Free Republic

[Catholic Caucus] Sexual Morality, Pope Francis, and Ascetic ChristianityTo the chagrin of many Catholics, Pope Francis’s pontificate has tended to deemphasize the gravity of sexual sins. The Pope has stated on more than one occasion that sexual sins or “sins of the flesh” are far less serious than other sins, especially “sins of the spirit.” His remarks are problematic because virtues like chastity and temperance matter a great deal in Catholic teaching and theology. As the sexual revolution advances, will it now face little protest or resistance from its major adversary, the Catholic Church?The Eclipse of Traditional Sexual MoralityIn a...

[Catholic Caucus] "Veritatis Splendor": The 30th Anniversary of a Forgotten Encyclical - by Stefano Fontana "The Thirtieth Anniversary of a Forgotten Encyclical"Stefano FontanaLa Nuova Bussola QuotidianaAugust 8, 2023(source)On August 6, 30 years ago, John Paul II published the encyclical Veritatis splendor "on some fundamental questions of the Church's moral teaching." L'Osservatore Romano did not commemorate the anniversary. Vatican News did not mention it. Avvenire did not either.It is true that 25 and 50 years of such events are usually remembered, as is the case with weddings, just as it is true that WYD has monopolized ecclesial communication these days, but...

Pornofex: Was It Really Necessary? Even Francis' Friends Are BaffledWas it really necessary to invite a porn actress to explain to Francis that men were making specific requests to her for shooting nude videos?” the anti-Catholic La-Croix.com asked (April 6).La-Croix referred to Francis' Disney+ documentary "The Pope Answers" with 10 people in their early 20s, among them an internet prostitute and a former nun who now lives as a "lesbian". He told them that sex is a "beautiful thing."“Do you know Tinder?” asks Celia, one of the participants. Ignorant Francis admitted that he does not know it, but responded: “It’s...

[Catholic Caucus] Francis/Rupnik Case: The Good NewsFather Rupnik's excommunication for absolving a sexual accomplice in confession could only have been lifted by Francis or his delegate, Father Gerald Murray told Raymond Arroyo (EWTN.com, February 23).The Jesuit general has explained that the excommunication was lifted later that month "after he repented."Murray: “I doubt there is any repentance, because the Jesuits have also just revealed that Father Rupnik would not cooperate with this investigation.”15 women have made credible allegations against Rupnik. “We're talking about a priest who used his priestly authority over decades to inflict grave harm on innocent people who were...

[Catholic Caucus] Priest rebukes Pope Francis for calling to decriminalize sodomy: ‘Do you belong to Christ, or to Sodom?’Pope Francis is 'using his platform to embolden sinners and to shame the saints into silence and conformity with the world,' said Fr. Jason Charron.(LifeSiteNews) — A Catholic priest has rebuked Pope Francis for his calls to decriminalize sodomy during his recent visit to African countries South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The priest called the Pope to repent of his promotion of homosexuality, addressing the Pontiff in a video and asking, “Do you belong to Christ, or do...

Back from Africa: Francis Insinuates Benedict Supported Pseudo-MarriagesOn his February 5 return flight from Juba, South Sudan, Francis accused critics of exploiting Benedict XVI’s death but didn't mention Archbishop Gänswein by name.“Benedict's death has been instrumentalised by people who want to add grist to their mill. Those who exploit such a good man, so close to God… these people are unethical, they are people of a political party, not of the Church,” he ranted.Then, Francis took himself advantage of Benedict by insisting that rumours about Benedict's dissatisfaction with some of his decisions [such as forbidding Mass] were “false." When he...

[Catholic Caucus] There’s Yet Another Jesuit on Francis’s Team. At the Academy for Life They Know Him WellTo the squadron of Jesuits, including a good three cardinals, that Pope Francis has set up in command of the Church, there must be added at least one name that Settimo Cielo culpably omitted in the previous post.It is a name not much in use. And one that nobody in recent days has brought into the swirl of criticisms that have struck the Pontifical Academy for Life, when instead the very one who bears that name was behind them.The controversy broke out following...

[Catholic Caucus] Pope Francis makes pro-contraception Jesuit priest a full member of the Pontifical Academy for LifeFr. Humberto Miguel Yanez, S.J., whom Francis named this month as an Ordinary Member of the Pontifical Academy for Life, openly dissents from Catholic teaching on contraception.ROME (LifeSiteNews) – Among Pope Francis’ new appointments to Ordinary Member of the Pontifical Academy for Life (PAL) is a Jesuit priest who dissents from the Church’s teaching on contraception. Fr. Humberto Miguel Yanez, S.J., a Professor of Moral Theology at the Jesuit Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, holds that the use of contraception may be morally licit...

Nephew of late Argentine cardinal accuses Pope Francis of covering up homosexual abuseThere are known cases of priests who displayed such behavior and could always rely on Bergoglio’s discreet protection.’Fri Jan 14, 2022 - 5:30 pm ESTFri Jan 14, 2022 - 6:18 pm EST BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (LifeSiteNews) – The nephew of Pope Francis’ predecessor as archbishop of Buenos Aires accused the pope of covering up homosexual clerical abuse in a recent interview and blasted Francis for the leadership style “of a despot.”Speaking with Gloria.tv, Dr. José Arturo Quarracino, a teacher and nephew of the late Cardinal Antonio Quarracino, said...

Pope Francis writes to controversial nun, thanking her for 50 years of LGBTQ ministryPope Francis has sent an encouraging letter to an American nun thanking her for her 50 years of ministry to LGBTQ Catholics, more than two decades after she was investigated and censured by the Vatican for her work.In his letter dated Dec. 10, Francis wrote that Sister Jeannine Gramick has not been afraid of “closeness” and without condemning anyone had the “tenderness” of a sister and a mother. “Thank you, Sister Jeannine, for all your closeness, compassion and tenderness,” he wrote.He also noted her “suffering ... without...

[Catholic Caucus] Pope Francis declares 2021 will be year dedicated to error-filled Amoris LaetitiaJanuary 5, 2021 (LifeSiteNews) – Pope Francis has announced a full year of reflections dedicated to his most controversial and error-filled document, Amoris Laetitia.In his Angelus address of December 27, 2020, Pope Francis announced that beginning on March 19, 2021 – the Feast of St. Joseph – a year of reflection on his exhortation Amoris Laetitia would begin. It will last until June 2022. The Pope noted that March 19, 2021 would coincide with the upcoming fifth anniversary of the publication of his controversial exhortation and that...

McCarrick report will seek to lay blame on John Paul, Benedict while minimizing Francis’ fault The report is set to be released tomorrow, Tuesday, November 10. November 9, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) — Tomorrow, the long-awaited McCarrick report will be released. The report itself, which is more than 600 pages long and will have tons of footnotes, has taken years to compile. Early indications are that it’s going to lay the blame for former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick’s abuse on John Paul II and Pope Benedict instead of on Pope Francis.  But given that Pope Francis is complicit in the McCarrick scandal, an independent...

Francis Promotes Civil Unions for Homosexuals: The Secretary of State Confirms A note, sent to all the nuncios by the Secretariat of State of the Holy See, confirms the remarks about civil unions between homosexuals made by Pope Francis in the documentary “Francesco.” It thereby confirms the serious opposition of the reigning Pope to his two immediate predecessors. And through them, to enduring Catholic doctrine. The note sent to the nuncios by the Secretary of State was posted by Mgr. Franco Coppola, nuncio in Mexico, on his Facebook account. Contacted by the cath.ch agency, the nuncio confirmed that this...

The Pope really doesn’t like Republicans Ever since Francis started lobbing missiles at doctrinal conservatives, the latter have been asking ‘is the Pope Catholic?’ Last week we learned that Pope Francis has torn up the Catholic Church’s teaching that same-sex civil partnerships are gravely immoral. This week he will be rooting for the pro-abortion candidate in the US presidential election.These two surreal developments are causing distress bordering on spiritual despair to conservative American Catholics. Whether you feel any sympathy for them depends on your point of view. The Pope, it is safe to say, is unlikely to lose any sleep...