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[Catholic Caucus] Mother Miriam: Catholics cannot obey false, ‘sinful’ statements of the PopePope Francis has made remarks on several topics, including on LGBT issues, that Catholics can’t accept, Mother Miriam said. Catholics must reject statements that contradict the faith even if the Pope utters them, Mother Miriam said in a recent episode of LifeSite’s “Mother Miriam Live!”“When the Pope says what is sinful, what is inaccurate, what is against the faith,” said the Benedictine prioress, “not only do we have the right to not believe, but we should not believe. We must follow God and not men, even when that...

Francis, Monarch of Italy. Ever More Master, Ever Less LovedOn Monday May 23, when the Italian bishops gathered in Rome for their general assembly meet with Pope Francis behind closed doors, they already know that they will receive from him not only the usual chewing out, but also the “diktat” on the appointment of their new president, in replacement of the eighty-year-old cardinal Gualtiero Bassetti who has come to the end of his five-year mandate.In accordance with the statute, the Italian bishops will propose a trio of candidates, each voted for by an absolute majority, from among whom the pope...

Archbishop Appeals to Parents: Accept Your LGBTQ Children as God DoesTwo European archbishops offered LGBTQ-positive remarks to mark the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, and Transphobia (IDAHOBIT), which was celebrated this past Tuesday.In Malta, Archbishop Charles Scicluna encouraged parents to accept LGBTQ children as a mandate of the Gospel. Newsbook reported:“‘My appeal to parents is this: accept your children as God the Father has done. Jesus is looking at your children – as he looks at each and every one of us – when he tells us that he is giving us a new commandment to love one another,’ the...

FIFTH WEEK OF EASTER JOHN 15:9-11 Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus instructs us in the way of loving others with God’s love: “Remain in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love.” Much hinges on that little word “remain”—menein in the Greek—which John uses frequently in his Gospel. God’s love is given unconditionally as a grace, but remaining in that love is indeed a matter of keeping certain commandments. Here is how it works: God’s love can truly dwell in us and...

19 May 2022Thursday of the 5th week of Eastertide St.Dunstan's Basilica Charlottetown PE Readings at MassLiturgical Colour: White.First readingActs 15:7-21 ©I rule that we do not make things more difficult for the pagans who turn to GodAfter the discussion had gone on a long time, Peter stood up and addressed the apostles and the elders. ‘My brothers,’ he said ‘you know perfectly well that in the early days God made his choice among you: the pagans were to learn the Good News from me and so become believers. In fact God, who can read everyone’s heart, showed his approval of...

A Washington priest talked his way last month into meals, drinks, and an overnight stay at the barracks of the British soldiers who protect Queen Elizabeth II, prompting an ongoing Army security review in the U.K. British media reported last week an intruder claiming to be a priest gained entry April 27 to the Victoria Barracks of the Coldstream Guards, who protect the British monarchy at Windsor Castle and Buckingham Palace. The intruder told soldiers he was friends with a unit chaplain, and had served in Iraq. He was soon invited for drinks and dinner in the Officers’ Mess, and...

Terrorists have killed a Catholic priest, Reverend Father Joseph Aketeh Bako, who was abducted in Kaduna, recently. The 48-year-old Bako was abducted from his residence, at Saint John’s Catholic Church in Kudenda, Kaduna when Terrorists invaded the area in March. The death of the Catholic Priest was in a Statement by the Chancellor, Christian Okewu Emmanuel. “We have carefully verified that the unfortunate event took place between 18th and 20th of April, 2022 in the hands of his abductors,” Emmanuel said.

Francis Engulfed in Problems, Talk About SuccessorsTantrums. Francis has never had to deal with so much adversity as in 2022, writes Jean-Marie Guénois on Figaro.fr. Francis is deaf to criticism, Guénois says. Everyone, even Francis’ supporters, experience not a friendly but a tense climate in the Vatican. Francis divides and terrorises. His authoritarian style and his tantrums are omnipresent in the Vatican. A veteran Italian observer spoke to Figaro of a Latin American confusion that is incomprehensible to European minds.Health. Rumours are circulating in the Vatican about Francis' health. The pain in his knee is unbearable. He finds the wheelchair...

Pope Francis: ‘God is not afraid of our prayer of protest’Pope Francis urged Catholics on Wednesday to feel free to protest spontaneously to God when faced with suffering and injustice.Reflecting on the Book of Job in his general audience address in St. Peter’s Square on May 18, the pope said that “God is not afraid of our prayer of protest.”“Sometimes I meet people who approach me and say: ‘But, Father, I protested against God because I have this and that problem…’ But, you know, friend, that protesting is a way to pray when it is done like that,” he said.“When...

Francis Urges ‘Visible Unity’ With AnglicansFormer queen's chaplain: Rhetoric of 'ecumenical flattery' won't workVATICAN CITY (ChurchMilitant.com) - Pope Francis has reiterated his call for union with Anglicans, despite irreconcilable differences between the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion on women's ordination and same-sex marriage. Pope Francis meets members of ARCIC on Friday The pontiff told members of the Anglican–Roman Catholic International Commission on Friday that "visible unity between us" was the goal Jesus "desires and indicates to us," and such unity "is a unity to be welcomed with humility" and "as a grace of the Spirit." "Ecumenical dialogue is a...

[Catholic Caucus] A French Vatican observer ponders the ‘end of the regime’ My old friend Jean-Marie Guénois, the religion editor of Le Figaro, published a typically insightful appraisal of this pontificate last week, with the headline: “Challenged, deaf to criticism: the solitary ‘end of the regime’ for Pope Francis.” The Rorate Caeli site has a fine translation, but if you read French I strongly recommend the original, to capture the subtleties of Jean-Marie’s thoughts (not to mention the elegance of his prose style).Among the noteworthy observations:“Visions of the Church are opposed to each other and openly fight each other under...

Raise your hand if you want to go to heaven. Raise your hand if you want to be a saint. If you listen closely to the gospel, there should be a little bit of fear right now because there were clearly people who thought they were with Jesus who were cast out. They said “Jesus, did we not eat and drink with you?” (Luke 13:26) And Jesus said, “I don’t know you.” They said “Jesus, did we not eat and drink with you?” Jesus says, “I do not know where you are from.” Now, words are tremendously important. We have...

FIFTH WEEK OF EASTER JOHN 15:1-8 Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus declares that he is the vine and we are the branches who must remain in him. If we ourselves do not participate in who Jesus is, we miss the spiritual power that he meant to unleash. If John’s Gospel is any indication, Jesus does not want worshipers but followers, or better, participants: "I am the vine, you are the branches; live on in me; my body is real food and my blood real drink. The one who feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and...

18 May 2022 Wednesday of the 5th week of Eastertide Hermitage of Saint Venantius, Raiano, Italy Readings at MassLiturgical Colour: White.First readingActs 15:1-6 ©They were to go up to Jerusalem and discuss the problem with the apostles and eldersSome men came down from Judaea and taught the brothers, ‘Unless you have yourselves circumcised in the tradition of Moses you cannot be saved.’ This led to disagreement, and after Paul and Barnabas had had a long argument with these men it was arranged that Paul and Barnabas and others of the church should go up to Jerusalem and discuss the problem...

The Talking Jesus research analyses “the evangelism landscape in the UK today”. 42% say they are non-practising Christians and 16% identify as agnostics or atheists. The UK Evangelical Alliance (EAUK), Alpha, HOPE Together, Luis Palau Association and Kingsgate Community Church have released the Talking Jesus report. It “answers what people think of Jesus; how non-Christians view any practising Christian friends they might have; and the evangelism landscape in the United Kingdom today”, say its authors. Furthermore, a part of the report “also shows how practising Christians come to faith and will help church leaders to be strategic for growth”. The...

80 German churches conduct second round of rites for same-sex couplesBERLIN (ChurchMilitant.com) - Germany's Synodal Way will vote for same-sex blessings to be officially legitimized in the Catholic Church, Irme Stetter-Karp, president of the Central Committee of German Catholics (ZdK), said Tuesday. A two-thirds majority of the bishops must vote for the bill to become legal, putting the German Church on a collision course with Rome. The ZdK is co-organizing the Synodal Way with the German Bishops' Conference. Mass DefianceEighty German churches are offering "gay blessings" this week, defying the Vatican's recent decree that categorically rules out rites for same-sex...

The evil rhetoric by so-called Catholic politicians should be denounced by every bishop, priest, deacon & every faithful Catholic.’TYLER, Texas (LifeSiteNews) – In the wake of the recent leaked draft opinion which could overturn Roe v. Wade, Bishop Joseph Strickland of Tyler, Texas, has condemned “so-called Catholic politicians” who support abortion. Since the recent U.S. Supreme Court leaked draft opinion, alleged “Catholic” politicians, including U.S. President Joe Biden, have voiced their continued support for the murder of unborn babies in the womb, pledging to preserve this supposed “right.” In response, Bishop Joseph Strickland openly condemned their position, tweeting, “The evil...

“Progressive Manias”: Powerful article by Archbishop AguerWhat is progressivism? I am referring to ecclesiastical progressivism, which, like secular progressivism, looks to the future as if the world and the Church were on the move, always evolving towards the best.We could consider evolutionism as a sort of eponym of religious progressivism. This constitutes a system of “advanced” ideas and attitudes, which proudly detaches itself from any adherence to Tradition. The so-called modernism of the early twentieth century was described and condemned by St. Pius X in the Encyclical Pascendi dominici gregis and the Decree Lamentabili sane exitu. It brought together...

[Catholic Caucus] Cardinal Martini was a ‘Prophet,’ Says Vatican CardinalCardinal Czerny’s remarks were reported by Vatican News, the Holy See’s online news portal, which said that the Canadian Jesuit spoke at the launch of the sixth volume of Cardinal Martini’s complete works.Vatican Cardinal Michael Czerny on Monday described the late Italian Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini as a “prophet.”The prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development said that the controversial Jesuit theologian anticipated recent developments in the Catholic Church.Cardinal Martini, a renowned biblical scholar, was described by the New York Times as one of the Catholic Church’s “most influential...

A senior German priest has announced that he is no longer Catholic, citing his disappointment over a lack of “reforms” in the Church and admitting to having broken his promise of celibacy. “At the same time, I experience how much hope is placed in ongoing processes such as the Synodal Way. But I’m no longer in a position to also proclaim and honestly and sincerely share that hope, because I simply don’t have it anymore.” The former vicar general described the ordination of women to the priesthood, as well as “the abolition of compulsory celibacy, dealing with queer people, co-determination...