#10954 Open Forum - Michael Lofton

Questions Covered:

06:01 – I’ve heard a lot of Protestants complain about spiritual “dryness”. Do you think this is comparable to the dark night of the soul, a problem due to an impoverished Protestant spirituality, or something else?
14:23 – how does one become a Protestant elder? Contrasted with how one becomes a catholic elder “aka bishop”
17:51 – Are there any instances where something has been declared a dogmatic fact when later it was discovered to be historically or scientifically wrong? Say the theory of geocentrism or perhaps somebody declared to be a heretic at a church council who was later discovered not to be? How would we navigate a situation like this?
23:42 – How did the Church determine who the true Pope was during the time that there were multiple claimants to the Papacy? Also, how do we know that the Church got it right?
29:58 – Are the words of institution at Mass quoting the gospels, or do the gospels quote the Mass?
33:41 – How does the Catholic view the Old Catholic Churches and the Polish National Catholic Church?
35:02 – I was wondering if you could tell me about the Dubia submitted to Pope Francis (there were 5 Dubia I think), and why do you think he is waiting so long to answer- if he even intends on answering. hasn’t it been close to two years?
38:54 – Also you have said the magisterium cannot allow anything harmful, nor can the magisterium not be present at all times so as to not have any point where the faithful are abandoned, and I of course agree, but how can that be reconciled with the fact that the Arian heresy seemingly dominated for the brief time until it was condemned in council? What if hypothetically someone was taught Arianism by one of the many bishops and subscribed to it but died before it was sorted out in council? Could someone level this as an argument against the magisterium always being present for Catholics to follow?
47:40 – Is Palamism considered a heresy in the west? I’ve heard some Eastern Catholics practice it.
50:38 – Why don’t we believe in the 4 other archangels that the Orthodox accept?
51:19 – I have a friend who is the daughter of an orthodox mother and a Catholic father. She professes to be both. I’m concerned. Is this possible?
52:50 – Are we moving towards a healing between the east and the west?

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