Category Archives: Heresies and Errors
Heresies and Errors
“For there must be also heresies: that they also, who are approved, may be made manifest among you” (1 Corinthians 11:19). St. Thomas defines heresy as “a species of infidelity in men who, having professed the faith of Christ, corrupt its dogmas.” God allows His faithful to be exposed to heresy in order to test their Faith, their docility, and obedience to Catholic authority. At Baptism we receive the theological virtue of Faith, which is a supernatural light for our intellect, which enables us to “see” the truths that God has revealed through His Church, or as Father Feeney so simply put it, “to think the thoughts of God.” A person, therefore, bearing within him this infused light, will immediately recognize pernicious doctrine for the darkness that it is.
Religious errors, on the other hand, are not necessarily opposed to the virtue of Faith. A validly baptized person may for a period fall into a material error on account of a misrepresentation of Catholic doctrine, or outright misinformation, and be innocent of the sin of heresy. He made be told, for example, that Catholics worship Mary as God, and then he would be in error about what Catholics believe. The providence of God will be sure to provide this person an opportunity, be it by way of a book or a Catholic acquaintance, to hear the truth. Then, if he cooperates with the light of Faith that is in him, he would be bound to accept the truth and seek out the full teaching of the Church.
If as the saying goes “contrast clarifies the mind,” then by studying the Church’s battles against heresies throughout her history, a Catholic can fortify his own Faith. The articles falling under this category are such. They are part of the library of the Church Militant as guardian of the truth and refuter of all heresies.
Homosexual Protest at Acushnet, MA, Parish
The Catholic Action League of Massachusetts today [Monday, May 21] criticized the demonstration held yesterday during the 10:30 a.m. Mass at Saint Francis Xavier Parish in Acushnet. Ten protesters, some carrying signs, marched on the sidewalk across the street from the entrance to the church. They were protesting the brief appearance last week of a sign on the church’s message board supporting the traditional definition … More →
Harmony With Universe Retreat / Andale! Tickets Won’t Last Long
Live in the Los Angeles area? Well, be there or be square. And move fast. Be where? The Holy Spirit Retreat Center in Encino, that’s where. The channeling reverie, or whatever it is, begins at 5 o’clock California time TODAY. (Sorry for the late notice.) By Sunday, 1 PM, your guaranteed transformation will be complete and you will be dismissed. Ahem, that’s my guarantee, not … More →
‘I’m Catholic, But . . .’ Dismal Situation of ‘Cafeteria Catholicism’ in Ireland
Survey shows that 85% of the people identify themselves as Catholic but 60% favor women’s ordinations, and 78% of priests say clergy should be allowed to get married. Catholic World Report: During a meeting at the Vatican in 1946, Msgr. Giovanni Battista Montini—the future Pope Paul VI—told Ireland’s ambassador to the Holy See, “You are the most Catholic country in the world!” The latest figures … More →
Why the Disorientation and Exodus of Nuns in the 60s and 70s? Humanist Psychology?
Patheos‘ Kathy Schiffer provides an informative summary of the destructive role of just two psychologists and their team who, in 1966, were given a three-year grant (I don’t know from what organization) to experiment with religious orders through humanistic Freudian inspired workshops.
How to Fight Grace
Today’s lesson in how to fight grace comes from the Reformation tradition: Every year I tell my Reformation history class that Roman Catholicism is, at least in the West, the default position. Rome has a better claim to historical continuity and institutional unity than any Protestant denomination, let alone the strange hybrid that is evangelicalism; in the light of these facts, therefore, we need good, … More →
Jimmy Carter Authors New ‘Bible Study’ Book, Criticizes Catholic Teaching and John Paul II
Also says it’s time for a “gay” president; yes, that means a Mr. President and a First Gentleman. LifeSiteNews: Former president Jimmy Carter has been strongly identified as a “Born Again” Christian (sic) and as a liberal Democrat for nearly five decades. He is once more blending those roles as he promotes “his” latest book, his own study Bible. Read more of Carter’s ultra-liberal rants … More →
You’re an anti-LGBTQ Theologian!
When people with a favorite heresy or moral depravity choose to hate and attack the Catholic Church for opposing their ideas, I can understand. I cannot agree, but can I understand the underlying logic behind their reaction. But when someone with a favorite heresy or moral depravity insists that the Church go along with it, I just don’t get it. Why not become a Unitarian, … More →
Boston Archdiocesan Pastoral Center Offering Yoga
Boston Catholic Insider: The Boston Archdiocese is offering a yoga class at the Pastoral Center. As most people know, yoga (Sanskrit, Pāli: योग, yoga) is a physical, mental, and spiritual discipline, originating in ancient India.We reference the definition in wikipedia: The goal of yoga, or of the person practicing yoga, is the attainment of a state of perfect spiritual insight and tranquility while meditating on … More →
Posted in Heresies and Errors, News 1 Comment
The Dangers of Scientism (December, 1946)
If a man were to say to me, “I refuse to use my eyesight except through a microscope,” I might think that the man is queer or crazy, and I would certainly try to avoid his company. Imagine taking a walk with a man who keeps one eye closed, and the other, permanently fixed to a microscope! Such a man is worse than blind, for … More →
Freedom From Religion Foundation: ‘It’s Time to Consider Quitting the Catholic Church’
The “Freedom From Religion Foundation” placed a full-page ad in the March 9 New York Times. Its title says, “IT’S TIME TO CONSIDER QUITTING THE CATHOLIC CHURCH.” Obviously addressed to Catholics, its eight paragraphs and snappy cartoon amount to a response to the contraception flap that has recently hit the news. The ad makes note of the fact that the Church “hasn’t persuaded you to shun … More →
Some Causes and Consequences of the Protestant Revolt
Full Title: The Devastation of Catholic Europe: Some Causes and Consequences of the Protestant Revolt Introduction “Let us clearly understand the meaning of these words — Catholic, Protestant, and Reformation. Catholic means universal, and the religion which takes this epithet was called universal because all Christian people of every nation acknowledged it to be the only true religion, and because they all acknowledged one and … More →
Fulton Sheen’s ‘A Plea for Intolerance’
This article recently came to Catholicism.org’s attention. These excerpts came from the Alliance for Life Ministries site. Ven. Emmanuel d’Alzon had similar ideas. America, it is said, is suffering from intolerance — it is not. It is suffering from tolerance. Tolerance of right and wrong, truth and error, virtue and evil, Christ and chaos. Our country is not nearly so overrun with the bigoted as … More →
Is Catholicism Superior?
Another good Michael Voris video. The titular question is one that we would hope Catholics would not have to think about much before replying. Implicit in what he is saying is that there is no salvation outside the Church. He also clearly identifies the Catholic Church alone with Christ’s Mystical Body. Sadly, that truth is not one a majority of theologians would hold today. But … More →
