I’VE WRITTEN THIS BEFORE AND I’LL WRITE IT AGAIN! WHY IN THE NAME OF GOD AND ALL THAT IS HOLY DOES THE VATICAN NEED A NEWS DEPARTMENT THAT HAS EDITORS WRITING EDITORIALS ABOUT THIS,THAT AND THE OTHER?

I might be wrong, but it seems to me that every instrument of the Vatican from the Curia to the Vatican News Website should contribute to what the pope is saying and doing without editorializing on it! 

Why does the Vatican need Andrea Tornielli to write an editorial for the pope at the Vatican News website????? Editorials are opinions. The Vatican should be teaching the truth, not opinions.

Did Pope Leo XIV ask for an editorial so His Holiness can put his finger in his mouth and then place his finger in the air to see if he agrees or disagrees with Vatican News? Will he send a letter to the editor to be printed?

This is the theater of the absurd. Vatican News should only contain what the pope teaches without editorializing on his teachings or editorializing on this, that or the other as is the case with secular newspapers. 

Just my most humble editorial opinion.

The State of Palestine and the responsibility of the International Community

The ongoing tragedy in Gaza calls for a surge of humanity and the urgency of a shared response to the plight of the Palestinian people, which the Holy See has been consistently advocating for decades.

By Andrea Tornielli

NEWLY APPOINTEDITIS…

Over the years, bishops have told newly appointed pastors not to make any major changes in their parish for at least one year. Bishops recommend that the pastor get to know his staff and parishioners first and during that year evaluate what is good and working and what isn’t so good and thus not working. 

As far as interior decorating, bishops really emphasized not changing around any furniture in the sanctuary and not spending big bucks to remodel the rectory and buy new stuff for it in their first year.

What these bishops were addressing is called “newly appointeditis ” meaning the new pastor cannot keep his OCD in check and makes changes compulsively and without regard to what preceded him, good or bad. It is also a problem with “control freaks” who think their authority allows them to trample upon people and do away with their “due process.” 

It isn’t Catholic and certainly not Christian in the broad sense and does little to nothing to maintain peace and tranquility in parishes or dioceses or even the Universal Church for that matter. 

I am not going to comment on the debacles currently happening in a compulsive way in the Archdiocese of Detroit other than to say an OCD personality tending towards dictatorial control without regard to due process and consulting with those who should be consulted in personnel matters isn’t helpful for the unity of a parish, diocese of the Universal Church, a unity Pope Leo XIV truly wants to restore after 12 years of polarization, most of that based on what is happening now in Detroit. 

And bishops need to keep in mind that the world is smaller and smaller than ever thanks to social media and instant communications. 

I know, first hand, when I have had just cause to fire someone on my staff, that the firing of that person causes people to take sides. Those who sided with the one fired only approached the difficult decision from the perspective of the one fired. Firing someone is very difficult, but due process needs to take place.

And the “boss” who does the firing has to observe confidentiality whereas the one fired can stir up all kinds of hornets’ nests. 

Sometimes these things go to litigation and agreements reached in a court with a confidentiality clause cannot be communicated to the public. 

Finally, Pope Leo XIV does not have newly elected appointeditis. He is moving methodically and slowly to establish his staff and vision for the Church. Of course he has quickly reversed many of the papal protocols that Pope Francis dumped. But that has had a healing effect on the Church and applauded by most and bringing about some sense of peace, unity and tranquility in the Church. There is a whole lot of good will right now on all sides of the ideological perspective for Pope Leo XIV.

I don’t think that is true of what is happening in Detroit. It is sad and tragic for the Church there and throughout the world. 

Detroit, Charlotte and other dioceses could learn much from Pope Leo XIV!

Since I am Italian, I like making connections where none may exist, it’s simply coincidental.  However, at the papal website for Saturday, July 26, Pope Leo XIV sends a brief message to Pax Christi which is having a convention in Detroit 

Tell me there isn’t a message in this communication from Pope Leo to Pax Christi and by way of them to the Archbishop of Detroit:

MESSAGE OF THE HOLY FATHER LEO XIV 
TO THE PARTICIPANTS IN THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY 
OF PAX CHRISTI USA

[Detroit, Michigan, 25-27 July 2025]

___________________________________________

I extend cordial greetings and good wishes to those participating in the semi-annual National Assembly of PaxChristi USA, taking place in Detroit, Michigan this July.

In the midst of the many challenges facing our world at this time, including widespread armed conflict, division among peoples, and the challenges of forced migration, efforts to promote nonviolence are all the more necessary. We do well to remember that after the violence of the Crucifixion, the risen Christ’s first words to the Apostles offered peace, one “that is unarmed and disarming, humble and persevering” (First Blessing “Urbi et Orbi”, 8 May 2025).

Jesus continues to send his followers into the world to become creators of peace in their daily lives. In parishes, neighborhoods, and especially on the peripheries, it is all the more important for a Church capable of reconciliation to be present and visible (cf. Address to the Italian Episcopal Conference, 17 June 2025).

I pray in a particular way that your gathering will inspire all in Pax Christi USA to work to make their local communities into “‘houses of peace’ where one learns how to defuse hostility through dialogue, where justice is practiced and forgiveness is cherished” (ibid.). In this way, you will enable many more people to embrace Saint Paul’s invitation to live at peace with their brothers and sisters (cf. Rom 12:18).

With these sentiments, I entrust the Assembly to the intercession of Mary, Mother of the Church, and I gladly impart my Apostolic Blessing as a pledge of abundant heavenly graces.

From the Vatican, 20 July 2025

LEO PP. XIV

PREFACE OF THE APOSTLES TO THE APOSTLES—SAINT MARY MAGDALENE

 I mentioned in a previous post that St. Gregory the Great’s parish has a brand new up to date Roman Missal. On Tuesday I was flustered because it looked like the preface for St. Mary Magdalene’s Feast on her page was for the Apostles .

I have Friday’s St. James Feast there too and so I checked the missal and I read it wrong. It says Preface for the Apostle to the Apostles and it is in the very last page, and I mean last page of this new Roman missal! The ordo , though, said to use the Preface of Saints, I or II.

THIS TALK CERTAINLY INDICATES A MAJOR THEME OF POPE LEO’S PONTIFICATE!

 My valuable insights into what Pope Leo has said in this speech, embedded in the text in RED!

ADDRESS OF POPE LEO XIV

TO TWO GROUPS OF PRIESTS: TO PARTICIPANTS IN THE COURSE FOR FORMATORS IN SEMINARIES 
AND TO PARTICIPANTS IN THE GENERAL CHAPTER OF THE XAVERIAN BROTHERS

Clementine Hall
Friday, 25 July 2025

[Multimedia]

____________________________________

In the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Peace be with you!

Dear formators, dear Xaverian brothers,

I am pleased to meet you at the conclusion of two important events in which you have participated here in Rome: the Course for Seminary Formators, promoted for many years now by the Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum, and the General Chapter to which some of you were delegates.

These are certainly two different events, yet we can see a common thread that unites them because, in different ways, we are called to enter into the dynamism of mission and to face the challenges of evangelization. This call requires of us all, ordained ministers and lay faithful alike, a solid and integral formation, which is not limited to specialized knowledge, but must aim to transform our humanity and our spirituality so that they reflect the Gospel, and so that we have “the same mind” as Christ Jesus (cf. Phil 2:5). (Pope Leo hits the nail on the head. Intellectual knowledge about the Catholic Church, her history, teachings and spirituality is important but never disembodied from living the Catholic Faith in all its orthodox glory.)

To you who are responsible for the formation of formators, and to you Xaverian brothers who are particularly committed to the missio ad gentes, I would like to offer some thoughts for reflection.  Recently, the Dicastery for the Clergy hosted an international gathering dedicated to priests on the theme, “Joyful Priests.”  We can add that to be enthused by the joy of the Gospel is not just for priests, but for everyone, and so we can speak of happy Christians, happy disciples and happy missionaries. (Yes, there needs to be a joy, an infectious joy in the clergy that inspires the laity to follow suit! The laity’s role is minuscule in “Churchy, institutional realities” but profound in a majority sense in the world, at home, at work, in politics and the public square, where an orthodox and joyful Catholic Faith is a most powerful form of mission and evangelization lived out by the laity!)

If this hope is not to remain a mere slogan, formation is essential.  Indeed, it is necessary that the “house” of our life and vocational journey, whether priestly or lay, be founded on “rock” (cf. Mt 7:24-25), that is, on solid foundations with which to face the human and spiritual storms from which even the lives of Christians, priests and missionaries are not exempt.  How can we build our house on rock?  In this regard, I would like to offer you three brief suggestions. (Of course, the rock is Jesus Christ, crucified, Risen and Glorified and living now in the now in relationship to every individual as well as the communal charism of the institutional Church!)

The first is to cultivate friendship with Jesus.  This is the foundation of the house, which must lie at the heart of every vocation and apostolic mission.  We need personally to experience the closeness of the Master; to know that we have been seen, loved and chosen by the Lord by pure grace and without merit on our part, because it is above all our own personal experience that we then exude in our ministry.  Moreover, when we form others in the priestly life and, according to our specific vocation, proclaim the Gospel in mission lands, we first radiate our personal experience of friendship with Christ, which shines through in our way of living, in our attitude, in our humanity, and in how we are capable of living out healthy relationships. (This is extremely important for the vision of synodality that Pope Leo will promote, it is powerfully Christo-centric and based upon relationships, first the one of unconditional love Jesus has for us and by His grace, our ability to reciprocate to Him and our neighbor and how the Holy Spirit unites us in the joy of Orthodox Catholicism and the ortho-praxis of our Catholic Faith.)

Recalling the words of Evangelii Nuntiandi during a General Audience, Pope Francis said: “Evangelization is more than just simple doctrinal and moral transmission.  It is, first and foremost, witness... witness of the personal encounter with Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Word in which salvation is fulfilled... It is not transmitting an ideology or a “doctrine” on God, no.  It is transmitting God who is living in me” (General Audience, 22 March 2023). (Say what you want about the confusion that Pope Francis’ non-magisterial gestures produced, His Holiness was Christo-centric too, but unfortunately his off-the-cuff statement, some of his public gestures and printed interviews undermined what was good in His Holiness’ Christology and personal relationship with his Savior.)

This entails a continuous journey of conversion.  Formators, and those responsible for them, must not forget that they themselves are on a journey of permanent evangelical conversion.  At the same time, missionaries must not forget that they are always the first recipients of the Gospel, the first to be evangelized.  This means that we are constantly to work on ourselves.  A concerted effort is needed to look into our hearts in order to see the shadows and wounds that mark us, and then to have the courage to abandon our masks and cultivate an intimate friendship with Christ.  In this way, we will allow ourselves to be transformed by the life of the Gospel and become authentic missionary disciples. (We all know that agnostics and atheists can know and even love all that the Catholic Church teaches and they might know these teachings far better than most clergy and laity, but still remain an agnostic and an atheist. They live in the realm of academic pursuit and the love of learning, but don’t allow it to touch them personally! In other words, there isn’t conversion. This can happen to believing Catholics who in the pursuit of intellectual Churchy pursuits lack conversion to Catholic orthodoxy and orthopraxis, but drift towards heterodoxy and heteropraxis!)

The second suggestion is to live an effective and affective fraternity among ourselves.  When Pope Francis spoke about priestly life and the crises to be prevented, he liked to emphasize four kinds of closeness: closeness to God, to the bishop, to fellow priests, and to the people (cf. Address to Participants in the Symposium “Towards a Fundamental Theology of the Priesthood,” 17 February 2022).  In this sense, it is necessary to learn to live as brothers within the presbyterate, as well as in religious communities and with our bishops and superiors.  We must work hard on ourselves in order to overcome individualism and the desire to overtake others, which makes us competitors, so that we learn gradually to build human and spiritual relationships that are both healthy and fraternal.  In principle, I think everyone agrees on this, but in reality there is still a long way to go. (Very good point. Today, because of social media a priest who distances himself from his brother priests and his bishop, and also the pope, becomes a Lone Ranger, a kind of cult figure either in his parish or on social media. We have examples of that all over the Church! My deceased bishop who ordained me, Bishop Lessard, used to warn against congregationalism, where priests and parishes did their own thing independent of the leadership of the bishop and the common thread in diocesan parishes.)

The third and final aspect is to share the mission with all the baptized.  During the first centuries of the Church, it was usual for all the faithful to be like missionary disciples and to commit themselves personally to evangelization.  The ordained ministry was at the service of this mission shared by all.  Today, we feel strongly that we must return to this participation of all the baptized in witnessing to and proclaiming the Gospel.  Brothers of the Society of Saint Xavier, in the lands where you carry out your mission, you will certainly have seen firsthand how important it is to work together with the sisters and brothers of those Christian communities.  At the same time, I would like to say to the formators that priests must also be trained in this, not to think of themselves as lone leaders, nor to live out the ordained priesthood with a sense of superiority.  We need priests who are able to discern and appreciate in lay people the grace of Baptism and the charisms that flow from it, perhaps even helping them to open up to these gifts and then to find the courage and enthusiasm to commit themselves to help the life of the Church and society.  In concrete terms, this means that the preparation of future priests must be increasingly immersed in the reality of the People of God and carried out with the contribution of its members: priests, laity, and consecrated men and women. (What I appreciate the most about Vatican II is its call to holiness for all the laity. And Vatican II made clear that the primary role of the laity is in the world, where the Church and her orthodox ethos is brought to the world, at home, in the work place, at play, in politics and the public square. But malformed Catholics, individualistic in their heterodoxy, bring not the pristine Catholic Faith to where they find themselves, but a heterodoxy, a toothless Catholicism or a manipulation of Catholicism for political purposes opposed to Catholic teaching. Think of all the heterodox Catholic politicians we have in the USA and the heterodox example they give to fellow Catholics and the world. This compromises the call to laity to be holy and orthodox and to be missionaries and evangelizers in the world! Often, unfortunately, they have been formed in their heterodoxy by heterodox clergy and religious! In addition to this dismal situation, more attention is paid to the laity doing “churchy” things, as Bishop Lessard used to say, rather than how they are to live holy lives in the world in their own secular lives. The vast, vast, vast majority of lay Catholics don’t have Church jobs, aren’t on committees, are not Eucharistic Ministers, lectors, ushers, choir members or working in the Curia of the Vatican! But that is were the energy has been placed for the last 60 years, on giving power to a small minority of laity, especially laywomen, not lay men, in churchy and institutional settings! Pope Leo is correct in getting back to enabling the laity to live and proclaim the Gospel in the secular realm, the realm of their life and where their Catholic expertise and personal holiness should be exercised!)

Dear friends, I thank you for this opportunity to be together, but above all, I thank you for your service, for your care in carrying out priestly formation, and for your missionary work in evangelizing lands that are often wounded and in need of the hope of the Gospel.  I encourage you to continue on your journeys.

May the Virgin Mary accompany you and intercede for you!

Thank you!

THE NATIONAL cATHOLIC REPORTER PRINTS A LETTER FROM THE “cATHOLIC” ORGANIZATION DIGNITY AND IT TELLS IT ALL

As I posted earlier, Catholics need to leave the new bishop in Oregon alone. He’s no threat to Catholic moral teachings.

The National catholic Reporter just confirmed my thesis with this letter they print from Dignity, a faux catholic but truthfully LGTBQ+ ideology promoter:

Premature acclaim harmful

As a long-time leader of DignityUSA, the world’s oldest organization working for justice, equality, and full inclusion of LGBTQ+ Catholics in our church and society, I am deeply troubled by the headline of your recent article on the appointment of Thomas Hennen to head the Diocese of Baker, Oregon (NCR, July 11, 2025). I am concerned that false hope may be sparked by naming him a "champion" of "LGBT+ inclusion." At best, his record seems mixed. His resume includes "working with" Courage, which promotes celibacy as the only morally legitimate option for Lesbian and Gay people, a position rejected in good conscience by the vast majority of our community, as well as family, friends and many ministers. I appreciate that Bishop-Elect Hennen acknowledged that listening to the experience of transgender and gay people and their families helped the diocesan commission he was part of craft a policy that included a call for deep pastoral listening and a case-by-case approach in addressing the needs of Queer people. We do not yet have information on how that relatively new policy has been implemented.

We need to give Hennen time to settle into his role as leader of a diocese before setting expectations that may or may not reflect his beliefs, leadership style and actions. I hope and pray he will model a deep commitment to not only welcoming but also affirming and celebrating each individual he shepherds. However, LGBTQ+ Catholics and our families have been subjected to cycles of hopes being raised and dashed by too many church leaders. This is often more damaging than outright rejection.

The LGBTQ+ Catholic Community of the Baker, Oregon Diocese, and every other place, deserves a church that honors our identities, our spiritual journeys, our gifts and our struggles. But, NCR, please refrain from proclaiming a truth not yet proven.

MARIANNE DUDDY-BURKE
Executive Director, DignityUSA
Malden, Massachusetts

THE ROMAN PONTIFF IS THE SUPREME PONTIFF, BUT THERE ARE LIMITS TO WHAT HIS HOLINESS MAY AND MAY NOT DO!

Pope Leo has indicated that Catholics and all people need to be able to develop intellectual skills to think critically and to be able to critique ideologies that are promoted as truth. Often, these ideologists, taking advantage of those who cannot or will not think critically, do so to manipulate those who eagerly accept anything that a person is saying. This is how cult leaders think. Just think of Jim Jones and his cult followers who drank the kool Aide with him and all of them died. 

This can happen with papal utterances, either real or reported, when anyone instrumentalizes an uncritical approach to papal infallibility and turns the pope into a cult leader. 

There is a creeping papal infallibility promoted by ideologists for things that the pope simply may not declare to be infallibly taught. He has absolutely no authority to do so.

A Holy Father suffering from dementia, delusions, narcissism  or just being dumb, can declare infallibly by way of the manner in which he does it, that Jesus was an astronaut from a superior galaxy’s planet. However, while he can do it, he may not. And no one in their right mind, capable of critical thinking would accept it as infallible.

The only problem, though, is that there does not seem to be a mechanism in the Church to correct or rebuke a pope and the bishops in union with him, when they teach as truth something untrue or a teaching with absolutely no basis of belief in the early Church through the present day.

I don’t know how that can be corrected. But critical thinking certainly can.

Saint Pope John Paul II has given the Church a way to institutionalize a papal or ecumenical council’s false teaching on something with no basis of tradition declared as infallible. When it came to women receiving the Sacrament of Holy Orders, Saint John Paul II stated emphatically that he had absolutely no authority to authorize doctrinally or dogmatically that women could be ordained as only men could be admitted to Holy Orders is a part of the Ordinary Magisterium of the Church. Pope John Paul II had critical thinking skills and made it public!

And this brings me to one of the contributors of the blog “Where Peter Is” who stated in the most absurd and uncritical thinking way the following, with Edward Feser offering him a wonderful correction. Mike Lewis needs to listen to the sage advice of Pope Leo about the need for critical thinking abilities. We need an institutional correction method too, if a pope ever did what Mike Lewis is quite willing to accept simply because the pope did it:

POPE LEO’S MARVELOUS RECOVERY OF PAPAL PROTOCOL, TRAPPINGS AND PROCEDURES, DISPENSED BY THE LATE PONTIFF…

 I did not know until recently, that papal protocol states that when the pope meets dignitaries who are Catholic, he wears the Mozzetta with the ornate papal stole. 

If the dignitary or head of state isn’t Catholic or is a non Christian, the pope removes the papal stole and only wears the red Mozzetta. 

Here is a photo, taken this Thursday morning of the pope meeting a Muslim dignitary from Algeria. Note that Pope Leo does not wear the papal stole and also note the wonderful papal throne in the room!

And a couple of more photos showing the recovery ❤️‍🩹 of papal dignity:

AI AND NON AI GENERATIONS OF WHAT POPE LEO IS SUPPOSE TO HAVE SAID OR IS SAYING

 Mark J indicated that his pastor posted a link to the video below in the parish bulletin saying it indicated what Pope Leo XIV is saying and doing.

The only problem is that what is being said is not anything Pope Leo has said or taught. This video is not an AI dubbing of Pope Leo’s actual sounding voice, but what sounds like an Englishman interpreting what Pope Leo is saying in Italian. The Mass that is shown where Pope Leo is preaching, is a recent Marian Mass and it certainly isn’t the homily that Pope Leo gave at that Mass. 

I can’t figure out the ideology of this video. It seems to be a combination of Francis’ ideologues and what they want Leo to say and do and Benedict XVI ideologues and what they want Pope Leo to say and do. 

The worst kind of fraud, though, is when AI is used and the manipulated actual voice of Pope Leo (or anyone) is used. 

How are we Catholics going to be able to know what is real and what is fake. And in the political realm, this could lead to death and destruction depending on what the manipulated voice is saying. 

Thank God that the video/homily is fake because it is very narcissistic and self-referential of Pope Leo if true. He would need serious therapy! 

What do you think? At any rate, it is very dishonest to say the least.

WHEREIN I BECAME EXTREMELY DISTRACTED AT MASS FOR THE FEAST OF SAINT MARY MAGDALENE…

For the Feast of St. Mary Magdalene, I celebrated the 8:30 AM Mass at St. Gregory the Great Church in Bluffton, South Carolina.

I did not have a chance to review the Roman Missal in the Sanctuary before Mass, but the sacristan had set the ribbons to the proper places. 

I had forgotten that it is classified as a feast, so I was grateful, that the newly purchased Roman Missal I was using indicated that the Gloria should be said or sung. 

I mention that the parish recently replaced their tattered Roman Missal with a newly purchased one.

As I was praying the Prayer over the Offerings, I noticed that the Missal stated to use the Preface for the Apostles!!!!

I, was completely distracted by that. Mary Magdalene wasn’t an apostle. Why does the missal say to use the Preface of the Apostles. 

Fortunately, the sacristan had set the ribbons for the Preface for Saints. 

After Mass, I looked at the Ordo and it stated that the proper preface for this feast is for the Saints, either I or II. 

I know that the Roman Missal can have mistakes or misprints. But I also know that heterodox leftists in the Church say that because Mary Magdalene was the first to encounter the Risen Lord and the first to communicate it to the Apostles that she was raised to an apostle by the Risen Lord and “ordained” to go and preach the resurrection!

Is there some skullduggery by someone responsible for the English Roman Missal, newer editions, to set into motion, like a footnote in Amoris Letitia to allow divorced and reamarried to receive Holy Commnion, the ordination of women?????

Just wondering: Mistake or Mischief??????

IT’S NOT THE END OF THE WORLD, BUT I DON’T LIKE IT!

I suspect Pope Leo XIV prefers the crucifix to the side of the altar when he faces the nave for the Liturgy of the Eucharist. The thinking is that nothing should block the view of the Precious Body and Blood of the Lord on the altar. 

However, when His Holiness recently celebrated Mass ad orientem, His Holiness’ entire body acted like an iconostasis, blocking the view of the Precious Body and Blood of our crucified, risen and Glorified Lord. He wasn’t concerned about that though, taking that ancient liturgical position!

Please Pope Leo, follow the lead of Pope Benedict, which Pope Francis maintained for most of his papacy, by having the crucifix centrally placed on the altar. God bless you!

With ad orientem altars, symmetry is the law of the day, but not when the priest faces the nave! Why, oh why????

Removing the crucifix from the central position of the altar at papal Masses occurred in the last few months of Pope Francis’ life. His Holiness had maintained the custom of the central crucifix, although at St. Peter’s it was a smaller one. 

Since Pope Leo has become pope, the altar arrangement has been in flux. I think part of it is the current MC. But he’s not around while Pope Leo celebrates Masses in and around Castel Gandolfo. 

The tradition of placing the crucifix on the left side of the altar (from the priest’s perspective) seems to be the one that Pope Leo favors as this is what has happened at Masses while he is on vacation, except for the one Mass he celebrated ad orientem. 

This is an AI summary of what Pope Benedict XVI taught about the central crucifix on the altar even when the priest faces the nave:

Pope Benedict XVI frequently advocated for and implemented the placement of a large crucifix at the center of the altar during Mass, both in his role as pope and previously as a cardinal. This practice, known as the "Benedictine arrangement," is intended to visually emphasize the centrality of Christ and His sacrifice in the Eucharistic celebration. 

Here's a more detailed explanation:

• Central Placement:

  The crucifix is placed in the middle of the altar, often alongside six or seven candles, to draw attention to the cross as the focal point of the liturgy. 
• Focus on Christ:

  The crucifix serves as a visual reminder of Christ's sacrifice on Calvary, which is made present in the Mass. 
• Turning Towards Christ:

  The placement of the crucifix encourages both the priest and the congregation to turn their gaze towards Christ, rather than focusing solely on the priest. 
• Not an Obstruction:

  Pope Benedict XVI argued that the crucifix is not an obstruction to the view of the priest, but rather an invitation to collectively gaze upon the Lord. 
• Distinction Between Liturgies:

  The crucifix helps to distinguish between the Liturgy of the Word (proclamation and relationship) and the Liturgy of the Eucharist (adoration). 
• Symbol of Unity:

  The crucifix is seen as a unifying symbol for all, rather than an impediment to communal worship. 
• Continues by Pope Francis:

  Pope Francis has continued the practice of placing a crucifix on the altar, demonstrating the importance of this tradition. 

WHERE-IN POPE LEO IS POPE LEO AND LET US GIVE THANKS TO GOD FOR THAT

Mike Lewis of the “Where Peter Is” blog is still trying to make Pope Leo into Pope Francis. If by this he means, like Pope Francis, Pope Leo will make his own way, adjust what his predecessor did that has turned out to be questionable as far as how it is embraced by ideological groups in the Church, yes, Pope Leo will be in continuity with Pope Francis.

However, there are clear signs that Pope Leo is not Pope Francis. The most important is that Pope Leo does not want to create messes nor is he asking anyone, especially the young!, to create messes. 

Pope Leo is quite clear in all of his homilies and speeches. 

He has already indicated that his form of synodality will not lead to the idolatry of a “godless” synodality. It will be Christ centered and always speak of Christ and listening to Him. Nor will Pope Leo claim that the Holy Spirit is the source of every utterance of synodality, an unfortunate kind of manipulation to get people on board. By its fruits and clarity and orthodoxy, will the faithful know the Holy Spirit is at work. 

Some are complaining that Pope Leo has chosen bishops who support Fiducia Supplicans which thus indicates His Holiness’ support for blessing individuals in same sex or multi sex or whatever you want to call various groupings of people fornicating. Pope Francis stated in an interview that these blessings were for individuals and in no way implied a blessing of sin. 

We bless sinners every day. Every time a pope, other bishop, priest or deacon offers a public or private blessing, he is offering it to a sinner. All people are blessed no matter their lifestyle, especially at the end of Mass. 

Pope Leo is a pastoral pope thus he hasn’t yet entered into ideological arguments with those who despise only one kind of sinner, active homosexuals, while giving greater sinners, like pathological liars, fomenters of hate and violence a pass in terms of vile condemnation. 

I have insisted that Pope Leo is a “refining” pope, not a canceling pope. He won’t cancel Pope Francis and I suspect Pope Leo wishes that Pope Francis had not canceled Pope Benedict and St. Pope John Paul II. 

As it concerns the canceling of Summorum Pontificum with Traditionis Custodes, I pray that Pope Leo will issue his own document to return liturgical peace to the Church and assure those whose faith is strengthened by the Ancient Liturgy have a place in the Church along with those who are homosexual and want individual blessings. 

At the 16th Sunday of the Year Mass at the Cathedral in Castel Gandolfo, Pope Leo gave a great homily with much food for thought. It is like a talk given at a spiritual retreat for personal spiritual renewal. 

HOLY MASS

HOMILY OF HIS HOLINESS POPE LEO XIV

Cathedral of Albano

XVI Sunday in Ordinary Time, 20 July 2025

________________________________________

Dear brothers and sisters,

I am very happy to be here to celebrate today’s Eucharist in this beautiful Cathedral.  As you know, I was supposed to be here on 12 May, but the Holy Spirit worked in a different way.  But I am truly pleased to be with you and in the spirit of fraternity and Christian joy, I greet all of you here present, His Eminence, as well as the Bishop of the Diocese, and the authorities present.

In this Mass, both the first reading and the Gospel invite us to reflect on hospitality, service and listening (cf. Gen18:1-10; Lk 10:38-42).

First, God visits Abraham in the figure of “three men” who arrive at his tent “in the heat of the day” (cf. Gen 18:1-2). The scene is easy to imagine: the blazing sun, the stillness of the desert, the intense heat, and the three strangers seeking shelter. Abraham is seated “at the entrance of his tent,” the position of the master of the house, and it is moving to see how he exercises this role. Recognizing the presence of God in the visitors, he gets up, runs to greet them, and prostrates himself on the ground imploring them to stay. Thus the whole scene comes to life. The afternoon’s stillness is filled with gestures of love which involve not only the Patriarch, but also his wife Sarah and the servants. Abraham is no longer seated, but stands “by them under the tree” (Gen 18:8), and it is there that God gives him the best news he could have hoped for: “your wife Sarah shall have a son” (Gen 18:10).

The dynamics of this encounter lead us to reflect on how God chooses the path of hospitality in order to enter into the lives of Sarah and Abraham and announce that they would have a child, which they had long desired but had given up hope of receiving. Having visited them before in many moments of grace, God returns to knock on their door, asking for hospitality and trust. The elderly couple respond positively, despite not yet understanding what will happen. They recognize God’s blessing and his presence in the mysterious visitors, and offer them what they have: food, company, service and the shade of a tree. In return, they receive the promise of new life and descendants.

While the circumstances are different, the Gospel also teaches us about God’s way of acting. Here too, Jesus appears as a guest at the house of Martha and Mary. This time, however, he is not a stranger: he comes to his friends’ house in the midst of a festive atmosphere. One of the sisters welcomes him by serving him, while the other sits at his feet, listening as a disciple would her teacher. As we know, Jesus responds to the first sister’s complaints that she would like some help with the tasks at hand by inviting her to recognize the value of listening (cf. Lk 10:41-42).

It would be incorrect, however, to see these two attitudes as mutually exclusive, or to compare the merits of the two women. Service and listening are, in fact, twin dimensions of hospitality.

Our relationship with God comes first. Although it is true that we must live out our faith through concrete actions, faithfully carrying out our duties according to our state of life and vocation, it is essential that we do so only after meditating on the Word of God and listening to what the Holy Spirit is saying to our hearts. To this end, we should set aside moments of silence, moments of prayer, times in which, quieting noise and distractions, we recollect ourselves before God in simplicity of heart. This is a dimension of the Christian life that we particularly need to recover today, both as a value for individuals and communities, and as a prophetic sign for our times. We must make room for silence, for listening to the Father who speaks and “sees in secret” (Mt 6:6). Summer can be a providential time to experience the beauty and importance of our relationship with God, and how much it can help us to be more open, more welcoming to others.

During the summer, we have more free time in which to gather our thoughts and reflect, and also to travel and spend time with each other. Let us make good use of this, by leaving behind the whirlwind of commitments and worries in order to savour a few moments of peace, of reflection, taking time as well to visit other places and share in the joy of seeing others — as I am doing here today. Let us make summer an opportunity to care for others, to get to know each other and to offer advice and a listening ear, for these are expressions of love, and that is something we all need. Let us do so with courage. In this way, through solidarity, in the sharing of faith and life, we will help to promote a culture of peace, helping those around us to overcome divisions and hostility and to build communion between individuals, peoples and religions.

Pope Francis said that “If we want to savour life with joy, we must associate these two approaches: on the one hand, ‘being at the feet’ of Jesus, in order to listen to him as he reveals to us the secret of everything; on the other, being attentive and ready in hospitality, when he passes and knocks at our door, with the face of a friend who needs a moment of rest and fraternity” (Angelus, 21 July 2019). These words were pronounced just a few months before the pandemic broke out; that long and difficult experience, which we still remember, taught us much about their truth.

Certainly all of this requires effort. Serving and listening do not always come easily; they require hard work and the ability to make sacrifices. For instance, it takes an effort in listening and serving in order to be faithful and loving mothers and fathers raising their family, just as it requires effort for children to respond to their parents’ hard work at home and at school. It also requires effort in order to understand each other when there are disagreements, to forgive when mistakes are made, to help when someone is sick, and to comfort one another in times of sadness. But it is precisely by making an effort that something worthwhile can be built in life; it is the only way to form and nurture strong and genuine relationships between people. Thus, with the foundations of everyday life, the Kingdom of God grows and manifests its presence (cf. Lk 7:18-22).

Saint Augustine, reflecting on the story of Martha and Mary in one of his homilies, said: “These two women symbolize two lives: the present and the future; a life lived in toil and a life of rest; one troubled and the other blessed; one temporary, the other eternal” (Serm. 104, 4). And considering Martha’s work, Augustine said: “Who is exempt from the duty of caring for others? Who can rest from these tasks? Let us try to carry them out with charity and in such a way that none will be able to find fault with us... The weariness will pass and rest will come, but rest will only come through the effort made. The ship will sail and reach its homeland; but the homeland will not be reached except by means of the ship” (ibid., 6-7).

Today, Abraham, Martha and Mary remind us that listening and service are two complementary attitudes that enable us to open ourselves and our lives to the blessings of the Lord. Their example invites us to reconcile contemplation and action, rest and hard work, silence and the bustle of our daily lives with wisdom and balance, always taking Jesus’ charity as our measure, his Word as our light, and his grace as our source of strength, which sustains us beyond our own capacity (cf. Phil 4:13).

HOPEFULLY, THIS IS A BRICKS 🧱 BY BRICKS 🧱 BABY BRICKLAYING 🧱 BY POPE LEO TO REVERSE THAT MOST DREADFUL TC!

 

BREAKING: Pope Leo XIV issues exemption to San Angelo Diocese for parish

LIKE POPE LEO, LIFESITE SEEMS TO BE INTO REVERSING THINGS TOO!

 In my most humble opinion, Lifesite is a mixed bag. I have found some very useful news stories there. But they seem to encourage a pseudo-traditionalism rooted not in fidelity to the Magisterium of the Church, meaning the pope and bishops in union with him, but more in a Protestant or Eastern Orthodox schismatic way. 

And they seem to attract readers who think, wrongly of course, that the papacy is empty since Vatican II, such silliness really. But there’s a lot of silliness in the Church of the East, the Church of the West and in Protestantism. 

Some of the Catholic wing-nuts are converts from Protestantism. They remind me of the Christian dentist on Seinfeld who converted to Judaism and tried to be more Jewish than real Jews, like Seinfeld. That episode where Seinfeld is so upset about his dentist’s conversion to Judaism leads Seinfeld to go to a priest in a confessional. Seinfeld sits on the kneeler instead of kneeling—hilarious and the conversation about the situation with the priest is hilarious too. 

At any rate, I am not sure what Lifesite was trying to do. I think maybe they want to be more in line with Pope Leo and not as anti-Pope Leo and they were anti-Pope Francis. 

Does anyone have any insights into the firing Westen only to reinstate him today?

POPE LEO, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, REENCHANT YOUR PAPAL SASH AND SHOES

 This is all you need to do:

On another note, though, the bishop on the left looks like the same bishop in the same position to Pope Benedict XVI, when Benedict shocked him and the world reading his renunciation of the papacy speech in Latin. In fact, that bishop’s eyes began to bulge out of his head as he heard the unbearable in Latin from Pope Benedict!

And on the right seems to be Pope Leo’s new Gainswain, meaning personal secretary. I don’t think Pope Francis had a consistent Gainswain as Benedict did. This seems to be another reversal of Pope Francis by Pope Leo. But who is the new Gainswain?