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Bishops around the world are divided over Vatican’s same-sex blessing declaration  

Tyler Arnold   By Tyler Arnold for CNA

December 20, 2023 Catholic News Agency The Dispatch 21 Print

(Credit: lunamarina/Shutterstock)

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 20, 2023 / 18:10 pm (CNA).

Catholic bishops around the world are deeply divided on a Vatican declaration that permits nonliturgical blessings of homosexual couples: some bishops are welcoming the news, some are approaching it with caution, while others are outright refusing to implement it.

In some countries, including Austria, Germany, and France, many Church leaders have warmly embraced the new guidelines on blessings. The heads of the bishops’ conferences in both Germany and Austria have suggested that priests cannot refuse to perform blessings for homosexual couples.

Church leaders in other countries, namely the United States, the Philippines, Ukraine, Ghana, and Kenya, have mostly accepted the declaration but are also urging caution in its implementation. This, they say, is to avoid any confusion that would lead people to incorrectly believe the Church permits homosexual activity.

Alternatively, Church leaders in at least three countries are refusing to implement the declaration entirely: Kazakhstan, Malawi, and Zambia. Two Kazakh bishops have been more critical than others, going as far as admonishing Pope Francis for approving the declaration.

The declaration, titled Fiducia Supplicans, allows “spontaneous” pastoral blessings for “same-sex couples” and other couples in “irregular situations.” It does not allow liturgical blessings for homosexual couples and states the pastoral blessings “should never be imparted in concurrence with the ceremonies of a civil union and not even in connection with them” and cannot “be performed with any clothing, gestures, or words that are proper to a wedding.”

Bishops embrace blessing of homosexual couples

Some of the most enthusiastic support for the Vatican declaration came from high-ranking Church officials in Austria, Germany, and France.

Archbishop Franz Lackner, who heads the Austrian Bishops’ Conference, expressed “joy” over the Vatican declaration, according to an interview with Österreichischer Rundfunk, an Austrian public media company.

The archbishop said a relationship between a man and a woman is “ideal,” but “a relationship between two of the same sex is not entirely without truth: love, loyalty, and even hardship are shared with one another.”

Lackner said it is difficult to speak of a “must” in terms of religious life but that “basically, [a priest] can no longer say no” to blessing a homosexual couple.

Austria’s neighbors to the north in Germany are similarly embracing the declaration.

Bishop Georg Bätzing, who heads the German Bishops’ Conference, said he is “grateful for the pastoral perspective [the declaration] takes,” which he claims “points to the pastoral importance of a blessing that cannot be refused upon personal request.”

The bishop explained that blessings for homosexual couples are different from a marriage. He said that “a simple blessing need not and cannot require the same moral conditions that are required for receiving the sacraments.”

In France, Archbishop Hervé Giraud of the Archdiocese of Sens and Auxerre told the French Catholic news outlet La Croix that the declaration provides “another idea of blessing, a blessing of growth and not a blessing of pure recognition” and suggested that he may bless homosexual couples himself.

“I myself could give a blessing to a same-sex couple, because I believe it’s based on a beautiful idea of blessing, according to the Gospel and the style of Christ,” Giraud said.

Bishops taking a more cautious approach

Numerous bishops around the world have accepted the declaration from the Vatican but have cautioned against misrepresenting the guidelines in a way that would suggest that the Church condones homosexual behavior.

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops issued a statement that highlighted the “distinction between liturgical (sacramental) blessings and pastoral blessings” and said: “The Church’s teaching on marriage has not changed, and this declaration affirms that, while also making an effort to accompany people through the imparting of pastoral blessings because each of us needs God’s healing love and mercy in our lives.”

Diocesan approaches have varied. Some bishops, like Bishop Andrew Cozzens of the Diocese of Crookston, Minnesota, are emphasizing the Church’s continued prohibition on homosexual activities: “It is impossible for us to bless a same-sex union … [but] we may bless individuals who are not yet living in full accord with the Gospel,” the bishop said.

Other bishops, such as Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago, suggested the Vatican document was a positive step for the Church. “We welcome this declaration, which will help many more in our community feel the closeness and compassion of God,” the cardinal said.

Filipino Archbishop Socrates Villegas of the Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan took a similar approach that emphasizes the Church’s teaching on homosexual behavior, saying that proper blessings for couples in irregular situations would be “asking God to have pity on both of them and to give them the grace of conversion so that they can regularize their relationships.”

“Priests who are invited to bless couples in irregular situations should choose the appropriate words to reveal this intent of the Church,” the archbishop said.

The statement from the Conference of Roman Catholic Bishops of Ukraine similarly said that the document provides “no ‘permission’ or ‘blessing’ for homosexual cohabitation or any life in sin.” The bishops were also critical of how the document was worded.

“What we missed in the document is that the Gospel calls sinners to conversion, and without a call to abandon the sinful life of homosexual couples, the blessing can look like approval,” the statement read.

Bishops in some African countries, such as Ghana and Kenya, also emphasized that the Church does not approve of homosexual activities when commenting on the declaration.

“If a gay couple goes to the priest to bless them, and the pope says yes, you are blessing the people and not the union,” Bishop Matthew Kwasi Gyamfi, the president of the Ghana Catholic Bishops Conference, said in an interview with Eyewitness News.

The Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops issued a statement that noted that the Church works to “recover the lost and redirect all sinners back to the fount of salvation and of eternal life” but does not endorse sinful behavior, such as homosexual activity.

“In blessing persons, we do not bless the immoral actions they may perform but hope that the blessing and prayers offered over them as human persons will provoke them to conversion and to return to the ways of the Lord,” the statement read.

Bishops in three countries refuse to implement declaration

In at least three countries — Kazakhstan, Malawi, and Zambia — Church leaders are refusing to implement the Vatican declaration in any way.

Archbishop Tomash Peta and Auxiliary Bishop Athanasius Schneider of the Archdiocese of St. Mary in Astana, Kazakhstan, admonished Pope Francis and argued that the blessing of homosexual couples is a “great deception” and “evil” and has “far-reaching and destructive consequences.”

“To bless couples in an irregular situation and same-sex couples is a serious abuse of the most holy name of God since this name is invoked upon an objectively sinful union of adultery or of homosexual activity,” the joint statement read, adding that the Church becomes “a propagandist of the globalist and ungodly ‘gender ideology’” if it permits such blessings.

The bishops forbade priests from performing such blessings, called on Pope Francis to revoke the declaration, and claimed that Pope Francis “does not walk uprightly according to the truth of the Gospel,” quoting St. Paul’s epistle to the Galatians.

The Episcopal Conference of Malawi issued a statement saying it would not allow its priests to bless homosexual unions but did not directly criticize the pontiff. Rather, their statement said “certain erroneous interpretations … have generated interest, fears, and worries among Catholics.”

“We direct that for pastoral reasons, blessings of any kind and for same-sex unions of any kind are not permitted in Malawi,” the statement read.

Bishops in Malawi’s neighbor to the West, Zambia, issued a similar statement, refusing to allow their priests to bless homosexual couples.

The Zambia Conference of Catholic Bishops statement noted that the Vatican declaration “is not and should not be understood as an endorsement of same-sex unions,” noting that the Scripture “presents homosexual acts as acts of grave depravity.”

To avoid confusion, and to ensure the clergy does not violate any Zambian laws, the statement said the Vatican document will be “taken as for further reflection and not for implementation in Zambia.”

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Traditional Latin Mass devotees grapple with Pope Francis’ restrictions on the liturgy they love

August 10, 2021 Catholic News Agency 9
Maureen McKinley milks one of her family’s goats in their backyard with help from three of her children, Madeline (behind), Fiona and Augustine on Monday, Aug. 2, 2021. McKinley and her family own two goats, chickens, a rabbit, and a dog. / Jake Kelly

Denver Newsroom, Aug 10, 2021 / 16:32 pm (CNA).

With five children ages 10 and under to care for, and a pair of goats, a rabbit, chickens and a dog to tend to, Maureen and Matt McKinley rely on a structured routine to keep their busy lives on track.

Chores, nap times, scheduled story hours – they’re all important staples of their day. But the center of the McKinleys’ routine, what focuses their family life and strengthens their Catholic faith, they say, is the Traditional Latin Mass. 

Its beauty, reverence, and timelessness connect them to a rich liturgical legacy that dates back centuries.

“This is the Mass that made so many saints throughout time,” observes Maureen, 36, a parishioner at Mater Misericordiæ Catholic Church in Phoenix.

“You know what Mass St. Alphonsus Ligouri, St. Therese, St. Teresa of Avila and St. Augustine were attending? The Traditional Latin Mass,” Maureen says.

“We could have a conversation about it, and we would have all experienced the exact same thing,” she says. “That’s exciting.”

Recent developments in the Catholic Church, however, have curbed some of that excitement. On July 16, Pope Francis released a motu proprio titled Traditiones custodis, or “Guardians of the Tradition”, that has cast doubt on the future of the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) – and deeply upset and confused many of its devotees.

Pope Francis’ directive rescinds the freedom Pope Benedict XVI granted to priests 14 years ago to say Masses using the Roman Missal of 1962, the form of liturgy prior to Vatican II, without first seeking their bishop’s approval. Under the new rules, bishops now have the “exclusive competence” to decide where, when, and whether the TLM can be said in their dioceses.

In a letter accompanying the motu proprio, Pope Francis maintains that the faculties granted to priests by his predecessor have been “exploited to widen the gaps, reinforce the divergences, and encourage disagreements that injure the Church, block her path, and expose her to the peril of division.”

Using the word “unity” a total of 15 times in the accompanying letter, the pope suggests that attending the TLM is anything but unifying, going so far as to correlate a strong personal preference for such masses with a rejection of Vatican II.

Weeks later, many admirers of the “extraordinary” form of the Roman rite – the McKinleys among them – are still struggling to wrap their minds and hearts around the pope’s order, and the pointed tone he used to deliver it. 

Maureen McKinley says she had never considered herself a “traditionalist Catholic” before. Instead, she says she and her husband have just “always moved toward the most reverent way to worship and the best way to teach our children.”

“It didn’t feel like I became a particular type of Catholic by going to Mater Misericordiæ. But since the motu proprio came out, I feel like I have been categorized, like I was something different, something other than the rest of the Church,” she says.

“It feels like our Holy Father doesn’t understand this whole group of people who love our Lord so much.” 

McKinley isn’t alone in feeling this way. Sadness, anger, frustration, and disbelief are some common themes in conversations among those who regularly attend the TLM.

They want to understand and support the Holy Father, but they also see the restriction as unnecessary, especially when plenty of other more pressing issues in the Church abound.

Eric Matthews, another Mater Misericordiæ parishioner, views the new restrictions as an “attack on devout Catholic culture,” citing the beauty that exists across the rites recognized within the Church. There are seven rites recognized in the Catholic Church: Latin, Byzantine, Alexandrian or Coptic, Syriac, Armenian, Maronite, and Chaldean. 

“It’s the same Mass,” says Matthews, 39, who first discovered the TLM about eight years ago. “It’s just different languages, different cultures, but the people that you have there are there for the right reasons.”

Eric and Geneva Matthews with their four children. / Narissa Lowicki
Eric and Geneva Matthews with their four children. / Narissa Lowicki

Different paths to the TLM

The pope’s motu proprio directly affects a tiny fraction of U.S. Catholics – perhaps as few as 150,000, or less than 1 percent of some 21 million regular Mass-goers, according to some estimates. According to one crowd-sourced database, only about 700 venues – compared to over 16,700 parishes nationwide – offer the TLM.

Also, since the motu proprio’s release July 16, only a handful of bishops have stopped the TLM in their dioceses. Of those bishops who have made public responses, most are allowing the Masses to continue as before – in some cases because they see no evidence of disunity, and in others because they need more time to study the issue.

But for those who feel drawn to the TLM – for differing reasons that have nothing to do with a rejection of Vatican II – it feels as if the ground has shifted under their feet.

Maureen McKinley wants her children to understand the importance of hard work, of which they have no shortage when it comes to their urban farm. After morning prayer, Maureen milks the family’s goats with the help of the children. Madeline (age 10) feeds the bunny; Augustine (7) exercises the dog; John (6) checks for eggs from the chickens; and Michael (4) helps anyone he chooses. 

With a noisy clatter in the kitchen, the McKinleys eat breakfast, tidy up their rooms, and begin their daily activities. They break at 11 a.m. to head to daily Mass at Mater Misericordiæ, an apostolate of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter (FSSP), where they first attended two years ago. 

Matt, 34, wanted to know how the early Christians worshipped.

“The funny thing about converts is they’re always wanting more,” says Maureen, who was, at first, a little resistant to the idea of attending the TLM because she didn’t know Latin. “Worship was a big part of his conversion.” 

Maureen agreed to follow her husband’s lead, and they continued to attend the TLM. What kept them coming back week after week was the reverence for the Eucharist.

“Matt had a really hard time watching so many people receive communion in the hand at the other parish,” says Maureen. “He says he didn’t want our kids to think that that was the standard. That’s the exception to the rule, not the rule.”

Reverence in worship also drew Elizabeth Sisk to the TLM. A 28-year-old post-anesthesia care unit nurse, she attends both the Novus Ordo, the Mass promulgated by St. Paul VI in 1969, and the extraordinary form in Raleigh, North Carolina, where her parish, the Holy Name of Jesus Cathedral, offers the TLM on the first Sunday of the month. 

Sisk has noticed recently that more people in her area — especially young people who are converts to Catholicism — are attending both forms of the Mass. While the Novus Ordo is what brought many of them, herself included, to the faith, she feels that the extraordinary form invites them to go deeper.

“We want to do something radical with our lives,” Sisk says. “To be Catholic right now as a young person is a really radical decision. I think the people who choose to be Catholic right now, we’re all in. We don’t want ‘watered-down’ Catholicism.”

Elizabeth Sisk stands in front of Holy Name of Jesus Cathedral in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Elizabeth Sisk stands in front of Holy Name of Jesus Cathedral in Raleigh, North Carolina.

With the lack of Christian values in the world today, Sisk desires “something greater,” which she says she can tell is happening in the TLM.

Many TLM parishes saw an increase in attendance during the pandemic, as they were often the only churches open while many others shut their doors or held Masses outside. This struck some as controversial, if not disobedient to the local government. For others, it was a saving grace to have access to the sacraments.

The priests at Erin Hanson’s parish obtained permission from the local bishop to celebrate Mass all day, every day, with 10 parishioners at a time during the height of the COVID pandemic.

“We were being told by the world that church is not necessary,” says Hanson, a 39-year-old mother of three. “Our priest says, ‘No, that’s a lie. Our church is essential. Our salvation is essential. The sacraments are essential.’”

Andy Stevens, 52, came into the Church through the TLM, much to the surprise of his wife, Emma, who had been a practicing Catholic for many years. Andy was “very adamantly not going to become Catholic,” but was happy to help Emma with their children at Mass. It wasn’t until they attended a TLM that Andy began to think differently about the Church.

“He believed that you die and then there is nothing, and he never really spoke to me about becoming a Catholic,” says Emma, 48, who was pregnant with their seventh child at the time.

Andy noticed an intense focus among the worshippers, which he recognized as a “real presence of God” that he didn’t see anywhere else. After the birth of their 7th child, he joined the Church.

All 12 of the Stevens’ children prefer the TLM to the Novus Ordo.

Emma and Andy Stevens with their 12 children in Oxford, England.
Emma and Andy Stevens with their 12 children in Oxford, England.

“It’s a Mass of the ages,” says their eldest son, Ryan, 27. “I can feel the veil between heaven and earth palpably thinner.” 

A native of Chicago, Adriel Gonzalez, 33, remembers attending the TLM as a child, which he did not particularly like. It was “very long, very boring,” and the people who went to the TLM were “very stiff and they could come off as judgmental” towards his family, he says.

Gonzalez, who also attended Mass in Spanish with his family, didn’t understand the differences among rites, since Chicago was a sort of “salad bowl, ethnically,” he says, and Mass was celebrated in many languages and forms. 

He took a step back from faith for some time, he says, noting that he had a “respectability issue” with the Christianity he grew up with. He watched as some of his friends were either thoughtless in the way they practiced their faith, or were “on fire,” but lacked intentionality. When he did come back to the faith, it was through learning about the Church’s intellectual tradition.

He spent time in monasteries and Eastern Catholic parishes with the Divine Liturgy because there was “something so obviously ancient about it.” He decided to stay within the Roman rite with a preference for a reverent Novus Ordo. 

When he moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan, Gonzalez committed to his neighborhood parish, which had a strong contingent of people who loved tradition in general. The parish instituted a TLM in the fall of 2020, when they started having Mass indoors again after the pandemic. 

Hallie and Adriel Gonzalez.
Hallie and Adriel Gonzalez.

“If I’m at a Latin Mass, I’m more likely to get a sense that this is a time-honored practice, something that has been honed over the millennia,” he says. “There is clearly a love affair going on here with the Lord that requires this much more elaborate song and dance.”

For Eric Matthews, the TLM feels a little like time travel. 

“It could be medieval times, it could be the enlightenment period, it could be the early 1900s, and the experience is going to be so similar,” he says.

“I just feel like that’s that universal timeframe – not just the universal Church in 2021 – but the universal Church in almost any time period. We’re the only church that can claim that.”

What happens now?

The motu proprio caught Adriel Gonzalez’ attention. He sought clarity about whether his participation in the extraordinary form was, in fact, part of a divisive movement, or simply an expression of his faith.

If it was a movement, he wanted no part of it, he says.

“As far as I can tell, the Church considers the extraordinary form and the ordinary form equal and valid,” says Gonzalez. “Ideally, there should be no true difference between going to one or the other, outside of just preference. It shouldn’t constitute a completely different reality within Catholicism.”

With this understanding, Gonzalez says he resonated with some of the reasoning set forth in the motu proprio because it articulated that the celebration of the TLM was never intended to be a movement away from the Novus Ordo or Vatican II. Gonzalez also emphasized that the extraordinary form was never supposed to be a “superior” way of celebrating the Mass. 

Gonzalez believes the Lord allowed the growth in the TLM “to help us to recover a love for liturgy, and to ask questions about what worship and liturgy looks like.” He would have preferred if what was good was kept and encouraged, and what was potentially dangerous “coaxed out and called out.” 

Mater Misericordæ Catholic Church in Phoenix, Arizona. / Viet Truong
Mater Misericordæ Catholic Church in Phoenix, Arizona. / Viet Truong

Erin Hanson, of Mater Misericordiæ, agrees. 

“If [Pope Francis] does believe there is division between Novus Ordo and traditional Catholics, I don’t think he did anything to try to fix that division,” she says. 

Hanson would like to know who the bishops are that Pope Francis consulted in making this decision, sharing that she doesn’t feel that there is any of the transparency needed for such a major document. If there are divisions, she says, she would like the opportunity to work on them in a different way. 

“This isn’t going to be any less divisive if he causes a possible schism,” Hanson says.

According to the motu proprio and the accompanying letter, the TLM is not to be celebrated in diocesan churches or in new churches constructed for the purpose of the TLM, nor should new groups be established by the bishops. Left out of their parish churches, some are worried their only option to attend Mass will be in a recreation center or hotel ballroom. 

Eric Matthews hopes that everyone is able to experience the extraordinary form at least once in their life so they can know that this is not about division.

“I can’t imagine someone going to the Latin Mass and saying, ‘This is creating disunity,’” he says. “There’s nothing to be afraid of with the Latin Mass. You’re just going to be surrounding yourself with people that really take it to heart.”

Maureen McKinley was home sick when her husband Matt found out about the motu proprio. He had taken the kids to a neighborhood park, where he ran into some friends who also attend Mater Misericordiæ. They asked if he had heard the news. 

“I felt disgust at a document that pretends to say so much while actually saying so little and disregards the Church’s very long and rich tradition of careful legal documents,” Matt McKinley says.

Bishop Thomas Olmsted of Phoenix stated that the TLM may continue at Mater Misericordiæ, as well as in chapels, oratories, mission churches, non-parochial churches, and at seven other parishes in the diocese. Participation in the TLM and all of the activities of the parish are so important to the McKinleys that they are willing to move to another state or city should further restrictions be implemented. 

For now, their family’s routine continues the same as before.

At the end of their day, the McKinleys pray a family rosary in front of their home altar, which has a Bible at the center, and an icon of Christ and a statue of the Virgin Mary. They eat dinner together, milk the goat again, and take care of their evening animal chores. After night prayer, the kids head off to bed, blessing themselves with holy water from the fonts mounted on the wall before they enter their bedroom. 

“The life of the Church springs from this Mass,” Maureen says. “That’s why we’re here—not because the Latin Mass is archaic, but that it’s actually just so alive.”

Editor’s note: Several of the people interviewed here also shared their stories with the CNA Newsroom podcast, and their voices appear on Episode 107: Extraordinary Times for the Extraordinary Form. Click here to listen to the episode.


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20 Comments

  1. A “queer” church cannot be legitimate, regardless of what George Bergoglio & his corrupt Churchmen have agreed to. To think this is not the open door to the full embrace of homosexuality in the Church is naive at best and dishonest at the worst. To sugar coat this sordid development also represents a serious lack of character. Shame on all the Church leaders for this betrayal of our historic Catholic faith. It is moral cowardice to acquiesce in the face of moral decadence.

    Reply

    • Well said, Elwood. You have succinctly stated what we all know about this unholy “fix that was in” and planned a long time ago by ungodly men wearing liturgical attire. It really is as simple as that.

      Reply

  2. How, exactly, to bless a friendship without endorsing its sexual perversion? Or, more biblically, “A bruised reed he will not break and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out” (Isaiah 42:3).

    But, rather than blessing individual persons, why not just bless the coupling, tossing the smoldering wick into the haystack!

    In his meditation on collegiality and the personal responsibility of each and every bishop, Ratzinger must have seen the ghost-writer Fernandez’s monologue coming, when he wrote: “MONOCRACY, THE SOLE RULE OF ONE PERSON, IS ALWAYS DANGEROUS.”

    Also, such as this: “…there is no doctrine of Jesus without a skeleton, without dogmatic principle [….] his message is a definite one….He does not agree with everyone” [….] Catholic Christians believe that the faith is a contoured reality and that it is vitally necessary that it be so, for otherwise it would be robbed of meaning…They believe that the Church is able to—and should—see to it that these contours [!] are ‘catholic’ in the literal sense, hence, that at all times they manifest the WHOLE [italics] of revelation without narrowing or distortion” (citation from Albert Gorres).

    (“Pluralism as a Problem for Church and Theology,” in THE NATURE AND MISSION OFTHEOLOGY: Approaches to Understanding Its Role in the Light of the Present Controversy, 1993/Ignatius 1995, pp. 86, 91).

    Reply

    • In the early days, the “backwardist” Christians suffered martyrdom by fire rather than toss a pinch of ASH to a statue of the divinized emperor…

      Today, the word merchants toss the entire Church in the fire, because in a pinch from those who doth covet their neighbor’s ASS! (“Neither shall thou covet thy neighbor’s wife, nor his house, nor his field or manservant, his ox or his ass [!]…” (Deuteronomy 5:21).

      So, in this blessed Christmas season of jolly fellowship, let’s all drink to that, “bottoms up!”

      Reply

      • Anyone who can quoteth Scripture and say ass, can deserveth 3 toasts! Let’s cheers!

        To all at CWR with special remarks for Beaulieu Undauted! Live among the good!

        They’re jabbering about joy and they say CWR is no fun. Raise them high and down the hatch with them!

        Merry Christmas everyone and thank you Carl Olson for so many delectful treats! Truth over fiction!

        That’s more than 3! Huzzah!

        Reply

  3. The tragedy is that, contrary to the title of this article, the bishops around the world are generally NOT divided over this disastrous and evil declaration by Pope Francis. The overwhelming majority will silently consent to it. Only a handful will speak out on what is an obvious act of apostasy. The faithful – both laymen and priests – are abandoned, as usual.

    Reply

  4. That’s not an official “blessing”. You 2 men or 2 women wearing bands of Marriage just stand there holding hands with your head bowed as a priest makes the sign of the cross over you in the name of the Holy Trinity in front of the assembly before Mass. That won’t convey a confusing or misleading message to anyone. We’ve seen this kind of under-handed, back-a@@-wardist thinking before when lay people come forward at the time of communion to hand out our Lord like He’s a kids carnival ride ticket. Yeah, that’s the Real Presence! Don’t let what we do in disrespecting Him let you think otherwise. We’re seeing the aftermath of a Rome that has lost the faith just like Our Lady of LaSalette cautioned. SMH. Good thing it’s still alive in places like St. Mary’s Kansas.

    Reply

  5. The whole thing is badly crafted and was bound to divide. But this is not weighed as it should be -neither beforehand when it is necessary nor after when it is the more pressing. What is the drive to have this “focus” as THE peripheries.

    In one sense I am not surprised the leadership is the source of so much temptation. In the very early days the our Father was altered from “lead us not into temptation” and every explanation was spread abroad for upholding change.

    I imagine a square circle like this.

    You die and go to hell and end up caught between rock boulders and a very angular hard place and you realize there’s no going back, you have to make up your mind and adjust -decide-that it is permanent, your final resting place. Some kind of cromlech maybe. As yet you haven’t seen the devils and the fires though and it escapes you for the moment. Also out of sight are the other damned. You don’t know they are giving you time to settle in comfortably, as how they take little pauses to do their own kind of planning for justice; nor know you that they will come later when you are composed and initiate some of their mercies with you more openly. They want to teach you that Here, there will Always be Far to go while all is Near.

    Reply

  6. Division is not Of The Holy Ghost.

    “The Two Catholic Religions In The Same Church Face Off In The Raging Global Revolution”

    One cannot be affirming the Sanctity of human life from the moment of conception and the Sanctity of the marital act within The Sacrament Of Holy Matrimony, while denying The Sanctity of human life from the moment of conception, and the Sanctity of the marital act within The Sacrament Of Holy Matrimony, simultaneously.

    Thus we can know through both Faith and Reason, that those who affirm that God, The Most Holy And Undivided Blessed Trinity, Through The Unity Of The Holy Ghost (Filioque), Is The Author Of Love, Of Life, And Of Marriage, and those who deny that God, The Most Holy And Undivided Blessed Trinity, Through The Unity Of The Holy Ghost (Filioque) , Is The Author Of Love, Of Life, And Of Marriage, because they desire to render onto Caesar, or themselves, what Has Always and Will Always Belong to God, cannot possibly both be part of The One Body Of Christ.

    To not inform those who deny The Divinity Of The Holy Ghost, and Thus The Divinity Of The Most Holy And Undivided Blessed Trinity, that they have ipso facto, separated themselves from Christ And His One, Holy, Catholic, And Apostolic Church, is to accommodate an occasion of sin.

    CCC II. THE DEFINITION OF SIN
    “1849 Sin is an offense against reason, truth, and right conscience; it is failure in genuine love for God and neighbor caused by a perverse attachment to certain goods. It wounds the nature of man and injures human solidarity. It has been defined as “an utterance, a deed, or a desire contrary to the eternal law.”121
    1850 Sin is an offense against God: “Against you, you alone, have I sinned, and done that which is evil in your sight.”122 Sin sets itself against God’s love for us and turns our hearts away from it. Like the first sin, it is disobedience, a revolt against God through the will to become “like gods,”123 knowing and determining good and evil. Sin is thus “love of oneself even to contempt of God.”124 In this proud self- exaltation, sin is diametrically opposed to the obedience of Jesus, which achieves our salvation.125
    1851 It is precisely in the Passion, when the mercy of Christ is about to vanquish it, that sin most clearly manifests its violence and its many forms: unbelief, murderous hatred, shunning and mockery by the leaders and the people, Pilate’s cowardice and the cruelty of the soldiers, Judas’ betrayal – so bitter to Jesus, Peter’s denial and the disciples’ flight. However, at the very hour of darkness, the hour of the prince of this world,126 the sacrifice of Christ secretly becomes the source from which the forgiveness of our sins will pour forth inexhaustibly.”
    It is a sin to accomodate an occasion of sin, and thus cooperate with evils.”

    Reply

  7. Sex is allowed between a married man and woman ONLY. That must be a very difficult concept to grasp as it is destroying Protestant and Anglican Churches and may well do the same to the Catholic Church.

    Reply

  8. This is because for some time now, a second counterfeit religion has been attempting to subsist within The One Body Of Christ.

    We can know through both Faith and Reason, that those who affirm that God, The Most Holy And Undivided Blessed Trinity, Through The Unity Of The Holy Ghost (Filioque), Is The Author Of Love, Of Life, And Of Marriage, and those who deny that God, The Most Holy And Undivided Blessed Trinity, Through The Unity Of The Holy Ghost (Filioque) , Is The Author Of Love, Of Life, And Of Marriage, because they desire to render onto Caesar, or themselves, what Has Always and Will Always Belong to God, cannot possibly both be part of The One Body Of Christ.

    “It is not possible to have Sacramental Communion without Ecclesial Communion”, due to The Unity Of The Holy Ghost” (Filioque), For “It Is Through Christ, With Christ, And In Christ, In The Unity Of The Holy Ghost”, that Holy Mother Church, outside of which there is no Salvation, due to The Unity Of The Holy Ghost (Filioque ) exists.

    “[A]ll evangelizers proclaim Christ, but Catholic evangelizers proclaim a Eucharistic Christ.”

    “At the heart of Liberty Is Christ, “4For it is impossible for those who were once illuminated, have tasted also the heavenly gift and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, 5Have moreover tasted the good word of God and the powers of the world to come…”, to not believe that Christ’s Sacrifice On The Cross will lead us to Salvation, but we must desire forgiveness for our sins, and accept Salvational Love, God’s Gift Of Grace And Mercy; believe in The Power And The Glory Of Salvation Love, and rejoice in the fact that No Greater Love Is There Than This, To Desire Salvation For One’s Beloved.
    “Hail The Cross, Our Only Hope.”
    “Blessed are they who are Called to The Marriage Supper Of The Lamb.”

    “For where your treasure is there will your heart be also.”

    “Penance, Penance, Penance!”

    To not call a Council because one fears there will be a Schism, when in fact a Schism already exists, is a blasphemy against The Holy Ghost, and thus a blasphemy against The Divinity Of The Most Holy And Undivided Blessed Trinity.

    To not inform those who deny The Divinity Of The Holy Ghost, and Thus The Divinity Of The Most Holy And Undivided Blessed Trinity, that they have ipso facto, separated themselves from Christ And His One, Holy, Catholic, And Apostolic Church, is to accommodate an occasion of sin.

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  10. Glad that the Christmas blessings to the Cardinal Fathers from the Holy Father that took place today, the shortest day in light , can help to shed much light that can go a long way in many areas , brought to us all too as a great blessing through the ‘hinge ‘ of the Cardinal Fathers . That role has been entrusted to each of us too to an extent in the responsibilty to let in what need to be and keep out what is detrimental,in the freedom of our human will called to be ever united to the Divine Will .
    Rather surprised too that the talk and occasion is not given more focus in the news !
    https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2023-12/pope-christmas-greetings-roman-curia-listen-discern-journey.html
    and better still, to listen to the gentle voice of Sr.Bernadette –
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wuaqw4VTkfw&t=1568s

    The ‘style ‘ of God , as revealed in Jesus- as tender , close and compassionate , the need for humility and prayer and contemplation , not to be wolves who devour words without understanding .. not to use same as in ping pong ..a talk well worth listening again and again in families too, as a topic and style in gatherings too , such as how to escape the’labyrinth ‘ of passions by being raised above same ..to also help clarify the ‘confusions ‘ as to what the Holy Father means by blessing – to live in holiness, in relationship with God and others , raised above labyrinths , walking with Mary , who knew how to listen with the heart ..
    Blessings !

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  11. Yes. Historically, the majority of bishops have not distinguished themselves. With exceptions, they’re not generally a courageous or even venturesome bunch.

    At some of the Church’s most critical junctures in the past — 325, say, or 1534 — most of the bishops were cowering in the wings while others took control and the weighty events took place.

    Only a few — St. Athanasius, St. John Fisher… and who else? — have ever stepped forward to defend the Catholic faith regardless of the cost.

    No wonder there are so few saints who were bishops.

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  12. The cult of the Pontiff Francis is a communion of outlaws, who are living out their careers to formally declare their new establishment, what Fr. Robert Imbelli calls “the decapitated the Body of Christ.”

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  13. Deposal,deposement,to depose. the act of deposing, however you may use the word that correctly describes what needs to take place in order to restore the Papacy back to some semblance of Holiness that it had prior to the Bergoglian
    imbroglio; why is it that noone commenting here will entertain such a notion? DEPOSE Jorje! IMHO,he’s asking for it! Those reponsible for calling for a Council to accomplish deposement should also call for prayer and fasting to do it right. And time’s awasting; it s/be implemented PDQ! The BarBouncer from Buenos Aires has had his day; now’s the moment to permanently retire him! God Bless All—RTR

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  15. What better way to “love your neighbor” than to encourage them to sit next to you in Church and listen to the Word of God together. Listening to the Word of God changes a person’s heart. God’s church was never meant to be a private club—it is the tool God gave us to change the world. No one should be locked out of God’s Church.

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  16. While the Holy Father and those want the Church to progress somewhere, the Mystical Body of Christ will remain what it has been and always will be. It is made up of saints and sinners, but not those who are in mortal sin. They have already excommunicated themselves. They are always welcome to come back if they sincerely repent and go to confession. Those bishops and priests who claim to be Catholic and who fail to admonish those in mortal sin are in a worse state than the sinners, due to lack of true charity, which is to help them on the road to salvation.

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