The history class “The Catholic Intellectual Tradition” has become one of Yale’s most popular courses. Last spring, it attracted 85 students - up from just 13 a decade ago. The course explores two millennia of Catholic thought, from early Christianity and medieval mysticism to debates about war, philosophy and modern life. It has even reportedly attracted more students than long-standing Yale favourites such as “The Birth of Europe” and “The Roman Empire”. This boom comes at a time when universities are debating cuts to the humanities.
Isabel Vaughan-Spruce is being prosecuted again. The 48-year-old Catholic faces a new trial in January 2027 after pleading not guilty to interfering with an abortion clinic. Prosecutors say she stood inside a 150-metre buffer zone outside a Birmingham clinic on five occasions in 2025. Vaughan-Spruce replies she approached no one and simply prayed silently in her head. She was arrested over silent prayer in 2022 and 2023 and received a £13,000 police settlement in 2024. “Wherever we are permitted to be, our thoughts inevitably go with us,” she says. “Those thoughts should not be subject to censorship.” The new case is being brought under England’s national buffer-zone law.
Isabel Vaughan-Spruce will face trial in January 2027 after being charged over silently praying outside an abortion centre in Birmingham
Fr Edmund Waldstein, a monk and priest of Heiligenkreuz Abbey in Austria, will no longer teach moral theology at the abbey’s seminary. Rector Wolfgang Klausnitzer, 75, a diocesan priest, says Waldstein will not return to teaching during his tenure. Waldstein has defended the death penalty for heretics and Catholic integralism. He has now been removed from teaching and sent to Rome to pursue a further doctorate in philosophy. He has occasionally celebrated the Traditional Latin Mass.
Pater Edmund Waldstein darf nicht mehr an der Hochschule Heiligenkreuz unterrichten.
Archbishop Jesús Sanz Montes of Oviedo has backed rallies across Spain in support of Ceuta and Melilla. He criticised Morocco’s “territorial claims” and accused Spain’s government of failing to act. His comments came after more than 70,000 immigrants crossed from Morocco into Ceuta on 31 July, overwhelming the Spanish exclave. Around 5,000 are said to remain. A police report cited this week called the mass crossing “planned” and raised possible links to Moroccan security forces. Rallies have since spread across Spain under the slogan: “Ceuta is not for sale — Ceuta must be defended.”
Cardinal Domenico Battaglia, 63, of Naples, Italy, wrote the foreword to the book 'Transgender People'. He believes that the Church is called to "renew its gaze upon humanity". The book deals with “complex and sensitive issues,” he writes. His examples are “gender dysphoria, transgender identities, and life experiences that do not conform to traditional models.” This raises “profound questions - including for the Church.” Cardinal Battaglia proposes “a path not of condemnation, but of accompaniment”: “No one is excluded from God’s heart.” And: “No life is foreign to the mystery of salvation.” “Every person, every story - even those that seem distant or difficult to understand - carries within it the possibility of a revelation.” The book “reminds us that behind ideas there are people. People whom we must encounter, listen to, and accompany.” #newsUqdcmgjzfp
Three Detained After Police Raid Masonic Lodge in Madagascar: Madagascar is investigating a possible link between a Masonic lodge and a wave of disappearances and killings that has alarmed the country. Police raided the Étoile Australe lodge in Ivandry and detained three suspects, including an education official. Authorities reportedly found a coffin containing human remains, bladed objects, an altar and documents concerning rituals. A prosecutor said the possibility of a sacrifice was being considered and investigators were examining whether secret-society meetings could be connected to kidnappings. Nearly 200 disappearances had been reported by early August, although most of those missing were later found alive. Six were found dead. The investigation remains ongoing.
Italian bishop closes church after real-estate ad filmed at altar: A Catholic church in Ventimiglia, Italy, was temporarily closed after an estate agent used its altar to film a promotional video for a nearby property. Bishop Antonio Suetta ruled the unauthorized commercial use a profanation and suspended Eucharists until a penitential rite on Sept. 4. The parish priest was reportedly unaware of the filming. The diocese has also announced a formal complaint to authorities.
Ventimiglia: spot girato in chiesa, vescovo Suetta chiude la parrocchia e la riaprirà solo dopo ‘rito riparatorio’
On 3 September, SilereNonPossum.com published a video of Cardinal Mauro Gambetti at an apparently lavish private gathering. In the video, guests can be seen singing together in an opulent setting. 'Some sing while St Peter's Basilica falls apart,' wrote the outlet sarcastically, contrasting the surroundings with Gambetti's Franciscan vows and his public emphasis on humility, poverty, and immigration. SilereNonPossum has repeatedly criticised Cardinal Gambetti’s leadership of St Peter’s Basilica.
C’è chi canta e la basilica di San Pietro cade a pezzi. Il cardinale Mauro Gambetti, come sempre, ama circondarsi di compagnie semplici e umili. I poveri e la preghiera restano, naturalmente, le sue uniche preoccupazioni. In questa umile dimora, con poveri e migranti. Del resto basta guardarlo: anche il saio francescano racconta perfettamente la sua idea di umiltà e povertà. da pagina facebook di SilereNonPossum
Philippine Couple Weds in Flooded Church: Leian Lieza Galang and Gilbert Chico refused to let flooding ruin their wedding in Hagonoy, north of Manila. The couple exchanged vows in waist-deep water at St. John the Baptist Church after weeks of heavy rain. Around 15 guests waded through brown water to attend. Despite the parish advising them to postpone, the couple went ahead: the bride shortened her wedding dress train and the priest kept the ceremony brief. “We didn’t mind getting soaked,” the groom told media.
Despite severe flooding at St. John the Baptist Parish in Hagonoy, Bulacan, Philippines, Leian Lieza Galang and Gilbert Chico chose to go forward with their Catholic wedding on Sept. 1. With their clothes soaked and fewer than 15 guests present, they stood before the altar and received the Sacrament of Matrimony.
New archaeological findings beneath Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulchre appear to match St John’s description of the place where Jesus Christ was buried. A team from Rome’s Sapienza University, led by archaeologist Francesca Romana Stasolla, found evidence of rock-cut tombs as well as small areas where grapevines and possibly olive trees once grew. The discovery is especially interesting because St John describes a garden near the place where Jesus was crucified: “Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb” (John 19:41). The Gospel says Jesus was buried there because the tomb was nearby. The excavations do not prove that a particular tomb was the tomb of Christ. However, they show that the area around the traditional sites of Calvary and Christ’s tomb looked much like the setting described in the Gospel. The area was originally a stone quarry. After it was no longer used for quarrying, parts of it became a burial ground, while other …More
ElPais.com published on September 3 two private, handwritten letters from the late Pope Francis to Bishop Ángel Pérez Pueyo of Barbastro-Monzón, Spain, concerning his dispute with Opus Dei over the shrine Torreciudad. “Don’t give in!” Francis wrote to Pérez Pueyo on July 13, 2023. The dispute began in January 2020, when Opus Dei approached the bishop to propose changing the arrangements governing Torreciudad. Bishop Pérez Pueyo refused to sign anything. After three years of talks, on July 17, 2023, he removed the rector of Torreciudad and appointed a diocesan priest in his place. This was the first public confrontation between Opus Dei and the bishop - and came just four days after Francis wrote his letter. Talks continued until October 9, 2024, when Francis intervened in the shrine by appointing an extraordinary commissioner, Spanish Archbishop Alejandro Arellano, dean of the Tribunal of the Roman Rota. The move was understood as support for the bishop. Several days later, Francis sent …More
Bishop Athanasius Schneider has criticised Pope Leo XIV’s August 26 presentation of the post-conciliar liturgical reform. He argued that the Novus Ordo does not correspond to what the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council intended. Speaking to AdVaticanum.com on September 2, Schneider also argued that non-definitive teachings of Vatican II can be amended or corrected. Conciliar Formulations Can Be Corrected Bishop Schneider referred to the Council of Florence (1431 to 1449), citing two doctrinal statements that were later discussed and corrected by the Church. One concerned Holy Orders. Florence identified the handing over of the sacred instruments as the matter of priestly ordination rather than the laying on of hands, despite the latter having been practiced during the first millennium. Schneider noted that Pope Pius XII later definitively taught that the matter of ordination is the laying on of hands, thereby formally correcting Florence. Schneider also pointed to Florence’s teaching …More
Archbishop Vigano and Bishop Schneider are the living Saints of our day! Thank you, Lord, for giving us their leadership, teachings, and example during this time of the Great Apostasy in the Church - that is corrupting all of society along with the Church.
Bishop Felix Gmür of Basel, Switzerland, has appointed theologian Sarah Gigandet to a senior leadership position in the diocese. From 1 November, she will share the responsibilities of the vicariate general with incoming Vicar General Ruedi Heim. The Diocese of Basel announced this unusual arrangement under the headline 'Vicariate General becomes more synodal'. Gigandet, aged 40, will formally hold the title of Episcopal Delegate in the Vicariate General, while Heim will be the canonical Vicar General. According to the diocese, however, the two will divide the areas of responsibility between them and jointly assume leadership responsibilities. According to canon law, the office of vicar general, which involves exercising ordinary executive authority as the bishop’s deputy, is reserved for priests. Therefore, Gigandet cannot formally be appointed vicar general. Bishop Gmür is known for his pro-homosexual activism. He also supports the ordination of women as deacons and priests. #newsUvpbpswmke
Hong Kong’s Court of Appeal has upheld the conviction of Cardinal Joseph Zen, 94, and four other former trustees of a humanitarian fund. Cardinal Zen attended court using a walking stick. He was convicted in 2022 alongside barrister and former legislator Margaret Ng, former lawmaker Cyd Ho, singer Denise Ho and academic Hui Po-keung for failing to register the 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund under Hong Kong’s Societies Ordinance. Each was fined HK$4,000 (about €440). The convictions were the first of their kind under the ordinance. The fund was established in June 2019 to provide legal, medical and other financial assistance to people arrested or injured during the protests. It ceased operations in October 2021. Today, three judges rejected the defendants’ argument that the fund was money administered through a trust and therefore did not constitute a “society.” They found that those governing the fund had mutual rights and obligations and that it was more than money held on trust. It …More
The 94-year-old prelate appeared in court with a walking stick in his hand. He and four others were first arrested in 2022 on suspicion of colluding with foreign forces under a Beijing-imposed national security law.
Today, Leo XIV has appointed Bishop Ferenc Palánki, 62, as the new Metropolitan Archbishop of Kalocsa-Kecskemét, Hungary. Palánki has led the Diocese of Debrecen-Nyíregyháza since 2015. A canon lawyer, he was appointed auxiliary bishop of Eger in 2010 and ordained a bishop in 2011. 2015: Pro-Migration against Hungarian Cardinal During the migration crisis in 2015, Palánki was asked whether he sides with Cardinal Erdő and Bishop Kiss-Rigó (both took anti-migrant lines) or with the Pope's call to take migrants in. He chose Francis: "We say what the pope says: let's take in the refugees, regardless of their religion.” He invoked the Great Commission: “Go and make disciples of all nations... Now we don't have to go, because many people are coming here.” As Priest, Played Guitar at Eucharists In a 2020 interview, Palánki argued that contemporary music can belong inside the liturgy, not merely at youth meetings. He said: “I regard music in the liturgy as form. The emphasis is never on the …More
On August 24, 2024, Rev. Edgard Rimaycuna, Leo XIV’s personal secretary, shared on his Facebook profile the press release issued by the Peruvian Episcopal Conference (CEP) announcing the disqualification of canon lawyer Ricardo Coronado, reports InfoVaticana.com. At the time, the canon lawyer represented the three victims of Father Eleuterio Vásquez, known as “Lute.” Rev. Rimaycuna shared it on the same day it was published, adding one comment: “For those who want to stay informed.” Rimaycuna was a disciple of Lute, according to Santiago Roncagliolo’s book The Shepherd and the Wolves. According to InfoVaticana, Lute admitted that he sexually abused minor girls and maintained that it was not a crime because there had been no “complete sexual act.” The Lawyer Was Disqualified The CEP statement said that the bishops had “determined” that the Rev. Ricardo Coronado Arrascue “cannot receive approval to act as an ecclesiastical lawyer” and that he should be prohibited from “acting as counsel …More
Pope Leo XIV’s four-day visit to France, scheduled for September 25–28, will take place under exceptionally heavy security. Around 850 additional police officers are expected to be deployed just for the Lourdes and Metz portions of the trip. France’s elite RAID tactical unit, explosives-detection dogs, and plainclothes officers will also be involved. Authorities plan extensive drone surveillance and anti-drone measures. Preparations in Lourdes have already included authorization for police drones over the city and sanctuary. TribuneChretienne.com points out that Islamic elements ("Islamism") remain France’s principal terrorist threat. French counterterrorism prosecutor Olivier Christen said that jihadist cases accounted for 94% of new counterterrorism investigations opened by April 1, 2026. On September 25, Leo XIV is due to visit the Élysée Palace, UNESCO and Notre-Dame, followed by a youth gathering in Saint-Denis. A major Paris celebration the following day could draw hundreds of …More
German Bishops’ Website: Christ Had Tendency Toward Alcohol and Impulse-Control Disorder: On September 2, Katholisch.de, the German bishops’ website, published an article referring to two lay theologians who examined biblical figures for signs of psychological disorders. Jesus Christ is described as having a "tendency toward alcohol". His reaction to the livestock traders in the Temple could indicate an "impulse-control disorder". According to Catholic theology, Christ was free from sin, moral disorder, bodily or mental illness, and disordered appetites.
Was ist bitte mit unseren Theologen los?!! Die "Wissenschaftler" & "Experten" Simone & Claudia Paganini urteilen: "JESUS selbst werde in der Bibel mit einer NEIGUNG zum ALKOHOL beschrieben. Seine Reaktion auf die Viehhändler im Tempel lasse auf eine IMPULSSTÖRUNG schließen." Doch psychische Probleme bedeuteten nicht, dass der Mensch nichts leisten könne. "Die BIBEL war da schon WEITER als WIR", sagt Claudia Paganini.
Blasphemy!!!! Rome will be destroyed and returned to its pagan roots due to the Blasphemy and Apostasy flourishing in the universal Church under both Leo and Francis.
Today, the 'International Theological Commission' published the verbose document “Caring for Our Common Home” (40,000 unreadable words). Cardinal Víctor Fernández brought the text to the consideration of Leo XIV on 28 July and authorized its publication on 21 August. Positive Reception of Teilhard de Chardin The text is often buried beneath dense and highly abstract vocabulary, much of it reflecting a cosmic and evolutionary vision of creation. The document speaks of the Holy Spirit “Christifying” creation through a “progressive growth”, so that creation “advances toward its eschatological fulfillment.” Elsewhere it describes “all matter” as tending toward transformation and fulfillment in Christ. Christ is consequently described as “the axis of the maturation of the world.” This language is strongly reminiscent of the cosmic heresy of the French Jesuit Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (1881-1955). The document admits that it received "the contribution of Fr. Teilhard de Chardin” (footnote 184). …More
" Cardinal Víctor Fernández brought the text to the consideration..." ---- As St. Thomas More wrote once to Fr. Martin (Luder): "Come, do not rage so violently, good father; but if you have raved wildly enough, listen now, you pimp... Lest the venerable father be irritated by the name of fool, come, let another be fashioned, not clearly a fool but nearly a fool; what is more, clearly a scoundrel and more than clearly a toadying buffoon, who was once a brother, later a pimp, then again a brother, afterwards an apostate, then again a pander, finally a clout-pate, who in some hinterland of [was it Bohemia or Argentine? - I do not remember] coming in on a feast of rustics begins to play the buffoon; when he has won their laughter by the filthiest gestures and the most obscene words, afterwards the silly and wicked mimic, having imitated a rustic, a pander, a drunk, a raging whore, finally eager to delight the feasters, begins to imitate an idiot, and in order to present a prime example of …More
Additional info: The new Vatican document calls the Earth Bible Project—an eco-hermeneutical approach to Scripture—“a valid proposal,” reproduces its principles of “intrinsic worth,” “interconnectedness,” “voice,” “mutual custodianship” and “resistance,” and declares that “these principles are in line with Laudato si’.”
“What I’m trying to focus on is doing as much of God’s work as possible right now. And if that leads to the end times, so be it,” U.S. Vice President JD Vance said - assigning himself a rather grand role in God’s plans - in an interview with evangelical Bryce Crawford, published on August 31. Vance added: “There are, like, things about the world that make me feel, like, not shocked if the Antichrist was walking among us, but, again, I try not to focus too much on it.” “The end times may be coming - in fact, they are coming. It’s just a question of whether they’re coming thousands of years down the road or a few months down the road.” Vance also said some developments involving AI companies made him feel there was “some really, really weird spiritual dark energy.” Vance Defends Trump’s Mockery of Christ Later in the same interview, Crawford confronted Vance about an AI-generated image Trump had posted in April depicting himself in Christ-like robes. Vance defended Trump: “Did Donald Trump …More
I'm not sure I'd agree with the comment by this writer that Vance was assigning himself a "grand role" in God's plans. Shouldn't we all be doing God's work while we're here? Perhaps I've missed something in what was said.
