Notes on a Catholic Ecumenical Perspective of the Sacramental Life of the Church

Paper presented at a bi-annual meeting of Evangelicals and Catholics Together, of which I am a member, June 5, 2023, Colorado Springs. If anyone says that these seven sacraments are so equal to one another that one is not in any way of … [Read more...]

Twenty-five Years After the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification

How an Ecumenical Achievement Offers Catechetical and Pastoral Opportunities

This year marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification (JDDJ). The declaration, first signed on October 31, 1999 by representatives of the Catholic Church[1. The Catholic signatories were … [Read more...]

Questions Answered – August 2024

What Is Necessary to Belong to the True Church? Question from the reader: Who is a member of the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church, and what is required for full membership in the “heart” of the Church? What is the relation of this C … [Read more...]

Translating Each Other

A Rabbinic Reflection on Jewish-Catholic Understanding

Editor’s Note: Pope Benedict XVI reminded us in Verbum Domini 43, “I wish to state once more how much the Church values her dialogue with the Jews. Wherever it seems appropriate, it would be good to create opportunities for encounter and exc … [Read more...]

How Should We Think about Diversity of Religions?

There seems to be some confusion abroad these days about diversity of religions. We can find in the writings of Fr. Henri de Lubac, SJ, as well as in St. Thomas Aquinas, principles helpful on this question. Does every human person need … [Read more...]

Catholics and Their Interaction with Other Religions in Contemporary Society

I. Contemporary Western society’s preponderant secular relativistic thought tendencies contend that all beliefs are to be deemed worthy of being considered as equally true. The philosophical concomitant outgrowths of this thought place s … [Read more...]

Is There Such a Thing as Episcopally Sanctioned Adultery?

The Attack on Marriage, Morality, and the Eucharist

Prior to the publication of Amoris Laetitia (hereafter AL) in March 2016, certain influential German bishops had a direct hand in persuading a willing Pope Francis to incorporate a subjectivistic view of conscience and discernment into the … [Read more...]

Proselytism, Evangelization, and “Ecumenism of Return”

In a 2016 interview that was arranged by Fr. Antonio Spadaro, S.J., the editor of La Civiltà Cattolica, prior to the trip to Sweden for an ecumenical gathering anticipating the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, Pope Francis expressed … [Read more...]

Autumn Book Reviews

Behold the Man: A Catholic Vision of Male Spirituality by Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers. (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2015), xi + 279 pp. Reviewed by Dr. Joshua M. Evans. Catholics and Protestants: What Can We Learn from Each Other? … [Read more...]

Orthodox Christians and the Modern Church

With the recent meeting of Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, and all Russia, it is important and helpful to remind ourselves of developments in the Church’s teachings regarding our Eastern brothers. This article explores how l … [Read more...]

What is Christianity?

An Evangelical Catholic and Reformed View of Faith and Culture

The only strength with which Christianity can make its influence felt publicly is ultimately the strength of its intrinsic truth. This strength, though, is as indispensable today as it ever was, because man cannot survive without truth. … [Read more...]

Can Philosophy Strengthen an Ecumenical Approach to Issues of Morality?

There has been considerable discussion in recent years about the philosophical assumptions that underlie false understandings of morality in our society. These assumptions have affected not only secular developments but also practices and … [Read more...]

Worth a Thousand Words: Iconography as Language

“A picture is worth a thousand words,” as the saying goes. This common phrase hints at something deeper: the profound ability of images to communicate ideas. This should not surprise us. Words are signs, pointing to something beside … [Read more...]

Reverence for Truth in Ecumenical Prayer

Introduction The ecumenical movement faces an ongoing lull. Hopes for a speedy restoration of full unity amongst Christians following the Second Vatican Council have simply not been fulfilled. There are only a couple of occasions in the … [Read more...]