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Pope Francis to COP28: Environmental destruction is ‘an offense against God’Pope Francis called the destruction of the environment “an offense against God” in a message given to the participants in the U.N. climate summit on Saturday.The keynote address that the pope had intended to give in person at the COP28 conference was distributed to the attendees in Dubai, where Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin read a shortened version of the pope’s speech to the assembly on Dec. 2.Pope Francis, who turns 87 in two weeks, canceled his scheduled trip to the United Arab Emirates days before the climate...

[Catholic Caucus] Francis to International Theological Commission: The Church needs to be "demasculinized", be more "feminine".[The Church's problem is apparently being too masculine.]Impromptu words of the Holy FatherThank you for this visit. And thank you for your work. There is a good address here with theological matters, but because of my health it is better not to read it. I will hand it out to you.Thank you for what you do. Theology, theological reflection, is very important. But there is something about you that I do not like; pardon my sincerity. One, two, three, four women: poor women! They are...

[Catholic Caucus] Pope Francis as Public Heretic: The Evidence Leaves No DoubtEditorial Note: Rorate Caeli’s position is that Francis is the pope and that sedevacantism or any of its variants is mistaken. For the sake of enriching the public debate, we publish this study by frequent contributor Dr John Lamont concerning heresies in documents signed by Pope Francis (PDF here for those who prefer that format). While Dr. Lamont agrees that Francis is the pope, he considers that the questions that the pope's heretical statements raise need to be addressed in order to prepare theologians and prelates for what is...

[Catholic Caucus] Is Francis a Pope or a Pretender?The arguments in his defense don’t stand the test of timeIn the wake of Bishop Joseph Strickland’s removal by Francis, the question of Francis’ own status has resurfaced. Is he really the pope? Or is he an imposter or an anti-pope or something worse?When the question was initially raised years ago, quite a few Catholic theologians and commentators came to Francis’ defense. They quoted scripture, canon law, and past theologians, and they seemed quite confident that they were right and that critics of Francis didn’t know what they were talking about.But, as...

Welcome to Muck IslandThe sacking of Bishop Strickland brings to mind the sad plot of Brian Moore’s novella "Catholics".I watched the EWTN interview of Bishop Strickland last night and had nightmares while I slept. The bishop, articulate and, to my mind, innocent of all irony, recounted what had happened in his process of deposition and professed his recognition of the pope’s authority and his obedience to his removal from office. The sincerity of the man’s confusion about why he was singled out was piercing. Many sources have hinted at “administrative” reasons without any real evidence. The fact that the protocol...

Liz Yore tells Steve Bannon: Pope Francis’ goal is ‘to destroy the Catholic Church’Yore said that Pope Francis is persecuting traditional, conservative Catholics and ‘wants to create a New World Order church’ and a ‘one-world religion’ through the Synod on Synodality.Attorney Liz Yore declared on Saturday that Pope Francis is trying to “destroy the Catholic Church,” citing the sacking of Bishop Joseph Strickland, the targeting of traditional Catholics, and the betrayal of Chinese Catholics as steps towards this goal.On Steve Bannon’s show War Room, Yore discussed the Vatican’s persecution of Catholics in both the U.S., where traditional Catholics in particular...

Javier Milei Elected President of Argentina in a Repudiation of Francis and Peronism by the People of ArgentinaJavier Milei, a Catholic libertarian and outspoken critic of Pope Francis, has been elected President of Argentina over a Peronist candidate in a stunning, double-digit upset win. Milei stated that Pope Francis “has an affinity for murderous communists” and accused him of violating the Ten Commandments. Some Westerners thought these comments might hurt Milei in Argentina, Francis's home country. instead, Milei's aggressive criticisms of Pope Francis carried him to an upset victory.Since Francis became Pope a decade ago, Argentina has seen record disaffiliation...

[Catholic Caucus] Pope Francis’ removal of Bishop Strickland reveals a Church in serious crisisJoin Jack Maxey, Father Charles Murr, John-Henry Westen, and Liz Yore on this special episode of Faith & Reason coming from Baltimore. Jack Maxey, Father Charles Murr, John-Henry Westen and Liz Yore return for this week’s episode of Faith & Reason, where they discuss Bishop Joseph Strickland’s dismissal, the death of Indi Gregory, the Vatican’s China deal, and more. Last weekend, Pope Francis deposed Bishop Joseph Strickland as bishop of Tyler, Texas, a post he held for 11 years. While Strickland told Westen hours after his removal...

[Catholic Caucus] EXCLUSIVE: Cdl. Müller says Synod was ‘steered’ to push acceptance of LGBT issues, female deacons'So, these topics that were highlighted at the German synod also came up again and again in international preliminary discussions,' Cardinal Müller said.Editor’s note: LifeSiteNews journalists Maike Hickson and Andreas Wailzer conducted the interview with Cardinal Gerhard Müller in German and translated his words into English. (LifeSiteNews) — Cardinal Gerhard Müller has said that it seemed like the Synod on Synodality was designed by some of its promotors to go in a “certain direction,” namely, the acceptance of the female diaconate and LGBT issues....

[Catholic Caucus] Archbishop Viganò: Bergoglio’s continual actions against the faith reveal ‘defect of consent’ to papal officeArchbishop Carlo Maria Viganò's latest response to Bishop Athanasius Schneider.Editor’s note: The following text is taken from a post to Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò’s account on X (formerly Twitter).(LifeSiteNews) – In theory, a Pontiff’s governing action remains valid and effective even where a single act may be questionable; but in practice, an unbroken and consistent series of acts blatantly contrary to the purpose for which the Papacy exists demonstrates – not the Pope’s human fallibility in governing decisions (in which he is not infallibly...

An interview with John Gravino, author of "Confronting the Pope of Suspicion"Members and friends of the Roman Catholic Church around the world have watched with alarm as Pope Francis has used the recent Vatican “Synod” to promote radical changes in Catholic teaching and practice. For instance, “transgender” people and those in same-sex “marriages” are now eligible to serve as godparents at baptism; that is, as the sponsors and models of Christian living to new Christians. The Stream‘s John Zmirak interviewed an expert on Pope Francis, Catholic philosopher John Gravino, to find out what’s going on. Could you briefly explain what...

[Catholic Caucus] PERSPECTIVES FROM ROME: Understanding the Crisis and Where We Go from HereCatholic Identity Conference, Pittsburgh, September 30, 2023 IntroductionThanks largely to Covid, it’s been 6 years since I’ve had the honor of speaking at the CIC and as we know, much has changed since then.Except one thing: Pope Francis is still waging his revolution, and with more gusto than ever, resulting in ever deepening divisions, persecution from within and from the top, a pervading atmosphere of fear, the fostering of mediocrity and hypocrisy, and the looming threat of formal schism. “How long Lord?” has become the ever increasing...

[Catholic Caucus] Edward Pentin Exposes the Synod on SynodalityEdward Pentin is one of the most important Vatican journalists of the Francis era. He is the author of the book The Rigging of a (2014) Vatican Synod?: An Investigation of Alleged Manipulation at the Extraordinary Synod on the Family. That book exposed the underhanded efforts to sideline traditionalists and conservatives at the 2014 Synod on the Family. Last week, in his speech to the Arlington Latin Mass Society, Mr. Pentin gave an impeccably-sourced, inside account of the manipulations in the first session of the Synod on Synodality last month. His speech...

[Catholic Caucus] Pope Francis did all the heavy lifting during the Synod by holding his own 'Uber-Synod'One of the main events during the Synod on Synodality occurred outside of its official proceedings: Pope Francis conducted his own synodal gatherings – an ‘uber synod’ – to push his personal agenda, which undermines the Deposit of the Faith. Pope Francis held a personal meeting with Whoopi Goldberg, who praised the Pontiff for his personal support of the LGBT agenda. Pope Francis also took special time to praise the notorious LGBT activist Sister Jeannine Gramick, who was condemned for her actions by the...

[Catholic Caucus] Archbishop Aguer of Argentina expresses his ‘solidarity’ with Bishop Strickland after removalIn a Tuesday morning statement, Archbishop Emeritus Hector Aguer called Bishop Strickland's deposition 'another 'feat' of the absolute papal monarchy.'Argentina’s Archbishop Hector Aguer has spoken out in support of Bishop Joseph Strickland of Tyler, Texas, after his removal by Pope Francis on November 11.In a Tuesday morning statement, the archbishop emeritus of La Plata called Strickland’s deposition “another ‘feat’ of the absolute papal monarchy.”“I wish to express my solidarity with Bishop Strickland, to whom I promise my poor prayers for his future status as a ‘canceled’ bishop...

[Catholic Caucus] Bishop Strickland: I was removed because forces in the Church want to change the teaching of JesusBishop Joseph Strickland has said that he believes he was removed because he “threatened some of the powers that be with the truth of the gospel.” In an exclusive interview with LifeSiteNews Editor-in-Chief John-Henry Westen on November 11, just hours after his removal, Strickland said that “if you want it [the truth of the gospel] to change, then I’m a problem.” When Strickland was asked by Westen why he was removed from his position, he said: “The only answer I have to...

[Catholic Caucus] Ousted Bishop Strickland Calls for Prayers for Pope, Warns of Forces Corrupting ChurchAfter his removal as bishop of the Diocese of Tyler, Texas, Bishop Joseph Strickland warned against “dark forces” operating within the Catholic Church and called on Catholics to pray for Pope Francis.The Vatican Press Office and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) announced simultaneously on Saturday, November 11 that Pope Francis had “relieved the Most Reverend Joseph E. Strickland from the pastoral governance of the Diocese of Tyler.” Only eight hours later, Strickland gave a long interview in which he revealed that he was...

[Catholic Caucus] STRICKLAND REMOVED - Francis Peron attacks again: to my enemies not even JusticeRemoval of bishop of Tyler, U.S.A., and appointment of apostolic administratorThe Holy Father has removed Bishop Joseph E. Strickland from the pastoral care of the diocese of Tyler, United States of America, and has appointed Bishop Joe Vásquez of Austin as apostolic administrator of the same diocese, rendering it sede vacante. [source] If only Bishop Strickland had been a member of Uncle Ted McCarrick's clique of abusers of minors, or used bodily fluids in chalices (Rupnik) after raping sisters, he might have been named a Cardinal...

[Catholic Caucus] Full text of Bishop Strickland’s “letter from a friend”… I hope he reads it again todayThe following text was read out by Bishop Strickland two weeks ago at the beginning of his speech at the Rome Life Forum. He called it a “letter from a deeply Catholic friend” and prefaced it by saying it applied not only to him, but to all the Bishops. I hope he reads it again today, and I hope all the Bishops and Cardinals of the world do so as well. I hope they look in the mirror and ask themselves, why are...

Pope’s removal of Bishop Strickland draws huge Catholic outrage, global media coverage'His persecution will only open the door for countless others to rise up.'TYLER, Texas (LifeSiteNews) –– The morning’s news of Pope Francis removing the bishop of Tyler – Bishop Joseph Strickland – has made international waves and caused instant outrage amongst Catholics, in a fallout, the scale of which, has likely taken even the Vatican by surprise. In the Holy See Press Office’s daily bulletin on November 11, the Vatican announced that Pope Francis had “relieved” Bishop Joseph Strickland of the governance of his Diocese of Tyler. READ: Pope...