Unpacking Palamism: A Catholic Critique by James Likoudis with essays selected and edited by Andrew Likoudis Unpacking Palamism: A Catholic Critique, penned by esteemed scholar Dr. James Likoudis, meticulously scrutinizes the doctrines of Palamism, a theological...
To His Face: Indefectibility and the Problem of Dissent by Andrew Likoudis
To His Face: Indefectibility and the Problem of Dissent
By Andrew Likoudis
“But when Cephas came to Antioch,
I opposed him to his face.”
GALATIANS 2:11
When may a Catholic withhold assent from the teaching of the Church? In our day, the question is pressed from opposite directions — by progressives who appeal to conscience and progress within a secular frame of reference, and by traditionalists who appeal to their private understanding of Tradition (more accurately, ecclesial traditions) and the sensus fidelium — yet both, Andrew Likoudis argues, commit the same error.
Reading Lumen Gentium, Dei Verbum, and Donum Veritatis alongside Newman, Aquinas, Congar, and Bellarmine, To His Face argues that the indefectibility of the Church is the ground on which all genuine assent rests. A theologian may raise an honest difficulty — studying it, and submitting his concerns to the competent authority; what he may not do is adjudicate against what the magisterium has already determined, for the judgment of doctrine belongs to the living Church alone. To pronounce a rupture where the magisterium has not, whatever its conclusions, is the structure of theological liberalism.
Paperback: $TBA | Kindle: $9.99
TESTIMONIALS
“Andrew Likoudis here takes up one of the most important topics facing the Church. Today, a significant number of Catholic theologians, bishops, and Cardinals openly reject solemnly enunciated doctrinal teachings of prior pontificates, including Pope Paul VI’s encyclical reaffirming two millennia of Church teaching on the immorality of contraception and Pope John Paul II’s apostolic constitution affirming that women cannot be ordained. Pope Francis—like Benedict XVI, John Paul II, and Paul VI before him—was regularly denounced by Catholic theologians, bishops, and Cardinals for leading the Church into ruinous error. Many of those denouncing Pope Francis had earlier strongly condemned others for denouncing his postconciliar predecessors, while more than a few of the public opponents of Pope Francis’s predecessors rose to positions of influence under Pope Francis. There is little clarity about the different weight of Magisterial teachings, about the possibility of various kinds of Magisterial error, or about the nature of religious submission and assent owed to each of the many affirmations in the large body of writings promulgated each year by a modern pope. The deplorable SSPX schism only adds further fuel to this fire. In this situation, Likoudis, along with scholars such as Robert Fastiggi and Emmett O’Regan, has staked out a constructive position that requires careful consideration by all who seek the good of Christ’s Church as obedient spiritual sons and daughters of the pope.” — MATTHEW LEVERING, James N. Jr. and Mary D. Perry Chair of Theology, Mundelein Seminary
“Andrew Likoudis offers a penetrating and comprehensive exposition of the principles governing the relationship between the theologian and the Magisterium. To repeat the same truth in different times, it is not enough to repeat the same words. This is why Jesus entrusted to Peter the task of being the authorized interpreter of His message, and promised him the assistance of the Holy Spirit. The Pope, and the bishops united with him, are the Teachers of the Faith. We, the faithful, are the students—all of us, even theologians, even the most learned and intelligent among them. Students, of course, have the right to ask questions, to seek explanations, even to propose alternative formulations in order to understand better. But on one condition: they must never forget that they are not the teachers and do not have the final say. Andrew Likoudis reminds us, very effectively, that the final say belongs to the Holy Spirit, who speaks through the Pope and the bishops united with him.” — ROCCO BUTTIGLIONE, Friend and Collaborator of Pope St. John Paul II; John Paul II Chair of Philosophy and History of European Institutions, Pontifical Lateran University; Ordinary Member, Pontifical Academy of St. Thomas Aquinas
“It is remarkable how Likoudis has produced a text accessible to the layperson, rich enough for the seasoned theologian, and timely for our situation. I endorse this small but tremendous book.” – SUAN SONNA, Director of Apologetics, Diocese of Bridgeport
“A clear, concise, and measured contribution to the discourse on obedience in today’s ecclesial atmosphere, engaging honestly with authority, infallibility, and permissible criticism — to the real benefit of any concerned reader.” – ANDREW MIONI, Author of Ignorance of Things Divine
“Likoudis offers careful analysis of assent and dissent within the Church, mindful of the interaction between the levels of the magisterium… in full consciousness of the presence of the Word Incarnate, whom we seek in every act of assent.” – VERY REV. CANON FRANCIS V. TISO, Priest of the Diocese of Isernia-Venafro; former Associate Director, USCCB Secretariat for Ecumenical Affairs
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Andrew Likoudis is a Catholic scholar working in ecclesiology, ecumenism, and liturgy. He serves as Digital Editor of Where Peter Is and holds an M.A. in Catholic Studies from Franciscan University of Steubenville. He is the author of To His Face: Indefectibility and the Problem of Dissent (En Route, 2026), with a foreword by Robert Fastiggi and an afterword by Emmett O’Regan, and he organized and edited Faith in Crisis (En Route, 2025), a 40-chapter volume drawing some thirty contributors—among them Robert Cardinal Sarah, Jimmy Akin, and Mike Aquilina—with a foreword by Rocco Buttiglione, praised in Word on Fire’s Evangelization & Culture journal as “an impressive labor of love.” His most recent editorial work includes the fiftieth-anniversary edition of Yves Congar’s Challenge to the Church: The Case of Archbishop Lefebvre (En Route, 2026), which he edited and introduced, with a foreword by Larry Chapp, and the third edition of James Likoudis’s Ending the Byzantine Greek Schism (Emmaus Road, 2026), with a foreword by Scott Hahn—the opening volume of a trilogy on Catholic-Orthodox reunion. In all he has authored, edited, or compiled thirteen volumes on Catholic ecclesiology and the papacy, and published 60+ articles in outlets including the National Catholic Register, Philosophy Now, Fellowship & Fairydust Magazine, Catholic Review, and Where Peter Is.
He is the grandson of Catholic apologist James Likoudis, President Emeritus of Catholics United for the Faith, and the nephew and godson of Paul Likoudis, longtime editor of The Wanderer, the oldest national Catholic weekly in the US. As founder and president of the Likoudis Legacy Foundation, which co-sponsored the 30th Orientale Lumen Conference attended by bishops of the Catholic and Orthodox Churches, he directs the foundation’s ecumenical journal The Kydones Review, which carries a foreword from Archbishop Flavio Pace, the Secretary of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity. Likoudis provides consulting, research, organizational strategy, and communications services to Catholic publishers, nonprofits, and institutions. He writes frequently at his Substack, Tradition & Renewal, and is a parishioner at the Baltimore Basilica—America’s First Cathedral. He enjoys kayaking, bachata, tennis, and chess. More at andrewlikoudis.com
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