Catholicism
Welcome to my Catholicism page. Here are some of my more important posts concerning Catholic life and teaching.
Catholic Life
In this section I will link to my articles which relate to Catholic life and spirituality.
Leaving the Catholic Church
Although raised within the Church, I have not always been a faithful Catholic. I have written about my journey in Catholics Come Home, where I also provide a number of suggestions to those of you who would wish to reconcile others with the Church.
The Diversity in the Church
The Catholic Church is amazingly diverse and rich. Recognizing this, I wrote The Catholic Bucket List series in which I produced a “Bucket List” for Catholics in exploring all that the Catholic Church has to offer.
The Catholic Church & Scripture
Catholics typically get a bad rap when it comes to Sacred Scripture. In my article Catholics & Scripture, I try to dispel many of these misconceptions.
Eastern Catholicism
Although I was raised in the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church, I now attend an Eastern Catholic parish. If you have never heard of the Eastern Catholic Church before, I wrote an Introduction which will explain the basics. Where we fit in should also help.
If you are thinking of visiting an Eastern Catholic parish for the first time, I’d invite you to read What to expect when visiting us, which will provide answers to some of the most common questions I hear when Roman Catholics visit the East for the first time.
Controversy
In this section I’ll link to my posts which relate to controversy concerning the Catholic Church.
Scandal
There’s no doubt that the Catholic Church has suffered bad press recently which has caused many to question the claims of the Church (Lost Authority). To provide a bit more context, you might like to check out The sex abuse scandal.
However, it does raise a more general question about Sin in the Church and What bad Christians prove. More generally, some people are scandalized by what they regard as Church wealth.
Dead Parishes
As well as feeling let down by the Church at a global level, some people feel let down by the Church at the local level. In response to this, I wrote When your parish sucks!
Is Catholicism Pagan?
It is a common claim by anti-Catholics that Catholicism is Pagan. I have some short posts on the major Church feasts, defending them against such claims: Easter, Halloween and Christmas.
Catholic Teaching
To Christians and non-Christians alike, certain teachings of the Catholic Church can seem very confusing. In this section I link to some of my more important posts on Catholic teaching.
General
I have responded to the typical non-Catholic Christians objections to Purgatory, The Pope, Celibacy, Contraception and The Deuterocanon.
I also wrote a series called Intercommunion, which explains why the Catholic Church does not allow non-Catholics to receive the Eucharist in Catholic parishes.
Mary
The Blessed Mother is often a stumbling block for those who are considering conversion to Catholicism. I have been involved in some general discussions concerning Marian theology (Marian Objections #1 and Marian Objections #2), but I have also written articles explaining Mary, Ark of the Covenant and Mary’s Perpetual Virginity.
Church Documents
The Church has written many beautiful documents, in this section I link to my posts where I provide MP3 recordings of those documents.
Catechism of the Catholic Church
Papal Encyclicals
Deus Caritas Est – “God is love”
Second Vatican Council
Dei Verbum – Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation
Nostra Aetate – Declaration On The Relation Of The Church To Non-Christian Religions
Orientalium Ecclesiarum– Decree On The Catholic Churches Of The Eastern Rite
Unitatis Redintegratio – Decree On Ecumenism