Holy See press office issues clarification on the synod relatio : “It is a...
This just in: The General Secretariat of the Synod, in response to reactions and discussions following the publication of the Relatio post disceptationem, and the fact that often a value has been...
View ArticleFrom the synod: was something lost in translation?
Here’s an interesting take on the relatio, from Catholic News Agency: An incorrect translation into English of the original midterm report of the Synod on the Family may have spurred controversial...
View ArticleFrom the synod: revisions, corrections and additions
From the Catholic World Report: Two minutes into the press briefing at the Vatican press office today, Fr. Lombardi announced that Cardinal Gerhard Mueller, prefect for the Congregation for the...
View ArticleFights! Misunderstandings! Gossip! Welcome to Vatican II
A lot of people have sought to make comparisons between the current synod and Vatican II. (We’ll put aside, for a moment, the simple fact that a synod and a council are two very different creatures.)...
View ArticleIn the Kasper-Pentin fiasco, they’re both wrong
Reading over the transcript of the now-infamous exchange between Cardinal Walter Kasper and Edward Pentin, I’m struck by one over-arching point. It’s this: both men blundered and both men are wrong....
View ArticleCardinal Pell: Relatio was “skewed…it didn’t represent accurately the...
From CNS: Cardinal George Pell said working-group reports from the Synod of Bishops on the family finally give a true picture of the assembly’s views, counteracting what he characterized as a...
View ArticleFrom the synod: African cardinal says pressure groups are trying to change...
From CNA: Inaccurate media reports about Church teaching on homosexuality published after the Extraordinary Synod on the Family’s midterm relatio was released are an attempt to pressure the Church to...
View ArticleThe final message from the synod
Or, at least, from this first two-week session. The second half kicks off next year. Meantime, the bishops are also preparing a more detailed final report, which will be published (or not) at the...
View ArticleCardinal Burke confirms transfer: “As priests, we always have to be ready to...
In an unexpected interview with a surprising news outlet, BuzzFeed, Cardinal Raymond Burke discusses the synod and rumors that he is about to be transferred: In the interview with BuzzFeed News, Burke...
View ArticleIt’s here: final Relatio of synod, plus speech of Pope Francis—UPDATED
Hot off the press. Translations are rough, and need some polishing, but you get the gist. Synod14 – “Relatio Synodi” of the Third Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops: “The pastoral...
View ArticleIt’s official: Burke to Malta
After the longest run-up, the least surprising papal move of the year: At Roman Noon this Saturday, the Pope named Cardinal Raymond Burke as patron of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, removing...
View ArticleKasper: “The pope is not a liberal. He is a radical.”
Details: Just days before the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops opens its annual fall meeting, German Cardinal Walter Kasper, often called the pope’s theologian, had a not-too-subtle message for the...
View ArticleIs the pope purging conservatives?
Short answer: no. Still, after the recent news about Cardinal Burke, some think so. But Fr. Dwight Longenecker offers some helpful context: This Vatican re-shuffle had been on the cards for months. It...
View ArticlePope commissions showers for the homeless under the colonnades at St. Peter’s
Remarkable: “Father, I can’t go to the restaurant with you because I smell.” Franco is a homeless man from Sardinia, he has a bristly grey beard and weather-beaten skin. At the beginning of October,...
View ArticlePatti Smith, Sister Cristina to perform at Vatican Christmas concert—UPDATED
From Huffington Post: Sources close to Patti Smith confirmed to The Huffington Post that she will be performing at the Holy See’s Christmas concert this year. The iconic rock star is one of 18 acts...
View Article“If I were The Sovereign Order of Malta, I’d be miffed…”
With those words, blogger Elizabeth Westhoff offers some insight into the ancient order to which Cardinal Raymond Burke has been assigned: In the more anxious circles of the Catholic Church, the...
View ArticleHere come more cardinals: Vatican announces consistory for February
From Vatican Radio: The seventh meeting of the “C9” Council of nine Cardinals tasked with reforming the Vatican curia concludes Thursday. The director of the Vatican press office , Father Federico...
View ArticleIt’s here: Vatican report on U.S. nuns
From CNS: A massive, detailed Vatican-ordered investigation of U.S. communities of women religious ended with a call to the women themselves to continue discerning how best to live the Gospel in...
View ArticleVatican diplomacy and release of Alan Gross: “Pope Francis personally issued...
From The Washington Post: Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.) received a phone call on Tuesday night from White House National Security Adviser Susan Rice that “just knocked me off my feet.” After more...
View ArticleTopless woman who snatched Baby Jesus from Vatican freed
Details: The Holy See has released a radical feminist activist who bared her breasts in St Peter’s Square on Christmas Day and snatched the statue of Baby Jesus from the Vatican’s outdoor Nativity...
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