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[Catholic Caucus] "The Holy Father Received This Morning in Audience... Fr. James Martin, SJ"From today's Bollettino:Il Santo Padre ha ricevuto questa mattina in Udienza:- Em.mo Card. Angelo De Donatis, Penitenziere Maggiore;- Mons. Andrea Ferrante, Incaricato d’Affari a.i. in Myanmar;- S.E. Mons. Francisco Castro Lalupù, Vescovo tit. di Puzia di Bizacena, Ausiliare di Trujillo (Perù);- Padre James Martin, S.I.;- S.E. Mons. Giuseppe Sciacca, Vescovo tit. di Fondi;- Membri dell’Opera San Francesco per i Poveri di Milano;- Em.mo Card. Michael Czerny, S.I., Prefetto del Dicastero per il Servizio dello Sviluppo Umano Integrale. [Source, in Italian] This is how Martin described the audience:...

[Catholic Caucus] Synod-Preacher Radcliffe pays tribute to homosexual relationsThe Dominican priest and spiritual assistant to the Synod of the World, Timothy Radcliffe, has acknowledged homosexual Catholics in permanent relationships. In a contribution to the Vatican newspaper "L'Osservatore Romano", the 79-year-old religious wrote last week that he is on a "synodal path with homosexual Catholics". He stressed that the challenge for homosexuals, as for everyone else, is to learn to express love appropriately, while respecting the dignity of others. "I am convinced of the fundamental wisdom of ecclesiastical doctrine, but I do not yet fully understand how it can be lived...

[Catholic Caucus] Lavender in the SanctuaryThe Vatican’s Closet Is No Longer ClosedFor decades Catholics were told to think of clerical scandals as isolated “excesses.” A bad bishop here, a corrupt nuncio there, a predator priest unluckily assigned to their parish. But if the research of Dr. Frédéric Martel and the admissions of whistleblowers within the Curia have shown anything, it is this: the homosexual infiltration of the Vatican is not anecdote but architecture.Martel spent years interviewing hundreds of clergy and came back with the unvarnished truth: Rome is not simply tolerant of homosexual behavior, it is constructed around it. Promotion...

[Catholic Caucus] Vatican-ordered investigation underway in LimaInvestigators have in recent weeks summoned priests and archdiocesan employees to answer questions about the financial situation of Caritas Lima, a network of diocesan schools, and multiple alleged coverups of sexual misconduct — including cases previously reported by The Pillar, among them sexual misconduct claims linked to the archdiocesan seminary.—Senior archdiocesan sources told The Pillar that a group of Augustinian priests led by Fr. Alexander Lam, OSA, his order’s assistant general for Latin American, had been interviewing clerics and archdiocesan employees virtually about allegations of abuse coverup and financial misconduct by Cardinal Carlos Castillo.The...

[Catholic Caucus] Vatican’s Homosexual Network: Protected by the Secretariat of State“Twenty years of scandals, and the Vatican - to be more specific, the Vatican Secretariat of State - has learned nothing”, writes Phil Lawler on CatholicCulture.org (July 17).He comments on the case of Rev Carlo Capella. The priest was imprisoned in Vatican City for possessing and distributing child pornography, yet he has returned to work in the Holy See’s diplomatic service — first without an official title, and now with a formal senior designation.An official labelled the scandal as 'an act of mercy'.Lawler asks: “Mercy? Not mercy toward the teenagers...

[Catholic Caucus] Bishop Joseph Strickland: Statement on the Lavender Mafia and the St. Gallen MafiaThe Lavender Mafia undermined the Church’s credibility through sin and scandal. The St. Gallen group weakened her witness through strategic manipulation of leadership and teaching.Editor’s note: The following was originally published on Bishop Joseph Strickland’s Substack on July 14, 2025.(LifeSiteNews) — In a recent post, I spoke of what many refer to as the “Lavender Mafia.” This term is commonly used to describe a hidden network of clergy within the Church who engage in or protect homosexual activity, form alliances based on mutual secrecy, and often...

What Does Pope’s New Bishop Appointment Tell Us About Future of LGBTQ+ Ministry?Since the beginning of Pope Leo XIV’s papacy, very little has been known about the pope’s approach to LGBTQ+ issues. However, Leo’s latest episcopal appointment may provide insight into the pontiff’s leanings on LGBTQ+ pastoral care. The appointment of Fr. Thomas Hennen as Bishop of the Diocese of Baker, Oregon, is Leo’s first episcopal selection who has some sort of record on LGBTQ+ issues. Hennen, a priest of the Diocese of Davenport, Iowa, is only 47, and will become the youngest bishop to lead a U.S. diocese.A Religion...

[Catholic Caucus] Bishop Strickland: Follow-up to my statement on Bishop-elect HennenMany faithful Catholics have expressed concern over my recent comments regarding Pope Leo XIV’s appointment of Fr. Thomas Hennen as Bishop-elect of Baker. I write now not to backtrack, but to clarify and deepen what must be said – for the sake of the flock and for the integrity of the Church.A bishop is a shepherd, yes – but also a watchman. And if the watchman sounds the alarm only once the wolves are already among the sheep, many souls will be devoured. The shepherd’s call must go out when...

[Catholic Caucus] Storm in the Vatican. Is the Cipriani Case a Trap Against Opus Dei?The Cipriani Case is a troubling allegation of abuse of a minor by Juan Luis Cipriani when the latter was the spiritual director of the Seminary of Lima, Peru. Made a cardinal by Pope John Paul II in 2001, Cipriani and the Vatican now seem at odds, and here's the breakdown:Juan Luis Cipriani Thorne, the emeritus archbishop of Lima (Peru) and a cardinal created by Pope John Paul II in 2001, is currently at the center of a very confusing storm. On January 25, 2025, the...

[Catholic Caucus] Pope Francis all but confirms he chose not to expose Vatican ‘corruption’ and ‘wrongdoing’In his new memoir 'Hope,' Pope Francis reveals that Benedict XVI had presented him with documents 'relating to the most difficult and painful situations: cases of abuse, corruption, dark dealings, wrongdoings.' Yet he has not fought that corruption.(Catholic Culture) — This week, with the publication of his new book, Pope Francis has added one important link to the chain of evidence regarding the fight against Vatican corruption.In April 2012, Pope Benedict created a special commission of three senior cardinals (Herranz, Tomko, and DeGiorgi) to investigate...

[Catholic Caucus] He knew of sex abuse allegations on campus. Now he’s university president.SOUTH ORANGE, New Jersey — Monsignor Joseph Reilly started as a student at Seton Hall University 45 years ago and rose the ranks of the prestigious Catholic institution, becoming one of its most influential figures. Then he left his position in 2022, with little fanfare. Unknown to the public, Reilly had been implicated in the fallout of defrocked Cardinal Theodore McCarrick’s sexual abuse scandal that rocked the church all the way up to the Vatican — called out in a secretive internal investigation that concluded Reilly knew...

Months after the United Methodist Church’s largest overseas jurisdiction voted to cut ties with the denomination over their support of same-sex marriage, resulting in a loss of over a million members in a single day, UMC leadership has revealed their plans to retaliate against them: cut off all funding and take their property. Earlier this year, The United Methodist Church in the Ivory Coast (EMUCI), which has been vocal about the denomination’s drift, held an extraordinary session on May 28th and pulled the trigger, casting their votes to disaffiliate “For reasons of conscience before God and His word, the supreme...

[Catholic Caucus] Archbishop Viganò: Bergoglio owes his ‘election’ to McCarrickIn a new interview given to Italian newspaper Il Messaggero, Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò asserts that Francis 'owes' his 2013 election to the once-influential but now-laicized ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick.In a new interview given to journalist Franca Giansoldati of the Italian newspaper Il Messaggero, Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò claims that Francis “owes” his 2013 election to disgraced ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick. In the interview, published by Il Messaggero on Wednesday morning, Viganò was asked, “You have accused Pope Francis of having ignored the rumors relating to the homosexuality and abuse of minors by...

[Catholic Caucus] Viganò Told: “Keep Your Mouth Shut”By Silencing Viganò, Catholic Media Silence Abuse VictimsSome faithful Catholics are voicing disagreement with the Editor of Crisis Magazine, Eric Sammons, after he scolded Archbishop Viganò to “keep your mouth shut” following Viganò’s assertion that he has personal knowledge of reports that Pope Francis sexually abused seminarians.As a sex abuse victims’ advocate who is aware of the serious effects of clerical sexual predation that has led countless victims to have their psychosexual development damaged; become drug addicts and/or alcoholics; and even commit suicide, I disagree with critics of Viganò’s transparency about abuse reports...

[Catholic Caucus] Lawsuit Claims McCarrick Headed Abusive ‘Sex Ring,’ Names Alleged ‘Procurer’ A lawsuit filed Tuesday charges that former cardinal Theodore McCarrick sexually abused a boy and aided his abuse by several other priests, and claims that a principal at a Christian Brothers high school helped procure the victim for McCarrick and the other clergy abusers in the early 1980s. The plaintiff’s controversial lawyer, Jeff Anderson characterized McCarrick as leading a “sex ring.” He claimed papal power is to blame, including Pope Francis, and cites unproven claims by the controversial Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano about the Holy See’s response to...

New accusation surfaces against former U.S. prelate McCarrick Then-Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick, retired archbishop of Washington, arrives in procession for a Mass of thanksgiving for Cardinal Donald W. Wuerl of Washington in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican Nov. 22, 2010. A new lawsuit against McCarrick, who was laicized in 2019, accuses him of managing a sex ring among seminarians, altar boys and priests at a New Jersey beach house. (CNS/Paul Haring) Washington — A firm that has filed previous legal complaints against former Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick and church entities added another complainant July 21 against the defrocked prelate,...

As New York City becomes the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic in the United States, the city is going into lockdown. Frontline healthcare workers are preparing for shortages of beds and equipment, and the USNS Comfort, a massive hospital ship, has arrived to help deal with the influx of patients. Samaritan's Purse, a Christian humanitarian organization that, among other things, brings medical professionals and supplies to war zones and disaster hotspots around the world, has set up a 68-bed field hospital in Central Park with 60 to 70 medical staff to treat coronavirus patients. The arrival of Samaritan's Purse was...

Whether you like it or not, there’s plenty of evidence that the God of the Bible does not sanction same-sex relationships. You may not interpret the Good Book that way. Perhaps you’ve got reasonable theological reasons for it.

The Boy Scouts of America has drawn up a strategy for coping with a wave of sexual-abuse claims through a possible bankruptcy filing while protecting local scouting councils and the billions of dollars in assets they hold, according to people familiar with the matter.

Even though American culture warriors of the right are fighting what Tolkien called ‘the long defeat’, surrender in the Battle of Chick-fil-A was a monumental symbolic loss. That’s because the fast-food chain had become what psychology calls a ‘condensation symbol’: a phrase or entity that powerfully evokes a worldview, and usually calls forth strong emotions around it. Chick-fil-A sells fried chicken. When are chicken nuggets not mere morsels of battered and fried chicken? When LGBT activists transform them into sacraments of Bible-thumping wickedness, as they have done with enormous effectiveness since 2012. That was the year that Dan Cathy, CEO...