De Omnibus Dubitandum Est.

I honestly feel desperately sad for Cardinal George Pell as the news breaks that the 77-year-old will be held at maximum security prison until his March 13 sentencing on five convictions of sexually abusing minors, according to the  Guardian . This despite the very real prospect that his convictions will be overturned on appeal, according to experts , because the jury delivered a verdict that was not supported by the evidence. The Jesuit America Magazine reported that Pope Francis has reversed his earlier position and opened an investigation into allegations against Pell. The decision was made by Pope Francis given Pell’s high standing, apparently. As you probably know well by now, dear reader, I am not one to hold back when it comes to prelates who teach error or men who abuse anyone - I abhor it. I can't really see what could be worse; especially in a Catholic context. It is a crime against the innocence which Christ calls us to emulate ( Mt 18:3 ). It is the ...

Yesterday Archbishop Mark Coleridge of Brisbane, President of the Australian Catholic Bishops’ Conference, spoke out about Cardinal Pell: The news of Cardinal George Pell’s conviction on historical child sexual abuse charges has shocked many across Australia and around the world, including the Catholic Bishops of Australia. The Bishops agree that everyone should be equal under the law, and we respect the Australian legal system. The same legal system that delivered the verdict will consider the appeal that the Cardinal’s legal team has lodged. Our hope, at all times, is that through this process, justice will be served. In the meantime, we pray for all those who have been abused and their loved ones, and we commit ourselves anew to doing everything possible to ensure that the Church is a safe place for all, especially the young and the vulnerable. This Archbishop delivered the homily at Mass closing the Meeting on “The Protection of Minors in the Church” pledging to make the ...

Cardinal Nichols as he appears on Bruvver Eccles luvvley blog Cardinal Nichols has posted a video giving his thoughts on the Sex Abuse Summit at the Vatican, from which he has just returned. Really you don't need to watch it as you can very likely guess 85% of the contents, but here it is if you are interested in watching: Predictable, uninspiring, unconvincing—yes, all of those things. But honestly I think this performance is deplorable and here is why. It is the same thing we have heard ad nauseam with absolutely nothing new. And it is perhaps most interesting for what is not mentioned: God, sin, virtue, grace, homosexuality, the Commandments, none of these play a part in any of the Cardinal's "reflections". He sounds like a third rate bureaucrat (and nothing at all like a Cardinal). So what does he have to say? Well, everything is amazing in Rome apparently. He constantly repeats, almost mantra-like "child abuse, child abuse, child abuse",...

Finally the torturous sex abuse summit in Rome has drawn to a close. Torturous because it has been so incredibly cringe-worthy to see the Cardinals and Bishops Pope Francis has chosen to lead this summit trot out errors, buzzwords and meaningless platitudes on a world stage. And no one is buying what they are selling. Key moments of cringe for me were Archbishop Scicluna, who has already shown himself to be the Pope's useful idiot , stating the direct opposite to the Catechism of the Catholic Church: At Presser for Vatican Sexual Abuse Summit #PBC2019 , Sandro Magister asks why "homosexuality" was missing from discourses this morning, @BishopScicluna says homosexuality, like heterosexuality, is a human condition "that does not predispose one to sin" pic.twitter.com/lmTGe5orr2 — Catholic Sat (@CatholicSat) February 21, 2019 Cardinal Marx telling everyone how the Church had destroyed documents to protect abusers: At Presser for Vatican Sexual Abuse S...

Father Alexander Lucie-Smith has written an important article in the Catholic Herald about "McCarrickism". He says : ...McCarrickism: the rise and predominance of a certain kind of prelate. First of all, they handle money well; they raise funds with ease; they know all the right people, all the powerful politicians, all the millionaires and all the influencers; they do not rock the boat, they do not challenge the spirit of the age; rather they get on very well with the lords of this world. These prelates do not often share “Uncle” Ted’s proclivities, nor is soft living the absolute norm. What McCarrickism always means is a spirit of accommodation with the world and the spirit of the age; a worldly wisdom; the ability to get on equally well with the Bushes and the Clintons. Above all, it means not taking sides, even when one of those sides would seem to be that of the Catholic Church; or if stands are to be taken, they are on the most fashionable of causes – McCarric...

The Holy Press Office has published a statement from the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, concerning the case of Theodore Edgar McCarrick, a key campaigner for Jorge Bergoglio's election to the Papacy . The Congresso of the CDF, which investigated the accusations, has issued a decree finding McCarrick “guilty of the following delicts while a cleric: solicitation in the Sacrament of Confession, and sins against the Sixth Commandment with minors and with adults, with the aggravating factor of the abuse of power”. The Congresso has imposed the penalty of “dismissal from the clerical state”. The statement of the CDF notes that McCarrick’s appeal against this decision was considered on 13 February 2019 by the Ordinary Session of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. “Having examined the arguments in the recourse”, the statement says, “the Ordinary Session confirmed the decree of the Congresso”. McCarrick was notified of the decision on 15 Februa...

It seems a lot of people saw the Pope's visit to the United Arab Emirates as an astounding breakthrough. It was reported as "the heartland of Islam" in some places, but this is complete nonsense, Saudi Arabia being the place where Islam spread from. It might in fact surprise readers to know that Christians account for thirteen percent of the total population of the United Arab Emirates, according to a ministry report, which collected census data. The government recognises various Christian denominations. Christians are free to worship and wear religious clothing, if applicable. The country has Oriental Orthodox and Eastern Orthodox churches along with Protestant and Roman Catholic churches. I visited a couple of years ago with my family and we were able to easily find a Catholic Church and attend Mass. But all that notwithstanding, this was a landmark visit; the first time a pope had said Mass on the Arabian peninsular. Why did he go to the UAE? The prin...

My friend Clare Short was recently privileged to get to interview Bishop Philip Egan of Portsmouth Diocese. Bishop Egan was consecrated as the eighth Bishop of the diocese at St John’s Cathedral, Portsmouth on 24 September 2012, the feast of Our Lady of Walsingham. At the time of his appointment Egan was serving as the Vicar General of the Diocese of Shrewsbury. Bishop Egan has often been the subject of blog posts here because he is brave, erudite and faithful. He has seen great strides forward in his diocese on evangelisation and vocations even in the short time he has been in charge, proving once again that faithfulness and orthodoxy foster fruit. This interview provides some keen insight into the man and his vision. I hope you enjoy it and please do leave any comments you feel are relevant.

I've long been an admirer and supporter of Cardinal Dolan, who I thought was a good leader. Turns out another one I was wrong about. Very difficult to explain away some of his recent comments about abortion. In this clip he says Church teaching on abortion has changed under Pope Francis. As one comment says under the video: "Remember when Jesus didn't drive the money changers out of the temple because it was going to be "counter-productive". Yeah...me either."