The central problem of the Church today is that most of the generation now becoming adults simply do not know Jesus Christ.

These four cardinal virtues are not the only virtues, but they are the cardes, the "hinges", on which all the other virtues turn.

Religion (which includes commandments) and spirituality (which doesn't) are increasingly the major combatants in our culture. The meaning of life, according to just about every single page of the Bible, is spiritual warfare.

Pie in the sky bye and bye — that's what you Christians believe.

The newspaper said most of the attendees at the Jesus Seminar, as well as the presenters, were in their 50s, 60s and 70s. It quoted one of the very few young people there as saying: It's kind of disheartening. There's nobody here to take up the torch.

Catholics may make up a relatively small percentage of the population of African-Americans, but "there are 200 million black Catholics worldwide," said the head of Black Catholic Ministries for the Archdiocese of Detroit. "It�s the largest religion in the world for people of African descent," he noted.

For a Christian face to face with a Bible passage the question Is it true? does not arise; God wrote it, and he cannot lie. The question in every instance is only, What does it mean, what did the biblical author, inspired by, God, wish to convey and teach? Now, to ascertain this the guidance of the Church is essential, and time and patience are often needed.

The different levels of authoritative teaching discussed here show that such teaching has to be interpreted carefully.

In the nineteenth century the therapeutic approach to crime was an aspect of genuine moral progress, forcing society to be more compassionate because it was more aware of the realities of criminal behavior, distinguishing for example between a brutal thug and a starving young mother. But this compassionate effort at understanding has become debased to the point where it is nothing less than a denial of human freedom and moral responsibility.

Tolerance is an ambiguous word greatly valued by the zeitgeist. Who dares to declare himself against tolerance? There would be nothing left to say, however, if the contemporary idea of tolerance was not fundamentally distorted.