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November 18, 2018 Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time Reading 1 Dn 12:1-3 In those days, I Daniel, heard this word of the Lord:"At that time there shall ariseMichael, the great prince,guardian of your people;it shall be a time unsurpassed in distresssince nations began until that time.At that time your people shall escape,everyone who is found written in the book. "Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake;some shall live forever,others shall be an everlasting horror and disgrace. "But the wise shall shine brightlylike the splendor of the firmament,and those who lead the many to...

Franciscan Media Image: Detail | Saint Elizabeth of Hungary | Series of frescoes with scenes from the life of St. Martin of tours in the Lower Church of Saint Francis of Assisi | Simone Martini Saint Elizabeth of Hungary Saint of the Day for November 17 (1207 – November 17, 1231)  Saint Elizabeth of Hungary’s Story In her short life, Elizabeth manifested such great love for the poor and suffering that she has become the patroness of Catholic charities and of the Secular Franciscan Order. The daughter of the King of Hungary, Elizabeth chose a life of penance and...

At least one priest was among those killed At least 42 people have died in an attack Thursday on the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Alindao, in the Central African Republic, according to local reports. At least one priest was among those killed in the Nov. 15 attack. Some unofficial estimates have said the death toll could reach as high as 100. Many of the people killed were refugees sheltering at the Church. The CAR has suffered violence since December 2012, when several bands of mainly Muslim rebel groups formed an alliance, taking the name Seleka, and seized power....

Washington D.C., Nov 15, 2018 / 02:44 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The U.S. bishops' conference and the Holy See face a class action lawsuit filed by six men who claim they were sexually abused by Catholic clergy during their childhoods. They are seeking financial damages as well as public contrition and reparation from the Church. The 80-page suit filed Nov. 13 claims that the Vatican and the bishops knew about - and covered up for - the “endemic, systemic, rampant, and pervasive rape and sexual abuse” of the plaintiffs and others at the hands of active members of the clergy, religious...

...Archbishop Redaelli, Bishop of Gorizia (whom we know received a degree in Canon Law at the Pontifical Gregorian University) has asserted that the [1962] Missal of John XXIII was abrogated by Paul VI (contrary to what Benedict XVI said in the motu proprio), and thus, because the juridical premises on which Summorum Pontificum is based are in error, is without efficacy in the part in which it affirms the continuing validity of the [1962] Missal and its unchanged vigor today. For this reason, the motu proprio is a “nonsense” law and the “Tridentine” liturgy was not legitimately re-established by the...

Some Good Guys, But Not Enough And one really bad one. I'm Michael Voris wrapping up our coverage of the bishops' sex abuse meeting here in Baltimore, or rather what was supposed to be a meeting about clerical sex abuse — which is mostly homosexual clergy sex abuse. But it didn't exactly turn out that way once the gay mob in Rome abruptly ordered the U.S. bishops to cancel their planned vote on trying to get to the bottom of things. After that happened, not much else did.   There were speeches and grandstanding and controlling of events by Rome's waterboy,...

Where To Now, Bishops? And Laity? #google_ads_iframe_\/339474670\/ADN_Native\/TAC_Native_1__container__ {padding: 10px 0; margin-bottom: 20px; border-top: solid 1px #000; border-bottom: solid 1px #000} #related_content ul {float: right; border: solid 1px #1b3346; width: 200px; padding: 15px; font: normal 80% sans-serif; color: #1b3346; margin-left: 8px;} #related_content > ul::before { content: "Related Articles"; font: bold 16pt sans-serif; } #related_content > ul li{ margin:0px 0px 0px 6px } From the Catholic News AgencyÂ’s report on the final day of the US Conference of Catholic BishopsÂ’ meeting this week. Here, the bishops were debating a resolution that would have put the US bishops on record urging the Vatican...

Communion of Saints United with Christ, the saints probably look upon earthly events from a more eternal perspective Msgr. Charles Pope Do the saints in heaven see and know all that we are doing? If so, do they have disappointment or sorrow when they see us sinning? — William Duncan, via email We are in the realm of speculative theology, and thus, precise answers to such questions are not possible. However, reasoning from Scripture, it does seem that the saints have some general awareness of the situation on earth and pray. Revelation 8:4 speaks of the prayers of the...

The Roots and Fruit of Ecclesial Idolatry In this present crisis in the Church, with more and more revelations of a “sodomitic filth that insinuates itself like a cancer in the ecclesiastical order” (St. Peter Damian), and the subsequent cover-ups and payoffs, the Body of Christ is pierced again with new thorns and nails, and the Mother of God is pierced again in seeing her Son’s sufferings. In bringing some good out of all the depravity, the thoughts of the hearts of many are being revealed (Lk. 2:35).The apostle Paul certainly saw the redemptive side of scandal and division: “For...

Pope Francis the Problem In the print edition of today's USA Today, online here, is a sad commentary by Melinda Henneberger, a former Vatican correspondent for the New York Times, where she announces her apostasy. Henneberger, who is known to be center-left (dissident on, for instance, Humanae Vitae, but sympathetic toward limited pro-life causes) via her many years of writings, blamed her apostasy decision on "these men" and "the men who run the church" while avoiding any blame toward the man who runs the Church. Who runs the Church?  Who is the Supreme Pontiff?  Who blocked the U.S. Conference of...

November 17, 2018 Memorial of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, Religious Reading 1 3 Jn 5-8 Beloved, you are faithful in all you do for the brothers and sisters,especially for strangers;they have testified to your love before the Church.Please help them in a way worthy of God to continue their journey.For they have set out for the sake of the Nameand are accepting nothing from the pagans.Therefore, we ought to support such persons,so that we may be co-workers in the truth. Responsorial Psalm Ps 112:1-2, 3-4, 5-6 R. Blessed the man who fears the Lord.or:R. Alleluia.Blessed the man who fears...

Franciscan Media Image: Saint Margaret of Scotland | François Augustin Caunois | photo by BastienM Saint Margaret of Scotland Saint of the Day for November 16 (1045 – November 16, 1093)  Saint Margaret of Scotland’s Story Margaret of Scotland was a truly liberated woman in the sense that she was free to be herself. For her, that meant freedom to love God and serve others.Not Scottish by birth, Margaret was the daughter of Princess Agatha of Hungary and the Anglo-Saxon Prince Edward Atheling. She spent much of her youth in the court of her great-uncle, the English king, Edward...

Asks bishops why they didn't stop disgraced archbishop McCarrickBALTIMORE (ChurchMilitant.com) - The bishop of Spokane, Washington is asking U.S. bishops gathered in Baltimore if some of them no longer believe it's wrong for adults to engage in homosexual acts. Speaking at the bishops' meeting on Tuesday, Bp. Thomas Daly put forth some possible "reasons" why bishops turned a blind eye to disgraced Abp. Theodore McCarrick's homosexual predation of seminarians and priests. "Did this come to be," asked Daly, "because we have certain bishops and priests who don't see anything wrong with consensual sex between adults?" He did posit other possible...

ROME - Plans are underway for a solemn opening in February of the sainthood cause of Father Pedro Arrupe, superior general of the Jesuits from 1965 to 1983. Jesuit Father Arturo Sosa, the current superior, informed Jesuits Nov. 14 that the cause “has been set in motion in the Vicariate of Rome, the place of his death” and that “from now on, therefore, he is considered a ‘Servant of God.’” In July, during a meeting in Spain, Sosa told Jesuits and lay collaborators that the serious work of preparation had begun. That preparation included compiling all of Arrupe’s writings and...

The silence of so many commentators dictated by knockback: The belief that the Sino-Vatican agreement would have ensured smooth waters. Persecution takes place in many regions of the country and with the endorsement of central power. Underground Catholics bitterly suspect that the Vatican has abandoned them. The "papolatry" complex: instead of attending to the truth, things are measured on the basis of whether they are "for or against Francis". The "marketolatry" complex: trade with China is worth all the silences. But, as the Pope says, religious freedom is "a fundamental human right, a bulwark against totalitarian demands".Rome (AsiaNews) - We...

'Lead us not into temptation' will become the equivalent of 'Do not abandon us to temptation' The Italian bishops approved an updated translation of Mass prayers, including a change in the translation of the Our Father, and they passed a proposal to create a national office dedicated to serving dioceses in safeguarding minors and vulnerable adults. During the general assembly of the Italian bishops’ conference, which met Nov. 12-15 at the Vatican, the bishops approved the translation of the third edition of the Roman Missal, the book of prayers used at Mass, and included changes to the text of the...

In ordering the U.S. bishops to abstain from voting on measures aimed at addressing clerical sex abuse, Pope Francis may have inadvertently performed the most consequential and costly act of his papacy. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) intended to vote on two measures responding to the ongoing sex abuse crisis in its annual fall meeting, which concluded in Baltimore on Wednesday. A last-minute intervention, however, from the Vatican’s Congregation for Bishops instructed the USCCB to stand down and to await a meeting of global episcopal conference leadership convoked by Pope Francis for February. The Vatican’s direct intervention into the bishops’ governance would...

Wise Men, Flattering, May Deceive Us Msgr. Charles Pope • November 15, 2018 • Judas Maccabeus was Handel’s most famous oratorio during his lifetime, more popular even than the Messiah. There are many wonderful moments in it, especially its bold and brave choruses. Written in 1746, it covers the biblical events of 170–160 B.C., when Judea was ruled by the Seleucids and the people were compelled to worship Zeus. Some resisted; others obeyed. The priest Mattathias went to the hills and gathered others who were willing to fight for their faith. This is all recounted in the First Book of...

Anything but a synodal Church. After extolling “synodality” as the preeminent fruit of last October’s synod of bishops, and after promising since 2013 more autonomy and powers for the episcopal conferences, including some “authentic doctrinal authority,” Pope Francis has dismembered the agenda of the plenary assembly of one of the biggest episcopates in the world, that of the United States, which has been meeting in Baltimore since Monday, November 12. And at the same time he has abandoned to themselves, in China, those bishops who are not part of the secret accord signed at the end of September between the...

An answer has finally arrived. Not the answer – vainly expected - from Pope Francis, but a significant one nevertheless, from a journalist who is part of his close entourage. The author is Andrea Tornielli, the Vatican reporter for La Stampa, in charge of the website Vatican Insider. Along with the journalist Gianni Valente, he just published The Day of Judgment, an extensive paper on the “Viganò case”, with the eloquent subtitle: Conflicts, power struggles, abuses and scandals. What is really happening in the Church (Edizioni Piemme, 255 pp.). Tornielli’s main thesis is that Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò’s testimony on...