Controversies in Church History

In 1596, bishops and priests from the Orthodox Church in what is today Ukraine entered into communion with the bishop of Rome. This union, proclaimed at the city of Brest, became the foundation of the Ukrainian Catholic Church, whose liturgy and spiritual heritage derive from Byzantium rather than Rome. The Ukrainian Catholic Church is largest Eastern Church in communion with Rome, and plays a vit...

In the final episode of our series on Liberation Theology, we examine the Vatican efforts to curb the excesses of the movement in the 1980s, as historical events lead to its decline in the 1990s. Finally, we consider Pope Francis and his relationship to this movement, and what it means for the Church today.

In the third episode of our series on Liberation Theology, we look at the growth and expansion of the movement during the 1970s, even as an opposition arises in the Latin American hierarchy, amidst the backdrop of guerrilla warfare and brutal government repression that afflicts much of Latin America. LINKS: YouTube Website SOCIAL: Facebook Twitter

In this second episode in our series on Liberation Theology, our story continues with the first wave of theologians who made up the movement. In it, we look at how the Cuban Revolution shook up Latin America in the late 1950s, what the intellectual influences were that shaped liberation theology, and finally examine how progressive theologians and bishops were able to gain official recognition for...

The first new episode of 2022 begins a new series on Liberation Theology, the controversial intellectual and social movement that swept Latin America in the 1960s and 70s. A response to social and cultural upheavals in Latin American societies, Liberation Theology flourished for several decades before declining in influence by the 1990s. This series will chart the rise and fall of the movement, th...

In 2018, the Vatican announced it had made a diplomatic agreement with the People's Republic of China, in the hopes that it would lead to formal recognition by both parties. The intervening years have seen an intensification of the Chinese government's policy of "Sinicization," of forcing religious and ethnic groups to adapt their beliefs, institutions to Chinese communism. In this bonus episode,...

Ever wonder why Catholic churches got "wreckovated" in the 1960s? The answer is complicated, but one reason has to do with a style of art that flourished in the 17th century: the Baroque. In this episode we will dive into where the art of the baroque came from and why liturgical reformers tried to purge "baroque" elements from the liturgy. 

Recently, the Vatican has announced the commencement of a world-wide "Synod on Synodality" in which local churches will participate. In light of this, we are bringing you a bonus episode, in which we take a brief look at the doctrine and history of the conciliarist movement, the idea that ecumencial councils should govern the church rather than popes. 

In this special Bonus Episode of Controversies in Church History, I give a talk about trends in the Church between the Second World War and the Second Vatican Council, as well as their impact on the upheavals that followed in the 1960s. 

In this episode, we recall the history of lay men and women's efforts to  preserve the old Roman liturgy from suppression in the aftermath of the  Second Vatican Council. From the growth of such lay movements as Una Voce International, we examine the response of those laymen attached to the old rite to the promulgation of the new missal, and the attempts to end the celebration of the old...

In this final episode in our series on the Traditionalist movement, we detail the growth of the traditionalist orders in communion with Rome, the growth of traditionalism during the reign of Pope Benedict XVI, and finally, end with a brief examination of Francis' motu proprio Traditionis Custodes, and what it means for the traditionalists and the Church as a whole. Please subscribe to our podcast...

In the latest episode in our series on the Catholic Traditionalist movement, we pick up the narrative in the reign of John Paul II, where the new prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Joseph Ratzinger, brings a sympathetic voice into the curia. Meanwhile, divisions arise within the Society of St. Pius X, even as negotiations with Rome continue, and Una Voce International conti...

In this episode, we will look at some of the priests (and a few bishops) who resisted the suppression of the old Roman rite during the 1960s and 70s.  We discuss how arguments over the liturgy inevitably involved disputes about the Second Vatican Council, and the reforms implemented in the immediate post-conciliar period, as well as the series of events that would lead to the separation of th...

In the second part of episode 2, we detail the efforts of lay writers  and activists to stave off attempts to end the celebration of the old  Roman liturgy after the promulgation of the new Roman missal in 1970. Please subscribe to our podcast on Anchor and check out Controversies in Church History on our other platforms: LINKS: YouTube Website SOCIAL: Facebook Twitter

In this episode, we recall the history of lay men and women's efforts to preserve the old Roman liturgy from suppression in the aftermath of the Second Vatican Council. From the growth of such lay movements as Una Voce, we examine the response of those laymen attached to the old rite to the promulgation of the new missal, and the attempts to end the celebration of the older rite. (Note: the episod...

This episode is the first in a new series on the Traditionalist movement in the Catholic Church, from its beginnings in the 1960s to the present day. In light of recent events, we discuss who and what the traditionalist movement is in the present day, discuss how it was born out of the turmoil following the Second Vatican Council, and take a look at the early leadership of the movement.  Plea...

The latest episode of Catholic Lives examines the life and career of the notorious Texas gunman, "Bloody" Bill Longley, whose murderous  life ended with his execution--and a jailhouse conversion to the  Catholic Church. Please subscribe to our podcast on Anchor and check out Controversies in Church History on our other platforms: LINKS: YouTube Website SOCIAL: Facebook Twitter

From the early seventeenth century to the beginning of the modern era, a dispute over ideas of salvation and sin, eucharistic discipline and the nature of the Church's authority divided the Latin Church. Labeled Jansenism, a group of writers, priests and religious espoused a rigorous form of Catholic life, inspired by the writings of St. Augustine. Clashing with the Jesuits, whom they accused...

*Originally released 7/3/19* This special Fourth of July episode focuses on the life of Charles Carroll of Carrollton (1737-1832), the Catholic landowner, politician and businessman who signed the Declaration of Independence, and helped transform an anti-Catholic British colony into a part of a union one of whose basic rights was religious freedom.   Please subscribe to our podcast on Anchor...

This week's episode of Catholic Lives takes a look at the life and times of Artemisia Gentileschi (1593-1656?). A master of the Baroque era in an age when almost no woman attained such a stature as an artist, she is perhaps more well known for her somewhat scandalous life: raped at the age of 17 by a painter, she was vindicated in court, and went on to become a successful artist in her own right....

In 1545, the Catholic hierarchy met in the imperial city of Trent to decide how to respond to the Protestant Reformation. Over the course of eighteen years, the council responded to Protestant criticisms by reaffirming key doctrines but also took steps to reform abuses which contributed to the Protestant schism. Trent would reshape and revitalize the Catholic Church in Europe and set the stag...

In the past week, some disturbing stories have come out of Canada regarding the Residential School System, the educational apparatus set in the 19th century by the Canadian government to assimilate indigenous peoples into European civilization. The Canadian government contracted the Catholic Church and other churches in Canada to run these schools, and since the early 2000s they have been in the n...

In 1415, cardinals, bishops and religious met in the imperial city of Constance to resolve the Great Western Schism. The Council Fathers would condemn the teachings of John Wycliffe, burn Hus at the stake, elect a new pope and end the schism. Most controversially, the Fathers of Constance would make claims for the power of councils that challenged the primacy of the papacy and inspire th...

In  1962, Pope John XXIII opened the Second Vatican Council in Rome.  Before the Council, the Church's liturgy was in Latin, its hierarchy  largely unquestioned by it members, and Catholics were everywhere  recognizable by their habit of abstaining from meat on Fridays, as much  as by their devotion to the Virgin Mary.  Everyone knew that Catholics  thought their...

In this episode of Catholic Lives, we detail the life of Venerable Augustus Tolton, the first black American priest to be considered for canonization. In it we will discuss his journey from slavery to freedom, and from seminary in Rome to the priesthood, ministering to black Catholics in 19th century Chicago.   Please subscribe to our podcast on Anchor and check out Controversies in Church Hi...