Free Republic

[Catholic Caucus] Italian bishops call for ‘research’ into female diaconateThe least-supported proposal that still received approval at the Italian bishops' synod calls for 'research projects' to explore the question of the female diaconate.Cardinal Matteo Maria Zuppi leaves the Vatican after a College of Cardinals' meeting on April 30, 2025 in Rome, ItalyAs far as the Italian bishops are concerned, the issue of a female diaconate is still on the table.On October 25, the Italian Synod approved a final document of proposals in which the synod affirmed its support and called for research into the issues addressing the ordination of women...

[Catholic Caucus] German Bishops Publish Homosexual Handbook for Catholic SchoolsOn 30 October, the German Bishops’ Conference published a guide urging Catholic schools to incorporate homosexual ideology. The title is: 'Created, Redeemed and Seduced Loved: Visibility and recognition of sexual identity diversity in schools”. In it, the bishops adopt the vocabulary and assumptions of gender ideology (queer, non-binary, cis, heteronormativity). They blaspheme that God willed homosexual lifestyles. Main problematic quotes, shortened for clarity.- The primacy of love orders all other perspectives – including sexual-moral ones.- Being loved in creation and redemption applies to the human person in all his or her...

Novus Ordo, the "Only Form of the Roman Rite" -- now with the "Queer Mass" broadcast live on German TV (video) German public broadcaster ZDF has for decades presented Sunday "divine services": Evangelical and Catholic. This past Sunday, for the first time, the Catholic "mass" was a "Queer Divine Service." We take the opportunity to remind all that Traditionis custodes, the document that attempted to abolish the Traditional Rite of the Latin Church, had the illegitimate audacity of stating: "The liturgical books promulgated by Saint Paul VI and Saint John Paul II, in conformity with the decrees of Vatican Council...

[Catholic Caucus] Italian synod moves to ‘recognize’ homosexual and transgender identities in the ChurchThe document rejects ‘discriminatory attitudes’ in the Church against homosexual and transgender identities despite associated sins having the potential to cause eternal death.The Third Synodal Assembly of Churches in Italy has taken a significant step toward normalizing and affirming homosexual activity and gender dysphoria in a document released Friday.Issued in Rome, “Yeast of Peace and Hope” utilized unprecedented language to express openness toward disordered identities that may encourage those who have fallen into these tragic conditions to further risk the salvation of their immortal souls.Under section 30(c)...

[Catholic Caucus] Bishop Strickland on the Cupich promotion: "This is not renewal, it is revolt!"Pope Leo XIV has appointed Cardinal Blasé Cupich of Chicago to the governing council of Vatican City. This is not a small administrative act; it is a declaration of direction. Cardinal Cupich has publicly opposed the Traditional Latin Mass, has tolerated and even celebrated politicians who advance abortion, and has consistently undermined those who defend the sanctity of life and the fullness of Catholic doctrine.My dear brothers and sisters, Today, with deep sorrow for the state of our beloved Church, I must speak. Pope Leo XIV...

Georgetown Has Declared War on Catholicism"The mask is off" aptly describes Georgetown Law professors' obscene distortion of the Catholic Faith to secure legal protections for DEI as a religion.Georgetown Law professors William Treanor and Amy Uelmen have crafted a remarkably dishonest defense of diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, disguising radical left-wing ideology as Catholic tradition. Their recent essay in America magazine represents not scholarly analysis but pure propaganda, a cynical attempt to baptize secular progressivism with holy water while hoping no one notices the fundamental contradiction. The audacity of their argument is staggering. These professors claim that opposition to DEI...

[Catholic Caucus] Jubilee: LGBT “Pilgrimage” Received with InsigniaDiane Montagna, on her X account, describes herself as an American journalist based in Rome and accredited to the Holy See. She has conducted a series of interviews with Bishop Athanasius Schneider for the publication of the book Christus vincit, The Triumph of Christ over the Darkness of Our Time, and is the executive director of the website The College of Cardinals Report.On the occasion of the LGBT “pilgrimage” that took place for the Jubilee Year in St. Peter's in Rome on September 6, 2025—officially organized by several associations, particularly by "Tenda di...

[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] US Bishops’ Conference Partnering with Heretical Association of PriestsThe heretical Association of US Catholic Priests (AUSCP) announced earlier this year that the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCBP) approached the Association, asking it to host a virtual consultation on the USCCB’s Laity Document. Public materials describe the event as a joint effort between AUSCP and the USCCB, presenting it as a continuation of synodal engagement.The AUSCP has a long history of promoting views in direct conflict with immutable Catholic teachings regarding the ordination of women, human sexual morality, the sacraments and the nature of the priesthood.In the...

[Catholic Caucus] WATCH: Mass celebrated in Rome for Fr. James Martin’s Outreach group, other ‘LGBT pilgrims’ Heterodox Jesuit Father James Martin posted a video on the social media platform X on Thursday showing part of a Mass celebrated for his dissident Outreach organization and other “LGBT Catholic pilgrims” at the Oratory of St. Francis Xavier in Rome on the eve of the Vatican’s official LGBT jubilee pilgrimage.The Mass, which was celebrated by Father Sam Sawyer, S.J., the editor-in-chief of the Jesuit-run America Magazine, at the historic oratory proceeded the Vatican’s ongoing LGBT jubilee pilgrimage, organized by “La Tenda di Gionata”...

[Catholic Caucus] Cardinal McElroy asks Vatican to laicize whistleblower priest claiming DC sex abuse cover-upFr. Michael Briese says Cdl. McElroy never refuted his allegations of abuse cover-ups, instead threatening laicization unless he removed blog posts exposing DC clergy scandals. Cardinal Robert McElroy of Washington, D.C., is seeking to laicize Father Michael Briese, a whistleblower archdiocesan priest, for refusing to take down blog posts detailing allegations that two priests who remain in good standing with the archdiocese, Father Adam Park and Father Carter Griffin, had sexually abused seminarians as well as allegations of a cover-up of the allegations by both McElroy...

[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] Heterodox priests condone immoral sexual behavior at annual retreat: leaked audio'The ideas and teachings floated in this conference are sure to lead souls to Hell,' remarked Michael Hichborn of the Lepanto Institute.A leaked audio recording of a heretical clergy group’s annual meeting reveals that its retreat leader, a theology professor, downplayed or heretically denied the gravity of an array of serious sins, including masturbation, fornication, and receiving Holy Communion while in grave sin.The Lepanto Institute recently shared audio clips from the 2025 annual meeting of the Association of U.S. Catholic Priests (AUSCP), a dissident group that was refused...

[Catholic Caucus] German bishops looking to promote gender ideology in schoolsA 20-page document says Germany's Catholic schools should respect and make more visible students who are 'non-binary' and 'non-heterosexual.' The heretical German bishops are planning to introduce guidelines for Catholic schools promoting radical gender ideology without questioning its horrendous consequences for children.The German Catholic News Agency (KNA) reports that the Catholic bishops, or more precisely, their school commission headed by Bishop Heinrich Timmerevers, are preparing a 20-page document on “sexual diversity” for Catholic schools.The paper says schools should respect and make more visible students who are “non-binary” and “non-heterosexual.” It...

[Catholic Caucus] Toulouse, France, archbishop names rape-convicted priest as chancellorThe archbishop of Toulouse, France, has drawn fierce criticism for appointing a priest previously convicted of raping a 16-year-old boy to serve as diocesan chancellor, sparking outrage from victims’ advocates and the local Catholic community.Archbishop Guy de Kerimel named Father Dominique Spina as chancellor and episcopal delegate for marriages, effective Sept. 1, according to a decree published June 2 on the archdiocese’s website. The appointment became public knowledge on July 7, when the regional newspaper La Dépêche du Midi broke the story.Spina was convicted in 2006 by the Tarbes Court of...

[Catholic Caucus] 90% of German Bishops Deny Catholic Sexual Moral TeachingOn 1 July, German Catholic author Gabriele Kuby told Edward Pentin's Substack.com-account that almost 90% of German bishops support a distorted sexual education that involves teaching children that homosexual acts and gender ideology are normal and acceptable.Two German bishops have recently indicated their support for such indoctrination in Catholic schools.On 20 June, Bishop Peter Kohlgraf of Mainz said that biblical statements about homosexuality should not be read as timeless truths, although morality is timeless.Bishop Heinrich Timmerevers of Dresden-Meissen recently called for a "new" way of thinking concerning the sexual morality...

During the Sede Vacante, the cardinals are responsible for the day-to-day business of the Church. The reins of power are held by the Cardinal Treasurer and three assistants – two are chosen by lot, one is appointed: Cardinal Marx. His work in Rome begins now. Munich Cardinal Reinhard Marx has been participating in the interim leadership of the world Catholic Church since today. The Cardinals present in Rome confirmed him as one of three assistants to Cardinal Treasurer Kevin Farrell in governing the Church during the Sede Vacante, due to his role as co-ordinator of the Council for the Economy....

[Catholic Caucus] Cardinals tout book on vocations and sexual orientation; Pope Francis writes prefacePope Francis has written the preface to Vocazioni felici: Integrare orientamento sessuale, affetti e relazioni [Happy Vocations: Integrating Sexual Orientation, Affections and Relationships], a new book by Chiara D’Urbano, a psychologist and consultor to the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Clergy.Cardinal Baldassare Reina, Cardinal Lazarus You Heung-sik, and Bishop Michele Di Tolve spoke at the April 9 presentation of the book, according to a statement from the Dicastery for the Clergy. Cardinal Reina is vicar general of His Holiness for Rome and archpriest of the Lateran Basilica; Cardinal...

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, challenging its decision to suspend federal funding for refugee resettlement. The move comes as part of President Donald Trump’s broader effort to realign American priorities—protecting the homeland first, rather than funding programs that facilitate unchecked migration. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, names the State Department, the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM), and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as defendants. USCCB is incorporated as a non-profit and headquartered in the District of...

Rep. Salazar: "I understand Mr. Anzios that you do not agree with the way that Elon Musk has conducted his investigation into USAID - but I do believe you know -coming from the world of television that you are judged by the results not by the process and Musk has discovered things that are completely and absolutely embarrassing ... let's start with Venezuela ... they make it to Ecuador, I mean they're tired and then they encounter that the United States, which is the Beacon of Hope, is offering this program to become a Drag Queen - so I think...