Free Republic

Vatican should not honor Shanghai's fake bishopThere are those who courageously put their faith and values first, and do not sell their souls to a brutal, atheist regime Earlier this week, the Vatican hosted a prominent mouthpiece for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)’s propaganda in the heart of Rome.Beijing-appointed Bishop Joseph Shen Bin of Shanghai, who was unilaterally installed a year ago by Chinese authorities without the pope’s approval at the time, in flagrant breach of the Vatican-China agreement on the appointment of bishops, was given a platform at a Vatican conference alongside Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin.Bishop Shen...

Archbishop Aguer: Pope Francis’ Vatican has ‘adopted the ideology of the French Revolution’he Holy See – to the envy of universal Freemasonry – has adopted the ideology of the French Revolution: 'Liberté, egalité, fraternité.' Where has it filed away Jesus’ command to Peter and the Eleven to make all peoples His disciples?“Pope summons 30 Nobel Prize winners to reflect on fraternity,” reads a La Prensa headline of a story from the outlet EFE. It refers to the recent “World Meeting on Human Fraternity,” whose theme was “Be Human.” The objective was “to elaborate a new worldwide Pact of Fraternity and...

Three Catholic bishops and a nun walk into the White House. Here’s why it’s no joke. (RNS) — Three Catholic bishops and a nun walked into a climate policy meeting at the White House. This isn’t the beginning of a joke. Bishop Edward Weisenburger of Tucson, Arizona, Bishop Joseph Tyson of Yakima, Washington, and St. Joseph Sister Carol Zinn, executive director of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, and I really did go to the White House on Nov. 17, with support from communications specialist Lonnie Ellis. We went to discuss Pope Francis’ latest apostolic exhortation on climate, “Laudate Deum.”...

[Catholic Caucus] Three Broken Canons in the New CodeJust as in the days of Christ, it was the scribes and Pharisees (obsessed with the law instead of the Gospel) who crucified Christ. So also today, canon lawyers now crucify the Catholic Church by legalism. It’s not that Canon Law is the problem. Canon Law was originally set up to be at the service of the Gospel, not a replacement of it. But it is being manipulated by corrupt bishops to promote an anti-Gospel in many American dioceses. We will look at three of the worst abuses of the new Code...

[Catholic Caucus] Why doesn’t Pope Francis Celebrate Mass? Part IIForgive me for returning to a question that I have asked once before—and only a few weeks ago, at that. But frankly I am dumbfounded, and wonder why the same question is not on the lips of all believing Catholics.Why has Pope Francis not celebrated Mass in public for well over a year? He will frequently “preside” at a Mass—which means he sits enthroned at the side of the altar in liturgical vestments, often delivering the homily—but he has not been the principal celebrant since sometime in mid-2022.When I asked this...

7 reasons why Christians have no reason to worry about the climateGod, in His infinite wisdom and mercy, has arranged the earth, together with its climate, to be stable, self-correcting, and able to handle billions of people. Furthermore, God remains active in the 'management' of the earth and its climate for the benefit of its inhabitants.The discussion on climate has been primarily from a fact-based or scientific perspective. But what about a theological perspective? Might God actually have something to say about the climate He made? Hubris is certainly a danger in trying to determine God’s opinion, but an attempt...

[Catholic Caucus] Cardinal Burke warns Synod threatens to spread ‘devastation’ of German Church to ‘universal Church’ Speaking at the Thomas Aquinas College commencement, His Eminence told the graduates that the world is facing troubled times and 'What is more, the rebellion and revolution is sustained by some from within the Church, even by some who are called and ordained to shepherd the flock.' On Sunday, the Feast of Pentecost, U.S. Cardinal Raymond Burke warned graduates of Thomas Aquinas College about the potential “devastating” impact the upcoming October meeting of the Synod of Bishops may have on “the universal Church.” “We...

[Catholic Caucus] Catholic priest: Cardinal Fernández wants to ‘cancel’ Marian apparitions and the supernatural‘Cardinal Fernández pretends to be faithful in order to undermine the faith,’ most recently by denying the ‘supernatural character’ of Marian apparitions that contradict Pope Francis’ ‘synodal’ agenda, Father Joachim Heimerl writes.The “Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith” published a new document shortly before Pentecost. It is the latest during the tenure of the controversial Cardinal Prefect Víctor Manuel Fernández and is likely to cause as much uproar among Catholics around the world as the previous ones. Let me say it in advance: Gradually, it would...

False Ecumenism Operates as a Blasphemous Anti-Pentecost in the Catholic ChurchIn his The Liturgical Year, Dom Guéranger described the great transformation that took place on the first Pentecost:“These hundred and twenty disciples need but to speak of the Son of God, made Man, and our Redeemer; of the Holy Ghost, who renews our souls; of the heavenly Father, who loves and adopts us as His children: their word will find thousands to believe and welcome it. Those that receive it shall be called the Catholic Church, that is, universal, existing in all places and times. Jesus had said: ‘Go, teach...

[Catholic Caucus] The Handbook for Confused CatholicsEditor’s note: adults can sign up for the summer adult Credo Catechism course at the Avila Institute. The high school program starts again next spring semester. -TSFCatholics of a certain age know things about their religion that many — if not most — Catholics today have never been taught. We now have a resource, however, that points today’s Catholics toward a more rich and fulfilling experience of their religion.This is Bishop Athanasius Schneider latest book, Credo: Compendium of the Catholic Faith.Since it’s release late last year, most reviews that I have read regard the...

Pope Francis: ‘Climate change’ is now ‘a road to death’The Pontiff continued to emphasize his belief in 'global warming' during a CBS interview.Pope Francis has stated that the world is at “a point of no return” regarding climate change and is now on “a road to death.”“Unfortunately, we have gotten to a point of no return,” Pope Francis told CBS’ Norah O’Donnell when asked for his concerns about “climate change.”“It’s sad, but that’s what it is,” Francis said during an interview aired in full May 20. “Global warming is a serious problem. Climate change at this moment is a road...

[Catholic Caucus] German priests do not support Synodal Way, new study findsPriests in Germany are not supportive of the controversial German Synodal Way, according to a new study commissioned by the German Bishops’ Conference.The study, officially titled “Who Becomes a Priest?”, found that priests are “alienated from the concerns of Church reform,” lead author Matthias Sellmann said on May 17.“Priests are also clearly not supporters of the German Synodal Way,” Sellmann emphasized. According to a statement by the bishops’ conference, the study aimed to investigate “the socio-religious background and motivations of newly ordained priests in order to make strategic personnel...

[Catholic/Orthodox Caucus] Pope Francis gives prisoners silent blessing ‘so everyone receives it from God in the way they believe’‘All religions, all cultures, look at the one God in different ways,’ the pontiff told a group of prisoners in Verona from various religions.“God is one: our cultures have taught us to call him by one name, by another, and to find him in different ways, but he is the same father of all of us,” Pope Francis said. “He is one.” “And all religions, all cultures, look at the one God in different ways.”“Please do not forget, please pray for me...

Vatican makes fresh overture to China, reaffirms that Catholic Church is no threat to sovereigntyThe Vatican has made another big overture to ChinaROME -- The Vatican made another big overture to China on Tuesday, reaffirming the Catholic Church poses no threat to Beijing's sovereignty and admitting that Western missionaries had made “errors” in past centuries in their zeal to convert the Chinese faithful.The Vatican hosted the head of China's bishops conference for an unprecedented, high-level commemoration of a landmark 1924 meeting in Shanghai that affirmed the need for foreign missionaries in China to give way to local church leaders.The presence...

[Catholic Caucus] Pope Francis’ 60 Minutes interview is a classic exercise in Modernist deceptionIn issuing Fiducia Supplicans, Pope Francis has intentionally confused the faithful by attempting to draw a distinction between blessing an ‘official’ homosexual union and a homosexual couple.VATICAN CITY (LifeSiteNews) — Pope Francis’ recent interview on CBS’ 60 Minutes is notable for a variety of statements made by the Pontiff, among the most prominent being his seemingly contradictory and misleading claims on Fiducia Supplicans.In a now fully released CBS 60 Minutes interview, conducted by Norah O’Donnell, Pope Francis was questioned once more on the December 2023 text Fiducia...

[Catholic Caucus] Pope Francis tells CBS’ ‘60 Minutes’ that U.S. conservative Catholics have ‘suicidal attitude’Pope Francis blasted critics of his 11-year pontificate Sunday, saying conservative Catholics manifest “a suicidal attitude.”“We could not divide the world into conservatives or non-conservatives and those are ideological divisions that are no good at all,” he added.... In August 2023, during a meeting with Jesuits in Lisbon, Portugal, Francis said a “reactionary attitude” among some American Catholics was “useless,” saying they “need to understand that there is an appropriate evolution in the understanding of matters of faith and morals.” Critics would say the Argentinian-born pontiff,...

[Catholic Caucus] Catholic diocesan hermit approved by Kentucky bishop comes out as transgenderDiocesan hermits by nature don’t get much attention. A small subset of religious persons, hermits mostly spend their lives engaged in quiet prayer.Brother Christian Matson, a Catholic diocesan hermit in Kentucky, has spent years doing just that. His monk’s habit might catch his neighbors’ eye, but he is known in the town where he lives primarily through his work with the local theater.But recently Matson decided that his faith compels him to make a little more noise than usual.“This Sunday, Pentecost 2024, I’m planning to come out publicly...

[Catholic Caucus] Bishop Strickland: Catholics will never attain true unity if it’s not grounded in ChristOn this week's two-part episode of The Bishop Strickland Show, Bishop Joseph Strickland discusses abiding in God's love, his pastoral letter on obedience, and unity in Christ. Bishop Joseph Strickland returns for this week’s episode of The Bishop Strickland Show, in which he discusses abiding in God’s love, respect for authority, and unity in Christ.Strickland begins the first part of the show with a commentary on part of the Last Supper Discourse from St. John’s Gospel. The bishop says Christ’s statement that if we keep...

[Catholic Caucus] Cardinal Fernández: With new norms it will be easier to decide on MedjugorjeThe Prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith responds to journalists about the "Medjugorje case" during the press conference presenting the new norms for discerning presumed supernatural phenomena."Regarding Medjugorje, no conclusion has been reached yet, but with these guidelines, we believe it will be easier to proceed and reach a conclusion," said Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, during the press conference presenting the new norms for discerning presumed supernatural phenomena. Responding to a journalist's...

[Catholic Caucus] Pope Francis says ‘conservative’ bishops have ‘suicidal attitude’ during 60 Minutes interviewCertain of the U.S. episcopate have been notable in defending elements of Catholic teaching, often in seeming juxtaposition to Francis’ own stance – including such men as Bishop Joseph Strickland and Cardinal Raymond Burke.Pope Francis with Norah O'Donnell.Pope Francis has described “conservative” bishops as having a “suicidal attitude” due to being closed “inside a dogmatic box.”“A Conservative is one who clings to something and does not want to see beyond that,” Francis said in response to a question about “conservative bishops in the United States” the CBS...