What People Are Commenting
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Avengers, Synod & Thomist Philosophy
Your Silence over the Amazon Synod
Dear Atila,
I cannot understand your silence on the Amazon Synod. You, who unveiled the secrets of Vatican II, certainly have a lot to say about this apocalyptic Synod.
Your faithfully,
L.B.G.
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The Editor responds:
Dear L.B.G.,
Thank you for the consideration you show in your kind words.
Once the progressivist Card. Yves Congar thanked the conservatives in the Council for their criticisms, because they helped the progressivists to better formulate their final documents so that those criticisms would not apply. In other words, the conservatives helped the progressivist to be less vulnerable to critiques.
I believe that those Prelates and scholars who criticized the draft of the Synod (its Instrumentum Laboris) played a similar role. They helped the redactors of the final document to avoid or dodge those points.
This is why I did not criticize the draft.
After commenting on the first announcement of the Synod by Pope Francis one year ago, I remained silent, as you noticed. I am now reading its final document and I hope to publish my next column on it, as soon as the Halloween dust settles.
Cordially,
A.S. Guimarães
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Commentaries on Saint of the Day Are Gold
Re: St. Anthony Mary Claret
Thank you. I beg God to bless you.
My meager utterance of thanksgiving is worthless compared to the gold you give us through these Saints commentaries.
L.L.
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Lay Celibacy Vindicated
Re: Single life’s latest article
I enjoyed your article some weeks ago about the contributions that are made by those in the single life.
For so many years I have had to listen to people wondering about me behind my back, with some musings being extremely uncharitable:
“Oh...S. never married, so he has to be a joto or maricon.”
No, the married state just wasn’t my vocation, that’s all. God does grant us the grace of discernment. He just never led me in that direction and I don’t have a problem with it.
The junk I used to hear in college was ridiculous. Some people can really be weird... and mean...
Keep up the good work!
Pax,
S.M.D.
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St Thomas Aquinas’ Philosophy
As a retired theologian/catechist in the diocese of Rotterdam in Holland I still do some studying in philosophy to get an answer on the following question, which my professors at the late Catholic Theological University in Amsterdam could/would not answer:
Why is the philosophy of Thomas Aquinas the most appropriate philosophy in theology studies?
If you agree with this question, I would appreciate your short answer with reference to a book or article, which explains this specific relation. To be more specific: Will the book Will He find Faith (Inveniet Fidem) ? of Atila S. Guimarães, Los Angeles 2007 deal with this question or would you recommend another publication?
Awaiting your answer I remain yours faithfully
in Christo,
J.A.G.S., Holland
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TIA responds:
Dear J.A.G.S.,
The philosophy of St. Thomas is considered the most complete and the best foundation of theology because it explains better than any other system the order of the contingent being and its relation with the Absolute (God), and because it defends this order against the attacks of the past and future enemies better than any other.
In his book Inveniet Fidem? Mr. Guimarães presents a brief synthesis of Scholasticism as a point of reference to show how its decay opened the way for modern philosophy and theology.
Cordially,
TIA correspondence desk
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Does Francis Deny Christ's Miracles?
Is the Pope denying that Christ worked miracles? The atheist Engenio Scalfari reported [here] that the pope had told him that once he has become incarnate, Jesus ceases to be a God and becomes a man up until his death on the cross. He quotes Pope Francis as saying: "... once he became man, he was simply a man of exceptional virtue, he was not quite a God."
Of course the Vatican denies that these were accurate recollections of what the pope "actually" said. Personally, I tend to believe Scalfari's report. Francis' off-the-cuff interviews reveal what he really thinks, as opposed to the official speeches he gives, which are most likely written by others.
If the pope thinks that Jesus did not operate as God in his earthly life, then he is implicitly denying that Jesus wrought true miracles. Does he think that the multiplication of the loaves was that silly canard of people sharing their fish sandwiches, does he think that he did not walk on water because the lake was beginning to ice up, or that those raised from the dead were simply recalled from near-death experiences they were undergoing?
Yet Our Lord himself said that if you do not believe in him, believe in the works that he does. By this he affirms that his works are miraculous: "Do you not believe, that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? The words that I speak to you, I speak not of myself. But the Father who abideth in me, he doth the works. Believe you not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? Otherwise believe for the very works' sake. Amen, amen I say to you, he that believeth in me, the works that I do, he also shall do; and greater than these shall he do." [John, 14:10-12, Douay-Rheims. ]
Regardless of how "progressivist" or outrageous this pope is, it is important to still accept his presence as pope, while rejecting all that is not Catholic of the Vatican II cult. The Church can only be rebuilt from within.
Peace of Christ,
Frank M. Rega, OFS
Posted October 29, 2019
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The opinions expressed in this section - What People Are Commenting - do not necessarily express those of TIA
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Re: Avengers: Infinity War
Excellent movie analysis.
If Thanos needs to destroy half of the universe's population due to dwindling resources, why does he not double the universe's resources to solve the problem instead? Because overpopulation is not an actual problem, but the Secret Forces need to create the perception that it is in order to push for population control.
With regards to Wakanda, the fictional country's premise is that it has closed itself off from the world with carefully maintained borders and border security. As a result, they have superior technology and a vibrant cultural identity with many traditions.
S.R.