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The presidents of African national and regional episcopal conference gathered in Ghana from June 8 to 11 to discuss the upcoming Synod of Bishops on the family. Fifty prelates, including five cardinals, were present. Among them was Cardinal Robert Sarah, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. “Be conscious of the mission of the Church; protect the sacredness of marriage which is now being attacked by all forms of ideologies that intend to destroy the family in Africa,” said Cardinal Sarah, according to a Vatican Radio report. “Do not be afraid to stress the...

Not satisfied with what Women and the Church (WATCH) has done to reduce the Anglican Church in Great Britain to a pale reflection of her former glory, its former Chair and "prominent Church of England campaigner", Christina Rees, will be among the speakers at a conference in Philadelphia later this year of the Catholic movement for women's ordination, Women's Ordination Worldwide. (H/T Ruth Gledhill). The BBC's Religious affairs correspondent, Caroline Wyatt, recently posed the question: Is the UK still a Christian country? The answer was 'Yes'. But based on analyses by the US Pew Research Center, the conclusions suggest that...

To utterly despair of oneself is infinitely more difficult for a man than to invent some kind of good works.generated self-salvation project. Human beings irresistibly gravitate toward a works or karma-based system because it gives man the false hope that his redemption is within his own reach. But a salvation that is all of grace, a gift earned by Someone else, is so utterly offensive to human nature, so humbling to our pride, that only a supernatural work of grace will bring a person to yield to it.Contrary to popular and cultural concepts of God, the Bible declares that...

They were five cardinals and forty-five bishops from as many African countries who met in Accra, the capital of Ghana, from June 8-11. All in the clear light of day, not almost in secret like some of their colleagues from Germany, France, and Switzerland, who had gathered a few days before at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. But while at the Gregorian the objective was changing the Church’s stance on divorce and homosexuality, in Accra the push was in the other direction. The marching route was indicated from the very first remarks by Guinean cardinal Robert Sarah, prefect of...

Polish Church delegates will 'stick to the understanding of Paul VI and John Paul II', according to a bishops' conference spokesmanPoland’s Catholic bishops have pledged to resist changes to Catholic teaching on marriage and family life at October’s synod on the family at the Vatican and rejected demands for reform by German-speaking Catholics. “Polish Church delegates will certainly stick to the understanding of Popes Paul VI and John Paul II,” said Msgr Jozef Kloch, spokesman for the Polish bishops’ conference. “As the vicar of Christ, the Holy Father will decide what can be accepted. In this sense, we’ve nothing to...

Pope Francis downplayed the severity of disputes within the Church, spoke about the Christian view of feminism, and underlined the need for practical ecumenism, in a June 12 meeting with priests associated with the charismatic renewal. During a two-hour meeting, held in the Roman basilica of St. John Lateran, the Pope also cautioned the priests against “the comfortable sin of clericalism.” And he disclosed that he had invited the Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople to join him in presenting the forthcoming encyclical Laudatio Si. In answer to a question after his talk, Pope Francis said that he wanted to...

DOCTRINE OF SALVATION BY WORKS Eph 2:8-10 (8) For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:(9) Not of works, lest any man should boast.(10) For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. Definition. Salvation by works is a false doctrine which rejects God's grace policy in the provision of eternal salvation for the human race. Salvation by works rejects the total helplessness of mankind under real spiritual death. Real spiritual death not only means...

What are the parables of Christ? It’s a deceptively simple question, in part because the two dozen or so parables found in the Synoptic Gospels — the Fourth Gospel contains none — are deceptively simple. They are so apparently simple it is easy to think anyone could have produced them. But as Father George William Rutler notes in “Hints of Heaven: The Parables of Christ and What They Mean for You,” an exquisite collection of reflections, “The only proof I have of their literary superiority is that no one has ever been able to match them.” He compares them...

The Protestant Inquisition: "Reformation" Intolerance and Persecution Dave ArmstrongMarch 07, 2007 "Disclaimer and statement of intent: Unfortunately, the religious "scandal score" needs to be evened up now and then, and the lesser-known "skeletons in the closet" need to be rescued from obscurity, surveyed, and exposed. I take no pleasure in "dredging up" these unsavory occurrences, but it is necessary for honest, fair historical appraisal. This does not mean that I have forsaken ecumenism, or that I wish to bash Protestants, or that I deny corresponding Catholic shortcomings." "Historical facts are what they are, and most Protestants (and Catholics) are unaware...

Can Fallen Man Do Anything to Please God? Question: Can fallen man do anything to please God? Can the natural man make choices all the time for things that are good and evil? Response: All fallen, unregenerate human beings are endowed with many of God's common graces. God has blessed all men with a conscience and the capacity to promote virtue and civil righteousness. It is abundantly clear that many beautiful aspects of the world we live in have been brought forth by those which are unredeemed by God's regenerative grace. God has gifted natural men and women with the...

 If You Can Use Anything Lord, You Can Use Me – Homily for the 11th Sunday of the Year Msgr. Charles Pope • June 13, 2015The readings today speak of God’s providence, which is often displayed in humble, hidden, and mysterious ways. While it is true that God sometimes works in overpowering ways, His more common method seems to be to use the humble and even unlikely things of the created order to accomplish His goals.For us who are disciples, there are three related teachings that speak of how God will make use of us and of others. It...

In Part II of a World Over interview, Cardinal Kasper contends that the critics of his controversial proposal are to blame for Church division, not him.Cardinal Walter Kasper’s controversial keynote address on marriage and the family to cardinals in Rome on Feb. 20, 2014, sparked a firestorm of criticism. It continues to burn today. Within days of his address, Cardinal Kasper’s proposal to quickly admit divorced-and-remarried Catholics to the sacraments was in print and dominating headlines. Several cardinals immediately voiced opposition to the so-called Kasper proposal. Then in the lead-up to the extraordinary synod of last fall, a chorus of...

As you may recall, when we left Martin Luther last week, he was bewailing and bemoaning the theological chaos that came about early on in the Reformation. There are as many sects and beliefs as there are heads. This fellow will have nothing to do with baptism; another denies the Sacrament; a third believes that there is another world between this and the Last Day. Some teach that Christ is not God; some say this, some say that. There is no rustic so rude but that, if he dreams or fancies anything, it must be the whisper of the Holy...

One of the surest signs that the Church is indeed flirting with suicide in our day (as foretold by the future Pope Pius XII in reference to the warnings issued by Our Lady of Fatima) is the view of the priesthood so often put forth by high ranking prelates, up to and including the pope. Before addressing the sad state of current affairs directly, let’s begins by considering the portrait of the priesthood painted by Pope St. Pius X in the Apostolic Exhortation, Haerent Animo, wherein the Holy Father makes his intent quite clear: Our first and chief concern is...

In September of 1996 I resigned my ministry as a Protestant pastor to enter the Catholic Church. It was a decision that was easy for me to make in that I was convinced that Catholicism was true and that the Catholic Church was my spiritual home. It was a decision that was nearly impossible to make in that I understood the implications of that decision. I knew what it would entail in practical terms. This was beautifully manifest, shall we say, when three months after leaving the ministry I was waiting tables at a restaurant in Encino. I was standing...

Featured Term selected at random:JURIDICAL RIGHTS Those in whose defense or recovery a person may use force or might. Thus the right to life and to property is juridical because normally they are defensible by physical means. An unborn child does not have the strength to defend its right to life. But though physically violated, the right itself remains, for it is still morally inviolable, which is of the essence of right. This has grave practical implications in defending the juridical right to life of the unborn when threatened by abortion. All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John...

All pardon for sins ultimately comes from Christ’s finished work on Calvary, but how is this pardon received by individuals? Did Christ leave us any means within the Church to take away sin? The Bible says he gave us two means.

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Featured Term selected at random:OPUS DEI An association of the Catholic faithful who dedicate themselves to the apostolate and to Christian perfection in the world. They do not, however, give up their social environment and continue in their secular profession or employment. founded in Madrid on October 2, 1928, by Monsignor José María Escriva de Balaguer, it received its final approval from the Holy See on June 16, 1950 The full canonical name is Societas Sacerdotalis Sanctae Crucis (The Priestly Society of the Holy Cross). Headquarters are in Rome. There are two branches of Opus Dei, of men and of...

In this episode, we pick up where we last left off on the concept joy, and what it has done (promising you what it can do) for people who truly find it in the Lord. Then, we discuss how God provides restoration to the soul, showing us, through personal experience, how he accommodates, aides, and provides purpose, and companionship, satisfying (and completing) our soul’s overall longings and yearnings, as we have discussed throughout this series. (The program can be accessed by clicking on the "Source" link, or by clicking HERE.)