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Peter as rock Question: A Protestant told me recently that Peter can’t be the rock since Jesus is described as the rock and cornerstone of the Church, and he showed me a couple of places where Jesus is described as the cornerstone and even a stumbling block to unbelievers. Is there an answer for this? — Allen Desome, Washington, D.C. Answer: Of course Jesus, Peter and others who are called “rock” or stone are not literally chunks of stone. What we have in such attestations is the application of a metaphor. Scripture, like any lengthy document uses many metaphors, similes...

Regarding the meeting at the Vatican over intercommunion for Protestant spouses of Catholics in Germany, stacked in favor of the subversives who demand it, Edward Pentin, writing in the National Catholic Register, has reported on the fallout from Francis’ advice to the attendees (which did not include himself) that he appreciates the “ecumenical commitment of the German bishops and asks them to find, in a spirit of ecclesial communion, a unanimous result, if possible.”  This stupefying statement, which suggests that a matter of Catholic dogma is subject to a vote leading to some sort of “result,” has aroused the concern...

De Mattei - Tu es Petrus: True devotion to the Chair of Saint Peter On Saturday April 8th 2018, at Deerfield (Illinois) at the invitation of Catholic Family News, and on Monday April 10th at Norwalk in Connecticut, as a guest of The Society of St. Hugh of Cluny, Professor Roberto de Mattei,  delivered addresses on the theme: Tu es Petrus: true devotion to the Chair of  St. Peter.   Here is the text of his conferences. Tu es Petrus: True devotion to the Chair of Saint Peter We find ourselves before one of the most critical moments that the...

Papal confidante Father Antonio Spadaro retweeted a call for EWTN to be severely censured “until they get rid of Raymond Arroyo.” The call for an “interdict” to be imposed on the Catholic media empire started by Mother Angelica came from Anthony Annett, Assistant to the Director at the International Monetary Fund’s Communications Department. An interdict is essentially one step short of excommunication. It bans a person or people from accessing most Church Sacraments. “A person who uses physical force against the Roman Pontiff incurs a latae sententiae excommunication reserved to the Apostolic See; if he is a cleric, another penalty,...

PRAY FOR POPE BENEDICT XVI We may never know why he resigned.  I personally believe that the San Gallo Conspirators who did everything they could to prevent him from being elected in the Conclave of 2005, and failed, succeeded in 2013 in threatening the Church with such a financial disaster that Benedict, out of love for the Church and on those countless men and women around the world who depend on the Church for their very sustenance and living, sacrificed himself and resigned the exercise of the power of jurisdiction (governing) that belongs to whoever occupies the Chair of Peter, but not the power...

Sometimes I think Pope Francis is a gift to the Catholic Church, especially when he says something silly, clumsy, or even stupid. He allows serious Catholics to take the papal cult less seriously than they have been doing for generations. Overall, that’s a good thing. It began almost gently, as a matter of style, with the way Pope Francis offered pungent insults in his homilies and interviews. He called out archetypes. He slammed what he called “airport bishops.” He characterized Christians who complain too much as “Mr. and Mrs. Whiner.” He belittled certain types of nuns as “old maids.” Suddenly,...

The group of cardinals advising Pope Francis on reforming the Vatican bureaucracy spoke in their latest meeting about how to decentralize authority in the Catholic church and improve relationships between the Vatican and local bishops’ conferences. The nine member Council of Cardinals spoke in their April 24-26 meeting about how the Vatican can “be more at the service of local bishops” spokesman Greg Burke said in a short briefing Wednesday. Burke said the Council also continued its work examining the different offices of the Vatican bureaucracy, commonly known as the Roman Curia. He said they spoke specifically about the Congregation...

Response to Hilary WhiteComedy Hour at The Remnant: “Francis is the Pope Until the Pope Says He’s Not” Peek-a-boo! Is he or isn’t he? Apparently there is a new policy in place at the semi-traditionalist flagship publication The Remnant: Bloggers can write whatever they please about the Papacy, even if it contradicts the Faith, as long as they don’t endorse Sedevacantism.Most recent case in point: A blog post by Hilary White (pictured left) entitled, “Francis is the Pope Until the Pope Says He’s Not”. The title offers a good preview of the confused theology that follows in the body...

Barnhardt goes Resignationist...Ann Barnhardt dumps Francis,seeks Refuge in Benedict XVI She’s finally figured it out: Francis cannot be the Pope of the Catholic Church. The outspoken colorful controversialist Ann Barnhardt has announced on her web site that she can no longer hold that Francis is or ever was a true Pope, the Vicar of Christ. The reason for Miss Barnhardt’s change of mind is found in the very opening paragraphs of her blog post: It is now clear to me, and I feel it morally incumbent upon me given my position to publicly state that I believe Jorge Bergoglio,...

The story surrounding the somewhat controversial papal advisor and ghostwriter of Amoris Laetitia, Archbishop Victor Manuel Fernández, continues. As we had reported, Cardinal Gerhard Müller, in the June 2016 issue of Herder Korrespondenz, recently refuted as being potentially heretical Fernández’ 2015 claim that the pope himself could very well reside also in places other than Rome. This story was then also reported on by Dr. Sandro Magister in Italy and by Guiseppe Nardi in Germany. Yesterday, 13 June, Archbishop Fernández came back with a reply, by giving an interview to La Stampa‘s journalist and papal friend, Andrea Tornielli. In his...

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...

Biblical scholar and Holy Land pilgrimage leader Steve Ray delves into the Jewish roots of the papacy, namely "the keys", "the rock", and "the chair". Ray, a former Baptist, draws from his trips to the Holy Land to bring to life the commissioning of Peter as the first pope using vivid historical and contextual highlights. Peter, the Rock, the Keys, and the Chair - Steve RayVISUAL AID/Caesarea Philippi

If you are a typical observant Catholic who has struggled with this papacy, dealt with distress caused by his words and actions, and generally struggled with dislike for the pontifex, it's OK. Well, all right, it's not: honestly, it is both strange and painful for a Catholic to be at odds with the Successor of Peter. It is, however, completely understandable. Why? Because, in this case, he gives every indication of not liking you first. In fact, I think it's safe to say that we are dealing with the fascinating-and unique-spectacle. Namely, a Bishop of Rome who truly dislikes the...

Necessity of the pope Those outside the communion of the Church lack the authority Christ gave Peter and his successors Msgr. Charles Pope OSV Newsweekly, September 13, 2015 9/2/2015 Question: A Protestant co-worker said to me recently, “Who needs a pope? We have Jesus and the Bible and don’t need some man to tell us what to do.” How do I respond? — Name withheld, location withheldAnswer: At the heart of the office of the papacy is the uniting of the faithful around a visible vicar (or representative) of Christ. Denominations and groups that left the Church and severed their...

Pope ends first leg of his three-nation South American tour with impassioned plea to safeguard the environmentDelivered message in Ecuador, which has one of the world's most diverse ecosystems but is also reliant on oil He said: 'As stewards of these riches, we have an obligation toward society and toward future generations' (...) 'As stewards of these riches which we have received, we have an obligation toward society as a whole and toward future generations,' Francis said. 'We cannot bequeath this heritage to them without proper care for the environment, without a sense of gratuitousness born of our contemplation...

Vatican City (AsiaNews) – Today Pope Francis spoke in St Peter’s Square before some 30,000 members of the Renewal in the Holy Spirit Movement. Those present included Card Leonardo Sandri, prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Church; Card Kurt Koch, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity; Card Angelo Bagnasco, president of the Italian Bishops’ Conference; several Eastern Orthodox patriarchs, as well as Anglican and Lutheran bishops and Pentecostal pastors. In his address, the pontiff said, “It is preferable that every service, even in the Church, come to an end. There should be no lifelong leader. This...

Taking his seat in the temple of God For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, 4 who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God…9 The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders (2 Thes 2:3-4,9).  There is no other head of the Church but the Lord Jesus Christ; nor can the Pope of Rome,...

Was The Papacy Established By Christ? (Part 2) Because neither the apostolic nor the earliest post-apostolic Christians refer to a jurisdictional primacy of the bishop of Rome, Catholics often cite references to any type of primacy of the Roman church. But a non-jurisdictional primacy of the Roman church doesn't prove a jurisdictional primacy of the Roman bishop. Even Peter himself isn't referred to as having papal authority among the early post-apostolic sources. Terence Smith explains: "there is an astonishing lack of reference to Peter among ecclesiastical authors of the first half of the second century. He is barely mentioned...

For those who don't have much familiarity with the dispute between Protestants and Catholics over the doctrine of the papacy, I want to post two introductory articles on the subject today and tomorrow. The first article, this one, will be about the Biblical evidence, and tomorrow's article will be about the early post-Biblical evidence. Roman Catholicism claims the papacy as its foundation. According to the Catholic Church, the doctrine of the papacy was understood and universally accepted as early as the time of Peter: "At open variance with this clear doctrine of Holy Scripture as it has been ever understood...

The one aboutÂ… ItÂ’s Blessed are the Poor IN SPIRIT, you Marxist Nincompoop. And seeing the multitudes, He went up into a mountain, and when He was set down, His disciples came unto Him. And opening His mouth, He taught them, saying: Blessed are the poor in spirit; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5: 1-3 The First Beatitude is another grossly misread and misunderstood verse, with the misunderstanding being a recent phenomenon, spurred by a conscientious perversion of the meaning of the verse by Marxist infiltrators beginning in the 20th century. And now most especially by Pope...