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This letter was written and sent a few days before a diocesan conference centering on "The Legacy of St. Pope John Paul II". Dear Bishop -------- Please allowed me to ask a few questions which are urgent to me and others of the faithful. 1. The Legacy of Pope John Paul II is being replaced by a New Paradigm being taught by such highly-placed teachers at Cardinal Cupich of Chicago. They claim that previous teaching about Faith, Morals, and Sacramental practice are pastorally unhelpful. They deny that there are acts that are intrinsically wrong. They propose that God has given...

Change the Catechism. If its doctrine does not coincide with the new desired orthodoxy concerning homosexuality, it will be better to adopt the solution of Alexander the Great, who with one stroke of his sword decided to untangle the Gordian knot in his own way: by cutting it in two.In the same way, in order to accept and definitively clear the way for homo-erotic practice, it is necessary to address the fundamentals, and from there everything will be easier. Now that an attitude of laxity and acceptance of homosexuality as a natural variant of human sexuality is becoming increasingly common,...

Where Are You from? A Reflection on Recent Tensions over Immigration, Race, and Ethnicity Msgr. Charles Pope • January 14, 2018 • A priest friend of mine who immigrated to this country from Jordan back in the 1970s is often asked, “Where are you from?” He humorously answers, “I am from my mother’s womb.”True enough! There is an even more fundamental answer, rooted in Scripture, which speaks to the origin of every human person: You are from the loving will and heart of God. Before you were ever formed in your mother’s womb, God knew you and thought about...

Francis: Change the Catechism, which Pope Saint John Paul II called "a sure norm," because I prefer my own understanding Lifesite News is reporting that: "Pope Francis may have begun a new phase in his pontificate: doctrinal change, a priest and former philosophy professor has written. Italian Fr. Giovanni Scalese, the local Ordinary for Afghanistan, wrote a post titled 'Fase B' (Phase B) on his blog 'Antiquo robore,' arguing that Pope Francis laid out his new plan for doctrinal evolution in the Church in a recent speech. The October 11 speech to the Pontifical Council for the New Evangelization, in...

In my last column I discussed the Pope's astonishing declaration that capital punishment is "in itself contrary to the Gospel," uttered in the face of the Church's constant teaching, based on the Gospel itself, that capital punishment is within the legitimate authority of civil rulers and is even obligatory in cases where the protection of society necessitates its imposition. Of further concern, from the same address, is the suggestion that the Catechism promulgated by John Paul II should be "revised" to reflect Francis' view of the death penalty. According to Francis, this would not involve "a contradiction with the teaching...

Pope Francis recently stated that the death penalty is “inadmissible” and should be categorically banned. Speaking at a Vatican conference celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, he clearly emphasized that “Tradition is a living reality”.“Only a partial vision can think of ‘the deposit of faith’ as something static,” he explained. “One cannot conserve the doctrine without making it progress, nor can one bind it to a rigid and immutable reading without humiliating the Holy Spirit.”Indeed, “since the very beginning of Christianity, the faith has been expressed anew according to new cultures, and new questions, sensitivities,...

The Catechism, published 25 years ago today, is no dry-as-dust manual - as I discovered when wrestling with its contentsI have never argued more with a book than the one that sits before me now. When I open my dog-eared copy of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, I see page after page covered in pencil marks. The comments, written almost 20 years ago, read like those of a stranger: someone trying to argue his way out of becoming a Catholic.As I flick through the book, with its yellowed and broken spine, I see expressions of bafflement and even outrage....

Teachings on Human Labor from the Catechism Msgr. Charles Pope • September 4, 2016 • Today is Labor Day in the United States. With this in mind, I thought it would be good to reflect on some teachings about human labor that are given in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The text from the catechism is shown in italics, while my commentary is in blue. Human labor precedes original sin and hence is not an imposition due to sin but part of our original dignity. God places [Man] in the garden. There he lives “to till it and...

Tim Markatos/Georgetown Voice Lisa Bourne Follow Lisa Share on Facebook 820 Share on Twitter Comment on this Article 16 Share via Email Print this Page NewsCatholic Church, HomosexualityThu Jun 8, 2017 - 11:24 am EST Pro-gay Vatican consultant: Catechism teaching on homosexuality ‘needs to be updated’ Lisa Bourne Follow Lisa benedict xvi , catechism of the catholic church , catholic , homosexuality , intrinsically disordered , james martin , jesuits , john paul ii , new ways ministry , pope francis , same-sex 'marriage' June 8, 2017 (LifeSiteNews) – The Jesuit priest recently given an influential Vatican post thinks...

“The Catechism in Six Parts: The Sacrament of the Altar” Tonight we conclude our series on “The Catechism in Six Parts.” So far in the Catechism we’ve looked at the Ten Commandments, the Creed, the Lord’s Prayer, the Sacrament of Holy Baptism, and Confession. That brings us tonight to the Sacrament of the Altar--and fittingly enough, on Holy Thursday, the night in which this sacrament was instituted. Everything we want to say about the Sacrament tonight we find in the words with which Christ institutes this holy meal. These words: “Take eat; this is my body, which is given for...

“The Catechism in Six Parts: Confession” Tonight we come to the part of the Catechism that is probably the least known to us today, and that is Confession. The practice of Confession may be unfamiliar to you. Confession is unfamiliar to most Lutherans these days, even though it has been around for as long as the church has been around. It is a church practice that the church doesn’t practice much anymore. It is infrequently used. Tonight I want to dispel some myths and some fears about Confession, so that we’ll feel more comfortable about it and maybe put it...

“The Catechism in Six Parts: The Creed” The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, in a big national survey a few years ago--the Pew Survey found that 92% of Americans say they “believe in God or a universal spirit.” 92%! Well, whoop-de-do. Big deal. That doesn’t really say much. Who is this God you believe in? Allah, the false god of the Muslims? Sorry, I bear witness that there is no god called Allah, and Mohammed is his false prophet. Is this “god” you believe in some depersonalized “universal spirit” or “higher power”? That won’t do you any good,...

“The Catechism in Six Parts: The Sacrament of Holy Baptism” So far in our series on the catechism, we’ve covered the Ten Commandments, the Creed, and the Lord’s Prayer. Tonight we come to the sacraments. We begin, fittingly enough, with the sacrament with which we begin the Christian life, the Sacrament of Holy Baptism. What I want to say about Baptism I can summarize in two words: It works. It works! It is effective. It actually does something--quite a lot, really. Holy Baptism works, and it works in your life. Tonight we want to answer three questions about the Sacrament...

“The Catechism in Six Parts: The Lord’s Prayer” So far in our series on the Catechism we’ve had the Ten Commandments and the Apostles’ Creed. The Commandments show us God’s good will for our lives, but the problem is, we don’t do it as we should, and so the Commandments show us our sin and our need for a righteousness we don’t have. Then the Creed comes along and shows us the answer to our problem, in the triune God who loves us and saves us and forgives our sins. Now that we are saved and are God’s children, the...

“The Catechism in Six Parts: The Ten Commandments” Tonight we start a Lenten series on “The Catechism in Six Parts.” We’ll be following the six chief parts as Luther lays them out in the Small Catechism: The Ten Commandments, the Creed, the Lord’s Prayer, the Sacrament of Holy Baptism, Confession, and the Sacrament of the Altar. We begin tonight with the Ten Commandments. It’s fitting that today, on Ash Wednesday, we hear the Ten Commandments. For on this solemn and somber day of repentance, the Ten Commandments, God’s Law, will show us our sins and our need for God’s forgiveness,...

I am a 73-year-old Catholic – Roman Catholic – and I believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church. In some circles I am known as Don Quixote de la Santa Fe. They say I joust with windmills – but that I have won my fair share. In days of yore – as a child, teenager, and young adult – we were a Roman Catholic community. We were well schooled in traditional catechism and well formed in our traditional Roman Catholic faith. Today we are a Christian community that is further evolving into a community of the faithful; a community...

San Diego Bishop Robert McElroy celebrated Pope Francis’ call for Christians to apologize to gays and suggested the Catholic Church consider changing how it refers to same-sex attraction and homosexual acts. McElroy’s comments were published June 30 in an interview with the Jesuit magazine America. “I think [the Pope’s call for an apology] opens up a very helpful pathway to dialogue and hopefully healing,” McElroy said. “What we need to project in the life of the church is ‘You are part of us and we are part of you.’ [LGBT Catholics] are part of our families.” After the Orlando terrorist...

“Love God, Love Your Neighbor” (The Ten Commandments) “Love God, Love Your Neighbor”: Sounds pretty simple, doesn’t it? And it is. It is simple. And it is good and right and holy. This is how life is meant to work. This is how God created us to live. Love God and love your neighbor. If everybody operated like this, life would go along pretty swimmingly. If I operated like this--in every decision, in every situation, in every thought, word, and deed--being guided by these two principles, loving God and loving my neighbor--well, I suppose I’d have to get a whole...

“Loving God with Our Mouth and Ears” (The Ten Commandments) We started off this series on the Ten Commandments with, obviously, the First Commandment: “You shall have no other gods.” There is but one God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, namely, the triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. There is no other. We should fear, love, and trust in this God above all things. So this is the First--and foremost--Commandment, the one that encompasses all the commandments and runs through them all. “You shall have no other gods.” That’s what we should not do. But Moses also...

"The First Commandment: Have No Other Gods" (The Ten Commandments) "You shall have no other gods." OK, that sounds pretty simple. "Have No Other Gods"? Yeah, I can do that. After all, I don't bow down to any idols of wood or stone. I don't worship the Buddha or that crazy god of the Muslims, Allah. No, I'm a good American! You won't catch me worshiping any other gods than the good old-fashioned American God, you know, the Big Guy upstairs. So I guess I'm good to go. If the rest of these Ten Commandments are as easy as the...