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I wanted to briefly mention a few observations of discussions about the Holy Father's latest plane interview. 1. Astoundingly, when Catholics raise concerns about Pope Francis suggestion to women that they can use birth control pills and condoms to prevent perfectly healthy babies from being conceived because of a remote chance of birth defects, I am still seeing Catholics claim the press is misinterpreting what is being said. I will not cite the dozens of examples, suffice it to say that the Father has accountability for his own words and actions. His contradiction of Humane Vitae was as clear as...

From the canonist Ed Peter’s fine blog In The Light Of The Law. He doesn’t have a combox over there and doesn’t mind if we use his stuff here. DO, however, go over there to his place regularly. Emphases are from Peters, comments mine: Misunderstanding the (alleged) 'Congo contraception' caseEven by the standards of his reign, the presser Pope Francis conducted on his return flight from Mexico has provoked an unusual number of questions. [No kidding. You should see my inbox, too!] I wish to address only one of those here.Preliminarily, I note that the burden is not on the...

"There are times that lay Catholics have to step forward to say what we as priests cannot." These were the words spoken to me during a time in my life that I felt called as a Catholic to defend my Catholic Church from an assault from within. That time has come again this week. To do so is never easy. For nearly three years now Catholics have defended Pope Francis as being "taken out of context" or "misunderstood" by the media. We have watched and cringed at what has come out of the Vatican, been ignored by the Vatican, and...

Pope Francis hinted that the use of contraceptives may be morally acceptable as a response to the Zika epidemic, during an question-and-answer session on February 18. Speaking to reporters who accompanied him on his return flight to Rome, after a visit to Mexico, the Pope said that "avoiding pregnancy is not an absolute evil." While abortion cannot ever be justified, he suggested, avoiding pregnancy could be a "lesser evil" in light of the alleged dangers of birth defects. During an interview session that proved controversial even by the standards of this pontificate, the Pope said: * US presidential candidate Donald...

Pope Francis has suggested it is acceptable to use artificial contraception methods in countries affected by the Zika virus. "Avoiding pregnancy is not an absolute evil," he told reporters en route to Rome following his five-day trip to Mexico. He cited Pope Paul VI's decree in the 1960s that allowed nuns serving in Africa to use contraception due to the threat of rape. He said, "In certain cases, as in this one, such as the one I mentioned of Blessed Paul VI, it was clear." But he maintained the church's stance against abortion calling it "an absolute evil". CDC's advice...

Despite a rush of headlines claiming Pope Francis is softening the Church's stance on contraception. A closer look at his recent remarks could suggest otherwise. During an in-flight press conference on his way back from Mexico, Pope Francis was asked by a reporter about the threat of Zika virus in many Latin American countries. Noting that the virus may be linked to birth defects when transmitted from a pregnant woman to her unborn baby, the reporter asked the Holy Father about proposals involving "abortion, or else avoiding pregnancy" in areas where Zika virus is prevalent. The Pope responded by emphatically...

It is interesting now to look back at the various reactions when the pope issued his encyclical on contraception. I dug up the following, and I think they pretty much speak for themselves. It is hardly necessary to add any comments at all except to say how little things have changed.A leader from an association of Protestant mainline denominations called it “the most important encyclical ever promulgated in the entire history of the papal succession.” He said, “I am glad that this pronouncement is so thoroughly clear-cut and uncompromising.” He was glad that everyone had to be either for...

It was the infamous (and alleged freemason) Archbishop Annibale Bugnini who noted that the “liturgical reform is a major conquest of the Catholic Church,” and it was here in the Church of All Saints that that “conquest” was quietly introduced for the first time. Since that time the Mass of Roman Rite has become a liturgical nightmare, with the faith of the Catholic people largely going the way of the Latin language because of it. Eighty percent of Catholics under the age of fifty no longer believe in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. Well played Blessed Pope...

Both in anecdotes and “exit polls,” former Catholics frequently cite the Church’s teachings on sexuality as a reason for leaving the Faith. But these same countercultural teachings have also been the door into the Catholic Church for believers seeking a consistent morality grounded in the Gospel. Converts have benefited from both the gift of the teaching as well as their entry into the Catholic Church.Krista Millegan is one such convert. She read Blessed Pope Paul VI’s landmark encyclical Humanae Vitae (“Of Human Life”) with her then-fiancé, Brantly, while they were undergraduates at the evangelical Wheaton College in Illinois. “The...

Vatican City - October 2, 2013: St. Peter's Basilica, October 2, 2013. Credit: Elise Harris / CNA. Vatican City, May 10, 2014 / 05:17 am (CNA).- The Vatican has announced that Pope Paul VI will be beatified this October at the conclusion of the synod of bishops on the family. A statement from the Holy See’s press office on May 10 read, “the Holy Father has authorised the dicastery to communicate that the rite of beatification of the Venerable Servant of God Paul VI will take place, in the Vatican, on October 19, 2014.” The beatification ceremony will take place...

An email from a friend: >>Worry less about Francis on economics, but sweat the upcoming Synod on the Family instead. To paraphrase George Gilder, economic growth can get switched back on in an instant. All we need to do is set in place the right policies.<< >>But the family? Don’t mess with that. Damage to the family would be permanent. You couldn’t repair that with lower tax rates. The upcoming Synod on the Family looks to be Humanae Vitae all over again. The 1968 crowd is getting ready to make their final push before they expire.<< I wish he didn’t,...

But, wait, there’s more! According to La Stampa, Pope Paul VI has reportedly been penciled in for beatification this coming fall at the conclusion of the Synod of Bishops in Rome. Yes, that’s right—Paul VI! Remember him? That vague, sort of nondescript pontiff who made up for negligible personal magnetism with an almost fanatical penchant for novelty. There is no particular cult associated with his cause, of course, other than among a few aging ecclesiastical hippies inside the Vatican who are evidently bound and determined to nominate their pal Paul for a Halo Award, come hell or high water. Something...

Michael Voris attended the March for Life and some of the pro-life gatherings in the past few days.  He interviewed a number of young people at the Capital Hyatt in Washington.  Just prior to the march, it is filled with pro-life people.  I believe one of the major pro-life groups has a convention there.  At any rate, Voris interviewed a number of the pro-life youth in attendance and obtained some very disturbing replies.  Ladies and gentlemen, please watch the video, then see my comments below it. (video at link) There are those who say that these young people point to...

Who Was Paul VI?A review of Msgr. Villa’s Paul VI Beatified?By Robert J. Siscoe It was during the 35th Assembly of the Italian Bishops that Cardinal Ruini, President of the Italian Episcopal Conference, announced his intention to submit the cause for beatification of Paul VI. On May 13, 1992, he issued an Edict that appeared in the Roma Sette, inviting “every single faithful to communicate to us directly… any information which, in any way, may argue against the reputation of sanctity of the Servant of God [Paul VI]”. Fr. Luigi Villa, editor of Chiesa Viva, answered the call. In the...

Can Paul VI be beatified? On December 20, 2012, Benedict XVI authorized the Congregation for the Causes of Saints to promulgate a decree recognizing the “heroic virtues” of Paul VI, pope from 1963 to 1978. Now only a miracle obtained through the intercession of Paul VI is necessary to proceed to his beatification. Apparently the postulator for his cause, Fr. Antonio Marrazzo, has already chosen a case to present to the medical commission, the cure of an unborn child diagnosed with severe malformation. According to Andrea Tornielli of La Stampa’s Vatican Insider, the beatification could take place in 2013. Paul...

Supporters of Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, founder of Society of St Pius X, branded the future Pope Benedict XVI and the late Jesuit theologian Karl Rahner "heretics" during the Second Vatican Council, reports The Tablet.A previously undiscovered letter written by Karl Rahner to his brother, Fr Hugo Rahner SJ, during the council in November 1963 has revealed that the French Intégristes - followers of Lefebvre - accused him and Fr Joseph Ratzinger as "heretic[s] who deny the existence of hell and are worse than Teilhardt de Chardin and the Modernists".The letter, part of an exhibition in Munich, states that Rahner consoled...

The pontificate of Paul VI produced many a disaster, in my opinion, but when it came to a crucial turning point, in the face of diabolical opposition Paul VI issued Humane vitae.I suspect many of you have never actually read Humanae vitae, though you have heard many invoke it for good or ill.Here is an excerpt: Consequences of Artificial Methods17. Responsible men can become more deeply convinced of the truth of the doctrine laid down by the Church on this issue if they reflect on the consequences of methods and plans for artificial birth control. Let them first consider how...

ROME, ITALY, November 4 (CNA/EWTN News) - The Jewish New Yorker who has made it his life's work to clear the name of Pope Pius XII of being anti-Semitic believes the wartime pontiff actually went undercover to save the lives of Jews in Rome. Gary Krupp came across the evidence in a letter from a Jewish woman whose family was rescued thanks to direct Vatican intervention. "It is an unusual letter, written by a woman who is alive today in northern Italy, who said she was with her mother, her uncle, and a few other relatives in an audience with...

Fr. Stephanos Pedrano was kind enough to translate from Italian the famous "Smoke of Satan" homily from Italian, allowing us to see the quote in its original context. I've put the entire homily in the below-the-fold part of this post, and I'll offer some analysis of it here. FIRST, HERE'S THE ORIGINAL ITALIAN FOR THOSE WHO WANT TO LOOK IT UP IN THE ORIGINAL. Now for the analysis: 1) A strange thing about this homily is the way it is presented. It isn't simply the text of his remarks, which is the normal way today for presenting the text...

A Prophecy Fulfilled Fr. Stanislas de Lestapis, a French Jesuit, died in 1999 at the age of 94. He had been a member of the Papal Commission on Birth Control and was one of the signatories of its so-called Minority Report. He had published a book on Birth Control, of which the third edition appeared in 1962, long before Humanae Vitae (1968). In Chapter 7, on The Contraceptive Civilization, he made the following bold prophecies: 'We do not hesitate to say that the acceptance of contraception will produce profound changes in our civilization. These changes are already taking place in...