In the moderate panic (are people who are really moderates supposed to panic? Â isn't that for emotionalist extremists? ) this is easy to overlook about Dave Brat, the Roman Catholic economic professor who upset Eric Cantor in the Republican primary for his U.S. House seat: Brat, who is Catholic, got his masters from Princeton Theological …
A Clarification on My Position on Civil Marriage
Those of you who follow my Twitter feed noted an link to a CNBC article about why my contemporaries are cohabiting in their dotage. Â I sensed a little pushback on Facebook on this, so I think that, in my advocacy for the abolition of civil marriage, some clarification is in order. I do not think …
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The Downhill Run of Roman Catholicism
As documented by Thomas Aquinas about the frequent reception of the Eucharist, in Summa Theologiae, 3, q. 80, a. 10 (I have added the papal dates): In the primitive Church, when the devotion of the Christian faith was more flourishing, it was enacted that the faithful should communicate daily: hence Pope Anaclete (76-88) says (Ep. …
One More Time: My Thoughts on Greg Griffith's Conversion to Catholicism
It seems that pieces on "Tiber swimming" have become my stock in trade.  Recently I did one on the conversion of Swedish Charismatic pastor Ulf Ekman to the Roman Catholic Church.  I must admit, however, that I was blindsided by the piece simply entitled "Waypoints" by the proprietor of the Anglican blogosphere's premier conservative site, Stand …
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The Reasons Christ is Really Present in the Eucharist
It's always amazing that the "fundamental" Protestants pass over this, but they do.  From Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, 3 q.75 a.1: The presence of Christ's true body and blood in this sacrament cannot be detected by sense, nor understanding, but by faith alone, which rests upon Divine authority. Hence, on Luke 22:19: "This is My body which shall be delivered up for you," Cyril says: …
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It's Important to Know a Competitor When You See One
And the Roman Catholic Church in the UK hasn't quite figured that out about the EU: Bishop Noel is of the view that the European Union "is a noble and historic project". "It is vital," he says, "that we participate in the European elections to ensure the EU and its institutions continue to evolve democratically …
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The Apostolic Charisms and the Sacraments
It's not quite a follow-up to this earlier post, but this interesting nugget from St. Thomas Aquinas (Summa Theologiae, 3 q. 72 a. 2) puts the issue in an interesting light: Christ, by the power which He exercises in the sacraments, bestowed on the apostles the reality of this sacrament, i.e. the fulness of theHoly Ghost, without the sacrament itself, because they …
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The Necessity of the Resurrection
From St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, 3, a. 53, q. 1: It behooved Christ to rise again, for five reasons. First of all; for the commendation of Divine Justice, to which it belongs to exalt them who humble themselves for God's sake, according to Luke 1:52: "He hath put down the mighty from their seat, …
Why Christ's Passion was the Best Way: A Good Friday Reflection
From Thomas Aquinas' Summa Theologiae, 3 q.46 a. 3: Among means to an end, the more suitable is that whereby the various concurring means employed are themselves helpful to such end. But in this that man was delivered by Christ's Passion, many other things besides deliverance from sin came together for man's salvation. In the …
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Go Ahead, Make My Day. Excommunicate Me!
(Note: the Markov chain example starts about halfway through the post). One of the issues that the Roman Catholic Church wrestles with on an ongoing basis concerns the status of those politicians which a) profess and call themselves Roman Catholics yet b) show that they do not ascribe to the teaching of the Church in …
Positive Infinity 