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

  1. American Catholics Raise Funds for a Gift to Pope Leo XIV
  2. Catholic Church in Poland approves fines for priests and laypeople
  3. Kansas Catholic University Gains Full Accreditation for Unique Prison Education Program
  4. San José Bishop Proposes Our Lady of Guadalupe as Evangelization Model for Silicon Valley
  5. 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.

The Church Did Not 'Change Teaching' on the Death Penalty
The Forge T.J. Haines

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.

Tips for Spotting Bad Theology Online
In this episode of Fire Branded, TJ Haines lays out several simple red flags that expose bad theology and unreliable theological voices—signs anyone can recognize without a theology degree. From treating the Magisterium as optional, to undermining ecumenical councils, to cherry-picking old sources against the living Church, these patterns appear again a…
The Forge T.J. Haines

These next items were emailed to you when they got published. Did you overlook one?

Who Should Form Future Priests?
3-minute monologue, and a writeup based on the script:A recent Vatican report connected to the Synod on Synodality recommends giving “due weight” to women’s views and assessments in the formation of future priests. It doesn’t propose changing Holy Orders or ordaining women, but it does suggest a structural shift in how seminarians might be evaluated and accompanied during their formation.
The Forge T.J. Haines
How the SSPX Obstinately Refuses Overtures From the Vatican
The history of the SSPX and Rome is, at its heart, a story of one institution repeatedly extending its hand while the other slaps it away. The record is as clear as it is striking.
The Forge T.J. Haines