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The Church’s Revolutions

In 1489 the Roman Catholic Church felt, and was, hemmed into a corner of the world. The view from Rome was of Africa and Asia long lost to heretical churches or to Islam, and Europe divided between Catholicism and Orthodoxy (itself seen as heretical), while Ottoman power advanced relentlessly up the . . . . Continue Reading »

Grace, Sin, and History

Writing authentic history that is also authentically Catholic has been a tricky business since Cardinal Baronius, if not since St. Augustine. How are we to reconcile the profound and definitive historical ­consequences of the Incarnation with the ­obvious fact that sin continues to permeate the . . . . Continue Reading »

Apostolic Empire

The young are eschewing marriage. Birth rates are collapsing. Abortion and even post-natal infanticide are commonplace. Yawning inequalities divide the haves from the have-nots, spreading decadence among the former while immiserating the latter. Society is losing the thread of its ­noblest . . . . Continue Reading »

The West: Post- or Pre-Christian?

It became clear to me that my personal Christian faith is not tolerated or permitted in the public square, at least by some and perhaps by many.” So said the CEO of one of Australia’s largest football clubs after he was forced to resign one day into the job, following revelations that he was . . . . Continue Reading »

Let's Fight

What are Christians to make of corruption in the history of the Church? There are two common approaches. The first we can dismiss without much consideration. This is the tack taken by those conservative apologists who more or less deny that the Church is ever corrupt. The Inquisition, for example, . . . . Continue Reading »

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