January 2020

• Priest Apologizes After ‘Hurtful’ Homily on Muslims, Immigration
According to the local newspaper City Pages, Fr. VanDenBroeke said in his homily that unlike issues such as abortion and same-sex marriage, Church teaching on immigration is not “black and white.” - January 31, 2020

• French cardinal acquitted by appeal court of failing to report abuse
Cardinal Philippe Barbarin has been acquitted by a French appeals court of failing to report sexual abuse by a diocesan priest. The Archbishop of Lyon was convicted in March, 2019, of “of non-denunciation of ill-treatment” of a minor and given a six-month suspended prison sentence. - January 30, 2020

• Survivors: No Reform Possible Without New Leaders in Legionaries of Christ
The Legion of Christ, founded in 1941 by Fr. Marcial Macial, was the subject of controversy in the Church long before it was rocked by the Vatican’s acknowledgment that its charismatic founder lived a double life, sexually abused seminarians, and fathered children. - January 28, 2020

• No reform possible without new leaders in Legionaries of Christ, advocates and survivors say
Advocates and survivors of abuse perpetrated by priests of the Legionaries of Christ say that the religious order has no hope of authentic reform without wholesale replacement of the Legion’s leadership figures. - January 27, 2020

• Vice President Pence and Pope Francis Discuss US Pro-Life Movement
Speaking of the March for Life taking place Jan. 24 in Washington, DC, Vice President Pence said that “on the National Mall today, among those hundreds of thousands of young people, will be an enormous number of Catholic youth.” - January 24, 2020

• Suspension revoked for Vatican’s financial watchdog authority
The new head of the Vatican Financial Intelligence Authority (AIF) announced Thursday that the Vatican’s internal financial watchdog’s suspension from an international group has been revoked, and the AIF can resume collaboration with foreign financial intelligence units. - January 23, 2020

• Pope Francis condemns clerics who engage in simony
In a homily Tuesday, Pope Francis condemned priests and bishops who use money to advance their careers. - January 21, 2020

• Fr. Jan Kobylowicz: Living Martyr of the Confessional Seal
The sacrament of Confession has been under attack in Australia since the conclusion of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse in December of 2017. Several states have now passed legislation that requires Catholic priests to violate the confessional seal in cases where child sexual abuse is revealed in confession.  - January 20, 2020

• Catholic Parish Will Not Host Episcopalian Consecration
A statement from the Episcopal Diocese of Southern Virginia said that the consecration will now take place at Williamsburg Community Chapel. - January 17, 2020

• Bishop Guo Evicted, Homeless after Refusing to Join Vatican-Approved Chinese Patriotic Church
In 2017, Bishop Guo Xijin of Mindong in China’s Fujian province disappeared. At that time, he was pressured to sign a document stating his willingness to “voluntarily” be demoted to coadjutor bishop as a condition that he be recognized by the government during his one-month detention. - January 17, 2020

• Virginia Bishop Knestout Defends Parish Hosting Episcopalian Consecration
The event is scheduled to occur on Feb. 1, 2020 at St. Bede Catholic Church in Williamsburg, Virginia. - January 16, 2020

• Archbishop Viganò Accuses Archbishop Gänswein of Abusive and Systematic Control of Benedict XVI
As the controversy surrounding the former pope’s contribution to a new book about clerical celibacy has shifted, in part, to the role of the personal secretary of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI and prefect of the papal household, Archbishop Georg Gänswein, Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò has accused Gänswein of “abusively and systematically” exercising control “towards the Supreme Pontiff Benedict XVI, ever since the beginning of his pontificate.” - January 16, 2020 

• Pope speaks to U.S. bishops about pro-life issues, transgender ideology
Protecting human life is the “preeminent” social and political issue, Pope Francis said, and he asked the head of the U.S. bishops’ Committee for Pro-Life Activities to convey his support to the pro-life community. - January 16, 2020

• Cardinal Hummes: Pope’s Pan-Amazon Apostolic Exhortation to Be Published Soon
In a letter circulated privately to bishops, the Brazilian cardinal advises the document is on schedule to be promulgated later this month or in early February. - January 15, 2020

• Ignatius Press to keep Benedict XVI listed as coauthor of new celibacy book
Amid still-unfolding controversy surrounding a new book on priestly celibacy, the book’s US publisher says it plans to continue identifying pope emeritus Benedict XVI as coauthor of the text. The former pope’s private secretary requested Tuesday that Benedict not be listed as a coauthor. - January 14, 2020

• Archbishop Gänswein: Benedict XVI Wrote Text, but Did Not Agree to be Co-Author
Archbishop Gänswein said that Pope Benedict XVI wrote the text on priestly celibacy included in the book during the summer of 2019, that he freely gave it to Cardinal Sarah at his request, and that he knew it would appear in a book. - January 14, 2020

• Former cardinal moves from Kansas friary to new location
Theodore McCarrick, the former cardinal who was laicized by the Vatican in 2019 after numerous claims of abuse by him were substantiated, moved Jan. 3 from the Capuchin Franciscan friary in Kansas where he had been living since late 2018. - January 13, 2020

• Update: Retired pope wants his name removed as co-author of book on celibacy
At the request of retired Pope Benedict XVI, his name will be removed as co-author of a book defending priestly celibacy, said Cardinal Robert Sarah, the Vatican official who coordinated work on the book. - January 13, 2020

• Lima Archbishop Offers ‘Clarification’ on Controversial Eucharist Remarks
Archbishop Castillo’s remarks came after he told Lima’s synodal assembly Jan. 7 that “no one is converted with the tabernacle.” - January 13, 2020

• Vatican: Pope Francis Does Not Condone Optional Priestly Celibacy
The initiative referred to is a newly announced book on priestly celibacy and the crisis in the Church and priesthood, co-authored by Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI and Cardinal Robert Sarah, who is head of the pope’s liturgical office. - January 13, 2020

• Cardinal Pell Transferred to New Maximum-Security Prison
Cardinal Pell had been in the Melbourne prison, located within the downtown area of the city, since his sentencing in December of 2018 on five counts of sexual abuse. - January 13, 2020

• Cardinal Sarah: Claim That Pope Benedict XVI Did Not Co-Author Book is ‘Defamation’
The cardinal's words are in response to a Vatican correspondent claiming on social media that “a source” close to Pope Benedict XVI had told her that the pope emeritus did not write the book with Sarah, or give authorization for its publication. - January 13, 2020

• Benedict is defending celibacy from the media, not from Francis
If you were HBO, you couldn’t ask for better publicity. Just as their television series “The New Pope” presents the crisis rising between the fictional Pope John Paul III and his predecessor Benedict XIII, news arises of a possible “conflict” between Pope Francis and the pope emeritus, Benedict XVI.​
​​​​​- January 13, 2020

• Baptizing babies, Pope Francis defends practice of infant baptism
Pope Francis baptized more than 30 babies inside the Vatican Sunday and issued a clear defense of infant baptism, saying it gives children the grace and assistance to grow in the faith as they get older. - January 12, 2020

• Vatican absolves ‘healing’ priest Suarez in sexual abuse case
The Vatican has absolved controversial “healing” priest Fr. Fernando Suarez of the the allegation that he sexually abused minors. - January 11, 2020

• Architect calls for Notre-Dame’s roof to be rebuilt of wood
A leading architect in France has urged that the roof of Notre-Dame de Paris be reconstructed out of wood, for the sake of the building’s structural integrity. - January 11, 2020

• Pope Francis’ 2020: Further Reform, a New Curia Constitution, McCarrick Report
The Holy Father has pledged to publish the report on Theodore McCarrick early in the year. - January 9, 2020

• Pope hints at broader vision of ‘recovery’ from sex abuse scandals
ROME - From the beginning, two things have been true about the clerical sexual abuse scandals in the Catholic Church. - January 9, 2020

• Catholic persecution worse after Vatican-China deal, Congress finds
A new US government report says that human rights abuse in China has worsened in the last year, and specifically highlighted the escalating persecution of Chinese Catholics in the wake of the Vatican-China agreement of 2018. - January 8, 2020

• FBI interviewed Papal Foundation staff about McCarrick
Law enforcement officials have conducted interviews with several senior figures at the Papal Foundation, a U.S. based charity which supports the charitable works of the Holy Father. - January 8, 2020

• The McCarrick report – and other things to expect in 2020
As the year 2020 opens, the Church appears to have entered into the slogging phase of its leadership crisis. Part of that is due to what one might call “scandal fatigue” – the sense that no wickedness, incompetence or rot has the power to surprise once discovered. It is also partly due to the nature of protracted crises, which periodically flare up or explode in scandal and then fall into a gruesome routine. - January 2, 2020

• New Chinese law will require churches to promote “the values of socialism”
A brief notice on the English-language website of China’s official news agency said that the nation’s Religious Affairs Administration has released a set of regulations on the management of religious groups. - January 1, 2020

• Leaked Draft of Amazon Exhortation Strikes Blow Against Clerical Celibacy
According to a new report at Corrisepondenza Romana, the Catholic news agency run by the eminent Church historian & author Professor Roberto de Mattei, the post synodal apostolic exhortation on the Amazon Synod, which is expected to be promulgated very soon, is now, based on a partially leaked text, expected to strike a definitive blow against the discipline of clerical celibacy. - January 31, 2020

• VIDEO: Dr. Taylor Marshall: Can Popes Become Heretics? St Robert Bellarmine Analysis
Can Popes Become Heretics? St Robert Bellarmine writes extensively on this question, especially in his De Controversiis Fidei Christianae from 1588. Ryan Grant, the Bellearmine expert and translator, joins Dr. Taylor Marshall to discuss Papal Error, Vatican I, and the Five Opinions listed by Bellarmine regarding Papal error and falling from the Papal office. - January 31, 2020

• Will Catholic bishops hamper the pro-life cause?
When Cardinal Blase Cupich cautions against political partisanship—in remarks made after the March for Life—informed readers recognize that he is questioning the degree of Catholic commitment to the campaign against legal abortion. - January 30, 2020

• In Search of a Silver Bullet
I recently lamented that few Catholics listen to what their bishops have to say about politics, and that those who do listen are often more interested in arming themselves with rhetorical weapons against political adversaries than in allowing their own consciences to be formed by the Church. - January 30, 2020

• Why Do Normal Events, Like Book Launches, Become ‘Imbergoglios’ That Snare the Pope?
COMMENTARY: The Vatican snafus in recent years are usually launched by commentators who are eager to advocate for Pope Francis, but often end up doing more harm than good. - January 30, 2020

• 1P5 Minute #20 | Legionaries of Christ Facing New Sex Abuse Charges
It’s astonishing that the Legionaries of Christ were not dissolved when it was revealed that their founder, Marcial Maciel, was a monstrous sexual predator who had abused some 60 children and fathered six children by three different women. He is also accused of raping his own biological children. - January 29, 2020

• A Look at the ‘Inculturated’ Church in Chiapas, Mexico
You see a lot of strange words now in Catholic circles. Words that you would never before have associated with the word “Catholic,” like “shaman” and “cosmos” and “integral ecology.” All having to do with the recent Amazon Synod. You have to wonder: what would such an “inculturated” church even look like? And what about the “slippery slope” factor? How far might such innovations go? A few years ago, I just may have had a glimpse. I was visiting a church in the state of Chiapas in Mexico. - January 27, 2020

• What Priestly Celibacy Means
The publication of From the Depths of Our Hearts – Priesthood, Celibacy and the Crisis of the Catholic Church written by Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI and Robert Cardinal Sarah, caused great unease among promoters of the ordination of married men to the priesthood in the Amazon region (and, surprise, everywhere else). - January 27, 2020

• VIDEO: Dr. Taylor Marshall -  Is Francis Cracking? Benedict XVI and Curia Reform
Is Francis Cracking? 2020 is the year of his announced "Curia Reform" where he will reorganize the structure and priorities of the decasteries. This has long been Saint Galen Mafia goal and it's now happening. Also, Francis granted ANOTHER interview with Scalfari on January 16 2020 to reveal Pope Benedict XVI's “solidarity with Pope Francis, the issue with Ratzinger was closed." Matt Gaspers joins Dr. Taylor Marshall live to discuss the obvious strategy moving into the next year. - January 24, 2020

• Archbishop Charles Chaput: America’s Least Conservative Bishop
COMMENTARY: For more than 30 years, Archbishop Chaput has been a model of creativity and collaboration in preaching and preserving the Gospel. - January 24, 2020

• CANON LAW AND CATHOLIC COMMON SENSE
A small but intense drama unfolded last week in the Catholic Diocese of Richmond, Virginia. Thanks largely to the graciousness of the Episcopal Diocese of Southern Virginia, the matter was resolved in the least painful way possible. Even so, it warrants a few words of reflection. - January 24, 2020

• What Does the Methodist Schism Foretell for Catholics?
On Friday, January 3, leaders of the second largest Protestant affiliation in the United States, the United Methodist Church, announced that, due to irreconcilable differences in moral theology, the competing orthodox and progressive camps within the group were going to formally split.  - January 23, 2020

• VIDEO: Dr. Taylor Marshall - Are (some) German Bishops Martin Luther in Mitres?
Are (some) German Bishops becoming Martin Luther in Mitres? Martin Luther changed theology, changed liturgy and transferred the Church's property, clerics, and laity under the power of secular states...sound familiar? The German hierarchy is changing the face of Catholicism in the European Union and globally. Dr. Taylor Marshall is joined with Alexander "the Dunker" Tschugguel to discuss the growing influence of "German theology" since the 1950s and how the German Catholic Church is the financial and influential juggernaut of the last several decades. The new "direction" of the Vatican is very much dependent on this German strategy and tactics. - January 22, 2020

• The German ‘Synodal Path’ and the Road to Emmaus
On January 30, with the first assembly in Frankfurt, the “Synodal Path” of the German Catholic Church reform begins — a “journey” without the observance of canonical regulations that a real synod would require. - January 20, 2020

• VIDEO: Priestly Celibacy: Should we drop it? with Fr John Hollowell (Dr Taylor Marshall Show #359)
Since the 9th century, the Roman discipline of priestly celibacy has been under attack right up to our own day. Should we compromise? She would drop celibacy? What about the ordination of married "viri probati"? Dr. Taylor Marshall interviews Fr. John Hollowell about his own experience as a celibate priest and the fruits that he derives from this charism. - January 17, 2020

• VIDEO: Francis Circus AND Archbishop Georg Gänswein Loves it! (Dr Taylor Marshall Highlight Outtake) - January 16, 2020

• A Father to His Flock: In Defense of Priestly Celibacy
Our Lady spoke to St. Bridget a divine warning that seems to be a message directly from Heaven to His Holiness Pope Francis: - January 16, 2020

• Responding to the Call for the Church to Bless Same-Sex Relationships
This is a question many Catholics (including clergy) are asking, and this topic has contributed to the revealing of an obvious divide among the people of the Church (which is different from the Church as the Spotless Bride of Christ [CCC 697]). We owe it to our brothers and sisters in Christ to draw them into a greater depth of understanding on this topic, as with any other.  - January 16, 2020

• VIDEO: Why did Benedict XVI remove his name from Cardinal Sarah's Book? with Bree Dail (Dr Marshall #358)
Benedict XVI and Cardinal Sarah were to publish a co-authored book in defence of the Roman priestly celibacy titled "From the Depths of Our Hearts." However, Benedict XVI withdrew his photo and name from the book, leaving many asking why and whether George Ganswein and Pope Francis are involved. Dr. Taylor Marshall is joined by Bree Dail who has reported on the story. - January 15, 2020

• When (Eastern) Catholics Argue against Priestly Celibacy
In the past, Western Catholics have at times tried to force their own discipline on Eastern Catholics (the name of Bishop John Ireland still haunts the conversation). We now recognize that this was a mistake, and one that is not likely to be repeated, given the correct insistence that Catholicism thrives within a diversity of rites and disciplines. - January 15, 2020

• Fr. Z's Blog: Letter from Card. Sarah in which he forgives his persecutors - January 14, 2020

• Fr. Z's Blog: “With all the priests, we pray: Save us, Lord, we perish!” A snippet from the new Benedict/Sarah book - January 14, 2020

• Claims Pope Emeritus Didn’t Co-Author New Book on Celibacy Escalate Controversy
The controversy over the new book on priestly celibacy by Cardinal Robert Sarah and Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI has only continued to escalate over the past 48 hours. News of the book broke on Sunday, and by Monday afternoon, rumors had begun percolating on social media that Benedict had not, in fact, co-authored the book. - January 14, 2020

• “A Strange Media Synod”: Is This Phrase an Interpretative Key to New Benedict Text?
It has been less than 24 hours since the news broke about the book arguing in favor of priestly celibacy co-authored by Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI and Cardinal Robert Sarah, and it seems to be the thing everyone is talking about across Catholic social media. - January 13, 2020

• Analysis: On celibacy, what Benedict cannot say and Francis mustn't hear
This week, the pope emeritus and Cardinal Robert Sarah will publish a new book in defense of clerical celibacy. - January 13, 2020

• Fr. Z's Blog: FIRST REMARKS about the new book by Card. Sarah and Benedict XVI
- January 13, 2020

• A Call To Arms
As soon as it was announced that Benedict XVI and Cardinal Robert Sarah had published a book defending priestly celibacy, they were accused of attacking Pope Francis. On its face, it was a strange charge. Pope Francis has himself defended the norm of celibacy, while wondering whether widened exceptions are possible. And far from criticizing Francis, Benedict and Sarah write “in a spirit of filial obedience, to Pope Francis.” - January 13, 2020

• Rome’s Shame in China
China is a large, strange, complex, contradictory thing, even before you get to the large, strange, complex, contradictory, and murderous form of Communism that has come to dominate its various peoples. No one understands it very well. - January 13, 2020 

• “I Cannot Be Silent!” – Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI & Cardinal Robert Sarah Co-Author Book Defending Priestly Celibacy
Le Figaro has published a preview today (French language; paywall) of a forthcoming book co-authored by Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI and Cardinal Robert Sarah in support of priestly celibacy, entitled “Des profondeurs de nos cœurs” – “From the Depths of our Hearts,” scheduled to be released on January 15. - January 12, 2020

• Fr. Z's Blog: Card. Sarah: “Catholics can no longer remain silent.” - January 10, 2020

• When bishops tell lies
Father Raymond de Souza has an important piece in the Catholic Herald, with a title that tells it all: “We used to believe bishops told the truth. What happened?” - January 10, 2020

• VIDEO: Where in the World is ExCardinal McCarrick?
Where in the World is ExCardinal McCarrick? George Neumayr returns to the Taylor Marshall Show to update us on details regarding ExCardinal Theodore McCarrick and his recent relocation to an undisclosed area. - January 10, 2020

• The Election of Pope Francis is informative and captivating—and raises many questions
Gerard O’Connell’s ability to weave many threads together into a coherent narrative is a true gift and one for which he must be commended. But his book also leaves readers looking for many important answers. - January 10, 2020

• Fr. Z's Blog: Chinese Joseph Card. Zen’s Open Letter to all the other Cardinals - January 9, 2020

• Analysis: Why the McCarrick report could be delayed
The news that Theodore McCarrick recently moved from the Kansas friary where he had been living has fueled speculation that a report from the Vatican’s internal investigation on McCarrick will soon be released. - January 8, 2020

• Cardinal Joseph Zen To His Brother Cardinals: The Church is Being Killed In China
Dear friends and enemies … we are publishing a letter that Cardinal Joseph Zen sent some time ago to all the cardinals, and that he has now decided to make public. Needless to say, the latest news coming from mainland China only confirms and augments the concerns expressed for some time by many people about the interim agreement signed by representatives of the Holy See and the government of Beijing. Happy reading. - January 8, 2020

• VIDEO: When Pope Francis Slapped Woman’s Hand: Predictions
Pope Francis ended 2019 with an unusual slap of a Chinese women's hand. Dr. Taylor Marshall and Matt Gaspers go over the video, discuss 2019, and then make predictions for 2020 in the Catholic Church based off the previous year. - January 7, 2020

• Bishops and Bribes
As a minor public official in the little town where we live, I am required each January to re-read a summary of conflict-of-interest laws in Massachusetts, and sign a statement indicating that I understand them. So every year I am officially reminded that I cannot participate in a zoning decision involving property that abuts my own, and I cannot accept employment with a firm that needs my board’s approval for a development project. - January 7, 2020

• Pope’s early 2020 likely to be dominated by documents rather than deeds
Normally when one looks ahead at a pope’s new year, it’s either things the pope is expected to do over the coming 12 months that loom largest - foreign trips, for instance, and bishops’ appointments - or things he’s likely to say, such as milestone speeches or sensational media interviews. - January 7, 2020

• Symposium on priesthood “renews” failed revolution of the Sixties and Seventies
We are, once again, being encouraged to “reimagine” not only priestly formation but the priesthood itself and the Church herself. I’ve been there, and it was a hell-hole of oppression by the Radical Left. - January 7, 2020

• Take-Aways from the Pope’s “Great Swat” of New Year’s 2020
ROME - Never let it be said that Pope Francis lacks imagination when it comes to making his peak moments on the public stage interesting. This New Year’s holiday, he managed to generate an entirely unforeseen storyline with what we might, tongue-in-cheek, call his “Great Swat.” - January 3, 2019

• Fr. Z's Blog: Distraught woman grabs Francis’ hand and pleads. What did she say? – UPDATED
- January 3, 2020

• What to Watch for in the New Year
The beginning of a new year is usually a time for hope, a chance to make a fresh start. Given all the Church has been through in the past year, the usual optimism that comes with a new year –and a new decade – seems a bit diminished. - January 2, 2020

• Fr. Z's Blog: More nutty from a bishop. Yes, a German bishop.
At Novena News which leads to Kathpress.at we read:

Bishop of Limburg Georg Bätzing made the observation about the Church’s oppression of women and boycott from ordained office in a New Year’s Eve message. - January 2, 2020

• A Tale of Two Cardinals — One Past, One Present
COMMENTARY: The twin cases raise questions about the course of justice, both civil and canonical, and how the two coincide, or come into conflict. - January 1, 2020

• Pope Francis’ 2019: Panama to Pan-Amazon to Pachamama
A look back at the year that was for the Holy Father - January 1, 2020