Faithful obliged not to follow Pope’s opinion on gay civil unions
What Pope Francis said about homosexual civil unions is devoid of truth and, therefore, false. It does not force believers to accept what he said, even if coming straight from the pope himself. Quite the contrary: faithful are obliged to think the opposite, even if the current pope does not say so, because every other pope before him has said so. Catholic faithful must not feel uneasy about refusing this erroneous teaching which upends natural and divine law, rejects natural ethics, and upsets notions of law and authority by confusing them with power.
Pope's declarations on gay unions demand Bishops clarify Catholic teaching
A statement of Cardinal Leo Burke. "The worldwide communications media have reported with strong emphasis, as a change of course, the news that Pope Francis has declared that persons in the homosexual condition, as children of God, 'have a right to have a family' and that 'no one should be thrown out or be made unhappy because of it'. Moreover, they write that he has declared: 'What we have to create is a civil union. In this way they will be legally covered. I have defended this'. The context and the occasion of such declarations make them devoid of any magisterial weight. They are rightly interpreted as simple private opinions. It is a source of deepest sadness and pressing pastoral concern that the private opinions reported with so much emphasis by the press and attributed to Pope Francis do not correspond to the constant teaching of the Church".
Order of Malta: the professed knights’ revolt
It’s a harsh letter signed by several professed knights of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta against attempts to impose a secularising reform of the order. The letter represents the latest episode of open war waged within the Order since 2017, when its Grand Master was forced to resign by Pope Francis.
The enemy of Chinese Catholics is in Rome
Cardinal Zen, Hong Kong’s emeritus bishop, blasts a recent speech by the Vatican’s Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin. In a personal blog post, Zen urges the truth be told about the Catholic Church in China, which concerns all Catholics around the world.
Fratelli Tutti: Magisterium, needle in a haystack of opinions
The faithful are called to give their assent and religious submission to the pronouncements of the Magisterium, but once again in Fratelli Tutti the Magisterium does not carry out its task, and almost the entire encyclical is a string of opinions and ideas that, while they may be interesting, fall in the category of opinions.
Carlo Acutis proclaimed blessed to help the young believe
Tomorrow, in the Upper Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi, Carlo Acutis will be proclaimed blessed. Already called the patron saint of Internet, this young Milanese teenager excelled in using the new means of communication for the good of souls, for the Kingdom of God. The secret that took him right to paradise, however, was one alone, and more than ever real: exclusive love for the Eucharist, the living Heart of Jesus.
Fratelli tutti, religious freedom without Christ
Fratelli tutti omits the primary affirmation of one true religion by bending both the Church and freedom to a temporal dimension. It ushers in the relativisation of the Christian faith and promotes the idea that the Gospel is one of the sources of inspiration for attaining universal brotherhood. Thus the Church takes its place among the architects of a world without Christ.
Fratelli tutti, a vision in contrast with John Paul II
We’d like to compare the vision of "Fratelli tutti" with the homily delivered by St. John Paul II at the beginning of his pontificate, when he cried out “Open wide the doors to Christ”. These are two completely different visions, and Pope Francis’ encyclical marks a break in continuity with the social encyclicals prior to it. What is the simple person in the pew supposed to think and do?
Fratelli Tutti: much ado about (mostly) nothing
Pope Francis’s new encyclical Fratelli Tutti, strikes us less for the themes it deals with, or the various reflections and suggested courses of action, and more for the perplexity it creates about the true usefulness of documents written in this way. A 200-page encyclical poses several problems of content that should be properly considered, but above all else, it raises the question of why it is necessary to publish a such a lengthy document.
Becciu, Zen reveal the crisis of faith in pastors
The image of the Church that is emerging these past few days, after Cardinal Becciu's sacking, is anything but edifying. But more than the corruption, what is creating scandal is the inability of our pastors to judge all this in light of the faith. We don’t need popes and bishops who are good politicians and economists, we need holy pastors.
Cardinal Zen's last cry for China and Hong Kong
On the eve of renewing the "secret" agreement between China and the Vatican, Cardinal Joseph Zen, Bishop Emeritus of Hong Kong, spent four days in Rome in the hope of meeting Pope Francis to update him on the situation in Hong Kong and the Catholic Church in China. Zen, did not receive a response from the Holy Father. He told the Daily Compass: "I have come to warn [the pope] that the appointment of a pro-Chinese government bishop in Hong Kong would spell disaster for decades to come." Regarding the Holy See’s agreement with China he said: "The idea of striking accords with Beijing is insane. It's like trying to make a pact with the devil. There’s no grounds for dialogue whatever the argument.
Ongoing Vatican purge forces out another top cardinal
Cardinal Angelo Becciu's ouster is just the latest purge of top Holy See officials during Pope Francis’s pontificate. Purges worthy of South American military juntas which evade telling the whole truth and protect those still on the winning team.
