De Omnibus Dubitandum Est.

Vaticanista Sandro Magister has obtained some very interesting inside information from the Cardinals. He writes : "Since the beginning of Lent the cardinals who will elect the future pope have been passing this memorandum around. Its author, who goes by the name of Demos, “people” in Greek, is unknown, but shows himself a thorough master of the subject. It cannot be ruled out that he himself is a cardinal." This is the text with my comments : THE VATICAN TODAY Commentators of every school, if for different reasons, with the possible exception of Father Spadaro, SJ, agree that this pontificate is a disaster in many or most respects; a catastrophe. [that in itself is a sign of hope!] 1. The Successor of St. Peter is the rock on which the Church is built, a major source and cause of worldwide unity. Historically (St. Irenaeus), the Pope and the Church of Rome have a unique role in preserving the apostolic tradition, the rule of faith, in ensuring that the Churches continue to t...

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...

My Parish Priest, Father Kevin Hale, did an wonderful job of explaining last Sunday's difficult Gospel as I noted in Sunday's Scripture reflection . Obviously I prepare my reflections over the week and so it was unusual to post one after I had been to Mass and heard my priest's homily. He is an excellent preacher and always has a take on the readings that gives me something extra to think about, even though I have spent a considerable amount of time each week reflecting and reading about the Scripture. I asked him if I could share a transcript of his homily with you all: I hope none of you ever have to experience a trial by fire. A dear friend recently almost died in a house fire, a pious woman, she went to bed after her nightly devotions and left a candle alight. It turned into a blaze. Fortunately her Guardian Angel was working overtime and she got out of the house before it was too late. Whilst the damage done to the property was not irreparable it was certainly all pe...

"Thy word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path."  Ps 119:105 Welcome to this, the fifty-sixth of my reflections on the theology of the Sunday readings at Mass. A bit late, due to my wifi-less holiday, but I figure, better late than never! I have undertaken this project, regularly posting background information on the readings at Sunday Mass as part of my own prayer life. I have found it helps me to do a little study before I go to Mass about the readings, what the theme of the week is, how it follows on from the previous week's readings and what is being said. In sharing this, I hope to help you too get more from the Bible and Sunday Scripture readings. Perhaps it might give you confidence in the value and legitimacy of the Bible, or perhaps it might inspire you to pray the Divine Office or investigate the weekly readings for yourself. I see this as very clearly part of what the Church teaches about the Bible: This heaven-sent treasure Holy Churc...

Bouna Festa! I must apologise for my obvious mistake with my Sunday Scripture reflection this week, as Fr. Jeff called me yesterday to ask why I had posted for the thirteenth Sunday when the Catholic Church in the UK will be celebrated Sts. Peter and Paul, carried over from Saturday. Still, my non-UK readers would not have been confused whereas they would have been if I'd posted the correct readings. As I listened to the readings today I did feel a pang though, as I would like to have thought and studied a bit about these fascinating readings, especially the fantastic and miraculous story from Acts which formed the First Reading. Of course, the Gospel story today was the same as last week's, with the profession of Peter, albeit from Matthew's Gospel this week instead of Luke's. I did cover a bit of both last week  talking about the fact that Jesus called Peter "Rock" Cephas (Greek: Κηφᾶς) or Kepha (Hebrew: כיפא‎) both meaning the same thing. The Prote...

Father Dom surprised me with a text from St. Peter's Square yesterday morning. He was in a "vast" queue for Wednesday's Udienza with Papa Francesco. I asked if it wouldn't have been easier to simply turned up for Mass at the Chapel in Casa Santa Marta, but apparently our intrepid Redemptorist said Mass at some ungodly hour in St. Peter's. Dom couldn't get over how many people were there, the square was heaving, Dom estimated between 200-250,000 people jostling in the hot sun to catch a glimpse of Papa Francesco. Here's a picture he took as the Pope went past. It is a powerful witness, I think, that so many want to meet this man. A good sign. I think Fr. Dom is planning to pop in and have tea with the Holy Father today. I hope he asks him for a good new bishop for Brentwood, and as he doesn't seem all that bothered about the Papal Tiara, I know a certain priest who would make excellent use of it!

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, ...