MarieCharles Blog

THENECESSITYOFRELIGION. OWING to the confusion introduced by false theories about god and the universe, modern thinkers have puzzled themselves and others as well by inventing at least forty different definitions of religion some of the true but narrow and inadequate, others false in proportion to the amount of falsity which exists in their system. With all these variations we need not concern ourselves here. In the foregoing articles we have maintained and proved that god exists as a personal being, , creator and ruler of the world . It follows from this, first,that God is in himself a wonderful being, worthy of all admiration and respect; secondly, that he is the author of our existence that we are  the work of His hand,and therefore we belong to him in a far deeper sense than a picture belongs to the artist who has painted it. Thirdly,since we are not mere things but persons, He stands to us as our lord and master,to whom we owe acknowledgment and service. Fourthly,God has con...

The Fathers of the Church on Extra Ecclesiam Nulla Salus Let us examine how “the Church over the centuries” has explained the dogma, Extra Ecclesiam Nulla Salus . This study will not only give us the “context of the entire teaching of the Church on this matter,” but will also enable us to pinpoint the exact point in time when revisionists began “to explain it” differently. The following quotations are presented in chronological order so that the continuity of the Church’s understanding of the dogma may be clearly shown. (In the interest of space, we give only general source references.) First, we will hear from some of the Fathers and Doctors of the Church, and various saints: Saint Irenaeus (died A.D. 202): “[The Church] is the entrance to life; all others are thieves and robbers. On this account we are bound to avoid them… We hear it declared of the unbelieving and the blinded of this world that they shall not in...

It  was  said  concerning  Monk  Agathon  that  some  monks  came to  find  him  having  heard  tell  of  his  great  discernment.  Wanting  to see  if  he  would  lose  his  temper  they  said  to  him  'Aren't  you  that Agathon  who  is  said  to  be  a  fornicator  and  a  proud  man?'  'Yes,  it is  very  true,'  he  answered.  They  resumed,  'Aren't  you  that  Agathon who  is  always  talking  nonsense?'  'I  am.'  Again  they  said  'Aren't  you Agathon  the  heretic?'  But  at  that  he  replied  'I  am  not  a  heretic'  So they  asked  him,  'Tell  us  why...

Notification concerning Men's Dress Worn By Women By Giuseppe Cardinal Siri Genoa, June 12, 1960 To the Reverend Clergy, To all Teaching sisters, To the beloved sons of Catholic Action, To Educators intending truly to follow Christian Doctrine. I The first signs of our late arriving spring indicate that there is this year a certain increase in the use of men's dress by girls and women, even family mothers. Up until 1959, in Genoa, such dress usually meant the person was a tourist, but now it seems to be a significant number of girls and women from Genoa itself who are choosing at least on pleasure trips to wear men's dress (men's trousers). The extension of this behavior obliges us to take serious thought, and we ask those to whom this Notification is addressed to kindly lend to the problem all the attention it deserves from anyone aware of being in any way responsible before God. We seek above all to give a balanced moral judgment upon the wearing of men's dress by...

The Ape-Theory.—Man bears so striking a resemblance to the ape that we are forced to conclude that he is descended from the ape. The Answer.—In the first place, why argue from resemblance to descent? Or, if you argue at all, why not conclude that the ape is a degenerate man? Both arguments would be unsound, but the one would be as good as the other. What interest can you have in thus degrading man by bringing him down to the level of the ape? Better argue thus: So striking is the contrast between man and ape that man could not possibly have been evolved from the ape. The contrast consists chiefly in this, that man has a soul endowed with reason and free will, which the ape has not. This is abundantly proved by the fact that man, by means of thought and reflection, advances from one invention or discovery to another, whilst the ape, in common with other brute animals, follows his instincts and behaves today precisely as his ancestors did thousands of years ago. He has not learn...