Accompany without conversion: Belgian bishops' like the Germans
The ad limina visit is now the pretext to endorse the overturning of faith and morals accompanied by (Roman) pats on the back. To clear the way for the blessing of homosexual couples, Cardinal De Kesel relies on the words of Philippe Bordeyne, president of the John Paul II Institute, in the name of an openness to everything – except conversion.
Taiwanese minister: "China persecutes Christians, even after Vatican agreement"
"Not only the Vatican but the entire international community must think about religious freedom in China," says Taiwanese Foreign Minister Jaushieh Joseph Wu in this exclusive interview for the Daily Compass. There is no sign the Vatican wants to break off relations with Taiwan. And the matter of religious freedom in China is a very serious issue because persecution continues, despite the agreement between Beijing and the Vatican.
Father Andrasz: another confessor of St Faustina Kowalska destined for sainthood
After Blessed Michał Sopoćko, the process of beatification in Poland has also begun for Father Jozef Andrasz. He was the first spiritual director of the Saint of Mercy and also her last; he was often mentioned by Sister Faustina in her famous Diary. He was an important figure in spreading the cult of the Divine Mercy. Vice-postulator Father Mariusz Balcerak talks about him.
World Cup in Qatar: Infantino's unbridled hypocrisy
Yesterday's opening match between Qatar and Ecuador should not overshadow the controversy triggered by FIFA president Gianni Infantino's statements on the eve of the World Cup. Beyond the sporting aspects, priority must be given to the moral ones. For Italy, it is a good thing not to participate in what will go down in history as the World Cup of corruption, terrorism and human rights violations.
From Jewish to Catholic, actor Gad Elmaleh recounts his conversion in a film
The release of Reste un peu (stay with us) in France, in which the famous French-Moroccan comedian describes how the Virgin Mary accompanied him on his long journey of conversion, is sparked by controversy, especially in the Jewish world. There’s the value of Lourdes and the example of Cardinal Jean-Marie Lustiger, also a converted Jew. And an appeal to Catholics: do not be shy about your faith.
8 billion people and there’s still room for many more
The milestone of eight billion inhabitants on Earth has been the trigger to instil the usual fear of overpopulation. But the world is not overpopulated, simply the neo-Malthusians are imposing unfounded and specious rules (on agriculture, energy, food) to prevent development and decrease the population. They are the ones we have to fear.
Absolution is not an absolute right
The recent words of Pope Francis in an impromptu speech, in which he calls priests who do not always give absolution "delinquents", deny what the Church has always prescribed: there are cases in which the priest has the duty to deny or defer absolution: it is denied when there is no real repentance, it is deferred when there are well-founded doubts about it.
Contraception: Paglia reopens the front: “Change is possible”
Could the doctrine on contraception be subject to change? For Monsignor Paglia, it needs to be considered,"the day will come when the Pope will do it". The PAV president's disconcerting interview with The Tablet refers to Civiltà Cattolica's hopes for an encyclical that would definitively surpass Humanae Vitae. It’s a concentration of pathetic responses, polls and dissent confusedly piled up and passed off as doctrine. And even the non-ideological pro-life neologism is invented.
Without Africans, no "plan" for Africa will work
The Pope and Giorgia Meloni, Italy’s new elected Prime Minister, relaunch cooperation with Europe and Italy to solve the problems of the black continent. This proposal is not new but inadequate as long as we forget that terrorism and migrants also come from Asia and we take for granted Africans are incapable, in the face of a Europe that struggles to help itself.
Show me your lectern and I’ll predict how you will govern
From Tony Blair's wheeled shelf to Boris Johnson's chunky podium until Rishi Sunak's recycled wood: a curious British tradition grants every prime minister a personalised lectern for their first speech in front of 10 Downing Street. It’s also a way to read their style of government. But the most famous debut, without a lectern, was Margaret Thatcher ...
The “Mazzucato case”: Vatican no longer considers faith a virtue
On his return from Bahrain Pope Francis justifies the appointment of Mariana Mazzucato to the Pontifical Academy for Life. The appointment is paradoxical because of the professor's pro-abortion statements and atheism, but for the Pope it is "a fresh breath of humanity". Yet, up to Benedict XVI, atheism was deemed detrimental to mankind and society.
“And the Word became ideology”. At the Synod a falsified Church
The Working Document for the Synod on Synodality, presented on October 27, is a reiteration of the typical phrasing of the pseudo-Christian ideology with which the Church hierarchies continually hammer the faithful: inclusiveness, Church without doors, rejection of the division between believers and non-believers.
