De Omnibus Dubitandum Est.

  The Pillar has an interview with Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone in which he gives a beautiful exposition of Church teaching regarding many of the difficult issues we face in society today.  Would that we had such clarity from the Vatican!! Salvatore Cordileone is the Archbishop of San Francisco, without doubt the hub of homosexuality in the USA. He is someone I have had the privilege of meeting .  He has to walk a difficult line, especially given the demographic he works within. One could see how, even if he were a silent administrator, he would be hated just because he represents the Catholic Church. When I met him, he explained that you're damned if you do and damned if you don't. In this interview he defends Church teaching providing some much needed clarity. I want to say "bravely defends" but, lets face it, this is just what all bishops should be doing. He says: "the Church’s teachings on sexuality are profoundly protective, not punitive. Just look at th...

Jesus met with all kinds of sinners. He met with them to call them to repentance.  We know this, it is what the Church exists for. I have discussed here, previously , how I can recognise the way in which the pope, perhaps, considers meeting public sinners an imitation of Christ. He could well consider it the very work of mercy and charity to reach out to the marginalised and despised. The key and obvious difference, it seems to me, is that where Christ offered sinners who knew their sinful position the hope of salvation through repentance, the pope seems to never require any renunciation of the often open and blatant attacks proffered by those he meets. Instead he seems to promote them and their ideas. Quite literally in some cases !  Who could forget the  numerous scandalous reports from Eugene Scalfari , a nonagenarian Atheist Italian reporter? there's his friendship with Emma Bonino , Italian abortionist.More moral relativism from the Argentine Pontiff! On March 21, 20...

 On Instagram, thebasiccatholic has shared some very interesting information. So what we have here is an eye witness account of the reality of the Synod on Synodality. All the discussion from faithful Catholics leading up to this synod has been puzzling over why, given the clear and documented lack of faith and formation among the general Catholic population ( just of of many recent examples here ), Rome would seek to consult lay people and even non-Catholics ( see no. 6 here ) about the direction the Church should take. Revitalise it how? By walking away from Church teachings? We have seen that modelled in numerous Protestant denominations and we know the result is irrelevance and oblivion . It is widely recognised that the majority of baptised Catholics are not practising, and, of those that are practising, only a small minority are able to articulate their faith with any clarity. Given this reality, it seems a forgone conclusion what any survey will reveal: the lack of belief i...

One of the things I have really noticed lately is that, as the hierarchy melts into meaningless apathy, terrified of Francis, the Dictator Pope, lay people are stepping into the void. They are standing up for the faith that they love and they are speaking out, in place of the bishops, against the struggles that we face as Catholic families every day. People like One of Nine  Robert Nugent Brian Holdsworth Katherine Bennett Tim Gordon And, probably my current favourite; Trent Horn . All these producers are providing an invaluable service by creating and contributing to a vibrant online Catholic community, sharing the beauty of truth and discussing issues that are interesting and appropriate to Catholics.  Sadly we see our bishops addressing these issues less and less, and crapping on about climate change and illegal immigration more and more. A MASSIVE issue facing Catholic families is the LGBTQI+ political ideology which is an avalanche of wrong-headed madness being foisted on...

When t he story broke about the Archdiocese of Southwark standing up for children in Catholic Schools, I recognised this could be a crunch point for Catholic education in the UK. The pressure on Catholic schools has been slowly increasing, just as it did before Catholic adoption agencies were forced to close . The problem is, Catholic Schools face an enemy on the inside: teachers who are antagonistic to the Catholic ethos they agree to promote. Faced with a forced closure on Thursday, due to striking staff who said they were “fighting for inclusive education” and against a “very concerning precedent for LGBT rights and representation in schools”, the Archdiocese has come out fighting! Writing in The Catholic Network , Joseph Kelly says : It seems hard to accept that the school chose to emphasise simply that this was an obviously well-known and talented new writer, without giving any thought to the material he represented. Kelly continues: it is perfectly in order for a Catholic schoo...

  The anonymous Cardinal Demos, in his recently circulated memo , pointed out the blatant heresy of Cardinal Hollerich and that that blatant heresy has gone without papal correction: Cardinal Hollerich rejects the Christian teaching on sexuality. The Papacy is silent. This is doubly significant because the Cardinal is explicitly heretical; he does not use code or hints. If the Cardinal were to continue without Roman correction, this would represent another deeper breakdown of discipline, with few (any?) precedents in history. The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith must act and speak. Demos also points out the error of the German bishops and the silence of the Pope on this breach of unity, He expresses how the silence of the Pope is emphasised by contrasting it to his crack down on the Latin Mass. In the absence of any leadership from Rome, the scattered flock are lost and confused. No doubt, Demos is not the only one who is concerned, hence the international coalition of b...

  Over 70 bishops from four continents warn that heterodox German reform efforts risk fracturing Church unity, adversely impacting the Church globally. Can it really be true that there are just 74 bishops in the whole of the episcopacy willing to stand up for the Church? As of 2020 there were approximately 5,600 living bishops in the Latin and Eastern churches of the Catholic Church. One friend commented: Sadly no English bishops are signatories. I guess it's more politically expedient to censure priests who are faithful to Catholic teaching than it is to offend local rainbow people. Of course it is a fact that No less than 13 mitered abbots attended the coronation of Anne Boleyn, so there is historical precedent for low expectations. One can only hope that more sign up now the document is public. Indeed  the letter’s organizers have provided the email address episcopimundi2022@gmail.com where other bishops can request to add their names to the letter. And bishop Paprocki c...

Above: The Marian Franciscans at last year's March4Life where I last met them. Has Bishop Egan completely capitulated to progressivism? Is he under pressure to conform to the establishment? Is he trying to be "inclusive"? Is he in the running for Westminster, perhaps? I honestly never thought I would find myself concerned with the bishop of Portsmouth, Philip Egan. When discussing who Catholics can trust in the episcopacy, his name is always mentioned as a solid bishop. Egan, 67, has been bishop of Portsmouth diocese since 2012 and has long been considered a safe pair of hands by faithful Catholics. In a 2014 interview, he generated controversy for his views that MPs who voted for same-sex marriage should be banned from receiving communion . He also wrote to PM David Cameron regarding so called same sex marriage. He has a decent record of standing up for the faith, but something seems awry lately . For example, I hear whispers that there is a serious disregard for catec...

This is a Homily by Fr. Rosario M. Ebanks preached on 06/03/2022. Look! A priest! They are real!! They do exist!! A priest actually preaching about the suffocating evil enveloping us today! An actual priest trying to change things, to shine Christ's light on the world, to confront the culture! Imagine if we had a few more like this - we would literally change the world. God bless him and keep him and please share this as far and wide as you can!

  Reports have been coming in to me this week of a new Catholic newspaper being delivered to Parishes. The Catholic Post (better entitled The Non-Catholic Milquetoast ). Priests have been sending me pictures and telling me they've thrown the whole lot in the bin, or found other, more creative uses in some instances.  From the front cover, it looks like it was written by the CBEW. Bland, uninteresting, no content. The cover lines up like this: 1. Pope Francis says buy Catholic newspapers like this one - so buy it or you're not Catholic! 2. Catholic news and thoughtful articles are inside. 3. Environment/Hope. 4. Charity (shrugs). What's inside? Well, there's a massive LGBTQI spread, just in case you weren't getting enough LGBTQI indoctrination from secular media. Hooray!! What on earth is going on? Who is behind this initiative and who is funding it? Have any bishops backed it, endorsed it or allowed it to be called Catholic? John Smeaton, former CEO of SPUC contacte...