11 - 20 of 21 Comments

1. Free

   2 months ago

   I do not believe that the Church should go against anything secular at the moment, but rather the internal struggles such as the scandals with priests. How can one hope the have a good defense when the internal structure is filled with lies and rubbish?

2. rafaelmarie

   2 months ago

   @Peter Brady
   
   I suspect you were referring to me?
   
   These are your words:
   
   "And when you stand before your Lord and your God in the instant of your death with such hokum thinking as is opposed to the teachings of the Church, "what will you do then?"
   
   I will say to SAINT Malachy, and to all the Prophets, look, I repeated what you have prophesied, and the aforementioned is what Mr. Peter Brady said.

3. Barbara Logan

   2 months ago

   Well said. Militant secularism is indeed a horrible mutant offspring of the Marxist/Darwinist/Freudian unholy trinity and needs to be addressed for what it is - yet another ploy of satan's tired but effective old temptation.

4. Tom McGuire

   2 months ago

   This article contributes little to understanding of the ministry of the Chair of Peter. It sounds more like a political commentary asking for what is perceived to be the needs of the Western Church. Little thought here to Africa, Asia, or Latin America.
   
   The agenda proposed for the next Pope do not reflect the ministry of Jesus Christ. Where did Jesus attack the secularism of His day? His ministry was all about proclaiming the Reign of God. On marriage, Jesus did not give a detailed model of the ideal family. He did minister with remarkable compassion to those who found themselves with problems relationships. Oh if we could all look to Jesus as we reflect on the ministry of the Chair of Peter.

5. Pete Brady

   2 months ago

   As to "reversing 2000 years of Church teaching":
   
   Tertullian, one of the early Fathers of the Church, wrote: "Grant, then, that all have erred; that the Apostle was mistaken in bearing witness; that the Holy Spirit had no such consideration for any one Church as to lead it into truth, although He was sent for that purpose by Christ, who had asked the Father to make Him the Teacher of truth; that the Steward of God and Vicar of Christ neglected His office, and permitted the Churches for a time to understand otherwise and to believe otherwise than He Himself had preached through the Apostles: now, is it likely that so many and such great Churches should have gone astray into a unity of faith?"
   
   And we should really expect that the Church was WRONG all those 2000 years? And that 2000 years of humanity was so easily duped into thinking that abortion, contraception and gay marriage are wrong? That there should NOT be married priests and women priests?
   
   And when you stand before your Lord and your God in the instant of your death with such hokum thinking as is opposed to the teachings of the Church, "what will you do then?"

6. Peter Brady

   2 months ago

   I can well hear that early Father of the Church, Tertullian, weighing-in on the stupidity and arrogance of a comment that would suggest that the Church would "reverse() 2000 years of Church teaching." Do you hear yourself? Seriously? 2000 years!!! Changed at the whim of an "enlightened" modernity? Yep, the Apostles, St. Augustine, St. Thomas Aquinas and every other Father of the Church and moral theologian were just "oh, so wrong" in their moral pronouncements, their reason, and insights on what has been divinely revealed. For 2000 years!!! What are the odds? It isn't just the "laws of natures and Nature's God" that mocks such an abject failure in logic but, so too, do the laws of probability laugh in derision.

7. John Mainhart

   2 months ago

   The article is well done,thoughtful and enlightening. What I loved about it most was the author's moment of blessed humility when he mentioned tht he would not speculate on who might ,be the next Pope because he was more than willing to let that up to the Holy Spirit.

8. abey

   2 months ago

   We need a Pope who will not sway from the fundamentals of the Faith, steering His Ship into the Sanctuary of Christ, to the faith, careful of that Ecumenical that is seen sliding to syncretism which under Pope John Paul 2 did cause some damage to the Ship, arisen out of the very theme of the Vatican 2 Council. See the Church in terms of the Spiritual more than the Political, for at the time of Noe Political & Numbers did not help, as was also in case of Sodom, likewise is Prophesied to come again the time of Noe, to which Sodom is already visible.

9. Paul-Emile Leray

   2 months ago

   Beautiful, coherent writing. The "heart strings" comment interestingly jumped out at me, since the path of sentimentality (if exaggerated) can lead to all sorts of chaos as well. To those so critical of the Catholic Church, the other alternatives are much worse. Truth in both faith and reason, properly balanced, is important. A person might be living properly, but still have a headache. A person might be living horribly, yet feel good. A properly formed conscience is important. Yes, but without both proper faith and reason, humans often end up too far on the side of reason or on the side of what is no longer faith but extremism; out of balance; and sometimes we are inclined to sin by commission and other times through omission. Sometimes doing something is best, sometimes doing seemingly nothing is best. Yes, but how to know how to discern? Grace is often not even perceived accurately unless we see it. And without accurate faith and reason, grace might be given only to have us miss it. If the horse is blind and can't smell or feel, has lost his senses, his mind, will he drink the water even if he is standing right infront of it while dying of thirst? Sometimes the horse needs to be thrown into the lake and only then he will drink. In other words, immersion. Cult-ure. Culture matters. For even a stupid, blind, deaf, senile senseless horse; would still benefit from proper culture. When faith and reason are improperly balanced, we have a "horsemeat scandal"! (with those in the butcher shops trying to make sense of what belongs where; separating the beef from the horsemeat; or the wheat from the chaff) Meanwhile, some worry about N.Korea and his missile demonstrations; while the Russians have a meteorite dropping down from the sky! And round and round we go, circling the sun, trying to make sense of our existence. The purpose of life is to continue the work of Jesus. That is the answer to "Man's Search for Meaning". The lines may vary, as the snowflakes do, but it is all snow. The lines ought to lead to the top of the mountain.
   Paul-Emile Leray

10. KarlVDH`

    2 months ago

    What presumption! What arrogance!! How about if we pray, seek God, and trust Him to speak to the next Holy Father about what his agenda will be, instead of acting like this is some American democracy we're talking about? How DARE any of us presume to dictate or even suggest what the next Pontiff's focus and/or priorities ought to be??? Shame!!
    

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