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VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis said in an interview published on Tuesday that he told the leader of Germany’s Catholic bishops that the country already had “a very good Evangelical Church” and “we don’t need two.”The Pope recalled his remark to Bishop Georg Bätzing, chairman of the German bishops’ conference, during a conversation with the editors of Jesuit Magazine journals. The dialogue, which also touched on the war in Ukraine and opposition to Vatican II, was published in La Civiltà Cattolica on June 14 but was conducted on May 19.The Pope was asked what he thought of the German “Synodal...

[Catholic Caucus] Hidden Origins of Traditionis Custodes: Grillo and Francis’s Self-AbrogationThe Forgotten Francis DecreesOn the twenty-second of February, 2020. The Feast of the Chair of Saint Peter.Quo magis.Cum sanctissima.Documents of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, released with the approval of the Supreme Pontiff Francis, approval that had been granted in an audience of 5 December, 2019.These spring decrees are not nearly as well-known as such papal mandates as Traditionis Custodes from the summer of 2021. In fact, they might well merit to be called the Forgotten Decrees of Francis.Quo magis provides a selection of optional texts of...

[Catholic Caucus] Pope Francis Spews Gaffes Galore In Eastern Europe Today in Slovakia, the pope gave a talk that was, quite frankly, a multi-faceted embarrassment. I link now to the summary from Catholic News Agency and will link to the full version when I can find it. Anyway, he started by setting up another of his infamous false dichotomies, this one between the Gospel and the Catholic faith. He used the pejorative term "defensive Gospel" against what seems to be a lovely term, "creativity of the Gospel". No, the Gospel is the message of Jesus, as taught by the...

Ploys & Perfidies RevisitedTHE EDITOR"A Jesuit education confused him,and he spreads this confusion like a virus." The context of the quote was a Pentecost sermon by Father Francis Gloudeman on the reign of falsehoods in Church and society; mendacity most clearly identified by hypocrisy. Saying "one thing and doing something [that is] the opposite," he insisted, is "fake. Being fake." He pointed to the ultimate faker, Joe Biden, as "a good example of hypocrisy. He says he is a good Catholic, but he’s the opposite. He supports those things, which are against Catholicism. That is hypocrisy on a grand scale...

Israeli rabbis send letter to Vatican expressing concern over papal remarksRabbi Ratzon Arusi, the chair of the Chief Rabbinate’s Commission for Dialogue with the Holy See, has expressed concern over recent remarks by Pope Francis about Jewish law, Reuters report.According to the report, Arusi sent a letter to the Vatican requesting clarification of comments the pope made to a general audience earlier this month.On August 11, Francis spoke at the Vatican about the first five books of the Bible, known in Hebrew as the Torah. The pope referenced the biblical story of God giving the Torah to the Jewish people:...