The Catholic Profile

In light of recent events, it seems like everyone has an opinion about what’s going on in the Catholic Church. The resulting question is: which are ones that are actually good and worth reading? The search through the Internet for accurate information untwisted by media is quite a gnarly task that requires untangling truth from fiction. After combing through several web blogs, I’ve come across a few good ones, such as the caterbury tales blog.

Dr. Taylor Marshall, the author of the Canterbury tales blog, holds a Ph.D. in philosophy and is the chancellor of the College of Saints John Fisher & Thomas More in Texas. He has also written books (The Crucified Rabbi), been a guest lecturer, and been featured on podcasts. He posts about 5 times a week about topics related to Catholic culture, including the liturgy, saints, philosophy, theology, the Church fathers, and Mariology. Some of his most popular blog posts have generated discussions and debate – his most recent post “Traditionalistsand Pope Francis: Can We Take a Deep Breath and Please Calm Down?” received over 300 comments. Those who are checking out the blog can sign up for email updates, connect through twitter, facebook, linkedin, rss feed, and even youtube. Over the six years of running the blog, he has had over 5 million hits and 14,000 followers. On the bottom of the front page, there is a list of tags that he uses – some of the more popular being “Mary,” “Pope,” “Thomas Aquinas,” and “Old Testament.” This blog includes editorial posts, but also many scholarly ones – with even a provided list of links to the 21 ecumenical councils, Catholic apologetics, and Bible study help for Catholics. His blog posts titles are pretty interesting and catchy, but contains academic references. For example, his post “How to Spring a Soul from Purgatory in 4 Steps” caught my eye, and the post included actual citations and references to theological work.

Based on his posts, it seems like the blog is more on the traditional and orthodox side. The Catholic audience which responds to the post also varies in views, but for the most part, engages in very intellectual discussions. From looking at the article “6 Reasons Why Contraception is Sinful and Contrary to God’s Will,” which presented arguments based on the scripture and theologians. For example, he references specific Bible quotes such as Rev 9:20-21, and also this quote from Saint Augustine: 

"I am supposing, then, although you are not lying [with your wife] for the sake of procreating offspring, you are not for the sake of lust obstructing their procreation by an evil prayer or an evil deed. Those who do this, although they are called husband and wife, are not; nor do they retain any reality of marriage, but with a respectable name cover a shame. Sometimes this lustful cruelty, or cruel lust, comes to this, that they even procure poisons of sterility…Assuredly if both husband and wife are like this, they are not married, and if they were like this from the beginning they come together not joined in matrimony but in seduction. If both are not like this, I dare to say that either the wife is in a fashion the harlot of her husband or he is an adulterer with his own wife." Augustine, Marriage and Concupiscence 1:15:17 (A.D. 419).

The discussions in the comment section consisted of other individuals who also have a foundation in Catholic theology. Dr. Taylor Marshall also participated in some of the discussions by responding to certain comments. While the tone of his blog posts are generally more serious, Dr. Taylor Marshall writes in a clear and simple style, with more approachable statements and jokes such as “Don't let the haters get you down.”

I found this blog insightful because it balances academic and scholarly information on the Catholic Church with personal thoughts and testimonies. Perhaps thanks to some moderation of comments, I was able to come across other interesting Internet users – Catholic and non-Catholics alike – that partake in discussions on topics that I also blog about.