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Pope: “The Church Has to Change”In a new interview, the Roman Pontiff has elaborated on the synodal dream of Cardinal Martini, taking place now in Rome. But before we get to that, we should be fair and say that he also said a few good things:We were all unexperienced young people once, and sometimes young boys and girls hold onto miracles, to a messiah, to things being solved in a messianic way. There is only one Messiah who saved us all. The rest are all clowns of messianism. None of them can promise a solution to conflicts, unless it’s emerging...

Seeds of the Synod: Vatican II’s Forgotten Battle Over Who Belongs to the Mystical Body of ChristPius XII’s Humani Generis from 1950 was the last major encyclical warning Catholics about the dangers facing the Church prior to Vatican II. In it, he denounced what he termed the “imprudent zeal for souls” that led some Catholics to question the necessity of belonging to the Catholic Church:“Some say they are not bound by the doctrine, explained in Our Encyclical Letter of a few years ago, and based on the Sources of Revelation, which teaches that the Mystical Body of Christ and the...

[Catholic Caucus] Archbishop Aguer: Post-Vatican II era has replaced childlike spirituality with childishnessIn general, it would have to be said that the post-conciliar pastoral proposals for children's pastoral care are fruitless and useless, if compared to the common tradition expressed univocally in the most diverse sectors of society.The history of spirituality records a mode of relationship with God known as spiritual childhood. The modern expression of this spirituality is found in the writings of St. Therese of the Child Jesus. In the patristic age, and in the Middle Ages, traces of this consideration can be found, which presents the Christian...

[Catholic Caucus] Pope Francis suggests the Synod is a continuation of Vatican II: ‘The Church has to change’Among the more striking changes advanced by Pope Francis is his recent encouragement of priests to bless homosexual unions, in contradiction to the unchangeable Catholic teaching that the Church cannot bless sinful acts.VATICAN CITY (LifeSiteNews) — “The Church has to change,” argued Pope Francis in a recent interview, highlighting post-Vatican II changes which he said “must continue.”“Progress is necessary and the Church has to incorporate these novelties with a serious conversation from a human point of view,” declared the Argentine pontiff. In an...

Pope’s synod reforms ‘irreversible’, says Fr Vimal Tirimanna CSsRFr Vimal Tirimanna is one of the theological advisers to the synod and a professor of moral theology who teaches in Sri Lanka and Rome.A leading Asian theologian says Pope Francis’ decision to include non-ordained women and men as voting members of October’s synod assembly is a “giant step” that will irreversibly change the Church’s decision-making processes. Last month, the synod secretariat announced the Pope had authorised a reform to allow at least 70 non-bishops to be members of the 4-29 October synod assembly in the Vatican. This move will see women...

[Catholic Caucus] Synod on Synodality now discussing female deacons, married priests, and lay governanceSynod participants will now spend the next few days discussing controversial topics, after officials refused to commit that members had to uphold Church teaching in discussions.Pope Francis and Synod on Synodality leaders, October 13, 2023.Participants of the Synod on Synodality are currently discussing topics of married priests, female deacons, and increased lay ministry as part of the third of five modules held during the event.Opening the proceedings on Friday morning, relator general Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich gave an address highlighting the chief themes that will form the subject...

[Catholic Caucus] Understanding Why Most Catholics Reject the Faith of their Fathers“Faith of our Fathers! Holy Faith! We will be true to thee till death.” (Faith of Our Fathers, Fr. Frederick William Faber) Although he was neither a theologian nor a saint, Evelyn Waugh certainly understood the logical appeal of Catholicism. As he wrote in his essay about his conversion, in The Road to Damascus, either the Catholic Church is right and all heresies are wrong, or else the entire Christian religion is an imposture:"It was self-evident to me that no heresy or schism could be right and the Church...

[Catholic Caucus] Prof. de Mattei backs Fr. Murr’s claims about the 1978 Vatican investigation into Freemasonry'I know some of the facts and knew some of the main characters described in Don Murr’s book and can confirm the absolute historical accuracy of the events the author himself witnessed,' de Mattei wrote in the forward to Fr. Charles Murr's book.Professor Roberto de Mattei, a well-respected Italian historian and traditional Catholic, has written a preface (see full text below) to the Italian edition of Father Charles Murr’s book on the 1978 Vatican investigation into ecclesial freemasonry, confirming the essential elements of Murr’s account....

Surveying Cardinal Augustin Bea’s Path of Destruction: From Pius XII to the Synod and BeyondIn his February 25, 2019 address on the fiftieth anniversary of Cardinal Augustin Bea’s death, Francis praised Bea’s ability to foster unity among all people as well as his immense influence at Vatican II: “[The Cardinal Bea Centre for Judaic Studies], in collaboration with the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, the Pontifical Biblical Institute and the Center for the Study of Christianity in the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, is commemorating Cardinal Augustin Bea by a series of scholarly lectures marking the fiftieth anniversary of his...

[Catholic Caucus] “Thou Shalt Not Kneel”: Guest Article by Leo DarrochBackground to this guest article: As LifeSiteNews reported on October 7, 2023: “A Catholic family of eight was recently denied Holy Communion while kneeling while attending Mass at a church in the Diocese of Boise. Both the local priest and bishop refused to acknowledge that the denial of the sacrament was a grave violation of canon law. Scott Smith, a Catholic attorney, author, theologian, and father of six, was on vacation with his family in Idaho in August and went to Sunday Mass at St. Charles Borromeo in Hailey. ‘After...

New cardinal, expert on Vatican II says ideology has blocked council’s implementationROME – Cardinal Agostino Marchetto, considered one of the “honorary” cardinals created by Pope Francis because he’s already over 80 and thus ineligible to participate in the next conclave, and a famous historian of Vatican II, has said he believes the council has not been fully implemented and that ideology has gotten in the way of a true interpretation.Secretary emeritus of Pontifical Council for Migrants and Itinerant Peoples, Marchetto, 83, got his red hat from Pope Francis during Saturday’s consistory.Also known for his writings on the Second Vatican Council,...

Dominican Theologian Attacks Catholic Tradition (Part 3): Getting Our Dogmatic Facts Straight(See Part 1 and Part 2.)Third argument: the Novus Ordo is nothing other than a revised Roman riteFr. Donneaud writes:The missal of Paul VI is simply a revised and reformed version of the Roman rite that has always existed. The changes to the missal introduced by Paul VI were no more than a return to earlier features of the Roman rite. Dr. Kwasnieswki’s assertion that the missal in use prior to the missal of Paul VI cannot be suppressed because it contains the immemorial Roman Rite is therefore baseless,...

[Catholic Caucus] Dominican Theologian Attacks Catholic Tradition (Part 2): On the Novus Ordo as the “Sole Form” of the Roman Rite"One missal to rule them all..."(See Part 1.)(II) Fr. Donneaud on the Novus Ordo as the sole form of the Roman RiteIn addition to his general theological case against traditionalism, Fr. Donneaud argues in support of Pope Francis’s actions in Traditionis custodes and against Dr. Kwasniewski on the basis of specific factual assertions about the Novus Ordo. These arguments, which form a large part of his case, do not depend on his general theological position, and are very commonly made...

[Catholic Caucus] How Francis’s Synod Exploits the Errors of Vatican II’s Lumen Gentium to Redefine the ChurchThe Synod on Synodality’s Instrumentum Laboris includes a list of abbreviations for the sixteen documents cited in its text: two from John Paul II, two from the General Secretariat of the Synod, five from Francis, and seven from Vatican II. As we have come to expect, this list does not include any documents promulgated before Vatican II. Most of the Vatican II references in Instrumentum Laboris come from the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen Gentium. One of the documents from the Synod on...

The ADL and the Latin MassIn recent days, the Anti Defamation League has attracted severe criticism online for their allegedly over zealous response to perceived anti Semitism. Twitter/X owner Elon Musk has even got in on the criticism, threatening to bring a lawsuit against the organisation for revenue lost due to their criticisms of the platform. In 2007, the organisation piled pressure on the Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI after his landmark document Summorum Pontificum, which had loosened restrictions on the Latin Mass. The motu proprio led to a boom in young people returning to the faith as well as...

Archbishop defends giving Holy Communion to Muslim leader, citing Pope Francis and Vatican IIThe event, despite Archbishop Steinmetz’s defense, is in violation of Catholic teaching on a fundamental level.Abp. Steinmetz giving Holy Communion to Sheik MahairiCiting Pope Francis’ writings restricting the traditional liturgy, a Brazilian archbishop gave Holy Communion to a Muslim cleric at a funeral for a recently deceased cardinal.The news of a Muslim cleric receiving Holy Communion at the hands of a Catholic archbishop has sparked outrage. On August 28, Archbishop Geremias Steinmetz of the Archdiocese of Londrina in Brazil gave Holy Communion to Sheik Ahmad Saleh Mahairi....

Prelate Defends Giving Communion to Muslim SheikhBrazilian archbishop quotes Pope Francis and Vatican II's 'Nostra Aetate'A pro-LGBT Brazilian archbishop is invoking Pope Francis' apostolic letter on liturgical formation and the documents of Vatican II to justify his choice to administer Holy Communion to a Muslim sheikh at a funeral service. "Every reception of Communion of the Body and Blood of Christ was already desired by Him in the Last Supper," argues the archbishop of Londrina, Geremias Steinmetz, quoting Pope Francis in a clarification issued on the diocesan website on Aug. 30.Viral VideoA video of Abp. Steinmetz giving the Sacred Host...

Pope Francis urges Buddhists, Muslims, and Shamans to promote their religions during event in MongoliaSpeaking to Buddhist, Shinto, Shaman, Jewish, Muslim, and assorted Christian religious leaders, Pope Francis praised the assembled religions for being the continuation of 'ancient schools of wisdom.'Speaking as part of an ecumenical gathering during his trip to Mongolia, Pope Francis quoted from Buddhist texts while arguing that “every religious institution” has “the right to freely express what it is and what it believes.”He urged gathered non-Catholic religious leaders to promote their own religions, saying, “May it be so for us, as committed followers of our respective...

An Enemy Has Done This: Globalism, the Conciliar Church, and Crippled Consciences“There is only one universal Church of the faithful, outside of which no one can be saved.” (Innocent III and the Fourth Ecumenical Council of the Lateran, 1215) In his 1968 book about the aftermath of Vatican II, Is it the Same Church?, Frank Sheed described the way in which Catholic views on contraception changed in the 1960s:“Up to, say, 1960 it was assumed by everyone, inside the Church and outside, that the Church taught definitively and unchangeably that artificial contraception was a grave sin. Catholics who used it...

[Catholic Caucus] McCarrick’s Escape: An Allegory for our TimesSo, it looks like Uncle Ted McCarrick is going to walk away from the flaccid arm of the law scot-free. It has been announced that the charges against him have been dropped by the Massachusetts judge overseeing the case.In 2021, McCarrick pleaded not guilty to charges that he abused a boy at a wedding reception at Wellesley College in 1974. He was also charged in April with sexually assaulting an 18-year-old man in Wisconsin more than 45 years ago. An expert working for the court in Massachusetts argued that at 93 and...