De Omnibus Dubitandum Est.

  One of the most disturbing things about the present Pope is how often and how easily he says disturbing things. Things that just catch you and make you wince because they appear to be clearly at odds with the Catholic faith. At General Audience, Pope Francis asks two questions: "Do I live in the fear that if I don't do this or that I will go to hell?"; and "Do I despise the Commandments? No. I observe them, but not as absolutes, because I know that what justifies me is Jesus Christ." pic.twitter.com/nY7kRoon17 — Catholic Sat (@CatholicSat) August 18, 2021 I was quite scandalised when I saw this because the Ten Commandments form a basic outline of Christian morality as I have always understood it. My initially reaction was to wonder in what way the Commandments are "not absolutes"? Though shalt not kill? Thou shalt not commit adultery? What is the Pope on about here? The Decalogue is the Ten Words of Freedom which highlight the outer limits of what is...

By Heinrich Hofmann - Riverside Church, New York, Public Domain, Link So last week we found out for sure that anyone who is trying to advance an orthodox interpretation of Amoris Laetitia is at odds with the Pope. Edward Pentin noted that ++Baldisseri has written on behalf of Pope Francis to thank Malta's bishops for their guidelines on Ch. 8 of Amoris Laetitia . Still think Pope Francis isn't trying to undermine Church teaching? Last week I had a discussion on Twitter with Scott Smith, an Australian Blogger and Fr Paul Keller , a Tanzanian Priest, who were both trying to convince me that a). The Pope does clearly want to change Church teaching and b). There is a legitimacy to his direction (in other words it can be accepted as an orthodox direction). This discussion was interesting because it differed from the usual conversations around criticism of Pope Francis in that the usual pro-Francis advocate argues that the Pope is not trying to change Church t...

The problem with Amoris Laetitia is that it subtly opens the door to being interpreted in contradiction to Familiaris Consortio . However many have pointed out that there is a more problematic dimension to the Apostolic Exhortation, namely it's failure to reference Veritatis Splendor , Pope St John Paul II's authoritative Encyclical which addresses the fundamental technical questions of Moral Theology and condemns utilitarianism and relativism. This encyclical, on the foundations of Catholic moral teaching, is the principal magisterial document on the moral life since the Council of Trent. As Fr de Souza pointed out recently: "Ignoring Veritatis Splendor is like writing about the nature of the Church and not making reference to the teaching of Vatican II’s dogmatic constitution on the Church, Lumen Gentium ." Perhaps of most import in this context is the third part of Veritatis Splendor which is entitled “Lest the Cross of Christ Be Emptied of Its Powe...

Further to my comments yesterday regarding Prof. Tina Beattie's controversial and open dissent, I wanted to look deeper at the problem to illustrate that I am not just being rude about an individual, but rather, I feel, undertaking an important critique of an untenable Catholic position. The point is not to attack an individual, but to demonstrate that for such academic positions to remain unchallenged and unclarified by those who's duty it is to shepherd the faithful, constitutes the source of a great deal of our malaise in the Church. As I stated yesterday, at the most basic level it seems obvious that our unity is utterly dependent on our common profession of faith. When we compromise the integrity of that professed faith, unity ceases to be a reality. Theologians like Beattie have attempted to assimilate post-modern ideas into Catholic theology in an attempt to help the faithful feel more comfortable in the "real" world. The demonstrable reality is that ...

I thought this video from Fr. Paul Nicholson provided a very clear explanation of where we are right now. He explains the work done by Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI as well as what is going on right now and how we should react: "The voice of the faithful must sound the alarm!!"

When I was a young chap, I spent a great deal of time in Lourdes working with the sick and handicapped. These trips, sometimes twice a year, at Easter and summer, presented an opportunity for me, as I saw it, to put my faith into practice. Looking back on it, especially in the context of the study I have done since, I very much see this as part of my search for the true meaning of Christianity. I am Christian by birth, but what does that mean in terms of assent? If I was not born Christian, would I choose Christ? If I did, what would draw me to dedicate my life to the Catholic Church? At the time, the best answer I could find was to give up my time, money, pursuit of my career, more worldly friendships, and follow Christ in the most vivid, practical way open to me. I saw this as inspired by St. Francis of Assisi's radical discipleship, the best model of Jesus' call (Mt 4:19; 8:22; 9:9; 19:21; Mk 2:14; Lk 5:27). As a young man, these words of Jesus bothered me incessan...

CNS reports Pope Francis at his weekly public audience in St. Peter's Square yesterday, elaborated on his previous week's talk on the subject of the "church as mother." The Pope said the Church should approach its members with the face of a patient, merciful and understanding mother, who always forgives her erring children and never ceases to pray that they resume the path of Christian living. "I like this image very much," he said, "because I think it tells us not only how the Church is, but also what sort of face the Church, this Church of ours, should have, more so every day." A mother teaches her children the right way of life "with tenderness, with affection, with love," he said, because she "didn't learn it from books, but learned it from her own heart." "The university of mammas is the heart itself," the pope said, in one of several uses of the informal Italian term "mamma." Pope F...