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Cuban authorities prevented leading dissidents from meeting Pope Francis in Havana on Sunday, in a sign of the Communist regime’s rigid intolerance of political opposition. Two well-known dissidents, Marta Beatriz Roque and Miriam Leiva, had been invited by the Vatican to attend a vespers service led by the Pope’s in Havana’s historic baroque cathedral. But they said they were detained by security agents and barred from attending the event.

The Pope Forgets the Oppressed of Cuba The pontiff’s visit gave the Castros what they wanted. September 22, 2015 Daniel Greenfield    Daniel Greenfield, a Shillman Journalism Fellow at the Freedom Center, is a New York writer focusing on radical Islam. In 1960, Cuban bishops declared that “Catholicism and Communism respond to two totally different concepts of man and the world which it will never be possible to conciliate.” Pope Francis however contends that Communism is really Christianity. “The Communists have stolen our flag,” he said. The Cuban bishops condemned Communism as “a system which brutally denies the most fundamental...

Pope Francis appeases the Castros in repressive Cuba The Post's View By WP Editorial Board September 21 IN HIS visit to the United States beginning Tuesday, Pope Francis will meet not just President Obama and Congress but also those marginalized by our society: homeless people, immigrants, refugees and even the inmates of a jail. He’s expected to raise topics that many Americans will find challenging, such as his harsh critique of capitalism. His supporters say it’s all part of the role the pope has embraced as an advocate for the powerless, one that has earned him admiration from both Catholics...

Pope Francis’s visit to Cuba is proving to be a very comfortable event for the brutally repressive and dictatorial regime. The closest thing, so far, to a challenge to the oppression of dissidents has been the invitation to a dissident group, The Ladies in White, to attend a cathedral service held by the pope. However, according to the U.K. Telegraph, 22 of 24 members of the group were detained by security police and could not attend. Other dissidents fared as badly: Cuban authorities prevented leading dissidents from meeting Pope Francis in Havana on Sunday, in a sign of the Communist...

Zeal is More Necessary Today than Ever – True Zeal, That Is, Not a Mere Human Imitation of It Msgr. Charles Pope • September 27, 2015 • One of the great virtues related to charity is zeal. Zeal is the ardor of charity; it is love burning brightly. It is a fiery love for God, for His gracious truth, and for the salvation of souls.Because of human fear, sloth, and self-seeking, zeal is rare. It is especially difficult to find in our present age, when relativism and “tolerance” are so prevalent. Both relativism and excessive tolerance are really little more...

September 28, 2015   Monday of the Twenty-sixth Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 Zec 8:1-8 This word of the LORD of hosts came: Thus says the LORD of hosts: I am intensely jealous for Zion,stirred to jealous wrath for her.Thus says the LORD:I will return to Zion,and I will dwell within Jerusalem;Jerusalem shall be called the faithful city,and the mountain of the LORD of hosts,the holy mountain. Thus says the LORD of hosts: Old men and old women,each with staff in hand because of old age,shall again sit in the streets of Jerusalem.The city shall be filled with...

One thing that that has puzzled a lot of people since the selection of Pope Francis two years ago is how a left-leaning Pope could succeed two very serious conservative Popes—John Paul II and Benedict XVI—who you would have thought had stacked the ranks of the Cardinals with clergy that would perpetuate their theological and philosophical outlook. Was Benedict hounded out of office by some kind of internal Vatican scandal perhaps? Was there some ecclesiastical version of a coup?There’s no evidence that I’m aware of—until now. Three days ago the National Catholic Register ran a very curious article about...

Here is the Vatican translation of the Pope's address to victims of sexual abuse by the clergy, who he met with early this morning at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia. Following his address, the Pope met privately with each of the individuals present at the meeting. * * * My dearest brothers and sisters in Christ, I am grateful for this opportunity to meet you. I am blessed by your presence. Thank you for coming here today. Words cannot fully express my sorrow for the abuse you suffered. You are precious children of God who should always expect our...

Three Principles for Prophets: A Homily for the 26th Sunday of the Year Msgr. Charles Pope • September 26, 2015 • In today’s gospel we see three principles for prophets. And in speaking of prophets, it is referring to you, too. For by our baptism, we are all summoned to be prophets for the Lord.I. PROPER PRIORITIES – The text begins, John said to Jesus, “Teacher, we saw someone driving out demons in your name, and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow us.” (Mark 9:38)The Apostle John’s consternation bespeaks confused priorities. Task number one is to...

September 27, 2015   Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time Reading 1 Nm 11:25-29 The LORD came down in the cloud and spoke to Moses.Taking some of the spirit that was on Moses,the LORD bestowed it on the seventy elders;and as the spirit came to rest on them, they prophesied. Now two men, one named Eldad and the other Medad,were not in the gathering but had been left in the camp.They too had been on the list, but had not gone out to the tent;yet the spirit came to rest on them also,and they prophesied in the camp.So, when a...

Pope's Address at Ground Zero "This flowing water reminds us of yesterday’s tears, but also of all the tears still being shed today" New York City, September 25, 2015 (ZENIT.org) Staff Reporter | 1905 hits Here is a Vatican translation of the address Pope Francis gave today at an interreligious ceremony at Ground Zero. He began the Spanish-language address apologizing for being unable to give it in English. * * * Dear Friends, I feel many different emotions standing here at Ground Zero, where thousands of lives were taken in a senseless act of destruction. Here grief is palpable. The...

Virtual Does not Mean Real – As Seen on TV Msgr. Charles Pope • September 25, 2015 • Video commentary:For most people, the word “virtual” has become a synonym for the Internet or the computer world, as in “occurring or existing primarily online.” But the word virtual has an original meaning that is actually quite descriptive of a modern problem.Prior to its application to the computer world, the word virtual meant being something in effect, though not actually, or expressly being such. In other words, something virtual has aspects of the real thing, but is not the real thing. So,...

1] The Roman Pontiff claims for himself [in the first place] that by divine right he is [supreme] above all bishops and pastors [in all Christendom]. 2] Secondly, he adds also that by divine right he has both swords, i.e., the authority also of bestowing kingdoms [enthroning and deposing kings, regulating secular dominions etc.]. 3] And thirdly, he says that to believe this is necessary for salvation. And for these reasons the Roman bishop calls himself [and boasts that he is] the vicar of Christ on earth. 4] These three articles we hold to be false, godless, tyrannical, and [quite]...

The repeated use of the term "dialogue" was irritating. It's a buzzword among today's technocrats. They use it as a softening word, one that signals that they're are not coming to dominate us, but instead to "listen" and play the role of "honest brokers." At the end of the speech, Francis appealed to a spirit of solicitude for the well being of the family. But, again, he steered clear of specifics, making no mention of no-fault divorce or same-sex marriage. He called for the abolition of the death penalty. This has been a priority for the Church going back to...

September 26, 2015 Saturday of the Twenty-fifth Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 Zec 2:5-9, 14-15a I, Zechariah, raised my eyes and looked:there was a man with a measuring line in his hand.I asked, “Where are you going?”He answered, “To measure Jerusalem,to see how great is its width and how great its length.” Then the angel who spoke with me advanced,and another angel came out to meet him and said to him,“Run, tell this to that young man:People will live in Jerusalem as though in open country,because of the multitude of men and beasts in her midst.But I will...

He cited an online post he had seen from a 17-year-old gay Catholic. "The church has a lot to say about what I'm not supposed to do," the youth wrote. "But ... I couldn't find any church document (about) what a gay person is supposed to do with his life. I feel abandoned by the church." He said the church teaches much about the beauty of marriage, but then tells its gay members they "can't have this wonderful thing."

NEW YORK, September 25 (C-Fam) World leaders broke out into applause 27 times during the Pope’s address to the UN General Assembly today, including when he called for the defense of the “right to life,” and called the family the “primary cell of any social development.” Pro-life and pro-family advocates welcomed the speech as an improvement upon the more subtle references to their causes during the Pope’s address to the U.S. Congress. Culture of Life President Robert Royal called the UN talk a powerful and explicit defense of human life and natural marriage even though the words “abortion” and “homosexuality”...

"STUNNING ADMISSION: Hyper-Progressive Cardinal Danneels Admits Being in Mafia Dedicated to Unseat PBXVI" Pride goeth before the fall. The modernists are apparently feeling very powerful and secure, because they are starting to open their mouths and crow about both their opposition to Pope Benedict XVI, dropping hints they played a role in his abdication, as well as quite possibly illicitly organizing to elect Pope Francis. Further serious concerns are being raised about Cardinal Godfried Danneels, one of the papal delegates chosen to attend the upcoming Ordinary Synod on the Family, after the archbishop emeritus of Brussels confessed this week to...

Socialist Bernie Sanders (I-VT) is ecstatic over the pope’s address to Congress. In a message to his supporters, titled, “Why we must listen to Pope Francis,” he was particularly pleased with the fact that in his address to Congress, “Pope Francis spoke of Dorothy Day, who was a tireless advocate for the impoverished and working people in America. I think it was extraordinary that he cited her as one of the most important people in recent American history.” Day was a Marxist apologist for socialism and communist regimes. We covered this territory in my column, “With Pope’s Help, U.N....

Of Pictures and the Pope – A Humorous Look at Our Growing Need for Photographs Msgr. Charles Pope • September 24, 2015 • In all the coverage of Pope Francis’ visit to Washington, many are doing an admirable job of analyzing what is being said and done. The nature of this blog is less the coverage of “happening now” news and more a steady pondering of the message of the Gospel and how it relates to our cultural setting.Permit, therefore, a brief observation of the papal visit from the standpoint of the crowds that flock to see him. Please do...