For a guided reading Chapter Eight of the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Amoris laetitia is significantly entitled: "Accompanying, discerning and integrating weakness." This part of the document is not very large, because it is … [Read more...]
The Maltese Bishops on Divorce and Remarriage
March 26, 2017 by Dr. John M. Grondelski
The ongoing fallout from the ambiguous norms of Amoris Laetitia (AL) continues, the most recent being a letter to clergy, “Criteria for the Application of Chapter VIII of Amoris Laetitia,” issued January 8 by the Archbishop of Malta and the … [Read more...]
Spiritual Communion: Freed from the Dust of Centuries
December 20, 2016 by Cardinal Paul Cordes
On the Pastoral Milieu: Extreme Alternatives to Approaching the Lord’s Table From hearsay: The vigil of All Saints’ Day in the early 20th century. A small farm in Westphalia, Germany. Tomorrow’s Mass is one of the few times in the year in w … [Read more...]
Holy Communion and the Importance of Marriage
August 29, 2016 by Michael Gorman
As is now widely known, there have been calls from some high-ranking prelates, chief among them Cardinal Walter Kasper, to reconsider the Catholic Church's practice with regard to holy communion for Catholics who have validly married but … [Read more...]
Amoris Laetitia, the Human Person, and the Meaning of Marital Indissolubility
August 1, 2016 by Jeffrey Tranzillo
Since the release of Pope Francis’s Post-Synodal Apostolic exhortation, Amoris Laetitia, on April 8, 2016, numerous articles and statements disagree as to whether the pope either has opened the possibility of admitting civilly divorced and r … [Read more...]
Questions Answered
February 12, 2016 by Fr. Brian Mullady, OP
Question: Can you define the sensus fidelium, and explain why it can’t be used to dissent from Catholic teaching? Answer: The term sensus fidelium (understanding of the faithful) has led to a great many difficulties in the Catholic C … [Read more...]
The Merciful Call to Holiness
Addressing the Dualism Between Mercy and Doctrine in Cardinal Kasper’s Proposal
August 30, 2015 by Thomas Gourlay
Ever since it was first floated in his 1977 work, Cardinal Walter Kasper’s proposal to apply mercy to those suffering outside full communion with the Church through civil divorce and remarriage has been the source of much debate.[1. Walter K … [Read more...]
Questions Answered
Interpreting the Book of Job; Spiritual Communion: what it is, and what are its benefits.
June 13, 2015 by Fr. Brian Mullady, OP
Question: One of the more problematic books in Scripture is the Book of Job. Many Scripture scholars find it impossible to interpret. Is there some interpretation which might see a unifying theme? Answer: The Book of Job occupies a … [Read more...]
On a Small Point of Doctrine
April 15, 2015 by Fr. James V. Schall, SJ
He (Sir Thomas More) gave up life itself, deliberately; he accepted violent death as of a criminal, not even for the Faith as a whole, but on one particular, small point of doctrine—to wit, the supremacy of the See of Peter. (Hilaire B … [Read more...]
Questions Answered
February 12, 2015 by Fr. Brian Mullady, OP
What are the arguments against giving Holy Communion to divorced Catholics who are remarried outside the Church? I have heard that the Eastern Church permits this practice. Same-sex marriage is being approved on a vast scale in many … [Read more...]
Past and Present Conceptions of Tradition: Looking at the Synod on the Family
October 13, 2014 by Joshua Brotherton
“Tradition” is one of the most important concepts in Christianity, and yet, it is a term very often misunderstood among Catholics, let alone other Christians. I propose that this is precisely why the Extraordinary Synod on the Family, which … [Read more...]
“Go and Call Your Husband”: What Enables a Marriage to Endure?
August 25, 2014 by Dr. Peter Kahn
The unity of will between a husband and wife that God establishes is realized also through a life that is fully shared. A marriage is contracted as a result of the consent of the spouses, and this consent needs to be renewed each … [Read more...]
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