The prodigal son effect: adult baptisms are booming in France
Fewer and fewer babies are being baptised, but more and more French adults are going to the baptismal font at Easter. Often they come from Christian families who chose not pass on the faith to them, and who rediscovered it for themselves after experiencing a void.
Frustrated by Rome, following the Lefebvrians is not the solution
Many faithful now attend the chapels of the St Pius X Priestly Fraternity, much like castaways in search of dry land, due to the serious crisis being experienced in the Church. But this is a mistake and stems from the confusion surrounding the real status of the Lefebvrians. The Daily Compass explains where the problems lie in a series of four instalments.
God, not man will save the Church
When confronted with the drift of the Church, there is a temptation to find refuge. But in the hour of the Passion Jesus did not teach to rebel, but to pray and watch. That is why we remain in the Church, which is Christ's, even accepting to die with her.
Benedict XVI shows the Church the way (not just in Germany)
In an interview with the periodical Herder Korrespondenz, Benedict XVI highlights the growing distance between the authentic ecclesial mission and the “institutional Church”, made up of bureaucracy and documents without “the heart and the spirit”. A situation that does not only concern the Church in Germany, but is more general and feeds “the exodus from the world of faith”. Recalling his precious year as chaplain in Bogenhausen, Ratzinger reminds us that God alone is the answer against totalitarianism, past and present.
The Church raises a wall against non-vaccinated persons
Access to Masses celebrated by the Pope in Slovakia is prohibited to those who are not vaccinated. And in Italy, the bishop’s daily newspaper launches a crusade against those who oppose mandatory vaccination. Fully espousing the pro-vaccination cause and the adoption of the Green pass, the Church of mercy that advocates tearing down all walls, is building one around the Mass.
Movements short leashed, freedom in the Church at all-time low
With the new papal decree imposing their democratisation, ecclesial movements are now reduced to associations and their charisms demeaned. This is a further stage in the process of constriction and standardisation that has already affected cloistered convents and even parishes. The large movements are now being regularised. Meanwhile, those movements that are nonconforming are under pressure and those that resist are being openly fought. Never before has there been such a wide range of organisations placed under external oversight, apostolic visits, centralisation of ecclesial power and fears of retaliation.
Let’s save ourselves from this horizontal Church.
Pastors have penned us in an asphyxiating, overly materialistic enclosure, where only migrants, the unemployed, and the poor are also found. They tell us that the true Christian is one who uses air conditioning sparingly in the summer, who pays their taxes and gets vaccinated. They have replaced charity with solidarity, justice with pietism. Thus our life’s purpose has the taste of a bitter end. But we can save ourselves by building Noah's arks to take on board those who want to live for Eternity.
Covid has exposed our lack of faith
The most incredible phenomenon of the Covid period is the worldwide restrictions on masses and access to churches. The fact of having accepted without even fighting to renounce what we hold dearest, the Eucharist, adds to the astonishment. It calls us to recognize our misery and embrace conversion. This is the only way to ensure that this time will not have been in vain.
