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Conciliar Catechesis Watch: IntroductionOn Wednesday, Leo launched a new initiative with an Introduction to his planned General Audience series consisting of catechesis on the documents of Vatican II. For how long this weekly series will go on is anyone’s guess, but it seems likely to go on up to and perhaps beyond Lent.In any case, beginning today, the akaCatholic Podcast will respond to each of Leo’s weekly catechetic sessions with a closer look at what he had to say and how it compares and contrasts with what the Church has always taught.Beneath the video, a transcript will be provided for...

Cardinal Zen Denounces “Bergoglian Synodality” as “Ironclad Manipulation” at Extraordinary ConsistoryFull text of Cardinal Joseph Zen’s intervention at the two-day meeting of cardinals convened by Pope Leo XIV.(Cardinal Joseph Zen and his personal secretary with Pope Leo XIV.) ROME, 9 January 2026 — In his intervention at the Extraordinary Consistory of Cardinals held at the Vatican on January 7–8, Cardinal Joseph Zen delivered a searing critique of the Synod on Synodality, denouncing its process as an “ironclad manipulation” and warning that its continual invocation of the Holy Spirit is “ridiculous” and verges on “blasphemy.”Delivered behind closed doors in the presence...

Dominic J. Grigio, “Why I Wrote The Disastrous Pontificate”—Exclusive for RoratePrefatory note: On January 7, 2026, a major new book, The Disastrous Pontificate: Pope Francis' Rupture from the Magisterium, was released by Os Justi Press. Endorsed by a constellation of luminaries including Rev. Gerald E. Murray, Edward Feser, Eduardo Echeverria, Philip F. Lawler, John Rist, Michael Sirilla, Claudio Pierantoni, and Josef Seifert, the work has already attracted international attention for its comprehensive research and bold claims. Today, in an exclusive for Rorate Caeli, the author, Dominic Grigio, tells us why he wrote it. —PAK During his last general audience before...

Polish schoolchildren have protested a teacher’s removal of a Christian cross from a classroom and putting it in a bin, spurring a demonstration in front of the school. At the same time, the justice ministry is drafting legislative changes to reduce penalties under Poland’s blasphemy legislation, sparking criticism that the government is reducing the protection afforded Christians. The pupils’ demonstration came yesterday over an English language teacher who had demanded on December 15 the removal of the cross from a classroom she was teaching in. When the schoolchildren protested, she threw the cross into a bin. The teacher’s behaviour in...

[Catholic Caucus] The cardinals dodge the key issueLiturgy is off the agenda for the consistoryHelp is not on the way.Yesterday, in a cautious optimistic post about this week’s meeting of the College of Cardinals, I observed that “it is difficult to imagine how the consistory could discuss the liturgy without immediately raising the most contentious subject under that heading: the suppression of the Traditional Latin Mass under Traditionis Custodes.”Well, the cardinals managed to shatter my hopes immediately. Even before my comments were posted, they had voted to take the topic of liturgy off the agenda for the consistory. Instead the...

Pope Leo calls Second Vatican Council the ‘guiding star’ of the Church’s pathLeo’s description of the Second Vatican Council as the ‘guiding star’ of the Church’s path suggests he sees this council as surpassing in importance every other council of the Church.Pope Leo XIV on Wednesday said the Second Vatican Council is the “guiding star” of the Church’s path in his strongest statement to date in support of the controversial council.“It is the Magisterium (of the Second Vatican Council) that still constitutes the guiding star of the Church’s journey,” Pope Leo said during his Wednesday general audience, Vatican News reported....

Pope Leo begins a new catechism series dedicated to Vatican IIPope Leo on Wednesday praised the ‘liturgical reform’ launched by Vatican II that laid the groundwork for the revolutionary Novus Ordo Missae, the new Mass.Sculpture on St Peter's basilica door: Vatican IIVATICAN CITY (LifeSiteNews) — Pope Leo XIV announced Wednesday that he is beginning a catechesis series to “closely” study the Second Vatican Council, which many priests and scholars have affirmed to be in need of correction.“We are beginning a new catechesis series dedicated to the Second Vatican Council and to a fresh reading of its Documents,” Leo wrote in...

[Catholic Caucus] Liturgy Sidestepped at Pope Leo XIV’s First Consistory? Cardinals choose evangelization and synodality as key topics, disappointing those who expected the liturgy to be a central theme after recent restrictions on the traditional form of the Roman rite, but the Holy Father later insists the liturgy remains a "very concrete" issue that still needs to be addressed.Some cardinals and faithful who have a devotion to the traditional Roman rite have expressed concern that the liturgy appears to be sidelined in the extraordinary consistory currently underway at the Vatican after the cardinals voted to give priority to other issues...

[Catholic Caucus] Pro-LGBT Cdl. Radcliffe urges ‘openness to novelty’ in address to extraordinary consistoryReports from inside the Vatican suggest growing unease among the cardinals after Pope Leo’s two-day gathering opened with tightly controlled group sessions led by progressive voices.Progressive and pro-LGBT Cardinal Timothy Radcliffe delivered the opening meditation at the consistory in Rome by urging cardinals to remain “in the boat of Peter” amid global crises and Church divisions while suggesting “memory and openness to novelty must coexist in the life of the Church.”On the afternoon of January 7, Pope Leo XIV opened a two-day extraordinary consistory at the Vatican,...

[Catholic Caucus] Pope at Audience: Second Vatican Council still guiding star of Church’s journeyPope Leo XIV begins a new catechesis series on the Second Vatican Council and its documents, emphasizing that the Council's teaching still serves as the guiding star of the Church’s journey."It is the Magisterium [of the Second Vatican Council] that still constitutes the guiding star of the Church’s journey today."Pope Leo XIV expressed this during his Wednesday General Audience, on January 7, in the Vatican, as he began a new catechesis series, which is dedicated to Vatican Council II and a rereading of its Documents, following the...

[Catholic Caucus] Pope Leo opens first consistory with strong emphasis on synodality, Vatican IISources told LifeSiteNews that key roles in the opening phases of the consistory were assigned to figures closely aligned with the approach of Pope Francis.Pope Leo XIV opened his first extraordinary consistory with an agenda centered on synodality, liturgy and the legacy of the Second Vatican Council.On Wednesday, January 7, Pope Leo began the first extraordinary consistory of his pontificate at the Vatican, convening cardinals from around the world in the Paul VI Hall and the New Synod Hall to reflect together, advise the Pope, and discuss...

Dear friends, as we look at our EXPONENTIALLY growing godless, lawless, and hopeless day, it isn't too hard for any to see that we are indeed at the threshold of the Rapture of the Body of Messiah and the HORRIFIC and EXPONENTIAL seven-year tribulation period (Dan. 9:27; Matt. 24, Rev. 6-19)! Beloved, before we start, be sure to check out the Bible links we have provided for you as you follow along in this study; for that indeed is our authority! But rather, in the midst of it he WILL CAUSE the SACRIFICE and OBLATION to CEASE in light of...

Beloved, be sure to check out Greg's dispensational prophetic teaching on YouTube! These prophetic teachings are sound, biblical, simple to comprehend, and a great encouragement in the Lord's prophetic promises in these Last Days! See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. Eph. 5:15-17 Greg's YouTube page popped up on my YouTube feed today, and I watched and listened to many of his prophetic teachings and found them very sound and excellent! Greg does...

[Catholic Caucus] What to watch at Pope Leo’s first extraordinary consistoryThe major event in the ecclesial calendar this week is the Extraordinary Consistory, a formal meeting of cardinals which Pope Leo has summoned for 7 and 8 January. This will be his first, and such meetings take place very much as the Pope wishes. Although Pope Francis held a consistory in almost every year of his pontificate, after 2015 he reduced the discussion element, while continuing to use them primarily to create new cardinals. For ten years the world’s cardinals have been rather muzzled. They now have an opportunity to...

[Catholic Caucus] Cardinal Radcliffe: I support “moving ahead quickly” on female deaconsThe English cardinal's interview highlights the spirituality which underpinned the Synod on Synodality.Cardinal Radcliffe, who served as spiritual advisor to the Synod on Synodality, has given his support to “moving ahead quickly” with ordaining women to the diaconate.Interviewed by The Telegraph, Timothy Cardinal Radcliffe OP made a number of revelatory comments, not least about the fact that he apparently fell in love with a woman just shortly after he was ordained a priest and invited her to stay at his priory to meet the Dominican community there.But it is...

[Catholic Caucus] Bishop Barron criticizes ‘synodality’ and ‘Spirit of Vatican II’ in new statementBp. Barron cautioned that turning ‘synodality' into an ongoing state of the Church risks endless ‘suspense’ and undermines her essential mission of worship, evangelization, and service. Bishop Robert Barron has said that synodality, which questions settled doctrine, must not become a “permanent feature of the Church.”In a statement published on January 6 on X, the bishop of Winona-Rochester in southern Minnesota said, “I understand that one of the topics under consideration at the Consistory of Cardinals is synodality. I’m speaking as a bishop who was an elected...

Veteran Vaticanist Diane Montagna has just published an article and interview about a proposal for a “Traditionslist Ordinariate” submitted to the “extraordinary consistory” of cardinals.Father Louis-Marie de Blignières – the founder of the Fraternity of Saint Vincent Ferrer – sent this proposal in a letter dated December 24. Published in French and English, was mailed in hard copy to fifteen cardinals known for their interest in the issue of the traditional Roman liturgy, and emailed to one hundred others.At the centre of Father de Blignières’ proposal is the creation of an “ecclesiastical jurisdiction” dedicated to the traditional rite, modelled in...

[Catholic Caucus] EXPLOSIVE: Bishop Hicks’ Vicar General Reportedly Attends Chancellor’s Gay ‘Wedding’IntroductionIn December, we reported that Bishop Hicks’ diocesan chancellor, Robert Salvato, was ‘married’ to another man. Salvato was appointed Chancellor by Hicks in 2021. As Chancellor, Salvato was responsible for advising Hicks on issues related to canon law and recording ecclesiastical acts, decrees and dispensations issued by the bishop.As if the diocesan Chancellor getting ‘married’ to his boyfriend was not enough of a scandal, we now have reports that Fr. Richard Smith, the Vicar General for the diocese of Joliet, attended the ‘ceremony.’ An eyewitness has told us that...

[Catholic Caucus] Charlotte priests submit dubia to Vatican over liturgical changesMore than 30 priests in the Diocese of Charlotte have submitted a set of questions to the Vatican related to recent liturgical changes announced by the local bishop, including a decision to ban the use of altar rails and kneelers for communion.Bishop Michael Martin, OFM Conv. Credit: Diocese of Charlotte.The dubia were sent in a letter to the Dicastery for Legislative Texts on Jan. 5.The letter, obtained by The Pillar, requested formal guidance and clarification about whether a diocesan bishop has the authority to make liturgical changes announced and proposed...

Hyun-bo Son, a Korean pastor known for his outspoken stance on biblical teachings, remains jailed on election law charges. His case gained fresh international attention recently after his son, Chance Son, spoke in Arizona at Turning Point USA's AMFEST, sharing his father's story with thousands of attendees… Support from Americans is also growing. That includes the late Charlie Kirk, who met Pastor Son in Seoul at a conference during Kirk's final international appearance. Son said, "My father was able to share what's happening in Korea, especially to the Christian leaders, including himself. And also the possibility that my father could...