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[Catholic Caucus] Archbishop Viganò clarifies points arising from new interview ROME, June 14, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) — In the wake of two recent pieces in the Washington Post relating to Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, an article and an extended interview (the first the archbishop has granted since his initial allegations concerning Pope Francis), renewed insinuations and smears have been directed at the former diplomat of the Holy See.  In his June 10 interview, the archbishop claims that the actions so far taken against McCarrick are chiefly inspired by a desire to prevent a trial of the former cardinal, which might expose...

[Catholic Caucus] Pope Francis is ‘not a deeply learned theologian’: Member of Vatican commission on female deacons June 14, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) – A member of the 2016 Vatican commission on the female diaconate said he was “manifoldly irritated” by comments Pope Francis recently made about the commission in which the Pope indicated that the commission had failed to reach a conclusion because of differences of opinion. He also criticized the Pope who "in contradistinction to his predecessor" is "not a deeply learned theologian" ["umfassend belesener Theologe"]. “I am manifoldly irritated about the media reports concerning the comments made by the...

Canadian archbishop: Priest’s warning for Christians to avoid LGBT Pride was ‘inappropriate’ KINGSTON, Ontario, June 14, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) – A Canadian bishop has distanced himself from a priest who told his parishioners in a bulletin announcement that they should “not attend” pro-homosexual pride events in June.  Fr. Robert Chisholm of St. Gregory the Great parish in Picton, Ontario, had told parishioners that “Catholics and all other Christians should not attend LGBTQ2 'Pride Month' events held this month.” “They promote a culture and encourage activities that are contrary to Christian faith and morals. This is especially harmful to children because it could lead...

[Catholic Caucus] Faithful Chinese bishop died under house arrest, denied a Catholic burial TIANJIN, China, June 13, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) ― A heroic bishop of the underground Catholic Church in China has died under house arrest and will not be permitted a Catholic burial. Asia News reported that Bishop Stefano Li Side, the legitimate ordinary of Tianjin, died June 8 after a long illness. He was 92 and had been living under house arrest since 1992. Because Li never joined the schismatic so-called Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association, the state-backed religious authorities will not permit his body to be buried in a...

[Catholic Caucus] Cdl. Cupich defends giving Holy Communion to pro-abortion politicians BALTIMORE, June 14, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) — Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago defended giving Holy Communion to pro-abortion politicians, saying, “I think it would be counterproductive to impose sanctions, simply because they don’t change anybody’s minds.” Cardinal Cupich expressed his position in the wake of Bishop Thomas Paprocki of Springfield, Illinois barring pro-abortion legislators from receiving the sacrament of Holy Communion. Citing canon 915 of the Code of Canon Law, Bishop Paprocki ruled last week that state legislators working to pass Illinois’s new abortion bill may not present themselves for communion in his diocese...

Pope Francis Urges Carbon Penalties to Avert Climate ‘Catastrophe’ ROME — Pope Francis warned of disastrous consequences if humanity does not immediately react to the threat of climate change, since the world has reached a “critical moment” and there is no time to waste. “Dear friends, time is running out!” the pope told a group of participants in a Vatican-sponsored conference on energy transition Friday. “We cannot afford the luxury of waiting for others to come forward or of prioritizing short-term economic benefits. The climate crisis requires decisive action from us, here and now.”

[Catholic Caucus] De Mattei: An Exceptional Document - Monsignor Vigano’s Interview to The Washington Post Roberto de Mattei Corrispondenza Romana June 12, 2019 "The bottom line is this: Pope Francis is deliberately concealing the McCarrick evidence." The extensive interview that Archbishop Maria Viganò gave to Chico Harlan and Stefano Pitrelli in the Washington Post of June 10th is of exceptional importance for several reasons. The first and most important reason is that this interview indicates the utter failure of the Vatican’s  strategy of ‘silence’, faced with the detailed accusations of the former Nuncio to the United States. Those in...

The Spectator: "Is the Pope a Catholic? You have to wonder." By Melanie McDonagh, for The Spectator: Is the Pope a Catholic? You have to wonder. In the old days, a pope’s remit was modest: infallible, but only in the vanishingly rare cases when he pronounced on matters of faith and morals concerning the whole Church. But even at their most bombastic and badly behaved, earlier popes would have hesitated to do what nice Pope Francis has done, which is to approve changes in the liturgy which amount to rewriting the Lord’s Prayer. That bit that says ‘Lead us...

[Catholic Caucus] US Bishops ask young Catholics why they stayed in Church. They respond it’s the Latin Mass June 13, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) – The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) asked young Catholics who haven’t left the faith what made them stay. While their answer may be surprising to many, it will not be to anyone familiar with the state of the Church today. First of all, the USCCB is to be commended for asking young people why they’ve stayed in the Church rather than left; too often Church leadership takes its cues on catechesis and evangelization from...

TX Bishop Breaks Silence on McCarrick Bp. Joseph Strickland urges 'full reckoning' of McCarrick scandal, greater lay participation A Texas prelate is breaking the U.S. bishops' silence on Theodore McCarrick. During the Thursday morning session of the U.S. bishops' meeting in Baltimore, Bp. Joseph Strickland of the diocese of Tyler, Texas addressed his brother bishops, stressing his desire that "a full reckoning of the McCarrick scandal be offered." The topic of McCarrick had barely been raised in any of the official discussions of the week-long meeting, even though his serial homosexual predation — and the network of bishops complicit in covering for him — was...

[Catholic Caucus] Proof Vatican life academy covered-up for member who rejected Catholic sexual teaching June 13, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) – Pope Francis’ revamped Pontifical Academy for Life (PAL) recently defended one of its own controversial members, who was reported to have rejected in a talk last year Church teaching on homosexuality and contraception, by attempting to discredit reports on the talk. A string of evidence indicates the whole matter was a blatant attempt at obfuscation in order to cover the matter up.   On December 18, 2018, LifeSiteNews reported that Professor Marie-Jo Thiel, a new member of the Pontifical Academy for...

[Catholic Caucus] U.S. hierarchy stop short of mandating lay involvement in bishop accountability BALTIMORE - After three days of intense debate over the role of the laity in overseeing bishops accused of abuse or its cover-up, the U.S. Catholic bishops voted to enact new standards for holding bishops accountable that include lay involvement, although stopped short of making it a mandatory requirement.

[Catholic Caucus] Knights of Malta members suspect Latin Mass banned to ‘cleanse’ order of traditionalists ROME, June 13, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) – Knights and members of one of the oldest Military Orders in the Catholic Church are reeling from the newest directive by their Grand Master banning the traditional Latin Mass for its liturgical ceremonies.  The letter, issued 10 June, reads, in part, that “henceforth all the liturgical ceremonies within (the) Order must be performed according to the ordinary rite of the Church (rite of St. Paul VI) and not the extraordinary rite (Tridentine rite). This decision applies to all the...

[Catholic Caucus] Francis to Vatican ambassadors: Don’t criticize pope ‘behind his back’ ROME - Just days after the former papal representative to the United States renewed his criticism of the pope, Pope Francis told around 100 apostolic nuncios that it is “irreconcilable” to have the job and criticize the pope “behind his back.”Though he didn’t give any names, Italian Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò was most likely on the pope’s mind as he said this. The prelate made headlines last August, when he released an open letter calling on Francis to resign for allegedly disregarding restrictions placed on ex-cardinal and...

[Catholic Caucus] Pope Francis’ ‘flirt’ with heresy could provoke ‘schism’: Prominent German Catholic novelist June 12, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) – On April 30, 2019, 19 scholars and clergy published an Open Letter to Bishops accusing Pope Francis of heresy and asking the bishops of the world to undertake a serious investigation of this charge for the good of the Church. In the following weeks, more people, among them more than 20 priests and some theologians and canon lawyers, added their signatures to this Open Letter so that the number of its signatories is now 92. On May 13, Martin Mosebach also added...

A Proper Catholic Understanding of Sacred Tradition and Ecclesiastical Customs by Matthew Plese On May 23rd, Pope Francis told the participants who had gathered for the 21st general assembly of Caritas Internationalis: “It is a mistake for the Church to try to hold onto old traditions or to have clear answers for everything.”[i] Such a statement is contrary to the very foundation of the Church which is built on the two pillars of Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition. On the contrary, as expressed by Gustav Mahler, the famous Austrian composer, “Tradition is not the worship of ashes, but the preservation...

[Catholic Caucus] Bishops Remain Silent in the Face of Cdl. Wuerl’s Deceit Dr. John Zmirak: 'A comprehensive failure and moral disgrace' Will the U.S. bishops issue a formal censure of Cdl. Donald Wuerl for lying about his knowledge of Theodore McCarrick's conduct and the restrictions imposed on him? This is the question Church Militant posed to U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) Public Affairs Director Judy Keane, as the bishops convened this week in Baltimore for their biannual meeting. There are 441 active and retired Catholic bishops in the United States, and to date none have come forward to decry the...

[Catholic Caucus] Viganò Doubles Down on Pope Francis Lying <Abp. Viganò: 'Supreme Pontiff is now blatantly lying to the whole world' Vatican whistleblower Abp. Carlo Maria Viganò is reaffirming that Pope Francis presented a threefold lie in denying he had any knowledge of Theodore McCarrick's homosexual predation. In his full 8,000-word interview with The Washington Post published on Tuesday, Viganò identifies three lies Pope Francis seemingly perpetrated in telling a Mexican journalist last month that he "several times" had stated he "did not know anything" about McCarrick's objectionable past and in claiming, "I do not remember if he [Viganò] told me about this." "We are in a truly dark moment...

Catholics Demand Removal of TX Bishop Mandate: Bp. Michael Olson 'has become ineffective and harmful' FORT WORTH, Texas (ChurchMilitant.com) - Frustrated Texas Catholics are petitioning the pope to remove Bp. Michael Olson from the diocese of Forth Worth. At least nine canonical cases are being filed against the bishop, among them one involving his treatment of whistleblower Fr. Richard Kirkham, forced to resign after reporting misconduct from a fellow priest. I currently have 1,500 pages of evidence in the case.Tweet "I currently have 1,500 pages of evidence in the case," Gray told the Fort Worth Star Telegram. He said he has never witnessed...

[Catholic Caucus] Knights of the Condom ("Malta") formally forbid Summorum Pontificum The Knights of Malta ended in 2017, with the illegitimate coup promoted by the bishop of Rome. Ever since that time, as we said then, they have simply become the Knights of the Condom. So, it is not surprising that in their new incarnation their wicked and devilish leaders are formally suppressing the Traditional Latin Mass -- it is actually expected. Document below (click for larger view):