De Omnibus Dubitandum Est.

Breaking news this morning that Cardinal Robert Sarah, the former Prefect for the Congregation for Divine Worship, the Vatican’s Liturgical Office now headed by former Bishop of Leeds Cardinal Arthur Roche, has entrusted the veteran Italian Vaticanista Sandro Magister at the Settimo Cielo blog  with his reflection  on the current state of confusion in the Church following the recent declaration of the dicastery for the doctrine of the faith  Fiducia supplicans.   There can be no doubt his comments constitute a firm rejection of the Vatican declaration, but they also reflect the dismay of many Catholics regarding the tenor, self-contradictory content and poor timing of this document. Directly quoting Pope Francis on the devil, the Cardinal laments that at Christmas, a time when Jesus brings us peace and, as the Word of God, truth, we have error and confusion issuing from the Vatican:  "It is precisely confusion, the lack of clarity and truth and division that hav...

Cardinal Robert Sarah has again made a public announcement in respect of his new book which caused so much controversy last week ( see my post here ). In a series of three tweets, the Prefect for the Congregation of Divine Worship lambasted those who have weaponised the book launch as engaging in "nauseating and deceptive controversies" I have translated his tweets from the original French and embedded the originals for your information here: Because of the incessant, nauseating and deceptive controversies that have never stopped since the beginning of the week, concerning the book From the Depths of Our Hearts , I met Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI this evening. With Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, we have seen how there is no misunderstanding between us. I came out very happy, full of peace and courage from this beautiful interview. I call you to read and meditate From the Depths of Our Hearts . I warmly thank my editor, Nicolas Diat, as well as the house Fayard, for the tho...

How extraordinary that something as simple as the publication of a book backing a Catholic position has caused such extraordinary controversy this week! The launch of the joint project between Pope Benedict XVI and Cardinal Sarah left papolatrous "Team Francis" figures writhing in paroxysms of fury at the "intervention" which undermined Pope Francis. My first thoughts were to wonder how a book presenting a theological, academic argument for a position long held in the Church and which the Pope is presented as supporting was undermining anyone? More detail on what has happened here from Edward Pentin. Antonio Socci has an account of what went on behind the scenes. Apparently, when the quotes defending celibacy were published, pandemonium broke out in the Vatican as Pope Francis exploded rage. Despite his constant pronouncements in support of priestly celibacy, it is obvious from the agenda of the loaded Amazon Synod, Pope Francis intends to introduce married...

I have long wanted to get to Chartres for the  Paris-Chartres Pilgrimage , which occurs every year on the Feast of Pentecost in early summer, and is a multi-generational, multi-national gathering of Catholics who draw closer to God through the centuries-old act of pilgrimage. The walk is roughly 62 miles over 3 days—beginning at daybreak on the Saturday before Pentecost, and ending with an afternoon mass on the Monday after Pentecost. The trek takes approximately 8,000-15,000 pilgrims from the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris, through the French countryside to the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Chartres. Participants brave the weather, blisters, and humble food and accommodations as an act of faith and an act of reparation in these modern times. My good friend Counter Cultural Father does it every year and usually writes a series of blogs recounting his experiences. He hasn't posted this year's yet, but keep checking his page for updates! I am generally excluded from joi...

I found an interesting German report here which suggests that Cardinal Sarah has failed to respond to Pope Francis' request to publicise his response to statements by the Cardinal on the Internet ( as outlined in this post from October 23rd ). The post suggests the deadline was discovered by research from Katholischen Nachrichten-Agentur ( KNA ) but I have not been able to verify this. As the Dom Radio report states, Pope Francis decree " Magnum Principium " specified that the national episcopal conferences are responsible for the translation of liturgical texts. The moto proprio said episcopal conferences need only confirm these translations with Rome. So if there is there a concern about the change, no alternative translations should be written. Cardinal Sarah, however, considers that the final decision should remain with Congregation for Divine Worship . At least that is the result of a post that Sarah let be published on the French Internet portal, L'Hom...

The 'corrections' continue to fly in Rome! A year after Pope Francis clashed with Cardinal Robert Sarah, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship, a new embarrassing public rebuke for the Cardinal emerged yesterday. In a letter , released by the Vatican on October 22, Pope Francis said he wanted to correct several points made in a “ commentary ,” which Cardinal Sarah sent him and which was published on several websites in a variety of languages. The Pope’s letter noted that most of the websites “erroneously” cited Cardinal Sarah as the author of the commentary. This is a strange comment from the Pope. How do we reconcile the fact that Cardinal Sarah wrote the commentary but the Pope seems to think he didn't? If Pope Francis thinks Cardinal Sarah did not write it, why write to him to correct him? *IMPORTANT UPDATE: Father Z offers an important clarification on this point here * The commentary looked at changes Pope Francis made to the Code of Canon Law in t...

S acra Liturgia has now published the full version of the paper that Cardinal Sarah delivered at his inaugural address at Sacra Liturgia 2016. He did not have time to deliver the full text on the day, and so what we have seen so far is an abridged version. The full text can be accessed the Sacra Liturgia website, here .

The most recent edition (June 3) of the French publication Famille Chrétienne has a lengthy interview with Cardinal Robert Sarah, Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments , part of which is available online (in French only). ++Sarah strikes me as just what we need more of at this time: a holy, prayerful and wise leader. While touching on several topics, the focus of the interview is liturgy and worship. As usual, Cardinal Sarah is both eloquent and direct, qualities that will be familiar to those who have read God or Nothing (Ignatius Press, 2015), the Cardinal's autobiographical interview with French journalist Nicholas Diat. As this weekend's edition of the Catholic Herald notes, Cardinal Sarah has become an authoritative voice due to his prayerful approach and evident love of the liturgy. In this interview, the Cardinal has unequivocally urged all priests to celebrate Mass facing east, saying: "As soon as we r...

Cardinal Péter Erdö This man, Cardinal Péter Erdö, is known for his efforts to combat secularisation. Much has been said about his opening speech at the Synod on the Family. In this important post , Damian Thompson explains:  Cardinal Péter Erdö is Primate of Hungary and a much-admired canon lawyer who received his red hat at the age of 51. He’s still only 63. As ‘general relator’ of the 2014 and 2015 synods, it has been his job to deliver an opening address setting out their goals. Though emollient in manner, he is unquestionably a conservative — but, last year, his speech was full of liberal platitudes. What went wrong? The journalist Edward Pentin claims in his book The Rigging of a Vatican Synod? that Erdö had his arm twisted by Baldisseri, who forced him to rewrite his 2014 address to make it more Francis-friendly. ‘Baldisseri wanted a lot of mercy, less truth,’ says Pentin’s source. This week, by contrast, Erdö gave the opening address that conservatives wer...