Free Republic

‘Fraud’: 3rd German bishop rejects ‘synodal path’ to revisit sexual morality, celibacy May 24, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) – In March 2019, after a delay of thirty minutes, an obviously exhausted Cardinal Reinhard Marx announced to the world that the German bishops, in the final minutes of their spring assembly, had “unanimously” approved a “synodal path” for revisiting the Church's teaching on sexual morality, clerical power, and celibacy. However, as LifeSiteNews then was already able to find out, that alleged unanimity was only due to the fact that several bishops had abstained from voting. One of them, as it turns out, was...

[Catholic Caucus] Draft for Curia Reform: "Very Negative Impression," "Poor Quality" Marco Tosatti has seen the draft of Praedicate Evangelium, the document for an upcoming reform of the Roman Curia, and had a "very negative impression," "I was struck by the poor quality, from a formal and substantial point of view," he writes on his blog (May 11). Tosatti gives as an example article 130 which calls on episcopal conferences to value and protect "indigenous cultures" with their "heritage of wisdom" and their "cosmic and spiritual balance" as "wealth for all humanity.” "Cosmic?" Tosatti asks. [Among Catholics this is commonly...

[Catholic Caucus] German cardinals, bishops, priests reject Cdl. Marx’ agenda to revisit celibacy, sexual morality April 26, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) – Several German cardinals, bishops, and priests have now independently come out strongly against some of the so-called reform ideas as presented by the German Bishops' Conference under the leadership of Cardinal Reinhard Marx, especially with regard to the loosening of priestly celibacy and "need for change" of sexual morality.  Cardinals Walter Brandmüller and Paul Josef Cordes, as well as the German-speaking Swiss Bishop Marian Eleganti, have defended priestly celibacy. Bishop Rudolf Voderholzer said he considers it to be a “squandering...

[Catholic Caucus] A “binding” German synod… What could possibly go wrong? he German Church continues its imitation of the Body of Christ’s theological and disciplinary Necrotizing fascitis, more commonly known as “flesh-eating disease”.From the Catholic Herald comes news about a synod which the Germans want to hold.What could possibly go wrong? German bishops announce ‘synodal process’ on celibacy, sexual moralityThe German bishops will discuss priestly celibacy and sexual morality, leading to an as yet undetermined ‘binding’ outcomeCardinal Reinhard Marx of Munich and Freising has announced that the Catholic Church in Germany is embarking on a “binding synodal process” to tackle...

[Catholic Caucus] Cardinal Marx: Issues of Celibacy & “Sexual Orientation” Will Receive “Synodal” Clarification LIGEN, Germany, March 14, 2019—Issues of celibacy and “sexual orientation” will receive clarification within a “binding synodal path” in Germany, says Cardinal Reinhard Marx in remarks to katholisch.de after the conclusion of the spring conference of German Bishops, Thursday.Emphasizing the need for more “theological discoveries while integrating modern humanities”, he added that the intimate personal significance of sexuality in modern day culture had yet to be fully understood by the Church.“We feel how often we are unable to speak in questions about today’s sexual behavior,” he...

President Trump used his State of the Union speech to position America squarely against the rising tide of socialism. The Washington Post has chosen to take the other side. Perspective: Five myths about socialism MYTH NO. 1 Socialism is a single coherent ideology. …socialism has multiple meanings and interpretations, which have to be disentangled before a discussion about its merits can begin. One distinction centers on whether socialism is a system that must supplant capitalism or one that can harness the market’s immense productive capacity for progressive ends. Karl Marx, who predicted that historical forces would inevitably lead to capitalism’s...

The same group of petulant Marxist trash that gets its jollies from the vandalization and destruction of Confederate and United States history is upset Saturday, after finding that their beloved namesake’s grave been attacked in the same manner. “This is horrific. I’m at Highgate Cemetery and Karl Marx’s grave has been attacked AGAIN.

Friends of Highgate Cemetery calls attack a ‘particularly inarticulate form of political comment’ The tomb of Karl Marx at London’s Highgate cemetery has been vandalised in a targeted attack that means the Grade I-listed monument will “never be the same again”. The suspected vandal damaged a marble plaque which was taken from Marx’s original 1881 gravestone and incorporated into the 1954 monument. Images of the defaced memorial, which attracts tens of thousands of visitors each year, show what appears to be damage done by a hammer to the lettering of Marx’s name and the marble on which it is mounted....

Dissident German theologians ask Cdl. Marx to make ‘new start’ on Catholic sexual morality February 5, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) – Eight German dissident Catholic theologians in leading positions are publicly calling on Cardinal Reinhard Marx, the head of the German Bishops' Conference, and the country's bishops to make a “new start” regarding Catholic sexual morality on account of the clerical sex abuse crisis.  They are not only calling for “a new start with the sexual morality” but also “a just assessment of homosexuality,” the abolishment of priestly celibacy, and female ordination. Their Open Letter to Cardinal Marx was published on...

January 14, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) – A group of German priests are calling upon Cardinal Reinhard Marx to resign as the head of the German bishops.  Communio veritatis, a group of priests from the Archdiocese of Paderborn, published a statement today accusing the prelate of “abusing your spiritual office by obviously considering the Church's Sacraments as your personal property which you sacrifice at your own whims on the altar of the Zeitgeist.” The first sentence of the statement, as published today on the Austrian Catholic website Kath.net, refers to a recent claim made by Marx, namely, that he does not like...

The story of Karl Marx’s relationship with the American media begins with Horace Greeley. He was an American journalist in the mid to late 1800s. He started his professional life as a printer’s apprentice in Vermont before moving to New York City in 1831. Three years later he founded a literary paper, The New Yorker. Greeley was a liberal Whig who was soon approached by political boss Thurlow Weed and was asked to do weekly campaign publications for the 1838 and 1840 elections. In 1841, his political contacts and journalistic success allowed him to found The New York Tribune, which...

With Cardinal Marx at Youth Synod, his vicar general says Munich diocese has ‘homosexual priests’ October 5, 2018 (LifeSiteNews) – While Cardinal Reinhard Marx is in Rome after being personally invited by the Pope to attend the Youth Synod, his general vicar, Dr. Peter Beer, has stated that the Archdiocese of Munich has “homosexual priests and homosexual employees,” adding that they “render an important and good service.” Dr. Beer gave an interview that has now been published by the website of the Archdiocese of Munich. On October 1, the German bishops’ news website Katholisch.de reported on the Beer interview,...

ROME - A close adviser to Pope Francis criticized legislation proposed by Italy’s anti-migrant League party to require ports and other public institutions to display a crucifix, saying Wednesday that the religious symbol isn’t “a team emblem” to be shown for political ends.“If you remove the (religious) symbolism from the crucifix … it becomes a parody,” Father Antonio Spadaro, editor of the Jesuit magazine Civilta Cattolica, said during a Rome conference on the pope.A tweet Spardaro posted earlier in the day with a blunt “Hands off!” went viral. The crucifix, he wrote, “screams love to the enemy and unconditional welcome.”It...

Professor Ying Fuk-tsang, director of the divinity school at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, says that during the early years of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) some Christians became disappointed with church institutions. They thought God had taken away the power of Christianity to save humanity, so they joined the CCP as secret, or underground, members. He cited Yan Baohang, who was baptized when studying at the Fengtian (now Shenyang) Normal School and served as a trainee student secretary in the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA). He was later sent to the University of Edinburgh in Scotland for further...

Venezuela has begun to proactively shut-in oil production to cope with nearly replete terminal storage. This will further accelerate an output decline and bring them closer to 1 million barrels per day or even less. According to energy ministry official data communicated to Opec, Venezuela produced 1.533mn b/d of crude in May, up by 28,000 b/d from 1.505mn b/d in April. However, this May statistic was a lie. Average production cited by secondary sources published by Opec report Venezuela’s May output at 1.392mn b/d, down by 42,500 b/d from 1.434mn b/d in April. Argus estimates May production at around 1.45mn...

Cardinal Marx Refuses to Accept Vatican Ruling The press speaker of the German bishops has commented on the refusal of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith to back the [sacrilegious] German proposal to give Holy Communion to non-Catholics. The press statement recalls that during a May meeting in Rome a delegation of German bishops was told to find an "unanimous" agreement regarding Protestant Communion, adding, "The Chairman [Cardinal Marx] is therefore surprised that even before finding such a unanimous agreement, this letter has now arrived from Rome." Marx is not ready to accept the ruling. According to the...

The Pope cannot abdicate the Petrine Ministry in favor of a synodal method of Church governance on questions such as intercommunion, a respected theologian and former consulter to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith during Benedict XVI’s pontificate has said. Writing yesterday in La Nuova Bussola Quotidiana, Italian Monsignor Nicola Bux said the Catholic Church is “hierarchical, not synodal” and “pastoral issues are resolved only if the ‘meal’ is made of true doctrine.” Msgr. Bux’s comments come in response to a recent interview with Cardinal Walter Kasper on intercommunion and the German bishops’ controversial proposal to allow a Protestant who is...

Teen Vogue recently published a controversial article titled, “Who is Karl Marx: Meet the Anti-Capitalist Scholar,” and promoted it on Twitter, saying that “The political philosopher turned 200-years-old on May 5, but his ideas can still teach us about the past and present.” Author Danielle Corcione vilifies “rich people” and “bosses” in the piece, while gushing that through The Communist Manifesto, Marx “inspired millions of people to resist oppressive political leaders and spark political revolutions all over the world.” Corcione interviewed a high school teacher and former professor about how they incorporate Marx’s teachings into their class curriculum. Former Drexel...

Cardinal Reinhard Marx, the head of the German bishops, is now opening up to the idea of different German dioceses having different rules concerning the possible admittance of Protestant spouses of Catholics to Holy Communion. Another bishop just said, moreover, that Pope Francis seems not to see in the new German intercommunion guidelines a “threat to the Faith.”Last Saturday, the German Katholikentag (a national Catholic gathering with some 50,000 participants) in Münster came to an end. Now, at the beginning of this week, the statements of the participating German bishops concerning the ongoing intercommunion debate are being widely reported in...

Much has been made of the May 3rd meeting that took place in Rome between certain members of the German Bishops Conference and representatives of the Holy See to discuss the former’s controversial so-called “pastoral handout” allowing the Protestant spouse of a Catholic to receive Holy Communion under certain Bergoglian conditions.According to the German Bishops’ news service:A precondition is that the Protestant partner “after a deep discernment in a spiritual conversation with the priest or another pastoral worker comes to the decision of conscience to affirm the Faith of the Catholic Church, as well as to end a ‘serious spiritual...