De Omnibus Dubitandum Est.

A new post on Rorate caeli from Abp. Héctor Agüer, Emeritus of La Plata, Buenos Aires and written on November 28, 2023 asks why Pope Francis appears to "hate good priests"? He states: Several priests who follow the teachings of Pope Francis with attention have expressed to me their dismay and sorrow because they have recorded how often His Holiness denigrates priests. He has called them “bitter (cod-faced), spinsters, sacramental clerks, ambitious, gossipers, climbers…,” and other denigrating epithets. A lack of justice and charity. [Mark says: I have heard this from quite a number of clergy directly: what comfort, what encouragement do you ever hear from the Holy Father for those workers in the Vineyard? Not much! What works best? Constantly attacking those who you are responsible for leading or constantly building them up and encouraging them?]. There are thousands of priests in the world; among them there are some to whom some of the epithets that Francis’ accusations acc...

  An Open Letter to the Faithful from Bishop Joseph E. Strickland posted on his website and dated 27/11/2023 As I am sure you have heard by now, I have been removed as Bishop of the Diocese of Tyler.  I was asked to meet with the Apostolic Nuncio to the United States, and in that meeting I was read a list of the reasons I was being removed.  I would make these reasons available to you if possible; however, I was not given a copy of this list at that time, and I have not been able as of yet to obtain a copy despite my requests. [Mark says: Surely this points to the complete injustice of this situation? It is great that Bishop Strickland is continuing to stand up for Catholics in this way, I could not help but feel the Vatican's removal of him played into his hands. It is like the Lord has a plan to expose the present corruption and confusion and we are seeing it unfold before us! Removing him makes Strickland the true martyr. This is compounded by his own gentle obedienc...

My recent article in the Catholic Herald - See here - was subject to some editing! A paragraph which juxtaposed the promotion of Aparecida by Cardinal Pierre with the stats for Catholic disaffiliation was not included. Here is the full text with links for reference: Recently the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) gathered from November 13-16 for their Fall Plenary Assembly in Baltimore. There seem to have been two main stories which have emerged from this event. One is the continuing insistence on the pre-eminence of abortion: U.S. bishops approved a voting guide affirming abortion the ‘preeminent priority’, despite resistance from Pope Francis's favoured US prelates, Cardinals Tobin, McElroy and Cupich, who have repeatedly attempted to overturn this . The second story is the open clash between Archbishop Timothy Broglio of the U.S. Military Services, president of the U.S. bishops’ conference, and the papal nuncio Cardinal Christophe Pierre who, two weeks prio...

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Bishop Robert Barron has released his own reflection on the Synod on Synodality in which he excoriates the manner and depth of reflection. We now have +Barron plus two Archbishops who attended the synod and have excoriated it afterwards: ++ Wilson , ++ Gądecki and lets not forget Cardinal Müller  who said some in the assembly are “abusing the Holy Spirit” in order to introduce “new doctrines”. Without naming him, Bishop Barron is particularly scathing of Cardinal Hollerich , his reflection suggests Hollerich, who stated in 2022 that Catholic doctrine was "false" does not understand Church teaching and has not engaged with it as well as calling his approach "absurd". He goes so far in terms of criticism of the synod as to state: "It is troubling to see that some of the members of the German bishops’ conference are already using the language of the synod report to justify major reformulations of the Church’s sexual teaching. This, it seems to me, must be resiste...

"My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of robbers.” Matthew 21:12-13 Or, in this case, ravers. In February 2024, a silent disco will take place over two nights in the nave of Canterbury Cathedral. It is a strictly 18+ event, featuring plenty of alcohol and the music of the 90’s: Britney, Spice Girls, Eminem and the Vengaboys. Everyone likes a Silent Disco, but its place is in a nightclub, not in Canterbury Cathedral. Some people think that opposing this latest embarrassment is pointless, what with all the other mistakes of the C of E of late. They also say, "who cares, it hasn't been a sacred space since the reformation really, since true Eucharistic worship ceased". They would be wrong on both counts. While opposing the deeper theological descent into madness of the Anglicans may indeed be fruitless, the sheer hubris of this desecration is clear for all withinamd without the church to see. Everyone, religious or not, has a sense of ...

Last weekend I was invited to speak at the Catholic Man UK annual conference at Buckden Towers in Cambridge. Buckden Towers, formerly known as Buckden Palace, is a medieval fortified house and bishop's palace in Buckden, Cambridgeshire, England. It is now a conference and retreat centre operated by the Claretian missionaries. The 15th-century buildings are the remains of the palace of the bishop of Lincoln. Although it is often stated as being built in the 15th century, the first (wooden) Palace was built in the late 12th century, when records show it as being used by the bishops of Lincoln. The wooden structure was replaced by more substantial buildings and a tall brick tower was added in 1475, protected by walls and a moat, and surrounded by an outer bailey. Parts of the complex were demolished in 1632 on the orders of the Ecclesiastical Commissioners. The Victorian house now present on the site was built in 1872. The remains of the bishops' moated palace consist of the great...

Personally I found it shocking that Pope Francis used his intervention at the Synod on Synodality to attack young priests who want to purchase dignified vestments to offer or assist the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. The Holy Father states:  “It is the great defeat to which clericalism leads us. And this with a lot of shame and scandal, just go to ecclesiastical tailors in Rome to see the scandal of young priests trying on cassocks and hats or albs and surplice with lace. Clericalism is a whip, it is a scourge, it is a form of worldliness that soils and damages the face of the Lord's bride; and enslaves God's faithful holy people.” Neither is this the first time he has invested time and energy in his papacy to attack clergy who vest in appropriate ways. In 2022 it was lace that saw the brunt of his ire. In 2016, he took aim at a wide range of clerical dress: So why is he so bothered by what young priests wear? It is easy to link his words with Matthew 23:5 where Jesus attacks th...

"Freedom just around the corner for you, but with the truth so far off, what good will it do?"

  An utterly scandalous letter has been sent out from the Bishop of Speyer in Germany endorses blessing same sex couples. The letter includes a formalised rite which directly contradicts Pope Francis' responses to the dubia of the five cardinals which state : "it is not appropriate for a Diocese, a Bishops' Conference, or any other ecclesial structure to constantly and officially enable procedures or rituals for all kinds of matters, because not everything that "is part of a practical discernment in particular circumstances can be elevated to the level of a rule" as this "would lead to an intolerable casuistry" ( Amoris laetitia , 304). Canon law should not and cannot cover everything, nor should Episcopal Conferences with their varied documents and protocols claim to do so, as the life of the Church flows through many channels other than normative ones." Exactly as was stated at the time, these responsa are ridiculous and unworkable, Cardinal Zen...