Jeanie Hannaman

By Dave Armstrong, National Catholic Register - It’s always good to define our terms. In his Modern Catholic Dictionary, Servant of God John Hardon provided a good definition of “Examination of Conscience”: Reflection in God’s presence on one’s state of soul, e.g., in preparation for the sacrament of penance.... He also defined “General Examen” this way: Prayerful daily periodic examination of one’s conscience to determine what faults have been committed, which call for repentance, and what good actions were performed, for which God should be thanked.

By Dr. Jeff Mirus, Catholic Culture - The “ordinary magisterium” of the Church is a rather flexible and capacious entity. It includes all official ecclesiastical texts which have been formally approved by the Pope. On the other hand, the ordinary magisterium, while requiring obedience, does not rise to the level of infallibility. That requires a more solemn declaration in which the Pope specifies that he is (a) teaching (b) on a matter of faith or morals (c) to the whole Church (d) by virtue of his Petrine authority.