Pope Francis’ Legacy: To Marginalized, He Didn’t Do Enough

Last updated on: April 30, 2025 at 10:10 am By Dennis Knapp

While Pope Francis has been praised for his inclusive tone, his refusal to alter core Church teachings has left both progressive Catholics and LGBTQ individuals disillusioned. True charity, I argue, lies not in ambiguity or appeasement, but in the clarity of truth—even when it disappoints. In July 2023, I wrote the article A Synod of Disappointment Looms: Who Is This Synod for Anyway? In that piece, I made the following observations about the likely outcome facing those invested in the... Read more

With Papal Postmortem: The German Bishops Are At It—Again…

Last updated on: April 26, 2025 at 11:07 am By Dennis Knapp

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Out of respect for the passing of our Holy Father, Pope Francis, and to pray for his soul, I refrained from commenting on his papacy until after the allotted nine days of mourning. However, that refrain does not apply to living bishops—especially certain ones who used the pope’s passing to publish guidelines in direct opposition to his directives. I refer here to the German Bishops’ Conference and their recent release (two days after Pope Francis’ death, though prepared well in... Read more

ProgressiveCatholic.(No)com(ments) Allowed

Last updated on: April 22, 2025 at 9:15 am By Dennis Knapp

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As a blogger, I enjoy sharing my thoughts on theology, philosophy, culture, and politics. As a conservative Catholic, some of these thoughts ruffle feathers on the Left—whether among Catholics/Christians or not. How do I know? Critical readers often tell me so in the comments section. Not wanting to live in an echo chamber, I encourage and advocate for open, honest dialogue. My two main rules: no foul language and no personal attacks. Unfortunately, when I visit progressive Catholic/Christian blogs and... Read more

Questioning the Shroud of Turin – Guest Article

Last updated on: April 18, 2025 at 12:06 pm By Dennis Knapp

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Guest writer: Zizzer Zazzer Zuzz How’s it hanging? [This post is a continuation from/reply to Pilgrim’s post on the Shroud of Turin. Rather than picking back up there, I’ve asked Dennis to post this to start fresh. Most of what I have here was written not too long after his post, I just hadn’t quite wrapped up (pun not intended) and I let things slip. I did want to address the physical image itself, and most importantly, the WAXS paper.... Read more

Five Reasons You Should Be Catholic

Last updated on: April 15, 2025 at 2:48 pm By Dennis Knapp

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In light of Holy Week, I felt inspired to share five reasons why readers of this article should consider becoming Catholic. Of course, far more than five reasons exist, but for the sake of brevity, I’ve limited myself to five. On a more personal note, I wish all my readers—old and new—a blessed Holy Week and a joyful Easter. May the risen Christ fill you with His wondrous grace. Reason 1: Jesus Wants You To Historically, Jesus of Nazareth established... Read more

Will “Where Peter Is” Survive A Post-Francis Papacy?

Last updated on: April 3, 2025 at 9:57 pm By Dennis Knapp

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Where Peter is, there is the Church. In my last article, I compared the culture war to spiritual warfare. As anticipated, many on the Left pushed back, with some even accusing me of engaging in “hate” for advocating the bodily protection of confused youth. One critic cited two counterexamples from Catholic writers. The first, When the Scales Fell from Our Conservative Catholic Eyes by Mike Lewis, founding editor of Where Peter Is (WPI), was followed by A Follow-Up to Friday’s... Read more

The Culture War is Spiritual Warfare

Last updated on: March 27, 2025 at 12:50 pm By Dennis Knapp

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For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 6:12) Plainly speaking, the culture war is spiritual warfare. As St. Paul states in Ephesians, we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the demonic powers in the heavenly places—the zeitgeist. Furthermore, Christians, including Catholics, who cede cultural ground, concede cultural defeat, or... Read more

The Gathering House: Yes, Catholics Have Great Praise Music

Last updated on: March 18, 2025 at 3:08 pm By Dennis Knapp

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In the world of contemporary praise and worship music, the Catholic Church seems a bit behind the times. As someone who appreciates traditional hymns and chants, I find that contemporary praise and worship music can distract from the solemn nature of the Mass when done improperly. By “improperly,” I mean when the focus shifts from the Sacrifice of the Mass to the musical performance as entertainment. In my 40 years of faith—both as a Protestant and a Catholic—I’ve found few... Read more

Book Review: One Less God Than You by John DeRosa

Last updated on: March 16, 2025 at 7:38 pm By Dennis Knapp

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I discovered John DeRosa while watching Joe Heschmeyer’s debate debrief after his discussion with Dr. James White. Joe recommended John’s Classical Theism Podcast, which eventually led me to DeRosa’s book, One Less God Than You: How to Answer the Slogans, Clichés, and Fallacies That Atheists Use to Challenge Your Faith (Catholic Answers, 2020). After reading it, I decided to write a review and highlight some popular atheist arguments DeRosa addresses. I welcome any comments on DeRosa’s responses to these challenges.... Read more

How I Escaped Sola Scriptura’s Circularity Loop

Last updated on: March 11, 2025 at 8:27 am By Dennis Knapp

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In my last article, I highlighted the circularity problem inherent in the Protestant foundational doctrine, sola scriptura. To rephrase my conclusion: Any appeal to Scripture is an appeal to an interpretation of Scripture. The Scriptures require a legitimate authority to properly read, exegete, and interpret them. All appeals to the “standard of Scripture” for self-correction fall into the category of “any appeal.” Any attempt at self-correction that appeals to Scripture ultimately appeals to an interpretation of Scripture. Therefore, the paradigm... Read more