De Omnibus Dubitandum Est.

As part of the Jubilee Year of Mercy instigated by Pope Francis, the community at Brentwood Cathedral have had a series of Masses where they have made a special outreach to the stranger, the wounded and all those searching for spiritual sanctuary to join them in the presence of our all compassionate God. On Sunday 10th July, the special outreach was to all those in single parent families. This is a really important area for ministry in the current social climate. You can read Fr Martin's full homily here . I spotted the link to the homily on Facebook and, despite misgivings I have about matching Masses to various forms of human brokenness, this comment literally melted my heart: This brought my mind straight to Mt 18:12-14  and the rejoicing in heaven when one sinner repents . Surely, if even one soul is welcomed back into the Church because of this special effort, going out to the peripheries, it is well worth it, the Father's work is being done! I me...

I'm just going to post this up here in case you haven't seen it. This panel discussion was extraordinary. That a conversation this candid about the "unacceptable," "reckless," and "preposterous" behavior of the pope is happening on one of EWTN's most-watched programs is indicative of the damage Pope Francis is doing to the Church. What do we do when the holy father is so at odds with the faith as always professed? Where does it leave Catechists? Deacons? Priests? Bishops?

Cardinal Carlo Caffarra Sandro Magister reports today what could well be the turning of the tide with regard to the controversial Synod on Marriage and the Family. “This does not resolve anything,” Pope Francis has said with regard to the idea of giving communion to the divorced and remarried. Much less if they “want” it, demand it. Because communion “is not a badge, a decoration. No.”  In his latest big interview Jorge Mario Bergoglio [ahem... Pope Francis] threw cold water on the expectations for substantial change in the doctrine and practice of Catholic marriage , which he himself had indirectly fostered: “Overblown expectations,” he called them. With no more references to the innovative theses of Cardinal Walter Kasper, which he had repeatedly extolled in the past but now seems to be keeping at a distance. On the other hand, for some time now Pope Francis has looked with growing attention and esteem at another cardinal theologian, who upholds ideas on the “Gospel...

I think it would be fair to say that there is a great deal of doom and gloom surrounding the prospect of the Synod in October. Back in November, Cardinal Raymond Burke urged Pope Francis to take the issues of Communion for the divorced and remarried, cohabitation and same-sex marriage “off the table” for next year’s Synod of Bishops. As reported by the Catholic Herald and numerous other news agencies, Cardinal Burke addressed more than 300 delegates at a family and marriage conference, organised by Catholic Voice  in Limerick on November 15. Here he said that these issues had distracted the work of the synod in its first session in October. Warning that Satan was sowing confusion and error about matrimony, the cardinal patron of the Knights of Malta said, “Even within the church there are those who would obscure the truth of the indissolubility of marriage in the name of mercy.” Voice of the Family, a coalition of pro-life organisations, has launched a " filial appeal ...