Bishop sees Church as ‘sleeping giant’ By Craig S. Semon 4/4/15 www.telegram.com/article/20150404/NEWS/304049723/0/SEARCH WORCESTER — As Christians worldwide celebrate Easter, despite dwindling vocations and attendance in many churches, many local Christians say they find meaning in their lives through their faith. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Worcester, the largest church in Central Massachusetts, has seen a drop in Mass attendance from highs known in past decades, but its leader, Bishop Robert J. McManus, remains hopeful and committed to engaging every Catholic “to assume responsibility for sharing faith with other people,” he said in an interview last week. In the holiest of weeks, he talked about what makes people weak, and what can be done to become spiritually stronger. Bishop McManus said Easter is important because it gives us a hope that cannot be derived from anywhere else. “What is that hope? That hope is because of the life, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ that we have the hope of living eternally with God in heaven,” he said. “There’s something about the human spirit that sort of recoils in the face of death. We want more. And I think that only our faith, and the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, give us that hope that this life is passing away and, if I live my life, according to the teachings of the gospel of the church, I will spend eternity with God.” Bishop McManus explains that redemption and forgiveness are absolutely crucial to living the human condition well, not just during Holy Week but all year-round. “If we cannot forgive ourselves and others, then we condemn ourselves to a very mean-spirited type of experience,” he insisted. “It humanizes our existence.” During his homily at the recent Worcester Diocesan Catholic Men’s Conference at the DCU Center, Bishop McManus referred to the Catholic Church in New England as “a sleeping giant.” Bishop McManus has made a commitment to wake this napping behemoth out of its slumber. “In the history of Catholicism in America, in some ways, New England, the East Coast, was a great bastion of Catholicism,” he said, citing the cultural richness and contributions made by the Irish, Italians, Polish and French Canadians who immigrated here. “From the beginning of 20th century until fairly recently, New England was a very Catholic part of the country.” When the Second Vatican Council opened in October 1962 in Rome, Bishop McManus said, 80 percent of American Catholics went to Sunday Mass. Now, the number stands at 25 percent, he said. “I remember my own home parish in Providence, Rhode Island, that we had Masses beginning at six o’clock in the morning until 11 o’clock on a Sunday and the church would seat 900 people. Every Mass was jammed,” Bishop McManus said. “It’s in the last quarter-century, maybe 30 or 40 years now, that the church in the United States has lost a lot of its fervor. New England is one of the lowest areas in the country, in terms of practice of the Continue Reading

First, They Call Us Bigots… In America, Christians are nearing the dark part of a familiar cycle Tom Hoopes 4/5/15 www.aleteia.org/en/society/article/first-they-call-us-bigots-5785810376851456 The “national freak-out” about Indiana’s religious freedom law is telling. It shows where Christians in America stand in an age-old cycle that the world has put us through repeatedly. Indiana’s law did nothing but apply a common principle: If I want to print anti-abortion pamphlets that a printer doesn’t like, the printer can decline my job. If Aryan Nations wants to hire me to make white supremacist pamphlets for them, I can decline their job. But many cultural elites think Christians (and Orthodox Jews, Muslims, and traditional Hindus, by the way) are in a special category when it comes to our beliefs about marriage. We’re bigots, you see, and bigots have no rights. How is it possible that we have come this far in a nation that to this day remains predominately Christian? We have seen again and again how Christian nations can turn against the Church. Once the cycle starts, it gets uglier and uglier — until it gets so ugly that the enemies of the Church are shown up for what they are, and finally defeated. In the first part of the cycle, Christians are made to be the bad guys — they call us enemies of progress and they proclaim that our moral positions are an affront to the enlightened. You saw this in the 20th century as Catholics became the bad guys in two places where we predominated: • In Mexico, anti-Catholic constitutions were enacted in 1857 and 1917 outlawing many of the Church’s basic functions —and elite thinkers and artists painted the Church as antiquated, authoritarian and holding back progress. • In Eastern Europe, the same phenomenon occurred in the middle of the 20th century as Catholic rights were curtailed in Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania — and the USSR. In the next part of the cycle, they offer us the oh-so-reasonable option of just forgetting about Jesus Christ and his teachings, and going along with them. • In Mexico, that meant the Church couldn’t teach and couldn’t speak about public issues — because that would be too sectarian, of course. Then the Church had to seek certain licenses from the state in order to worship. • In Eastern Europe, life was tough for Catholics. In Poland, for instance, Church concessions were gained only if we agreed not to speak in favor of “activities hostile to the Polish People’s Republic.” Finally, the cycle crescendos to the point where the enemies of the Church openly intimidate and attack us. • In Mexico, religious orders, clerical garb and many religious celebrations were banned. Then Catholics had to fight and die for their faith, producing 25 saints and martyrs, including famous teen martyr Blessed José Sánchez del Rio and Jesuit Father Miguel Pro. • In Eastern Europe, it was worse. In Poland, schools and orphanages closed, in Romania Bibles were pulped to make toilet Continue Reading

["What's the purpose of this revisionist view?" To trash Catholicism!] PBS’ “Wolf Hall” Trashes St. Thomas More What’s the purpose of this revisionist view? Eamon Duffy 4/6/15 www.aleteia.org/en/arts-entertainment/aggregated-content/wolf-hall-5865156676419584 The television version of Hilary Mantel’s novel Wolf Hall is the latest account to challenge St. Thomas More’s reputation as a courageous defender of the rights of conscience. Was he, in truth, a liberal icon, a religious fanatic or something in between? Judging by the media coverage [in the UK], the BBC dramatization of Hilary Mantel’s brilliant reimagining of the court of Henry VIII has unleashed a wave of Tudor frenzy. Great fiction based in fact, Wolf Hall seems set to shape a generation’s perception of what really happened in the most formative age in English history. For admirers of St. Thomas More this could be bad news. More’s reputation for humanity and integrity survived his execution for high treason, and even England’s repudiation of the Catholic faith for which he died. Two generations on, Shakespeare collaborated in “Sir Thomas More,” a play portraying a man who embodies good humor, good sense, decency and justice. There was a stream of admiring biographies, above all the eyewitness memoir by his son-in-law William Roper, the ultimate source for Robert Bolt’s play and film A Man for All Seasons. We know More better than almost anyone else in Tudor England. We are familiar with his eloquence, learning and often risqué humour, his legal reforms and judicial integrity, and his sardonic realism about the snake-pit of Tudor politics. Roper’s words and Holbein’s paintings open windows into More’s household at Chelsea, full of laughter, music and exotic pets, where girls were treated as equal to boys and taught Greek and Latin to a standard that would shame any modern undergraduate. But More’s reputation has fallen on hard times. For centuries, he was an icon of innocent suffering for conscience’s sake; more recently, he has been represented as a hypocrite, a bigot and a persecutor. The More of Wolf Hall is the latest and most powerful example of this reversal. Mantel’s character is More as he was perceived by his enemies – a joyless puritan, a man whose social charm but cruel humour masked a steely religious bigotry. He is a sneering misogynist who enjoys humiliating the women in his household. Above all, he is a religious fanatic, flogging himself in a fear-driven piety, obsessively writing vitriolic and obscene polemical books, implacably hunting down defenceless Protestants, imprisoning and torturing them in his own cellars. Far from being the innocent victim of a cruel regime, this More is a calculating political schemer, treated better than he deserved. After More’s arrest, Thomas Audley, the contemptible climber who succeeded More as Lord Chancellor and pronounced the death sentence on him, tells him: “We spare you the methods that you used on others.” One of the avowed motives of Wolf Hall was to correct the idealized picture of A Man for All Seasons. In this unforgettable but misleading portrait, More featured as Continue Reading

[Another neo-Catholic criticizes (albeit mutedly) a papal episcopal appointment] Pope Francis and Zero Tolerance by William Doino Jr. 4 . 6 . 2015 www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2015/04/pope-francis-and-zero-tolerance The outcry against Pope Francis’s appointment of Chilean Bishop Juan Barros, who has long been associated with a child abusing priest of the Diocese of Osorno, has placed the pope’s “zero tolerance” policy against sexual abuse into question. As Pope, Francis has taken many decisive actions against sexual abuse. He created a special Vatican Commission to combat it, and soon thereafter met with a group of victims, expressing his pain over their suffering: I feel the gaze of Jesus, and I ask for the grace to weep, the grace for the Church to weep and make reparation for her sons and daughters who betrayed their mission, who abused innocent persons. Francis has defrocked abusive clergymen, disciplined Catholic prelates who were believed to have covered up for them, and stripped an abusive Cardinal of all his authority. The Pope has also personally intervened in other abuse cases, ordering investigations and encouraging the public authorities to take strong action against evildoers. Given these actions, the Pope’s decision to appoint Barros as bishop of Osorno—even as Barros has been accused of covering up sexual abuse, and of being an eyewitness to the abuse—has been a source of consternation, not least among members of Francis’s own anti-abuse Commission. Barros was a long-time colleague and supporter of Rev. Fernando Karadima, a notorious abuser in Argentina. After Karadima was first accused of sexual abuse, Barros publicly defended his friend and mentor, and reportedly “tried to discredit the victims—even after the Vatican ruled against him [Karadima]” in 2011. The Chilean Bishops Conference subsequently ordered Barros, and three other bishops who had defended Karadima, to apologize. Once Karadima’s guilt was established, Barros denied any knowledge or involvement in the abuse, and continues to do so. His supporters say he is innocent, and is being railroaded by an angry mob, but many believe the evidence weighs against him. During his installation ceremony, as bishop of Osorno, hundreds of demonstrators stormed the cathedral, shouting, “Barros, get out of the city!” Many prominent Chileans have protested the appointment, and have appealed to the Pope to reverse it. German Father Peter Kliegel, who has served in Chile for nearly fifty years, has stated that Barros “has no credibility,” and led a petition, signed by thirty-one priests of the diocese, requesting that the Vatican rescind the appointment. Pressed on why Francis would ever elevate such a controversial figure, especially in light of his zero tolerance policy, the Vatican responded with a curt press release: “Prior to the recent appointment of His Excellency, Msgr. Juan de la Cruz Barros Madrid as Bishop of Orsono, Chile, the Congregation for Bishops carefully examined the prelate’s candidature and did not find any reasons to preclude the appointment.” But that explanation is hardly persuasive. As mentioned, the Vatican itself found Karadima guilty of sexual abuse—and at least three of Karadima’s victims claim that Barros Continue Reading

[Hat-tip to PewSitter] Portrait of the Pope by female British [erotic-lips] artist to hang alongside masterpieces in Vatican AN ARTIST who specialises in erotic images of pouting, pop art-style lips has become the first British woman to have a portrait of the Pope accepted for display in the Vatican. By Joani Walsh PUBLISHED: Sun, Apr 5, 2015 www.express.co.uk/news/world/568398/Portrait-Pope-female-British-artist-hang-alongside-masterpieces-Vatican British artist Sara Pope in front of her painting(s) The painting, by Stoke-on-Trent born Sara Pope, will hang alongside work by artists such as Leonardo da Vinci, Titian and Raphael that help attract more than five million visitors a year. Pope, 42, said: “The walls of the Vatican are covered floor to ceiling in Raphael masterpieces the public doesn’t get to see, which is awe-inducing. “To be included in one of the greatest collections in the world makes me extremely proud.” Her painting will also be reproduced as a print to be sold in aid of papal charities. Art expert Colin Winston-Fletcher, of London’s Lawrence Alkin Gallery, said: “It’s a wonderful honour for British art to have one of our artists’ work on display at the Vatican, especially when it’s a contemporary piece. “Religion itself isn’t considered to be terribly well connected to the world of modern art so it’s exceptional that a new, young, female artist has been accepted by the establishment, especially when the work for which she is best known is quite sexual and erotic. ["Hot-lips" Jorge?] Sara’s portrait will hang alongside Renaissance masterpieces “You don’t usually associate that with the Catholic church. “It would be like seeing a Damien Hirst on the walls of Harry Potter’s Hogwarts.” The oil and acrylic portrait is finished with silver and gold leaf. Pope, who has exhibited at the Alkin Gallery, said: “It took six weeks to finish as each layer of oil had to be left for several days to dry before another layer was added, with acrylic on top in fluorescent pink and peach to flesh him out over the cheeks and hands. “The gold leaf drips off his costume to signify his rejection of material privilege. “I greatly admire him for his refusal to live opulently, his humility. “He seems like a maverick, a reformer who will become an icon.” Pope, who trained as a shoe designer working with names such as Paul Smith and Lacoste, began to paint seven years ago after becoming frustrated with commercial work. She painted the portrait of her namesake while preparing to exhibit in Italy last year. Pope added: “I’m not Catholic, nor even religious, but the experience was probably the most emotional and spiritual of my life.”

[In observance of International Women’s Day on Sunday March 8th, His Eminence’s Pontifical Council held a Vatican conference criticized for its “ham-fisted,” “tone-deaf,” “uncatholic,” and feminist-inspired approach to “Women’s Cultures” as well as making other blunders in publicizing the conference (see www.lifesitenews.com/news/vatican-hosted-feminist-conference-featuring-prof-who-compares-mass-to-gay or angelqueen.org/2015/03/11/vatican-hosted-feminist-conference-featuring-prof-who-compares-mass-to-gay-sex/ ) Cardinal says Christian message ‘can enrich, transform’ societal values Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi presents a lecture on “American Culture, Catholic Higher Education and Their Contributions to the Global Church” March 25 at the Madonna della Strada Chapel at Loyola University in Chicago. Catholic News Service 4/1/15 CHICAGO — Vatican analyst John L. Allen Jr. once called him “the most interesting man in the Catholic Church.” Who is he? He is Italian Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, president of the Pontifical Council for Culture, and he was in Chicago March 25 to receive an honorary doctorate from Loyola University of Chicago. What makes Cardinal Ravasi so interesting are his efforts across Europe to engage the culture where it’s at, most notably through his “Courtyard of the Gentiles” project. Through this effort, intellectuals — nonbelievers and believers — in major cities are invited to participate in dialogues that explore topics such as: “Can one choose a ‘world without God?’ How far can the human person go in the field of creation? Are there limits, and if so, what are they?” During his Chicago visit, Cardinal Ravasi also took part in a colloquium on the history and diversity of Latino theology. After receiving the degree during a ceremony in Madonna della Strada Chapel on the university’s campus, Cardinal Ravasi delivered a lecture on the role of Catholic higher education in American culture. The cardinal has always been interested in American culture, especially through literature — citing writers such as Mark Twain, Flannery O’Connor and John Updike. Intellectual thought on American culture has noted its strengths and weaknesses, he said, and the analysis continues today. “In this evermore complex context, marked now by the new information and digital revolution, which is generating an unprecedented anthropological and sociological phenotype, how can the Catholic cultural presence be situated?” he asked. Today, “culture” no longer means the arts, sciences and philosophy. It refers to values and symbols held by the whole society, Cardinal Ravasi said. “In this light, the Christian message takes on a profound meaning for it can enrich and transform the same traditional founding values of the American culture,” he continued. “These values, in fact, in many aspects belong to a basic anthropological category, now subject to many criticisms and variations, but nevertheless important. We refer here to the concept of ‘human nature.’” In American culture and law, church and state are distinct and separate. However, society and religion aren’t, he said. “Indeed between the two there is always an attraction and a tension, an encounter, sometimes a clash, but never separation or indifference. The history of many other countries is built on this dialectic,” Cardinal Ravasi said. Catholic universities must be in this meeting of society and faith and can sustain and Continue Reading

[Has Fr Z embraced the sentimental theology of the church of nice by "throwning the baby (the doctrine of limbo for unbaptized babies) out with the bath water (the Jansenist teaching that unbaptized babies suffer the fires of hell)"?] ASK FATHER [Z]: Miscarried babies and heaven Posted on 6 April 2015 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf wdtprs.com/blog/2015/04/ask-father-miscarried-babies-and-heaven/ From a reader… QUAERITUR: Does a miscarriage baby go to heaven if not baptized? One of God’s greatest attributes is His mercy. We read in the letter of James 2:13, that mercy triumphs over judgment. Mercy is a reflection of His being Almighty. We know that, in justice, none of us deserves heaven. The sin of Adam and Eve broke our friendship with God. In justice, we stand condemned. But God, in His mercy, sent His Son to suffer and die for us and to pay the price of Adam’s sin. Jesus Christ unlocked the gate to heaven and showed us the way to ascend to the destiny that our first parents lost. He told us that the way we follow Him, the narrow path set out for our salvation, includes baptism. In baptism we become members of His divine family and of His Body. Through baptism, we once again gain the opportunity to go to heaven. We know with firm faith in what He has revealed that we KNOW that baptism is necessary for salvation. The Catechism of the Catholic Church 1257 states: “The Lord himself affirms that baptism is necessary for salvation [John 3:5]. . . . Baptism is necessary for salvation for those to whom the Gospel has been proclaimed and who have had the possibility of asking for this sacrament (Mark 16:16)”. This is a normative necessity. It is not absolute in the sense that exceptions are not possible because we can’t place limitations on what God can do. And so we also know, with the same firm faith in revelation, that God is also merciful. What happens to those who are not baptized, including infants and all those who never even had a chance to be baptized? We don’t know. This fact can cause us some discomfort, especially in families grieving the loss of an unbaptized child. This discomfort also felt by converts who were the first in their family to hear and accept the love of Christ into their hearts. They think back to deceased loved ones who never had a chance to hear the Gospel. But we know that God is merciful. Can he bring to heaven someone who is unbaptized? YES, no question about that. On the Cross, Christ said to the unbaptized Good Thief, “this day you will be with Me in paradise.” Can he bring to heaven our beloved children – born and unborn – who are not baptized? Yes. How does He do this without baptism? We don’t know, but He most certainly can. He tells us clearly that baptism is essential. We should have no doubt of that fact. This knowledge should Continue Reading

Martyrology-April 8th Roman Martyrology-April 8th-on this date in various years- The commemoration of Saints Herodian, Asyncritus, and Phlegon who are mentioned by blessed Paul the Apostle in his Letter to the Romans. At Alexandria, in the time of Emperor Maximian Galerius, the martyr St. Aedesius, brother of the blessed Apphian. Because he publicly reproved the wicked judge who delivered to corruptors virgins consecrated to God, he was arrested by the soldiers, exposed to the most severe torments, and thrown into the sea for the sake of Christ our Lord. In Africa, the holy martyrs Januarius, Maxima, and Macaria. At Carthage, the martyr St. Concessa. At Corinth, Bishop St. Denis, who instructed not only the people of his own city and province by the learning and charm with which he preached the word of God, but also the bishops of other cities and provinces by the letters he wrote to them. His devotion to the Roman Pontiffs was such that he was accustomed to read their letters publicly in the church on Sundays. He lived in the time of Marcus Antoninus Verus and Lucius Aurelius Commodus. At Tours in France, the holy bishop Perpetuus, a man of great sanctity. At Ferentino in Campania, Bishop St. Redemptus, who was mentioned by Pope St. Gregory. At Como, St. Amantius, bishop and confessor. And elsewhere in divers places, many other holy martyrs, confessors, and holy virgins. R. Thanks be to God.

[The Church has been open to the idea of practices like yoga since Vatican II: “We have been encouraged to imbibe spirituality from world religions”] In Mumbai [India], a Catholic priest-yogi attacks Western propaganda against yoga Father Joseph Pereira, who teaches Iyengar yoga around the world, believes its opponents are extremist ‘God addicts’. Aarefa Johari 4/7/15 scroll.in/article/718719/In-Mumbai,-a-Catholic-priest-yogi-attacks-Western-propaganda-against-yoga Is yoga incompatible with Christianity? Conservative Christians in Europe and the US have been posing this question with growing fervour in the past few months, accusing India’s biggest export to the West of propagating Hinduism and leading Christians down the path of evil. The controversy was in the news again again last week, when an appeals court in California ruled that yoga is secular, “devoid of religious or mystical trappings” and can be taught in schools without violating students’ religious freedoms. The ruling was in response to a 2013 lawsuit filed by worried Christian parents of Encinitas town, who claimed that yoga classes introduced in a local elementary school were promoting Hinduism and Buddhism amongst their children. But an Indian Catholic priest from Mumbai has a thing or two to say to the Christian groups in the West whipping u fears against yoga in the West. Joseph Pereira, a Catholic clergyman and proponent of Iyengar yoga, wears both his hats with perfect ease as he teaches yoga around the world. He studied the practice directly from BKS Iyengar, the legendary founder of Iyengar yoga, and his students include everyone from Christian priests to Singapore’s first prime minister Lee Kuan Yew. Through his 34-year-old organisation Kripa Foundation, he uses yoga to rehabilitate people with alcohol addiction problems. Father Joseph Pereira with BKS Iyengar. Anti-yoga propaganda, says Pereira, is the work of a specific lobby of fundamentalist, “born-again” Christians who he describes as “God addicts”. This may sound strange coming from a Catholic priest, but Father Joe – as most people know him – has chosen his words for a reason. Opium for the masses “Jesus, for me, is the supreme yogi, because he spoke about being one with God,” said Pereira, who emphasises that Iyengar yoga transcends all ideologies and philosophies with its ability to unite people. Just this year, Pereira published a book called Yoga for the Practice of Christian Meditation, connecting the practice of various yoga asanas to teachings from the Bible. The Catholic church, he says, has actually been open to the idea of opening up to practices like yoga since the Second Vatican Council of 1962, when the church issued two documents – one about the church in the modern world and the other on its relationship with non-Christian religions. “In both documents, we have been encouraged to imbibe spirituality from world religions,” said Pereira. It is in this spirit that Bede Griffith, a British Benedictine monk living in India, began to promote Hindu-Christian dialogue, wrote a Christian reading of the Bhagwad Gita and came to be called a yogi. “How many people in the West know about all of Continue Reading

Christians Must Go on the Offensive Against Gay Mafia Stephen M. Krason 4/7/15 www.crisismagazine.com/2015/christians-must-go-offensive-gay-mafia The controversy about the Indiana religious liberty statute is a textbook example of the increasing timidity of leading Republican politicians in the face of the homosexualist movement. It is an exposè of how they just can’t get past the politics of the moment—which they often poorly analyze—to see the civilizational questions that confront us in these times. Governor Mike Pence of Indiana quickly stepped back after supporting and signing the law as soon as the crescendo of criticism from the homosexualists and their media allies began and concerns about hurting the Indianapolis tourist trade were raised. After consulting with homosexualist organizations, he pushed through the state legislature a “clarification” of the law that supposedly would insure that it wouldn’t be used to “discriminate” against homosexuals. By doing that, the law was essentially gutted and the homosexualist organizations scored a major victory by securing specific protection for sexual “orientation” and “identity” for the first time in Indiana law. In effect, a law that was supposed to be passed to protect persons from legal attacks for refusing to do things like provide services for same-sex “weddings” and the like because of religious and moral objections now potentially opens the door wide for such attacks. A quick examination of the 3-page original statute—one wishes that Congress would limit itself to bills of such length—shows that it essentially did nothing more than to affirm that a person’s religious liberty could not be infringed upon by the state, except when there is a compelling public interest. This essentially has been the standard of American law, even though it was done by statute for most of our history. Change came when the Supreme Court elevated it to the level of a constitutionally mandated test for the validity of governmental action vis-á-vis religion in the 1960s. It is also the position of the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) that applies to federal action. Congress passed RFRA in response to the Court’s abandoning of the constitutional test in 1990 (effectively making it a matter for statutory law again). Congress intended that RFRA would apply to state as well as federal action, but the Supreme Court disallowed that on federalism grounds. If the states wanted to employ a compelling public interest standard, they would have to enact it into law. So, we see the current push, especially in the wake of the publicized cases where religious liberty and homosexualism are colliding around the country, for state religious liberty statutes. There are no absolute rights. Even though religious liberty was a fundamental right in the understanding of our Founding and enshrined into the First Amendment, one may not do anything and everything in the name of it. For example, the right to religious liberty does not mean that one may engage in human sacrifice as part of some religion. There is clearly a compelling reason for the state to stop murder, mayhem, or genuine social Continue Reading

www.cfnews.org/page88/files/4612b11ab534bf6eabb520ccdec2da04-362.html The German cardinal has suggested a new area of responsibility for his dicastery: to provide the “theological structure of a pontificate” ANDREA TORNIELLI VATICAN CITY In one of the numerous interviews he has given over the past few weeks focusing on the next Synod, Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, spoke about a new task for his dicastery. It is a task that is never been mentioned in the documents outlining the precise competencies of the former Holy Office. In an interview with French Catholic newspaper La Croix, the German cardinal stated: “The arrival of a theologian like Benedict XVI in the Chair of St. Peter was no doubt an exception. But John XXIII was not a professional theologian. Pope Francis is also more pastoral and our mission at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith is to provide the theological structure of a pontificate.” So according to Müller’s statement, the former Holy Office must “theologically structure” Pope Francis’ pontificate. And this is probably the reason why the Prefect gives public statements on such a frequent basis, like never before. This is a significant piece of news bearing in mind what is stated in article 48 of “Pastor Bonus”, the Apostolic Constitution on the Roman Curia promulgated by John Paul II in 1988, that: “The proper duty of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith is to promote and safeguard the doctrine on faith and morals in the whole Catholic world.” While the Pope “by the will of Christ Himself”, as Francis recalled at the end of the 2014 Synod, is the “supreme Pastor and Teacher of all the faithful” (Canon 749). Until a few decades ago (the last to do so was Paul VI) it was the Pope himself who personally presided over the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, precisely because of this task which, by virtue of the Petrine primacy, only he has the power to exercise. A primacy which belongs to the Bishop of Rome, which involves presiding “in charity” and resolving theological questions where needed. Cardinal Müller’s words – which introduced the new task of “provid[ing] the theological structure of a pontificate”, a task that had not been formalised until now – went practically unnoticed. While on the one hand his words open up new doctrinal scenarios in relation to Church tradition, on the other hand they seem to suggest that, according to Müller, the current pontificate – and St John XXIII’s too – lacks sufficient theological “structure”. Originally posted at Vatican Insider

NJ Catholic Bishop Won’t Say If He Agrees With Church Teaching on Homosexuality, Marriage April 6, 2015 – 2:09 PM By Michael W. Chapman (CNSNews.com) – Bishop Paul G. Bootkoski, head of the Catholic diocese of Metuchen, N.J., would not say whether he agrees with the fundamental teachings of the Catholic Church pertaining to homosexuality and marriage as quoted directly from the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Instead, a diocesan spokeswoman directed CNSNews.com to a statement on the diocesan website where the bishop writes, “We have never wavered from our traditional Catholic teachings.” In a March 30 e-mail to Bishop Bootkoski and his office of communications, CNSNews.com asked the following three questions: 1) Do you, Bishop Bootkoski, agree with the Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 2357, which says, “Basing itself on Sacred Scripture, which presents homosexual acts as acts of grave depravity, tradition has always declared that ‘homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered.’ They are contrary to the natural law. They close the sexual act to the gift of life. They do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity. Under no circumstances can they be approved”? 2) Do you agree with the Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 2359, which says, “Homosexual persons are called to chastity”? 3) Do you agree with the Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 1605, which quotes Jesus Christ Himself on the issue of marriage, saying, “’Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and cleaves to his wife, and they become one flesh.’ The Lord himself shows that this signifies an unbreakable union of their two lives by recalling what the plan of the Creator had been ‘in the beginning’: ‘So they are no longer two, but one flesh’”? The Catechism of the Catholic Church is the depository of Catholic teaching on theological issues and basic moral questions; it is the book that explains Catholicism from A to Z. Despite two e-mails, Bishop Bootkoski did not respond and a spokeswoman from his office, by telephone, referred CNSNews.com to the March 20, 2015 statement: “Bishop’s statement on status of teacher at Immaculata High School, Somerville.” It notes that, “Pope Francis reminds us that we are to accept all of our brethren. We must ensure that our educators steer away from harsh and judgmental statements that can alienate and divide us.” In explaining the establishment and role of a bishop in the church, the Catechism states (1558), “’Episcopal consecration confers, together with the office of sanctifying, also the offices of teaching and ruling…. In fact … by the imposition of hands and through the words of the consecration, the grace of the Holy Spirit is given, and a sacred character is impressed in such wise that bishops, in an eminent and visible manner, take the place of Christ himself, teacher, shepherd, and priest, and act as his representative (in Eius persona agant).’ ‘By virtue, therefore, of the Holy Spirit who has been given to them, bishops have been constituted true and authentic teachers of the faith and have been made pontiffs and pastors.’” According to the 2013-14 annual report for the Diocese of Methuchen, it Continue Reading

Source: Cleveland.com Little Sisters of the Poor leave 145-year legacy of care in Cleveland (photos) By Tom Feran, The Plain Dealer on April 05, 2015 at 7:00 AM CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Little Sisters of the Poor came to Cleveland as missionaries and quietly made an impact far greater than their numbers should have made possible. The numbers finally caught up with them. After 145 years of caring for the vulnerable elderly, the order has withdrawn from Northeast Ohio. Their Sts. Mary and Joseph Home for the Aged, on Richmond Road in Warrensville Heights, now is operating as Altercare at St. Joseph Center Inc. Its service to the elderly continues, but the Little Sisters have begun dispersing to other assignments. There were simply too few of them to carry on. “The core of our mission is to invite the residents into our (congregation’s) homes and to live with them as well as caring for them,” said Sister Mary Sylvia, mother superior of the local community, who is being transferred to lead the Sacred Heart Residence in Mobile, Alabama. “To do this well, there must be a sufficient number of sisters in each community. “Our decision to withdraw from the Diocese of Cleveland was based on the declining number of sisters available for our mission.” Ten sisters are needed to make up a community, and the order was no longer able to provide that, according to the Rev. Mark Cregan, an attorney who has worked with the order for more than 40 years. “It was a hard decision,” he said. “The reason for (leaving) Cleveland is that it’s such a big building. It was built to house at least 200 residents.” The congregation left a similar facility in Albany, New York last summer for the same reason. They still will operate 27 smaller homes in the United States, including two in Ohio, in Cincinnati and near Toledo. “They’ve just done a tremendous job, and they’ve been stalwart in the community,” said financial adviser Tom Arbeznik, who started organizing benefit concerts for the Little Sisters 14 years ago. “I think they just decided it was becoming too much of a burden. It’s very tough to run an operation like that, with the new rules and regulations. It was tough filling the positions with younger sisters. “I just think it was time,” he said. The order announced the decision to leave the Sts. Mary and Joseph Home early in 2014, and started a search of Catholic health-care organizations to ensure its mission of caring for the elderly would not end. They came to an agreement with family-owned Altercare of Ohio, then worked closely with the new operator to smooth the transition for the home’s 90 residents. Altercare, a for-profit company that operates 19 care centers in Ohio and Michigan, is increasing residential capacity and expanding services at the 14-acre campus. It will continue to have a daily Catholic Mass, though the home never restricted admission by religion, race or ethnicity. The company’s president, Gregory Colaner, said in a statement that Continue Reading

More evidence that the Church hierarchy plans to squeeze traditional bloggers? April 7, 2015 Posted by Tantumblogo veneremurcernui.wordpress.com/2015/04/07/more-evidence-that-the-church-hierarchy-plans-to-squeeze-traditional-bloggers/ So we’ve seen the sad spectacle of an independent part time blogger in Canada getting slapped with a cease and desist order from a high-power Toronto law firm at the behest of a very connected Catholic priest, and we’ve seen Voris bullied out of the scandalous St. Patrick’s Day March for asking Cardinal Dolan uncomfortable questions. Now I find that Pat Archbold’s been fired by National Catholic Register, which saddens me because I like his work a lot. They apparently did so because he asked uncomfortable questions regarding this pontificate, as well as pointing out the crisis in the Church with a bit too much clarity and force. Or way too much, I don’t know. I’ve always found Pat to be very reasonable and balanced. But even more than the above, which are simply individual instances, is the report from Life Site News that the USCCB has strongly endorsed the Obama Administration’s move to regulate speech on the internet via so-called “net neutrality,” which in reality will be “turning the internet into yet another venue for only elite leftist views.” In doing so they joined some of the most reliably leftist organizations on the planet, including the Ford and Rockefeller Foundations, George Soros, and others among the quasi-governmental left-wing elite. These left-wing advocacy groups favor “net-neutrality” as a vehicle to block opposing views and squash dissent from their sexular pagan agenda. At least, that is how many opponents of government regulation of internet speech view it: The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, meanwhile, has joined George Soros and the Ford Foundation in supporting net neutrality. On the day of the FCC vote, USCCB Communications Committee chairman Bishop John C. Wester released a statement praising “open internet,” “where neither the telephone or [sic] cable company providing access can tamper with access by consumers to any legal website or other web content.” The USCCB emphasized the threat to religious liberty as one of its primary reasons for supporting net neutrality…… The assumption apparently being that the federal government will be better promoters of “religious liberty,” whatever that means, than the private corporations that are presently responsible for providing and monitoring internet content. However, to date, I am unaware of any broad-scale censorship by any of these private entities towards those who hold strong religious opinions of any stripe, even up to an including those advocating violence on the muslim side (ISIS makes routine use of the internet to recruit and broadcast their satanic videos and other messages). But the government has already strongly intimated that it would contemplate forbidding such “hateful” speech. I find it incredible in light of the numerous threats to the freedom of the Church that have emanated from the Obama Administration that the bishops would really find government control over internet access and speech a less-threatening environment. In fact, I fail to see what the compelling interest for the Continue Reading

[As long as they use love bombs and not the death penalty] Vatican OK with using force as “last resort” against ISIS, on the off chance we might come to it some day Written by Hilary White 4/7/15 remnantnewspaper.com/web/index.php/articles/item/1663-vatican-ok-with-using-force-as-last-resort-against-isis-on-the-off-chance-we-might-come-to-it-some-day Why does the Vatican refuse to tell the world that Christian civilization is better than the predatory relativistic secularism, spawned out of 18th century Freemasonry, that still has its venomous fangs sunk into the twitching corpse of Christendom? Are we to give a sigh of relief, or a cheer, that the Vatican seems finally to be noticing that Christians are being systematically wiped out en masse in the cradle of Christian civilisation? Or that they are telling the UN Human Rights Council that the use of force “may” be used as a “very last choice,” to defend them? Some news services are reporting that the Vatican “says military force should be harnessed,” in response to the growing threat of ISIS, but I think this might be a bit strong. I’m pretty sure the word “should” was a bit of journalistic license. At the press conference, Time quotes the Vatican’s UN delegate Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, saying, “We have to stop this kind of genocide.” “Otherwise we’ll be crying out in the future about why we didn’t do something, why we allowed such a terrible tragedy to happen.” Alright, but the official joint statement says… well, what, exactly? The Middle East is living in a situation of instability and conflict that recently have been aggravated. The consequences are disastrous for the entire population of the region. The existence of many religious communities is seriously threatened. Christians are now especially affected. These days even their survival is in question. Efforts to build a better future for all are frustrated. We witness a situation where violence, religious and ethnic hatred, fundamentalist radicalism, extremism, intolerance, exclusion, destruction of the social fabric of whole societies and communities are becoming the features of a non-viable political and social model, endangering the very existence of many communities, the Christian community in particular. Vatican diplomatic language has for some decades now been in love with the passive voice, as in, “that recently have been aggravated.” “Been aggravated”? By whom, or by what agency and why? The same question comes up with each of the following bland, passive-voice sentences: “The existence of many religious communities is seriously threatened;” “Christians are now especially affected;” and “Efforts to build a better future for all are frustrated.” Diplomacy is the art of leaving things unsaid, and something you learn as you go in the Catholic journalist business is how to “read actively” Vatican officialese, which is mainly the art of filling in the blanks. The use of the passive voice always requires the hearer to fill in the active agency, in grammatical terms, the “who” or the “what” that is doing the action. Who is seriously threatening “many religious communities”? What, precisely, is frustrating “efforts to build a better future?” And perhaps most importantly, Continue Reading

A poster boy for the Maryland branch of the USCCCP regarding illegal immigration (“[Maryland Bishops] grateful that Governor O’Malley … expressed a willingness to welcome to our state [unaccompanied illegal immigrant] children who need assistance” www.mdcathcon.org/bishops-statement-on-the-migration-crisis?journal=110 ) and the death penalty (Maryland Catholic Conference Commends [Governor's] Death Row Commutations www.mdcathcon.org/maryland-catholic-conference-commends-death-row-commutations1?journal=110 ) Why this former Maryland governor ["Catholic" Martin O'Malley] believes gay ‘marriage’ squares with Catholic teaching – and why he’s wrong Lisa Bourne www.lifesitenews.com/opinion/why-this-former-maryland-governor-believes-gay-marriage-squares-with-cathol April 8, 2015 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Despite the fact that the Catholic Church is one of the most high profile and vocal defenders of natural marriage, Maryland’s former governor is claiming that his support as a Catholic for homosexual “marriage” lines up with Church teaching. “I’ve found that the passage of ‘marriage equality’ actually squares with the most important social teachings of my faith,” Democrat Martin O’Malley said, “which is to believe in the dignity of every person and to believe in our own responsibility to advance the common good.” O’Malley was asked in an interview with the Des Moines Register how he reconciles his favor for homosexual “marriage” with being Catholic. O’Malley left office in Maryland last year, and has been suggested as a potential 2016 Democrat presidential candidate, behind the frontrunner Hillary Clinton. His conversation with the Register would reinforce this, as candidates of both parties frequent Iowa due to its first-in-the-nation caucus. Before outright reiterating his support for homosexual “marriage,” O’Malley said his view is rooted in his support for the dignity of all, and in the protection of children. “I believe in the dignity of every person, and I believe that while we are all free to practice our religion and to hold whatever religious beliefs we choose, I think we can all agree that every child’s home deserves to be protected equally under the law, that there is dignity in every child’s home,” he said. Deacon Greg Kandra, who blogs at the Deacon’s Bench, responded to O’Malley by highlighting the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith’s document Considerations Regarding Proposals to Give Legal Recognition to Unions Between Homosexual Persons. “If it is true that all Catholics are obliged to oppose the legal recognition of homosexual unions,” it says, “Catholic politicians are obliged to do so in a particular way, in keeping with their responsibility as politicians.” The CDF document clearly eliminates O’Malley’s common good contention as well. “The Church teaches that respect for homosexual persons cannot lead in any way to approval of homosexual behaviour or to legal recognition of homosexual unions,” the document states. “The common good requires that laws recognize, promote and protect marriage as the basis of the family, the primary unit of society.” Deacon Kandra also included the portion of the document illustrating the grave consequences of support for homosexual “marriage.” “Legal recognition of homosexual unions or placing them on the same level as marriage would mean not only the approval of deviant behaviour, with the consequence of making it a model in present-day society, but would Continue Reading

Jill Stanek caricatures the Sacrament of Penance of the Catholic Church as ‘blasphemy’ TTC (The Tenth Crusade) 4/7/15 throwthebumsoutin2010.blogspot.com/2015/04/jill-stanek-accuses-sacrament-of.html There I was minding my own business when Jill Stanek posted a message to her ‘friends’ who are misguided into believing we have to earn salvation. And then she quoted somebody who said such a belief places God in our debt. After What the heck is this? ran through my head, I read the thread. The post and comments were about as ‘friendly’ to Catholic theology as the friendly gay couples asking us to use our God-given gifts to participate in their wedding. What’s that all about? Is that new? I have witnessed a little of Jill’s prolife work but haven’t really paid close attention to the subterfuge. A few weeks back, I did see a publicity stunt in front of Boehner’s office for what I thought was class clownish and unproductive to the prolife movement. Later, she gave a minute-by-minute description of what happened to her when she was arrested, which again, came across as sophomoric and out of character with the professionalism in what little I’ve followed. Anyhow, what a lesson on the fruit of obstinance, bad theology, hysteria and urban legends. They kept asking for Scriptural references to explain our theology that Christ appointed Peter as Pope, ordained twelve apostles, instituted the Sacraments of Eucharist, Holy Orders, Anointing of the Sick, Penance, Matrimony. When given the resources, they of course, were unable to comprehend. When citing Catholic theologians and teachings, they would not read the explanations. Jill accused the Sacrament of Penance in the Catholic Church as “blasphemy”. Carol, there is so much theologically wrong with your response to Bethany – which included mockery of her statement that only Jesus can cleanse her heart – when you wrote, “Christ… ordained the men to absolve you and left His Body and Blood to cleanse your soul..” Of course, mere mortals cannot absolve us of our sins. That is blasphemy. That is quite a bold statement to be willing to make in public as a professional person who works with Catholics. Is Fr. Pavone working with her? * * * It’s time to cut the cord. n.b. I’m doing a little homework and found this link in which she takes issue for Voris ( www.jillstanek.com/2015/03/catholic-prolifer-problem-prolife-movement-isprotestantism/ ) for saying the Protestants are trying to prevent Catholics from evangelizing women on contraception and have consequently become a problem in the prolife movement. She then goes on to say: the issue of contraception can’t really be brought up because many Protestant pro-lifers either don’t see the connection to abortion or don’t want to, and some Catholics pro-lifers who do see the connection are reluctant to splinter support over the issue. The problem with her big britches didn’t materialize in her trip to the hoosegow, that is for sure. I actually know thousands of Catholics in the prolife movement who believe and evangelize women about contraception. Productively. I should know because they helped to Continue Reading

Liturgy of the New Evangelization: Forward Into What? By Frank Walker 4/7/15 www.pewsitter.com/view_news_id_200547.php Is this forward enough? This isn’t turning back, right? Pope Francis, standing on the site of Pope Paul VI’s formal suppression of the Ancient Mass, said, “We must go forward, ever forward. To go back is wrong!” CWR’s Matthew James Christoff seems to wonder ( www.catholicworldreport.com/Blog/3795/the_case_for_a_mass_conversion_of_men.aspx ): Forward into what? Despite the fact the New Evangelization has been an ongoing emphasis by the Catholic Church for over forty years, it has failed to stem the disastrous losses of the faithful in the U.S. Since 2000, 14 million Catholics have left the faith, parish religious education participation of children has dropped by 24%, Catholic school attendance has dropped by 19%, baptisms of infants has dropped by 28%, baptism of adults has dropped by 31% and sacramental Catholic marriages have dropped by 41%. Something is desperately wrong with the Church’s approach to the New Evangelization. One reason the New Evangelization is faltering is because it is missing men. The New Emangelization Project has documented the serious Catholic “man-crisis” in the United States. 1 in 3 baptized Catholic men have left the faith and of those who remain, 50-60% of them are “Casual Catholics”, men who don’t know and don’t practice the faith. Of those who practice the faith, many are lukewarm, not converted to the point of conviction, a conviction in which they are prepared to make disciples for Christ and His Catholic Church. The New Evangelization has largely ignored men, with no substantial or sustained efforts to directly confront the Catholic “man-crisis”. The Catholic “man-crisis” matters. The souls of men matter and many are being lost; for example, two thirds of Christian men are looking at porn at least monthly and the numbers are much higher for younger men. The faith of the children matter and huge numbers of young people are leaving the faith because they have followed their fathers out of the Church. Without a New Emangelization in which millions of Catholic men become newly committed to Christ and His Church, there can be no New Evangelization. While a complex set of forces have driven the Catholic “man-crisis”, including both massive cultural changes outside the Church and serious missteps within the Church, the lack of engagement of men in the Mass is a major contributing factor: men don’t understand the Mass and well-meaning, but misinformed priests in many parishes have de-sacralized the Mass causing many men to simply “drift away.” Mass in my parish is not only profane, it’s also loud, distracting and ugly. It’s not just feminized, it’s Broadway-musicalized. It’s homosexualized and self-centered. The flat screen TVs are over eight feet high. The prayers of the faithful go on for years, and the pastor always teaches something angry, sentimental, and destined to carefully unravel your natural beliefs. Men of unsure faith and keen sense find our Masses repulsive, directly contrary to their virtues and instincts, and in many ways they are. Christoff asks: Why is Continue Reading

["Shooting the messenger"] Catholic College Student Suspended for Exposing University “Coordinator” Involved with ISIS Funding Scheme Unnamed honor student who did not show sufficient “trust” or “respect” for the “Catholic” College’s mission By Frank Walker 4/7/15 pewsitter.com/view_news_id_200545.php Hemingway started out as a reporter with no college degree. Student Laura X at a Catholic College in Miami might want to do the same ( www.campusreform.org/?ID=6422 ): Barry University has suspended a student reporter for her participation in a Project Veritas video that featured a university coordinator assisting in the creation of an ISIS club on campus. The student journalist, identified only as Laura, recorded her efforts trying to launch a “Sympathetic Students in Support of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria,” student group last week. This morning, she received an emailed notice from Maria Alvarez, the university’s associate vice president and dean of students, stating she had been suspended over allegations that her reporting violated the university’s Code of Conduct. “In response to complaints filed by members of the University community on Wednesday, April 3, and received by my office this morning, April 6, 2015, your alleged actions were the cause root of disruption of the University community and the creation of a hostile environment for members of the University staff,” the notice read. “Because these alleged actions violate Barry University’s Code of Conduct, effective immediately you are placed on Interim Suspension from Barry University.” The university’s Code of Conduct demands that “[m]embers of the campus community must act out of mutual respect to establish an atmosphere of trust,” and that enrollment at the school “presumes an obligation on the part of the student to act at all times in a manner compatible with the university’s purpose, processes and functions.” Of course, in order to have trust and be respected you have to be trustworthy and respectable, yes? If I had to be part of an organization which demanded I “act at all times in a manner compatible” with it’s “purpose, processes and functions,” I’d run for the door. That’s because I would be not in the bosom of a Catholic school, but the grip of an Orwellian network which cared nothing for my life nor the lives of victims anywhere. During the suspension, Laura is forbidden from visiting the Barry University campus or attending classes.

Pope Francis Out With His First Hit Single By Frank Walker 4/7/15 pewsitter.com/view_news_id_200546.php FrancisChurch theology now in song Do you ever get the feeling Pope Francis is just sort of place-holding while armies of people hype him into all kinds of figures like pope, theologian, politician, climatologist, economics advocate, St. Francis and Mother Teresa, cool guy, bouncer, teddy bear, pop star? Ever since I learned that the Vatican retained consulting giant McKinsey & Co. fresh after the Conclave to help Pope Francis ‘reform’ the Church, I find little to celebrate in stunts like this ( www.cruxnow.com/church/2015/04/06/pope-francis-makes-debut-as-songwriter/?s_campaign=crux:rss ): Pope Francis was already well-qualified as a renaissance man, having formerly worked as a bouncer at a Buenos Aires nightclub and a literature professor who was able to persuade Argentina’s most famous surrealist writer, Jorge Luis Borges, to speak to one of his classes. Now the pontiff has added yet another improbable title to his résumé: Songwriter. His new song, titled “So we can all be one,” is the product of a collaborative effort between Francis and Italian-Argentinian musician Odino Faccia. Its public debut came March 29, following Palm Sunday Mass in St. Peter’s Square. “We are the world. We are the children. We are the ones who make a brighter day so lets start giving!” Faccia told Crux in an e-mail that his bond with the pope comes from his work, since he’s always favored music that promotes peace and values. Faccia, considering how to transmit the pope’s message of peace, composed the song — with Francis’s full support. After singing the new song on Palm Sunday, Faccia told Crux that Pope Francis reported to him that he “really liked the song.” “This message is of light and hope,” begins the three-minute song, which describes overcoming darkness and looking ahead, rather than allowing the past to determine one’s life. “So that all may be one,” goes the chorus, “gone are the walls, only the value of the encounter remains … that is the bridge to peace.”. I think this effort may express the Pope’s theological insights quite well. Could it possibly be more trite, empty, or meaningless? __________________________________________________________________________________________ Text of the New Hymn for Peace with words of Pope Francis Para que todos sean Uno Este mensaje es de luz y esperanza Luz que atraviesa la oscuridad Nunca dejes que determine tu vida el pasado Mira siempre adelante El futuro está en tu mente, En tus manos y en tu corazón Coro: Para que todos sean uno Ya no existen los muros Solo el valor del encuentro Que es el puente hacia la Paz Para que todos sean uno La unidad es el camino Una alianza siempre abierta Al amor y a la verdad Cuando te encuentres ante el dolor Tienes que hacer lo que el corazón pide Porque los gestos más auténticos Son los que solos vienen El futuro está en tu mente En tus manos y en tu corazón Coro: Para que todos sean uno Ya no existen los muros Continue Reading

Bishop sees Church as ‘sleeping giant’

First, They Call Us Bigots…

PBS’“Wolf Hall” Trashes St. Thomas More

Pope Francis and Zero Tolerance

Portrait of the Pope by female British erotic-lips artist to hang alongside masterpieces in Vatican

Cardinal says Christian message ‘can enrich, transform’ societal values

ASK FATHER Z: Miscarried babies and heaven

MARTYROLOGY-APRIL 8

In Mumbai, India, a Catholic priest-yogi attacks Western propaganda against yoga

Christians Must Go on the Offensive Against Gay Mafia

John Vennari: Mueller on Francis’“Lack of Theological Structure”

NJ Catholic Bishop Won’t Say If He Agrees With Church Teaching on Homosexuality, Marriage

Little Sisters of the Poor leave 145-year legacy of care in Cleveland

More evidence that the Church hierarchy plans to squeeze traditional bloggers?

Vatican OK with using force as “last resort” against ISIS, on the off chance we might come to it some day

Why this former Maryland governor ["Catholic" Martin O'Malley] believes gay ‘marriage’ squares with Catholic teaching – and why he’s wrong

Jill Stanek caricatures the Sacrament of Penance of the Catholic Church as ‘blasphemy’

Liturgy of the New Evangelization: Forward Into What?

Catholic College Student Suspended for Exposing University “Coordinator” Involved with ISIS Funding Scheme

Pope Francis Out With His First Hit Single