Benedict Arnold

In modern Church history, one of the most contentious and controversial issues that the Roman Catholic Church has had to deal with in its ecumenical dialogue with other Christian churches is the Dogma of Papal Infallibility. This dogma was officially promulgated by Pope Pius IX at the First Vatican Council (1869-1870) in the Dogmatic Constitution Pastor Aeternus. This magisterial document defined the role and ministry of the pope within the Church. In their attempt to define the Petrine office,…

Joan of Arc A simple, small farm girl made a great difference when possibly saving the French from the English command. She is an inspiration who would lead the French to many victories. This inspiration is knows as Joan of Arc. Joan of Arc a girl living in a small town had enormous dreams of forever fighting for her country. Joan wanted to show to the world that even if you didn’t know how to read, write, and have no background with the military you can still be able to do amazing things. Joan…

The figure of St. John Paul II is colossal in modern times. As one of the most influential figures of the 20th century as well as one of Catholicism’s longest serving popes he sought to reconnect the Church with its congregation, other faiths and especially world youth and functioned as a great inspiration for positive social change. Due to his uncommonly long papacy he fully developed numerous theological ideas and promulgated numerous seminal encyclicals, some of which presented a somewhat…

Jorge Mario Bergoglio was the 266th elected pope of the Roman Catholic Church in March 2013, becoming Pope Francis. He was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina on December 17, 1936. Prior to becoming elected Bergoglio served as archbishop of Buenos Aires from 1998 to 2013, as a cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church of Argentina from 2001-2013 and as president of the Bishops’ Conference of Argentina from 2005 to 2011. When elected the 266th pope, the first pope from the Americas, Bergoglio took his…

This article about a legendary female pope, or popesse, appealed to me as a Catholic who has learned a lot about Church history in nine years of Catholic schooling. A pope had a lot of influence in the Middle Ages as the head of the highly powerful Church, and the idea of an accidental female pope interested me due to the low status of women at the time. I also enjoy reading stories about mysterious legends and myths. Noble wrote this article intending to explain where her story came from,…

How can a group like the Vatican keep such a large population of the church together and so strong for over 2000 years? The Vatican and the church rely on four key factors to keep itself together; those factors are the strong words, One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic. By incorporating these four words the church is able to stay so magnificent and in unison with itself. Each of these words has a separate and well-built definition that helps the church stay as great as it is. As the result of one,…

Why does it seem that some are more fortunate than others? Does God like them more? "And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:19 The passage of Philippians 4:19 teaches that my question is answered by God. The passage states that God will meet all of our needs in Christ 's eyes (Phil. 4:19). In humans eyes we may think that if someone has more money than us that we are not blessed this is not the case. In Gods eyes blessings…

Environmental issues have been the talk of the town by many public figures recently, but it does not always seem to “stick” in the minds of the viewers. Both Pope Francis and Naomi Klein discuss the topic in great detail, but take different approaches in convincing their readers. Klein seems to evokes a great deal of negativity in her book, to the point where it questions the reader’s own actions and almost makes them feel that they are partially to blame for the current state of Earth. Pope…

Bernie Sanders, the well-known senator from Vermont, writes, “Let us understand that when we stand together, we will always win. When men and women stand together for justice, we win. When black, white and Hispanic people stand together for justice, we win.” This quote truly shows the power of standing for justice. Like Sanders points out, we are “winning” by seeking justice, and by “winning” we are creating the Kingdom of God. But even more, when we stand together no matter the race, we are…

Over the years, In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) has become more common as infertile couples seek solutions to fulfill their desire for biological children. The procedure involves extracting eggs and sperms, which are then fused together in a Petri dish in a laboratory. The fertilized egg or eggs are later implanted in the woman. In addition to the many social implications, the Catholic Church has raised numerous moral issues with the process and has remained steadfast in its opposition to the…