Padre Pio was asked what happened to the particles of hosts that feel on the ground to which he replied, 'What do you think the angels are there for?' It is far better to recieve on the tongue.
Carol I am sorry to hear about the accident but at the same time happy things turned out so well. Accidents at that speed are very dangerous. Thank God for Guardian Angels!!
Will the Vatican denounce this atrocity? I’m not holding my breath. Data leak reveals how China 'brainwashes' Uighurs in prison camps https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-50511063
Yes...just recently. Look for things to get worse....this is the direction of the church. Sooooo sad...
Nov. 25, 2019 German Bishop: Amazon Synod’s Proposals Have ‘Great Importance’ for Us Bishop Franz-Josef Bode told the Register that the recent synod’s push for married priests and women deacons ‘complies with our reflections’ for the German Church’s upcoming ‘Synodal Path.’ Edward Pentin | http://www.ncregister.com/daily-new...synods-proposals-have-great-importance-for-us VATICAN CITY — The vote at the Synod of Bishops on the Pan-Amazon Region last month to propose ordaining married men — the so-called viri probati — and to further study a women’s diaconate will be of “great importance” to the German bishops’ upcoming “Synodal Path,” one of the country’s bishops has said. Bishop Franz-Josef Bode of Osnabrück, who will chair one of the Synodal Path’s four forums, told the Register Nov. 21 that the fact that two-thirds of synod fathers at the Pan-Amazonian synod voted “in favor of the consecration of viri probati, and also with the same majority brought into play the diaconate consecration for women, complies with our reflections for the Synodal Path.” Such a synodal process is the “first time this has happened in the Church,” Bishop Bode said, and “in view of our situation in Germany,” these questions raised during the Amazon synod “are also of great importance for our Synodal Path.” He added that they will “be taken up” in the two of four forums during the synodal process: one on “Priestly Life Today” and the other, which Bishop Bode co-chairs, on “Women in Ministries and Offices of the Church.” The German bishops’ conference decided in March this year to begin a “synodal path” to “process” the abuse scandal and arrive at solutions following the publication last year of a devastating four-year study into clerical sex abuse in the Church in Germany. Cardinal Reinhard Marx, the president of the German bishops’ conference, said the process, which will consist of two years of meetings, would tackle “key issues” arising from the clerical sex-abuse crisis. In particular, the bishops are set to question the Catholic Church’s perennial teaching on priestly celibacy, human sexuality and the role of women in the Church. The Synodal Path begins informal talks on Dec. 1, with the first general assembly held on Jan. 30. The Central Committee of German Catholics (ZdK), the most influential lay group in the Church in Germany, which openly supports ending the discipline of priestly celibacy, ordaining women and blessing same-sex couples in churches, will be working closely with the bishops. The Amazon synod, whose preparation was considerably funded by the Church in Germany, is widely thought to have been staged partly to prepare the groundwork for the reforms envisioned for the Synodal Path, in particular introducing married clergy to the Latin Rite, and a permanent diaconate for women. “The whole process is totally preplanned and fixed — a ‘false game,’” an informed source within the German Church told the Register. “It is an attempt to Protestantize and revolutionize the Catholic Church in order to ‘catch up’ with the last 500 years, but this time from within. The focus is on power, money and influence, not faith and evangelization.” Earlier this month, vicars general from 10 dioceses wrote that they considered the Synodal Path a means to achieve “fundamental reform of the Church in Germany,” which they deemed to be “urgently necessary, indeed essential.” For this reason, the Register sought responses from a number of German bishops to two principal questions: how they thought the Synodal Path intended to build on the Amazon synod and what they hoped the process would achieve. Other Bishops’ Responses Bishop Felix Genn of Münster, who will co-chair the forum on women’s ministry, told the Register Nov. 21 he viewed the Amazon synod “as an encouragement for the Synodal Path we have chosen.” “Like the Amazon Synod, the Synodal Path should also be a way of conversion and renewal, which serves as a point of departure in the light of the Gospel, to speak about the importance of faith and Church in our time and to find answers to urgent questions of the Church,” he said. Similarly, Bishop Georg Bätzing of Limburg, who will co-chair the forum on “sexual morality,” also said the Amazon synod was an “encouragement” for the Synodal Path and that, like the upcoming process, it pointed toward “conversion and renewal.” If Jesus describes himself as the Way, the Truth and the Life, “then the truths of our faith cannot be rigid and immovable points of view,” he told the Register. Bishop Franz-Josef Overbeck of Essen, who said ahead of the Amazon synod that it would lead the universal Church to a “point of no return,” and that “nothing will be the same as it was,” said he saw that “some topics of the Amazon synod are also relevant here in Germany,” but he added that the forthcoming discussions would also “take the situation of the local Catholic Church into consideration.” Bishop Peter Kohlgraf of Mainz seemed less convinced of an Amazon synod-Synodal Path connection, saying the former “focused on questions of ecology and inculturation,” while the Synodal Path in Germany “has its own questions” deriving from the 2018 clerical sex-abuse study. But he nevertheless foresaw the Synodal Path having an impact on the universal Church. “Just as suggestions from the world Church can be significant for us, impulses from the Church in Germany can, of course, also be significant for the Church in the world,” he said. Archbishop Heiner Koch of Berlin declined to answer the Register’s questions; instead, his spokesman directed attention to a Nov. 9 article on the bishops’ web portal Katholisch.de in which the archbishop urged listening and dialogue during the process to overcome differences and find solutions. Cardinal Marx also chose not to respond to the Register’s questions, nor respond to Bishop Bode’s remarks on the “great importance” of the Amazon synod to the Synodal Path, because the subject matter to be discussed had not been finalized, and he “doesn’t comment on public statements or interviews of other members of the episcopate,” his spokesman Bernhard Kellner said. Criticisms But some bishops who don’t support the Synodal Path believe the process could lead the faithful down a path that will ultimately damage the Church. According to Cardinal Rainer Woelki of Cologne, it could lead to “schism within the Church in Germany” and a “German national church.” Both Bishop Genn and Bishop Bätzing told the Register they did not think the Synodal Path would “lead to a schism.” They both said the Church in Germany is “not a ‘special Church,’ neither within the whole Church nor in the world,” but Bishop Genn saw the Central Committee of German Catholics, noted for its controversial positions on Church teaching, as playing a “responsible” role in following the Synodal Path. He claimed “a very great unity” surrounds the Synodal Path. “Of course, there are also some who do not find everything right. But this is not a split; it is simply a debate,” he said. “But shouldn’t we as Church, especially in times of political and social discourse that’s been brutalized by populists, also try to show that one can struggle hard in the matter, but nevertheless deal with each other well and constructively for the right way?” he asked. “The Catholic Church as a model of constructive conflict culture: That would be something!” Many of the bishops the Register contacted saw the Synodal Path as a means to reach people and, in the words of Bishop Kohlgraf, help spark a “revival of the faith in our country.” Bishop Overbeck thought it would “strengthen the Christian witness in our country”; Bishop Bode thought it would help clergy and laity “find the right way to evangelize” and help the Church be “more credible on the ground.” He also thought it could lead to a regional Synod of Bishops for Germany similar to the Amazon synod. Bishop Bätzing welcomed the fact that the process is beginning during Advent, when “something new begins,” and that the bishops will “wrestle and come to grips with hot-button issues” over two years. However, Bishop Rudolf Voderholzer of Regensburg, one of a handful of German bishops willing to publicly criticize the process, told the Register that he believes the Synodal Path seems to “miss the reality of the crisis of faith in our country.” He urges looking at how Protestant denominations that have introduced similar changes that the Synodal Path looks expected to consider have rapidly declined. He also noted that, despite its claimed emphasis on evangelization, the Synodal Path lacks a forum on evangelization, and he accuses the whole process of “insincerity,” with themes that are “pseudo-scientific.” Bishop Voderholzer has reserved the right to withdraw from the whole process if the Synodal Path does not observe the primacy of evangelization and the unity of the universal Church — a call made by Pope Francis. “I hope and pray that the Synodal Process will help to bring about a true renewal of the Church,” the bishop said, “despite what I consider to be wrong choices.”
I hope that these rebellious German bishops pay heed to Pope Francis' latest preaching and that they make no attempt to convince or persuade anyone. Of course, we all know PF really referred only to Christ. It seems anything goes (and I mean anything) in The Church now, except Jesus Christ.
Pope praises document about God willing diversity of religions in ‘interreligious dialogue’ speech November 26, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) – Pope Francis has once again promoted the Abu Dhabi document “Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together” at a meeting organized in Rome by an Argentinian group under the auspices of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue. [......] Pope Francis’ speech showed he believes there is a new element at play since the signature of the Abu Dhabi document: “The intention of the document is to adopt: the culture of dialogue as a way; common collaboration as conduct; mutual knowledge as a method and criterion. From now on, it can be affirmed that religions are not a closed system that cannot be changed, but with their own identity. And this is the key: identity cannot be negotiated, because if you negotiate identity there is no dialogue, there is submission. With their own identity, they are in motion.” https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/p...f-religions-in-interreligious-dialogue-speech +
Maybe something has been lost in translation, but I cannot make sense of that quotation from Pope Francis. It seems incoherent and self-contradictory to me. He seems to be saying that religions are changeable, but goes on to claim that their identities are non-negotiable. If I spoke like that about a subject, I'd consider I was talking bullshit, but who am I to judge?
Pope Francis: 'There is corruption in the Vatican' Pope Francis admitted that there is financial corruption in the Vatican. He said an ongoing internal investigation into the corruption at the Vatican would "see if they are guilty or not." Pope Francis in the Vatican Pope Francis admitted there is financial corruption in the Vatican, describing it as a "scandal" on Tuesday. The pope's statement marked the first time he has acknowledged corruption in Vatican finances. "There is corruption, it's clear. With the interrogations we will see if they are guilty or not. It is an ugly thing, it's not nice for this to happen in the Vatican," Francis said during an in-flight press conference on the way back from Japan. Read more: Opinion: A synod that could make history The pope told reporters that there was a Vatican investigation underway into the allegedly fraudulent use of the Peter's Pence, the pope's charity fund, to buy a luxury property in central London. The pope has previously said that such a purchase is not necessarily a misuse of charity funds. "What happened, happened: a scandal. They did things that do not seem clean," the pope said. These were the first public comments made by Pope Francis on the issue of financial corruption. The pope stressed that the internal investigation was going well. "For the first time, the dirt is being uncovered from within the Vatican, rather than from outside," Francis said. https://www.dw.com/en/pope-francis-there-is-corruption-in-the-vatican/a-51431279
‘I Love China’: Pope Francis Downplays Hong Kong Protests Pope Francis dodged questions regarding his opinion of the Hong Kong protesters Tuesday, saying that such problems are occurring all over the world and that he loves China. Asked aboard the papal plane about his telegrams to different Asian heads of state and his opinion on the Hong Kong pro-democracy demonstrations, the pope said that telegrams are just a formality and nothing should be read into them. “Telegrams are sent to all heads of state, it is an automatic thing, they are a greeting and also a courteous way of asking permission to fly over their territory,” he said. “This has no significance of condemnation or support, it is a mechanical thing that all aircraft do when technically entering. They alert, ‘We’re coming in’ and we do it politely, we say hello. This has no value in the sense that you ask, just a courtesy value.” Much has been made of the pope’s silence over the tense situation in Hong Kong, with many observers suggesting he does not want to roil the waters with Communist China in his bid to reestablish diplomatic relations with the country. In fall 2018 Francis signed an important document with Beijing regarding the naming of bishops in China, the contents of which have never been revealed. In his in-flight press conference, the pope refused to take a stand regarding Hong Kong and instead said the problem must be “relativized” the problem among other difficult situations occurring around the globe. “But it’s not just Hong Kong. Think of Chile, think of France — the democratic France with a year of yellow vests — think of Nicaragua, think of the other Latin American countries, Brazil, which is struggling, and also any European country. It’s a generalized thing,” he said. “What does the Holy See do with this? Call for dialogue, for peace. But it’s not just Hong Kong,” he said. “There are several issues that have problems and I am not able to evaluate them right now. I respect peace and ask for peace for all these troubled countries. There are also problems in Spain, problems like that. It is important to relativize things and to call for dialogue and peace to solve problems.” “I would like to go to Beijing. I love China,” Francis concluded. https://www.breitbart.com/asia/2019/11/27/i-love-china-pope-francis-downplays-hong-kong-protests/
Pope Francis Suggests Moratorium on Nuclear Energy Budapest, HUNGARY — Pope Francis said Tuesday that not only nuclear weapons but also nuclear power plants should be at least temporarily banned because of their destructive capability. During the press conference aboard the papal plane returning from Thailand and Japan Tuesday, the pope reiterated his belief that not only the use, but also the possession of nuclear weapons is evil, since “due to an accident or the madness of some government leader, a person’s madness can destroy humanity.” Yet the pontiff also went on to comment on the morality of nuclear energy as well when asked by a journalist whether Japan should shut down its nuclear power stations. “Regarding the possession of nuclear power plants, an accident can always occur,” Francis said. “Nuclear energy has limits… The use of nuclear energy has limits because we have not yet achieved absolute security.” “You could tell me that even electricity could cause a disaster due to a lack of security, but it would be a very small disaster,” he continued. “A disaster at a nuclear power plant would be a major disaster. Security systems have not yet been resolved.” The pope then went on to express his prudential judgment that nuclear power should be put on hold until it is “completely safe.” “It’s my personal opinion, but I wouldn’t use nuclear power until it’s completely safe,” he said. “Some say that it is a risk to the care of creation and that the use of nuclear energy must be banned. I’m drawing the line at security.” “There is no guarantee of guaranteeing that a disaster will not occur,” he said. “Yes, once every ten years in the world. Then there’s creation. The disaster that nuclear power causes to creation, to the human person.” The pope cited the nuclear disaster at Chernobyl in 1986 as an example of what can happen when nuclear power is not well contained. “We need to conduct safety research, to avoid both disasters and environmental consequences,” he said. “I think we have breached the limit with regard to the environment: with pesticides in agriculture, with the rearing of chickens that doctors tell mothers not to feed their children because they give them hormones and are harmful to their health.” “There are so many rare diseases today due to the misuse of the environment,” he said. “Either the care of the environment takes place today or it never will.” Renowned Australian economist Judith Sloan has argued that nuclear energy is among the cheapest and “greenest” energy sources currently available, and yet it does not get the attention it deserves. During the Obama years from 2010 through 2013, U.S. federal subsidies for fossil fuels decreased by 15 percent, from $4.0 billion to $3.4 billion, and subsidies for nuclear energy fell by 12 percent, from $1.9 billion to $1.7 billion, Sloan has noted. While during the period between 2010 and 2014 nuclear energy cost about 4¢ and 5¢ per kWh to produce, solar energy cost so 20 times as much to produce, between 80¢ and 100¢ per kWh. This despite the fact that nuclear energy is “as renewable as wind” but doesn’t enjoy the same star status among environmental activists, Sloan contends. https://www.breitbart.com/faith/2019/11/27/pope-francis-suggests-moratorium-on-nuclear-energy/
I think it's a grace from God that Benedict is still alive. I don't know. I wonder more and more about Francis' validity. Even if he is valid and there is a split, we do still have Benedict as an example, and shepherd. I wish that the Church would and could make a judgement on Francis soon. I know we get impatient, but still. It is discouraging to see friends leave in huge, stupid numbers over Francis. But taking a huge step back, there is no where else to go. Rome is it. She is the Church. One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic. So, we must trust, pray, hunker down, focus on Christ, and hope. And wait.
War and abortion are related. They are deadly cousins! Waken up PF and smell the coffee -- please come back some time to reality and stop living in an absurd bubble!
The attack on the nuclear family has done immensely more damage to society than nuclear weapons! That you cannot see these spiritual realities speaks volumes!!
The use of nuclear weapons will be a fruit of abortion and the breakdown of the nuclear family. So speak out in defence of the unborn and the nuclear family & you might prevent a nuclear war! Call people to repentance in the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace -- call the nations to pray the Rosary and ask for the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary; consecrate Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, declare the 5th Marian dogma -- these spiritual remedies will prevent nuclear war!
Well if nothing else all this is teaching be loads of humility, loads and loads and loads of patience, loads of Trusting in God, lots of listening skill, to go back and relearn my Catholic Cathechism, to do loads of reading and prayer. The list goes on and on. Its good to be positive. Not bad for and old crank. I think I will read G K Chesterton for the New Year, he was always laughing and very positive. Another thing I have learnt is not to take the Church for granted.
AAAAAARGH!!!!! What does this even MEAN? Has anyone read That Hideous Strength by CS Lewis? It's a novel in his Out if the Silent Planet trilogy. The N.I.C.E. institute that craftily sets up to take over the world starting with Britain has leaders who talk like this. Exactly like this. Words words words but what do they say? Obfuscations. Now it may be that there is a real processing problem with language here. I've known people over the years who are afflicted with this.
