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From Martini To Bergoglio. Toward a Vatican Council III The synod of last October was supposed to be about young people. And instead in concluding it, Pope Francis said that “its first fruit” was “synodality.”In fact, the most surprising paragraphs of the final document - and also the most contested, with dozens of votes against - were precisely the ones on the “synodal form of the Church.”Surprising because synodality was practically never talked about, neither in the preparatory phase of the synod, nor in the assembly, nor in the working groups. Only to see it appear in the final document,...

Red Demidouble WHILE THE CONCOURSE OF PILGRIMS to the sepulchre of the Bishop of Tours induced his third successor Perpetuus to raise over his precious remains the basilicas, in which so many prodigies were to be wrought all through the middle ages, Rome herself was dedicating to St. Martin one of her noblest churches, uniting with him as joint titular her own illustrious Pontiff and Confessor Sylvester. Adorned with this twofold glory, St. Martin-on-the-hill worthily inaugurated in the eternal City the cultus of Confessors side by side with that of the Martyrs. But another honor awaited the venerable sanctuary....

NOVENA IN HONOR OF THE PRESENTATION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY (Beginning November 12)(i. 300 Days each day. ii. Plenary on the Feast or during the Octave. I, II, IV.) (See Instructions, p. 1., 1910 Raccolta.) 1st, 4th, and 7th Days—November 12, 15, and 18 Mary, Mother of GOD, tradition tells us that when you were three years of age, your parents, Joachim and Anne, took you to the Temple in Jerusalem to fulfill their vow. The holy couple offered you to GOD by the ministry of the priest in charge, who invoked the blessing of GOD upon you...

November 12, 2018 Memorial of Saint Josaphat, Bishop and Martyr Reading 1 Ti 1:1-9 Paul, a slave of God and Apostle of Jesus Christfor the sake of the faith of God's chosen onesand the recognition of religious truth,in the hope of eternal life that God, who does not lie, promised before time began,who indeed at the proper time revealed his wordin the proclamation with which I was entrustedby the command of God our savior,to Titus, my true child in our common faith:grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our savior. For this reason I left you...

Cardinal Zen flew to Rome and handed Pope Francis letter detailing situation faced by underground Catholics in ChinaCardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun flew to Rome and handed a seven-page letter to Pope Francis appealing for him to pay attention to the crisis facing the underground church in China. The Hong Kong emeritus bishop on Nov. 8 told ucanews.com that underground clerics have cried to him since the Vatican-China deal on the appointment of bishops. "They said officials have forced them to become open, to join the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association and to obtain a priest's certificate with the reason that the...

Francis betrays Chinese CatholicsIt's with a very heavy heart that I write this article. However, after much prayer, I, in good conscience, can no longer keep silent. Since the Sept. 22 provisional agreement between the Holy See and the People's Republic of China, the crackdown of the underground Church has quickly escalated: * Throughout the country, underground priests are being coerced into joining the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association (CCPA). Some have even received threats of imprisonment. Although this is nothing new, what’s different now is that Chinese Authorities are using the Holy Father's words against us. They're telling priests: "Your...

Yesterday, I reported on concerns that the ongoing sex abuse crisis will affect Catholic giving. It’s already happening in Buffalo, according to CNN: In the deeply Catholic Rust Belt community of Buffalo, New York, some parishioners are using the Sunday collection basket to ask embattled Bishop Richard Malone to resign. Instead of giving money, some faithful are leaving handwritten messages giving the church an ultimatum.“We will resume our weekly offering when the Bishop resigns or is removed,” read one handwritten note that was placed in a Sunday collection basket and shared with CNN.The source who provided the notes to CNN...

My fellow Catholic Freepers will enjoy this. After mass this morning our cantor sung the song identified with each branch of the service and veterans from that branch were asked to stand. There was strong sustained cheering at each one. We closed with a singing of America The Beautiful and it brought a tear to my eye. We are new in this parish and never expected such warm friendship.

Breaking law once hardly justifies breaking it twice November 10, 2018 If Pope Francis wants to change the canon law forbidding ecclesiastical funeral rites for “manifest sinners who cannot be granted ecclesiastical funerals without scandal” (1983 CIC 1184 § 1 n. 1) he can do so. Till then Church law forbidding such funerals, a law that dates back many centuries, remains in effect, and its apparent gross violation last week by clergy of the Archdiocese of Boston, who (seemingly with approval from the chancery), granted notorious mob murderer James “Whitey” Bulger a Catholic funeral Mass, hardly justifies granting Church funerals to...

Franciscan Media Image: Statue of Saint Martin of Tours on the dome of the Basilica of Saint Martin of Tours | photo by ZohaStel Saint Martin of Tours Saint of the Day for November 11 (c. 316 – November 8, 397)  Saint Martin of Tours’ Story A conscientious objector who wanted to be a monk; a monk who was maneuvered into being a bishop; a bishop who fought paganism as well as pleaded for mercy to heretics—such was Martin of Tours, one of the most popular of saints and one of the first not to be a martyr.Born of...

The Paradox of Poverty - A Homily for the 32nd Sunday of the Year Msgr. Charles Pope • November 10, 2018 • Elijah and the Widow of Zarephath, Bernardo Strozzi (1630s)The first reading in today’s Mass (1 Kings 17:10-16) speaks to us of the paradox of poverty: it is our poverty, our neediness, that provides a doorway for God to bless us with true riches. Our emptiness provides room for God to go to work.In our worldly riches, we feel we have “too much to lose”; the Gospel just seems too demanding. In our poverty, emptiness, and detachment from...

White Double THREE THOUSAND SIX HUNDRED AND SIXTY CHURCHES dedicated to St. Martin in France alone, and well nigh as many in the rest of the world, bear witness to the immense popularity of the great thaumaturgus. In the country, on the mountains, and in the depth of forests, trees, rocks, and fountains, objects of superstitious worship to our pagan ancestors, received, and in many places still retain, the name of him who snatched them from the dominion of the powers of darkness to restore them to the true God. For the vanquished idols, Roman, Celtic or German, Christ...

WEIRTON, West Virginia, November 8, 2018 (LifeSiteNews) – A bishop famous for his defence of perennial Catholic teaching urged faithful Catholics to be “willing to die” for their faith rather than compromise in the face of new “paradigm” shifts and other “ruptures” being forced upon the Church from the top down. Bishop Athanasius Schneider, the auxiliary bishop of Astana, Kazakhstan, gave a prerecorded video presentation about the faith for the 2018 Catholic Identity Conference in Weirton, WV, last week because he could not attend himself. Although the lecture consisted mainly of salient passages from other Catholic apologists, Schneider introduced them...

A long-serving MP and a former Member of the European Parliament are among names who have condemned the agreementA group of English Catholics, including a long-serving MP, have signed a joint letter expressing “profound dismay” at the Vatican’s provisional agreement with Beijing. Conservative MP Sir David Amess joined Irish former MEP Kathy Sinnott and Professor David Paton in criticising the Vatican for allowing the atheist Chinese government to have a role in choosing bishops at a time of increasing oppression. “The Chinese authorities have also continued to harass, detain, or hold indefinitely and incommunicado certain leading Catholic clergy, including Bishops...

HONG KONG (CNA) — The recent agreement between the Vatican and China is a step toward the “annihilation” of the Catholic Church in China, Joseph Cardinal Zen, former bishop of Hong Kong, wrote in a New York Times op-ed published on Wednesday, October 24. Zen, who has been openly critical of Vatican’s approach toward China in the past, did not hold back in his assessment of Pope Francis’ new deal and in offering his views on communist governments. A September 22 agreement between the Holy See and Beijing was intended to normalize the situation of China’s Catholics. The Church in...

November 11, 2018 Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time Reading 1 1 Kgs 17:10-16 In those days, Elijah the prophet went to Zarephath.As he arrived at the entrance of the city,a widow was gathering sticks there; he called out to her,"Please bring me a small cupful of water to drink." She left to get it, and he called out after her,"Please bring along a bit of bread." She answered, "As the LORD, your God, lives,I have nothing baked; there is only a handful of flour in my jarand a little oil in my jug. Just now I was collecting a...

Cardinal Burke on Viganò testimony: God’s law is higher than the pontifical secret November 9, 2018 (LifeSiteNews) – God’s law comes before all else, Cardinal Raymond Burke said recently in regard to bombshell testimonies from Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò on mishandling of clergy sexual abuse in the Church up to and including Pope Francis. Because of this, the former U.S. papal nuncio was obligated to come forward with what he knew, the cardinal said. “The evils he had denounced are of the most serious nature,” said Cardinal Burke, and if true, then “he was obliged in conscience” to release...

Cardinal Burke on Vigano: To Ignore Him is Negligence Cardinal Burke has been quite vocal recently in defense of Archbishop Viganò.LifeSiteNews reports: “The evils he had denounced are of the most serious nature,” said Cardinal Burke, and if true, then “he was obliged in conscience” to release the information as he did.“The law of God in these matters is higher than, for example, the pontifical secret,” Burke said.And in a recent interview with The Wanderer: “We ought to take very seriously all that he has said,” Cardinal Burke stated, as Vigano has said he has evidence to back his...

FEAR, THREATS, and INTIMIDATION? The disquiet about broad hints of Internet Censorship of Catholic writers which emerged from the 'Synod' is only just dying down, and now the admirable Fr Zuhlsdorf and other usually reliable sources have reported that there are two congruous stories circulating about the kindly and paternal interest which Bergoglian Rome is taking in two particular bishops. (1) Cardinal Burke. The rumour apparently is that the Nuncio has told American Bishops not to invite Cardinal Burke to their dioceses and, if he turns up, not to attend events which he addresses. Cardinals are entitled to go...

Franciscan Media Image: The Meeting between Leo the Great (painted as a portrait of Leo X) and Attila | Raphael | photo by Art Renewal Center Saint Leo the Great Saint of the Day for November 10 (d. November 10, 461)  Saint Leo the Great’s Story With apparent strong conviction of the importance of the Bishop of Rome in the Church, and of the Church as the ongoing sign of Christ’s presence in the world, Leo the Great displayed endless dedication as pope. Elected in 440, he worked tirelessly as “Peter’s successor,” guiding his fellow bishops as “equals in...