De Omnibus Dubitandum Est.

Ralph Martin makes some great points in this clip from a longer interview with Matt Fradd. What Ralph says here is BASIC CHRISTIAN TEACHING - it is extraordinary to see how far away we have come away from that basic message. The default situation of the human race is damnation: this is why we need to change our ways, this is why Jesus died on the Cross. God doesn't ignore or overlook our sin, He IS justice so for Him to do so would create an unresolvable paradox. Instead God has paid the price for our sin in Jesus Sacrifice, reconciling us to Him and opening a way to heaven.

  Father François-Marie Dermine, promoter of an annual international course on exorcism in Rome, discusses his recent popular work about the devil, offering keys to discernment on this controversial and sensitive topic in this article in the National Catholic Register. Fr François-Marie Dermine OP says:  "If the figure of the devil is missing, one also loses sight of the figure of God itself. In this sense, the death of the devil can accompany or precede or favor that of God because it makes the concept of God very abstract. It makes faith arid and intellectualistic and makes us forget that we really need to be saved, helped and protected by the Lord. We must bear in mind that our faith consists in the effective presence of a loving God, and reasoning is not always the best way to reach God." In response to the question of why he decided to write a new book: Ragioniamo sul demonio. Tra superstizioni, mito e realtà (“Let’s Reason About the Devil: Between Superstitions, Myth...

The Apostle's Creed is rightly considered to be a faithful summary of the apostles' teaching. It is the ancient baptismal symbol of the Church of Rome. -Catechism of the Catholic Church, 184. I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried; he descended into hell; on the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father almighty; from there he will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. Amen. Often today priests and bishops refuse and avoid talking about the truths of the faith, especially controversial ideas which may appear antithetical to modern secular ears. They see...

Dan Hitchens makes a really valuable and intelligent defence of the reality of hell in this piece for First Things . It does worry me that such an important teaching is so ignored today. One of my sons volunteered with our Diocesan Youth Service and the priest in charge told him that the devil and hell did not exist. To contradict doctrine in this way seems to me to be a great sin in itself, but I do understand why it would seem easier to ignore it, especially if you're in the business of encouraging others to sin! I also understand why the teaching has become unpopular. In fact, it makes a lot of sense in today's society in which everything is permitted and nothing ever forgiven. After all isn't it said that the devil encourages you into sin by telling you it's no big deal, and then afterwards tells you that what you have done can never be forgiven? Easier to just say that we don't have to take any responsibility for our actions. I think Dan's piece is...

Vaticanista Antonio Socci has reported that at least one non-Italian Cardinal (apparently representing a group), has approached Pope Francis to protest in the strongest possible terms over his interview with the Italian Atheist/ Marxist nonagenarian Eugenio Scalfari. This interview was published on the morning of 29th March. In it Scalfari directly quotes Pope Francis as saying — for example, that hell does not exist, and that the souls of sinners simply disappear. As the Catholic Herald pointed out regarding these remarks: They are all confusing. Some of them are, in the strict technical sense of the terms, heretical and scandalous. Socci's headline runs: "An uprising of cardinals has (for now) stopped the Bergoglian heresy on hell. The farcical denial and the impeachment risk" Blogger Vox cantoris  has a summary of Socci's post here . It is interesting to note that Socci comments on fact that, while the media around the world has reported on the intervie...

Sometimes we need the "democracy of the dead" to understand the supernatural reality we Catholics are a part of...we need the experiences of the saints to inform our limited temporal perspective. As our approach to sin and hell seems so watered down these days, it is well worth watching this reflection from Father Paul Nicholson on St Veronica Guilliani. I'd love to hear what you think and if it makes you think; it certainly made me think!

Botticelli's Map of Hell: La Mappa dell'Inferno One of the most enduring theological debates that has coloured my Catholic perspective has been the one that considers who will go to hell. The Catechism of the Catholic Church says: Our Lord warns us that we shall be separated from him if we fail to meet the serious needs of the poor and the little ones who are his brethren. To die in mortal sin without repenting and accepting God's merciful love means remaining separated from him for ever by our own free choice. This state of definitive self-exclusion from communion with God and the blessed is called "hell." ~ CCC 1033 My dear brother-in-law is a deeply intelligent man and someone who I think has been largely put off Christianity because of what he has perceived as an inherent threat in the doctrine, i.e. if you don't believe and do what we say, you will burn in hell for all eternity. He was, if I recall correctly, pleasantly surprised to discover that u...

The weather is so bad in the USA that today it was announced that Hell has quite literally, frozen over! Situated at the heart of the 'polar vortex' sweeping across the United States, the small town of Hell in Michigan (population: c.200) has reportedly got so cold temperatures have plunged to as low as -13C, with a wind chill of -33C. Bloomberg reporter Derek Wallbank tweeted: “It has literally frozen over.” The town of Hell is not thought to take its name from the fiery pit of eternal torment, but possibly from the German word “hell”, meaning bright, the terrible conditions encountered by early explorers, or a flippant comment by a settler. Love to all my readers in the US suffering from the dreadful conditions, this global warming's a killer eh? Stay safe and you are in my prayers.

CNS reports Pope Francis at his weekly public audience in St. Peter's Square yesterday, elaborated on his previous week's talk on the subject of the "church as mother." The Pope said the Church should approach its members with the face of a patient, merciful and understanding mother, who always forgives her erring children and never ceases to pray that they resume the path of Christian living. "I like this image very much," he said, "because I think it tells us not only how the Church is, but also what sort of face the Church, this Church of ours, should have, more so every day." A mother teaches her children the right way of life "with tenderness, with affection, with love," he said, because she "didn't learn it from books, but learned it from her own heart." "The university of mammas is the heart itself," the pope said, in one of several uses of the informal Italian term "mamma." Pope F...