DERMOT ROANTREE :: How the Church has shifted in its understanding of the fate of unbaptised infants tells us much about the development of doctrine
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The ironies of Catholic traditionalism
DERMOT ROANTREE :: There are some disconcerting ironies in the attitude of Catholic traditionalism, not least that it has come to resemble the very thing it opposes
Read More »The death penalty and doctrine, Part 2
DERMOT ROANTREE :: The Pope's critics think he is illogical. Newman's understanding of development, however, suggests a very different way to look at it.
Read More »The greatest of these is charity, not clarity
DERMOT ROANTREE :: Fr Thomas G Weinandy's recent letter to the Pope was wrong on many counts. Not least it lays undue stress on clarity – at the expense of charity
Read More »The death penalty and doctrine, Part 1
DERMOT ROANTREE :: To understand the accusations of heresy which traditionalists level at the Pope, it's necessary to examine the 'clash of mentalities'
Read More »Called to do the impossible
DERMOT ROANTREE :: We have an infinite duty to other people – a duty we simply cannot fulfill. At least, though, we can refrain from acting as if some people have a greater value than others.
Read More »The quality of mercy
DERMOT ROANTREE :: Pope Francis's efforts to bring a neglected theme – in this case mercy – to bear on the life of the Church is fully in keeping with normal traditions of development.
Read More »The gift of darkness
DERMOT ROANTREE :: Leonard Cohen's new album, 'You want it darker', is a fitting conclusion to a life of art that probed the mystery of the divine and the human.
Read More »Shaped by death: Nick Cave’s new album
DERMOT ROANTREE :: Everything about 'The Skeleton Tree' is beautiful but heart-breaking. While preparing it, Cave heard that his son had died in an accident.
Read More »‘Amoris Laetitia’ – putting the pastoral first
DERMOT ROANTREE :: The moral approach advocated in 'Amoris Laetitia' is about putting God's mercy first in all pastoral situations, not (as some have claimed) about accommodating the sexual revolution.
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