# The Forge > Catholic Commentary on news and culture. Catholic formation, not de-formation Public Ghost content for AI and LLM tooling. This file includes a bounded export of public pages first, then recent public posts. Append `.md` to any post or page URL to get the content in Markdown (for example, `/example-post.md`). ## Pages ### About The Forge URL: https://theforge.fm/about/ Last updated: 2026-07-04T19:39:57.000Z ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c9/60/c9608dd3-28d8-420a-a6aa-9277a7eb54ad/content/images/2026/07/the-forge-black-2-1.png) # Catholic Commentary at the Point of Impact Catholics are being made strangers to their own faith. Not all at once, and not always through open hostility. Often it happens quietly, through the assumptions of the age, the habits of the media, sentimental religion, loose theology, shallow commentary, and the counterfeit versions of Catholicism now competing for the minds and loyalties of the faithful. The Forge exists to reacquaint Catholics with the faith as it really is. This is a place for Catholic commentary, formation, and media analysis at the point of impact — where Catholic Truth meets the forces trying to distort, soften, replace, or counterfeit it. The goal is not outrage, tribal performance, or religious entertainment. The goal is clarity, formation, and fidelity. Here you will find articles, commentary, podcasts, and reflections on the Church, the media, culture, Catholic identity, moral confusion, and the many ways modern life trains Catholics to think, speak, and live as something less than Catholic. Some pieces respond to current events. Others are broader works of formation. All of them are aimed at the same basic task: helping Catholics see clearly, think faithfully, and recover the strength of the faith they have inherited. The Forge is independent Catholic media. It is not beholden to an institution, donor class, algorithm, activist faction, or online Catholic tribe. That independence matters because Catholic commentary should serve the Truth, not the incentives of the age. --- ### Who Is Behind The Forge? The Forge is created and published by T.J. Haines, a Catholic commentator, writer, broadcaster, catechist, and veteran media professional. I have spent decades working in communication, education, apologetics, catechesis, media, and parish faith formation. Those are not separate tracks for me. They are different tools in one work: the formation of Catholic hearts, minds, and identity. That work matters because Catholics are not merely being misinformed. They are being formed — and often deformed — by the world around them. News media forms them. Entertainment forms them. Politics forms them. Bad religion forms them. Weak Catholic commentary forms them. Even Catholic-looking media can form them away from the faith if it replaces Truth with reaction, gimmicks, fear, flattery, or tribal loyalty. The Forge exists for Catholics who know something has gone wrong, but who want more than panic, slogans, and internet warfare. It is for readers who want clarity without cruelty, conviction without performance, and Catholic commentary that takes the faith seriously enough to defend it, explain it, and live under its demands. --- ### Support The Forge The Forge is free to read, but paid members help sustain the work. Paid support makes it possible to keep producing independent Catholic commentary, formation, and media work without depending on advertisers, institutional approval, or the incentives that usually shape online media. The Forge is not here to make Catholicism more marketable, more comfortable, or more acceptable to the age. It is here to help Catholics remember who they are, what they have received, and what they are called to become. Catholics do not need another counterfeit. They need the faith as it really is. ### Categories URL: https://theforge.fm/categories/ Last updated: 2026-06-28T19:45:09.000Z _No content available._ ## Posts ### Four Things Catholics Might Learn from the SSPX URL: https://theforge.fm/four-things-catholics-might-learn-from-the-sspx/ Last updated: 2026-07-10T16:18:36.000Z Despite its flaws, the SSPX may have something to teach ordinary Catholics—and it’s probably not what you think. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Gender Ideology and the False Civil-Rights Comparison URL: https://theforge.fm/gender-ideology-and-the-false-civil-rights-comparison/ Last updated: 2026-07-07T18:23:57.000Z Catholic institutions are being pushed into a new civil-rights framework, and it's becoming a regular slot in the local and national news cycles everywhere The fight over Catholic institutions and gender ideology is being driven by a false comparison, fueled by moral equivalency that isn't really there, but is being manufactured and magnified. The equivalency is that gender ideology is the same moral issue as racial equality, and therefore demands the same respect, the same moral license, and the same assent, even from Catholic institutions. Let's look at the latest cases, and then I'm going to lead you through the faulty logic. Because if rational people can't see what's going on in front of them, they're liable to fall for anything. ### The Current Legal Sphere We are seeing this more and more throughout the world, particularly in the Catholic world. In Melbourne, a Catholic school is being sued by one of its own teachers, who identifies as nonbinary and asked the school to use a nonbinary title and pronouns. The school declined, saying the request conflicts with Catholic teaching about the human person. Now a court will decide whether a Catholic school is permitted to act like a Catholic school when the doctrine becomes socially offensive. In New York, the Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne — who provide free end-of-life care to cancer patients who cannot pay — are being pressed under state law to assign rooms by gender identity rather than sex, open bathrooms across sex, and require staff to use residents’ chosen pronouns. The penalties are not theoretical. They can include fines, loss of licensing, and even jail. The same law exempts Christian Science facilities. It does not exempt the Sisters. ![Catholic nuns serving dying patients fight New York transgender mandate on pronouns, rooming](https://twt-thumbs.washtimes.com/media/image/2026/04/07/DominicanSisters2026_c0-179-4272-2669_s885x516.JPG?af0dca90558f7b2e2bfeb00af0d1cf13ca4d2f3f) > A Catholic institution’s refusal to use gender-affirming pronouns...is treated as though it were racial exclusion In Colorado, the state funds preschools of many kinds, but not the Archdiocese of Denver’s, because the Archdiocese will not remove Catholic teaching on sex and gender from how it admits and forms children. That case is now headed toward the Supreme Court. A Catholic institution’s refusal to use gender-affirming pronouns or provide gender-identity accommodations is treated as though it were racial exclusion. Its refusal to assent to something false and contradictory to the Catholic faith is treated as unlawful discrimination, a grave moral failure, and an assault on human dignity. But the comparison doesn’t hold. This is not a failure in charity or a failure to recognize the intrinsic dignity of other people. It’s a refusal to lie to them, out of recognition of their intrinsic dignity. The leap from “gender-ism” to “racism” is one so vast, across a logical chasm so deep, that a rational person would rightly think it impossible. And truly, it is impossible, except for a bridge in the middle that makes the jump easier and the distance harder to discern: the gay rights movement. This frame was built in stages over time. [JOIN THE FORGE TODAY](#/portal/signup/free) ### The Framework First came racial equality, a real injustice that was rightly confronted by the culture and the Church. No problem there. Racism is evil. Racial segregation was unjust. Laws treating people as inferior because of race deserved to be torn down. Then came the movement to treat sexual orientation as the next civil-rights cause, morally equivalent to race. That is where the first major shift happens. People who experience same-sex attraction have the dignity and basic civil rights that belong to every human person. But the legal question over same-sex marriage was not merely whether people should be treated with dignity. It was whether the law should treat same-sex relationships as equivalent to the union of husband and wife, especially where children, family, and the common good are concerned. The courts treated that distinction as though it barely mattered. The argument drew on Loving v. Virginia, the Supreme Court case that struck down race-based marriage bans. But Loving dealt with a racial barrier imposed on a man and a woman entering marriage. Their race did not change the nature of their union. They were still a man and a woman in a marital relationship. Same-sex marriage is a different kind of claim. It does not remove a racial obstacle from marriage. It requires the law to treat two men or two women as though their relationship is the same kind of union as husband and wife. That is not the same issue with a new victim group. It is a different issue altogether. **(Continues below)** ## Sign up for The Forge Don't miss the next hit. Overrule the algorithms and subscribe for free Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. That is where the courts’ fatal flaw in logic rests: taking precedent related to interracial marriage and applying it to relationships of a different nature and kind. The secular culture was already treating the gay-rights issue as a civil-rights issue equal to the race-equality movement of the past. The Supreme Court did more than codify the conclusion. It helped codify the faulty thought process behind it. Now comes the gender issue: the next phase in the construction of a Reality Distortion Field. The same pattern repeats. If sexual orientation is like race, and gender identity is like sexual orientation, then gender identity becomes like race. The conclusion is not argued from the beginning. It is inherited from the earlier comparison. From there, the conclusion is already loaded. Refusing a pronoun mandate can be made to sound as morally outrageous as refusing to integrate a lunch counter. Refusing to assign rooms by gender identity can be made to sound like denying someone equal access to education. Refusing to teach children that sex is fluid can be made to sound like excluding a class of people from public life. But those things are not the same. Race is not a claim about reality that another person must affirm. A person’s race does not require a Catholic school, hospice, or preschool to deny its doctrine, alter its language, reorder intimate spaces, or teach children that the sexed body is irrelevant. Racial equality asks that a person not be excluded because of what he is. Gender ideology, as these mandates apply it, asks Catholic institutions to speak and act against what they believe is true. That is a different kind of demand. It is not asking for access. It is asking for affirmation. That is the thread running through these cases. The Dominican Sisters are not refusing to care for the dying. The Colorado preschools are not trying to run a public ideological project with Catholic decoration. The Melbourne school is not accused of throwing a teacher into the street. The conflict is not over whether Catholic institutions will recognize the dignity of the human person. It is over whether they can be forced to deny what they believe is true about the human person. That is why the comparison to racism has to be rejected. Racism excluded people from equal treatment because of who they were. Gender ideology demands that Catholic institutions surrender the truth about what the human person is. One is injustice. The other is coercion disguised as justice. The Church is not being asked to be fair. It is being asked to lie. **The Forge is a small independent Catholic Media mission. You can help by sharing this article, or others that you find motivating or educational. Please consider it.** ### Related [Bend the Knee or Close: New York vs. the Dominican Sisters of HawthorneDominican Sisters push back against New York’s ideological coercion![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c9/60/c9608dd3-28d8-420a-a6aa-9277a7eb54ad/content/images/icon/b7ec1ce1-0951-48d3-aa33-f536ce41dafe_296x296-30-1-3e32833b-63dd-44bf-9bf6-e4ad02092613.png)The ForgeT.J. Haines![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c9/60/c9608dd3-28d8-420a-a6aa-9277a7eb54ad/content/images/thumbnail/dd4f0903-d4c3-4ea7-84e6-593c4a73066f_1536x1024-heic-b17e7c3f-1217-46e2-974b-ff1afd7daabf.jpg)](https://theforge.fm/bend-the-knee-or-close-new-york-vs/) ### LISTEN: The Lie of False Fidelity URL: https://theforge.fm/sspx-and-the-lie-of-false-fidelity/ Last updated: 2026-07-07T14:52:13.000Z ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c9/60/c9608dd3-28d8-420a-a6aa-9277a7eb54ad/content/images/2026/07/false-fidelity-1.jpg) ### The SSPX says it is faithful to Rome while rejecting Rome’s judgment. Get The Forge Podcast on [Apple](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-forge-catholic-commentary/id1878123748?ref=theforge.fm) | [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/show/2zf6vx17VnujkH7lCxNuIf?ref=theforge.fm) --- The Society of St. Pius X says it is faithful to Rome. But when Rome warns, pleads, corrects, and finally acts, the SSPX rejects the judgment and continues on its own course. In this episode, T.J. Haines responds to the SSPX’s rejection of the Vatican’s excommunication decree following its unauthorized episcopal consecrations. The issue is not merely liturgical preference, nor is it a simple matter of “traditional Catholics” being mistreated by Rome. The deeper problem is false fidelity: professing loyalty to the Church while refusing the authority of the Church when that authority becomes inconvenient. T.J. walks through Rome’s repeated efforts to reconcile with the SSPX across decades, from John Paul II and Benedict XVI to Pope Francis and now Pope Leo. He also explains why the SSPX’s old-school seriousness contains something the wider Church could benefit from — if only it were brought back into full communion rather than preserved in defiance. This episode also marks the relaunch of The Forge at TheForge.fm, and explains how FireBranded and The Forge will continue to work together without becoming the same thing. ### The SSPX, the Arian Crisis, and the False History of a Faithful Remnant URL: https://theforge.fm/sspx-arian-crisis-false-history-faithful-remnant/ Last updated: 2026-07-10T16:42:43.000Z SSPX defenders use the Arian crisis, Pope Liberius, and Antipope Felix II to make resistance to Rome look like fidelity. But the real history exposes the myth. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Catholic Identity in an Age of Counterfeit Catholicism URL: https://theforge.fm/catholic-identity-in-an-age-of-counterfeit-catholicism/ Last updated: 2026-07-06T05:19:51.000Z #### This is a historical article about key moments in Catholic history that mirror something I'm seeing in our own time. It's also the backstory and mission of The Forge There have been moments in the life of the Church when the danger didn’t arrive wearing a sign. It arrived wearing a costume—to make it look like what it claimed to be. We’ve seen it in the history of the Church, and we’re seeing it again today. ### The Arian Heresy In the fourth century, the word *Christian* was everywhere, but the meaning of Christ was suddenly under siege. The old persecutions had ended. The blood of martyrs had barely dried. The Church, after centuries of suffering, was no longer simply being attacked from the outside. Now the threat came through sermons, bishops, imperial pressure, plausible arguments, and religious language that sounded close enough to the faith to confuse the faithful. #### More Info: What Is Arianism? Arianism was an early Christian heresy that claimed Jesus was not fully God, but a created being made by the Father. It treated Christ as less than God, even while still using Christian language about Him. The Church condemned Arianism because the Catholic faith teaches that Jesus is truly God — equal to the Father, not created. Arianism did not begin by telling Catholics to stop believing in Jesus. It did something more subtle and more destructive. It redefined Him. It used Christian words while emptying them of their Catholic meaning. It spoke of Christ with reverence, but not with the fullness of the Truth. The result was not merely a theological dispute among scholars. It was a crisis that shook the Church from the sanctuary to the street. Bishops were divided. The faithful were confused. The empire wanted peace. The Church needed clarity. So the Church answered. At the Council of Nicaea (**A.D. 325**.), the Church did not respond with vague encouragement, soft language, or a plea for everyone to be nicer and get along. She drew a line, and held to it. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c9/60/c9608dd3-28d8-420a-a6aa-9277a7eb54ad/content/images/2026/07/nicea.jpg) The Council of Nicaea (A.D. 325) was the Church’s first ecumenical council, convened to condemn Arianism and affirm that Jesus Christ is truly God. She gave the faithful words strong enough to defend the Truth: God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father. The Creed was not an ornament. It was a weapon of clarity. ### The Protestant Reformation More than a thousand years later, another rupture came. This time the wound tore through Western Christendom. The Protestant Reformation did not simply argue about isolated abuses or bad practices. It challenged authority, sacraments, priesthood, justification, the Mass, the visible Church, and the very way Christians received the faith, and how Christians had worshiped since the 1st Century. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c9/60/c9608dd3-28d8-420a-a6aa-9277a7eb54ad/content/images/2026/07/trent.jpg) The Council of Trent (1545–1563) was a major council of the Catholic Church, convened by Pope Paul III in response to the Protestant Reformation. ****Artwork**: Council of Trent (1545-1563), fresco by Pasquale Cati, 1588. Once again, Catholic words were being contested. Once again, ordinary Catholics were forced to live through the confusion created by men who claimed to be recovering the real faith while severing themselves from the Church Christ founded. So the Church answered again. At Trent, the Church did not pretend the crisis was imaginary. She clarified doctrine, corrected abuses, reaffirmed the sacraments, defended the Mass, and gave the faithful a renewed structure of formation. She did not answer confusion with confusion—loose language or obscured teaching. She answered it with authority, precision, discipline, and Catholic identity. I don't say any of this because I think every moment in history is exactly the same. It isn't. Arianism is not the Reformation, and the Reformation is not the present moment. But the pattern is strikingly familiar. The faith is rarely stolen from Catholics all at once. More often, it becomes softened over time, reworded, sentimentalized, politicized, marketed, and replaced by things that wear a "Catholic" label, but are counterfeits of the real thing. *That*, my friends, is the part I can't ignore. > I see faithful Catholics formed more by the world and by secular human culture than by the Church I see Catholics being progressively led toward counterfeits of the real faith. I see many Catholics becoming detached from the attitudes, instincts, disciplines, and intellectual habits that form a saintly people. I see faithful Catholics formed more by the world and by secular human culture than by the Church. I see brands, personalities, platforms, and movements using Catholic language while reshaping Catholic imagination into something thinner, weaker, angrier, softer, more political, more therapeutic, or more self-serving than the faith itself. Catholics have had the trueness and reality of Catholicism stolen from them by actors labeling themselves, their brands, and their products as “Catholic,” or worse, “authentically Catholicism.” Nonsense! It's an outrage, it's a crime against the people of God, and I won't stay quiet in the face of it. As a teacher and as an evangelizer of 30+ years, what's being perpetrated against my brothers and sisters by some Catholic influencers, and many in independent Catholic media offends me *deeply*. I got sick and tired of seeing it, and I wanted to do something about it in some small way. So I a Substack that I called The Forge. But that was just the beginning. For some time, priests and professionals I deeply respect, people who know me and my work very well, have been pushing me to think of The Forge differently. Not simply as a counter-voice, but as a real **counterweight** to what’s currently out there forming Catholic minds. Not merely as a place where I publish articles and commentary on Substack, but as a real independent Catholic media brand beyond the boundaries of that platform. Not bigger in size, necessarily, but bigger in posture. More deliberate. More stable. More serious about the work it exists to do. That is why The Forge has been relocated, and *relaunched*. The mission of The Forge has not changed. The work is not being softened or confused with irrelevant novelty posts. The voice is not being diluted. The Forge now hasa home that better fits what it has become and what it needs to become: a place built for Catholic commentary, strong Catholic formation, media, a clear and bold voice, and as a center of resistance to counterfeit Catholicism. The Forge exists at the point of impact, where Truth—The Catholic faith—meets the forces trying to distort, soften, and replace it. That was true when I launched The Forge, but I understand it more clearly now (Thank you, Lord!). The work is not merely to react to bad arguments or foolish headlines. The work is to help Catholics recover the real thing: the faith as it truly is, not as the world, the media, sentimental religion, loose theology, weak commentary, or counterfeit Catholic brands have trained them to see it. This is The Forge—a new home, a clearer mission, with the fire set to "high". Come join me by becoming a Forge Reader (free) or by supporting the work for $5/month as a Member. Please offer a Hail Mary for the work that I'm doing here. I'm in the service of the Most Holy Virgin Mother of God, and I entrust this mission and apostolate to her. God be with you all. *Ave Maria, Virgo Fidelis!* (Hail Mary, Faithful Virgin!) ### News Briefs #10 — SSPX, Orthodoxy, and more URL: https://theforge.fm/news-briefs-10-sspx-orthodoxy-and-more/ Last updated: 2026-07-04T00:58:19.000Z What Catholics should be watching this week in the Church and the world _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Stop Letting Catholic Media Teach You to Distrust the Church #54 URL: https://theforge.fm/stop-letting-catholic-media-teach-you-to-distrust-the-church-54/ Last updated: 2026-07-01T01:52:05.000Z In this episode, T.J. Haines takes on the growing distrust many Catholics feel toward the Church, especially when bishops, cardinals, priests, and Catholic media figures seem to confirm every fear. Using the latest controversy out of Germany as a starting point, he argues that Catholics need a better rule: accept what comes from the Magisterium, ignore what does not matter, and stop letting the “bozos” rob them of peace. This is a direct, practical Firebrand Brief about obedience, discernment, Catholic media noise, bad shepherds, false alarms, and the need to practice the faith while letting God sort out the rest. ### Catholic Men's Group Hits Road Block at Pride Parade URL: https://theforge.fm/catholic-mens-group-hits-road-block/ Last updated: 2026-07-07T14:41:34.000Z > **“I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.”** > *1 Corinthians 9:22* I’ve said for years that the Church has to think outside of its own box. In our modern age, because human culture is night and day different from what it was even in our parents’ generation, old ways of thinking and old ways of operating need to change. And for 2,000 years, that has actually been the evangelistic DNA of the Church. The Church adapts so that she can evangelize. That’s what Paul was talking about in 1 Corinthians 9:22\. The Church (through her ministers, lay or clerical) doesn’t change the message, but she adapts how she brings it into the world. But as the world has changed so much, the Church now has to adapt just as much, and very quickly. And she needs to rely on her children to help her do it. Sometimes local churches and parishes do this well—I know of several. But more often than not, the Church resists shifts in her own paradigms and, for various reasons, sometimes legitimate, resists supporting the laypeople willing to do the work. That’s what happened here. This is not a hit piece on the archdiocese or on a lay apostolate. These are the facts, and my balanced assessment of what we’re seeing. By the end of this article, you’ll see it all goes to my point. For the past few years, a Catholic men’s group in Cincinnati called “Christ the King”has gathered to pray a public reparation Rosary on the steps of the Cathedral Basilica of St. Peter during the city’s Pride weekend. The cathedral sits at 8th and Plum, and the parade steps off right at the southwest corner of the same block, at 7th and Central. > Archbishop Casey told our Catholic men's group, through his rector, that we couldn't pray the Rosary on the Cathedral steps this year — he wanted to stay "neutral" toward the Pride Parade next door. Scripture, the Fathers, and the Catechism say a bishop can't be neutral toward… [pic.twitter.com/8epePno9ZA](https://t.co/8epePno9ZA?ref=theforge.fm) > > — Christ The King (@Catholic\_State) [June 27, 2026](https://x.com/Catholic%5FState/status/2070972164401172969?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=theforge.fm) The group’s approach has been consistent: It’s only men participating, because the parade brings public immodesty that the group would rather not expose women and children to. Smart! Also they use bullhorns, because the parade is loud enough that you need them to be heard; and prayer, not confrontation. By their account, they’ve done this for years without incident. The prior Archbishop never expressed concern about it, and the, then new Archbishop Casey didn’t express an issue with it last year. No run-ins with paraders, no trouble parking at the cathedral. ### *"This is the first year that we've been turned away from the cathedral steps."* This year was different. The head of the group, who posts on X under the name “[Catholic\_State](https://x.com/Catholic%5FState?ref=theforge.fm),” says it was turned away from the cathedral steps for the first time in its history doing this. Catholic\_State, who runs the account, put it bluntly: The rector of the Cathedral, Father Jan Schmidt, said that they couldn’t pray on the steps because he wanted to remain “neutral” toward the Pride parade next door. The group leader’s response was just as blunt — Scripture, the Fathers, and the Catechism don’t permit a bishop to be neutral toward sin. That’s a serious charge, and it deserves a careful look rather than a reflexive one. So I asked him directly whether he had anything in writing from the archdiocese. He did. And once you read it, the picture gets more complicated than the original post suggests. **Of Note:** Catholic\_State has said this message came from the Archbishop, through the rector of the Cathedral. Without evidence that this was the actual chain of delivery, I can’t say that that was the case. It could have been, but what we know factually is only that the message was conveyed by the rector. It’s possible the Archbishop knows nothing about it, and it’s also possible the archbishop was in fact communicating through the Rector. I have witnessed both scenarios, and both are plausible here. ### What the Archdiocese Actually Said The Archdiocese of Cincinnati’s Director of Communication and Evangelization, Mike Schafer, responded with a written statement explaining the decision. ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!6RkM!,w_2400,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa5739384-ae0b-4332-a92f-2bed5b8e05b4_1503x537.png) According to Schafer, “neutrality” toward the Pride event was not the reason the group was asked to pray on the sidewalk rather than on the cathedral steps. The reasoning was about sponsorship and accountability. When a group holds an event on the steps of the Cathedral Basilica, that placement naturally sends a public message: the event is perceived and understood to be under the sponsorship of, and sanctioned the cathedral or the Archdiocese. Whatever signage gets brought, whatever any participant might say or do, all of it would be attributed to the local Church and to the Archbishop. The “Christ is King” group was acting on its own initiative, with no oversight from the rector or the Archbishop. Given that, the archdiocese held it was appropriate for the group’s activity to take place on the sidewalk (public property) instead. I have to say, I agree with that decision. The concern is real. If you have no oversight over an event held in your name, you’ve opened yourself to a genuine problem of accountability, liability, or both. Imagine someone shouting “God hates f\*gs!” into a megaphone on the steps of the Cathedral? Imagine a fight or riot breaks out. Imagine during that fight someone falls on the steps of the Cathedral, fractures their skull, or dies. Imagine the press—and the lawsuits. Any one of those potential episodes in isolation would already be bad for a diocese. All of them combined, or in succession would be a diocese’ worst nightmare For all we know, everyone in this group is a saint who would never conceive of doing or saying anything atrocious. But without oversight, the Archdiocese can’t be assured of that. [JOIN THE FORGE TODAY](#/portal/signup/free) A bishop is responsible for what appears to carry his sponsorship, and “we didn’t organize it but it happened on our steps” is not a position any institution can comfortably defend. I’d add one thing the group itself acknowledges: authority over the cathedral steps belongs to the Archbishop. As Catholic\_State put it, whether they’re allowed to pray there is a matter of internal church discipline, not a First Amendment question—it’s the Archbishop’s call to make. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c9/60/c9608dd3-28d8-420a-a6aa-9277a7eb54ad/content/images/2026/06/church.jpg) Cathedral Basilica of St. Peter in Chains, Cincinnati ### Catholic\_State Has a Valid Point Here is where I lean more supportive of the group. The archdiocese’s reasoning is valid and entirely common in the Church. But…that’s kind of the problem—it’s common in the Church. The men who wanted to pray weren’t troublemakers. By their own account, they’re men who go to confession, go to Mass, and want nothing more than to see the archdiocese thrive. They wanted to publicly witness their faith during a weekend when that witness would have really meant something. The right answer to a liability concern isn’t simply to send them to the sidewalk. The right answer is for the archdiocese to do something like what this wanted to do, or to let them do it on the cathedral steps in a way that’s properly sanctioned, supervised, and structured to minimize any real risk. In other words, the solution to “we can’t endorse an event we don’t control” is to bring the event under appropriate control, not to push it off the property. The first option requires the Church to lean in. The second only requires her to step back. She chose to step back, and stepping back is the usual reflex. It really has to stop! This is part of a larger pattern, and it’s a concern I have with a lot of the Church’s institutional life. The Church is full of people who want to help her think and act outside of her own familiar box. Some of those people may be well-meaning trouble-makers, that’s just true. But many of them are solid, faithful Catholics with real gifts that could serve the Church’s mission. The Church is generally not disposed to openly support them, because it goes too far outside of “the box” of old paradigms for the Church. It’s old-school ecclesial thinking, the kind that treats lay initiative as a risk to be managed rather than an asset to be directed. It’s an instinct that needs to change, and fast. Frankly, it needed to change fifty years ago. ### The Real Issue So this isn’t really a story about one archbishop and one weekend. The decision in Cincinnati was defensible on its own terms. The trouble is that “defensible on its own terms” is exactly how the Church keeps arriving at the safer, smaller, more cautious outcome—every time, by default. If the Church does not learn some new tricks, she may have to accept a new “sacred tradition”—that of perpetually empty pews, seminaries, and secularists redefining the Gospel in place of a Church that does not boldly proclaim it Herself. Stay fired up, my friends (Start by subscribing to The Forge!). God wills it. And may He be with you all. ## Sign up for The Forge Catholic Commentary at the Point of Impact Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. ### Relatable Catholicism Isn't Good Enough URL: https://theforge.fm/relatable-catholicism-isnt-good-enough/ Last updated: 2026-07-06T05:20:47.000Z A young man shows up to the parish young-adult night, or a men’s night, or whatever-night-we-designate-to-bring-people-into-the-Church night. His friend twisted his arm to drop in, swearing it isn’t weird, which it isn’t. In fact, it’s very much like any social night out, and minutes after he walks through the door the whole thing starts to feel familiar. Comfortable. The music is good. The talk is funny, very considerate, and careful never to come down too hard on anyone or on any subject. Somebody cracks a joke about Catholic guilt and everybody laughs, including the priest. As they say, a good time was had by all. The young man leaves thinking, that was easy, those people were normal, I could see myself there. So he comes back for the next one. Over months, the initial strangeness of going to a Catholic parish—and at night—wears off. The Church stops being the grim institution he had half-imagined and becomes a place where he fits in. By every ordinary measure, that first night was a success. He came, he experienced, he encountered, and he came back. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c9/60/c9608dd3-28d8-420a-a6aa-9277a7eb54ad/content/images/2026/06/50cde2bb-b94d-4391-927c-6ac6627e2efc_2048x1365-jpeg.jpg) People were drawn to the tough-talking John the Baptist. But some were also put off by him. Jesus didn’t shy away from the hard message (“Don’t sin anymore…”) but he was a master at balancing challenge with appeal and intrigue. He met the people where they were, but never, **ever* left them there. This is what relatable Catholicism is for, and on its own terms it works. As a young evangelizer, it would not have been my style or approach. But time and experience teach lessons, and over time I began to understand that evangelization is delicate work. It needs strategy. It needs patience. It needs a willingness to lower the drawbridge before anyone will even consider walking toward the gate. Often you have to go low before you can raise high. “Meet them where they are” is the Church’s universal mantra these days, and there is wisdom in it. Most people don’t keep their distance from the Church. They keep their distance from a caricature of it. They imagine joylessness, contempt, a Church staffed by scolds, schoolmarms, and Inquisitioners in medieval clerical garb. They run from that because it is repellent, and because it is too foreign to their lived perspective. So relatable Catholicism is a good thing. But it’s supposed to be the doorway, not the destination. And too often in modern evangelization it has become the former. We meet the people where they are, and then leave them where we find them. The strategy has no direction, and it builds a faith that has no life. > *“Relatable Catholicism is supposed to be the doorway, not the destination.”* Evangelization is supposed to go somewhere. It should have direction and momentum. That sounds obvious until you look at how often our Catholic outreach is built to attract, soothe, include, and retain, but not necessarily to form. We want people to come back, and of course we should. But come back for what? At what point do we nudge them to the next step along the road? ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c9/60/c9608dd3-28d8-420a-a6aa-9277a7eb54ad/content/images/2026/06/cafe.jpg) Life can be grand at **Cafe Catholica* but we need agents of the Church to lead us to the Truth, not leave us at the coffee table.c Truth is life-giving. It has to be fruitful or it ceases to be Truth **(See my Afterthoughts segment at the end).** That’s also true in our own lives, and in our own Catholic experience. No matter where we are in faith or formation, we always have to be moving forward in order to move upward. Truth also finds *us* where we are as practicing Catholics. But then it’s up to us to allow Truth to move us forward, not to remain where Truth finds us. Maybe Truth has found us in the Mass. Maybe in the Rosary or the Bible. Maybe somewhere else in the spiritual life. Wherever we are in this Catholic adventure, we are not at the destination until we are in Heaven. We must always be moving forward. > *Wherever we are in this* Catholic *adventure, we are not at the destination until we are in Heaven.* That’s true for the outsider who wanders into a parish hall for the first time, and it is true for the practicing Catholic who has been in the pew for decades. Wherever the Truth finds us (and the Holy Spirit is always behind that, with the Church providing the materials, the road, and the mechanisms), it finds us in order to move us. Only *we* can screw that up, by choosing to stay where we are in the Catholic life. A lifeless, directionless, inert evangelization strategy doesn’t move anybody to holiness. It only changes the wrapper, not what’s inside. Same with a comfortable, familiar Catholic life. An active evangelizer has to remain aware of that, and we, as practicing Catholics, should likewise keep watch and stay alert. Remember to keep moving forward and to let the truth move us closer to our eternal destiny. **PAID MEMBERS**, **there’s an Afterthoughts segment for you! Linked below** [Subscribe](#/portal/signup) ### Afterthoughts (9-minutes) **Paid Members Only -** Explaining what I mean by “Truth is life-giving” and why. I briefly explain my thesis, and then go to three scripture passages that demonstrate Truth resulting in direction, and *life* (it does *not* “leave them where we find them) [Why is "Truth" is Life-giving? - Afterthoughts SegmentIn this Afterthoughts segment for paid members of The Forge, T.J. Haines expands on his article “Relatable Catholicism Isn’t Good Enough,” arguing that truth is dynamic, polarizing, and necessarily life-giving rather than merely a factually accurate statement.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c9/60/c9608dd3-28d8-420a-a6aa-9277a7eb54ad/content/images/2026/06/b7ec1ce1-0951-48d3-aa33-f536ce41dafe_296x296-17.png)The Forge T.J. Haines![](https://substack-video.s3.amazonaws.com/video_upload/post/203267604/e5333c74-a134-4a36-995a-5f655f5272a9/transcoded-1782230587.png)](https://www.theforge.fm/p/why-is-truth-is-life-giving-afterthoughts?ref=theforge.fm) ### Why "Truth" is Life-giving? - Afterthoughts URL: https://theforge.fm/why-truth-is-life-giving-afterthoughts/ Last updated: 2026-06-30T01:57:04.000Z In this Afterthoughts segment to "Relatable Catholicism isn't Good Enough" I explain why Truth is Life-giving, and what it means for us. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Saint Profiles: Saint Anthony of Padua URL: https://theforge.fm/saint-profiles-saint-anthony-of-padua/ Last updated: 2026-07-06T05:16:43.000Z A snapshot from the life of St. Anthony of Padua—the Hammer of Heretics—with "photographs" to bring you into his life. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Outrage Journalism and the Sound of Truth URL: https://theforge.fm/outrage-journalism-and-the-sound/ Last updated: 2026-07-06T05:22:38.000Z ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c9/60/c9608dd3-28d8-420a-a6aa-9277a7eb54ad/content/images/2026/07/mice.webp) In 1972, Adriano Celentano released *Prisencolinensinainciusol*, a strange and brilliant song built from nonsense syllables meant to sound like American English. Not seeing much success with his own music, he jokingly bet a friend that he could make a hit if it only *sounded* like American music. With a some clever production, instrumental and sound engineering, what resulted was a hit. The song had the rhythm, attitude, and swagger of American pop music, but the words themselves meant nothing. Celantano couldn’t even speak English. When he entered the studio to record the song, every syllable was made up, on the spot as the recording was rolling. Still, he produced a hit. Celentano created the impression of meaning by borrowing the sound and structure of a language without actually speaking it. Welcome to the wonderful world of deceptive journalism in media—even in some independent Catholic media (Print, or broadcast) Celentano’s trick worked because form is powerful. A song can suggest meaning through rhythm, tone, repetition, and performance, even when the lyrics are gibberish. The listener feels the shape of a message and starts to supply meaning where none exists. 0:00 /3:39 1× A lot of modern media works the same way. This is obvious in secular outrage journalism, but Catholics should not pretend we are immune to it. Independent Catholic media can do it too. It borrows the external form of serious reporting—headlines, quotes, expert references, anonymous sources, and grave concern—while using those tools to guide the reader toward a conclusion the outlet wanted from the start. It sounds like journalism because the mechanism is familiar. But the purpose is usually not to clarify reality, but instead to shape reaction. ### Example and Analysis Observe, and try not to react emotionally. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c9/60/c9608dd3-28d8-420a-a6aa-9277a7eb54ad/content/images/2026/06/4de2cfa7-ec19-4602-8cb5-2b1b0941e384_756x960.webp) A viral post from the folks behind LifeSite News has readers believing this absurdity in Germany was a clown mass. They signal that by calling it a “Clown liturgy” even though there was nothing liturgical about it at all—and it certainly wasn’t a clown mass. Other examples include posts that cast a shadow over the Holy Father using emotion-driven keywords and key phrases, like “tradition”, “scandal”, and further weighted by soft quotes that put ideas, suggestions, and images in the reader’s head. With the effect of guiding their perception of the facts, before they’ve even started reading the story (*if* they even read the story). The con continues when you progress to the stories linked from such posts. The facts are selective. They are illogically separated so as to obscure the objective truth they would tell were they lined up correctly, and some facts are omitted because they might paint a more truthful picture. Are such news agencies reporting facts? Most of the time they are, but are they telling the truth? Usually they are not. But it *sound*s like the truth and it resonates with a presumption the reader has already brought to the story and has already been preloaded into their minds and imaginations by the deceptive post, the deceptive headline or the deceptive subtitle that all came before the actual reporting. It’s babbling and gibberish set to a catchy beat. (Continues below) ## Sign up for The Forge Catholic Commentary at the Point of Impact Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. ### Methodology of Fake Reporting Real reporting starts with Truth and tries to understand it so that it can be told accurately, truthfully and honestly. Dishonest media starts with a desired perception and builds backward. It selects the details that support the mood, omits the facts that complicate the narrative, and frames uncertainty as confirmation. It doesn’t necessarily have to lie outright, it only has to arrange the facts dishonestly or selectively. The vocabulary—like the instrumental in a song—becomes part of the performance. Words might be “betrayal,” “cover-up,” “modernist,” “scandal,” “Vatican insider,” “faithful Catholics outraged,” or “Rome in crisis.” signal everything for the reader, but don’t actually *say* anything. > *“The problem…is that strong language is used as a substitute for evidence”* In secular media, the terms change, but the mechanism is the same: “threat to democracy,” “extremist,” “far right,” “Christian nationalism,” “hate,” “disinformation.” Some of these words may be legitimate in the right context. The problem isn’t strictly the language, it’s that strong language is used as a substitute for evidence, proportion, and honest storytelling. ### Sensationalism Sells A sensationalized article is crafted almost like a pop song. The headline is the hook, the charged vocabulary supplies the rhythm, and the selective details create forward motion. Then comes the chorus: the conclusion the audience already expects and wants to hear. Rome is corrupt. The magisterium is wrong. Bishops are universally cowards. “Stay angry…and *keep reading*. We’ll give you the antidote to what ails you*.*” That isn’t journalism, my friends, it’s perception management. Its object is manipulation, agenda-pushing, and revenue. But…it makes you wanna dance! Celentano’s song was harmless because it was art, and because the joke eventually revealed itself. It was rhythmic babbling made into a cultural experiment. Outrage journalism is different. It takes the same basic trick—the sound of meaning without the substance of it—and applies it to public trust, religious anxiety, and reader perception. THAT is not harmless! And there’s nothing ‘Catholic” about it. Catholics should demand better from Catholic media, and we shouldn’t support the controversy brokers and drama pimps or reward outlets for keeping us angry. Don’t confuse volume with courage or information with knowledge. We shouldn’t mistake the familiar beat of outrage for the voice of truth. It’s a bad song. Stop dancing to it! #### Consider subscribing to an independent Catholic media brand that isn’t bamboozling you 👇 ## Sign up for The Forge Catholic Commentary at the Point of Impact Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. ### Is AI Becoming a Spiritual Advisor? URL: https://theforge.fm/is-ai-becoming-a-spiritual-advisor/ Last updated: 2026-07-06T05:21:06.000Z When the advisor isn't human, is this a slippery slope, or a rescue line? _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Catholics Losing Religion, Searching for Tradition Ep. 53 URL: https://theforge.fm/catholics-losing-religion-searching/ Last updated: 2026-07-04T01:19:25.000Z ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/85/ce/85ceb5c7-f196-45f3-922b-97350e717db6/content/images/2026/06/bar.jpg) **🔊 Audio player is below, or get it on** [ YouTube ](https://youtu.be/TX-4bY2PxnY?ref=firebranded.fm) or listen on [ Spotify ](https://open.spotify.com/episode/0Ax618xbPoc9GJzVE2Abxr?si=57a61f17b0694c4c&ref=firebranded.fm) or [ Apple Podcasts ](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/catholics-losing-religion-and-searching-for-tradition/id1848211656?i=1000771724682&ref=firebranded.fm) , and [🔥 Many Others ](https://firebranded.fm/podcast/?ref=theforge.fm#apps) --- 💡 PAID MEMBERS: There's a **bonus segment** for you at the bottom of this page. Gen Z isn’t simply “returning to church” the way older generations might imagine. Many are searching for faith, meaning, identity, community, and something with backbone — but they’re not always finding it in the same places, or in the same ways, as their parents and grandparents. Young people are showing renewed interest in religion, but the story is more complicated than a simple “Gen Z is coming back to church” headline. Some are returning to Catholicism. Some are drifting into Protestant communities. Some are exploring alternative spiritualities, Eastern religions, neopaganism, or a personalized version of faith that they assemble for themselves. In this episode, I look at what younger people seem to be searching for: community, authenticity, structure, beauty, identity, and a religion that can stand in contrast to the emptiness of secular life. From there, I get into why some young Catholics are drawn toward traditionalism and the Traditional Latin Mass — not to praise or condemn it as a whole, but to ask what they are finding there that many ordinary Catholic parishes may be failing to signal clearly. This is a balanced look at a complicated religious moment. The question is not just whether young people are returning to church. The better question is: what are they looking for when they start searching again? --- ### BONUS SEGMENT ( subscribers) [“Angry at God” - Bonus Segment - Ep. 53A bonus segment from “Catholics Losing Religion”![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c9/60/c9608dd3-28d8-420a-a6aa-9277a7eb54ad/content/images/icon/b7ec1ce1-0951-48d3-aa33-f536ce41dafe_296x296-30-1-f3540948-756f-46e0-bfb0-d669ee5e84ef.png)The ForgeT.J. Haines![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c9/60/c9608dd3-28d8-420a-a6aa-9277a7eb54ad/content/images/thumbnail/fire-branded-wide-8d576869-ebe7-47fc-a527-e718b0fcb9ba.jpg)](https://theforge.fm/angry-at-god-bonus-segment-ep-53-2/) ### "Angry at God" - Bonus Segment - Ep. 53 URL: https://theforge.fm/angry-at-god-bonus-segment-ep-53-2/ Last updated: 2026-07-04T01:52:56.000Z A bonus segment from "Catholics Losing Religion" _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Eucharist? 'Where's THAT in the Bible?' - Let me show you. URL: https://theforge.fm/eucharist-wheres-that-in-the-bible/ Last updated: 2026-07-04T01:40:52.000Z The Holy Eucharist traced from Genesis to the Early Church. "Where is that in the Bible?" Everywhere! _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Monsignor Rossetti Removed - My Analysis and Reaction URL: https://theforge.fm/monsignor-rossetti-removed-my-analysis/ Last updated: 2026-06-28T18:26:14.000Z **🔊 Audio player is below. Also get it on** [ YouTube ](https://youtu.be/ojvnzR7Szws?ref=firebranded.fm) or listen on [ Spotify ](https://open.spotify.com/episode/1NxUzsIkdeg36vZTchelCJ?si=c38a4187fac14216&ref=firebranded.fm) or [ Apple Podcasts ](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/monsignor-rossetti-removed-i-dont-buy-the-reason/id1848211656?i=1000771467460&ref=firebranded.fm) , and [🔥 Many Others ](https://firebranded.fm/podcast/?ref=theforge.fm#apps) --- Think like Catholics, not like secularists as we analyze this very strange situation with Monsignor Stephen Rossetti’s removal as chief exorcist in the Diocese of Washington DC I take a Firebranded look at Monsignor Stephen Rossetti’s recent removal as exorcist in the Archdiocese of Washington. Everyone is talking about the headlines — but what’s really going on? I’ll break down the official statements, the viral video that sparked controversy, and my own perspective on why this story matters to Catholics everywhere. This isn’t just a recap; it’s an analysis from a Catholic perspective, cutting through the noise and looking at the context most others are missing.\] ### 🔗 Article Mentioned in the Episode [Why Was Rossetti Really Removed as Exorcist?Exorcist Monsignor Stephen Rossetti was removed as exorcist in the Archdiocese of Washington. But we’re not being told why. I have some ideas of my own.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c9/60/c9608dd3-28d8-420a-a6aa-9277a7eb54ad/content/images/icon/b7ec1ce1-0951-48d3-aa33-f536ce41dafe_296x296-30-1-c842aecc-bd00-4d31-9de3-e695e998b400.png)The ForgeT.J. Haines![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c9/60/c9608dd3-28d8-420a-a6aa-9277a7eb54ad/content/images/thumbnail/6f7168cc-69ae-47ac-af02-2f30ad656129_1355x1000-jpeg-1-2e4bb7ca-2972-4aca-b433-3437d20cd564.jpg)](https://theforge.fm/why-was-rossetti-really-removed-as/) **If you’re not checking out Firebranded.FM** you’re only getting half the force of this “Catholic commentary War Machine” **Check it!** \- [https://firebranded.fm](https://firebranded.fm/?ref=theforge.fm) ### Why Was Rossetti Really Removed as Exorcist? URL: https://theforge.fm/why-was-rossetti-really-removed-as/ Last updated: 2026-07-05T14:56:35.000Z On June 3, Cardinal Robert McElroy, Archbishop of Washington, removed Monsignor Stephen Rossetti as an exorcist of the archdiocese and cut all ties between the archdiocese and Rossetti’s independent organization, St. Michael Center for Spiritual Renewal. Rossetti had been the D.C. exorcist for nineteen years — a psychologist, a former Air Force intelligence officer, an advisor to the bishops after the 2002 abuse crisis, and one of the most recognizable exorcists in the country. Not a fringe figure. Which made this whole episode even more surprising and confusing to me. What set it off was a video, posted in late May, where he said his personal belief was that many, if not most, UFO sightings are actually demons. The clip went viral. By the time the news broke, it had been marked private. Which tells me something was already going on behind the curtain—perhaps long before this event triggered his removal. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c9/60/c9608dd3-28d8-420a-a6aa-9277a7eb54ad/content/images/2026/06/ff3523a8-a3d7-4aa5-a347-75dd1ebf48fc_1320x1656-jpeg.jpg) [The statement from the Archdiocese](https://adw.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/06/26-PR-Statement-for-Msgr-Rosetti.pdf?ref=theforge.fm) was slim, bare and hollow. No real reasons were given, and no detail was provided. The cardinal’s stated reason is where it gets frustrating, because there’s barely anything there. Notably missing from the statement is the kind precision the archbishop claims was problematically lacking in Monsignor Rossetti’s video. > "Statements made by Monsignor Rossetti linking UFOs to demonic presence and the Center's recent use of social media gravely undermine the Church's very precise teaching on the devil, demons and exorcism." > \-From the Archdiocese’ statement The whole rationale in the statement is one sentence: Rossetti’s statements linking UFOs to demonic presence, plus the Center’s recent use of social media, “gravely undermine the Church’s very precise teaching on the devil, demons and exorcism.” That’s it. No specifics on *which* teaching, or *how*. No clarification of the alleged imprecise statements, which is especially peculiar. Even the Catholic outlets covering it—the Register, CNA and others—flagged that the statement gave nothing concrete. [Subscribe now](https://www.theforge.fm/subscribe?ref=theforge.fm) ### Rossetti’s Statements Align with the Church Was Monsignor Rossetti saying anything wrong, incorrect, or out of left field? If you go to the theology, what Rossetti said isn’t off the rails at all. It lines up with the traditional understanding of the angelic, rooted in St. Thomas Aquinas. Aquinas already worked this out. In the *Summa* (I, q. 51, a. 2) he holds that angels — and demons, who keep their angelic nature even after the fall — can assume bodies. Not living bodies they’re fused to, but configured matter, condensed air given form and motion, moved instrumentally like puppets. A spiritual being producing something physically perceptible, capable of apparent motion. And in I, q. 111, he treats how demons can act on the human senses and imagination, presenting appearances of things that aren’t externally there. So a deceptive aerial phenomenon, or observers being made to perceive something that isn’t really present both fit the picture. This is common knowledge amongst exorcists, but it’s actually upstream of them—it starts with Aquinas. Read Rossetti’s quotes against that and nothing contradicts it. ‘Demons hide, they don’t want to be noticed, they manipulate’. Even the line that got singled out — that these things move at speeds humans can’t, fits assumed-body ideas of Aquinas, since the appearance is moved by something not bound by an organism’s limits. ### My Opinion of Why Rossetti was Removed So why the removal? A few honest possibilities, none of them confirmed, and the gap between how thin the official statement is and how fast the axe fell is exactly what makes this worth considering. #### Understand *these are my opinions* and they shouldn’t be interpreted as a defense for his dismissal. The most likely reason, I think, is that the real concern was never the metaphysics at all. Look closely at the cardinal’s sentence and notice what’s sitting right next to the demonic claim: “the Center’s recent use of social media.” That pairing is easy to skim past, but I don’t think it’s incidental. It reads less like a man worried about a point of angelology and more like a man worried about reach, and about an archdiocesan exorcist with a following in the hundreds of thousands attaching the Church’s authority to viral UFO content. A bishops’-conference spokesperson, Theresa. Farnan, basically said as much, reframing the whole episode as a communications problem rather than a doctrinal one: > “Monsignor Rossetti acknowledged that the question of life on other planets was theologically neutral and clearly intended to warn against spiritual manipulation, which can occur whenever you place your trust in something other than God.” She added that his comments “were distorted”, probably not that Rossetti’s comments themeless were distorted, but that how they were received/treated/interpreted was. Given that reading, the offense wasn’t what he believed or said, it was that he said it as a public figure and exorcist seen as a representative of the Church. An exorcist speaks with a delegated, semi-official voice on exactly these matters, and when that voice turns up in a clip racing across the internet, the line between “one priest’s personal speculation” and “the Catholic Church says UFOs are demons” disappears for most people watching. It’s a problem of prudential judgement, not theology. The other concern might be about method, not doctrine. The Church’s discipline on discernment is famously cautious. Before anything gets attributed to the demonic, you exhaust the natural and psychological explanations first. It’s the whole posture of the exorcism rite: You assume the ordinary, prove the extraordinary. A blanket “many, if not most, sightings are demons” subtly inverts that order, making demonic causation the default rather than the last resort. But notice it’s still only a concern about *how an exorcist should reason and speak*, not about whether his angelology is sound. ### My Personal Conclusion Personally, I think this dismissal was foolish and reckless, and McElroy’s actions didn’t do the church any favors. Father Rossetti was reaching a lot of people, especially with his online apostolate. It also seems that he was playing a major role in liberating many people from real spiritual crises they were experiencing, and used social media as a watchtower, signaling many people and warning them about the dangers of the occult, witchcraft, and the lures of neo-paganism, all of which are on the rise. The Archdiocese’s rationale was a big nothing burger, and now it only looks cruel, foolish, and incompetent. This was not good administration, or good pastorship. I’m going to give you my informed opinion. I think there’s more to this than we’re being told. There was nothing in the least bit surprising or disconcerting to me about Rossetti’s video. Nothing raised an eyebrow for me; nothing made me wince at imprecision or even risky messaging. The Archdiocese’ statement being so terse and empty suggests to me that this isn’t about doctrine, theology, or messaging. What it *is* about, I really couldn’t even speculate. Politics? Maybe. But politics about…*what?* It’s all just very strange. The Forge is Catholic commentary at the point of impact. Sign up and be a part of it, don’t just be a passer-by. [Subscribe](#/portal/signup) [The Media Is Buzzing About Aliens and UAPs. Should Christians by it?The headlines lately sound like a trailer for a sci-fi reboot. Here’s the reality, as I see it![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c9/60/c9608dd3-28d8-420a-a6aa-9277a7eb54ad/content/images/icon/b7ec1ce1-0951-48d3-aa33-f536ce41dafe_296x296-30-1-cf81c9bd-30b8-41c5-9d14-afea4d8d2688.png)The ForgeT.J. Haines![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c9/60/c9608dd3-28d8-420a-a6aa-9277a7eb54ad/content/images/thumbnail/d4c00ecf-8eda-4991-a5cc-b71416bd487f_1200x674-73fad2fd-9176-46ea-97dd-e99e76fbd341.webp)](https://theforge.fm/aliens-and-uaps-should-christians-by-it/) [Do Aliens Exist? The Catholic ResponseRe-published episode of an old podcast - Drawing from Scripture, theology, and the wisdom of St. Thomas Aquinas, I take on one of the most intriguing questions in our time. I explore why belief in intelligent extraterrestrial life is not only unlikely but also theologically problematic. But this is also a lesson about angels and demons!![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c9/60/c9608dd3-28d8-420a-a6aa-9277a7eb54ad/content/images/2026/06/b7ec1ce1-0951-48d3-aa33-f536ce41dafe_296x296-22.png)The Forge T.J. Haines![](https://substack-video.s3.amazonaws.com/video_upload/post/188724603/b6adc185-692b-4b76-bc5a-d468cfcb2846/transcoded-1771692485.png)](https://www.theforge.fm/p/do-aliens-exist-the-catholic-response?ref=theforge.fm) [Do Aliens Exist? Conversation with Patrick Abbot🔊 Get this audio on Spotify | Apple![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c9/60/c9608dd3-28d8-420a-a6aa-9277a7eb54ad/content/images/2026/06/b7ec1ce1-0951-48d3-aa33-f536ce41dafe_296x296-23.png)The Forge T.J. Haines![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c9/60/c9608dd3-28d8-420a-a6aa-9277a7eb54ad/content/images/2026/06/347033d2-075c-4432-b2bd-3675c35b0eb3_1100x819-jpeg.jpg)](https://www.theforge.fm/p/do-aliens-exist-conversation-with?ref=theforge.fm) ### The Roman Rite: Living Tradition, Not a Museum Piece URL: https://theforge.fm/the-roman-rite-living-tradition-not/ Last updated: 2026-07-07T14:37:06.000Z The Roman Rite is neither a frozen relic nor a blank canvas. It has real history, real authority, and real limits. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Sacred Tradition: What the Church Means — and What It Doesn't URL: https://theforge.fm/sacred-tradition-what-the-church/ Last updated: 2026-07-07T14:36:53.000Z Before Catholics argue about liturgy, the Roman Rite, or the Novus Ordo, they need to know what Sacred Tradition is—and what it is not. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Pope Leo XIV Says Just War Theory Is “Outdated.” Here’s What He Actually Means. URL: https://theforge.fm/pope-leo-xiv-says-just-war-theory/ Last updated: 2026-07-06T05:16:30.000Z In his first encyclical, *Magnifica Humanitas*, Pope Leo XIV does something that’s going to get quoted out of context for years. He calls just war theory “outdated.” If you only read the headline, it sounds like the Church just walked away from sixteen centuries of moral reasoning about when force is justified. That’s not actually what happened. Watch for the drama pimps and controversy brokers to frame this as a break from Tradition. But I’ll tell you what the Holy Father is really saying ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c9/60/c9608dd3-28d8-420a-a6aa-9277a7eb54ad/content/images/2026/06/7a70166c-3d92-4d52-aa79-c076d271ebb9_1402x1002-heic-1.jpg) ### Chapter 5 of Magnifica Humanitas The short version: Pope Leo isn’t throwing out the classical Just War philosophy. He even explicitly repeats the right to self-defense. What he’s actually arguing is that the framework has been so routinely abused as a justification machine that it no longer functions as a real moral brake, especially with modern AI and automated weapons making war-waging a much easier (and cheaper) decision. Whether that’s true is a fair thing to debate. But it’s a more careful claim than the headlines suggest, and the chapter deserves a much close reading than a headline, a subtitle, or a social post. Here’s a walk through the most significant things Leo says, what he means by them, and what has actually changed. ## What is just war theory? Let’s start with a quick grounding in traditional Just War thought. Most people have heard the phrase and have a rough idea of what it is. But the specifics are important for what Leo is doing in his encyclical. Classical just war theory is a framework that developed through Augustine and Aquinas and was later systematized by thinkers like Francisco de Vitoria and Francisco Suarez. It splits into two parts. The first, ***jus ad bellum***, governs when it is just to go to war at all. Criteria like legitimate authority, just cause, right intention, proportionality, reasonable chance of success, and last resort are wrapped up in jus ad bellum. The second, **jus in bello**, governs how a war may justly be *fought* once it’s underway. Most importantly the principles of discrimination (don’t target civilians) and proportionality (don’t use more force than the objective warrants—something drilled into us when I was in the Marine Corps). That distinction between *getting into* a war and *how you fight* a war is going to matter later, so keep it in your pocket. ## “Just war theory is outdated” This is the line everyone will quote. Here it is in full, from paragraph 192: > *“Today, more than ever, without prejudice to the right to self-defense in the strictest sense, it is important to reaffirm that the ‘just war’ theory, which has all too often been used to justify any kind of war, is now outdated.”* Notice what he does and doesn’t say there. He doesn’t say self-defense is off the table. In fact he explicitly protects it “in the strictest sense,” which is the most foundational element of the whole tradition. And his criticism of just war theory isn’t that the criteria are philosophically wrong. It’s that the framework “has all too often been used to justify any kind of war.” That’s a criticism of how the theory has functioned in practice; a permission slip rather than a constraint. In other words “self defense” could be the reason to respond to an imminent threat, one that we predict, or one that we imagine to be possible at some point in the future. That range of considerations isn’t what the “Self Defense” clause in Just War theory is supposed to permit. [Subscribe now](https://theforge.fm/pope-leo-xiv-says-just-war-theory/#/portal/signup) But this raises an honest question: Who exactly is actually *using* just war theory to make war-time decisions? It’s not as though defense ministries keep a theologian in the room running through Aquinas before deciding whether to strike. So who is “doing” what the Holy Father is warning against? In practice, the framework mostly lives in academic theology, in the Church’s commentary on conflicts already underway, and in the language nations reach for *after* they’ve already decided to act. But the Holy Father’s point is fair. The theory has too often been a wrapper applied to decisions made on other grounds, not a genuine test that constrained or determined those decisions. ## The real argument: war is being normalized Here’s the part that most coverage missed so far, and it’s the key to reading the whole chapter honestly. The “outdated” line doesn’t stand alone. It’s the **conclusion** of a broader assessment woven throughout paragraphs 189 to 192—not just a single paragraph or two, which is how I suspect some media personalities will treat it. There’s a much broader picture here. Leo points out that there used to be a shared conviction in the world and culture that war should be an absolute last resort. In paragraph 189 he describes how, after the World Wars, “peace was made the focus of the international order,” and how “many national constitutions restricted the use of force to extreme and strictly limited circumstances.” That conviction is now eroding. From paragraph 190: > “we are witnessing a real paradigm shift in public discourse and in decisions regarding rearmament, with a troubling revival of war as an instrument of international politics, while the very ethical principles that had previously limited its use are being eroded.” He adds a striking observation in paragraph 191, saying that as the last firsthand witnesses to the Holocaust and the World Wars die off, **we’re losing the living memory that made war’s horror real**. Without that memory, he warns, “political decisions risk being made on the basis of power alone.” True! Adam and Eve “knew sin” not because they had an intellectual awareness of it, but because they had *done it*. They now had the *experience* of it, and *that* is a very different kind of “knowing”. It’s deeper, more acute. It’s how we know through memory of a lived experience, and it guides our future decisions. When we lose that cultural “memory” because those who *remember* have died off, we go forward on impulse and emotions rather than a true experiential knowledge or ‘moral memory"‘ All of this builds to the diagnosis in paragraph 192: > “humanity is slipping into a violent culture of power, where peace no longer appears as a responsibility to be taken on, but as a fragile interval between conflicts.” So when Leo says just war theory is “outdated,” he’s saying it in the context of a culture that he believes has already abandoned the seriousness the theory had presupposed. His argument is essentially: a framework that always depended on good-faith actors applying it in good faith **has lost whatever practical force it had, because the culture around it has dismantled the ethical brakes that gave it meaning**. ## Autonomous weapons make war “too feasible” This is where AI enters the scene, and it’s the most modern application in the chapter. Paragraph 197 opens the section on weapons and artificial intelligence: > “The Holy See has recently observed that the growing ease with which autonomous weapons systems can be deployed makes war more ‘feasible’ and less subject to human control. This violates the principle that armed force should be used only as a last resort in cases of legitimate self-defense.” Read by itself, that paragraph asserts a connection it doesn’t fully explain. *Why exactly* does the ease of deploying autonomous weapons violate the last resort principle? But the chapter does supply the mechanism for understanding it, in the very next paragraph. From 198: > “AI does not remove the intrinsic inhumanity of conflict; indeed it can only bring about conflict more quickly and render it more impersonal, lowering the threshold for resorting to violence.” The argument is that the difficulty of going to war has always forced prolonged moral considerations, and attempts at alternatives to war. When a leader has to send his own people into danger, the human cost creates hesitation, deliberation, political accountability. Those are the very things that make force a natural and practical last resort rather than an early option. Autonomous weapons remove that cost. No soldiers at risk, no flag-draped coffins, no public reckoning. And when the cost drops, the threshold drops with it. ## Sign up for The Forge Catholic Commentary at the Point of Impact Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. Let me present it this way: “We’re just sending drones, it isn’t really a war.” In 1943 those drones would have been bombers with crews aboard, and everyone would have understood it as war. The technology lets a nation conduct what is functionally an act of war while keeping the perception sanitized. Pope Leo’s concern is that this isn’t a one-off, it’s increasingly the norm. In fairness to the text and to the tradition, I want to also offer this. Autonomous weapons are mostly a *jus in bello* question—they concern how force is **applied** once a conflict exists. “Last resort” is a ***jus ad bellum*** questionq—it concerns whether to enter conflict at all. Leo’s argument bridges the two by way of that “lowering the threshold” mechanism. But he doesn’t exactly acknowledge he’s crossing that line. The bridge holds, but it’s built more on an understanding how easy force has become than on a tight technical argument. ## “No algorithm can make war morally acceptable” This is the sharpest single line in the chapter. From paragraph 198: > “Yet moral judgment cannot be reduced to calculation, for it involves conscience, personal responsibility and the recognition of the other as a person. Therefore, it is not permissible to entrust lethal or otherwise irreversible decisions to artificial systems. No algorithm can make war morally acceptable.” The reasoning is solidly within the Catholic understanding of conscience. Moral judgment isn’t computation. It requires a person who can recognize another person, who bears responsibility, who has a conscience that can be examined and held to account. An algorithm has none of that. It can optimize a target list; it cannot recognize a human being as a human being. So the decision to take a life can’t be delegated to it without losing the very thing that makes the decision a moral act at all. Worth noting: Leo doesn’t say “don’t build ethical AI.” Immediately after this, he allows that we should still try to instill “values and sound judgment into the artificial systems we build.” ## And then, Tolkien In the final stretch of the chapter, Leo argues that the “civilization of love” he wants to build won’t come from one grand gesture but from countless small acts of fidelity. To make the point, he reaches for J.R.R. Tolkien. From paragraph 213: > “It is not our part to master all the tides of the world, but to do what is in us for the succour of those years wherein we are set, uprooting the evil in the fields that we know, so that those who live after may have clean earth to till.” A papal encyclical quoting *The Lord of the Rings* will surprise some people, but it really does fit. The line is about responsibility scaled to your actual reach. **You don’t have to fix the whole world, you have to tend the field you’ve been given.** That’s Leo’s answer to the despair that says the problems are too big and you’re too small to make any difference. He calls that despair “a polite form of resignation, often disguised as realism” — tying it straight back to the false realism he spent the chapter dismantling. ## So what actually changed? Really…nothing. Nothing substantial, anyway. The right to self-defense remains intact. The core principles of the tradition are not only preserved, they’re reasserted. When Pope Leo lays out his criteria for AI in warfare, the protection of civilians—classical *jus in bello* discrimination—is all right there, restated for new technology. He isn’t discarding the tradition’s substance. In various places he’s *applying* it. What *has* changed is mostly the application and the framing. The Pope is reading the just war tradition through a heavily pastoral and cultural lens rather than a narrowly doctrinal one. His “outdated” claim is really a judgment about the *world* the theory now operates in. A world where, in his reading, the ethical brakes have been dismantled and the framework has degraded into merely a justification device. If you want to push back the strongest ground isn’t “he abandoned the tradition,” or “changed teaching” or “discarded Catholic thought” because he didn’t do any of those things. The stronger critique is that some of his sharpest claims are stated with more confidence than the surrounding argument fully supports, and you’d really have to dig elsewhere in Catholic thought to fully build those pillars. The autonomous-weapons-and-last-resort link, for instance, works as a cultural intuition but blurs the line between *jus ad bellum* and *jus in bello* without acknowledging it. A claim of this weight, in a document of this authority, could have been built more tightly. The substance and material exist everywhere in Catholic thought—he’s not introducing novelty. I just wish he had built it into the document. The absence of that material doesn’t risk confusing the faithful, except it does leave a lot of room for bad players in Catholic media to maneuver and distort the meaning of document. Watch for theologians with microphones and cameras, who know this theology better than I do, come out claiming the document is “so confusing” and “doesn’t make any sense”. Folks, if you enjoyed this please share it and help build up The Forge. The algorithms won’t do it. I rely on word of mouth and sharing of my articles. And drop a “Like” and a comment and le the know what you thought of the article, or your personal thoughts and reactions to the encyclical in general. ### Lies, the Antichrist, and 'LieSite' News URL: https://theforge.fm/lies-the-antichrist-and-liesite-news/ Last updated: 2026-07-04T00:02:51.000Z The Ability to Discern Truth May Be the Defining Mark of the Modern Saint—And where most Catholics fail. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Clown Mass? Lie Site News Strikes Again! URL: https://theforge.fm/clown-mass-lie-site-news-strikes/ Last updated: 2026-06-26T01:27:34.000Z My friends, know when you’re being lied to, and stop repeating it. Check out this latest zinger from the infamous “LieSite:” News ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c9/60/c9608dd3-28d8-420a-a6aa-9277a7eb54ad/content/images/2026/06/157a7cc3-3f7f-4a97-9a72-9afb8dca7547_756x960-jpeg-2.jpg) The text in the image reads “Literal Clown Liturgy,” leading you to believe this is an infamous “Clown Mass.” I’ve already had four commenters post this image to attack Vatican II and the Ordinary Form Liturgy. Let’s flip the script and stay faithful to the facts. This was not a Mass, and it’d be a stretch even to call it para-liturgy. Was it ridiculous? Absolutely. But let’s analyze it for what it actually was, not for what it wasn’t. ### The Reality It was a prayer service organized by a Catholic lay “ecumenical” congress. It included Scripture readings, a “homily” (more like a pep talk where an actual homily would be), and “intercessions.” Except even the intercessions weren’t really intercessions. They replaced the traditional intercessions with a performative segment called *Zeitungstheater* (newspaper theater), with clowns reacting to the headlines. Definitely not intercessions. [Subscribe now](https://theforge.fm/monsignor-rossetti-removed-my-analysis/#/portal/signup) Is it completely ridiculous? Yes. I’m not defending it. But what should we expect from Germany, the land where you can find BDSM booths at Catholic events? That makes this a Germany problem, not a Catholic Church or Vatican II problem. This isn’t a product of Vatican II. It’s the product of the distorted imaginations of Catholic organizers who, in my opinion, want to reinvent Catholicism by poisoning Catholic culture. ### The Framing Problem LSN deliberately worded this “Literal Clown Liturgy.” It was not a Mass. It’d be a stretch even to call it para-liturgy. So ask yourself: if the story is shocking enough on the facts, why did they have to frame it as Liturgy to make it appear even more shocking? Was this a rhetorical assault against the Mass itself, suggesting (in my opinion) that this is yet another “clown mass” of Vatican II? You decide. But was this headline representative of the facts and the true story? I should say not. You got that from me. Know who your friends are. God be with you all. ## Sign up for The Forge Catholic Commentary at the Point of Impact Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. ### The Catechism Doesn’t Say What You Think It Says URL: https://theforge.fm/the-catechism-doesnt-say-what-you/ Last updated: 2026-07-06T05:23:04.000Z **VIDEO SEGMENT is from** [**Episode 49 of Fire Branded, “Gathering Storm”**](https://firebranded.fm/bad-catholic-signals/?ref=theforge.fm) Germany’s *Katholikentag* — the country’s flagship Catholic congress — just wrapped up in Würzburg. Twenty thousand attendees, nine hundred events, bishops taking up special collections for it at Sunday Mass. A major expression of German Catholic life, at least in theory. On the Church Mile where roughly three hundred organizations had booths set up, you could find Radio Vaticana, Renovabis, and of course the Ecumenical Working Group on BDSM and Christianity 😳… …Making its yearly **re**appearance. 🤯 Yes, it’s *that* “BDSM”. You read it right, and there are no lines to read between. A BDSM group had a booth at a Catholic event in the land of Synodal Way > “…no contradiction with the Catechism.” ### That Catechism Doesn’t Say A lot — literally When pressed, the organizers didn’t even apologize or make excuses. They defended it, saying that the group’s guidelines contain “no contradiction with the Catechism.” That’s their theological finding, and they’re sticking with it. They’re wrong. The Catechism is a **summary** of Catholic belief. It’s not an exhaustive library, and it was never meant to be read as a legal code where anything not explicitly prohibited is fair game. That’s not how Catholic moral reasoning works. The Catechism points toward a tradition — toward an anthropology, toward a coherent account of the human person, the body, and what sexuality is actually for. If you want the full argument, you follow the footnotes. You read John Paul II. You engage the tradition the Catechism is summarizing. [Subscribe now](https://theforge.fm/monsignor-rossetti-removed-my-analysis/#/portal/signup) When you do that the contradiction with sadomasochism isn’t hard to spot. It’s not buried in a footnote somewhere. Catholic teaching on sexuality comes from a clear account of human dignity, what love requires, what sexuality is, what the nature of the sexual act it. A sexual practice built around pain, domination, and degradation doesn’t need an explicit Catechism entry to contradict that account. The consent (‘consensual BDSM”) argument doesn’t save it either. Consent is necessary in Catholic moral theology, but it has never been sufficient and doesn’t elevate something to a moral standard it otherwise falls short of. Two people agreeing to something doesn’t change the moral character of the act. That’s a secular liberal framework, and dressing it in Christian language doesn’t make it Catholic. ### The Right has ‘Left’ the Building To be fair, this kind of surface-level Catechism reading isn’t unique to German progressives. When Pope Francis updated the Catechism to declare the death penalty inadmissible, some conservatives called it a reversal of tradition or a change of an unchangeable doctrine. But it wasn’t. It was an old principle that lethal force is only justified when genuinely necessary, applied to a world where modern prisons can accomplish what execution once was the only means of doing. So it’s the same mistake as the Germans, but in the opposite direction. The Catechism is a starting point, not a finish line. Following it seriously means following it all the way through. Germany’s Catholic congress didn’t do that. And “no contradiction with the Catechism” is not a defense — it’s a confession of exactly how far the reasoning didn’t go. [Bad Catholic Signals - Ep. #50The Church has the Truth. So why does it sound like it’s confused? It’s about the signaling, not the messaging.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c9/60/c9608dd3-28d8-420a-a6aa-9277a7eb54ad/content/images/icon/b7ec1ce1-0951-48d3-aa33-f536ce41dafe_296x296-30-1-88c67871-9806-4e69-86f1-cc77dfc3ce6a.png)Fire Branded by TJ HainesTJ Haines![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c9/60/c9608dd3-28d8-420a-a6aa-9277a7eb54ad/content/images/thumbnail/bad-signlas-d42bd122-3de9-46b7-8f9c-2a9ef6fdedaa.jpg)](https://firebranded.fm/bad-catholic-signals/?ref=theforge.fm) ### News Briefs #7 URL: https://theforge.fm/news-briefs-7/ Last updated: 2026-06-26T02:11:36.000Z In Germany, BDSM is in; Catholic Moral teaching is out. Pope Leo signs his first encyclical. And the Church addresses the most pressing problem in the Church—generational breakdown of the faith _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### The Argument for Native Language Prayer - Post Show #49 URL: https://theforge.fm/the-argument-for-native-language/ Last updated: 2026-06-30T01:58:39.000Z Why the language that formed your soul is the language you should pray in—and why praying in Latin might fall short. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Tradition, and Catholic Culture Wars Ep. #47 URL: https://theforge.fm/catholic-culture-wars/ Last updated: 2026-06-29T12:36:45.000Z ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c9/60/c9608dd3-28d8-420a-a6aa-9277a7eb54ad/content/images/2026/06/bar.jpg) **🔊 Also get it on** [ YouTube ](https://youtu.be/LzgiaDrbBmE?ref=firebranded.fm) or listen on [ Spotify ](https://open.spotify.com/episode/58OLWFVAzK5azLdgBcK11G?si=5d9abbb63486454f?si=5414f37ed4234236&ref=firebranded.fm) or [ Apple Podcasts ](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/catholic-culture-wars/id1848211656?i=1000763909593&ref=firebranded.fm) , and [🔥 Many Others ](https://firebranded.fm/podcast/?ref=theforge.fm#apps) --- Young Catholics are chasing tradition and both sides of the Catholic culture war think they know why. Catholic conservatives think it's about reverence; Catholic progressives think it's about nostalgia — but they're both wrong. Here's the secret: it's not about tradition. It's not about the Mass. What they're really seeking is what they've been denied in the world — something that goes straight to the heart of a person's identity. They're looking for clear Catholic culture. Culture is not optional, it's something the human person cannot function without. If you think you already have this figured out, you probably need this episode more than you know. Also in this episode: a warning for Catholics drawn toward tradition and what they need to watch out for when they arrive. Plus a viral pastor clip circulating on Christian social media and what it exposes about a growing idea that Jesus doesn't really call us to holiness. [Fire Branded by TJ HainesCatholic Commentary that HITS! - Podcast, Articles, Fire without Fluff![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c9/60/c9608dd3-28d8-420a-a6aa-9277a7eb54ad/content/images/icon/b7ec1ce1-0951-48d3-aa33-f536ce41dafe_296x296-30-1-cd3638d3-4a67-48f7-a87b-e52477acf9f0.png)Fire Branded by TJ Haines![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c9/60/c9608dd3-28d8-420a-a6aa-9277a7eb54ad/content/images/thumbnail/site-cover-1-ca776849-ffc3-4d0b-944b-4d6268d898c0.jpg)](https://firebranded.fm/?ref=theforge.fm) ### Five Claims About Catholicism that Don't Survive the Historical Record URL: https://theforge.fm/five-claims-about-catholicism-that/ Last updated: 2026-06-28T02:44:28.000Z A dishonest chart misrepresenting Catholic history also falls flat in its doctrinal claims. Here's the con job, and a response to five of its claims. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Synodal Sleight of Hand URL: https://theforge.fm/synodal-sleight-of-hand/ Last updated: 2026-07-06T05:23:19.000Z When a Catholic Mechanism for listening becomes a voice for anti-Catholicism advocacy _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### A Surprising American Export is Re-Evangelizing Europe URL: https://theforge.fm/a-surprising-american-export-is-re/ Last updated: 2026-06-26T02:28:50.000Z Is “new school” out-evangelizing the “old school”? It turns out a great American export is...CATHOLICISM. Samuel Trizuljak is an academic who spends a lot of time on the ground with young Catholics across Central and Eastern Europe. His recent piece for *The Catholic Thing* argues that 2026 marks a genuine “American moment” for global Catholicism. And his evidence isn’t found in a spreadsheet. It’s what he’s actually watching happen in classrooms and conference rooms. I can relate to this. As an evangelizer I see a lot of “the real Church”. Evangelizers usually see what’s happening on the ground before the \[actual\] Church does, and often years in advance. We see the character of the people of God. We see their challenges. We see the threats to their faith—what they’re dealing with already, and what’s coming. Wherever Trizuljak finds vitality among young European Catholics, it traces back to something American. Conversions sparked by Bishop Barron’s sermons. Couples preparing for marriage using material or programs from Christopher West or Jason Evert. Men’s groups running Exodus 90\. Students drawn into Great Books programs modeled on the classical education revival in the U.S. In one Slovak classroom trying to sort through the chaos of Catholic political identity, a student raised her hand and recommended *Pints with Aquinas* as the single most useful resource. Maybe one day [Fire Branded](https://www.theforge.fm/s/fire-branded?ref=theforge.fm) will be on that list. (continues below) [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c9/60/c9608dd3-28d8-420a-a6aa-9277a7eb54ad/content/images/2026/06/3c29edea-1bd2-4d32-985b-e26256c5b816_1702x630-heic.jpg)](https://firebranded.fm/?ref=theforge.fm) American Catholicism is being exported through digital media—especially podcasting. This would have been an unlikely sentence twenty years ago. For most of the post-conciliar era, the theological traffic ran the other way with European ideas shaping American Catholic intellectual life. That looks to be reversing. **What does it mean when the most energetic transmission of Catholic formation is happening through media rather than through local church structures?** What’s most interesting is the transmission mechanism itself. None of this is moving through dioceses or formal institutional channels. It’s moving through podcasts, YouTube, and books. American Catholics have built a serious formation ecosystem in the digital space, and it turns out that ecosystem has no national borders. Even I have European theology students in Fire Branded’s audience. This is genuinely new in Church history. It raises a real question. What does it mean when the most energetic transmission of Catholic formation is happening through media rather than through local church structures? Is that a sign of health, or a workaround for institutional weakness? This is a real opportunity for American Catholicism. Will the Church take advantage of it, or does it lack the nerve to act on it? ### You really Believe that about Latin? - FIRE BRANDED Ep. #48 URL: https://theforge.fm/you-really-believe-that-about-latin/ Last updated: 2026-06-30T02:19:19.000Z **🔊 Also get it on** [ YouTube ](https://youtu.be/LzgiaDrbBmE?ref=firebranded.fm) or listen on [ Spotify ](https://open.spotify.com/episode/58OLWFVAzK5azLdgBcK11G?si=5d9abbb63486454f?si=5414f37ed4234236&ref=firebranded.fm) or [ Apple Podcasts ](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/catholic-culture-wars/id1848211656?i=1000763909593&ref=firebranded.fm) , and [🔥 Many Others ](https://firebranded.fm/podcast/?ref=theforge.fm#apps) --- Some Catholics have a problematic fixation with Latin in Catholic life. A growing number of Catholics are convinced that Latin isn’t just traditional—it’s more powerful. More effective. More spiritual. Even feared by demons. In this Firebrand Brief, I break down the real problem behind the Latin obsession—and why so many of the arguments defending it don’t hold up. This isn’t about attacking Latin. This is about exposing bad theology, weak arguments, and a mindset that may actually be hurting your prayer life. Because prayer isn’t about sounding holy. It’s about actually connecting with God. And for most of you… that’s not happening in Latin. ### LINKS 👉 What have some saints said about this? [Here's a short blog post](https://firebranded.fm/when-you-pray-speak-your-language/?ref=theforge.fm): ### CHAPTERS 00:00 Latin Prayer Debate Setup 03:25 Why Native Language Hits Home 09:25 Debunking Latin Power Claims 23:06 Debunking Latin Exorcism Claims 26:47 Chat Questions and Prayer Merit 32:05 Practical Prayer Tips and Wrap Up ### The Lefebvre Quote That Sounds Catholic and Ends in Schism URL: https://theforge.fm/this-sounds-so-catholic-thats-why/ Last updated: 2026-07-07T14:42:37.000Z **Cross-published from** [**Firebranded.fm**](https://firebranded.fm/this-sounds-so-catholic-thats-why-its-dangerous/?ref=theforge.fm) Can you spot the lie from this false prophet? Let's see, and we'll deconstruct it 'together': **“Ecumenism is not the mission of the Church. The Church is not ecumenical, it is missionary. The goal of the missionary Church is to convert.”** \~Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre Did you spot it? What’s wrong with that statement? It starts out sounding great. Very Catholic! The clarity and boldness might seem refreshing. Grounding. Even motivating. It may even make you question why priests and bishops in the Church don’t talk like this anymore. The boldness and clarity are something we really do need to see return to the Catholic experience, but let’s put that aside for now. When you see a quote like that and feel “This is how Catholicism should sound” it begins the rift—the point when you question the state and credibility of the Catholic Church and its magisterium today. “Traditionalism” begins to look like the real Catholicism, or Catholicism-without-error. It may not happen after one quote, but quote after quote after quote after shoddy theology on top of shoddy rhetoric, eventually a person who doesn’t know what they’re hearing begins to crack, and thus begins a shift to traditionalism. **Not all “traditionalism” or “traditionalIST” is bad or errant but we have to acknowledge that, as a whole, it presents a problem.** But there is an error and a lie in that quote. Did you see what it was? Like most lies, it starts off with a truth. That’s how a lie gains credibility: by sounding believable. In this statement, ecumenism is truly not the mission of the Church. That is correct. The Church is indeed a missionary church. That is also correct, but the quote puts these two truths in opposition to each other. It sets up a false opposition between ecumenism and mission, as though the Church has to choose one or the other. ## Sign up for The Forge Catholic Commentary at the Point of Impact Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. You can’t convert if you aren’t reaching out. How do you reach out without ecumenism? The trouble is that some in the Church have degraded ecumenism, have turned ecumenism into indifferentism, which indeed is counter-Catholic, but that was not the vision of the Second Vatican Council. Ecumenism isn’t supposed to go along to get along and leave people where we find them. Ecumenism is supposed to be a bridge to bring people to the truth, not a bridge to pay a visit and then come home. A bridge to bring people to the truth. The Catholic Church explicitly teaches that authentic ecumenism is ordered toward unity in the truth, not toward indifferentism, relativism, or “everyone stays in the religion where they’re at. You’re fine. It’s all good.” In Catholic teaching, ecumenism and missionary activity are related, not contradictory. That said, there *is* a legitimate concern underneath the quote that many traditional Catholics resonate with: After the Council, in practice, some Catholics behaved as though ecumenism meant: - never speaking about conversion, - minimizing doctrinal differences, - avoiding claims about the uniqueness of the Catholic Church, - or treating reunion as mutual coexistence instead of unity in truth. That practical distortion is real. But Lefebvre’s formulation overshoots by framing ecumenism itself as alien to the Church’s mission. A lie is a lie, no matter how it’s framed. But a Truth doesn’t remain a truth when a distortion forces it to mutate. Stay alert, my friends. What I demonstrated here is happening *everywhere* in Catholic discourse. It’s more infectious than COVID. But you’ll never need to wear a mask at Fire Branded! God bless you all. **Don't forget to subscribe (Free or paid)** ### The Catholic Double Standard on Same-Sex Ministry URL: https://theforge.fm/the-catholic-double-standard-on-same-sex-ministry/ Last updated: 2026-06-30T16:24:36.000Z There’s pattern in parts of the Church that has become an elephant in the room for me: Immense pastoral patience for Catholics publicly living in same-sex relationships, but visible suspicion toward apostolates like [Courage International](https://couragerc.org/?utm%5Fsource=chatgpt.com) that actually encourage chastity and fidelity to Catholic teaching. That’s a double standard, and a bad message to the faithful. The latest example came this week, when Courage publicly rebuked a Vatican synodal study document for what it called a “false and unjust depiction” of the apostolate. The report included testimony from a man in a same-sex civil “marriage” who described Courage meetings as “secretive and hidden” and populated by people who were “lonely, hopeless, and often depressed.” Courage responded that confidentiality exists precisely so members can speak honestly and safely about deeply personal struggles. What stands out isn’t just the criticism itself, but the asymmetry. ## **Stop scrolling for a second to subscribe to The Forge.** [Subscribe now](https://theforge.fm/this-sounds-so-catholic-thats-why/#/portal/signup) For some time there’s been a visible eagerness in some ecclesial circles to emphasize accompaniment, affirmation, and dialogue with Catholics in openly irregular situations. Yet ministries that encourage chastity — not condemnation, not cruelty, but chastity — are often treated with suspicion, as though fidelity itself is somehow psychologically suspect and practically ridiculous. - After the 2014 Extraordinary Synod on the Family, Courage’s then-director Father Paul Check said there was “a voice that was not heard at that synod” — Catholics who experience same-sex attraction and are trying to live within Church teaching. They organized their own conference in Rome just to get that perspective into the room. - When Outreach — a ministry that does not hold to the Church’s full teaching on homosexuality — held its conference at Georgetown, Pope Francis sent a warm letter of support and Cardinal Wilton Gregory presided at Mass. Courage held its own conference that same July. No papal letter. The local ordinary sent his regrets. - Father James Martin was made a voting member of the Synod on Synodality. No one from Courage was. Sister Jeannine Gramick of New Ways Ministry — which openly dissents from Church teaching on homosexuality — received private letters of papal support. Courage did not - Now a Vatican working group has taken one man’s negative personal experience and embedded it in an official document as a characterization of the entire apostolate — without a phone call, without fact-checking, without basic fairness. This didn’t come out of nowhere. The pattern goes back years. We roll out the red carpet for so-called gay-friendly clerics and apostolate, while giving the shoulder to those who uphold Church teaching, and accompany same-sex attracted people to help them do the same. Courage continues to receive support from many bishops and recently met personally with Pope Leo XIV, who reportedly encouraged the apostolate’s emphasis on chastity and holiness. The deeper issue here is spiritual and pastoral. The Church rightly teaches that every person possesses dignity and must be treated with compassion. But accompaniment can’t mean treating chastity as unrealistic, damaging, or oppressive. For Catholics experiencing same-sex attraction, chastity is not hatred. It is the same universal call to holiness placed upon every Christian according to his state in life. And ministries helping people carry that cross faithfully should not be treated like an embarrassment within the Church. [Subscribe](#/portal/signup) ### St. Jerome is a Protestant's Worst Ally - The Fathers Know Best URL: https://theforge.fm/st-jerome-is-a-protestants-worst-fdf/ Last updated: 2026-06-30T02:12:34.000Z Protestants often appeal to Jerome as a kind of patristic ally against the Catholic Church. Here's why that's a big mistake! _This post is for subscribers only._ ### The SSPX Is Heading to Schism — Catholics Need to Stop Playing Dumb URL: https://theforge.fm/the-sspx-is-heading-to-schism-catholics/ Last updated: 2026-06-26T02:45:56.000Z ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c9/60/c9608dd3-28d8-420a-a6aa-9277a7eb54ad/content/images/2026/06/181ee464-9c9b-459b-8f39-d04bfe3daf37_1300x732-heic-1-1.jpg) ### *The SSPX is planning to consecrate new bishops on July 1 without a papal* mandate*— the same move that got them excommunicated in 1988\. Rome offered dialogue. They said no. The showdown is coming upon us!* This has happened before. In 1988, Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre—a French archbishop who had founded the SSPX in 1970 as a traditionalist seminary society in response to what he saw as the errors of Vatican II—consecrated four bishops without papal approval and against the express prohibition of Pope John Paul II. Rome called it schism, excommunications followed. It took twenty years and Pope Benedict’s intervention to begin unwinding that damage. Now the SSPX is lining up to do it again. July 1\. New bishops. No papal mandate (the canonical term for a specific authorization from the pope). The announcement got Rome’s attention fast. Cardinal Fernández, the doctrine watchdog of the Church, summoned SSPX Superior General Fr. Davide Pagliarani to the Vatican. “Rome offered a path forward, but it would require a compromise from the SSPX. Cardinal Fernández summoned Pagliarani to the Vatican, and they met on February 12\. If the SSPX agreed to postpone the July 1 consecrations, Rome was prepared to open renewed theological dialogue aimed at identifying the conditions for full communion. Six days later, on February 18, Ash Wednesday, Pagliarani’s rejection letter arrived.” [Subscribe now](https://theforge.fm/saint-profiles-saint-anthony-of-padua/#/portal/signup) Ash Wednesday. It’s either ironic or fitting depending on how you look at it. The Vatican’s response was unambiguous and unusually bold: proceeding without a papal mandate would constitute a “decisive rupture of ecclesial communion” (schism) with “grave consequences” for the society. Under canon law, any bishop who consecrates without a papal mandate, and any bishop who receives that consecration, incurs automatic excommunication. No trial, no process. The act itself triggers the penalty. The SSPX asserts they’re not in schism because they still believe everything the Church teaches. But that’s not how authority works. You don’t get to claim fidelity to the Church while openly defying the pope on a matter of ecclesial governance. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c9/60/c9608dd3-28d8-420a-a6aa-9277a7eb54ad/content/images/2026/06/a03104ea-10d5-46b0-b504-c6414d696c48_1536x818.png) Here’s what frustrates me about this: there is a large segment of faithful, orthodox Catholics who have a soft spot for the SSPX. Some attend their Masses. Some read their publications. Some flagrantly cheer them on as a counterweight to the chaos in the broader Church. I understand that, I really do. But cheering for the SSPX right now isn’t cheering for tradition, it’s cheering for a group that’s about to fracture the Church. We would never think of cheering for Martin Luther, we would never think of cheering for Arias, and we would never think of cheering for 1970s modernists. It doesn’t matter that Luther was wrong, that Arias was teaching heresy, or that the 1970s hippies were modernists. What they have in common that most deserves focus is this: They were each fracturing or attempting to fracture the Church. Many people were on their side in each of those eras of Church history. We look back on it all now and see the error. It will be no different when we look back on this SSPX drama. The society is wrong. Their theological position is wrong, and their disobedience is wrong. A love for tradition should not make that pill easy to swallow. Poison that is sweet will still kill you, and it will still harm the mystical body of Christ. Some things in the Church are frustrating and people are looking for a champion to set it all straight. But folks have to remember that’s what the Holy Spirit does. It’s His job. And he does that *through* people and through the Church’s mechanisms, but no tin a way that circumvents order and authority. The SSPX is not a band of heroic resisters. They are a group that has spent decades operating outside of communion with Rome while insisting that’s not what they’re doing. July is coming. Either they pull back or they repeat 1988\. Catholics who care about unity need to say that clearly, not after the fact but now. ## Sign up for The Forge Catholic Commentary at the Point of Impact Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. ### Rome Has Spoken. The Germans Don't Care URL: https://theforge.fm/rome-has-spoken-the-germans-dont/ Last updated: 2026-06-26T02:42:13.000Z The Vatican Said No to German Same-Sex Blessings — Twice. Here's Why Catholics Should Pay Attention. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Crisis of Catholic Intellect, and the Devil's Plan for it URL: https://theforge.fm/crisis-of-catholic-intellect-and/ Last updated: 2026-06-30T02:06:59.000Z When bad catechesis is seen as good theology, and sound theology is rejected, the only winner is the father of lies _This post is for subscribers only._ ### News Briefs #6 URL: https://theforge.fm/news-briefs-6/ Last updated: 2026-06-26T03:58:51.000Z The Vatican is in a standoff with Germany; and someone is trying to make money off a lie about the conclave. Nothing new about this News Briefs! _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### When You Pray, Speak Your Language URL: https://theforge.fm/when-you-pray-speak-your-language/ Last updated: 2026-06-26T04:07:47.000Z It’s time for another VideoBlog, fans! Are you familiar with these? They’re a short video segment from a recent episode of Fire Branded, accompanied by a short write-up that builds on what I said in the video. This one comes out of some pushback I’ve been getting from listeners who were surprised to hear me suggest that praying in your native language matters — and that Latin alone may not be the best way to give God your whole heart. 🔊 ****Full Episode is on** [****YouTube**](https://youtu.be/TBUatijlYNs?ref=theforge.fm) **|** [****Apple**](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/latin-obsession-in-the-catholic-ranks/id1848211656?i=1000765908286&ref=firebranded.fm) **|** [****Spotify**](https://open.spotify.com/episode/5HEBJJqTU7EgPESg1ETWCq?si=b0ef6011dd404713&ref=firebranded.fm) **|** [****Many Others**](https://firebranded.fm/podcast/?ref=theforge.fm#apps) There’s a moment most of us remember from childhood — your parent calling you by your full name. Not your nickname. Not a shortened version. Your full name. You knew immediately that something was different. The weight of it landed differently. Same person. Same name. Completely different effect. Language does that. The words we’re formed in carry a weight that translations don’t. They’re not just sounds we recognize — they’re the sounds we *think* in, the sounds we feel in. This is why, when it comes to prayer, it matters. St. Teresa of Avila put it plainly in *The Way of Perfection*: “Vocal prayer must be accompanied by reflection. A prayer in which a person is not aware of whom he is speaking to, what he is asking, who it is who is asking and of whom, I don’t call prayer — however much the lips may move.” She wasn’t making a rule about Latin versus the vernacular. She was making a point about what prayer actually *is*. If the words aren’t landing in you — if you’re not present to what you’re saying — you’re not really praying. You’re reciting. St. Bonaventure made the same observation even more simply: “When we pray, the voice of the heart must be heard more than the proceedings from the mouth.” The voice of the heart. That’s the standard. And for most of us, the heart speaks in the language we grew up in. When I say *Our Father*, I mean it. Those words carry something — a relationship, a memory, a weight. When I say *Pater Noster*, I know what it means. But knowing what something means isn’t the same as *feeling* what it means. The difference is the difference between reading a word in a dictionary and saying it to someone you love. God receives the Latin. Of course He does. But He’s also after your heart — not just your sounds. And your heart speaks the language you were formed in. So pray in that language. Pray in the words that make you *mean* it. ## Sign up for The Forge Catholic Commentary at the Point of Impact Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. ### Why "Educated Catholics" Leave the Church - Ep. #46 URL: https://theforge.fm/why-educated-catholics-leave-the/ Last updated: 2026-06-29T12:42:48.000Z ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/85/ce/85ceb5c7-f196-45f3-922b-97350e717db6/content/images/2026/06/bar.jpg) **🔊 Get it on** [ YouTube ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQ3RQPDtsiY?ref=firebranded.fm&ref=theforge.fm) or listen on [ Spotify ](https://open.spotify.com/episode/2DFuinzVIfkKMSIEWW4Wzn?si=6cc8cdb109b24f56&ref=firebranded.fm) or [ Apple Podcasts ](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/catholic-mis-education/id1848211656?i=1000762312646&ref=firebranded.fm) , and [🔥 Many Others ](https://firebranded.fm/podcast/?ref=theforge.fm#apps) ### When Catholics leave the Church flaunting their Catholic credentials, they’re showing their miseducation, not their competence Today we're talking about Catholics leaving the Church and related Protestant propaganda. I'm setting fire to some Protestant bragging on social media about how many Catholics they're pulling into their snares. (continues below) And then I'm rolling a clip of Sean Hannity — one of the most recognizable voices in conservative media — where he leans hard into his Catholic credentials and then in the next breath identifies himself as non-denominational Christian. I'm deconstructing the whole thing. People, it's so easy to be a former Catholic. Anyone can walk out a door. If you're a hard charger, you hold the line. Being a saint — that's where the business is. ## Post Show Note [Post Show #46 - Jesus Said “Church” not CommunityWhen Jesus tells Peter “on this rock I will build my church” he’s talking about something much more than just a “community of believers” the Bible and Jesus’ words tell us the True meaning![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c9/60/c9608dd3-28d8-420a-a6aa-9277a7eb54ad/content/images/icon/b7ec1ce1-0951-48d3-aa33-f536ce41dafe_296x296-30-1-e3214458-d281-4705-9d9d-0035f328b94c.png)Fire Branded by TJ HainesTJ Haines![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c9/60/c9608dd3-28d8-420a-a6aa-9277a7eb54ad/content/images/thumbnail/church-c3ae0fc4-a90c-4a25-a3b9-9f2ee662b502.jpg)](https://firebranded.fm/post-show-47-jesus-said-church-not-community/?ref=theforge.fm) At Firebranded.FM ### New Briefs #5 URL: https://theforge.fm/new-briefs-5/ Last updated: 2026-06-26T04:20:16.000Z ## A "plus" feature, this News Briefs is being provided to all readers of The Forge --- **New York Bishops Issue End-of-Life Guide as Assisted Suicide Law Takes Effect This Summer** ![audio-thumbnail](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c9/60/c9608dd3-28d8-420a-a6aa-9277a7eb54ad/content/media/2026/06/The-Forge----New-Briefs--5_thumb.webp) The Forge New Briefs 5 0:00 /204.95673469387756 1× Following Governor Kathy Hochul’s signing of the Medical Aid in Dying Act in February, New York’s bishops released an updated pastoral guide titled “Now and at the Hour of Our Death” — an eight-page pamphlet explaining Catholic moral principles around end-of-life care, set to become newly relevant when the law takes effect in August 2026\. What makes this worth reading isn’t just the opposition to assisted suicide — the guide does something more useful. It walks through the Church’s distinction between ordinary care (which is morally obligatory, including nutrition and hydration) and extraordinary care (which is morally optional), and encourages Catholics to designate a healthcare proxy who will honor their faith-based values. This is practical formation, not just a protest document. If you have aging parents or are thinking through your own advance directives, this is worth tracking down. **Barr Says Iran War Meets Just War Criteria — Pope and U.S. Bishops Push Back** At a NAPA Institute panel, former Attorney General Bill Barr argued that U.S. military action against Iran does not clearly violate just war doctrine, citing Iran's potential nuclear capability as a legitimate threat. His comments come as Pope Leo XIV has been increasingly outspoken against the war — calling the threat against the Iranian people "truly unacceptable," urging political leaders to return to the negotiating table, and stating that "God does not bless any conflict." The Pope has stopped short of a formal just war ruling, but his moral language has been pointed and consistent. Several U.S. cardinals and Vatican officials have gone further in questioning whether the war meets just war criteria. The debate playing out in Catholic circles is a real one — and Barr's invocation of Augustine and just war reasoning at a Catholic forum makes it worth following closely. **A Consecrated Host Found Intact After 47 Days in a Bombed Lebanese Church** A Melkite priest returning to the town of Tbenine in southern Lebanon following the ceasefire found a consecrated host intact after 47 days in his damaged church, saying that “Jesus was waiting for us.” This story isn’t making many headlines, but it’s getting quiet attention in Catholic circles. Whether one treats it as a miracle or simply as a remarkable fact, it carries weight — a small sign of presence amid destruction. Worth knowing about. **The World’s Oldest Nun Turns 113: “My Whole Mind Is on God”** Sister Francis Piscatella, the world’s oldest nun, recently turned 113\. Born in 1913, she joined the Dominicans at 17 and spent her life as a teacher. When asked the secret to her longevity, she said simply, “My whole mind is on God.” In an era saturated with wellness content and longevity obsession, there’s something almost jarring about that answer in its simplicity. It’s not a program or a discipline — it’s an orientation. The contrast is worth sitting with. **Catholic Scholars Wrestle With What Just War Demands *After* a War Has Already Begun** America Magazine convened a group of Catholic scholars to address a harder version of the just war question: not just whether the Iran war was justified at the outset, but what moral obligations the United States carries now that damage has already been done — and whether an initial violation of just war principles affects those duties going forward. This is the kind of applied Catholic moral reasoning that rarely gets public attention. Most people only encounter just war theory as a yes-or-no question about whether to go to war. This conversation pushes further — into the territory of *jus post bellum*, the morality of how a conflict is concluded. Worth following. **The SPLC Was Just Indicted for Fraud — and the Story Is Complicated** The Southern Poverty Law Center was indicted on federal fraud charges in April, with the Justice Department alleging it secretly funneled more than $3 million in donor funds to paid informants inside the Ku Klux Klan and other extremist groups — without disclosing this to donors. The case has split people predictably along political lines, but the underneath question is genuinely interesting: SPLC attorneys have argued that their informant program shared intelligence with the FBI and helped put violent extremists in prison, while prosecutors claim that some informants continued engaging in extremist activity while being paid by the SPLC. For Catholics — especially those who have been labeled by the SPLC as a “hate group” for holding orthodox positions on marriage and sexuality — this story carries a particular weight. Whether the indictment is a legitimate prosecution or political targeting is worth watching closely as the case develops [Subscribe](#/portal/signup) ### St. Jerome is a Protestant's Worst Ally - The Fathers Know Best URL: https://theforge.fm/st-jerome-is-a-protestants-worst/ Last updated: 2026-06-25T21:00:47.000Z Protestants always appeal to Jerome as a kind of patristic ally against the Catholic Church. Here's why that's a big mistake! _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Political Conservatives and Costume Christianity URL: https://theforge.fm/political-conservatives-and-costume-christianity/ Last updated: 2026-06-30T16:21:48.000Z When Christianity becomes a brand accessory for the powerful, everyone notices—except them. Something has been bothering me lately. Not the usual complaints about politics and religion mixing; that's an old argument, and not always a wrong one. What's bothering me is something more specific: the growing number of people in public life who wear Christianity like a lanyard. It's visible. It signals something. But you get the sense they never think about it after they leave the building. There’s a difference between wearing a cross and carrying one. One is an accessory. The other is a way of life. And lately, that distinction has been getting harder to miss. On Easter Sunday, President Trump posted an expletive-laden threat against Iran on Truth Social, warning the country would be “living in Hell” if they didn’t open the Strait of Hormuz, and signing off with “Praise be to Allah.” Easter Sunday. That same night, he posted an AI-generated image appearing to show himself as Jesus Christ, laying his hand on a man who appeared sick or dying, light emanating from his palm. He later took it down and claimed he thought it was showing him as a doctor. Nobody bought that. And then Secretary of War Pete Hegseth at a Pentagon prayer service, read what he framed as a prayer inspired by Ezekiel 25:17—except the text was almost entirely lifted from Quentin Tarantino’s *Pulp Fiction*. Granted, it seemed to have originated with an Air Force team who rescued American troop from Iran and Hegseth was merely incorporating it into the prayer service. But it’s still Christian-flexing without actual Christian identity. 0:00 /0:18 1× The actual Ezekiel 25:17, for the record, is one sentence long. Everything else in that famous monologue was invented for the movie. Hegseth read it at a worship service. Solemnly. And asked everyone to pray along. These aren’t minor slip-ups. They’re revealing. When you don’t read the Bible, you don’t know what’s in it. When Easter Sunday is just another morning on Truth Social, the Resurrection isn’t shaping how you move through the world, how you think, how you speak or *withhold* speech. It just becomes a holiday on the calendar, with Christian connotations. Now, I’m not here to judge anybody. We’re all works in progress, God knows. I’ve said dumb things. I’ve made bad calls. The Church herself teaches that we meet people where they are, and that’s right. None of us gets to declare who’s in or out with God. But there’s a difference between being flawed and being performative. A flawed Christian stumbles and knows it. A performative one puts on the costume when the cameras are on. Franklin Graham called Trump “the most pro-Christian president ever” and defended the Jesus image as “a lot to do about nothing,” insisting there were “no spiritual references — no halo, no crosses, no angels.” Are we really supposed to believe this is Trump as a DOCTOR? ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c9/60/c9608dd3-28d8-420a-a6aa-9277a7eb54ad/content/images/2026/06/f09061e2-b458-40fd-b5e3-5291042e4661_747x1067-heic.jpg) Even if the prompt to the AI wasn’t “Make me look like Jesus” surly somebody (Trump or whoever manages his social posts) had to see this image looked like Jesus, and they posted it anyway. Hegseth himself said at the service that what happens in worship should “inform the remainder of our day” and “who we are and how we conduct ourselves, no matter what we are doing.” He’s right, and that’s a great message. And that’s precisely the standard by which all of this falls short. Don’t “Christian-it-up” if it’s about the optics and not the substance. I like that the Christian faith has made an appearance in the culture at these upper levels, but if you’re going to bring it there, don’t put on a show, make it real. Have someone else do the prayer service. Post something *real* about your faith life on Truth Social. Synthetic Christianity has no place anywhere. We can accept people as they are. We should. But if you’re going to invoke the Lord — at a prayer service, in an Easter post, in an AI image on a Sunday night — you’re making a claim. And claims can be examined. The question isn’t whether someone is a real Christian in their heart. The question is whether the Christianity being performed publicly has any relationship to what Christianity actually is. If it doesn’t, that insults the Lord. It insults the faithful. And it insults the intelligence of everyone watching. You don’t have to be a saint to lead. But don’t put on the costume and call it a conversion. [Subscribe](#/portal/signup) ### Bend the Knee or Close: New York vs. the Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne URL: https://theforge.fm/bend-the-knee-or-close-new-york-vs/ Last updated: 2026-06-28T02:48:25.000Z The dying poor have almost no one. The Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne have spent more than a century that someone, taking in cancer patients who are broke, uninsured, and out of options, accompanying them to their final reward without issuing an invoice. Now the state of New York wants to tell them how to run their facility. The state is demanding they assign patient rooms by gender identity, use patients’ preferred pronouns, and submit staff to mandatory ideological training — comply or lose the license that keeps Rosary Hill Home open. The Sisters are pushing back. They recently filed a federal lawsuit against Governor Kathy Hochul after receiving several warning letters from the New York State Department of Health. Refusing to violate or even pretend to violate Catholic teaching on the nature and dignity of the human person, the Dominican Sisters are taking their stand in federal court. Here’s the detail that should stop you cold: the state’s own records show zero complaints against Rosary Hill Home. Not one. To their knowledge, the sisters have never even had a transgender patient. So no harm being remedied here yet the state is using a law—passed with almost no debate—to pressure a Catholic institution into affirming a worldview directly contrary to the Catholic faith. That’s really what this comes down to. It isn’t about accommodation or inclusion, it’s about the state demanding that the nuns bend the knee—to formally affirm, in policy and in speech, a view of the human person that contradicts Catholic teaching. And it’s doing so in a facility where the situation the law is supposedly designed to address has never once actually occurred. Catholics should recognize that this isn’t only compelled speech, **it’s something closer to compelled endorsement**. The state isn’t merely forcing these Sisters to mouth words they don’t believe. It’s conscripting a Catholic institution into the service of an ideology, so that the ideology can point to that institution and say: even they agree. Whether Albany intends that effect or not—and I believe that it does!—the result is the same. The Catholic Church’s moral authority gets leveraged to validate a claim the Catholic Church rejects. That’s not accommodation. That’s appropriation. #### Consider checking out The Forge’s “little brother”, [Firebranded.fm](https://firebranded.fm/?ref=theforge.fm) [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c9/60/c9608dd3-28d8-420a-a6aa-9277a7eb54ad/content/images/2026/06/f3214bef-3f3f-456d-ab4c-57a03ca78120_2266x354-heic.jpg)](https://firebranded.fm/?ref=theforge.fm) The Sisters are not asking for the right to mistreat people. What they are refusing is the demand that they reorganize the care of the dying around a secular ideological framework and formally declare their agreement with it. This is clear coercion. And these sisters are having none of it. The Sisters know what it means to serve God rather than seek the approval of those who would compel them to do otherwise. St. Peter writes: “For it is God's will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people.'“ St. Paul is even more direct: 'Am I trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.' That is the ground the Dominican Sisters are standing on. Pray for these Sisters. And take a lesson from them — because the pressure they are facing in federal court is the same pressure the rest of us are feeling in our workplaces, our schools, and our parishes, in quieter but no less real ways. They are not bending the knee. Neither should we. Only at the name of Jesus should every knee bend. God be with you all. ### It's a Mad, Mad World—and it's all mad at me! URL: https://theforge.fm/its-a-mad-mad-worldand-its-all-mad/ Last updated: 2026-07-04T00:04:22.000Z "Hearing these things they were enraged… crying out with a loud voice, they covered their ears and rushed upon him." — Acts 7:54, 57 _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Is the Iran War a Just War? - the Catholic Perspective URL: https://theforge.fm/is-the-iran-war-a-just-war-catholic-perspective/ Last updated: 2026-06-30T16:17:04.000Z Archbishop Timothy Broglio, former president of the USCCB, said this week on CBS News’ *Face the Nation* that it was hard to see how the ongoing U.S.-Iran war could be justified under just war theory. He acknowledged that military intelligence may hold information the public doesn’t have access to—but that even accounting for that, it was hard to see how the war could be justified. During that interview, just war theory was brought up—specifically in reference to Augustine. And this is where I think a lot of commentary, not just in secular media but even in Catholic spaces, starts to go off the rails. The theory gets invoked, but not really applied. It’s used rhetorically rather than theologically. That’s a major fail for me. Because just war theory isn’t a slogan that you cite to validate a position you already hold. It’s a framework that requires careful reasoning, full context, and intellectual discipline. And in this case, most of what I’m seeing falls short of that. ### Just War Theory Applied #### Diplomacy, and War as a Last Resort Just war theory requires that war be a last resort. Commentators and those interviewed by news outlets say, “We need diplomacy!” But isn’t almost 50 years of diplomacy enough? It could be argued that we’ve been trying diplomacy for decades, and most clearly across the last three presidential administrations. It hasn’t resulted in improved relations with Iran, or a more tranquil, peace-loving Iran. Iran has only grown bolder, more influential, and more flagrant in its pursuit of building a nuclear weapon, and building an arsenal meant to end life, not defend it. It has also increased—by a wide margin—its influence and material support for proxy terror networks like Hezbollah. ***Continues below*** ## Sign up for The Forge Catholic Commentary at the Point of Impact Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. I agree that we always need diplomacy, but when do we acknowledge that diplomacy has only amounted to placating a hostile regime, and allowed it to buy time to develop its arsenal and to increase its malignant influence in the region? I don’t know that we reached the end of the line for diplomacy. Maybe we haven’t. But the facts demand that we at least consider that possibility. War *should* be a last resort. But maybe that’s exactly what this war is—a last resort after decades of diplomacy have ultimately failed. --- ### Right Intention Even if diplomacy has reached its fail point, how exactly do we determine that? By an act of aggression from Iran? A refusal to come to the table? What was it that led to the U.S. and Israel to bring diplomacy to an end, and launch airstrikes on Iran now rather than later (or ever)? What did American and Israeli intelligence know about Iran’s war posture that we aren’t being told? Was Iran preparing to strike? Was something more going on? It’s possible there was intel that we aren’t hearing, in the interests of national security, to protect foreign intel assets, including those deeply embedded in the regime and its framework. It could be that there were credible threats of hostility made by the regime, or admissions of their nuclear capabilities that we’d previously underestimated. And yet it could also have been nothing new at all. The point is, the case has not been made in any way that satisfies me. But on the flip side, I believe there is also no case to be made that Iran did not already pose a real and active threat that needed to be addressed militarily. They’ve been leveraging their power and influence in the region for decades, and the only nation on earth that denies that is Iran. --- ### Preemptive Attack Just war theory places serious limits on preemptive strikes. But that principle gets harder to apply when you’re dealing with a regime that has been waging proxy warfare against its neighbors and American interests for nearly half a century. At what point does waiting become its own moral failure? Should we wait until Iran directly, or through its proxies, have killed another 100,000 people before we can justly deal with Iran militarily? Should we wait for missiles to fall on Europe, not just the Gulf states? Do we have to wait for Iran to launch a nuclear strike before we say, “We can now justly wage war against Iran”? I’m not claiming the war is justified, or that it isn’t. I’m personally on the fence because I don’t have enough information. And I’d argue most people don’t, based on what’s been made public. We hear a lot of emotional opinions, but few rational ones. We hear a lot of “Just war theory!” but few actually apply it. Whatever your opinion of the war in Iran is, I respect it, because I think there are rational arguments to be made from both sides. I would only encourage you to remain diligent in resting your argument firmly in facts and reason, and not emotion. Continue to “think clean,” as I say, because discerning truth is a discipline to build, and one that can be lost. Stay diligent, and stay strong. God be with you all. ## You Might Like This This is an experimental news brief which sparked this story ### Moment of Truth: 'Dangerous' is Scandalous? URL: https://theforge.fm/moment-of-truth-dangerous-is-scandalous/ Last updated: 2026-06-26T11:00:05.000Z ![audio-thumbnail](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c9/60/c9608dd3-28d8-420a-a6aa-9277a7eb54ad/content/media/2026/06/The-Forge----Moment-of-Truth_--Dangerous--is-Scandalous-_thumb.jpeg) The Forge Moment of Truth Dangerous is Scandalous 0:00 /245.7861224489796 1× ## The Transcript Recently, the message *“Catholics are dangerous”* has stirred controversy in various corners of the internet. Some comments and direct messages have accused me of being proud… even boastful. One person went so far as to insist that it isn’t the faithful who are dangerous — it’s the world that is dangerous. But what’s behind that response? It reflects a spirit of defeatism and fear — a victim mentality that has become characteristic of our age, and one that has even made its way into the Catholic community. We are living in a time when people are so culturally separated from Jesus Christ that they have also become separated from the reality of the victory He has already won for us by His Cross. Being dangerous does not mean being hostile. It means opposing the world, the flesh, and the devil in the name of Jesus Christ. God is a winner. Jesus Christ is the Father’s champion. And those who align themselves with Him in faith and in truth not only have nothing to fear in this world — the fallen world has reason to fear the witness of faithful Catholics. Why do you think churches are vandalized? Why do you think some countries attempt to restrict the expression of religion? Do you think those efforts are directed equally at every religion? Do you really think vague spirituality provokes this kind of resistance? No. Again and again, social and legal pressure eventually focuses itself most directly on the Catholic Church — because Catholicism, when lived seriously, refuses to conform itself to the spirit of the age. Catholics are dangerous to a fallen world precisely because we belong to Jesus Christ. Our Lord came into the world as light in the darkness, and He was rejected because many prefer darkness. As Saint Paul says in Philippians, we are meant to live in the midst of a crooked generation, shining like stars in the dark sky. That is not the description of a timid people. It is time to get over this victim mentality. It is holding too many Catholics back from courage, and it is holding too many Catholics back from excellence in holiness. If we are with Christ, who can be against us? To take Christianity seriously is to accept that we will sometimes stand in opposition to a fallen world. Jesus Christ Himself was dangerous — dangerous enough that people insisted He should die. If Christ was dangerous to darkness, and if we are called to become like Him, then we should not be surprised that faithful Catholics will also be considered dangerous. Not violent. Not hateful. But so clearly aligned with truth, and reflecting the light of Christ so distinctly, that we stand in visible opposition to a fallen world that still chooses Barabbas, and still chooses to do the work of its father the devil. Stay dangerous, Catholics. God wills it. ### The Forge Ep. 3 URL: https://theforge.fm/the-forge-ep-3/ Last updated: 2026-06-26T11:03:05.000Z ![audio-thumbnail](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c9/60/c9608dd3-28d8-420a-a6aa-9277a7eb54ad/content/media/2026/06/The-Forge----The-Forge-Ep.-3_thumb.jpg) The Forge The Forge Ep 3 0:00 /900.7020408163265 1× Faith is what we believe. Fidelity is our allegiance to it. What we do about “Fidelity” is really what defines us. In this episode of The Forge I take you through four of the most recent articles and podcasts that apply that understanding. Also, some news to share, which I omitted from this podcast. The Fire Branded podcast is still the flagship podcast at The Forge but I have built its own “world” over at firebranded.fm. The new site also has hard-hitting commentary articles, but will focus on the podcast, and podcast related features, while The Forge will stay more focused on written editorial, as it has always done. This will provide more flexibility for me as the commentator, and an enhanced and cleaner overall experience for both readers and podcast fans. If you enjoy my podcast, subscribe to the new site for free so that you stay in the loop of what I publish there. [Check Out FireBranded.fm](https://firebranded.fm/?ref=theforge.fm) --- # LINKS **These are the pieces covered in the podcast.** [The Remnant isn't Who You Think it IsThe concept of the remnant is a central theme in both Scripture and some Marian apparitions. It refers to the faithful few who remain true to God in times of trial, not because they are perfect saints but because they endure in truth (Which is what Jesus means when he calls us to “Be perfect as the Father in Heaven is perfect”). This faithful group is o…![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c9/60/c9608dd3-28d8-420a-a6aa-9277a7eb54ad/content/images/2026/06/b7ec1ce1-0951-48d3-aa33-f536ce41dafe_296x296-36.png)The Forge T.J. Haines![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c9/60/c9608dd3-28d8-420a-a6aa-9277a7eb54ad/content/images/2026/06/d162b098-aa91-4c05-acaa-33ad0ddedb7d_1024x576-heic.jpg)](https://www.theforge.fm/p/the-remnant-isnt-who-you-think-it?ref=theforge.fm) --- #### Podcast [Trads and Libs - Who Wins this Grudge MatchCatholic conversation today is often driven by reaction. A headline appears, a claim circulates, a debate ignites — and before long, the focus shifts from living the faith to performing the faith. The danger is subtle but real: when Catholic identity becomes aesthetic, rhetorical, or factional, the interior work of holiness quietly gives way to signaling seriousness.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c9/60/c9608dd3-28d8-420a-a6aa-9277a7eb54ad/content/images/2026/06/b7ec1ce1-0951-48d3-aa33-f536ce41dafe_296x296-37.png)The Forge T.J. Haines![](https://substack-video.s3.amazonaws.com/video_upload/post/191943661/24c2585e-6546-4d3f-9048-4913264ffa3e/transcoded-1774358291.png)](https://www.theforge.fm/p/trads-and-libs-who-wins-this-grudge?ref=theforge.fm) #### Article sparked by the latest podcast [Branding a Pope an Idolater Needs More 'Evidence' than a PhotographA picture doesn't always speak a thousand words. Sometimes it's mute. A Serious Charge Against Pope Leo (Then Fr. Prevost) Requires Better Proof than a Fuzzy Picture![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c9/60/c9608dd3-28d8-420a-a6aa-9277a7eb54ad/content/images/2026/06/b7ec1ce1-0951-48d3-aa33-f536ce41dafe_296x296-38.png)The Forge T.J. Haines![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c9/60/c9608dd3-28d8-420a-a6aa-9277a7eb54ad/content/images/2026/06/15f84905-cf93-4c18-9556-4c7350dc1dbc_1300x731-heic.jpg)](https://www.theforge.fm/p/branding-a-pope-an-idolater-needs?ref=theforge.fm) --- #### Commentary [Coexistence With Islam Depends on What Islam MeansThe Holy Father has asked for increasing Christian-Muslim dialogue. In the past he has also said that 'Christians and muslims can live together and be friends". Well that's true. But "Muslims" aren't the problem. Historically Islam is—fundamentalist Islam especially.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c9/60/c9608dd3-28d8-420a-a6aa-9277a7eb54ad/content/images/2026/06/b7ec1ce1-0951-48d3-aa33-f536ce41dafe_296x296-39.png)The Forge T.J. Haines![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c9/60/c9608dd3-28d8-420a-a6aa-9277a7eb54ad/content/images/2026/06/fcc61ee9-52ff-4a2d-ab6c-5c50fa7cfa62_1200x900-jpeg.jpg)](https://www.theforge.fm/p/coexistence-with-islam-depends-on?ref=theforge.fm) ### Coexistence With Islam Depends on What Islam Means URL: https://theforge.fm/coexistence-with-islam-depends-on/ Last updated: 2026-07-04T00:07:41.000Z Responding to the Holy Father Pope Leo's call for "peaceful coexistence" with Islam, I ask a question no one else is asking "Which 'Islam'?" _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Why Women Can't be Priests URL: https://theforge.fm/why-women-cant-be-priests/ Last updated: 2026-06-29T15:25:08.000Z This topic is often controversial, for both sides of the Theological and socio-political aisle. Why can’t women be priests? Is it because they’re inferior, or just because they’re different? And if it’s a matter of difference (or differentiation), then why? We don’t have most of those answers. The priesthood throughout the bible has always been reserved to men—first, the father/husband of a household, later only men of the tribe of Levi, then ultimately Jesus Christ, the eternal High Priest whose priesthood the Apostles and their successors share in (modern-day priests and bishops) So why only men? Again, we don’t have all fo those answers. We know that this is how God ordered it, and we know that this is how Jesus set the Church into place. We may have theories and hypothesis as to *why* this is, but what I want to cover for you today is simnply the theological argument, rooted in scripture and Sacred Tradition. The Catholic Church teaches that the priesthood is reserved to men, not out of inequality, but out of fidelity to Christ’s actions and the pattern set by the apostles. The paradigm isn’t rooted in a single Bible verse but come from a consistent biblical and theological vision. Here’s a breakdown of the key scriptural arguments often cited in defense of an all-male priesthood. [JOIN THE FORGE TODAY](#/portal/signup/free) ### Jesus Chose Only Men as Apostles Despite the presence of faithful and active female disciples—The Blessed Mother, Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Susanna, and “other Marys”—Jesus chose twelve men as apostles. Even His own mother and the most honored of all human beings, was not given this office. The priesthood in Catholic theology is rooted in the apostolic office, not just an association of a bunch of servants and disciples. Christ’s deliberate choice of men is viewed not as cultural concession, but as part of His divine plan for the Church. **Scripture Passages** Luke 6:12–16 Jesus names the Twelve apostles. Matthew 10:1–4, Mark 3:13–19, Acts 1:13 ### The Apostles Ordained Only Men The apostolic Church, guided by the Holy Spirit, consistently appointed men to leadership roles like bishop and presbyter (priest). This wasn’t just tradition—it was part of how early Christians understood the structure and continuity of the Church. Clearly the Apostles received this instruction from Jesus, in some way. They wouldn’t have simply chosen men out of cultural pressure, since they were the most counter-cultural people on the planet at the time. **Scripture Passages:** Acts 1:21–26 Matthias replaces Judas among the apostles; only male candidates are considered. 1 Timothy 3:1–12 Paul outlines qualifications for bishops and deacons: “the husband of one wife.” ### Headship and the Order of Creation Things get a little denser as we go to St. Paul. Paul’s instructions are often dismissed as cultural, but he explicitly grounds his teaching in **creation**, not societal norms. I enjoy this approach very much because in my own catechesis and theology I frequently appeal to God’s ordering of things before the fall of Adam and Eve, which is the most fundamental basis for just about any theology. St. Paul emphasizes complementarity rather than competition between the sexes. Men and women each possess gifts and capabilities—inherent to the dignity of their genders—that the other does not have. Leadership in the Church is not about power, but about representing Christ’s sacrificial headship. The male priesthood is part of this sacramental sign. **Scripture Passages:** 1 Corinthians 11:2–16 Paul discusses spiritual headship and references the creation of Adam and Eve. 1 Timothy 2:12–14 “I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man…” (Note: I don’t think this means OVER males, but ‘instead of male ministers’) ### The Priest as an Icon of Christ In the liturgy, the priest stands *in persona Christi*—“in the person of Christ.” Because Christ is the Bridegroom of the Church, the priest, in representing Him, participates in that nuptial imagery. This is not simply symbolic—it’s theological…it’s *real*. So to ask “Why can only men be priests” is like asking “Why is Jesus a man, why didn’t he come as a woman?” That’s ultimately a mystery, but the male priesthood proceeds from the Truths of that mystery, which will reveal itself when we get to Heaven. The Church teaches that sacraments must use appropriate signs. A male priest sacramentally represents the male Christ; changing this would distort the sign. **Scriptures Passages**: Romans 8:29 We are to be conformed to Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:20 Priests act as “ambassadors for Christ.” The Church has no authority to change this structure. Popes have said this time and again. It isn’t about power, about culture, about a “changing world” or about competition, it’s about keeping with Apostolic tradition, rooted in what Christ explicitly established and rooted in the scriptures. Women certainly play a valuable role in Church, but not as ordained ministers. ## Sign up for The Forge Catholic Commentary at the Point of Impact Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. ### Branding a Pope an Idolater Needs More 'Evidence' than a Photograph URL: https://theforge.fm/branding-a-pope-an-idolater-needs/ Last updated: 2026-07-04T00:07:07.000Z A picture doesn't always speak a thousand words. Sometimes it's mute. A Serious Charge Against Pope Leo (Then Fr. Prevost) Requires Better Proof than a Fuzzy Picture _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Trads and Libs: Who Wins this Grudge Match - FIRE BRANDED URL: https://theforge.fm/trads-and-libs-who-wins-this-grudge/ Last updated: 2026-06-29T12:47:05.000Z **🔊 Get it on** [ YouTube ](https://youtu.be/24XFeEoX7z4?ref=firebranded.fm) or listen on [ Apple Podcasts ](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/trads-and-libs-who-wins-this-grudge-match-for-real/id1848211656?i=1000756890817&ref=firebranded.fm) [ Spotify ](https://open.spotify.com/episode/0vN28GXrKLPbwefxrVJlA3?si=991be6795da4403c&ref=firebranded.fm) and [ FireBranded.fm🔥 FireBranded.fm Others ](https://firebranded.fm/trads-and-libs-who-wins-this-grudge-match-ep-44/?ref=theforge.fm) --- Catholic conversation today is often driven by reaction. A headline appears, a claim circulates, a debate ignites — and before long, the focus shifts from living the faith to performing the faith. The danger is subtle but real: when Catholic identity becomes aesthetic, rhetorical, or factional, the interior work of holiness quietly gives way to signaling seriousness. --- ### ARTICLE ### [Branding a Pope an Idolater ](https://theforge.fm/branding-a-pope-an-idolater-needs/) --- In this episode of *Fire Branded*, TJ Haines examines three current flashpoints circulating through Catholic media: claims that Pope Leo (then Fr. Robert Prevost, an Augustinian missionary priest) once participated in a Pachamama ritual while serving in the Amazon, renewed debate surrounding the Traditional Latin Mass following comments by Bishop Athanasius Schneider, and synodal discussion about involving women in the evaluation of seminarians. Each controversy generates strong reactions. Each provokes lines to be drawn. But none of them reach the heart of the issue. The deeper problem is spiritual. Real Catholicism is not determined by aesthetics, vocabulary, or posture. It is not measured by which liturgy one prefers or how convincingly one signals orthodoxy. Holiness is formed interiorly, through cooperation with grace, and only then expressed outwardly in the life of the believer. External seriousness is not the same thing as sanctity. The Christian life is not about constructing the appearance of fidelity. It is about becoming holy. Start there. Everything else follows. ### The Remnant isn't Who You Think it Is URL: https://theforge.fm/the-remnant-isnt-who-you-think-it/ Last updated: 2026-06-30T16:13:39.000Z The concept of the *remnant* is a central theme in both Scripture and some Marian apparitions. It refers to the faithful few who remain true to God in times of trial, not because they are perfect saints but because they endure in truth (Which is what Jesus means when he calls us to “Be perfect as the Father in Heaven is perfect”). This faithful group is often ordinary Catholics—imperfect, yet striving for holiness in their ordinary daily lives. ### Old Testament In the Bible, the *remnant* is introduced during times of crisis. In the Old Testament, when Israel fell into sin and idolatry, God promised to preserve a faithful remnant. Prophets like Isaiah and Jeremiah spoke of a purified group who would remain loyal to God’s covenant despite widespread apostasy**.** In **Isaiah 10:20-22**, we read, > *“In that day the remnant of Israel, and the survivors of the house of Jacob, will no longer rely on him who struck them down but will truly rely on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel. A remnant will return, a remnant of Jacob will return to the Mighty God. Though your people be like the sand by the sea, Israel, only a remnant will return. Destruction has been decreed, overwhelming and righteous.”* That passage emphasizes that the remnant is defined by sincerity of faith, not outward appearances. The faithful few, despite the apostasy around them, would continue to trust and rely on God alone. ### Before you keep reading, are you subscribed to The Forge? ## Sign up for The Forge Catholic Commentary at the Point of Impact Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. ### New Testament In the New Testament, St. **Paul** speaks of this remnant when he writes, > “At the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace” > > \-Romans 11:5 The remnant is not about human merit—because they we’d all be in trouble—but about God’s grace and the perseverance of those who remain faithful to Christ’s teachings. Then in Revelation, the faithful remnant is depicted as those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. ### “The *remnant* is not the elite or those who appear most devout” ### Marian Apparitions Marian apparitions reflect the same idea. While the word *remnant* isn’t explicitly used, The Holy Virgin’s messages often highlight the perseverance of the faithful few. At Fatima, La Salette, and Kibeho, Mary calls for prayer, penance, and conversion—urging a small but faithful group to remain steadfast in holiness, despite the chaos of the world. Her messages emphasize humility and sincerity, aligning with the biblical concept of the remnant. The *remnant* is not the elite or those who appear most devout on the surface. It’s the ordinary Catholic—the one who continues to strive for goodness and holiness, even amidst personal, the lures of a worldly life, and who strive for the substance of holiness, not merely the form or appearance of it. In today’s culture, being part of the *remnant* is already a heavy lift. The world pulls us in so many directions, and Catholics/Christians get pulled and tugged alongside nonbelievers—we are not immune, our temptations are just different. Yet God is pleased by those who persevere in Truth, not by outward appearances. Are you persevering in Truth? Are you trying hard? That makes you a hero in our time, even if you don’t “feel it”. If the *remnant* is real—and I believe it is—it’s made up of those who, in their ordinariness, strive for holiness and remain loyal to Christ, especially when it’s difficult. And that, above all, pleases God. ### Is Gen Z Really Returning to Church? What the Data Actually Shows URL: https://theforge.fm/is-gen-z-really-returning-to-church/ Last updated: 2026-06-30T01:50:39.000Z The headlines say revival. The data says something else—but something more significant _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### 'Catholic Crybaby' Has to Stop URL: https://theforge.fm/catholic-crybaby-has-to-stop/ Last updated: 2026-06-30T01:49:02.000Z If Catholics don't toughen up, we're inviting our own defeat—temporally and spiritually. These are my personal thoughts following this social media truth bomb. _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### When Catholicism Becomes a Political Party URL: https://theforge.fm/when-catholicism-becomes-a-political/ Last updated: 2026-06-30T01:46:10.000Z VoiceOver 0:00 /360.9861224489796 1× There’s a habit that has crept into Catholic life. If you aren’t seeing it, you aren’t looking or paying attention. And once you see it, you won’t be able to unsee it. Catholics treat the Church like a political party. The pattern is obvious and it shows itself throughout Catholic life. Catholics come in with a political framework already in place, and then they start filtering, selecting, and prioritizing Church teaching based on what already fits their political framework. We’ve been doing it with “Jesus” for decades. Whatever we find in the Bible that doesn’t accord with our errant preconception of Jesus, we overlook, toss away, ignore, or explain it away with a statement like “I’m sure he didn’t mean it that way.” But whatever fits what we think we know about Jesus, that’s what we focus on, and even magnify beyond even the parameters of the scripture itself. Now we do it with the Catholic Faith. It’s the exact same paradigm of reconfiguration and distortion. Teachings that align with our instincts get emphasized, while teachings that challenge or indict us get tossed away. Teachings that don’t “make sense” to us or that we don’t agree with get downplayed, reinterpreted, or ignored ### The “Left, Right…” Cadence It’s not confined to one side. On the right, Catholicism often gets wrapped up in conservative instincts—order, authority, tradition, moral clarity. Those things aren’t intrinsically bad—in fact they’re very good. But they require a center of gravity. That center of gravity is supposed to be God, Divine Revelation, the teaching of the Church. But instead the center of gravity becomes the secular world, and the temporal order. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c9/60/c9608dd3-28d8-420a-a6aa-9277a7eb54ad/content/images/2026/06/e1ca5644-384c-40d6-a6dc-7785bec4b38d_800x324-heic.jpg) TruthBomb by Fulton Sheen 👇 The same thing happens on the left, just with different priorities. Now the lens becomes inclusion, autonomy, and social reform. Again, not intrinsically bad things, but they become agents of destruction when they lose the correct center of gravity. ### Tired ‘Old’ Church? So between the Left and the Right, the mechanics are identical. Catholicism becomes something to manage rather than something to submit to. The Holy Faith becomes second-place to every other philosophy and ideology. The Church becomes our aging grandmother whose ways (and mind) are old and worn, rather than our Holy mother who, while ancient, is ever new. I often say that people think of God as a tired old man in a rocking chair, who left the family business of Earth/Man to his more casual, hip, laid back Son. False! And now we see the Church the same way—old, tired, worn, and believing “we know better” What we need is a reversal of all of this. There is a Truth in every error, and a Good in every evil. Error is a Truth, disfigured. Evil is a Good flipped upside down. So instead of encouraging the faithful to *stop what they’re doing* I think the best approach is to redirect the paradigm toward Truth. ### A True ‘Catholic’ Political Party Catholicism actually *should* function more like a political party than it currently does—but not in the way we’ve been doing it. Political parties demand loyalty. They shape identity. They don’t sit on the sidelines as one influence among many—they tell you how to interpret the world and how to act within it. People don’t filter their party through a higher authority. They align themselves to it. That’s how we should view Catholicism. That instinct—misplaced as it often is in politics—is closer to how Catholics should approach the Faith. ### *“We must not fashion the truth according to our inclinations, but must conform our inclinations to the truth.”* *— St. Francis de Sales* The Faith should always be our center of gravity. It should shape how we think, inform our personal philosophies and ideas, and guide how we live our lives, and the choices we make. Our political views and ideals should come from our Catholic convictions, not run alongside them, and certainly not override them. The problem isn’t that Catholics are too committed. It’s that they’re committed in the wrong direction. We’ve let political identity take the lead, and then tried to fit Catholicism inside it. My friends, Catholicism has no competition! It teaches what God teaches, and nothing can compete with God. So be Catholic first. Everything else after. Because if politics can overrule our faith, then it’s politics that defines us. When we meet Jesus at judgement will he see a saint, or will be see a political pundit? What do you want him to see? ## Sign up for The Forge Catholic Commentary at the Point of Impact Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. ### The FIRE of St. Patrick URL: https://theforge.fm/the-fire-of-st-patrick/ Last updated: 2026-06-30T01:42:49.000Z The story of St. Patrick defying the pagan king teaches us how we should live in our 'pagan' world _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Distrust of the Church and the Malady of Suspicion URL: https://theforge.fm/distrust-of-the-church-and-the-malady/ Last updated: 2026-07-04T00:09:15.000Z The origins and causes of Catholics' distrust of the Church; and the real story behind it 🔉 Voiceover included _This post is for subscribers only._ ### The Real Problem Isn’t Vatican II. It’s Us - Moment of Truth URL: https://theforge.fm/the-real-problem-isnt-vatican-ii/ Last updated: 2026-06-26T15:11:31.000Z ## TRANSCRIPT Over the past several weeks on the podcast I’ve been talking quite a bit about the Second Vatican Council. As you might expect, that has brought a lot of commentary out of the woodwork. Some of it thoughtful. A lot of it… not. I’ve seen many commenters repeating things about Vatican II that simply aren’t true about the Council itself. Just as often, failures in the Church that appeared in the decades after the Council are casually attributed to Vatican II as if the Council itself caused them. The most common example is the claim that Vatican II is largely responsible for the decline we’ve seen in Mass attendance, Catholic schools, and seminaries. To be fair, I understand why some people make that connection. The Council closed in 1965, and the decades that followed did see sharp declines in many of those areas. In some places the implementation of the Council was chaotic, and certain people clearly used the language of Vatican II as justification for experimentation that the Council itself never called for. It is reasonable to say that some things done in the name of Vatican II contributed to confusion in the life of the Church. But that’s not the whole story—and it certainly isn’t the deepest one. If we want to talk honestly about much of the sickness we see in the Catholic Church today, we need to look somewhere else. It isn’t secularism. It isn’t Protestantism. And it isn’t a so-called “Protestantized Mass.” It’s Catholics. More specifically, it’s poor Catholic attitudes—Catholics who brought secular mentalities and expectations into the Church and into the Catholic experience. --- **RELATED**: [3 Big Lies About Vatican II (And Why They’re Wrong)Vatican II is one of the most misunderstood events in Catholic history.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c9/60/c9608dd3-28d8-420a-a6aa-9277a7eb54ad/content/images/2026/06/b7ec1ce1-0951-48d3-aa33-f536ce41dafe_296x296-41.png)The Forge T.J. Haines![](https://substack-video.s3.amazonaws.com/video_upload/post/190428097/1bbb71ef-0563-4dc0-9b3d-f9a5b539dad1/transcoded-1773085145.png)](https://www.theforge.fm/p/3-big-lies-about-vatican-ii-and-why?ref=theforge.fm) --- In many places, Catholics took the work of the Second Vatican Council and treated it as license to make the Church reflect the moral indifferentism of the modern world. Instead of allowing the Council to renew the Church according to her own tradition, some people treated it as permission to remake the Church in the image of modern culture. That attitude is why we lost a sense of sin. It’s why we lost a sense of the sacred. It’s why, in some places, the Sacred Liturgy stopped looking like the worship of God and started looking like a performance stage. It’s the reason iconography, statuary, and stained glass windows in many churches suddenly began looking like comic-book art instead of sacred imagery meant to lift the mind toward heaven. Sanctuaries were stripped bare, and churches began to resemble lecture halls or community centers rather than houses set apart for the worship of God. I wish I could say those days are behind us. But I’d be lying if I said that. The Church is still suffering from a crisis of poor Catholic attitudes disfiguring Catholic culture. We still have Catholics bringing secular mindsets into the Church—Catholics who view the faith, or the Church itself, through a political prism. Worse still, many of us subordinate our Catholic identity to our political identity. We become more Republican or Democrat than we are Catholic or Christian. Some Catholics even attempt to reshape the Church the way people try to reform a political party—pressuring, manipulating, leveraging donations, spreading rhetoric, slander, and misinformation. We repeat things about the Church or the Magisterium that simply aren’t true. And when the Church refuses to bend to our expectations, we defy—and defy again. If I told you liberals are doing that, conservatives reading this would nod their heads. If I told you conservatives do it all the time, the liberals among you would start nodding. Because the truth is that both sides do it. If we call ourselves Catholic, that identity has to show itself not just in our words, but in our lives and in our attitudes. Humility matters. Docility matters. The Church is not something we reshape according to our preferences. The Church is something we submit ourselves to so that Christ can reshape us. It was bad Catholic attitudes that deformed the culture of Catholicism from within—Catholics who brought secular attitudes into the Church and used the language of the Council as cover for it. And now we’re seeing an equally errant Catholic attitude doing damage in the other direction. Instead of importing the secular liberalism of the 1970s into the Church, some Catholics today are importing culture-war tribalism, partisan politics, and ideological nationalism into the Church. Different direction. Same mistake. Once again, the faith risks being bent to fit an ideology instead of the ideology being judged by the faith. And when that happens, the Church stops forming Catholics—and Catholics start trying to reform the Church according to their own preferences, their own politics, and their own expectations. When will we see the damage that we’re doing to the Church we claim to so love, my friends? That time could be right now. But the choice is yours. [Subscribe](#/portal/signup) ### When 'Church' Bells Stop Ringing URL: https://theforge.fm/when-church-bells-stop-ringing/ Last updated: 2026-06-26T15:15:32.000Z ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c9/60/c9608dd3-28d8-420a-a6aa-9277a7eb54ad/content/images/2026/06/8d71aac7-9ce4-45a4-9860-82899bf4bd0c_720x480-jpeg-1-1.jpg) News out of Normandy feels like the tolling of a bell across the whole West. After nearly nine centuries, the Trappists of Our Lady of La Trappe are considering leaving their historic abbey because of too few vocations and the growing burden of maintaining the property. Bishop Robert Barron called it a sign of “an ideological secularism that is rotting the soul of the West,” As hard as that may be for all of us to admit (or to hear) it’s difficult to say he’s wrong. What we’re seeing today is more of a system of problems than a difficulty in finding the best apples to pick from the tree. A monastery doesn’t die in a day. Neither do schools close, or seminaries empty inside of a generation. Long before any of that happens, something deeper has already been thinning out in the culture around it. Vocations do not disappear merely because a few young men fail to hear—or respond to—God’s call. They disappear because generation after generation has been formed in a world where God is treated as an accessory rather than the axis of life and “being”. Religion becomes like furniture in the house: still there, but movable, secondary, easy to neglect and easy to replace. That’s where the crisis is. Most young men and women who would ordinarily consider a call to a vocation have been raised in a moral and spiritual atmosphere shaped less by the Church or Catholic culture, and more by the habits and culture of secular life. For them, Sunday Mass is negotiable. Prayer is occasional. Penance feels foreign or archaic and unnecessary. Fasting is a burden almost too strange to contemplate. The Faith remains present enough to be recognized, but not forceful enough to take hold, or to command our intrigue. Under those conditions, religious life doesn’t simply look difficult. It looks unintelligible. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c9/60/c9608dd3-28d8-420a-a6aa-9277a7eb54ad/content/images/2026/06/3ffc398b-ca17-4ddb-a1d4-c85953440b62_1748x1240-jpeg.jpg) A vocation is not sustained by one’s personality alone, but by a whole pattern of life. The cloister, the seminary, the convent, the abbey—they don’t just require good intentions, they require souls/persons conditioned to understand sacrifice as normal, silence as fruitful, obedience as liberating, and worship as the center around which everything else turns. We can’t form men and women in their vocations if we aren’t first conditioning them to respond to the call. So yes, ideological secularism is part of the story. But secularism is not only an idea floating in the air. It becomes habit. It settles into family routines, school priorities, weekend schedules, expectations, appetites, and reflexes. It trains people to ignore God. That may be even more deadly. Another danger in all this: panic-driven liquidation. When the Church passes through a season of weakness, there is always the temptation to sell, consolidate, abandon, and offload what previous generations built at great sacrifice. Sometimes prudence requires hard decisions. Not every building can be saved at any cost. But we should be very slow to surrender the material inheritance of the Church as though the future will simply never need it again. It costs a lot of money to open or re-open a school, or to build a new building. The likelihood of a diocese or religious order making that investment later is slim, while the temptation to close a school and sell the building for money that will possibly just be squandered in the end is great. History doesn’t move in straight lines. Civilizations and cultures cool and then flare again. The Church declines in one age and rises in another. None of this is news. The monasteries, schools, seminaries, convents, and churches we are tempted to treat as relics may yet prove to be the foundations of a renewal not far off. **Follow me on** [**X**](https://x.com/realtjhaines?ref=theforge.fm) | [**Instagram**](https://instagram.com/realtjhaines?ref=theforge.fm) | [**TikTok**](https://tiktok.com/@realtjhaines/?ref=theforge.fm) | [**FB**](https://facebook.com/realtjhaines) | [**YouTube**](https://youtube.com/@catholicfirebrand?ref=theforge.fm) [Subscribe](#/portal/signup) ### Protestants Blew a Fuse Over Facts about the Bible URL: https://theforge.fm/protestants-blew-a-fuse-over-facts/ Last updated: 2026-07-04T00:49:24.000Z Protestants were highly triggered by my video of AI telling them the Catholic Church DID NOT add books to the Bible. Oh, this was drama! _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Be Careful Where you get Your 'Catholicism' URL: https://theforge.fm/be-careful-where-you-get-your-catholicism/ Last updated: 2026-07-04T00:08:01.000Z The past couple of days have been pretty illuminating. I’ve been wrestling with faux-theologians on social media and I’m as surprised by their incompetence and ignorance of theology as I am of the Protestants’ ignorance of Church history and theology . ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c9/60/c9608dd3-28d8-420a-a6aa-9277a7eb54ad/content/images/2026/06/e005cad8-c304-42e0-b5ab-11d32c34d9c0_1644x885-jpeg.png) It worries me, because these faux-theologians are fairly popular on socials and their opinions carry weight—and *shouldn’t* Their theology is trash, their theological methodology is sloppy at best, reckless at worst. But they make beautiful sounding statements and arguments and its easy to be fooled by them. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c9/60/c9608dd3-28d8-420a-a6aa-9277a7eb54ad/content/images/2026/06/02f67e80-aac6-4417-90fd-f354d6950534_1644x1512-jpeg.png) I also got mixed up with someone who’s “Extreme Unction” (Anointing of the sick) theology was really flawed, and dangerous. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c9/60/c9608dd3-28d8-420a-a6aa-9277a7eb54ad/content/images/2026/06/ad7a5234-1a9d-4872-ba1f-872fe98564ad_1644x2733-jpeg-1.png) After another volley or two, the exchange with him ended him telling me to “get lost” after I showed him, directly from the Council of Trent, why he’s wrong. I mean this is objective stuff—it’s black-and-white. You’d think he would have admitted his mistake, but that never happened. Then there was this gem, with someone who blocked me. ![](https://theforge.fm/content/files/2026/06/2bd9a9ff-d08b-4564-86ba-d8029ac27be1_634x420.avif) ![](https://theforge.fm/content/files/2026/06/4365fcdc-6854-481f-b250-49a8eb8e1b25_649x590.avif) This is just the tip of the iceberg, people. This was only in the past couple of days! I deal with this a lot, but it’s rarely a concentration three con-men compressed into a single day or two. The Internet has enabled a lot of theological sleight of hand con jobs everywhere. Some are better con men than others, commanding way more authority and respect than they actually merit, given their deceptions. Others are small time hacks who nevertheless have a lot of influence. Which brings me to the point. You have to be really careful where you get “Catholicism” from. It’s easy to research and learn about the faith, Catholic philosophy, Church history, etc. But it’s just as easy to get mislead or misdirected by independent players, or independent Catholic media agencies who have no business doing what they’re doing in the name of the Church or God’s people. If you take something out of the fridge and it smells funny, it’s spoiled and you shouldn’t eat it. Online “theology” is no different. If it smells like BS, it likely is, and you shouldn’t let anybody convince you that it’s chocolate ice cream. Listen, shameless plug here, but, I really want you guys to check out The Forge, and subscribe if you haven’t already. It’s free, and the rhetoric and theology are never BS masked as ice cream. I shoot straight, I don’t sugar coat, I don’t deceive. God bless you guys and thanks for being part of my inner circle here at Catholic Firebrand. ### WATCH: Mystery of the Faith Solved! - Why are Churches Empty? URL: https://theforge.fm/mystery-of-the-faith-solved-why-are-327/ Last updated: 2026-07-04T00:14:17.000Z Did the Spirit of Vatican II scare all the Catholics away? Was Vatican II to blame for declines in mass attendance, or did Catholic culture sabotage itself? Let's crack this case, gang! _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Tips for Spotting Bad Theology Online - FIRE BRANDED #42 URL: https://theforge.fm/tips-for-spotting-bad-theology-online/ Last updated: 2026-06-30T01:39:53.000Z In this episode of Fire Branded, TJ Haines lays out several simple red flags that expose bad theology and unreliable theological voices—signs anyone can recognize without a theology degree. From treating the Magisterium as optional, to undermining ecumenical councils, to cherry-picking old sources against the living Church, these patterns appear again and again in today’s Catholic debates. **HEADS UP: There’s a Post-Show Notes linked below** Drawing on recent clashes with influential voices on social media, TJ explains how these tactics work, why they’re persuasive, and how Catholics can spot them quickly before being misled. If you’ve ever wondered how to separate solid Catholic teaching from confident-sounding error, this episode gives you a practical checklist to do exactly that. ### LINK - Promised in the Episode [Post Show #42 - Red Flags of Bad TheologyA quick guide for Catholics of any experience level to see the signs of bad theology![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c9/60/c9608dd3-28d8-420a-a6aa-9277a7eb54ad/content/images/icon/b7ec1ce1-0951-48d3-aa33-f536ce41dafe_296x296-30-1-ebc00b91-56ff-406e-adce-1ead285e0b81.png)Fire Branded by TJ HainesT.J. Haines![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c9/60/c9608dd3-28d8-420a-a6aa-9277a7eb54ad/content/images/thumbnail/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2fb10eb159-708f-46cc-987c-0cc81902e7c7_1200x800-jpeg-2767fdc0-18b3-4a75-b281-3f3864d1eeea.jpg)](https://firebranded.fm/post-show-42-red-flags-of-bad-theology/?ref=theforge.fm) --- **Follow me on** [**X**](https://x.com/realtjhaines?ref=theforge.fm) | [**Instagram**](https://instagram.com/realtjhaines?ref=theforge.fm) | [**TikTok**](https://tiktok.com/@realtjhaines/?ref=theforge.fm) | [**FB**](https://facebook.com/realtjhaines) | [**YouTube**](https://youtube.com/@catholicfirebrand?ref=theforge.fm) ### CHAPTERS - 00:00Tips for Spotting Bad Theology Online (and elsewhere) - 04:321\. Treats the Magisterium as optional - 09:032\. Diminishes a Valid Council - 13:53Cherry Picking Old Sources - 17:274\. Conspiracy Theory - 19:535\. Relies on Catholic Personalities ### The Church Did Not 'Change Teaching' on the Death Penalty URL: https://theforge.fm/the-church-did-not-change-teaching/ Last updated: 2026-07-04T00:15:55.000Z FREE VIDEO - Pope Francis 2018 revision of the Catechism followed a trajectory already present in Catholic teaching. Let's trace the history _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Who Should Form Future Priests? - Moment of Truth URL: https://theforge.fm/who-should-form-future-priests/ Last updated: 2026-06-30T01:30:58.000Z A recent Vatican report connected to the Synod on Synodality recommends giving **“due weight” to women’s views and assessments in the formation of future priests.** It doesn’t propose changing Holy Orders or ordaining women, but it does suggest a structural shift in how seminarians might be evaluated and accompanied during their formation. In this monologue, I break down what the report actually proposes and explain why it caught my attention. The idea is framed as part of a broader push for “synodality” — a vision of the Church where more voices from the wider community, including women, participate in processes that have traditionally been handled within clerical structures. [JOIN THE FORGE TODAY](#/portal/signup/free) But that raises a deeper question. The priesthood is a **masculine vocation**, and priestly formation has historically been rooted in **men forming men**. Introducing women into the evaluative side of seminary formation may sound harmless or even “inclusive,” but does it actually strengthen priestly formation — or does it reflect a broader instinct to reshape the Church according to secular expectations about participation and gender roles? In this episode, I explain why I think the proposal misunderstands the nature of male formation, why seminarians should not feel as though they are being assessed by “their mothers,” and why this conversation risks focusing on the wrong problem altogether. The real crisis in the Church today isn’t primarily how priests are formed — it’s the **collapse of priestly vocations** in the first place. So rather than theorizing new structures for seminary evaluation, perhaps the more urgent question is much simpler: **How do we raise and call forth more men willing to become priests?** This short monologue unpacks the story, the reasoning behind the proposal, and why I believe the discussion reveals something deeper about the direction of Catholic leadership today. ## Sign up for The Forge Catholic Commentary at the Point of Impact Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. ### Why SSPX Defiance Is Harming the Catholic Church URL: https://theforge.fm/sspx-tensions-why-their-defiance/ Last updated: 2026-07-07T14:50:25.000Z The tension between the Vatican and the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) is causing harm to the church in a several hidden ways. This drama, at its core is a question every Catholic must answer: *Who has authority in the Church Christ founded?* The SSPX often frames its resistance as fidelity to tradition. But resistance to the living authority of the Church doesn’t safeguard tradition—it undermines it. ### Defiance Is Not a Catholic Virtue Christ didn’t leave behind a loose federation of theologians. He established a visible Church and entrusted governing and teaching authority to the apostles — authority that endures in the Magisterium. He told St. Peter “You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church” (Matthew 16:18). To the apostles collectively: “He who hears you hears me” (Luke 10:16). Authority in the Church is not self-assumed; it is given. Something more Catholic laity need to keep in mind, as sufficient understanding of this core Catholic principal seems to be disappearing even amongst those in the pews. (Continues below) [JOIN THE FORGE TODAY](#/portal/signup/free) ### Scripture Public defiance of the Church’s lawful authority teaches ordinary Catholics a dangerous lesson: that obedience is conditional upon personal agreement. But Scripture does not present obedience as optional. In Acts 15 (Council of Jerusalem), when doctrinal confusion arose, the matter was settled by the apostles in council. The faithful did not splinter into factions claiming private fidelity to “the old ways.” They received the judgment of the Church. In the narrative, we even see James—another apostle, and bishop of Jerusalem—not refusing or resisting Peter’s judgement, but declaring how he would enact it in his diocese. **Acts 15:7–13, 19** > *After there had been much debate, Peter rose and said to them,* > *“Brethren, you know that in the early days God made choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe.”* > *And all the assembly kept silence, and they listened to Barnabas and Paul as they related what signs and wonders God had done among the Gentiles.* > > *After they finished speaking, James replied,* > *“Brethren, listen to me…Therefore my judgment is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God.”* #### The Church Fathers The Fathers speak with similar clarity. Ignatius of Antioch wrote in the early second century that where the bishop is, there the Church is. Unity with the bishop was not sentimental—it was structural. Likewise, Cyprian of Carthage warned that one cannot have God as Father while refusing communion with the Church. Defiance fractures that communion. Yes, history contains moments of tension and even grave failure among churchmen. But reform in the Catholic tradition has always been *within* the Church’s authority, not against it. ### The Liturgy Is Not Broken A second harm is more subtle but pervasive: conditioning Catholics to believe that the liturgy was fundamentally ruptured after the Second Vatican Council. The Mass celebrated according to the Missal of St. Paul VI—often called the Novus Ordo—is not a new religion. It is a form of the Roman Rite, just as the pre-conciliar form (commonly called the Tridentine Mass or the Traditional Latin Mass) is a form of the Roman Rite. Both are Catholic. Both make present the one sacrifice of Christ. One is not objectively superior to the other because they are of the same essence and substance, even if they each have distinct forms. Liturgy develops. It always has, since the beginning. The Roman Canon itself underwent organic growth. The prayers at the foot of the altar, the Last Gospel, and other elements many now defend as immemorial were later additions in the Church’s history. Development is not corruption, and it’s wrong for anyone to imply that it is. To suggest that the Church promulgated a defective or spiritually harmful rite for the universal Church is to imply something far more serious—that Christ failed to protect His Church. That is not Catholic theology. The gates of hell do not prevail against the Church (Matthew 16:18). That promise includes her public worship. ### Suspicion of the Magisterium “The regulation of the liturgy and the sacraments belongs exclusively to the Magisterium of the Church” Finally, persistent opposition to Rome conditions Catholics to treat the Magisterium with suspicion. But Christ entrusted real authority to His Church: “Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven” (Matthew 18:18). The regulation of the liturgy and the sacraments belongs exclusively to the Magisterium of the Church — to the bishops in communion with the successor of Peter. This is not bureaucratic control; it is stewardship. The Church does not invent the sacraments, but she governs their lawful celebration. From the earliest centuries, bishops determined liturgical discipline. Irenaeus of Lyons appealed to the Church of Rome as a touchstone of apostolic continuity. Unity with Rome was seen as a safeguard, not a threat. When Catholics are trained—implicitly or explicitly—to view the Holy See as suspect, confidence in Christ’s promises erodes. Authority becomes negotiable. Unity becomes fragile. The Church is not a museum of 1950\. She is a living body. Fidelity to tradition includes fidelity to the living Church Christ continues to govern through the successor of Peter and the bishops in communion with him. Defiance does not preserve the Church. Communion does**.** ### How the SSPX Obstinately Refuses Overtures From the Vatican URL: https://theforge.fm/how-the-sspx-obstinately-refuses/ Last updated: 2026-06-30T01:25:56.000Z The Holy See has made significant overtures toward the SSPX in the hopes of reconciliation. But the SSPX has refused them for decades. _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Spanish Inquisition - The Lies You've Been Told URL: https://theforge.fm/spanish-inquisition-the-lies-youve-been-told/ Last updated: 2026-06-30T01:23:31.000Z This video from [“Why Catholics Distrust the Church”](https://firebranded.fm/why-catholics-distrust-the-church/?ref=theforge.fm) explores a several key myths and facts about the Spanish Inquisition. Not to be missed! --- > When I finally researched the Spanish Inquisition, I found a lot more than surprising facts. I found unbreakable confidence When I was a young teenager getting into apologetics, every debate about Catholicism eventually hit the same wall: “The Spanish Inquisition.” It didn’t matter what the topic or subject initially was—the Eucharist, the papacy, or the Mass. Someone would say it “Inquisition!….” and everything would shift. I began to expect it, every time. Almost without thinking, I’d say, “Yeah… we’re sorry about that. We made a big mistake there” It was automatic. Sometimes I’d even prepare apologies in my mind beforehand. It really frustrated me. you can’t come out strong defending the faith if you feel like you have to begin by apologizing for a moral disaster in Catholic history. ### *“I started wondering *why* \[the Inquisition\] happened to begin with…”* The strange thing was, I never stopped to ask myself what, exactly, I was apologizing for. I knew what everybody else “knew”—the imagery, torture chambers, countless executions, millions dead—but I started wondering *why* this happened to begin with, and how it was permitted to occur and continue. Why were we going through Spain forcing conversions and executing Jews and Muslims en masse? I mean who came up with that? And why did the Church permit that? Isn’t that murder? Isn’t forced conversions a bad thing? At that moment “The Inquisition!” got my critical attention, understanding it—mastering it—became an obsession. Fittingly I realized this in a library at school (we had a really good library!) and I started to look for books about the Spanish Inquisition. And so began a months-long journey of discovery that caught me completely by surprise ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c9/60/c9608dd3-28d8-420a-a6aa-9277a7eb54ad/content/images/2026/06/2ce721e4-dc2d-4515-bec6-5d172ffc4d30_500x360-jpeg.jpg) The Spanish Inquisition, in **Monty Python’s Flying Circus* What I found genuinely surprised me. The facts were *not* what I thought they were. The structure, nature, and cause of the Spanish Inquisition wasn’t what I had imagined. The relationship between the Spanish Crown and Rome was more complicated than the Monty Python version I’d been carrying around in my head. The horror story I had absorbed—as everybody else had—wasn’t built on history. It was built on repetition of error and redistribution of historical fallacy. Exaggeration. Myth layered on top of myth. That experience taught me something I’ve never forgotten. Sometimes we’re handed a story so confidently that we never think to question its foundation. We accept the framing and argue inside of it. We concede premises that were never proven. **Don’t do that**. When a challenge comes — especially on big-ticket issues like the Church’s history — don’t be afraid to say, “I don’t know.” But don’t stop there. Say, “I don’t know — but I’m going to find out.” ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c9/60/c9608dd3-28d8-420a-a6aa-9277a7eb54ad/content/images/2026/06/83bab74d-90b8-446c-9eb8-b5fb8a39ec6b_1376x768-heic-2.jpg) Major topics matter in a major way. The Church’s reputation is not trivial to opposers; it’s one of the pillars they attack in order to discredit the Church, the Faith, and even God. It isn’t trivial to them, so don’t treat it as a triviality. Think. Focus. Research where you have to. And don’t be afraid that you might find verification of the horror story someone is telling you. In my experience it never plays out that way. You don’t want to swing and miss because you were too intimidated or too lazy to check the facts. And in a digital age, getting those facts is easier than ever. [Why Catholics Distrust the Church - The Real Story!Why are so many people losing trust in the Catholic Church, and what is the TRUE origin of this crisis of trust and faith?![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c9/60/c9608dd3-28d8-420a-a6aa-9277a7eb54ad/content/images/icon/b7ec1ce1-0951-48d3-aa33-f536ce41dafe_296x296-30-1-1821962e-8d82-490d-8a02-d2c91c7a7f72.png)Fire Branded by TJ HainesT.J. Haines![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c9/60/c9608dd3-28d8-420a-a6aa-9277a7eb54ad/content/images/thumbnail/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-video-s3-amazonaws-com-2fvideo_upload-2fpost-2f188565314-2fddff78ed-9f71-4dd1-b0a8-5b909dcb552e-2ftranscoded-1771558767-png-51b88892-f8d1-4edc-be00-af78f5c259cc.jpg)](https://firebranded.fm/why-catholics-distrust-the-church/?ref=theforge.fm) Above all, believe in the Church and be confident about her history. She is two thousand years old. If you lived to be two thousand, you would have disappointments in your record. The Church does, it’s true. But her story is not one of darkness; it is overwhelmingly glorious. Most attacks against Catholic history are not rooted in sober scholarship, they’re rooted in myth. And even where facts are present, they are often distorted beyond recognition. The Church is the Mystical Body of Christ. She is the gateway to heaven. She is a saint-making machine. So be confident in who She is, and how *amazing* the Catholic Church is. Get the facts. Question the narrative when it deserves to be questioned. And stand firm in the truth. Trust and believe, my people. Trust…and…*BELIEVE*! ### Bishops Stand Tall Against Notre Dame Appointment URL: https://theforge.fm/bishops-stand-tall-against-notre/ Last updated: 2026-06-26T17:07:46.000Z When Notre Dame announced that Susan Ostermann — a pro-abortion activist who has publicly linked the pro-life movement to white supremacy — would be installed as director of its Liu Institute for Asia and Asian Studies, Catholics in and out of the social media world were clamoring for the Bishops to speak up, and take a stand. It was a familiar chorus: *Where are the bishops?* Truth be told, sometimes (not ‘most times”) it’s deserved. But not this time. The Bishops stood tall on this one. Bishop Kevin Rhoades of Fort Wayne-South Bend — the diocese that actually includes Notre Dame — went first, on February 11, calling the appointment a scandal and demanding it be rescinded. He also hosted a prayer rally at the Grotty of Our Lady of Lourdes—*at Notre Dame—*to pray for Catholic identity at Notre Dame Then others followed. Fast. **Archbishop Paul Coakley** of Oklahoma City, the **president of the USCCB**, voiced his full support for Rhoades within days. **Bishop Robert Barron** of Winona-Rochester joined the party, [saying in a post on 𝕏](https://x.com/bishopbarron/status/2021613562842489042?s=46&ref=theforge.fm), ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c9/60/c9608dd3-28d8-420a-a6aa-9277a7eb54ad/content/images/2026/06/4454acf2-170d-49a0-90d1-eb9f58c204d0_700x393-jpeg.jpg) > *“The woman proposed for a key leadership position at Our Lady’s University is not simply “pro-choice” on the question of abortion; she is a sharp critic of the pro-life position and those who advocate it. She has gone so far as to characterize the anti-abortion stance as rooted in white supremacy and racism”* ### But Wait, There’s More! **Archbishop Samuel Aquila** of Denver called the appointment a tarnishment of “Our Lady’s University.” **Bishop Thomas Paprocki** of Springfield said academic freedom doesn’t obligate a Catholic university to hand leadership to someone whose public positions contradict essential moral teaching. **Bishop Michael Burbidge** of Arlington called the appointment “simply incompatible with the mission of the Catholic Church.” [Subscribe now](https://www.theforge.fm/subscribe?ref=theforge.fm) In total, **more than a dozen bishops** including some of the highest-profile names in the American Church took a public stand, with at least one writing to Notre Dame directly. So far Notre Dame hasn’t budged, and has said that the appointment will stand. Which, to me, signals that their priority here is not Catholic identity or Catholic culture, but the culture of the spirit of the secular world. [**Check out this article**](https://www.theforge.fm/p/notre-dames-identity-crisis-cancels?utm%5Fsource=publication-search) **where I talk about this identity crisis at Notre Dame** --- [Notre Dame’s Identity Crisis Cancels CultureThe University of Notre Dame recently appointed a professor with a public record of pro-abortion advocacy to a leadership role within the university — a decision that Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades of Fort Wayne-South Bend says should disqualify her from such a position at a Catholic institution.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c9/60/c9608dd3-28d8-420a-a6aa-9277a7eb54ad/content/images/2026/06/b7ec1ce1-0951-48d3-aa33-f536ce41dafe_296x296-56.png)The Forge T.J. Haines![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c9/60/c9608dd3-28d8-420a-a6aa-9277a7eb54ad/content/images/2026/06/8bd3d487-0f18-4e31-b2ea-923bda19e1f7_1200x675-heic.jpg)](https://www.theforge.fm/p/notre-dames-identity-crisis-cancels?ref=theforge.fm) --- This is what I want Catholics to take from this: before demanding to know where the bishops are, give them a moment to respond. The knee-jerk reaction and the assumption that our shepherds are useless is usually not accurate or fair. Sometimes the Bishops are silent when we feel they need to be shouting from the rooftops—I get it. But why are the faithful shouting “Where are the Bishops” from the rooftops, and then silent when the Bishops come out swinging? Give credit where it’s due. **Hey, sharing this post helps The Forge to get noticed. It only takes a tap!** **Follow me on** [**X**](https://x.com/realtjhaines?ref=theforge.fm) | [**Instagram**](https://instagram.com/realtjhaines?ref=theforge.fm) | [**TikTok**](https://tiktok.com/@realtjhaines/?ref=theforge.fm) | [**FB**](https://facebook.com/realtjhaines) | [**YouTube**](https://youtube.com/@catholicfirebrand?ref=theforge.fm) **My** **personal** Newsletter - [**CatholicFirebrand.com**](http://catholicfirebrand.com/?ref=theforge.fm) [Subscribe](#/portal/signup) ### St. Cyprian, on Fidelity to Rome - The Fathers Know Best URL: https://theforge.fm/st-cyprian-on-fidelity-to-rome-the/ Last updated: 2026-07-04T00:49:59.000Z Wisdom of a Church Father, and a juicy story from Church History, tied into something we’re seeing in Catholic News right now! (SSPX and Vatican Tension) _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### The Forge Episode 2 URL: https://theforge.fm/the-forge-episode-2/ Last updated: 2026-06-30T01:12:54.000Z Here’s what’s been happening at The Forge: Some new articles, a few new podcasts, and some new features to make this a more immersive experience for readers and listeners. ## LINKS TO ARTICLES ### Distrust of the Church and the Malady of Suspicion The origins, causes, of Catholics’ distrust of the Church; and the real story behind it [**READ NOW AT STOKING THE EMBERS**](https://www.stokingembers.com/p/distrust-of-the-church-and-the-malady?ref=theforge.fm) --- ### The Media Is Buzzing About Aliens. Christians Shouldn’t Buy It. The headlines lately sound like a trailer for a sci-fi reboot. Here’s the reality, as I see it [The Media Is Buzzing About Aliens. Christians Shouldn’t Buy It.It’s all over 𝕏 and making the rounds on TikTok and IG - Barack Obama recently joked in an interview that aliens are “real” — then seemed to backpedal saying he’s seen no evidence of extraterrestrial contact.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c9/60/c9608dd3-28d8-420a-a6aa-9277a7eb54ad/content/images/2026/06/b7ec1ce1-0951-48d3-aa33-f536ce41dafe_296x296-57.png)The Forge T.J. Haines![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c9/60/c9608dd3-28d8-420a-a6aa-9277a7eb54ad/content/images/2026/06/d4c00ecf-8eda-4991-a5cc-b71416bd487f_1200x674-jpeg-1.jpg)](https://www.theforge.fm/p/the-media-is-buzzing-about-aliens?ref=theforge.fm) --- ### Hooked on Headlines - The Devil’s Bid For Your Attention Attention wins markets. The Devil knows that too. Here’s why Catholics must resist the lie that information is power, and awareness is a virtue [Hooked on Headlines - The Devil's Bid For Your AttentionThe Devil doesn’t just tempt you to sin. He tempts you to be distracted. And that’s far more dangerous.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c9/60/c9608dd3-28d8-420a-a6aa-9277a7eb54ad/content/images/2026/06/b7ec1ce1-0951-48d3-aa33-f536ce41dafe_296x296-58.png)The Forge T.J. Haines![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c9/60/c9608dd3-28d8-420a-a6aa-9277a7eb54ad/content/images/2026/06/d7e81321-9297-4812-baa0-e98d46fb0e07_1536x864-heic-1.jpg)](https://www.theforge.fm/p/hooked-on-headlines-the-devils-bid?ref=theforge.fm) --- ### **Why Catholics Distrust the Church - The Real Story!** Why are so many people losing trust in the Catholic Church, and what is the TRUE origin of this crisis of trust and faith? [Why Catholics Distrust the Church - The Real Story!Distrust of the Catholic Church is trendy right now. Headlines fuel it. Commentators monetize it. Even some Catholics repeat it without ever stopping to test it.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c9/60/c9608dd3-28d8-420a-a6aa-9277a7eb54ad/content/images/2026/06/b7ec1ce1-0951-48d3-aa33-f536ce41dafe_296x296-59.png)The Forge T.J. Haines![](https://substack-video.s3.amazonaws.com/video_upload/post/188565314/ddff78ed-9f71-4dd1-b0a8-5b909dcb552e/transcoded-1771558767.png)](https://www.theforge.fm/p/why-catholics-distrust-the-church?ref=theforge.fm) --- ### **Do Aliens Exist? The Catholic Response** Exploring UFOs, angels and demons, scripture and theology to find out where faith and reason guide us in answer to this intriguing question of the ages. (Chat about it!) [Do Aliens Exist? The Catholic ResponseRe-published episode of an old podcast - Drawing from Scripture, theology, and the wisdom of St. Thomas Aquinas, I take on one of the most intriguing questions in our time. I explore why belief in intelligent extraterrestrial life is not only unlikely but also theologically problematic. But this is also a lesson about angels and demons!![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c9/60/c9608dd3-28d8-420a-a6aa-9277a7eb54ad/content/images/2026/06/b7ec1ce1-0951-48d3-aa33-f536ce41dafe_296x296-60.png)The Forge T.J. Haines![](https://substack-video.s3.amazonaws.com/video_upload/post/188724603/b6adc185-692b-4b76-bc5a-d468cfcb2846/transcoded-1771692485.png)](https://www.theforge.fm/p/do-aliens-exist-the-catholic-response?ref=theforge.fm) --- ### **Do Aliens Exist? Conversation with Patrick Abbot** Do aliens exist? Does the subject shape or inform religion? We discuss it through a Catholic prism. [Do Aliens Exist? Conversation with Patrick Abbot🔊 Get this audio on Spotify | Apple![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c9/60/c9608dd3-28d8-420a-a6aa-9277a7eb54ad/content/images/2026/06/b7ec1ce1-0951-48d3-aa33-f536ce41dafe_296x296-61.png)The Forge T.J. Haines![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c9/60/c9608dd3-28d8-420a-a6aa-9277a7eb54ad/content/images/2026/06/347033d2-075c-4432-b2bd-3675c35b0eb3_1100x819-jpeg-1.jpg)](https://www.theforge.fm/p/do-aliens-exist-conversation-with?ref=theforge.fm) ### Do Aliens Exist? Conversation with Patrick Abbot URL: https://theforge.fm/do-aliens-exist-conversation-with/ Last updated: 2026-07-05T15:03:21.000Z **🔊 AUDIO Player is Below. or get this episode on** [**Spotify**](https://open.spotify.com/episode/6BlfTRJ5GLlE9UJfxhoqOQ?si=b252c92b35184f24&ref=theforge.fm) **|** [**Apple**](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/do-aliens-exist-conversation-with-patrick-abbot/id1878123748?i=1000750901400&ref=theforge.fm) What happens when a Catholic host and a sci-fi novelist sit down to tackle one of the internet’s favorite obsessions: aliens? In this conversation with Patrick Abbott, we cut through hype, headlines, and conspiracy talk to ask the real questions—philosophical, theological, and logical. We discuss Obama’s comments, Trump’s promised file releases, Padre Pio’s reported thoughts, and whether intelligent extraterrestrials would create theological problems or simply deepen our understanding of creation. 💡 Related links are at the end of this post This isn’t tinfoil-hat speculation. It’s a clear-headed exploration of possibility, faith, reason, and the danger of turning curiosity into obsession. Whether you think aliens are fiction, fact, or fantasy, this discussion will sharpen how you think about God, creation, and truth. **Watch the full conversation and decide for yourself.** Check out [Patrick Abbot’s Substack](https://patrickabbot.net/?ref=theforge.fm) Follow [TJ Haines on 𝕏](https://x.com/realtjhaines?ref=theforge.fm) |[ YouTube](https://youtube.com/@catholicfirebrand?ref=theforge.fm) --- ### RELATED: Article and Podcast mentioned in the episode [The Media Is Buzzing About Aliens and UAPs. Should Christians by it?The headlines lately sound like a trailer for a sci-fi reboot. Here’s the reality, as I see it![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c9/60/c9608dd3-28d8-420a-a6aa-9277a7eb54ad/content/images/icon/b7ec1ce1-0951-48d3-aa33-f536ce41dafe_296x296-30-1-c5708c92-23f3-43c5-bb05-e79d2e6165bb.png)The ForgeT.J. Haines![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c9/60/c9608dd3-28d8-420a-a6aa-9277a7eb54ad/content/images/thumbnail/d4c00ecf-8eda-4991-a5cc-b71416bd487f_1200x674-885cb71f-e963-4fd3-9bc2-cba9429d3a58.webp)](https://theforge.fm/aliens-and-uaps-should-christians-by-it/) [Do Aliens Exist? The Catholic ResponseExploring UFOs, angels and demons, scripture and theology to find out where faith and reason guide us in answer to this intriguing question of the ages. (Chat about it!)![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c9/60/c9608dd3-28d8-420a-a6aa-9277a7eb54ad/content/images/icon/b7ec1ce1-0951-48d3-aa33-f536ce41dafe_296x296-30-1-f250b095-12b6-40c1-9143-784f33c32b84.png)The ForgeT.J. Haines![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c9/60/c9608dd3-28d8-420a-a6aa-9277a7eb54ad/content/images/thumbnail/transcoded-1771692485.png-a20f8f4e-c9a3-4b04-8a9a-c6d74361f16e.webp)](https://theforge.fm/do-aliens-exist-the-catholic-response/) ### The Media Is Buzzing About Aliens and UAPs. Should Christians by it? URL: https://theforge.fm/aliens-and-uaps-should-christians-by-it/ Last updated: 2026-07-05T14:54:30.000Z It’s all over 𝕏 and making the rounds on TikTok and IG - Barack Obama recently joked in an interview that aliens are “real” — then seemed to backpedal saying he’s seen **no evidence** of extraterrestrial contact. 0:00 /0:19 1× In reaction to that, Donald Trump said he wants government agencies to release more UFO-related files because of public interest, while openly admitting he doesn’t know whether aliens exist. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c9/60/c9608dd3-28d8-420a-a6aa-9277a7eb54ad/content/images/2026/06/759ef9a5-383e-4df9-87d5-592f9d4bae15_513x310.webp) That combination of soundbites and promised disclosures is rocket fuel for speculation. Social feeds explode, comment sections melt, and people start talking like disclosure already happened. *Where are SCully and Mulder when you need them?* But here’s my position on all this. ## **The first problem is definition.** When modern culture says “aliens,” it isn’t talking about microbes or bacteria. They’re talking about another intelligent race; rational, creative beings with minds and wills like ours. In other words, not just life, but **another “humanity”.** That’s not a scientific oddity, it’d be a theological earthquake. Because the moment you introduce a second rational species into creation, you run straight into some deep theological puzzles that would contradict public divine revelation—or at least present some hard challenges: Are these alien creatures (the other “humanity”) fallen, like us? I mean if they’re intelligent and can make choices, did they choose to defy God, as Adam and Eve did? Do they need redemption? Did Christ die for them too? Revelation presents salvation history as being centered on man — one fallen race, one Incarnation, one Redeemer. A duplicate rational race wouldn’t just be surprising. It would create contradictions Scripture never hints at. In fact, it would be a doubling of what is a singular story of God’s redemptive act. God doesn’t work that way. ## **Then there’s the “evidence”** Governments have studied UFO reports for decades. The consistent conclusion? Most sightings turn out to be ordinary objects, misidentifications, atmospheric phenomena, or classified human technology. “Unidentified” does not mean extraterrestrial. It means unidentified. --- 0:00 /0:50 1× From [“Do Aliens Exist: A Catholic Response”](https://www.theforge.fm/p/do-aliens-exist-the-catholic-response?utm%5Fsource=publication-search) --- That distinction gets lost the moment a blurry video hits social media. Grainy footage plus dramatic music equals aliens, apparently. It’s also worth noticing what the political headlines actually say versus what people think they say. Obama didn’t confirm aliens. He said he never saw proof. In fact, he said on X that he has *never* seen proof. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c9/60/c9608dd3-28d8-420a-a6aa-9277a7eb54ad/content/images/2026/06/e20f4268-9051-404e-bec9-9996e4973c73_750x352-jpeg.jpg) Trump didn’t reveal that he knows of evidence or proof of aliens. He only said that he’ll authorities more files to be released Those are not the same thing as disclosure. They’re statements about curiosity and transparency, not confirmation of extraterrestrial civilizations. But speculation survives by in ambiguity. It always does, and always has. Christians shouldn’t be shaken by that ambiguity because the pattern itself is familiar: Mystery → speculation → hype → disappointment. It’s happened with doomsday predictions. It’s happened with miracle rumors. It’s happened with conspiracy theories. And now it’s happening again — just with a sci-fi skin. Here’s the bottom line. Right now we have headlines, speculation, fascination and unidentified objects. What we do **not** have is proof of extraterrestrial intelligence. Until that changes, aliens remain exactly what they’ve always been: A rumor with better PR. Hey, don’t forget to check out the podcast episode on this subject, linked bellow. **And please subscribe to The Forge**. God bless you all ### LINK [Do Aliens Exist? The Catholic ResponseRe-published episode of an old podcast - Drawing from Scripture, theology, and the wisdom of St. Thomas Aquinas, I take on one of the most intriguing questions in our time. I explore why belief in intelligent extraterrestrial life is not only unlikely but also theologically problematic. But this is also a lesson about angels and demons!![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c9/60/c9608dd3-28d8-420a-a6aa-9277a7eb54ad/content/images/2026/06/b7ec1ce1-0951-48d3-aa33-f536ce41dafe_296x296-69.png)The Forge T.J. Haines![](https://substack-video.s3.amazonaws.com/video_upload/post/188724603/b6adc185-692b-4b76-bc5a-d468cfcb2846/transcoded-1771692485.png)](https://www.theforge.fm/p/do-aliens-exist-the-catholic-response?ref=theforge.fm) ### When a Headline Engineers Outrage [it must be LifeSite News] URL: https://theforge.fm/when-a-headline-engineers-outrage/ Last updated: 2026-06-26T17:22:46.000Z LieSite News is at it again! In a post on 𝕏 they claimed Pope Leo ‘scandalously’ “approved beatification for bishop who admitted to ‘lying down naked’ with youth” ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c9/60/c9608dd3-28d8-420a-a6aa-9277a7eb54ad/content/images/2026/06/bd0191de-5d68-4b72-8de9-e242ec92e5e5_672x1010-jpeg-2.png) --- The article executes a classic bait-and-switch, shifting from “approved beatification” to “…beatification *process”* And if the post on 𝕏 tells a deceptive tale, the article is where the real treasure of journalistic scandal is found—in LSN’s reporting No time to pretty this up, kids, so I’m just going to paste what I wrote on 𝕏 and maybe I’ll have a more technical reaction piece later. Here’s my response, followed by my conclusion **(The post, and the text—slightly refined—are found below):** 1).Contrary to LSN’s post, **he’s not beatified.** 2) The title “Venerable” is because of the offering of his life. It’s basically de facto recognition. It doesn’t mean he’ll be beatified. Many “Venerables” never advance to beatification. 3) **LSN lies to you in the post** by saying “approved BEATIFICATION”. Then they only slightly refine it in the piece (classic bait-and-switch...and *dishonest)* by changing it to “...**approved** beatification **PROCESS.** A different thing altogether, and yet both claims are still deceptive and inaccurate. ## Sign up for The Forge Catholic Commentary at the Point of Impact Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. ### Regarding the creepy writings by the bishop. I don’t have the book in front of me. Neither do you. We’re forced to rely on interpretations and trust quotes from basically two sites, LSN and InfoVaticana (they seem like Spain’s version of “LSN”). That’s it. Two sources, one echoing the other, and everybody else echoing them both. There are no other independent origins to reference, so readers are forced to trust what LSN and InfoVaticana **(who are echoing EACH OTHER)** are saying. The book is not new, it just newly resurfaced. You’d think there’d be a lot more reporting about its contents from reputable Catholic news sources. But let’s assume LSN is directly quoting, and accurately representing the bishop’s writings. What the bishop recounts in those writings is definitely creepy. Cultural in that region? Probably. I mean it’s the Amazon. Acceptable? Maybe for them, but not for the priest, in my view. Sinful? He claims in his writings that it wasn’t. That doesn’t make it okay. I’m not trying to defend that. BUT... LSN **weaponizes these accounts** in order to diminish Pope Leo and, by extension, his pontificate. They want to be seen as the authority shining the light, not the dark and untrustworthy Vatican/Pope. The post and piece aren’t framed as “a scandalous bishop/priest who is made Venerable,” rather it’s framed as a bad Pope who is “beatifying” him (which is not the case). **Notably absent from their reporting (Classic for LifeSite News)** is that this missionary bishop was murdered trying to make friendly contact with hostile people who were well-known for killing outsiders. He was going there to negotiate their relocation to protect them from oil company mercenaries planning to exterminate them. Does this erase the “creepy” of those writings? No. But it tells you a fuller story of who he was. So we aren’t told why he’s declared “Venerable.” We’re only told or signaled that he’s ‘being beatified’ “scandalously” by the Holy Father, despite these suspicious (and creepy, if accurate) writings. I’m not defending what’s in those writings, believe me. But this is exactly what LSN wants—they want you to focus on the creepy writings so that their smearing of Pope Leo is effective. They don’t want you to see past the grift. ### Hooked on Headlines - The Devil's Bid For Your Attention URL: https://theforge.fm/hooked-on-headlines-the-devils-bid/ Last updated: 2026-06-30T00:03:26.000Z Attention wins markets. The Devil knows that too. Here’s why Catholics must resist the lie that information is power, and awareness is a virtue _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Love and Marriage in Ireland - Moment of Truth #1 URL: https://theforge.fm/love-and-marriage-in-ireland-moment/ Last updated: 2026-06-26T17:30:18.000Z ### Transcript from the Audio This moment of truth, love, marriage and divorce. a new report from the Catholic Marriage Care Organization. Accord says, attendance at marriage preparation courses in Ireland has jumped by 16%, that means thousands of couples have chosen to get married in the Catholic church, they’re choosing church weddings. That’s good news. Genuinely good news. But the will how many of these couples actually remain married? because if you zoom out from the encouraging statistic, the broader picture shifts in 2010. Ireland recorded about 22,000 marriages and roughly 4,100 divorce applications > IRELAND 🇮🇪 > > There has been a 16% INCREASE in couples attending Catholic marriage preparation courses [pic.twitter.com/Vyt09aNQPO](https://t.co/Vyt09aNQPO?ref=theforge.fm) > > — Catholic Arena (@CatholicArena) [February 14, 2026](https://x.com/CatholicArena/status/2022623167047483681?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw&ref=theforge.fm) by 2024, it was over 20,000 marriages and over 5,000 divorces closer to one divorce. For every four marriages. so even as fewer people are marrying, a larger share of marriages are ending, it reflects a deeper shift in Irish culture that deserves some focus. Ireland was one of the most unmistakably Catholic nations on Earth. Yet, over the past few decades, referendum after referendum, legalizing same-sex marriage, legalizing abortion, and shortening the separation period required for divorce. Has signaled something deeper. Catholicism for many has shifted from a lived faith and a core conviction into more of a cultural inheritance, more of a tradition than a governing conviction. So yes, it’s encouraging to see more couples than entering Catholic marriage prep. If a church wedding is just a ceremonial milestone rather than a sacramental commitment, then we have to ask, what’s the point in cheering? Where’s the hope in that? Are we going to see an increase in Catholic baptisms at the parish level in Ireland? That’ll be part of the real test. The real measure won’t be attendance numbers at Catholic marriage prep. the real tests will be whether these marriages endure or, whether they follow the same trajectory that Irish marriages civil or religious have traced over the past decade. ### Viral Homily from Irish Priest Ignites Debate on the Meaning of the Mass URL: https://theforge.fm/viral-homily-from-irish-priest-ignites/ Last updated: 2026-06-26T18:12:33.000Z Worship, like Catholicism, just took the back seat in Ireland. A little liturgical firestorm broke out on X today after a 43-second clip from a homily went viral. What made it go viral? See below. 0:00 /0:43 1× The priest is Fr. Pat Fitzgerald, C.P.—a Passionist serving at St. Paul of the Cross Parish in Dublin. In the video, Fr. Fitzgerald says something outrageous: > *“We don’t come to Mass to worship God, that’s not what it’s about. It’s about sharing a meal. There’s plenty of times for worshiping Him & so on, that’s for some other occasions.”* Some…other…occasions? What occasions would those be? During a walk on the beach? Praying privately at home? Well then why should I go to mass? > “ \[Mass\] is a time *for sharing a meal*, taking up those words he used at the Last Supper. ‘Take this all of you and eat it…’” He tries to anchor it in “Take this, all of you, and eat it,” as if the word *eat* turns the altar into the dining room table. A classic case of facts telling lies or mistruths, while looking like the real Truth. But here’s where his logic is so flawed, and his catechesis is so lacking: the reason we share a “meal” at all is because it completes the **sacrifice** (the Worship act). In Exodus—which prefigures both the sacrifice of the Cross **and** the Eucharist—the lamb wasn’t just slain; **it had to be eaten**. God was explicit about that: [Subscribe now](#/portal/signup/free) > **“They shall eat the flesh that night*… *you shall let none of it remain* until the morning”* (Exodus 12:8, 10). The eating wasn’t an afterthought. It was part of the sacrificial worship itself. That’s the pattern Christ fulfills. Calvary is the sacrifice. The Eucharist makes that one sacrifice sacramentally present—and Holy Communion is how we participate in it. So this “meal” we gather for presupposes an act of worship—Christ offering Himself to the Father in His once-for-all sacrifice, made sacramentally present on the altar. You don’t get Communion without sacrifice.. The banquet flows from the sacrifice, not the other way around. *“We’re not here for Worship”?! Then we don’t have to be here for the meal either.* *See ya’!* This is plain ol’ bad catechesis. But more than that, it’s dangerous—and frankly foolish—to tell Catholics at Mass that they’re there for a “meal” and not for Worship. And it’s a calamity to elevate a meal—something rooted in the temporal order—above the very meaning of the Mass: the worship of the living God. The altar is ordered toward eternity. That’s where our sights belong. Fr. Fitzgerald does get one thing right—communion. I mean communion in the sense of togetherness and real unity, not Holy Communion. But that’s a story for another time. **I’ll have a lot more to say about this clip (and “communion”) in the next episode of Fire Branded, including Communion in the hand vs. ‘being fed like animals’ “ -** Streamed Live to [**X**](https://x.com/realtjhaines?ref=theforge.fm), [**YouTube**](https://youtube.com/@catholicfirebrand?ref=theforge.fm), and here at The Forge. **Subscribe 👇 to be notified!** \-TJ ### Justice Was Not Cancelled — It Was Crucified URL: https://theforge.fm/justice-was-not-cancelled-it-was/ Last updated: 2026-06-29T23:59:56.000Z **2-minute video clip from episode**, [*God’s Mercy is Power*](https://youtu.be/ea81SGndP8M?ref=theforge.fm) --- We have a bad habit of confusing mercy with leniency. Sometimes when we talk about God’s mercy, what we really mean is that maybe sin doesn’t matter that much. Maybe God just “lets it slide.” Maybe He shrugs at our failures and moves on. But that’s not mercy, it’s indifference. And a God who is indifferent is a God who is loveless, and can’t be the God we’re told about in the scriptures. Mercy is not God pretending sin is insignificant. It is **not** God erasing justice. And it is certainly not God rewriting the Truth. Truth matters, which is why Justice is real. Justice matters which is why Mercy is offered to us. So where’s the balance? “God did not lower the bar. He met it Himself” Mercy is God restoring the sinner without rewriting the Truth. The justice is real. It’s the Cross. We should have been on that Cross, so to speak—but Christ took our place. He paid the debt that we owed for our sins. God did not lower the bar. He met it Himself ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c9/60/c9608dd3-28d8-420a-a6aa-9277a7eb54ad/content/images/2026/06/6bad0dfd-2d78-4f07-9575-5a3c52874ddf_1200x857-heic-1.jpg) And when God forgives, He doesn’t forgive the way we forgive others. Our forgiveness is often emotional or psychological. It doesn’t really *do* anything. But God’s forgiveness is an action. It heals and restores a soul, and makes us whole in ways we don’t *see* but in ways that are real. God’s mercy is an action, because love is an action. And divine mercy acts at the cost of Calvary. --- ### St. Augustine reminds us that mercy never denies justice. > “God’s mercy does not abolish His justice, but is fulfilled in it.” This echos what I said in the video segment above; the cross of Christ *is* “the justice”. Augustine’s insight makes clear what the Cross shows us: mercy is not the cancellation of justice, but its fulfillment. In the video, we see that justice is not ignored—it is satisfied in Christ. --- ### St. Thomas Aquinas clarifies that mercy is not weakness. > “Mercy without justice is the mother of dissolution; justice without mercy is cruelty.” > — *Summa Theologiae*, II-II, q. 30, a. 4 Aquinas helps us avoid both errors. God does not dissolve the moral law in mercy, nor does He crush us with justice. In the Cross, both meet perfectly. --- ### St. John Paul II speaks of mercy as restorative. > “Mercy is love’s second name.” > — *Dives in Misericordia*, 7 When God forgives, He does not merely overlook. He loves into wholeness. That’s what the video is pointing to: mercy heals; it restores; it elevates at the cost of Christ’s blood. --- ### St. Leo the Great points us to the cost of our redemption. > “The blood of Christ is the price of the whole world.” That is where the justice is. That is where the mercy is. Not in minimizing sin—but in the Son of God paying for it. --- So let’s stop imagining mercy as God lowering the bar. Sin put Jesus on the Cross. The Cross cancels sin—*if we repent and unite ourselves to it*. That requires that we keep trying, and trying again; go to confession, receive the sacraments, and so on. That’s how we make ourselves vulnerable to the blood of the lamb, as I put it. We make ourselves receptive to the graces and mercy he won for us. God did not lower the truth or cheapen sin. He did not reduce Himself. He elevated you. ## Sign up for The Forge Catholic Commentary at the Point of Impact Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. ### Notre Dame’s Identity Crisis Cancels Culture URL: https://theforge.fm/notre-dames-identity-crisis-cancels/ Last updated: 2026-06-26T18:18:24.000Z The University of Notre Dame recently appointed a professor with a public record of pro-abortion advocacy to a leadership role within the university — a decision that Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades of Fort Wayne-South Bend says should disqualify her from such a position at a Catholic institution. According to *EWTN News*, the bishop said the professor’s pro-abortion advocacy and her remarks about pro-life advocates “should disqualify her from an administrative and leadership role at a Catholic university,” This isn’t the first time Notre Dame has forgotten its Catholic identity. This is not a one-time lapse. It reflects a pattern of recognition—invitations, honors, appointments—that redefine Catholic identity by treating open contradiction of Church teaching as unimportant. What lesson do *you* think that teaches to young people? And that’s the issue I want to address. ### A Pattern We’ve been here before. In 2009, Notre Dame awarded an honorary degree to President Barack Obama despite his explicit support for abortion rights — even after U.S. bishops had stated that Catholic institutions should not honor those who act in defiance of fundamental moral principles. More than 80 bishops objected. In 2016, Vice President Joe Biden received the Laetare Medal, one of the university’s highest honors, despite his public record on abortion and same-sex marriage. ## Sign up for The Forge Catholic Commentary at the Point of Impact Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. Beyond commencement stages and medals, Notre Dame has recognized LGBTQ student groups at odds with Catholic teaching and drawn sustained criticism from Catholic alumni and organizations such as the Cardinal Newman Society over the direction of campus culture and policy. Individually, each decision can be defended as dialogue or inclusion. Taken together, they form a pattern. It’s unacceptable. “Institutions shape culture. Culture forms *persons*.” A Catholic university does not exist merely to compete with Harvard or Stanford. It exists to form students in the light of Truth revealed by God through His Church. Its leadership decisions aren’t HR matters. They’re public statements about what the institution believes is compatible with its identity. Institutions shape culture. Culture forms *persons*. What are we forming of those persons—the students—at Notre Dame? When an institution acts as though the idea of *living* what we *believe* that message not only guides the formation of the students, it becomes part of the material itself. Students absorb signals long before they absorb arguments. What is honored becomes credible. Culture is a teacher. When contradictions of the faith are elevated repeatedly, they cease to look like contradictions at all — and *fidelity* to Church teaching begins to look like the cultural aberration. This is how identity erodes, and it’s what we’re seeing in many places in Catholic life—through consistent recalibration of Catholic attitude, we reform (malform) Catholic Culture, and Catholic identity becomes secularism decorated with religion. Today’s students are tomorrow’s judges, law makers, professors, and saints. The culture that forms them will be the culture they reproduce. If Catholic distinctiveness becomes elastic at the institutional level, it will not return as steel in the next generation. ### Freedom Cannot Survive the Death of God URL: https://theforge.fm/freedom-cannot-survive-the-death/ Last updated: 2026-06-29T23:55:43.000Z Why autonomy without God becomes tyranny—and the fatal flaw at the heart of secular freedom _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Why Fulton Sheen Called this the "End of Christendom" URL: https://theforge.fm/why-fulton-sheen-called-this-the/ Last updated: 2026-06-26T18:29:37.000Z Catholics today look at the cultural chaos around us and think, “This has to be the worst it’s ever been.” I’m in that group at times! But Fulton Sheen once pointed out that the Church has passed through a repeating 500-year cycle, or a pattern of collapse, purification, and renewal before. **Fulton Sheen identified four major cycles:** **The fall of Rome (5th century)** Civilization crumbled. The Church looked outnumbered and super vulnerable. Yet from that rubble came the monastic movement and the rebuilding of the West. Wester Culture today is a child of the Church, and the fall of Rome was the start of it. **The corruption and breakdown of the early Middle Ages (around the 10th century)** Moral decay infected both society and the clergy. In response came a revitalized papacy and the Cluniac reforms; a monastic renewal movement centered at the Abbey of Cluny aimed at restoring strict Benedictine discipline, moral purity, and independence from secular control. **The rupture of the Reformation (16th century)** Christendom was torn apart. But the Counter-Reformation, new religious orders, and missionary fervor emerged to strengthen the Church and spread the Gospel even further. **The rise of modern secularism (19th century)** Revolutions and rationalism tried to bury God. The Church responded with clarified doctrine, global evangelization, and a century marked by extraordinary saints. I still believe we’re in that era of saints, probably more in this century than in the last! Then Fulton Sheen said something that should make every Catholic today pay attention: > **We are now living through the next great crisis — *the end of Christendom*.** Not the end of the *Church*. She’s indefectible. But the end of the *Christian social order* — a world shaped by Christian morality and Christian assumptions and understanding. In Sheen’s view, that loss is actually the beginning of something powerful. > **“The Lord is marching the Church through its own 40-year sojourn through the desert, to purify, and strengthen us in preparation for the next great thing in Church history** > \-TJ Haines, c. 2022 Every time Christendom collapses, Christianity becomes real again. When we lose cultural privilege, the Gospel becomes sharper. When faith stops being automatic, it becomes intentional—a faith of conviction. When the Church becomes smaller, she becomes holier and more mission-driven. 💡 If you're enjoying **The Forge**, consider subscribing. It's free, there's no spam, and it makes you a part of my inner circle Sheen believed our age—your lifetime and mine, is the time when the Church is purified of cultural Christianity, ordinary Catholics rediscover personal holiness, the laity take up their missionary calling, and Christians learn to witness boldly without social support or approval. In other words, the world is being stripped away so that the faith can shine again. We’re not witnessing the death of the Church. We’re witnessing the pruning before the bloom. Not the fall of the Church but her reemergence from the ashes. I have said for years that people err when they expect the Church to be reborn as she was in the past. That will not happen! What will emerge from the ashes will be something that will shock the world, including faithful Catholics. this is the paradox, my friends; Christianity is strongest when the world declares it weak. Every “collapse” has led to renewal. Every “death” has led to resurrection. But first must come the cross. If Sheen is right, this moment isn’t a funeral. It’s the forge where God is forming His saints. Trust and believe! ## Sign up for The Forge Catholic Commentary at the Point of Impact Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. ### The Mysterious 'Indefinite' Pause in Fulton Sheen's Cause for Canonization, and What We Learn from It URL: https://theforge.fm/the-mysterious-indefinite-pause-in/ Last updated: 2026-06-29T23:52:49.000Z We’re all celebrating the news that Archbishop Fulton Sheen’s beatification is finally moving forward after a long and painful delay. But it wasn’t long ago that the same delay was treated by some as fodder for suspicion, speculation, and bold claims about the Church’s motives for stalling Sheen’s cause for sainthood, and why these Bishops were “*really up to”.* Let’s take a brief look at the history and facts surrounding this drama that’s lined with some surprising details you might not have even heard before. It’s a story that reveals a hidden malady in the Church that no one is mentioning. ### The Case of Fulton Sheen #### History The Diocese of Peoria announced February 9 that the Vatican has given the green light for Archbishop Fulton Sheen’s beatification to move forward. After a six year delay, Sheen’s beatification can now take place as originally planned. No date has been set yet. Sheen was originally to be beatified on December 21st, 2019\. Then, with less than three weeks’ notice, the Vatican postponed the ceremony indefinitely.For those who loved Sheen, including myself, this was a punch to the gut, followed by a wait that was agonizing. #### Information Vacuum The postponement was surrounded by confusion and mystery. And as often happens in information vacuums, conspiracy theories (and theor*ists)* rush to fill the gap. Monsignor James Kruse from Peoria accused the Rochester diocese of “sabotaging” the. Some wondered if Church politics were at play. Others suspected the Vatican simply didn’t want to elevate a man who’d been so outspoken about things that made modern Church leaders uncomfortable. But the real concerns from Rochester were of even greater cause for unease, and they were kept quiet probably to protect Sheen’s reputation during the investigation. The concerns focused on Sheen’s handling of two cases involving priests accused of sexual misconduct. ### The Case of Gerard Guli The first case involved Gerard Guli, a former Rochester priest accused of abusing adults in the early 1960s, before Sheen arrived in the diocese. According to documents from the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston, in 1963 the Diocese of Rochester received an allegation that in 1960 Guli committed abuse or misconduct against adults. Guli had been ordained in 1956 and from 1963 to 1967 served in parishes in West Virginia. He returned to Rochester in 1967 to help his sick parents. Fulton Sheen became Rochester’s bishop in October 1966. Guli reportedly asked Sheen for an assignment in 1967\. The concern from the Diocese of Rochester was that Sheen might have given Guli a parish assignment despite the 1963 allegation. But according to Monsignor Kruse, Sheen never gave Guli an assignment. This was confirmed by Guli himself. The documents clearly showed that Sheen’s *successor*, Bishop Joseph Hogan, gave Guili a new parish assignment, and it was at that assignment that Guli offended again. In 1989, Guli was arrested for an incident of abuse involving an elderly woman while serving at Rochester’s Holy Rosary Parish. He was subsequently laicized. ### The Case of John Gormley The second case involved Father John Gormley, who reportedly sexually abused minors in 1969\. According to Monsignor Kruse, the abuse was reported to Sheen before his retirement as bishop of Rochester, and Sheen immediately removed him from ministry and never gave him another assignment. ### Sheen is Clean! Monsignor Kruse said in 2019 that an investigation had cleared Sheen of any wrongdoing. By December 2024, Msgr. Jason Gray of the Sheen Foundation confirmed “Sheen is clean” and that “not one accusation has been raised that impugned Sheen.” #### How Soon They Forget For years, those who distrusted the Church convinced themselves that the Church was unjustly blocking Sheen’s cause. “They don’t want him to be a saint.” “He makes them look bad.” These assumptions came from an attitude of suspicion toward the Church and its mechanisms. For years I found myself addressing these comments and statements, occasionally even in some opinion pieces on independent Catholic news sites. My suspicion was always that there might be something in his record related to the abuse crisis—probably administrative, not that he himself committed abuse. But people who preferred conspiracy theories didn’t want to hear it. Now the full story is revealed, and the cause moves forward. But no one seems to remember that it wasn’t too long ago that they were throwing knives at the Catholic Church for “politicizing” Sheen and “scandalizing” the faithful for stalling Sheen’s case. Sadly they probably won’t even learn from the grave mistakes they made in crucifying the Church for doing what the Catholic Church is *supposed* to do—proceed with canonization cases with care, precision and respect. Personally I think it’s beautiful that, at first, the Church seemed to want to guard Fulton Sheen’s reputation by avoiding some big, bold announcement of the reasons for postponing Sheen’s beatification. That’s the Church being a mother, not a secret villain. There’s something fitting about the delay, painful as it was. Fulton Sheen often exhorted people to patience, trust, and to surrender to God’s will rather than our own. “Teach me to do your will, for you are my God”—that prayer from Psalm 143 could have been Sheen’s daily meditation. And now, those who love him and long to see him raised to the altar have had to practice what he preached: trusting God’s timing, not ours. **Help spread the word about The Forge. It’s new and could use some word-of-mouth marketing. Share this article!** ## Sign up for The Forge Catholic Commentary at the Point of Impact Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. ### Truth Is Received, Not Invented - St. Irenaeus, The Fathers Know Best URL: https://theforge.fm/truth-is-received-not-invented-st/ Last updated: 2026-06-25T21:02:41.000Z Exploring the Church’s Role in Preserving the Truth Entrusted to Her, Unchanged Through the Ages. Part of the "Fathers Know Best" series _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### 'Subtle Seductions' and Spiritual Drift URL: https://theforge.fm/subtle-seductions-and-spiritual-drift-in-catholic-world/ Last updated: 2026-06-29T23:49:43.000Z A Catholic parish in Germany announced an ecumenical “Harry Potter” church service. It is not entirely clear what the service will involve beyond the fact that it’s ecumenical, which is promoted as outreach to Catholics and non-Catholics alike. Church officials defended it as evangelization; critics said it crossed a clear line. **Yet, this is not an isolated incident.** It fits a pattern the Church has been confronting for years. We’ve been seeing these flirtations with the occult or paganism in local churches for years, causing Bishops and even the Vatican to intervene when these practices were promoted in sacred settings. > *“Behind Harry Potter hides the signature of the king of darkness.”* > \-Fr. Gabriele Amorth These types of events import non-Christian spiritual frameworks or distort peoples’ understanding of the nature of prayer, and *true* worship. In the United States, the bishops formally warned Catholic institutions against Reiki, concluding that it rests on spiritual assumptions incompatible with Christian belief. In Spain, bishops publicly cautioned that Zen meditation and modern mindfulness movements are not forms of Christian prayer, warning that they replace a God-centered spirituality with techniques focused inward, rather than on God. > *“It is good that you enlighten people about Harry Potter, because those \[books\] are subtle seductions which act unnoticed and…deeply distort Christianity in the soul, before it can grow properly.”* > \-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (Benedict XVI) 2003 Other bishops have issued similar warnings. ## Sign up for The Forge Catholic Commentary at the Point of Impact Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. In Ireland and the UK, bishops and pastors have discouraged or prohibited yoga and mindfulness programs in Catholic schools and church facilities, warning that practices rooted in pagan or occult spirituality risk being treated as compatible with Christian prayer and spirituality. These aren’t fringe concerns. They are recurring pastoral interventions responding to recurring problems. At a higher level, the Vatican has addressed this issue directly. Official Vatican documents—*Orationis Formas* (1989) and **Jesus** Christus**,** *Aquae Vivae Lator* (2003) —and have warned against mixing Christian prayer with Eastern or New Age spiritual practices, cautioning that this kind of borrowing from alternative traditions blurs or distorts what Christian prayer actually is and who it is directed toward. None of this requires panic. I can hear it already, “Vatican II, Vatican II, Oh my!!!). God’s faithful have been drifting out of the lanes since Exodus. The thing to focus on is this. - This is a concern the Church *has*, and *addresses—*The Church doesn’ overlook or ignore it. - Occult or pagan spirituality is completely incompatible with Christian spirituality and Worship. - Sacred spaces are to be properly respected (Canon 1210 CIC: in a sacred place “only those things are to be permitted which serve to exercise or promote worship, piety, and religion,”) The Church doesn’t lack imagination, symbolism, or depth. Healthy Catholic spirituality and culture is enough; in fact it’s superior! Let’s not seek anything “more” than that. Don’t flirt with paganism, or the occult, and discourage or forbid members of your family from doing it. God sees. God notices. And so does the enemy, who is courted through those practices. ### Why We Lose in Spiritual Combat URL: https://theforge.fm/why-we-lose-in-spiritual-combat-8d2/ Last updated: 2026-06-26T18:20:42.000Z Everyone wants to go to war against the Devil. But no one is battling his ally _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Gender: Not a Construct, but a Gift from God URL: https://theforge.fm/gender-not-a-construct-but-a-gift-from-god/ Last updated: 2026-06-26T18:51:45.000Z Gender is a gift from God, baked right into the human person. It's a reality, not an idea. It goes beyond just male and female *bodies (gender is not a body, the body signifies gender).* Gender is something unseeable, but not undetectable, because it's a real thing. **HEADS UP: At the end of this article you’ll find a video from one of my past podcasts, talking about gender being “diverse, but not fluid”** Angels have no gender. Not because it's "missing' But because the type of creature an Angel is is a creature that doesn't need a gender. And dogs aren't lacking wings, they simply don't need them, for the type of creature a dog is. Angels image God ("Image" meaning to make visible in another form) by having intellect and will — by being creatures who can **know** and **choose**. Unlike Angels, humans are created in God’s image and likeness. That means each of us is a someone, not a something — capable of knowing, choosing, loving, and giving ourselves to others. Angels can know and choose, and animals can live and bond, but only human beings can give themselves as persons and form real communion with other persons. Being male or female is not an extra label added onto that dignity; it is one of the ways that dignity becomes visible and livable in the world. In a sense, Gender is how we experience creation—and all reality. We don’t just exist — we belong to one another, we create, we recognize beauty, and we can say “I give myself to you.” In that, the human person reflects God not as an idea or an instinct, but as a living Someone Gender isn't a cage. It's a gift worth unwrapping. ### The Beginning of the End for “Gender Care”? URL: https://theforge.fm/the-beginning-of-the-end-for-gender-care/ Last updated: 2026-06-26T18:54:13.000Z ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c9/60/c9608dd3-28d8-420a-a6aa-9277a7eb54ad/content/images/2026/06/c3ca3db5-f1c2-4808-afc5-52df125f1e01_1100x733-heic-1.jpg) A young woman, Fox Varian, has been awarded $2 million in a medical malpractice case stemming from a double mastectomy performed while Varian was a minor. The lawsuit argued that the procedure was carried out without adequate psychological evaluation or informed consent, and that underlying mental health issues were not properly addressed before irreversible surgery. ## **The Case** Varian underwent a double mastectomy in 2019 while identifying as transgender. The jury found that psychologist Kenneth Einhorn and plastic surgeon Dr. Simon Chin ignored procedural guardrails while pushing Varian towards surgery. Varian was awarded $1.6 million for past and future pain and suffering and $400,000 for future medical expenses. **Remember to Follow me on** [**X**](https://x.com/realtjhaines?utm%5Fsource=www.catholicfirebrand.com&utm%5Fmedium=newsletter&utm%5Fcampaign=the-beginning-of-the-end-for-gender-care) **|** [**Instagram**](https://instagram.com/realtjhaines?utm%5Fsource=www.catholicfirebrand.com&utm%5Fmedium=newsletter&utm%5Fcampaign=the-beginning-of-the-end-for-gender-care) **|** [**TikTok**](https://tiktok.com/@realtjhaines/?utm%5Fsource=www.catholicfirebrand.com&utm%5Fmedium=newsletter&utm%5Fcampaign=the-beginning-of-the-end-for-gender-care) **|** [**FB**](https://facebook.com/realtjhaines?utm%5Fsource=www.catholicfirebrand.com&utm%5Fmedium=newsletter&utm%5Fcampaign=the-beginning-of-the-end-for-gender-care) **|** [**YouTube**](https://youtube.com/@catholicfirebrand?utm%5Fsource=www.catholicfirebrand.com&utm%5Fmedium=newsletter&utm%5Fcampaign=the-beginning-of-the-end-for-gender-care) ## **Growing Wave of Lawsuits** Varian’s case is part of a growing wave of litigation. Roughly two dozen similar lawsuits have been filed in the United States over the past four years by detransitioners who say they were rushed into medical transition as teenagers and later experienced regret, medical complications, or lasting harm. ## **What Experts Are Saying** The verdict carries implications beyond this single case. Expert witness Erica Anderson warned that "this verdict should serve as a warning to reckless providers of gender-affirming care to minors" Attorney Charles LiMandri, representing other detransitioners including activist Chloe Cole, told media outlets the claims in Varian's case mirror those in other pending lawsuits, suggesting similar outcomes may follow. ## **The Bigger Picture** This ruling—and the growing wave of similar lawsuits—may signal the beginning of the end of what I see as the “gender care” illusion that has been sold to vulnerable people, families, and especially children who may have needed serious psychological care instead. In my view, much of the medical industry treated adults as commercial test subjects and minors as true experiments for interventions whose long-term outcomes were never well established. If these cases keep coming, maybe we’ll finally see some real accountability — and maybe the focus will shift back to treating people’s actual distress with therapy and genuine care, instead of fast-tracking them into irreversible procedures that a lot of them now say ruined their lives. ### Archbishop Coakley Calls for Holy Hour of Peace. Does it Tilt "Left"? URL: https://theforge.fm/archbishop-coakley-calls-for-holy-hour-of-peace-does-it-tilt-left/ Last updated: 2026-06-25T21:02:46.000Z Archbishop Paul Coakley, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, has issued a letter calling for a nationwide Holy Hour for Peace in response to recent deaths during immigration enforcement operations. His statement addresses what he calls a "climate of fear and polarization" and urges prayer for reconciliation, justice, and consolation. The statement has drawn predictable reactions from both sides of the political spectrum. At first glance, the letter might read like a love letter to Left wingers and a snub of Conservatives’ perspective on the issue. But you have to read it like a Catholic—with precision, not impulse—to see what's truly there, which is **balanced, authentic Catholic social teaching.** Although it does tilt to the left a bit. I’ll explain. **My take:** The letter is quite balanced and deeply Catholic. If it seems to pander to the Left, that's because the Church isn't really "on the Right." The Church teaches Truth and sometimes representing the objective Truth results in the appearance of favoring one political side over the other. I see that in this letter. ### *“Your faith matters. Your prayers matter. Your acts of love and works of justice matter.”* Sounds like a nod to anti-ICE protesters? But shouldn’t we all be doing “acts of love and works of justice”? Prayer certainly matters, and that’s something we could all be doing more of—praying for peace, not just praying for “our” side to win. ### *“I am deeply grateful for the countless ways Catholics and all people of good will continue to serve one another and work for peace and justice.”* This again sounds like he’s addressing the Left. But it frames concern for human dignity and the common good in the usual language of Catholic social doctrine. What you're seeing in the letter/statement is genuine Catholic social teaching at work, not political ideology dressed up as theology. But here's the thing. I believe more should have been said in support of border enforcement and immigration law. The document seems to whisper toward it, (“…laws must be respected”) then backs away, without not explicitly saying “violence against Law enforcement has to stop”. And why is the letter so tentative and its language *appear* to tilt Left. That's probably because the subject is politically explosive territory and the bishop doesn't want to add fuel to the fire. After all, it's the Left who are the reactionaries. The Right may take offense, but they won't torch a city to express their anger. [Read the letter at the USCCBs site](https://www.usccb.org/news/2026/archbishop-coakley-calls-holy-hour-moment-renewal-our-hearts-and-our-nation?utm%5Fsource=www.catholicfirebrand.com&utm%5Fmedium=newsletter&utm%5Fcampaign=archbishop-coakley-calls-for-holy-hour-of-peace-does-it-tilt-left) ### Pope Leo XIV: Truth PLUS Charity URL: https://theforge.fm/pope-leo-xiv-truth-plus-charity/ Last updated: 2026-06-29T23:47:23.000Z The Pope, in his address to judges the Church's highest court, warned that **well-intentioned compassion, if not grounded in objective truth, can lead to relativizing the truth.** It's particularly relevant to us as you read this in a social media setting like X where Charity and Truth are often divorced and live in a vacuum. Let's look at this through that lens, and I'll propose how it applies to us. **Pope Leo warned against a kind of compassion that is detached from truth.** When pastoral concern replaces the duty to establish what is true, justice is not served, it's weakened. Compassion comes from Truth, and it has to be guided by it. Often the Left ignores the Truth and their compassion becomes misguided and dangerous. Life/Abortion, Transgender issues, Immigration issues, and more; all of these are "compassions" divorced from Truth and reality. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c9/60/c9608dd3-28d8-420a-a6aa-9277a7eb54ad/content/images/2026/06/31b388c8-3d83-4a84-8943-b49906123d7c_680x272-jpeg.jpg) At the same time, the Pope cautioned **against cold legalism which can forget a person's dignity, and can fail the gospel.** I said in a post a few days ago that conservatives are often all head/reason, sometimes to a fault (i.e. "cold legalism". **Truth** without **charity** makes the Truth lifeless, because it becomes loveless. We see a need for this balance between Truth (or Justice) and Charity in the current immigration crisis where we appear to have the same strategies and approach to hardened criminal illegal migrants as we have to peaceful, working illegal migrants with no criminal record at all. What's the middle ground? Where do Truth and Charity meet there? That's what the Holy Father was talking about. Even though we aren't judges or canon lawyers,, ### Understanding "Living Waters" URL: https://theforge.fm/understanding-living-waters/ Last updated: 2026-06-29T15:07:52.000Z How can we give Jesus his heart's desire? It's simpler than you think—and more meaningful. Let's look at John 4:10 _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### You Don’t Drift Into Holiness. You Fight for It. URL: https://theforge.fm/you-don-t-drift-into-holiness-you-fight-for-it/ Last updated: 2026-06-29T23:46:40.000Z 2026 has been a madhouse already, and though I’ve been “off the air” since December, I plan on more podcasts very soon. I’e also been writing some important articles over at Stoking the Embers, which I’ll bundle in a nice, simple little newsletter here for my Firebrand Dispatch subscribers. But for now, here’s a bit of exclusive commentary for you; this one is a spiritual combat call-to-arms ### To Arms! Catholic life is not soft, and it was never meant to be. Anyone who presents it that way is either confused or already negotiating terms with the world. The Christian life is lived under pressure. We are pulled by comfort, distracted by noise, seduced by approval, and worn down by ease. The devil doesn’t need spectacle; he does his best work when vigilance fades and resistance feels unnecessary. Our own weaknesses — habits, appetites, quiet compromises — make us vulnerable to both. This is not theory. It is the daily terrain. Holiness requires toughness. Not bravado, not posturing, not anger — but real spiritual hardness: the ability to resist when it would be easier to yield, to endure when retreat feels reasonable, to remain disciplined when no one is watching. Left to ourselves, we fail. Not sometimes. Consistently. Lorenzo Scupoli is blunt about this in *The Spiritual Combat*: **“Distrust yourself, and place all your confidence in God.”**That is not a devotional slogan; it is a sober assessment of reality. Self-reliance is not strength. It is exposure. The moment we begin to trust our own resolve, our own clarity, our own steadiness, we have already shifted our weight onto unstable ground. ### The Armory The only reason we are capable of standing at all is because Jesus Christ stands with us — and because He supplies what we lack. The sacraments are not symbolic reassurances or spiritual accessories. They are reinforcements. Confession is not therapeutic reflection; it is restoration after damage. The Eucharist is not comfort food; it is sustenance for those who are still in the fight. St. Ignatius of Loyola opens the *Spiritual Exercises* by clarifying the entire purpose of human life: **“Man is created to praise, reverence, and serve God our Lord, and by this means to save his soul.”** Everything else — success, pleasure, reputation, safety — is secondary. Useful only insofar as it serves that end, and dangerous the moment it distracts from it. That clarity hardens a man. It gives him orientation. It tells him what can be sacrificed and what cannot. The world wants you passive. The devil wants you isolated. Your own weakness wants you tired, distracted, and unguarded. Catholic life answers all three the same way: discipline, vigilance, and complete dependence on grace. This is not a leisurely walk through a park on a pleasant afternoon. It is a campaign that demands alertness and resolve. You were not made to be prey. But you will be, if you pretend this is easy. Take the sacraments seriously. Stop flirting with the world’s comforts. Abandon the fantasy that holiness happens by accident. On your own, you are weak and exposed. Fighting with Christ, you are stronger than the enemy arrayed against you. Stand your ground, people. God be with you all! ### God Doesn’t Need You—He Desires You URL: https://theforge.fm/god-doesnt-need-you-he-desires-you/ Last updated: 2026-06-29T15:15:27.000Z Sometimes we think we’re doing God a favor by praying, or by going to mass. We may even try to spite or punish him by refusing to pray, refusing to worship, refusing to follow him. It’s as if we recognize our own value, and leverage our worth against God. We recognize something true, but apply it in a way that is false. We are indeed worth a lot to God. But God doesn’t need you, he desires you, and there’s a big difference. 💡 ***plus members**: There's an Afterthoughts article linked at the end of this article ### Created in His Image In the creation narratives of Genesis, we see our unique value established from the very beginning. While God speaks the rest of creation into existence—”Let there be light” (Genesis 1:3), “Let the earth bring forth vegetation” (Genesis 1:11)—when it comes to humanity, there’s a dramatic shift. God says, > “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness” > Genesis 1:26 We alone bear the divine image, the *imago Dei*. The sun and moon reflect God’s glory, the animals show His creativity, but **only humanity reflects God Himself**. ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!MJVC!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F40497a69-c6a6-49c8-95bf-d5ff8f995c82_550x373.jpeg) Then in Genesis 2:7, we see an even more intimate act: > “*The Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life*.” God doesn’t breathe life into the animals or plants, but only into us. We are dust animated by divine breath, matter infused with the spirit of God. This is our unique dignity: we are the only creatures made in God’s image, the only ones who receive the breath of life directly from His mouth, the only ones given dominion over creation (Genesis 1:28), and the only ones with whom God walks and speaks in intimate relationship (Genesis 3:8). [JOIN THE FORGE TODAY](https://theforge.fm/#/portal/signup) ### How Much God Values Us Scripture frequently shows just how much God values us, and the Holy Spirit seems to go out of His way to communicate this in powerful imagery that moves this value-measurement out of abstraction and theory, and into connectable, heartfelt realities. The Psalmist marvels, > *“What is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor”* > \-Psalm 8:4-5 Jesus Himself tells us that we’re valuable to God: > *“Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows”* > \-Matthew 10:29-31 God’s attention to detail regarding our lives is staggering—He knows us so intimately that it’s like every hair on our head is counted. ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!JGnm!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8816d0ca-88b4-47e0-8005-11160593c761_1300x643.jpeg) Then there’s the prophet Isaiah who reassures us of God’s comfort: “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes” (Revelation 21:4, echoing Isaiah 25:8), showing that God cares about every sorrow we experience. And in Psalm 139:13-14, David writes, “For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, **for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.**” We are not accidents or afterthoughts—we are fearfully and wonderfully crafted by God Himself, known by Him before we even drew our first breath. ### Desired, Not Needed We are the apple of God's eye. He desires us, but he doesn't need us. He is complete, whole, and lacking nothing. All the more reason why it should amaze us that while needing nothing, he ***still*** desires a relationship with us. He so desires us that he sent his Son to die for us, so that, being freed from the bonds of sin, we have an opportunity to have a relationship with him now and to be with him forever in heaven. > “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” > \-John 3:16 > > “But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” -Romans 5:8 ### An Encounter with…*Water*? ![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!f3kz!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3016650a-c03d-40ef-b302-f8370d73a189_1000x767.heic) God’s desire—the desire of his heart—is deep and mysterious but also simple. When Jesus encounters the woman at the well (John 4:1-42), he asked for something very simple—a cup of water. I have said this before, but though it’s only a cup of water, it’s not so simple as a cup of water. In that moment a cup of water was His heart’s desire. And the heart of Jesus (God) is infinitely deep. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink” (John 4:7), and later, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water” (John 4:10). 💡 Inner Circle "plus" Members: That scripture 👆 is thoroughly explored in the Afterthoughts article you'll find at the end of this article. ### Snotty Little Child! At every level of our faith experience, we can be tempted to deny God his heart’s desire. Whether it’s our full attention, our devotion, our praise, or our worship, we can find ourselves withholding ourselves from God, or giving him less than what he wants. I do this all the time when I’m too “busy” to pray or too lazy to be all-in in my spirituality. When I do that, I’m not giving him all that he wants. And in the process I’m actually hurting myself. Then there are those who dangle themselves in front of God almost as if to taunt him. “Give me what I ask, and then I’ll give you what you want.” We sure know how to be snotty little children! Recall the Jews in the wilderness who, even after witnessing God’s deliverance from Egypt, grumbled and tested Him: “Is the Lord among us or not?” (Exodus 17:7). I kind of want to be there when God comes down to them to say “Hey, I don’t need you, big shot. Remember that. I *desire*you. It’s you who needs me. Get that straight!” Eh! Thankfully God isn’t from Brooklyn, because we Brooklyn-kind usually come out swinging like that. He’s more merciful and patient. Maybe he’s from Oklahoma. God is patient. Let’s not exploit that. Give God his heart’s desire. Give him yourself—your time, your prayer, your worship, your attention. Be good to him. Look how good he is to you. > “The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. The Lord is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made” (Psalm 145:8-9). God be with you all. --- ## Inner Circle plus members: Here's a bonus article for you, explaining "Living waters" from the biblical perspective. Inner Circle members, Consider upgrading and support my work and get a broader experience at The Forge [![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!oOGn!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb9a318fe-50e8-4f7a-9b00-ce8f45478fb1_1300x929.heic)](https://theforge.fm/understanding-living-waters/) [The ForgeCatholic Commentary at the Point of Impact![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c9/60/c9608dd3-28d8-420a-a6aa-9277a7eb54ad/content/images/icon/b7ec1ce1-0951-48d3-aa33-f536ce41dafe_296x296-30-1-dbef0359-07f6-4073-8b99-0df016a57214.png)The Forge![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c9/60/c9608dd3-28d8-420a-a6aa-9277a7eb54ad/content/images/thumbnail/b7ec1ce1-0951-48d3-aa33-f536ce41dafe_296x296-30-1-77d5aa1c-a228-4bb6-a337-9807553441af.png)](https://theforge.fm/understanding-living-waters/) ## Sign up for The Forge Catholic Commentary at the Point of Impact Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. ### More Ancient Evidence of Peter as Pope URL: https://theforge.fm/more-ancient-evidence-of-peter-as-pope/ Last updated: 2026-06-29T23:45:11.000Z In August 2022, archaeologists working on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee made a discovery that should matter to every Catholic. Buried beneath centuries of sand and stone, they uncovered a Byzantine-era mosaic with an inscription that reads, in part, “chief and commander of the heavenly apostles”—a title Byzantine Christians used specifically for Saint Peter. The inscription was found in what archaeologists call the “Church of the Apostles,” a basilica first discovered in 2019 at the El-Araj site. This ancient church, approximately 1,500 years old, may well stand over the ruins of Bethsaida, the hometown of Peter, Andrew, and Philip. The mosaic itself includes a petition from a donor named Constantine, who asks for Peter’s intercession. It’s a beautiful window into how the early Church understood Peter’s role—not just as one apostle among many, but as the chief, the commander, the rock upon which Christ built his Church. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c9/60/c9608dd3-28d8-420a-a6aa-9277a7eb54ad/content/images/2026/06/a4035c24-b97d-4df6-b9d7-f69a72d466c6_1429x1296-jpeg.jpg) The inscription in the mosaic floor found in the remains of what archaeologists believe is the Byzantine Church of the Apostles built to stand over the home of St. Peter and his brother, Andrew. Photo by Achia Kohn-Tavor, courtesy of Hebrew University, Jerusalem. What strikes me about this discovery isn’t just its archaeological significance, though that matters. It’s what it tells us about the continuity of faith across the centuries. ### *“The chief and commander of the heavenly apostles.”* That’s not a title invented by medieval popes or Counter-Reformation theologians. It’s what Christians were saying 1,500 years ago. The Church has always recognized Peter’s primacy. From the earliest days, Christians understood that Christ gave Peter a unique authority and mission. When Our Lord asked, “Who do you say that I am?” it was Peter who answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And it was to Peter that Christ responded, “You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church.” That primacy wasn’t invented centuries later—it was lived and breathed by the early Church, as this mosaic inscription testifies. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c9/60/c9608dd3-28d8-420a-a6aa-9277a7eb54ad/content/images/2026/06/8e569d48-cc50-4b95-98fc-329540311f04_1280x1797-jpeg.jpg) This discovery also strengthens the connection between archaeological evidence and the historical accounts we have from early pilgrims. An eighth-century German bishop named Willibald documented visiting a church built over Peter’s house during his pilgrimage to the Holy Land in 724\. The El-Araj site, with its Byzantine basilica and now this inscription, appears to be that very church. The stones cry out, as Scripture says, bearing witness to what the faithful have always known. But here’s what matters most about this discovery: it’s not just about the past. It’s about us, here and now. ### **The Church built on Pet*er endures because Christ p*romised it would.** Peter’s primacy wasn’t just for his generation. It was—and is—for ours. The office Christ gave to Peter continues in his successors, the bishops of Rome, the popes. When we recognize the pope’s authority, we’re not bowing to medieval tradition or human invention. We’re recognizing the office Christ himself established, the rock he chose to build his Church upon. The same Church that built that basilica in Bethsaida, that inscribed Peter’s title in mosaic, that has endured for two millennia through persecution, schism, scandal, and heresy. The gates of hell have not prevailed against her. They never will. This ancient inscription, buried for centuries and now brought to light, reminds us that the Church’s teaching about Peter isn’t an innovation. It’s not something added later to consolidate power or establish hierarchy. It’s what Christians have always believed, from the time of the apostles themselves. The early Church knew who Peter was. They knew what Christ had given him. And they honored it. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c9/60/c9608dd3-28d8-420a-a6aa-9277a7eb54ad/content/images/2026/06/7e131c73-9f7c-4114-a085-d368ce19780d_1200x600-jpeg.jpg) That same Church—built on Peter, guided by his successors, animated by the Holy Spirit—is the Church we belong to today. When we profess our faith, when we receive the sacraments, when we submit to the teaching authority of the Church, we’re standing in an unbroken line that stretches back through centuries of faithful Christians to Peter himself. To Christ himself. The mosaic at El-Araj is more than an archaeological curiosity. It’s a testimony written in stone and glass by believers who understood what we sometimes forget: that the Church’s structure isn’t arbitrary, that Peter’s primacy isn’t negotiable, and that Christ keeps his promises. He promised to build his Church on Peter. He promised the gates of hell would not prevail against it. And he promised to be with us always, until the end of the age. A Byzantine Christian named Constantine once asked Peter to intercede for him, and his petition was preserved in mosaic for us to find 1,500 years later. We can ask the same. Saint Peter, chief and commander of the heavenly apostles, pray for us. Pray for the Church built on your faith. Pray that we, like the faithful of Bethsaida and Byzantium and every age, will recognize and honor what Christ established in you, and what continues in your successors today. ## Sign up for The Forge Catholic Commentary at the Point of Impact Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. ### France and 'War' on Catholic Schools URL: https://theforge.fm/france-and-war-on-catholic-schools/ Last updated: 2026-06-29T23:44:01.000Z Recent claims that the French government has “declared war on Catholic schoolchildren” are a little overstated, **but not by much**. Reports from Catholic education authorities in France describe state inspections that are aggressive, intrusive, and dismissive of Catholic identity. **Exclusive commentary only for Catholic Firebrand subscribers** **Key points:** - Catholic schools operating legally under state contract have faced intensified government inspections. - Teachers report being questioned about personal religious practice, including Mass attendance. - Inspectors allegedly examined and photographed students’ spiritual or prayer notebooks. - School leaders describe pressure to justify or remove Catholic symbols and religious language. - These actions take place within France’s strict secular (*laïcité*) framework, which explains—but does not justify—the severity of the approach. --- ## A Troubling Moment for Catholic Schools in France Recent reports out of France indicate that Catholic schools are facing an intensified form of state scrutiny that many educators describe as aggressive, intrusive, and deeply unsettling. While oversight of publicly funded institutions is not new, the manner in which these inspections are reportedly being carried out raises serious concerns about respect for Catholic identity, religious freedom, and the proper limits of state authority. Catholic schools in France have long operated under a legal arrangement that allows them to receive public funding while retaining their distinctly Catholic character. This balance—recognized in law and tradition—depends on mutual respect: the state ensures academic standards, and the schools remain free to form students within a Catholic moral and spiritual framework. What is being reported now suggests that this balance is under strain. According to testimonies compiled by Catholic education authorities, inspection teams from the Ministry of National Education have arrived at Catholic schools in unusually large numbers, sometimes without prior notice. Teachers and administrators describe inspections that went beyond curricular or administrative review and into areas they believe should remain private or protected. [JOIN THE FORGE TODAY](#/portal/signup/free) Some teachers report being asked about their personal religious practices, including whether they attend Mass. Others say inspectors examined and photographed students’ spiritual or prayer notebooks—materials intended for reflection, not state evaluation. School principals have described feeling pressured to justify or even remove Catholic symbols or religious language, as though the schools’ very identity required defense. These accounts do not come from anonymous internet posts, but from educators responsible for the care and formation of children. While they represent reported experiences rather than official government admissions, the consistency and seriousness of these testimonies demand attention. ### Why This Situation Is Sensitive Any honest assessment of this situation must acknowledge the uniquely French context in which it is unfolding. France operates under a strict model of secularism shaped by early 20th-century laws that sharply separated Church and State. In this framework, the state sees itself as the guardian of religious neutrality in public life, especially in education. Religion is permitted, but closely watched; tolerated, but carefully contained. Catholic schools under state contract exist within this tension. They are legally recognized as having a *caractère propre*—a proper and distinct Catholic identity—while also submitting to state oversight in exchange for public funding. This arrangement is not a loophole or concession; it is an established part of the French educational system. That context explain why inspections occur, but it doesn’t excuse *that* they occur like this. This is not oversight, it’s domination and intimidation When oversight becomes disproportionate, when inspectors probe personal belief, scrutinize spiritual materials, or treat Catholic expression as inherently suspect, something has gone wrong. What should be regulatory begins to feel ideological and adversarial. ### Why Catholics Should Be Concerned Even allowing for France’s ridiculous legal framework, the reported conduct of these inspections is troubling. Large teams of inspectors moving through schools unannounced. Students questioned about religious materials. Teachers asked about their sacramental lives. Administrators pressured over symbols and language that are integral—not incidental—to Catholic education. This doesn’t look like ordinary oversight. It looks more like intimidation. No formal declaration against Catholic schools is required for the effect to be chilling. When religious identity is treated as a potential violation rather than a protected characteristic, educators and families receive the message clearly enough: *your faith is under suspicion*. Catholic schools exist to form the whole person—intellect, conscience, and soul. That mission is not an add-on. It is the reason these schools exist. When the state approaches that mission with hostility or distrust, Catholics are justified in naming the problem plainly, without exaggeration and without fear. What is unfolding in France deserves careful attention from Catholics everywhere. Even within a system of legitimate state oversight, the reported actions toward Catholic schools appear disproportionate and, at times, coercive in effect. Religious freedom does not disappear when it becomes inconvenient to a secular state, nor does Catholic identity become suspect simply because it is visible and formative. If Catholic schools are to remain authentically Catholic, they must be allowed to live and teach their faith without intimidation—especially when they are operating within the very legal framework the state itself has established. Stay fired up, my people. But don’t get torched by your own flames. Stay focused, and never hysterical. God be with you all. ## Sign up for The Forge Catholic Commentary at the Point of Impact Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. ### Catholic Attitude - Fire Branded URL: https://theforge.fm/catholic-attitude/ Last updated: 2026-06-29T23:42:44.000Z Most Catholics know their doctrine, but few ever examine their *attitude*. In this episode, TJ breaks open why humility, obedience, unity, and a teachable spirit are essential for becoming a saint — and how a bad attitude can quietly push you toward heterodoxy, division, or even apostasy. Featuring commentary on a Colorado Springs schismatic group and what their story reveals about the dangers of spiritual pride. **KEY HIGHLIGHTS (Bullet Points for Description or Show Notes)** - **Why attitude determines destiny** — holiness isn’t just about doctrine; it’s about disposition. - **Humility as the first requirement of sainthood** — the virtue that unlocks every other virtue. - **Filial vs servile obedience** and why Catholics must obey the Church with *trust*, not fear. - **How Protestants misunderstand “worship”** and why biblical worship requires sacrifice, priest, and altar. - **A real-world example of bad Catholic attitude**: the Colorado Springs schismatic group ignoring excommunication. - **Why radical traditionalism and sedevacantism differ by “half a hair.”** - **Why unity is not optional** — the Church mirrors the eternal through its oneness. - **Why orthodoxy without charity can still lead you astray.** - **The danger of Catholics resisting correction** — the growing trend I see after 30 years in evangelization. - **The mystical body of Christ and why obedience to the Church *is* obedience to Christ.** ### 'Mary Worshiper'? Here's What Worship Really Is! URL: https://theforge.fm/mary-worshiper-heres-what-worship/ Last updated: 2026-06-29T23:25:58.000Z **Segment Video is from the** [*Fire Branded Post-Show Smackdown*](https://youtu.be/XDmuHl0jsoI?utm%5Fsource=www.catholicfirebrand.com&utm%5Fmedium=newsletter&utm%5Fcampaign=mary-worshiper-here-s-what-worship-really-is&%5Fbhlid=48b53a00000c68caee8415c35dbf63624ac372e2) --- I’m tired of being told **“Catholic? You’re a Mary worshipper!”** Aren’t you? Doesn’t it get old after you’ve heard it 10,000 times? Most Catholics know the deal—they know we don’t **worship** Mary or the saints but they may not understand **why** the protestants are flat-out wrong for saying that we do. Well step into the classroom, my friends, because it’s time to learn why that indictment is ridiculous. These five points will not only educate you on the depths of Catholic theology regarding worship, but it’ll inform your responses the next time someone accuses you of being an idol or Mary worshiper. By the way, thank you for signing up for my newsletter and I Hope you enjoy this *exclusive* write-up. **If it’s too heavy, too light, or you have some other recommendation for the kind of things you’d like to see as a Catholic Firebrand member, drop a comment and let me know, or hit me up on** [***Discord***](https://discord.gg/firebrand?utm%5Fsource=www.catholicfirebrand.com&utm%5Fmedium=newsletter&utm%5Fcampaign=mary-worshiper-here-s-what-worship-really-is&%5Fbhlid=afcc7dc09a07dbd96bce981cf5991a8ae861683c)**.** Okay, let’s get into to it. Put on those thinking caps, my people, because we’re going a little deep here. Most Catholics know that worship belongs to God alone. But *why*? And what actually counts as worship in the technical, theological sense? We throw the word around easily—“worship music,” “worship night,” “worship leaders”—yet Scripture and the Church give “worship” a very specific meaning. If we don’t understand that meaning, we end up confused about the Mass, confused about Mary, confused about prayer, and confused about what Catholics really do when they honor the saints. So here’s a simple breakdown: **five points** that explain what worship truly is, why the Mass is the center of it, and why devotion to saints never crosses the line into worship. ### **1\. Worship (Latria) Belongs to God Alone Because Worship Means Sacrifice** In Catholic theology, *worship* isn’t defined by strong feelings, music that moves us, or spiritual experiences. Worship—**latria**—is the adoration owed to God alone. And at the heart of latria is **sacrifice**. That’s the biblical pattern from Genesis to Revelation. The highest act the creature offers the Creator is sacrifice: offering Him what is most precious, in recognition of His absolute sovereignty. This is why the Church teaches that **the most perfect act of worship ever offered to the Father is Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross**, and why the Mass—where that sacrifice is made present—is the Church’s supreme act of worship. **References:** CCC 2096–2097; CCC 1367; Council of Trent, Session 22. [JOIN THE FORGE TODAY](#/portal/signup/free) ### **2\. The Mass Is the Supreme Act of Worship Because It Is the Sacrifice of Christ Made Present** The Mass is not a symbolic gesture. It is not a spiritual “memorial service” or a reenactment. It is the real sacrificial self-offering of Christ—*the same sacrifice as Calvary*, made present sacramentally. Christ is the High Priest who offers Himself to the Father once for all (Hebrews 9–10). In the Mass, we do not repeat His sacrifice—we are drawn into it. We participate in His perfect offering. This is why the Eucharistic Prayer is the heart of the liturgy: that is the moment of offering. If worship at its core is sacrifice, then the Mass isn’t just *part* of Catholic worship. It **is**worship in its fullest and most perfect form. **References:** Hebrews 9–10; CCC 1322–1324; CCC 1354; Sacrosanctum Concilium 7 & 10. ### **3\. Prayer Is Connected to Worship, but Prayer Alone Is Not Worship in the Strict Sense** This is a place where many Catholics get tripped up. We often say “I worship God by praying,” and while that’s true in a loose sense, prayer alone—by itself—is not “worship” in the technical theological meaning of *latria*. Prayer expresses devotion. It expresses adoration. But it does not, by itself, constitute **sacrifice**, and therefore it does not become the highest act of worship. Instead, prayer **participates** in worship when it is united to the liturgy. The Church teaches that Christian prayer draws its power and meaning from the liturgical life, and it flows back into it. Prayer is sanctified by the Mass, shaped by the Mass, and ordered toward the Mass. It leans into worship, but it is not identical with worship. So prayer is holy, necessary, powerful, and transformative—but its deepest meaning comes from its relationship to the liturgy. **References:** CCC 2565; CCC 2626–2643; Sacrosanctum Concilium 10. ### **4\. Dulia: Why Honoring the Saints Is Not Worship** When Catholics honor a saint, we are not worshiping a creature. We honor the saints because they manifest the glory of God and remain alive in Him, interceding for the Church. This honor is called **dulia**, and it is fundamentally different from latria in three ways: 1. It is directed to a **creature**, not the Creator. 2. It never involves **sacrifice**. 3. It asks for **intercession**, not divine power. The Church has insisted on this distinction for centuries—explicitly—to make sure nothing we do in devotion can ever be confused with worship. **References:** CCC 957–958; Second Council of Nicaea (787); CCC 2131–2132. ### **5\. Hyperdulia: Why Mary’s Honor Is Higher Than the Saints’ but Still Not Worship** Mary receives **hyperdulia**, the highest honor the Church gives to any creature. She is the Mother of God, full of grace, the new Eve, and the perfect model of discipleship. Because of her singular role in salvation history, her veneration is unique. But even hyperdulia is not worship. It remains honor, not sacrifice; veneration, not adoration; intercession, not salvation. Worship is always, only, and completely directed to the Holy Trinity. **References:** Second Council of Nicaea; CCC 971. ### **Why This Matters** A lot of misunderstandings about Catholicism come down to this simple truth: **Worship is about sacrifice.** Once you grasp that, everything snaps into place: - The Mass becomes the center of life. - Prayer finds its meaning in the liturgy. - Marian devotion makes sense. - Honoring saints becomes biblical and reasonable. - And the charge that Catholics “worship Mary” collapses instantly. We worship God alone because only God is the Author of our existence and the Redeemer of our souls. And we worship Him the way He calls us to: in the one perfect sacrifice of Christ, made present in every Mass. *Ave Maria, Virgo Fidelis!* *(“Hail Mary, Faithful Virgin” for the newbies out there)* ## Sign up for The Forge Catholic Commentary at the Point of Impact Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. ### When Facts tell Fiction URL: https://theforge.fm/when-facts-tell-fiction/ Last updated: 2026-07-06T05:14:58.000Z Video Clip is from a discontinued podcast ### **Sometimes the loudest headlines aren’t the ones telling the truth—they’re just the ones telling a story.** In this segment clip I walk through how an event got spun into a manufactured drama just by rearranging the facts. Five people out of 1,300 becomes the whole headline. A public lunch is transubstantiated into a backroom private audience—minus the miracle—and a Jubilee banquet becomes a secret Vatican doctrinal strategy session. Nothing false is *said*, but the truth disappears in the framing. Here’s the part worth carrying with you: deception in reporting rarely shows up as an outright lie. It shows up in what’s *emphasized*, what’s *left out*, and how the pieces are arranged. The media has an obligation to report the facts, but they don’t necessarily use the facts to *tell you the truth*, and that’s found even in some Catholic media. ### See the Signs, not the Headlines If a headline creates an emotional reaction before it gives information, that should make you pause. If the story leads you to *assume* something it never actually states, pause again. Ask the simple questions: What actually happened? What are the facts? Are the facts tied directly, or in a roundabout way? Does this report seem to leave out facts, demonstrated by holes in the story or narrative? Catholics need clarity more than outrage. Truth doesn’t need drama to make its point, and neither should we. If there’s drama, it’s not just to get your attention, it’s often to cover up deceptive reporting. Emotional triggers disengage the mind and reason. So slow down, read past the headline, and read past the first two or three paragraphs because usually the real story starts at around paragraph-four. Don’t let someone else do your thinking for you, or manipulate you to complete the lie that they can’t legally tell themselves. We have enough real challenges in Catholic life. Manufactured ones only distract us from the work Christ actually gave us to do. ### **Link to my article covering the facts of the Jubilee for the Poor, referenced in the video** [Scandal! Pope Invites Trans Activists to Vatican! Actually it’s fake news.This is truly a scandal, but it isn’t a ‘Vatican Scandal’ The real scandal is the coverage by LifeSite News. Let me show you why![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c9/60/c9608dd3-28d8-420a-a6aa-9277a7eb54ad/content/images/icon/b7ec1ce1-0951-48d3-aa33-f536ce41dafe_296x296-30-1-5da9f8b4-be02-481c-b4e3-5daf577aec47.png)Fire Branded by TJ HainesTJ Haines![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c9/60/c9608dd3-28d8-420a-a6aa-9277a7eb54ad/content/images/thumbnail/Vatican_Popes_Homework_06606-2-e1c0f557-8e79-4766-ba4e-7f4856174502.jpg)](https://firebranded.fm/scandal-pope-invites-trans-activists-to-vatican-actually-its-fake-news/?ref=theforge.fm) ### Moving Beyond Confession: From Confirmations to Affirmations URL: https://theforge.fm/moving-beyond-confession-from-confirmations/ Last updated: 2026-06-26T18:55:50.000Z A lot of times we think of confession as just this straightforward cycle: confess your sins, get absolution, try harder next time. And while that’s definitely part of it, it’s not the whole story. Being elevated above and beyond our fallen nature means *changing* our nature. We need God to do that, but we have to cooperate with the process. That requires a system of disciplines and “mechanisms” that take us out of the muck of our fallen nature. Youalready know the mechanisms—mass, sacraments, especially Holy Eucharist and Confession. But that’s not all there is to it. ### “…stop confirming those negative ideas you have about yourself and start embracing positive affirmations instead.” Conversion from sin is really about a whole range of spiritual strategies. One of the most important of these strategies is living your mind out of the muck, not just your soul (confession)—learning to stop confirming those negative ideas you have about yourself and start embracing positive affirmations instead. You may know this already, and not be aware of it. Have you ever been down on yourself before, or after Confession? Or experienced deep regret that’s drawn into yourself, rather than a healthy sorrow for offending or disappointing God? Part of this is mere psychology, but a great part of it is likely the devil trying to diminish the potential fruit of a good confession. If you come out of a good confession feeling down on yourself, unable to believe in yourself or to recognize your *very real* potential for greatness, you may fall into the same sin (or worse ones) the very next day. This spiritual “psych-op” actually beings long before you go to confession. It’s an investment the devil makes in tipping you over to fall later. ## Sign up for The Forge Catholic Commentary at the Point of Impact Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. We need to pull ourselves out of that muck. We shouldn’t live in dowcast posture, because it’s contrary to the nature of our eternal destiny. We should always be oriented “upward”—living our hearts and minds to God, living in a spirit of hope rather than despair, moving a situation or condition from bad to good as much as we’re able to. Always be upward-oriented. That includes your mood and state of mind. So develop a discipline of letting go of despair and embrace hope instead—even if you *think* it’s irrational (it isn’t!). That means moving our entire being—mind, body, soul, and spirit—toward the eternal and transcendent. Focus on the True, Good and Beautiful. Focus on God. Focus on the positive and move toward it; *live* for it. And when you start thinking about yourself negatively, cast out those negative *confirmations* that tell you how rotten you are. Instead, build a habit of positive *affirmation.* > “I’m a sinner, but God knows I can be great, that’s why he calls me to greatnesss. He wouldn’t call me to an impossibility” > > “I have offended or hurt a lot of people. But that means I have the capacity for great love, if only I can redirect my passions from selfishness, to selflessness and generosity.” > > “I can be as great a saint as I am a great sinner. The passion (or energy) that results in the latter is also the passion that can lead me to the former” Don’t psyche yourself out; psyche yourself *up*—literally. Point your mind and heart upward, not down toward the dirt. You don’t belong there, so stop living there. This is a strategy that leads us out of our fallen nature and toward something greater—toward the kind of holiness and wholeness we’re all ultimately called to. So next time you think about confession, remember that it’s not just about what you’re leaving behind. It’s also about what you’re stepping into: a renewed way of seeing yourself in the light of God’s love and power. Stay fired up 🔥, my friends . God wills it!\\ ### Co-Redemptrix & Obedience URL: https://theforge.fm/co-redemptrix-and-obedience-8cd/ Last updated: 2026-07-08T12:55:53.000Z ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/c9/60/c9608dd3-28d8-420a-a6aa-9277a7eb54ad/content/images/2026/07/1600x900-Novena-to-Our-Lady-of-the-Immaculate-Conception.webp) ### Traditional Catholic Thought: Titles are for natures not for honors. A rundown of this episode is beneath the description, if you'd like an overview of what you'll learn in this episode. In this fiery episode I tackle one of the most misunderstood controversies in modern Catholic discourse: the Church’s recent directive discouraging the use of *Co-Redemptrix* as a title for Mary. Why did the Church say what it said? What actually changed — and what didn’t? And why are so many Catholics reacting with confusion, anger, or even defiance? What begins as a theological breakdown widens into an honest, hard-hitting exploration of **obedience, humility, and the growing crisis of pride within the Catholic world**. I share personal stories, insights from the battlefield of social media, commentary on schism-like attitudes, and a pastoral reflection on why following the Magisterium is so difficult for modern Catholics — and why Jesus Himself set the pattern.Bold, candid, and full of practical clarity, this episode cuts through the noise and calls Catholics back to the difficult and liberating virtue of **obedience**. Bold, candid, and full of practical clarity, this episode cuts through the noise and calls Catholics back to the difficult and liberating virtue of **obedience**. --- ### **SHOW** NOTES ### **1\. Co-Redemptrix: What the Church Actually Said** - Distinction between **titles** and **theological descriptors** - Why the term *Co-Redemptrix* has **never** been a formal title - The Church’s reasoning: avoiding confusion, clarifying Mary’s unique but subordinate role - The theology stays intact; the terminology is what’s being discouraged - Why titles must be grounded in Scripture or Tradition - Benedict XVI’s statements on the lack of historical support - Why true cooperation does *not* imply equality with ChristCo-Redemptrix ### **2\. Why Some Catholics Are Angry** - Breakdown of reactions on X vs. Substack - How online hostility revealed a deeper issue: **a lack of obedience** - Why sentiment and melodrama can’t trump theology - Examples of poor theological reasoning used to “refute” the Magisterium - The irony of people “defending Mary” *against* the Church her Son establishedCo-Redemptrix ### **3\. Obedience in Catholic Life** - Obedience is *not optional*—it’s a foundational Christian virtue - Why following Jesus was also difficult for His first disciples - The Church as the mystical Body of Christ: to follow Christ means following Her - Why “What if the Church is wrong?” is the wrong question - Distinction between **incomplete** vs. **erroneous** teaching - The Holy Spirit guiding the Church through today’s “desert” moment - Why Catholics must resist the urge to self-appoint as watchdogs or crusadersCo-Redemptrix ### **4\. The Modern Crisis of Pride** - Catholics refusing correction even when documents are presented - The danger of clinging to error out of pride - The temptation to treat personal opinion as equal to Magisterial teaching - “Soft schism” within the Church — TLM vs. Novus Ordo identity wars - Why division is rooted in pride, not doctrineCo-Redemptrix ### **5\. A Pastoral Case Study: Confirming Someone in an Irregular Relationship** - Why sacramental theology sometimes surprises people - Why living in sin doesn’t automatically disqualify someone from confirmation - The Church’s responsibility to hope rather than assume the worst - Why such ceremonies should avoid scandal by being handled privately - The real difference between doctrinal discipline and pastoral prudenceCo-Redemptrix ### **6\. The Cost of Evangelizing Publicly** - Candid reflection on losing peace and tranquility for the sake of evangelization - Spiritual vulnerability that comes with speaking publicly for the faith - Why not every Catholic is called to be a public defender of the Church - Your primary mission is your own salvation—and the salvation of your familyCo-Redemptrix ### **7\. Final Encouragements & Resources** - Following the Church, even when it’s uncomfortable - The necessity of humility and docility for authentic discipleship - Invitation to go deeper via Catholic Firebrand & Stoking the Embers - The Rosary as a source of peace and clarity --- # **EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS** - “Co-Redemptrix has never been a title — it’s a theological descriptor, and the Church is simply preventing confusion.” - “The Church has *not* downgraded Mary. Nothing in the theology has changed at all.” - “Some Catholics are defending Mary *from* the Church — that’s the madness of today’s climate.” - “Obedience is part of the game. If you’re Catholic, this isn’t optional.” - “The problem isn’t just disobedience — it’s pride. Catholics who refuse correction cling to error because it’s *their*idea.” - “When the Magisterium teaches, it is never wrong. Sometimes incomplete, but never wrong.” - “The Holy Spirit is leading the Church through a desert. Our job is to follow — not to complain about the sand.” - “Not everyone is called to be a warrior online. The Church doesn’t need you to defend her — she has the Holy Spirit.” - “Public evangelization costs your peace. Don’t take up that cross unless God asks you to.” - “Your mission is salvation — yours and your family’s. Everything else is secondary.” ### Do Aliens Exist? The Catholic Response URL: https://theforge.fm/do-aliens-exist-the-catholic-response/ Last updated: 2026-06-29T23:07:38.000Z Exploring UFOs, angels and demons, scripture and theology to find out where faith and reason guide us in answer to this intriguing question of the ages. (Chat about it!) _This post is for paying subscribers only._ ### Catholic Annulment vs. Secular Divorce: What’s the Difference? URL: https://theforge.fm/catholic-annulment-vs-secular-divorce-whats-the-difference/ Last updated: 2026-06-29T14:53:52.000Z Most people don’t understand what an annulment is in the Catholic Church. It’s often thought of as essentially a Catholic version of divorce; different word, same effect—the dissolution of a marriage. Not only is that not the case, but a failure to recognize *why* an annulment is not the same as a divorce can cause us to see marriage as something just as frivolous as many in the secular world see it. ##### At the end of this article I include a link to the full podcast episode that produced the clip above, and a fuller write-up where I explained annulments and the annulment process to someone who asked about it on social media. When a marriage ends, most people think of divorce—a legal dissolution of the union in the eyes of the state. But that’s completely incorrect. An annulment—more formally, a “declaration of nullity—is complete different in every way from a divorce. The two are not interchangeable, and understanding their differences reveals a deep beauty of what God established in a marriage, what Jesus elevated as a sacrament, and the theology of what the Church teaches marriage truly is. ### The Theology: Marriage as Covenant, Not Contract In Catholic teaching, marriage is not merely a legal arrangement or social institution. It is a sacramental covenant, a lifelong union between a man and a woman, ordered toward the good of the spouses and the procreation and education of children. This covenant mirrors Christ’s unbreakable bond with the Church (Ephesians 5:25–32). Because it is sacred and permanent, a valid sacramental marriage cannot be ended by any human power. The Church isn’t undoing a marriage with a declaration of nullity; it’s declaring that the covenant of marriage was never entered into at all. Let’s talk about those conditions. ### What Is a Catholic Annulment? An annulment is a declaration by a Church tribunal that a marriage was not validly established from the beginning. It does **not** deny that a *wedding (the ceremony or event)* took place or that a relationship never existed. Instead, it means that something essential was missing at the time of consent—so the sacramental bond was never entered into. #### Key Conditions for a Valid Marriage in Catholic Teaching: **Free Consent**: Both parties must freely and knowingly choose marriage, without being forced into it. **Psychological Capacity**: Both must have the maturity and mental ability to understand and live the responsibilities of marriage. **Openness to Children**: IA couple must be open to the possibility of life and not exclude children from the outset. **Fidelity and Permanence**: They must intend a faithful, lifelong union. **Proper Form**: Catholics must be married according to canonical form (before a priest or deacon and two witnesses), unless dispensed. If one or more of these conditions was lacking at the time of the wedding, the Church may declare that a valid marriage ***never existed***, even if the couple lived together for years. ### Secular Divorce: Legal, Not Sacramental In contrast, civil divorce addresses only the legal status of a marriage. It dissolves the legal contract between spouses but makes no judgment about the spiritual or sacramental reality of the union. It dissolves something *that was* (the legal contract) where annulment declares that the covenant of marriage was simply not entered into at all (a “what was” vs. a “what was not”) The state sees marriage as a legal contract, which can be ended by mutual agreement or cause. ### Why the Difference Matters This distinction is not just theological hair splitting. If someone divorces civilly but remains in a valid sacramental marriage, they are still bound in the eyes of God (and the Church), and cannot remarry without an annulment. ### In Closing Understanding the difference between annulment and divorce highlights the Church’s profound vision of marriage—not as a disposable arrangement, but as a sacred, enduring covenant rooted in love, freedom, and grace. Annulments don’t “erase” a marriage; they uncover whether the covenant was truly there to begin with. **Interested in more Catholic theology unpacked for real life? Subscribe for future posts exploring faith, sacraments, and modern life through a sacramental lens** ## Sign up for The Forge Catholic Commentary at the Point of Impact Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. ### Credo vs. Fidei (On Faith and Belief) URL: https://theforge.fm/credo-vs-fidei-on-faith-and-belief-cd7/ Last updated: 2025-01-27T20:14:00.000Z In this episode, we discuss 'Credo vs. Fide,' or belief in knowledge versus confidence of the heart, and how only one makes a saint. Many Catholics recite the creed without understanding its deep meanings, leading to a deficiency in true faith—fide. To bridge this gap, I offer ways to build good credo and fide, emphasizing the importance of genuine, heartfelt belief. Additionally, explore my Saint Foundry initiative, a platform designed to foster knowledge and community among believers, available for free at the my website: https://www.catholicadventurer.com/jointhefoundry Personal Story: Here is the personal story I mentioned I'd be sharing with members of The Saint Foundry. Existing members can find the video here, and non-members will be taken to a free signup form at the same link h ttps://www.catholicadventurer.com/videos/v/story-about-meditation ### Faith and Belief (Credo vs. Fidei) - A Famine in the Church? URL: https://theforge.fm/faith-and-belief-credo-vs-fidei-a-c4d/ Last updated: 2025-01-27T14:13:23.000Z In this episode, we discuss 'Credo vs. Fide,' or belief in knowledge versus confidence of the heart, and how only one makes a saint. Many Catholics recite the creed without understanding its deep meanings, leading to a deficiency in true faith—fide. To bridge this gap, I offer ways to build good credo and fide, emphasizing the importance of genuine, heartfelt belief. Additionally, explore my Saint Foundry initiative, a platform designed to foster knowledge and community among believers, available for free at the my website: [https://www.catholicadventurer.com/jointhefoundry](https://www.catholicadventurer.com/jointhefoundry?ref=theforge.fm) Personal Story: Here is the personal story I mentioned I'd be sharing with members of The Saint Foundry. Existing members can find the video here, and non-members will be taken to a free signup form at the same link [https://www.catholicadventurer.com/videos/v/story-about-meditation](https://www.catholicadventurer.com/videos/v/story-about-meditation?ref=theforge.fm) Chapters: 00:00 Credo vs. Fidei 00:00 Introduction and Podcast Overview 00:55 Understanding Credo vs. Fide 04:19 The Problem with Modern Catholic Faith 15:08 No Wonder They Leave the Faith 18:31 Personal Growth and Avoiding Stagnation 21:40 Reflecting on Personal Growth 22:54 Introducing the Saint Foundry 25:35 Building a Healthy Prayer Life 31:31 Holy Spirit vs. Holy Ghost ### Freemasonry, Humanism, Satanism: They're the same things! URL: https://theforge.fm/freemasonry-humanism-satanism-theyre-c27/ Last updated: 2025-01-25T22:09:33.000Z With Joe Biden recently joining the Freemasons, I decided to re-publish this classic episode on Freemasonry. We're starting off with a riveting conversation that explores the intriguing intersections of Catholicism with Freemasonry, Satanism, and Humanism. Listen in as we unpack the complexities of these topics, peppered with some of the latest unusual news stories that mirror the current state of our society. You won't want to miss the insights from today's Mass reading from the book of Maccabees and the significance it holds within our faith and historical context. Then we examine the concept of unity and its potential parallels to communism and Freemasonry, discussing the Catholic Church's stance against the latter. With a keen eye on the growing popularity of Freemasonry Hear my take on the establishment of a Satanic Temple's after-school club in Connecticut and how it ties into broader philosophical movements. We'll also reflect on the unfortunate news of an Ohio priest's sentencing, shedding light on the dark undercurrents in modern culture, and revisit Pope Leo XIII's historical perspective on Freemasonry. Finally, wrap up this episode with a profound reminder of the importance of keeping our faith alive through prayer and Mass. I share with you the power of communion with the divine, and how frequent encounters can bring restoration and truth into our chaotic world. Resources [Satanic Temple announces launch of ‘After School Satan Club’ at Connecticut elementary school](https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256003/satanic-temple-announces-launch-of-after-school-satan-club-at-connecticut-elementary-school?ref=theforge.fm) [Why Can't Catholics Be Freemasons?](https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256045/explainer-why-can-t-a-catholic-join-the-freemasons?ref=theforge.fm) [Vatican doctrine office reaffirms that Catholics cannot be Freemasons](https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/256014/vatican-doctrine-office-reaffirms-that-catholics-cannot-be-freemasons?ref=theforge.fm) - (00:00) - Introduction and Episode Overview - (00:15) - Freemasonry and Catholicism - (02:08) - The Book of Maccabees and Its Relevance - (05:53) - Modern Parallels and Cultural Critique - (11:50) - Freemasonry's Influence and Church's Stance - (22:09) - Freemasonry, Law, and Society - (23:28) - Satanic Temple and Legal Implications - (25:07) - Legal Battles and the Satanic Temple - (25:38) - Inside the Satanic Club - (25:50) - The Satanic Temple's Mission - (26:50) - STEM and Freemasonry - (28:26) - Changes in Youth Over 25 Years - (31:14) - The Rise of Naturalism and Humanism - (33:49) - Debating Social Justice and Reason - (39:22) - Parental Guidance and Faith - (43:09) - The Power of Prayer and Meditation - (47:48) - Final Thoughts and Farewell