Free Republic

[Catholic Caucus] LEAKED AUDIO: Cardinals and Bishops caught supporting sexually deviant priest group at AUSCPBreaking news just released by our friends at the Lepanto Institute. Founder and president Michael Hichborn has been after this group called the Association of U.S. Catholic Priests (AUSCP). But let me first give you that list of cardinals and bishops who Hichborn is literally taking down with this audio:Cardinal Blase Cupich (Chicago)Cupich is a frequent attendee and presenter at the AUSCP’s annual assemblies, showing high-level episcopal support.Cardinal Wilton Gregory (Washington, D.C.)Gregory has also served as a speaker at AUSCP gatherings, adding his considerable prominence to...

[Catholic Caucus] Heterodox priests condone immoral sexual behavior at annual retreat: leaked audio'The ideas and teachings floated in this conference are sure to lead souls to Hell,' remarked Michael Hichborn of the Lepanto Institute.A leaked audio recording of a heretical clergy group’s annual meeting reveals that its retreat leader, a theology professor, downplayed or heretically denied the gravity of an array of serious sins, including masturbation, fornication, and receiving Holy Communion while in grave sin.The Lepanto Institute recently shared audio clips from the 2025 annual meeting of the Association of U.S. Catholic Priests (AUSCP), a dissident group that was refused...

[Catholic Caucus] Valence: Faithful Occupy Notre-Dame Church After FSSP ExpulsionSince early summer, around 300 Catholics of the Mass in the Roman Rite have occupied the church of Notre-Dame in Valence, reports Paix-Liturgique.org (August 13).The community was previously served by the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter (FSSP), but was abruptly deprived of its priests by Bishop François Durand. He announced that sacraments, catechism, and weekday Masses would cease this autumn.Outside the church, banners read: "We are not puppets, but Christians," and "Removing the traditional Mass is a grave mistake."The faithful keep watch day and night, pray the rosary each evening, and...

[Catholic Caucus] New Mexico archbishop reinstates priest who lived in homosexual ‘partnership’ for a decadeDespite a decade in a registered homosexual ‘partnership’ and open LGBT activism, Fr. Steve Rosera now holds key roles under Abp. Wester in Santa Fe, including judgement over annulments.(Lepanto Institute) — Archbishop John Wester, the local ordinary for the Archdiocese of Santa Fe, New Mexico, reinstated the faculties of a priest who spent ten years in San Francisco as a registered “domestic partner” to another man.According to Father Steve Rosera’s official bio, Abp. Wester reinstated him to the priesthood on January 20, 2021. The official Archdiocese...

[Catholic Caucus] The Purging of Faithful Catholics ContinuesLast month, Detroit Archbishop Edward Weisenburger severely restricted the celebration of the traditional Latin Mass in his archdiocese—an archdiocese that has had some of the most flourishing Latin Mass communities in the country, if not the world. Not content, however, with one act of pettiness, this week Archbishop Weisenburger decided to double down on his attack on faithful Catholics, expanding beyond the typical traditionalist punching bags to target established and well-respected seminary professors. On Wednesday night, news broke that Dr. Ralph Martin and Dr. Eduardo Echeverria had been removed from their positions as...

[Catholic Caucus] GOODBYE, GOOD PROFS AND STRAIGHT SEMINARIANSThe Unaddressed Motive Behind Weisenburger’s FiringsMany articles have appeared recently about Sacred Heart Seminary faculty members who were fired by Detroit Archbishop Edward Weisenburger. Aware of Weisenburger’s record of covering up sex abuse which helps prelates get promoted in a Church controlled by the Lavender Mafia, I mentioned him in a February 14, 2025, article, “Pope and Bishops Have No Moral Credibility to Confront Trump.” I maintained, “The appointment of anti-border patrol Tucson Bishop Edward Weisenburger to the Archdiocese of Detroit is remarkably similar to the appointment of San Diego Cardinal Robert McElroy...

[Catholic Caucus] German priest quits diocese over Fiducia supplicans implementationAn 86-year-old German Catholic priest has publicly cut ties with his diocese in protest at its embrace of Fiducia supplicans.Father Winfried Abel announced in an open letter that he will no longer identify as a priest of the Diocese of Fulda, northern Germany. The diocese is led by Bishop Michael Gerber, who supports women’s ordination, married priests, and blessings for same-sex unions.Fr Abel cited the diocese’s official support for a local “Christopher Street Day” gay pride parade and new Church policies permitting blessings for homosexual unions as reasons for his decision.Fr...

[Catholic Caucus] German bishops looking to promote gender ideology in schoolsA 20-page document says Germany's Catholic schools should respect and make more visible students who are 'non-binary' and 'non-heterosexual.' The heretical German bishops are planning to introduce guidelines for Catholic schools promoting radical gender ideology without questioning its horrendous consequences for children.The German Catholic News Agency (KNA) reports that the Catholic bishops, or more precisely, their school commission headed by Bishop Heinrich Timmerevers, are preparing a 20-page document on “sexual diversity” for Catholic schools.The paper says schools should respect and make more visible students who are “non-binary” and “non-heterosexual.” It...

[Catholic Caucus] False Prophets & False ShepherdsPreface and Precis: This is a sermon warning against false prophets. The Gospel of this TLM Mass (Matthew 7:15-21) is, inexplicably, not to be found on any Sunday or Solemnity in the Novus Ordo Mass. This sermon also offers a supplementary context and commentary: Our Lord’s admonition against corrupt leadership “matures” into warnings against the ultimate false prophet (2 Cor 11:14), the antichrist (1 John 2:22, 4:3; 2 John 1:7). All humans are sinners, having character flaws or “cracks” in desperate need of divine repair, even as our society invariably needs “course correction” based...

[Catholic Caucus] The Detroit PurgeThe massive loser annointed by Cupich (and accepted by Francis) to ruin Detroit, Edward Weisenburger, has reached a new phase in his Stalinist conquest of the Archdiocese.First, as Stalin, he found a minority to bully and persecute: the Trads are the Kulaks, who had to be frozen out and, if not outright eliminated, ghettoized. Which was what was done with the most massive culling of diocesan Traditional Latin Masses in the United States. The Traditionalists were the canary in the mine.Symbolic action was then taken against those who were completely part of the establishment, but had...

[Catholic Caucus] Detroit archbishop fires renowned conservative professors from Sacred Heart Seminary'The firing of Ralph Martin and Eduardo Echeverria from Sacred Heart Seminary … is an act of a thin-skinned, petty tyrant,' said Eric Sammons, editor-in-chief of Crisis Magazine.Current and former colleagues and students of conservative Professors Ralph Martin and Eduardo Echeverria were shocked and dismayed to learn on Thursday of their firing from Sacred Heart Seminary (SHS) by Detroit’s progressive new prelate, Archbishop Edward Weisenburger.Last month, Weisenburger came under fire for eliminating nearly all public celebrations of the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) and prohibiting ad orientem in the Novus...

[Catholic Caucus] San Diego bishop celebrates LGBT ‘All are Welcome’ Mass, allows ‘drag queen’ activist to speakSAN DIEGO (LifeSiteNews) — Auxiliary Bishop Ramón Bejarano recently celebrated St. John the Evangelist Church’s annual “All are Welcome” LGBT “Pride” Mass and allowed “Nicole” Murray-Ramirez, an LGBT “drag queen” activist and longtime San Diego City Commissioner, to speak during the Mass. Bejarano was the celebrant of the July 13 Sunday Mass, which was organized by St. John’s “LGBTQ Ministry” and had the full backing of the Diocese of San Diego under Bishop Michael Pham, one of Pope Leo XIV’s first bishop’s appointments. During...

SSPX investigated for theft and damage after removing altar and furnishings from French churchThe Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) has removed furniture from a dilapidated church in Vaucluse, southeastern France. The group, made up of a priest and around a dozen SSPX faithful, is said to have been given authority by the municipality. However, the diocese was not consulted.According to local reports, members of the local branch of the SSPX took holy water fonts, the main altar, several pews, and statues from the church, which has been closed since 2018. The group sought permission from the town hall, but...

Tom Homan Has Some Choice Words For The California Bishop Who Said Illegals Can Skip MassThe White House Border Czar dismissed the idea that immigration officers are raiding churches.WASHINGTON—Asked about a Catholic bishop in California who told illegal immigrants they no longer have to go to Sunday mass, White House Border Czar Tom Homan did not mince words.“This is BS,” he told The Daily Wire in response to news that San Bernardino Bishop Alberto Rojas issued a decree on July 8 dispensing those in his diocese from attending Mass “due to potential immigration enforcement actions by civil authorities” if they...

[Catholic Caucus] Should Illegal Aliens Be Dispensed From Sunday Mass Obligations?American bishops should not be excusing crime.In the early half of the 20th century, beginning in 1917, Mexico’s government began persecuting Catholics. A new constitution outlawed Catholic teaching, banned religious orders, and claimed all Church property for the government. Violent persecution within less than a decade. The priest Luis Bátiz Sainz was arrested for teaching catechism and celebrating Mass and was executed by firing squad. Miguel de la Mora, another priest, was executed while praying the rosary. Rodrigo Aguilar Alemán was arrested while celebrating Mass in secret and hanged. While...

[Catholic Caucus] Toulouse, France, archbishop names rape-convicted priest as chancellorThe archbishop of Toulouse, France, has drawn fierce criticism for appointing a priest previously convicted of raping a 16-year-old boy to serve as diocesan chancellor, sparking outrage from victims’ advocates and the local Catholic community.Archbishop Guy de Kerimel named Father Dominique Spina as chancellor and episcopal delegate for marriages, effective Sept. 1, according to a decree published June 2 on the archdiocese’s website. The appointment became public knowledge on July 7, when the regional newspaper La Dépêche du Midi broke the story.Spina was convicted in 2006 by the Tarbes Court of...

[Catholic Caucus] The Mercy of Withholding the EucharistThe Church has never and will never change her teaching on the unworthy reception of Holy Communion—she can't. But our Bishops must change their 60's-rooted praxis of allowing it to happen.It is a strange feature of our times that when a priest fulfills his sacred duty it becomes news. Such is the case with Fr. Ian Vane, who rightly refused Holy Communion to British MP Chris Coghlan after Coghlan’s public support for assisted suicide. Such an action by a priest should be common—as common as “Catholics” who promote evils while maintaining a public...

[Catholic Caucus] 90% of German Bishops Deny Catholic Sexual Moral TeachingOn 1 July, German Catholic author Gabriele Kuby told Edward Pentin's Substack.com-account that almost 90% of German bishops support a distorted sexual education that involves teaching children that homosexual acts and gender ideology are normal and acceptable.Two German bishops have recently indicated their support for such indoctrination in Catholic schools.On 20 June, Bishop Peter Kohlgraf of Mainz said that biblical statements about homosexuality should not be read as timeless truths, although morality is timeless.Bishop Heinrich Timmerevers of Dresden-Meissen recently called for a "new" way of thinking concerning the sexual morality...

[Catholic Caucus] Heterodox German bishop calls for change to traditional Church teaching on genderThe Catechism of the Catholic Church recognizes that '[e]veryone, man and woman, should acknowledge and accept his sexual identity.'Bishop Heinrich Timmerevers of the Diocese of Dresden-Meissen has recently challenged traditional Church doctrine by questioning its stance on “gender identity.”In a recent interview covered by Katholisch.de, taken from the new issue of the “Herder Thema” series, titled “Visibly Recognized: Diversity of Sexual Identities,” Timmerevers claimed that new philosophies must be considered in the development of Church doctrine.“This requires a new way of thinking, which is expressed in Church...

[Catholic Caucus] The "Mercy" Hammer Comes Down on Traditional Latin Masses in Detroit -- 10 Parish Masses to be Closed [Update: Ad Orientem posture in Novus Ordo also banned][Updated: as the full implementation document at the end makes clear, the ban of ad orientem and other traditional liturgical aspects in the Novus Ordo is not a rumor anymore, but it's fully public.] Ugliness and cruelty dressed up as goodness and obedience. Disgusting.A few notes:1. "Fidelity to the Holy Father's call" - He means Francis; Leo XIV has made no such call yet.2. The "all other sites" for which permission will...