In this episode we discuss a recent Reformation Iniative (RI) trip to Portugal to provide training to the evangelical church on Roman Catholicism. The RI was invited by the Associação Proclama and visited three different cities throughout Portugal. We are joined by Joe Clarke and Paulo Carvalho whom we met. Joe and Paulo provide insight into the Portuguese culture and context and challenges the evangelical church faces, which includes the ecumenical agenda of the Catholic Church. Read about our trip here: https://www.reformandainitiative.org/resources/obrigado-portugal Follow Associação Proc ..read more

In this episode we discuss Leonardo’s most recent Vatican File “If the Pope Thinks that Rome is a ‘Mission Field.’” As the title indicates, recently Pope Francis described the city of Rome - which is of course the home of Roman Catholicism and the Vatican - as a mission field. We discuss this claim and its implications from an evangelical perspective. https://vaticanfiles.org/en/2024/03/vf226 ..read more

In this episode we discuss the recent announcement from the Roman Catholic Church that allows for the blessing of same-sex couples, while not officially changing its stance on same-sex unions. What does it mean and what are its implications? Join us as we discuss these important questions. https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2023/12/18/0901/01963.html#en https://www.reformandainitiative.org/resources/evangelical-reflections-on-the-instrumentum-laboris-of-the-synodal-church-reflection-2-rn3n2-bll6n-289r9-pj2lc-aadt9-lnx29 https://vaticanfiles.org/2016/08/128-ho ..read more

In this episode we discuss a very practical and important question: Should Evangelicals pray with Roman Catholics ..read more

You cannot talk about Roman Catholicism today without also talking about synodality. The Synodal Church is the new hermeneutic for understanding and engaging Roman Catholicism. To say it is essential is an understatement. But what is it? In this episode, we answer that question ..read more

In this episode Leonardo and Reid respond to some of the questions our listeners have sent us.  ..read more

At the invitation of the Church Missionary Society (Australia), Dr. Leonardo De Chirico just finished speaking at CMS Summer School in Brisbane, Sydney, Tasmania, Melbourne and Adelaide (5th Jan – 21stJan). More than 4000 people listened to one of the lectures or seminars on Roman Catholicism on “Is the Reformation Over?”, “Communicating the Gospel to Roman Catholics” and “What is the Problem of the Roman Catholic Gospel?” Leonardo spoke compellingly to packed crowds as well as to theological educators and students attending Summer school. In this episode you can to Leonardo's one of the Q &a ..read more

In this episode we discuss the life, theology, and legacy of the late Joseph Ratzinger (1927-2022) from an Evangelical perspective. Ratzinger is better known as Pope Benedict XVI who followed Pope John Paul II and preceded Pope Francis. How should he be understood by evangelicals and the evangelical church ..read more

Does modern day Roman Catholicism teach that you can be saved apart from faith in Christ? Yes it does, and in this episode we discuss a recent Advent sermon given by the prominent Cardinal Raniero Cantalamessa in the presence of Pope Francis and many members of the Roman Catholic Magisterium that plainly affirms just this. Don't miss it. Episode Resources: https://vaticanfiles.org/en/2023/01/209-roman-catholic-universalism (available 1-1-2023 ..read more

The Tridentine paradigm has withstood the challenge of the Protestant Reformation and more. With the same paradigm, Rome also faced a second push coming from the modern world: that of the Enlightenment (on the cultural side) and the French Revolution (on the political side) between the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. But has the Tridentine paradigm now reached the end of its journey? If so, what will be the face of Roman Catholicism tomorrow? Neither the Tridentine paradigm nor the various synodal paths dear to Pope Francis indicate an evangelical turning point in the Church of Rome. The ..read more