Free Republic

Scholar stumps Cardinal Cupich, asks if Pope’s ‘paradigm shift’ means ‘radical’ doctrinal change'I would like to ask why Pope Francis acts so mercilessly in insulting and eliminating doctrinal opponents,' the professor asked the Cardinal.CAMBRIDGE, England, February 15, 2018 (LifeSiteNews) – A respected Catholic historian and philosopher challenged Cardinal Blase Cupich during a lecture last week about Pope’ Francis so-called “revolution of mercy” that has caused what many are defending as a “paradigm shift” in Catholic practice.Professor John Rist, after listening to a February 9 lecture at Cambridge University in which Cardinal Cupich praised Pope Francis’ “paradigm shift” in Catholic practice,...

De Mattei: Pope Francis, Biden and “post-institutional” CatholicsFebruary 11, 2021What will be the effects of Joe Biden’s election on the life of the Church? Biden is the second Catholic President in the history of the United States after John Fitzgerald Kennedy, but as Massimo Faggioli notes in his recent book Joe Biden e il cattolicesimo negli Stati Uniti (Scholé, Brescia 2021), he finds himself in a reversed situation. Kennedy had the problem of reconciling his religious faith with a country in which the upper-class had always been Protestant and Catholics were considered an external body, tending to be poorly educated...

How modernists use ‘weaponized orthodoxy’ to silence conservative CatholicsSome recent words from Pope Francis cast this mode of gaslighting in stark relief.February 11, 2021 (LifeSiteNews) — “Weaponized ambiguity” has become a common term in recent discussions about the crisis in the Church. It refers to ambiguous terms that were supposedly inserted into Vatican II as preparation for the chaos we now see around us. Leaving aside the question of whether ambiguity is the main problem of Vatican II (as opposed to contradiction of Church teaching), let us look at another concept, “weaponized orthodoxy,” which been used against sincere Catholics for...

The Rhine and the TiberA battle over Holy Communion is brewing between German bishops and the Vatican. In the latest exchange between the Holy See and a German ecumenical study group known by its acronym ÖAK, Cdl. Kurt Koch, the Holy See's chief ecumenist, doubled down in an open letter (Monday) to Tübingen professor Volker Leppin.Leppin had lamented what he called the cardinal's "brusque dismissal" of his ecumenical group's proposal for an intercommunion free-for-all. Leppin is the director of the Protestant section of ÖAK, which the Vatican, last September, blasted for proposing in a study of "reciprocal Eucharistic hospitality" between...

New Pontifical Academy for Life appointees include the president of a pro-abortion instituteThe new appointees also include a WHO representative who asked for public Masses to be banned throughout Italy last yearSister Margarita Bofarull I Buñuel, president of the Instituto Borja de Bioética of the Ramon Llull University in Barcelona AnalysisROME, Italy, February 12, 2021 (LifeSiteNews) ―Pope Francis has appointed four new ordinary members to the Pontifical Academy for life this Friday, at least three of whom raise serious questions as to the future development of the institution created by Pope John Paul II in 1993 for the implementation of...

Pope’s pick says ‘clericalist mindset is changing’Sr Nathalie Becquart (CNS/Paul Haring)A French sister who could be the first woman to cast a vote in the Synod of Bishops says her appointment as an undersecretary is evidence the “clericalist mindset is changing”. Source: Crux.Sr Nathalie Becquart told journalists on Wednesday that Pope Francis has been underlining the importance of including women in the decision-making processes, helping move the Church from a clericalist attitude towards a more synodal one.“How can we somehow end with a clerical Church, where there have been abuses, of power and other kind of abuses,” she asked, during...

Archbishop Viganò: Hypocrisy of Francis’ Claim Only Traditionalists Must be Treated StrictlyArchbishop Carlo Maria Viganò has released another text on Vatican II. This one was prompted by the recently reported comments of Pope Francis that with those who find in Vatican II a rupture, he must be “demanding and strict.”The Archbishop points out the blatant hypocrisy of a pope who calls for mercy and acceptance to all those who reject the doctrine of the Church and even the natural law. They are to be welcomed and accompanied and treated as brothers, even if they reject Christ. Yet, anyone who calls...

[Catholic Caucus] Francis Proclaims Fraternity and Vaccine Religion“Along with vaccines, fraternity and hope are, as it were, the medicine we need in today’s world,” Francis told the Vatican’s diplomatic corps on February 8.Now, people ask Francis on Twitter.com, “Not the Eucharist???” and “Is there a place for Eucharist?” Philip Johnson writes, “Bergoglio doesn't need Christ anymore.”Father John Stone comments, “Vaccines? Fraternity? Hope? I was taught that the Sacraments are the medicine today's world needs. *sigh*: A. D I F F E R E N T. R E L I G I O N.”

[Catholic Caucus] Ash Wednesday: Cardinal Implores Faithful NOT to Attend ChurchAsh Wednesday is the doorway into Lent, the season of renewal, but don’t go to church on that day, Westminster Cardinal Vincent Nichols writes in a February 13/14 Pastoral Letter.He protests that, “our churches are safe if the protective measures are fulfilled but we must all be very careful about travelling too far.”Nichols asked his priests, not to make "extra provision" for Ash Wednesday. His focus is on the coronavirus, “We must be so careful and cooperative in the measures we must take, to protect ourselves and to protect others.”Receiving...

Cdl. Turkson: Our Objective Isn’t ConversionChurch's mission is promoting common humanity in 'Great Reset'VATICAN CITY (ChurchMilitant.com) - The Vatican's goal in engaging secular groups on matters of human development is not provoking conversion or promoting Catholicism but advancing "common humanity," a top cardinal is categorically declaring.Pentin lists Turkson as a leading candidate for the next pope In a revealing interview with Vaticanist Edward Pentin, Cdl. Peter Appiah Turkson, prefect for the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, confirms that "the Catholic faith as the only authentic means of human salvation" has not been talked about "in any group because we...

Is Cardinal Woelki Being Targeted Because of His Concerns About Germany’s Synodal Path?VATICAN CITY — At the same time as a newly leaked document shows just how determined German Church leaders are to push their synodal path, one of the controversial initiative’s most prominent critics, Cardinal Rainer Woelki of Cologne, is being targeted by opponents over his alleged failures regarding the handling of an abuse allegation. Over the past few months, the archbishop of Cologne has been subjected to fierce attacks from parish councils, priests and most recently the diocesan council over the alleged mishandling. The cardinal has also...

Pope to Legitimize LA RECRamping up the scandalThe senior religious director of the archdiocese announces the pope will deliver a video message Feb. 18 at this year's Los Angeles Religious Education Congress, or LA REC.The event is known for providing platform to heterodox speakers, like pro-gay Jesuit James Martin, who spoke in 2020.But despite such scandal, the upcoming, formal papal address will validate LA REC.This year's speakers will include a host of dissident Catholics, like Sr. Carol Zinn — involved with the notorious Association of U.S. Catholic Priests, which rejects Church teaching on doctrine such as female ordination and the...

Spanish Freemasons praise Pope Francis, laud ‘International Fraternity Day’The Spanish Grand Lodge has taken it unto itself publicly to endorse Pope Francis.February 10, 2021 (LifeSitenews) — For the second time in less than five months, the Gran Logia de España, Spain’s main masonic lodge, has expressed its profound satisfaction at Pope Francis’s involvement in the “Human Fraternity” initiative launched in Abu Dhabi on February 4, 2019. This time, the Spanish Freemasons published a long message welcoming the first ever International Day of Human Fraternity a few days ago, again on February 4, during which Pope Francis, together with Grand Imam...

Is the German synodal way banking on the Vatican-China deal?The Pillar reported Sunday that the “Synodal Way” undertaken by the German bishops’ conference in partnership with the Central Committee of German Catholics (ZdK) is considering radical proposals to democratize the Church in Germany. The document, which is under review by the Vatican, is the latest development in a synodal process which has been repeatedly criticized by the Vatican and Pope Francis.The document, titled the “Fundamental Text” of the synod’s Forum I, is the most systematic proposal yet for breaking with the Church’s traditional hierarchical structure and advancing a democratized and...

[Catholic Caucus] PopeWatch: Morally Confused Phil Lawler at Catholic Culture gives us the latest example of the moral confusion of our Pope:Last week, in his own address to the tribunal judges of the Roman Rota, Pope Francis observed that a marital union “cannot be extinguished in its entirety with the declaration of nullity” when there are children involved. The Church—the tribunal—must be mindful of the welfare of those children.So far, so good. But now watch how the Pope illustrates his point:… how can one explain to children that—for example—their mother, abandoned by their father and often not willing to establish...

Ursuline Sisters join growing list of US bishops telling LGBT youth that ‘God is on your side’The statement appears to contradict Catholic teaching that holds that God does not make anyone homosexualFebruary 8, 2021 (LifeSiteNews) – A group of U.S. religious sisters have joined a slowly growing list of U.S. bishops who are telling young people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender that “God is on your side.”LifeSiteNews reported Jan. 25 that seven bishops and one cardinal had signed a statement in partnership with the pro-homosexual advocacy group Tyler Clementi Foundation in support of young people who identify...

Georgetown U. Students Oppose Conference Named After LGBTQ-Negative BishopGeorgetown students with H*yas for Choice, which sponsored the petition regarding the Cardinal O’Connor Conference, tabling on campus in undated photoMore than 600 members of the Georgetown University community, including over 30 student organizations, signed a petition asking the University to take action regarding its annual Cardinal O’Connor Conference on Life, in part because of the event namesake’s anti-LGBTQ record.Founded in 2000 by Georgetown students, the conference attracts hundreds of college and high school participants each year as part of the annual March for Life, an anti-abortion protest, in Washington D.C. It...

[Catholic Caucus] French Bishops Wage War on Latin MassDisplay 'contempt' for 'narrow-minded' traditionalistsFrench bishops have submitted to the Holy See a devastatingly "contemptuous" appraisal of the Latin Mass, warning the Vatican "not to extend the celebration" of the Extraordinary Form (EF).French president Emmanuel Macron addressing the CEF Responding to a 2020 Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) questionnaire sent to bishops worldwide, the French Episcopal Conference (CEF) has condemned as scandalous the members of the Church who participate exclusively in the Latin Mass.Such Catholics remain frozen in an "idiosyncratic conception of the Church" that rejects Vatican II, criticizes...

German Synodal Way Into the MadhouseThe German Synodal Way organised a two-day online conference on 4/5 February with 229 pre-selected participants.Among the craziest statements was that of Regina Nagel of the Federal Association of Women Parish Assistants, who enquired from the bishops: "What are you doing to make the priestly profession attractive for women?"Rottenburg Stuttgart Auxiliary Bishop Matthäus Karrer communicated that "breaches in doctrine and tradition will be unavoidable if power in the Church is controlled, shared and distributed fairly."Most members want [invalidly ordained] women priests and a permission for illicit sexual practices.Bishop Georg Bätzing of Limburg, the chairman of...

Pope Francis commemorates Abu Dhabi document, gives peace award to pro-abortion UN chiefPope Francis congratulated UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres Guterres for “all the efforts he has made for peace." Guterres has used the COVID-19 crisis as a means to promote access to abortion worldwide.VATICAN CITY, February 8, 2021 (LifeSiteNews) – Delivering a completely irreligious address, Pope Francis has taken part in a video with the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar to mark the first International Day of Human Fraternity commemorating the Abu Dhabi document, which has been described as seeming to “overturn the doctrine of the Gospel.” The Pope then...