Free Republic

[Catholic Caucus] Pope Francis: Sexual Revolutionary, pt. 2Having suggested, last year, that Pope Francis is a sexual revolutionary by the introduction of his deeply subversive Apostolic Letter, Spiritus Domini, of 10 January 2021, regarding the so-called “lay institutes”, we now see more of the same in his approval of the Declaration of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, Fiducia Supplicans, on the pastoral meaning of blessings, including the blessing of irregular and same-sex couples.The Liturgical Icons of Male and FemaleHis Apostolic Letter, Spiritus Domini, universally changed canon law for the whole Church so that the lay institutes of...

Is there ‘universal peaceful acceptance’ of Francis as pope?The Catholic who regards Francis and his collaborators as truly exercising authority in the Church finds himself in a state of constant conflict with those whom he regards as appointed by Christ to teach him.In a recent article I summarized a number of arguments that lead to the conclusion that Francis does not hold the office of pope.In a second article, I outlined the argument from public heresy and membership of the Church in more detail. In a third article, I responded to the claim that we can attain certainty that Francis...

[Catholic Caucus] FULL STORY: Here’s why Bishop Strickland was canceledOn this episode of The John Henry Westen Show, Deacon Keith Fournier joins me to discuss his time working with Bishop Joseph Strickland in the Diocese of Tyler, Texas, what led to Strickland’s removal, the controversy surrounding canceled clergy, and more. I asked Deacon Keith about his time working with Bishop Strickland in the Diocese of Tyler, Texas, and what he experienced working with him. Deacon Keith recalled how he had been working as a dean of an online Catholic school and in ministry when someone sent him Strickland’s Constitution on...

[Catholic Caucus] Rector of Barcelona Seminary: "Too Many Conservative Seminarians"Seminarians today [if there are any] are "reactionary," Rev. Salvador Barcadit, Rector of the Seminary of Barcelona, Spain, told ElPuntaVui.cat (August 13).Rector Barcadit has noticed "a shift to the right" among seminarians: "The new generations, in times of crisis, seek security and these styles, these more fundamentalist and more conservative tendencies."He sees the shift to conservatism can also be found among young people outside of the Church.Barcadit's hope: "Pope Francis and also the bishops are concerned about this reality and want to try to redirect it."In his seminary, they want to...

[Catholic Caucus] Synodality will continue after papacy of Francis, says visiting theologianRenowned Italian theologian and author Massimo Faggioli provided valuable insights into the challenges and hopes of the Catholic Church during a two-week visit to Adelaide. Source: The Southern Cross.Professor Faggioli has lived in the United States for the past 16 years and is regarded as one of the world’s leading authorities on the modern history of the Catholic Church.His visit was part of the Mission Masterclass series introduced by Catholic Education SA this year and included a public lecture, an address to clergy and sessions with educators, parish leaders,...

[Catholic Caucus] In San Diego, Bishop Apologizes to LGBTQ+ Community During Pride MassIn a hopeful sign for LGBTQ+ ministry, six parishes in the Diocese of San Diego celebrated an “All Are Welcome” Mass this summer. At the liturgy, a local bishop apologized to the LGBTQ+ community on behalf of the church and encouraged greater love and inclusion.The Mass, hosted by St. John the Evangelist Church’s LGBTQ Ministry, was held during Pride Month in June. Bishop Ramón Bejarano, an auxiliary bishop in the diocese, presided over the liturgy, joined by seven priests and two deacons as concelebrants.Beginning in song with the...

[Catholic Caucus] ‘Transgender’ males in conservative Indonesia praise Pope Francis for pro-LGBT ‘message’Pope Francis this week visited the Archdiocese of Jakarta, which in recent years has been ‘welcoming’ and baptizing gender-confused men who in many cases do not appear to have converted from their transgender lifestyles.Pope Francis is being praised for his pro-LGBT “inclusiveness” by transgender activists in Indonesia, where the archdiocese of the country’s capital city has been “welcoming” unrepentant gender-confused individuals into parishes in recent years, according to The New York Times.The Times reported that Francis, who is visiting the conservative, largely Muslim nation during a tour of...

[Catholic Caucus] Cardinal Müller suggests ‘anti-Catholic forces’ pushing pro-abortion Agenda 2030 in the SynodCardinal Müller added that defenders of the Catholic faith are portrayed by liberals 'as Pharisees and hypocrites, as cold-hearted literalists, as traditionalists in love with the past or spiritually obstinate indiestrists.'Gerhard Cardinal Müller has warned the current Synod on Synodality could be used by “progressives” and “anti-Catholic forces” to implement Agenda 2030 into the Church.“There is always a danger that self-proclaimed progressives, in collusion with anti-Catholic forces in politics and the media, will introduce into the Church Agenda 2030, the core of which is a Wokist vision...

Pope Francis tells Indonesian clergy not to ‘proselytize’ non-CatholicsIn his latest warning against proselytizing, Pope Francis told Indonesian clergy that 'proclaiming the Gospel does not mean imposing our faith, placing it in opposition to that of others, or proselytizing.'JAKARTA, Indonesia (LifeSiteNews) — During his meeting with Indonesian clergy yesterday, Pope Francis warned against “proselytizing,” instead urging them to share the “joy of encountering Christ” with “great respect and fraternal affection” for all.Hundreds of religious, seminarians, priests, and bishops gathered in Jakarta’s Catholic Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption on Wednesday, to hear Pope Francis’ address.The meeting formed part of...

[Catholic Caucus] Priest urges Catholics to reject Pope Francis’ ‘synodal’ program that seeks to ‘destroy’ the ChurchAnyone who wants to hold on to the faith of the Catholic Church must inevitably reject the Pope’s pet project’ of ‘synodality,’ a program intended to ‘destroy’ the Church in the long term, Father Joachim Heimerl writes.The Vatican launched an online survey at the end of July. Almost 9,000 participants were asked about their attitude towards “synodality,” and around 90 percent voted negatively. As a result, the synod secretariat responsible ended the survey prematurely and took the results offline. Apart from the Vatican, comparable...

Pope Francis and Indonesian Grand Imam call for inter-religious action to fight ‘climate change’The Istiqlal Declaration calls on religious leaders to respond to the 'crises' of 'dehumanization and climate change' while also urging continued religious cooperation. Indonesia is characterized by a heavily Muslim population alongside a minority of Catholics.Imam Umar greets Pope Francis, Sept 5, 2024Vatican MediaSigning a joint declaration with Indonesia’s Muslim Grand Imam, Pope Francis urged inter-religious “unity and harmony,” while warning about “dehumanization and climate change.”Beginning his last full day in Indonesia as part of his Asian voyage, Pope Francis joined Grand Imam Nasaruddin Umar for what...

Pope Francis skips Sign of the Cross to impart blessing ‘valid for all religions’Pope Francis' deliberate avoidance of making the sign of the cross when imparting a closing blessing to young people in Indonesia has raised eyebrows. Others have praised him for being sensitive to the local Muslim culture.JAKARTA, Indonesia (LifeSiteNews) — Concluding a meeting with young people of different creeds in Jakarta, Pope Francis gave a blessing without invoking the Trinity, which he said was “valid for all religions.”At the close of his first full day of appointments in Indonesia, Pope Francis took part in an assembly of participants...

Francis Prays to Some Kind of Allah, Omits Trinity and Sign of the CrossFrancis arrived in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta on September 3 to begin his 11-day swing through Asia and Oceania.Looking fit and energetic after the 13-hour flight, he joked and laughed.The trip is expected to be the longest and most challenging international trip of his pontificate, his 45th.On Wednesday, Francis received an enthusiastic welcome at Jakarta's cathedral and spoke to bishops, priests and religious.He then met with the Scholas Occurrentes movement and planted a tree. In his final "blessing", he pointed out that the students present represent...

A Manifest Heretic Can Neither Become nor Remain a PopeThe saints and doctors of the Church teach that if a pope having sufficient knowledge and having made sufficient reflection denies an article of Faith and professes heresy, he falls to heresy and loses his papacy.When it is taught that ‘a pope cannot profess heresy’ it simply means that this profession cannot be made and completed while he is pope, for upon attempting to profess heresy he loses his papacy and is reduced to a heretic, whereby the profession is made as a heretic and not as a pope. Hence a...

To soundtrack of xylophones and drums, Africans debate limits of inculturationAs some traditional communities in Africa are lodging complaints against Christian missionaries of desecration and destruction of their cultures, Catholic leaders find themselves struggling to balance accommodation of local customs and practices against protecting the integrity of the faith.One front in the mounting tension is Cameroon, where traditional communities have petitioned the Vatican against what they allege is cultural insensitivity and abuses by the Church.On July 19, the Wimbum people of Cameroon’s North West region petitioned the Dicastery for the Defense of the Faith, complaining that the Catholic Church, in...

Pope Francis Enforcing Four Principles for Social Harmony During Asia-Pacific Apostolic MissionRome (Fides News Agency) - Pope Francis’s ambitious 4-country pilgrimage, September 2-13, will include countless, colorful encounters as young countries greet the pontiff and he, in turn, seeks to inspire people and leaders in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste, and Singapore. The pope’s diplomatic priorities—and accomplishments—will be on display throughout the journey, especially his commitment to interfaith dialogue, a leitmotif of this pontificate. One way to view this mission thematically is through the four fascinating principles Francis outlined in Evangelii Gaudium (217-237),[1] because each country he visits exemplifies one...

[Catholic Caucus] New Amazon rite of the Mass to enter 3-year ‘experimental phase’The ‘Amazon rite,’ inspired by local traditions and customs in the region and proposed at the 2019 Amazon Synod, will enter a three-year ‘experimental phase’ in late 2024, a Vatican theologian has said.The highly anticipated and controversial Amazon rite of Mass will enter a three year “experimental phase” later this year, a key theologian has attested.In a new report by Vida Nueva digital, groundbreaking details were revealed about the proposed Amazon rite of Mass – a fruit of the 2019 Amazon Synod held at the Vatican.While not giving...

[Catholic/Anglican Caucus] Catholic college allows female Anglican ‘priests’ to celebrate ‘Eucharist’ inside basilicaSt. Vincent College, a Benedictine school in Pennsylvania, allowed the Anglican Church in North America to hold on campus its 2024 Provincial Assembly, which included 'Eucharistic' services with women 'priests' inside St. Vincent Basilica.A Catholic college in Pennsylvania allowed a group of Anglicans, including women “priests,” to celebrate an “Anglican Eucharist” inside a historic basilica.Back in June, St. Vincent College in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, permitted the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) to hold on campus its 2024 Provincial Assembly, which included “Eucharistic” services inside St. Vincent Basilica.Hundreds of...

Immigration: The Pope versus the GeneralROME – Amid a spiraling Italian debate over immigration, two personalities increasingly are coming to symbolize the opposing positions. In one corner is Pope Francis, while in the other stands ex-General Roberto Vannucci, increasingly perhaps the country’s single most polarising political figure.Today a member of the European Parliament for Italy’s anti-immigrant Lega party, Vannucci took to his Facebook account on Thursday to reply to Pope Francis, who had used his General Audience the day before to describe rejecting migrants as a “grave sin”.Vannacci’s response didn’t mix words.“With all due respect, the Vatican has always defended...

Pope Francis calls for Catholics to ‘pray for the cry of the Earth,’ says it ‘has a fever’‘We pray that each of us will listen with the heart to the cry of the Earth,’ Pope Francis said in a new video, claiming that ‘if we took the planet’s temperature, it will us that the Earth has a fever. And it is sick, just like anyone who’s sick.’Pope Francis calls for ecological concern in his Pope Video.This September, Pope Francis has urged members of the Catholic Church to “pray for the cry of the Earth” and “the victims of environmental disasters...