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The letter of 21st December 2022, addressed by His Eminence the Archbishop of Cologne and the Most Reverend Bishops of Eichstätt, Augsburg, Passau and Regensburg to the signatories below, the Cardinal Secretary of State and the Prefects of the Dicasteries for the Doctrine of the Faith and for Bishops (copy), requires that the theme of the Synodal Path of the Church in Germany, which was already the subject of the inter-dicasterial meeting during the Ad-Limina visit of the German episcopate on 18 November, be taken up again. With regard to this meeting, we would like to begin by thanking the...

[Catholic Caucus] Paul VI: Refounder of CatholicismReligion Department Academics of a certain sort love to scandalize undergraduates by telling them that Jesus is a marginal figure in Church history; the real founder of the religion, they whisper, was Paul. In fact, they persist, the religion should really be called Paulianity.From the standpoint of Roman Catholicism, there is some truth to the claim.The Mass as Roman Catholics celebrate it today received its form under Paul. Paul changed the formula of consecration during the Mass, as well as the rites of baptism, marriage, confession, extreme unction (anointing of the sick), and burial....

"I pray that . . . you may know . . . what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints" (Eph. 1:18). How you perceive your spiritual resources dictates how you live. Throughout Ephesians 1 Paul is clearly struck with the magnificence of our inheritance in Christ. Here he prays that we will know the riches of its glory. Some commentators see "His inheritance" as a reference to believers, who are God's inheritance or special possession (v. 14). That view stresses the value God places on us as believers, as demonstrated in Christ's death, the...

Help yourself! I am not speaking of the godless self but the regenerated self, possessed by Christ. One of the most important verses in God’s Word is John 4:14: “Whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life” (NKJV). This life-giving water is for us. Here is proof that everything you need in this life was given to you when Christ came into your heart. • “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and...

The Bible In Paintings ~ Encouragement for Appreciating and Applying God's Word ~ JESUS WELCOMES ALL THE CHILDREN ֎ Featuring 44 Paintings, 2 Reliefs and 1 Window ֎ M A R K Chapter 10* People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like...

Editor’s note: At the Friday 20 January 2023 press conference in London held to announce the House of Bishops recommendations on the Living in Love and Fellowship process, the Bishop of London, the Rt. Hon and Rt. Rev. Sarah Mullaly was asked by a reporter: “gay Christians have been asking: ‘if we can have a civil marriage, come to church and have that relationship blessed, are we still expected by the church to remain celibate?’ Or is it now understood if the marriage is blessed, and sex should take place within the marriage, then gay couples are allowed to express...

“Continuous ‘Aggiornamento’”: Synod Seeks to Preserve “Precious Legacy” of Vatican IIThis article first appeared in the December 2022 Edition of Catholic Family News (click HERE to subscribe; current subscribers can access the E-Edition by following the instructions posted HERE).After months of “listening to the People of God” and reviewing reports prepared by dioceses and episcopal conferences around the globe, the General Secretariat for the Synod of Bishops in Rome has produced a “Working Document for the Continental Stage” (DCS), the next phase of the three-year Synod on Synodality (Oct. 2021—Oct. 2024).[1]The 49-page text, released on Oct. 27, 2022 via a...

Fr. Radcliffe has been a vocal and consistent promoter of LGBT ideology for decades.VATICAN CITY (LifeSiteNews) — Pope Francis invited a prominently pro-LGBT priest to lead a retreat for bishops before the start of the next key meeting of the Synod on Synodality. The English Dominican and theologian Father Timothy Radcliffe is set to lead a three-day retreat in October to commence the meeting of the Synod of Bishops at the Vatican from October 4 through October 29. Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, S.J., the relator general of the Synod, made the announcement at a press conference this morning, stating that Radcliffe...

A ‘Dirty Schism’ in Germany? As Synodal Way Nears Conclusion, Lay Group Warns of ‘Worst Possible’ OutcomeNEWS ANALYSIS: Without decisive intervention from Rome, faithful Catholics in Germany are likely to be pushed ‘underground,’ cautions New BeginningObservers of the Catholic Church in Germany have long feared that the country’s ongoing Synodal Way would lead to a split from Rome. And after the German bishops refused a Vatican request in November to put a “moratorium” on the controversial process and its push for women’s ordination, lay governance, and approval of homosexual sex, those fears were likely only heightened.But barring a more...

The Bible In Paintings ~ Encouragement for Appreciating and Applying God's Word ~ JESUS HEALS TEN LEPERS, BUT ONLY ONE THANKS HIM ֎ Featuring 22 Paintings and 2 Windows ֎ L U K E Chapter 17 Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!” When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went,...

"I pray that . . . you may know what is the hope of [God's] calling" (Eph. 1:18). The hope of your calling is grounded in God’s promises and in Christ’s accomplishments. In Ephesians 1:3-14 Paul proclaims the blessings of our salvation. In verse 18 he prays that we will comprehend those great truths, which he summarizes in the phrase "the hope of His calling." "Calling" here refers to God's effectual calling—the calling that redeems the soul. Scripture speaks of two kinds of calling: the gospel or general call and the effectual or specific call. The gospel call is given...

LONDON (AP) — The Church of England formally apologized Friday for its treatment of LGBTQ people, even as it said that same-sex couples still won’t be allowed to marry in its churches. The apology from the church’s bishops came in a report following five years of debate on the church’s position on sexuality. The report will be delivered to the church’s national assembly, the General Synod, which is meeting in London next month. “We want to apologize for the ways in which the Church of England has treated LGBTQI+ people – both those who worship in our churches and those...

[Catholic Caucus] Archbishop Viganò: The Latin Mass and Novus Ordo cannot coexist, this is a ‘battle between Christ and Satan’The following is an essay by Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò on the current debate about Traditionis Custodes. “THE ONE THREAD BY WHICH THE COUNCIL HANGS” A response to Reid, Cavadini, Healy, and Weinandy.Et brachia ex eo stabunt, et polluent sanctuarium fortitudinis, et auferent juge sacrificium: et dabunt abominationem in desolationem. And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall defile the sanctuary of strength, and they shall place there the abomination unto desolation. Dan 11: 31 I have followed with...

Mythbusting: “African Catholicism is a Vatican II Success Story”Bishop Gregory Ochiagha, of Orlu Diocese in Nigeria, offering pontifical Mass in the old riteA recent episode of “Word on Fire” responds to Ross Douthat’s two NYT pieces on Vatican II and its failure with two arguments:Argument #1: To blame the collapse of Catholicism in the West on Vatican II is a “post hoc propter hoc” fallacy.Argument #2: The growth of the Church in Africa since Vatican II is entirely thanks to The Council.It hardly requires pointing out that the second argument commits the same fallacy.Nevertheless, this oft-repeated claim about Africa really...

“I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened” (Eph. 1:18). Spiritual enlightenment doesn’t come through self-effort or introspective meditation but through God’s Holy Spirit. Our society has been enamored with the pursuit of spiritual enlightenment, especially since the influx of Eastern thought into the West during the 1960s. Now we are drowning in a sea of false religions and New Age philosophies. True enlightenment continues to elude many because they have denied its source and have turned to gurus and teachers who have no light to give. They propagate self-effort and introspective meditation, but spiritual enlightenment doesn’t...

The Bible In Paintings ~ Encouragement for Appreciating and Applying God's Word ~ A RICH MAN & POOR LAZARUS ֎ Featuring 40 Paintings, 2 Reliefs, 1 Statue and 3 Windows ֎ L U K E Chapter 16 The Pharisees, who loved money, were sneering at Jesus. He said to them, “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his...

More Bad News from the Vatican: Catholics Told Not to Kneel or Receive Communion on the Tongue Pope Francis Confers Lay Ministries Upon Ten People in St. Peter’s BasilicaWhat has been considered a "right" of the laity was soundly squashed Sunday when Francis conferred the ministry of lector and catechist on ten lay people at St. Peter's, four men and six women. In the protocols before the event, the laity were instructed (mandated) that they could not kneel or receive Communion on the tongue. It's unclear from reports whether the mandate applied only to the ten or to all...

The “Hermeneutic” of Correction and Rejection: Taking Vatican II Away from the Heretics“A certain number of important theological questions about which no agreement could be reached were left open by choosing formulations that could be interpreted differently by particular groups and theological tendencies at the Council.” (Karl Rahner and Herbert Vorgrimler, as quoted in Fr. Matthias Gaudron’s The Catechism of the Crisis in the Church) Those who have sought to destroy the Church for the past several decades have routinely used Vatican II and its “Spirit” to justify their anti-Catholic initiatives. All Traditional Catholics oppose these attacks on the Church,...

"[I pray] that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him" (Eph. 1:17). Your inheritance in Christ is so vast and profound that you cannot comprehend it apart from God’s enabling. The late newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst invested a fortune in collecting great works of art. One day he read of an extremely valuable work that he determined to add to his collection. His agent searched the galleries of the world but to no avail. Finally, after many months of effort...

I think Leonard Ravenhill had the best definition of revival that I’ve heard. Ravenhill said this: “Revival is when God gets so sick and tired of being misrepresented that he shows up himself”, and I think that’s what revival is. Now we should delineate between revival and awakening. I think awakening is what happens when the Spirit moves in the world; revival is so much harder because it’s when God has to pry away what’s easy from his church. What I see in revival is God is coming back to do something in his church first. I think it’s when...