Reflections from the pastoral ministry of an Evangelical Catholic Priest.
31 October, 2018
30 October, 2018
29 October, 2018
28 October, 2018
If bishops’ summit was ‘rigged’ on synodality, one question: So what?
I guess it all depends on what one means by 'synodality'. It seems to be hard to capture a definitive definition as it is to nail Jello to the wall!! Evidently, it's one of those words that means different things to different people.
If bishops’ summit was ‘rigged’ on synodality, one question: So what?
If bishops’ summit was ‘rigged’ on synodality, one question: So what?
27 October, 2018
26 October, 2018
25 October, 2018
24 October, 2018
Catholic leaders enter final week of debate on how to receive LGBT churchgoers
Really? I thought this was the final week of debate on how to address the needs of youth in the Roman Catholic Church. Does Fox News think that all youth belong in the LGBT envelope?
Catholic leaders enter final week of debate on how to receive LGBT churchgoers | Fox News
Catholic leaders enter final week of debate on how to receive LGBT churchgoers | Fox News
23 October, 2018
22 October, 2018
21 October, 2018
Hymn of the week: "Abide With Me"
The links in this story provide a couple of video versions of this wonderful hymn, but I believe the best rendition was done by Emeli Sandé during the opening ceremony of the London Summer Olympics.
20 October, 2018
19 October, 2018
18 October, 2018
17 October, 2018
16 October, 2018
15 October, 2018
14 October, 2018
13 October, 2018
Why the Catholic Church's Current Crisis Is the Worst Since the Reformation
Massimo Faggioli, the author of this article starts out strong in his analysis of the parallels between the Reformation crisis of the 16th century and the sexual abuse scandals of today, but unfortunately, he goes off the rails once he gets into delineating the two competing Catholic visions held within the Church today. In the quote below, he confuses the neo-conservative movement in the United States with those of us who work for the promulgation and promotion of orthodoxy in moral matters:
Where conservative-traditionalist Catholics tend to oppose to (sic) any legislation decriminalizing abortion, progressives usually favor decriminalization coupled with measures that offer women alternatives designed to limit the number of abortions as much as possible. Conservatives tend to oppose universal access to health care and favor the unrestricted right to bear arms for civilians, while progressives favor the former and push for gun control. The two camps also have opposing views on the death penalty and on Francis’ recent change to the Catechism declaring capital punishment “inadmissible.” In general, conservatives favor shrinking government, while progressives see government services and public authorities as essential to promote the common good in civil society. These political rifts between the two Catholic camps have never been deeper in modern times, especially in the Western world.
Having proffered a parody of orthodox voices concerned with the direction that Pope Francis is leading the faithful, he then jumps to a false conclusion that these 'two camps' are irreconcilable. As a result, he can see nothing more than decades and decades of warfare between them.
He is also wrong in his prediction for how the Papacy will 'evolve' during this time of conflict. He states that Vatican II:
But don't take my word for it. Click on the link and read the article for yourself and come to your own conclusion as to the merits or lack thereof of Faggioli's argument.
Why the Catholic Church's Current Crisis Is the Worst Since the Reformation
Where conservative-traditionalist Catholics tend to oppose to (sic) any legislation decriminalizing abortion, progressives usually favor decriminalization coupled with measures that offer women alternatives designed to limit the number of abortions as much as possible. Conservatives tend to oppose universal access to health care and favor the unrestricted right to bear arms for civilians, while progressives favor the former and push for gun control. The two camps also have opposing views on the death penalty and on Francis’ recent change to the Catechism declaring capital punishment “inadmissible.” In general, conservatives favor shrinking government, while progressives see government services and public authorities as essential to promote the common good in civil society. These political rifts between the two Catholic camps have never been deeper in modern times, especially in the Western world.
Having proffered a parody of orthodox voices concerned with the direction that Pope Francis is leading the faithful, he then jumps to a false conclusion that these 'two camps' are irreconcilable. As a result, he can see nothing more than decades and decades of warfare between them.
He is also wrong in his prediction for how the Papacy will 'evolve' during this time of conflict. He states that Vatican II:
had very little success in reforming the institutional structure of the church and papacy. Although the proposals coming from the bishops at Vatican II for radical changes in the Roman Curia (the central government of the church) were carefully listened to by Paul VI (himself a creature of the Roman Curia), he ultimately decided to withdraw the agenda from Vatican II. The sex abuse crisis today stems in large part from 50 years of a papal office rejecting any proposal for decentralizing or modernizing a Roman Curia whose structure has changed little since its foundation in 1588, in the period immediately following the Council of Trent.So in his opinion, it has been the failure of the Pontiff to decentralize the workings of the Church that has led to our current troubled state. Yet he offers no evidence to substantiate his correlation of these two events. Put simply, he conflates correlation with causation and then uses his logical error to promote his own favorite hobby horse cause of stripping the Papacy and the Curia of their traditional role of establishing proper doctrine and teaching and leaving it to local churches to confront the issues that the Church faces in the 21st century with their own initiatives and propositions. Such a direction would simply strip the faithful of the graces that flow from the Petrine office and lead to a patchwork quilt of different teachings in different corners of the world. In such a scenario, the center could not hold and the Church would be dealt a potentially fatal body blow emperiling her mission as the Barque of salvation intended to bring the faithful to our promised salvation and redemption.
But don't take my word for it. Click on the link and read the article for yourself and come to your own conclusion as to the merits or lack thereof of Faggioli's argument.
Why the Catholic Church's Current Crisis Is the Worst Since the Reformation
12 October, 2018
Same-sex mice have babies - Another step closer to Armageddon
"[The research] may even lead to the development of ways for same-sex couples to reproduce healthy children of their own," she says. But she points out there are "significant ethical and safety concerns that would need to be overcome". (emphasis added)
Ya think? How about just recognizing that this is ethically wrong and not worry about 'overcoming' the ethical prohibitions?
Same-sex mice have babies - BBC News
Same-sex mice have babies - BBC News
11 October, 2018
10 October, 2018
09 October, 2018
08 October, 2018
‘The devil IS alive and undermining Catholic Church’ warns Pope.
THE devil is alive and well and working overtime to undermine the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Francis has declared as he appeals to Catholics to pray to stop the devil.
‘The devil IS alive and undermining Catholic Church’ warns Pope | World | News | Express.co.uk
‘The devil IS alive and undermining Catholic Church’ warns Pope | World | News | Express.co.uk
07 October, 2018
06 October, 2018
05 October, 2018
04 October, 2018
03 October, 2018
02 October, 2018
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- Pope Francis's Catholic Church Crisis
- Letters From the Synod-2018: #14
- The difference between legal and moral explained i...
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- The history of incense and why it’s used at Mass
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- Letters From the Synod-2018: #13
- The Orthodox Schism and the Spiritual Limits of Po...
- Astronomers find most massive structure in the ear...
- 'I believe the Lord wants a change in the Church’:...
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- Letters From the Synod-2018: #12
- Is It Morally Licit to Smoke Pot?
- John Paul II, Youth Minister by George Weigel
- Synod Father: Teach Life Issues With Greater Clari...
- Catholic Clergy Should Elect Its Own Bishops
- Letters From the Synod-2018: #11
- "No One Dies Alone" program comforts the lonely in...
- Seven Notable Points From Cardinal Ouellet’s ‘Viga...
- Interceding for Others by Praying the Rosary
- New Bible aims to bridge the Catholic ‘scripture gap’
- Letters From the Synod-2018: #10
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- The Pope Ignores the Damage as Another Prelate Falls
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- Letters From the Synod-2018: #9
- Pope Francis Is Hedging on Catholic Sex-Abuse Crisis
- Pope Paul VI, Oscar Romero named saints by Pope Fr...
- Paul VI and the Canonization of Vatican II
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- Letters From the Synod-2018: #7
- After early votes, it's clear Pope Francis has 'hi...
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