Free Republic

“The Faith is Europe. And Europe is the Faith,” wrote Hilaire Belloc after that bloodbath we call World War I. “Either Europe will return to the Faith or she will perish.” By 1938, Belloc concluded Christian Europe was done: “The bad work begun at the Reformation is bearing its final fruit in the dissolution of our ancient doctrines — the very structure of society is dissolving.” He was right. Europe is the dying continent. And looking back at the history of the Old Continent, we see the truth of G.K. Chesterton’s insight: When men cease to believe in God, they...

Rome — The swift election of Jorge Mario Cardinal Bergoglio, S.J., as bishop of Rome is replete with good news — and not a little irony. To reverse the postmodern batting order, let’s begin with the good news.A true man of God. The wheelchair-bound beggar at the corner of Via della Conciliazione and Via dell’Erba this morning had a keen insight into his new bishop: “Sono molto contento; e un profeta” (“I’m very happy; he’s a prophet”). That was certainly the overwhelming impression I took away from the hour I spent with the archbishop of Buenos Aires and future...

When Benedict XVI was pope, the New York Times ran a scurrilous, distortion-infested campaign intended to link the former Joseph Ratzinger with the awful abuse scandals that have so harmed the Catholic Church. These pieces were manifestly dishonest and substance-free when you read them through. But the Times editors know most people don’t read the articles — they read the headlines and the first paragraph. So this morning, the pseudo-journalists at the Times began their campaign of lies against the new pope, Francis, under the damning (and damnable) headline: “Starting a Papacy, Amid Echoes of a ‘Dirty War’”: One Argentine...

Looking ahead to a reception scheduled for Monday evening in Rome that will feature American Cardinals, Vice President Joe Biden quipped that his attendance at the event is mandatory if he wishes to retain his soul. According to the vice president's office, Biden will attend the reception at Villa Aurelia in Rome along with the Presidential Delegation to the Inaugural Mass of Pope Francis, U.S. Cardinals, U.S. Members of Congress, and officials from U.S Embassy Rome, the U.S. Embassy to the Holy See and the U.S. Mission to the United Nations Agencies in Rome. Speaking with Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic...

First Latin American pope offers opportunity to 'rethink differences' and 'join hands in mission.'Argentina's evangelical leaders were just as surprised as anyone when Jorge Mario Bergoglio, former archbishop of Buenos Aires, was revealed Wednesday as the new Pope Francis. But they were not surprised when his first words broke from papal tradition. In a move that Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano called "unprecedented and shocking," before Francis offered the world the traditional papal blessing, he asked those watching to first pray for him. Such a request is one of Bergoglio's trademarks, said Juan Pablo Bongarrá, president of the Argentine Bible Society....

Monday, March 18, 2013 Pope Francis' official Coat of ArmsBy Brian Kopp From the Vatican website announcement (via Google translate, bold added): ...Pope Francis has decided to keep his coat front, chosen from his episcopal consecration and characterized by a linear simplicity.The blue shield is surmounted by symbols of papal dignity, the same as those taken by his predecessor Benedict XVI (miter placed between crossed keys of gold and silver, bound by a red cord). At the top, stands the emblem of the order of origin of the Pope, the Society of Jesus, a radiant sun and flamboyant loaded from...

>There have been some rumblings amongst traditionalist Catholics that Pope Francis is going to turn out to be a liturgical liberal. Apparently a few extremists are worried that Pope Benedict’s encouragement of the Latin Mass and his bringing back some of the older styles of clerical dress and papal customs are going to be thrown out in favor of happy clappy masses, clowns, balloons and big puppets.Everyone should stop and take a deep breath and get a sense of priorities. I am myself, on the more traditionalist side of the liturgy wars. I dislike anodyne, sentimental church music, a game...

With the election of Pope Francis, there has been an almost "catholic" attempt to determine if he is liberal or conservative. CBS claims he is a "staunch conservative" based on the fact that, as correspondent Allen Pizzey put it, he "opposes abortion, supports celibacy, and called gay adoption discrimination against children," not to mention his opposition to faux marriage. Tingle Central's Chris Matthews said that the new pontiff is economically "progressive," which, if we were to be informed by actual statistics, should mean he wouldn't give one red cent to anybody. But none of these analysts will peg the pope...

... Houselander concludes that the usual “efforts at reform” in the Church are useless. “There are only two weapons against the worldly spirit which has possessed so many Catholics for so long,” and they are “Contemplation and visible, voluntary Poverty.” How prophetic, given that Rome now has a Pope Emeritus devoted to the former and a new Pope devoted to the latter. Pope Benedict voluntarily gave away his power to devote himself to a cloistered life of contemplation. And Pope Francis famously said after his election, “How I would like a Church which is poor and for the poor.”

(CNSNews.com) -- When he said Mass for the College of Cardinals in the Sistine Chapel on Thursday, newly elected Pope Francis I warned these princes of the church against professing what he called “the worldliness of the devil, a demonic worldliness.”

It’s easy — maybe too easy — for people with progressive political views to dismiss the Roman Catholic Church as a vile anachronism, a nightmarish patriarchy of aging pedophiles, woman-haters, homophobes and/or closet cases that can offer nothing of value to the contemporary world. When it comes to the church hierarchy, and especially the Roman Curia, the corrupt and labyrinthine Vatican bureaucracy that makes the Soviet-era Kremlin look like a model of transparency, that point of view seems more than justified. But the church is not just the hierarchy, and as the spectacle of the last several days has demonstrated,...

The election of Pope Francis as the 266th bishop of Rome held many milestones. Francis is the first Latin American pope in history and the first non-European pontiff in about 1,200 years. However, some have claimed that a Medieval pope might have reached a milestone considered impossible given the standards and rules of Vatican City for ordained clergy. Legend has it that in the ninth century the Roman Catholic Church was ruled briefly by a "Pope Joan," who disguised herself as a man, rising through the ranks of the male-dominated hierarchy. Many have hailed the legend as true, with two...

Sunday, March 17, 2013 Fatima Shrine recalls Pope Francis' sponsorship of the Pilgrim Image of the Virgin of FatimaBy Brian Kopp For the record, here is a Google translation of yesterday's email (in Portuguese) of the Fatima Shrine's announcement regarding Cardinal Bergoglio's 1998 sponsorship of the Pilgrim Image of the Virgin of Fatima:  From: Press Room | Fatima Shrine  Date: March 16, 2013 10:42:06 AM PDT To: Subject: Buenos Aires, 1998: Fatima Shrine recalls the reception of Pope Francisco to Image Pilgrim Virgin of Fatima  26/2013, of March 16, 2013 - 17:30 Buenos Aires, 1998 - "Benvinda the house, Mother!"  Fatima Shrine recalls...

Fr. Georg has the task of guiding Bergoglio in his journey through the Vatican's secrets (vatican insider) A discreet and unexpected presence on the eve of the Papal election, Fr. Georg has been constantly by Francis’ side during his first public appearances: from his visit to Saint Mary Major to pray, to the meeting with journalists in the Paul VI Audience Hall. The role of Archbishop Gänswein at the beginning of this Pontificate goes beyond that of Prefect of the Pontifical Household; indeed, his sentimental involvement is evident and says a lot about his personality. It also brings to...

Left: The Holy Door at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. Right: Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, S.J., who was elected Pope Francis on March 13, 2013, in a 2005 photo. (CNS photo/Enrique Marcarian, Reuters) Editor's note: The following Letter On the Year of Faith was presented by Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, S.J., now Pope Francis, on October 1, 2012, the Feast of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus, to the Catholics of the Archdiocese of Buenos Aires. It is published with the express permission of the Archdiocese of Buenos Aires. LETTER ON THE YEAR OF FAITH:TO THE PRIESTS, CONSECRATED RELIGIOUS...

Sunday, March 17, 2013 Former SSPX seminarian constant companion of Pope FrancisBy Brian Kopp Some traditionalist bloggers seem to want to suggest that Pope Francis' closest friends and confidantes are of the progressive persuasion, but his right hand man at present is a former SSPX seminarian ... Georg Gänswein, despite his athletic and youthful appearance, is extremely conservative. But he has been careful to tone down his “traditionalist” side. Shortly after the election of Benedict XVI in 2005, all references to the papal secretary’s life prior to his new-found fame disappeared from the internet. Only later did any personal information...

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) told reporters present at her weekly Capitol Hill news conference to “get excited” about newly elected Pope Francis. While discussing with Capitol Hill reporters on Thursday her experience watching the selection of the new pope, Pelosi said: “Isn’t it exciting? I think so. Get excited. This is big, this is big.” Earlier in the press briefing, Pelosi said she was happy to hear Pope Francis chose his name based on Saint Francis of Assisi, for whom Pelosi’s home city of San Francisco is named. …

A revealing anecdote from an interview in 2009 with the man who would become Pope Francis: Just a few days ago I baptized seven children of a woman on her own, a poor widow, who works as a maid and she had had them from two different men. I met her last year at the Feast of San Cayetano. SheÂ’d said: Father, IÂ’m in mortal sin, I have seven children and IÂ’ve never had them baptized. It had happened because she had no money to bring the godparents from a distance, or to pay for the party, because she always...

SOUTHERN ORDERS: BOMBSHELL, THE HOLY FATHER GIVES HOLY COMMUNION TO THE DEACONS BY WAY OF INTINCTION AS THEY KNEEL BEFORE HIM AT THE PARISH CHURCH OF SAINT ANNA'S AND THEN DOES NOT DISTRIBUTE HOLY COMMUNION TO THE LAITY NOR ANY OF THE BISHOPS, THE TWO DEACONS DISTRIBUTE ONLY THE HOSTS TO THE LAITY AS THEY KNEEL TO RECEIVE!!!!!!! I am watching a live feed from the Mass within the Vatican at Santa Anna parish. The altar is dressed in the free standing altar is dressed in the Benedictine fashion as it was in the Sistine Chapel. The Holy Father is...

We are still a bare few days into the pontificate of Pope Francis. I have therefore declined to gush out lots of entries here, burbling my every half-formed notion about what is going to happen. I have also avoided surfing from site to site, news agency to news agency, to sift the wonky grindings of those who want to be in-the-know.Today, however, I went to see what the National Schismatic Reporter had to say. John Allen is a well-informed, hard-working analyst, of course, and well-worth consulting, while the rest of the writers over there are good for a laugh.With amused...