The Principle of Contingent Causation: The Impossibility of Infinite Regress.

[Nishant Xavier]

St. Thomas is not authoritative as to what Catholic Teaching is? According to whom? He is the Church's Angelic Doctor and Model Theologian. You should read what Pope Leo XIII says in praise of him and Scholastic Theology in general: https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiii/...atris.html

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16. Although these words seem to bear reference solely to Scholastic theology, nevertheless they may plainly be accepted as equally true of philosophy and its praises. For, the noble endowments which make the Scholastic theology so formidable to the enemies of truth-to wit, as the same Pontiff adds, "that ready and close coherence of cause and effect, that order and array as of a disciplined army in battle, those clear definitions and distinctions, that strength of argument and those keen discussions, by which light is distinguished from darkness, the true from the false, expose and strip naked, as it were, the falsehoods of heretics wrapped around by a cloud of subterfuges and fallacies"(33) - those noble and admirable endowments, We say, are only to be found in a right use of that philosophy which the Scholastic teachers have been accustomed carefully and prudently to make use of even in theological disputations ...

22. The ecumenical councils, also, where blossoms the flower of all earthly wisdom, have always been careful to hold Thomas Aquinas in singular honor. In the Councils of Lyons, Vienna, Florence, and the Vatican one might almost say that Thomas took part and presided over the deliberations and decrees of the Fathers, contending against the errors of the Greeks, of heretics and rationalists, with invincible force and with the happiest results. But the chief and special glory of Thomas, one which he has shared with none of the Catholic Doctors, is that the Fathers of Trent made it part of the order of conclave to lay upon the altar, together with sacred Scripture and the decrees of the supreme Pontiffs, the Summa of Thomas Aquinas, whence to seek counsel, reason, and inspiration.

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Yeah, sure. The Summa Theologica, which the Catholic Church placed on the Altar in the Council of Trent, next to Sacred Scripture, and the decrees of the Supreme Pontiffs, is not authoritative in the Catholic Church. Next.
Just what are you arguing for anyway, Angrboda? That there is no distinction between mortal sin, and venial sin, and temporal punishment for sin? I doubt you understand these technical matters of Theology, so your false accusation is unwarranted. I considered being a Priest for a certain time before I decided to become an Investment Banker. If if were not in IB, I would be a Priest.
Anyway, I quoted the Catechism establishing the same point. The Catechism certainly is authoritative and it explains the matter clearly enough.
GN, I came to personal faith in Christ after I experienced His Love in my heart after Holy Communion. I knew God exists and was real, and that His Love was wonderful, even apart from any philosophy. Dr. Craig came to faith in a similar way. Then later on, we discovered Theological Arguments, with what even Dr. Craig calls "A Great Tradition", referring to those like Augustine and Thomas. Read what Pope Leo XIII said about Scholastic Theology in general. The Scholastic/Medieval Doctors of Theology were always accustomed to use Reason in Theological Disputations.