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Cardinal Walter Kasper has said Pope Francis’ eagerly anticipated summary document on the Synod on the Family could be published as soon as this Saturday, and that it will mark the “first step” in a reform of the Church that has taken nearly two millennia to achieve.

With an eye toward divorced-and-remarried Catholics, Pope Francis has recently changed protocol for heads of state who are visiting the Pope at the Vatican. Catholic heads of state who are in an irregular marital situation may now take part in an official visit to the Pope as a couple, accompanied by their irregular spouse. The Pope made the change in February. By chance, the first to benefit from the new protocol was Argentina’s President Mauricio Macrì. He made an official visit to Pope Francis Feb. 27, accompanied by his third wife, Juliana Awada. Before the change in protocol, the Catholic...

On Saturday Pope Francis told participants in course on the streamlined annulment process that the main goal of the new norms is pastoral, and seeks to reach out to families suffering from a broken marriage. “These measures have an eminently pastoral goal: to show the Church’s concern for those faithful who are waiting for a quick verification on their marital status,” the Pope said March 12. He noted that many faithful suffer due to the end of their marriages, and couples are frequently “oppressed by doubt” as to whether or not their marriage was valid or in valid. It is...

On 27 October, shortly after the end of the controversial Synod of Bishops on the Family, I reported on the important role which the German-speaking language group had played in finding a supposed compromise between the Kasper and the Mueller camp, Cardinal Walter Kasper being in favor of the admittance of the "remarried" divorcees to Holy Communion, Cardinal Gerhard Müller - head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith - being a defender of the traditional teaching of the Church. The compromise had found its way into the final report of the Synod, namely into paragraph 84-85 which...

In a rare interview, Linda Tripp, a pivotal figure in the Monica Lewinsky scandal, revealed on Sunday it was common knowledge while she worked in the West Wing that Bill Clinton had affairs with “thousands of women.”

In a rare interview, Linda Tripp, a pivotal figure in the Monica Lewinsky scandal, revealed on Sunday it was common knowledge while she worked in the West Wing that Bill Clinton had affairs with “thousands of women.” Speaking on “Aaron Klein Investigative Radio,” Tripp for the first time divulged that she personally knew another White House staffer aside from Lewinsky who was also having an affair with Clinton. That unnamed staffer was mentioned by Tripp in various depositions but she has not spoken about it publicly. She charged that Hillary Clinton not only knew about her husband’s exploits, “She made...

This blog has not ceased to denounce Antonio Spadaro S.J. as a villainous deceiver and a heresiarch. The cunning Jesuit, on a number of occasions, has skillfully and subtly pushed for the Adulterist Party - that is, those churchmen who are advocating the giving of Holy Communion to adulterers. Toronto Catholic Witness has posted a number of times on Spadaro's and others attempts to introduce the acceptance of adultery (the acceptance of sin!) into the Church, all the while denying it, and that doctrine would be changed. The Vox, at Vox Cantoris has written numerous times about this attempt to...

ROME — Pope Francis celebrated a Mass for the Holy Family on Sunday, designed as a reminder of the spiritual and pastoral importance of the family in the context of his Holy Year of Mercy. Plans called for similar Masses to be held around the world in basilicas where there’s a holy door for the jubilee year. “Let us not lose confidence in the family!” Francis said, telling families gathered with him in St. Peter’s Basilica that the world and the Church need them “now more than ever.” In terms of Church politics, however, Sunday’s Mass was also a reminder...

One of Britain’s oldest dads is celebrating the birth of his second child with this girlfriend - who is 43 years younger than him. Coach driver John Willows, 73, first became a proud father on Christmas Day 2011- with partner Polly Jackson D’zaccheus - who is just 30 years old.

Effectively the Pope with his “reform” of the annulment process has created Catholic Divorce, thereby rendering the words of Christ about marriage null and void. A harsh judgment? Let’s take a look at the facts: 1. The Pope has made annulments free, which mean that all Catholics get to pay for them. This is obviously a come on for more people to go through the process. 2. Revoking the rule established by John Paul II, a decree of nullity can now be granted on grounds not pled by the party seeking a nullity. What this means is that the tribunal...

Is the Story Scriptural or Not? So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. John 8:8 (NKJV)This Sunday, the Gospel reading in the Roman Catholic Lectionary will be the famous story of “The Woman Caught in Adultery” (John 8:1-11). Some scholars and a few pastors, both liberal and conservative, have questioned the veracity of this unique and beautiful story of God’s mercy and love. This blog post is my feeble attempt at defending the historical truthfulness and canonical faithfulness...

Will there be a Post-Synodal Exhortation of the Synod of the Family, the commentators on Vatican matters ask. In fact, it was already completely ready before the Synod! Several months before the Ordinary Assembly of the Synod of Bishops for the Family, last October, the group of Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri, Secretary General of the Assembly, together with men such as Abp. Bruno Forte, Special Secretary, Abp. Paglia, President of the Council for the Family, and a few others, had already established a campaign plan in four stages: 1st: Pretending to base itself on the conclusions of the Extraordinary Assembly of...

Cardinal Burke tells Mass of Ages quarterly that Catholics should be 'very concerned' Cardinal Raymond Burke has said that if the family synod opened the way for divorced and remarried Catholics to receive Holy Communion then it has "departed from Catholic teaching in a very fundamental matter". The cardinal, patron of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, made the comments in an interview with Mass of Ages, the quarterly magazine of the Latin Mass Society.

The Church is currently awaiting the 'official' decision of Pope Francis on the Kasper Proposal (a proposal allowing obstinate adulterers to receive Holy Communion). In anticipation of his decision, there is a point from the Book of Galatians that I believe should be considered. In the Book of Galatians, we read about the Apostle Paul who rebuked the Apostle Peter for his hypocrisy, saying: “When Cephas [Peter] came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. For before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began...

He is Antonio Spadaro, director of "La Civiltà Cattolica.” In an article in his magazine he has already written what the pope will say on communion for the divorced and remarried ROME, November 7, 2015 – Last Wednesday, at the weekly catechesis in Saint Peter’s Square, after recalling that the synod fathers have delivered the text of their conclusions to him, Pope Francis limited himself to saying in sibylline language: “This is not the moment to examine such conclusions, on which I myself must meditate.” While waiting for the enigma on the pope’s future moves to be unraveled, nothing remains...

I have been speaking to sources in Rome over the past week, and several interesting pieces of information have emerged. As is often the case with what goes on at the Vatican, these remain firmly planted in the realm of credible rumors, not hard facts. And while rumors are something I generally avoid trafficking in, these are pertinent to what we have seen (and will see) play out as regards the yet-to-be-settled question of how Pope Francis will handle communion for the divorced and remarried. One source close to the Vatican tells me they have it on good authority that...

His Excellency Bishop Athanasius Schneider, one of the most visible prelates working on the restoration of the traditional Latin Mass and faith, has penned a nearly 5,000-word response to the Synod exclusively for our readers. Anyone may reproduce or link to this article, but all must reference Rorate Caeli as the source. We want to express our heartfelt gratitude to His Excellency for taking the time to analyze and express his views on one of the most critical events in Church history -- one that he too sees as a "back door" to Holy Communion for adulterers, a rejection of...

[The Argentinian War Machine with the German Engine is Stuck in the Mud] Antonio Socci ‘Libero’ “Is the audacious war-machine beginning to wane?” a Swiss Vatican reporter asks. Actually, the Argentinian war-machine with the German engine has gotten stuck in the mud at the Synod. Lately we have heard that German “engines” are being put on the scrap-heap plus the Argentinean bodywork is an old wreck of Peronism and rusty Liberation Theology. THE FIRST WEEK Well, the Synod opened with Cardinal Erdo’s report reaffirming Catholic Doctrine, demolishing Kasper’s heresies (and irritating Bergoglio). In addition, after the first week, one of...

Buried within the article published today in the Catholic German newspaper Die Tagespost is the incredible news that helps to explain both the amazing way in which rules are changed by the hour at the 2015 Synod, and the constant leaks of threats and papal opinions. Every day a kind of miniature Shadow Synod meets at the Domus Sanctae Marthae with the Pope (including some Synod Fathers and some outside guests) to decide what steps should be taken at the Synod. Maybe not even the author realized how explosive the revelation he included nonchalantly in his piece below is: there...

A primary error promoted via the 2015 Synod is the alleged separation of Catholic doctrine from pastoral practice. This dangerous notion is crystallized in Cardinal Walter Kasper’s radical proposal that would allow divorced and “remarried” Catholics to embark on an undefined “period of penance,” after which they would be readmitted to the Sacraments while remaining in their adulterous union. Such a proposal manifests a profound malady of intellect. It is also bereft of a Catholic understanding of mortal sin, sanctifying grace, the sacraments and marriage itself. Over the past year, a number of right-thinking prelates have stood up to oppose...