De Omnibus Dubitandum Est.

  One of the most disturbing things about the present Pope is how often and how easily he says disturbing things. Things that just catch you and make you wince because they appear to be clearly at odds with the Catholic faith. At General Audience, Pope Francis asks two questions: "Do I live in the fear that if I don't do this or that I will go to hell?"; and "Do I despise the Commandments? No. I observe them, but not as absolutes, because I know that what justifies me is Jesus Christ." pic.twitter.com/nY7kRoon17 — Catholic Sat (@CatholicSat) August 18, 2021 I was quite scandalised when I saw this because the Ten Commandments form a basic outline of Christian morality as I have always understood it. My initially reaction was to wonder in what way the Commandments are "not absolutes"? Though shalt not kill? Thou shalt not commit adultery? What is the Pope on about here? The Decalogue is the Ten Words of Freedom which highlight the outer limits of what is...

There is something very wrong in the Catholic Church today. I don't ever recall stories like this before. Today Pope Francis accepted the resignation of Dom Tomé Ferreira da Silva, as Bishop of São José do Rio Preto, after video emerged last Friday of the Brazilian Bishop masturbating during a video conference call. Bishop Tomé Ferreira da Silva had previously been investigated by the Vatican in 2015 for using Diocesan funds to pay his homosexual lover, and again in 2018 for exchanging messages of a sexual nature on WhatsApp with an underage boy. On both occasions the Vatican did nothing. There has been tension between Bishop Tomé Ferreira da Silva and the conservative and traditionalist priests and laity of the diocese for some time. Of course, in the current climate he was able to use this as a defence during the previous Vatican investigations, however the latest video proved that those priests and laity were right. Is this what is meant by "zero tolerance"?? Pope Fran...

Messa in Latino , the Italian blog that first heard about the possibility of Traditiones Custodes , has published possible news of further restrictions which will potentially bind the hands of bishops in the way they treat those who attend the Traditional Latin Mass.  Despite being identified as the cause for the clamp down by Pope Francis, so far, the vast majority of bishops have responded to the Motu Proprio by maintaining the status quo, basically ignoring some of the more confusing elements of the document (like the ban on saying Mass in parochial Churches (art. 3 §3). It seems, if this report is correct, that the Holy Father is so determined to squash the Traditional Latin Mass that he is going to back up the Motu Proprio with an even more draconian "implementation" document. Here's a rough translation of the blog: We have received confirmation NOW of a news received a few days ago, that on 22 July the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith sent a short lette...

Carfin Grotto, Motherwell I think in promulgation of Summorum Pontificum in 2007 was perhaps the first time something the "Church" or "Rome" did that actually translated into a tangible change in my own experience of the Catholic faith. I was studying Catholic Theology at the Maryvale Institute in Birmingham at the time and recall animated discussions among students about what it meant. I had no idea what it meant, I'd never been to a Traditional Latin Mass. I did know that I loved the inclusion of Latin in the Novus Ordo Mass although I wasn't sure why! The Moto Proprio resulted in my Parish Priest introducing the vetus ordo once a month. I went out of curiosity but fell in love and continued to attend, drawn to the beauty and sincerity of the ancient liturgy, the Mass my grandparents and their grandparents knew. For the other three weeks of the month I attend the usual Mass in my Parish. I'm fine with a reverent Novus ordo Mass, but I find it reall...

Everywhere, Catholics who love the faith & are usually dedicated to evangelising efforts are turning their attention to the growing scandals in the Church. It seems like everyone is posting advice on how to deal with scandal and crisis. People talking about leaving the Catholic Church for Orthodoxy or the SSPX or why you shouldn't. You know it's bad when people like Matt Fradd, who usually stay out of Church polemics, are regularly commenting on the mess we are in: Over the weekend I got into a discussion about the Pachamamma scandal at the Vatican. These things rarely go well on Twitter which is not the best medium for nuanced debate. With that in mind, I always try to avoid taking a position & try & listen to alternative explanations. Unfortunately, with Mike Lewis of Where Peter Is , this is very difficult, firstly because he seems confused himself and is quite happy to proffer different explanations depending on the context: Thank you for the background. ...

In this World Over Live episode, Cardinal Mueller, Cardinal Burke & the Papal Posse all discuss the moves by Pope Francis to ban the Mass of Ages.

This is the face of a monster.  This is the man who the Jesuit Order in Ireland recently admitted ‘abused boys sexually, emotionally and physically while he was on the teaching staff at Belvedere College in the 1970s’.  His name was Fr Joseph Marmion SJ, ordained in 1957. He was a predatory paedophile and bully, not just of boys, but of fellow Jesuits and lay teachers. All his victims are now in their 50s and 60s. It's taken that long for the Irish Jesuits to offer some transparency & closure to Marmion's victims. In the statement the Provincial of the Order, Fr Leonard Moloney SJ, said: ‘In our communications, he made it clear to me that he was concerned for others who may also have suffered and that they should be proactively offered a response and support. ‘This man also conveyed to me that he believed others who were abused may be helped by the recognition that they too were dreadfully harmed. ‘He asked that we name his abuser... publicly and that we make this informa...

Please share this and spread the word: March for Life UK is happening in London on Sat 4th September. There are various coaches/groups going. For more event info check out the website at https://www.marchforlife.co.uk/ Email info@marchforlife.co.uk or call Isabel on 07773 501721. The theme for this year is 'Number One Issue'. Please attend if you possibly can. The morning section is at the Emmanuel Centre, 9-23 Marsham St, London SW1P 3DW 10am - 1pm. There will be sessions for children of all ages from toddlers to 17yrs old. Prolife stalls, talks, testimonies, entertainment, music. Food and drink available. The march starts at 1pm outside the Emmanuel Centre and finishes in Parliament Square at 4pm, where we have the main speeches. Recent years have seen the highest ever abortion figures in the UK as well as the introduction of home abortions. We must make a united stand and speak out against this destruction of innocent life and the damage inflicted on women. If not you, who? ...

The German writer Martin Mosebach has written a piece on Traditiones custodes in First Things . He recognises that perhaps the most striking think about Traditiones custodes is the extent to which it constitutes a departure from the pope's professed style: with this document the pope... ...has given a command. He does this at a time when papal authority is unraveling as never before. The Church has long since advanced to an ungovernable stage. But the pope battles on. He abandons his dearest principles—“listening,” “tenderness,” “mercy”—that refuse to judge or give orders. Pope Francis is roused by something that troubles him: the tradition of the Church.  This is important because it exposes the modus operandi of those who seek to fundamentally change/ destroy the Church. They always speak of "dialogue" but they only seek dialogue where none should be had; i.e. about settled matters. This kind of talk always makes me nervous because, as Archbishop Chaput once pointed ...

Image from the  Rorate Caeli blog My friend Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone (San Francisco) has instituted a monthly Traditional Latin Mass at San Francisco’s Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Assumption, and has been leading the faithful in a Litany of Reparations for abuses against the Eucharist CNA reports . The first of the Masses, on Aug. 4, falls on the feast of St. Dominic, and so will be said in the Dominican rite. Archbishop Cordileone’s establishment of the monthly Masses was in response to “requests from the faithful and the overwhelming response to the first Latin Mass in July.” Apparently over 900 people have already signed up. Thank God for Archbishop Cordileone and his faithful ministry! Archbishop Cordileone joins a growing list of bishops  who are ignoring the Pope's clamp down on the Latin Mass and even instigating new Latin Masses! Notorious papal tailgater & apologist for inconsistency and all things Francis Austen Ivereigh claims he has been told that t...

Mass in the Vetus Ordo at Leigh-on-Sea, Sunday 1st August 2021 As I've said numerous times before, I feel fortunate that we have a very reverent Novus Ordo Mass at my Parish. The fact that the Mass is so reverent insulates me to a large degree to the pain and the division in the Church currently. On Sunday at my Parish we had our monthly Vetus Ordo . The 11.30am Mass which we usually attend was being said for a family friend and my wife wanted to go to that Mass. A family conference ensued and all the children wanted to go to the Latin Mass. So my wife went in the morning and I took everyone in the afternoon to the old rite. Sometimes I go to to the Latin Mass and just pray, I often feel I can completely lose myself in prayer in the Vetus Ordo . Sometimes I join in by following everything in the Missal and that was how I felt this Sunday. Following the prayers and instructions as the Mass proceeded I felt deeply moved by the careful repetition, the way the priest begins the Mass...