Cardinals Arthur Roche and Raniero Cantalamessa indirectly acknowledged (perhaps unintentionally) what critics of Paul VI’s Novus Ordo Missae have said for over fifty years: The new rite corresponds to a new theology that “represents, both as a whole and in its details, a striking departure from the Catholic theology of the Mass … Read more
Many people wonder whether the current crisis in the Church began with the Second Vatican Council. Others believe that the crisis predates the council, and therefore the latter cannot be accused of causing it. The reality is more complex. If the Church were not in crisis, the Second Vatican Council, with all … Read more
Pope Francis has once again confused, scandalized and disoriented the flock he is called to teach, guide and sanctify. This time he has done it with the shocking statement—contrary to the Gospels, the Tradition of the Church and the common feeling of the faithful—that Mary Most Holy was a common, “normal girl” … Read more
Since the hierarchical structure of the Church is a truth of the Faith, it is not surprising that the Popes uphold this teaching. A sampling of Papal declarations on this point illustrates the importance of this truth. Old Condemned Heresies In the fourteenth century, Marsilius of Padua, in his book Defensor Pacis … Read more
“Something there is that doesn’t love a wall,” wrote poet Robert Frost. In the opening line to his famous poem, “Mending Wall,” Frost explores one of the mysteries of fallen human nature. Everyone feels both a need and aversion for order. His questioning of the role of walls tries to explain this … Read more
“A Facile Repetition of What Is Obvious or Has Already Been Said” After the most disparate news about the 2015 Synod on the Family, the event ended with an ambiguous document which allows an interpretation contradictory to Catholic doctrine, opening the doors for Communion for the divorced and civilly “remarried” (in fact, … Read more
Dr. Beisner is a scholar specializing in the application of Christian worldview, theology, and ethics to economics, government, environmental stewardship, and public policy. As a professor he has taught theology, apologetics, ethics, church history, economics, and other disciplines. He has written four books on population, resources, economics, and the environment; eight other … Read more
Today we see all these things: mothers in whose bowels the love of their children decreases in intensity; husbands who cast an entire family into disgrace solely to satisfy their own instincts and passions; children who, indifferent to the misery or moral abandonment in which they leave their parents, focus exclusively on … Read more
“Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Pauperist Heresies Heresies requiring material poverty for eternal salvation have sprung up since the dawn of Christianity. Here we refer more particularly to medieval miserabilists. Under the influence of the Cathars or Albigensians, who adopted the Manichean principle that … Read more
“If you don’t give up your repossession efforts, blood will flow.” That was the threat farmer Maria Angela Simões Semeghini received last February as she went to court to recover her farmlands invaded in the city of Ariquemes, State of Rondônia, in the Amazon region of Brazil. Mrs. Semeghini was shocked when … Read more