Free Republic

[Catholic Caucus] Rip Down the Pride FlagTwenty years ago few could have imagined that the last stronghold of truth, the Catholic Church, would have fallen to the LGBT lie of "Love is Love."Many years ago, I decided to attend daily Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. Each morning on my way to Mass, I would drive past a house that flew the flag representing pride in all the different sexual identities that fell under the LGBTQ (this was pre-IA+ times) banner. I didn’t take much notice of it at the time,...

[Catholic Caucus] Why Ambiguity Was the Most Lethal Weapon of Vatican II’s ArchitectsEvery single ambiguity of Vatican II tended to undermine Catholic teaching in precisely the way against which the pre-Vatican II popes emphatically warned. This is not mere coincidence. Moreover, the presence of so much ambiguity fundamentally undermines the Catholic Church’s role as truth-teller. The Church obviously knew how to speak clearly and unambiguously on all of the matters that have become so contentious after the Council.In his 2024 book Flee From Heresy: A Catholic Guide to Ancient and Modern Errors, Bishop Athanasius Schneider provided the following question and...

[Catholic Caucus] Dr. Kwasniewski and the Honest TruthClose the Workshop: Why the Old Mass Isn’t Broken and the New Mass Can’t Be FixedI imagine very few millennials grew up as traditional Catholics. For most of us, it was a tangled process, or rather conversion, that led from the kitsch and thin Catholicism of our youth—“And if the devil doesn’t like it he can sit on a tack. Ouch!”—to that rich, distant land of Tradition. It took until my late teens before I attended my first traditional Latin Mass. I was sold right from the Asperges. “Eureka!…or whatever that word is...

[Catholic Caucus] Cardinal Kasper again pushes ‘women deacons’ as ‘helpful pastorally’The much misrepresented 'female deacons' of the early Church were not in fact deacons as understood today, and were certainly not ordained to any ministry.Cardinal Kasper has again promoted female deacons, claiming they are “theologically possible and could be helpful pastorally.”“Personally, I believe that opening the permanent diaconate to women is theologically possible and could be helpful pastorally.” So said Cardinal Walter Kasper in a new interview with Rheinische Post.Kasper, now aged 92, has been one of the most influential prelates in the Church of late, particularly so during the...

...according to data from the National Survey of Religious Leaders, which is hosted on the Association of Religion Data Archives. The team that put that instrument together included a series of questions that probed how clergy thought about God, the Bible, and various aspects of religious beliefs that offer a fascinating peek behind the curtain into the personal faith of religious leadership in the United States. .. the share of evangelicals who believed in Adam and Eve as literal historical people was only 80%, which was slightly lower than Black Protestant clergy at 89%. Meanwhile, Catholic priests and mainline pastors...

[Catholic Caucus] Cardinal Burke: Doctrinal and Moral Corruption ‘Directly Related’ to Abuse of the LiturgyRecalling the warnings of popes and saints, Cardinal Burke said neglect of liturgical law and tradition has paved the way for widespread confusion about faith and morals.Cardinal Raymond Burke has appealed to Pope Leo XIV to lift the restrictions on the pre-1970 liturgy, stressing that respect for liturgical tradition is critical for the Catholic Church’s mission and that doctrinal and moral corruption shows itself in “divisions and factions” that lead to liturgical abuse. Speaking via video link to a London conference celebrating 60 years of the...

[Catholic Caucus] If the US bishops want a Eucharistic revival, they should stop attacking tradition(Corpus Christi for Unity and Peace) — On June 19, 2025, Catholics will celebrate Corpus Christi, a feast dedicated to the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist.Established in 1264 by Pope Urban IV, Corpus Christi invites the faithful to adore Christ through Mass, processions, and adoration. This feast comes at a critical time for the U.S. Church, where belief in the Real Presence is faltering, partly due to a flawed 2019 Pew Research survey.Additionally, a growing number of bishops are deterring the faithful from...

[Catholic Caucus] Bishop Schneider: "The TLM enables doctrinal clarity."Drawing from his own experiences under Soviet persecution, Bishop Schneider encouraged Catholics to be willing to suffer and persevere for the sake of the Catholic Faith and the traditional liturgy (pre-Vatican 2), despite facing “liturgical exile” or persecution within the Church. Strikingly, the prelate’s message was one of hope and joy, exhorting the audience to suffer for the Catholic Faith with joy, confidence, and zeal. After all, we have not entered the Barque of Peter “to escape out of it” but to keep the faith under the banner of Christ the King.Bishop...

[Catholic Caucus] Traditional Catholicism’s Enemies Routinely Fail These Three Common Sense ChecksAll of this is like a Monty Python skit except that it is only humorous to the enemies of God and His Catholic Church. God has permitted the crisis in the Church to reach this point to which those who persecute Traditional Catholics are unmistakably wrong.Although we pray that the tide will turn with Pope Leo XIV, one of the most astoundingly bizarre realities in the world today is that Traditional Catholics are persecuted by the putative leaders of the Catholic Church. The crime committed by Traditional Catholics is...

[Catholic Caucus] Bishop Schneider asks Pope Leo XIV for full freedom for the Traditional Mass“The traditional liturgy is a work of the Holy Spirit. It can be persecuted, but not destroyed,” affirmed Monsignor Athanasius Schneider during an interview organized by the apostolate Know, Love, and Live Your Faith, in which he answered questions for over an hour about the state of the traditional liturgy, the doctrinal crisis in the Church, and the new pontificate of Leo XIV.The Traditional Mass, a “perennial” and persecuted liturgyMonsignor Schneider began by referring to the climate of “continued persecution” against the Traditional Mass in various...

Luther said “That is the proof of the spiritual and wise man. He knows that he is carnal, and he is displeased with himself; indeed, he hates himself and praises the law of God, which he recognizes because he is spiritual. But the proof of a foolish, carnal man is this. that he regards himself as spiritual and is pleased with himself.”

[Catholic Caucus] Vatican II’s Dignitatis Humanae and the June Battle of FlagsWere it not for Dignitatis Humanae, there would be no supposed theological justification for this demand that human dignity requires us to refrain from questioning the “transness” of those claiming to practice the Catholic Faith. Thanks in large part to the defenders of Vatican II, though, Fr. Martin and the New Ways Ministry can insist that Catholics ought to celebrate Pride Month in recognition of the human dignity of the Catholic LGBTQ community.As reported by LifeSite, Fr. James Martin recently shared his opinion about why Catholics ought to celebrate...

[Catholic Caucus] Texas archbishop falsely claims independent school ‘misrepresents’ its Catholic statusLumen Christi Academy seeks to provide 'an authentically Catholic classical education' but makes clear it is an 'independent' school outside of diocesan control.Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller of San Antonio has falsely accused a self-proclaimed “independent school in the Catholic tradition” of misrepresenting “their Catholic status to the public” in an attempt to discourage displaced schoolchildren from attending the academy.After The Atonement Catholic Academy announced May 31 that it would soon close due to financial unsustainability, Lumen Christi Academy – an initiative of the Sanctus Ranch founders and within driving distance...

[Catholic Caucus] Pope Leo XIV corrects the Francis record on cohabitationPope Leo XIV called for the evangelization of young people to help them choose sacramental marriage, in stark contrast to Pope Francis’ scandalous comments about cohabitation.There is breaking news today from Rome where Pope Leo is correcting the Francis record on cohabitation. Pope Francis created worldwide scandal when on June 16, 2016, he said cohabitation is “real marriage” and has the grace of real marriage. I know that is hard to believe, so we have it for you on video and the Vatican transcript. “In Argentina’s northeast countryside … couples...

[Catholic Caucus] An Apostolic Church or a "Synodality" Church?Caminante WandererArgentina, May 29. 2025Saint Charles Borromeo and one of the Diocesan Synods he presided in MilanOne of the most pressing and certainly most complex issues that Pope Leo will have to resolve is that of the famous synodality. He is a canonist and a man of government and he knows, therefore, that continuing along the path of a synodal church that Francis had irresponsibly opened would lead to a catastrophe. For those of us who are laymen in theology and canon law, I recommend this article ["The Pope and the Prefectress"]...

[Catholic Caucus] Rorate Exclusive: The Anti-Traditional and Anti-Liturgical Pastoral Letter to be Sent by the Bishop of Charlotte on Liturgical Norms in His DioceseRorate was able to obtain the letter written by the Bishop of Charlotte, North Carolina, Michael Martin OFM Conv, who last week decreed the almost extinction of the Traditional Latin Mass in his diocese. This letter is supposed to be made public sometime in the future, and it was being kept secret (since it was written while Francis was still pope, Francis is referenced in the document -- it also leads to believe that the decision to...

Charlotte bishop denounces Latin, altar rails, kneeling in leaked letterIn a letter obtained by Rorate Caeli, Bishop Michael Martin attacked core Catholic traditions, including the use of Latin, kneeling, and clergy prayers before and after Mass.UPDATE: Sources inside the diocese have attested to The Pillar that the proposed document has in fact been already laid aside by the bishop, due to widespread opposition amongst clergy in the diocese. LifeSite has not been able to corroborate this claim.CHARLOTTE, North Carolina (LifeSiteNews) — The bishop of Charlotte is set to issue even more restrictions on the liturgy in the coming days, harshly...

[Catholic Caucus] Bishop Martin Crushes Charlotte Diocese Traditional Latin Mass CatholicsCharlotte, N.C. - Following upon the retired Bishop Peter Jugis’ initial implementation in 2023 of Pope Francis’s motu proprio that back-tracked on all of the previous Pope’s declarations of the pre-Conciliar Mass (and sacraments) having never been abrogated, Bishop Michael T. Martin slammed the door on traditional Catholics eliminating the Sunday Traditional Mass at the four parishes currently offering it. These included parishes in Greensboro, two in Charlotte, and Tryon.Coincidentally, The Remnant broke the initial story when the indult Latin Mass was first approved for Charlotte. (INSERT STORY LINK. I...

[Catholic Caucus] Bishop Strickland: ‘The Church is not called to create truth, but to receive it’Cardinal William Goh of Singapore voiced concerns that the ambiguity in papal teaching has led to confusion among bishops and disunity among the laity,' observes Bishop Strickland.I repeat these words from the prophet Amos because they are critical for our time. There has been much bending away from the plumb line of truth. It should be our only measure.“And the Lord said: Behold, I will set a plumb line in the midst of my people …” (Amos 7:8).In recent remarks, Cardinal William Goh of Sigapore...

Anglican Priestess "concelebrates" Catholic Mass? A Case Study in SynodalityIt seems that one of Mackinlay's priests has allowed an Anglican priestess to feign the concelebration of a Catholic Mass during which she also received Holy Communion. The woman, a known lesbian and LGBT-rights advocate, was one of two Anglican women who were dressed in vestments and remained near the altar throughout the Mass. Although the 'Canon' did not speak, she attempted to read the Gospel and helped herself to a chalice containing the Precious Blood.It is fairly common to hear that the definition of Synodality remains a mystery, even years...