In De Moribus Ecclesiae Catholicae et de Moribus Manichaeorum, St. Augustine writes, “there is no sounder principle in the Catholic Church than that authority should precede reason.” Scripture, tradition, and the teaching authority of the Catholic Church take precedence over philosophical speculation in determining Catholic teaching on faith and morals. Fr. Curran and many other … Read more
In the wake of the dispute between Governor Cuomo and Archbishop O’Connor, Bishop James W. Malone, president of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB), has issued a statement purporting to clarify the role of Catholic bishops in American politics. Malone’s statement also quite clearly criticizes Governor Cuomo’s position that he would not let his … Read more
Paper presented at a seminar on Jacques Maritain, sponsored by the American Maritain Association, at Princeton University, October 28-29, 1983. The author of a recent popular article on Maritain argued that “it was Maritain, more than anyone else, who taught the Church to speak the language of human rights . . .” The Church did … Read more
In their 1968 pastoral letter “Human Life in Our Day,” the American bishops reiterated the teaching of the Second Vatican Council that it is a crime against God and man to use weapons that indiscriminately destroy whole cities or vast areas and their inhabitants. This statement was reaffirmed in January 1976 by Archbishop Peter Gerety … Read more