The Catholic Church, because of a worldwide sexual abuse pandemic, is facing its biggest crisis since the Reformation. But many Catholic journalists and propagandists are in Ireland and elsewhere tweeting and reporting on how wonderful everything is. Hello!!!
Where are the bishops who are defending Pope Francis from confreres (I refuse to use the vacuous phrase "brother bishops") who have abandoned the Roman Pontiff and are working against him?
There is NO civil war in the Catholic Church. A tiny group of pseudo-intellectual and social media addicts have upped its relentless attacks against the current Bishop of Rome, who has refused to fight back.
Beneath the volleys in our "civil war" over the scandals lurk rival ecclesiologies. It is right to suspect that the hope conveyed in this article drives not a few in that debate, a hope that has little semblance to what Christ proclaimed and established.
Catholics have a choice. They can stand with
@Pontifex
the Bishop of Rome or those who continue to mount attacks against him. They are mostly a fringe group of US political conservatives that support Trump and some traditionalists of the BXVI camp from other parts of the world.
Pope's sudden about-face on the Rupnik case.
@HolySeePress
and
@Pontifex
can spin this anyway they want. But more likely it was due to intense media pressure and the growing disaffection that Catholics are expressing towards Pope Francis on this matter.
Pope Francis today sacked Bishop Martin Holley of Memphis, Tenn. who had refused to resign earlier following a diocesan investigation led by Archbishops Wilton Gregory (Atlanta) & Bernard Hebda (St. Paul-Minn).
Archbishop Dennis Schnurr of Cincinnati will have to explain his silence in the face of all this mess, too. He is the spiritual leader of the Catholics in Springfield, but has said NOTHING up till now.
"If I can't bless gay couples, I will not bless palm branches."
Fr. Giulio Mignani, parish priest in the Diocese of La Spezia in N. Italy, protests Vatican note on same-sex couples.
Very disturbing images from the Vatican today.
@Pontifex
without face mask at indoor gathering with large number of people, many pulling their masks down to talk to him. And pope kissing the hands of recently ordained priests...
The Vatican just made a big mistake in asking US bishops to delay their votes on clergy abuse protocols. The optics are terrible, and it sends a message, intended or not, that Rome doesn't recognize the urgency of the moment.
#USCCB18
RIP: Jean-Louis Pierre Tauran (1943-2018). A great and gentle man has gone to God. Thank you for your kindness, patience and faithful service to the Church of Rome and all humanity - despite much suffering and sacrifice. We are all the more poorer without you... Pray for us.
In a nutshell.
Pope to Roman Curia:
Crisis is GOOD - leads to positive change.
Conflict is BAD - leads to in-fighting and stagnation.
So stop your whining & gossiping and let's work together!
I said the same in my latest: "How in the world are those who do not know (Italian) supposed to responsibly critique, offer amendments or vote on something they cannot understand?... This is a "real scandal, in the sense of being a stumbling block".
+Chaput: "Many bishops were frustrated by the lack of advance translations for important issues they were expected to vote on. As one of the synod fathers argued, it’s actually immoral to vote 'yes' on significant issues if you can’t even read and reflect on what the text says."
Well-connected Italian Vatican reporter
@Tornielli
writes today that Pope Francis is not planning any more action steps on the clergy sexual abuse crisis, and thinks his letter on the issue was "exhaustive." Ireland, what say you?
USCCB President says of Sutherland Springs shooting: “This incomprehensibly tragic event joins an ever-growing list of mass shootings, some of which were also at Churches while people were worshipping and at prayer.”
Can we not all agree to IGNORE all those who post on Twitter or in com-boxes that conveniently hide behind pseudonyms or other forms of anonymity? My colleagues and I put our names to every article or comment we write. Trolls go away or take responsibility.
Very odd. The vast majority of these "liberals" were named bishops by St. John Paul II and Benedict XVI. How'd that happen? JP2 made Kasper a cardinal and B16 made Marx one...
While some wonder whether a 71-year-old is a good choice to be named Archbishop of Washington, remember this: Angelo Roncalli was just two months younger then Wilton Gregory when he was named Patriarch of Venice in 1953. One is never too old to make great things happen!
SHAME on the hapless and hopeless US Catholic bishops and their Military chaplain president
@usccb
@MilArchUSA
who, with few exceptions, have disgracefully ignored the death of Tom Gumbleton, one their most gentle, humble, prophetic and Christ-like confreres. SHAME!
Sorry, until the pope actually DOES something - since, in this Church right now, only he can- then they are only words. And playing “my pope, right or wrong”, as you seem to do, is nothing but another form of clericalism.
The criticism of the Pope’s letter as merely “words” but not “action” fails to grasp that only actions rooted in a change of mindset as result of prayer will being about authentic change. Francis is inviting us to discern and reform, not simply lament and condemn.
"After the veneration, during the Communion Rite, in a moving gesture, the Cardinal noted that, at this point, the liturgy permits him to receive Holy Communion, but that he would unite with everyone watching the live stream in making a Spiritual Communion instead."
Unity of the US bishops conference is now officially broken. Cardinal close to
@Pontifex
's vision for the Church's future publicly chastises conference president's message on Biden presidency.
All who believed were together and had all things in common; and they sold their possessions
and goods and distributed them to all, as any had need (Acts 2:44-45).
"This is not some ideology: it
is Christianity."
- Pope Francis, II Sunday of Easter (Divine Mercy)
RIP: Daniel Mark Buechlein OSB, Archbishop-emeritus of Indianapolis (1992-2011) and monk of St Meinrad Archabbey. He was 79 and died during the night. He had been in ill health and suffering from Parkinson's disease.
The liturgical reform was already completed. Unfortunately, and whether intended or not, Benedict XVI opened the door to those who contested it and many of the other reforms of the Second Vatican Council.
I have decided that anyone who comments on my posts or follows me anonymously will be blocked.
I sign my name to EVERYTHING I write or publish and everything I tweet. That holds me accountable. I expect that from everyone else.
As I've argued for several years the Roman Church is imploding. In the last several weeks and months bigger chunks of its anachronistic structure have begun to crumble. The implosion continues, is accelerating and is unstoppable.
A papal advisor said Sunday that the appointment of Bishop Robert McElroy as a cardinal is a "clear message" for the Church in the US?
But what's the content of that message? Analysis from
@jdflynn
I cannot imagine why anyone who calls her/himself a Christian would be angry about the abolishment of capital punishment. What is that thing you wear around your neck?
"Some wanted me dead," said the pope, who then complained about those who "badmouth" him.
Whether it was an admission that he's been weakened or a warning that he's lost his patience, Francis is forging ahead with efforts to radically reform the Church.
Pope Francis preaches very long homily at today's Chrism Mass, reading the entire 4-page, single-spaced text spanning more than 2,200 words (image, Vatican Media).
On this day in 1980, four US
#missionaries
were raped and murdered in
#ElSalvador
for standing against injustice. Today we give thanks for the lives and inspiration of Maura Clarke, Ita Ford, Dorothy Kazel, and Jean Donovan. Read more:
Pope Francis has smoked out the vindictive hypocrites who are staunchly opposed to abortion, but are in favor of capital punishment. Their reasoning is vindictiveness ("people who make grave mistakes must pay") without any consideration of mercy.
False.
The word "heresy" is nowhere to be found in the CDF declaration of 1979 that Hans Küng "can no longer be considered a Catholic theologian nor function as such in a teaching role".
Fr. Hans Küng lost his license to teach in 1979, after his theological work was found to contain frequent and persistent heresy, including the denial of papal infallibility and opposition to Humane vitae.
This is very disturbing.
"Pope Francis displays a mosaic of the Virgin Mary by the Jesuit Marko Rupnik to Catholics of Aparecida. Was this mistake or a provocation?"
As alt-right populists masquerade as Christians and use religious symbols to scare believers into embracing racism, xenophobia, Islamophobia and ultra-nationalism, Francis has been pivotal in helping prevent a dangerous, full-blown clash of civilizations.
RIP: Tom Gumbleton, the longest serving bishop in the US at the time of his death on Apr 4 (would’ve been 56 yrs May 1). Here we are, two hockey players - he left wing, me left defense - at a Tigers game a few years ago.
"In the face of growing confusion about the doctrine of the Faith," Cardinal Müller begins, "many bishops, priests, religious and lay people of the Catholic Church have requested that I make a public testimony about the truth of revelation"
@NCRegister
"Right now, the homeless continue to be homeless. A photo appeared the other day of a parking lot in Las Vegas where they had been put in quarantine. And the hotels were empty. But the homeless cannot go to a hotel. That is the throwaway culture in practice." - Pope Francis
BREAKING:
@austeni
in an exclusive interview with
@Pontifex
, where
#PopeFrancis
shares his wide-ranging thoughts on the crisis of
#COVID19
and the church that must come out of it.
Insanity!
The priest "was joined by a group of seminarians who went through the church's theology library & removed books deemed heretical, incl. by Henri Nouwen & Thomas Merton"
Close seminaries & stop all ordinations now, especially in the US, until this type of shit stops!
New from
@peterfeuerherd
:
At St. Elizabeth of the Hill Country Parish in Boone, North Carolina, Fr. Brendan Buckler is among a number of "restorationist" pastors in the Charlotte Diocese. Some parishioners do not feel welcomed by his liturgical tradition.
"Francis has appeared at different times in the past several weeks as someone who doesn't seem the least bit concerned that he may be torpedoing whatever is left of his pontificate."
Today is the Feast of St. Mary Magdalene. And while it was she - a woman - who was the first person to announce the resurrection, at the Vatican it's the men who still control the message.
"The Church, both in East and West has always regarded Saint Mary Magdalene
the first witness of the Lord’s resurrection and the first evangelist." Thanks to
@Pontifex
, since 2016 we celebrate her on July 22, like all the apostles, with a proper FEAST.
Pope Francis names Bishop John Dolan, auxiliary in San Diego to Cardinal-designate Robert McElroy, as the next Ordinary of Phoenix (AZ).
The 60-yr-old SD native replace Bishop Thomas Olmsted, 75.
The first layperson ever is named head of a major Vatican office. Pope Francis today appointed Paolo Ruffini, head of the Italian bishops's TV network, as prefect of the Dicastery for Communications.
Now the defamation of
@BishStrickland
begins…
“It is understood…” By whom? Where is the evidence that he mismanaged the diocese? Give us a break
@christopherlamb
. Report facts, not tendentious Roman gossip and slander.
Sarah and Ratzinger are wrong -- theologically and historically. There have always been married priests, from the very origins of the Christian community.
And these two bishops are also dishonest. No one is suggesting priestly celibacy be abolished.
Today the Church remembers St. Hilary of Poitier, 4th century Doctor of the Church.
Hilary had a wife and had a daughter (Apra) who were still alive when he was named Bishop of Poitier around the year 350.
"The new rite of the Mass presents much less clearly the truths of the faith and lacks in a substantial way the pedagogical helps constantly presented to us through the Old Rite. This difference is critical because souls desperately need today to be strengthened in their faith"
“Millions of people would strongly disagree & say it’s thanks to Francis that the Church's evangelical witness has actually been strengthened & that Christians are becoming more confident than ever in the Gospel of Jesus”
The Jesuit pope is an equal opportunity offender. No matter who you are, if you are not disturbed by some of what he says, you're not paying attention.
The ignorane of history displayed by even the senior members of the a
Roman Church is more than embarrassing. It is a scandal in the true sense of the word.
Lucky for this bitter old man that
@pontifex
is patient and merciful. And lucky for the hacks that give him oxygen that the Holy See Press Office is, too.
+Viganò: “For more than six years now we have been poisoned by a false magisterium, a sort of extreme synthesis of all the conciliar misconceptions and post-conciliar errors that have been relentlessly propagated, without most of us noticing it”
This is obscene. What sort of "ministry" does an 80-year-old, retired bishop do that requires $2 million annually?
And the US bishops wonder why they have ZERO credibility...
The Archdiocese of Washington allocated more than $2 million for the “ministry activities” of retired Cardinal Donald Wuerl in 2020.
The archdiocese has not responded to questions about the funds.
“In this story the worst evils of the Catholic Church seem to have got together: clericalism, machismo, paternalism, abuse of power, sexual abuse, minors’ abuse, corruption, lies, perjury, careerism, ambition, hypocrisy, silence, irresponsibility...”
"Mockery of Christians is both real and wrong. But a far bigger threat comes, I think, from religious blowhards who have entangled faith with bigotry, sexism, homophobia and xenophobia... Christianity is associated less with love than with hate."