September 2019

• A GERMAN ATTACK ON CHRIST’S LORDSHIP
Half a millennium after the Reformation, Germans are making trouble again for the Roman Church. This time, Germany’s Catholic bishops have set out to remake the Church in their own liberal image. - September 27, 2019

• Kasper: Next Conclave Will Elect a Pope Like Francis
The Spanish language online portal Religión Digital has a new interview this week with Cardinal Walter Kasper, who always seems to show up in the media right before Pope Francis makes another major move in the advancement of his “reform” agenda. - September 27, 2019

• Texas bishop says he is saddened that defending the Gospel is considered ‘bold’
Bishop Joseph E. Strickland of Tyler, Texas, wouldn’t label himself as “bold.”
“Talk to one of my siblings; I’m No. 5 of six kids,” Bishop Strickland recently told Our Sunday Visitor in an interview. “If you talk to my older brother, Paul, and ask, ‘Would you describe your little brother Joe as a bold man?’ he’d probably say, ‘Joe’s a nice guy, but I don’t think bold would be the word.'” - September 24, 2019

• ‘The Real Presence’ — the 19th Festival Letter of Bishop Daniel R. Jenky, CSC
To the priests, deacons, seminarians, religious, teachers, catechists, sponsors, parish leaders, our Catholic movements and organizations, and all the faithful of the Catholic Diocese of Peoria: I am releasing my 2020 Festival Letter at this early date in the hope that it may at least in some ways assist a renewed witness regarding the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Most Blessed Sacrament. - September 16, 2019

• DOJ Backs Indianapolis Archdiocese Over Firing of Teacher for Same-Sex ‘Marriage’
Justice Department: First Amendment protects a Catholic school’s dismissal of a teacher for publicly violating Church teaching. - September 30, 2019

• Study: 6% of US seminarians have experienced sexual harassment, abuse or misconduct
A new study has found that six percent of U.S. seminarians have experienced some form of sexual harassment, abuse or misconduct; another four percent said they might have experienced misconduct but were not sure; while 89% report none. - September 23, 2019

• Cardinal Marx Meets With Pope Francis and Cardinal Ouellet About German Synodal Plans
The Sept. 19 meetings followed a public exchange between the German hierarchy and the Vatican over the draft statutes for a ‘Synodal Assembly.’ - September 20, 2019

• Msgr. Rossi Takes Leave of Absence From Catholic University of America Board
The priest is the subject of a canonical investigation for unspecified allegations of misconduct. - September 20, 2019

• Transgender man will be allowed to sue Catholic hospital over hysterectomy
A Sacramento-area woman who identifies as a transgender man will be allowed to sue a Catholic hospital for cancelling and rescheduling a procedure to remove her uterus, following a ruling from the 1st District Court of Appeal that overturned a lower court ruling on Wednesday. - September 19, 2019

• Cardinal Marx holds 'constructive dialogue' with Pope Francis on synodal plans
Cardinal Reinhard Marx, president of the German Episcopal Conference, has held talks with Pope Francis and Cardinal Marc Ouellet, prefect of the Congregation for Bishops, about the German bishops’ plans for a “binding synodal path.” - September 19, 2019

• Chaput: Personal holiness, fidelity to the Church key in difficult times
During times of scandal and confusion, Catholics should strive for personal holiness and fidelity to the Church, Archbishop Charles Chaput of Philadelphia said in a talk last week. - September 19, 2019

• Archbishop Chaput Warns Catholics Against Father Martin’s ‘Pattern of Ambiguity’
'I find it necessary to emphasize that Father Martin does not speak with authority on behalf of the Church, and to caution the faithful about some of his claims,' the archbishop wrote in a column on the archdiocese's website Sept. 19. - September 19, 2019

• Another Vatican Perversion Story With Coccopalmerio’s Name All Over It
“Two high-ranking cardinals close to Pope Francis,” writes Matthew Cullinan Hoffman at LifeSiteNews today, “stopped an investigation of a seminarian accused of abusing multiple adolescents who serve at Pope Francis’ masses.” - September 19, 2019

• Former Bishop’s Home Sold for $1.2 Million, Proceeds to Aid Sexual Abuse Victims
The Wheeling diocesan home of former Catholic bishop Michael J. Bransfield has been sold for $1.2 million, and the proceeds will be placed into a special fund to assist victims of sexual abuse in West Virginia. - September 13, 2019

• Pope calls for global alliance to better educate young people
Pope Francis said the challenges facing humanity and the Earth are so urgent and important that he has invited world leaders, educators and young people to come to the Vatican next spring to launch a global alliance for building a new, more humane future. - September 13, 2019

• Bishop Brennan ready to mend a wounded West Virginia Church
Bishop Mark E. Brennan of Wheeling-Charleston, West Virginia, was in a car, traveling through Raleigh County on Thursday morning when a reporter called his cellphone. “Hi, this is Mark,” answered the seventh bishop of Wheeling-Charleston. He was being driven by a deacon and his wife. - September 13, 2019

• Pope Francis announces ‘global village’ alliance for education, environment
Pope Francis announced Thursday his newest initiative to form an international and interreligious alliance, which he described as “global village” to educate each child and promote care for the earth. - September 12, 2019

• New Australian law requires priests to break confessional seal
A law passed in the Australian state of Victoria on Tuesday would require priests to violate the seal of confession if anything in the confession gave them reason to suspect occurrences of child abuse. The new law carries a sentence of up to three years in prison if a mandatory reporter does not report abuse to the authorities. - September 12, 2019

• Priests 'cannot comply' with laws that break seal of confession, Tasmania's archbishop says
The leader of Tasmania’s Catholic Church said priests in his archdiocese will not comply with a law that would require them to break the seal of confession to report suspected child abuse.??????? - September 12, 2019

• Cardinal Dolan ‘Consulting Extensively’ About Allegations Against Bishop Malone
Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York is Buffalo Bishop Richard Malone’s metropolitan archbishop, under new Vatican norms.??????? - September 12, 2019

• Vatican Authorizes ‘Vos Estis’ Investigation Into Minnesota Bishop Hoeppner
Bishop Michael Hoeppner is the first sitting U.S. bishop to be investigated under new misconduct protocols introduced by Pope Francis earlier this year.??????? - September 12, 2019

• Vatican: German Synod Plans ‘Not Ecclesiologically Valid’
An assessment, signed by the head of the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts, says that the plans violate canonical norms and set out to alter universal norms and doctrines of the Church. - September 12, 2019

• Full text of Pope Francis' in-flight press conference from Madagascar
Matteo Bruni, director of the Holy See Press Office: Good morning, Holy Father. In these days we have been able to meet many people from these African lands of the Indian Ocean. They are a population with many young people, many children and babies. People full of enthusiasm and hope. People full of enthusiasm and real hope because of the young people.??????? - September 11, 2019

• Bishop Malone will not resign, calls recent case ‘convoluted’
Bishop Richard J. Malone of Buffalo said the majority of priests and parishioners in the diocese supported him and he would not resign over his handling of a situation involving two priests’ relationship with a seminarian. - September 5, 2019

• Laicized cardinal, in interview, continues to deny abuse allegations
Theodore McCarrick, a former cardinal and archbishop of Washington who was laicized last February following a Vatican trial on sexual abuse charges leveled against him, continued to deny he had abused anyone in an August interview with the online journal Slate. - September 4, 2019

• ‘Unbound’ has Deep Ties to Heretical Priest Association
In July of this year, the Lepanto Institute published an article about the corporate sponsors of the Association of United States Catholic Priest’s (AUSCP) annual assembly.  One of the corporate sponsors, who took out a full page ad in the AUSCP’s assembly program book for a listed $6,000, is the popular charity ‘Unbound.’  - September 4, 2019

• Amazon Synod Working Document Criticized for Serving ‘Neo-Pagan Agenda’

• This week: German bishops rush in, where Americans fear to tread
Pope Francis asked them not to do it. Two top Vatican officials told them they would be violating canon law if they did it. But this week the German bishops decided to do it anyway. And some people say that the threat of schism comes from America? - September 27, 2019

• So What’s New?
Some things change, some things stay the same. I don’t expect this statement to be controversial, but one never knows. - September 27, 2019

• Institutionally overweight? A diet plan for dioceses
Last week I asked which of the countless diocesan and parish programs and agencies is more crucial than the staff, bag, and spare tunic that our Lord told his apostles they did not need on their evangelizing mission. [Lk 9:1-6] Now I have a follow-up question. - September 27, 2019

• So is political proselytism OK, your Holiness?
Here’s what Pope Francis did NOT say, speaking to a group of Jesuits in Mozambique: Today I felt a certain bitterness after a meeting with young people. A woman approached me with a young man and a young woman. I was told they were part of a slightly leftist movement. She said to me in perfect Spanish: “Your Holiness, I am from South Africa. This boy was an oil-company executive and converted to environmentalism. This girl was a conservative Republican and is now against the death penalty.” But she told me in a triumphant way, as though she was showing off a hunting trophy. I felt uncomfortable and said to her, “Madam, evangelization yes, proselytism no.” - September 27, 2019

• Notre Dame panel on abuse crisis: Where do we go from here?
It has been more than a full year since the sex abuse allegations against the former cardinal Theodore McCarrick and the publication of the Pennsylvania Grand Jury report set off a shockwave of further abuse accusations and investigations in the Church in the United States and beyond. - September 27, 2019

• German synod plans to be vetted by controversial lay group, not Vatican
The plan for a “binding synodal process” recently approved by the German bishops will be sent to a controversial lay group for amendment and approval, CNA has learned. - September 27, 2019

• VIDEO: Who did Pope Francis Invite to Amazon Synod? (Dr Taylor Marshall #307)
Pope Francis has invited the likes of Jeffrey Sachs, Cardinal Marx, Cardinal O'Malley, and Bishop McElroy, et al to the Amazon Synod. Why these details are important. #TnT discusses.  - September 26, 2019

• Fr. Z's Blog: Francis’ circle of ardent defenders uses “diabolical cancer” against all whom they wish to silence
During the Wednesday General Audience, Francis strongly rebuked those who, in an organized way, as accusing people of being schismatic simply because they are exercising parrhesia. - September 26, 2019

• Fr. Z's Blog: Francis on priests in private Jesuit meeting: psych problems = rigidity = fixation on sex = clericalism = demonic
The ubiquitous Jesuit Antonio Spadaro is perhaps Francis’ closest adviser and gopher.  He is, among other, editor of La Civilta Cattolica and the administrator on his personal website, antoniospadaro.net, of a page dedicated to the homoerotic writer Pier Vittorio Tondelli. - September 26, 2019

• Pope Francis Explains What He Means by ‘Proselytism’ and ‘Evangelization’
Speaking earlier this month to Jesuits in Mozambique, the Holy Father linked proselytism to the ‘prosperity gospel,’ and endorsed the controversial 2017 essay co-authored by Father Antonio Spadaro. - September 26, 2019

• Being ‘Rigid’ Is a Badge of Honor, Your Holiness
People generally don’t enjoy being insulted. Being rejected by another person is painful, especially when it is your spiritual father. It is a natural reaction to want to reject the notion that you are the object of a sweeping, generalized insult such as being called “rigid.” - September 26, 2019

• The New Papolaters
Imagine the following three scenes from history: Scene 1: You are an English peasant living in 1187. Your life revolves around the Church calendar. You participate in her feasts and fasts. Holidays are the Holy Days, in which you can escape from the daily grind and celebrate the life of a saint or some event in salvation history. You go to Mass regularly, confess yearly, and follow the Church’s rules as best you can. You live the Faith as your father did, and as his father did before him; you expect your son to do the same, as well as his son. Although you are a faithful Catholic, you aren’t completely sure who the current pope is, and even if you knew, rarely if ever do you think about him other than to include him in your prayers. - September 26, 2019

• German Bishops Vote to Adopt Statutes for Synodal Assembly
Sources: Final version includes a revised preamble that makes direct reference to the synodal priorities outlined by Pope Francis. - September 26, 2019

• Case Dismissed Against New York Priest Accused of Abuse
Westchester District Attorney’s Office investigation into the claims made against Father Thomas Kreiser would not support further action. - September 26, 2019

• Pope Francis: Clericalism Linked to Fixation on Sexual Morality
The Holy Father spoke about this topic at a meeting with Jesuits in Mozambique earlier this month, says La Civiltà Cattolica transcript. - September 26, 2019

• VIDEO: Vatican 2: Rupture or Continuity (Dr Taylor Marshall #306)
Was Vatican 2 continuous with previous Catholic teaching? Since 1965, has Vatican 2 been treated as a rupture or as a continuation with previous Catholic doctrine. Should we today use Pope Benedict XVI's "hermeneutic of continuity" or has Pope Francis made that impossible? ​​​​​​​- September 25, 2019

• Is the Catholic Church institutionally overweight?
A reflection on the Gospel reading from this morning’s Mass: “Take nothing for the journey; no staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money; and do not have two tunics.” With those instructions—not to mention to drive out demons and cure diseases—the Lord sent the Apostles out “to preach the kingdom of God and to heal.” Their successors have the same job description today. - September 25, 2019

• Wanted: a new St. Augustine, to challenge bad pastors
“God will call the bad shepherds to account for his sheep and for their deaths.” Thus St. Augustine, in his sermon On Pastors. Do Catholic priests in America still read the Divine Office regularly? (I’m afraid I know the answer to that question. According to a recent survey, about half don’t, although they are under a moral obligation to do so.) Do bishops? Because if they do, they have been getting an earful recently, with excerpts from St. Augustine’s famous sermon sprinkled through the Office of Readings during the past few weeks. - September 25, 2019

• As Minnesota synod begins, archbishop says Church is listening
The Catholic Church in Saint Paul and Minneapolis has begun a series of “prayer and listening events” to help prepare for the 2021 archdiocesan synod.​​​​​​​ - September 25, 2019

• Sex abuse scandal leaves Australian Church, gov’t scrambling for solutions
In the wake of a major clergy sex abuse scandal and the high-profile, controversial trial and conviction of sex abuse of Cardinal George Pell, government and Church officials in Australia are scrambling for solutions. - September 25, 2019

• Editorial: Dialogue between Archbishop Chaput and Father Martin shows civility in the Church is possible
We raise our voices frequently in these pages in a cry for civility. Too often in our communities, in political discourse and, without a doubt, in social media, we forget what it means to communicate with others in a manner fitting of their dignity.​​​​​​​ - Septebmer 24, 2019

• VIDEO: The Popes and Freemasonry, Alta Vendita, and Amazon Synod w Matt Gaspers and Dr Taylor Marshall
Dr Taylor Marshall and Matt Gaspers cover 200 years of history on Freemasonry, Secret Societies, Alta Vendita, Pope Leo XIII, Pope Pius X, Vatican II, Pope Francis, and the upcoming Amazon Synod.​​​​​​​ - September 24, 2019

• Editorial: Dialogue between Archbishop Chaput and Father Martin shows civility in the Church is possible
We raise our voices frequently in these pages in a cry for civility. Too often in our communities, in political discourse and, without a doubt, in social media, we forget what it means to communicate with others in a manner fitting of their dignity. - September 24, 2019

• How Will We Live in the Time of the Transgendered?
s we come to the threshold of October, we are reminded that the month has frights to deliver even before Halloween, for in another week the Supreme Court will begin a new year with its first meeting for the Fall term.  No institution has come close to its position as an Engine in remaking what passes as our “culture.”​​​​​​​ - September 24, 2019

• The Crux of the Current Cross
Who could imagine that the faithful Catholic would now be carrying this cross — a cross certainly no heavier than that of our beloved martyrs before us, yet a cross so seemingly unique in all salvation history?​​​​​​​ - September 24, 2019

• VIDEO: Division Among Catholics under Pope Francis w Eric Sammons and Dr Taylor Marshall
Eric Sammons and Taylor Marshall address the growing divide among Catholics in the last few years. Why so much hostility and disagreement? Why do no longer live in the days where Catholics Answers, EWTN, Word on Fire, Bishop Barron, First Things, Cardinal Burke, Raymond Arroyo, et al join together under the same tent? Eric and Taylor have a few ideas about why this is happening.​​​​​​​ - September 23, 2019

• Fr. Z's Blog: Fr. Murray’s cri de coeur with parrhesia to Francis
My pal Fr. Gerald Murray has a combination of cri de coeur and parrhesia at The  Catholic Thing.  Deftly, he closes the jaws of reason, using Francis own words, around his inaction in the matter of addressing burning issues. - September 23, 2019

• Fr. Z's Blog: Card. Burke on the Synod’s Instrumentum Laboris, proselytizing, accusations
At La Nuova Bussola there is an interview with Card. Burke in English.  HERE - September 23, 2019

• Papal Standards – and Questions
We know that Pope Francis is a believer in the value of criticism from his extensive remarks on the plane ride back from his recent apostolic visit to Africa. He said: “First of all, criticism always helps, always. When someone receives criticism, that person needs to do a self-critique right away and say: is this true or not? To what point? And I always benefit from criticism. Sometimes it makes you angry. . . . But there are advantages.” - September 23, 2019

• Synod preview: Reimagining a ‘Church with an Amazonian face’
The Catholic Church has never convened a Synod of Bishops to discuss a territory. There have been synods where bishops and others studied and analyzed the Church’s challenges in regions and continents, such as Africa and the Middle East. But territories such as the Amazon River Basin have never been the focus of a synod, until now. - September 23, 2019​​​​​​​

• Key figure unpacks Amazonian synod
Mauricio Lopez, the executive director of the Pan-Amazonian Ecclesial Network (REPAM), estimates his organization conducted well over 300 listening sessions in nine countries that comprise the Amazon territory. More than 87,000 people participated in those discussions. - September 23, 2019

• Cardinal Sarah’s Cri de Coeur: The Catholic Church Has Lost Its Sense of the Sacred
Exclusive interview with the prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments.​​​​​​​ - September 23, 2019

• ‘Marxism’ Pervades Catholic Church in Germany
EDITORIAL: A primary reason for the synodal push is that, for decades, many Church leaders in Germany have been convinced that only novel and radical change can stave off the impending collapse of Christianity in their country.​​​​​​​ - September 22, 2019

• Fr. Z's Blog: An old Jesuit advised Francis: “Think clearly, but speak obscurely.” Video, Pope Francis in Bologna - Meeting with Clergy and Consacrated Persons - September 20, 2019

• True Synodality: A missing ingredient in renewal?
Recently I had an interesting discussion with a frequent visitor to our website about the potential benefits to the Church of being without a pope for an extended number of years.​​​​​​​ - September 20, 2019

• This week: the real threat of schism comes from Germany
Last week, the hottest topic for discussion in Catholic circles was the Pope’s response to speculation about an American schism. This week the story shifts to Germany, where the episcopal conference is threatening to defy the Vatican, and make its own “binding” decisions on questions of Church teaching. Which sounds like… well, a threat of schism.​​​​​​​ - September 20, 2019

• VIDEO: Matt Fradd & Fr Mike Schmitz on Defending Bishop Barron, Plus La Salette and more
#TnT Respond to Matt Fradd and Fr Mike Schmitz (of Ascension Presents) on Defending Bishop Robert Barron on Von Balthasar's "Dare We Hope" theology. They discuss how Matt Fradd approached it and how Father Mike Schmitz approached it from a different angle. - September 19, 2019

• Fr. Z's Blog: The true “pseudo-schismatic” Church in Germany
Team Francis and the New catholic Red Guards who march and sloganeer for them have been hurling, as anxious chimps do their poo, the word “schism” at Catholics who are worried that Catholic doctrine is being made obscure or even being watered down, thus, threatened.​​​​​​​ - September 19, 2019

• In Robota Christi? Why Robots Can Never Be Catholic Priests
Catholic experts: A robot priest would be sacramentally impossible. - September 19, 2019

• Cardinal Pell Appeals to the High Court: What Happens Next?
Cardinal Pell filed an “application for special leave” to the High Court on Tuesday, following the Victoria Court of Appeal’s Aug. 21 decision to uphold his conviction for child sexual abuse. - September 19, 2019

• Amazon Synod: We Read the Documents so You Don’t Have To
Yesterday morning, I checked out the headlines on Google news on my phone. One of the headlines appeared under the header “In case you missed it” with the footer “Vatican.va — 1 year ago.” It was a link to a document issued by the press room of the Holy See. The document is one many Catholics would have heard of but understandably one few would have read. Its title is “Amazonia: New Paths for the Church and for an Integral Ecology: Preparatory Document of the Synod of Bishops for the Special Assembly of the Pan Amazon Region, 08.06.2018.” - September 19, 2019

• Fr. Z's Blog: Idea for the Pan-Amazonian #Synod2019
This, from the Twitter feed of Union Seminary in NYC (non-denominational at Columbia U). This is a GREAT idea for the upcoming Synod! They could bring in all sorts of trees and plants, maybe with some snakes and frogs still in them and then collectively confess our sins against them.​​​​​​​ - September 18, 2019

• A Good Catholic Homily Prompts Bad Behavior
It all started with a solid homily.
To be more specific: Fr. Matthew Mary Bartow walked to the pulpit during a televised Mass on EWTN, and preached a homily critical of the Amazon synod and supportive of a campaign to pray and do penance for a positive outcome. - September 18, 2019

• VIDEO: Gnostic Religious Art & Pope Francis on No Life Imprisonment
#TnT discuss Gnostic religious art (?) in Chicago and Pope Francis's new announcement that not only the death penalty but now also life sentences for prisoners are not acceptable either. Ultimately this relates to the theology of Pope Francis regarding "punishment."  - September 17, 2019

• Fr. Z's Blog: Initiative of Prayer and Fasting from now through October 2019 (and the Synod)
A call has been issued by Card. Burke and Bp. Schneider to fast one day a week and, daily, to recite one decade of the Holy Rosary in the lead up to, the prosecution of, and the immediate aftermath of the upcoming Synod of Bishop which will deal with the Amazon. - September 17, 2019

• Who benefits from all this talk of schism?
Why are we even talking about schism? Who began this extraordinary conversation, and whose interests are served by it? - September 17, 2019

• Bishops, Missionaries Who Know the Amazon Sour on Amazon Synod
In what seems to be growing concern about the true mission, vision, and motivation of the upcoming Pan-Amazon Synod, two Catholic bishops from the missions in the Amazon have made public statements questioning a foundation of the Vatican’s October event: the synod’s working document. How can, as one bishop put it, a synod “of this magnitude be built with a presentation so far from reality”? - September 16, 2019

• Lay activism: a modest proposal
Although I was appalled by the Pope’s statement on the prospect of an American schism, one passage from that statement merits a bit more thought: The schismatics always have one thing in common: they separate themselves from the people, from the faith of the people of God. And when there was a discussion in the Council of Ephesus regarding Mary’s divine maternity, the people – this is history – were at the entrance of the cathedral while the bishops entered to take part in the council. They were there with clubs. They made the bishops see them as they shouted, “Mother of God! Mother of God!” as if to say: if you do not do this, this is what you can expect. - September 13, 2019

• Amazonians: The Vatican’s Beloved Specimens, Preserved in Amber
It is considered insensitive, even Hobbesian, to use the word “primitive” in speaking of primordial cultures. Encyclopedia Britannica identifies the phrase primitive culture as belonging to “the lexicon of early anthropologists.” Sir Edward Burnett Tylor, father of cultural anthropology, wrote Primitive Cultures in 1871, before the savage horror of World War I shook confidence in civilization.​​​​​​​ - September 13, 2019

• VIDEO: Dr. Taylor Marshall - Viganò mentions Marshall's Infiltration Plus Vatican 2 & Hermeneutic of Rupture
#TnT discuss Viganò mentioning Marshall's Infiltration Plus Thoughts on Vatican 2 & Hermeneutic of Rupture. - September 12, 2019

• The Circus in Buffalo
hings aren’t looking great for Bishop of Buffalo Richard Malone. A federal grand jury is investigating his diocese’s handling of clerical sexual abuse cases. That on top of the ongoing, state-wide investigation of New York’s eight Catholic dioceses being conducted by the state’s attorney general. - September 12, 2019

• Pope Francis answers: Part inspiration, part frustration, so how can we grow spiritually?
On the whole, I recommend to pope-watchers a close reading of Francis’ responses to questions raised by journalists on his flight from the capital of Madagascar back to Rome. These informal exchanges often present challenges, because Pope Francis has great difficulty speaking precisely. - September 12, 2019

• Fr. Z's Blog: A roundup on Francis and “schism”
Like chimps flinging their own poo, the screeching papalatrous catholic Left have been launching the word “schism” at their faithful and concerned Catholic targets. - September 12, 2019

• Fr. Z's Blog - VIDEO: Fr. Murray, Prof. Royal on EWTN on Francis’ latest PPP (Papal Plane Presser) comments
My friends Fr. Murray and Prof. Royal were on EWTN with Raymond Arroyo’s The World Over. They discussed Francis’ comments during the latest PPP (papal plane presser). - September 12, 2019

• Teaching, and Living, the Real Presence in the Eucharist
COMMENTARY: Church teachings make little sense when there is not a corresponding lived reality. - September 11, 2019

• Australia: New legislation – priests must violate the Seal or face jail
It believe it is more important now than ever that we return to the old-fashioned confessionals with a complete physical barrier between the penitent and confessor, with a window having a fixed grate and a curtain or something to obscure view that the penitent cannot touch or move.  Thus, anonymity of the penitent is secured the penitent has no physical access to the priest. - September 11, 2019

• Fr. Z's Blog: What the papalatrous are doing with the term “schism”
Sometimes I have to triage my time.  For example, I can do some reading about “chaos theory” or “fundamental force concepts”. On the other hand, I can read the transcript of a papal presser aboard an airplane.   Either way, I have to really strain to figure out what the heck anything means. - September 11, 2019

• Fr. Z's Blog: A Pope who doesn’t fear schism may cause one
“I am not afraid of schisms,” Pope Francis told reporters during his latest airplane press conference. Well, I am. And I’m afraid of any Roman Pontiff who isn’t afraid of splitting the universal Church. - September 11, 2019

• Exposing the Culture of Sexual Immorality at Buffalo’s Christ the King Seminary
As local Catholics endure a seemingly endless number of revelations, the question repeatedly being asked is: How can the seminary be producing such men? - September 11, 2019

• Editorial: Buffalo, Church teaching and the role of a bishop
Let us start by stating truthfully and unequivocally: The Church is blessed with many good bishops. Such men have given their lives in service to the Church, as shepherds keeping watch over their flocks. Like the people they care for, they are trying to do their best to hold the Church together amid its many challenges by teaching and protecting the one, holy, catholic and apostolic faith. We are grateful for their witness, their service, and their love of Jesus Christ and the Church. - September 11, 2019

• Fr. Z's Blog: “The Church of priests is coming to an end.” What’s really going on.
At Settimo Cielo long time vaticanista Sandro Magister posted something that should make everyone stop, breathe for a while, and consider options. - September 10, 2019

• ‘A couple of thoughts from seminary’
Ever since my time in high school, I have been blessed to get to know young men who have followed God’s call to enter the seminary. As I’ve mentioned in previous articles, these young men have such a fervor for their faith that gives me hope for the Church and the priests who minister to the Body of Christ.​​​​​​​ - September 10, 2019

• The Church and Socialism: The Fallacy that Will Not Go Away
nother report in the unfolding story of this pontificate:  The redoubtable Daniel Mahoney, who reads and sees everything, brought me the account of Archbishop Marcelo Sanchez Sorondo, who has been serving since 1998, and now under this pope, as the head Pontifical Academy of the Social Sciences. ​​​​​​​- September 10, 2019

• Magister: Married Deacons Are Offering “Mass” in the Amazon — and the Pope Permitted It
Vaticanista Sandro Magister reported today that a video of 79-year-old Fr. Giovanni Nicolini, an Italian priest of some stature (and a “protagonist of Vatican II”), has surfaced in which Nicolini claims that in the Amazon region, married deacons are offering “mass” because of the priest shortage, and that Pope Francis not only knows about it, but has given his unofficial blessing. - September 10, 2019

• Second Witness Testifies that Catholic Priest’s Accuser Admitted to Lying
Since May of 2019, the Lepanto Institute has been spotlighting the Diocese of Arlington’s handling of possible false allegations leveled against one of its priests.  In November of 2018, Fr. Ronald Escalante, pastor of St. Francis De Sales Catholic Church in Purcellville, VA, was removed from his parish due to an alleged “boundary violation.” ​​​​​​​- September 10, 2019

• The Shire and the Amazon
I’ve been hiking West of Oxford this past week – a late vacation after a busy summer – passing through some of the villages where J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis walked together. Tolkien had this landscape partly in mind in creating the Shire. I even had a pint and a bacon-and-cranberry sandwich Saturday at Moreton-in-Marsh’s The Bell Inn, Tolkien’s model for “The Prancing Pony” in Lord of the Rings – where the hobbits first meet Aragorn, later the true King of Gondor. - September 9, 2019

• Where is the Fides – and the Ratio?
Later this week, we will be celebrating the anniversary (14 September) of the issuing of Fides et ratio (“Faith and Reason”) by St. John Paul II. That encyclical is a concise but comprehensive explanation of the close interrelationship between authentic faith and authentic reason. It’s a good moment to look back and see how this contribution to the Church by a modern saint has been used since it first appeared.​​​​​​​ - September 8, 2019

• Analysis: Who are the Central Committee of German Catholics?
Following the news that the Church in Germany will proceed to form a new Synodal Assembly as part of a “binding process,” questions have been raised about the Central Committee of German Catholics, a lay group which will play a key role in the new structure. - September 6, 2019

• An Ecclesiastical Pompeii
The pop song “Pompeii,” by the band Bastille, is an upbeat earworm that references one of the most famous tragedies of human history: the destruction of the ancient city of Pompeii by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in the first century A.D. The refrain points to the human instinct to cling to denial, pretending that the events around us are not, in fact, actually happening:​​​​​​​ - September 5, 2019

• VIDEO: Dr. Taylor Marshall - Pope Francis Honored by American Criticism
Pope Francis says he is honored by Criticism by Catholics in the United States amidts announcement that Vatican City is running a $76 million dollar operating deficit. - September 5, 2019

• Fr. Z's Blog: Francis: ‘It is an honor when Americans attack me’
From the Catholic Herald:

Pope Francis: ‘It is an honor when Americans attack me’

The Pope’s spokesman later clarified that the Pontiff ‘always considers criticisms an honor’, particularly from ‘an important nation’

Pope Francis told a reporter that it is “an honor when Americans attack me.”

- September 5, 2019

• Fr. Z's Blog: Jesuit-run John Carroll University goes to the zoo over annual “drag queen” shows
From The Blaze comes a story about how some students at a JESUIT college are miffed because the annual – that was annual and since 2013 – drag queen show was cancelled. - September 5, 2019

• Could a proper implementation of synodality help save the Church?
Recently, doctors have puzzled over cases of certain Catholics breaking out in hives whenever the words “synod” and “synodality” are mentioned. At the same time, doctors have seen virtually every Catholic in the world made violently ill by the epidemic of sexual abuse. What if one of the cures for both groups of patients was the same? - September 5, 2019

• Pope Francis: ‘honored’ by criticism?
In the latest effort to explain away an unguarded utterance by Pope Francis, Matteo Bruni, the director of the Vatican press office, told reporters how they should interpret the papal remark that “it’s an honor that Americans attack me.” - September 5, 2019

• Homosexuality and Catholic Decline
Many factors have contributed to the 50- or 60-year decline of Catholicism in America, but one of the most important – and in recent decades THE most important – is the sympathy felt for homosexuality among many priests, bishops, and laypeople, especially liberal or progressive laypersons. - September 4, 2019

• VIDEO: Dr. Taylor Marshall - Pope Francis Has Appointed 52% of Cardinal Electors
#TnT discuss the recent of announcement of Pope Francis for 13 new Cardinals, 10 of which are voting Cardinal Electors, including Archbishop Zuppi. - September 3, 2019

• Cardinal control: Is the Church’s future at stake?
Not being God, my interpretation of what God Himself is accomplishing through the current pontificate may at the very best illuminate a tiny portion of the Divine plan, and could well be utterly worthless. Nonetheless, I am moved to this exercise by a desire to offer consolation in the wake of today’s perceptive commentary by Phil Lawler, “The new cardinals: Pope Francis bids for ‘irreversible change’”. - September 3, 2019

• The new cardinals: Pope Francis bids for ‘irreversible change’
Having named 13 new members of the College of Cardinals, Pope Francis will—as of October 5—have named a majority of the cardinals who will elect the next Roman Pontiff. At least on paper, then, he has had a chance to ensure that the next conclave will elect a prelate who shares his vision for the Church. - September 3, 2019

• Fr. Z's Blog: Observations about the newly named Cardinals. Fr Z briefly rants.
You know what an atomizer is, right?  Think of those bottles of perfume with little squeeze bulbs that send out poofs.​​​​​​​ - September 1, 2019

• Archbishop Chaput on sainthood, the Church and the call to holiness
Archbishop Charles J. Chaput of Philadelphia offered the following keynote remarks on Sept. 12 during the seventh annual St. Joseph the Worker Medal Awards at Malvern Retreat House in Malvern, Pennsylvania. I don’t have any illusions about earning the award you’ve given me tonight. - September 19, 2019

• Cardinal Burke, Bishop Schneider Announce Crusade of Prayer and Fasting
Citing “serious theological errors and heresies” in the Amazon Synod’s working document, they call on the faithful to pray and fast for 40 days to prevent such errors being approved. - September 12, 2019

• Fr. Z's Blog: “This is the time God chose for us. Get up off the ground!” Wherein Fr. Z rants.
Time for a rant. I know that many of you readers are upset by what is going on in the Church.  May I repeat some advice? - September 12, 2019

• Not against Flesh and Blood
Years ago, when I was Protestant I had two spiritual experiences — one evil, one holy — that pushed me toward the Catholic Church. Before I tell the stories, I should emphasize that I am not the type of person who spiritualizes everything. I tend to be practical in my analysis of situations and likely even go too far in de-spiritualizing events. - September 11, 2019