28 06, 2016

On Eternal Rome

By |2018-05-22T16:40:11+00:00June 28th, 2016|Theology|

This is an edited re-post of a little-known blog I wrote when I was last in Rome. I originally called it "Peter and Paul" but two other titles that fit are: "Why Eternal Rome will Triumph over Temporary Rome" or "Why the hierarchical Church was no different from the charismatic Church." Most of us Americans picture the early Christians of Rome being physically underground but spiritually free. Then, everything changed in 313 when Constantine’s edict of Milan reversed the course of history, allowing Christians to be physically “above-ground” but spiritually oppressed by the Emperor and Pope who inadvertently became strange bedfellows. The idea of the pre-edict-of-Milan Christians being “more free” [...]

23 06, 2016

Catholic “Vulnerability”

By |2016-06-24T02:49:35+00:00June 23rd, 2016|Theology|

I had abdominal surgery two weeks ago, so I got sent home with some narcotics. I wasn’t in much physical pain, but I noticed there was a lot of psychological relief in taking the narcotics. I was anxious for an upcoming meeting, so I found myself taking hydrocodone for the calming effects more than for the physical recovery. Any reader who had been in medicine for even a short time should be able to see the alarms of pre-addiction in the previous three sentences. Happily, I caught this too and never finished my prescription. (And the meeting went very well, too.  Of course, this had nothing to do with the [...]

19 06, 2016

Is Your Marriage Valid?

By |2021-04-07T14:36:57+00:00June 19th, 2016|Theology|

I know this isn't the most romantic question on father's day, but as a spiritual father to biological fathers, I think you'll find this very encouraging by the end of the article. First, we must understand that it is God who forms the bond of a sacramental marriage when two people in freedom say "I do" and consummate the sacrament that night. Secondly, what is often called “an annulment” among Catholics is actually better described as a “declaration of nullity.” When a forlorn couple asks their diocese to investigate if they were ever married, the diocese may find real problems and declare it “null.” These problems have to be pre-existent [...]

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