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[This is part of Catholic Analysis' special series on Pope Alexander VI. This part, the sixth, grapples with Alexander's interesting relations with the French. Read the fifth part.] With a devout personality, encouraged by his friend, St. Francis of Paola, King Charles VIII was just the man to bring about needed reforms. He was quirky, but responsible, and he was a little naive, but full of ideas. There was only one snag to him: Charles had been taught to covet Naples, and he saw it as a gateway to further expansion. He wanted Alexander to give it to him, but...

If only he had shaved that morning. Basilios Bessarion grew up in an Eastern Orthodox community in present-day Turkey in the early 15th century. He become a monk, then an abbot, and was eventually appointed to be a metropolitan bishop by the Byzantine Emperor John VIII Palaeologus, with whom he attended the ecumenical Council of Florence with hopes to reunite eastern and western Christianity. Though Bessarion was originally against reunion with Rome, he quickly changed his mind and became the most important Eastern Orthodox advocate for reunion at the council. Pope Eugene IV was so impressed by him that he...

<p>New York City’s subways had five days of record ridership last month, and those in charge of the public transportation system have seized on the increased usage to push their multi-billion dollar capital plan.</p> <p>The Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced Wednesday that the subway system broke its single-day ridership record on five days last month.</p>

If only he had shaved that morning. Basilios Bessarion grew up in an Eastern Orthodox community in present-day Turkey in the early 15th century. He become a monk, then an abbot, and was eventually appointed to be a metropolitan bishop by the Byzantine Emperor John VIII Palaeologus, with whom he attended the ecumenical Council of Florence with hopes to reunite eastern and western Christianity. Though Bessarion was originally against reunion with Rome, he quickly changed his mind and became the most important Eastern Orthodox advocate for reunion at the council. Pope Eugene IV was so impressed by him that he...

the paragraph of the text which outlines the differing opinions regarding the readmission of remarried divorcees to the sacraments obtained 104 votes in favour and 74 against. The paragraph on homosexuality has been modified after 118 Synod Fathers voted in favour and 62 against, despite the fact it makes reference to the Catechism. These points did not therefore receive the unanimous consensus of the Synod: An absolute majority was obtained but not a qualifying majority

[This is part of Catholic Analysis' special series on Pope Alexander VI. This part, the fifth, explains Alexander's connections with the Italians. Read the fourth part.] Once his installment was settled, the pope set about making many changes. Alexander was a reformer. He despised the corruption prevalent in some ranks of clergy, and so he proclaimed, "We are well aware that morals have notably fallen back. No longer can we tolerate the way in which the former salutary measures instituted by our predecessors to keep sensuality and avarice within bounds have been violated so that we fall headlong into corruption....

Pope Francis may believe that the current economic system is driving the world towards the “idolatry of money” but that won’t stop the Holy Father from getting some corporate dollars. The pope rented out the Sistine Chapel to Porsche for a private concert for 40 high paying tourists. The Catholic church did not reveal how much they would get from the event, but insists that the proceeds will go to the pope’s various charities. The event is part of a 5 day tour around Rome arranged by the Porsche Travel Club that costs about €5,000 ($6,400) a person. According to...

The world likes Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke very little or not at all. And , if it is possible, the Church likes him even less than does the world. On the other hand, this 66 year- old American from Richland Center, Wisconsin, has done everything as a Catholic to successfully carry out his intent to set a fire under the consciences of Christians who are all too inclined to tepidity. He participates in the Marches for Life, he says that Communion is not to be given to those politicians who support abortion laws, he denounces the rapid progression of the...

More and more there is talk in Rome that this synod is being engineered by groups intent on steering the Church in a heterodox direction, and increasingly evidence is coming to light that points to it. . It still remains unclear who exactly wrote it and how many eyes had seen it before it was made public, but the strong criticisms of it from such Church leaders as Cardinals Raymond Burke and Gerhard Mueller are enough to point to a lamentable lack of scrutiny, with consequences for souls. Archbishop Bruno Forte, the synod’s special secretary, known to be a keen...

Seeing as this only has 500 views on Youtube, maybe most folks haven’t seen this, yet. Reader MFG sent this to me this morning. I find this interview disconcerting on many levels. First, his initial glad-handed chuminess is way over the top and appears just overtly insincere. Then he attempts constantly to minimize the divisions in the Synod and gives an unreserved approval of the attempt to redefine Church Doctrine with regard to the groinal issues so sacred to the modernists (adulterers receiving the Blessed Sacrament, regularizing and “solemnizing” divorce through reception of the Blessed Sacrament, gift-bearing sodomites, the whole...

Check it out http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/vatican-alters-draft-report-translation-about-gays/ar-BB9qgYh

It seems Walter Kasper's racist remarks on Africa and Africans have caused an understandable shock wave throughout the assembly. They reflect a racist, xenophobic, and anti-African mindset that has removed the Church in Africa from any participation in the Synodal administration and governance, or in the committee formed to help draft the final relatio. Other than that, Synod Fathers are being strongly pressured by the allies of the racist German cardinal, who are in the minority, to modify as little as possible the partial relatio: as Tosatti explains below, that was one of the main reasons why the racist manipulators...

FULL TITLE: AP confirms: "Outed" Forte exclusively responsible for "Gayspel", only ONE Father had even mentioned issue in Synod Hall Bruno "Outed" Forte From Nicole Winfield's Associated Press article on Synod special secretary Abp. Bruno "Outed" Forte. We post it here for the record of the history of the most embarrassing document in Catholic history, and its most infamous passage, where Forte sneaked his own "New Gospel": Erdo has already "outed" the official who wrote the section on gays, Monsignor [Archbishop] Bruno Forte, appointed by Pope Francis as the special secretary to the synod. Forte is an Italian theologian known...

[This is part of Catholic Analysis' special series on Pope Alexander VI. This part, the fourth, details Alexander's election and coronation. Read the third part.] The conclave of 1492 was an awesome, if typical, affair. After the death of Pope Innocent VIII, the primary contenders to succeed him quickly became obvious: Rodrigo Borgia, Ascanio Sforza, and Giuliano della Rovere (who later became Pope Julius II). [1] Rodrigo was the obvious choice, a man of high honors and popularity. However, that he was Spanish, and therefore seen as an outsider, was likely a point of considerable contention. Ascanio, the Italian and...

In a candid interview Monday, Cardinal Raymond Burke voiced the concerns of many of his brothers in the Synod hall and lay Catholic activists throughout the world that the public presentation of the Synod has been manipulated by the organizers in the General Secretariat. He strongly criticized yesterday’s Relatio post disceptationem, or “report after the debate,” which the Catholic lay group Voice of the Family had called a “betrayal,” saying it proposes views that "faithful shepherds ... cannot accept," and betrays an approach that is "not of the Church." He called on Pope Francis to issue a statement defending Catholic...

For the better part of a half century, the New York Times, and similarly situated purveyors of news and opinion, have eagerly awaited the Great Catholic Cave-In: that blessed moment when, at long last, the Catholic Church, like many other Christian communities, would concede that the sexual revolution had gotten it right all along and would adjust its teaching and practice to suit. A Times “breaking story” on October 13, under the headline “Vatican Signals More Tolerance Toward Gays and Remarriage,” might have struck the unwary or uninformed (or those equally committed to the Times agenda in these matters) as...

ROME (CNN) - Under furious assault from conservative Catholics, the Vatican backtracked Tuesday on its surprisingly positive assessment of gays and same-sex relationships. In a report Monday, the Vatican had said that gays and lesbians have "gifts to offer" the Christian community and acknowledged that same-sex couples can give "precious support" to one other. The statement, an interim report from a closely watched meeting of Catholic clergy here, was widely praised by liberals. It is believed be the first time the Vatican has said anything positive about gay relationships. One longtime Vatican journalist called the statement a "pastoral earthquake." But...

... So, the Pope wants full and free debate, and free deliberations... except when he doesn't. And when the secret ballot reveals a conservative majority -- then he interferes against what had been settled beforehand to get what he wants. It is his prerogative, of course, even if it severely contradicts his own words and commitments, and, ultimately, his reliability. http://rorate-caeli.blogspot.com/2014/10/cardinal-burke-pariah-not-for-synod.html#more

[This is part of Catholic Analysis' special series on Pope Alexander VI. This part, the second, deals with the pontiff's family. Read the first part.] Vannozza dei Cattanei was Rodrigo Borgia's mistress and the mother of his children. She "doubtless was of great beauty and ardent passions; for if not, how could she have inflamed a Rodrigo Borgia? Her intellect too, although uncultivated, must have been vigorous; for if not, how could she have maintained her relations with the cardinal?" [1] He was "faithful through his life to [this] one woman". After the births of their children and before he...

God's laws are meant to lead all people to Christ and his glory, and if they do not, then they are obsolete, Pope Francis said in a morning homily. In fact, the scholars of the law in Jesus' day were so wrapped up in doctrine as an end in itself, they were unable to see that Jesus was leading people down a new and surprising path toward his glory, the pope said Oct. 13 during his morning Mass in the Domus Sanctae Marthae, where he lives. Jesus did "strange things," like "walk with sinners, eat with tax collectors" -- things...