Popes of the Lost Sheep

Popes of the Lost Sheep

April 13, 2026 · 19 min · Episode 5

About this episode

This episode discusses the three popes who dealt with divisions in the Church regarding fallen-away Catholics and heretics.

The three popes who reigned during this period all had to deal with serious divisions within the Church, especially over questions of how the Church should treat fallen-away Catholics who wished to return, as well as those who had been baptized by heretics and now wished to join themselves to the true Church. An important participant in these controversies, was St. Cyprian, bishop of Carthage, who supported the positions of Pope Sts. Cornelius and Lucius, but clashed with the third, Pope St. Stephen. This episode covers popes #21-23: Sts. Cornelius, Lucius I, and Stephen I. Article: https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/popes-lost-sheep/ Links Related Way of the Fathers episodes: Novatian, Pt. 1 https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/48-novatian-good-bad-ugly-pt-1-good/ Novatian, Pt. 2 https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/49-novatian-part-2-bad-and-ugly/ Pope St. Stephen and the Sacraments https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/pope-st-stephen-and-sacraments/ Rebaptism and the Donatist heresy https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/410-heresies-rebaptism-and-donatists/ St. Cyprian of Carthage…

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