"Creepy" Clergy, Changes in Curia, Cantalamessa "Kookiness" & Priests to Marry?
Latest news from the Counterfeit Vatican II NewChurch
Francis Thinks Pious Clergy is Creepy
Does he even know what piety means?
FRANCIS TODAY described some Catholic priests as so scary and neurotic he keeps well away from them.
In
comments at a conference on training for the priesthood, the
78-year-old pontiff revealed he is instinctively suspicious of overly
pious candidates.
I will tell you sincerely, I’m scared of rigid priests. I keep away from them. They bite!
His remarks drew laughs from the audience, but Francis was making the serious point that some people drawn to a clerical career are fundamentally unstable, and that this inevitably creates problems for the church if they are not weeded out.
http://www.thejournal.ie/pope-francis-neurotic-priests-unstable-doctor-2458376-Nov2015/
What Gospel does Francis preach?
Answer: The Gospel of man.
Galatians 1:8
But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach a gospel to you besides that which we have preached to you, let him be anathema
But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach a gospel to you besides that which we have preached to you, let him be anathema
"Pope" Will Go to Africa as ‘Minister of the Gospel’
Major changes coming for Roman Curia
Pope Francis goes to Africa tomorrow for a six-day, three-nation apostolic journey that is supposed to culminate next Monday in Central African Republic, a country still in the throes of a brutal civil war.
It is a real possibility that security concerns could force the Pope and his entourage to return home after visiting only the first two destinations -- Kenya and Uganda -- or at least limit the last leg to just a brief stopover for a Mass at the tightly guarded Bangui airport.
No matter how the trip unfolds, Francis will not be coming back to anything remotely considered "peace and quiet" in Rome.
Among other things, in the coming days and weeks he is set to announce some major personnel and structural changes in the Roman Curia and other Vatican-related departments.
The extensive overhaul of the media sector, which the Pope signaled last June when he established the Secretariat for Communications, is expected to finally get underway.
First of all, it appears that Fr. Federico Lombardi, who has headed the Holy See Press Office since 2006, is going to retire by the end of December.
The 73-year-old Jesuit has also been running Vatican Radio since 1991 as its program director and since 2005 as its general director.
It's still not clear if Francis has decided to replace him at the press office with another member of their order, 49-year-old Jesuit Fr. Antonio Spadaro, or if he's opted to name Basilian Fr. Thomas Rosica, 56, to the post.
Spadaro is the editor of Civiltà Cattolica and is the man who conducted the blockbuster interview with Pope Francis that was published simultaneously in September 2013 by Jesuit publications around the world. The pope has given Spadaro freedom to help shape his message and clearly values his younger confrere's advice.
"Spadaro has the pope's ear," it is often said in Vatican circles.
On the other hand, Rosica has used his fluency in several languages, an impressive theological education (he has a doctorate in Scripture) and extensive experience in developing and running a top-flight communications network (Salt + Light in Toronto) to be a highly effective Church representative in the media. A native of Rochester, N.Y., with dual U.S.-Canadian citizenship, he is already an at-large English attaché for the Vatican press office. And the pope has known him for several years.
But it is structural changes in the Vatican's media operations that will be turned up a few more notches next month when the newly created Secretariat for Communications leaves its temporary home at the Vatican Radio building and takes over the offices of the Pontifical Council for Social Communication. It's not clear if Mgr. Dario Viganò, the secretariat's prefect, will be named a bishop. The 53-year-old Milan priest, who is not related to the apostolic nuncio to the United States with the same name, is a specialist in film and television.
It seems this change of offices is confirmation that the pontifical council will be suppressed and its president, Archbishop Claudio Maria Celli, given a new post -- likely with the promise of a red hat. The career papal diplomat (he served in the Vatican nunciature in Argentina, among other places) will not be 75 until next July, but it's possible that he could be named Archpriest of St. Mary Major. The current titleholder is Cardinal Santo Abril y Costelló, a former nuncio who turned 80 last September.
Then there's the question surrounding the future of Mgsr. Paul Tigue, the secretary at the soon-to-be-defunct Pontifical Council for Social Communications. The 57-year-old Dublin priest could end up being named head of one the larger dioceses in Ireland -- such as Meath or Cork and Ross -- where the current bishops are already retirement age.
Changes at the Secretariat of State
In the coming days Archbishop Angelo Becciù, who has been the Sostituto or Deputy Secretary of State for internal affairs since 2011, will be appointed prefect for the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. The red-hat post is a done deal for the 67-year-old Sardinian and former nuncio to Cuba. He will replace Cardinal Angelo Amato, 77, an Italian Salesian who was the No. 2 at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith from 2002-2008.
And who will get Becciù's job?
There is strong speculation that Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, who turns 57 in March and is currently papal nuncio to Lebanon, is the leading candidate to become the next Sostituto. He was the Assessore (or deputy to the Sostituto) from 2002 up until 2009 when he and his counterpart in the foreign section (does the name Pietro Parolin ring a bell?) were both sent away from Rome and into exile. Pope Francis wisely brought Parolin back to be his Secretary of State. By appointing Caccia he would be reuniting a duo that -- for at least their time -- successfully prevented the numerous disasters that would later plague the previous pontificate.
Meanwhile, the current Assessore, Msgr. Peter Wells of Oklahoma, is frequently mentioned as the next papal nuncio to the United Nations organizations based in Geneva, Switzerland. The witty and highly competent diplomat is 52 years old and due to be promoted to the episcopacy. He would replace Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, 75, who has held the extremely important U.N. post since 2003.
http://ncronline.org/blogs/roman-observer/major-changes-coming-roman-curia
Scranton Cathedral ‘Interfaith Service’ Invokes Allah
The service, led by pastors, liberal rabbis and community activists, included Islamic call to prayer
SCRANTON, Pa. - The mother church of the diocese of Scranton, Pennsylvania hosted a Thanksgiving interfaith service in lieu of its regular noon Mass.The service, which took place in the sanctuary of St. Peter's Cathedral in Scranton, featured representatives of several local churches and synagogues and was broadcast by Catholic Television (CTV), a local TV station. CTV regularly airs the daily Mass at the cathedral; on Monday, however, the noon Mass was canceled and replaced with the 30-minute service.
The service began with the sounding of the Shofar, an instrument generally made of a ram's horn and used for Jewish religious purposes; this was done by Rabbi Marjorie Berman of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College in Wyncote and her husband Rabbi Daniel Swartz, head of the Temple Hesed in Scranton. Rabbi Swartz has controversially stated his ardent support for same-sex "marriage."
Afterward, a center-aisle procession of the various representatives, including St. Peter's pastor, Msgr. Dale Rupert, ended at the altar, where each of them took a seat.
The first speaker, Rev. Calvin Rich of the United Methodist Church, read from the program, asking the audience to "give thanks in [their] hearts as [they] gather to pray" and "share in the summons to worship." He then proceeded to lead the congregation in reciting an English version of the Adhan, the Islamic call to worship:
God is great. I bear witness that there is no God except the one God. I bear witness that Muhammad is the messenger of God. Hurry to the prayer. Hurry to success, God is great. There is no God except the one God.The original Muslim reads:
Allāhu akbar. Ash-hadu an-lā ilāha illā allāh. Ash-hadu anna Muhammadan-Rasul ullāh. Hayya'alas-ṣalāh.Following the invocation of Allah, Sr. Ann Walsh, I.H.M., executive director of the Friends of the Poor in Scranton, began the "invitation to prayer," which included repetition of the first line of Psalm 133: "How good and pleasant a thing it is when God's people live together in unity."
Hayya ʿalal-falāḥ. As-salatu Khayrun Minan-nawm. Allāhu akbar. Lā ilāha illā-Allāh.
The choir then chanted the Gospel acclamation, with community activist Charlotte Ledbetter approaching the pulpit, behind which the tabernacle can clearly be seen. Ledbetter said, "Matthew's 12:18–21" before proceeding to read the Gospel.
Following the illicit reading, Rabbi Moshe Saks of Scranton's Temple Israel, who had earlier read a passage from Leviticus in both Hebrew and English, spoke on justice and the need to respect others, saying that Thanksgiving is "the one holiday that all of us no matter what our religion can share equally. We worship God together."
He then said, "What we need in the world, by all religious leaders, is the notion of religious pluralism — that we should not be saying that my way is the only way, that only I have the direct path to God," cautioning the audience to ignore the "fundamentalists among us."
Toward the end of his talk, when discussing the Syrian refugee crisis, the rabbi claimed he was "ashamed at the House of Representatives who passed that bill last week," referring to the legislation approved last Thursday that would suspend the program allowing Syrian and Iraqi refugees into the United States until more stringent security measures were put in place.
"By posturing about fear," he continued, "by posturing about how they want security, they ignore the very foundations upon which this country was built."
This "flies in the very face of this notion of justice," he continued, urging the audience to "not give in to fear or paranoia."
Watch the video here
http://www.churchmilitant.com/news/article/scranton-cathedral-holds-thanksgiving-interfaith-service
Evil Capuchin Preaches Religious Indifferentism: Praises Protestant Revolt
He's been bad since 1980, and he'll continue to be bad till someone in
authority corrects him. It doesn't seem to matter much that his
statements betray Christ or are a cause of scandal to faithful Catholics
suffering persecution. Here he is again:
[Catholic
Herald] The Pope’s personal preacher has praised the Reformation and
said that moral issues such as sexuality, should not “divide us more
than Jesus unites us.”
Speaking
at Wesminster Abbey, during the inauguration of the Church of England’s
Tenth General Synod, Fr Raniero Cantalamessa, who has served as
Preacher to the Papal Household since 1980, praised the “theological and
spiritual enrichment” of the Reformation.
He
said: “We need to go back to the time of the Apostles: they faced a
pre-Christian world, and we are facing a largely post-Christian world.
When Paul wants to summarise the essence of the Christian message in one
sentence, he does not say, “I proclaim this or that doctrine to you.”
He says, “We preach Christ crucified” (1 Cor 1:23), and “We preach . . .
Jesus Christ as Lord” (2 Cor 4:5). This is the real “articulus stantis
et cadentis Ecclesiae”, the article by which the Church stands or falls.
http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/news/2015/11/25/papal-preacher-praises-theological-and-spiritual-enrichment-of-reformation/
Muslims eager to receive Francis!!
“In CAR, Islam too is praying for the Pope’s visit”
The Pope is visiting a land of conflict, just as the saint of Assisi – whose name he took – did during the Crusade. It is not just Christians who are eagerly awaiting his words of peace, the Muslim community is too
“Francis’ visit to the Central African Republic (CAR) and the message he will be bringing, are distinctly “Franciscan”: Just as St. Francis went to the Holy Land during the during the Crusade fighting, so the Pope will be arriving here in wartime, bringing words of peace, to tell us that it is possible from Christians and Muslims to live alongside one another.” Fr. Jean Marius Toussaint Zoumalde is a priest from the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin, one of the religious families inspired by the spirituality of the Saint of Assisi. He is about to leave Bouar, in western CAR, where he lives, for Bangui. Bangui is where the Pope will be spending the final leg of his African trip (29-30 November).Many of his fellow citizens will be following suit, even though the uncertainty caused by three years of civil war and the lack of resources means only a few groups of faithful will be able to reach the capital in the far south of the country. “Still, everyone is joined in prayer,” Fr. Toussaint Zoumalde said, “and Muslims are also preparing for this visit.” This last factor is important given that the conflict between the two militant groups – the former Seleka rebel coalition and anti-balaka militia – has, amongst other things, intensified mistrust and tensions between the country’s too biggest religious communities. Local clerics – starting with the Archbishop of Bangui, Dieudonné Nzapalainga, the President of the Evangelical Alliance, pastor Nicolas Guérékoyaméné-Gbangou and Imam Oumar Koubine Layama – have been engaged in constant efforts to stop this. This is precisely what Jorge Mario Bergoglio intends to do, meeting with the Muslim community in the capital’s central mosque.
“Pope Francis is someone who is able to communicate with everyone, break all barriers we humans build up between us and Muslims are also have high expectations of him: there are many situations that still require a solution. The Muslim majority Pk-5 neighbourhood in Bangui is a particularly tense issue. The neighbourhood has been at the centre of much of the unrest that has taken place in recent months. But there is one reason in particular for which the cleric believes the Pope can bring the people of CAR the sign of reconciliation they are seeking: “He is not a politician, he is an international, neutral figure,” who is impartial and not linked to any of the leaders that succeeded General François Bozizé, who was ousted from the presidency by Seleka.
“The presence of the Holy Father could help rulers change something and end this interminable transition phase,” said Fr. Zoumalde. The mandate of the interim authorities in power led by Catherine Samba-Panza following the brief presidency of former Seleka commander Michel Djotodia, has been extended a number of times. As many times as general elections have been postponed. Despite doubts over the actual ability of the refugees (470,000, almost a tenth of the population) and tens of thousands of internally displaced people to vote, the date was finally set for 27 December and there were some signs of change in the run-up to the Pope’s visit: “The confirmation of his visit,” the priest said, “was an impetus for interim powers to begin some works in Bangui, renovating roads and other structures”.
A fresh new start is also expected thanks to Francis’ shock decision to open the Holy Door for the Jubilee on African soil, for the first time ever. “It was unexpected and we cans till hardly believe it,” said Fr. Toussaint Zoumalde. “There are Churches that have more than 2000 years of history, while ours is barely 200 years old. And yet the Pope has chosen the doors of Bangui Cathedral to mark the start of the Jubilee of Mercy: with this gesture, he shows us that the Church is one, the Church of Christ walking as one, depite its different faces.”
Marxists/Socialists and the "Poverty Complex"
“Violence and terrorism feed on the desperation that comes from poverty”
“Experience shows that violence, conflict and terrorism feed on fear, mistrust, and the despair born of poverty and frustration.” Francis said this in his first speech in Kenya, in which he addressed President Uhruru Kenyatta and the country’s authorities gathered under a big marquee in Nairobi’s State House garden.
“The struggle against these enemies of peace and prosperity,” Francis added, “must be carried on by men and women who fearlessly believe in, and bear honest witness to, the great spiritual and political values which inspired the birth of the nation.”
Francis, who pronounced his speech in English, recalled that Kenya has been blessed not only with immense beauty, in its mountains, rivers and lakes, its forests, savannahs and semi-deserts, but also by an abundance of natural resources. The Kenyan people have a strong appreciation of these God-given treasures and are known for a culture of conservation which does you honour. The grave environmental crisis facing our world demands an ever greater sensitivity to the relationship between human beings and nature. We have a responsibility to pass on the beauty of nature in its integrity to future generations, and an obligation to exercise a just stewardship of the gifts we have received.” His words anticipated the themes to be discussed at the nearing climate change conference in Paris. “In a world which continues to exploit rather than protect our common home, they must inspire the efforts of national leaders to promote responsible models of economic development,” Francis went on to say.
“In effect, there is a clear link between the protection of nature and the building of a just andequitable social order. There can be no renewal of our relationship with nature, without a renewal of humanity itself.”
The Pope then spoke about Africa’s problems. “To the extent that our societies experience divisions, whether ethnic, religious or economic,” he said, “all men and women of good will are called to work for reconciliation and peace, forgiveness and healing. In the work of building a sound democratic order, strengthening cohesion and integration, tolerance and respect for others, the pursuit of the common good must be a primary goal.”
Francis concluded the first speech of his African visit by calling on the ruling class of Kenya “to protect” young people “invest in them” and encouraged them “to work with integrity and transparency for the common good, and to foster a spirit of solidarity at every level of society. I ask you in particular to show genuine concern for the needs of the poor, the aspirations of the young, and a just distribution of the natural and human resources with which the Creator has blessed your country.”
In his welcoming speech, the Kenyan president said: "I was also educated in a Catholic school," recalling that the Church was and continues to be a "strong partner of the State in the country's social and economic development". Kenyatta also assured: "We want to overcome the vice of corruption and the illegal profits made from environmental exploitation". He concluded by asking the Pope to pray for him and for Kenya.
Before meeting the country's authorities, the Pope visited Kenyatta, signed the Golden Book and held a private meeting with the president. At the same time, a bilateral meeting took place between the Vatican and Kenyan delegations, attended by the Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin.
Do the Novus Ordites Realize How Much They Are Offending Christ?
English and Welsh Catholic Bishops Call on Vatican to Revise Prayer for the Jews
The Good Friday prayer, which was authorized by the Catholic Church in 2008, calls on the Jews to accept Jesus as their savior.
Modernist's love to hide their Crosses in front of the Jews
Modernist's love to hide their Crosses in front of the Jews
2016: The Year of Lucifer's Formal Reign?
Tagle: Jubilee is the most powerful response to violence
Tagle is another NWO puppet. Tagle and his buddy Francis giving Satanic hand signs
The Archbishop of Manila, who today began preaching the spiritual exercises for Rome’s priests, told Vatican Radio: “Every act of violence shows a lack of mercy”
“Every act of violence shows a lack of mercy. This is the mystery that makes us all silent in the face of violence,” said Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle in an interview with Vatican Radio about the attacks of recent weeks. From today until Friday, Tagle will be preaching the spiritual exercises for Rome’s priests, on the theme “God of Mercy”.“I personally cannot comprehend how a man, a human being, could do something of the kind to other innocent people. I do not wish to condemn anyone but, for me, to imagine – just imagine – a heart that is capable of doing such things… what thoughts, what spirits have influenced this heart? One word comes to mind: mercy. Is there mercy in these hearts? This Jubilee is a response, a clear response to merciless violence, everywhere.”
Tagle said the announcement of an Extraordinary Holy Year did not surprise him: “because, ever since the start of his pontificate, the Pope has always spoken about this aspect of Christian life: God’s mercy. And when he announced this Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, I saw it as confirmation of this Pope’s spiritual impulse, as well as as an invitation to the whole Church to reflect on spiritual, pastoral and missionary life, so that all these aspects of Church life can be instruments, paths of God’s mercy.”
In the Bull of Indiction of the Jubilee, Francis wrote that it was open to Jews and Muslims too, because for them too, mercy is one of God’s attributes, one of the words that best describe him. “Yes,” Tagle observed, “and not only Jews and Muslims. In Asia, almost all of the ancient religious traditions – Buddhism, Hinduism, Confucianism – all of these religions have a tradition of mercy. For example, every morning, Buddhist monks go around the city asking for food and clothes, but not for themselves: for the poor. For lunch, the big table of the Buddhist monks is open to all! The monks eat last: now that is mercy! My hope is, that during this Jubilee Year, mercy will be the main reference point for interreligious dialogue, not just from an academic but also from a practical point of view.”
Some African Catholics to pope: Let priests marry
Priests and residents in Uganda, in the capital of Kampala, are warming up to a petition asking Pope Francis to allow priests to marry. Maintaining clerical celibacy is a problem especially in Africa, which has the world’s fastest-growing Catholic population. (Tonny Onyulo/Religion News Service)
KAMPALA, Uganda — Throngs of Roman Catholics are expected to greet Pope Francis when he visits East Africa this week.But the Rev. Anthony Musaala won’t be a part of the official welcoming delegation.
Two years ago, Ugandan Archbishop Cyprian Lwanga suspended Musaala indefinitely — barring him from administering the sacraments — when Musaala wrote an open letter that challenged his priestly vows of celibacy, condemned sexual abusers among the clergy, and criticized priests who father children and abandon them.
Lwanga said the letter “damages the good morals of the Catholic believers and faults the Church’s teaching.”
Since then, the priest, a popular gospel singer and LGBT activist, has become a champion of efforts in Uganda to overturn Church celibacy rules and oppose anti-gay laws.
“We will ensure the pope hears our voices on the issues of celibacy,” said Musaala.
“They should be allowed to enjoy companionship and receive the sacraments like others,” said Charles Namang’are, a senior catechist, or religious teacher, at a recent event among petition organizers at the Uganda Martyrs Shrine in Namugongo, referring to priests. “We are all equal before God.”
Musaala and his supporters pushed unsuccessfully for repeal of Uganda’s infamous 2013 “Kill the Gays” law, which called for life sentences for “aggravated homosexuality” and seven-year prison terms for the promotion of homosexuality. The country’s constitutional court overturned the law last year on technical grounds. Ugandan lawmakers are now considering new legislation.
The petition drive advocating marriage for priests comes as the Ugandan Catholic Church has been cracking down on Musaala and his fellow activists. Last month, Lwanga suspended several other priests for suggesting that Catholic priests should marry.
By denying priests permission to marry, the Church is rejecting thousands of young men who otherwise would heed the call to holy orders in Africa, home of the world’s fastest-growing Catholic population, Musaala is convinced. Meanwhile, he added, numerous Ugandan priests now live openly with wives and families anyway.
“Father Anthony Musaala’s suspension was because he was saying what the rest couldn’t say,” said Namang’are. “He was courageous enough to break the silence and tell the world the truth. We’ll not go and kneel down and say sorry to the archbishop because this is not a sin.”
At the shrine in Namugongo, where Francis is slated to address about 1,000 lay Catholics on his visit to Uganda, Vincent Ogalo elicited cheers as he spoke before a crowd of petition supporters.
“I prefer priests to marry to avoid cases of adultery in our churches,” he said. “My wife was snatched by one of the local priests after having stayed together in marriage for five years.”
Religious women are especially targeted by sexually frustrated priests, Ogalo continued. He said the solution is to provide proper ways for satisfying the priests’ desires.
“We have always trusted them with our wives and daughters, who usually help them with various work in churches,” added Ogalo. “They’re not good people if allowed to stay without marrying. They are a threat to us.”
A woman in the audience shouted in response.
“If they need me to marry them, I will accept,” she said. “These priests have money minus wives, and they like women.”
Catholics in Africa hold on to traditional societal values that are at odds with some Church doctrines, said Zacharia Wanakacha Samita of the department of philosophy and religious studies at Kenyatta University in Nairobi, Kenya.
“People who choose not to marry, whether for religious reasons, as celibacy in the Catholic Church, or other practical reasons, do not easily find social acceptability in African society, largely because marriage and having children remains a core value,” he said.
Some Ugandan Catholics have condemned the petitioners.
“We do not want to be embarrassed during the pope’s visit,” said the Rev. Jeffrey Rhuweza, who is based in Kampala. “Those who wish to marry should be silently allowed to step down as priests so that the revered practice of celibacy is sustained. Whoever wants to tie the knot should get out of priesthood. We need no politics in churches.”
But this is not stopping hundreds of Catholic protesters across the country from going ahead with their plan to petition Francis to allow priests to marry.
“Many have been afraid to come out and speak for fear of discrimination,” said Ogalo. “We will demonstrate throughout the streets during the pope’s visit if he doesn’t allow them to have wives.”
Aren't all the Novus Ordo Prelates "heterodox"? Wake up "Conservatives!
How did heterodox prelates try to change doctrine at synod?
Introduction to Synod
I’m here today representing Voice of the Family, a coalition of 26 pro-life and pro-family organisations, managed by the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children. Voice of the Family was established by SPUC in August 2014 because of our growing concerns ahead of the Extraordinary Synod on the Family that met in Rome in October last year. The lead-up to the synod had been dominated by the proposal, made most prominently by Walter Cardinal Kasper, that divorced and civilly remarried Catholics should be admitted to Holy Communion without amendment of life.A Voice of the Family team was present in Rome throughout both the Extraordinary Synod in October 2014 and the Ordinary Synod in October 2015. During that time we sought to assist synod fathers in their defence of Catholic teaching on the family and to assist the wider public to understand what was taking place by offering accurate reporting and in-depth analysis.
The two synods were called to address the challenges facing the family in the modern world and the mission of the family in modern world.
Unfortunately both synods were in fact dominated by attempts to undermine or alter the teaching and discipline of the Church on a wide range of issues relating to marriage, the family and human sexuality. Both assemblies witnessed division between synod fathers who wished to uphold Catholic teaching and those who wished to undermine or alter it.
Despite the efforts of some synod fathers to raise the real challenges facing the family, very little attention was paid to these threats in the official documents of either synod.
Issues which were either entirely neglected or paid insufficient attention include: abortion, IVF, embryo experimentation, euthanasia, assisted suicide, anti-life anti-family sex education, attacks on parental rights and the increasing threat to the civil freedom of citizens of many western nations who wish to live lives faithful to the Catholic faith and the natural law.
As indicated earlier, much discussion in the media and among concerned Catholics has centred around the question of the reception of Holy Communion by the “divorced and civilly remarried”. However, this was not the only issue which the so-called “progressive” synod fathers were determined to pursue.
The discussions at the Ordinary Synod this October were conducted according to the content of the Instrumentum Laboris, the working document for the Synod. Voice of the Family produced a detailed analysis of this document and concluded that it posed a serious threat to the integrity of Catholic doctrine.
We argued in our analysis of the document, which can be found on our website, that the key to understanding the Instrumentum Laboris, and by extension to the wider debates at the Synod, could be found in the following statement, that the principle “describing the synodal experience and indicating the task at hand” is “to read both the signs of God and human history, in a twofold yet unique faithfulness which this reading involves”.
This statement proclaims that the task of the synod is to be faithful to two different sources of authority, on the one hand “the signs of God” and on the other hand the signs of “human history”. It therefore sets up human history, the changes of human society over time, as an object of fidelity which must be obeyed alongside the fidelity due to God.
It is in accordance with this principle that we would argue that the Instrumentum Laboris, and many of the synod fathers, strove to bring the Church into conformity with the modern world.
If man must be faithful both to the “signs of God and “human history” it follows that whenever there is a clash between their mutual demands a compromise must be found. When this approach is adopted, the natural moral law is no longer regarded as immutable but rather as subject to change over the course of time.
The consequence of this is that the Instrumentum Laboris, which was the basis of the Ordinary Synod’s work, threatened the entire structure of Catholic teaching on marriage, the family and human sexuality.
Read the whole in depth article here....
https://www.lifesitenews.com/opinion/how-did-heterodox-prelates-try-to-change-doctrine-at-synod
Catholic nuns posing as prostitutes save children in sex slave trade
John Studzinski, an investment banker and philanthropist who chairs Talitha Kum, said the network of 1,100 sisters currently operates in about 80 countries but the demand for efforts to combat trafficking and slavery was rising globally.
The group, set up in 2004 by the Roman Catholic International Union of Superiors General (UISG), estimates one percent of the world’s population is trafficked in some form, which translates into some 73 million people. Of those, 70 percent are women and half are aged 16 or younger.
“I’m not trying to be sensational but I’m trying to underscore the fact this is a world that has lost innocence … where dark forces are active,” said Studzinski, a vice chairman of U.S. asset manager The Blackstone Group.
“These are problems caused by poverty and equality but it goes well beyond that,” he told the Trust Women Conference on women’s rights and trafficking hosted by the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
Detailing some cases involving trafficking and slavery, Studzinski said the treatment of some victims was horrific.
He told of one woman enslaved as a prostitute who was locked up for a week without food, forced to eat own her faeces, when she failed to have sex with a target of 12 clients a day.
In another extreme case, one woman was forced to have sex with a group of 10 men at the same time.
Studzinski said the religious sisters working to combat trafficking would go to all lengths to rescue women, often dressing up as prostitutes and going out on the street to integrate themselves into brothels.
“These sisters do not trust anyone. They do not trust governments, they do not trust corporations, and they don’t trust the local police. In some cases they cannot trust male clergy,” he said, adding that the low-key group preferred to focus on their rescue work rather than promotion.
“They work in brothels. No one knows they are there.”
The sisters were also proactive on trying to save children being sold into slavery by their parents, setting up a network of homes in Africa as well as in the Philippines, Brazil and India to shelter such children.
He said the religious sisters of Talitha Kum raised money to purchase these children.
“This is a new network of houses for children around the world who would otherwise be sold into slavery. It is shocking but it is real,” he said.
Studzinski said the network of religious sisters, that was in the process of expanding, also targeted slavery in the supply chain with sisters shedding their habits and working alongside locals for as little as 2 U.S. cents an hour to uncover abuses.
He said Talitha Kum, which translated from Aramaic means arise child, was now being hired by companies to see what is going on with respect to the supply chain and expanding globally would help address this issue.
“You can’t generalize about trafficking and slavery as no two countries are the same,” Studzinski said.
Source: Religious sisters to expand fight against slavery to 140 nations
