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On a trip to Virginia last week, Bishop Athanasius Schneider of Kazakhstan spoke with LifeSiteNews about the Synod of Bishops on the Family, which is nearing its end in Rome this week. The bishop, who has developed an international reputation for his defense of Catholic doctrine and tradition, warns that the Synod appears to be taking its lead from the “anti-family agenda,” and goes so far as to say that those advocating changes are following the “spirit” and “language” of Satan. The Methods of the Synod LifeSiteNews: The Synod of Bishops on the Family is right now taking place in...

On the Relationship Between Light, Time, and the Mystery of God Msgr. Charles Pope • October 21, 2015 • I was meditating on time today, precipitated by some mysteries I’ve recently learned about the light of the Sun that reaches this earth.I have long known that to look up into the night sky is to look far into the past. Looking up at the star Sirius, I am seeing 9 years into the past. Looking over at the star Antares, I am seeing 250 years into the past. And when I look the star Rigel, I am seeing 600 years...

Msgr. Krysztof Charamsa, who was dismissed from his post at the Vatican after he announced that he is an active homosexual with a lover, has been suspended from priestly ministry. The Polish priest, who had been working at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, received notice from the Diocese of Pelplin that he is forbidden to exercise priestly functions or to wear clerical garb until he amends his life. The diocese said that this penalty was designed to cause “a real improvement of life, and it can be reversed.” Charamsa has left Rome and is currently living...

Conscience is one of those subjects about which numerous Catholics today are, alas, sadly misinformed. Despite great Catholic minds such as Thomas Aquinas, Thomas More, and John Henry Newman discoursing at length on the question, some Catholics speak of it in ways that have little in common with the Church’s understanding of conscience.The latest Catholic to be embroiled in controversy about conscience is Archbishop Blase Cupich of Chicago. While recently discussing the question of whether those who have (1) not repented of sin, and/or (2) not resolved to go and sin no more may receive communion, Archbishop Cupich stated:...

Throughout history, and the world over, the union of one man and one woman is the foundation of every social institution. Strong and healthy marriages lead to strong and healthy families. Strong and healthy families lead to strong and healthy communities. Strong and healthy communities lead to strong and healthy churches, schools, businesses, governments, and so on. What’s more, marriage is “the Crown of Creation.” It is the priority relationship within the family, with all other relationships being subordinate, and functioning subject, to it. After our relationship with our Creator, the most important relationship in the universe is the relationship...

Msgr. Charles Pope • October 20, 2015 • One of God’s greatest gifts is that of sleep, especially deep, peaceful sleep. Alas, like many hyperactive and overstimulated moderns, I sometimes struggle to find deep sleep. My mother often said that she was a light sleeper, so maybe I also got it from her. But when deep sleep does come, what a wonderful gift! A deep night’s sleep can be so refreshing, truly one of life’s great pleasures.Some of the Psalms speak of sleep. This Psalm speaks with gratitude of the gift of God to fall asleep quickly and to sleep...

Recently, Whoopi Goldberg made the bold announcement that the Bible has nothing to say about the subject of abortion. An audacious statement, especially since Ms. Goldberg has no scholarly credentials in the field of theology. But it should be noted that Ms. Goldberg is not alone in this belief; other abortion advocates have made such pronouncements as well as made the claim that since the Bible is silent on the issue it must, therefore, be licit.While it is true that the Bible certainly does not explicitly use the term “abortion” that does not mean that it has nothing to say...

A Tribute to the Holy Women of the Mystical Tradition Msgr. Charles Pope • October 19, 2015 • 1 Comment This past week, I have been traveling in Europe: Fatima, Lourdes, Avila, and soon enough up to Notre Dame in Paris. What a privilege it is to be in these places so near to the feasts of our Lady of Fatima (10/13) and St. Teresa of Avila (10/15)! Yes, two very important women in my life: Mother Mary and St. Teresa.Indeed, I have come to realize my need for and indebtedness to the holy women of God’s Church, to those...

Introduction : It is my objective and endeavour to bring Ex-Catholics back to the Catholic Church in 2015 as well as in 2016. I intend to achieve this through "Catholic Classics". What I mean is this -- I want Catholics who have left the Catholic Church to read awesome and amazing "Catholic Books" posted on my Catholic Blog. Many Catholics in India specially in "Metro Cities" have left the Catholic Church and have joined "Non - Denominational Churches". Most of them are unaware of "Catholic Classics" which encompass and explain the beautiful Catholic Faith. In Cities like Mumbai in Maharashtra,...

Note: This is an updated excerpt from what appeared in the May, 2015 Catholic Family News. It helps lay out the dynamic now in place at October Synod. During the 2015 Ordinary Synod, we've heard discussion of the possiblity of "regionalism," that is, allowing national bishops conferences to decide diverse "pastoral policies" regarding the Eucharist for the divorced and civiliy remarried, cohabitation and even homosexuality. In an October 15 interview, Raymond Cardinal Burke rightly said that the proposed "regional diversity" is " simply contrary to Catholic Faith and life. "

Pope Francis yesterday gave an address to the profoundly divided Synod on the Family in which he confirmed his plans to decentralise the Catholic Church – giving local bishops’ conferences more freedom to work out their own solutions to the problems of divorce and homosexuality. This is the nightmare of conservative Catholic cardinals, including – unsurprisingly – those in the Vatican. They thought they had a sufficient majority in the synod to stop the lifting of the ban on divorced and remarried Catholics receiving communion, or any softening on the Church’s attitude to gay couples. But in yesterday’s keynote speech,...

Restoring Greater Reverence to Sick Calls: Some Considerations Msgr. Charles Pope • October 18, 2015 • In my Parish, I work with the men of the Holy Name Society and the women of the Sodality to ensure that the numerous sick are visited regularly. I try to visit each of the sick members of my parish at least once per quarter to ensure that they have had Confession and the Anointing of the Sick. But since I do not have an assistant priest, as a general rule I must depend on the men and women of these organizations to bring...

[UPDATE 10/19/2015 2:30 AM GMT]: For the record: Edward Pentin has posted a complete "working translation" of Francis' watershed speech on his desire to see a more decentralized and "Synodal" Church that "begin(s) with the people and their everyday problems" and for which the "conversion of the papacy" is central. We will not dedicate more time to commenting on the theme of decentralization. It is enough to say that so long as the good bishops and cardinals who have been attacking the proposals for "decentralization" shy away from naming the true patron of the proposal -- the Pope himself --...

First of all, I would like to say that a "Christopher" is a "Bearer of Christ". Here is what Catherine De Heuck has to say about a "Catholic Priest". 1. A Priest is a Lover of God. 2. A Priest is a Lover of Souls. 3. A Priest is a Holy Man because he walks before the Face of the all Holy. 4. A Priest understands all things. 5. A Priest forgives all things. 6. A Priest encompasses all things. The Heart of a Priest like Christ's; is pierced with the lance of love. 7. The Heart of a Priest...

Pope Francis marks 50th anniversary of Synod’s institution “Finally,” explained Pope Francis, “the synodal process culminates in listening to the Bishop of Rome, called upon to speak authoritatively [It. pronunciare] as ‘Shepherd and Teacher of all Christians’: not on the basis of his personal beliefs, but as the supreme witness of the Faith of the whole Church, the guarantor of the Church’s conformity with and obedience to the will of God, to the Gospel of Christ and the Tradition of the Church.” And in totally, we swear, completely unrelated news… Traits of narcissistic personality disorder: The most telling thing that...

CNA reports: After years of both direct and indirect remarks on the subject, German Cardinal Reinhard Marx issued his most direct statement yet in favor of offering Communion to the divorced-and-remarried. In an Oct. 14 address to his fellow bishops from around the world, gathered at the Synod in Rome, he said that “we should seriously consider the possibility – based on each individual case and not in a generalizing way – to admit civilly divorced and remarried believers to the sacrament of Penance and Holy Communion.” Now, this Cardinal is not really breaking new ground in terms of FrancisChurch....

No Cross, No Crown: A Homily for the 29th Sunday of the Year Msgr. Charles Pope • October 17, 2015 • In today’s gospel, the Lord Jesus speaks of crosses and crowns. The apostles have only crowns in mind, but the Lord Jesus knows the price of that crown. And so He must teach them and us that crowns—the things that we value most—come only through the Cross.It may help to remember the context of this gospel. Jesus is making His final journey to Jerusalem. He is on his way to the Cross, having already announced this to His disciples...

If it werenÂ’t for St. Ignatius of Antioch, I might not be a Catholic today. How could a first century bishop so influence an American guy two thousand years later? Well, I first learned of this saint at my Baptist university where, in addition to my programÂ’s coursework, we were required to read books from a list of the Western Canon. The list covered everything from ancient to modern so I started my reading at the beginning. I wandered from the Fertile Crescent to Ancient Greece and Rome. I moved through the New Testament and soon found myself in...

Forming conscience Catechism says that our interior voice of conscience is God pointing us toward moral responsibility Msgr. Charles Pope October 25, 2015 10/14/2015 Question: I was talking to my theology teacher after class about the conscience. He seems to equate conscience with whatever a person thinks. Isn’t conscience something more than merely what I think or opine?— Name withheld, St. Louis Answer: You are correct. Conscience cannot simply be reduced to whatever one thinks. Frankly, it is often the role of conscience to challenge what we think. The Catechism of the Catholic Church describes conscience as a deep sense...

The most important event in the evangelization of the New World occurred in December 1531. Over the course of four days, the Virgin Mary, under the title of Our Lady of Guadalupe, appeared to an indigenous convert named Juan Diego. As a result of this encounter, and the image miraculously imprinted on Juan Diego’s tilma (cloak), nine million Native Americans embraced the Catholic faith, and the Americas began its transformation into “the Catholic hemisphere.” Our Lady of Guadalupe’s message of love had replaced the institutionalized violence of the Aztec culture and built a bridge between two worlds. Guadalupe: The Miracle...