De Omnibus Dubitandum Est.

Cardinal Darío Castrillón Hoyos I was very pleased to read in Catholic World News , a report that Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos, former prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy, has recently received assurances from Pope Francis that he has no problem with Traditionalist Catholics or the Extraordinary Form of the Mass. Meeting with The General Assembly of the International Una Voce Federation ( FIUV ), he said: “I met Pope Francis very recently and he told me that he has no problem with the old rite, and neither does he have any problem with lay groups and associations like yours that promote it,” This has been confirmed by His Excellency Bishop Rifan, of the Apostolic Administration of St. John Vianney, Campos, who recently wrote to The President of the FIUV, and the Chairman of the Latin Mass Society thus: Dear friends of LMS and UNAVOCE, I send you the photos of my last visit to the Pope Francis, may 22th 2013. I introduced myself saying who I am, explaining...

I was intrigued and amazed to read on uCatholic that a study conducted by The Global Language Monitor has revealed that Pope Francis was the most discussed proper name on the internet, eclipsing secular leaders, global celebrities, and proper names of places, organisations, and movements. Additionally, the Holy Father’s Twitter handle “ @Pontifex ” was the #4 ranked word. What? Not Miley Cyrus, Katey Perry, Kate Middleton, or Richard Dawkins? The Pope of Rome? Am I in some sort of time warp? What year is this, 1274? When you consider the way in which secular society often tries to enforce the myth of the irrelevance of faith and religious leaders and the indifference of the common person towards religion, this news becomes even more of a revelation. Clearly, despite the best efforts of the devil (and the secularist's), Pope Francis has impacted the daily lives of the people of the modern world. The Top Names of 2013 Rank /Name / Comments Pope Francis — The f...

Fr. Tony Flannery, the self-styled 'nice-guy who has been badly treated by the meanies in Rome', has been demonstrably shown to be a liar as well as a heretic. Renegade Redemptorist Flannery was one of a handful of priests who hit the headlines last year after being disciplined by Rome; Brian Darcy, whose ‘silencing’ was clearly nothing of the sort , was perhaps the most infamous of this batch, but Tony Flannery, as one of the founders and leaders of the Association of Catholic Priests, may be even more important, as The Thirsty Gargoyle detailed in January . Now, in a wide-ranging interview with the Irish Catholic, Cardinal Lavada, former prefect of the Vatican’s CDF (Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith) dismisses Flannery's claims that he was shouted down about married priests and conscience, and cites Flannery's blatant and published heresy as the reason the CDF were forced to intervene. Flannery is well documented to hold positions completely a...

John Alexander McCrae (1872-1918) In Flanders fields the poppies blow Between the crosses, row on row, That mark our place; and in the sky The larks, still bravely singing, fly Scarce heard amid the guns below. We are the Dead. Short days ago We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, Loved and were loved, and now we lie In Flanders fields. Take up our quarrel with the foe: To you from failing hands we throw The torch; be yours to hold it high. If ye break faith with us who die We shall not sleep, though poppies grow In Flanders fields.

The big news today is that as of about 11am it was announced that the Pope has appointed Mgr Mark O’Toole as new Bishop of Plymouth. Bishop elect Mark (not a bad Christian name if you ask me) was  personal secretary to Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor and then, from 2008, Rector of Allen Hall Seminary. Mgr O’Toole’s episcopal ordination will take place at 2pm on Tuesday 28 January 2014 at the Cathedral Church of St Mary and St Boniface in Plymouth. He will succeed Bishop Christopher Budd, who has been Bishop of Plymouth since 1986. Mgr. Mark O’Toole—Brief Bio: 22 June 1963 Born in London, the youngest son of Marcus and Maura O’Toole who originally came from the Irish-speaking community of Connemara, Galway, Ireland. Attended St Ignatius Primary School, Stamford Hill and St Thomas More Secondary school in Wood Green. Left school with four ‘A’ levels in 1981. 1984 Graduated with a B.Sc. in Geography from the University of Leicester 1984-89 Studied for the...

From Scott Hann on Facebook today: How God shows his love in and through Pope Francis!!! As he 'tweeted' in August: "Lord, teach us to step outside ourselves. Teach us to go out into the streets and manifest your love." Then again in September: "True charity requires courage: let us overcome the fear of getting our hands dirty so as to help those in need." So he practices what he preaches... Here he is, yesterday, locked in a loving embrace with a severely disfigured man afflicted with neurofibromatosis, a painful genetic disorder that causes thousands of tumors all over the body, and which leads to the loss of hearing and vision, as well as severe disabilities resulting from nerve damage from countless tumors. The Catholic Herald suggests that this photograph is Pope Francis’s real first ‘encyclical’. Karl Stuebe reports for the Herald from Rome that the widely circulated photo is an encyclical in the sense that the “message” of the Holy Fat...

Devastated to have just heard that Fr John Redford, beloved priest of Maryvale died this morning at 5am. Fr. John was an incredible friend, pastor, and the best teacher I have ever had. Please say a quick prayer for this truly extraordinary man who dedicated his life to the service of others. May flights of angels sing him to his rest. I studied theology at Maryvale for five years, graduating in 2011. When I arrived, there were more than 30 other people starting on the course of various shapes and sizes. Some had rather strong personalities, some were very timid. I felt very out of my comfort zone.  The actual building is very old, having come to the Church in 1702 at the bequest of Father Andrew Bromwich who had inherited this property from his family. From 1794 to 1838 it was the home of Oscott College, the first Seminary to open in England after the reformation. During this time the historic Chapel of the Sacred Heart was inaugurated. In 1846 after the removal of the co...