The Church Can Not Bless, Condone, or Sanctify Homosexual Relations

Sodom and Gomorrah afire, painting by Jacob de Wet II, 1680

The Church Calls All Men to Salvation

“Woe to you that call evil good, and good evil: that put darkness for light, and light for darkness: that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter” (Isaias 5:20).

In a seeming reversal of its 2021 prohibition against blessing any same sex couples, the Vatican’s December publication of Fiducia supplicans allegedly opened the door for priests to bless same sex couples. Bree A. Dail writes:

The new Prefect of the Doctrine of the Faith states people in “irregular” unions, such as same sex unions, may NOT receive anything resembling liturgical blessings, or blessings of their unions. They may, however, receive spontaneous blessing, limited to “the invocation of a blessing that descends from God upon those who recognizing themselves to be destitute and in need of his help do not claim a legitimation of their own status, but who beg that all that is true, good, and humanly valid in their lives and their relationships be enriched, healed, and elevated by the presence of the Holy Spirit. These forms of blessing express a supplication that God may grant those aids that come from the impulses of his Spirit what classical theology calls ‘actual grace’ —so that human relationships may mature and grow in fidelity to the Gospel, that they may be freed from their imperfections and frailties, and that they may express themselves in the ever-increasing dimension of the divine love.”

Yet, in this latest ordeal, disorder and confusion have been sowed. News headlines announced: “Pope Francis officially approved allowing priests to perform blessings on same-sex couples as long as the ritual does not resemble marriage." Those who had same-sex attraction could previously ask for blessings like anyone else who struggles with any number of sins. What this document has done is change the optics of the Church to apparently soften its stance against “gay marriage.”

While anyone may ask for a blessing, the blessing of two individuals in a known arrangement against the 6th Commandment cannot be permitted. It is as nonsensical as asking a priest to bless the building in which Planned Parenthood was killing children while stating that the blessing was just on the building and not on the evil done there. Or it would be as ludicrous as blessing the members of a KKK chapter while stating that it was just an individual blessing and did not mean anything regarding the activities the men came together to do. The blessing of two people who are regularly and publicly engaging in sodomy can not be blessed without blessing the underlying “union.”

Is the new document scandalous? Will it lead to the loss of souls?  Is it an attempt to normalize things with secular culture? Should it be opposed? Yes, to all of these. But did it change Church teaching? No, since Catholic dogma cannot change.

The 6th Commandment Recap

The sixth Commandment condemns incest (sexual relations with a relative or in-law), fornication (sexual relations with someone of the opposite sex when neither of is in the state of marriage), homosexual relations (sexual activity with someone of the same sex), masturbation (the stimulation of one’s own sexual organs for pleasure), rape, and other similar offenses. Prostitution, artificial insemination, pornography, seducing others, sexually abusing children, dressing immodestly, reading impure literature, listening to impure jokes, songs, or movies, or using artificial contraception are likewise all condemned.

Divine Law, as stated in the Commandments, does not and change not change.  Should anyone try to argue that the Scriptures themselves do not discuss homosexual activity, he should read Leviticus 18:22, which states: "Thou shalt not lie with mankind as with womankind, because it is an abomination.” 

The Church Does Not Hate Those with Same-Sex Attraction (SSA)

It is often a scapegoat in our culture that the Church hates anyone who has or has ever experienced same-sex attraction. This is false. The Church does not condemn being homosexual since some people may not be able to help their sexual orientation. What the Church forbids is homosexual activity, which is engaging in sexual acts with a person of the same sex. It is technically impossible for two people of the same sex to marry since marriage is between one man and one woman for the purpose of raising children.

Those who do experience SSA should consult the resources of Courage. Courage members are men and women who experience same-sex attractions and who have made a commitment to strive for chastity and to conform their lives to the actual and unchangeable teachings of the Catholic Church.

The Church’s Laws on Marriage

The Church likewise condemns forced marriages against a person’s will, marriages solemnized in front of non-Catholic ministers, and adulterous “second” marriages when a person’s spouse is still living since divorce is not possible.

Canon law does not prohibit Catholics from attending invalid weddings for non-Catholics but Catholics must discern if their attendance at such weddings would be a cause for scandal. And we must also think what we can do - if anything - to help that person know the Catholic Faith. It is clearer that it is not permitted to attend the wedding of a Catholic who marries outside of the Church. Likewise, it would not be appropriate to attend the alleged marriage of any same-sex couple since it is not a valid marriage, and one’s presence will undoubtedly cause scandal by seemingly approving of the event.

Let Us Invoke St. Charles Lwanga and His Companions

St. Charles Lwanga was born in 1865 in Bulimu, Buganda, Uganda. He was a servant of King Mwanga of Uganda. In 1885, he converted to Catholicism, and for that, he was burned to death in 1886 at Namugongo, Uganda, because they refused to give in to the homosexual demands of King Mwanga. Yet, St. Charles did not scream in pain as he burned to death. He even helped arrange the sticks for the fire and said he was pleased to die for the True Faith. 

St. Charles Lwanga is one of 22 people that we remember for dying for their faith in Uganda. May he intercede for all who struggle with SSA, and through his prayers, may all those who foster sin and confusion cease their errors at once.

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Must Catholics Obey Traditionis Custodes?

Jorge Mario Bergoglio (centre) in Argentina c 1976. Photograph: Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images

Today, in the sharpest reversal and attack on a predecessor, Pope Francis has issued Traditionis Custodes, which seeks to make the celebration of the Tridentine Mass harder. It is in effect a reversal and repudiation of both Pope Benedict XVI and Summorum Pontificum.

For those seeking to understand the issue and its implications, I encourage the following articles: Rorate Caeli: Canon Lawyer's Analysis of the Anti Summorum Pontificum Motu Proprio & Latin Mass Society: Some Comments on the Apostolic Letter 'Traditionis Custodes'.

In good news, reports already are surfacing of diocesan bishops affirming the continued celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass in places ranging from San Francisco to Albany to Arlington. Pittsburgh has affirmed such as well. And the Canons Regular of St. John Cantius in Chicago affirmed that they will continue doing so as well. Of course, this could change at a moment's notice in any of these places or elsewhere. The Diocese of Little Rock, Arkansas has just ended all Diocesan TLM's in the state except for two FSSP locations.

But all of this forces the question: Do Catholics have to obey Traditionis Custodes or any motu proprio? Yes but with two very important exceptions but of which are based on Church law and common sense legal arguments:

1. If the person issuing the statement lacks authority, no law is created.

A law must come from a valid lawgiver. It requires the government to pass laws according to the rules of the Constitution and laws already in place. The one issuing the law must do so in the lawful manner and have the power to do so by the office he holds. Not just anyone can do this. 

In the Church, this requires the Pope generally to issue a law. A man who is truly elected Pope ceases to be the pope and thus a valid lawgiver when he died, abdicates, or loses his office due to heresy. For instance, if Pope Francis was a heretic, he would not possess the authority to rule. And if he lacks the authority, this motu proprio can - and must - be rejected. This is based on developed and established Church teaching as shown, among others, in the following two sources:

X. Wernz, P. Vidal (1943) 

"Through notorious and openly divulged heresy, the Roman Pontiff, should he fall into heresy, by that very fact [ipso facto] is deemed to be deprived of the power of jurisdiction even before any declaratory judgement by the Church.. A pope who falls into public heresy would cease ipso facto to be a member of the Church; therefore, he would also cease to be head of the Church." Ius Canonicum. Rome: Gregorian 1943. 2:453. 

Udalricus Beste (1946) 

"Not a few canonists teach that, outside of death and abdication, the pontifical dignity can also be lost by falling into certain insanity, which is legally equivalent to death, as well as through manifest and notorious heresy. In the latter case, a pope would automatically fall from his power, and this indeed without the issuance of any sentence, for the first See [i.e., the See of Peter] is judged by no one. 

"The reason is that, by falling into heresy, the pope ceases to be a member of the Church. He who is not a member of a society, obviously, cannot be its head. We can find no example of this in history." Introductio in Codicem. 3rd ed. Collegeville: St. John's Abbey Press 1946. Canon 221.

Thus, a papal document like a motu proprio must come from a valid Pope who has not lost his office. Otherwise, the document is worthless. 

2. If the law is harmful to souls, it must be rejected.

Assuming that the person has authority a law must still be rejected if it is harmful to souls or encourages, promotes, or orders what is sinful. The adage "salus animarum, suprema lex" (the salvation of souls is the supreme law) which is this blog's motto underpins all of this. For this reason, while obedience is to be highly valued, if a superior orders what is sinful, we must disobey his command.

Is the Latin Mass harmful to souls? No. It was and is the Mass of the saints. Are the fruits of the Latin Mass overwhelmingly positive? Yes. And is the fruit of the Novus Ordo evil? Sadly yes. Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre famously said, "The Novus Ordo Missae, even when said with piety and respect for the liturgical rules, is impregnated with the spirit of Protestantism...it bears within it a poison harmful to the Faith." He was right and the rotten fruits of fifty years show us this.

One point which Pope Francis seems to make - that there may not be two forms of the Roman Rite- is a position that I have come to believe as well. These "forms" are not the same Rite and not the same religion. Their spirituality and entire orientation are diametrically opposed - one is centered on man and one is centered on God.

Pope Francis stated in this document that the Novus Ordo Mass is the "lex orandi" of the his Church. Well said. If the "lex orandi" of Francis' church is the Novus Ordo, we know that is not the "lex orandi" of the Catholic Church. The Novus Ordo which is impregnated with the spirit of Protestantism is not the "lex orandi" of the Catholic Church. 

As I mentioned some years ago in Should Traditional Catholics Attend the Novus Ordo, the very nature of the Novus Ordo Sacraments, while not necessarily invalid (but questionable in many instances), bear in them the theology of the New Rite and the Post Vatican II Church.  To frequent these Sacraments is to mix the good, true, and beautiful with that which is present in the New Sacraments: novelty.  By receiving the Novus Ordo Sacraments, you profess your Communion in and with the beliefs of the Novus Ordo Church, even those beliefs that are flawed.

Even those who generally follow the current Pope will admit that serious ambiguities exist in this document, raising questions on their legal effects, ramifications, and implementations. 

For those in this line of thinking, perhaps Bishop Schneider said it best when he stated in part: "In disobeying formally such an unheard-of prohibition of an inalienable patrimony of the Roman Church, one in fact obeys the Catholic Church of all ages and all the Popes who diligently celebrated and commanded the preservation of that venerable and canonized form of the Mass."

Conclusion:

All Catholics should affirm either statement 1 or 2 above. As such, Catholics are not required to obey this document and must actually resist it openly. Traditionis Custodes is to be rejected totally and entirely without reservation. Salus animarum, suprema lex. Long live Tradition. Long live the True Catholic Church. Down with the counterfeit Church of the Modernists.

Reject Traditionis Custodes and direct your money to traditionalist orders and priests who do likewise.

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Third Secret of Fatima Still Not Revealed

Despite what some claim - that the third secret of Fatima referred to the attempted assassination of Pope John Paul II - the actual details of the third secret have not yet been revealed. This allegation, long triumphed by the late Father Nicholas Gruner, has been affirmed in recent days by Archbishop Vigano, the critic of Pope Francis who has largely gone into hiding for publishing some of his errors.

Chris Ferrara in Archbishop Viganó on the Third Secret of Fatima: Father Gruner Vindicated quotes Vigano from a recent interview where he stated:

“In 2000, during the pontificate of John Paul II, Cardinal Sodano presented as the Third Secret a version of his own that in several elements appeared clearly incomplete. It is not surprising that the new Secretary of State, Cardinal Bertone, sought to draw attention away to an event in the past [the assassination attempt on John Paul on May 13, 1981] to cause the people of God to believe that the words of the Virgin [in 1917 when She appeared] had nothing to do with the crisis of the Church [in the decades after 1960] and the marriage of modernists and Freemasonry that was contracted behind the scenes at the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965). Antonio Socci, who has carefully investigated the Third Secret, unmasked this harmful behavior on the part of Cardinal Bertone. In addition, it was Bertone himself who heavily discredited and censured the Madonnina delle Lacrime (Madonna of Tears) of Civitavecchia, whose message perfectly agrees with what she said at Fatima.”

Mr. Ferrara continues:

With this pontificate, says the Archbishop, we are witnessing an attack on ecclesiastical celibacy, the “attempt to introduce a form of ordained female ministry” and in general an “approach to the Church’s dogmas [that has] adopted the so-called ‘situation theology,’ whose theological pillars are accidental facts or subjects: the world, nature, the female figure, young people… This theology does not have God’s immutable and eternal truth as its founding center; on the contrary, it starts from the observation of whatever is the current pressing need of these phenomena in order to give answers that are consistent with the expectations of the contemporary world.”

Read the rest of the article on the Fatima Center's website. And support their work, especially the 54 Day Rosary Novena that is to begin on May 1st with the intention of the consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart to bring an end to the COVID-19 Crisis and future calamities that await us until this is accomplished as requested by Our Lady of Fatima.

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Pope Francis: Man Must Obey the U.N.

Guest Post By David Martin

2000 years ago, Christ instituted the Roman Catholic Church with the commission that it enlighten all peoples on the path of salvation and provide a sure means of attaining it. As Christ sees it, the Roman Catholic Church is the one central world authority to which all peoples should be subjugated.

In 1945, the archenemies of Christianity founded the United Nations with the objective of destroying Christianity and submerging the world’s peoples under the tyranny of communistic one-world government. The U.N. today is that central world force that is generating the present day revolt against the Faith, with special emphasis on children’s rights, feminist rights, abortion rights, LGBT rights, and all the Masonic rights that were created to separate man from God. The U.N. asserts that these “rights” are to be respected everywhere by all peoples.

Pope Francis agrees. During a September 10 press conference on route to Rome from Madagascar, the pope insisted that when the United Nations speaks, man must listen.

“When we acknowledge international organizations and we recognize their capacity to give judgment, on a global scale—for example the international tribunal in The Hague, or the United Nations—If we consider ourselves humanity, when they make statements, our duty is to obey … We must obey international institutions. That is why the United Nations were created.” 

So according to Francis, when the U.N. says that homosexuals must be free to express their sexual orientation and that women must be guaranteed their right to abortion, the world must obey. Hard to believe? Let us not forget that the pope on several occasions has invited U.N. abortion advocates like Jeffery Sachs and Ban Ki moon to speak at the Vatican concerning their Sustainable Development Goals of making “mother earth” a safer place through population control.

On April 29, 2015, the Vatican officially endorsed their United Nations Goals (SDGs), which include contraception, abortion, and euthanasia. Moreover, the pope in May 2019 was calling for a supranational, legally constituted body to enforce these U.N. Sustainable Development Goals.

Since his election, Francis has advocated that we look to this global elite for our instruction, as expressed in his encyclical Laudato Si: “There is urgent need of a true world political authority.” Wasn’t the authority of the King of kings good enough? The U.N. is the infamous brood of vipers that is perverting the nations and bringing them to a collision course, so why is Francis commending the flock of Christ to them?

Francis Executing Internationalist Plan

It is no secret that the U.N. was founded in 1945 by the CFR members of the Illuminati, a satanic secret society that works conjointly with the Freemasons. What these internationalists advocate is a universal break from the past and a merger of all peoples into an ecumenical one-world government/religion, which the Second Vatican Council was instrumental in advancing. Pope Francis advocates this departure from the past and merger with other religions, which has elicited praise from globalists and Freemasons the world over.

For instance, In July 2013, commemorating his friend and late Cardinal Ersilio Tonini, the Masonic Grand Master Gustavo Raffi (Grand Orient of Italy) launched this tribute to Pope Francis:

“Humanity today is poorer and poorer, as is also the Catholic Church. But the one of Pope Francis is a church that promises to be respectful of the otherness and to share the idea that the secular state promotes peace and coexistence of different religions.”

On September 21, 2013, during the celebrations by the Freemasons of the Grand Orient of Italy, Grand Master Gustavo Raffi also stated, inter alia:

“Pope Francis launches messages of humanity that are in tune with what we have been saying for years….This is a living Masonry, talking to people [in dialogue].” [One Peter Five]

On and on the praises go, the reason being that this pope from the beginning has done the bidding of Freemasons to down-talk Church tradition, even dubbing “schismatic” those who hold tenaciously to the old teachings, while continually emphasizing that we move forward with this Masonic plan to unite the Catholic Church with the world. 

Pope Calling for “Global Pact” for a “New Humanism”

And now the pope acting as a U.N. pawn has announced he is hosting an initiative for a “global pact” to create a “new humanism.”

“A global educational pact is needed to educate us in universal solidarity and a new humanism,” Francis said in a recent video message to launch the initiative. Pope Francis invites religious, political leaders to sign ‘Global Pact’ for ‘new humanism’  As if Christ didn’t already give us the solution for world peace and unity! The implication is that Christ’s instruction through tradition is ineffective so that this new humanism is now needed.

What is needed is a universal return to God and His Divine Laws, which means a universal rejection of the secular humanism that Francis is peddling for his global masters. He cannot bow to Jesus Christ and to globalists at the same time. He cannot advocate a new church of man and be truly Catholic at the same time. For our unity is with Christ, not with the world.

What Christ requires of the hierarchy is that they reject humanism and restore His Church to its former position of honor as it stood before Vatican II. For the Freemasons infiltrated Vatican II and engendered the new order of change that is fast coming to a head under Francis, so our duty as Catholics is to resist this new order of temptation and to remain ever faithful under siege, remembering the exhortation of St. Paul for withstanding these days of Antichrist:

“Therefore, brethren, stand fast; and hold the traditions which you have learned, whether by word, or by our epistle.” (2 Thessalonians 2:14)

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Pope Francis: “Diversity of Religions” is “Willed by God”

Image Copyright Holy See Press Office

Guest Post By David Martin

Pope Francis has incited more controversy by signing a joint statement with the head of Egypt’s al-Azhar Mosque, which states that "diversity of religions" is "willed by God." 

The Pope signed the “Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together,” with Ahmad el-Tayeb, during an interreligious meeting in Abu Dhabi on February 4. The event marked the high point of the pope’s three-day apostolic visit to the United Arab Emirates.

The document calls upon “all persons who have faith in God and faith in human fraternity to unite and work together so that it may serve as a guide for future generations.”

By "human fraternity," the proponents of the document mean fraternity in the flesh. The only true fraternity is to extend the riches of the Catholic Faith to all peoples, outside of which there is no real fraternity. For it is only through conversion to the One True Church that we become brothers and sisters in Christ.

However, the passage inciting controversy reads:

Freedom is a right of every person: each individual enjoys the freedom of belief, thought, expression and action. The pluralism and the diversity of religions, colour, sex, race and language are willed by God in His wisdom, through which He created human beings. This divine wisdom is the source from which the right to freedom of belief and the freedom to be different derives. Therefore, the fact that people are forced to adhere to a certain religion or culture must be rejected, as too the imposition of a cultural way of life that others do not accept.

Since when does God grant anyone the "freedom" to resist the truth and "do whatever thou wilt?" The Church has always admonished mankind "to adhere to a certain religion," i.e. the Catholic Church. This is not an "imposition" but a profession of the absolute truth that must be adhered to if man wishes to be saved. To say that this preaching "must be rejected" is to say that the Church for 2000 years was wrong.

Moreover, saying that “the diversity of religions” is “willed by God” has every appearance of heresy. The mission of the Church from the beginning is to bring the knowledge of God to the world and "teach all nations" (Matt. 28:19), that all peoples might leave their particular idols and creeds and be converted to the Catholic Church. The Church infallibly teaches that there is no salvation outside the Catholic Church (extra ecclesiam nulla salus), so unless Francis means that this diversity of religion is permissively willed by God to elicit the Church's response to reach out and convert other religions, he is negating dogma and dignifying the errors of fake religion.

For to say that God willed diversity of religions in the ordained sense is to say that God engendered these religions, which is heresy. And since Francis obviously means that diversity of "color, sex, race and language are willed by God" in the ordained sense (which they are), we can only assume he means "diversity of religions" the same way.

Even if other religions agreed with Catholic teaching they could not coexist with the Catholic Church for the simple reason that Christ did not found them—they’re invalid and operate out of grace. The fact is that every world religion exists in opposition to the Roman Catholic Church, which means the Catholic Church may never unite with them.

Francis has consistently urged the Church to ecumenically unite with other religions, so by “diversity of religions” we can safely infer that he is advocating post-Vatican II ecumenism, which is all about unity with man and not with God. Should the pope be using his position to advance this secular humanism?


Note: Cardinal Müller issues Manifesto of Faith: A quasi correction of Pope Francis’ pontificate

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6 Years into Pope Francis's Papacy: The Disastrous Results

Image Source: One Peter Five

• Francis says that he celebrated Martin Luther’s “Reformation” last year.  Francis thus celebrated Martin
• Luther’s revolution against the Catholic Church.  He received a statue of Luther in the Vatican.
• According to Francis, you shouldn’t say even one word to attempt to convince someone that the Catholic faith is the true religion.
• Francis called a deceased Buddhist “Venerable”.
• Francis teaches that you can die as an atheist and go to Heaven!
• Francis learned that a priest told others that a mortal sinner was not saved.  Francis tries to “reassure” the people that the priest is not correct.
• Francis identifies an Islamic leader as an authentic believer.
• Francis says you shouldn’t try to convert people to Catholicism.
• For a person to be saved, he or she must be baptized, have the true faith, and die in the state of grace.  Francis teaches that all men will be saved regardless.
• The London Times newspaper reported that a group of cardinals who supported Pope Francis now want him to resign and be replaced by Cardinal Pietro Parolin because they fear his reforms will cause a schism “more disastrous” than the Reformation.
• Prominent Catholic philosophers and a world expert on the Church Fathers have joined the growing chorus of voices expressing deep concerns over the implications of Pope Francis’s controversial exhortation Amoris Laetitia which allows divorced Catholics to receive communion without an annulment. “The seeming ‘internal waffling’ going on inside the Church over the issue of Holy Communion for the divorced and remarried is undermining the Church’s moral authority”, wrote Dr. Jude P. Dougherty, the dean emeritus of the School of Philosophy at The Catholic University of America. In a 25-page letter, nearly 70 Catholic theologians and clergy assert that the pontiff has propagated “heretical propositions” on “marriage, the moral law, and the reception of the sacraments.”
• Pope Francis said, “If we speak explicitly about communion for the divorced and remarried, you do not know what a terrible mess we will make. So we won’t speak plainly.”
• Pope Francis called Italy’s foremost abortion promoter one of nation’s ‘forgotten greats’. In an interview with
• “Corriere Della Sera” he praised Italy’s unrepentant leading abortionist and proponent of abortion, Emma Bonino, as one of the nation’s “forgotten greats,” comparing her to great historical figures.
• An 88-year-old American former cardinal, who was already the highest-ranking US priest accused of sexual abuse, has suddenly found himself at the centre of the latest storm that has engulfed the Roman Catholic church and marred the pope’s visit to Ireland.
• Theodore McCarrick resigned as a cardinal last month over abuse allegations arising from a series of grand jury investigations in the state of Pennsylvania. Pope Francis had been aware of the allegations against McCarrick since 2013 but had failed to act on them.
• Pope Francis has now promoted the notorious Tymothy Radcliffe (who favours homosexuality) to Consultor to the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace. This is a Papal appointment. Radcliffe is well-known, and outspoken in favor of homosexuality.
• In his clearing out and re-stacking of the Vatican’s highest pro-life institution, the Pontifical Academy For Life, Pope Francis has not invited many former members specifically chosen by Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI for their pro-life-and-family credentials as well as their fidelity to Catholic teaching. At the same time, however, Pope Francis appointed a pro-abortion theologian who has expressed support for euthanasia in certain circumstances.
• Pope Francis changed Holy Thursday foot-washing ritual to include women. Christ washed the feet of his all-male apostles at the Last Supper.
• United States Vice President Joe Biden addressed a Vatican conference on adult stem cell research Friday just before Pope Francis spoke. Biden’s invitation has sparked criticism because he supports the taxpayer-funded killing of embryonic human beings for research purposes.  He is also a vocal proponent of abortion, same-sex “marriage,” and the LGBT agenda, yet he flaunts his Catholic faith as an important part of his life.
• Pope Francis gave awards to Hollywood pro-abortion, anti-marriage advocates Richard Gere, George Clooney, and Salma Hayek.
• The pope made the dual claimed that some cohabitating (unmarried) couples are in a “real marriage,” receiving the grace of the Sacrament. Later in his reply, Pope Francis spoke of couples preferring to cohabitate and told priests not to tell them to marry.
• Pope Francis has named Chicago Archbishop Blase Cupich to serve as a member of the Congregation for Bishops. When he was the bishop of Spokane, Washington, Cupich requested that priests and seminarians of his diocese not participate in 40 Days for Life prayer vigils outside abortion facilities. In August 2015, in the wake of the Center for Medical Progress videos exposing Planned Parenthood’s baby body parts trafficking scandal, Cupich wrote that unemployment and hunger are just as appalling as killing children in the womb.  Cupich has openly contradicted Catholic canon law on giving Holy Communion to those in a state of mortal sin.
• Pope Francis called on Catholics to go to confession for sins of not being respectful of creation, giving examples of examination of conscience such as “avoiding the use of plastic and paper,” “separating refuse” and “turning off unnecessary lights.”
• Members of the Pontifical Academy for Life will no longer be required to sign a declaration that they uphold the Church’s pro-life teachings. In new statutes for the Vatican body, Pope Francis has also expanded its mandate to include a focus on the environment.
• Pope Francis criticized the “rigidity” of young people who are attached to the Traditional Latin Mass.

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Christ to the Hierarchy: “Unto Whomsoever Much is Given, of Him Much Shall be Required”

Guest Post by David Martin

The 25th chapter of St. Matthew’s Gospel contains a valuable lesson concerning Christ’s judgment upon the negligent when he returns. The famous Parable of the Talents speaks of the man who delivered to his three servants talents of money with the commission that they trade them and reap profits for him while he was away. The servants were given 5, 2, and 1 talents respectively, the first two of whom traded and doubled their gains, while the third servant fearfully hid his talent in the earth without gaining anything for his lord.

The talents and their return signify the account we will have to make according to what we have received.  When it came time for the servants to reckon with their master, the first two presented their gains to him, for which they were rewarded with promotions. “But he that had received the one talent, came and said: Lord, I know that thou art a hard man; thou reapest where thou hast not sown, and gatherest where thou hast not strewed. And being afraid I went and hid thy talent in the earth: behold here thou hast that which is thine.” (Mt: 25: 24,25)

“And his lord answering, said to him: Wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sow not, and gather where I have not strewed: Thou oughtest therefore to have committed my money to the bankers, and at my coming I should have received my own with usury. Take ye away therefore the talent from him, and give it to him that hath ten talents…. And the unprofitable servant cast ye out into the exterior darkness. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Matthew 25: 26-30)

The lord in this parable represents Christ Himself. What He is saying is that when we have been given the ability (talent) to do good in the Kingdom through our endowments of grace, nature, or otherwise, and then we slothfully waste it away and don't use it for our salvation and that of others, we will be accountable.

This warning applies especially to the Catholic hierarchy. The bishops and priests have been given a tremendous talent, yea, push-button power to effectively steer the Church and the world onto a safer course, but instead they have used their talent to betray the Faith and pacify the Church's enemies for worldly gain. The Son of Man is truly sold out again for 30 pieces of silver.

Before the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections, the United States Catholic Bishops (USCCB) could have prevented Obama’s election by using their position (talent) to admonish the Church in America not to vote for the pro-abortion candidate under the pain of sin. They could have easily mandated that an admonition be read at all the Sunday Masses across America before the elections, but no, they timidly "buried their talent in the *earth" and said nothing for fear of offending murderers. Because of this negligence, over fifty percent of America's Catholics voted for pro-abortion Obama in both elections, thus empowering him to advance his culture of death throughout the U.S. and beyond.

Worse yet, the bishops have used their God-given talent to help empower treasonous causes like Obamacare, Soros-funded open-border "immigration reform," and LGBT political agenda, not to mention that they have spent their days hacking away at tradition and implementing perfidious changes aimed at destroying the Church and uniting it with the world. As in Christ’s time, the high-priests go about stirring up the people against Jesus’ doctrine and parading themselves as ministers of "mercy" just to advance their humanist "tradition of men." (Mk 7:8)

Fatima Ignored by the Hierarchy

Looking at this a little deeper, the culture of death has its roots in Communism, which explains why abortion is so rampant in America—the agents of Communism are now entrenched in our government. Our Lady at Fatima asked that the pope and bishops join on one day to Consecrate Russia to Her Immaculate Heart in order to avert this spread of Communism. She warned that if Her requests were not heeded the errors of Russia would spread throughout the world and even into the Church.

Unfortunately, Our Lady’s requests were not heeded and thus, Russia did not convert, and as such, the deceptive influence of Communism is alive and at work today in the Church and throughout the world. The dark cloud of Socialism continues to lower upon the west and has now brought us to an unprecedented red eclipse that portends to the gruesome events foretold in the Fatima message.

The Consecration of Russia would bring Our Lady's crushing heel upon the Marxist red dragon and reverse everything that Communism is generating, i.e. the culture of death, terrorism, the desecration of the Mass and Eucharist, etc., but unfortunately, the bishops are too busy pacifying the Communists, with much help from Pope Francis who has repeatedly used his talent to say that “it is the communists who think like Christians.”

Worse yet, Francis through a “provisional agreement” on September 22 gave non-ordained Communist “bishops” of the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association official jurisdiction over the underground Church in China. The bishops of the CCPA are Communist agents, men of the state, who were “consecrated” by the Chinese Party-State and who deceptively wear the bishops’ miter to strengthen their mission to oppress the underground Church in China.

Cardinal Joseph Zen of Hong Kong, a fierce critic of the deal with Communist Beijing said, “They’re giving the flock into the mouths of wolves,” adding that “The consequences will be tragic and long-lasting, not only for the church in China but for the whole Church because it damages the credibility.” (LifeSiteNews, September 22, 2018) 

The hierarchy will have to stand before Christ and account for its negligence and abuse of power. The pope and bishops need to repent of their collusion and repatriate themselves to Christ, or else we will soon see the fulfillment of Our Lady's prophecy that "Various nations will be annihilated." Let the bishops consider the following scriptural warning to all princes and religious leaders, lest they too be cast “into the exterior darkness.”

“For power is given you by the Lord, and strength by the Most High, who will examine your works, and search out your thoughts: Because being ministers of his kingdom, you have not judged rightly, nor kept the law of justice, nor walked according to the will of God. Horribly and speedily will he appear to you: for a most severe judgment shall be for them that bear rule.” (Wisdom 6:4-6)

*According to the late Bible scholar Fr. George Leo Haydock (1774-1849), placing talents in the earth “represents all those who, having received any good quality, whether mental or corporal, employ it only on earthly things.”

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Francis: The Lord's Prayer "Induces Temptation"

Prayer Vigil with Pope Francis ahead of Synod © Mazur/catholicnews.org.uk, October 4, 2014

Guest Post By David Martin

Pope Francis is again advocating that the Our Father be changed. It was reported last month that the pope is expected to approve a change in the translation of the Lord’s Prayer, the famous biblical petition that has been recited by Christians for 2000 years. 

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2018/dec/11/pope-francis-redo-lords-prayer-translation/

The Italian Episcopal Conference [CEI] has submitted the proposed change to the Vatican for approval, changing the line "lead us not into temptation" to "abandon us not when in temptation," reported the Italian newswire service Ansa and the U.K. Express.

It was in December 2017 that Francis first proposed that the Lord's Prayer be changed, arguing that the translation used for centuries in many parts of the world, including the Italian and English versions, go against the teachings of the Church and Bible.

In the centuries-old recited prayer, followers of the Christian Faith call upon God to "lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil." 

Speaking to Italian broadcasters on December 7, 2017, Francis argued this was incorrect, saying, "It is not a good translation because it speaks of a God who induces temptation." 

"A father doesn’t do that, a father helps you to get up immediately," Francis said in an interview on Italian television. "It's Satan who leads us into temptation, that’s his department."

So Christ taught us to invoke a God who leads us into temptation? To think that the Messiah's instruction to mankind on how to pray—as penned by the Evangelists as the infallible Word of God and as followed for 2000 years by all the Saints and members of Christ—is now incorrect! It appears that it is the pope who is leading us into temptation.

To say that the proposed "reform" of the Our Father warrants respect is to say that Catholics for 2000 years have been misled by the Our Father. Moreover, it instigates doubts about the whole of Sacred Scripture and the age-old direction of the Church. It appears that it is Pope Francis who is leading us into temptation.

Francis purports to criticize the English and Italian translations of the Our Father, when he knows full well that it is the original manuscript he is criticizing. The original text from the Lord's Prayer, as taken from the Latin Vulgate, reads: et ne nos inducas in tentationem, sed libera nos a malo, which translated is: "lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil." (Matthew 6:13). This is also the same in the Greek: καὶ μὴ εἰσενέγκῃς ἡμᾶς εἰς πειρασμόν, ἀλλὰ ῥῦσαι ἡμᾶς ἀπὸ τοῦ πονηροῦ.

Hence, this is not a translation issue, but a scriptural issue. The English translations of the Our Father as recited today are correct, because they are taken from the Vulgate, which is the official version of Holy Scripture, the source from which all authentic translations must directly or indirectly be taken. 

The pope's initiative is entirely uncalled for. Never in the 2000-year history of the Church has it occurred to any pope or saint that the Lord's Prayer stood in need of change, so why is Francis calling into question something so central to the Faith—the "perfect prayer" given to us by Christ Himself on the Mount—and at a time when the Church is undergoing the worst debacle of its 2000-year history? What is needed today is that rock-solid stability of old to offset the new order of change that has misled the Church since Vatican II, so why is Francis leading us into the temptation of change?

It appears he is upset over the idea of being led away from temptation, since he is led by the temptation of globalism and change. The Bible threatens him to give up his change, so instead of humbly admitting that scripture is correct he judges that it is "incorrect, in the same way he has denied the miracle of the loaves and has judged that evangelization is "solemn nonsense." 

The Church's mission is precisely to evangelize and lead us away from the temptation of this world that we may arrive at the shores of everlasting peace. God in His mercy wants us all to know that this world is not our common home, but rather a quagmire of temptation, and that our true home is in Heaven with God and the Saints who said the un-revised Our Father during their lives. 

Therefore, as children of God who obey the Father's commands, we take the Father's hand and ask Him to lead us not into temptation, but away from all evil, because if we chase after temptation—especially the temptation to change the Bible and the doctrines of the Faith—God will let go of our hand, and in His permissive will He will lead us, not only into temptation, but into the very fires of hell. And by the way, Papa, this condemnation is forever.

Christ warns of the dire consequences of changing but one word of Holy Scripture. He says to St. John in the Apocalypse: "If any man shall add to these things, God shall add unto him the plagues written in this book." (Apoc. 22:18) 

Let us therefore reverence the words of Christ in the Gospel, remembering that all Scripture is "inspired of God." (2 Timothy 3:16) "Neither let us tempt Christ: as some of them tempted, and perished by the serpents." (1 Cor. 10:9)

https://www.foxnews.com/world/pope-francis-wants-to-change-line-of-our-father

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Youth Synod 2018: Spiritual Child Abuse

Guest Post by David Martin

The critics of Pope Francis’ Administration have been vindicated big time! The latest profanation spewing forth from the bowels of Rome clearly demonstrates that the abuse of our Catholic youth is being orchestrated right from Vatican headquarters. This video clip of the pope and bishops rocking out to pelvic-thrusting teenage dancers on stage is quite telling. https://remnantnewspaper.com/web/index.php/articles/item/4128-rockin-the-scandal-the-synod-on-young-people

This pagan dancing promoted by the Synodal architects can best be described as “spiritual child abuse.” When Church leaders use their rank to advance designs that are sensual and devilish, it scandalizes the young by warping their conception of the Faith.

How can young people ever conceive the Majesty of Christ in his sanctuary when they're being taught by their elders that the Church is a place for sex-oriented fun? This in turn opens the door for abuses of a more ‘tangible’ nature if in fact it doesn't reflect these abuses already occurring among the hierarchy.

What is especially absurd is that several of the gay-sympathizers implicated in Archbishop Vigano’s expose of the sexual abuse and cover-ups—clerics like Archbishop Maradiaga, Cardinal Cupich, Cardinal Parolin and Archbishop Paglia—are participants in this Youth Synod. What are they doing there? Recommending our Catholic youth to them for guidance makes as much sense as trying to put out a fire with gasoline. What next, shall Nazi’s be featured at a Vatican-sponsored pro-life conference?

What is worse is that Instrumentum Laboris, the working document for Youth Synod 2018 explicitly supports homosexual agenda as seen in paragraph 197:

“Some LGBT youth, through various contributions that came to the Secretariat of the Synod, wish to “benefit from a greater closeness” and experience greater care on the part of the Church, while some ECs [Episcopal Conferences] ask what to propose “to young people who instead of forming a heterosexual couple decide to form a homosexual couple and, above all, wish to be close to the Church.”

Consistent with this is the fact that of all the youth chosen to represent Canada in the Youth Synod, Pope Francis chose four members from Salt and Light Media, a pro-gay organization headed by pro-homosexual priest Fr. Thomas Rosica, who is also on the Synod’s Information Commission.

“It is a great sign of affirmation from Pope Francis and the Church’s recognition of Salt and Light’s mission of bringing the flavour of the Gospel and the light of Christ to the world,” wrote Rosica. https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/pope-selects-only-fr.-rosicas-salt-light-team-as-canadas-youth-at-synod

The bottom line is that the abuse of our Catholic youth is being fostered by the corrupt teachings and agenda of many in the Catholic hierarchy. Yea, it is being fostered by heretics and homosexuals. That Francis should place this stumbling block before the youth defies logic.
“Woe to the world because of scandals.” (Matt. 18:7)

The transparency and general house-cleaning called for by Archbishop Viganò is long overdue. Kudos to him for his action. May the hierarchy follow his lead and get to work at cleaning house.

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Francis Empowers Bishops to Lay Down Their own Liturgical Regulations

Pope Francis celebrates Mass in Villavicencio, Colombia, Friday, Sept. 8, 2017. (Credit: AP Photo/Andrew Medichini.)

 

Guest Post By David Martin

Pope Francis has issued a motu proprio Magnum Principium, a modification of Canon Law 838, which grants bishops’ conferences greater control over the translation of liturgical texts. This includes the power to make adaptations which the bishops deem appropriate for their regions. 

Until now, Canon 838 (§1) stated that "The direction of the sacred liturgy depends solely on the authority of the Church, namely, that of the Apostolic See." Paragraph §2 said: "It is for the Apostolic See to order the liturgy of the universal Church," but now the Apostolic See has the task of "recognizing adaptations approved under the law of the Episcopal Conference." (§2) In other words, the power of the Curia is reduced from authorizing to approving texts that are generated by episcopal conferences.

Paragraph §4 makes it clear that the pope has now given bishops the power to determine much of the Church's liturgical direction. "Within the limits of his competence, it belongs to the diocesan bishop to lay down in the Church entrusted to his care, liturgical regulations which are binding on all."

This opens the door, not only to greater liberty in translating liturgical texts, but to creativity in drafting their own texts. What we are seeing is a further attempt to pull the Catholic world away from the Church's centralized authority and have a whimsical free-for-all.

Francis himself, on October 17, 2015, called for a "healthy decentralization" of power in the Roman Catholic Church, including changes in the papacy and greater decision-making authority for local bishops, so this latest motu proprio is part of his plan to execute this decentralization.

It calls to mind the subversive designs of Mgsr. Annibale Bugnini—the key liturgical planner of Vatican II and principal architect of Sacrosanctum Concilium—as he relayed them to Masonic Grand Master Licio Gelli in a *letter dated July 2, 1967: "The greatest liberty was given to choose between the various formulas, to individual creativity, and to chaos!"

Under the pretext of making the Faith more accessible to the laity, the enemies of the Church introduced vernacular at Vatican II for the purpose of rendering the Church secular and divided, as opposed to holy and universal. It appears that Rome is now going the full nine yards with this plan.

However, if holiness, unity, and crystal clear communication from God to man is what Francis aspires for, he will promptly scrap these modernist trappings and return the Mass to its original formula in the Latin Tridentine Rite—the formula which accomplished this perfectly through the centuries. This is what Pope Benedict XVI aspired for during his active pontificate, so why shouldn't Francis?

In speaking of the Traditional Latin Mass, Pope Benedict said on April 30, 2011: "What was sacred for prior generations, remains sacred and great for us as well." (Universae Ecclesia)

The irony of all this liturgical updating is that Latin—the very thing that modernists despise—is all too conveniently used as a tool to pull the faithful away from their Latin heritage. Perfidious documents such as the latest are published in Latin to make them appear "religious," but is this not Pharisaic? Vatican bureaucrats should at least have the decency to publish their revolution in their own Esperanto and reserve Latin for the holy things of God.

*This correspondence is taken from Andrea Tornielli's Dossie Liturgia Uma Babel Programada, that appeared in the June 1992 issue of 30 Days.

https://rorate-caeli.blogspot.com/2017/09/breaking-motu-proprio-magnum-principium.html

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Francis Apparently not Happy with Roman Posters

Image Source: CNN

Guest Post by David Martin

Pope Francis seems to have taken offense over an anonymous poster campaign which called into question his mercy. On February 4, Romans woke up to more than 200 posters of a stern-faced pope plastered all over the city, with a caption that asks, "But where is your mercy?"

The unidentified posters accused Francis of having "ignored cardinals" and "decapitated the Order of Malta" — references to a bitter dispute between the order and the Vatican that benched a conservative cardinal.

The day after the incident, the pope called on pilgrims during the Angelus prayer to stay far away from "the polluting germs of ego, envy, and slander."

The following Sunday he criticized the everyday use of "insults," an apparent reference to the anonymous posters, though it seems he was also alluding to a barrage of criticism he has received in recent months over his progressive Vatican reforms and his dissent from Church teaching and practice. In his weekly Angelus address, Francis highlighted Jesus' commandment, "Thou shalt not kill," saying the edict applied not only to actual homicide, "but also to those behaviors which offend the dignity of the human person, including insulting words." He added that he "who insults his brother kills that brother in his heart."

Insults indeed are grave sins against charity, especially insults against the Faith. However, the anonymous posters were not intended as insults to the pope, but were earnest inquiries as to where his mercy is at. After all, he has shown mercy for liberal U.N. anti-life agents who use his Vatican to promote a more "sustained" planet through population control (abortion), and he has exonerated people like Albrecht von Boseselager of the Knights of the Order of Malta after he was rightfully dismissed by his superior Fra' Matthew Festing for distributing $millions worth of contraceptives and abortifacient drugs, while Festing was asked by the pope to resign. Where is the pope's mercy?

He has shown his mercy to offenders like abortionist Emma Bonino whom he called "one of Italy's greats," and to Fidel Castro who lived by the firing squad, while demoting and showing disdain for outstanding Vatican prelates like Cardinals Burke and Sarah for their humble witness of the Catholic Faith.

Worse yet, he has made fun of young Catholics who prefer to attend the Traditional Latin Mass, and went so far as to say that the reason young people attend this more "rigid" form of the Mass is to "hide their evils." In an interview given by Pope Francis to his close confidant Fr. Antonio Spadaro SJ, who is Editor-in-Chief of Civiltà Cattolica, he expressed wonder over why young people, who were not raised with the Latin Mass, nonetheless prefer it.

"And I ask myself: Why so much rigidity? Dig, dig, this rigidity always hides something, insecurity or even something else. Rigidity is defensive. True love is not rigid."

Words like these are "the polluting germs of ego, envy, and slander" that need to be cleansed from the Church. When Christ said "Thou shalt not kill," it also meant not to kill the spirit of young people, who after much prayer, deliberation, and struggle, have decided to do something right in life to the delight of their Maker. A crime it is that they should be insulted this way for their fidelity.

If Francis were true of heart, he would cry tears of gratitude that these young people, who could be using their time to engage in pop culture and sin, have chosen rather to grow up and to attach themselves to God in the old Mass. And he would be instant to understand that it is Christ himself who gently draws these precious souls to himself in the Traditional Mass. Why should Francis Wonder!?

He seems to have a phobia about the goodness of God. This goodness was manifest through the ages by the glories of tradition wherewith God enriched his Church. In his mercy He extended to us the jewels of sacred tradition and the Latin Mass, that it might be a joy and cleansing to his people, so why does Francis scorn these treasures while adulterating the Church with change? Women deacons? Lay Eucharistic ministers? Communion to adulterers? Respect for "gay orientation?" Youth Mass on the beach with guitars, beachwear, and gay dancers? What kind of scandal is he pushing on the youth? He discards rules and regulations and then teases the flock with this socialist merry-making that he calls mercy! "Woe to the world because of scandals!" (Matthew 18:7)

Nay, the posters in Rome were not an insult to the pope, but were providentially arranged for his instruction. Let us pray that Francis will revisit this matter and learn by it. And let him "dig, dig," that he might discover his own "rigidity" which makes him "defensive" against tradition.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/pope-francis-speaks-against-insults-175811979.html?soc_src=mail&soc_trk=ma

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Pope is Disturbed over Contraceptive Scandal?

Order of Malta leader Fra' Matthew Festing talks to Pope Francis (AP)

Guest Post by David Martin

Cardinal Raymond Burke who serves as patron to the Knights of the Order of Malta met with Pope Francis at the Vatican on November 10, 2016, and told him how the organization has been distributing contraceptives in Burma and other countries. The pope was "deeply disturbed" by what the cardinal told him and he ordered Burke to clean out the Freemasons from the Knights of the Order of Malta.

To recap, the Order of Malta through the years has been distributing contraceptives and abortifacient drugs through Malteser International (MI), the humanitarian arm of the order. Included in this distribution has been over a half million condoms. Edward Pentin has provided details of MI’s programs in his comprehensive article on the subject. An investigation by the Lepanto Institute provides further information about MI’s work promoting condoms and abortifacient drugs worldwide.

Throughout this period Malteser International was headed by Albrecht Freiherr von Boeselager. An investigation by the Order of Malta found that von Boeselager was responsible for the programs involving the distribution of condoms and abortifacient drugs. This led to his dismissal by the Grand Master, Fra Matthew Festing, on December 6, 2016, who was acting on the advice of his spiritual advisor Cardinal Burke.

Von Boeselager then appealed to the Vatican. A commission was appointed to investigate his dismissal, though Edward Pentin provides extensive and disturbing information about the make-up of this commission, which seems to have consisted largely of von Boeselager’s friends and associates. The Military Order of Malta refused to accept the Vatican's interference into their internal affairs.

On January 24, Fra Matthew Festing was then asked by Pope Francis to resign, which he did. The next day it was announced by the Vatican Secretary of State that Pope Francis was declaring null and void all of Fra Festing’s acts since December 6, thus nullifying the dismissal of von Boeselager. Fra Festing’s resignation was accepted by the Sovereign Council of the Order of Malta on January 28 and it was announced that von Boeselager was restored to his position as Grand Chancellor of the Order.

In short, Pope Francis restored to office a man ultimately responsible for the distribution of condoms and abortifacient drugs, while removing from office the man who tried to ensure that Malteser International remained faithful to Catholic teaching.

The report says that the pope was "deeply disturbed" by MI's distribution of contraceptives. If this is truly the case, why did the pope fire Fra Matthew Festing for dismissing Albrecht von Boeselager for his distributing abortaficient drugs and contraceptives? The pope told Cardinal Burke that he wanted the Freemasons cleansed out of Malta, so why is he upset that Fra Festing removed an agent who works for the Freemasons?

And too, why is the pope allowing Freemasons and U.N. anti-life agents to use his Vatican to advance population control? It is no secret that pro-abortion advocate Paul Ehrlich, father of the modern population control movement and author of the 1968 best-seller "The Population Bomb," has been invited to speak at the Vatican during a February 27-March 1 conference that will discuss "how to save the natural world."

This is deplorable when we consider the possible millions of deaths globally that he and his ideas may have indirectly been responsible for over the past five decades and how he has repeatedly slammed the Catholic Church for its anti-abortion policy. Is the Vatican deliberately seeking to put the unborn to death?

The Stanford biologist, who advocates forced abortion for population control along with every kind of contraception, will be given a platform to lecture the Church on how it should conform to the United Nations "Sustainable Development Goals" of making the planet a safer place through population control.

Hence the pope's "disturbance" over the contraceptive scandal in the Knights of the Order of Malta raises some serious eyebrows. Why isn't he disturbed about Ehrlich's upcoming speaking engagement at the Vatican or about the Vatican's collusion with pro-abortion advocate Jeffrey Sachs who has spoken now at 19 Vatican conferences?

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Cupich: Rotten Fruit for the Church

Let us pray for an end of this scourge on the Catholics of the Archdiocese of Chicago before Chicago - home to the most Latin Masses of any American city - sees the Ancient Liturgy removed steadily from the Faithful.  Kyrie eleison!

From the SSPX website:

Archbishop Blase Cupich has been one of the rising figures in the Catholic Church, and will be made even more prominent this fall.

Chicago Archbishop and Cardinal-elect Blase Cupich encouraged his fellow bishops to respond with courage and vigor “for what the Church is called to be!” The following statement was reported by Vatican Insider (Oct. 12, 2012):

The Holy Father’s visit a year ago [in USA] provided him with an opportunity to see first-hand the vitality and vibrancy of the Church in the US. At the same time, he offered a challenging vision of what the Church is called to be and so it is now up to all of us, the bishops of the US, to respond with courage and vigor."

Chosen by the Pope himself to participate to the 2015 Synod on the Family, Cupich supported the proposal of Cardinal Walter Kasper to provide a path for civilly remarried persons to receive Holy Communion while respecting the decision that such persons, along with homosexuals in relationships, “make about their spiritual lives” (Chicago Tribune, Oct. 17, 2015). Cupich was one of the bishops scandalizing the world by endorsing Kasper’s proposal during the Synod and highlighting the importance of conscience.

It comes therefore to no surprise that Cupich reiterated his support for giving Communion to divorced remarried in an interview last week. But this time, he presents himself as faithful to the Pope’s position!

My position is the same as that of Pope Francis, who has indicated that the proper interpretation of 'Amoris Laetitia' was given by Cardinal Christoph Schönborn and then again by the bishops of Argentina, for which the Pope noted ‘no further interpretation is needed.’ So if people want to know what I think, they should refer to those sources.”

Cupich is well-known for his liberal stance on numerous issues.

On Prolife Issues

Despite reminders on the sacredness of life, Cupich has a history of downplaying the urgency of the question by calling for balance, dialogue, and respect or other approaches.

As Sandro Magister put it in the Chiesa News (Sept. 30, 2014):

Cupich’s voice - as noted both by conservative Catholics, with distress, and by progressives, with satisfaction - always rings out loud and clear when the talk is of immigration or the death penalty, but he seems to get laryngitis every time there is a discussion of abortion, euthanasia, and religious freedom, or criticism of the Obama administration over health care reform."

In August 2015, in the wake of the Center for Medical Progress videos exposing Planned Parenthood’s baby body parts trafficking scandal, Cupich wrote on in the Chicago Tribune (Oct. 26, 2015) that unemployment and hunger are just as appalling as killing children in the womb.

Cupich has been constant in requesting that priests and seminarians of his successive dioceses (Spokane, WA and Rapid City, SD) not participate in 40 Days for Life prayer vigils outside of abortion facilities.

Back in November 2014, Cupich stated that giving Holy Communion to pro-abortion politicians was a positive move. Asked on CBS’s Face the Nation if he would give Communion to pro-abortion politicians, the archbishop said he hoped the grace that comes to people from the Eucharist would bring them to the truth.

Ten years before, during the 2004 presidential election, he refused to join those bishops condemning pro-abortion Catholic politicians and holding that they should not receive Communion. "We cannot cherry-pick particular issues. We have to be willing to talk about all issues. Our position begins with protecting the unborn, but it doesn't end there," he told the Rapid City Journal (May 2, 2004).

When most bishops refused to let Catholic Charities employees serve as navigators for the Affordable Care Act, Cupich bucked the trend: whatever problems the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) had with “Obamacare” and its contraception mandate, he was committed to using the infrastructure of the Church to help poor people access health insurance. He was the second-to-last bishop to join the fight against the contraceptive mandate.

As voters faced a November 2012 referendum on the legalization of same-sex marriage in Washington state, Cupich wrote a pastoral letter calling for "a substantial public debate . . . carried on with respect, honesty and conviction" and asked for "careful consideration" of the church's position on the referendum. In that referendum, voters approved the law by a 54%-46% margin.

On the Liturgy

Cupich has a constant record of hostility toward the traditional liturgy. It is said that in his first Mass as pastor of St. Mary in Omaha, NE his hometown, he reprimanded a young parishioner for attempting to receive the Communion on her knees.

In 2002, as Bishop of Rapid City, SD, Cupich prohibited children to make the first Communion or to be confirmed in the traditional Latin Rite. That same year, according to the Rapid City Journal (May 27, 2002), he prohibited a traditional Latin Mass community from celebrating the Paschal Triduum liturgies according to the 1962 Missal by locking the doors of Immaculate Conception Church during the Easter Triduum. The Good Friday liturgies took place on the sidewalk.

In 2011, then still Bishop in Spokane, WA, Cupich wrote The New Roman Missal: A Time of Renewal, a historical overview on liturgical renewal to introduce the new English translation of the Roman Missal.

Cupich’s vision is the same one which caused the liturgical revolution of the 1970s. Pope Benedict XVI’s motu proprio had no effect on him. He considers the traditional Latin Mass as dreadful and incomprehensible to the people. Its rites, according to Cupich, inspires church architecture such as altar rails which he claims have kept people far from the altar and impeded "full and active participation." By Cupich’s logic, the “old” Mass definitely belongs to a time long ago to which today’s Catholics are unable to relate. Lamenting those who did not accept the changes of the Novus Ordo Missae, Cupich holds that Catholics have to understand that the reform of the Second Vatican Council was, in fact, an improvement. And so he praises Communion under both species, Mass in the vernacular, lay participation in the liturgy, and the simplification of the rubrics.

Role of the women in the Church

For his Installation Mass on the Archdiocese of Chicago on November 2015, Bishop Cupich specifically requested both men and women altar servers. There were therefore four women and four seminarians.

Here is his vision of the role of the woman in the Church, as reported in Origin (Sept. 2013):

It would be a very great mistake to reduce the whole issue of women to the question of ordination. The church must engage the larger issue of women and begin by listening to women themselves. The failure of the church to attend to the concerns of women themselves is a very serious problem. . . . This is a very big knot that needs attention and it will not be untied lec­turing women, and it will not be solved unless men in authority in the church clearly and deeply understand that there is a very great difference between the way women approach things and the way men approach things."

Ecumenism

In 2011, Cupich started a new annual ecumenical service at Our Lady of Lourdes Cathedral of Spokane by inviting Presbyterian, Episcopalian, Lutheran, and Methodist ministers on Good Friday.

In April 2012, he supported the decision of Roman Catholic Gonzaga University of Spokane to invite Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu to speak at its graduation ceremony and receive an honorary degree.

Beginning January 2017, Archbishop Blase J. Cupich of Chicago is supposed to serve as the first Catholic co-chair of a new National Catholic-Muslim Dialogue, sponsored by the Committee on Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs of the USCCB.

Summary

Cupich is clearly a favorite of Pope Francis. In a two-year period, he has been the Pope’s personal candidate—against numerous objections—for four crucial roles: Archbishop of Chicago, participating in the 2015 Synod on the Family, becoming a member of the Congregation for Bishops, and now being elevated to the College of Cardinals. Cupich will now exercise one of the most prominent roles in deciding who to appoint as new bishops in the United States.

It stands to reason that Cupich will use his new-found influence and power to impose his liberal vision on the Church. Let us pray fervently for the Church and our pastors!

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Assisi V: Reparation Needed Today

Please join me in praying today in reparation for the heretical actions that are being committed in Assisi. 

Pope Francis will be present at the 5th interreligious meeting of Assisi.

30 years after the first interreligious meeting set up by John Paul II, in Assisi, on October 27, 1986, Pope Francis will be present for the “World Day of Prayer for Peace” that is to close the Interreligious Summit for Peace organized by the community of Sant’Egidio.

 Francis will arrive in Assisi by helicopter on Tuesday, September 20, around 11am. He will be met at the Poor Clare convent by the Orthodox Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew I, the Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, and the Syriac Orthodox Patriarch Aphrem II. Also present will be a representative for the Muslims, for the Jews, as well as the supreme head of the Japanese Tendai Buddhist school. These religious leaders will gather in the Sixtus IV cloister to meet the other representatives of worldwide religions and the Catholic bishops of Umbria… In all 400 representatives are expected to participate in this 30th anniversary of the meeting, whose slogan, this year, is “Thirsting for peace. Religions and cultures in dialogue.”

Source: SSPX

This event must be condemned for four reasons:

• Because it offends God in His first commandment.
• Because it denies the unity of the Church and Her mission of saving souls.
• Because it can only lead the faithful into confusion and indifferentism.
• Because it deceives the unfortunate unfaithful and members of other religions.

 Referring to the 1986 meeting in Assisi, Archbishop Lefebvre remarked:

It is demonic. It is an insult to our Lord Jesus Christ. Who will they pray to? What god will they pray to for peace? What peace can they ask for if they are not praying to the only true God? They will not be praying to our Lord Jesus Christ. The Jews do not want him, the Muslims and Buddhists do not want Him neither. Lots of Protestants do not believe in the divinity of Jesus Christ. What god will they pray to? God was made flesh and came and lived amongst us to save us. We have no right to pray to anyone else. If we put Jesus Christ aside, we are not praying to the true God. It is an indescribably impious act against our Lord Jesus Christ. (Spiritual Conferences, 117B, Jan. 28)

His Excellency Archbishop Lefebvre later said, "He who now sits upon the Throne of Peter mocks publicly the first article of the Creed and the first Commandment of the Decalogue. The scandal given to Catholic souls cannot be measured. The Church is shaken to its very foundations."

I hope that the priests of the SSPX will again offer votive Masses for the Propagation of the Faith: Missa 'Deus Misereatur,' as they did in 2011 during Assisi III.

As I have posted about many times, there is no salvation outside of the Church.  There is only one name under Heaven by which men can be saved and that is the name of our Lord Jesus Christ (cf. Acts 4:12).  So, please join me in saying rosaries in reparation for this most diabolical action initiated by the modernists.  Pray that our Holy Father will not pray with the pagans and infidels but preach and seek their salvation.

Read more in my post from 2011 concerning Assisi III.

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Is Mother Teresa Truly a Saint?

As a result of the changes in the canonization process following Vatican II, there is reasonable concern to believe that modern beatifications and canonizations are no longer infallible.  As a result of this doubt and because of the heterodox comments by alleged saints including John XXIII and John Paul II, Catholics must ask themselves whether the process of canonization is truly infallible or not.  And if it is not infallible due to the modern changes to this most sacred process, what are we to think of modern canonizations like that yesterday of Mother Teresa of Calcutta.

Mr. John Vennari's article published in the Angelus Magazine: The New Canonizations - Doubt and Confusion summarizes the issues with the new process:

Speaking of the rigorous pre-Vatican procedure for beatifications, eminent Catholic historian William Thomas Walsh, who died in 1949, wrote the following: “No secular court trying a man for his life is more thorough and scrupulous than the Congregation of Rites in seeking to establish whether or not the servant of God practiced virtues both theological and cardinal, and to a heroic degree. If that is established, the advocate of the cause must next prove that his presence in Heaven has been indicated by at least two miracles, while a cardinal who is an expert theologian does all he can to discredit the evidence—hence his popular title of advocatus diaboli, or Devil’s Advocate. If the evidence survives every attempt to destroy it after months, years and sometimes centuries of discussion, he is then beatified, that is, he is declared to be blessed.”

We will later note the new 1983 process of canonization dispenses with the Devil’s Advocate, and eliminates the stringent juridical method in favor of an academic approach. The discarding of the “thorough and scrupulous” procedure praised by Mr. Walsh cannot help but introduce doubt to the integrity of the entire new process—especially in the case of “fast-track” canonizations.

Mr. Walsh further noted the following about the traditional process: “The final stage of canonization, the last of twenty distinct steps, may take even more years or centuries. It must be proved beyond any reasonable doubt that two additional miracles have been performed through the instance of the servant of God, since the beatification. When and if this is done, the Pope issues a bull (a sealed letter) of canonization.”

Continue Reading the Full Article

As a result of these changes and in virtue of their manifest errors, the canonizations are John XXIII and John Paul II raise serious concerns as to the validity of modern canonizations. 

By the same logic, we must truly discern whether Mother Teresa is a saint (i.e. a person who at present is in Heaven and whose life is worthy of imitation by those on earth).   Marian T. Horvat in What about the Orthodoxy of Mother Teresa? addresses the issue well:

No one questions that she rendered care and assistance to the poor of Calcutta and championed the rights of the unborn. The problem lies in the matter of faith, the first and most important of the heroic virtues necessary to be proclaimed a blessed. It would seem that there would certainly be cause for examination of some statements of Mother Teresa that imply that salvation is possible in all different creeds and beliefs. I will rephrase the problem: Can someone who affirms or implies that the Catholic Church is not the only true Church – as she did – be beatified?

....

She is lauded as a great ecumenical teacher of prayer. Those who praise her spiritual meditations read like a line-up from an Assisi Prayer Encounter: a Jewish Rabbi, a Zen teacher, a Tibetan Buddhist master, a Protestant minister, and the President of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, among others. The latter, Bishop Anthony Pilla, calls the meditations “kernels of truth … deep in wisdom and spiritual insight”:

Here is one of those “kernels.” Mother Teresa stated:

“Some call Him Ishwar, some call Him Allah, some simply God, but we have to acknowledge that it is He who made us for greater things: to love and be loved. What matters is that we love. We cannot love without prayer, and so whatever religion we are, we must pray together.”

This is not an isolated statement taken out of context. It is one of many such testimonials indicating Mother Teresa’s general attitude of indifference to what creed a man professed.(1) In this meditation, she shows an unorthodox notion of God, as well as a distorted notion of love. 

So, Mother Teresa presented a false supposition – that these “gods” are all the one true God Whom the Catholic Church adores. This assertion is completely wrong. It stands in opposition to simple natural reason and directly contradicts Catholic dogma.

It is hard to believe that Mother Teresa was beatified after making this kind of statement, which objectively reflects her typical thinking. It is likewise difficult to understand how Catholic authorities can praise such an assertion as a “kernel of truth.”

...

Therefore, when someone loves the true God, Who is all-good, this is a good thing. But if someone has affection toward something evil, toward something that he calls god but is really a devil, this is not a good thing. It is an evil passion, not a good love, and the person needs correction, not empathy. There are, in fact, limits set in love. St. Thomas Aquinas taught this clearly: Passions “are evil if the love is evil, and good if it is good” (3)

This teaching is missing, however, in the meditation of Mother Teresa on God.

  •  First, she assumed the false supposition that God is the same for Muslims, pagans and Catholics.

  •  Second, she simplified the notion of love, and implied that one can love both the good and the evil, that the object of one’s love is an indifferent subject. All that matters is love. This contradicts the teaching of basic Catholic Catechism that instructs us to love the true God above all things.

A nun, even a very popular one, who would state these two errors would normally not be a blessed or a saint, since to achieve this honor her teachings on matters of Faith could not contain error, even a slight error. This is crucial not only because it involves the honor and integrity of the Church, but also because a blessed must be model of salvation for the Catholic faithful.

I do pray that Mother Teresa is indeed a saint and that all of her good works for the salvation of souls and the care of the poor have canceled out the grave error in these words that seem to support the insidious notion of religious liberty.  There is only one True God - and we are all called to bring others to the Ark of Salvation by worshiping this One God in the one, true Catholic Church. 

Let us pray that those who now honor Mother Teresa as a saint will not follow her "kernels" that lead others to error and outside of the Ark of Salvation.

Lord help us and save Thy Church in this time of grave confusion!

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Pope Francis: "The World is At War." But With Whom?

Guest Article by David Martin

The pope said Wednesday that the "world is at war," but denied that religion is to blame. Does he not realize that the war within the Church is what has incited a spirit of war throughout the world? If the Church is "attacking itself" from within (Pope Paul VI), how do we expect the world to be at peace from without?

If the world is at war, it's because of the war against tradition that rages within the Church. If the world is in darkness, it is because the Church is in darkness, fulfilling the prophecy of Our Lady at La Salette: "The Church will be in eclipse, the world will be in dismay." (1846)

Hence, the pope holds a measure of responsibility. The present papal administration has served to divide the Universal Church, while strengthening the unity of the global synagogue—the fomenter of all the wars. While Francis sets up barriers against ecclesial unity by forbidding religious of one country to take up residence in another, he declares it a sin to set up barriers against the jihad refugees that want to break into our western countries. The bloodshed in Europe, including the beheading of the good priest in France, is in fact a religious war. Fr. Hamel was martyred by one who deliberately sought to defame the name of the Catholic Church, yet the pope exonerates the Muslims by saying the attacks are not "a war of religion."

Let us pray for Pope Francis, but with true purpose. 

http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/news/2016/07/27/fr-hamel-was-martyred-in-odium-fidei-says-archbishop-fisher/

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