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A half-century after the historic changes of the Second Vatican Council, Pope Francis is showing his intent to drive a comparably ambitious agenda for the Roman Catholic Church in the 21st century. The current synod of bishops in Rome, called by Francis to encourage reform and modernization, set a ringing tone of compassion this week with an opening call for a more welcoming attitude toward gay people, unmarried couples, divorced Catholics who remarry, and children in these unions. The bishops’ report on their first week of private discussions did not immediately change church doctrine. But it signaled the pope’s determination...

Breaking News From Rome: Burke Confirms He’s Been Ousted! Pope Harming The Church Pope Francis is doing great harm to the church. Those words in public interview from Cardinal Raymond Burke. Cardinal Raymond Burke is the prefect of the Apostolic signatory of or at least he was he has also confirmed for the first time in public the rumor that he has been ousted by Pope Francis

Oct 17 20147 Comments By Church Militant TV News Headlines BREAKING: Pope Harming the Church Cardinal Burke: Pope is harming the Church by not making his position clear. To read the entire interview with Cardinal Raymond Burke, click here! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLS3cOxfkJw

If someone in Germany who is divorced and civilly remarried can receive Communion without being expected to change his lifestyle, why can’t someone in Africa who is “married” to two women do so as well? That’s the question that Cardinal Wilfrid Napier, the archbishop of Durban, South Africa, asked in a recent interview with Catholic News Service. Napier added that a better way forward for the Church than the recommendation made by the German Cardinal Walter Kasper is to recommend the traditional Christian practice of fortitude in the face of suffering; the carrying of the cross. “Jesus didn’t say ‘I...

FULL TITLE: "[Catholic Caucus] World Over - 2014-10-09 – Cardinal Raymond Burke on the Synod on the Family with Raymond Arroyo" RAYMOND CARDINAL BURKE, prefect of the Holy See's Apostolic Signatura at the Vatican, on the Extraordinary Synod of Bishops for the Family currently underway in Rome and his chapter in the new book, Remaining In the Truth of Christ (Ignatius Press), on the indissolubility of marriage and his thoughts on Walter Cardinal Kasper's recent proposals to harmonize "fidelity and mercy" in the Church's pastoral approach to divorced and remarried Catholics and the Sacrament of Holy Communion.

If someone in Germany who is divorced and civilly remarried can receive Communion without being expected to change his lifestyle, why can’t someone in Africa who is “married” to two women do so as well?That’s the question that Cardinal Wilfrid Napier, the archbishop of Durban, South Africa, asked in a recent interview with Catholic News Service. Napier added that a better way forward for the Church than the recommendation made by the German Cardinal Walter Kasper is to recommend the traditional Christian practice of fortitude in the face of suffering; the carrying of the cross. “Jesus didn’t say ‘I want...

 I'm a Catholic who is doing some print layout work for my friend who is faithful at the World Assemblies of God. We are each convinced that Jesus Christ has given us Faith in our own particular creed. I don't know if I can speak exactly for my World Assemblies of God friend—I assume he is like me in this—but if I were convinced that the World Assemblies of God presented the fullness of Jesus Christ's Truth—which is Himself—I would go there. However, I'm convinced that the Catholic Church presents the fullness of Truth, as my friend is convinced that World Assemblies of...

NEW YORK (MYFOXNY) - Stephen Collins, the actor who played the father and pastor in the hit TV series, '7th Heaven,' is under investigation by the New York Police Dept. for allegedly molesting and exposing himself to at least three underage girls years ago...

Public Discourse recently published a very important essay titled “Breaking the Silence,” in which Janna Darnelle wrote with heartbreaking candor of what she and her children have suffered since her ex-husband abandoned their marriage, married another man under state law, and obtained joint custody of their children. When Darnelle’s essay was published, I had just finished reading Anthony Esolen’s new book Defending Marriage: Twelve Arguments for Sanity. As I read her essay, I realized that her story encapsulated nearly every one of the book’s arguments. Anthony Esolen is well-known to readers of Public Discourse, and his writings adorn many other...

"The 'Relatio Post Disceptationem' produced at the end of the first week will form the basis for the work that will follow in the second week in the 'circuli minores' and which the Synod Fathers will examine before the concluding 'Relatio Synodi' document is published. This final document will be sent to the Holy Father," the Tuscan cardinal said. The 'Relatio Synodi' differs from the concluding messages usually published at the end of every synodal assembly (this time Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi has been asked to write the message). It replaces the proposals ... the Synod Fathers usually sent the Pope...

Traditionally, social conservatism has enjoyed the support of Catholicism, whose body of teaching on morals is a mother lode of ideas and arguments that retain much of their force even apart from their theological context. Rumors that the Church is poised to relax its position on the indissolubility of marriage are therefore troubling or encouraging, depending on which side you stand in the culture war. Tomorrow, a synod of bishops will convene in Rome to discuss the family. It’s a big topic, but what has developed as the headline item on the agenda is a question that on its face...

Married couples who met online are three times more likely to divorce than those who met face-to-face, a study has found. Online daters are also 28 percent more likely to split from their partners within the first year, new figures from Michigan State University in the US suggest. A study of more than 4,000 couples found that relationships were far more stable if couples met in traditional ways such as introductions by friends or through work, hobbies or socializing. Couples who meet online are also less likely to get married and generally have a poorer relationship quality that those who...

This week my denomination, through its executive committee, voted to "disfellowship" a congregation in California that has acted to affirm same-sex sexual relationships. This sad but necessary move is hardly surprising, since this network of churches shares a Christian sexual ethic with all orthodox Christians of every denomination for 2,000 years. One of the arguments made by some, though, is that this is hypocritical since so many ministers in our tradition marry people who have been previously divorced. The argument is that conservative Protestants already embrace a "third way" because we've done so on divorce. Couples divorce, sometimes remarry others,...

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis has ordered a review aimed at simplifying the Church's procedures for annulments, the Vatican said on Saturday, a move that could make it easier for Catholics to end marriages. A statement said Francis had appointed an 11-member commission of canon lawyers and theologians to propose reform of the process, "seeking to simplify and streamline it while safeguarding the principle of the indissolubility of marriage". An annulment, formally known as a "decree of nullity," is a ruling that a marriage was not valid in the first place according to Church law because certain pre-requisites, such...

Catholic Church sources have dismissed rumors that Pope Francis is annoyed by an Ignatius Press book critical of Cardinal Walter Kasper’s position on Holy Communion for the divorced and remarried. The French Catholic newspaper La Croix said Sept. 17 that “a senior source close to the Argentine Pope” claimed that Pope Francis would be “annoyed by the publication of this collective work.” However, sources close to the Pope denied this claim, telling CNA that the Pope is not even aware of the book. The book, from Ignatius Press, is titled “Remaining in the Truth of Christ: Marriage and Communion in...

Painting the Catholic Church as "out of touch" is like shooting fish in a barrel, what with the funny hats and gilded churches. And nothing makes it easier than the Church's stance against contraception. Many people, (including our editor) are wondering why the Catholic Church doesn't just ditch this requirement. They note that most Catholics ignore it, and that most everyone else finds it divisive, or "out-dated." C'mon! It's the 21st century, they say! Don't they SEE that it's STUPID, they scream. Here's the thing, though: the Catholic Church is the world's biggest and oldest organization. It has buried all...

The deadline passed late Wednesday without an appeal from Attorney General Pam Bondi's office of a Broward circuit court ruling in August that Florida's gay marriage ban is unconstitutional.... ....Bondi did file appeals Thursday in two federal lawsuits brought by nine same-sex couples, the Broward case could pave the way for Florida's first same-sex divorce — and even its first same-sex marriages. ...Broward County Clerk Howard Forman said he expects to decide by early next week whether to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples... ....Bondi's office offered a terse comment as to why the attorney general did not appeal the...

A Christian man was executed during the night by a high-profile ruler after making an uncompromising defense of real marriage. The Christian, who was renowned for his holiness, had told the ruler in public that his relationship with his partner was “against the law” of God. The Christian’s words enraged the ruler’s partner who successfully plotted to have him permanently silenced. John the Baptist was first imprisoned before he was beheaded. The Catholic Church honors him today, August 29, as a martyr and saint. While John’s death happened a little less than 2,000 years ago, his heroic stance for real...

Rolling Stone reports that the 68-year-old filed papers in their hometown of San Mateo, California on July 29, with a hearing set to take place on December 12. Not only were the pair married and the parents of two grown children - son Ben and daughter Amber - but they were also frequent musical collaborators, the 61-year-old the inspiration behind a number of her husband's love songs over the years. The Grammy-winning singer met the then-waitress near his California ranch, documenting their meeting in the 1992 song Unknown Legend. Once An Angel and Such A Woman were also written about...

A legal expert from the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department has clarified Sharia rules on divorce after a case last week where a couple sought to divorce for the third time. Muna Al Raeesi, head of legal aid at ADJD, said that when a husband and wife divorced for the first time, there was a waiting period known as “idda”, which is designed to give the couple time to reconcile without finalising the divorce procedure. The waiting period lasts for three of the wife’s menstrual cycles to ensure she is not pregnant. If she is pregnant, it lasts until the child...