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CFN Intro: One cannot help but wonder if Pope Francis is a calculating enemy of the faith, or hideously incompetent due to his modernist mindset. Neither of the two are praiseworthy qualities. Francis continually manifests himself as a destroyer, particularly by his benevolent promotion of those who attack the most basic precepts of Catholic morality and natural law. Oremus - j. vennari

Organizers were planning for more than 100 participants at Minneapolis’ Church of Christ the King on Saturday to talk about the intersection of being LGBT and Catholic and the how to bridge the gap between the LGBT community and the Catholic Church. That gap got a little wider when organizers of the LGBTQ+ Catholic Youth Summit were notified on Sunday — just days before the event — that the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis would not permit the event in a Catholic Church. Instead, event organizers have found a welcoming home down the street at the Edina Community...

RIVERSIDE, Calif. — Thomas Schmierer thought he was just a normal marriage and family therapist “flying under the radar” in Riverside, Calif. But Schmierer’s work with clients who seek him out for therapy for their unwanted same-sex attraction landed him in the crosshairs of homosexual-rights groups. The Human Rights Campaign, which lobbies for same-sex “marriage” and homosexual causes, wrote a letter to Psychology Today in February demanding that the magazine remove Schmierer from its professional referral service. The magazine complied, and it no longer accepts advertising from Schmierer, who says the listing is essential for his private practice, Vatican Values...

The United Methodist Church has been a subject of controversy for years as it supports legalized abortion within the context of supposedly being a Christian denomination. Now, one pro-life advocate has uncovered a quote from a Methodist pastor who says that caring about unborn babies who die in abortions is “idolatry.” Sarah Terzo, who has a knack for documenting the history of the abortion debate and the abortion advocacy movement by posting quotes from pro-abortion activists through the years, posted a new quote today that features Minister John M Swomley. Swomley is an ordained United Methodist minister, Terzo explains and,...

As is necessary when addressing an ultra-sensitive issue, I will make some qualifications on the front end: God is, without question, and I will declare without apology, passionately interested in blessing His children. It is fully appropriate to give a measure of attention to the wondrous process of discovery of God's abundant life, overwhelming benefits and blessings. That being said, I now must move on to offering some analysis on a hidden crises. The Spirit of Abortion ... In the Church? As a prophetic messenger, a primary driving force of my daily life is to reveal and help destroy any...

Another day, another misquote.I hate to get into a public disagreement with a colleague here, but the outrage du jour seems to be based on a translation that may or may not be deliberately wrong. As the BBC and the Associated Press are at the root of it, I’m leaning towards the former. A BBC reporter in the room claimed that Pope Francis said “you are an angel of peace” while presenting a gift (which is Vatican tradition) to Abbas.The Vatican reporter for the Italian newspaper La Stampa has it differently: As is tradition with heads of State or...

While discussing the latest Pew Survey that documented the decline of people professing to be Christian in America, Fox News pundit Bill O'Reilly blamed the Catholic Church's corruption and rap music's "promotion of depraved behavior" as a few reasons for the decline of Christianity in U.S. culture. "There is no question that people of faith are being marginalized by a secular media and pernicious entertainment," O'Reilly said. "The rap industry, for example, often glorifies depraved behavior, and that sinks into the minds of some young people – the group that is most likely to reject religion. Also, many movies and...

A common question for many is, "Can I lose my salvation?" I've heard both sides of the argument, and only God truly knows a person's heart, but I can share a few thoughts. The reason there is a debate is because the Scriptures teach that salvation is a gift from God that cannot be earned, but they also offer warnings about falling away. There should be a healthy tension between God's sovereignty and man's responsibility. This issue should not create a spirit of division, elitism, or theological superiority. One school of thought suggests that salvation cannot be lost, as in...

Breaking: Pope Appoints Fr. Timothy Radcliffe Consultor for Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace by Christine Niles • May 16, 2015, ROME, May 16, 2015 (ChurchMilitant.com) - Vatican Radio announced today that Dominican Fr. Timothy Radcliffe is being appointed as consultor to the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace. A former Master General of the international Dominican Order of Preachers, Fr. Radcliffe is a well-known proponent of progressive ideology and has expressed views sympathetic to the homosexualist agenda. He often celebrated Mass for the U.K. dissident group Soho Masses Pastoral Council (now renamed the LGBT Catholics Westminster Pastoral Council), whose...

D.C. Rabbi Sentenced To 6½ Years In Prison On Voyeurism Charges By Keith L. Alexander and Sarah Pulliam Bailey May 15 Barry Freundel, the once-influential Orthodox rabbi who pleaded guilty to secretly videotaping dozens of women as they prepared for a ritual bath, was sentenced Friday to 6 1 /2 years in prison. His punishment came at the conclusion of an hours-long hearing in D.C. Superior Court, where some of the victims described for Senior Judge Geoffrey Alprin the impact Freundel’s crimes have had on their lives. “You repeatedly and secretly violated the trust your victims had in you, and...

From a reader…QUAERITUR: While discussing the ecclesial status of someone baptized by an SSPX priest (is the newly baptized person Catholic?), I had a troubling thought: what about someone who is baptized by a Catholic woman who has pretended to be ordained as a priest? Is that newly baptized person considered Catholic? I tend to think not, since these women have gone to non-Catholic bishops to simulate their ordination. I’d be interested in hearing your thoughts. Thanks for all your work. Every priest has a story about a “grandmother baptizing in the bathroom sink.” Usually it’s a pious woman, motivated by sincere faith and love for...

Bishop Juan Vicente Córdoba says 'no one chooses to be gay or straight'ROME — A Colombian bishop, insisting that being homosexual is not a sin, said Thursday it’s possible that one of the twelve apostles of Jesus was gay or that Mary Magdalene, another key New Testament figure, was a lesbian. Bishop Juan Vicente Córdoba of Fontibón, Colombia, also said the Catholic Church does not oppose same-sex couples making a life together, but does not consider such arrangements to be a marriage or a family. “No one chooses to be gay or straight,” Córdoba said. “One simply feels, loves, experiments,...

Sister Diana Momeka, OP appeared before the House of Foreign Affairs Committee in Washington D.C. on May 13, 2015. Credit: Matt Hadro/CNA. Washington D.C., May 13, 2015 / 03:41 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Having lost their homes, their heritage and their sense of dignity, Iraqi Christians victimized by the Islamic State feel abandoned by earthly powers, but their faith in God has only grown, an Iraqi nun told members of Congress May 13. The faith of homeless Iraqi Christians is “increasing more and more,” Sister Diana Momeka, O.P., told the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee. Many of the displaced lived in...

ATHENS – The fight over religious liberty legislation in Georgia is about to get much hotter. Ted Cruz is almost sure to make it so. At 7 p.m. tonight, the Texas senator will address a dinner gathering of the Georgia GOP here. His remarks will come roughly 15 hours before the convention takes up, as a platform resolution, an endorsement of SB 129, the religious liberty legislation sponsored by state Sen. Josh McKoon. A floor fight is anticipated. What will Cruz say tonight about the issue? He just gave us a preview. Said the senator: “It is sad. It wasn’t...

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R), the son of a Baptist minister and an outspoken evangelical in his own right, may still have some work to do to court conservative Christians. The governor is mulling a bid for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination and will head to Washington, D.C., on Tuesday for a meet and greet with 50 evangelical leaders, who are said to be unsure of how deeply rooted Walker's convictions are on social issues like abortion and gay marriage. "Clearly he's not well known within Washington, D.C., with social conservative leaders. He's more known for his battle with unions...

For years the film industry has loved to use the richness of Catholicism to enhance story lines in movies and television shows. They love using our church architecture, confessionals, Rosaries, cassocks, habits, schools, prayers, and traditions because they offer so much visual recognition, drama, and beauty. These are the same reasons Catholics are so ripe for slapstick, which I admit can be funny. However, as America rapidly moves into an era of declining Christianity, we increasingly see our pop culture presence reduced nearly exclusively to cheap laughs and even cruel bigotry.ABC has decided to double-down on this anti-Christian narrative by working with the often vulgar...

How should we be good Catholics and good Americans?Until recently that did not seem to be an issue to most of us. Separation of Church and State appeared to reconcile the Faith with a secular pluralist public order. The arrangement seemed to leave room for each to be what it is, do what it does, and cooperate in building a world that would be increasingly adequate to man’s material, social, and spiritual needs.That view looks increasingly unrealistic today. Policies cannot be coherent or rational unless they are oriented toward definite goals and standards. Modern governments believe themselves responsible for...

The Roman Catholic Diocese of San Jose has a traveling LGBT mass called “All Are Welcome” (see a news report about it here; the reporter enthuses that this could be a first step in changing Catholic teaching). I found out about it in this comment from a reader:... ...If I were still Catholic and lived in that Diocese, I honestly don’t know what I would do. I could not go to mass in diocesan parishes that so clearly and even proudly defied authoritative church teaching any more than I could go to an Arian mass back in the day. And...

The Irish government has cut off all funding for a Catholic marriage-counseling agency. The announcement that the government has blocked €378,000 ($429,000) in subsidies for Accord, an agency administered by the Irish bishops’ conference, comes at a time when the government has been at odds with the Irish hierarchy over a campaign for legal recognition of same-sex marriage. With a national referendum on same-sex marriage scheduled next week, opponents of the measure have argued that if the referendum is approved, the government will block funding for Church-related institutions that do not recognize homosexual unions. The cut in funding for Accord...

The problem of gender. People are nowadays more than ever exposed to unhealthy sexual pressure. Sexual problems have always tormented the human race. And now they are tormenting it with an even more indomitable power. That is why it is important to help Christians understand this sphere so as to avoid a spiritual catastrophe. There is only one way to master the play of our subconscious powers — that is, to illumine them in calmness and sobriety, in order to understand their hidden dynamics in the light of Christianity. First of all it is necessary to establish the fact that...