Pope Benedict XVI, 95, is "very ill," Pope Francis told those present at his General Audience in Rome this morning. Pope Francis then tweeted on his official account (link): "Let us #PrayTogether for Pope Emeritus Benedict who is supporting the Church in silence. Let us ask the Lord to console him and to sustain him [...]
"Whilst in Rome before the 2005 papal conclave, the cardinals who were members of the Saint Gallen Group sent their host Ivo Fürer a card saying: 'We are here together in the spirit of Saint Gallen,' and before the conclave they came together for a talk over dinner. According to an anonymous cardinal's excerpts from whose diary were published [...]
This essay is the third in an Inside the Vatican Dossier on the current debate over the Second Vatican II (1962-1965) touched off in June by a long essay published by Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò (link). Essay #1, by Prof. Anthony Esolen, may be found here. Essay #2, by Father Thomas Weinandy, OFM Capuchin, may be [...]
" Cardinal Zen has affirmed several times that no Accord [with the Chinese government] would have been better than a 'brutal Accord.' The last three Pontiffs did not share such a position and have supported and accompanied the crafting of the Accord which, at the present, appeared to be the only one possible." —Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re (above left), 86, in a highly [...]
The Jesuit sign on the ceiling, San Fedele church, Milan, Italy. The abbreviation of Jesus Christ in form "IHS" adopted by the order of Jesuits or Society of Jesus (Societas Iesu). “A central question for understanding what has happened to our Church must be the question of the Jesuit order. What happened to the [...]
Pope Francis on Sunday urged Christians not to be afraid to proclaim the Gospel message, to expect failure and even persecutions, but to always live in the knowledge that the Lord is on their side. Speaking to the faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square for the Angelus prayer, the Pope reflected on the liturgical reading of the [...]
December 8, 2016, Thursday -- The Silent Pope "This apostolic exhortation contains a number of statements that can be understood in a sense that is contrary to Catholic faith and morals... We request that the Cardinals and Patriarchs petition the Holy Father to condemn the errors... in a definitive and final manner." —Letter to Cardinal Angelo [...]
September 18, 2016, Sunday -- The Face of Christ and Unity "Seeking the Face of Jesus must be the longing of all of us Christians... If we persevere in our quest for the Face of the Lord, at the end of our earthly pilgrimage, he, Jesus, will be our eternal joy, our reward and glory for [...]
September 17, 2016, Saturday -- The Bells of Rome, Last Conversations #4 "Peter Seewald: When you left the Vatican in a helicopter, this also was part in some way of the entire screenplay, as it were, at least as seen from the outside. One could say that up until that moment no Pope had ascended into [...]
September 15, 2016, Thursday -- Dark Night, Last Conversations with Pope Benedict, Letter #3 "Peter Seewald: Have you also experienced any of those 'dark nights' of which many saints speak? Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI: Such powerful experiences, no. Perhaps I am not holy enough to have plumbed the depths of that obscurity. However sometimes, things happen [...]
