Doubts about One Accuser, Credibility for Another

Last updated on: September 26, 2018 at 2:45 pm By D. G. Hart

What would happen if the reporters and editors at Time were as hard on Christine Blasey Ford as they were on Carlo Maria Vigano? Here’s how Time read the tea-leaves of the archbishop’s letter about Theodore McCarrick: Vigano and other conservative Catholics are against Pope Francis’s efforts to welcome back into the church Catholics who are gay or lesbian, or divorced and remarried, the Times reports. Conservative American Catholics have also criticized Francis for his progressive politics, including his desire... Read more

Protestantism as Chopped Liver

Last updated on: September 21, 2018 at 4:44 pm By D. G. Hart

An editorial at Commonweal Magazine responds to Damon Linker’s exit from the Roman Catholic Church in the wake of the current scandal of sexual abuse and its cover up. Here is how Paul Baumann puts it: Linker predicts that this latest “tsunami of scandal” will propel many more Catholics out the church door. Probably he’s right. It would be good, however, if we uncovered the facts before we pronounce judgment. There is also an implicit challenge in Linker’s essay for... Read more

Is American Roman Catholicism Roman Catholic

Last updated on: September 19, 2018 at 2:44 pm By D. G. Hart

Massimo Faggioli, who teaches theology at Villanova, is always provocative even if you don’t agree. His analysis of the 11-page document by Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò about Cardinal Theodore McCarrick has several points worth considering. One is this: The political crisis. The rift within U.S. Catholicism, and between traditionalist Catholics and Francis, cannot be understood apart from the political polarization of America. The first phase of the problem was the growing identification of the U.S. bishops with the Republican Party,... Read more

How Shall They Hear or How Shall They Taste?

Last updated on: September 13, 2018 at 2:53 pm By D. G. Hart

Now seems to be one of those teaching moments about the Reformation. Despite celebrations and commemorations of a year ago, no one seemed to go deep in the weeds about what differentiates Protestants and Roman Catholics. Now is a teaching moment because the Roman Catholic faithful, naturally upset with the bishops, cardinals, and pope over the sex scandal and questions swirling around who knew and when did they know it — the Roman Catholic faithful remain committed to remaining. No... Read more

If We May Say God Bless, What about God D—?

Last updated on: September 11, 2018 at 5:08 pm By D. G. Hart

On the anniversary of 9-11, comes below a piece written shortly after the attack in response to the overwhelming invocation of God’s favor upon the United States. This is from the October issue of The Nicotine Theological Journal: God Damn Mr. Laden The phrase, “God damn,” is one that devout Christians are not supposed to utter. Depending on how it’s said, it violates the Third Commandment which, as the Heidelberg Catechism puts it, forbids blaspheming and misusing the name of... Read more

Why Roman Catholicism is Special

Last updated on: September 6, 2018 at 3:48 pm By D. G. Hart

In response to the current crisis in the Roman Catholic Church, a priest in Santa Barbara preached this sermon (or is it a homily): Speak out! Do you want the Gospel? Do you want Christ? Do you want heaven? Do you want the truth? Or do you just want what we find everywhere in the world, which is what we really want to hear, what is pleasing to our ears. Demand change in the Church. It’s not going to be... Read more

How Much Does Doctrine Matter?

Last updated on: September 4, 2018 at 2:45 pm By D. G. Hart

For Damon Linker, what convinced him to become Roman Catholic was not doctrine but beauty. And once he saw the ugliness of the current scandal (he had hoped for the best back in 2001), he had to leave: When I converted to the Catholic Church 18 years ago, I did so in large part because I was deeply moved by the act of self-sacrifice that the church places at its heart. God sacrifices his beloved son, and his son freely... Read more

Does Religion Drive Politics or Vice Versa?

Last updated on: August 30, 2018 at 4:29 pm By D. G. Hart

Looks to me like politics is a bigger influence on religion than Christians transforming culture. George Hawley explains in a short review of a new book: Michele F. Margolis, a political scientist at the University of Pennsylvania, just published a powerful new book that helps to clarify this issue. She demonstrated that the connection between politics and religion cuts across party lines, operating differently on Republicans and Democrats. From Politics to the Pews is an important work for anyone who... Read more

A Fleet or Two Ships Passing in the Night

Last updated on: August 29, 2018 at 5:06 pm By D. G. Hart

David French at National Review argues that Protestants have a stake in the sex scandal now roiling the Roman Catholic Church because all Christians are in this together: The Church is like a navy, a collection of ships united in purpose and in destination. Each denomination is like a different ship in that navy, and while each crew is primarily tasked with the health and well-being of its own vessel, it’s also deeply invested in the strength of the fleet.... Read more

Second-Class Christians

Last updated on: August 24, 2018 at 3:53 pm By D. G. Hart

This was one of the first times I’ve seen a recognition that Protestants are indeed Christian: If you have left the Catholic Church, but you still call yourself a Christian, please be considerate when you make comments about what's going on in the Catholic Church these days. It's not simply a club or a political party or a camarilla you are no longer a member of. — Massimo Faggioli (@MassimoFaggioli) August 24, 2018 But even as some acknowledge Protestantism may... Read more