De Omnibus Dubitandum Est.

  Bishop Mutsaerts asks perhaps the most important & most awkward question about the Synod on Synodality: where are the fruits? Not more committees, consultations or documents, but conversions, vocations, stronger Catholic families, fuller churches, better catechesis, greater reverence for the Eucharist and a clearer proclamation of Jesus Christ. This is surely the test by which every programme of ecclesial renewal must ultimately be judged. Synodality can be a means by which the Church listens & discerns, but once the process itself becomes the object of endless discussion, there is a danger that the Church becomes preoccupied with the mechanics of travelling together while losing sight of the destination. The criticism from the beginning was that this was naval gazing; the Church looking inward instead of outward. Mutsaerts’ Emmaus analogy is particularly powerful: Christ walks with the disciples and listens to them, but He does not merely affirm what they already think. ...

This week, Pope Leo XIV has summoned the entire College of Cardinals to Rome for an Extraordinary Consistory — his first since ascending to the Chair of Peter. On the surface, the official agenda looks familiar: synodality, evangelisation, Curial reform, a renewed reading of Evangelii Gaudium and Praedicate Evangelium. The language would not have been out of place a decade ago. But appearances can be deceiving. What matters just as much as what is being discussed is how it is being discussed. For the first time in years, all cardinals are being asked to participate in sustained, structured consultation rather than observing from the sidelines while decisions emerge elsewhere. It is quite extraordinary to think that the last real extraordinary consistory (with the exception of a meeting in August 2022) dates back to February 2014. Interesting fact: Prevost, in the Sacred College since 2023, will be among the "first-timers" at this consistory he has called! That fact alone ...

"Anyone who creates confusion alienates people from the Church... I would like to say to the bishops of other countries: do not make this mistake, do not make our mistake. In parishes where the faith is well proclaimed & the liturgy is celebrated with dignity, churches are full." -Cardinal Willem Jacobus Eijk I wonder who he is talking about? In this interview with Cardinal Eijk (papabille??) notes that despite a 2022 survey of the Dutch which showed that, for the first time, more than 50 percent of the population identified themselves as atheists or agnostics, he sees green shoots and remains hopeful. The Netherlands was once considered the avant-garde of the Catholic Church, but that direction has only brought apostasy and decline. Cardinal Ejik makes a clear diagnosis: this is the dictatorship of relativism. He explains: "Secularisation started with the growth of prosperity. It enabled people to live individually, detached from the community. Individuals put the...

There's been loads to write about as the debacle of #SinodoAmazonico  is unleashed on us this week, but if I am honest, I'm not sure I have the stomach for it - it really is just too distressing. The only thing is, I do feel duty bound to record the circus for posterity I suppose, but before I do, please say a prayer for our wonderful priests, many of whom - I know - are suffering terribly through all this, as are all the faithful. I hope you will join me in praying fervently, fasting and offering sacrifices for all this. There was an interesting moment before the weekend when Cardinal Ouellet came out questioning the direction of the Amazon synod: Recommended reading: https://t.co/fvu5zNTQrQ Cardinal Ouellet speaks about the need for the Church to deepen its understanding of the tradition of priestly celibacy. — Hannah Brockhaus (@HannahBrockhaus) October 3, 2019 On Saturday the World Catholic Movement for Climate (GCCM) & REPAM (Pan-Amazonian Ecclesial Network...

Have a look at this extract from the final message of 2012 Synod of Bishops: We do not ignore the fact that today the family, established in the marriage of a man and of a woman which makes them “one flesh” (Matthew 19:6)  open to life , is assaulted by crises everywhere. It is surrounded by models of life that penalize it and neglected by the politics of society of which it is also the fundamental cell. It is not always respected in its rhythms and sustained in its tasks by ecclesial communities.  It is precisely this, however, that impels us to say  that we must particularly take care of the family and its mission   in society and in the Church,  Source:  http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/synod/documents/rc_synod_doc_20121026_message-synod_en.html Now, ask yourself……as a result of the 2014/2015 synods on the family … do you NOW FEEL the support of and “particular care” of the Church that the pope and church pledged only 3 years ago???? …...

His Excellency Bishop Athanasius Schneider, one of the most visible prelates working on the restoration of the traditional Latin Mass and faith, has penned a nearly 5,000-word response to the Synod exclusively for readers of Rorate Caeli . RC have generously allowed anyone to republish the text in full. In it, Bishop Schneider, who has become well known for his orthodoxy over many years and who I have blogged about before , analyses the Final Report of the Synod and expresses some serious concerns with what some are referring to as one of the most critical events in Church history. The Bishop sees this synod as providing a "back door" to Holy Communion for adulterers, a rejection of Christ's teaching and a Final Report full of "time bombs." And he is not alone in his conclusions. Ultimately, capitulation to secular morality has been pursued by many churches and, though such pursuit was anticipated as a means to encourage more liberal-leaning church-...