Forge Roundup #3
A new article about the Church's unchanging teaching on the death penalty; News Briefs this week, and a round-up of this past week's hard-hitting content at The Forge
Hi subscribers! I’ve been hitting hard at The Forge with articles, a podcast and a couple of short audio posts. You know about some of these already, because they got emailed to you. But there are two new items here, as well as a rundown of those articles you were already sent.
News Briefs (audio
New Article on the Church’s UNCHANGING teaching on the Death penalty
New Podcast - Tips for Spotting Bad Theology (about 25 minutes, audio-only)
Round-up
3-minute monologue on whether women should form seminarians
How SSPX constantly refuses the extended hand of the Holy Seer
Here’s the latest News Briefs, as of March 4th, 2026.
Covered in this Brief
American Catholics Raise Funds for a Gift to Pope Leo XIV
Catholic Church in Poland approves fines for priests and laypeople
Kansas Catholic University Gains Full Accreditation for Unique Prison Education Program
San José Bishop Proposes Our Lady of Guadalupe as Evangelization Model for Silicon Valley
Vatican Restorers Remove Centuries-Old Salty Film from Michelangelo’s ‘The Last Judgment’
“The Church “absolutely did not change Church teaching on the death penalty—I’m sorry, but it just didn’t”
Many Catholics think the Church did change the teaching—but the historical record, going back to St. Augustine, tells a different story.
In this piece at The Forge, I take you through the theological tradition—from Augustine and Aquinas to John Paul II and Benedict XVI—and show why the Church’s teaching did not change. The 2018 Catechism revision did not overturn earlier teaching; it reflects a development in how the Church applies longstanding moral principles to modern conditions, and it does it in a way that’s consistent with what the Church has always taught. If you’ve heard the claim that the Church “changed teaching,” this piece explains where that narrative came from—and why it misses.
NEW PODACST
There’s a lot of bad theology out there, and it often sounds very convincing and legitimate. Here are a few ways you see it for what it truly is. Also, there’s a Post-Show Notes linked in the article’s episode page.
