As we celebrate the tenth anniversary of the election of Jorge Bergoglio to the Holy See of Rome, I’d like to look back on some of the major contributions of his pontificate to date. I’ve identified seven: dialogue and synodality,...
Where Peter Is · Universalism And Hell in Catholic Theology When Pope Francis said last year, “The good Lord will save everyone,” not many Catholics seemed to notice, despite the enormity of the statement. Perhaps after nine years we have...
For decades in certain traditionalist Catholic circles, conspiracy theories have been circulated claiming (among other things) that Pope St. Paul VI and other prominent bishops at the time of Vatican II were secret Freemasons. Paranoia about Freemasons trying to take...
Two high-ranking Catholic bishops made headlines recently by calling for a change in Church teaching on homosexuality. On February 3, Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, the Bishop of Luxembourg, said bluntly that Catholic doctrine on homosexuality is “sinful” and “wrong” because it...
My previous two posts were historical-theological prolegomena to my main question, which is how non-Christians today can be saved even though they don’t believe in Jesus Christ. (This will lead to my fourth and final post on the question of...
In the writings of scholastic and early-modern theologians, we can distinguish four main categories of non-Christians able to be saved: catechumens, babies who die before baptism, people who lived before Jesus, and people who have never heard of Jesus. As...
For as long as we Christians have been doing theology, that is, seeking to understand our faith, we have been asking questions about salvation. How are we saved? From what do we need to be saved? Who will be saved?...
Today the Holy Father, Pope Francis, stunned the Catholic media sphere by abrogating Pope Benedict XVI’s controversial 2007 Motu proprio Summorum Pontificum (SP). Francis wrote in his own Motu proprio Traditionis Custodes: I take the firm decision to abrogate all...
The sixth and final chapter of Dei Verbum is about how the Bible is actually used and its fundamental importance in the Church. The chapter begins by saying that listening to the Bible at Mass stands on par with receiving...
Dei Verbum, chapter 4: The Old Testament The fourth chapter of Dei Verbum is about the Old Testament. It is shorter than the previous chapters (only three paragraphs) because it does not involve such difficult and controversial subjects. The first...
Unpacking Vatican II Dei Verbum chapter 3, part 8 In previous posts, I’ve explored what Dei Verbum says about how to interpret Scripture in light of its human authorship. Those principles of exegesis are essential for correctly interpreting what the...
Unpacking Vatican II Dei Verbum chapter 3, part 7 In my previous post, I explained why Dei Verbum says the Bible must be interpreted in its historical context. I focused on scientific issues, but the implications are much broader. Christians...
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