De Omnibus Dubitandum Est.

  Twelve years of an abusive papacy have ended and the relief among faithful Catholics is palpable. The world's media response is to wax lyrical about his humility and mercy, demonstrating both that they were not paying attention and that the Argentinian's efforts to disguise the Catholic Church's moral and social teaching was well received and successful amongst the secular mainstream. “If the world hates you, be aware that it hated me before it hated you. If you belonged to the world, the world would love you as its own. Because you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world—therefore the world hates you." (John 15:18 f ). The world LOVED Pope Francis. They loved that he was, at best, ambivalent, at worst, dead set against, Catholic teaching and morality and particularly sexual morality, which it felt like he never shut up about, constantly talking about LGBTQ, transgenderism, etc etc and not in a good way, in a way that hinted that the Church...

Overnight, Rome has been covered in fly posters like this one: The legend reads: <<Oi Frankie, you have emasculated Congregations, suspended priests, decapitated the Order of Malta and the Franciscans of the Immaculate, ignored Cardinals...But where is your mercy?>> Christians faced with the ravages of Bergoglio...Roma e' tappezzata - Rome is carpeted! A source told me that the posters near the Vatican have already been covered up; but they ARE ALL OVER ROME!! Newman, Letter to the Duke of Norfolk, Diff., II, 279-280  Here I am led to interpose a remark;—it is plain, then, that there are those near, or with access, to the Holy Father, who would, if they could, go much further in the way of assertion and command, than the divine Assistentia, which overshadows him, wills or permits; so {280} that his acts and his words on doctrinal subjects must be carefully scrutinised and weighed, before we can be sure what really he has...

There's lots of chatter regarding a new book by Austin Ivereigh. The story was first exposed by John Bingham of The Telegraph , but the import was really explained by Damian Thompson in The Spectator here . Ivereigh is a former deputy editor of The Tablet who later became Director for Public Affairs of the former Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor. He occasionally appears on radio and TV programmes to comment on stories involving the Church. He is also the founder and coordinator of Catholic Voices , a project which began in the UK to improve the Church's representation in the media, above all in news programs and debates. The drama revolves around the purported lobbying for votes before the conclave. Organised lobbying of the type that Ivereigh alleges took place is dangerous, because it is strongly discouraged by the Church’s rules. Although Damian suggests the story may, or may not be true, I personally think it is very likely that Iv...

This is a really interesting piece in the National Catholic Register well worth reading, especially for those who are concerned that Pope Francis' liturgical style contrasts somewhat with that of his predecessor.  As I have written previously , Pope Francis is not Pope Benedict, nor could he be. His background is very different and his life experiences have no doubt tempered his essential understanding of the efficacious nature of a life lived in relationship with Jesus Christ. The spiritual backdrop of South America is fascinating, and something I know precious little about (although I am reading about it now). Certainly the faith is vibrant and lived out with real integrity, although it perhaps could be said that it faces different challenges. In Europe and the West, we might consider apathy and atheism the great challenge of our time, whereas in South America, there is an undeniable social dimension, along with the challenge wrought by a vibrant and growing evangelical move...

I suppose it is only natural that after such a wonderful papacy as that of Benedict XVI, during which all those who know and care about the Apostolic faith felt truly safe and nurtured, that change is going to be unsettling. Of course this could not be more accurately related than through my own personal disquiet when Cardinal Bergoglio, unknown to me, stepped out onto the balcony after the Conclave. Our house was full, and I had been so animated about the process, every eye turned to me for exuberance at the choice made by the Conclave. Instead of joy they found uncertainty, worry, nervousness. Very quickly, I set to the task of finding out a little more about this man who is now our Pope, and my heart began to rise. He is erudite, he has integrity, but most importantly, he literally oozes faith. Despite our relative ignorance, there has been a real division evident over the last few days between a kind of triumphalism of more liberal factions in the Church, those who typi...

Habemus Papam! I've spent an rather exciting evening in front of the t.v. watching, first the white smoke issue from the chimney and then waiting to see who had been elected. I was completely shocked, I hadn't even considered that it might be Jorge Bergoglio, the self-effacing Jesuit from Argentina. Now I feel somewhat underwhelmed, having spent the last few weeks praying for Scola as my adopted Cardinal, and reading about Ouellet, Tagle, O'Malley. Then someone I haven't even heard of is elected: who is this man? When he came out onto the balcony I was a bit perplexed that he was not wearing the papal mozzetta and that he took off the papal stole immediately after giving the blessing. I was worried because it felt like an immediate repudiation of the liturgical return to signs and symbols which had been one of the hallmarks of Pope Benedict XVI's reign. I felt a bit panicked. However, after a couple of days of reading everything I can about Pope Francis, ...