You said after baptism, it doesn’t mean less sufferings/wounds, maybe even more. For those non-believers will ask: why we trust God if we will have more sufferings or wounds. For what? How should we answer this question?[....]

As an observer, can you shed some light to the Vatican position & vision? Is simply co-existence without unity the goal as in the case of Esau and Jacob?[....]

The souls in Hell: if God is so merciful, why has He given up on those souls in Hell[...]

Since there are so many different ways to approach and worship God, why does the Church expect people to do so INDIRECTLY through her[...]

My question is, can we go to God directly, without going through the Church [...]

Q1. Cafeteria Catholic: what is wrong with being cafeteria Catholic? Can we question the
Church’s teachings, Can we disagree. Even within the Church theologians, there are the left, the right and the moderate. When comes to Church teachings, should our conscience be superfluous[....]

Thanksgiving is here. But what are we to be thankful for this year when the stock market has just taken a nose dive of more than 30% in 2 weeks? What are we to be thankful for when the future of everyone’s personal financial stability is full of uncertainty because the age-old banking system and [...]

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The fact that the Church can err and has erred doesn’t mean she cannot uphold at the same time that when the Roman Pontiff proclaims by a definitive act, or speaks ex cathedra – that is “from the chair” of St. Peter, on some doctrine of faith or morals, his pronouncement and teaching enjoys the charism of infallibility. The two positions are not contrary to one another.
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“Now if you come out of the Catholic tradition and you say that the Holy Spirit guides the bishops and the pope, are you now willing to say that the Holy Spirit allowed the bishops and the pope to make a mistake?” – Fr. Charles E. Curran as quoted by Charles Lewis in his article against HV

Fr. Curran, as those of you who have read Cardinal Stafford’s very disturbing account of the ugly aftermath of the publication of HV (http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/resource.php?n=675) will know, was the principal culprit behind the infamous “Statement of Dissent” that was issued by 87 U.S theologians and endorsed by 72 priests of the Baltimore area.

Pope Paul VI certainly had to take many factors into consideration in deciding against contraception, but the fear that his decision, if in favor of contraception, might be seen as an admission that the bishops and the pope could err even under the guidance of the Holy Spirit was not one of them.

The Catholic Church believes in and relies on Christ’s promise that “the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against” her. But that doesn’t mean she will never make mistakes. Foreseeing the trials and temptations that awaited his Church and the blunders that she was bound to take, Jesus warned, “Simon, Simon, behold Satan has demanded to sift all of you like wheat, but I have prayed that your own faith may not fail; and once you have turned back, you must strengthen your brothers” (Luke 22:31-32). Similarly, when in year 2000 JPII asked for forgiveness for the wrongs committed by the Church against women, Jews, heretics, and minorities over the centuries, he was in effect admitting that the bishops and the popes, while under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, were susceptible to errors and had in fact made errors due to human frailty.

One may wonder whether the admission to the human frailty of the pope and the Church Magisterium would in any way compromise the doctrine of infallibility. Not at all. The fact that the Church can err and has erred doesn’t mean she cannot uphold at the same time that when the Roman Pontiff proclaims by a definitive act, or speaks ex cathedra – that is “from the chair” of St. Peter, on some doctrine of faith or morals, his pronouncement and teaching enjoys the charism of infallibility. The two positions are not contrary to one another.

Now that the fallacy of Lewis’ allegations against HV has been fully exposed, we should have a better appreciation of the danger and deceitfulness of the world out there. It is full of misinformation and false assertions, and the target is often directed against the Church. We are stepping into a minefield as soon as we open up the newspaper, or turn on the TV, or surf the Internet. Be extra careful and very selective in what you read!

In concluding my refutation, I would like to thank the good brothers and sisters who offered encouragement, support, and prayers, and those who provided insightful suggestions and very informative references throughout the process. One of such references given me was Dennis Sadowski’s Catholic News Services report of July 18, 2008, in which Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted of Phoenix observed, “If Jesus says you should love the Lord your God with your whole soul, your whole mind, with all your might, that’s what HV asks of a married couple.” On this Feast day of the Transfiguration of the Lord, which is also the day Pope Paul VI passed away, let’s pray that the prophetic teaching of HV and JPII’s Theology of the Body would help all men and women to rediscover the spousal meaning of the body. Let’s seek Our Lady’s intercession so that this new awakening will foster a renewed fervor amongst the Church faithful, propelling them to embrace with open heart the universal significance of chastity, marriage, family, and procreative love.

HV’s emphasis on sexuality is NOT, as Lewis claimed, “out of proportion to the whole of the Catholic moral life”; it is, in fact, the whole of the Catholic moral life! [....]