Free Republic

[Catholic Caucus] Head of German Bishops demands rainbow flag be hung in German ParliamentRainbow flag at the Bundestag? Julia Klöckner counters Bätzing's criticismBishop Georg Bätzing had said he would have liked to see the rainbow flag at the Bundestag. The President of the Bundestag poses a counter-question.President of the Bundestag Julia Klöckner (CDU) rejects Bishop Georg Bätzing's criticism of the handling of the rainbow flag in the Bundestag. "The bishop's regret is astonishingly selective. Did the Vatican or did all bishoprics raise a rainbow flag on Pride Day?" she asks in the weekly newspaper "Die Zeit."Bätzing, the chairman of the...

[Catholic Caucus] German Diocesan Judge Dismissed for Warning against Homosexual SinThe Diocese of Münster dismissed Father Peter Mettler from his position as diocesan judge for a factual article about homosexuality.Father Mettler is a member of the Order of the Missionaries of the Holy Family. He had served as an official in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, from 2010 to 2019. Then, he relocated to Münster, where he had worked as a diocesan judge dealing with matrimonial matters since 2020.Catholics removed from officeThe German Synodal and Diversity Church removed Fr Mettler from his position after receiving a single press inquiry from Wp.de regarding...

[Catholic Caucus] Study finds priests aligned with Pope Francis are more likely to approve of sodomy‘Approval of Pope Francis is negatively associated with the belief that homosexual sex is always wrong,’ researcher Lucas Sharma found.A recently published study shows that priests’ approval of Pope Francis during his lifetime is associated with the moral acceptance of homosexual sex.“Approval of Pope Francis is negatively associated with the belief that homosexual sex is always wrong,” researcher Lucas Sharma found using data from the 2020-2021 Survey of American Catholic Priests.In his study, Sharma also found that priests’ disapproval of homosexual activity — which the...

[Catholic Caucus] Scholar: Pope Leo should affirm with ‘absolute clarity’ that Church teaching on sexuality can’t change‘The point is not whether such a change is likely or unlikely; the Church's teaching in these areas cannot change at all,’ scholar José Ureta said in reference to Pope Leo’s Crux interview.A Catholic scholar has called for Pope Leo XIV to clearly affirm that Catholic Church teaching on sexuality cannot change, following a Crux interview in which Leo suggested that such a change is possible.José Antonio Ureta, a researcher with Tradition, Family, Property (TFP), pushed back on Leo’s statement that it is “highly...

[Catholic Caucus] Spanish bishops reject conversion practices amid LGBT outreachThe bishops of Spain have publicly rejected so-called “conversion” practices for people who identify as homosexual, in a move that has drawn both praise and criticism within the Catholic world.On 19 September, the Madrid-based homosexual association CRISMHOM published a statement thanking Cardinal José Cobo of Madrid and Bishop José Antonio Satué of Málaga for their support.The message, carried by ReligionDigital.org, described both prelates as “doorkeepers who open their arms to welcome rather than impose a conversion in which we renounce the gift of the rainbow with which we have been blessed.”The...

[Catholic Caucus] ‘Dispose after reading,’ Archbishop Weisenburger’s history of cover-up for clerical sexual abuseDetroit Archbishop Edward Weisenburger has a history of concealing clerical sexual abuse, according to revelations of a Church-commissioned investigation that examined the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City, where Weisenburger served 16 years as Vicar General.As Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City from 1996 to 2012, Weisenburger not only wielded immense influence—but used it to suppress accountability for priestly sexual abuse of minors. Investigators discovered that he routinely instructed staff to “destroy after reading,” oversaw the mass deletion of his own emails following his departure, and even...

[Catholic Caucus] Does Pope Leo condone homosexual behavior? Prominent Catholic scholar respondsEdward Pentin conducts an interview with Professor John Rist, a world-renowned scholar of St. Augustine and the Church Fathers, about recent events at the Vatican.Pope Leo XIV has won many plaudits for aspects of his Petrine Ministry so far — his Christ-centred preaching, personal kindness, and emphasis on peace and reconciliation to name a few.But recent events at the Vatican have heightened concerns that Leo is also tolerating, and perhaps even condoning, elements of the previous pontificate that were particularly harmful to souls on account of the public scandal...

[Catholic Caucus] African cardinal: Same-sex ‘blessings’ document ’caused a lot of harm’Cardinal Ambongo said he believes Pope Francis ‘changed his mind’ about the release of Fiducia Supplicans after speaking with the African prelate.Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu has said that Fiducia Supplicans “caused a lot of harm to the Catholic faithful” and was a “bad chapter” in Pope Francis’ pontificate.Ambongo, who is the archbishop of Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo, made his latest critical comments about Francis’ document permitting homosexual “blessings” during a visit to Poland for the 12th Council of Gniezno peace summit.He told OSV News that a...

Fr. James Martin applauds Pope Leo’s remark that ‘attitudes’ must change before doctrineThe Jesuit adviser says Leo XIV is right that doctrine could shift once Catholic ‘attitudes’ change.In a public commentary on Thursday, Father James Martin, S.J., said that Pope Leo XIV’s recent remarks on homosexuality mean that Catholic doctrine on sexual morality could be changed.Martin, writing in response to Leo’s interview with Crux Now correspondent Elise Ann Allen, said the new Pontiff was “100% correct” that it was “a matter of changing ‘attitudes.’”“No amount of argumentation or debate, no matter how well reasoned or informed, can substitute for what...

[Catholic Caucus] In Crux interview, Pope stresses welcome of LGBTQ Catholics, won’t change teachingROME – In a wide-ranging interview given for a new biography on him, Pope Leo XIV has said that his approach to LGBTQ Catholics will be similar to that of his predecessor: an attitude of welcome without changing church teaching.“What I’m trying to say is what Francis said very clearly when he would say, “todos, todos, todos.” Everyone’s invited in, but I don’t invite a person in because they are or are not of any specific identity. I invite a person in because they are a son...

[Catholic Caucus] Does St. Peter’s Need Porters?Recently an egregious display of sexual perversion was allowed to desecrate St. Peter's, which could not have been possible before Paul VI's abolished the minor orders.Before 1972, preparation for the priesthood involved passing through various “minor orders.” They included porter, lector, acolyte, exorcist, and subdeacon, followed by the major orders of deacon and priest. That year, Pope Paul VI issued the apostolic letter Ministeria Quaedam, abolishing the minor orders. Lector and acolyte were reconstituted as “lay ministries.” Exorcist was recognized as a specialized ministry of certain priests. Porter was eliminated, deemed unnecessary in the...

[Catholic Caucus] Professor Rist: St Augustine Would Have Been ‘Appalled’ at Recent Vatican EventsThe distinguished Church expert on the 4th century saint discusses increasing concern over Pope Leo XIV’s governance following recent controversies.Pope Leo XIV has won many plaudits for aspects of his Petrine Ministry so far — his Christ-centred preaching, personal kindness, and emphasis on peace and reconciliation to name a few.But recent events at the Vatican have heightened concerns that Leo is also tolerating, and perhaps even condoning, elements of the previous pontificate that were particularly harmful to souls on account of the public scandal they caused.On August...

[Catholic Caucus] German Bishop Opposes Using the Bible to Condemn HomosexualityThe Bishop of Mainz, Germany, has spoken out against using Biblical passages as a reason to oppose homosexuality.Bishop Peter Kohlgraf made his statements during an interview on the television show “SWR Democracy Forum in Hambach Castle,” broadcast by Südwestrundfunk (SWR), a TV channel in western Germany, reported Katholisch.de. Bishop Peter KohlgrafKohlgraf said that one “cannot simply derive timelessly valid, eternal truths” in Biblical passages about homosexuality. The topic of the show was “Taboos in our society – between morality, power, and the media.”“I don’t take a single sentence from the...

Vatican II Documents on Fr. James Martin and the LGBTQ MovementIn light of Pope Leo XIV’s recent audience with Fr. James Martin, who was in Rome for the LGBTQ Jubilee pilgrimage, many serious Catholics have understandably expressed concerns with the new pope. To better understand how this could possibly happen just twelve years after Benedict XVI announced (in his farewell address) that the true Second Vatican Council, “with all its spiritual force,” was finally emerging, we sat down with the documents of the Council for an interview. It is evident that those who take issue with Leo XIV may not...

[Catholic Caucus] Pro-LGBT Cardinal Hollerich suggests Church should not define sexual morality so ‘narrowly’The Luxembourg cardinal advocated for expanding the Catholic Church's view of sexual morality despite the Catechism defining homosexual acts as 'intrinsically disordered.'A cardinal from Luxembourg suggested that he would change the Catholic Church’s doctrine on sexuality.In a September 6 interview with Austrian outlet Die Furche, Luxembourg Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, S.J. advocated for the Catholic Church to expand their view of sexual morality while also promoting synodality.Hollerich revealed that he “would not define morality — especially sexual morality — as narrowly as the Church does today.”Hollerich alleged that...

[Catholic Caucus] Leo XIV Practically Consented to Homosexual 'Abomination' in St Peter's – Bishop SchneiderOn 10 September, Bishop Athanasius Schneider commented on the homosexual march into St Peter's Basilica last Saturday. He spoke with Diane Montagna on her Substack account. Main points.- An unprecedented act took place in St Peter's Basilica in Rome that can be aptly described as an "abomination of desolation standing in the holy place" (cf. Mt 24:15).- Passing through the Holy Door and participating in the Jubilee without repentance, while promoting an ideology that openly rejects God’s Sixth Commandment, constitutes a desecration of the Holy Door...

[Catholic Caucus] Jesuit university trains students at transgender center that indoctrinates 5-year-oldsSanta Clara University places therapy students at the local ‘Gender Affirming Care Clinic,’ which offers pro-transgender ‘counseling’ for kindergartners and promotes ‘transitioning’ to minors without parental knowledge.A brave graduate student whistleblower has revealed that the Jesuit-run university she attended until recently sends students to intern at a local “gender-affirming care” center that offers “transitioning” services to children as young as five years old. Naomi Epps Best, a former marriage and family therapy graduate student at Santa Clara University (SCU), has spent the last few months reporting on the astonishing...

[Catholic Caucus] Italian bishop celebrates Mass for LGBT pilgrimage in Rome’s Church of the GesùBishop Francesco Savino, vice president of the Italian Bishops’ Conference, celebrated Mass at the Church of the Gesù on Saturday for LGBT pilgrims in Rome for the Jubilee of Hope.An Italian lay association organized the international pilgrimage, which included a morning Mass celebration inside the mother church of the Society of Jesus in Rome and a St. Peter’s Basilica Holy Door pilgrimage in the afternoon.More than 1,000 pilgrims from around the world attended the Mass concelebrated by approximately 30 priests, including American Father James Martin, SJ,...

<p>Hundreds of LGBTQ+ Catholics and their families participated in a Holy Year pilgrimage to Rome on Saturday, celebrating a new level of acceptance in the Catholic Church after long feeling shunned and crediting Pope Francis with the change.</p><p>The vice president of the Italian bishops conference, Bishop Franceseco Savino, celebrated Mass for the pilgrims in a packed Chiesa del Gesu, the main Jesuit church in Rome. He received a sustained standing ovation in the middle of his homily when he recalled that Jubilee celebrations historically were meant to restore hope to those on the margins.</p>

[Catholic Caucus] How would St. Pius X likely have reacted to “Catholic” Fr. James Martin if the pope were alive today?Given St. Pius X’s documented response to Modernism, he likely would have reacted with the same doctrinal clarity and pastoral firmness to the ideologies spread by the LGBTQ+ cult, including “Catholic” Fr. James Martin. For one, St. Pius X unequivocally singled homosexuality out as one of the “sins that cry out to heaven for vengeance,” likening it with voluntary homicide, oppression of the poor, as well as defrauding a laborer of his just wage.Every year, the Feast of St. Pius...