Free Republic

[Catholic Caucus] As synod nears close, participants urge people to lower expectations for resultsROME – Participants and spiritual advisors in this month’s Synod of Bishops selected by the Vatican to brief the media have said faithful should lower their expectations for big changes on hot-button topics, insisting that while differences in opinion and perspective exist, there has been no ideological influence in the discussion.Asked about skepticism in the lead-up to this month’s gathering during an Oct. 27 press briefing, British Dominican Father Timothy Radcliffe, who led the synod’s spiritual retreat before it opened on Oct. 4 and who has given...

[Catholic Caucus] Bishops walking out, 'tiresome' listening: Inside tensions at the synodIt was less than two weeks into Pope Francis' high-stakes Vatican summit on the future of the Catholic Church when multiple reports emerged about participating delegates storming out of the room. In one case, a bishop didn't want to be photographed sitting next to a priest with whom he had numerous disagreements. In another, a cardinal believed that the Oct. 4-29 Synod of Bishops was a misnomer because it now included the equal participation of the laity — a criticism that has reverberated throughout the monthlong meeting. The incidents...

[Catholic Caucus] “What does the Pope really want?” - Bishop Rob MutsaertsA post by Bishop Rob Mutsaerts, Auxiliary Bishop of 's-Hertogenbosch (Bois-le-Duc), Netherlands. Translated from his blog in Dutch here. What is the synod underway in Rome actually about? Over and again, official Vatican sources are telling us many things. That it is not about theology, nor about doctrinal matters, nor about LGBTQ+, the ordination of women and the issue of celibacy. Neither is it, they add, about seeking to undermine or replace the hierarchical nature of the church or democratize the decision-making process. No, it would seem to be...

Cardinal Müller Says Synod on Synodality Is Being Used by Some to Prepare the Church to Accept False TeachingCardinal Gerhard Müller, the former prefect for the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, says the Synod on Synodality is not an episcopal assembly but more like an Anglican synodal meeting, and is being used by some participants as a means to prepare the Catholic Church to accept ideologies that run contrary to Scripture and Tradition. In an extensive Oct. 24 interview with the Register, Cardinal Müller also warned that some in the assembly are “abusing the Holy Spirit” in order...

Unprecedented since the Council: Schneider Issues Canonical Catechism Against Modern ErrorsDated on the feast of St. Athanasius, Bishop Athanasius Schneider has issued a formally canonical catechism as a part of his participation in the ordinary Magisterium of the Church. The Rome release was today.This action is unprecedented for many decades since Vatican II. Yet bishops have the power, authority and also the duty to teach in participation with the Magisterium. As Lumen Gentium teaches:Although the individual bishops do not enjoy the prerogative of infallibility, they nevertheless proclaim Christ’s doctrine infallibly whenever, even though dispersed through the world, but still maintaining...

[Catholic Caucus] Archbishop of Sydney: If a Synod proposal contradicts Catholic teaching, it’s ‘not of the Holy Spirit’Archbishop Anthony Fisher warned that it is ‘superstitious’ to attribute everything happening at the Synod on Synodality to the Holy Spirit and noted that the Holy Spirit doesn’t choose every pope or bishop.ROME (LifeSiteNews) – An archbishop attending the Synod on Synodality said in an interview last week that any proposals coming from the Synod that contradict the Gospel are not of the Holy Spirit. Speaking with Catholic News Agency (CNA), Archbishop Anthony Fisher of Syndey, Australia, also said that people should be...

[Catholic Caucus] In open letter, synod urges more synodalityAn open letter published by the synod on synodality Wednesday said that the Church should focus more on the idea of synodality ahead of the October 2024 final session of the Church’s years-long consultative process. The Oct. 25 text also emphasized discipleship of Jesus Christ, and commitment to both service of the poor and protection of the environment.“We hope that the months leading to the second [Vatican] session in October 2024 will allow everyone to concretely participate in the dynamism of missionary communion indicated by the word ‘synod,’” said the letter, which...

[Catholic Caucus] How consoling that Francis is so concerned for women!Pope Francis wrapped up this phase of the so-called “synod” with an address that handed out some mild praises and a bunch of bitter complaints, as usual (link). He appealed for an appreciation of the feminine aspect of the Church, and urged the clergy to recognize it, saying: “When ministers go too far in their service and mistreat the people of God, they disfigure the face of the Church with macho and dictatorial attitudes (it is enough to recall the intervention of Sr. Liliana Franco).”Sr. Franco leads an organization of...

[Catholic Caucus] There’s a Book That Beats the Synod Hands Down. It’s by a Bishop, and Is on ChastityAt the Vatican the synod is heading into its final phase, which then again is not final, given that it will be reconvened in a year and only afterward will the pope, on his own, decide what conclusions to draw from it, at the tail end of a debate about which little or nothing is known, protected as it is by secrecy.But meanwhile there is also a synod “outside the walls,” of which the book above is a voice, on a topic,...

[Catholic Caucus] Faithful Catholics resist the anti-Christian agenda coming from the VaticanOn October 30, Catholic leaders will present to the media condemnations of the Synod on Synodality’s departure from the teachings of Jesus Christ as revealed in the Holy Scriptures.ROME (LifeSiteNews) — African Catholic leaders from Uganda and Kenya are joining with LifeSiteNews and America’s best-known traditional Catholic Michael Matt, as well as traditional Catholic activists from around the world, in condemning the Synod on Synodality’s departure from the teachings of Jesus Christ as revealed in the Holy Scriptures. Since 2013, the attempt to weaken Church doctrine on life, faith,...

[Catholic Caucus] Cardinal Schönborn cites death penalty revision when asked about changing Catechism on LGBT issuesVATICAN CITY (LifeSiteNews) –– Vienna’s Cardinal Christoph Schönborn has argued that changing the Catechism’s teaching against accepting LGBT issues was a matter for the Pope, but added that the Catechism’s passages on the death penalty had already been changed.Speaking to journalists at a press briefing for the Synod on Synodality, Cardinal Christoph Schönborn fielded a number of questions regarding the synod’s process and the possible future for the Catholic Church. In particular, he was asked if he anticipated any changes to the Catechism of the...

[Catholic/Orthodox Caucus] Conference in Rome on “The Synodal Tower of Babel” the day before “Walking Together on Walking Togetherity”For years the Italian (and English) site La Nuova Bussola Quotidiana has been a daily go to. Last night they held a “launch” event at a Roman theatre very near to the place where the “Walking Togetherity” will commence. This was the launch of a new paper monthly. for the launch they had three speakers: my good friend Fr. Gerald Murray (who needs no intro), Stefano Fontana of the Cardinal Van Thuan Observatory, and Raymond Card. Burke (whom I believe you know).The...

[Catholic Caucus] Synodality (“Walking Togetherity”) and “tesserae”Looking at the Synod (“Walking Together: “W-T”) from as far as I can manage while being in Rome and as close as I need to be because I simply have to, the image that comes to mind is tied sack full of cats and parrots: something’s going on in there, alright, and it doesn’t sound very good. The sounds and the movements on the surface of the bag suggest that there are disagreeing participants in there and not a lot of organization.As I have been saying all along, whatever they might produce in some...

[Catholic Caucus] Why We Have Not Covered the Synod on SynodalityA reader e-mails us to ask why we have not covered the proceedings of this first session of the Synod of Bishops on Synodality (the second session will be in the autumn of 2024).First, of course, because because it is not a proper Synod (that is, a Synod OF BISHOPS), but a meeting of laity, religious men and women, priests, bishops, all with the right to vote. Its standing in a Church willed by God as hierarchical is doubtful at best.Second, because the whole idea is ridiculous: a "meeting on...

[Catholic Caucus] Polish Jesuit Calls on Pope To Uphold MarriageThe Pope's statements on the sacrament of marriage have been rock solid. His actions ... not so much.As the Synod on Synodality in Rome races towards a debate on blessing homosexuality, a Polish Jesuit is calling on Pope Francis to offer clarity, not confusion. In a recent essay, Fr. Dariusz Kowalczyk addressed the prevalence of what he calls “homoheresy” invading dialogue and discussion within the hierarchy of the Catholic Church. The Polish Jesuit wrote, “Among the various problems that the Church is currently experiencing, the most disturbing is — in my...

[Catholic Caucus] Women deacons: ‘too early to make any concrete decisions’ at Synod gatheringROME – Participants in Pope Francis’s Synod of Bishops on Synodality chosen to speak to the media said on Friday that while various topics are being discussed, no decisions will be made on specific issues, and that it is too early in the process to rule on hot-button questions such as women deacons.Asked during an Oct. 20 press briefing whether it was time to make a decision on women deacons, Archbishop Tarcisio Isao Kikuchi of Tokyo said there are “differences of opinions” within the synod.There are also...

Laywoman applauded at Synod for speaking out against women’s ordinationThe female speaker decried suggestions that women could be ordained to the priesthood, emphasizing the unique role of women in the Catholic understanding as biological and spiritual mothers according to the model provided by the Blessed Virgin Mary.VATICAN CITY (LifeSiteNews) — A Catholic laywoman took a stand against women’s ordination during the Synod on Synodality this week, earning applause for defending the Catholic vision of womanhood in opposition to discussions of an ontologically impossible female priesthood.Citing reports from two synod members who were present during the speech at the Paul VI...

[Catholic Caucus] Swiss bishop: Pope Francis is undermining Church teaching under ‘democratic’ pretensesEditor’s note: This text by Bishop Marian Eleganti was written in German and translated by LifeSiteNews with permission from the bishop.(LifeSiteNews) — It is becoming increasingly clear (cf. Cardinal Fernández’s latest statements on Facebook and his response to Cardinal Duka’s dubia) what the newly propagated concept of “synodality” is really about: the dissolution of independent, hierarchical, ecclesiastical authority in terms of doctrine and governance. The ecclesiastical hierarchy is to be leveled in its exercise into democratic – that is, synodal (cf. Anglicanism) – processes.Authority then exists only in...

[Catholic Caucus] Synod, October 18: Cardinal Hollerich calls for ‘small but sensitive changes’ in Church governanceOctober 19, 2023On October 18, participants in the first session of the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops turned their attention to the Synod’s fourth topic: “Participation, governance and authority. What processes, structures and institutions are there in a missionary synodal Church?”The Synod’s first session has reached its halfway point: the session began on October 4 and will conclude on October 29. The Synod’s second session will take place in October 2024.Archbishop Grušas: The Gospel is ‘given on God’s terms, not man’s’On...

[Catholic Caucus] Pope Francis reportedly tasked next year’s Synod with addressing same-sex ‘blessings’Cdl. Steiner noted that 'it is a wish of the Holy Father that the next session' of the Synod on Synodality meetings address topics of same-sex blessings.VATICAN CITY (LifeSiteNews) — Fielding questions from journalists, synod members displayed a mixed view on the topic of same-sex blessings, while also revealing that Pope Francis has planned for next year’s synod meetings to address the topic specifically.The topic of same-sex blessings and the Church’s relationship with LGBT-identifying individuals has been a key aspect of attention for those covering the Synod on...