Free Republic

[Catholic Caucus] Canceled priest accuses San Antonio archbishop of libel in Sanctus Ranch prohibitionFather Donald Kloster is prepared to take legal action against Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller for publishing what he says is libel against him in the January 30 'Prohibition' against the family-owned Sanctus Ranch retreat center where he lives.PIPE CREEK, Texas (LifeSiteNews) – A priest named by the Archbishop of San Antonio in an order forbidding Catholics from assembling at a private business is determined to fight back.Father Donald Kloster, ordained a priest of Bridgeport, Connecticut, in 1995, told LifeSiteNews in a recent interview that he is prepared to...

[Catholic Caucus] UPDATE: Kentucky bishop removes two Latin Mass priests from public ministryFr. Shannon Collins and Fr. Sean Kopczynski are members of the Missionaries of St. John the Baptist, a 'public association of the faithful' established in the Diocese of Covington in 2019 before the arrival of current Bishop John Iffert.Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Park Hill, KentuckyThe bishop of Covington, Kentucky removed from public ministry two beloved priests who offer the Traditional Latin Mass. Parishioners at Our Lady of Lourdes in Park Hill were recently informed by Father Shannon Collins that he and Father Sean Kopczynski, who served...

DECLARATION of the Reverend Mother Prioress and the Chapter of the Carmel of the Most Holy TrinityDECLARATIONof the Reverend Mother Prioress and the Chapterof the Carmel of the Most Holy Trinityof Arlington, Texas With regard to the statement of the Bishop of Fort Worth, Bishop Michael F. Olson (here), the Prioress, Mother Teresa Agnes, and the Chapter of the Carmel of the Most Holy Trinity of Arlington reiterate that they do not recognize the authority of Bishop Olson over their Monastery, and they refuse to accept any interference by him as Pontifical Commissary, an office conferred on him with contempt...

[Catholic Caucus] Priest Pulls Lawsuit Against Ft Worth’s Bishop Olson, But Allegations Remain DizzyingFather Kirkham was at first unable to retrieve his belongings from the rectory where he was living because Bishop Olson ordered the locks changed while Father Kirkham was out of state, the Dallas Morning News reported. A judge in June 2019 allowed Father Kirkham to reenter the rectory to retrieve his belongings.Father Kirkham did not respond to CNA’s attempts to contact him for comment.A number of Texas Catholics, in the form of an online group called FRK Advocates, have formed a website raising questions about Bishop Olson’s...

[Catholic Caucus] Texas Carmelites Defy Bishop’s Order to Close Their Doors to the FaithfulIn an increasingly bitter dispute between a Texas bishop and a local Carmelite monastery, the nuns are defying an order by Fort Worth Bishop Michael Olson that prohibits Catholic laity from visiting and praying at the monastery.The nuns of the Most Holy Trinity Monastery in Arlington, Texas, issued a defiant three-page statement Wednesday in which they said that Bishop Olson does not have the authority to close off their monastery and that their chapel remains open to the public.The nuns further claimed that Bishop Olson and the...

[Catholic Caucus] Texas nuns ‘recognize’ Bishop Olson, reject ‘unauthorized’ authorityAn attorney for the Carmelite nuns of Arlington, Texas, issued a statement Wednesday which claimed both to recognize Bishop Michael Olson’s authority as diocesan bishop, and to reject his Vatican-conferred authority to intervene over the Carmelite community. The lawyer’s statement comes after Olson warned that the nuns might have incurred the penalty of excommunication by their recent statements about his authority. As Olson and the nuns continue to issue public statements, sources in Texas have told The Pillar that the Vatican is likely preparing an apostolic visitation of the monastery.“The Arlington...

[Catholic Caucus] ARCHBISHOP CARLO MARIA VIGANÒ in support of the Declaration of the Discalced Caremlite Nuns of the Monastery of the Most Holy Trinity of Arlington, Texas The repeated abuses of power by those who hold ecclesiastical Authority over religious Communities – especially communities of contemplative women – are part of a subversive plan carried out by corrupt and heretical Prelates whose purpose is to deprive the Church of the Graces which such Consecrated souls cause to descend upon Her. Beyond the specious excuses that characterize individual cases, the common thread that unites the expulsion of the Benedictine Sisters from...

[Catholic Caucus] Statement by the Reverend Mother Prioress and Chapter - Monastery of the Most Holy TrinityStatement by the Reverend Mother Prioress and Chapter Monastery of the Most Holy Trinity Discalced Carmelite Nuns 5801 Mt. Carmel Drive Arlington, Texas 76017 August 18, 2023 +Praised be Jesus Christ: now and forever! In recent months our Monastery in general and our Mother Prioress in particular have been subjected to unprecedented interference, intimidation, aggression, private and public humiliation and spiritual manipulation as the direct result of the attitudes and ambitions of the current Bishop of Fort Worth in respect of our Reverend Mother...

[Catholic Caucus] On the scandalous persecution of the Nuns of the Carmel of the Holy Trinity in Arlington, TexasIf, among the priests who read my appeal, there are some who could make themselves available to guarantee spiritual assistance to the Nuns of Arlington and celebrate the Holy Mass for them according to the venerable Tridentine Rite, I think that by this action – which would honor their Priesthood – they could carry out a work of true Mercy that the Lord will not fail to reward.Declaration of Archbishop Carlo Maria ViganòBlessed are you when they insult you, persecute you and,...

Archbishop Viganò: FBI targeting Catholics is a ‘logical consequence’ of Pope Francis persecuting the faithfulThis criminalization of dissent by temporal and spiritual powers is not accidental and ought to arouse a very firm condemnation and decisive opposition.The following is an essay by Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò regarding the FBI’s surveillance of Catholics who attend the Latin Mass.Ideo inter vos multi infirmi et imbecilles, et dormiunt multi.Therefore, there are many infirm and weak among you, and many sleep.I Cor 11:30The totem of freedom of worship allows Satan worshippers to erect a blasphemous monument to Baphomet in front of the Arkansas State...

KENOSHA, Wis. — A new video obtained by prosecutors purportedly shows a man believed to be Kyle Rittenhouse threatening to shoot a man before deadly unrest in Kenosha. Kenosha County prosecutors said the evidence shows Rittenhouse is predisposed to using deadly force. It was part of a motion filed this week as prosecutors prepare to try Rittenhouse for shooting three people during the Jacob Blake protests a year ago.

Catholics band together to support faithful priests ‘canceled’ by bishopsApproximately 1,000 people gathered for the Coalition for Catholic Priests kickoff event in Illinois. (Photo courtesy of Coalition for Canceled Priests)Catholic clergy who feel they are being targeted by their bishops received a shot in the arm late last month.An organization called the Coalition for Canceled Priests has just been launched.On its website, the group says its goal is to provide “moral and material support” to priests who are “persecuted by forces in the secular world or … in the Church.”“We are … committed Catholic lay people and clergy who came...

After Outcry, Vatican Eases Restrictions on Individual Masses in St. Peter’s BasilicaIn a note issued today, Cardinal Mauro Gambetti, the archpriest of St. Peter’s Basilica, clarified some of the controversial restrictions that were imposed in March.Mass in the Extraordinary Form in the Clementine Chapel on March 22, 2021. (photo: Edward Pentin) Edward Pentin Vatican June 22, 2021 VATICAN CITY — The archpriest of St. Peter’s Basilica has made concessions to widen opportunities for priests to celebrate individual daily morning Masses in the basilica, but also has stressed that concelebrated Masses must nevertheless remain the norm there.In a three-page note...

Late Antiquity is full of epoch-making, history-changing events, but up there among the most momentous was the voluntary resignation of Diocletian Jovius and Maximian Herculius from the height of imperial power to private life in AD 305. The announcement of this occurrence must have sent shockwaves throughout the Roman world, particularly considering both men had together celebrated their Vicennalia, or 20th anniversary of their reign, less than two years before. This made them the longest reigning Roman emperors since Antoninus Pius who ruled nearly 150 years previous. And considering how short, miserable, and bloody the reigns of their predecessors of...

Muslim Persecution of Christians: March, 2013. Sweden to send Iranian Christian asylum seekers back to Iran to be tortured and possibly executed for the crime of leaving Islam. Also, the Nigerian government recently did go on the offensive to try to contain the jihadis [of Boko Haram], only to be chastised by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, saying he was "concerned by credible allegations that the Nigerian security forces are committing gross human rights violations" against the jihadi mass murderers. The Islamic jihad against Christians in Nigeria is proving to be the most barbaric ... Indonesia: Authorities demolished a...

Google will be called to task in Washington next month following a controversial decision by the internet search engine to launch a China-based version of its website that will censor results to avoid angering the country’s Communist government. The decision by Chris Smith, a Republican congressman from New Jersey who chairs a House subcommittee on Human Rights, to call for a February 16 hearing to examine the operating procedures of US internet companies in China, represents the first signs of what could become a serious backlash against Google and other internet companies in Washington that are perceived as capitulating to...