Pope Francis vs. America’s Gay Lobby

Individuals who affirm gay sex, gay identity, and gay marriage, and who build alliances around their affirmation of the homosexual inclination are, assuredly, the exact kind of “gay lobby” decried as “the greater problem” by Pope Francis himself.

July 28, 2017 Jim Russell Analysis, Features 71 Print

Pope Francis answers questions from journalists during his first press conference aboard his flight from Rio de Janeiro to Rome in this July 29, 2013, file photo. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)

Pope Francis’ most famous words from 2013—and perhaps from his entire pontificate—are, of course, “Who am I to judge?” Such a quotable quote, right?

Except for the fact that those five words were ripped out of context, weaponized by secular media and advocates of the gay agenda, and made to obscure the rest of what he had to say in that most famous of high-altitude exchanges with the media.

It’s time to remember the full message the Holy Father offered that day; it’s time to reclaim the truth that the vanguard of America’s “gay lobby”—clergy included—so desperately wants us to forget as these same advocates for immorality and false teaching continue to wreak ruin upon the Catholic faithful.

It’s time to rediscover that, on the same day he said “who am I to judge,” Pope Francis also decried the making of “lobbies” from the homosexual tendency.

First, a little more context—just what is a “gay lobby,” or even the “gay lobby”? It’s a term that came to be associated with homosexual clergy in the Vatican who basically formed an alliance not only to safeguard their own acting out, but more specifically who were willing to use their influence to push back against the Church’s authentic teaching on homosexuality whenever possible.

Before Francis was pope, the “gay lobby” was something his predecessor Pope Benedict XVI had to contend with as well, according to Benedict himself, who acknowledged this just a year ago in an interview. As he saw it, the “gay lobby” in the Vatican at that time was a mere “four or five” in number, and Pope Benedict XVI believed he had effectively broken up this alliance before resigning his pontificate.

And perhaps Pope Benedict did do just that, at the time. But, alliances comprising a small handful of gay clergy can easily come and go, and return again when conditions are right. With Pope Benedict’s resignation, and with Pope Francis newly on the scene in 2013, rumors of an active “gay lobby” once again emerged.

Pope Francis reportedly conceded that a gay lobby existed in the Vatican in 2013. Later, when the subject came up again on that now-historic in-flight press conference on July 28, 2013, here is what he said when asked how he intended “to confront the whole question of the gay lobby”:

So much is written about the gay lobby. I still haven’t found anyone with an identity card in the Vatican with “gay” on it. They say there are some there. I believe that when you are dealing with such a person, you must distinguish between the fact of a person being gay and the fact of someone forming a lobby, because not all lobbies are good. This one is not good. If someone is gay and is searching for the Lord and has good will, then who am I to judge him? The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains this in a beautiful way, saying … wait a moment, how does it say it … it says: “no one should marginalize these people for this, they must be integrated into society”. The problem is not having this tendency, no, we must be brothers and sisters to one another, and there is this one and there is that one. The problem is in making a lobby of this tendency: a lobby of misers, a lobby of politicians, a lobby of masons, so many lobbies. For me, this is the greater problem. Thank you so much for asking this question. Many thanks.

In context, it is abundantly clear that Pope Francis was trying to tell us that the real problem is not persons who seek the Lord and have good will. The real—and greater—problem is that people “make a lobby of this [homosexual] tendency.” And, crucially, it should be noted that “making a lobby” isn’t something done only by Vatican clergy. In the Pope’s examples of misers, masons, and politicians, it’s clear he’s referring to lobbies arising from a focused special interest—in this case the special interest is the homosexual tendency.

Said another way, in the very midst of claiming “who am I to judge?” Pope Francis did indeed judge. He made a judgment that contrasted lobbying in favor of the homosexual tendency with a person of good will who seeks the Lord while having that same tendency.

So, precisely where is the “problem” in the gay lobby, according to Pope Francis? I think the inference is clear: When one forms a lobby of the homosexual tendency, one is no longer merely “searching for the Lord” with good will. Gay lobbyists are indeed subject to being judged, not for who they are but for what they have done, because Pope Francis has already judged that the lobby itself is “not good.”

The basic principle is right there in the Holy Father’s own words: individuals who affirm gay sex, gay identity, and gay marriage, and who build alliances around their affirmation of the homosexual inclination are, assuredly, the exact kind of “gay lobby” decried as “the greater problem” by Pope Francis himself.

In turn, Catholics who affirm gay-lobby groups—whether the group is the secular “LGBT community” itself or a pro-gay parish or pro-gay organization—have allied themselves with the gay lobby. They are rightly included under the term “gay lobby.” This especially includes clergy: deacons, priests, pastors, and even bishops and cardinals.

Now, given recent reports of the last few weeks concerning a police break-up of a “gay orgy” in a Vatican apartment that involved some Catholic clergy, is it a stretch to think that a gay lobby is still quite active in the Vatican? Even so, comparing numbers alone, the Vatican’s gay lobby is surely small potatoes when compared with the global Catholic gay lobby and especially relative to the American gay lobby found across our continent.

Catholics in the pew are by and large allied with the gay lobby in the United States, if statistics regarding the average Catholic’s support of same-sex marriage are any indicator. While the huge numbers associated with this relatively passive alliance with the gay lobby are disturbing, a great deal more damage is being done by Church leaders whose pastoral energy and ecclesial authority are being placed actively at the service of the gay lobby at the grass-roots level.

Do you want a closer look at the vanguard of the gay lobby? “Equally Blessed” gives you a glimpse. It’s the coalition of several other gay lobbies—Call to Action, DignityUSA, New Ways Ministry, and Fortunate Families.

While those may be the lobbies that exist outside ecclesial structures, the gay lobbies that exist in parishes, dioceses, and college campuses are deeply, deeply entrenched and do even greater spiritual harm than these other groups could ever dream of doing. Want a sampling? Look at this long list of gay-lobbying, “LGBT-friendly” parishes and colleges across the country, maintained by New Ways Ministry.

Do you want to know which cardinals, bishops, priests, deacons, and lay ministers are part of the gay lobby? It’s all out in the open. Which clerics are writing books and giving talks that publicly support the gay lobby we call the “LGBT community”? Which are speaking at Catholic gay-lobby events? Which pastors and bishops are tolerating gay-affirming groups in parishes and schools, and at events featuring erroneous teaching and false teachers?

Believe me, as one who has done a lot of digging, you don’t have the time or the energy to even scratch the surface. I do know of one person on the planet who is doing the investigating that Catholic dioceses, parishes, and schools should be doing but aren’t. If you really want to see the dark, writhing underbelly of the gay lobby at work in the Catholic Church in North America, pay a visit to Joseph Sciambra’s website, where you will find years and years of documentation of the gay lobby’s dire work, often institutionally supported and encouraged. All the while, complaints from concerned and faithful Catholics are almost always ignored.

The only real coherent antidote to the gay lobby in the Catholic Church is the Courage apostolate, which is notably absent from the American master gay-lobby group Equally Blessed. The bright line between error and truth, and between sentimentality and real compassion, can be found where Equally Blessed ends and where Courage begins. The gay lobby has pushed back against Courage for decades, at all levels of the institutional Church and in the secular arena as well. But the Courage apostolate, just like Pope Francis, knows full well that our obligation is to pastorally support persons with homosexual tendencies, not lobbies formed from those tendencies.

What can you do to defend against the gay lobby in your own spiritual backyard? First, speak “truth-love” to fellow Catholics in the pew who affirm the gay lobby—let them know God’s real plan for the human person. Second, don’t be afraid to form grass-roots efforts to combat error in your parish, your school, your diocese. Let your voices be heard—turn “solo” voices into a chorus of concerned voices directed toward anyone in authority who is clearly aligned with or tolerant of the gay lobby.

Finally, remind Church leaders everywhere that, when they give aid and support to the gay lobby, they are actively opposing the will of our Holy Father, Pope Francis. Remind them that he only said “who am I to judge” in the very context of judging that lobbies made in support of the homosexual tendency are a problem and are “not good.”

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About Jim Russell 10 Articles
Jim Russell lives in St. Louis, Missouri, and writes on a variety of topics related to the Catholic faith, including natural law, liturgy, theology of the body and sexuality. He can be reached by email at dearjimrussell@gmail.com.

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Synod on Synodality: Read the full list of delegates

July 8, 2023 Catholic News Agency 2
Pope Francis led the opening procession of the Synod of Bishops for the Pan-Amazon Region from St. Peter’s Basilica to the Synod Hall where he led the opening prayer, Oct. 7, 2019. / null

CNA Newsroom, Jul 8, 2023 / 08:30 am (CNA).

The Vatican has published the names of those participating in the upcoming Synod on Synodality assembly in October, including laypeople who will be full voting delegates at a Catholic Church synod for the first time.

The delegates are made up of representatives selected by bishops’ conferences and Eastern Catholic Churches, leaders in the Roman Curia, and 120 delegates personally selected by Pope Francis.

In total, 363 people will be able to vote in the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, according to statistics released by the Holy See Press Office on July 7. Among them, 54 of the voting delegates are women.

In addition to the voting members, 75 other participants have been invited to the synod assembly to act as facilitators, experts, or spiritual assistants.

Here is full list of participants:

President 

Pope Francis 

General Secretary 

Cardinal Mario Grech of Malta

President’s Delegates

His Beatitude Ibrahim Isaac Sedrak, Patriarch of Alexandria, head of the Synod of The Coptic Catholic Church, Egypt. 

Cardinal Carlos Aguiar Retes, Archbishop of Mexico City, Mexico 

Archbishop Gerardo Cabrera Herrera, O.F.M., of Guayaquil, Ecuador

Archbishop Timothy John Costelloe, S.D.B., of Perth, Australia

Bishop Daniel Ernest Flores of Brownsville, Texas, USA 

Bishop Lúcio Andrice Muandula of Xai-Xai, Mozambique

Father Giuseppe Bonfrate (Italy) 

Sister Maria De Los Dolores Palencia, C.S.J., Mexico

Momoko Nishimura, S.E.M.D. (Japan) 

General Relator

Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, S.J., Archbishop of Luxembourg

Special Secretaries

Father Giacomo Costa, S.J., Italy, president of Fondazione Culturale San Fedele of Milan, national spiritual companion of the Italian Christian Workers Associations 

Father Riccardo Battocchio, Italy, Rector of the Almo Collegio Capranica, president of the Italian Theological Association

Commission for Information 

President: Paolo Ruffini, Prefect of the Dicastery for Communication, Vatican City 

Secretary: Sheila Leocádia Pires, communications officer, Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC), Mozambique

From the Eastern Catholic Churches

His Beatitude Ibrahim Isaac Sedrak, Coptic Church Patriarch of Alexandria, head of the Synod of the Coptic Catholic Church

His Beatitude Youssef Absi, patriarch of Antioch of the Greek-Melkites, head of the Synod of the Greek Melkite Catholic Church

His Beatitude Ignace Youssef Iii Younan, Patriarch of Antioch of the Syrians, head of the Synod of the Syrian Catholic Church

Cardinal Béchara Boutros Raï, O.M.M., Patriarch of Antioch of the Maronites, head of the Synod of the Maronite Church

Bishop Mounir Khairallah of Batrun of the Maronites

Cardinal Louis Raphaël I Sako, Patriarch of Babylon of the Chaldeans, head of the Synod of the Chaldean Church

His Beatitude Raphaël Bedros XXI Minassian, I.C.P.B., Patriarch of Cilicia of Armenians, head of the Synod of the Armenian Catholic Church

His Beatitude Sviatoslav Shevchuk, Major Archbishop of Kyiv-Halyc, Kyiv, head of the Synod of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church

Bishop Teodor Martynyuk, M.S.U., Titular Bishop of Mopta, auxiliary bishop of Ternopil-Zboriv

Monsignor Bohdan Dzyurakh, C.SS.R., Apostolic Exarch of Germany and Scandinavia, Titular Bishop of Vagada

Cardinal George Alencherry, Major Archbishop of Ernakulam-Angamaly, head of the Synod of the Syro-Malabar Church

Metropolitan Archbishop Andrews Thazhath of Trichur, president of the Catholic bishops’ conference of India

Archbishop Joseph Pamplany of Tellicherry, India

His Beatitude Cardinal Baselios Cleemis Thottunkal, head of the Synod of the Syro-Malankara Church

Bishop Cristian Dumitru Crişan, Titular Bishop of Abula, Auxiliary Bishop of Fagaras Si Alba Iulia Dei Romanians

Cardinal Berhaneyesus Demerew Souraphiel, Metropolitan Archbishop of Addis Abeba, president of the Ethiopian and Eritrean bishops’ conference, president of the Council of the Ethiopian Church

Metropolitan Archbishop William Charles Skurla of the Byzantine Archeparchy of Pittsburgh, president of the Council of the Ruthenian Church  

Bishop Milan Lach, S.J., auxiliary bishop of Bratislava, Slovakia

Metropolitan Archbishop Menghesteab Tesfamariam of Asmara, president of the Council of the Eritrean Church 

Metropolitan Archbishop Fülöp Kocsis of Hajdúdorog for the Byzantine Catholics, president of the Council of the Hungarian Church 

Episcopal Conferences 

Africa

Northern Africa (CERNA)

Cardinal Cristóbal López Romero, S.D.B., Archbishop of Rabat, Morocco

Angola and Sao Tome

Bishop Joaquim Nhanganga Tyombe of of Uíje, Angola

Benin

Archbishop Coffi Roger Anoumou, Bishop of Lokossa

Botswana, South Africa, and Eswatini

Archbishop Anton Dabula Mpako, Archbishop of Pretoria, Military Ordinary of South Africa

Burkina Faso and Niger

Archbishop Gabriel Sayaogo of Koupéla, Burkina Faso

Burundi

Archbishop Georges Bizimana, Bishop of Ngozi

Cameroon

Archbishop Emmanuel Dassi Youfang of Bafia

Bishop Philippe Alain Mbarga, of Ebolowa

Chad

Bishop Nicolas Nadji Bab of Laï

Republic of Congo

Bishop Ildevert Mathurin Mouanga of Kinkala

Democratic Republic of Congo

Archbishop Marcel Utembi Tapa of Kisangani

Bishop Pierre-Célestin Tshitoko Mamba of Luebo

Côte D’ivoire (Ivory Coast)

Archbishop Marcellin Kouadio Yao of Daloa

Ethiopia

Archbishop Markos Ghebremedhin, C.M., Apostolic Vicar of Jimma-Bonga, Titular Bishop of Gummi of Proconsulari

Gabon

Archbishop Jean-Patrick Iba-Ba of Libreville

Gambia and Sierra Leone

Archbishop Edward Tamba Charles of Freetown, Sierra Leone

Ghana

Bishop Emmanuel Kofi Fianu, S.V.D., of Ho

Archbishop Gabriel Charles Palmer-Buckle of Cape Coast

Guinea

Archbishop Vincent Coulibaly, of Conarkry

Equatorial Guinea

Bishop Juan Domingo-Beka Esono Ayang, C.M.F., of Mongomo, president of the Episcopal Conference

Kenya

Archbishop Martin Kivuva Musonde of Mombasa, president of the Episcopal Conference

Archbishop Anthony Muheria of Nyeri

Lesotho

Bishop John Joale Tlhomola, S.C.P., of Mohale’s Hoek

Liberia

Bishop Anthony Fallah Borwah of Gbarnga

Madagascar

Auxiliary Bishop Jean Pascal Andriantsoavina of Antananavarivo,  Titular Bishop of Zallata

Malawi

Archbishop George Desmond Tambala, O.C.D., of Lilongwe, Apostolic Administrator of Zomba

Mali

Bishop Hassa Florent Koné of San

Mozambique

Archbishop Inácio Saure, I.M.C., of Nampula

Namibia

Archbishop Liborius Ndumbukuti Nashenda, O.M.I., of Windhoek

Nigeria

Bishop Donatus Aihmiosion Ogun, O.S.A., of Uromi

Archbishop Ignatius Ayau Kaigama of Abuja

Archbishop Lucius Iwejuru Ugorji of Owerri

Indian Ocean (CEDOI)

Bishop Alain Harel of Port Victoria

Central African Republic

Bishop Nestor-Désiré Nongo-Aziagbia, S.M.A., of Bossangoa

Rwanda

Bishop Edouard Sinayobye of Cyangugu

Senegal, Mauritania, Cape Verde, and Guinea-Bissau

Bishop Ildo Augusto Dos Santos Lopes Fortes of Mindelo, Cape Verde

Sudan

Archbishop Stephen Ameyu Martin Mulla of Juba, South Sudan

Tanzania

Archbishop Jude Thaddaeus Ruwa’ichi, O.F.M. Cap., of Dar-Es-Salaam

Bishop Flavian Kassala of Geita

Togo

Bishop Dominique Banlène Guigbile of Dapaong

Uganda

Bishop Sanctus Lino Wanok of Lira

Zambia

Archbishop Ignatius Chama of Kasama

Zimbabwe

Bishop Raphael Macebo Mabuza Ncube of Hwange

Americas

Antilles

Archbishop Charles Jason Gordon of Porto of Spain

Argentina

Bishop Óscar Vicente Ojea of San Isidro

Archbishop Marcelo Daniel Colombo of Mendoza

Archbishop Carlos Alfonso Azpiroz Costa, O.P. of Bahía Blanca

Bolivia

Bishop Pedro Luis Fuentes Valencia, C.P., of La Paz, Titular Bishop of Temuniana

Brazil

Archbishop Emeritus Geraldo Lyrio Rocha of Mariana

Bishop Joel Portella Amado of São Sebastião do Rio De Janeiro, Titular Bishop of Carmeiano

Bishop Pedro Carlos Cipollini of Santo André

Archbishop Leonardo Ulrich Steiner, O.F.M., of Manaus

Bishop Dirceu De Oliveira Medeiros of Camaçari

Canada

Bishop Marc Pelchat of Québec, Titular Bishop of Lambesi

Bishop Raymond Poisson of Saint-Jérôme-Mont-Laurier

Archbishop John Michael Miller, C.S.B., of Vancouver

Bishop William Terrence Mcgrattan of Calgary

Chile

Archbishop Luis Fernando Ramos Pérez of Puerto Montt

Bishop Carlos Alberto Godoy Labraña of Santiago de Chile, Titular Bishop of Pudenziana

Colombia

Archbishop Luis José Rueda Aparicio of Bogotá

Archbishop Ricardo Antonio Tobón Restrepo of Medellín

Archbishop José Miguel Gómez Rodríguez of Manizales

Costa Rica

Bishop Javier Gerardo Román Arias of Limón

Cuba

Bishop Marcos Pirán of Holguín, Titular Bishop of Boseta

Ecuador

Archbishop Luis Gerardo Cabrera Herrera, O.F.M., of Guayaquil

Bishop David Israel De La Torre Altamirano, Ss.Cc., of Quito, Titular Bishop of Bagai

El Salvador

Bishop William Ernesto Iraheta Rivera of Santiago De María

Guatemala

Bishop Juan Manuel Cuá Ajacúm of Los Altos, Titular Bishop of Rosella

Haiti

Archbishop Launay Saturné of Cap-Haïtie, president of the Episcopal Conference

Honduras

Archbishop José Vicente Nácher Tatay, C.M., of Tegucigalpa

Mexico

Bishop Gerardo Díaz Vázquez of Tacámbaro

Bishop Oscar Efraín Tamez Villarreal of Ciudad Victoria

Archbishop Faustino Armendáriz Jiménez of Durango

Bishop Adolfo Miguel Castaño Fonseca of Azcapotzalco

Nicaragua

Bishop Sócrates René Sándigo Jirón of León 

Panama

Bishop Edgardo Cedeño Muñoz, S.V.D. of Penonomé

Paraguay

Bishop Miguel Ángel Cabello Almada of Concepción En Paraguay

Peru

Archbishop Héctor Miguel Cabrejos Vidarte, O.F.M., of Trujillo

Bishop Edinson Edgardo Farfán Córdova, O.S.A., Bishop Prelate of Chuquibambilla

Cardinal Archbishop Pedro Ricardo Barreto Jimeno, S.J., of Huancayo

Puerto Rico

Bishop Rubén Antonio González Medina, C.M.F., of Ponce

Dominican Republic

Bishop Ramón Alfredo De La Cruz Baldera of San Francisco De Macorís

United States of America

 Bishop Timothy Broglio, Military Ordinary of the United States of America

Bishop Daniel Ernest Flores of Brownsville, Texas

Bishop Robert Emmet Barron of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota

Bishop Kevin Carl Rhoades of Fort Wayne-South Bend, Indiana

Cardinal Timothy Michael Dolan, Archbishop of New York

Uruguay

Bishop Milton Luis Tróccoli Cebedio of Maldonado-Punta Del Este-Minas

Venezuela

Bishop Juan Carlos Bravo Salazar of Petare

Archbishop José Luis Azuaje Ayala of Maracaibo

Asia

Central Asia 

Cardinal Giorgio Marengo, I.M.C., Apostolic Prefect of Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

Bangladesh

Archbishop Bejoy Nicephorus D’cruze, O.M.I., of Dhaka

China (Chinese Regional Bishops’ Conference)

Bishop Norbert Pu of Kiayi, Taiwan

Korea

Archbishop Peter Chung Soon-Taick, O.C.D., of Seoul

Philippines

Bishop Pablo Virgilio S. David of Kalookan

Cardinal Archbishop Jose F. Advincula of Manila

Bishop Mylo Hubert C. Vergara of Pasig

Japan 

Archbishop Tarcisio Isao Kikuchi, S.V.D., of Tokyo

India (CCBI)

Cardinal Filipe Neri António Sebastião Do Rosário Ferrão, Archbishop of Goa and Damão

Archbishop George Antonysamy of Madras and Mylapore

Bishop Alex Joseph Vadakumthala of Kannur

Cardinal Anthony Poola, Archbishop of Hyderabad

Indonesia

Bishop Antonius Subianto Bunjamin, O.S.C., of Bandung

Bishop Adrianus Sunarko, O.F.M., of Pangkalpinang

Iran

Archbishop Dominique Mathieu, O.F.M. Conv., of Tehran-Ispahan of the Latins

Laos and Cambodia

Father Enrique Figaredo Alvargonzalez, S.J., Apostolic Prefect of Battambang, Cambodia 

Malaysia-Singapore-Brunei

Cardinal William Seng Chye Goh, Archbishop of Singapore

Myanmar

Bishop John Saw Yaw Han of Kengtung

Arab countries

Monsignor Paolo Martinelli, O.F.M. Cap., Apostolic Vicar of South Arabia

Pakistan

Monsignor Khalid Rehmat, O.F.M. Cap., Apostolic Vicar of Quetta

Sri Lanka

Bishop Raymond Kingsley Wickramasinghe of Galle

Thailand

Cardinal Francis Xavier Kriengsak Kovithavanij, Archbishop of Bangkok

East Timor

Cardinal Virgilio Do Carmo Da Silva, S.D.B., Archbishop of Díli

Vietnam

Bishop Joseph Đo Manh Hùng of Phan Thiêt

Bishop Louis Nguyên Anh Tuán of Hà Tinh

Europe 

Albania

Archbishop Arjan Dodaj, F.D.C., of Tiranë-Durrës

Austria

Archbishop Franz Lackner, O.F.M., of Salzburg

Belgium

Bishop Koenraad Vanhoutte of Mechelen-Brussels, Titular Bishop of Tagora

Belarus

Bishop Aliaksandr Yasheuski, S.D.B., of Minsk-Mohilev, Titular Bishop of Fornos Major

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bishop Marko Semren, O.F.M., of Banja Luka, Titular Bishop of Abaradira

Bulgaria

Bishop Strahil Veselinov Kavalenov of Nicopolis

The Czech Republic 

Bishop Zdenek Wasserbauer of Praha, Titular Bishop of Butrint

International Episcopal Conference of Sts. Cyril and Methodius

Archbishop Ladislav Nemet, S.V.D., of Beograd, Serbia, president of the Episcopal Conference

Croatia

Bishop Ivan Ćurić, Auxiliary of Ðakovo-Osijek, Titular Bishop of Tela

Russian Federation

Archbishop Paolo Pezzi, F.S.C.B., of Mother of God in Moscow

France

Bishop Alexandre Joly of Troyes

Bishop Jean-Marc Eychenne of Grenoble-Vienne

Bishop Matthieu Rougé of Nanterre

Bishop Benoît Bertrand of Mende

Germany

Bishop Georg Bätzing of Limburg

Bishop Bertram Johannes Meier of Augsburg

Bishop Franz-Josef Overbeck of Essen, Military Ordinary for the Federal Republic of Germany

Great Britain (England & Wales)

Archbishop John Wilson of Southwark

Bishop Marcus Stock of Leeds

Great Britain (Scotland)

Bishop Brian Mcgee of Argyll and the Isles

Greece

Archbishop Georgios Altouvas of Corfu, Zakynthos, and Kefalonia

Ireland

Bishop Brendan Leahy of Limerick

Bishop Alexander Aloysius McGuckian, S.J., of Raphoe

Italy

Archbishop Roberto Repole of Turin, Bishop of Susa

Bishop Franco Giulio Brambilla of Novara

Archbishop Bruno Forte of Chieti-Vasto

Archbishop Domenico Battaglia of Naples

Archbishop Mario Enrico Delpini of Milan

Latvia

Archbishop Zbigņev Stankevičs of Riga

Lithuania

Bishop Algirdas Jurevičius of Telšiai

Malta

Archbishop Charles Jude Scicluna of Malta

Netherlands

Bishop Theodorus Cornelis Maria Hoogenboom of Utrecht, Titular Bishop of Bistue

Poland

Archbishop Stanisław Gądecki of Poznań

Archbishop Adrian Józef Galbas, S.A.C., Coadjutor Archbishop of Katowice

Archbishop Marek Jędraszewski of Kraków

Portugal

Bishop Virgílio do Nascimento Antunes of Coimbra

Bishop José Ornelas Carvalho, S.C.I., of Leiria-Fátima

Romania

Archbishop Gergely Kovács of Alba Iulia, Apostolic Administrator, Ad Nutum Sanctæ Sedis of the Ordinariate for Catholics of the Armenian Rite residing in Romania

Scandinavia

Bishop Czeslaw Kozon of København, Denmark

Slovakia

Bishop Marek Forgáč of Košice, Titular Bishop of Seleuciana

Slovenia

Bishop Maksimilijan Matjaž of Celje

Spain

Archbishop Vicente Jiménez Zamora, Archbishop Emeritus of Zaragoza 

Archbishop Luis Javier Argüello García of Valladolid

Bishop Francisco Simón Conesa Ferrer of Solsona

Switzerland 

Bishop Felix Gmür of Basel

Turkey

Bishop Massimiliano Palinuro, Apostolic Vicar of Istanbul, Apostolic Administrator Vacant See of the Apostolic Exarchate of Istanbul 

Ukraine

Bishop Oleksandr Yazlovetskiy of Kyiv-Zhytomyr, Titular Bishop of Tulana

Hungary

Bishop Gábor Mohos Mohos of Esztergom-Budapest, Titular Bishop of Iliturgi

Oceania

Australia

Archbishop Patrick Michael O’Regan of Adelaide

Bishop Shane Anthony Mackinlay of Sandhurst

New Zealand

Archbishop Paul Gerard Martin, S.M., Coadjutor of Wellington

Pacific

Bishop Paul Patrick Donoghue, S.M., of Rarotonga, Cook Islands

Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands

Bishop Dariusz Piotr Kałuża, M.S.F., of Bougainville

Bishops Without an Episcopal Conference

Europe

Archbishop Selim Jean Sfeir of Cyprus of the Maronites

Presidents of International Meetings of Episcopal Conferences

Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa And Madagascar (SECAM)

Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu, O.F.M. Cap.

Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences (FABC)

Cardinal Charles Maung Bo, S.D.B.

Federation of Catholic Bishops’ Conferences of Oceania (FCBCO)

Bishop Antony Randazzo

Council of Bishops’ Conferences of Europe (CCEE)

Bishop Gintaras Grušas

Latin American Bishops’ Council (CELAM)

Bishop Jaime Spengler, O.F.M.

The Union of Superiors General and the International Union of Superiors General

Sister Nadia Coppa, A.S.C., president of the International Union of Superiors General (UISG)

Sister Elizabeth Mary Davis, R.S.M.

Brother Mark Hilton, S.C., Superior General of the Brothers of the Sacred Heart

Sister Elysée Izerimana, Op. S.D.N., General Councilor of the Working Sisters of the Holy House of Nazareth

Abbot Mauro-Giuseppe Lepori, O. Cist., Abbot General of the Cistercian Order

Sister Patricia Murray, I.B.V.M., executive secretary of the International Union of Superiors General (UISG)

Sister Maria Nirmalini, A.C., Superior General of the Sisters of the Apostolic Carmelite Order

Brother Ernesto Sánchez, F.M.S., Superior General of the Marist Brothers 

Father  Arturo Sosa, S.I., Superior General of the Society of Jesus

Father Gebresilasie Tadesse Tesfaye, M.C.C.J., Superior General of the Comboni Missionaries of the Heart of Jesus

Heads of Dicasteries of the Roman Curia

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State

Archbishop Edgar Peña Parra, Sostituto for the Secretariat of State

Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, Secretary for the Relations with States

Cardinal Luis Antonio G. Tagle, Pro-Prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization 

Archbishop Salvatore Fisichella, Pro-Prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization 

Archbishop Víctor Manuel Fernández, future Prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith

Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, papal almoner, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Service of Charity

Archbishop Claudio Gugerotti, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches

Cardinal Arthur Roche, Prefect for the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments

Cardinal Miguel Ángel Ayuso Guixot, M.C.C.J., Prefect of the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue

Archbishop Robert Francis Prevost, O.S.A., Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops

Cardinal Lazarus You Heung-Sik, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Clergy

Cardinal João Braz De Aviz, Prefect of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life And Societies of Apostolic Life

Cardinal Kevin Joseph Farrell, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Laity, Family And Life

Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, Prefect of the Dicastery of the Causes of Saints

Cardinal Kurt Koch, Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity.

Cardinal José Tolentino De Mendonça, Prefect of the Dicastery for Culture And Education

Cardinal Michael Czerny, S.J., Prefect of the Dicastery for the Service of Integral Human Development

Archbishop Filippo Iannone, O. Carm., Prefect of the Dicastery for Legislative Texts

Paolo Ruffini, Prefect of the Dicastery for Communication

Members Nominated by Pope Francis 

Cardinal Carlos Aguiar Retes, Archbishop of Mexico City, Mexico

Bishop Juan Ignacio Arrieta Ochoa De Chinchetru, Secretary of the Dicastery for Legislative Texts, Vatican City

Cardinal Jeans-Marc Aveline, Archbishop of Marseille, France

Archbishop Ignace Bessi Dogbo, Archbishop of Korhogo, Ivory Coast

Father Giuseppe Bonfrate, Italy

Bishop Dante Gustavo Braida, Bishop of La Rioja, Argentina

Archbishop Erio Castellucci, Archbishop of Modena-Nantola-Carpi, Italy

Bishop Stephen Chow Sau-Yan of Hong Kong, China

Archbishop Timothy Costelloe, S.D.B., Archbishop of Perth, Australia

Cardinal Blase Cupich, Archbishop of Chicago, USA

Cardinal Jozef De Kesel, Archbishop Emeritus of Mechelen-Brussels, Belgium

Bishop Lizardo Estrada Herrera, O.S.A., Auxiliary Bishop of Cuzco, Peru, Titular 

Bishop of Ausuccura, Secretary General of the Latin American bishops’ conference (CELAM)

Archbishop Paul Dennis Etienne, Archbishop of Seattle, USA

Cardinal Juan De La Caridad García Rodríguez, Archbishop of San Cristóbal de La Habana, Cuba

Bishop Felix Genn, Bishop of Münster, Germany

Cardinal Wilton Gregory, Archbishop of Washington, D.C., USA

Cardinal Jeans-Claude Hollerich, S.I., Relator General of the Synod on Synodality, Archbishop of Luxembourg

Bishop Nicholas Gilbert Hudson, Auxiliary Bishop of Westminster, Great Britain

Archbishop Dražen Kutleša, Archbishop of Zagreb, Croatia

Cardinal Luis Francisco Ladaria Ferrer, S.J., Prefect Emeritus of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, Vatican City

Cardinal Robert Walter McElroy, Bishop of San Diego, USA

Bishop Marco Mellino, Secretary of the Council of Cardinals, Vatican City

Bishop Gjergj Meta, Bishop of Rrëshen, Albania

Bishop Lucius Andrew Muandula, Bishop of Xai-Xai, Mozambique

Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller, Prefect Emeritus of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Vatican City

Bishop Antonello Mura, Bishop of Nuoro, Italy

Archbishop Robert Christopher Ndlovu, Archbishop of Harare, Apostolic Administrator of Masvingo, Zimbabwe

Bishop Manuel Nin, O.S.B., Apostolic Exarch for Byzantine Rite Catholics in Greece, Titular Bishop of Carcabia, Greece

Cardinal Seán Patrick O’malley, O.F.M. Cap., Archbishop of Boston, USA

Bishop Stefan Oster, S.D.B., Bishop of Passau, Germany

Cardinal Marc Ouellet, P.S.S., Prefect Emeritus of the Dicastery for Bishops, Vatican City

Bishop Joseph-Csaba Pál, Bishop of Timişoara, Romania

Cardinal Oscar Andres Rodriguez Maradiaga, S.D.B., Archivist Emeritus of Tegucicalpa, Honduras

Archbishop Angel S. Rossi, S.J., Archbishop of Córdoba, Argentina

Archbishop Grzegorz Ryś, Archbishop of Lodz, Polonia

Archbishop Joseph Spiteri, Apostolic Nuncio to Mexico, Mexico

Bishop Radoslaw Zmitrowicz, O.M.I., Auxiliary Bishop of Kamyanets-Podilskyi, Ukraine

Enrique Alarcón García, president of the Christian Fraternity of People with Disabilities of Spain, Spagna

Father Riccardo Battocchio, Rector of the Almo Collegio Capranica in Rome, President of the Italian Theological Association, Italy

Sister Simona Brambilla, Superior General of the Consolata Missionaries, Italy

Father Luis Miguel Castillo Gualda, Rector of the Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Valencia, Spain

Father Giacomo Costa, S.J., president of the San Fedele Cultural Foundation of Milan; National Spiritual Companion of the Italian Christian Workers’ Associations, A.C.L.I., Italy

Cristina Inogés Sanz, Theologian, Spain

Father James Martin, S.J., USA

Sister Maria De Los Dolores Palencia, C.S.J.

Sister Samuela Maria Rigon, S.S.M., Superior General of the Sisters of Our Lady of Sorrows, Italy

Father Elias Royón, Vicar for Consecrated Life of the Archdiocese of Madrid, Spain

Father Antonio Spadaro, S.J., director of La Civiltà Cattolica, Italy

Sister Xiskya Lucia Valladares, Nicaragua, co-founder of Imisión, director of the Communication Department of the Centro De Enseñanza Superior Alberta Giménez (CESAG), Comillas Pontifical University

Sister María De Fátima Vieira Diniz, S.Smo.S., Superior General of the Servants of the Blessed Sacrament, Venezuela

From the Continental Assemblies (also selected by Pope Francis)

Africa

Father Vitalis Chinedu Anaehobi

Father Michel Jean-Paul Guillaud

Sister Ester Maria Lucas, F.C.

Sister Josée Ngalula, R.S.A.

Norha Kofognotera Nonterah

Father Agbonkhianmeghe Emmanuel Orobator, S.I.

Sheila Leocádia Pires

Sister Marie Solange Randrianirin, F.S.P.

Sister Solange Sahon Sia, N.D.C.

Father Rafael Simbine Junior

North America

Sami Aoun

Cynthia Bailey Manns

Catherine Clifford

Richard Coll

Chantal Desmarais

Father Ivan Montelongo

Wyatt Olivas

Julia Osęka

Sister Leticia Salazar

Linda Staudt

Latin America

Erika Sally Aldunate Loza

Jesus Alberto Briceño Cherubini

Sister Rosmery Castañeda Montoya

José Manuel De Urquidi Gonzalez

María Cristina Dos Anjos Da Conceição

Sister Gloria Liliana Franco Echeverri, O.D.N.

Sônia Gomes De Oliveira

Father Francisco Gerardo Hernández Rojas

Valeria Karina López

Néstor Esaú Velásquez Téllez

Asia

Vanessa Cheng Siu Wai

Rosalia Minus Cho Cho Tin

Father Joel Casimiro Da Costa Pinto, O.F.M.

Father Clarence Devadass

Father William La Rousse, M.M.

Father Momoko Nishimura, S.E.M.D.

Estela Padilla

Anna Teresa Peter Amandus

Sister Lalitha Thomas, S.J.T.

Father Vimal Tirimanna

Eastern Churches and the Middle East

Adel Abolouh

Father Khalil Alwan, M.L.

Saad Antti

Sister Houda Fadoul

Sister Caroline Jarjis

Rita Kouroumilian

Caroline Rafaat Awd Narouz

Claire Said

Lina Taschmann

Matthew Thomas

Europe

Aleksander Banka

Geert De Cubber

Giuseppina De Simone

Sister Anne Ferrand

Helena Jeppesen-Spuhler

Sister Anna Mirijam Kaschner, C.P.S.

Father Jan Nowotnik

Oksana Pimenova

Father Luis Manuel Romero Sanchez

Maria Sabov

Oceania

Manuel Beazley

Trudy Dantis

Renée Köhler-Ryan

John Lochowiak

Father Denis Nacorda

Kelly Paget

Sister Mary Angela Perez, R.S.M.

Father Sijeesh Pullenkunnel

Susan Sela

Grace Wrackia

Under-Secretaries of the General Secretariat of the Synod

Bishop Luis Marín De San Martín, O.S.A., Titular Bishop of Suliana

Sister Nathalie Becquart, X.M.C.J.

Members of the Ordinary Council

Cardinal Charles Maung Bo, S.D.B., Archbishop of Yangon, Myanmar

Bishop Jaime Calderón Calderón of f Tapachula, Mexico

Cardinal Joseph Coutts, Archbishop of Karachi, Pakistan

Archbishop Anthony Colin Fisher, O.P., of Sydney, Australia

Archbishop Andrew Nkea Fuanya of Bamenda, Cameroon

Cardinal Oswald Gracias, Archbishop of Bombay, India

Cardinal Gérald Cyprien Lacroix, I.S.P.X., Archbishop of Québec, Canada

Archbishop Gabriel Mbilingi, C.S.Sp., of Lubango, Angola

Cardinal Dieudonné Nzapalainga, C.S.Sp., Archbishop of Bangui, Central African Republic

Cardinal Juan José Omella Omella, Archbishop of Barcelona, Spain

Cardinal Sérgio Da Rocha, Metropolitan Archbishop of São Salvador Da Bahia, Brazil

Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, O.P., Archbishop of Wien, Austria, president of the Episcopal Conference of Austria

Cardinal Daniel Fernando Sturla Berhouet, S.D.B., Archbishop of Montevideo, Uruguay

Cardinal Joseph William Tobin, C.Ss.R., Archbishop of Newark, USA

His Beatitude Ignace Youssef Iii Younan, Syrian Patriarch of Antioch, head of the Synod of the Syrian Catholic Church, Lebanon

Cardinal Matteo Maria Zuppi, Archbishop of Bologna, Italy

Special Guests

Father Alois, Prior of the Taizé Community, France

Luca Casarini, Mediterranea Saving Humans, Italy

Monsignor Severino Dianich, theologian, Italy

Eva Fernández Mateo, Catholic Action

Margaret Karram, Work of Mary-Focolare Movement

Father Hervé Legrand, O.P., theologian, France

Monsignor Armando Matteo, secretary of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, Vatican City

Father Thomas Schwartz, Germany

Other Participants

Spiritual Assistants

Father Timothy Peter Joseph Radcliffe, O.P., Oxford Monastery, Great Britain

Mother Maria Ignazia Angelini, O.S.B., Monastery of Viboldone, Italy

Referent for the Liturgy

Father Matteo Ferrari, O.S.B. Cam., Della Comunità Di Camaldoli


Experts and Facilitators

Father Dario Vitali, Italy, Coordinator of Theological Experts

Wissam Abdo, Lebanon

Father Adelson Araújo Dos Santos, S.I., Brazil

Father Paul Béré, S.J., Burkina Faso

Sister María Luisa Berzosa González, F.I., Spain

Monsignor Philippe Bordeyne, France

Monsignor Alphonse Borras, Belgium

Father Andrea Bozzolo, S.D.B., Italy

Father Pedro Manuel Brassesco, Argentina

Father Agenor Brighenti, Brazil

loy Bueno De La Fuente, Spain

Monsignor Valentino Bulgarelli, Italy

Father Juan Jorge Bytton Arellano, S.J., Peru

Sister Daniela Adriana Cannavina, C.M.R., Colombia

Sister María Suyapa Cacho Álvarez, Honduras

Father Carlo Casalone, S.J., Italy

Sandra Chaoul, Lebanon

Sister Maria Cimperman, R.S.C.J., USA

Monsignor Piero Coda, Italy

Professor Eamon Conway, Ireland

Sandie Cornish, Australia

Father Ian Cribb, S.J., Australia

Professor Klára Antonia Csiszár, Romania

Father Hyacinthe Destivelle, O.P., France

Sister Anne Béatrice Faye, C.I.C., Ivory Coast

Paolo Foglizzo, Italy

Father Carlos Maria Galli, Argentina

Iris Gonzales, Dominican Republic

Father Gaby Alfred Hachem, Lebanon

Sister Philomena Shizue Hirota, M.M.B., Japan

Austen Ivereigh, Great Britain

Claire Jonard, Belgium

Sister Jolanta Maria Kafka, R.M.I., Poland

Christina Kheng, Singapore

Leonardo Lima Gorosito, Uruguay

Mauricio Lopez Oropeza, Ecuador

Sister Laurence Loubières, X.M.C.J., Canada

Professor Rafael Luciani, Venezuela

Father Anthony Makunde, Tanzania

Father Miguel Martin, S.J., Brazil

Father David Mc Callum, S.J., USA

Father Vito Mignozzi, Italy

Sister Paola Nelemta Ngarndiguimal, S.P.C., Chad

Susan Pascoe, Australia

Father Asaeli Raass, S.V.D., Fiji Islands

Sister Yvonne Reungoat, F.M.A., France

Father Gilles Routhier, Canada

Anna Rowlands, Great Britain

Father Ormond Rush, Australia

Father José San Jose Prisco, Spain

Monsignor Pierangelo Sequeri, Italy

Thomas Söding, Germany

Sister Nicoletta Vittoria Spezzati, A.S.C., Italy

Father Christoph Theobald, S.I., France

Erica Tossani, Italy

Monsignor Juan Fernando Usma Gómez, Colombia

Myriam Wijlens, Holland

General Secretariat of the Synod

Father Justo Ariel Beramendi Orellana

Thierry Bonaventura, Communication Manager

Father Pasquale Bua

Pietro Camilli

Alfonso Salvatore Cauteruccio

Andrea Cimino

Karina Fujisawa Simonetti

Tanyja George, M. Id.

Father Ambrogio Ivan Samus

Noemi Sanches

Monsignor Tomasz Trafny

Federica Vivian

Paola Volterra Toppano

Pedro Paulo Oliveira Weizenmann

Sister Marie-Kolbe Zamora, O.S.F.

[…]

68 Comments

  1. Extremely well said. The Church has the Courage apostolate. Father James Martin’s recent book should have consisted of three words “Go to Courage”. Nothing more needed to be said on the subject. The fact that he never mentions it, or Catholic doctrine in its fullness, indicates he is part of the gay lobby.

    Reply

  2. Even with the context of the shorter quote, it’s clear that the Holy Father has some mental deficiencies. It is an utterly rambling string of incoherence.

    Deliberate vagueness.

    Reply

      • Reminds me too much of a Jesuit professor I had a State University; he taught ethics. Deliberate fuzzy answers, unclear thinking, mixed with a certain pride in knowing what cannot be explained? Repulsive, especially to an engineer.

        Reply

  3. This comment is not in disagreement with Deacon R.

    Anything Francis says that “sounds” faithful to Catholic teaching about human sexuality means nothing to me, because his actions and the actions of his agents undermine the Christian law of chastity and the sanctity of marriage.

    After all, Francis had a opportunity to pick a priest or man from “Courage” and make them a key part of Vatican Communications. Francis chose the unfaithful man desired by “New Ways Ministry” instead.

    Francis IS as Francis DOES. His words do not matter.

    Reply

  4. “I still haven’t found anyone with an identity card in the Vatican with “gay” on it.” – PF.
    It may just be me. And i certainly may be wrong. But I read this as a sarcastic statement from someone who takes the gay lobby situation as a joke. And dismisses it.
    This pope surrounds himself with clerics very sympathetic to the gay lifestyle. His very close advisor, Spadaro, maintains a website in honor of a deceased (AIDS) Italian writer specializing in the homo erotic topics. Need anything more be said about the hyper gay friendly, Fr. Martin, SJ?
    I would respectfully take the opposite view. Pope Francis has no problem with the American gay lobby. He is, in fact, quite sympathetic to their view of the Church and world.

    Reply

  5. It is quite surprising that the article, among its useful compilation of “Catholic” organizations promoting homosexuality, completely ignores the actions of Pope Francis promoting homosexuality in the Church with consequences far beyond what all of the other organizations together are doing. The catalogue of these actions is lengthy, public, and incontrovertible, as a simple Google search reveals. To mention only one instance that the article itself cites. The article and a number of others before it by Mr. Russell document in great detail the horrendous scandal and heterodoxy of gay lobbyist and advocate Fr. James Martin, Jesuit priest “in good standing” with the Church and editor-at-large of Jesuit magazine America. Despite this, Pope Francis personally appointed this notorious wolf-in-sheep’s-clothing to the Vatican’s Secretariat for Communications as recently as April 12 of this year! To claim, as Mr. Russell does, that Pope Francis wills is against aiding and supporting the gay lobby is not merely naive and myopic but absolutely false and is directly contradicted by the repeated actions of Pope Francis. As Our Lord Himself has infallibly noted, it is by their actions that men are judged, not their words.

    Reply

    • Or maybe guys like Fr Martin are just sufficiently ambiguous to slip under the radar?

      Also this “Secretariat for Communications” what does it do? Nothing as far as I can tell.

      Reply

    • “‘The pope did not enter into the details of the situation of Mrs. Davis and his meeting with her should not be considered a form of support of her position in all of its particular and complex aspects,’ Lombardi said.”
      —-
      “The Vatican is confirming that the only ‘audience’ the pope had while he was in Washington was with a former student and his family: Yayo Grassi, an openly gay Argentine who visited Francis with his longtime partner and some friends.”
      —-
      “Astorga had written to the pope to inform him that the city had given her a plot of public land where she planned to build 15 one-room homes for the transgender women she works with. ‘I have you and the convent close to my heart, as well as the people with whom you work; yoou can tell them that,’ Francis wrote in his message.”
      —-
      “Yes, says Diego Neria Lejarraga, a transgender man who says he had a private audience with the Pope in late January, reportedly a first for the pontiff. Neria was born as a girl in Spain and raised as a devout Catholic.”
      —-
      “The message of hope reportedly bowled over Lejarraga. He (sic, or should it be “sick”?) was even more surprised when Francis invited him (sic) to come to the Vatican for a personal meeting and offered to pay for it.”

      And the “dubia cardinals” have been waiting how long for a meeting with the pope? Perhaps if one of them were of the same persuasion as any of the above, they would have received an audience a long time ago?

      How many people engaged in the fight against abortion or the fight against “gay marriage” get private audiences with Pope Francis?

      Reply

      • Why do I get the feeling with the anti-Francis reactionary crowd it’s heads we win but tales he looses?

        Kim Davis is herself divorced and remarried(thus objectively living in adultery. Also her fringe sect denies the Trinity). If the Pope publicly proclaimed his meeting with her you can bet the usual suspects here would proclaim it a Pro Amoris Laetitia stunt to condone divorce. Also Ms. Davis(by what logic does DJR conclude her current marriage is valid? Mrs? Seriously?) enemies point out she is divorced and remarried and that is against Holy Writ so she is not for us a reliable poster child for opposition to immoral marriages and or pseudo-marriages.

        I don’t see how merely meeting with gays is a problem? If anything complaining about it seems to me a problem.

        “When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”Matt 9:11

        “The healthy don’t need a doctor but the sick”.

        Sister Astorga isn’t so much working with “Trans-women” but with “Lady-Boy” prostitutes.
        https://cruxnow.com/global-church/2017/07/25/nun-ministering-transgender-women-gets-thumbs-pope/

        The problem with the Dubia Cardinals is well as sympathetic as I am to their concerns (and I think Pope Francis should answer the Dubia)
        the claim to be able to “correct the Pope” looks like a challenge to Papal Authority. A reasonable case can be made this could have been handled differently.

        Anyway Deacon Russell’s article here should be non-controversial. Taken at face value the Pope isn’t the “Rainbow Pope” the media has imagined him to be.

        Ironically anti-Catholic gays seem to get that more then some anti-Francis extremists who post here.

        Pope Francis passes up chance to condemn Uganda’s anti-gays
        https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/29/uganda-gays-pope-francis

        Did the Pope Just Say Our ‘Lifestyles’ Are ‘Irresponsible?
        https://www.advocate.com/religion/2015/9/25/did-pope-just-say-our-lifestyles-are-irresponsible

        Of course Fr. Martin should just come out of the closet ;-)and tell us explicitly where he stands on the morality of homosexuality. Cause in spite of his other alleged ambiguities Pope Francis is, on this issue, clear enough.

        “Male and female God created them” (Genesis 1:28)

        “The young need to be helped to accept their own body as it was created, for thinking that we enjoy absolute power over our own bodies turns, often subtly, into thinking that we enjoy absolute power over creation.” (Pope Francis, Amoris Laetitia)

        Amoris has it’s problems. Being “pro-gay” isn’t any of them.

        Reply

        • The Francis pontificate selected the outlaw priest preferred by the outlawed New Ways Ministry for its Communications team, instead of a faithful priest from Courage.

          Reply

          • For that same “Secretariat for Communications” nonsense he also selected the CEO of EWTN.
            Again what does it do? Nothing as far as I can tell.

        • “Also Ms. Davis(by what logic does DJR conclude her current marriage is valid? Mrs? Seriously?”

          Those are merely quotes from news articles.

          Father Lombardi is the one who called Kim Davis “Mrs.,” so perhaps you should direct your question to him. Seriously.

          Not sure where you got the idea that DJR concluded Ms. Davis’ current marriage is valid. How was that conclusion arrived at, exactly?

          Catholics can be excused for being anti-Francis, no? After all, the pope has demonstrated ample ability to insult, and freely does, many of his co-religionists.

          Not sure why people think that, merely because a person is pope, he can publicly insult others freely.

          Reply

  6. To miss the forest for the trees is my take on a well intended article.
    Deacon ask whether Homosexual practice and life style was far less accepted during the Pontificates of John Paul II and Benedict XVI, or far more accepted by the Catholic Church during the Pontificate of Francis I.

    Reply

    • Dear Fr.–thank you for your comment. Regarding the forest and the trees, my hope was to present an “agnostic” view of whether and how our Holy Father is personally engaging these issues at a practical level. Why? Because people will bring their views on that issue to the article, whether I express a particular view, not.

      My more direct intention here was to illustrate that we need to disarm the existing “who am I to judge” narrative by being able to express the full narrative from that fateful press conference. The full context of what Pope Francis said on that day–regardless of the rest of the data we have–can serve to provide needed “pushback” against the gay-lobby narrative embraced by all too many in the Church who think they can “weaponize” Francis’ “who am I to judge” quote in favor of laxity on “LGBT” issues.

      Thus, I wasn’t writing with the intent to capture Pope Francis’ personal track record on these issues but rather writing to offer a stronger “apologetic” against those who twist what Francis said–the twisting of “who am I to judge” has done immense harm, and my thought is that we need to “untwist” that, if only in hopes of silencing some of the gay-lobby folks who depend so much on those five words of Francis.

      I didn’t really make that clear in the piece, but that was my modest intention.

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

      Reply

      • I trusted that was your point Deacon. My intent was to make clear to those who read my comments where I stand regards the Pontiff’s overall policy.

        Reply

  7. It sounded at the time like pope Francis making what we would come to recognize as his usual nasty type remark belittling traditional sense. He has had 4 years to clarify the impression. He has not done so. He owns “who am I to judge?”. In its most libertine light and I expect that that suits him just fine.

    Reply

  8. The “gay lobby” is in charge now. Coccopalmerio: pro-gay remarks, pro-gay book, protected gay-orgy secretary. Paglia: gay mural in cathedral, pro-gay sex-ed books. Ricca: got stuck with rent boy in elevator, etc. Bergoglio: James Martin and too many other pro-gay priests to count have been promoted, photographed with Bergoglio, etc. Can’t get enough hugs from gay couples, trannies, and abortionists.

    Deacon Russell seems stuck in June of 2013. The rest of us have seen a lot since then.

    Reply

    • It would be fine if he met with these people as a show that the church cares about them, and does not reject them. That could actually be a good thing. But he never says a thing about the sinfulness of their acts, or the position of the church, nor does he attempt to convince anyone of the correctness of the church’s stance on these things. He gives the impression, as always, that he wants to ignore or downplay Catholic doctrine, not defend it.

      Reply

      • Why does he have to say it? It seems obvious he assumes it otherwise he wouldn’t have called gay marriage and gay adoption the work of the Devil. He wouldn’t harshly condemn gender ideology. The Advocate wouldn’t have had a conniption of his condemnation of transgender ideology in the Philippines.

        Francis for his faults is not pro-homosexuality. He is for people who just happen to be gay.

        Reply

        • I have heard that before and it is not persuasive. Does it not occur to him or others that today, after 50 years of peace and love that maybe some don’t know the church’s position. But, more to the point, that those in question don’t accept the church’s position and it is his job to convince them of it, and to defend it. It is easy to be convinced that he just doesn’t see any urgency because in his world of rainbows, unicorns and lollipops – the only real evil for which someone may suffer eternal loss is not being a modern globalist social justice lover.

          Francis wants the world’s respect and love. Francis wants to be the man who ‘cured’ the church. If he is not the most pro-gay pope ever, then he’s doing a good job of hiding it.

          Reply

  9. I don’t believe Pope Francis sees any problem in the Gay Lobby. And that, to my view, is the real problem.

    Reply

  10. The problem is that Pope Francis’ actions lend support for the gay lobby. He meets with a transsexual couple at the Vatican and says, “He that was her but is he.” He meets with his former student Yayo Grassi and his homosexual boyfriend and happily takes photos with them while forbidding photos to be taken with pro-family advocate Kim Davis. Mr. Grassi said in an interview shortly after the meeting that in all the years he has know Pope Francis he has never had the sense that the pope disapproved of his gay lifestyle. Pope Francis was notable for his silence in the face of evil campaigns to introduce gay civil unions to Italy and gay marriage in Ireland. Faithful Catholics in these two countries were desperately disappointed that they did not get any clear statements condemning the proposed changes from the Holy Father. On his visit to Paraguay the pope arranged to meet a leading “married” gay rights advocate who opposes church teaching on human sexuality. Former Master General of the Dominicans Fr. Timothy Radcliffe who was sidelined under the papacy of Pope Benedict for his controversial views on homosexuality and enthusiastic support of gay civil unions was appointed by Pope Francis to the appointed as a Vatican consultant last year. This is just one of many examples of Pope Francis appointing, promoting and favoring priests and prelates such as Cardinals Cupich, Danneels and Coccopalmeiro who in their public statements are supportive of the gay agenda. Who appointed Fr. James Martin to his current position? To say that the pope is against the gay lobby is disingenuous.

    Reply

    • Francis IS what Francis does.

      When JP2 or B16 served as pontiff, what they said and what they did were consistent and faithful.

      Unfortunately, we must accept that this is not so since 2013…

      Reply

  11. Just to be clear, Courage ministry to Catholics who experience same-sex attractions, does not promise a change of sexual orientation. In fact, they are candid that is not the norm. They simply insist on lifelong celibacy. They do not explain why that would work for all LGBT people on the planet when supposedly celibate clergy numbers are depleted in much of the world, and the scandals over cover-ups of pedophilia scandals continue, as evidenced by George Pell, the Pope’s senior adviser, left to answer criminal charges last month.

    Reply

    • There is no burden of proof on Courage–as you imply there is.

      Courage’s position is that the Sixth Commandment is to be obeyed. Which is to say, God is to be obeyed.

      Actually, this has absolutely nothing to do with the clergy or with “celibacy.” It has to do with the obligation of every unmarried human being to be continent.

      Reply

    • Rusty, you do realize that celibate mean not being married? It is assumed that those who are celibate are ALSO chaste.

      “They simply insist on lifelong celibacy.” and probably chasity.

      Reply

    • There is not and was never a pedophilia scandal. There is and was instead a homo-sexual predator scandal.

      That is the reality.

      Case in point: Cdl. Danneels – who was caught on tape covering up for his friend Bishop Vanderweighe, a “bishop” who sodomized his own nephew.

      Danneels somehow couldn’t find a way to hold Vanderweighe
      accountable, or report the case to the pope. He instead asked the victim to shut up and blame himself.

      Reply

  12. At the Catholic Monitor we detail with repect, but implicit humor how Pope Francis is strolling hand in hand with the gay mafia.

    The most important part of the Pope Francis and Gay Mafia post is a call for prayer for Francis especially that he answer the dubia and for the dubia Cardinals to issue the correction if he doesn’t answer soon. Eternal souls are at stake.

    May Cardinal Burke be given the grace of courage to correct Francis as Paul corrected Peter.

    Reply

  13. From a Crux article dated 1/15/2016 by John Allen.

    “Yet when Italians say there’s a “gay lobby” in the Vatican, they don’t mean an organized faction with the aim of changing Church teaching on homosexuality or same-sex marriage.

    Instead, what they have in mind is an informal, loosely organized network of clergy who support one another, keep one another’s secrets, and help one another move up the ladder. The group is perceived to have a vested interest in thwarting attempts at reform, since they benefit from secrecy and old-guard ways.

    It’s called “gay” because, the theory goes, a Vatican official’s homosexuality can be a very powerful secret, especially if he’s sexually active, and threatening to expose him can be an effective way of keeping him in line. It’s hardly the only such possibility, however, and, in any event, the emphasis is not on sex but secrecy, as well as the related impression of people getting promoted or decisions being made on the basis of personal quid pro quos.”

    Reply

    • Is John Allen a balanced Catholic who supports faithful/orthodox Catholics and rejects dissent from infallible Church teachings?

      Spadaro’s recent attack on “value voters” or pro-life & pro-family Catholics is only a rehash of Allen’s 2006 speech where he called pro-life Catholics “Taliban Catholicism” according to lifesitenewscom.

      Allen called the National Catholic Reporter “balanced” and a ” precious gift.” NCR is pro homosexual “marriage” and has columnist who “rejects the Church’s condemnation of sodomy” according to lifesitenews.com. (“John Allen’s strategy for legitimating Catholic dissent,” lifesitenews.com, May 19, 2011)

      Reply

  15. Thank you for this very interesting post. I have found New Ways Ministry, FAN, Catholics United, and other pseudo “catholic” organizations are attempting to infiltrate and create upheaval in faithful Catholic organizations, such as the Franciscans and the Knights of Columbus, with varying degrees of success. When I clicked on the link in the article from New Ways Ministry (which has been condemned by the Church), I found my own parish listed as “gay-friendly”. I assume this is because there is a yearly Mass celebrated for the families of gay people, to support and comfort them, and to pray for them all. That is the only ministry offered by my parish that is in any way specifically aimed at homosexuality. Personally, I do not see that this makes my parish gay-friendly, although NWM seems to. Perhaps we should take anything NWM says or claims with a hearty grain of salt. They seem to manipulate many good Catholic people to support their agenda. The only way to fight this is to let the light in and speak the truth of the Church. God bless all here – Susan, ofs

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  16. Wake up people. Amoris Laetitia was never really about communion for adulterers; it was about communion for actively practicing homosexuals. Because if unrepentant adulterers can receive the Eucharist then so can unrepentant homosexuals. The logic is inexorable and unavoidable. This has been the agenda from the beginning. It was a plan germinated by the St. Gallen’s Mafia long ago and it has now been implemented. They understood that the plight of the remarried mom of five who would be left destitute by her “husband” if she followed the Lord’s Commandment against adultery was the more sympathetic case. Note how, while some of us are still insisting that communion for unrepentant adulterers is impossible, they’ve already moved on with lightning speed to the integration of active homosexuals. While we are saying “What just happened?” they are driving home their victory.

    Reply

  17. “Who am I to judge” was his “new sheriff in town” pronouncement. And the new sheriff didn’t care much about all that abortion and sex stuff, and has no patience for anyone who does.

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  18. “Who am I to judge” means – “look at me, see how wonderful and up to date and liberal and tolerant and warm and fuzzy I am, not like all those mean old paranoid guys who came before me, give me your love and respect.”

    Reply

  19. Since I have great respect for DCN Russell, it is painful to watch the mental gymnastics he uses to defend the worst Pope since the Renaissance. Francis called Emma Bonino – the Italian abortionist who has boasted of performing 10,000 abortions, who promoted divorce and homosexual “marriage” – one of the “greats of the Italian political scene.” At every turn, he surrounds himself with apologists for perversion, sodomites and heretics, he persecutes faithful Cardinals, he mocks traditional Catholics and traditional devotions, and praises those historic figures who have destroyed the fabric of Christian society. Bergoglio is doing the work of Satan, pure and simple.

    Reply

    • Apologies for any pain inflicted. 🙂 But, truth be told, I don’t view my piece at all as a “defense” of Pope Francis. That’s just not the intent of the piece. Rather, I’m seeking to illustrate just how his *actual* words from that 2013 press conference can be employed as a real antidote against the false narrative of the gay lobby, which uses “who am I to judge” as a bludgeon.

      If “who am I to judge” is an effective blunt instrument for the opposition, simply because those are five words uttered by a pope, we need to keep in mind that the words uttered by the pope against the concept of the “gay lobby” during the *same* press conference provide an effective antidote against every last person who misuses “who am I to judge.”

      I kind of wish I’d said as much in the piece, but I didn’t, so I hope this gives better context. God bless and thanks for reading!

      Reply

      • Deacon –

        I read that message btw the lines when I first read your essay. I know what you were saying.

        And thanks for helping me to fight the good fight.

        Reply

      • Two things. Nothing wrong with defending out pope. Next, I thought your story cleared up the misunderstanding beautifully. I think gay groups and also, be fair, anti-Francis Catholics butchered his true meaning. Pox on both of them.

        Reply

    • The weirder Pope Francis gets, the harder is is to take him seriously. After reading the recent Spadaro Figuero nonsense article, I doubt the Pope and his friends have enough brains to be dangerous. They are increasingly like an episode of Benny Hill.

      Reply

    • Professor French teacher,

      It is a historic fact Pope Alexander VI condemned the slave trade. That Alexander VI was at least one of the top three worst Popes would not change that fact especially if one is confronted with anti-Catholic propagandists who want to claim the Church condones slavery.
      Taken his words at face value. Pope Francis is hardly “pro-gay” whatever his alleged views on communion for the divorced and invalidly married.

      Of course if I adopt your mentality and turn it against Traditionalism what should I conclude? Well Traditonalism is associated with Schism(SSPX), heresy (since in the 19th century persons who espoused Fideist heresy called themselves “Traditionalists”), holocaust denial (Bishop Williamson), fringe pseudo-scientific theories (geocentracism), Sedevicantism, Antisemitism (Williamson & Fr. Scott/no relation), and a host of fringe lunacy political theories involving reviving monarchies.

      Sounds Devilish to me. If I didn’t know any sane Trads like my buddy Pete Vere or Edward Feser I would never have become a Traditional Thomist.

      Why are you under the delusion you people have a good reputation?
      No wonder the Pope is suspicious of you.

      Reply

      • That doesn’t make sense. Why are you comparing what the people think about the pope, one man, with what they might think about a group of people because of what one man said? We can conclude that Williamson is a lot of things, anti-Semite etc. that would be a valid deduction, because he is.

        How do we know that about him? by what he says and does. Same thing with the pope. We know that at the least he doesn’t care very much for people who think that the 6th commandment is important. By your argument, we must only refrain from concluding that the rest of the church shares his lack of concern… And with that I agree.

        Reply

        • Well I am trying to be as unfair as possible to Traditionalists and read them in the worst possible light on purpose just like Williams is doing to Pope Francis and those who justly defend his justly defensible actions.

          (btw it’s not just Williamson who is the sole villain in Traditionalism. To paraphrase Chris from Maryland Lefebvre choose this lunatic to be a bishop and Fellay kept him on. He could have chosen someone who doesn’t deny the holocaust. So I think I am on solid ground suspecting the whole movement. If I choose to be unfair. Which is my point.)

          Reply

          • But, nobody is making the argument that the whole modern church is soft on gay issues because the pope mocked the idea of gay mafia in the Vatican. What he is saying is that the pope seems to be found wanting in areas concerning, among things, gays.

            Pointing out that Williamson is anti-Semitic or that you think some other traditional themes are kooky, doesn’t help the pope’s reputation even if he is right to be suspicious.

    • additional:

      Oh I forgot Traditionalist sex abuse.

      https://cruxnow.com/global-church/2017/04/05/report-charges-cover-traditionalist-society/

      https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/apr/05/catholic-sspx-resistance-uk-harbours-clergy-accused-sexual-abuse-richard-williamson

      BTW Pope Francis is in spite of this trying to get the SSPX back into the church. He is bending over father then St JP2 or B16 did.

      https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/apr/05/catholic-sspx-resistance-uk-harbours-clergy-accused-sexual-abuse-richard-williamson

      Just saying.

      Reply

  20. Fr. Edmundus Waldstein, O. Cist., at sancrucensis.wordpress.com, reported why Pope Francis praised dissent Bernhard Häring who promoted allowing intrinsically evil acts :

    “In a discussion with the General Congregation of the Society of Jesus, the Holy Father praised Fr. Bernhard Häring for having helped overcome a decadent scholastic moral theology that had been fixated on negative commandments, and opened up a way for moral theology to flourish. Now, Häring’s moral theology is a great example of what it might mean to begin processes as opposed to occupying spaces.” (Dubia and Initiating Processes, December 7, 2017, sancrucensis.wordpress.com)

    Amoris Laetitia supporter Jeff Mirus in a March 7, 2017 article for Catholic Culture.com said anyone who would praise Haring “as one of the first to give Catholic moral theology new life in the twentieth century must be ignorant, confused, or subversive.”

    In the beginning of the post, titled “Pope Francis and Bernard Haring: The literally infernal cheek of dissent,” Mirus said:

    “Pope Francis praised…Fr. Bernard Haring, for being one of the first to try to revive an ailing moral theology following the Second Vatican Council.”

    The article presented some of the moral theologian’s dissenting heretical teachings:

    “In his 1973 book Medical Ethics Haring defended sterilization, contraception and artificial insemination…According to Haring, under difficult circumstances, we may engage in a process of discernment which leads to the commission of intrinsically evil acts.”

    The Kasper proposal agenda which became Amoris Laetitia is all about allowing intrinsically evil acts such as adultery and homosexuality. Fr. Z said at his website on April 16, 2016:

    “‘Homosexuality’ was the bigger issue with the Kasperites… This is still the Kasperite strategy.”

    The Kasper agenda and Amoris Laetitia’s unavoidable logic is:

    It follows that if unrepentant adulterers can receive Holy Communion, then unrepentant homosexuals can receive the Eucharist, too.

    The bigger agenda of Cardinal Kasper and Häring (besides allowing intrinsically evil acts), which Francis probably doesn’t understand, is a Hegelian philosophic idealistic subjective metaphysics of historical becoming which denies the eternal and/or objective truths of the Classical Greek/Thomistic metaphysics of being.

    Waldstein, O. Cist., explains:

    “This is a soft version of certain strands of modern historicism, indebted to Hegel. Having abandoned nature, and an objective teleological order, Hegel and some of his followers give to history a role analogous to that played by nature in classical philosophy…. Häring is proposing something similar for the life of the Church.”

    “I call this sort of historicism “soft” since its proponents would not all be willing to affirm the dark core of Hegel’s account of the good. But by adopting historicist terms they tend to draw conclusions that imply the basically subjectivist, modern account of the good, and the account of freedom that follows from it. Thomas Stark has shown how these problems play out in the theology of Cardinal Kasper.” [https://sancrucensis.wordpress.com/2016/12/07/dubia-and-initiating-processes/#more-5361]

    The Classical Greek/Thomistic philosophy of being or objective truth and Revelation is the basis of all Catholic infallible doctrinal and moral teachings as well as the basis of Western Civilization and offshoots of it such as charity, objective intrinsic human rights and science.

    If intrinsically evil acts are allowed through a denial of objective truth and objective Revelation, then not only does Catholic doctrinal and moral teachings collapse, but Western Civilization, also, collapses.

    Reply

  21. Prayer for Conversion of Pope Francis

    Jesus said to St. Faustina:

    “When you say this prayer with a contrite heart and with faith… I will give the grace of conversion.”

    This is the prayer:

    “O Blood and Water, which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a fount of Mercy for us, I trust in You.” (Divine Mercy Diary 186, 187)

    Say this prayer every day for the general intention of the conversion of Pope Francis and that the courage of St. Paul be given to the dubia Cardinals.

    The specific intention of the prayer is for Francis to answer the dubia questions of the four Cardinals. If he doesn’t answer soon then may a torrent of grace give the dubia Cardinals the courage to issue the correction.

    In no way do I mean this request for prayer to dishonor Pope Francis. I do not want to commit the sin of railing.

    I honor the Office of Peter that he holds.

    St. Paul honored St. Peter, but when he clearly witnessed Peter manifesting error and confusion on the infallible teachings of the Church by his actions & words, he “rebuked” or corrected him for the good of the first Pope and the Church.

    As in the time of Paul, it is now very clear that Francis is manifesting error and confusion on the infallible teachings of the Church by his actions & words.

    In the Catholic Monitor, I have tried to present the evidence in a straight forward manner without polemics although sometimes I implicitly used humor.

    I may have used and I have quoted others who used a tone that could be considered harsh, but not, I believe, different from the tone Paul used on Peter.

    Please read the posts in this website for clear evidence of Pope Francis’s errors.

    Please remember what a great priest in our present troubled time said:

    We get the leaders we deserve. What have we done to preserve the Catholic faith? Have we prayed and practiced our Catholic life? Or do we just talk about it? In that case we get what we deserve.

    Please pray and practice your Catholic faith for your sake, for your family and friends sake and for the Church.

    Pray especially for Francis and Cardinal Burke & the dubia Cardinals.

    The most reliable Vatican expert in the world Edward Pentin reported on why it is of the upmost importance to pray for the Pope:

    “Whatever the exact truth behind the lurid and disturbing story, it has further exposed such gravely sinful behavior taking place in the Vatican that one senior member of the curia says has ‘never been worse.’”

    “According to reports in the mainstream media, Vatican police broke up a drug-fueled homosexual debauched party in an apartment of the Holy Office, but how true is it?”

    “The news first broke in a June 28 article in Il Fatto Quotidiano…”

    “The article’s author, Francesco Antonio Grana, says Pope Francis, whose Santa Marta residence is just 500 yards from the Holy Office, was aware of the raid and knew of the monsignor’s capture…”

    “In the meantime, a reliable senior member of the curia has told the Register that he has heard from “multiple sources” that the story is true, including from another senior curial figure.”

    “He said the extent of homosexual practice in the Vatican has ‘never been worse…’”

    “The precise details of the reported events in the CDF therefore remain open to question, but the substance of the story appears to be true. If so, many would find such behavior taking place in the Holy Office not only unconscionable but also highly sacrilegious…”

    “In light of the latest scandal and the current situation, one former official urged readers to recall the warnings of the Lord on homosexual acts, especially between priests, as explained by St. Catherine of Siena in her Dialogues written as if dictated by God Himself.”

    “The medieval mystic, co-patron of Rome and Doctor of the Church, relayed the words at a time when a number of clergy had fallen into grave sin.”

    “Such priests, the Lord told St. Catherine, not only fail from resisting their fallen nature, ‘but do even worse as they commit the cursed sin against nature [homosexual acts].’”

    “’Like the blind and stupid having dimmed the light of the understanding, they do not recognize the disease and misery in which they find themselves,’ the Lord continued, adding that it not only causes God ‘nausea, but displeases even the demons themselves, whom these miserable creatures have chosen as their lords.’”

    “He added that ‘this sin against nature is so abominable that, for it alone, five cities were submersed, by virtue of the judgement of My Divine Justice, which could no longer bear them.’ The Lord told St. Catherine that even the demons are ‘repulsed upon seeing such an enormous sin being committed.’”

    “As a remedy, St. Catherine recounted the Lord saying:

    ‘Never cease offering me the incense of fragrant prayers for the salvation of souls, for I want to be merciful to the world. With your prayers and sweat and tears, I will wash the face of my bride, Holy Church. I showed her to you earlier as a maiden whose face was all dirtied as if she were a leper. The clergy and the whole of Christianity are to blame for this because of their sins, though they receive their nourishment at the breast of this bride.’”

    (Click for complete July 8th, 2017 National Catholic Register article by Edward Pentin: http://m.ncregister.com/blog/edward-pentin/the-drug-fueled-homosexual-scandal-allegations-at-the-holy-office#.WWELJXNlAwi)

    Jesus have mercy on the Church.

    Mary and Joseph pray for the Church.

    Reply

  22. Francis, Cupich, James Martin…. we already all know, right? Knaves, fools, sops, or sellouts. Done with the faux respect. These men further evil. Much like 80% of the Jesuits.

    Reply

  23. There is just reason to be angry because of the undeniable distorting of Church teachings by Pope Francis and his appointees.

    You can use that anger to motivate you to trust God and do good.

    Or you can make your anger the center of the universe not trusting that God is allowing this crisis and is in total control allowing Francis’s and your free will in the mix.

    St. Thomas said of Paul’s rebuke of Peter:

    “The manner of the rebuke was fitting, i.e., public and plain… the Apostle opposed Peter in the exercise of authority, not in his authority of ruling.”

    Pray and ask others to pray for Pope Francis and the Dubia Cardinals specifically that the dubia questions be answered soon or a correction be issued.

    Pray the rosary and do penance as Our Lady of Fatima requested.

    Reply

  24. Has anyone else heard the when St. Pope John Paul ii was about to make our Pope an Archbishop a leader of the Jesuit Order, warned him not to? “You can not do this. This man changes his mind; he says one thing then another. He is unstable” It would explain his strange behaviour
    John Paul replied : ” I need him as he is one not promoting Liberation theology. “

    Reply

    • The story sounds apocryphal to me, but the fact that it is circulating and believable says just as much about Bergoglio.

      Reply

  25. The well-meaning Deacon is trying so hard to make a silk purse out of a pig’s ear; a good example of normalcy bias…..the street term would be “ostrich effect”

    Reply

  26. All this hype about someone else’s sexuality, someone else’s sin. Why,,,, YOUR mortal sin is WAY worse than OUR mortal sin. Seeing how homosexuality is approximately 8-10% of the population, much ado is always made about this minority’s actions. Magazines, newspapers, movies, internet, what have you ,promote the immorality of the majority sexuality. Adultery, promiscuity, pornography, or what licentiousness you may have. etc. etc. are much a part of everyday life for the 90-92% heterosexuals, yet so little is made concerning their own immorality. Where is the cry for celibacy, faithfulness to their partners, etc. ? All this talk about what someone else should do with their lives, not your own.
    ” Thank God I’m not a sinner like them” prayed the Pharisee.

    Reply

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