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Four years after the legalization of divorce in Malta, the head of one of the nation’s two dioceses has issued a pastoral letter on mercy for those who have divorced and entered into a civil marriage outside the Church. “It is no secret that there is expectancy about the conclusions of the Synod regarding the pastoral situation of those who are divorced and are in a second relationship,” Bishop Mario Grech of Gozo said in his August 15 letter. “Those who propose that certain barriers between those who are in an ‘irregular relationship’ but who believe in Christ as Savior,...

To the courageous headline in yesterday’s “Libero” (“The Pope’s Party. The Vatican’s Political Shift”.) only one idea should be added: the Bergoglio Party is one thing (which is its doing harm, but will fade with him), the Catholic Church is another. The other day Matteo Salvini* rightly noted this in the polemics he had with Monsignor Galantino. Plus, the very caustic interview with Giovanni Sartori - the king of political analysts - helped clarify it all: “For me this Vatican that utters such nonsense is a disaster. They aren’t interested at all in the real facts and focus on very...

The events took place at the El Goloso military base, located near the Spanish capital, seat of the nation's armored infantry brigade "Guadarrama." According to several Spanish news sites, including Infovaticana and Religión en Libertad, a fire broke out that was impossible to control, burning most of the surrounding vegetation. Once the flames were extinguished, to the soldiers’ surprise, in the middle of the charred area, stood a statue of Our Lady of Lourdes—totally undamaged! What's more, the soldiers were shocked to see that the grass near the statue had not been touched by the flames and that it was...

African bishops continue to fight for life, marriage and family in their country. Following a pro-life rally that drew more than 1,000 supporters, the Ghana Catholic Bishops' Conference (GCBC) issued a statement resolving to resist evils such as abortion, population control, adulterous remarriages, promiscuity and sodomy. 1. Every human being is created in the image and likeness of God (Gen. 1:26–27). Human life is God's gift and this life begins at conception. Thus, every nation, every institution, every man and woman must respect, protect and uphold the dignity and sanctity of every human life from the moment of conception until...

*******THERE ARE MANY IMPORTANT LINKS EMBEDDED IN THE POST. ARE THERE REALLY 38,000 DIFFERENT DENOMINATIONS? by Damon Whitsell Is Christianity really as divided as some people say it is? Are there really around 38,000 differing denominations? These questions are relevant to the Word of Faith movement because its teachers can be quite anti-denominational at times. And since some in the Word of Faith movement such as Kenneth Copeland and Joel Osteen along with the Pope and many others are calling for Charismatics and the Roman Catholic Church to unite, saying the Protestant protest is over, these questions are really important...

FULL TITLE: Father Pavone’s Abolishing Abortion hits bookshelves today – Pro-life manifesto calls upon the Church and State to protect unborn children Father Frank Pavone, National Director of Priests for Life and a long-time pro-life activist, has long said he’s not just fighting abortion, he’s working to end it. His new book, Abolishing Abortion: How You Can Play a Part in Ending the Greatest Evil of Our Day (Thomas Nelson, HarperCollins Christian Publishing), released today, outlines a strategy to end abortion in the United States. In the book, Father Pavone explores biblical, moral, historical, and legal reasons Christians belong in...

Biblical Teaching on the Use of Colorful and Harsh Language Msgr. Charles Pope • August 23, 2015 • In the Sermon on the Mount, the Lord warns of using uncivil and/or hateful words such as “Raqa” and “fool.” And yet the same Lord Jesus often used very strong language toward some of His opponents, sometimes calling them names such as vipers and hypocrites.We live in a world that often insists on the use of gentle language and euphemisms. While doing so is not a bad thing, we also tend to manifest a kind of thin-skinned quality and a political correctness...

I have been at a major church three times recently for some pretty important occasions, and each time only women read, and every time the female 'music minister' sat enthroned above con-celebrating clergy as some sort of demi-bishop signalling to the people to turn their attention from the altar to her and join in the music, even when the celebrant sang things that would of themselves demand people participation, like "The Lord be with you". No, I didn't check, there might have been very good reasons for the exclusion of men from lay-ministerial positions but the fact it happened on...

Fr Raymond De Souza asks the question in the Catholic Herald to which all Catholics would like an answer, despite the unfortunate fact that Pope Francis, not a week into his pontificate, delivered the answer when he recommended Cardinal Kasper's book, entitled 'Mercy', to the Faithful gathered in St Peter's Square. Depending on which side of this debate you fall - whether it be that of Our Lord Jesus Christ and the Successors of St Peter until now - or some another side entirely, it has - in terms of the 'Kasper Proposal', been either 'uphill' or 'downhill' since then....

 I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died; this is the bread that comes down from heaven so that one may eat it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world."  The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying, "How can this man give us [his] flesh to eat?" Jesus said to them, "Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of...

August 24, 2015   Feast of Saint Bartholomew, Apostle Reading 1 Rv 21:9b-14 The angel spoke to me, saying,“Come here.I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.”He took me in spirit to a great, high mountainand showed me the holy city Jerusalemcoming down out of heaven from God.It gleamed with the splendor of God.Its radiance was like that of a precious stone,like jasper, clear as crystal.It had a massive, high wall,with twelve gates where twelve angels were stationedand on which names were inscribed,the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel.There were three gates...

Earlier this year, a petition was started. It’s purpose was simple: it asks the Holy Father to calm the fears of Catholics around the world with a simple public assurance that those forces which are seeking to undermine Christ’s teaching on marriage will not prevail at the conclusion of the two-year Extraordinary Synod on Marriage and Family. The text of the petition reads, in part: Your Holiness, in light of information published on the last Synod, we note with anguish that, for millions of faithful Catholics, the beacon seems to have dimmed in face of the onslaught of lifestyles spread...

As part of a nationwide effort mobilizing thousands of pro-lifers, hundreds turned out in various metro Detroit locations to protest and pray in front of Planned Parenthood abortion mills. In the suburb of Ferndale, about 250 pro-lifers stood across a major thoroughfare in front of Planned Parenthood, where about a dozen abortion advocates held signs and went through their usual pro-abortion "My body, my choice" chants. Included were the usual assortment of witches and lesbians. The entire national effort was pulled together in response to the gruesome videos serving as proof that Planned Parenthood is engaged in a lucrative business...

"The analysis of the Novus Ordo made by these two Cardinals has lost nothing of its value, nor, unfortunately, of its timeliness . .. The results of the reform are deemed by many today to have been devastating. It was the merit of Cardinals Ottaviani and Bacci to discover very quickly that the modification of the rites resulted in a fundamental change of doctrine." - - Cardinal Stickler, November 27, 2004, on the occasion of a reprint of the Ottaviani Intervention. LETTER OF THE CARDINALS ALFREDO CARDINAL OTTAVIANI ANTONIO CARDINAL BACCI TO HIS HOLINESS POPE PAUL VI [On September 25,...

Two Hard Sayings in One Day – A Homily for the 21st Sunday of the Year Msgr. Charles Pope • August 22, 2015 • Today’s readings feature two “hard sayings,” one on the Eucharist, the other on marriage. One is hard because it defies our sensibilities, the other is hard because it is out-of-season and politically incorrect. The first hard saying is Jesus’ insistence that the Eucharist is actually His Body and Blood and that we must eat His true Flesh and drink His true Blood as our true food, as our necessary manna to sustain us on our journey...

August 23, 2015   Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time Reading 1 Jos 24:1-2a, 15-17, 18b Joshua gathered together all the tribes of Israel at Shechem,summoning their elders, their leaders,their judges, and their officers. When they stood in ranks before God,Joshua addressed all the people:“If it does not please you to serve the LORD,decide today whom you will serve,the gods your fathers served beyond the Riveror the gods of the Amorites in whose country you are now dwelling. As for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.” But the people answered,“Far be it from us to forsake the...

If the Republican establishment thinks it has a problem with Donald Trump, just wait until the Pope visits America next month and endorses socialist Bernie Sanders for president. Such a move, which is not beyond the realm of possibility, would put the head of the Roman Catholic Church firmly in the Democratic Party camp during a critical election year in which Republicans hope to turn back the tide of transformational Marxism represented by President Barack Obama. A story on a Catholic news site, "Is Pope Francis going to endorse...Bernie Sanders?!", looks seriously at the possibility. The article noted that the...

Full yet Lonely – A Picture of the Modern Person, as Seen in a Video Msgr. Charles Pope • August 21, 2015 • One of the great “evils” of our time is satiation. I put the word “evil” inside quotation marks to emphasize that no particular good thing that God has made is, in itself, evil. But on account of our own inordinate drives, we accumulate and indulge beyond reason. And in becoming satiated, we leave little room for God or other people.The more materially affluent we get, the more spiritually poor we seem to become. The higher our standard...

As of this writing the “Filial Petition” to Francis pleading with him to repair a “breach [that] has been opened within the Church that would accept adultery — by permitting divorced and then civilly remarried Catholics to receive Holy Communion — and would virtually accept even homosexual unions” has reached 471,000 signatures, including that of Bishop Athanasius Schneider. The Petition identifies the “breach” of which it complains with “information published on the last Synod,” meaning the disgraceful “midterm report” calling precisely for “permitting divorced and then civilly remarried Catholics to receive Holy Communion” and “virtual[ly] accept[ing] even homosexual unions.” Of...

August 22, 2015   Memorial of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary Reading 1 Ru 2:1-3, 8-11; 4:13-17 Naomi had a prominent kinsman named Boaz,of the clan of her husband Elimelech.Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi,“Let me go and glean ears of grain in the fieldof anyone who will allow me that favor.”Naomi said to her, “Go, my daughter,” and she went.The field she entered to glean after the harvestershappened to be the section belonging to Boazof the clan of Elimelech. Boaz said to Ruth, “Listen, my daughter!Do not go to glean in anyone else’s field;you are not...