The archbishop of Europe’s largest archdiocese in terms of number of Catholic faithful has been criticized for releasing pastoral guidelines that appear to define homosexual attraction as love, and equating them to heterosexual relationships with respect to pastoral care. In a pastoral proposal for 2023-2024, Archbishop Mario Delpini of Milan wrote that “particularly delicate attention … Read more
In an extensive new interview published Thursday, Archbishop Victor Manuel Fernández has outlined his vision as prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, one that places an emphasis on engaging contemporary culture and real-life experiences, and stressing the importance of charity in both moral theology and theological reflection. Speaking to La Civilta … Read more
The incoming prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith has warned that bishops — both “progressive” and those from “traditionalist groups” — who think they have a “special gift of the Holy Spirit to judge the doctrine of the Holy Father” are on a road to “heresy” and “schism.” Speaking in response … Read more
The recent suspension of an Italian priest for writing a scholarly critique of Pope Francis’ apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia was a foolish and “wholly unjust” decision but one that underlines the depth of a crisis in the Church that could be worse than the Arian controversy, Professor John Rist has said. Regarded as one of … Read more
How serious is the current crisis in the Vatican and the Church and what does it portend for the future? To obtain a clearer idea, I spoke with Father Nicola Bux, a respected theologian and former consultor to both the then-Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. … Read more
One of Pope Francis’ closest aides and a leading figure of the Synod on Synodality has singled out critics of the process, calling them afraid of a “Church on the move” and saying they “know they won’t be able to stop” the synodal experiment. Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich of Luxembourg, the general relator of the 2021-2024 … Read more
In light of the controversy stirred up by the working document for the next stage of the multiyear Synod on Synodality, questions have arisen over who prepared it and how it came into being. The 45-page “Document for the Continental Stage” (DCS), published Oct. 28, attempts to summarize discussions with the lay faithful, clergy and … Read more
Cardinal Raymond Burke has questioned the basis of papal-led efforts to restrict and eventually eliminate the traditional Latin Mass, while Bishop Athanasius Schneider has said the “millennium-old treasure” cannot be destroyed, as it is the work of the Holy Spirit. The cardinal and bishop kindly shared their comments as part of a talk I gave … Read more
The contrasting recent handling by the Vatican of two bishops has highlighted concerns about discrepancies in the disciplining of bishops, with no explanation available why one of the two bishop was dismissed while the other has been allowed to remain in office. The two cases involve Bishop Daniel Fernández Torres of Arecibo, Puerto Rico, whom … Read more
The fruits of Bergoglio’s deconstruction of the PAL now on display for all to see. Jesuit Father Carlo Casalone, a professor of moral theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University, proposed such an approach that critics stress fully contradicts Church teaching in a Jan. 15 article in the Jesuit periodical La Civilta Cattolica — a journal … Read more