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The Authority Of Bishops… Can A Catholic Resist A Wrong Teaching Of His Bishop?

December 9, 2018 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off

By RAYMOND DE SOUZA, KM Part 3 In the two previous articles we have learned from great Catholic theologians that a layman can resist a wrong decision of a bishop and even of the Bishop of Rome — the Pope. But — and this “but” is very important — wouldn’t such a resistance go against the teaching on papal infallibility? This is a question that concerns many a faithful Catholic today. If we apply the teachings of those great theologians to our days, the conclusion is very grave and very simple: Catholics who truly love the Church have the right and the duty to resist any teaching, law, norm, or command coming from any ecclesiastical authority, be he a priest,…Continue Reading

The Theological Virtues — Faith

December 8, 2018 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off

By DON FIER As we transitioned last week from a lengthy treatment of the four cardinal virtues (and a brief overview of sanctifying grace) to the theological virtues, emphasis was given to the fittingness of the term “theological” (as derived from the Greek Theos and logos), for these virtues have God Himself as their Author, motive, and direct object. “Infused with sanctifying grace, they bestow on one the capacity to live in a relationship with the Trinity,” explains the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. “They are the foundation and the energizing force of the Christian’s moral activity and they give life to the human virtues. They are the pledge of the presence and action of the Holy…Continue Reading

Catholic Replies

December 7, 2018 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off

Q. For the benefit of those who do not have a computer or library access, could you please give us a list of the Doctors of the Church? I have a book entitled 33 Doctors of the Church, but I think some have been added since that book was published. — B.W., Florida. A. Doctor of the Church is a title given to certain saints whose writing or preaching has been invaluable in explaining and defending the doctrine of the Church. Thirty-six men and women have been so acclaimed, Pope Boniface VIII was the first to confer this title in 1205, and the first four saints to be called Doctors of the Church were Ambrose (340-397), Augustine (354-430), Pope Gregory…Continue Reading

Interview With Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke . . . The Faithful Are Suffering…But Schism Can Never Be Right

December 5, 2018 Frontpage, Our Catholic Faith Comments Off

By PEGGY MOEN (Editor’s Note: This interview took place in Rome on October 22, 2018, the Feast of St. John Paul II, during the final week of the October 3-28 Synod on Young People, the Faith, and Vocational Discernment and before its conclusion. See The Wanderer, November 1, 2018, p. 1 for an article based on this interview.) + + + Q. Your Eminence, the first thing I wanted to ask is, many Catholics, following this Summer of Shame, think they are living through the worst period of Church history. Do you agree? Cardinal Burke: It’s certainly among the worst, if not the worst. The Church has had other periods of great scandal. But this has dimensions about it that…Continue Reading

God’s Providence Is Perfect

December 4, 2018 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off

By FR. ROBERT ALTIER Second Sunday Of Advent (YR C) Readings: Baruch 5:1-9 Phil. 1:4-6, 8-11 Luke 3:1-6 In the second reading today, St. Paul states his confidence that the One who “began a good work in you will continue to complete it until the day of Christ Jesus.” This can certainly be applied in a variety of situations, for example, in one’s vocation, in the undertaking of an apostolate, in a work of charity, and so on. I think, however, that we need to look more broadly than these categories and recognize that God began a good work in us on the day He created us. From before the foundation of the world He had already called us to…Continue Reading

A Leaven In The World… Liturgy In The Land Of Saints And Scholars

December 3, 2018 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off

By FR. KEVIN M. CUSICK I chose this year to make my annual canonical retreat, required of all priests, in Ireland: in the month of November. If you know anything about Ireland, it’s most likely the fact that the weather is characterized by prodigious rainfall, especially in the cold months. Eire is called the “Emerald Isle” for a reason. My first trip to Ireland, as a recently ordained a priest in 1993, was for the purpose of exploring my roots. That was in January. The Cusick/Cusack clan hales from County Meath in Ireland where I am writing this. More important for me at that time, however, was a pilgrimage to the sight of the monastic city founded by St. Kevin in the sixth century. On…Continue Reading

The Authority Of Bishops… Can A Catholic Resist A Wrong Teaching Of His Bishop?

December 2, 2018 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off

By RAYMOND DE SOUZA, KM Part 2 In this article, I specifically address Catholic priests who have the duty to work for the salvation of their parishioners. Suppose that your bishop gives permission to give Communion to people living in adultery, in the context of the ambiguities brought about by Amoris Laetitia. You know that this is forbidden by nearly 2,000 years of consistent Church teaching, from chapter 11 of St. Paul to the Corinthians II, to Familiaris Consortio of John Paul II and Sacramentum Caritatis of Benedict XVI, and even canon 195 of the Code of Canon Law. Therefore, your well-informed conscience tells you not to give Communion to people living in adultery. Question: Are you obliged to go…Continue Reading

The Theological Virtues In General

December 1, 2018 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off

By DON FIER Upon closing its section on the cardinal or “hinge” virtues, we saw in last week’s installment that the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) promptly highlighted the indispensable role that grace plays in the fruitful practice of the human virtues. As summarized by Fr. John A. Hardon, SJ, the primary purpose of God’s grace in their regard is: to elevate the human virtues from the natural to the supernatural plane; to forge them in a way that enables a certain facility or ease in their practice; to enable perseverance in the practice of the virtues; and to prompt us to pray, receive the sacraments, and respond to God’s call for ongoing conversion through an ever greater practice…Continue Reading

Catholic Replies

November 30, 2018 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off

Q. In view of the recent sexual scandals in the Church, the Diocese of Sacramento has hired the consulting firm of Kathleen McChesney to examine all records of sexual abuse within the diocese and publish a list of the clergy credibly accused of abusing children and young people. Does that consulting firm have credibility, and is this the proper approach in dealing with the situation? — J.D.H., California. A. Kathleen McChesney is a former FBI agent and executive who served as director of the USCCB’s Secretariat of Child and Youth Protection following the U.S. bishops’ adoption in 2002 of their Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People. She developed a national protocol to ensure that all Catholic dioceses…Continue Reading

Bishop Strickland… Explains Why He Prayed With Catholics Rallying Outside USCCB Meeting

November 28, 2018 Our Catholic Faith Comments Off

By LISA BOURNE (Editor’s Note: LifeSiteNews gave The Wanderer reprint permission for Lisa Bourne’s interview with Bishop Joseph Strickland. All rights reserved.) + + + BALTIMORE (LifeSiteNews) — Why did one prelate among some 200-plus bishops at the recent U.S. bishops’ meeting venture across the Baltimore Inner Harbor walking bridge to where hundreds of Catholics were rallying, upset over the Church’s sex abuse scandal? “Well, very simply, because some of my flock asked me to,” Bishop Joseph Strickland of Tyler, Texas told LifeSiteNews in an exclusive interview. Members of his east Texas diocese had told Bishop Strickland that these people would be there praying at the November 13 Silence Stops Now rally and needed to hear from their bishops. Catholics…Continue Reading

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