“What are the signs that identify a doctrine taught infallibly by the ordinary and universal magisterium?” This is the first half of Vacant’s long Chapter IV, which considers again the different ways in which the Church’s ordinary magisterium teaches us, and the obligations corresponding to these ways. As we already noted, the author J.M.A. Vacant …
Category archives: Dogmatic Theology
John Henry Newman, Anti-Ecumenist
“Catholics and Protestants, as bodies, hold nothing in common in religion, however they may seem to do so.” Image: Newman kneeling before Fr Dominic Barberi, who received him into the Church in Littlemore in 1845. From the parish of Littlemore. Editors’ Notes What follows is an extract from the fifth of Newman’s series of discourses …
Short essay: The Agony in the Garden and the unity of the Church
“… and the world may know that thou hast sent me.”
On the immorality of labelling other Catholics as “radical traditionalists”
“A little historical awareness, humility, respect and basic human kindness would go a long way.” Image: David Gilbert Wright, ‘Queuing for Holy Communion at the top of the mountain.’ This article is an expanded excerpt from our essay What does Michael Lofton mean by “tradition”? In order to address this topic, we have to remember …
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John Henry Newman, Anti-Modernist – Part III
“Nothing is easier than to use the word, and mean nothing by it.” Image: Bust of Newman at Trinity College, Oxford where he was an undergraduate, and where one of our editors lived for a term. Wiki Commons, Public Domain Editors’ Notes This is the third part of Discourse II (‘Theology a Branch of Knowledge’) of John …
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John Henry Newman, Anti-Modernist – Part II
“Faith is an intellectual act, its object truth, and its result knowledge.” Image: Wiki Commons, Public Domain Editors’ Notes This is the second part of Discourse II (‘Theology a Branch of Knowledge’) of John Henry Newman’s The Idea of a University, in which he considers the arguments of those who would exclude the teaching of …
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John Henry Newman, Anti-Modernist – Part I
“It is very plain, that a Divine Being and a University so circumstanced cannot co-exist.” Image: Wiki Commons, Public Domain Editors’ Notes In Discourse II (‘Theology a Branch of Knowledge’) of his The Idea of a University, John Henry Newman considers the arguments of those who would exclude the teaching of theology from university – …
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The Apostolicity of the Church – Who are the Successors of the Apostles?
“We believe that the Church retains her hierarchy – because this is what we are required to believe.” Image: Ghirlandaio, Wiki Commons, Public Domain Is the Catholic Church still apostolic? Many Catholics today hold that Francis and his recent predecessors have not been true successors of St Peter – or at least have only doubtfully …
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Papal elections, including without the Cardinals – Journet & Cajetan
“In default of the Roman clergy the right will belong to the Church universal.” Image: Cardinal Journet, by Armand Niquille, Wiki Commons. Editor’s Notes Continuing the series on papal elections in the absence of the Cardinals, we are now publishing (in two parts) Charles Journet’s treatment of papal elections, and of the state of the …
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Papal elections without the cardinals? – St Robert Bellarmine
“In fact, similar situations have been considered by great theologians in history.” Image: Pope Martin V consecrating a church. Wiki Commons Editors’ Notes This is the first in a series of texts from theologians, which we are publishing on the topic of “Papal elections in extraordinary circumstances”, and the related topic of how the Church …
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