De Omnibus Dubitandum Est.

  The announcement that the Society of St Pius X intends to consecrate new bishops on 1 July has provoked a predictable reaction. The word “schism” has been deployed quickly and confidently, often without any reference to canon law, Church history, or Rome’s own recent precedents. For many commentators, the case appears settled before it has even been examined. But Catholic theology has never operated on slogans. The question is not simply whether episcopal consecration without papal mandate is illicit. Everyone agrees that it ordinarily is. The real question is whether the Church still possesses the juridical and moral coherence required to condemn such an act unequivocally in the present circumstances. In my latest Substack essay, I argue that this moment cannot be understood without grappling seriously with three uncomfortable facts. First, the 1983 Code of Canon Law itself explicitly recognises situations of necessity that excuse or mitigate even the gravest canonical pena...

  The German Synodaler Weg has dominated headlines for years, promising reform, dialogue, and a new vision of synodality. But behind the rhetoric, the process has quietly spiraled into disarray. Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki has withdrawn from the sixth assembly, citing overreach and the risk of exceeding the process’s legitimate authority. Bishop Georg Bätzing continues to insist that Rome’s approval is forthcoming, yet the Vatican’s repeated cautions suggest otherwise. What does this mean for the German Church — and for the wider project of synodality? In our latest article, we trace the unfolding crisis, revealing the structural arrogance, the presumption of inevitability, and the missteps that have brought the Synodal Way to the brink. Germany is no longer just experimenting with reform. It is testing the limits of communion itself. This is not a local quarrel. The German Synodal Way represents a warning for the whole Church: once dialogue and process are detached from doctrina...

Something deeply troubling is unfolding in the Diocese of Charlotte, and it is not just a local dispute about liturgical taste. It is a test of authority, continuity and justice in the Catholic Church itself. Charlotte was widely recognised as a thriving diocese. Vocations were healthy. Parishes were full. Families were moving there because the Church was confident, reverent and clearly Catholic. That did not happen by accident. It was the fruit of years of patient pastoral leadership and a conscious fidelity to the direction set by Pope Benedict XVI in Summorum Pontificum . Tradition was not treated as a problem to be managed but as a source of life. That is why the sudden reversal now taking place has been so devastating. Within a short period of his arrival, the new bishop has imposed sweeping liturgical restrictions: the removal of altar rails and kneelers, the discouragement of ad orientem worship, and further pressure on communities attached to the Traditional Latin Mass. These...

My article ;  Roche, Fernández and the Collapse of Competence , has received a lot of oxygen! It is not a personal attack on these two Vatican officials. It is an attempt to name something most serious Catholics instinctively sense but find difficult to articulate: a growing collapse of competence at the heart of Church governance. The focus is not on personalities for their own sake, but on what their elevation reveals about a deeper institutional problem. Authority is increasingly detached from theological depth, historical literacy, and intellectual seriousness. The result is a widening gap between power and credibility, and Catholics feel it. One of the central arguments I make is that liturgy is now being treated less as a received inheritance and more as a variable to be managed. This shift matters. When tradition is approached as something to be controlled rather than handed on, continuity gives way to bureaucratic improvisation. This mentality underpins the reasoning arou...

In a world awash with shifting opinions, relativism, and ever-changing cultural narratives, the timeless clarity of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen shines like a beacon. In my latest Catholic Unscripted post, “Fulton Sheen Shows Us That Truth Can Never Be Outdated,” I explore why Sheen’s fearless proclamation of the Gospel isn’t just history — it’s a blueprint for today’s Church and culture. Sheen wasn’t just a brilliant philosopher, preacher, and televangelist. He was a pastor who drew millions to Christ because he wasn’t afraid to speak truth — even the hard truths — with intellectual depth, personal warmth, and humor. His preaching reached Catholics and non-Catholics alike, and his influence continues to echo across generations. One of the most striking aspects of Sheen’s teaching was his insistence that truth is objective and enduring — not malleable to fit the latest trends or cultural preferences. As Sheen himself emphasized in his talks and writings, “Tolerance … restrains us...

  Many Catholics were deeply disturbed to see Cardinal Mahony being welcomed in the Vatican by Pope Leo XIV. This follows a rehabilitation of the disgraced Cardinal under Pope Francis. Does this, combined with Pope Leo's support of Cardinal Cupich reveal a deeply worrying direction under this papacy? More details in the write up here .