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Heretical German bishop says abortion is a ‘sensitive’ issue, will not participate in March for LifeBishop Stephan Ackermann defended Germany’s abortion regime as leading to ‘societal peace’ despite around 100,000 children killed in abortion every year and criticized strong pro-life advocacy, citing ‘a woman’s right to self determination.’The bishop of Trier has said that he would not participate in the March for Life because abortion is a “sensitive” and complex matter, citing “a woman’s right to self-determination.”In an interview with the German radio station Deutschlandfunk on April 29, Bishop Stephan Ackermann was asked about the recent March for Life in...

[Catholic Caucus] Archbishop statement on The Mission of Divine Mercy

[Catholic Caucus] Archbishop of San Antonio gave Biden communion, ignored Gov. Abbott at Uvalde MassArchbishop Gustavo García-Siller's actions before and after the 2022 shooting have raised plenty of questions among faithful Catholics.SAN ANTONIO, Texas (LifeSiteNews) – San Antonio Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller’s politics could not have been clearer the day he gave Holy Communion to pro-abortion President Joe Biden and ignored pro-life Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.Professor Randall B. Smith of the University of St. Thomas in Houston told the story vividly in an August 29, 2022 article for Catholic World Report: … it’s odd that before the Mass for the families...

[Catholic Caucus] Canceled priest accuses San Antonio archbishop of libel in Sanctus Ranch prohibitionFather Donald Kloster is prepared to take legal action against Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller for publishing what he says is libel against him in the January 30 'Prohibition' against the family-owned Sanctus Ranch retreat center where he lives.PIPE CREEK, Texas (LifeSiteNews) – A priest named by the Archbishop of San Antonio in an order forbidding Catholics from assembling at a private business is determined to fight back.Father Donald Kloster, ordained a priest of Bridgeport, Connecticut, in 1995, told LifeSiteNews in a recent interview that he is prepared to...

Priest battles ‘hate crime’ charges for criticizing IslamA Spanish priest is facing up to three years in prison on “hate crime” charges for his heated words about Islam.Last month, Father Custodio Ballester and two other individuals received a summons from a provincial court in Spain to answer charges of an alleged “hate crime” for criticizing Islamic extremism. If convicted, Ballester could be forced to pay a fine of more than $1,600 and serve up to three years in prison. The charges date back to 2020, when the Court Prosecutor’s Office in Catalonia accused Ballester of a “hate crime” based on...

[Catholic Caucus] OUTRAGE: San Antonio archbishop cancels Catholic family businessThe letter from Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller of San Antonio formally prohibits all clergy, schools, retreat centers, and Catholic groups 'from contracting with or utilizing Sanctus Ranch for any Catholic-sponsored retreats, meetings, activities, or spiritual endeavors.'Support Sanctus Ranch retreat center: LifeFunderSAN ANTONIO (LifeSiteNews) — In a devastating blow to a faithful Texas Catholic family with six children who have made their living running a private ranch, the archbishop of San Antonio, Texas, has issued a public letter to all Catholics directing them not to do business with the ranch. The January 30...

[Catholic Caucus] St. Louis Archdiocese Closes Thriving Traditional Latin Mass ParishIt has been months since more than a dozen parishes in the St. Louis Archdiocese submitted appeals to the Vatican in the hopes of keeping their doors open, and now Rome has agreed to hear the appeal of two parishes: St. Elizabeth Mother of John the Baptist Parish and Sts. Philip and James Parish.Back in May, St. Louis Archbishop Mitchell Rozanski announced that 178 individual parishes are being consolidated into 134. The archdiocese is also preparing to assess the future of nearly one-third of its elementary grade schools. The archdiocese...

[Catholic Caucus] Catholic father challenges bishop over denial of Communion to his family while kneelingBishop Peter Christensen of Boise, Idaho, who is known for instructing priests in the diocese to discourage reception of Communion kneeling, was dismissive of the dad's request for an explanation.BOISE, Idaho (LifeSiteNews) – A Catholic family of eight was recently denied Holy Communion while kneeling while attending Mass at a church in the Diocese of Boise. Both the local priest and bishop refused to acknowledge that the denial of the sacrament was a grave violation of canon law.Scott Smith, a Catholic attorney, author, theologian, and father...

Hong Kong bishop: Evangelization in China shouldn’t have ‘agenda of turning them into Catholics’Cardinal-elect Stephen Chow said Thursday that evangelization in China today should focus on communicating the love of God “without the agenda of turning them into Catholics.”In an interview in Rome with CNA on Sept. 28, the bishop of Hong Kong, who will be made a cardinal in the consistory this weekend, spoke about his vision for evangelization in mainland China.“I think it is important that we say that Pope Francis made a distinction. Evangelization is really to help people to understand the love of God — and...

A Muslim Sheikh’s Unfortunate First CommunionAn Archbishop defended giving a Muslim sheikh Holy Communion, contrary to the longstanding teaching and praxis of the Church.The Sunday Times of London carried a column the other day by a certain Rod Liddle. Its title was an attention-grabber: “Great, we banished Christianity. Now we’re stuck in a moral wilderness.” Mr. Liddle was lamenting the state of the state church. A poll of the Anglican priests presently serving showed that three-quarters of said clergy believe that the United Kingdom “cannot be called a Christian country.” The columnist’s rather acerbic point of view was reflected in...

Communion for Muslim: Who Appointed This Archbishop?During a August 28 Eucharist in Londrina Cathedral, Brazil, the local archbishop, Geremias Steinmetz, 58, Brazil, handed Communion to Sheikh Ahmad Saleh Mahairi, founder of Londrina's Rei Faiçal mosque.Media reported that Mahairi didn’t consume the host. In an August 30 note, Steinmetz justified (sic!) his action by absurdly referring to quotes from Francis that the Last Supper was undeserved.A first communicant knows that an unbaptised person cannot be admitted to other sacraments. It is inexplicable how Benedict XVI could make Steinmetz a bishop in 2011, who has no clue about the faith he is...

DECLARATION of the Reverend Mother Prioress and the Chapter of the Carmel of the Most Holy TrinityDECLARATIONof the Reverend Mother Prioress and the Chapterof the Carmel of the Most Holy Trinityof Arlington, Texas With regard to the statement of the Bishop of Fort Worth, Bishop Michael F. Olson (here), the Prioress, Mother Teresa Agnes, and the Chapter of the Carmel of the Most Holy Trinity of Arlington reiterate that they do not recognize the authority of Bishop Olson over their Monastery, and they refuse to accept any interference by him as Pontifical Commissary, an office conferred on him with contempt...

[Catholic Caucus] Priest Pulls Lawsuit Against Ft Worth’s Bishop Olson, But Allegations Remain DizzyingFather Kirkham was at first unable to retrieve his belongings from the rectory where he was living because Bishop Olson ordered the locks changed while Father Kirkham was out of state, the Dallas Morning News reported. A judge in June 2019 allowed Father Kirkham to reenter the rectory to retrieve his belongings.Father Kirkham did not respond to CNA’s attempts to contact him for comment.A number of Texas Catholics, in the form of an online group called FRK Advocates, have formed a website raising questions about Bishop Olson’s...

[Catholic Caucus] Texas Carmelites Defy Bishop’s Order to Close Their Doors to the FaithfulIn an increasingly bitter dispute between a Texas bishop and a local Carmelite monastery, the nuns are defying an order by Fort Worth Bishop Michael Olson that prohibits Catholic laity from visiting and praying at the monastery.The nuns of the Most Holy Trinity Monastery in Arlington, Texas, issued a defiant three-page statement Wednesday in which they said that Bishop Olson does not have the authority to close off their monastery and that their chapel remains open to the public.The nuns further claimed that Bishop Olson and the...

[Catholic Caucus] Texas nuns ‘recognize’ Bishop Olson, reject ‘unauthorized’ authorityAn attorney for the Carmelite nuns of Arlington, Texas, issued a statement Wednesday which claimed both to recognize Bishop Michael Olson’s authority as diocesan bishop, and to reject his Vatican-conferred authority to intervene over the Carmelite community. The lawyer’s statement comes after Olson warned that the nuns might have incurred the penalty of excommunication by their recent statements about his authority. As Olson and the nuns continue to issue public statements, sources in Texas have told The Pillar that the Vatican is likely preparing an apostolic visitation of the monastery.“The Arlington...

[Catholic Caucus] On Bp. Michael Olson (of Ft. Worth, TX)Fort Worth Bishop Michael Olson is an alcoholic and a self-admitted homosexual, vengeful, troubled, so prone to rage he's even contemplated torturing and murdering a priest. That's the collective sum of multiple lawsuits and complaints laying bare a revolt against Olson's reign in the Texas diocese.Emerico Perez: "He's like a bully, you know. If you don't agree with him, it's his way or the highway."Vivian Wolf: "He gets angry like this; he just flips and he just ... ."Yolanda Hendon: "He has hurt so many priests, so many parishioners."Steve Knobbe: "This...

Matthew 18:21-35, Matthew 19:1 Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus teaches the necessity of constant forgiveness. Forgiveness is an act and not an attitude. It is the active repairing of a broken relationship, even in the face of opposition, violence, or indifference. When a relationship is severed, each party should, in justice, do his part to reestablish the bond.Forgiveness is the bearing of the other person’s burden, moving toward him even when he refuses to move an inch toward you. There is something relentless, even aggressive, about forgiveness, since it amounts to a refusal ever to give up on a relationship....

Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time Matthew 17:22–27Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus prophesies his Crucifixion and Resurrection: “The Son of Man is to be handed over to men, and they will kill him, and he will be raised on the third day.”What enabled the first Christians to hold up the cross, to sing its praises, to wear it as a decoration is the fact that God raised up and ratified precisely this crucified Jesus.“The author of life you put to death, but God raised him from the dead.” Therefore, God was involved in this terrible thing; God was there, working out...

Today's Homily explains the depth of the Gospel of Christ "Walking on Stormy Water"- And as he invites us to do the same with him. As explained, though this was an actual event documented by all 4 Gospel writers, The iconic, theological Importance of this Gospel is central to all Christians. And for anyone who might find themselves fearing the storms in their lives. 14 min. YouTube clip below:In The Storm? Look To Christ

Matthew 17:14-20 Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus exhorts his disciples and us to exercise our faith. St. Paul tells us that “we walk by faith, not by sight.” We see the world around us. And we can learn to understand it according to conventional categories—political, cultural, economic, etc. Christians don’t turn from the world that reason delivers.But our primary orientation is not given by reason; it’s given by faith. This has nothing to do with irrationality or credulity. It has to do with an appreciation of God and the movement of God—in and through all of the conventional events perceived...