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“Fr. McBrien was an able and indefatigable proponent of the Catholic revolution that never was and, now, never will be,” said George Weigel, widely seen as America’s leading conservative Catholic commentator.

Here are artistic representations of two goddesses who are considered the Queen of Heaven and Goddesses.  The Buddhist/Taoist Kuan Yin (or Guan Yin) (觀音) And The Catholic depiction of Mary Note the similarities in representation.  This relates to a thread last week on the leftover, or accretional pagan beliefs or rituals that are still present in the Catholic church.  The Goddess of Mercy is a universal idol/icon in pagan belief systems. 

My Roman Catholic friend, Michael Liccione, has written on his Facebook page that "the main disagreement among American Catholics is not about whether we should believe 'all that the Holy Catholic Church believes, professes, and teaches,' but which teachings we may safely disbelieve." I responded, "Aggiornamento has that effect on us! There is an interesting parallel between the Roman Catholic Church in the USA and the Anglicans in the USA in that liturgical reform suggested to many that the historic Catholic faith had changed. The Vatican II liturgical changes and the Episcopal Church's 1979 prayer book changed words and forms....

What Did the Saints Say about Islam? 187 By Andrew Bieszad on August 12, 2014 Evangelization, Interfaith, Islam 2.9K SHARES juanderibera St. Juan de Ribera, Viceroy and Bishop of Valencia (1568-1611), Supervising the Expulsion of Moriscos; Francisco Domingo Marques, 1912 For Islamic scholars, there is a statement in the apostolic exhortation of Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium, which is particularly troubling: Faced with disconcerting episodes of violent fundamentalism, our respect for true followers of Islam should lead us to avoid hateful generalisations, for authentic Islam and the proper reading of the Koran are opposed to every form of violence. (p. 253)...

Father Martin Dolan, who has been a priest at Church of St Nicholas of Myra in Francis Street in Dublin’s city center for 15 years, opened up to his congregation at the Saturday night Mass. He also confided in his Sunday morning congregation. Dolan is the only priest in the parish. Calling on his Dublin city congregation to support same sex marriage in the upcoming Irish referendum, set for the end May, Dolan said “I’m gay myself.” Dolan’s statement at Mass on Saturday was met by applause and a standing ovation from his “proud” parishioners. Speaking to the Irish Sun...

St. Juan Diego: Ordinary Son of Mary Daniel StewartJuan Diego was born in 1474 in a place called Cuautitlán. Once a part of the Aztec Empire, Cuautitlán was conquered by the Spanish and is now in present day Mexico City. Born before the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire, Juan Diego was an indigenous Mexican who was given the name Cuauhtlatoatzin at birth. When Franciscan missionaries arrived, Cuauhtlatoatzin and his wife were some of the first indigenous people to convert. At baptism, they were given the names Juan Diego and Maria Lucia. Juan Diego was not a slave but...

The “Great Gettin’ Up Morning” as Described in an Unlikely Advent Hymn By: Msgr. Charles PopeHere in the heart of Advent, we are considering how prepared we are for the Lord to come again. Either He will come to us or we will go to Him, but either way we must prepare. In today’s post I’d like to consider some teachings about the Day of Judgment, from an Advent hymn that most do not know is an Advent hymn. Tomorrow I would like to consider the great Parousia, wherein the saved enter into glory with the Lord.Regarding the “Great and...

In a new video, megachurch leader and author Rick Warren is calling for Christians to unite with Roman Catholics and “Pope Francis,” who Warren recently referred to as the “Holy Father”—a move that is raising concerns among Christians nationwide and is resulting in calls for Warren to repent. Warren made the comments following his visit to the Vatican last month, where he spoke at an interfaith conference on the “Complementarity of Man and Woman.”...

ROME – On his flight back to Rome after visiting Turkey, the Roman Catholic Pontiff known as Pope Francis told reporters that Islam should not be equated with terrorism and violence–a statement that some may disagree with considering the teachings of the religion. “On Islamophobia, it is true that when one sees these terrorist acts, not only in this region, but also in Africa, there is this reaction [of], ‘If this is Islam, I am going to get angry,'” he said. “And so many Islamic people are offended.” “Many, many [Muslims] say, ‘No, we are not this. The Koran is...

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I embraces Pope Francis at a celebration of the Divine Liturgy in Istanbul - REUTERS (Vatican Radio)  In an address upon conclusion of the Divine Liturgy celebrated by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I at the Orthodox Church of St. George in Istanbul, Pope Francis said “the one thing that the Catholic Church desires and that I seek as Bishop of Rome…is communion with the Orthodox Churches.” Below, please find the complete text of the Holy Father’s address:             When I was the Archbishop of Buenos Aires, I often took part in the celebration of the Divine Liturgy of...

I’m going to say something many of my fellow secularism advocates would probably not appreciate: I like Pope Francis. Why? I like Pope Francis because, in my opinion, he is more liberal than many liberals. American conservatives already hate him for his seemingly liberal position on many issues. He’s so liberal that Sarah Palin is actually taken aback by what she calls his “liberal agenda.” The Pope is so liberal that writer Damian Thompson, in an article he wrote for “The Spectator,” had to ask if we were in the early stages of a Catholic civil war. Apparently, even Catholics...

End of communism not good for Catholicism? Brazil and its large Catholic population are prisoners of socialism, but the Vatican has been worried (for about 1,000 years!) about the Orthodox Church By Julio Severo While the world is celebrating the end of communist tyranny in Europe, its end was not all positive for Catholicism, a senior Vatican official indicated on Monday. According to Reuters through WorldNetDaily, the Catholic official thinks the fall of the Berlin Wall 25 years ago brought religious tensions between Rome and Russia back to the surface. These tensions are much older than the Soviet Union....

Just at first glance, and without looking it up on Google Translate, what is the difference between these two passages of a recent important Vatican document, the final “Relatio” from October’s Extraordinary Synod of Bishops? “…confronto alla luce del Signore Gesù per discernere le vie con cui rinnovare la Chiesa e la società nel loro impegno per la famiglia fondata sul matrimonio tra uomo e donna.” and “…facing the situation, with an eye on the Lord Jesus, to discern how the Church and society can renew their commitment to the family.” A little pared down, perhaps? The official Italian original...

Don’t expect to see any breakout sessions on the bumper sticker “You Can’t Be Both Catholic and Pro-Choice” at the meeting this week of the U.S. Roman Catholic bishops in Baltimore. And you probably won’t be allowed to take part in any discussions about clarity from the bishops regarding how Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi, and Patrick Murphy can be both Catholic and pro-abortion. The demoted Cardinal Raymond Burke, former St. Louis archbishop, is saying the church “is like a ship without a rudder” under Pope Francis. (1) The Illinois Catholic Conference of state church leaders called abortion and related issues...

(Rome) The Pontifical Council for Culture is preparing an "opening" towards women priests? Pablo d'Ors, appointed papal Consultor of the Council for Culture since July, 1st, is convinced of a realignment. "While orthodox Church representatives are being kicked out from the Vatican, heretics are being brought in," said Messa in Latino about the Spanish priest, novelist and "Zen Buddhist" and his interview in the daily newspaper La Repubblica . The Pontifical Council for Cultural, headed by Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, seems to deal not only with culture and sports, but also with the Doctrine of the Faith, and ground filled with...

U.S. Roman Catholic bishops are gathering at a moment of turbulence for them and the American church, as Pope Francis moves toward crafting new policies for carrying out his mission of mercy - a prospect that has conservative Catholics and some bishops in an uproar. The assembly, which starts Monday in Baltimore, comes less than a month after Francis ended a dramatic Vatican meeting on how the church can more compassionately minister to Catholic families. The gathering in Rome was only a prelude to a larger meeting next year which will more concretely advise Francis on church practice. Still, the...

If the mainstream media had a mantra these days, it would be "The Pope Is Just Like Us!" A recent variation on the meme of Francis as an earth-shattering revolutionary is the press's guiding interpretation of the pope's address to the Pontifical Academy of the Sciences. As Catholic blogger Damian Geminder observes, MSNBC Community Editor Daniel Berger had "the most popular article on msnbc.com for much of Tuesday, featuring this completely-not-sensationalistic-and-totally-journalistic headline" No need to give details here on where the MSNBC spin goes off the rails, as Geminder has done a serviceable (albeit highly polemicized) job. So too has...

Elton John called Pope Francis "my hero" for his compassion and push to accept gays in the Catholic church, at his annual AIDS benefit. John hosted the event, "An Enduring Vision: A Benefit for the Elton John AIDS Foundation," Tuesday night in Manhattan. He said Francis is pushing boundaries in the church and told the crowd: "Make this man a saint now, OK?"

Evolution is not inconsistent with God, said Pope Francis during an unveiling of a bust of his predecessor, Pope-emeritus Benedict XVI, at the Pontifical Academy of Sciences on Monday. "Evolution in nature is not inconsistent with the notion of creation," Francis said. "The scientist," he continued, "must [nevertheless] be moved by a trust in the idea that nature hides, within her evolutionary mechanisms, potentialities that it is the task of intellect and freedom to discover and actuate, in order to achieve the [kind of] development that is in the design of the Creator." The pope, who backed the Roman Catholic...

Pope Francis leads the synod of bishops in Paul VI's hall at the Vatican October 6, 2014. Pope Francis opened a global Roman Catholic assembly on Sunday showing his apparent irritation with Church leaders who have waged a sometimes bitter public battle between progressives and conservatives on family issues. A recently released midterm report from the Synod of Bishops on the family, which defended the traditional definition of marriage but used positive language towards same-sex couples in some situations, has garnered controversy among some bishops who say it does not accurately reflect the assembly's views. "In regard to homosexuality, there...