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[Catholic / Orthodox Caucus] Pope Leo XIV issues joint blessing with Orthodox Patriarch BartholomewPope Leo concluded his two-day trip to Turkey with a shared blessing alongside Patriarch Bartholomew I before flying out to Beirut, Lebanon.As part of the last public act of his apostolic journey to Turkey, Pope Leo XIV imparted an ecumenical blessing together with the Eastern Patriarch Bartholomew I.On November 30, Pope Leo XIV and Patriarch Bartholomew I appeared on the square of the Church of Saint George in Constantinople to bless the crowd in turn, in Latin and in Greek, respectively. Afterward, they took each other by...

[Catholic Caucus] Tucho's Marian Kerfuffle - by Roberto de MatteiThe Consequences of the Marian Note of Cardinal Fernandezby Roberto de Matteifor Corrispondenza RomanaOn November 4, 2025, the doctrinal note Mater Populi Fidelis was published, with which the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith sought to clarify the meaning and limits of certain Marian titles referring to Mary's cooperation in the work of salvation. The statement caused dismay and consternation among the faithful, but also among Mariologists, because it represents an objective diminution of the privileges traditionally reserved for Our Lady by the Tradition of the Church. One wonders now...

Where ever you go now during this "holiday" season, Christmas music is playing and many of the Christmas songs have a sound Biblical message of salvation. What Child is This?, O Little Town of Bethlehem, Hark the Herald Angels Sing, O Holy Night, O Come Emanuel, Go Tell it on the Mountain, O Come all Ye Faithful, The First Noel, Angels We Have Heard on High, O Come Let Us Adore Him, Joy to the World etc.. are all screaming the wondrous TRUTH that a Savior is born! However... as these songs play with their saving message they sail far...

Hundreds of pro-life students from Christendom College prayed outside a Virginia abortion facility as part of the annual “Mega Shield” event. Students from the Front Royal Catholic college traveled an hour and a half to Falls Church, Virginia for the November 15 event. Students in the Shield of Roses Club regularly pray outside the abortion facility on other days as well. The group said more than two hundred students attended – the school’s total enrollment is just around 550. The event is part of the students’ “identity” as Catholics, the club’s president told The College Fix. “Mega Shield is an...

Nigerian human rights advocate: Cardinal Parolin is ‘emboldening’ Muslim attacks against ChristiansCardinal Parolin downplaying the Islamic genocide of Nigerian Christians ‘provides cover for those perpetrating the violence’ and ‘emboldens’ Muslim terrorists, Emeka Umeagbalasi said. The board chair of a Nigerian human rights organization, during an interview last week with Crux, slammed Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin for downplaying the role of Islam in the brutal genocide against the country’s Christians and said that he is encouraging further acts of Islamic terrorism against the faithful.During the interview, which was published on November 27, Emeka Umeagbalasi, the board chair of...

[Catholic Caucus] Towards the Francis Dream of an Extermination of Opus Dei?When Summorum Pontificum was promulgated, we had great hopes for a liturgical renewal of Opus Dei, the particular order founded by Josemaría Escrivá and later transformed in the only Personal Prelature, a novel figure created (for them, apparently) in the new Code of Canon Law.We knew many priests of "The Work" loved the Traditional Mass, that Escrivá celebrated until the end of his life. But the order from above, as far as we could discern, was that the priests of Opus should, whenever possible, refrain from the Traditional Mass,...

Pope Leo lays wreath at grave of Turkish leader Atatürk despite links to anti-Christian genocidesUnder the leadership of Kemal Atatürk, the founder of modern Turkey, his forces committed widespread murder and persecution of Greek, Armenian, and other Christian minorities.Pope Leo XIV paid homage at Atatürk’s tomb on November 27, 2025, at Anıtkabir in Ankara, despite the Turkish leader’s links to genocides against Christian minorities.On November 27, 2025, in Ankara, Pope Leo XIV – arriving for his first apostolic visit to Turkey – paused at Anıtkabir, the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, where he laid a wreath and signed the Honor...

Brussels officials are investigating after the infant Jesus figure in the city’s newly installed nativity scene was found beheaded overnight, according to a report circulated by Radio Genoa early Monday. Police have not released details on possible suspects, and the city has not yet confirmed when the damage occurred. The incident took place at the Grand-Place, where the redesigned display—made of recycled fabric and featuring faceless, patchwork figures—was unveiled last week as part of the city’s Christmas program, reports the European Conservative. The nativity, titled Fabrics of the Nativity, was meant to introduce what organizers called an “inclusive mix of...

Pope Leo XIV concluded the first day of his apostolic visit to Lebanon with a vist to the Monastery of the Carmelite Sisters of the Theotokos in Harissa.

Pope Leo XIV called a two-state arrangement the “only solution” to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, doubling down on the Holy See’s longstanding position in his first airborne news conference en route to Lebanon on Sunday. “We all know that at this time Israel still does not accept that solution, but we see it as the only solution,” he said, as he flew from Istanbul to Beirut for the second and final leg of his maiden voyage as pope. “We are also friends with Israel, and we are seeking to be a mediating voice between the two parties that might help...

The Praise and Worship Band at the church I attend recently sang “Come, Jesus, Come.” Here are the words to the Chorus: Come, Jesus, come We’ve been waiting so long For the day You return To heal every hurt and right every wrong We need You right now Come and turn this around Deep down I know this world isn’t home Come, Jesus, come Here are the words to the verses: Sometimes I fall to my knees and pray Come, Jesus, come Let today be the day Sometimes I feel like I’m gonna break But I’m holding on To a...

How do you solve a problem like Fernández?The Advent season begins this Sunday, and that means The Sound of Music will soon be on television in the United States. The ABC network airs the film classic starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer each year before Christmas, a broadcasting tradition that began in 2002. (It would air before Easter when I was a child, which shows my age.)As I considered the latest contretemps involving the prefect of the Dicastery of for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF), Argentine Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández, a song from the film came to mind.“How do...

[Catholic Caucus] New Cardinal of Krakow: “I Don't Want Any Other Church Than That of Francis”Cardinal Grzegorz Ryś, 61, has learned “everything I believe in about the Church from Francis,” he said according to Onet.pl after Leo XIV appointed him as Archbishop of Krakow on November 26.Francis taught Cardinal Ryś “how to understand the Church”.And: “I don't want another Church. I simply don't want it. I cannot imagine another Church than the one Francis taught us.”Experience at Francis’ TombCardinal Ryś recounted an experience during the days leading up to the conclave. He visited Francis' tomb with Cardinal Konrad Krajewski. There,...

You have probably heard that something extraordinary is happening in the Catholic Church in France. The French bishops’ conference announced in April that more than 10,000 adults were due to be baptised in 2025 – a 45 per cent increase on the year before. It’s not just adult baptisms that are booming. A record 19,000 people, many young, attended this year’s Paris to Chartres pilgrimage. An unprecedented 13,500 high school students took part in the 2025 Lourdes FRAT pilgrimage, a major annual youth event. The country is also seeing what French media call a 'boom biblique': a rapid rise in...

Texas Baptists elected an ordained female clergywoman as convention president this week for the first time ever. Debbie Potter, children’s pastor at Trinity Baptist Church in San Antonio, was chosen as president of the Baptist General Convention of Texas in a race with Kevin Burrow, pastor of First Baptist Church of Eastland, Texas. The vote was 430 to 320. The BGCT is the largest and oldest of the two state Baptist conventions in Texas that relate to the Southern Baptist Convention. The other, Southern Baptists of Texas Convention, was formed in 1998 by conservatives who thought the BGCT was not...

[Catholic Caucus] Vatican says 4 papal documents issued under Leo XIV are part of the ‘mandate’ of Pope FrancisWith two new documents in addition to the notes on marriage and Marian titles, 'the mandate Pope Francis had given us two years ago comes to an end,’ declared Fr. Armando Matteo.During the presentation of the doctrinal note on marriage, Una Caro, in the Holy See Press Office on November 25, Father Armando Matteo, secretary of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, stated that the two documents published this month – along with two soon to be released – are...

Beloved, Greetings in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ! Who is the TRUE source for ALL Heavenly blessings here on earth and in Heaven above (Eph. 1:3)! As we celebrate this time of Thanksgiving we are very mindful of many things. We are thankful for our loved ones, a measure of health and a sound mind. We are thankful for the earthly blessings and liberties that we possess as Americans. We are thankful for those who have shed their blood on our nation's behalf which have preserved our freedoms and liberties. We are thankful for the vision and labor...

[Catholic Caucus] Tennessee bishop limits celebration of Latin Mass to small chapel once a monthAfter banning the Latin Mass at all parishes in the Diocese of Knoxville, Bishop Mark Beckman will now allow a monthly TLM in a retreat center chapel, which is likely too small to accommodate the faithful. Featured ImageThe Diocese of Knoxville under Bishop Mark Beckman will limit the celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) to just one chapel at a retreat center once a month after previously announcing the suppression of all parish TLMs in the diocese, the bishop announced in a letter on Tuesday.In...

A newly released video from the streets of Vienna has ignited fresh alarm across Central Europe, with officials warning that Austria’s historic capital is undergoing a demographic, cultural, and civilizational transformation that—if not reversed—will render Vienna a Muslim-majority city within two generations. The video features Austrian MEP Petra Steger of the Freiheitliche Partei Österreichs (FPÖ) and Barna Pál Zsigmond, Hungary’s Parliamentary State Secretary for European Union Affairs. Filmed in Vienna’s Favoriten district, a heavily migrant and predominantly Muslim neighborhood, the pair deliver a shocking assessment of a city they say has been “sacrificed on the altar of mass immigration.” Zsigmond,...

Thanksgiving Street I knew a man whose name was Horner Who used to live in grumble corner; Grumble corner in crosspatch town And he never was seen without a frown. He grumbled at this, and he grumbled at that, He growled at the dog. He growled at the cat. He grumbled at morning. He grumbled at night, And to grumble and growl was his chief delight. He grumbled so much at his wife that she Began to grumble as well as he. And all the children, wherever they went, Reflected their parents discontent. If the sky was dark and betokened...