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[Catholic Caucus] New Synodal Working Document: Continuing Plan to Ordain Women?Editor’s note: follow Synod Watch for analysis of the upcoming Synod on Synodality in Rome this fall. In his new article “Pope Francis Disappoints Progressives. He Will Do So Again,” Fr. Thomas Reese describes a source of frustration for some papal supporters: the slow pace of change in certain areas of the Church. From the pope’s “temporary no” to the ordination of married men (Reese’s words) to Francis’s current “no” to the ordination of women deacons, the pope has surprised many by stepping back—more than once—from the precipice of change.So...

The New Instrumentum Laboris Shows Why Catholics Aren’t Welcome in the Synodal Church “Ecumenical dialogue is fundamental to fostering an understanding of synodality and the unity of the Church. Above all, it drives us to imagine authentically ecumenical synodal practices, including forms of consultation and discernment on shared and urgent concerns.” (Synod on Synodality, Instrumentum Laboris for the Second Session (October 2024)) Although we have already seen more than enough to unequivocally condemn Francis’s Synod on Synodality as a blasphemous assault on the Catholic Church, it is worth considering how the newly released Instrumentum Laboris refines the Synodal Church’s anti-Catholic...

[Catholic Caucus] Vatican issues text underpinning controversial Synod on Synodality October meetingsWhile there are no explicit calls for female deacons, as there have been in other texts, the Vatican's new document seeks to cement synodality as the way forward for the Church.The Vatican has issued the working document which will guide October’s Synod on Synodality meetings, containing key themes and calls to action for reorganizing Church governance and decision making to involve lay people in a more “synodal” style.Published July 9, the lengthy Instrumentum laboris (IL) states that at the center of the multi-year synod process “is a call to...

[Catholic Caucus] Cardinal Burke criticizes ‘terrible situation’ of German Church, says ‘synodality’ is linked to ideologyCardinal Burke lamented the German Church’s ‘so-called Synodal Way’ and pointed out that ‘no one can define’ the novel idea of ‘synodality’ in a new interview.Cardinal Raymond Burke criticized the German Synodal Way and the concept of “synodality,” which he said is a “placeholder” for “all kinds of ideologies” during an interview with Pints with Aquinas host Matt Fradd.“Today we have this terrible situation in Germany with this so-called Synodal Way and in general this whole notion of ‘synodality,’” Cardinal Burke said. “I’ve spoken about...

[Catholic Caucus] Cardinal Burke warns Synod threatens to spread ‘devastation’ of German Church to ‘universal Church’ Speaking at the Thomas Aquinas College commencement, His Eminence told the graduates that the world is facing troubled times and 'What is more, the rebellion and revolution is sustained by some from within the Church, even by some who are called and ordained to shepherd the flock.' On Sunday, the Feast of Pentecost, U.S. Cardinal Raymond Burke warned graduates of Thomas Aquinas College about the potential “devastating” impact the upcoming October meeting of the Synod of Bishops may have on “the universal Church.” “We...

[Catholic Caucus] German priests do not support Synodal Way, new study findsPriests in Germany are not supportive of the controversial German Synodal Way, according to a new study commissioned by the German Bishops’ Conference.The study, officially titled “Who Becomes a Priest?”, found that priests are “alienated from the concerns of Church reform,” lead author Matthias Sellmann said on May 17.“Priests are also clearly not supporters of the German Synodal Way,” Sellmann emphasized. According to a statement by the bishops’ conference, the study aimed to investigate “the socio-religious background and motivations of newly ordained priests in order to make strategic personnel...

[Catholic Caucus] Synodal Cancellations - by Archbishop Héctor AgüerThe progressive official party installed in Rome for just over a decade goes on in its policy of “cancellation” of those who, with freedom of spirit, seek to serve Jesus Christ in orthodoxy and Tradition. By “cancellation” one means all forms of ignoring, conspiracy of silence, marginalization, prohibition of publishing in media and social media, and even the cessation of functions of those who do not adhere “synodally” to the current Vatican ideologies and discretions. Good bishops such as Daniel Fernández Torres, from Arecibo, Puerto Rico, were cancelled, as is known; and...

[Catholic Caucus] Cardinal Marx: ‘Global, synodal Church’ without ‘purely clerical rule’ is ‘in the making’Cardinal Marx called for changes to ‘the theology of Holy Orders’ and said the Church should be subjected to a ‘social-scientific examination’ in the heretical, pro-LGBT prelate’s latest comments against Catholic teaching.Cardinal Reinhard Marx has said a “global, synodal Church” without a “purely clerical rule” is “in the making.”In an essay for the German magazine Herder Korrespondenz entitled “Church on the horizon of modernity,” the German cardinal, who rejects Catholic teaching on various subjects, claimed that “a church of the future can only be imagined with...

[Catholic Caucus] Leave behind Tridentine model of priesthood, embrace synodality, Cardinal Hollerich bids parish priestsCWN Editor's Note: On the last day of Parish Priests for the Synod—an international meeting of parish priests at the Vatican—Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, SJ, encouraged participants “to become ambassadors of synodality, to be full participants in a synodal Church, to become with all the people of God, missionary disciples of Jesus.” “Many times their training and their reality have been oriented towards a Tridentine model of the priesthood,” Cardinal Hollerich, the relator-general of the synod on synodality, said of parish priests, in an address to Pope...

[Catholic Caucus] Pope Gregory XVI’s Mirari Vos Condemns the Cardinal Sin of the Vatican II RevolutionAs profitable and enlightening as it is to reflect on how Mirari Vos condemns the specific novelties of Vatican II, though, we might draw greatest value from the encyclical if we can truly appreciate what it said about the permissibility of novelties in general.Like many other papal encyclicals prior to Vatican II, several aspects of Pope Gregory XVI’s 1832 encyclical on “Liberalism and Religious Indifferentism,” Mirari Vos, directly contradict ideas that were explicitly promoted at the Council. For instance, whereas Vatican II’s “Declaration on Religious...

𝑺𝒚𝒏𝒐𝒅𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒅𝒐𝒄𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒆 - 𝑺𝒚𝒏𝒐𝒅𝙖𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒚 by Cardinal Mario Grech𝑺𝒚𝒏𝒐𝒅𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒅𝒐𝒄𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒆 - 𝑺𝒚𝒏𝒐𝒅𝙖𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒚by Cardinal Mario Grech, Secretary General of the SynodSpecial theological exchange - Berne, 19th March, 2024Thank you for the following two questions you have put to me:Synodality and doctrineThe synodal process is a learning path for the Roman Catholic Church to incorporate the insights of all its members as it seeks and experiments with ways forward into an as yet unknown future. However, official church regulations on doctrine, law and practice leave little room for manoeuvre in many respects. Moreover, in Catholic mentalities, innovation...

[Catholic Caucus] Cardinal Grech sets out vision for ‘rainbow’ synodal ChurchThe Secretary General of the Vatican’s Synod of Bishops used an interview with a Swiss newspaper last week to lay out a vision for the Church, which addressed several contentious issues, including women’s ordination, same-sex blessings, and division among the world’s bishops. Cardinal Mario Grech. Image via Archdiocese of ManilaIn the March 21 interview Cardinal Mario Grech described that he believes synodality can help the Church move from “uniformity of thought” to “unity in difference,” while reshaping the exercise of authority within global Catholicism.As the chief organizer of the global...

[Catholic Caucus] Top Synod cardinal says ‘females deacons’ are a ‘natural deepening of the Lord’s will’Cardinal Mario Grech, one of the two leading cardinals in charge of Pope Francis’ Synod on Synodality, endorsed so-called ‘female deacons’ and ‘a different space for women in the Church.’VATICAN CITY (LifeSiteNews) — Cardinal Mario Grech, one of the two leading cardinals in charge of the Synod on Synodality, has appeared to contradict Catholic teaching, stating that “the female diaconate and a different space for women in the Church are a natural deepening of the Lord’s will.”Speaking on the sidelines of meetings of the Swiss...

[Catholic Caucus] More Absurdities: Ex-Synod Will Invent "Non-Sacramental" Deaconesses Just Like the "Non-Liturgical" BlessingsLaNuovaBq.it (16 March) reports that the script for Francis' ex-synod on the smokescreen of "synodality" is already written. The main points.- Francis' synodal study groups will report to the plenary of the ex-synod in October and continue their work thereafter until June 2025, making the ex-synod a kind of "permanent process" [or, in Marxist terms: permanent revolution].- Synodality as a supposed "walking together" gives priority to "walking", that is, to doing rather than thinking [which is the Marxist principle of practice before theory, leading to blind doing...

The Synodal Church’s Mission of Unifying Around the Lowest Common Denominator to Serve the GlobalistsWe can see the refined contours of the Synodal Church through four themes considered in the new Synodal document: the need to adapt to the modern world and globalist objectives; proclaiming Christianity of the lowest common denominator; unity in diversity of religious beliefs; and a new relationship with the Bishop of Rome.On March 14, 2024, the General Secretariat of the Synod released a new document with its reflections on “How to be a synodal Church on mission,” adding further evidence that the “Synodal Church” is not...

Following the UnfaithfulIn an effort to be more "welcoming," many Church leaders are looking to fallen-away Catholics to lead the way.A well-known tactic in political circles is to release a “survey” that supports a predetermined conclusion. For example, a Republican PAC might send out a survey to its base asking “Do you think Joe Biden is right about the 2nd amendment?” Or the Democrats might ask if Trump is the next Hitler. Then the results will be touted as proof of massive support for the forgone conclusion. This doesn’t just happen in political circles, though, as is clear from a...

[Catholic Caucus] Pope Francis launches study groups to analyze Synod on Synodality's key issuesThe Vatican announced Saturday that Pope Francis has launched synodal study groups to analyze key issues ahead of October’s Synod on Synodality assembly.Pope Francis has issued a chirograph asking the Dicasteries of the Roman Curia to collaborate with the General Secretariat of the Synod to establish the study groups for “in-depth analysis” of some of the themes that emerged in the first Synod on Synodality assembly.The pope did not specify in the chirograph published on Feb. 17 how many groups will be formed, what topics will be...

[Catholic Caucus] Did Pope Francis Rebuke the German Synodal Way? German Catholic ResponseThe reader may have already heard of the events that have been prominent news in German Catholic media lately. Apparently the main takeaway in the Anglophone world was: “Pope Francis Rebukes the Synodal Way!” However, that news is more ambivalent than suggested at first sight.German Catholics have been suffering under the so-called synodal way for a while. Officially the project was meant to deal with the sexual abuse scandal, which it did only ever so sparsely. Mostly, the fora dealt with the common topics of “reform debates.” We...

Heterodox Amazon Synod bishop claims Church ‘cannot return’ to time before Pope Francis‘Married priests will come first, then the diaconate for women. Women priests will be the next stage,’ Bishop Erwin Kräutler said, contradicting the infallible teaching of the Catholic faith.Bishop Erwin Kräutler, a key architect of the Amazon Synod and a proponent of “women priests,” has said that the Church “cannot return” to the time before the “change” that Pope Francis has initiated.In an interview with the Swiss outlet kath.ch, Kräutler, 84, addressed the possibility of the Catholic Church officially allowing female ordinations and consecrating “proven” married men as...

[Catholic Caucus] BREAKING: Papal biographer confirms Pope Francis will remove Cardinal Burke’s flat, salaryMainstream media and heterodox Catholic outlets have consistently vilified Cardinal Burke, due to his pronouncement of Catholic teaching which is often placed in juxtaposition with the statements of Pope Francis.Pope Francis’ favored biographer, Austen Ivereigh, has stated the Pope personally confirmed the reports that he intends to strip Raymond Cardinal Burke of his flat and salary, though denied calling the cardinal his “enemy.”In a report published November 29 on the heterodox site Where Peter Is, Ivereigh wrote that he had met with the Argentine pontiff on Monday,...