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Papacy built on pious fiction and forgery, part 1 J. Gresham Machen said, in his 1915 lecture "History and Faith," that "The student of the New Testament should be primarily an historian." And in fact, thanks to the last few centuries' worth of historical criticism, and a couple of “historical Jesus” quests, both the life of Jesus and the history of the New Testament have undergone a thorough historical examination, and in the process, have only had their historical reliability enhanced. On the other hand, what we've been told about the early papacy has fallen away like chaff. Instead...

Landmark Event: Pope Will Address U.S. Congress By Julio Severo For the first time in the U.S. history, a pope will address the Congress, invited by Republican John Boehner and Democrat Nancy Pelosi. When he speaks to American lawmakers September 24, Pope Francis will address a Congress that is 31 percent Catholic, well above the 22 percent of all the American population, according to a survey released last month by the nonpartisan Pew Research Center. Boehner and Pelosi are both Catholic. “We’re humbled that the Holy Father has accepted our invitation and certainly look forward to receiving his message...

America Loves Catholicism: As Seen in Place Names Everywhere By: Msgr. Charles PopeThe video below boasts, “America loves Italy” and features a Fiat car driving through American towns with Italian names.If that is the case then America loves Catholicism even more, since thousands of towns and places are named for Catholic saints, themes, and objects. Consider the following:In California: San Diego, San Miguel, San Francisco, San Bernadino, San Clemente, San Luis Obispo, San Jose, San Rafael, Santa Maria, Santa Barbara, Santa Rosa, Santa Cruz, Los Angeles (aka Nuestra Senora de los Angeles de la Porciuncula), Santa Cruz, Santa Clarita, Sacramento, San...

Recently I picked up The Protestant's Dilemma: How the Reformation’s Shocking Consequences Point to the Truth of Catholicism (San Diego: Catholic Answers Press, 2014). In the preface of the Kindle edition, an unidentified author states that the primary author, Devin Rose, has put forth a book looking to engage in "dialogue" specifically"with members of the thousands of Protestant sects." The book is said to raise issues that a Protestant "has never considered before," not simply to have dialogue for the sake of mutual understanding, but rather to have "conciliar" dialogue in which the goal is to show the logical inconsistency of Protestantism...

When professors do pay attention to religion, they usually get it wrong. “Conservatives would rather have [social welfare] provided by religious organizations, which is incompatible with other aspects of Catholic social teaching,” Robin Sowards, an adjunct professor at Duquesne University told an audience at the Modern Language Association (MLA) convention in Vancouver, Canada. Here are a few highlights from the history of Catholic Charities: October 24, 1727—“Ursuline sisters arrive from France to open an orphanage, school for street girls, and health facility in New Orleans. It is the first formal Catholic charity in the present United States.” January 1, 1845—“The...

“Fr. McBrien was an able and indefatigable proponent of the Catholic revolution that never was and, now, never will be,” said George Weigel, widely seen as America’s leading conservative Catholic commentator.

Here are artistic representations of two goddesses who are considered the Queen of Heaven and Goddesses.  The Buddhist/Taoist Kuan Yin (or Guan Yin) (觀音) And The Catholic depiction of Mary Note the similarities in representation.  This relates to a thread last week on the leftover, or accretional pagan beliefs or rituals that are still present in the Catholic church.  The Goddess of Mercy is a universal idol/icon in pagan belief systems. 

My Roman Catholic friend, Michael Liccione, has written on his Facebook page that "the main disagreement among American Catholics is not about whether we should believe 'all that the Holy Catholic Church believes, professes, and teaches,' but which teachings we may safely disbelieve." I responded, "Aggiornamento has that effect on us! There is an interesting parallel between the Roman Catholic Church in the USA and the Anglicans in the USA in that liturgical reform suggested to many that the historic Catholic faith had changed. The Vatican II liturgical changes and the Episcopal Church's 1979 prayer book changed words and forms....

What Did the Saints Say about Islam? 187 By Andrew Bieszad on August 12, 2014 Evangelization, Interfaith, Islam 2.9K SHARES juanderibera St. Juan de Ribera, Viceroy and Bishop of Valencia (1568-1611), Supervising the Expulsion of Moriscos; Francisco Domingo Marques, 1912 For Islamic scholars, there is a statement in the apostolic exhortation of Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium, which is particularly troubling: Faced with disconcerting episodes of violent fundamentalism, our respect for true followers of Islam should lead us to avoid hateful generalisations, for authentic Islam and the proper reading of the Koran are opposed to every form of violence. (p. 253)...

Father Martin Dolan, who has been a priest at Church of St Nicholas of Myra in Francis Street in Dublin’s city center for 15 years, opened up to his congregation at the Saturday night Mass. He also confided in his Sunday morning congregation. Dolan is the only priest in the parish. Calling on his Dublin city congregation to support same sex marriage in the upcoming Irish referendum, set for the end May, Dolan said “I’m gay myself.” Dolan’s statement at Mass on Saturday was met by applause and a standing ovation from his “proud” parishioners. Speaking to the Irish Sun...

St. Juan Diego: Ordinary Son of Mary Daniel StewartJuan Diego was born in 1474 in a place called Cuautitlán. Once a part of the Aztec Empire, Cuautitlán was conquered by the Spanish and is now in present day Mexico City. Born before the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire, Juan Diego was an indigenous Mexican who was given the name Cuauhtlatoatzin at birth. When Franciscan missionaries arrived, Cuauhtlatoatzin and his wife were some of the first indigenous people to convert. At baptism, they were given the names Juan Diego and Maria Lucia. Juan Diego was not a slave but...

The “Great Gettin’ Up Morning” as Described in an Unlikely Advent Hymn By: Msgr. Charles PopeHere in the heart of Advent, we are considering how prepared we are for the Lord to come again. Either He will come to us or we will go to Him, but either way we must prepare. In today’s post I’d like to consider some teachings about the Day of Judgment, from an Advent hymn that most do not know is an Advent hymn. Tomorrow I would like to consider the great Parousia, wherein the saved enter into glory with the Lord.Regarding the “Great and...

In a new video, megachurch leader and author Rick Warren is calling for Christians to unite with Roman Catholics and “Pope Francis,” who Warren recently referred to as the “Holy Father”—a move that is raising concerns among Christians nationwide and is resulting in calls for Warren to repent. Warren made the comments following his visit to the Vatican last month, where he spoke at an interfaith conference on the “Complementarity of Man and Woman.”...

ROME – On his flight back to Rome after visiting Turkey, the Roman Catholic Pontiff known as Pope Francis told reporters that Islam should not be equated with terrorism and violence–a statement that some may disagree with considering the teachings of the religion. “On Islamophobia, it is true that when one sees these terrorist acts, not only in this region, but also in Africa, there is this reaction [of], ‘If this is Islam, I am going to get angry,'” he said. “And so many Islamic people are offended.” “Many, many [Muslims] say, ‘No, we are not this. The Koran is...

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I embraces Pope Francis at a celebration of the Divine Liturgy in Istanbul - REUTERS (Vatican Radio)  In an address upon conclusion of the Divine Liturgy celebrated by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I at the Orthodox Church of St. George in Istanbul, Pope Francis said “the one thing that the Catholic Church desires and that I seek as Bishop of Rome…is communion with the Orthodox Churches.” Below, please find the complete text of the Holy Father’s address:             When I was the Archbishop of Buenos Aires, I often took part in the celebration of the Divine Liturgy of...

I’m going to say something many of my fellow secularism advocates would probably not appreciate: I like Pope Francis. Why? I like Pope Francis because, in my opinion, he is more liberal than many liberals. American conservatives already hate him for his seemingly liberal position on many issues. He’s so liberal that Sarah Palin is actually taken aback by what she calls his “liberal agenda.” The Pope is so liberal that writer Damian Thompson, in an article he wrote for “The Spectator,” had to ask if we were in the early stages of a Catholic civil war. Apparently, even Catholics...

End of communism not good for Catholicism? Brazil and its large Catholic population are prisoners of socialism, but the Vatican has been worried (for about 1,000 years!) about the Orthodox Church By Julio Severo While the world is celebrating the end of communist tyranny in Europe, its end was not all positive for Catholicism, a senior Vatican official indicated on Monday. According to Reuters through WorldNetDaily, the Catholic official thinks the fall of the Berlin Wall 25 years ago brought religious tensions between Rome and Russia back to the surface. These tensions are much older than the Soviet Union....

Just at first glance, and without looking it up on Google Translate, what is the difference between these two passages of a recent important Vatican document, the final “Relatio” from October’s Extraordinary Synod of Bishops? “…confronto alla luce del Signore Gesù per discernere le vie con cui rinnovare la Chiesa e la società nel loro impegno per la famiglia fondata sul matrimonio tra uomo e donna.” and “…facing the situation, with an eye on the Lord Jesus, to discern how the Church and society can renew their commitment to the family.” A little pared down, perhaps? The official Italian original...

Don’t expect to see any breakout sessions on the bumper sticker “You Can’t Be Both Catholic and Pro-Choice” at the meeting this week of the U.S. Roman Catholic bishops in Baltimore. And you probably won’t be allowed to take part in any discussions about clarity from the bishops regarding how Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi, and Patrick Murphy can be both Catholic and pro-abortion. The demoted Cardinal Raymond Burke, former St. Louis archbishop, is saying the church “is like a ship without a rudder” under Pope Francis. (1) The Illinois Catholic Conference of state church leaders called abortion and related issues...

(Rome) The Pontifical Council for Culture is preparing an "opening" towards women priests? Pablo d'Ors, appointed papal Consultor of the Council for Culture since July, 1st, is convinced of a realignment. "While orthodox Church representatives are being kicked out from the Vatican, heretics are being brought in," said Messa in Latino about the Spanish priest, novelist and "Zen Buddhist" and his interview in the daily newspaper La Repubblica . The Pontifical Council for Cultural, headed by Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, seems to deal not only with culture and sports, but also with the Doctrine of the Faith, and ground filled with...