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[Catholic Caucus] First Woman to Lead the Vatican’s Arts Academy Wants the Church to Embrace Contemporary ArtContemporary art is powerful vehicle for communicating values, challenging reality, and understanding the times we live in, says Cristiana Perrella.An expert in contemporary art, Cristiana Perrella was inducted into the Vatican’s 500-year-old fine arts academy in a narrow Baroque chapel under the attic of the Pantheon in 2022. Three years later, Pope Leo XIV appointed her the first woman president in the academy’s history.In three decades as an independent curator and director of art museums, Perella has had little experience with Church institutions and...

The Holy See is expected to announce in coming weeks a date for the beatification of Archbishop Fulton Sheen, the Emmy-winning American prelate known for catechetical television programs in the 1950s and 1960s. Sheen, who came within three weeks of a scheduled beatification in 2019, is expected to be formally beatified in September, according to sources close to the process. Announcement of the beatification will come after the Diocese of Rochester saw resolved its six-year bankruptcy process, and established a settlement fund for abuse survivors of more than $250 million. — Sheen’s scheduled December 2019 beatification was delayed after Rochester...

[Catholic Caucus] Cardinal Roche Doubles Down on ‘Traditionis Custodes’In an undelivered consistory address, the prefect for the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments reiterated that the 1969 Missal of Paul VI should be ‘the sole expression’ of the Roman Rite liturgy.In an undelivered address to cardinals last week, Cardinal Arthur Roche planned to voice opposition to the traditional Roman Rite, which he sees as a concession that needs to be eventually phased out in favor of the post-Vatican II liturgy as the unique expression of the Latin Rite.In a two-page text on Traditionis Custodes (Guardians of...

[Catholic Caucus] Schism fears arise as Catholic Church in Germany aims to put laity on ‘same level’ as bishops'This Synodal Conference will have decision-making power and be able to introduce changes to doctrine by majority vote,' reported Italian journalist Nico Spuntoni.As Pope Leo XIV meets with his Apostolic Nuncio for Germany, Monsignor Nikola Eterovic, on Saturday, the very real possibility of schism with the Catholic Church in Germany looms.“It’s alleged the German Church wants to put the German laity on the same level as the bishops and also let them control the cash,” according to a report in the Italian...

Canada’s Prime Minister, Mark Carney, has announced the launch of what he called a “new strategic partnership” with China, following high-level talks with President Xi Jinping in Beijing, marking the first visit by a Canadian leader in eight years. Speaking alongside Xi at the Great Hall of the People, Carney said the two countries had an opportunity to reshape their relationship in light of a changing global landscape. “Together, we can build on the strongest elements of our past relationship and forge a new one suited to today’s realities,” he said. On Friday, Carney revealed that Ottawa and Beijing had...

[Catholic Caucus] "Nostalgic" Proposals on Liturgy Not Helpful – Cardinal SpenglerAsked about the Mass in the Roman rite, Cardinal Jaime Spengler of Porto Alegre, Brazil, said that “the river doesn’t flow backwards.” He spoke with VidaNuevaDigital.com on January 16. The cardinal is president of the bishops’ conferences of Brazil and Latin America (CELAM). His main statement echoes the historically weak ideas promoted by Cardinal Roche at the consistory on January 7-8. Cardinal Spengler said, “Throughout history, the liturgy has undergone various reforms. The Second Vatican Council represents an enormous effort to recover fundamental elements of Catholic liturgical celebration. Nostalgic proposals...

[Catholic Caucus] Leo XIV Must Get the Bishops' Appointments Right – Cardinal BurkeLeo XIV’s consistory in January did not involve a general debate, Cardinal Raymond Burke told Edward Pentin for his Substack.com-account on 16 January.The consistory adopted a format closer to Francis’s synods, with discussion confined almost entirely to small groups:"All the discussion took place in the small group, and then in the general session there was simply a report from the secretaries."Divide and ConquerBurke added that the way the consistory was structured did not allow for so-called free interventions.The two plenary sessions permitted only brief interventions: "Each intervention was...

[Catholic Caucus] Bishop Schneider asks Pope Leo XIV for authoritative document to protect Latin MassBishop Athanasius Schneider suggested Pope Leo pen an apostolic constitution to ensure long-term legal stability for the Traditional Latin Mass and establish liturgical peace.Bishop Athanasius Schneider has said he proposed the promulgation of an apostolic constitution to regulate the coexistence of the traditional Latin Mass and the post-conciliar Roman rite to Pope Leo XIV.On January 14, Schneider, auxiliary bishop of Astana in Kazakhstan, stated in an interview published by the Cofraternity of Our Lady of Fatima that he personally suggested to Pope Leo the issuance of...

[Catholic Caucus] German Diocese Regrets "Slime Jesus" – But No One Is PunishedThe diocese of Rottenburg-Stuttgart, Germany, allegedly regrets its televised Christmas Eve Eucharist, which featured an adult woman covered in sticky rice paper who resembled a slimy alien in a manger.The Eucharist was broadcast Germanwide from the parish of St Mary’s in Stuttgart.The officiating priest, Thomas Steiger, said during the service: "The nativity scene shows a real human being, lying there miserable, naked and exposed."Next to him, the female actor breathed heavily and slowly writhed in the paper, which was apparently meant to represent the vernix covering a newborn...

‘I accept Jesus Christ as my lord and savior, and I look forward to spending an eternity with him,’ Adams declared in the message, adding that he hoped he was ‘still qualified for entry’ into heaven upon his death. Scott Adams, the creator of the long-running Dilbert comic strip whose art satirized the typical American workplace, died on Jan. 13 at 68 years old after a battle with cancer. “I accept Jesus Christ as my lord and savior, and I look forward to spending an eternity with him,” Adams declared in the message, adding that he hoped he was “still...

A new report from Students for Life of America’s Demetree Institute for Pro-Life Advancement has found that 114 Christian colleges and universities in the United States — more than one in seven — are supporting abortion in some way. The report found these Christian universities either backing abortion or maintaining some type of relationship with Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion company. The investigation, conducted for the fourth consecutive year during the 2024-2025 academic year, examined 725 institutions affiliated with Christ-centered denominations that publicly claim a historical Christian faith in their founding. Schools from denominations embracing a pro-abortion stance, such...

[Catholic Caucus] Why has the Pope dismissed a senior Vatican official and keen defender of the TLM?Monsignor Marco Agostini has been dismissed from his post at the Office for the Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff following the emergence of a recording in which he allegedly used an inappropriate term while referring to members of the Roman Curia.The decision was taken after an audio clip circulated online in which a voice identified as that of the senior Vatican cleric can be heard using the Italian slur “culattoni”, a term equivalent to the English word “faggot”, during a private exchange ahead...

[Catholic Caucus] Cardinals criticize ‘very controlled’ consistory, some express indifference toward Latin MassCardinals complained about the consistory that, ‘in the end, nobody took our opinion,’ and another observed, ‘the idea is that if you don’t agree with the group, you haven’t listened enough,’ according to reports.Vatican reporter Niwa Limbu has published an eye-opening article for The Catholic Herald on what happened behind the scenes at last week’s consistory.What Limbu and others’ reporting suggests is that the many cardinals were ill-prepared for what took place and that they were either indifferent to or downright opposed to the Latin Mass, most especially...

[Catholic Caucus] Una Voce responds to Roche Consistory Report against the Traditional MassDuring the recent consistory, the meeting of cardinals in Rome, Cardinal Arthur Roche, Prefect of the Dicastery for Divine Worship, handed out a two-sided piece of paper containing some reflections on the liturgy to those present: this has been made available by Diane Montagna here. The liturgy had been among the four topics originally proposed for discussion at the meeting, but the cardinals decided to focus on just two, leaving the liturgy out. Cardinal Roche’s document was accordingly handed out without being formally discussed.Versions were available in Italian...

1. PRAY FOR THE PROTECTION OF CITIZENS ACROSS IRAN That police and security forces would show restraint and act with wisdom rather than force That those participating in protests would be guarded from injury, arrest, or exploitation That communities living under fear would experience peace and calm 2. PRAY FOR WISDOM AND PROTECTION FOR HOUSE CHURCHES AND CHURCH LEADERS That leaders would know when to gather, when to wait, and how best to shepherd their people That house churches would remain out of view so believers can worship in safety That fear would not take root, and trust in God...

Why I am not a Catholic priest: Deus vultI have been asked to write a little about why, unlike many of my more estimable Anglican former colleagues, I have not been ordained as a priest in the Catholic Church, but remain a layman.It is June 1980. I am standing barefoot in a black cassock in what long before had been the Priory Church of St Mary Overie, on the Feast of St Peter. I had trained at university to be a lawyer. I was now waiting instead to be ordained as an Anglican and to begin work in a parish...

Every woe-laden left winger from Minneapolis to the Florida Everglades is now aware of the sad death of Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old mother who thought it seemed like a good idea to aim her multi-ton vehicle at an ICE officer. Her mother, Donna Ganger, told the Minneapolis Tribune that she was a good person who had been taking care of people all her life. Nicole graduated in 2020 from Old Dominion University in Virginia with a literary degree. At that time, she was married to her former husband, Tim Macklin. GoFundMe has raised over a million dollars for the...

Mary McAleese: Baptism denies babies their human rightsThroughout the world, there continues a long-standing, systemic and overlooked severe restriction on children’s rights with regard to religion. This warrants, but has yet to receive, serious examination. It impacts Ireland in a special way and contemporary circumstances make Ireland an ideal place to conduct that examination.Let me set the scene with a couple of brief, inter-related stories. They concern the relationship between children’s rights and religion in Ireland, and certain unchallenged aspects of the canon law of Ireland’s major Christian denomination and provider of education, the Latin Catholic Church. It restricts children’s...

Conciliar Catechesis Watch: IntroductionOn Wednesday, Leo launched a new initiative with an Introduction to his planned General Audience series consisting of catechesis on the documents of Vatican II. For how long this weekly series will go on is anyone’s guess, but it seems likely to go on up to and perhaps beyond Lent.In any case, beginning today, the akaCatholic Podcast will respond to each of Leo’s weekly catechetic sessions with a closer look at what he had to say and how it compares and contrasts with what the Church has always taught.Beneath the video, a transcript will be provided for...

Cardinal Zen Denounces “Bergoglian Synodality” as “Ironclad Manipulation” at Extraordinary ConsistoryFull text of Cardinal Joseph Zen’s intervention at the two-day meeting of cardinals convened by Pope Leo XIV.(Cardinal Joseph Zen and his personal secretary with Pope Leo XIV.) ROME, 9 January 2026 — In his intervention at the Extraordinary Consistory of Cardinals held at the Vatican on January 7–8, Cardinal Joseph Zen delivered a searing critique of the Synod on Synodality, denouncing its process as an “ironclad manipulation” and warning that its continual invocation of the Holy Spirit is “ridiculous” and verges on “blasphemy.”Delivered behind closed doors in the presence...