Some Protestants challenge the Catholic claim of Peter’s headship by appealing to 1 Peter 5:1, where St. Peter refers to ...

Holy water is a sacramental. It is water blessed by a priest to impart God’s blessing on those who use it. There are varying kinds of this blessed water, the principal ones of which are ordinary, used ...

On Monday, the Church celebrated the feast of St. Ignatius of Antioch, one of the earliest extra-biblical saints, dying a martyr’s death in Rome likely in A.D. 107. That means Ignatius was a ...

Far be it from me to bemoan the authentic development of doctrine. It is a truly underrated gem of Catholic theology that shows how the Church, because it is the living body of Christ, includes a mind ...

One thing that saints like Athanasius, Augustine, Anselm, and Aquinas all have in common is that they asserted that creatures can become God. This idea is also reflected in the Catechism of the ...

A recent article by Thomas Reese, S.J. for National Catholic Reporter has attracted attention. There’s a lot to respond to in Fr. Reese’s article, but I have a word limit, so I’ll keep it short. Under ...

Today is the Solemnity of the Assumption. Pope Pius XII defined the dogma of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in 1950, stipulating that “the Immaculate Mother of God, the ever Virgin Mary, ...

Every time I get dressed, I have an opportunity to ennoble and inspire. How I dress sends a message to all who see me regarding my sense of self-value and my regard for others. I can elevate godless ...

In her traditional Roman Ritual, the Church has several blessings for animals: for flocks of sheep and cattle, for horses and other animals, for gravely sick animals, for birds, for bees, and for ...

Often called the Apostle of Divine Mercy, St. Faustina Kowalska has left an indelible mark on the Catholic Church, beginning with the private revelations she received from Jesus Christ, the related ...

Have you ever heard the charge about Catholic imperialism? The popular anti-Catholic myth goes something like this: Catholic missionaries were imperialists who enslaved and impoverished native ...

Catholic Answers is pleased to provide this unabridged entry from the original Catholic Encyclopedia, published between 1907 and 1912. It is a valuable resource for subjects related to theology, ...