This series of pages will be focused entirely on Catholic topics. If you are not Catholic, you are welcome to ponder these topics but please do not take offense. The menu on the right side of the page will help you navigate the topics in this series.

Why this page, why now? Good question. There are many sites covering the various issues at hand for Catholics and for the church. So much so that it is hard to sift through all the discussion without encountering some sites that profess to be Catholic but are not allied with the Magisterium of the church. These Catholic sites would be considered in schism with the Magisterium and therefore in schism with the teachings of Jesus who left the early church with His authority. When bishops and priests have controversial topics in the church teachings it is usually debated and settled at Church Councils, a convening of all bishops in the early years. The heresy of Arianism was dealt in this way. Arius was a presbyter, a bishop, in Alexandria. His views on Christ’s divinity was contrary to the formal teachings and at the First Council of Nicea in 325, it was debated and declared a heresy by the council, and Arius was stripped of his office and excommunicated from the church. Even in modern times, priests and bishops can still hold to doctrines not endorsed or supported by the teachings that Christ left us with. When discovered and deliberated, those priests can either denounce the heretical views or enter into schism and are separated from the true church that Jesus established.

Heresy is a big thing for Catholics. To maintain a pure faith, every teaching must adhere to what Jesus left in His church and what has been deliberated, defined, and approved by the Magisterium. By having this teaching authority in the church defined by the inclusion of all presbyters, all bishops, no single bishop can overrule all others. Even the Pope himself needs to teach based upon what has been approved by the Magisterium. The church has defined a Papal Infallibility doctrine that says Jesus has guaranteed a validly elected Pope can not teach in error. How could a vicar of Christ, empowered by Christ, teach something that is not led by the Holy Spirit? A Pope who teaches against or in conflict with what has already been approved and supported as the teachings of Christ, becomes a real issue. Oh, it has happened, and in those cases, the election of that Pope was questioned and found to be invalid and instead of being a Pope he is declared an antipope. Gregory VIII and John XXIII are examples of that process.