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[Catholic Caucus] Pope Leo’s reference to St. Augustine suggests he differs from Pope Francis on ‘Synodality’St. Augustine was not infected with the errors of false ecumenism and Synodality, and he knew that true love required him to correct his neighbors' errors.In the sermon for his inauguration Mass, Pope Leo XIV spoke of his vision of the Petrine ministry in serving the Church to help build “God’s house in fraternal communion”:The ministry of Peter is distinguished precisely by this self-sacrificing love, because the Church of Rome presides in charity and its true authority is the charity of Christ. It is never...

New papal document reads like a conclusion in search of an argumentWhen the new Motu proprio, titled Ad theologiam promovendam, is read through the lens of current theological debates, it’s clear that it privileges the long sought after dream of progressive theologians.Yesterday, Pope Francis released a “Motu Proprio” about how to do theology in the modern context. Titled Ad theologiam promovendam, it makes the case that theology must no longer be from a “desk” and must no longer be merely “abstractly re-proposing formulas and schemes of the past.” Theology must now be inductive and take into account the lived experience...

Cdl. Burke: ‘Synodality’ suggests some kind of ‘new church’ where pope’s authority is destroyed LIMERICK, Ireland, (LifeSiteNews) – Cardinal Raymond Burke has come out criticizing the concept of “synodality” that was barely discussed during the recently concluded “Youth Synod,” but, nevertheless, found its way into the final document, surprising many of the Synod Fathers.  “It’s become like a slogan, meant to suggest some kind of new church which is democratic and in which the authority of the Roman Pontiff is relativized and diminished—if not destroyed,” said Cardinal Burke in an exclusive interview with LifeSiteNews.  “This is typical of a...

Vatican Places Traditional Society Under Commissar Vatican Places Traditional Society Under Commissar The Vatican is putting the Society of the Fraternity of Familia Christi under a Commissar  (Rome) Rome is subordinating another traditional community to a Commissar, for disturbing the new Archbishop of Ferrara and daring to accept the Brothers of the Franciscans of the Immaculate, also under the temporary administration. Will Archbishop Perego of Ferrara erase the legacy of his predecessor, Archbishop Luigi Negri? Decree of the commissioner's appointment The Roman Congregation of the Faith has placed the Fraternity of the Familia Christi (FSFC) at the request of...

The Hypocrisy of ‘Synodality’ According to Abp. Charles Scicluna, synodality is about lay involvement with local hierarchies in addressing regional issues. This leaves faithful Catholics wondering why the Vatican scrapped the synodal process being applied by U.S. bishops in Baltimore. In an interview on Friday, Malta's archbishop explained the concept of synodality to America Magazine. "[S]ynodality," said Scicluna, "means that we appreciate the different charisms and gifts of the laity, their expertise and that we empower them to join bishops in the role of stewardship." Laity across the United States would agree with the archbishop's statement, as would many of the younger...

Cupich and Wuerl collaborated on alternative sex abuse proposal Washington D.C., Nov 16, 2018 / 06:56 pm (CNA).- Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago and Cardinal Donald Wuerl of Washington collaborated extensively on a recently proposed policy for handling abuse allegations against bishops, CNA has learned.Cupich submitted the plan Tuesday to leaders of the U.S. bishops’ conference, proffering it as an alternative to a proposal that had been devised by conference officials and staffers.The conference’s proposed plan would have established an independent lay-led commission to investigate allegations against bishops. The Cupich-Wuerl plan would instead send allegations against bishops to be investigated...

The Final Document of the Synod. The Votes on the Most Controversial Points In voting point by point on the final document of the synod on young people, on the afternoon of Saturday, October 27, in almost every case the synod fathers approved the text by a wide majority.Out of 167 points put to a vote, fully 125 times the votes against were fewer than 10 and the votes in favor equal to or more than 240.On only fifteen points were the votes against equal to or more than 30. And in only two cases were the votes against more...

(Vatican Radio) Catholic and Orthodox theologians are meeting in the Italian town of Chieti for the 14th plenary session of their international dialogue commission. The meeting from September 15th to 22nd brings together two representatives from each of the fourteen Orthodox Churches, alongside 28 Catholic participants, under the shared presidency of Cardinal Kurt Koch from the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity and Archbishop Job of Telmessos from the Ecumenical Patriarchate. The meeting will focus on discussion of a draft document, drawn up at the previous two sessions, entitled “Towards a common understanding of Synodality and Primacy in...

Francis explains in Evangelii Gaudium (32) that “decentralization” implies the assignment of “genuine doctrinal authority” to episcopal conferences, something unheard of until now. To justify this drastic measure, which he describes as a “conversion of the papacy”, Francis refers in three footnotes to 1) The Second Vatican Council (Lumen Gentium 23), 2) to Pope John Paul II’s apostolic letter “Apostolos Suos – on the theological and juridical nature of episcopal conferences” and 3) to his encyclical “Ut Unum Sint – on commitment to Ecumenism.” (95) Quoting the latter Francis claims that John Paul asked for help in finding [emphasis added]...