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Historically, the Bible is a Catholic book. The New Testament was written, copied, and collected by Catholic Christians. The official canon of the books of the Bible was authoritatively determined by the Catholic Church in the fourth century. Thus, it is from the Catholic Church that the Protestants have a Bible at all.

The nineteenth century witnessed the conversions of two prominent Anglican clergymen to Roman Catholicism. Both men would ultimately become cardinals in the Roman Church, and both men would profoundly influence Roman Catholic theology. The first was John Henry Newman (1801–1890). The second was Henry Edward Manning (1808–1892). Newman is probably most well known for his involvement in the high church Oxford Movement and for his Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine (1845). Manning is best known for his advocacy of social justice and for his strong support of the doctrine of papal infallibility following his conversion to Rome. He...

David Bentley Hart has done a lot of good work in response to the "new atheists," and he is described as an "Orthodox theologian and philosopher," but having read his recent comments in defense of universalism, I think he would be more accurately referred to as a theologian and philosopher who happens to be a member of the Orthodox Church... because he clearly has an approach to Scripture, Tradition, and the Church that is not at all Orthodox. I would have responded to his comments on that blog, but Fr. Aidan Kimel, the owner of the blog "Eclectic Orthodoxy," while...

Not Crowded, but Close – A Brief Reflection and Clarification on the Communion of Saints in Heaven By: Msgr. Charles PopeMany of you know that I write the weekly “Question and Answer” column for the Our Sunday Visitor newspaper. Every now and again I get a question that stands out as unique, one that I had not thought of before. And such is the case with the question below. I had never thought of Heaven as potentially being crowded or considered it a drawback. But the question led me to reflect on the deeper experience of what we call the Communion of...

And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne. And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days. And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old...

The Roman Catholic Diocese of San Jose has a traveling LGBT mass called “All Are Welcome” (see a news report about it here; the reporter enthuses that this could be a first step in changing Catholic teaching). I found out about it in this comment from a reader:... ...If I were still Catholic and lived in that Diocese, I honestly don’t know what I would do. I could not go to mass in diocesan parishes that so clearly and even proudly defied authoritative church teaching any more than I could go to an Arian mass back in the day. And...

1. Forms and character of Dogmatics Dogmatics – as a particular ‘branch’ and ‘lesson’ of Theology – appeared in the West for the first time and was introduced in the Orthodox Theological Schools during later times. A major characteristic of this branch, as compared to other lessons of Theology, is its systematic character. While other branches of Theology are preoccupied with the dogmatic belief of the Church, Dogmatics approaches this faith by theme, and systematically expounds it. The Church’s systematic preoccupation with the faith appears during the patristic period for the first time, especially with Origen (his work “On Principles”),...

And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars: And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for...

Fear Not by R.C. Sproul We are fragile mortals, given to fears of every sort. We have a built-in insecurity that no amount of whistling in the dark can mollify. We seek assurance concerning the things that frighten us the most. The prohibition uttered more frequently than any other by our Lord is the command, “Fear not …” He said this so often to His disciples and others He encountered that it almost came to sound like a greeting. Where most people greet others by saying “Hi” or “Hello,” the first words of Jesus very often were “Fear not.” Why?...

Reflections on the Latest Pew Survey Documenting “Religious Decline” – Not So Fast By: Msgr. Charles PopeA well-publicized Pew Survey given publicity in yesterday’s Washington Post announced a kind of “doom” for traditional religion in this country. I do not dispute most of the results as an accurate snapshot of today.But snapshots have a way of recording things that eventually are replaced by other realities in the ensuing years. It is clear that what we have called “traditional religious practice” is in trouble. Cultural trends no longer favor the Sunday observance or the sectarian loyalty with which many of us...

BIBLIANO and AMIGO: Discussions on Eschatology (Lesson #2) by Charles S. Meek AMIGO: We are in the Last Days! The end is near! BIBLIANO: My friend, why do you think that? AMIGO: I watch the Trinity Broadcasting Network. You know—ISIS, Iran getting the nuke, blood moons, riots in the streets. Just read the newspaper! BIBLIANO: Have you ever seriously studied what the Bible says about the so-called Last Days? AMIGO: Don’t have to. All I need is TBN. Those preachers can’t be wrong about this. They sell a lot of books. BIBLIANO: Well, I hate to break your bubble, Amigo....

And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars: And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered. And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered,...

Featured Term selected at random:HELLENISM A body of classical ideals associated with ancient Greece and including reason, the pursuit of knowledge, and the application of philosophy to the study of religion. Assuming the guiding hand of Providence, Hellenism played an important role in helping to shape, on its human and cultural side, the origins and development of Christianity. The language of the New Testament writings was Greek, the Gentile civilization into which the Church entered was Greek, and the thought patterns of the educated classes in the first-century Mediterranean world were Greek. All items in this dictionary are from Fr....

In the Darkness We See Farther – Pondering the Paradox of the “Dark Knowing” of Faith By: Msgr. Charles PopeAs human beings we are very visual and there is a certain demand of our flesh to see on its own terms. But of course God, who is pure spirit, will not be seen in this way.How can the human eye perceive what is spiritual? It is not designed to do so. We cannot see God, as God, any more than we should expect to be able to see justice sitting down to lunch with humility. These are not physical concepts;...

Let us begin with a church history exam question. Cardinal Robert Bellarmine (1542–1621) was a figure not to be taken lightly. He was Pope Clement VIII’s personal theologian and one of the most able figures in the Counter-Reformation movement within sixteenth-century Roman Catholicism. On one occasion, he wrote: “The greatest of all Protestant heresies is _______ .” Complete, explain, and discuss Bellarmine’s statement.How would you answer? What is the greatest of all Protestant heresies? Perhaps justification by faith? Perhaps Scripture alone, or one of the other Reformation watchwords?Those answers make logical sense. But none of them completes Bellarmine’s sentence. What he...

The Habits of Your Temperament Print PDFWhat is your temperament? Depending on your temperament, you can be more prone to exhibit certain virtues and positive qualities, as well as face stronger temptations to fall into certain sins or vices. See the chart below to learn about the bright side and dark side of your temperament.Throughout the day, you are constantly faced with the choice: God or not God. Every time you exercise the virtues and gifts of the “bright side” of your temperament, you choose and glorify God. When you exercise the sins and vices of the “dark side”...

And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.(Revelation 12:3-4)The vision of Revelation 12 corresponds to the account of the fall of man in Genesis 3. What do we have in Genesis 3? A Woman,a Serpent and the promise of the...

What Does the Arrest of St. Paul at Philippi Teach a Sometimes-Timid Church? By: Msgr. Charles PopeIn daily Mass we are following the missionary journeys of St. Paul. Yesterday we heard of his going over to Macedonia and of the baptism of the first “European” converts: Lydia of Thyatira and her family.Unfortunately, in today’s reading (Tuesday of the 6th Week of Easter) important lines are cut out that describe why Sts. Paul and Silas were in jail. The whole story serves as a metaphor for the radical nature of true Christianity and explains why it so perturbs many in this world....

Since the end of the 2014 synod, he has spoken dozens of times on abortion, divorce, and homosexuality. But he hasn't said a single word more in support of the “openness” demanded by the innovators ROME, May 11, 2015 – The second and last session of the synod on the family is approaching, and the temperature of the discussion keeps going up. The latest uproar is over an onslaught of the German bishops, who now take as a given, in the “cultural context” of their local Church, substantial changes of doctrine and pastoral practice in matters of divorce and homosexuality:...

The Church Prior to the Reformation: The Mass Medieval conception of Purgatory As Protestants, we all seem to know that the Roman Church was very bad during the middle ages, but in what ways? What, precisely, was being protested? In his work “The Reformation: A History”, Diarmiad MacCulloch gives a brief overview of the Roman Church prior to the Reformation. He introduces that overview with this passage: Nicholas Ridley, one of the talented scholarly clergy who rebelled in England against the old [Roman] Church, wrote about this to one of his fellow rebels John Bradford in 1554, while they both...