Pope Francis and St. Vincent of Lérins
by Thomas G. GuarinoThe 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 »
The Conservative Genius of Catholicism
by Dan HitchensThose 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 »
A False Paradigm
by Michael HanbySo 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 »
Magisterial Irresponsibility
by Steven A. LongLuis 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 »
The Decipherment of Cupich
by Basilides MelchischyrosBasilides Melchischyros offers thoughts on Blase Cardinal Cupich's recent elucidation of Amoris Laetitia. Continue Reading »
Development, or Corruption?
by Gerhard Ludwig MüllerThose embracing Amoris Laetitia should remember the difference between a real development of doctrine and what Cardinal Newman calls a corruption. Continue Reading »
Letters
by VariousDEADLY 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 Catholic Church Doesn’t Do “Paradigm Shifts”
by George WeigelThe 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 »
Peter Says No
by John HunwickeJust as Peter was not the dazzling originator of new teaching, his successors have more often served as a brake on innovation than as its impetus. This is as it should be. The Pope serves the Church best by saying “no” to errors and heresies. Continue Reading »
Creeping Infallibility
by Jessica M. MurdochAny sort of “creeping infallibility” that would attach the same level of authority to every papal utterance or document must be avoided. To fail to draw appropriate distinctions—whether between binding and non-binding documents of the ordinary magisterium, or between the development and the evolution of doctrine—is to dim the light of the Petrine ministry and impoverish the faithful. Continue Reading »
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