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[Catholic Caucus] Exclusive interview: Archbishop Aguer on the papal visit to Argentina and the legacy of Pope Francis n an exclusive interview with AdVaticanum, Archbishop Héctor Aguer discusses Pope Leo XIV’s visit to Argentina, the legacy of Pope Francis, the state of the Church in his country and the place of tradition in its futureArchbishop Héctor Rubén Aguer is the Archbishop Emeritus of La Plata, Argentina. Born in Buenos Aires on 24 May 1943, he was ordained a priest in 1972 and served as Auxiliary Bishop of Buenos Aires from 1992 to 1998 before being appointed Coadjutor Archbishop of La...

[Catholic Caucus] Ohio cathedral to offer funeral Mass for man in homosexual ‘marriage’ The Cathedral of Our Lady, Queen of the Most Holy Rosary, of the Diocese of Toledo will host a Catholic funeral Mass for a man who lived for decades in a homosexual relationship, threatening grave scandal.The Catholic Cathedral of Toledo, Ohio, is set to offer a Catholic funeral for a man who lived in a homosexual “marriage.” The funeral will be in direct violation of ecclesiastical law regarding the refusal of Christian burial for manifest sinners.A visitation for John Arthur Park will take place Monday, November 9,...

[Catholic Caucus] Cardinal Zen urges Pope Leo to stop Synod, remove Cardinal Fernández Cdl. Zen slammed the Synod’s ‘hidden agendas,’ including on homosexuality and ‘women’s ordination,’ and called on Pope Leo to give Cdls. Mario Grech and Jean-Claude Hollerich a ‘long vacation.’Cardinal Joseph Zen, bishop emeritus of Hong Kong, in a blog post last week, reflecting on the fruits of the Second Vatican Council, called on Pope Leo XIV to put a stop to the Synod and condemned the initiative’s “hidden agendas” on LGBT ideology, female “ordination,” and clerical celibacy.In his blog post, translated into English on November 6, Cardinal...

Vatican’s ‘Venite ad me’ Document: Seven Troubling Changes to the Understanding of Faith The new Vatican 'Venite ad me' document is quietly redefining Faith. Beneath its pastoral language lie seven deeply troubling departures from traditional Catholic teaching, from the meaning of faith itself, evangelization, and the authority of revealed doctrine. Is this the latest manifestation of Neo-Modernism inside the Church?On October 22, 2026, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith published a series of “considerations” entitled “Venite ad me. Considerations on the Transmission of the Faith in an Epochal Change”.As the document itself specifies, it is neither a magisterial...

Chinese bishops praise sinicization as synodality at conference in Rome “That’s the main point we need to work on: Being loyal to our government and being loyal to our faith.” Archbishop Joseph Li Shan of Beijing and Cardinal Stephen Chow of Hong Kong defended the controversial policy of Sinicization of the Catholic Church in China and obedience to state religious laws at a Nov. 5 conference in Rome, comparing the state ordering of religion to the practice of synodality in the Latin Church.Archbishop Joseph Li Shan of Beijing. Credit: Lou Linwei/Alamy Live NewsIn his speech at a Nov. 5 conference...

[Catholic Caucus] The Fifth Mark of the Church: Why Traditional Catholics Are Being Persecuted The Catholic Church is known by four marks: One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic. But there is a fifth mark that Catholics have long recognized: Persecution. As traditional Catholics face mounting restrictions from Rome, could the persecution of those who remain faithful to Tradition be helping preserve the visible identity of the true Church?One of the most intriguing aspects of the current crisis in the Catholic Church comes to light when we consider the following truths of our religion:The Catholic Church is a perpetually visible society.The Catholic...

Pope Leo gives top post to feminist who supports gay blessings Claudia Leal Luna criticized the Vatican's 2021 ruling against blessings for gay unions, arguing that Catholic sexual morality needs to take 'some steps.' Pope Leo XIV named Chilean theologian Claudia Leal Luna as undersecretary of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, placing a vocal critic of the Church’s 2021 rejection of blessings for homosexual unions in a senior Vatican post.The appointment, announced Thursday, pairs Leal with Jesuit Father Avelino Chicoma Bundo Chico. Vatican News and the dicastery’s own announcement confirm that Leal, born December 12, 1977, holds a...

Cardinal Bernardin’s Victim Speaks Out Last week I (Fr. David Nix) had a four hour dinner with Bernardin’s victim and her husband. She is now 80 years old. The Satanic Ritual Abuse happened to her about 70 years ago by Fr. Joseph Bernardin (later Cardinal Archbishop of Chicago, top-left.) The abuse happened at St. Mary’s Church in Greenville, SC (top-right.)My mother is from Chicago (and my father is from West of Chicago) so I grew up hearing from extended family that one day Cardinal Bernardin would be canonized. Much in my life has changed since then. Another thing that has...

[Catholic Caucus] Marian Theologians Renew Appeal to Cardinal Fernández Over Vatican Doctrinal Note A year after the publication of Mater Populi Fidelis, the International Marian Association says its detailed criticisms remain unanswered.A year after the Vatican published its controversial instruction Mater Populi Fidelis, a group of leading Marian theologians has sent a new letter to Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández noting that he has yet to respond to criticisms they had made of the document last December.The Theological Commission of the International Marian Association (IMA) also mentioned in their Nov. 4 letter to the Vatican’s prefect of the Dicastery for the...

Cardinal Parolin confirms Pope Leo’s approval of China bishop appointments despite ‘imperfect’ agreement Cardinal Pietro Parolin has confirmed that Pope Leo XIV has approved episcopal appointments under the Vatican’s agreement with China, acknowledging that the arrangement remains imperfect but insisting that dialogue with Beijing must continueCardinal Pietro Parolin has confirmed that Pope Leo XIV has given his assent to episcopal appointments made under the agreement between the Holy See and China, while acknowledging that the arrangement remains imperfect and defending the Vatican’s decision to continue implementing it.Speaking to journalists on Thursday, 5 November, the Vatican Secretary of State reaffirmed that...

Vatican promotes climate agenda with Lenten ‘carbon fast’ Vatican officials promoted a 40-day 'carbon fast' during Lent while unveiling plans to utilize AI to monitor global parish eco-commitments.The Holy See celebrated the expansion of its global ecological platform by showcasing artificial intelligence surveillance tools and promoting an eco-substitute for Lenten penance, urging faithful to replace traditional mortification with a “carbon fast.”On November 4, the Holy See Press Office hosted a press conference to mark the fifth anniversary of the Laudato Si’ Action Platform (LSAP), a digital framework launched by the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development. Officials announced that over...

Being pro-life is not antisemitic Cardinal Cupich (Oct 29, 2026) will today honour Michael Sacks despite his substantial financial support for abortion, while the Archdiocese of Chicago has responded to criticism by warning of the dangers of antisemitismToday, despite widespread indignation from the pro-life movement, Cardinal Blase Cupich will award Michael Sacks the inaugural Nostra Aetate Award at Mundelein Seminary in Chicago. The award will be presented during the annual Rerum Novarum event, “an evening to honour lay men and women who are examples of Catholic Social Teaching in action.”Nostra Aetate, full title Declaration on the Relation of the Church...

[Catholic Caucus] Leo-appointed archbishop of Vienna supports ‘ordination of women’ Archbishop Josef Grünwidl also argued for the abolition of priestly celibacy, stating it has 'nothing to do with our faith, with the truths of the faith, or with dogma.'Archbishop Josef Grünwidl of Vienna has said that he wants the “ordination of women” but thinks it is not “realistic” at the moment.In an interview with Austria’s public radio station Ö1, the new archbishop of Vienna addressed a wide range of issues, including the questions of female ordination, mandatory priestly celibacy, and euthanasia.Grünwidl noted that women are already serving in many areas...

‘Woe To Me If I Do Not Preach’ I’m not sure whether Cardinal Jean-Paul Vesco, the Archbishop of Algiers, has read the satirical poem “Absolute and Abitofhell” by Monsignor Ronald Knox. The poem describes the Oxford dons and clergymen of his day, who were enamored of theological liberalism, the kind of churchmen that, St. John Henry Newman said, he had spent his life combatting.The lines from that poem that come to mind about our man in Algiers are as sharp as vinegar: “When suave politeness, temp’ring bigot zeal / Corrected ‘I believe,’ to ‘One does feel.’ “Cardinal Vesco has recently...

Leo XIV-led Vatican sends Diwali message to Hindus The Vatican extended its ‘warmest prayerful and festive wishes’ to Hindus on Diwali while suggesting the ‘spirit of Assisi’ could help Christians and Hindus ‘forge pathways of peace’ together.The Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue (DID) under Pope Leo XIV on Friday published a special message to Hindus ahead of their Diwali holiday next week, stressing the Vatican’s commitment to peace “in the spirit of Assisi.”In its October 30 message, published the day before Allhallowtide and signed by Cardinal George Jacob Koovakad and Monsignor Indunil Janakaratne Kodithuwakku Kankanamalage – prefect and secretary of the...

[Catholic Caucus] Dissenters rip Cardinal Ratzinger’s 1986 letter on homosexuality on 40th anniversary October 30, 2026» Continue to this story on National Catholic Reporter CWN Editor's Note: Critics of Catholic teaching on the immorality of homosexual acts strongly criticized the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith’s letter to bishops on the pastoral care of homosexual persons, 40 years after its publication. At the time, the congregation’s prefect was Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who became Pope Benedict XVI in 2005. “We were horrified when we read it, but I would say we were not surprised,” said Sister Jeannine Gramick, cofounder of...

Cardinal doubles down after saying Church should not ‘convert’ people Cardinal Vesco responded to Bishop Barron's correction by saying that Catholics, Jews, and Muslims have 'better things to do' than trying to convert one another.Cardinal Jean-Paul Vesco, the archbishop of Algiers, Algeria, responded to Bishop Robert Barron’s correction of his erroneous statement that the Catholic Church is “not there to convert” by doubling down and saying that Catholics and members of other monotheistic religions have “better things to do” than trying to convert one another.In an October 30 social media post responding to Bishop Barron, Vesco highlighted the actions of...

A Bad Look for the Vatican - On the Blocking of Saint Peter’s to Traditional Pilgrims - by Bishop Marian Eleganti A Bad Look for the VaticanThis year's ban on the traditionally minded "Ad Petri Sedem" pilgrims entering Saint Peter's Basilica on October 24, 2026 borders on hostility toward Catholics who are loyal to the Pope and orthodox in their faith. It has nothing to do with concern for unity in the Church or with operational difficulties in organizing liturgical celebrations in Saint Peter's.The rites that exist in the Catholic Church, in their peaceful coexistence with the Novus Ordo, demonstrate...

[Catholic Caucus] Faith should ‘become culture,’ Pope Leo emphasizes at audience on Vatican II Continuing his series of Wednesday general audiences on the Second Vatican Council and its documents, Pope Leo XIV devoted his October 28 audience (video) to the relationship between faith and culture.The audience, which took place in St. Peter’s Square, was the thirtieth audience in the series and the seventh devoted to the Gaudium et Spes, the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World (1965). The audience was devoted to the second chapter of Part II of the pastoral constitution; the chapter is entitled “The...

[Catholic Caucus] Two Pilgrimages, Two Bans: Traditional Catholics Shut Out of Rome and Lourdes In the same weekend, traditional Catholics were denied their customary prayer service inside St. Peter’s Basilica and barred from public liturgies and processions at Lourdes. Two pilgrimages. Two holy places. And one unforgettable witness to a faith that no ecclesiastical restriction can extinguish. During the “Christ the King” pilgrimage organized by the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) in October 2026, I learned more vividly than ever that a pilgrimage’s true success does not rest on a basilica, a sanctuary, or even an official authorization from...