Free Republic

[Catholic Caucus] Synod’s canonical commission calls for diocesan synods, provincial councils every 10 years, ‘complete revision’ of Code of Canon Law A canonical commission established by Pope Francis proposed changes to 34 canons of the Code of Canon Law in light of the Final Document of the 2021-2024 synod on synodality.“In the long term, however, there is an obvious need for a complete revision of the two Codes to reflect the theological and ecclesiological issues that have emerged,” the commission, referring to the Code of Canon Law (1983) and the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches (1990), stated in...

Leo XIV praises foundational Lutheran document: The Augsburg Confession by MelanchthonLeo XIV praises foundational Lutheran document: The Augsburg Confession by Melanchthon.Today, Leo XIV received a delegation of the Lutheran World Federation. He said: “Renewed communion in the apostolic faith, in the sacraments [!], and in the ministries is the goal of our ecumenical journey of grace.”Leo XIV focused particularly on the year 2030, which will mark the 500th anniversary of the Augsburg Confession, presenting it as an opportunity to advance Catholic-Lutheran ecumenism and the pursuit of “full, visible unity.”He claimed: “The Augsburg Confession was originally intended as a document of...

[Catholic Caucus] Vatican Synod commission proposes “complete revision” of canon law — including marriages without a priest. Vatican Synod commission proposes “complete revision” of canon law — including marriages without a priest.A 10-member Canonical Commission established as part of the Vatican’s Synod on Synodality has published today proposals to reshape canon law.The report says that in the long term there is an “obvious need for a complete revision” of the Codes. The goal is to reflect emerging “theological and ecclesiological issues.”Among the proposals:• Sensus fidei: Canon 749 would begin by stating that “the entire body of the Christian faithful… cannot...

[Catholic Caucus] Irreversible—the Dictatorship of What Has Happened. When History Becomes a “Magisterium”Irreversible—the Dictatorship of What Has Happened. When History Becomes a “Magisterium”: Notes on a Statement by Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich. Functional “Facts-Based Politics” Instead of the Holy Spirit. An article by Armin Schwibach (kath.net; original in German)Rome (kath.netet/as) “Irreversible”: With these words, Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich described the process of synodality initiated by Pope Francis in an address in October 2015: the fait accompli of a political land grab within the Church. In an interview with the Kurier on September 20, 2026, the Luxembourg cardinal and former Jesuit explained that...

[Catholic Caucus] Cardinal Grech: Church is ‘synodal by nature’ but remains hierarchicalCardinal Mario Grech has said that while the Catholic Church is “synodal by nature” and there must be room for everyone, it remains “hierarchical by nature”, with bishops and the Pope retaining responsibility for decisions. “Our Church is synodal by nature. That means there’s room for everyone,” Cardinal Grech, Secretary General of the Synod of […]Cardinal Mario Grech has said that while the Catholic Church is “synodal by nature” and there must be room for everyone, it remains “hierarchical by nature”, with bishops and the Pope retaining responsibility for...

Breaking: Pope Leo’s Vatican asks Catholics to ‘esteem’ other faiths The Vatican has asked Catholics to 'esteem' other faiths in its latest document on interreligious dialogue and 'fraternity.'The Vatican has asked Catholics to ‘esteem’ other faiths in its latest document on interreligious dialogue and “fraternity.”The document, signed by Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF); Cardinal Kurt Koch, Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity; and Cardinal George Jacob Koovakad, Prefect of the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue, appeared this morning.Entitled “A Journey of Hope: Sixty Years of Interreligious Dialogue and Fraternity...

[Catholic Caucus] Synod reports call for ‘gender equality’ in Church governanceThe Synod documents emphasize the implementation of ‘gender equality’ and ‘co-responsibility’ in workplaces and the participation of consecrated laywomen in the election of bishops and chaplains.The Synod issued two new reports this week that include promoting “gender equality” across all positions within the Catholic Church.On September 8, the General Secretariat of the Synod published two final reports proposing changes to relations between bishops, consecrated religious, ecclesial associations and the Holy See, including a recommendation that diocesan faithful participate in preparing the reports bishops submit before their official visits to Rome.The...

[Catholic Caucus] Bishop Mutsaerts: ‘Missing words’ in Synod on Synodality are ‘repentance and conversion’Bishop Mutsaerts says the Synod has lost sight of what should be its goal: leading souls to Christ through repentance, conversion, and holiness, as means of obtaining eternal salvation. In an exclusive interview with Advaticanum published on Saturday, Auxiliary Bishop Rob Mutsaerts of the Diocese of ’s-Hertogenbosch (Den Bosch) in the Netherlands offered a candid assessment of the Synod on Synodality.Drawing on his recent open letter to Pope Leo XIV, the Dutch prelate insisted that the Church’s ultimate measure of any process must be the salvation of...

[Catholic Caucus] Bishop attacks Latin Mass, says ‘only’ Novus Ordo is compatible with Synodal ChurchAccording to Bishop Tomáš Holub, it is the Novus Ordo that allows the integration of synodality in the liturgy, whereas this would be ‘very difficult’ with the Traditional Latin Mass.The bishop of the Diocese of Pilsen in the Czech Republic stated in a recent article that the Synodal Church needs an adequate liturgy that can “only” be the Novus Ordo Missae.Tomáš Holub, a heterodox bishop who has endorsed Amoris Laetitia and announced that he would give Holy Communion to the divorced and remarried, shared his vision...

[Catholic Caucus] Cardinal Grech: Synodality Begins With Conversion of Hearts, Not New LawsThe future of synodality in the Catholic Church depends first on the conversion of hearts rather than changes to canon law, Cardinal Mario Grech told journalists during the second press conference of the 12th Plenary Assembly of the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences (FABC).The Secretary General of the Synod of Bishops made the remarks on July 24 at the Media Room of Hotel Mulia, Jakarta, in response to a question about whether the fruits of the Synod on Synodality would eventually be incorporated into the Church's legal framework.While...

As any Catholic master of ceremonies will tell you, it takes only the tiniest sartorial mishap to lend a Python-esque flavour to moments of the utmost solemnity. On 1 July the rebel traditionalist Society of St Pius X (SSPX) created four new bishops in defiance of Pope Leo XIV during a five-hour open-air Latin Mass in a Swiss alpine meadow. The consecrating prelates wore dark-red velvet chasubles over scarlet-and-gold dalmatics with matching gloves. They descended from their thrones bearing sacred chrism. Afterwards the new bishops stood in a row, mitres perched on their heads for the first time. For traditionalist...

[Catholic Caucus] Toward a Religion with No Doctrinal or Moral PrinciplesHow does it feel?How does it feel?To be on your ownWith no direction homeLike a complete unknownLike a rolling stone?i> — Bob Dylan, 1965They do not call it “change.” They call it a “paradigm shift.” This is what someone says when they want to make you think that nothing is changing, when in fact everything is going to be different. I am talking about the “Final Report” of Study Group 9, released May 5, 2026. In response to the Synthesis Report of the First Session of the XVI Ordinary Assembly...

From Cardinal Bea to Synodality: Obscuring the Mystical Body of Christ to Prepare the Mystical Body of the AntichristAlthough the competition for most heretical and dangerous statements is fierce in the new document from the Synod on Synodality, Instrumentum Laboris, paragraph 20 offers this top contender:“[A] synodal Church is founded on the recognition of a common dignity deriving from Baptism, which makes all who receive it sons and daughters of God, members of the family of God, and therefore brothers and sisters in Christ, inhabited by the one Spirit and sent to fulfil a common mission.” At first glance, this...