Free Republic

“Do you not know,” says Saint Paul to the lax and factious Corinthians, “that we shall judge angels?” They had ceded to the unbelievers around them the authority to judge a controversy between Christian brothers. But Jesus says, “Judge not, lest you be judged,” because the criterion by which we measure others will be our measure too, and we are not likely to pass that test. Does Paul contradict Jesus? Not at all.  Consider the Pharisees, who liked to pray and fast conspicuously, pulling long faces so that everyone would know they were in the grip of holiness. Jesus...

CANDLEMAS The Encounter Between Chaos and Light Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger In everyday modern life we are hardly aware that on February 2nd we celebrate an ancient feast, common to the Church of both East and West, which used to have a great significance in the rural calendar: Candlemas. Tributaries from many historical sources have flowed together into this feast, with the result that it sparkles with many colors. Its immediate reference is to the event when Mary and Joseph brought Jesus to the Temple in Jerusalem forty days after his birth to perform the prescribed sacrifice of purification. The liturgy...

The longtime personal secretary to Pope-emeritus Benedict XVI has spoken of a "dramatic struggle" at the conclave of 2005, and insisted that the former Pontiff did not resign because of the "Vatileaks" scandal. Speaking at the launch of a book about Pope Benedict, Archbishop Georg Gänswein-- who continues to act as secretary to the retired Pontiff, while also serving as prefect of the pontifical household-- said that the "Vatileaks" scandal had "little or nothing" to do with the Pontiff's decision to resign. He said that Benedict XVI was motivated by his realization that he was growing weaker. By resigning, Archbishop...

The Red and the Black (and a Brand New Word)! A Short Liturgical Meditation on a Teaching by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger Msgr. Charles Pope • December 10, 2015 • In recent years Fr. John Zuhlsdorf has made famous the liturgical instruction, "Say the black; do the red." In other words, say the prayers as written in black ink (with no embellishments or deletions) and follow the instructions printed in red ink. After too many decades of liturgical errors -- even outright disobedience -- this is a pithy and memorable way to encourage proper demeanor and invoke the obedience that is...

The Most Essential Question of Every Liturgy – A Meditation on a Teaching From Joseph Ratzinger Msgr. Charles Pope • July 5, 2015 • There is a legend of how the liturgy and the Faith took hold in Rus (Russia). Prince Vladimir of Kiev was seeking a right worship for his people and sent representatives to look into various faiths and also liturgies. When emissaries went south to observe the Greek Christian Liturgy, they returned saying that they were not sure if they had been in Heaven or on Earth, so beautiful was what they had seen in the Hagia Sophia in...

Regarding the Instruction Dignitas PersonaeAim In recent years, biomedical research has made great strides, opening new possibilities for the treatment of disease, but also giving rise to serious questions which had not been directly treated in the Instruction Donum vitae (22 February 1987).  A new Instruction, which is dated 8 September 2008, the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, seeks to provide some responses to these new bioethical questions, as these have been the focus of expectations and concerns in large sectors of society.  In this way, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith seeks both...

The Cross in the Cosmos – A Meditation on a Teaching by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger By: Msgr. Charles PopeThe Wisdom Tradition of the Scriptures emphasizes that God speaks and is discerned in things He has made. Scripture says, The heavens declare the glory of God, the firmament (stars) shows forth his handiwork (Psalm 19:1). Indeed, when God spoke His Word, creation came forth.And the Word that God spoke was the Logos, Jesus. Scripture says, Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made (Jn 1:3). It also says, For by Him all things were created, both in...

On Saturday, January 3 in Kansas City, Georgia Walker attempted to do what no woman had done before:  She tried to become a Roman Catholic priest.And she’s got the pictures to prove it:  Georgia smiling, arms raised in triumph, vested in red and white, processing down the aisle at St. Mark Hope and Peace Lutheran Church.  Her friend, “Bishop” Bridget Mary Meehan, smiles proudly at her side.  Attending the ceremony were members of the Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests, a group of similarly deluded women who imagine themselves to be ordained.Here’s the thing, though:  WOMEN CAN’T BE PRIESTS.No, really!  Women...

Vatican, Apr. 06 (CWNews.com) - The funeral Mass for Pope John Paul II (bio - news) will be held in St. Peter's Basilica on Friday morning, April 8, at 10. The details of the unique ceremony-- which is expected to last 3 hours-- are laid out in the apostolic constitution, Universi Dominici Gregis , promulgated by Pope John Paul in 1996. That document, setting the procedures for the burial of one Pontiff and the election of a successor, stipulates that a Pope's funeral, should be held between 4 and 6 days after his death. Pope John Paul died in the...

ROMA, April 28, 2005 -On Sunday, April 24, Benedict XVI inaugurated his “Petrine ministry as bishop of Rome”in the sunlight of a Saint Peter’s Square overflowing with crowds. But his first intention was different. He had wanted to celebrate his first solemn mass as pope, not in the square, but inside the basilica of Saint Peter. “Because there the architecture better directs the attention toward Christ, instead of the pope,” he told the masters of ceremonies on Wednesday, April 20, his first full day as the elected pope. Only the immense number of faithful who were coming induced him to...

In today’s edition of the ABC-TV show, “The View,” Rosie O’Donnell said that “the person who was in charge of investigating all the allegations of pedophiles in the Catholic Church from the eighties until just recently was guess who. The current pope.” She said her source was an upcoming movie, “Deliver Us from Evil.”  Catholic League president Bill Donohue responded as follows: “There are several objections to today’s edition of ‘The View.’ What started as a discussion on the problems facing the disgraced former congressman Mark Foley, quickly digressed into a lengthy conversation about the sexual abuse scandal in the...

Pope Opposes Harry Potter Novels - Signed Letters from Cardinal Ratzinger Now Online RIMSTING, Germany, July 13, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) - LifeSiteNews.com has obtained and made available online copies of two letters sent by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who was recently elected Pope, to a German critic of the Harry Potter novels. In March 2003, a month after the English press throughout the world falsely proclaimed that Pope John Paul II approved of Harry Potter, the man who was to become his successor sent a letter to a Gabriele Kuby outlining his agreement with her opposition to J.K. Rowling's offerings. (See below...

Noting that in his Good Friday homily soon-to-be pope Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger condemned the "filth there is in the church," Wheeler believes the pontiff "will not tolerate [homosexuality's] presence in his church."

21 February 2006 Europe at a crossroads Address to the American University of Rome by Marcello Pera 1. A geopolitical continental drift The subject I intend to address today is the crisis of the West, and particularly of Europe. In my view this crisis is twofold, both geopolitical and spiritual, with the latter as the main cause of the former. The fact that the Old Continent is in a state of deep crisis has been upheld by many distinguished scholars, observers and a few – unfortunately just a few – political leaders in Europe. This was argued in most alarming...

"It is up to the readers to decide whether our intention — to examine and reflect on the great issues of our time, including the West, Europe, Christianity, Islam, war, and bioethical questions — has achieved its goal. Whether our concerns can be addressed. And whether our suggestions deserve to be pursued." - from the Preface. The following is an excerpt from the chapter, "The Spiritual Roots of Europe: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow". It was originally an address given by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger to the Italian Senate on May 13, 2004. We must now consider the process by which...

posted 07/11/05 The big news story in Moscow today is that former Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov is being investigated for land fraud by Russian prosecutors. The fact that he is also considered one of the leaders of the liberal opposition to the Putin Administration is purely coincidental ;-) The big news story as far as I was concerned personally was the interesting package in the mail that I received on my desk this morning. No, it wasn't a bomb (although my editor is no doubt very tempted to send one! ;-) It was a long package bearing the Vatican...

Benedict's Blanket Replaces Bernadine's Seamless Garment In the June 2004 essay, Seamless Garment or Political Comforter? , Michael Ulmann accurately described the seamless garment as follows: In the 1970s, the late Joseph Cardinal Bernardin and his episcopal allies advanced the notion that Catholic politicians should not be judged only, or even primarily, by their position on abortion. Abortion was merely one strand in a rich and finely woven “seamless garment” of Catholic social teaching in defense of life. Numerous other issues, the bishops said, ought to be considered. Nearly one month after this essay was published, the now Pope...

"A Confused Ideology of Freedom Leads to Dogmatism" SUBIACO, Italy, JULY 27, 2005 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the lecture given in Italian by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, now Benedict XIV, in the convent of Saint Scholastica in Subiaco, Italy, the day before Pope John Paul II died. This lecture took place April 1, when he received the St. Benedict Award for the promotion of life and the family in Europe. Part 3 of this lecture will appear Thursday. *** Let us take a closer look at this opposition between the two cultures that have characterized Europe. In the debate...

Democrats lost the evangelical vote decades ago. As the last election showed, they are now in danger of permanently losing Catholics. But the left has devised an ingenious technique for winning back disaffected Catholics – insult their Church and its leader. And they thought of this all by themselves? As part of the campaign to defeat the Republican push to end the judicial filibuster, on May 17, 2005, MoveOn.org, PAC ran an ad appealing to anti-Catholic paranoia. The broadside was an altered photo that showed Pope Benedict XVI standing outside the Supreme Court’s chambers. The pontiff appears to be holding...

When Pope Benedict XVI was Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger he told Europe to recover its Christian roots “if it truly wants to survive.” Amen from an arch-Protestant whose ancestors included refugees who fled Catholic persecution for freedom in Virginia. The new Pope is a scholar who sees history unfolding into the future. We agree. Europe will be Islamic and subject to Islamist Totalitarianism by 2100, unless Europeans turn to faith and family. If Europe fails to live for faith and family, succumbing further to Socialist Human Secular Totalitarianism, then European culture deserves to die under Islamic culture. Many Europeans hope that...