Podcasts by Controversies in Church History

Latinization VI: The Latinization of the Thomas Christians, c. 1500-1800 from 2023-11-11T22:00

The latest episode in our series on the Latinization of the Eastern rites is now available. In the latest installment, we examine how and why Catholic missionaries in the 16th century forced L...

Where Does it Say What the Pope Can't Do? from 2023-09-19T17:01:43

In this episode, I take a look at some of the most important magisterial documents that state there are limits to papal authority issued in the recent history of the Church (since 1870).

...

Of Smurfs and Synodality from 2023-09-04T18:25:58

Hey everyone. On this episode of the podcast, I read a blog post in which I look at the term and concept of "synodality," and argue that it is an unnecessary novelty which neither &quo...

Latinization, Episode V: The Church of the East, 1450-1800 from 2023-09-02T01:09:45

The latest episode in our series on Latinization deals with the Church of the East, the ancient Church of Persia associated with the Nestorian heresy, which flourished in the first millennium bu...

Listener Response and Updates from 2023-08-29T17:59

In this brief episode, I respond to a listener's question about Elisabeth Anscombe and Truman, while also giving an update on future episodes of the podcast.

ReView: God Owes Us Nothing from 2023-08-23T19:11:37

In this episode, I take a look back at a 1995 book by the Polish philosopher Lezsek Kolakowski, "God Owes Us Nothing: A Brief Remark on the Religion of Pascal and the Spirit of Jansenism.&...

Word Youth Day Syndrome from 2023-08-18T12:46:37

From the blog, a meditation on the controversy over World Youth Day, and what it says about larger trends in the Church since Vatican II. You can check out the original post on the website here:...

Anscombe, Truman and the Bomb from 2023-08-09T18:14

In this brief episode, I discuss Elisabeth Anscombe's argument against the dropping of the atom bomb on Japan and defenses of Harry Truman's actions. But the real purpose is to ask the l...

Modernism as Colonialism from 2023-08-08T14:37:56

In this episode, I read an article of mine which takes at look at the attitude so common in Western life today, which sees its past and its heritage as a backward stage in history that needs to ...

ReView: Kingdom of Heaven from 2023-08-01T18:57:31

In this episode, we take a look back at Ridley Scott's 2005 film "Kingdom of Heaven," his epic about the Third Crusade which ended with capture of Jerusalem by the Muslim prince Sa...

The Rise and Fall of the Integrated Humanities Program, 1966-1979 from 2023-07-21T20:52:01

In 1970, three professors at the University of Kansas created a unique humanities program--the Pearson Integrated Humanities Program--that captivated students, introducing them to the "Gr...

Latinization, Episode IV: the Ottoman World, 1450-1800 from 2023-06-27T15:23:52

In the fourth installment of our series on Latinization of the Eastern Churches, we take a look at Rome during Renaissance and Reformation era and its relationship with the Eastern Churches tha...

ReView: Becket from 2023-06-20T17:23:11

In this episode of Controversies in Church History, we take a look at the 1964 feature film Becket, a bio pic about the medieval marytr and bishop St. Thomas Becket. After a brief relation of th...

Shorts: The Maronites in Renaissance Rome from 2023-06-08T15:54:41

Hey everyone! This is new Short, a preview of the latest patron only episode for everyone else. This is from Episode IV of our series on Latinization, which is on Rome's relationship with Ea...

ReView: A Man For All Seasons from 2023-06-03T23:51:27

Hello! The latest episode of the podcast is another "ReView" of an historical film This time, I riff on the one of the most heralded movies about a ever made about a Catholic historica...

Latinization, Episode III: The Era of Reformations, 1450-1750 from 2023-05-27T12:49:06

Hi everyone! In this episode, we give a brief overview of the trends in the early modern era that affected Rome's attitude toward Eastern Christian customs, and how that led to instances of ...

Galileo's Ghost: The Trial of Galileo & the Modern Myth of Expertise from 2023-05-25T01:38:08

Our latest episode is now available. In this installment, I take a look at the "Galileo Affair" as it is often called, and talk about how it became a founding myth of modernity, not on...

Shorts: Benedict XIV on Latinization from 2023-05-16T21:50:09

Hey everyone! This is a new feature I will be using going forward. I provide early access to certain episodes to my supporters on Patreon, in particular the episodes in my longer ongoing series....

Is the Pope an Absolute Monarch? from 2023-05-08T19:18:35

It is common to hear Catholics say the pope is an "absolute monarch." But is that true? In this episode, I examine the question and conclude that yes, he is--but not in the way you pro...

The Arian Crisis, c320-381 from 2023-04-28T20:08:39

In this re-recording of an earlier episode, I take a look at the Arian Crisis of the Fourth Century, when conflict over the nature of Christ's divinity shook the Church for over half a centu...

Latinization, Episode II: The Middle Ages from 2023-04-18T19:21:42

In this second installment of our series on Latinization, we tell the story of how Rome's reforms in the 11th and 12th centuries led to conflicts in the border lands of Eastern and Southern...

ReView: HBO's Rome from 2023-04-15T02:09:51

Hello everyone! On this episode of Controversies in Church History, I take a look back at another piece of recent cultural history. This time, I review the HBO TV series Rome, which aired from ...

Pope Joan from 2023-04-01T14:57:21

In this episode of Controversies in Church History, we look at the reign of Pope Joan (855-857), the only woman ever to reign as bishop of Rome. If you like the podcast, please follow us on Spot...

ReView: The Tudors from 2023-03-30T19:21:15

In this episode, I take a look back at the Showtime historical drama The Tudors (2007-2010), and show why it was a worthy attempt to depict the Reformation era of Henry VIII, despite being what...

ReView: William Oddie's "The Roman Option" from 2023-03-24T12:17:26

For this episode of Controversies in Church History, we are doing something a bit different. In it, we take a look back "The Roman Option: Crisis and Realignment in English Speaking Christi...

Cardinal McElroy's Dubious History from 2023-03-20T23:17:51

In this brief episode, I take a look at a very suspect historical claim that Cardinal McElroy makes in his recent response to critics in America Magazine. If you like what hear, please follow u...

Latinization, Episode I: What It Is, Why It Matters from 2023-03-19T16:58:46

In the first episode of our new series on Latinization, I define what Latinization is, and why it is important for understanding the Catholic Church today.  

If you like this ...

Catholic Liberalism, Episode II: Revolutionary Times, 1789-1848 from 2022-04-13T21:10:19

In the second installment of our series on Catholic Liberalism, we delve into the historical background out of which a Catholic form of liberalism emerged. We discuss the French Revolution and i...

Catholic Liberalism, Episode I: Introduction from 2022-04-01T04:34:06

Controversies in Church History is back with a new series. This time, we delve into the history of Catholic Liberalism, a movement that began in the French Church in the early 1800s, and whose i...

The Union of Brest (1596) & the Ukrainian Catholic Church from 2022-03-12T22:05:50

In 1596, bishops and priests from the Orthodox Church in what is today Ukraine entered into communion with the bishop of Rome. This union, proclaimed at the city of Brest, became the foundation ...

Liberation Theology, Ep. IV: A Permanent Revolution? 1980-Present from 2022-02-12T18:18:03

In the final episode of our series on Liberation Theology, we examine the Vatican efforts to curb the excesses of the movement in the 1980s, as historical events lead to its decline in the 1990s...

Liberation Theology, Ep. III: Liberation Struggles, 1968-1980 from 2022-02-02T02:06:01

In the third episode of our series on Liberation Theology, we look at the growth and expansion of the movement during the 1970s, even as an opposition arises in the Latin American hierarchy, ami...

Liberation Theology, Ep. II: Awakenings, 1958-1968 from 2022-01-26T04:22:40

In this second episode in our series on Liberation Theology, our story continues with the first wave of theologians who made up the movement. In it, we look at how the Cuban Revolution shook up ...

Liberation Theology, Ep. I: Latin America to 1960 from 2022-01-18T21:01:53

The first new episode of 2022 begins a new series on Liberation Theology, the controversial intellectual and social movement that swept Latin America in the 1960s and 70s. A response to social a...

The Vatican-China Agreement from 2021-11-20T01:47:03

In 2018, the Vatican announced it had made a diplomatic agreement with the People's Republic of China, in the hopes that it would lead to formal recognition by both parties. The intervening year...

The Church & the Baroque from 2021-11-08T23:59:06

Ever wonder why Catholic churches got "wreckovated" in the 1960s? The answer is complicated, but one reason has to do with a style of art that flourished in the 17th century: the Baroque. In thi...

Conciliarism from 2021-11-02T14:51:29

Recently, the Vatican has announced the commencement of a world-wide "Synod on Synodality" in which local churches will participate. In light of this, we are bringing you a bonus episode, in whi...

Darkness and Light: The Church from WWII to Vatican II from 2021-09-26T20:08:17

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

The Traditionalist Movement, Episode 2: "Disobedient People," 1964-1974 from 2021-09-06T19:35:41

In this episode, we recall the history of lay men and women's efforts to  preserve the old Roman liturgy from suppression in the aftermath of the  Second Vatican Council. From the grow...

The Traditionalist Movement, Episode 5: Back to the Future, 1988-Present from 2021-09-03T16:19:07

In this final episode in our series on the Traditionalist movement, we detail the growth of the traditionalist orders in communion with Rome, the growth of traditionalism during the reign of Pop...

The Traditionalist Movement, Episode 4: Divisions, 1976-1988 from 2021-08-27T04:15:18

In the latest episode in our series on the Catholic Traditionalist movement, we pick up the narrative in the reign of John Paul II, where the new prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of ...

The Traditionalist Movement, Episode 3: Rebel Priests, 1964-1978 from 2021-08-20T02:25:36

In this episode, we will look at some of the priests (and a few bishops) who resisted the suppression of the old Roman rite during the 1960s and 70s.  We discuss how arguments over the litu...

The Traditionalist Movement, Episode 2: "Disobedient People," 1964-1974 (Pt. 2) from 2021-08-09T03:10:37

In the second part of episode 2, we detail the efforts of lay writers  and activists to stave off attempts to end the celebration of the old  Roman liturgy after the promulgation of th...

The Traditionalist Movement, Episode 2: "Disobedient People," 1964-1974 (Pt. 1) from 2021-08-08T02:31:49

In this episode, we recall the history of lay men and women's efforts to preserve the old Roman liturgy from suppression in the aftermath of the Second Vatican Council. From the growth of such l...

The Traditionalist Movement, 1964-Present: Episode 1, The Outsiders from 2021-07-24T01:41:24

This episode is the first in a new series on the Traditionalist movement in the Catholic Church, from its beginnings in the 1960s to the present day. In light of recent events, we discuss who an...

Catholic Lives, Episode 13--The Outlaw: "Bloody" Bill Longley from 2021-07-14T01:49:34

The latest episode of Catholic Lives examines the life and career of the notorious Texas gunman, "Bloody" Bill Longley, whose murderous  life ended with his execution--and a jailhouse conve...

Great Heresies: Jansenism, 1640-1801 from 2021-07-07T14:14:13

From the early seventeenth century to the beginning of the modern era, a dispute over ideas of salvation and sin, eucharistic discipline and the nature of the Church's authority divided the...

Catholic Lives Ep. 7: The Catholic Founding Father from 2021-07-04T18:46:12

*Originally released 7/3/19*

This special Fourth of July episode focuses on the life of Charles Carroll of Carrollton (1737-1832), the Catholic landowner, politician and businessman who s...

Catholic Lives, Episode 12--From Victim to Icon: Artemisia Gentileschi from 2021-07-03T01:43:28

This week's episode of Catholic Lives takes a look at the life and times of Artemisia Gentileschi (1593-1656?). A master of the Baroque era in an age when almost no woman attained such a stature...

Councils of the Church: The Council of Trent, 1545-1563 from 2021-07-01T16:27:37

In 1545, the Catholic hierarchy met in the imperial city of Trent to decide how to respond to the Protestant Reformation. Over the course of eighteen years, the council responded to Protest...

In the News: Catholic Indian Schools in Canada from 2021-07-01T01:42:09

In the past week, some disturbing stories have come out of Canada regarding the Residential School System, the educational apparatus set in the 19th century by the Canadian government to assimil...

Councils of the Church: The Council of Constance, 1414-1418 from 2021-06-30T18:48:17

In 1415, cardinals, bishops and religious met in the imperial city of Constance to resolve the Great Western Schism. The Council Fathers would condemn the teachings of John Wycliffe, burn H...

Vatican II: Continuity or Rupture? from 2021-06-29T14:08:25

In  1962, Pope John XXIII opened the Second Vatican Council in Rome.  Before the Council, the Church's liturgy was in Latin, its hierarchy  largely unquestioned by it members, and...

Catholic Lives, Episode 11: American Moses from 2021-06-25T22:57:23

In this episode of Catholic Lives, we detail the life of Venerable Augustus Tolton, the first black American priest to be considered for canonization. In it we will discuss his journey from slav...

Support from 2021-06-25T21:14:36

Help me grow my podcast and bring Church History to the mases! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/churchcontroversi...

Catholic Lives Episode 10: the Knight Prisoner from 2021-06-23T22:53:30

In this episode, we look at the life and times of Sir Thomas Malory, author of Le Morte d'Arthur, the most famous of medieval renditions of the story of King Arthur, during the Wars of the Roses...

Controversies in Church History (Trailer) from 2021-06-23T02:10:22

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The Catholic Charismatic Movement, 1967-Present from 2021-06-02T00:49:33

*The talk is a bit rambling, as it was recorded while I was traveling. Apologies for any confusion or difficulty in listening.*

In  1967, students and faculty at a weekend retreat at...

Dignitatis Humanae: Religious Liberty & the Church from 2021-05-02T16:47:03

Dignitatis Humanae, the document on religious liberty issued by the second Vatican Council, states that "that all men are to be immune from coercion on the part of individuals or of social group...

The Modernist Crisis, c.1890-1920 from 2021-04-07T18:11:37

In the early twentieth century, a group of Catholic scholars tried to  argue that the Catholic Church needed to adapt fundamental doctrines of  its faith to match with the findings of ...

Evolution and the Catholic Church, 1859-Present from 2021-03-02T23:29:45

In this episode, we take a look at the history of how the Catholic Church has navigated the issues surrounding the scientific theory of evolution, what its teaching is regarding evolution, ...

Development of Doctrine, 1845-Present from 2021-02-02T20:41:25

The episode of Controversies in Church History examines the theory of doctrinal development in the history of the  Catholic Church in the 19th and 20th centuries. Associated with St. John H...

Catholic Lives Ep. 9: Captive, Convert and Mother Superior in Colonial America from 2020-08-24T02:12:57

This episode of Catholic Lives focuses on the extraordinary Esther Wheelwright (1696-1780).  Born in a Puritan family in colonial Massachusetts, she was abducted from her family  at ag...

Catholic Lives Ep. 8: The Poet-Priest of the South and the Confederate General from 2020-07-31T01:51:22

Our eighth installment of Catholic Lives is a two for one deal! We look at the lives of two men loyal to the Confederacy during the American Civil War, one of whom entered the Catholic Church af...

Humanae Vitae from 2020-05-31T18:07:20

*Recorded on May 27, 2020*

In 1968, Pope Paul VI issued his encyclical on the regulation of birth,  which reaffirmed Catholic teaching on the nature of human sexuality. The  ens...

The Case of Edgaro Mortara from 2020-04-29T15:56:03

In 1858, a scandal rocked Europe. The Vatican removed an eight year old  Jewish boy from his family and pope Pius IX raised him as a Catholic. The boy's name was Edgaro Mortara, and he woul...

The Great Western Schism, 1378-1417 from 2020-03-31T13:46:41

In recent years, the existence of a "pontiff emeritus" has caused some confusion for faithful Catholics, with two living popes at the same time. But imagine if there were THREE living popes, non...

Great Heresies: John Wyclif and the Lollards from 2020-02-25T19:23:46

He has been called "The Morning Star of the Reformation" by Protestants,  and is sometimes regarded as the last great scholastic theologian of the Middle Ages. He denied the doctrine of tra...

The Reformation of the World: the Gregorian Reform, c. 1050-1150 from 2020-01-29T05:57:28

In 1077, the Emperor Henry IV did homage to pope Gregory VII at Canossa in  northern Italy, who in return absolved him of the excommunication he had pronounced upon the Emperor.  ...

1054 and All That: the Latin-Byzantine Schism from 2020-01-29T05:45:31

In the year 1054 AD, representatives of Pope Leo IX and the patriarch of  Constantinople, pronounced a mutual excommunication upon each other. This event usually is remembered as the beginn...

The Arian Crisis, c.330-381 AD from 2019-10-29T19:30:24

The  First Council of Nicaea (325) proclaimed the doctrine that Jesus was  one with the Father, and condemned the idea that he was a mere creature.  Yet with a few years, that bel...

The First Council of Nicaea from 2019-10-03T15:33:54

"I believe in one God, the Father Almighty..."  Each week, Catholics  recite the Nicene Creed in the liturgy.  Why do we do this?

The first lecture of Controversies in Chur...

The Wars of Religion, 1524-1649 from 2019-08-20T01:13:03

"Why were there no wars of religion in the pagan world?" the philosopher Jean Jacques Rousseau once asked. His answer was that their religions made no universal claims, unlike Christianity, whic...

Black Legends: Myths of the Spanish Conquest from 2019-08-06T04:29:25

In the sixteenth century, the Spanish brutally conquered a more civilized  and advanced Aztec civilization, and imposed Catholicism on the native peoples of the Americas.   

The Church and the Holocaust from 2019-07-26T03:27:34

*Originally recorded April 30 2018*

This episode of Controversies in Church History assesses the charges against the Catholic Church and pope Pius XII as being culpable in some way for th...

The First Vatican Council & Papal Infallibility from 2019-07-09T19:40:20

*Recorded March 26 2018*

Popes have always exercised "immediate jurisdiction" over the entire  Church, and have always been proclaimed to speak infallibly when pronouncing upon matte...

The First Vatican Council from 2019-07-09T19:40:20

My talk from March of 2018, in which I discuss the First Vatican Ecumenical Council (1870), called to deal with issues of church government, and more specifically, the definition of papal infall...

Catholic Lives Ep. 6: The Pope That Excommunicated Napoleon from 2019-06-30T23:29:35

This week's episode of Catholic Lives recalls the life of Barnaba Chiaramonti (1742-1823), known to history as Pope Pius VII (1800-1823), the pope who dealt with the aftermath of the French Revo...

The Trial and Condemnation of Galileo from 2019-06-24T15:00:41

*Recorded on February 26 2018*

Ever since the Inquisition condemned him in 1633, critics have used the story of Galileo Galilei to illustrate the conflict between faith and science, and t...

Catholic Lives Ep. 5: The Man Who Volunteered for Auschwitz from 2019-06-11T19:54:40

In this episode of Catholic Lives, we discuss the heroism of Witold Pilecki (pronounced Vitold Piletski, 1901-1948), a member of the Polish resistance against the Nazi occupation of Poland who v...

The Protestant Reformation from 2019-06-07T23:14:11

*Recorded January 29 2018*

This episode covers one of the most divisive events in all of Church  history: the Protestant Reformation. Why did the Reformation happen? Is  it stil...

Here I Stand: the Protestant Reformation from 2019-06-07T23:14:11

This episode is a recording of the lecture I gave on the Protestant Reformation in January 2018.  It covers the basics of how the Reformation started, the theological issues involved, and m...

Catholic Lives Ep. 4: The Last Roman Emperor from 2019-05-29T18:25:07

Today we take a brief look at the life of Constantine XI Dragases Palaiologos (1404-1453), the last Emperor of the Romans, who came to the throne of Constantinople at the very end of the Roman (...

The Inquisition from 2019-05-21T02:47:54

*Recorded November 27 2017*

This episode addresses the origins and function of the various  institutions that that have gone under the name of "inquisition" in the  Catholic Chu...

Catholic Lives Ep. 3: A Woman Author in Charlemagne's Empire from 2019-05-16T23:36:31

The latest episode focuses on Dhuoda, the 9th noble woman known to us only through her Handbook, the work she wrote for her eldest son William.  Dhuoda's handbook instructs her son on how t...

The Crusades from 2019-05-09T23:56:57

*Recorded October 30 2017*

What  were the Crusades?  Were they merely wars of conquest?  Did they  represent a perversion of Christian teachings?  Were the Crusad...

Deaconesses in the Early Church from 2019-05-04T18:20

In this podcast, we discuss the evidence for the ordination of Deaconesses in the early Church, and the arguments for whether or not they were ordained in the same way men were in the early Chur...

Catholic Lives Ep. 2: Konrad Adenauer (1876-1967) from 2019-04-30T17:05:56

Konrad Adenauer, Chancellor of the Federal Republic of West Germany, from 1949-1963, is the subject of this episode of Catholic Lives.

Please subscribe to our podcast on Ancho...

Liturgy Wars: Catholic Liturgy Since Vatican II from 2019-04-30T17:01:53

Within  living memory, the liturgy of the Latin rite provided a visible focus  of unity for Catholics.  It possessed a universal liturgical language  that distinguished Catho...

Necessary Additions? The Marian Dogmas, 1854 & 1950 from 2019-03-26T18:16:34

Only twice in history have popes explicitly invoked their infallible teaching authority, and both times they did so to defend teachings concerning the Virgin Mary. "Necessary  Additions? Th...

Catholic Lives Ep. 1: The Battalion of St. Patrick from 2019-03-21T14:23:53

The first episode of a new series I am calling "Catholic Lives."  Each episode will be a brief look at the lives of Catholics in history who have been overlooked or not as well known to our...

Clerical Celibacy in the Early Church from 2019-03-07T06:00

Why does the Catholic Church require celibacy of its priests?  Was this  discipline an imposition of the medieval Church, or is there a basis for  this discipline in the Early Chu...

By This Sign Conquer: the Conversion of Constantine from 2019-02-02T06:00

Christianity was a persecuted, minority religion within the Roman Empire until, in  the year 312, the Western Emperor Constantine decreed toleration for the Christian Church, and became its...