Free Republic

[Catholic Caucus] Leave behind Tridentine model of priesthood, embrace synodality, Cardinal Hollerich bids parish priestsCWN Editor's Note: On the last day of Parish Priests for the Synod—an international meeting of parish priests at the Vatican—Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, SJ, encouraged participants “to become ambassadors of synodality, to be full participants in a synodal Church, to become with all the people of God, missionary disciples of Jesus.” “Many times their training and their reality have been oriented towards a Tridentine model of the priesthood,” Cardinal Hollerich, the relator-general of the synod on synodality, said of parish priests, in an address to Pope...

Pope Provides Sr. Jeannine a Clarification of “Dignitas Infinita”The following reflection is from Sister Jeannine Gramick, SL, co-founder of New Ways Ministry.I have been very sad since April 8, 2024 when the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith promulgated Dignitas Infinita, the Declaration on Human Dignity. I have felt the immense grief among LGBTQ people and their families and friends. This document states many beautiful and essential truths, but the section on Gender Theory, which condemns “gender ideology,” is harming the transgender people I love.I wrote a note to Pope Francis to tell him about my sadness and...

Connecticut archbishop who supports ‘female deacons’ defends transgender pronoun useArchbishop Christopher Coyne said he would ‘accept’ so-called ‘transgender’ people ‘as they’re presenting themselves,’ claiming it ‘doesn’t cost me anything’ to refer to someone as the wrong sex in contradiction to Catholic teaching and biological reality.A new Connecticut archbishop who supports “female deacons” has endorsed using a gender-confused person’s chosen name and pronouns that contradict their sex.Archbishop Christopher Coyne of Hartford, who assumed leadership of the archdiocese on Wednesday after the resignation of Archbishop Leonard Blair, told Catholic News Agency (CNA) last week that he would use a “transgender” person’s non-biological...

Sometimes, the truth slips out. Joe Biden holds Catholics and the tenets of their faith in utter contempt. ----SNIP--- That's the man Jen Psaki advised us is a "devout Catholic," a rosary always jingling in his pocket. He's gotten away with it up until now. But now he's gone full frontal with his hatred of authentic Catholics.

Liberal Jesuit Fr. Thomas Reese promotes ad touting Biden as made by God to be US presidentThe dissident priest is touting a president who has promoted an act that has resulted in the death of more Americans than all of the nation’s wars combined.WASHIGNTON, D.C. (LifeSiteNews) — Liberal Jesuit Father Thomas Reese posted on X a campaign ad promoting pro-abortion President Joe Biden, whose dissent from Catholic moral teaching on the sanctity of life, homosexuality, transgender ideology, and other issues has prompted high-ranking bishops and cardinals to call for his excommunication. The ad dubs President Biden as one chosen by...

[Catholic Caucus] Church must rethink its 'anachronistic' sexual ethic: priestRonaldo Zacharias, a moral theologian, feels Catholic theology not helping people integrate sexuality into their personhood Father Ronaldo Zacharias (left) is pictured with Pope Francis while attending the International Congress of Moral Theology from May 13-14, 2022, at the VaticanThe Catholic Church's "established, dogmatic models of the theological approach to sexuality have become anachronistic," a moral theologian told a conference on sexuality and culture at the John Paul II Pontifical Institute for Marriage and Family Sciences in Rome.Developing a new theological ethics of sexuality is "a task for the entire church...

[Catholic Caucus] Top Synod cardinal says ‘females deacons’ are a ‘natural deepening of the Lord’s will’Cardinal Mario Grech, one of the two leading cardinals in charge of Pope Francis’ Synod on Synodality, endorsed so-called ‘female deacons’ and ‘a different space for women in the Church.’VATICAN CITY (LifeSiteNews) — Cardinal Mario Grech, one of the two leading cardinals in charge of the Synod on Synodality, has appeared to contradict Catholic teaching, stating that “the female diaconate and a different space for women in the Church are a natural deepening of the Lord’s will.”Speaking on the sidelines of meetings of the Swiss...

In a recent discussion with Atheist Alex O’Connor, Christian apologist William Lane Craig’s suggested that abortion is not bad for the babies, but rather confers a great good upon them. Frequently viewed as evangelicalism’s foremost Christian apologist, William Lane Craig’s name is most often associated with his ministry organization Reasonable Faith, the name of his most famous book and also weekly podcast. We last covered him after he made a number of startling claims about the origin of Adam and the nature of the bible, in our posts: Apologist William Craig Denies Genesis 1-11: Says Adam was Caveman that Lived...

[Catholic Caucus] A German Bishop: Words and Deeds Can Contradict Each OtherHomosexual [pseudo] blessings are the beginning of a further "development of doctrine", Monsignor Helmut Dieser, the Bishop of Aachen, Germany, told Katholisch.de (19 March).The term "development of doctrine" is often used by heretics to mean "betrayal of the faith."Monsignor Dieser says that with the text 'Fiducia Supplicans', Francis has made it clear "that action does not have to reflect doctrine one-to-one". He overlooks the fact that this is the definition of hypocrisy.For him, 'Fiducia Supplicans' indicates "indirectly" that the doctrine has a potential for "further development" [he means: disintegration]....

[Catholic Caucus] "I've gotten used to being hated," says defender of LGBT Catholics James MartinAmerican Jesuit priest James Martin is one of world's leading advocates for welcoming homosexuals in the Church and offering blessings for same-sex couples.Inside one of the many skyscrapers in the center of Manhattan, James Martin heads to his office at America, the Jesuit magazine where he is an editor. Martin's workspace is filled with objects that evoke his personal journey as a Jesuit priest who has worked with gang members in Boston as well as refugees in Kenya.Next to his computer, there's a photo of him...

[Catholic Caucus] Former papal confidant says prelates who ‘criticize’ Pope Francis are a threat to Church ‘unity’Abp. Bruno Forte accused bishops who publicly oppose Pope Francis of usurping papal authority, lacking the Pope's supposed comprehensive perspective, and risking Church unity.A prominent Italian prelate has hit back at fellow bishops who “publicly criticize” Pope Francis, saying that they are “wrong” to do so, since they break the “unity of the Church.” In an interview published February 22 by Religion Digital, Archbishop Bruno Forte of the Archdiocese of Chieti-Vasto in eastern Italy issued a strong critique of what the interviewer described as...

[Catholic Caucus] Opinion: The real problem with the Pope’s remarks about hellThere is a real and necessary responsibility that comes with the Petrine office, and it’s irresponsible to toss out personal opinions in a way that is confusing and lacking vital context.Let’s pretend.Let’s pretend that the Pope said this the other night:We don’t even have to wonder what the reaction would be, do we?But…that’s just his personal opinion! That’s not the teaching of the Church! Sure, some theologians have held that and there’s plenty within Scripture and Tradition that might support such a view, but that’s not official Church teaching!...

[Catholic Caucus] Pope Francis: ‘I like to think of an empty hell’Pope Francis said that although 'it's not dogma,' he likes to think hell is 'empty.' Our Lord Jesus Christ and Our Lady of Fatima very clearly attest to the reality of hell, where the devil, his angels, and 'many' souls have gone.In a Sunday interview on Italian television, Pope Francis said that he likes to think hell is empty. The statement reflects what Francis has said in numerous interviews previously on the subject, with famous atheist author Eugenio Scalfari in the left-wing newspaper La Repubblica.In March 2015 Scalfari asked...

[Catholic Caucus] Pope Francis tells Communists: ‘Don’t back down, don’t give up’‘Imagine he had said that [don't give up] to the Traditional Catholics,’ said John-Henry Westen.Pope Francis meeting with the Marxist group, January 10, 2024Hosting a Marxist-Christian dialogue group at the Vatican on Wednesday, Pope Francis urged them to “be open, in dialogue, to new ways,” while avoiding reiterating the Church’s consistent condemnation of Marxism. Shortly before his weekly general audience on January 10, Pope Francis received a small delegation from the DIALOP group. DIALOP, according to its own description, is a “project of dialogue between Socialists/Marxists and Christians, involving...

While Martin Scorsese is celebrating his latest epic “Killers of the Flower Moon” on the awards circuit, the filmmaker is already teasing what could be his next movie, based on Shūsaku Endō’s book “A Life of Jesus.” (Endō also wrote “Silence,” which Scorsese adapted into the 2016 historical drama starring Andrew Garfield and Adam Driver.) ... “I’m trying to find a new way to make it more accessible and take away the negative onus of what has been associated with organized religion,” Scorsese told the publication. “Right now, ‘religion,’ you say that word and everyone is up in arms because...

[Catholic Caucus] Archbishop: Francis Should Have Declared Homosexual Sin as Something GoodThe new Archbishop of Bamberg, Herwig Gössl, 56, told Sueddeutsche.de (5 January) that he had hoped for "clearer" statements from Francis/Fernández on homosexual sins.At least he sees the logical flaw in the pamphlet 'Sodoma supplicans': "I thought that if we were to bless such unions, the doctrine would have to evolve in such a way that homosexual acts would no longer be considered a grave sin."But he is confident that Francis' pamphlet will change "practice" and will not be "the end of the debate".An archbishop who doesn't know that...

[Catholic Caucus] Catholic priest wearing rainbow stole gives ‘blessing’ to women civilly ‘married’ for 22 yearsThe Saint Paul Catholic Church in Kentucky posted a picture of the 'blessing' on their official Facebook page. The text accompanying the photo said that the 'blessing' was 'offered according to the guidelines in Fiducia Supplicans.'LEXINGTON, Kentucky (LifeSiteNews) — A Catholic church in Lexington, Kentucky, hosted a “blessing” of a same-sex couple that had been civilly “married” for 22 years, citing the Vatican’s heterodox declaration Fiducia Supplicans. The Saint Paul Catholic Church parish posted a picture of the “blessing” on their official Facebook page, showing...

A CNN contributor who claims to be a Catholic priest made the dual false claims on the air that Jesus was a “Palestinian” and that he was “homeless.” Father Edward Beck appeared on CNN early on Christmas morning and made the effort to link the birth of Christ to the current confrontation going on in Gaza between the nation of Israel and the terrorists of Hamas. But instead of being praised for an uplifting message, the commentator faced an intense backlash for being so embarrassingly wrong about the birth and lineage of Jesus Christ. During the segment, Beck was asked...

BREAKING: Pope Francis publishes norms for clergy to ‘bless’ homosexual couplesPope Francis’ new document allows clergy to bless any homosexual couple, in contradiction to the unchangeable Catholic teaching that the Church cannot bless sinful relationships.VATICAN CITY (LifeSiteNews) — Pope Francis and Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández have issued a text allowing “blessings for couples in irregular situations and for couples of the same sex” in contradiction to the unchangeable Catholic teaching that the Church cannot bless sinful relationships.The Declaration “Fiducia Supplicans,” issued without warning on December 18, the Congregation (now Dicastery) for the Doctrine of the Faith’s new prefect, Cardinal Victor...

[Catholic Caucus] Cardinal Gregory: "Tradition dies a slow death, sometimes a bloody death"On Wednesday 6 December, the Archbishop of Washington, Wilton Cardinal Gregory, took part in an event at the Catholic University of America as part of their Presidential Speaker Series, entitled "Celebrating Diversity" (h/t Diane Montagna). The full video can be found below, as well as on YouTube. In this talk, His Eminence notes that "even our American Catholic comfort zone can be rattled by the vastness of God's family of cultures, languages, and expressions of Catholic worship; so much diversity can throw some people off balance and quite...