Let those who seek purity invoke Saint Joseph
Sins of the flesh are a great danger to the soul and, in spite of today's permissiveness, enslave man. In contrast, chastity, to which each person is called according to his or her state of life, is based on self-control and makes us free. It is linked to charity. And it has its natural patron in St Joseph, who is to be invoked against all carnal temptations.
Betraying the Seal of Confession, betrays Christ
If the French bishops had read the best fairy tales, they would never have made the fatal mistake of asking the "dragon's" allies to "help" them eradicate the scourge of child abuse. Priests in confession are not conducting a profession, but are part of a sacrament. To betray the Seal of Confession means to betray the sacrament and to betray the sacrament means to betray Christ Himself. Of course, the Church has few weapons to defend her libertas, but she still has martyrdom. Benedict XVI pointed to Saint Anselmo as an example.
French Church abuse: the assault on the Confessional seal begins
The meeting between the French Interior Minister and the president of the Bishops' Conference concluded with a directive: "Catholic priests must report the allegations of abuse they have heard in confession". The priestly vocation is defined as a profession and therefore the seal of Confessional is considered a professional secret. But, this is not the case. Rather what is emerging is that with the excuse of the report, totally ambiguous in the numbers and cases cited, an assault on the Church has commenced. Unfortunately, its response is weak.
Abuse, the French Church doesn’t see the blackmail traps
The findings of the Commission on sexual abuse in the French Church are serious, but the suspicion is the Church is being blackmailed: the high number of abuses is derived from estimates; the intervention of the frequenter of the Grand Lodge, Sauvé, who chaired the Commission on viri probati, is suspect because it omits the main cause: homosexuality. There is a risk that Confession will be affected.
French Church abuse, secularisation is the problem not the solution
Sexual abuse is a serious problem for the Catholic Church and just asking for forgiveness doesn’t suffice. It is essential to understand the causes but in accordance with the criteria of the Church, not the world’s. Instead, the church is headed in the opposite direction, promoting the very secularisation that is the cause of the collapse of morality.
German Synod attempts to abolish the priesthood
The Synodal Way has given the green light, with the majority of only one vote, to a further revision of the text "Priestly Existence Today", practically leaving open the debate on the abolition of the priesthood. For Cardinal Cordes this is a confirmation of the "heretical thrust". And a threat of schism that the Pope is called to face.
Bergoglio vs. Francis. A new concept of the papacy
Today the dominant Catholic theology holds that the Christian faith and the life of the Church is a historical process and that all life in the Spirit does not come from outside but passes through the concreteness of history. Remaining Bergoglio is therefore essential to being pope, because the papacy is not something that is "above" or "beyond" the man Bergoglio, but the Spirit opens up avenues of self-communication precisely from within that personal history.
The Legion of Mary, a legacy to be rediscovered
A hundred years have passed since the native Irish Frank Duff founded the Legion of Mary, a lay organization that today has over ten million members all over the world. Marked by a strong Marian spirituality, Duff's legacy is still evident in the works of mercy it provides to prisoners, prostitutes, the homeless, drug addicts. His idea of the mission of the laity in the Church both anticipated and was taken as a model by Vatican II. Yet Ireland and even Catholic circles seem to have forgotten this.
Civil unions "contrary to the common good". Signed Benedict
In his latest article - published in the collection “The True Europe. Identity and Mission”, with an introduction by Pope Francis - Ratzinger underlines the gravity of the legal approval of homosexual unions, which produces consequences "contrary to the common good". Laws to this effect clear the way for a concept that debases the dignity of man, reducing him to a "product", and is therefore against "the ecology of man", created in the image and likeness of God, and therefore sacrosanct. This text by the Pope Emeritus recalls the truth always taught by the Church, but forgotten in Bergoglio's recent in-flight press conference on his return from Slovakia.
The Sorrows of St Joseph, a means to glory
The devotion of the “Seven Sorrows and Seven Joys of St Joseph” helps us to meditate on some of the greatest mysteries of the hidden life of Jesus, from the inner perspective of Mary's spouse. Venerable Mary of Ágreda recounts how he suffered various infirmities for several years before he died, passing on to us two great lessons: how to endure illness and the exercise of charity towards the sick.
And in Slovakia the Pope rehabilitates “gay” bishop
Pope Francis' visit to Slovakia ended with the rehabilitation in public opinion of the former bishop of Trnava, Robert Bezák, who was deposed by Benedict XVI in 2012 and also accused of having created a network of homosexual priests. Embarrassment at the Bishops' Conference.
Mary is the Eucharistic woman, we should imitate Her
«The Mother of God is the first living tabernacle in history. She carried Jesus in her womb and handed him over to men, as their path to holiness and nourishment in their lives.... Modern man is lost precisely because he no longer dedicates time to prayer, particularly to silent prayer... Let’s ask Jesus in the Eucharist to fill us with His presence and to make us tabernacles of His body in our daily lives, just as the Virgin Mary was». Excerpts from an homily at the International Eucharistic Congress in Budapest.
