The development of doctrine is a notion more frequently invoked than understood. When, as is too often done, a novelty or even a reversal of traditional Christian teaching is proposed as a “development,” the term is being abused. Indeed, it is being deployed to denote precisely the opposite of . . . . Continue Reading »
The refusal to accept Fiducia Supplicans is based on serious concerns and does not imply any lack of respect for the Holy Father. Continue Reading »
The theologian of Lérins is one of the few ancient Christian writers who tackles the question of doctrinal development over time—and he does so head-on. Continue Reading »
Those who claim that the Church has nothing to do except resist and condemn are mistaken; but they are less mistaken than those who think we should raise the gates and invite the enemy in. Continue Reading »
So much for the “new paradigm.” With the Church now mired in its most severe crisis since the Protestant Reformation, the heady talk of last spring now seems as distant as the “Catholic moment” or the “springtime of evangelization.” Rightly or wrongly, the idea of a gauzy mercy without . . . . Continue Reading »
Luis Francisco Cardinal Ladaria Ferrer of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) has announced to the bishops Pope Francis’s approval of new material addressing capital punishment in the Catechism of the Catholic Church (number 2267). The inserted passage notes “an . . . . Continue Reading »
Basilides Melchischyros offers thoughts on Blase Cardinal Cupich's recent elucidation of Amoris Laetitia. Continue Reading »
Those embracing Amoris Laetitia should remember the difference between a real development of doctrine and what Cardinal Newman calls a corruption. Continue Reading »
DEADLY DESERTS Paul Griffiths’s sneering review of our book, By Man Shall His Blood Be Shed (“Against Capital Punishment,” December 2017), illustrates how much bile—and how little charity—is often to be found in those who speak the loudest of mercy and humanity. Griffiths suggests . . . . Continue Reading »
The evolution of the Church’s understanding of the gospel is not a matter of “paradigm shifts” or ruptures; it’s a question of development of doctrine. Continue Reading »
Subscribe
Latest Issue
Support First Things
