Free Republic

Fr. Heimerl: Of course the Blessed Mother is ‘Co-Redemptrix’The pious tradition of the Church has always known this and always understood it correctly. Is the Blessed Virgin Mary “Co-Redemptrix” and “Mediatrix of Grace”? Of course she is, I would say, because it was only through Mary’s “Fiat” that the only redemption through her Son became possible, and it was only through her that God gave us the fullness of grace in Jesus Christ.The pious tradition of the Church has always known this and always understood it correctly. No one would seriously have thought of “deifying” Mary or denying Christ’s unique...

[Catholic Caucus] Dear Pope Leo and Fernandez, Mary is Not the ProblemThe Virgin Mary is Co‑redemptrix, for no other creature was so intimately associated with the Passion of the Son. The liturgy says it, Tradition says it, the faith of the Christian people has said it for centuries. A Note, which in a year will already be forgotten, will not change what is eternal.On October 4, 2025, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith promulgated the Mater Populi Fidelis Note. As the title indicates, it is a doctrinal Note and concerns “certain Marian titles referring to Mary’s cooperation in...

[Catholic Caucus] Quis ut Virgo? - Who is like unto Mary? -- Reflections on the Document of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, by Roberto de MatteiOn October 16, 1793, what was perhaps the most disgusting crime of the French Revolution took place: the execution of the Queen of France, Marie Antoinette, after a sham trial before the Revolutionary Tribunal. Plinio Correa de Oliveira wrote of Marie Antoinette: "There are certain souls who are only great when the winds of misfortune blow upon them. Marie Antoinette, who was futile as a princess and unforgivably frivolous in her life...

[Catholic Caucus] Rediscovered book by Cardinal Fernández features graphic erotic passages on ‘spirituality and sensuality’A 1998 book by Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández featuring provocative, sexually-charged themes has resurfaced, likely adding further scrutiny to the already embattled prefect of the Vatican’s doctrine office.Titled “Mystical Passion: Spirituality and Sensuality,” the 26-year-old work includes graphic descriptions of human sexual relations and discussion of what the Argentinian theologian describes as “mystical orgasm.”The nearly 100-page-long book also depicts in detail an imaginary erotic encounter with Jesus Christ on the shores of Galilee, which Fernández said was based on a spiritual experience disclosed to him by...

[Catholic Caucus] Vatican rejects Marian titles ‘Co-Redemptrix’ and ‘Mediatrix’ in new doctrinal noteMater Populi Fidelis, approved by Pope Leo XIV, rules the expressions inappropriate and theologically 'unhelpful.'The Vatican has declared the Marian title “Co-Redemptrix” to be both inappropriate and theologically “unhelpful.” The statements came in a doctrinal note titled Mater Populi Fidelis (“Mother of the Faithful People of God”), issued by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) on November 4 and signed by its prefect, Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández. The document was approved by Pope Leo XIV on October 7.“When an expression requires many, repeated explanations to...

Op-Ed: Mary, the Co-Redemptrix and Mater Populi FidelisThe document Mater Populi Fidelis of the Dicastery of the Doctrine of the Faith, specifically in numbers 17 and 18 gives a undeservedly over-simplified overview of this important doctrine of the Catholic Faith. The fact that Our Lady cooperated in the work of the Redemption, at least mediately, is a de fide teaching. To doubt it would incur theological censure.For a clear and comprehensive overview of the main lines of this teaching and its historical development, I refer the reader to J. A. de Aldama, S.J., “De Corredemptione,” in Sacrae Theologiae Summa,...

[Catholic Caucus] Pope Leo meets Cardinal Fernández in sign of doctrinal continuityPope Leo granted a private audience to Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández on Friday, October 10, in what is understood to be his ninth official meeting in his role as Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.The meeting with the Cardinal, who was a key ally of Pope Francis, shows continuity at the heart of the Vatican between the two papacies. According to InfoVaticana.com, Cardinal Fernández “is close to Pope Leo XIV, who has chosen to keep him in his position at the head of the doctrinal...

[Catholic Caucus] Catholic Coalition Asks Pope Leo XIV to Reject ‘Powerful Lobby’ Pushing Same-Sex UnionsSignatories, inspired by TFP founder Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira, urge the Holy Father to revoke Fiducia Supplicans and speak with ‘absolute clarity, leaving no room for doubt or ambiguity.’A coalition of Catholic associations has submitted a “filial appeal” to Pope Leo XIV, respectfully calling on him to “confirm and reaffirm” the Church’s perennial teaching on homosexual relationships and unions in the face of a “powerful lobby” that is seeking their moral legitimization within the Church.The group further calls on Pope Leo to annul a 2017 papal...

[Catholic Caucus] Cardinal Fernández claims synodality is not a ‘revision of doctrine and morality’Cdl. Victor Fernández lamented that ‘many priests have doubts, questions, disinterest, and rejection regarding the proposal of synodality.’The prefect of the Vatican’s doctrinal office has rejected the notion that synodality is “a matter of listening to everyone in order to carry out a democratic revision of doctrine and morality.”As prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández has been a key figure in the latter years of Pope Francis’ pontificate and thus the Synod on Synodality. The synod – arguably Francis’...

[Catholic Caucus] Cardinal Sarah: Fiducia Supplicans ‘threatens unity of the Church,’ should be ‘forgotten’Cardinal Robert Sarah blasted Fiducia Supplicans as ‘theologically weak’ and said the document should be ‘forgotten,’ warning it risks fracturing Catholic ‘unity.’Cardinal Robert Sarah has said that Pope Francis’ document allowing for same-sex “blessings” “threatens the unity of the Church” and should be “forgotten.”In a recent interview with the Italian Catholic newspaper Avvenire, the African cardinal was asked about Francis’ highly controversial declaration Fiducia supplicans, which allowed the “blessing” of same-sex couples in certain situations.“I hope that the content of Fiducia supplicans can be clarified and perhaps...

[Catholic Caucus] Open Letter to Leo XIV on Amoris LaetitiaHis Holiness Pope Leo XIV22 July 202500120 VATICAN CITYEuropeI address to you this heartfelt petition regarding an urgent and practically unprecedented problem that Your Holiness has inherited from the previous pontificate. It is one which I and many other Catholics believe lies at the very heart of the mission entrusted to you by Our Lord as the Successor of Blessed Peter: that of guarding and teaching the uncorrupted doctrine of Christ that was “once and all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3).1. I refer to the fact that Chapter VIII of...

[Catholic Caucus] Four more German dioceses reject blessings for same-sex couples» Continue to this story on Katholisch (German) CWN Editor's Note: Four more Catholic dioceses in Germany—Augsburg, Eichstätt, Passau, and Regensburg, have joined the Archdiocese of Cologne in rejecting a text with the support of the episcopal conference to be used in blessings for couples, under the terms of Fiducia Supplicans. The dioceses that have declined to use the text argue that it goes beyond the Vatican document in permitting blessings of same-sex couples. The text was prepared by the German Bishops’ Conference and the Central Committee of German Catholics,...

They will Use Newman for Their HeresyI got back from a 12-day retreat to read the happy news that the Holy Father has confirmed the plans to proclaim St. John Henry Newman a Doctor of the Church. I’ve never read much Newman myself, but he seems to be universally respected by all Catholic men of letters… but with a dark side. But let me return to that in a moment.The Apostasy of AlbionFirst, even though I haven’t read much from Newman, we can already see the immense significance of this news in the history of the Church. In many ways...

[Catholic Caucus] Cardinal Ambongo: Resistance to homosexuality is not merely an African phenomenonAfricans were not the only ones who resisted the highly controversial 2023 Vatican declaration “Fiducia Supplicans”, a document that permits Catholic priests to give blessings to couples in "irregular situations," including same-sex couples, without explicitly declaring church approval of their union.This month, in remarks to EWTN News, Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo, archbishop of Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo and head of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM), declared the following:“The position taken by Africa [on the declaration] was also the position of so...

[Catholic Caucus] Cardinal Müller to German bishops: Same-sex ‘blessings’ are ‘diametrically opposed’ to will of GodCardinal Müller said that Christians naturally understand that lifestyles contrary to Christian ethics 'are not blessed by God.'Cardinal Gerhard Müller said that same-sex “blessings” are “a deception” and are “diametrically opposed” to the will of God.In an article published in the German Catholic newspaper Die Tagespost, Cardinal Müller reiterated his critique of so-called same-sex “blessings” in response to two German bishops implementing the heterodox practice in their dioceses.READ: German bishop suggests guidelines for blessing same-sex ‘couples,’ divorced and ‘remarried’“When the Pharisees asked Him the trick...

[Catholic Caucus] Official Vatican Report Dismantles Traditionis CustodesA major exposé on Traditionis Custodes leaked a confidential Vatican document summarizing the 2020 global survey of bishops—a document that allegedly influenced Pope Francis’s controversial decision to restrict the Traditional Latin Mass. According to the leaked findings, the majority of bishops did not support limiting the Latin Mass and even warned that such restrictions could worsen tensions within the Catholic Church.Journalist Diane Montagna recently published the report prepared by the Vatican following the questionnaire that, in 2020, the then Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith had sent to the presidents of episcopal...

[Catholic Caucus] Controversial Synod study groups delay reporting on findings by 6 monthsAll ten groups had been due to issue their reports by the end of June, but due to the death of Pope Francis and the ensuing conclave they have had a six-month extension.The study groups which emerged from the Synod on Synodality are now set to issue their findings at the end of the year, rather than at the end of June.Following a meeting with Pope Leo XIV last Thursday, officials at the General Secretariat for the Synod of Bishops have delayed a key development from the multi-year...

[Catholic Caucus] Rip Down the Pride FlagTwenty years ago few could have imagined that the last stronghold of truth, the Catholic Church, would have fallen to the LGBT lie of "Love is Love."Many years ago, I decided to attend daily Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. Each morning on my way to Mass, I would drive past a house that flew the flag representing pride in all the different sexual identities that fell under the LGBTQ (this was pre-IA+ times) banner. I didn’t take much notice of it at the time,...

[Catholic Caucus] Questions Linger on Cardinal Fernandez’s ‘Sex Change’ RemarksThe prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith has not addressed concerns that his recent remarks may contradict the Church’s moral teaching on bodily integrity.The prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, who recently appeared to some observers to support “sex change” surgery in especially difficult cases, has not responded to questions aimed at clarifying his comments. ... Some observers took his comments to be a contradiction of the DDF’s 2024 declaration Dignitas Infinita (Infinite Dignity). That document, which underlined the inherent and inalienable dignity...

You might not have read the Book of Maccabees. (Catholics and Orthodox regard it as canonical while Protestants and Jews mostly consider it simply an inspiring, accurate history of God’s people enduring corruption and persecution.) But the Lutheran George Frederick Handel thought the story important enough to compose a beautiful oratorio retelling it, Judas Maccabeus. The Jewish holiday of Channukah has its origins in the events recounted in Maccabees — commemorating the rededication of the Temple after pagans had profaned it.Maccabees is certainly worth a read for Christians today trying to navigate a path between an overbearing, increasingly intolerant secular...