De Omnibus Dubitandum Est.

I think it would be fair to say that there is a great deal of doom and gloom surrounding the prospect of the Synod in October. Back in November, Cardinal Raymond Burke urged Pope Francis to take the issues of Communion for the divorced and remarried, cohabitation and same-sex marriage “off the table” for next year’s Synod of Bishops. As reported by the Catholic Herald and numerous other news agencies, Cardinal Burke addressed more than 300 delegates at a family and marriage conference, organised by Catholic Voice  in Limerick on November 15. Here he said that these issues had distracted the work of the synod in its first session in October. Warning that Satan was sowing confusion and error about matrimony, the cardinal patron of the Knights of Malta said, “Even within the church there are those who would obscure the truth of the indissolubility of marriage in the name of mercy.” Voice of the Family, a coalition of pro-life organisations, has launched a " filial appeal ...

There's lots of chatter regarding a new book by Austin Ivereigh. The story was first exposed by John Bingham of The Telegraph , but the import was really explained by Damian Thompson in The Spectator here . Ivereigh is a former deputy editor of The Tablet who later became Director for Public Affairs of the former Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor. He occasionally appears on radio and TV programmes to comment on stories involving the Church. He is also the founder and coordinator of Catholic Voices , a project which began in the UK to improve the Church's representation in the media, above all in news programs and debates. The drama revolves around the purported lobbying for votes before the conclave. Organised lobbying of the type that Ivereigh alleges took place is dangerous, because it is strongly discouraged by the Church’s rules. Although Damian suggests the story may, or may not be true, I personally think it is very likely that Iv...