De Omnibus Dubitandum Est.

On Thursday the Vatican published reports prepared by Cardinal Luis Ladaria Ferrer , prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith and Cardinal Marc Ouellet , prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops. The cardinals’ reports were first presented to Germany’s bishops on the final day of their ad limina visit to Rome on 18th November. Originally written in Italian, the texts were also published in German by Vatican News . You can read my report which has been published in The Catholic Herald here . Both reports were released by the Vatican in Italian and German, which added to the complexity of figuring out what was going on somewhat! I downloaded the German and translated it for both reports and - I have to say - I was really impressed! The reports were markedly different, each cardinal clearly addressing the German issue from the perspective of their own relevant dicastery. Ouellet from the collegial perspective of the episcopacy, Ladaria from a perspective of doctrinal clarity. C...

German bishops gave Holy Communion to a Muslim politician and a Protestant politician during Masses at a “Catholics Day” event in late May. In a stroke of irony, the biannual event, called Katholikentag, also prohibited the German Federal Association for Life from setting up a stall on its grounds for the first time in its history. Event organizers reportedly told the pro-life group, “During the examination, the program group could not determine that your organization is clearly Christian,” according to a statement by the association’s president, Alexandra Maria Linder. Bishop Gebhard Fürst of Rottenburg-Stuttgart gave Holy Communion at the event’s opening Mass to Muhterem Aras, a Muslim German parliamentarian of the environmentalist “Greens” party, CNA Deutsch reported .  Makes you wonder why a Muslim would want to receive the Eucharist? Similarly, and perhaps more pertinent to a papacy which has the temerity to see itself as the Guardians of Tradition while attacking any sem...