Tag Archives: theology

Senatus Populusque Americae?

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Readers of this blog may know the following things about me:

  1. I’m not a fan of George W. Bush
  2. I’ve compared the U.S.A. to the Roman Empire
  3. I believe in a strict interpretation of the just war doctrine that proscribes
    war in most cases.
  4. I didn’t agree with the invasion of Iraq. In fact, I participated in a large anti-war rally in Pittsburgh.
  5. I dislike the fact that the Church co-opted pagan winter celebrations with Christmas in a bid to gain more converts.
  6. I loathe the commercialization of Christmas by Christians. Let the pagans, heathens, and faithful of other religions spend their money how they please. We should be following the examples of Christ and His apostles.

Knowing these things, a reader might be led to believe that I’d agree with the conclusions
presented in “The
politics of the Christmas story” by James Carroll of the Boston Globe.
That reader would be wrong.

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Next Catholic Carnival

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I have a suggestion for the next Catholic Carnival theme. Jollyblogger (the nice Protestant fellow who first inspired in the me the strong desire for a carnival for Catholics) is calling for submissions for the second Carnival of the Reformation. I think we should focus CathCarn #9 on that topic and submit our entire carnival as an entry to theirs. They might not accept it, but if they did, it might generate good dialogue.

If you agree, email Jay and let him know. If you want to host it, even better.

Update: This never happened, but I still think it might be a good idea to try sometime.

Damned Until Baptism Redux

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A Zenit interview with Father Peter Gumpel tackles the issue of death prior to baptism,
which
I wrote about a few days ago.

What the Church Has Said About Children Who Die Without Baptism

Although in history there have been different opinions, the supreme magisterium of the Church offers very precise documents and affirmations.

Follow-up on Death Before Baptism

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Annie Banno, co-blogger of After Abortion, sent me a link to an article she wrote for Catholic Exchange, entitled "All Souls In Purgatory, Or Not?".

One priest said, “For most of history, the Church taught that unbaptized babies go to ‘limbo.’ This was not hell, but a place of peace. They can not enjoy the eternal blessedness of the Lord because original sin was not wiped away.

“The Church’s understanding has been stated differently in the last thirty years. ‘Limbo’ is no longer used. We know that God is abundantly merciful, and desires that all children come to Him (Matt 19:14, 1 Tim 2:4). Therefore, our great hope is that they are in heaven, but we cannot say with certainty. You are encouraged to pray for your baby.”