ARTICLES ON SIZZLING HOT TOPICS                      StillCatholic.com  

An apologetics essay by a Filipino Catholic who addresses some of the claims made by our brothers and sisters with a fundamentalist Christian background in the Philippines who may have some misconceptions about the Catholic faith.

The Catholic Dictionary (This is the 1910 version of the New Catholic Dictionary)

Vatican site on Family Values versus Safe Sex. Also here is a population bust site.

The Catholic Encyclopedia at www.newadvent.org The 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia. Free! You don't even need a password. Sure, there are articles on the saints, doctrines, commandments and books of the Bible, but also look for coverage of an amazing array of people and places: Copernicus, Michelangelo, Leonardo Da Vinci, the Vikings, the Religion of Shakespeare, Seattle, Switzerland, the Tower of Babel, to name a few. Even Vivisection! The encyclopedia was first published in the early 1900s. Then, in 1993, a guy in Denver named Kevin Knight (then 26 years old), who was inspired by Pope John Paul II's visit to his city, embarked on a mission to get the whole thing online. He recruited volunteers in several countries. Since going online in 1995 (and being completed in 1997), New Advent has been one of the most popular sites on the 'Net. Thanks, Kevin, for starting all of this!

www.ncbcenter.org/em/0510-1.aspx (How much should you pay for a Sex change?)

www.enciclopediacatolica.com/ (Catholic Encyclopedia in Spanish!)

www.vietcatholic.net (Vietnamese Catholic Web site!)

www.time.com/time/covers/1101050321/ (Hail, Mary - Time Magazine)

www.ewtn.com/Devotionals/prayers/index.htm (If you say every prayer on this list today, boy will you be bombarded with grace!)

www.religioustolerance.org/clergy_sex8.htm (Prior to the necessary Great Purge, 4 percent of priests were bad and 96 percent were good. Thankfully, we are now at a point  where between 99 and 100 percent of our priests are trustworthy)

Is abolishing Celibacy the solution??? Not according to any studies.  http://216.15.229.16/news/full_story.cfm?story_id=659  http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment-arroyo051602.asp  http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/sexuality/se0071.html                                 A Crisis for Celibacy?  Ephebophilia   Myths

http://catholiccitizens.org/platform/platformview.asp?c=9765 (The book “The Lord of the Rings,” by devout Catholic J.R.R. Tolkein, is infused with Catholic themes, including 12 articles of the Apostles Creed. Also see http://www.decentfilms.com/commentary/faithandfantasy.html and http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/arts/al0161.html 

http://cardinalkungfoundation.org/index2.html  (The State of the Catholic Church in China.  …….A Story of Persecutions, Arrests and Executions…..also see http://www.wcr.ab.ca/columns/editorials/2004/editorial012604.shtml http://www.cwnews.com/news/viewstory.cfm?recnum=4024 and http://www.cwnews.com/news/viewstory.cfm?recnum=3133 )

www.disciplesnow.com/catholic/html/article534.html (Nobody saw Christ as He was rising from the dead, but they sure saw him rising to heaven!)

www.catholicculture.org/docs/doc_view.cfm?recnum=2720  (Apocalypse Not: How Close are we to End Times?)

www.cin.org/users/james/files/necessit.htm (The Necessity of being Catholic)

http://168.143.154.221/articles/apologetics/ap0001.html (Women Priests - No Chance)

www.canapologetics.net/html/celibacy.html (The Case for Clerical Celibacy)

www.bringyou.to/apologetics/a36.htm (Confession Explained)

www.marriagesavers.org/Columns/C947.htm (In 1968, Pope Paul VI predicted availability of the pill would lead to increased conjugal infidelity, an overall decline in morality, people thinking they had unlimited control over their body, and men using women as “a mere instrument of selfish enjoyment”…..also see http://www.christianity.com/CC/article/0,,PTID4211%7CCHID104459%7CCIID231233,00.html, http://www.catholic-forum.com/luxveritatis/donumsanctum/hv30years.htm, http://www.catholic.net/rcc/Periodicals/Faith/11-12-98/Morality.html

www.catholic.com/chastity/Q7.asp (Couples who live together first have a higher divorce rate. "Living together" is defined as cohabiting AND having relations)

www.bringyou.to/apologetics/a6.htm (The Truth Hurts: Mortal Sin)

www.ad2000.com.au/articles/2000/feb2000p13_21.html (Philanthropist Thomas Monaghan, ex-owner of Domino’s Pizza, has opened Catholic universities and non-profits. Like many Catholics, he attends daily Mass and fasts on bread & water two days per week…also see http://grnelf.tripod.com/cath.html and http://www.usatoday.com/money/companies/management/2002-11-20-dominos-founder_x.htm and  http://www.findarticles.com/cf_ntrstnws/m3190/20_33/54732143/p1/article.jhtml and http://www.avemaria.edu/Founders_Club/Chancellorsmsg.htm)

www.historicaljesusquest.com/carbon-14.htm (What’s Wrong with the Carbon Dating on the Shroud of Turin?…..also see http://www.shroudstory.com/c14.htm)

www.cin.org/archives/cinjub/200208/0061.html and http://www.cathnews.com/news/208/133.php  (New Studies Show Errors in Carbon Dating of Shroud of Turin)

www.staycatholic.com/the_shroud_of_turin.htm (More on Shroud of Turin)

www.canapologetics.net/html/origin_of_the_church.html (Origins of the Church)

www.geocities.com/okc_catholic/articles/salvation.html (Catholic View on Salvation)

www.canapologetics.net/html/bible_and_the_church.html (How the Bible Came to Be)

www.prolife.com/celeb.htm (What Hollywood Stars are saying about chastity)

www.canapologetics.net/html/authority.html (Historical Christianity)

www.canapologetics.net/html/sola_scriptura_.html (Without the Catholic Church, how would we even know for sure what the Bible is composed of?)

www.taofool.blogspot.com/2002_10_01_taofool_archive.html (Kathy Ireland and Patricia Heaton interviews)

www.chnetwork.org/seconv.htm (From Atheist to Catholic Christian)

www.newadvent.org/cathen/07049c.htm (Do We Really Have a Guardian Angel?)

www.newadvent.org/cathen/12495a.htm (Article on Protestantism from the Catholic Encyclopedia)

www.salvationhistory.com (thousands of pages on Scripture, the Mass, & Catholic doctrine. Also, an on-line school of Biblical studies. Tuition is free!)

http://www.cuf.org/member/overpopulation.pdf (Debunking the Overpopulation Myth)

www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=19076 (The Underpopulation Crisis of the Future)

www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=19076 (The World’s Entire Population could fit into Texas)

www.divinemercysunday.com/ (Divine Mercy Sunday: Did you know that on the Sunday after Easter, there is a way not only to get forgiveness for your sins, but to erase all accumulated punishment owed in purgatory for the past sins of your life? That’s how infinite Christ’s mercy is. Jesus made a promise about this, and He keeps all his promises. Even if you owe 500 years in the purgatorial fires, you will owe nothing if you receive Communion and go to Confession on Divine Mercy Sunday, and leave Confession with a sincere intention and dedication to never sinning again (this includes venial sins). Baptism is the only other thing that comes with this great gift. After reading this, you’ll want to find a church that celebrates Divine Mercy Sunday. Try St. Norbert’s in Paoli, Pa, St. Paul in Norristown, or St. Barnabas in Philly). To read the exact words of Jesus to St. Faustina, to whom He spoke about Divine Mercy Sunday, see http://www.catholic-forum.com/churches/cathteach/divinemercy1.htm)

www.catholic.com/library/A_Crisis_of_Saints.asp (Scandals in the Church)

www.star.ucl.ac.uk/~vgg/rc/lnks/lnks_rc_apol.html (Catholic Apologetics)

www.geocities.com/okc_catholic/articles/homilyonscandal.html (Homily on the Priest Scandal)

www.geocities.com/okc_catholic/articles/celibacy.html (St. Paul the Apostle urges Priestly Celibacy in the Bible)

www.geocities.com/okc_catholic/answers/born_again.html (A Personal Story about Confession)

www.star.ucl.ac.uk/~vgg/rc/e-bks/scrp/s525/s525_chap8.html (The Pentateuch)

www.star.ucl.ac.uk/~vgg/rc/e-bks/scrp/s525/s525_chap5.html (How to Interpret Inspired Scripture)

www.catholic.net/RCC/Catechism/3/l8.html (Answers to Questions on the Death, Resurrection & Ascension)

http://matt1618.freeyellow.com/unity5.html (Schism: Condemned as Abhorrent to God)

http://matt1618.freeyellow.com/unity1.html (The Necessity of Unity)

http://ic.net/~erasmus/RAZ207.HTM (Over 100 articles on abortion, contraception & euthanasia ….also see http://www.omsoul.com/pamview.phtml?idnum=124&orderid=17ef9deeb8ef54e7f1e4cabe82ab5c79)

www.lc.org/Resources/compulsory_vaccinations_threaten_religious_freedom.htm www.vaccinationnews.com/DailyNews/September2001/CompulsaryVxThreatenRelFree.htm (Which vaccines contain fetal tissue?  www.defendlife.org/culture.shtml

www.americancatholic.org/Newsletters/CU/ac0403.asp (A Priest Reflects on Forgiveness in light of priest scandal)

www.catholicleague.org/research/anticat_internet.htm (Anti-Catholic Web sites Abound on the Internet)

www.geocities.com/Athens/Rhodes/3543/qsalus.htm (Can Non-Catholics Be Saved?)

www.star.ucl.ac.uk/~vgg/rc/e-bks/scrp/s525/s525_chap7.html (Which are the Inspired Books?)

www.bringyou.to/apologetics/a16.htm (Can Aliens Be Baptized?)

http://catholiceducation.org/articles/science/sc0030.html (Aliens? The mathematical odds are against them)

www.prolife.com/celeb.htm (What Hollywood Stars are saying about chastity)

catholiceducation.org/articles/science/sc0007.html (Why Catholics Like Einstein)

www.cst-phl.com/040101/main.html (A Family Torn Apart by Porn)

www.pbs.org/newshour/gergen/december97/buckley_12-24.html (William F. Buckley Jr. says he remains in the Catholic Church because it is the Church that Christ founded)

www.newmanreader.org/works/development/ (Cardinal Newman’s famous “Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine” (1800s_…Century by century, John Henry Cardinal Newman traces Christians doctrines back, showing in each case that each belief was present in the previous century, consistently and legitimately developing from the original….By the time his research on Christian history was finished, this former Anglican had converted to the Catholic Church…. More on Newman at http://ic.net/~erasmus/RAZ22.HTM)

www.therealpresence.org/archives/Martyrs/Martyrs_001.htm (You, Too, Can Be a Martyr.)

www.catholiceducation.org/articles/apologetics/ap0057.html (Easy Tricks for Luring a Catholic into a Different Church) : )

www.st-marys.k12.nd.us/newsletter/Newsletter--Dec%202003.pdf  (Amy Wall was the little deaf girl from the Philadelphia area who was miraculously cured in 1994 at age two, after her seven-year-old brother heard about miracles at school. Everyone prayed to Mother Katharine Drexel (1858-1955) for a miracle. After four months of praying, the deafness in both ears was cured in instantaneously. Amy’s pre-school teacher told Amy’s mother that the girl she brought that day was a different girl from the day before. Tests then showed her hearing to be perfect in both ears. Amy even started talking in sentences, as if she had been talking for years. Dozens of physicians, including ear, nose & throat specialists, and 600 pages of documentation confirm no medical explanation is possible. Unsurprisingly, Amy’s father converted to Catholicism after the miracle.   St. Katharine, the daughter of a wealthy Philadelphia banker and niece of the founder of Drexel University, gave up everything to be a nun, founding over 60 schools and missions for blacks and Native Americans, and fighting racism despite death threats from the Ku Klux Klan. Also see:

http://www.phillyburbs.com/drexel/news/1001stdrexel.htm, http://www.archdiocese-phl.org/abo/archstat/drexelconf.htm, http://www.beliefnet.com/story/44/story_4471_1.html, www.americancatholic.org/Messenger/Oct2000/feature1.asp

 

www.canapologetics.net/html/celibacy.html (The Case for Clerical Celibacy….My own comments are this: Celibacy for full-time clergy is recommended by St. Paul in the Bible. Nothing that is advocated in the Bible by an apostle could be the root of evil. It is somewhat amusing to hear suggestions that if Catholics would just allow priests to marry, it would reduce the abuse of minors.

If these people had just spent a couple minutes thinking it through logically, they would have realized that the homosexual priests who were accused of abuse would not have had an interest in marrying anyway. The heterosexual priests, who gave up marriage, were not the problem in the first place, so how would marrying solve anything? Lest anyone take my comments out of context, I repeat that most homosexual individuals would NEVER, ever hurt a young person. But at the same time, it would be irresponsible for the Church to continue to ignore the statistics. The screening process for applicants must not only include an examination of sexual orientation, but of the holiness of the person’s life. If the person does not exhibit an all-encompassing love for God, and a disciplined life, which includes daily Mass, daily prayer, frequent fasting, frequent Confession, a strong reputation of love and charity, the person is not a candidate for the priesthood.)

www.touchstonemag.com/docs/issues/15.3docs/15-3pg25.html (Here is an article on the Priest Issue: My own view is this:                                                                    Fortunately, all or almost all accused priests are now dead or kicked out of ministry. But how can we ensure the screening process for seminary applicants will prevent abusive priests in the future? The first problem is that a fraction of seminary applicants are not living holy enough lives to begin with. Don't admit them. For the most part, the abusive priests were in the overlapping subset of men who were both in the holiness-deprived group AND the homosexually-oriented group. Even though the majority of homosexually-oriented priests have served God faithfully, the only way to eliminate almost all possibility of future abuse, and to restore trust in the Church as soon as possible is, regrettably, to ask all homosexually-oriented seminary applicants to serve the Church in capacities and missions outside the  priesthood, and to humbly accept the unfairness of the situation.            There is another reason for doing this: we are taught it is sinful to put another Christian into temptation. One might consider whether sending a homosexual man to live in a house filled with young, good-looking priests would be any wiser than sending a young nun to live in the same house, or sending a heterosexual priest to live in a house of bikini models.                                   Fortunately, the holiness of the vast majority of priests greatly exceeds that of the average Christian (regardless of orientation). Most priests are heterosexual men who have sacrificed their dreams of a wife and family, not to mention material possessions, for the sake of God and His children. Other priests are homosexual men whose lives have been equally holy, pious and disciplined. Unfortunately, there can be no denying that some other homosexual priests are lured into the ministry because they feel drawn, consciously or subconsciously, to an environment that provides access to both adult and younger males.                           Other relevant articles include: …http://catholic.com/library/A_Crisis_of_Saints.asp (How should Catholics react to the scandal?) http://catholic.com/newsletters/kke_040203.asp (scroll down for Karl Keating’s solution)……………http://ic.net/~erasmus/RAZ421.HTM (scroll down for dozens of articles on the priest issue….also http://www.catholicity.com/commentary/hudson/celibacy.html) 

 If any of these links have expired, please advise ClaireCatholic@aol.com, and if possible, tell us about a an equally interesting and reliable link on the topic. 

 

Did I tell you about my book, Catholicism - Now It Get It!