Catholic Church

By Joseph Pearce, Crisis Magazine - The canonization of John Henry Newman in Rome on October 13 will be a triumph for the light of life and love amidst the gloom and darkness of the Culture of Death. It will signify the way in which the Church transcends and outlives the evil forces that assail her, whether such assailants are the enemies without or the traitors within. As for Newman himself, there are two ways of assessing and understanding his life and legacy. The first is to see the influence he had on his own times; the second, to see the influence he has had in the 130 years since his death.

By Michael Pakaluk, First Things - Pius IX defined the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception about ten years after Newman’s book. Was that definition a development of doctrine? Did anyone think it so? Perhaps. And yet, notably, the Holy Father used these words in describing its status: “This doctrine always existed in the Church as a doctrine that has been received from our ancestors, and that has been stamped with the character of revealed doctrine. For the Church of Christ, watchful guardian that she is, and defender of the dogmas deposited with her, never changes anything, never diminishes anything, never adds anything to them.”

By Edward Pentin, National Catholic Register - Part of the causes of this is the initial enthusiasm that followed Vatican II that exalted what was called the “spirit of Vatican II,” with little close attention paid to what it actually said. There were some significant pastoral and strategic changes made by Vatican II as well as a doctrinal clarification of questions concerned with the salvation of those outside the Catholic Church that I believe was an authentic development of doctrine.

By Phil Lawler, Catholic Culture - Last week it was the police raid on the Vatican’s Secretariat of State. This week it was the stunning claim, by an influential Italian journalist, that “Pope Francis conceives of Christ … Eugenio Scalfari, the founder and editorial analyst of La Repubblica, has dropped this sort of bombshell in the past. On the basis of exclusive interviews with the Pontiff, he has reported that the Pope does not believe in the existence of hell, and that he thinks Communists are true Christians.