tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-68488743790523206892024-03-13T11:11:21.050-07:00Neither Angels nor DemonsWe are in a time of increased tensions, uncertainties and changes in the Catholic Church . Particularly troubling is the loss of moral authority resulting from the continuing sexual abuse crisis and evidence of institutional coverup. The purpose of this site is to examine what is happening by linking to worldwide news stories, particularly from the English speaking church and the new breath of fresh air blowing through the church with the pontificate of Pope Francis.
Romans 8:38Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger1628125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6848874379052320689.post-88670451663596404652022-07-10T11:12:00.000-07:002022-07-10T11:12:45.568-07:00Farewell letter from a whistleblower to former fellow priests
OAKLAND (CA)
July 5, 2022
By Tim Stier
[Tim Stier served for decades as a priest in the diocese of Oakland CA. He sent this letter on May 31, 2022.]
Dear No-Longer-Fellow Priests,
This will likely be my farewell letter to most of you, which may be glad tidings to those of you who do not enjoy hearing from me.
Last week, I learned from David Staal, a canon lawyer for the Diocese of Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6848874379052320689.post-10265872042843110202022-06-17T15:33:00.001-07:002022-06-17T15:33:47.021-07:00Contrary to what Oakland's bishop says, Cardinal-designate McElroy abhors abortionMichael Sean Winters
June 17, 2022
National Catholic Reporter
We are living in a time of unprecedented polarization in the country and within the U.S. church. And so it is depressing to see how some bishops and bishop whisperers are engaging in the kind of culture war tactics that not only impede affective collegiality but traffic in nastiness of a kind never before seen on public display.
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6848874379052320689.post-85640372904997133912022-06-14T13:55:00.003-07:002022-06-14T14:05:36.395-07:00Study finds German Catholic priests sexually abused over 600 victimes
BERLIN (GERMANY)
CNN [Atlanta GA]
June 13, 2022
By Inke Kappeler and Lauren Said-Moorhous
At least 610 children were documented as having been sexually abused by Catholic priests between 1945 and 2020 in the diocese of the west German city of Münster, according to a study released Monday.
The new report from the University of Münster found nearly 200 members of the clergy committed nearly Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6848874379052320689.post-65716206747930138032022-06-05T16:09:00.001-07:002022-06-05T16:09:34.087-07:00The Pope's Secret Back Channel to Hitler
From left to right: Adolf Hitler, Prince Philipp von Hessen, Joachim von Ribbentrop, and Pope Pius XII (Illustration by Cristiana Couceiro. Sources: Ullstein / Getty; Süddeutsche Zeitung / Alamy; Realy Easy Star / Fotografia Felici / Alamy)
THE POPE’S SECRET BACK CHANNEL TO HITLER
Newly revealed Vatican documents uncover a long-held secret: As war broke out, Pius XII used a Nazi prince to Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6848874379052320689.post-52596474140063413732021-01-24T16:29:00.000-08:002021-01-24T16:29:07.506-08:00In a first for Spain, Jesuits admit to decades of sex abuseARITZ PARRA and NICOLE WINFIELD (AP)
January 22, 2021
MADRID (AP) — The first comprehensive internal inquiry on sex abuse allegations by a religious order in Spain has identified 81 children and 37 adult victims of 96 Jesuits since the late 1920s, a much higher number than the cases that had so far been publicly known.
Associations of victims are welcoming the disclosure, but they see it Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6848874379052320689.post-85773037556912721952019-05-26T08:07:00.002-07:002019-05-26T08:07:09.020-07:00'No words to express our shame':
Polish bishops apologize for abuse
May 22, 2019
by Jonathan Luxmoore, Catholic News Service AccountabilityWorld
Polish Archbishop Wojciech Polak of Gniezno speaks during a news conference in Warsaw May 22, 2019, after bishops met to discuss steps the Catholic Church will take to tackle the problem of clergy sex abuse. (CNS/Agencja Gazeta, Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6848874379052320689.post-32112443682943243632017-03-10T09:52:00.001-08:002017-04-23T13:35:48.981-07:00Pope Francis may alow married Catholic men as PriestsDella Gallagher
CNN
March 10, 2017
Rome (CNN)Pope Francis has said he is open to married men becoming priests to combat the Roman Catholic Church's shortage of clergy.
In an interview with German newspaper Die Zeit, Pope Francis said the lack of Catholic priests was an "enormous problem" for the Church, and indicated he would be open to a change in the rules governing eligibility for the Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6848874379052320689.post-25458414014135986832017-01-04T14:24:00.000-08:002017-01-04T14:24:14.112-08:00"Make the Mass Latin Again" - the Pope Francis backlash comes homeKaya Oakes
Religion Dispatches
January 4, 2017
On December 3, 2016, San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone confirmed sixteen Catholics, both young and mature adults, at Mary Star of the Sea Church in San Francisco.
There would be nothing notable about an Archbishop performing a confirmation ceremony except for this: according to the Traditional Latin Mass Society of San Francisco, Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6848874379052320689.post-41832712674797681182016-12-31T08:23:00.000-08:002016-12-31T08:23:16.055-08:00Brazil may soon have married priests says Leonardo BoffChrista Pongratz-Lippitt
National Catholic Reporter
December 30, 2016
Pope Francis may soon fulfill the Brazilian bishops' special request to allow married priests to resume their priestly ministry, liberation theologian Leonardo Boff said in a Dec. 25 interview in the German daily Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger.
"The Brazilian bishops, especially the pope's close friend Cardinal Claudio Hummes, haveUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6848874379052320689.post-36640710408763421472016-12-27T18:11:00.000-08:002016-12-27T18:11:58.436-08:00While Francis frustrates foes with silence, Fr. Antonio Spadaro nails them with tweetsDavid Gibson
Religion News Service
December 27, 2016
Since the moment he was elected in 2013, Pope Francis has sought to steer the Catholic church away from a focus on doctrinal rules and formulas and toward a more pastoral ministry — a campaign that has sparked widespread hand-wringing among traditionalists and unusually public opposition to the pontiff.
In recent weeks, however, the Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6848874379052320689.post-53353694185598754392016-12-24T09:23:00.000-08:002016-12-24T09:23:42.710-08:00Knights of Malta to Pope: stay out of our internal affairsThe maneuvering between Cardinal Burke and Pope Francis continues with Burke becoming more and more opening hostile to the Pope.
Associated Press
December 24, 2016
In an extraordinary rebuke of the pontiff, the Order of Malta has said the replacement of its grand chancellor was an "act of internal governmental administration of the Sovereign Order of Malta and consequently falls solely Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6848874379052320689.post-38097992526179654272016-12-23T13:12:00.000-08:002016-12-23T13:12:02.695-08:00Coming to Newark archdiocese: a different kind of CardinalSharon Otterman
New York Times
December 22, 2016
For about a year, the guys at the gym just called him Joe. He lifted weights in the early mornings wearing a skull-printed do-rag. He worked out on the elliptical, wiping it down when he was done.
Then one day Shaun Yeary, a salesman at a landscape supply company, asked him in the locker room what he did for a living. “I used to be a priestUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6848874379052320689.post-43847736481479448122016-12-22T08:27:00.001-08:002016-12-22T08:27:22.839-08:00Francis denounces resistance to Vatican reform in Christmas speech to CuriaJoshua J. McElwee
National Catholic Reporter
December 22, 2016
Pope Francis on Thursday lashed out against high-level Catholic prelates who have been opposing his efforts to reform the Vatican's central bureaucracy, using an annual pre-Christmas meeting to say that while some cardinals and archbishops offer questions in a spirit of goodwill others practice a "malevolent resistance."
Such Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6848874379052320689.post-66528553100479716782016-12-20T20:26:00.000-08:002016-12-20T20:26:37.947-08:00Conservatives launch civil war against Pope FrancisPhillip Wilan
The Times (UK)
December 20, 2016
The Pope is facing an unprecedented smear campaign designed to undermine his three-year pontificate. It has been orchestrated by cardinals angry about his sympathy for homosexuals and divorcees.
The campaign amounts to “a subterranean civil war” within the church, Marco Politi, an expert on the Holy See, said. He added that the smear campaignUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6848874379052320689.post-76371687572593341122016-12-10T08:27:00.000-08:002016-12-10T08:27:10.988-08:00The church should not strive for 'false clarity'Michael O'Loughlin
America
December 9, 2016
Archbishop Mark Coleridge thinks some of his fellow prelates are afraid of confronting reality.
As the head of the Archdiocese of Brisbane on the east coast of Australia, the archbishop was a delegate to the synod of bishops in Rome in 2015. There, he said, he witnessed healthy disagreement about issues important to families during the two-week Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6848874379052320689.post-58517416519756924972016-12-01T16:04:00.001-08:002016-12-01T16:04:58.406-08:00Bishop calls for 'widespread opposition' in event of massive deportationsTom Roberts
National Catholic Reporter
November 30, 2016
In the wake of “a deeply destructive political campaign,” U.S. citizens face the dual task of rising above profound political divisions that tear at the national fabric as well as remaining diligent in addressing “the major wounds of American society,” especially the threat of massive deportations.
The assessment was made by San Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6848874379052320689.post-3275525732025798812016-11-30T14:56:00.000-08:002016-11-30T14:56:34.035-08:00Dean of Rota warns Pope could strip Cardinal Burke & others of their cardinalateDeacon Nick Donnely
EWTN UK
November 29, 2016
Archbishop Pio Vito Pinto, Dean of the Roman Rota, told a conference in Spain that Cardinal Burke and the three cardinals who submitted the dubia to Pope Francis "could lose their Cardinalate" for causing "grave scandal" by making the dubia public. The Dean of the Roman Rota went on to accuse Cardinals Raymond Burke, Carlo Caffarra, Walter Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6848874379052320689.post-19107306644775228692016-11-23T08:21:00.000-08:002016-11-23T08:21:33.512-08:00The four cardinals and their five doubtsMichael Sean Winters
National Catholic Reporter
November 23, 2016
The case of the four cardinals and their five dubia has been well reported and garnered plenty of commentary. Cardinals Brandmüller, Burke, Caffarra and Meisner decided to publish their letter containing the dubia, openly challenging the pope to clarify parts of Amoris Laetitia that they find to be a source of confusion. The Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6848874379052320689.post-77288117733975996612016-11-22T08:06:00.000-08:002016-11-22T08:06:19.528-08:00Vatican confirms Francis did not renew terms of Burke, Pell on worship congregationJoshua J. McElwee
National Catholic Reporter
November 22, 2016
The Vatican office that handles affairs relating to the Catholic church's liturgical practices has confirmed that Pope Francis has decided not to renew the terms of several of its bishop-members, many of whom are known for preferring a more traditionalist practice of liturgy.
Francis had appointed 27 new bishops to serve as Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6848874379052320689.post-44634938806116939192016-11-18T11:37:00.002-08:002016-11-18T11:37:44.963-08:00Pope fires back at his critics over 'Amoris' and discusses ecumenismInes San Martin
Crux
November 18, 2016
Pope Francis has fired back at his critics over the document Amoris Laetita, suggesting they suffer from “a certain legalism, which can be ideological.” The critics now include a group of four cardinals who’ve accused the pontiff of causing grave confusion and disorientation and even floated the prospect of a public correction.
“Some- think about Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6848874379052320689.post-85892075820983797372016-11-16T15:47:00.000-08:002016-11-16T15:47:46.217-08:00Francis refuses to fall into trap set by Cardinal Burke and allies over 'errors' in Amoris LaetitiaChristopher Lamb
The Tablet
November 16, 2016
Pope believes questions posed on divorced and remarrieds are designed to force him into debate on cardinal's terms
One of Pope Francis’ most prominent critics has upped the ante. In an interview with the National Catholic Register United State’s Cardinal Raymond Burke has said the pontiff is “teaching error” by suggesting divorced and Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6848874379052320689.post-5326004150343070412016-11-15T14:43:00.000-08:002016-11-15T14:43:21.063-08:00In Gomez, US Bishops make clear pro-immigrant statementJohn L. Allen Jr
Crux
November 15, 2016
Coming just seven days after the victory of Donald Trump, the choice by the US bishops of a Mexican-born prelate who’s passionate about immigrant rights can’t help but be seen as a powerful statement of priorities by the leadership of the American Catholic church.
Archbishop José Gómez of Los Angeles might well have been elected to a senior Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6848874379052320689.post-42225069194871031732016-11-15T14:36:00.000-08:002016-11-15T14:36:45.844-08:00Pope Francis surprise: Newark, NJ gets a cardinal, Philly doesn'tDavid O'Reilley
Philadelphia Inquirer
November 14, 2016
When Pope Francis announces 17 new cardinals Saturday in Rome, there will be some American surprises among them.
One will be the presence of Indianapolis Archbishop Joseph W. Tobin, a little-known moderate soon to be the Archdiocese of Newark's first cardinal.
Another will be the absence of Philadelphia's prominent archbishop, Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6848874379052320689.post-61811982033805118462016-11-13T14:06:00.000-08:002016-11-13T14:06:48.617-08:00Diocese investigates pro life priest for aborted baby videoAssociated Press
November 12, 2016
AMARILLO, Texas - The Roman Catholic Diocese of Amarillo says it’s investigating a priest who placed an aborted fetus on his altar and posted a video of it on two social media sites.
The Amarillo Globe-News reports that Amarillo Diocese Bishop Patrick J. Zurek says the Nov. 6 “action and presentation of Father (Frank) Pavone in this video is not consistentUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6848874379052320689.post-61986715780660136622016-11-07T05:20:00.000-08:002016-11-07T05:20:09.668-08:00Pope Francis gives N.J. its first cardinal - and ups the ante on church reformDavid Gibson
Religion News Service
November 7, 2016
Pope Francis had already delivered the Catholic Church’s version of an October surprise when he included Indianapolis Archbishop Joseph Tobin in the batch of new cardinals he announced last month – promising a red hat to the leader of a relatively small Midwestern diocese of 230,000 Catholics that had never before had a cardinal, nor would Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0