Modern Pharisees and the Abuse of Freedom
There’s an image that I would like to use as a framework for this article. Imagine the moral life as a garden, an oasis surrounded by a wasteland. We, the persons in that garden, have everything that will make us…
The Gay Scapegoat, an Exercise in Unjust Discrimination
The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) has taught that men who practice homosexuality, present deep-seated homosexual tendencies, or men who support “gay culture” should not be admitted to seminary. Personally, I don’t have a problem with this…
Hear this, you who trample upon the poor!
The first reading today, from the prophet Amos, is a pointed exhortation against the oppression of the poor and economic injustice: “Hear this, you who trample upon the needy and destroy the poor of the land! ‘When will the new…
What about the right to control our borders?
The section of the Catechism that speaks about immigration (section 2241) is divided into two paragraphs that seem to be in tension with one another. Both are equally true, and to dismiss one of them in favor of the other…
If you can’t keep the Commandments, it’s your fault!
Last week I wrote an article about neo-Pelagianism that drew from the recent CDF document titled “On Certain Aspects of Christian Salvation.” I wanted to follow up that article first by drawing from Pope Francis’ brand new Apostolic Exhortation, Gaudete et Exsultate, regarding neo-Pelagianism and…
We cannot make ourselves holy
The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith recently released a document “On Certain Aspects of Christian Salvation.” This document is concerned with what it calls neo-Pelagianism and neo-Gnosticism. Concerning the former it says: “A new form of Pelagianism is…
NFP, Suffering, and Asceticism
Recently I wrote about how NFP is not good in and of itself, but rather can be good when used with virtue and faithfulness. I wanted to follow up that article by discussing the real suffering that many couples endure because of…
Communion for the Divorced and Remarried: a Defense of Amoris Laetitia
This article is a systemic summery of the most controversial section in Pope Francis’ Apostolic Exhortation, Amoris Laetitia. In doing so it addresses all of the major questions and objections that people have regarding the pope’s teaching on divorced and civilly remarried…
