Pope Francis has expressed deep reservations about the direction of the Catholic Church in Germany, warning that concrete steps currently being taken “threaten” to undermine unity with the universal Church. The pope made his criticisms in a letter to four German Catholic laywomen that was published in the German newspaper Welt on Nov. 21. “There … Read more
Will the Synod on Synodality result in changes to established Church teaching? The question has dogged the global consultative process, which is wrapping up the first of two Vatican assemblies this weekend. Despite organizers’ underscoring that doctrinal change is not the aim of the synod, members of the media have pushed a narrative that the … Read more
A German bishop participating in the Synod on Synodality challenged the idea that the Catholic community in his country is at odds with the universal Church — and reasserted that it will continue to play a role in the ongoing discussions in Rome about the Church’s future. Speaking at the Synod press briefing Saturday afternoon, … Read more
Ever since their parish was suppressed in 2016, former parishioners and others connected to St. Adalbert Church in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood have tried to keep the church building in the community’s hands. But now, St. Adalbert members are facing the prospect that not only might they lose their bid to reacquire the church and keep … Read more
As it transitions into its continental phase, the multi-year Synod on Synodality process faces an ironic crisis of credibility: How can it be considered an accurate portrayal of Catholics’ experience of how the Church listens, when the Synod itself has largely failed to hear from a significant number of Catholic voices? At least in the … Read more
Fifty-five years ago, Pope St. Paul VI promulgated Humanae Vitae, a papal encyclical that unequivocally clarified the Church’s perennial opposition to artificially contracepted sex. Although this teaching faced resistance from several theologians and even bishops at the time, it has been reaffirmed and further developed by subsequent papal teaching, from St. John Paul II’s Evangelium … Read more
Perhaps no U.S. diocese has implemented Traditiones Custodes, Pope Francis’s motu proprio restricting what is commonly known as the traditional Latin Mass, as forcefully as the Archdiocese of Chicago. In fact, Cardinal Blase Cupich’s enactment of the decree has gone beyond what the text of both the motu proprio and a subsequent clarification issued by … Read more
Over 70 bishops from 4 different continents warn that heterodox German reform efforts risk fracturing Church unity, adversely impacting the Church globally. Seventy-four Catholic bishops from four different continents have signed a “fraternal open letter” to their episcopal counterparts in Germany, expressing concern over the German Church’s controversial “Synodal Path.” While noting the need for … Read more
In many ways, the Vatican’s recently released report on the ascent of former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick through the ranks of Church leadership is an unprecedented exposition of the inner workings of ecclesial appointments, a process that failed repeatedly and catastrophically in allowing a known sexual abuser to become one of the most powerful clerics in … Read more