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[Catholic Caucus] EXCLUSIVE Bishop Strickland: on Pope Leo XIV, the Latin Mass and Archbishop LefebvreBishop Joseph Strickland is a well-known and well-loved prelate for many conservative Catholics.Ordained for the Diocese of Dallas in 1985 and appointed Bishop of Tyler, Texas, by Pope Benedict XVI in 2012, he has in recent years become a vocal critic of certain Vatican policies which he believes go against “the truth of the Gospel.” He was removed as Bishop of Tyler in 2023 after a Vatican investigation concluded that “the continuation in office of Bishop Strickland was not feasible.”In this exclusive interview, he discusses his...

How Liberals Gaslighted Traditional Catholics 50 Years AgoSo many putative leaders of the Catholic Church have no problems with the Synod on Synodality, Fiducia Supplicans, or widespread cafeteria-Catholicism but are wholly supportive of Rome’s persecution of Traditional Catholics through Traditionis Custodes and other measures. This, of itself, tells us that many influential figures promoting the Vatican II revolution are gaslighting us.In his August 2, 1975 letter to Libre Belgique, Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre sought to defend himself against certain criticisms related to his adherence to what the Catholic Church taught and practiced prior to Vatican II:“The repeated attacks in your columns...

They will Use Newman for Their HeresyI got back from a 12-day retreat to read the happy news that the Holy Father has confirmed the plans to proclaim St. John Henry Newman a Doctor of the Church. I’ve never read much Newman myself, but he seems to be universally respected by all Catholic men of letters… but with a dark side. But let me return to that in a moment.The Apostasy of AlbionFirst, even though I haven’t read much from Newman, we can already see the immense significance of this news in the history of the Church. In many ways...

Why Does the Synodal Church Revere St. John Henry Newman?On July 31st, Vatican News reported that St. John Henry Newman will become the newest Doctor of the Church. Why would the current hierarchy go for this? Well, it seems for them that the true appeal of Newman appears to reside in the way in which his works can be manipulatively interpreted in support of the Synodal Church. Let's rescue Newman from their agendas!On July 31st, Vatican News reported that St. John Henry Newman will become the newest Doctor of the Church:“Pope Leo XIV has ‘confirmed the affirmative opinion of the...

Newman on Capital Punishment: Consistency is Key in Catholic Doctrine - by Edward FeserIt was announced last week that Pope Leo XIV will be declaring St. John Henry Newman to be a Doctor of the Church. As the Catholic Encyclopedia notes, the Church proclaims someone to be a Doctor on account of “eminent learning” and “a high degree of sanctity.” This combination makes a Doctor an exemplary guide to matters of faith and morals. To be sure, the Doctors are not infallible. Their authority is not as great as that of scripture, the consensus of the Church Fathers, or the...

[Catholic Caucus] They Lied to You About Rerum NovarumThe foundational document of modern Catholic Social Teaching calls private property sacred and condemns instigating class envy in the poor.In his first address to the College of Cardinals, Leo XIV explained his choice of name was inspired by “Pope Leo XIII [who] in his historic Encyclical Rerum Novarum addressed the social question in the context of the first great industrial revolution.” I knew of Rerum Novarum as the foundation of Catholic Social Teaching, and I had accepted the common claim that it rejects both socialism and capitalism. But there was a certain...

John Henry Newman First Tried to Disprove Catholicism; Now He’s Being Named a Doctor of the ChurchIn a dramatic twist of providence, the very work Newman undertook to defend Anglicanism ultimately led him to embrace the Catholic Church he had long opposed.For much of his life, John Henry Newman was a towering figure in the Church of England. A brilliant theologian, preacher, and professor at Oxford, he was widely respected for his intellect and piety. As a longtime Anglican priest, Newman devoted himself to defending the Church of England against both secularism and the perceived errors of Catholicism. Yet, in...

[Catholic Caucus] The Purging of Faithful Catholics ContinuesLast month, Detroit Archbishop Edward Weisenburger severely restricted the celebration of the traditional Latin Mass in his archdiocese—an archdiocese that has had some of the most flourishing Latin Mass communities in the country, if not the world. Not content, however, with one act of pettiness, this week Archbishop Weisenburger decided to double down on his attack on faithful Catholics, expanding beyond the typical traditionalist punching bags to target established and well-respected seminary professors. On Wednesday night, news broke that Dr. Ralph Martin and Dr. Eduardo Echeverria had been removed from their positions as...

[Catholic Caucus] What If “Synodality” Means Nothing?There’s good news and there’s bad news. The problem is that the good news isn’t very good, and we don’t know (yet?) how bad the bad news can be. Yes, you guessed it: I’m talking about “synodality.” The good news is that “synodality” might actually be meaningless. (That raises some questions about why, then, we are spending so much time, energy, and money on the topic; but let’s try to manage one conundrum at a time.) The bad news is that, precisely because “synodality” is a meaningless term (and “meaningless” will be defined below,...

Today's video is a reflection on the 40th anniversary of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn’s chilling speech, "Men Have Forgotten God." There are many sobering parallels between the collapse of spiritual life in Soviet Russia and today’s cultural crisis in America like how the rise of materialism, scientific atheism and nihilistic worldviews are contributing to a decline in faith especially among Gen Z. If you've ever wondered why belief in God seems to be fading, and what can be done about it, this is a conversation you can’t afford to miss... As a special gift Dr. Meyer would like you to download his...

New secular study finds Vatican II triggered a decline in Catholic Mass attendance worldwideA newly published secular study found that Vatican II “triggered a decline” in worldwide Catholic Mass attendance relative to religious service attendance of other religions, including Protestant Christianity.By examining the religious service attendance rates for 66 countries as far back as 1920, the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) found that “compared to other countries, Catholic countries experienced a steady decline in the monthly adult religious service attendance rate starting immediately after Vatican II” in 1965, the final year of the council.Catholic countries were defined as those...

[Catholic Caucus] Modernism is a SinAbove: Church of the Most Holy Trinity in Liesing, Austria.On his first day in office, in addition to signing a flurry of executive orders, President Joe Biden led a virtual swearing-in ceremony for “Day One Presidential Appointees,” that is, administrative staff for the White House and various governmental agencies.A few minutes into his remarks, Biden told his new subordinates that “we owe your families, we owe your families, because those of you working in the White House, [and] those who will be working in other agencies, you’re gonna work like the devil [an interesting choice...

Pope Leo XIV and the Cruel Reality of the Vatican II RevolutionAs grateful as we may be to Leo XIV for this pious exhortation, we are left to wonder what the new pontiff intends to do to address one of the most wicked cruelties in the world today: the Vatican’s continued attacks on the unadulterated Catholic Faith and its persecution of those souls who want nothing more than to practice our religion as faithfully as possible.In his July 27th Angelus address, Pope Leo XIV spoke of our need to avoid cruelty to others if we want to be able call...

[Catholic Caucus] Leo XIV Approves Latin Mass in Texas DioceseFrom the feast of the Apparition of St. Michael (pre-55), when Pope Leo XIV was elected, the worldwide traditionalist community has looked to him and wondered what he will do with the ancient Roman Rite, the apostolic liturgy of the city of Rome. Notably, Pope Leo XIV chants and celebrates his own Mass (both things Pope Francis never or rarely did) and the Holy Father’s Latin is superb. Rumours circulated that Cardinal Prevost himself celebrated the Latin Mass, but I have not seen these rumours ever confirmed (please send me a...

Welcome to 1844 made simple. When you read the bible one point comes through, there is a judgment or judgments. We find it over and over again in scripture. Just look at these few texts and you tell me whether or not they talk about some kind of judgment, end time judgment or judgments, a judgment by works as well. 2nd corinthians 5 10: for we must all appear before the judgment seat of christ that everyone may receive the things done in the body according to what he has done whether it good or bad. Revelation 22 12: and...

[Catholic Caucus] Detroit archbishop fires renowned conservative professors from Sacred Heart Seminary'The firing of Ralph Martin and Eduardo Echeverria from Sacred Heart Seminary … is an act of a thin-skinned, petty tyrant,' said Eric Sammons, editor-in-chief of Crisis Magazine.Current and former colleagues and students of conservative Professors Ralph Martin and Eduardo Echeverria were shocked and dismayed to learn on Thursday of their firing from Sacred Heart Seminary (SHS) by Detroit’s progressive new prelate, Archbishop Edward Weisenburger.Last month, Weisenburger came under fire for eliminating nearly all public celebrations of the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) and prohibiting ad orientem in the Novus...

…Those who take the side of Israel at times will go to the extreme of almost idolizing Israel, where Israel can do no wrong, and praising every move that Israel makes without considering the fact that Israel is not a country run by God-fearing people, nor is it a country that looks to God for direction. On the other side, there are those in the Church who go to the other extreme and blame Israel for every bad thing happening in the world today. Many of these people are calling to boycott Israel in all areas including cutting relations with...

Rev. Mark Sandlin is the senior impastor at Presbyterian Church of the Covenant, a small PCUSA congregation in Greensboro, NC. The church describes itself as “an inclusive community, experiencing, exploring, appreciating, celebrating the spiritual foundation of existence” while also “affirm(ing) the presence of that which has been traditionally called God in human life.” Sandlin received his M. Div. from Wake Forest University’s School of Divinity, is the co-founder of The Christian Left, and writes at The God Article. Most of his theological beliefs were whispered to him by the devil himself, however, as he is easily the most progressive PCUSA...

[Catholic / Anglican Caucus] The Jargon-Filled Synodal TrajectoryWhen Pope Leo XIV spoke from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica on the day of his election he said: “we want to be a synodal Church.” The significance of this depends, of course, on how Pope Leo understands synodality. The notion of a Church that is One, Holy, Catholic, Apostolic – and now Synodal – isn’t clear to most, because synodality is a largely unknown concept. Its meaning will emerge as Pope Leo guides the “synodal path” with the help of the General Secretariat of the Synod. That secretariat’s latest contribution to...

It’s no secret that over the past 60 years U.S. Christian apologists have witnessed a dramatic cultural sea change. In the past, we could assume two things: the general belief in reasonable objective truths, and a baseline cultural familiarity with what’s in the Bible. All that shifted with the appearance of Gen Z, which Barna Group has dubbed “the first truly ‘post-Christian’ generation.” - Shifts in the Apologetics Landscape: 1. Students are asking questions about God at a younger age than before. 2. Nonbelievers now have equal access to young people. 3. There has been a move from objective to...