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Chinese bishops praise sinicization as synodality at conference in Rome “That’s the main point we need to work on: Being loyal to our government and being loyal to our faith.” Archbishop Joseph Li Shan of Beijing and Cardinal Stephen Chow of Hong Kong defended the controversial policy of Sinicization of the Catholic Church in China and obedience to state religious laws at a Nov. 5 conference in Rome, comparing the state ordering of religion to the practice of synodality in the Latin Church.Archbishop Joseph Li Shan of Beijing. Credit: Lou Linwei/Alamy Live NewsIn his speech at a Nov. 5 conference...

[Catholic Caucus] The Fifth Mark of the Church: Why Traditional Catholics Are Being Persecuted The Catholic Church is known by four marks: One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic. But there is a fifth mark that Catholics have long recognized: Persecution. As traditional Catholics face mounting restrictions from Rome, could the persecution of those who remain faithful to Tradition be helping preserve the visible identity of the true Church?One of the most intriguing aspects of the current crisis in the Catholic Church comes to light when we consider the following truths of our religion:The Catholic Church is a perpetually visible society.The Catholic...

Cardinal Bernardin’s Victim Speaks Out Last week I (Fr. David Nix) had a four hour dinner with Bernardin’s victim and her husband. She is now 80 years old. The Satanic Ritual Abuse happened to her about 70 years ago by Fr. Joseph Bernardin (later Cardinal Archbishop of Chicago, top-left.) The abuse happened at St. Mary’s Church in Greenville, SC (top-right.)My mother is from Chicago (and my father is from West of Chicago) so I grew up hearing from extended family that one day Cardinal Bernardin would be canonized. Much in my life has changed since then. Another thing that has...

Cardinal Parolin confirms Pope Leo’s approval of China bishop appointments despite ‘imperfect’ agreement Cardinal Pietro Parolin has confirmed that Pope Leo XIV has approved episcopal appointments under the Vatican’s agreement with China, acknowledging that the arrangement remains imperfect but insisting that dialogue with Beijing must continueCardinal Pietro Parolin has confirmed that Pope Leo XIV has given his assent to episcopal appointments made under the agreement between the Holy See and China, while acknowledging that the arrangement remains imperfect and defending the Vatican’s decision to continue implementing it.Speaking to journalists on Thursday, 5 November, the Vatican Secretary of State reaffirmed that...

Vatican promotes climate agenda with Lenten ‘carbon fast’ Vatican officials promoted a 40-day 'carbon fast' during Lent while unveiling plans to utilize AI to monitor global parish eco-commitments.The Holy See celebrated the expansion of its global ecological platform by showcasing artificial intelligence surveillance tools and promoting an eco-substitute for Lenten penance, urging faithful to replace traditional mortification with a “carbon fast.”On November 4, the Holy See Press Office hosted a press conference to mark the fifth anniversary of the Laudato Si’ Action Platform (LSAP), a digital framework launched by the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development. Officials announced that over...

Being pro-life is not antisemitic Cardinal Cupich (Oct 29, 2026) will today honour Michael Sacks despite his substantial financial support for abortion, while the Archdiocese of Chicago has responded to criticism by warning of the dangers of antisemitismToday, despite widespread indignation from the pro-life movement, Cardinal Blase Cupich will award Michael Sacks the inaugural Nostra Aetate Award at Mundelein Seminary in Chicago. The award will be presented during the annual Rerum Novarum event, “an evening to honour lay men and women who are examples of Catholic Social Teaching in action.”Nostra Aetate, full title Declaration on the Relation of the Church...

[Catholic Caucus] Leo-appointed archbishop of Vienna supports ‘ordination of women’ Archbishop Josef Grünwidl also argued for the abolition of priestly celibacy, stating it has 'nothing to do with our faith, with the truths of the faith, or with dogma.'Archbishop Josef Grünwidl of Vienna has said that he wants the “ordination of women” but thinks it is not “realistic” at the moment.In an interview with Austria’s public radio station Ö1, the new archbishop of Vienna addressed a wide range of issues, including the questions of female ordination, mandatory priestly celibacy, and euthanasia.Grünwidl noted that women are already serving in many areas...

‘Woe To Me If I Do Not Preach’ I’m not sure whether Cardinal Jean-Paul Vesco, the Archbishop of Algiers, has read the satirical poem “Absolute and Abitofhell” by Monsignor Ronald Knox. The poem describes the Oxford dons and clergymen of his day, who were enamored of theological liberalism, the kind of churchmen that, St. John Henry Newman said, he had spent his life combatting.The lines from that poem that come to mind about our man in Algiers are as sharp as vinegar: “When suave politeness, temp’ring bigot zeal / Corrected ‘I believe,’ to ‘One does feel.’ “Cardinal Vesco has recently...

Leo XIV-led Vatican sends Diwali message to Hindus The Vatican extended its ‘warmest prayerful and festive wishes’ to Hindus on Diwali while suggesting the ‘spirit of Assisi’ could help Christians and Hindus ‘forge pathways of peace’ together.The Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue (DID) under Pope Leo XIV on Friday published a special message to Hindus ahead of their Diwali holiday next week, stressing the Vatican’s commitment to peace “in the spirit of Assisi.”In its October 30 message, published the day before Allhallowtide and signed by Cardinal George Jacob Koovakad and Monsignor Indunil Janakaratne Kodithuwakku Kankanamalage – prefect and secretary of the...

A hundred Catholic nuns visit a Buddhist temple in Ho Chi Minh and practice meditation A Redemptorist priest maintains that offering incense and praying before a statue of Buddha are incompatible with the Catholic faithThe visit of nearly a hundred Catholic nuns to a Buddhist monastery in Vietnam has sparked debate among the country’s faithful after images circulated showing the sisters participating in religious practices specific to Buddhism. The encounter, held on October 26 in Ho Chi Minh, has drawn criticism from a Redemptorist priest, who recalls that certain gestures performed during the day are incompatible with the Catholic faith.According...

[Catholic Caucus] Dissenters rip Cardinal Ratzinger’s 1986 letter on homosexuality on 40th anniversary October 30, 2026» Continue to this story on National Catholic Reporter CWN Editor's Note: Critics of Catholic teaching on the immorality of homosexual acts strongly criticized the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith’s letter to bishops on the pastoral care of homosexual persons, 40 years after its publication. At the time, the congregation’s prefect was Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who became Pope Benedict XVI in 2005. “We were horrified when we read it, but I would say we were not surprised,” said Sister Jeannine Gramick, cofounder of...

Cardinal doubles down after saying Church should not ‘convert’ people Cardinal Vesco responded to Bishop Barron's correction by saying that Catholics, Jews, and Muslims have 'better things to do' than trying to convert one another.Cardinal Jean-Paul Vesco, the archbishop of Algiers, Algeria, responded to Bishop Robert Barron’s correction of his erroneous statement that the Catholic Church is “not there to convert” by doubling down and saying that Catholics and members of other monotheistic religions have “better things to do” than trying to convert one another.In an October 30 social media post responding to Bishop Barron, Vesco highlighted the actions of...

A Bad Look for the Vatican - On the Blocking of Saint Peter’s to Traditional Pilgrims - by Bishop Marian Eleganti A Bad Look for the VaticanThis year's ban on the traditionally minded "Ad Petri Sedem" pilgrims entering Saint Peter's Basilica on October 24, 2026 borders on hostility toward Catholics who are loyal to the Pope and orthodox in their faith. It has nothing to do with concern for unity in the Church or with operational difficulties in organizing liturgical celebrations in Saint Peter's.The rites that exist in the Catholic Church, in their peaceful coexistence with the Novus Ordo, demonstrate...

[Catholic Caucus] Two Pilgrimages, Two Bans: Traditional Catholics Shut Out of Rome and Lourdes In the same weekend, traditional Catholics were denied their customary prayer service inside St. Peter’s Basilica and barred from public liturgies and processions at Lourdes. Two pilgrimages. Two holy places. And one unforgettable witness to a faith that no ecclesiastical restriction can extinguish. During the “Christ the King” pilgrimage organized by the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) in October 2026, I learned more vividly than ever that a pilgrimage’s true success does not rest on a basilica, a sanctuary, or even an official authorization from...

Pope Leo meets with Chicago anti-ICE activists at Vatican Pope Leo met with Chicago auxiliary Bishop José Maldonado and members of the so-called Coalition for Spiritual and Public Leadership, a leftist, pro-immigration group. Following his weekly general audience on Wednesday, Pope Leo XIV met with clerical and lay activists for immigrants detained by ICE in his native Chicago.Following his October 28 audience, the American pontiff met with Bishop José María García Maldonado, auxiliary bishop of Chicago, and several priests and lay members of the Coalition for Spiritual and Public Leadership (CSPL), a group that specializes in “bringing pastoral care” to...

Vatican Welcomes Islam While Traditional Catholics are Rejected: What Happened to the Faith? Why are Catholic leaders welcoming Muslims while traditional Catholics face growing restrictions? Robert Morrison traces the controversy from Vatican II to today’s Church, contrasting the religious outlook of influential postconciliar theologians with Archbishop Lefebvre’s uncompromising defense of the Catholic Faith.In his recent interview with Michael Matt, Bishop Athanasius Schneider spoke of the way in which some bishops in Europe praise and promote Islam:“Many bishops in Europe say this religion is fine, we support this religion, because they believe in one god . . . and by this...

From Dick Durbin to Michael Sacks: Cupich will recognize an abortion-funding donor at a gala for future priests Cardinal Blase Cupich, Archbishop of Chicago, will participate on October 29 in a gala at which the archdiocese will present the Nostra Aetate award to businessman Michael J. Sacks, president and chief executive officer of GCM Grosvenor, who has donated $600,000 to fund initiatives aimed at facilitating access to abortion in Illinois.The recognition will take place during the annual Seminary Salutes Rerum Novarum gala, organized by Mundelein Seminary, part of the University of Saint Mary of the Lake, with the goal of...

Cardinal Vesco says Catholic Church is ‘not there to convert’ in interview on evangelisation Cardinal Jean-Paul Vesco has said the Church is “not there to convert”, arguing that proselytism is “poison” and that Christians should approach other religions through fraternity rather than seeking conversionsCardinal Jean-Paul Vesco has said that the Catholic Church is “not a proselytising Church, not a Church that is there to convert”, arguing that its role is to form part of Algerian society rather than seek religious conversions.In an interview with Belgian Catholic media outlet CathoBel on 23 October, the Archbishop of Algiers said: “We are the...

[Catholic Caucus]Newly Published Letters Refute Vatican Claim That TLM Pilgrimage Failed to Specify Its Request MiL also publishes the text of a June 12 letter to Pope Leo XIV requesting permission to celebrate Mass.(Pilgrims gather in front of the Obelisk to sing the Credo; Photo: Diane Montagna)New letters have emerged concerning the Vatican’s refusal to let the fifteenth annual Summorum Pontificum pilgrimage Ad Petri Sedem enter St. Peter’s Basilica in procession. They confirm reports on the organizers’ Sept. 8 request and directly refute the Vatican’s claim that the request was not specific enough.Today the Italian blog Messainlatino (MiL) published three...

Rome picks a side: LGBT ‘pilgrimage’ welcomed, Latin Mass shut out OpinionTo oppose the traditional Mass is to oppose the Mass, and to oppose the Mass is to oppose the Catholic faith itself.Catholics who love the traditional Latin Mass (TLM) have now been forcefully shut out from St. Peter’s Basilica. Pro-sodomy “pilgrims” have been deliberately welcomed. All within the span of just a little over a year, under the helm of Pope Leo XIV. A line has been drawn in the sand.The latest move against traditional Catholicism from the Vatican is so remarkable because it is so concrete and clear,...