width=\"400\" height=\"300\"><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #252525;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Pope Francis in St. Peter\u2019s Square, 27 November 2013 (photo by Gabriel Sozzi)<\/span> [<a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Pope_Francis_in_St._Peter%27s_Square-1.JPG\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Wikimedia Commons <\/a>\/\u00a0<a class=\"extiw decorated-link\" style=\"color: #663366;\" title=\"w:en:Creative Commons\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/en:Creative_Commons\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Creative Commons<\/a>\u00a0<a class=\"external text decorated-link\" style=\"color: #663366;\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/3.0\/deed.en\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported<\/a>\u00a0license]\n<p>***<\/p><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\">\n<p>(1-23-15)<\/p>\n<p>***<\/p>\n<p>This is the latest complaint of Pope Francis\u2019 endless, relentless (and, I\u2019ve found, usually wrongheaded) critics. It\u2019s the second aspect of the infamous \u201crabbits\u201d controversy that I wrote about two days ago.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\">\n<p>* * * * *<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Here are the pope\u2019s related remarks, as <a href=\"http:\/\/americamagazine.org\/content\/dispatches\/full-transcript-popes-press-conference-flight-manila\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">recorded in <i>America <\/i>magazine<\/a>:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"tr_bq\"><p>This does not mean that the Christian must make children in series. I rebuked a woman some months ago in a parish who was pregnant eight times, with seven C-sections (cesareans). \u201cBut do you want to leave seven orphans? That is to tempt God! (Paul VI) speaks of responsible parenthood.<\/p>\n<p>[. . . ]<\/p>\n<p>. . . the key word is the one the Church always uses all the time and even I use it: it is responsible parenthood. how do we do this? With dialogue. Each person with his pastor seeks how to do that responsible parenthood.<\/p>\n<p>That example I mentioned shortly before about that woman who was expecting her eighth (child) and already had seven who were born with caesareans. That is an irresponsibility (That woman might say) \u2018no but I trust in God\u2019 But God gives you methods to be responsible. Some think that, excuse me if I use that word, that in order to be good Catholics we have to be like rabbits. No. Responsible parenthood!<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>A woman who is a semi-regular visitor to my Facebook page, wrote in a public post there:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"tr_bq\"><p><span class=\"UFICommentBody\">I don\u2019t trust the liberal media and I do try to check original sources. And I love Pope Francis \u2014 I really do. But I think the choice of wording was poor and I also think he threw the pregnant lady waiting for her 8th surgical delivery under the bus. I\u2019m sorry Dave but every time I read that I wince. And what is this \u201ctempting God\u201d theology as it relates to being open to new life? I don\u2019t recall ever seeing that in the Theology of the Body, and I\u2019m pretty sure this lady wasn\u2019t trying to test God\u2019s goodness or absolute power! I think Pope Francis needs to find a way to be pastoral in his evangelizing attempts \u2014 a way that won\u2019t hurt and sadden the rest of the flock!<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span class=\"UFICommentBody\">I replied:<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"tr_bq\"><p><span class=\"UFICommentBody\">It\u2019s being an <i>irresponsible parent<\/i>, is what. The pope was exactly right. Now people are going after him for attacking this woman, while ignoring his point: that she ignored grave reasons for not conceiving another child, and put her children at risk of losing their mother (as he stated).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"UFICommentBody\">Grave reasons for not having further children, or spacing them, is every bit a part of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ewtn.com\/library\/ENCYC\/P6HUMANA.HTM\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"><i>Humanae Vitae <\/i><\/a>as being open to life is. The two are not contradictory.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span class=\"UFICommentBody\">She counter-replied:<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"tr_bq\"><p><span class=\"UFICommentBody\">Where is the evidence that the pregnant woman and her husband \u201d ignored\u201d grave reasons. Perhaps they factored them in. I\u2019m really surprised at you David \u2014 and not in a good way.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span class=\"UFICommentBody\">This led me to make a lengthy and detailed response:<\/span><br>\n<span class=\"UFICommentBody\"><br>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><span class=\"UFICommentBody\">* * * * *<\/span><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"UFICommentBody\">I don\u2019t see that it is even <i>arguable<\/i>. First of all, the pope was himself familiar with the woman\u2019s case (having rebuked her in person); therefore he would have known (most likely) <i>more factors<\/i> than the ones he mentioned in his interview. As usual, he is not being given the benefit of the doubt by his critics. In an <a href=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fvaticaninsider.lastampa.it%2Fen%2Fthe-vatican%2Fdetail%2Farticolo%2Fpapa-filippine-38689%2F&amp;h=TAQECvANV\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">article in <i>Vatican Insider<\/i><\/a> it\u2019s stated:<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"tr_bq\"><p><span class=\"UFICommentBody\">It is clear that he scolded this woman not because she had fallen pregnant with her eighth child but because she was going to have her eighth child having given birth by cesarian seven times before that meaning that she was putting herself seriously at risk.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span class=\"UFICommentBody\"><br>\n<\/span><span class=\"UFICommentBody\">So now the argument (if kept up) would be over whether C-sections entail a <i> greater risk<\/i>. Yes, they <i>do<\/i>. Here is what the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FCaesarean_section&amp;h=WAQG49cWR\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Wikipedia article on the topic<\/a> states:<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"tr_bq\"><p><span class=\"UFICommentBody\"><b>Risks to the mother<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"UFICommentBody\">In those who are low risk the risk of death for Caesarian sections is 13 per 100,000 and for vaginal birth 3.5 per 100,000 in the developed world.[4] The UK National Health Service gives the risk of death for the mother as three times that of a vaginal birth.[11]<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"UFICommentBody\">In Canada the difference in bad outcome in the mother (e.g. cardiac arrest, wound hematoma, or hysterectomy) was 1.8 additional cases per 100 or three times the risk.[12]<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span class=\"UFICommentBody\">. . . As with all types of abdominal surgeries, a Caesarean section is associated with risks of postoperative adhesions, incisional hernias (which may require surgical correction) and wound infections.[13] If a Caesarean is performed under emergency situations, the risk of the surgery may be increased due to a number of factors. The patient\u2019s stomach may not be empty, increasing the anaesthesia risk.[14] Other risks include severe blood loss (which may require a blood transfusion) and postdural-puncture spinal headaches.[13]<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"UFICommentBody\">Women who had Caesarean sections were more likely to have problems with later pregnancies, and it is recommended that women who want larger families should not seek an elective Caesarean. The risk of placenta accreta, a potentially life-threatening condition, is 0.13% after two Caesarean sections, but increases to 2.13% after four and then to 6.74% after six or more. Along with this is a similar rise in the risk of emergency hysterectomies at delivery.[15]<\/span><span class=\"UFICommentBody\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span class=\"UFICommentBody\">Mothers can experience increased incidence of postnatal depression, and can experience significant psychological birth trauma and ongoing birth-related post-traumatic stress disorder after obstetric intervention during the birthing process.[16] Factors like pain in first stage of labor, feelings of powerlessness, intrusive emergency obstetric intervention are important in the development of birth trauma.[16]<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Subsequent pregnancies<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"UFICommentBody\">Further information: Delivery after previous Caesarean section <\/span><\/p>\n<p>Women who have had a Caesarean for any reason are somewhat less likely to become pregnant or give birth again as compared to women who have previously only delivered vaginally.[17]<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"UFICommentBody\">Women who had just one previous Caesarean section are more likely to have problems with their second birth.[4] Delivery after previous Caesarean section is by either of two main options:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Vaginal birth after Caesarean section (VBAC)<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Elective repeat Caesarean section (ERCS)<\/p>\n<p>Both have higher risks than a vaginal birth with no previous Caesarean section. Criteria for making VBAC include that the previous Caesarean section should be a low transverse one. VBAC (compared to ERCS) confers a higher risk for mainly uterine rupture and perinatal death of the child.[18] Furthermore, opting for VBAC results in 20-40% of times in that Caesarean section is performed eventually anyway, with greater risks of complications in an emergent repeat Caesarean section than in an ERCS.[19][20] On the other hand, VBAC confers less maternal morbidity and a decreased risk of complications in future pregnancies than ERCS.[21]<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span class=\"UFICommentBody\">There were also additional risks to the baby that were described in the article.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Wikipedia also has an entire article entitled: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FDelivery_after_previous_Caesarean_section&amp;h=RAQHXBW67\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">\u201cDelivery after previous Caesarean section\u201d<\/a> which details a host of risks involved.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"UFICommentBody\">Fellow Catholic apologist Scott Eric Alt stated in his <a href=\"http:\/\/scottericalt.org\/john-bugay-makes-crude-joke-about-multiple-orgasms\/\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">excellent paper <\/a>on this topic:\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"UFICommentBody\"><br>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"tr_bq\"><p>[N]oth\u00ading at all is \u201cbad about a C-section,\u201d . . . the pope was speak\u00ading of a woman who had already had <i>seven<\/i> of them and was going out of her way to get preg\u00adnant again. A Face\u00adbook friend and fel\u00adlow Catholic blog\u00adger, JoAnna Wahlund, explains why the pope was right to be con\u00adcerned. (This was in a Face\u00adbook thread on my own page.)<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">All preg\u00adnan\u00adcies have the poten\u00adtial to be risky. But seven C-sections <b>dras\u00adti\u00adcally increases the risk of pla\u00adcenta acc\u00adreta<\/b>, which can cause the uterus to rup\u00adture (killing both mom and baby). If a woman has had seven C-sections, <b>her uterus is paper thin<\/b>, and doc\u00adtors tell her, \u201cAnother preg\u00adnancy could very well kill you and your child,\u201d then yes, it is risky and irre\u00adspon\u00adsi\u00adble to delib\u00ader\u00adately seek to achieve preg\u00adnancy in that sit\u00adu\u00ada\u00adtion.<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Now, what the pope says, in effect . . ., is not, Don\u2019t have a C-section but, If you\u2019ve had seven of them, maybe going out of your way to get preg\u00adnant again isn\u2019t the best thing. Don\u2019t tempt God. There are licit ways for you to avoid preg\u00adnancy, which you should use. If you do oth\u00ader\u00adwise, you risk that you will die, your baby will die, and your other chil\u00addren will be left with\u00adout a mother. Respon\u00adsi\u00adble par\u00adent\u00adhood.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span class=\"UFICommentBody\">Therefore, the pope\u2019s reasoning is perfectly in accord with medical knowledge (as well as Catholic ethical teaching and thinking on reproduction and childbirth). C-sections entail not insignificant <i>risk<\/i>; multiple ones entail that much <i>more<\/i> risk. It is (generally speaking) irresponsible to deliberately have eight c-sections.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"UFICommentBody\">For further information about the risks of multiple c-sections, see:<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"tr_bq\"><p><span class=\"UFICommentBody\"> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.livestrong.com\/article\/31679-multiple-csection-complications\/\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Multiple C-Section Complications<\/a> (Sandi Busch, <i>Livestrong<\/i>, 10-24-13)<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p><span class=\"UFICommentBody\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.worry-free-c-section.com\/multiple-c-sections-how-many-is-too-many\/\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Multiple C-Sections: How Many Is Too Many?<\/a> (Elizabeth McGee, <i>C-Section Birth &amp; Recovery<\/i>, March 2009)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/abcnews.go.com\/Health\/caesarian-rates-placenta-accreta-contributing-rise-maternal-death\/story?id=13399308\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Placenta Accreta: Multiple C-Sections Can Kill Mother <\/a>(Susan Donaldson James, <i>ABC News<\/i>, 4-18-11, with accompanying video)<br>\n<span class=\"UFICommentBody\"><br>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.mayoclinic.org\/tests-procedures\/c-section\/expert-answers\/c-sections\/faq-20058380\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">How many C-sections can a woman safely have?<\/a> (Roger W. Harms, M.D., <i>Mayo Clinic<\/i>, 6-12-12)\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p><span class=\"UFICommentBody\"><a href=\"http:\/\/journals.lww.com\/greenjournal\/Fulltext\/2006\/06000\/Maternal_Morbidity_Associated_With_Multiple_Repeat.4.aspx\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Maternal Morbidity Associated With Multiple Repeat Cesarean Deliveries<\/a> (Robert Silver, MD et al, <i>Obstetrics &amp; Gynecology<\/i>: June 2006 \u2013 Volume 107 \u2013 Issue 6 \u2013 pp 1226-1232; with a <i>host <\/i>of further related articles listed)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"UFICommentBody\"><a href=\"http:\/\/health.usnews.com\/health-news\/news\/articles\/2012\/11\/01\/multiple-c-sections-linked-to-raised-complication-risks-study\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Multiple C-Sections Linked to Raised Complication Risks: Study Women who had 5 or more cesarean-section deliveries had more bleeding, preterm births<\/a> (<i>US News and World Report<\/i>: Health, 11-1-12)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"UFICommentBody\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC4038684\/\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Intra-operative complications increase with successive number of cesarean sections: Myth or fact? <\/a>(Shumaila Zia and Muhammad Rafique, <i>Obstetrics and Gynecology Science<\/i>, May 2014; 57(3): 187\u2013192)<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span class=\"UFICommentBody\">Once again, his rebuke was a loving and wise one, and he deserves no scolding or withering criticism for making it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>People want to criticize him, moreover, because he mentioned a <i>real person<\/i>. He didn\u2019t mention her <i>name<\/i>. In the Bible, St. Paul mentions <i>actual names<\/i> of people whom he was rebuking:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"tr_bq\"><p><span class=\"UFICommentBody\"><b>2 Timothy 2:16-18<\/b> <\/span>(RSV) Avoid such godless chatter, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness, [17] and their talk will eat its way like gangrene. Among them are Hymenae\u2019us and Phile\u2019tus, [18] who have swerved from the truth by holding that the resurrection is past already. They are upsetting the faith of some.<\/p>\n<p><b>2 Timothy 4:14-15<\/b> Alexander the coppersmith did me great harm; the Lord will requite him for his deeds. [15] Beware of him yourself, for he strongly opposed our message.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Others, like Simon the Sorcerer (Acts 8:9-24), had their names mentioned in Scripture, to be known for posterity as a bad example. St. Paul <span class=\"UFICommentBody\">wrote at length about a person in the Corinthian church (though not by name this time; just like the pope\u2019s statement) whom he recommended as a recipient of social stigmatization until he repented:<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"tr_bq\"><p><span class=\"UFICommentBody\"><b>1 Corinthians 5:1-5<\/b>\u00a0 It is actually reported that there is immorality among you, and of a kind that is not found even among pagans; for a man is living with his father\u2019s wife. [2] And you are arrogant! Ought you not rather to mourn? Let him who has done this be removed from among you. [3] For though absent in body I am present in spirit, and as if present, I have already pronounced judgment [4] in the name of the Lord Jesus on the man who has done such a thing. When you are assembled, and my spirit is present, with the power of our Lord Jesus, [5] you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span class=\"UFICommentBody\"><br>\nLater, Paul told them to receive the man back into the fold after he repented (2 Cor 2:6-11). It was intended to <i>help <\/i>this person and to provide an example of how we should not act (in terms of sin), and how the community should react to the sinner, for the purpose of his repentance and restoration.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Likewise, the pope in rebuking this woman (the first time, in person), was trying to help her to better follow Catholic teaching. And by bringing it up again, he was trying to illustrate by bad example, how women should apply the responsibilities of parenthood, according to the Church. This helps people, too.<\/p>\n<p>The problem is that all this is lost in today\u2019s society. Rebukes are widely regarded as terrible, \u201cjudgmental\u201d or \u201cintolerant\u201d things and \u201cpersonal insults\u201d and we mustn\u2019t ever do that (unless, of course, the pope is the target). The notion of the loving rebuke for pastoral purposes is almost totally lost, even within the Church. This is what happens when people think more like the surrounding culture than according to a Catholic or otherwise Christian worldview. St. Paul also warned us:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"tr_bq\"><p><span class=\"UFICommentBody\"><b>Romans 12:2<\/b> <\/span>Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may prove what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>I don\u2019t see that the pope has done anything wrong here, according to either the Bible or Catholic teaching. On the contrary, he issued a loving (though admittedly very stern) rebuke (in essence, an act of <i>love<\/i>): the example of which will help other women to avoid the same mistaken perspective. But because of our current cultural mindset, many cannot or will not receive it as such , and realize that it is entirely within a biblical worldview to do such a thing. He acted very much as St. Paul would (judging by the above examples), and Paul urged us to imitate him (1 Cor 4:16; Phil 3:17; 2 Thess 3:7, 9) as he in turn imitated Christ (1 Cor 11:1; 1 Thess 1:6). The Vicar of Christ should certainly <i>imitate<\/i> Christ and also the great Apostle Paul, who imitated our Lord.<\/p>\n<p>[see also the vigorous discussion <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/dave.armstrong.798\/posts\/934127193288933\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">on my Facebook page<\/a>]<br>\n<span class=\"UFICommentBody\"><br>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><span class=\"UFICommentBody\">* * * * *<\/span><\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Pope Francis in St. Peter\u2019s Square, 27 November 2013 (photo by Gabriel Sozzi) [Wikimedia Commons \/\u00a0Creative Commons\u00a0Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported\u00a0license] *** (1-23-15) *** This is the latest complaint of Pope Francis\u2019 endless, relentless (and, I\u2019ve found, usually wrongheaded) critics. It\u2019s the second aspect of the infamous \u201crabbits\u201d controversy that I wrote about two days ago. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2331,"featured_media":3172,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[81,138],"tags":[568,569,156],"class_list":["post-112","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-life-issues","category-papacy-infallibility","tag-c-sections","tag-caesarian-births","tag-pope-francis"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>&quot;Irresponsible&quot; Pope Francis? 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Formerly a campus missionary, as a Protestant, Dave was received into the Catholic Church in February 1991, by the late, well-known catechist and theologian, Fr. John A. Hardon, S. J. Dave\u2019s articles have appeared in many influential Catholic periodicals, including \\\"This Rock\\\" (now called \\\"Catholic Answers Magazine\\\"), \\\"Envoy Magazine\\\" (Patrick Madrid), \\\"The Catholic Answer,\\\" \\\"The Coming Home Journal,\\\" \\\"Gilbert Magazine\\\" (American Chesterton Society), and \\\"The Latin Mass.\\\" He also writes a featured column for every issue of \\\"The Michigan Catholic\\\": published by the archdiocese of Detroit, and was editor for most of the apologetics tracts published by the St. Paul Street Evangelization apostolate. Dave\u2019s apologetics and writing apostolate was the subject of a feature article in the May 2002 issue of \\\"Envoy Magazine.\\\" He served as the staff moderator at the Internet discussion forum for The Coming Home Network, from 2007-2010. Dave has been interviewed on many nationally syndicated Catholic radio shows, including \\\"Catholic Answers Live\\\" (twice), \\\"Faith and Family Live\\\" (Steve Wood), \\\"Kresta in the Afternoon,\\\" \\\"Son Rise Morning Show,\\\" \\\"Catholic Connection\\\" (Teresa Tomeo), and \\\"The Catholics Next Door.\\\" His large and popular website, \\\"Biblical Evidence for Catholicism,\\\" was online from March 1997 to March 2007, and received the 1998 Catholic Website of the Year award from \\\"Envoy Magazine.\\\" His blog of the same name (now transferred to Patheos), begun in February 2004, contains more than 1,500 papers, at least 500 debates or dialogues, and over 50 distinct \\\"index\\\" web pages. Unsolicited correspondence has indicated many hundreds of conversions (or returns) to the Catholic faith as a result, by God's grace, of these writings. Dave's conversion story was published in the bestselling book \\\"Surprised by Truth\\\" (edited by Patrick Madrid; San Diego: Basilica Press, 1994). Sophia Institute Press has published six of his books: \\\"A Biblical Defense of Catholicism\\\" (Foreword by Fr. John A. Hardon, S. J., 1996 \/ 2003), \\\"The Catholic Verses\\\" (2004), \\\"The One-Minute Apologist\\\" (2007), \\\"Bible Proofs for Catholic Truths\\\" (2009), \\\"The Quotable Newman\\\" (editor: 2012), and \\\"Proving the Catholic Faith is Biblical\\\" (2015). He is co-author (with Dr. Paul Thigpen) of the inserts for \\\"The New Catholic Answer Bible\\\" (Our Sunday Visitor: 2005), and editor for \\\"The Wisdom of Mr. Chesterton: The Very Best Quotes, Quips, and Cracks from the Pen of G. K. Chesterton\\\" (Saint Benedict Press \/ TAN Books: 2009). \\\"100 Biblical Arguments Against Sola Scriptura\\\" was published by Catholic Answers in May 2012. His \\\"Quotable Wesley\\\" compilation was published by (Protestant \/ Wesleyan publisher) Beacon Hill Press in April 2014. Several of his 49 books are bestsellers in their field. Dave maintains a popular personal Facebook page, a Facebook author page, and has a Twitter account as well. He offers almost all of his books in e-book form on his own Biblical Catholicism site (http:\/\/biblicalcatholicism.com\/), at a permanent deep discount: only $2.99 for ePub, mobi, and AZW, and $1.99 for PDF. His writing has been enthusiastically endorsed or recommended by many leading Catholic apologists, authors, and priests, including Dr. Scott Hahn, Fr. Peter M. J. Stravinskas, Marcus Grodi, Patrick Madrid, Steve Ray, Tim Staples, Devin Rose, Mike Aquilina, Al Kresta, Karl Keating, Fr. Dwight Longenecker, Brandon Vogt, Marcellino D'Ambrosio, and Fr. John A. Hardon, S. J. Dave has been happily married to his wife Judy since October 1984. They have three sons and a daughter, and reside in southeast Michigan (metro Detroit).\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/biblicalcatholicism.com\/\",\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/dave.armstrong.798\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@LuxVeritatisApologetics\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/author\/davearmstrong\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"\"Irresponsible\" Pope Francis? 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Formerly a campus missionary, as a Protestant, Dave was received into the Catholic Church in February 1991, by the late, well-known catechist and theologian, Fr. John A. Hardon, S. J. Dave\u2019s articles have appeared in many influential Catholic periodicals, including \"This Rock\" (now called \"Catholic Answers Magazine\"), \"Envoy Magazine\" (Patrick Madrid), \"The Catholic Answer,\" \"The Coming Home Journal,\" \"Gilbert Magazine\" (American Chesterton Society), and \"The Latin Mass.\" He also writes a featured column for every issue of \"The Michigan Catholic\": published by the archdiocese of Detroit, and was editor for most of the apologetics tracts published by the St. Paul Street Evangelization apostolate. Dave\u2019s apologetics and writing apostolate was the subject of a feature article in the May 2002 issue of \"Envoy Magazine.\" He served as the staff moderator at the Internet discussion forum for The Coming Home Network, from 2007-2010. Dave has been interviewed on many nationally syndicated Catholic radio shows, including \"Catholic Answers Live\" (twice), \"Faith and Family Live\" (Steve Wood), \"Kresta in the Afternoon,\" \"Son Rise Morning Show,\" \"Catholic Connection\" (Teresa Tomeo), and \"The Catholics Next Door.\" His large and popular website, \"Biblical Evidence for Catholicism,\" was online from March 1997 to March 2007, and received the 1998 Catholic Website of the Year award from \"Envoy Magazine.\" His blog of the same name (now transferred to Patheos), begun in February 2004, contains more than 1,500 papers, at least 500 debates or dialogues, and over 50 distinct \"index\" web pages. Unsolicited correspondence has indicated many hundreds of conversions (or returns) to the Catholic faith as a result, by God's grace, of these writings. Dave's conversion story was published in the bestselling book \"Surprised by Truth\" (edited by Patrick Madrid; San Diego: Basilica Press, 1994). Sophia Institute Press has published six of his books: \"A Biblical Defense of Catholicism\" (Foreword by Fr. John A. Hardon, S. J., 1996 \/ 2003), \"The Catholic Verses\" (2004), \"The One-Minute Apologist\" (2007), \"Bible Proofs for Catholic Truths\" (2009), \"The Quotable Newman\" (editor: 2012), and \"Proving the Catholic Faith is Biblical\" (2015). He is co-author (with Dr. Paul Thigpen) of the inserts for \"The New Catholic Answer Bible\" (Our Sunday Visitor: 2005), and editor for \"The Wisdom of Mr. Chesterton: The Very Best Quotes, Quips, and Cracks from the Pen of G. K. Chesterton\" (Saint Benedict Press \/ TAN Books: 2009). \"100 Biblical Arguments Against Sola Scriptura\" was published by Catholic Answers in May 2012. His \"Quotable Wesley\" compilation was published by (Protestant \/ Wesleyan publisher) Beacon Hill Press in April 2014. Several of his 49 books are bestsellers in their field. Dave maintains a popular personal Facebook page, a Facebook author page, and has a Twitter account as well. He offers almost all of his books in e-book form on his own Biblical Catholicism site (http:\/\/biblicalcatholicism.com\/), at a permanent deep discount: only $2.99 for ePub, mobi, and AZW, and $1.99 for PDF. His writing has been enthusiastically endorsed or recommended by many leading Catholic apologists, authors, and priests, including Dr. Scott Hahn, Fr. Peter M. J. Stravinskas, Marcus Grodi, Patrick Madrid, Steve Ray, Tim Staples, Devin Rose, Mike Aquilina, Al Kresta, Karl Keating, Fr. Dwight Longenecker, Brandon Vogt, Marcellino D'Ambrosio, and Fr. John A. Hardon, S. J. Dave has been happily married to his wife Judy since October 1984. 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