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Some heads of dicasteries of the Roman Curia have been removed by Pope Francis after his election to office. Others were left in office, but in fact isolated. Cardinal Pell is also under constant pressure. The Dismissal of "Ratzingerians" With the dismissals, it was not to questions of competence, but a directional decision. It touches on each convinced "Ratzingerianer", a cipher, which is shorthand encapsulating a faithful understanding of the Church. First, the Italian Cardinal Mauro Piacenza was replaced as Prefect of the Congregation for Clergy, and at only 70 year of age shoved off for the honorary management of...

Celebrating Pentecost Prior to 1970, the Church observed the feast for more than 8 days, marked liturgical calendar by it Msgr. Charles Pope 4/20/2016 Question: Shouldn’t we be celebrating Pentecost for more than one day? Given the amount of time we celebrate Christmas and Easter, it seems appropriate that Pentecost be given at least a short season.— Dianne Spotts, via email Answer: Before 1970, the Church emphasized Pentecost in two ways. The first was the celebration of an “octave.” An Octave is a stretch of eight days that included and followed the actual feast of Pentecost Sunday. It is one...

The Austrian Erwin Kräutler, the former bishop of Xingu, Brasil, is taking another step to promote his proposal to allow Catholic priests to marry. In January of 2016, the Vatican expert, Dr. Sandro Magister, had already written (http://chiesa.espresso.repubblica.it/articolo/1351206?eng=y) about this bishop, showing his attempts to undermine celibacy. Then and now, Kräutler repeats that he had been encouraged in 2014 by Pope Francis himself to make “courageous proposals” with regard to the question of the lack of priests in his diocese. It was Sandro Magister who then, in January, raised the question as to whether the pope is planning the put...

Dear Friends in Jesus and Mary, Greetings again from Mumbai, India. I am back @ FR mostly because of Friends and only because of Catholic Posters like Salvation, NYer, Marshmallow, Grateful2God, Slyfox, TaxChick, Kolokotronis, and a Poster whose "Real Name" I know but whose username I have forgotten. I have a solid devotion to the Divine Mercy, To the Sacred Heart, and to Our Lady. I have a deep- rooted "Eucharistic Spirituality". I was born a "Cradle Catholic" but I am now a "Catholic by Conviction" rather than a Catholic by Custom or by Circumstance. One of the main Objectives...

In 2009 the Catholic Church’s International Theological Commission proposed a fundamental change to the way the Church regarded natural law. It could not be presented “as an already established set of rules that impose themselves a priori on the moral subject”, it said. Instead, “it is a source of objective inspiration for the deeply personal process of making decisions”. This raised some eyebrows, not least because of the way natural law had consistently been imposed a priori by moral theologians to explain and justify Catholic teaching regarding sex. The most obvious example was the way natural law was invoked as...

The pope’s pastoral outreach to the divorced and civilly remarried in his apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia (“The Joy of Love”) has been widely praised, but some feel that gays got short shrift. Pope Francis explores the possibility of those in “irregular” marriages receiving Communion after having entered a process of conscience formation and discernment with their pastor (“the internal forum”) and other committed Christians. He also calls for compassion and flexibility when ministering to engaged couples cohabitating without the benefit of marriage. “Hence it can no longer simply be said that all those in any ‘irregular’ situation are living in...

Exclusive interview John Henry Newman Center of Higher Education, Hungary, Sümeg, 6 March 2016 It was the first time that Mons. Dr. Athanasius Schneider O.R.C., titular bishop of Celerina and auxiliary bishop of the archbishopric of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Astana, Kazakhstan, had visited Hungary as a guest professor of John Henry Newman Center of Higher Education (newman.hu). As reported by Rorate Caeli on 3/10/2016, from 4 to 6 March 2016 the Central-Asian bishop held lectures and celebrated traditional (usus antiquior) Pontifical High Mass with the participation of the faithful in Hungary. On 7 March Athanasius Schneider visited the...

On 17 April, the head of the German Bishops’ Conference, Cardinal Reinhard Marx – who is the archbishop of Munich – gave a homily during Holy Mass in Fürstenfeldbruck, Bavaria. In this homily, the cardinal – who is also a member of the pope’s “Council of Nine Cardinals” – said that “there is no situation in which someone is excluded forever [MH: not even in hell, finally?].” In his eyes, the Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetita now invites and encourages priests in their pastoral care of the faithful to “lead to the Sacraments” and to “integrate [them]with the help of the...

Wise Men, Flattering, May Deceive Us --; A Meditation on an Aria from Judas Maccabeus Msgr. Charles Pope • April 21, 2016 • Judas Maccabeus was Handel’s most famous oratorio during his lifetime, more popular than the Messiah. There are many wonderful moments in it, especially its bold and brave choruses. Written in 1746, it covers the biblical events of 170–160 B.C., when Judea was ruled by the Seleucids and the people were compelled to worship Zeus. Some resisted; others obeyed. The priest Mattathias went to the hills and gathered others who were willing to fight for their faith....

Pope Francis’s apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia permits divorced and civilly remarried Catholics to access the sacraments on a case-by-case basis, three German bishops claim. Cardinal Reinhard Marx, Archbishop Dr. Heiner Koch, and Bishop Franz-Josef Bode all cited footnote 351—the controversial footnote that critics worry undermines Church teaching by in certain cases allowing Holy Communion for those in objectively sinful situations—in their praise of the exhortation. The bishops also cited paragraph 301 of Amoris Laetitia, which states, “Hence it is can no longer simply be said that all those in any 'irregular' situation are living in a state of mortal sin...

Pope Francis’s apostolic exhortation, Amoris Laetitia, has begun to change attitudes to Communion in the archdiocese of Milan, according to a senior official. In an article for the Milan archdiocese website, Monsignor Fausto Gilardi, who is in charge of Confession at Milan Cathedral, says that there has been a growing “demand” in the diocese from the divorced and remarried for absolution and Communion. Mgr Gilardi’s piece, which has been translated for the news website Crux, claims that some priests have changed their practice. He says that some have “opened a ‘teller’s window’ for consultations”. Mgr Gilardi comments that this seems...

Continuationism is not a non-essential doctrinal issue Posted on April 19, 2016 By Fred Butler I am becoming convinced more and more every day that continuationism/charismaticism is not just a non-essential doctrinal issue for Christians. My thinking about this started shortly after the Strange Fire conference as I engaged continuationist critics on social media. .... In fact, with what I was seeing, the TBN and Sid Roth style charismatic continuationists are the standard majority, whereas the ‘balanced,” sober-minded continuationists were the true fringe.

In his first interview with the a theist Eugenio Scalfari, published on October 1, 2013 in the daily newspaper La Repubblica, Pope Francis said overlooking some members of the Roman Curia: "The court is the leprosy of the papacy". But Francis seems "to be fighting not the leprosy but the leper," said Secretum meum mihi . The daily Il Foglio headline in yesterday's edition of the first page: "Müller Besieged". Schönborn instead of Müller The distance that exists between the Pope and the Cardinal Prefect of the Faith, Gerhard Müller, is recognized "by all". "The cold was obviously" felt by...

Amen! Come, Lord Jesus! A Meditation on the Stunning Glory of Being Gathered to Christ on the Last Day Msgr. Charles Pope • April 20, 2016 • During Eastertide we continue to read from the Book of Revelation and meditate on Jesus as the Lord of history and the Victor over sin and death. As Revelation moves to its conclusion, it points forward to the Parousia (the magnificent second coming of the Lord). We do well to allow our imaginations to be engaged in contemplating the glory that awaits those who are faithful, to meditate on the joy and...

We should only look to Jesus for Heaven, Pope Francis said during a recent mass. The pontiff made his comments Monday while speaking from Casa Santa Marta at the Vatican, saying that only through Jesus can people go to heaven "The Lord thus clearly says: you cannot enter eternal life by any entryway that is not the door – that is not Jesus," the pontiff said. "He is the door of our life – and not only of eternal life, but also of our daily lives." The pope added that he who attempts to reach heaven by an alternative way...

Situation Ethics Enshrined - Q & A on Francis' Amoris Laetitia A simple Q & A on Certain Aspects of the Post-Synodal Exhortation What is Amoris Laetitia? Amoris Laetitia (the “Joy of Love”) is the much anticipated post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation of Pope Francis on marriage and the family. Released on April 6, it runs 260 pages, approximately 59,000 words. Father George Rutler, wryly commenting on the exorbitant length of modern Vatican documents, notes that Francis’ text “is nearly two-thirds the length of all the Vatican II promulgations.” What are we to think of Amoris Laetitia? Respected Italian journalist Antonio Socci...

Pope Francis’ Apostolic Exhortation on the Family, Amoris Laetitia (AL) has been received with very mixed reactions ranging from positive jubilation to that of respectful reservation. It is a 60,000 word document that will require time, study and prayerful reflection in order to unravel all of its implications. While the nuances, implications and applications of AL are being unravelled, it seems to me that we ought to remain calm and take the sagacious advice of St Paul of simply following the well established Catholic rule of holding fast to what we have received and always believed. In practical terms and,...

The head women’s basketball coach at the University of San Francisco (USF) recently announced her same-sex marriage to an assistant coach, and suggested that any student-athletes who have “an issue” with her sexuality and relationship are not welcome on the team. On March 31, USF coach Jennifer Azzi publicly announced that she was in a same-sex marriage with her top assistant, Blair Hardiek, during an Anti-Defamation League awards ceremony. She was there introducing Golden State Warriors President and Chief Operating Officer Rick Welts. Welts became the first senior sports executive to openly acknowledge his same-sex attraction in 2011 while president...

It was the footnote heard around the world. Footnote 351, to be precise. The dynamite – or so it seemed to some – quietly buried deep in Pope Francis’ recent apostolic exhortation, Amoris Laetitia. To journalists poring over the exhortation hoping to learn how the pope intended to resolve the debate that had pitted cardinal against cardinal and bishop against bishop at the two recent synods at the family, it seemed to provide the key. “In certain cases, this can include the help of the sacraments,” the footnote reads, before making reference to the Eucharist and confession. Were these the...

Five Remedies for Sorrow from St. Thomas Aquinas Msgr. Charles Pope • April 19, 2016 • Some of you who follow me on Facebook know that I just lost a beloved pet, Daniel, our rectory cat. Losing a pet is not to be equated with losing a spouse, sibling, or friend, but it remains a painful loss. Part of the reason for this, I am convinced, is that we cannot communicate with animals as we do with one another. We cannot know what they are experiencing “inside” and so cannot reassure them or be reassured by them that they...