Free Republic

[Catholic Caucus] "Marketing Operation": Bergoglio Must Learn to ListenThe content of the letter that Francis wrote to the cardinals on 16 September about the [catastrophic] economic situation of the Holy See doesn't correspond to reality, writes Specola (InfoVaticana.com).In the Vatican, the letter was commented on as follows: "Another marketing operation; if people knew the truth...".Specola quotes a cardinal at length: "Francis writes a letter to us cardinals after the Apostolic Constitution [Praedicate Evangelium on the reorganisation of the Roman Curia (2022)], which is full of errors, has been approved without considering us."The text of the constitution was presented to the...

[Catholic Caucus] The People-Pleasing VaticanSeeking celebrity acceptance sacrifices seriousness and credibility. It is sad when leadership in the Church shows star-struck, stage door behavior.One of the catch phrases you hear about and from people in recovery from addiction is the danger of “people pleasing.” It is the old concept from spiritual theology which used to be called “human respect.” The Stations of the Cross by St. Alphonsus Liguori refer to that in one of the meditations, and I try to give a gloss on it during Lent when we pray the Way of the Cross. “Human respect” treated as a...

Pope to Meet President Biden, Other Leaders at G7 in PugliaVATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis is scheduled to sit down with U.S. President Joe Biden and eight other heads of state in a series of private bilateral meetings during the Group of Seven (G7) summit being held in southern Italy June 13-15, according to a scheduled published by the Vatican Secretariat of State.The pope will also address government leaders and representatives of European and international organizations during an “outreach” discussion on artificial intelligence June 14, and he will meet privately with the head of the International Monetary Fund.The pope...

[Catholic Caucus] In Blessing CCP Bishop, Francis Surrenders to the Spirit of the WorldToday, Pope Francis blessed the appointment of Joseph Shen Bin, who had been installed as Bishop of Shanghai by the Chinese Communist Party in April without the Vatican's consent. The unauthorized appointment violated the Vatican's agreement with the Chinese Communist Party, which calls for the Vatican to reach consensus with the CCP on bishop choices. Indeed, this the second unauthorized appointment in the past year. But the Vatican remains unfazed: it is "determined" to continue an "open dialogue" with the CCP. This approach, of course, contrasts with...

[Catholic Caucus] Pope tells nuns to spurn the Devil, don’t become ‘spinsters’ROME – Rarely one to spare his own clerical and religious circles criticism, history’s first Jesuit pope was at it again Friday, pointedly urging members of a women’s religious order – in popular parlance, nuns – to be wary of a “spiritual worldliness” sown by the Devil that could induce them to become “spinsters.”“Do not forget that the worst evil that can happen in the Church is spiritual worldliness,” Francis said on Friday, speaking off-the-cuff to a meeting of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, also known as...

The Sunset of a Papacy. Pope Francis also has his fans against him.What is happening in the Catholic Church? Are we on the verge of an earthquake? There are lots of signs that would induce us to think so, and the article by Alberto Melloni from the columns of “La Repubblica” yesterday, is really quite sensational, revealing, as it does, the severe split on the part of some progressive Catholics from Pope Francis, whom they used to support enthusiastically. Melloni, symbol of the “School of Bologna” and the “progressive wing of the Church – initiates his indictment by highlighting that...

We must not capitulate before this world, but recapitulate all things in ChristAn interview with the Superior General of the Priestly Society of Saint Pius X on the pontificate of Pope Francis.DICI: Reverend Father, it has been eight years since Pope Francis ascended the throne of Saint Peter, and on the occasion of this anniversary, you have kindly granted us this interview, for which we are truly grateful.For some observers of the pontificate of Pope Francis, particularly for those who are attached to Tradition, it seems that the battle of ideas is now over. According to them, it is now...