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By Francis J. Beckwith

1 – Confession on the Brazos

Page 18: Upon entering the confessional, I sat face-to-face with the priest. I said, “Father, forgive me, for I have sinned. It has been over 30 years since my last confession.” Then I said, “I’m not sure I can remember all of my sins.” In his thick East Indian accent, he replied, “That is all right. God knows them all.” I responded, “I was afraid of that.” The priest then heard my confession and granted me absolution. I found my way to the main sanctuary, where I did my penance, which consisted of one, “Our Father” and one “Hail Mary.” When I told this to my wife, Frankie, she thought the priest was far too lenient. She has a thorough recollection of my sins.
Note: Christians are to confess their sins to the person they have wronged.
“Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother.” Matthew 18:15.

Page 25: Yet, if one is a careful reader with an eye for detecting an underlying idea that accounts for a text’s apparent continuity, one will have noticed, as I noticed only later, that both my letter to Dean as well as my introductory comments from To Everyone An Answer presuppose the Church, that irreducible living substance, the Body of Christ, that remains identical to itself as it marches through history.
Note: As the kingdom of God grows throughout the world and history error comes in.
Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.” Matthew 13:31-32.
Note: The Roman Catholic Church as the largest “birds” of error.

Page 25: This Church plays an integral part in the formation and fixation of Christian doctrine and scripture as well as our understanding of how the Christian faith illuminates and enhances our knowledge of every aspect of life including the academic disciplines.
Note: Catholic apologists never mention the dark side of their history.
In the end, perhaps, it all comes down to a conclusion that the Church would recognize itself: in so far as its domain is in this world, it’s human – flawed, and susceptible to sin. And how, we might marvel, thinking of all those cruel Inquisitors, those promiscuous Popes, those stampers-out of science and culture, those defenders of dictators, those abusers of children and exploiters of the poor. A Dark History: CATHOLIC CHURCH, page 13.

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