De Omnibus Dubitandum Est.

  Just before Christmas, the Vatican’s new doctrinal chief Cardinal Victor ‘Tucho’ Fernandez unveiled a new style of blessing designed to make gay couples feel at home in church without changing the Church’s teaching on marriage. The Argentinian Tucho has for years been Pope Francis’s protégé – but for how much longer? The new gay blessings, supposedly blessing the couple but not their union, have been decisively rejected by all the Catholic bishops of Africa, forcing Francis to backtrack and say they could ignore Fernandez’s decree. Then, last week, it was revealed that in 1998 Tucho published a book on, of all things, the theology of orgasms. It is jaw-droppingly graphic, has been widely described as ‘creepy’, and has encouraged leading cardinals hoping to succeed Francis to distance themselves from this pontificate. Listen to this episode of  Holy Smoke  if you want to know about the new crisis tearing apart the Catholic Church – but be warned: the erotic musings of th...

Archbishop Charles Chaput's reputation and his exclusion from becoming a cardinal despite his important role as Archbishop of Philadelphia are discussed. The connection between Archbishop Chaput and The Pillar, an independent Catholic news outlet, is explored. The confusion caused by the Vatican document Fiducia Supplicans and the Pope's response to criticism are highlighted. The importance of clarity, consistency, and speaking the truth in love is emphasized. The urgent challenge of anthropology and the crisis of fatherhood and male Christian spiritual leadership are addressed. The chapter concludes with a call to prayer for the Church and the Pope. You can support me here: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/mklambert2r

 My video on Cardinal Sarah's comments regarding Fiducia Supplicans: If you don't already, please do like and subscribe to my Youtube channel!

Breaking news this morning that Cardinal Robert Sarah, the former Prefect for the Congregation for Divine Worship, the Vatican’s Liturgical Office now headed by former Bishop of Leeds Cardinal Arthur Roche, has entrusted the veteran Italian Vaticanista Sandro Magister at the Settimo Cielo blog  with his reflection  on the current state of confusion in the Church following the recent declaration of the dicastery for the doctrine of the faith  Fiducia supplicans.   There can be no doubt his comments constitute a firm rejection of the Vatican declaration, but they also reflect the dismay of many Catholics regarding the tenor, self-contradictory content and poor timing of this document. Directly quoting Pope Francis on the devil, the Cardinal laments that at Christmas, a time when Jesus brings us peace and, as the Word of God, truth, we have error and confusion issuing from the Vatican:  "It is precisely confusion, the lack of clarity and truth and division that hav...

  Regis Martin is Professor of Theology and Faculty Associate with the Veritas Centre for Ethics in Public Life at the Franciscan University of Steubenville. He earned a licentiate and a doctorate in sacred theology from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome. He has authored an article in Crisis Magazine today calling for Pope Francis to stand down. In it he states : “Your Holiness, with all due respect, there are two things you must do, and two more you might do. The first two are fairly easy. Get rid of Fernandez; then dump the Declaration. As for the remaining two, these are optional, but I’d strongly recommend both. Resign the Office that has become so tortuous to occupy; then go off to the nearest monastery for a life of prayer and penance.” Who knows, perhaps the former prefect can be persuaded to accompany the former pope into the silence? It could do wonders for both their souls." He draws attention to the pain and suffering caused by such casual leadersh...

I have thoroughly read through this very worrying Vatican document which tries to legitimise blessing gay couples by introducing a new theology of blessing. Here is the document with my own comments. Declaration Fiducia Supplicans On the Pastoral Meaning of Blessings Presentation This Declaration considers several questions that have come to this Dicastery in recent years. In preparing the document, the Dicastery, as is its practice, consulted experts, undertook a careful drafting process, and discussed the text in the  Congresso  of the Doctrinal Section of the Dicastery. During that time, the document was discussed with the Holy Father. Finally, the text of the Declaration was submitted to the Holy Father for his review, and he approved it with his signature. A plea for authority – it’s like, at the very beginning they know this is going to be deeply problematic, so they have to preface it with credentials; a desperate attempt to give it credibility the text itself...