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Cardinal Reinhard Marx, the head of the German bishops, is now opening up to the idea of different German dioceses having different rules concerning the possible admittance of Protestant spouses of Catholics to Holy Communion. Another bishop just said, moreover, that Pope Francis seems not to see in the new German intercommunion guidelines a “threat to the Faith.”Last Saturday, the German Katholikentag (a national Catholic gathering with some 50,000 participants) in Münster came to an end. Now, at the beginning of this week, the statements of the participating German bishops concerning the ongoing intercommunion debate are being widely reported in...

Saudi Arabia has signed an agreement with the Vatican to build churches for Christian citizens, according to Egyptian news media reports. Online newspaper Egypt Independent on Wednesday said the agreement was signed during a visit by Jean-Louis Tauran, the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue at the Vatican, during his visit to the kingdom in April. Al Jazeera could not independently verify the contents of the purported agreement. In an interview with Vatican News, Tauran confirmed a declaration had been signed which paved the way for further dialogue, but did not mention building future churches in Saudi Arabia. Tauran met high-level...

VATICAN CITY (LifeSiteNews) — Pope Francis has asked the bishops of Germany to come to a “unanimous” decision on whether a Protestant spouse who is married to a Catholic may receive the Holy Eucharist in some exceptional cases. The news follows reports that the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, with the Pope’s approval, had already written a letter to German bishops rejecting their proposal to allow some Protestant spouses to receive Holy Communion. According to the reports, Pope Francis did not wish the letter to be made public because it didn’t “fit the narrative and direction” of this...

On his visit to Albania, the Orthodox patriarch of Moscow invoked the unity of the Christian Churches to disarm religious radicalism. On the same day, his closest collaborator, Hilarion, pulled the breaks on ecumenical leaps. Between Catholics and Orthodox there is a common faith, but too many "contradictions and misunderstandings", such as the work of Card. Stepinac and that of the Greek-Catholics (uniates).Moscow (AsiaNews) - The head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill (Gundjaev), went on an official visit to Albania from April 28 to 30, where he was welcomed by the Archbishop of Tirana Anastas (Janullatos), leader of...

Five Reasons Why Pope Francis’ Answer Was Demonic by Jordan Standridge Pope Francis has made several controversial statements throughout the years, but perhaps none quite as controversial as the one in this video.

Two of the most dodgy words in contemporary religious discourse are “fundamentalism” and “dialogue”. They don’t mean what they seem to mean; in fact, they are often used as a way to gain power.To explain what I mean, consider that Marquette University, a Jesuit university, is holding a “Pride Prom” this weekend. When some outside the university angrily questioned what a Catholic university is doing sponsoring an LGBT dance, a university spokesman responded:Notice the rhetoric here. Stolarski is justifying a Catholic university holding a dance for LGBT people by claiming that the university is actually being faithful to Catholic teaching...

The decision by the Lutheran Church of Sweden to offer a temporary place of worship to a local Catholic parish reflects the spirit of Pope Francis' visit to the city in 2016 for a joint ecumenical commemoration of the Protestant ReformationThe medieval cathedral in the southern Swedish city of Lund will be the setting for a Catholic celebration of the Eucharist for the first time since the days of the Reformation. The chaplain of the Lutheran cathedral and the Catholic parish of St Thomas announced on Tuesday that the initiative follows on from the historic visit of Pope Francis to...

Fredericksburg, Va., Apr 3, 2018 / 01:07 pm (CNA).- David Bereit, the founder of 40 Days for Life, entered the Catholic Church on Easter, giving thanks for the inspiration of influential Catholics, including his wife and children. “After years of prayer, discernment, and a whole lot of wrestling with God, I was received into full communion with the Catholic Church at last night's Easter Vigil,” wrote Bereit in an April 1 Facebook post. Bereit celebrated Easter with his family at St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception Church in Fredericksburg, Virginia. His wife Margaret was his sponsor, and his son Patrick...

“Since the XVI century, the distance the Julian and Gregorian calendars have taken from each other has led to having a different Easter date. We are sure that, as soon as the time is right, our Churches will be able to humbly and willingly implement a joint and to listen to St Paul’s invitation as a cry that sounds more urgent than ever nowadays, in a globalised, media-dependent world: ‘Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed’ (1 Cor. 5, 7-8)”. This was said earlier today by His Holiness, Bartholomew, archbishop of Constantinople and Ecumenical Patriarch, as he received at Fanar...

The Catholic Center for Studies and Media (CCSM) in Jordan, in cooperation with the heads of the Churches in Jordan, has decided to hold an annual celebration marking the Annunciation to Blessed Virgin MaryHis Majesty King Abdullah II addressed the 71st United Nations General Assembly on September 20, 2016. He said: “Jesus, whom we call ’Christ Messiah’, is named 25 times in the Qur’an. His mother Mary, called the ’best of all women in creation’, is named 35 times. And there is a chapter in the Qur’an called ‘Maryam’. The khawarej deliberately hide these truths about Islam in order to...

Excerpt from: The Ecclesiological Renovation of Vatican II by Archpriest Peter Heers "The basis for modern Catholic-Orthodox dialogue, the decree [on Ecumenism of Vatican II] established the principle of real, if imperfect, communion between Christians and their churches and communities." - by John Long, S.J. The idea of partial communion, so central to the new ecclesiology, is inconsistent with this understanding of the organic unity of the Church. Once again, in this regard as well, Vatican II was not a return to the patristic vision of the Church, but rather a further step away from it. As Metropolitan Kallistos Ware...

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert hosted a blasphemous segment with New Age Oprah that they called, “‘Oprah Winfrey gets some career advice from a slightly less famous figure: the Lord.” During the show, they openly mocked God and Jesus. As the show opens, Steven Colbert begins to introduce Oprah, but she interrupts before he can say her name. “We’re here with” Colbert begins, then Oprah blurts out, “God.” Colbert continues, “Miss Oprah Winfrey.” Being that there was a skit planned with a character “god” later in the segment, many would wipe this off, but with all the hype around...

In fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep - 1 Corinthians 15:1-58 From our conversion until we see God in glory, we are called to live by faith in the Lord, to “walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Cor. 5:7). This is not a call that is limited to only one area of life or to selected events. No, we are to walk by faith in every breath that we take, even our last breath as we pass into glory. In other words, just as we live by faith, we...

March 5, 2018 by Cassandra Fairbanks 167 CommentsIn the latest absurd news to come from liberal college campuses, a group of librarians at Simmons College in Boston have declared that saying “God bless you” when someone sneezes is Islamophobic.The group has created the Anti-Oppression Library Guide, which also dictates that saying “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Easter” is an act of “Islamomisic microaggression.” “Islamomisic Microaggressions are commonplace verbal or behavioral indignities, whether intentional or unintentional, which communicates hostile, derogatory, or negative slights in relation to the beliefs and religious practices of Muslims,” the librarians argue. “They are structurally based and invoke...

Catholic Church sets out a vision for closer ties with Islam Cardinal Vincent Nichols planting a sapling at the Oxford Centre for Islamic StudiesHow can dialogue between faiths lead to a deeper spiritual understanding? Is there not always a danger that both sides will talk across each other without listening or just agree on the bare minimum they have in common? These questions were raised this week by Cardinal Vincent Nichols, the Archbishop of Westminster, when he made the first visit by the head of the Roman Catholic Church in Britain to the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies, the dazzling...

ROME - Making official what the Swiss government had already announced, the Vatican confirmed on Friday that Pope Francis will travel to Geneva, Switzerland, on June 21 to mark the 70th anniversary of the World Council of Churches in one of the traditional centers of the Protestant Reformation.“His Holiness has in mind to visit the World Council of Churches in Geneva on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of its foundation,” Vatican spokesman Greg Burke announced on Friday in the Vatican’s daily news bulletin.“The visit will take place Thursday, June 21, 2018,” Burke said. “The program of the trip will...

Has anyone done their doctorate in theology in the required four years or does it generally take longer? I'm thinking of doing my doctorate and am curious to know if there are some general tips or good practical advice to follow. I have heard that you are being rigorously trained and it requires a big commitment where other things in life are pushed aside as less important. I don't know how true any of this is. Thanks.

Starting on February 11th, 2017, the congregation of St. Matthew Trinity Lutheran Church in Hoboken, New Jersey began referring to their pastor as Peter. Peter, formerly Rose Beeson, was the center of a renaming ceremony Sunday that was led by Bishop Tracie Bartholomew of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The ceremony also coincided with the celebration known as Transfiguration Day for Lutherans.

Hillsong Sponsoring Contemplative Alpha – Allows Catholic Mass at Conference ON FEBRUARY 15, 2018 BY MARK JEFFERIES In what appears to be a one of the latest atrocities in the ecumenical war against God’s church, Hillsong churches are partnering with Alpha – a contemplative program that originated in the heretical Anglican Holy Trinity Brompton – the church that was the European home of the ‘Holy Laughter’ heresies.