VATICAN NEWS SEEMS TO BE PREPARING THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD FOR THE INEVITABLE…

UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE

Vatican News Friday evening update (Rome time):

A statement released to journalists by the Holy See Press Office on Friday evening said "Following the worsening of his bronchitis in recent days," Pope Francis, who was admitted to Rome's Agostino Gemelli Hospital on Friday morning, "has undergone specialist examinations and has begun hospital pharmacological treatment."

It specified that "initial tests indicate a respiratory tract infection. His clinical condition is stable, with a slight fever."

In conversation with journalists, Matteo Bruni, the director of the Holy See Press Office, said: "The Pope is calm, he is in good spirits, and has read some newspapers."

Vatican News has updated its statement about Pope Francis’ hospitalization. I think we can read between the lines! 

Prayers for Pope Francis.

Vatican News update:

Jubilee Audience cancelled as Pope Francis is treated for bronchitis in hospital

Due to the hospitalization of Pope Francis, scheduled events for the Jubilee of Artists have been adjusted. 

By Vatican News

Following the hospitalization of Pope Francis who is being treated for bronchitis at the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic Hospital in Rome, adjustments have been made to the upcoming Jubilee events.

A Holy See Press Office statement on Friday said "The Jubilee Audience scheduled for tomorrow, February 15, has been canceled. The Holy Mass for the Jubilee of Artists and the World of Culture, set to take place on Sunday, February 16, will be presided over by His Eminence Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça, Prefect of the Dicastery for Culture and Education”.

 “Furthermore, the meeting with artists, originally planned for Monday at Cinecittà, will not take place due to the Pope’s inability to attend," the statement continued. 

READ ALSO

14/02/2025

Pope Francis to be admitted to Gemelli Hospital for bronchitis treatment

The Holy See Press Office announced on Friday morning that Pope Francis would be admitted to the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic hospital following his morning audiences, explaining that the Pope was scheduled to undergo several diagnostic tests and conti

BREAKING! POPE FRANCIS HOSPITALIZED DUE TO DECLINING HEALTH…PRAYERS REQUESTED!

As a priest, I have witnessed elderly people decline very quickly after falls they have suffered. As far as we know, Pope Francis has fallen twice within the last month, one time causing a bruise to his face and another time causing an injury to his arm. We can presume, too, that he landed on the floor. These kinds of traumas to an elderly person start processes that don’t end well.

Also, I have noticed puffiness or bloating in the pope, especially his face. Given his breathing problems there more than likely is low oxygen levels in his blood and perhaps even congestive heart failure when the heart can’t pump well enough to keep the body from bloating from fluids. This can be very noticeable in a person’s swollen or bloated legs. 

More info, below this photo taken recently.

As reported by LaCroix: Those close to the pope have noted that his face appears “marked by fatigue” and that he has gained weight, which some attribute to treatment with corticosteroids—although officially, no information has been released, as the pope is reluctant to publish health bulletins. “He is not in good shape,” a Vatican source said with concern, noting that his stable condition in recent days is not necessarily “reassuring.”

CONSISTENCY AND INCONSISTENCY—THE POPE FRANCIS PROBLEM

 Crux has a balanced commentary on Pope Francis rebukes of the non Catholic Trump and Catholic Vance. 

Read the FULL article HERE.

Here’s the best part:

For a pope to challenge the President of the United States so openly – and so early after his inauguration – is not merely remarkable. In reality, it is a seismic shift – and it only took 22 days from Trump’s inauguration.

Francis is already being challenged on two levels.

First, significant voices are asking why Trump gets a rebuke while other world leaders get a free pass.

Catholic scholar Samuel Gregg said, “In itself the pope’s statement about America and immigration is unobjectionable,” but added Francis “has a serious consistency problem.”

“For example,” Gregg wrote on X, “[Francis] has said nothing about the persecution of Catholics and other believers in Communist China, and has done a shameful deal with a totalitarian regime that has yielded nothing. Yet there is no letter to the bishops of China talking about the evil they have to confront every single day.”

Gregg also said Francis “regularly soft pedals any criticism of leftist regimes in Latin America and instead talks endlessly about dialogue,” and “did not single out the Biden administration for aggressively pushing abortion and the trans madness on the world,” a reference to Trump’s predecessor in office.

AN EXCELLENT WELL, THOUGHT OUT APOLOGETIC FOR NOT USING CERTAIN HYMNS AT ANY CATHOLIC LITURGICAL EVENT…

 It’s the theology stupid! This is well worth the catechesis:

IT WAS ON FEBRUARY 11, 2013, THE FEAST OF OUR LADY OF LOURDES, THAT POPE BENEDICT XVI ABDICATED THE PAPACY

But before he did that, His Holiness called out those leaders of countries where life is so miserable, so many have a need to escape:

Benedict XVI wrote in 2012: «In the current social and political context, however, even before the right to migrate, there is need to reaffirm the right not to emigrate, that is, to remain in one’s homeland; as John Paul II stated: “It is a basic human right to live in one’s own country. However this rights become effective only if the factors that urge people to emigrate are constantly kept under control”. Today in fact we can see that many migrations are the result of economic instability, the lack of essential goods, natural disasters, wars and social unrest. Instead of a pilgrimage filled with trust, faith and hope, migration then becomes an ordeal undertaken for the sake of survival, where men and women appear more as victims than as agents responsible for the decision to migrate. As a result, while some migrants attain a satisfactory social status and a dignified level of life through proper integration into their new social setting, many others are living at the margins, frequently exploited and deprived of their fundamental rights, or engaged in forms of behaviour harmful to their host society. The process of integration entails rights and duties, attention and concern for the dignified existence of migrants; it also calls for attention on the part of migrants to the values offered by the society to which they now belong»

PAPAL HEALTH WATCH

 

EMPHASIZING THE CHURCH’S MORAL TEACHINGS ON MIGRATION…

 

Lettera del Santo Padre ai Vescovi degli Stati Uniti d’America, 11.02.2025

[B0127]

Lettera del Santo Padre

Traduzione in lingua spagnola

Lettera del Santo Padre

Dear Brothers in the Episcopate,

I am writing today to address a few words to you in these delicate moments that you are living as Pastors of the People of God who walk together in the United States of America.

1. The journey from slavery to freedom that the People of Israel traveled, as narrated in the Book of Exodus, invites us to look at the reality of our time, so clearly marked by the phenomenon of migration, as a decisive moment in history to reaffirm not only our faith in a God who is always close, incarnate, migrant and refugee, but also the infinite and transcendent dignity of every human person.^[1]

2. These words with which I begin are not an artificial construct. Even a cursory examination of the Church’s social doctrine emphatically shows that Jesus Christ is the true Emmanuel (cf.Mt1:23); he did not live apart from the difficult experience of being expelled from his own land because of an imminent risk to his life, and from the experience of having to take refuge in a society and a culture foreign to his own. The Son of God, in becoming man, also chose to live the drama of immigration. I like to recall, among other things, the words with which Pope Pius XII began his Apostolic Constitution on the Care of Migrants, which is considered the “Magna Carta” of the Church’s thinking on migration:

“The family of Nazareth in exile, Jesus, Mary and Joseph, emigrants in Egypt and refugees there to escape the wrath of an ungodly king, are the model, the example and the consolation of emigrants and pilgrims of every age and country, of all refugees of every condition who, beset by persecution or necessity, are forced to leave their homeland, beloved family and dear friends for foreign lands.”^[2]

3. Likewise, Jesus Christ, loving everyone with a universal love, educates us in the permanent recognition of the dignity of every human being, without exception. In fact, when we speak of “infinite and transcendent dignity,” we wish to emphasize that the most decisive value possessed by the human person surpasses and sustains every other juridical consideration that can be made to regulate life in society. Thus, all the Christian faithful and people of good will are called upon to consider the legitimacy of norms and public policies in the light of the dignity of the person and his or her fundamental rights, not vice versa.

4. I have followed closely the major crisis that is taking place in the United States with the initiation of a program of mass deportations. The rightly formed conscience cannot fail to make a critical judgment and express its disagreement with any measure that tacitly or explicitly identifies the illegal status of some migrants with criminality. At the same time, one must recognize the right of a nation to defend itself and keep communities safe from those who have committed violent or serious crimes while in the country or prior to arrival. That said, the act of deporting people who in many cases have left their own land for reasons of extreme poverty, insecurity, exploitation, persecution or serious deterioration of the environment, damages the dignity of many men and women, and of entire families, and places them in a state of particular vulnerability and defenselessness.

5. This is not a minor issue: an authentic rule of law is verified precisely in the dignified treatment that all people deserve, especially the poorest and most marginalized. The true common good is promoted when society and government, with creativity and strict respect for the rights of all — as I have affirmed on numerous occasions — welcomes, protects, promotes and integrates the most fragile, unprotected and vulnerable. This does not impede the development of a policy that regulates orderly and legal migration. However, this development cannot come about through the privilege of some and the sacrifice of others. What is built on the basis of force, and not on the truth about the equal dignity of every human being, begins badly and will end badly.

6. Christians know very well that it is only by affirming the infinite dignity of all that our own identity as persons and as communities reaches its maturity. Christian love is not a concentric expansion of interests that little by little extend to other persons and groups. In other words: the human person is not a mere individual, relatively expansive, with some philanthropic feelings! The human person is a subject with dignity who, through the constitutive relationship with all, especially with the poorest, can gradually mature in his identity and vocation. The trueordo amoristhat must be promoted is that which we discover by meditating constantly on the parable of the “Good Samaritan” (cf.Lk10:25-37), that is, by meditating on the love that builds a fraternity open to all, without exception^.[3]

7. But worrying about personal, community or national identity, apart from these considerations, easily introduces an ideological criterion that distorts social life and imposes the will of the strongest as the criterion of truth.

8. I recognize your valuable efforts, dear brother bishops of the United States, as you work closely with migrants and refugees, proclaiming Jesus Christ and promoting fundamental human rights. God will richly reward all that you do for the protection and defense of those who are considered less valuable, less important or less human!

9. I exhort all the faithful of the Catholic Church, and all men and women of good will, not to give in to narratives that discriminate against and cause unnecessary suffering to our migrant and refugee brothers and sisters. With charity and clarity we are all called to live in solidarity and fraternity, to build bridges that bring us ever closer together, to avoid walls of ignominy and to learn to give our lives as Jesus Christ gave his for the salvation of all.

10. Let us ask Our Lady of Guadalupe to protect individuals and families who live in fear or pain due to migration and/or deportation. May the “Virgen morena”, who knew how to reconcile peoples when they were at enmity, grant us all to meet again as brothers and sisters, within her embrace, and thus take a step forward in the construction of a society that is more fraternal, inclusive and respectful of the dignity of all.

Fraternally,

Francis

From the Vatican, 10 February 2025

STRIKING REFORM IN CONTINUITY PARISH IN COTTAGE GROVE, OREGON!

 This is Our Lady of Perpetual Help. They have become very creative to hide an ugly post-Vatican II modern altar, make it ad orientem only and restore the altar railing. Very nicely done. Kudos to Fr. John Boyle, pastor and his parishioners who made this possible. I am sure Archbishop Samples was supportive too!

Before altar:

After altar, but stripped for Good Friday:

Pre-altar railing restoration and new flooring installation and andependdium  to hide modern altar:

New altar railing and flooring:

KURT CARDINAL KOCH HITS THE BALL OUT OF THE PARK AS HE CALLS FOR THE CHURCH TO INTERPRET VATICAN II AS REFORM IN CONTINUITY, NOT RUPTURE

 

I think what Cardinal Koch says about the two extremes in the Church, mirror images of each other, meaning traditionalism in a fundamentalist sense and progressivism in a fundamentalist sense is right on and very important for the cardinals of the Church, especially those named by Pope Francis, to hear.

Make no mistake, what Cardinal Koch is saying is said to the cardinals who will elect the next pope. He is putting out an agenda for the next pope.

The problem for the Church today isn’t the fringe traditionalists who reject Vatican II and see the See of Peter as empty, the problem is the current papal magisterium that has embraced a very worldly way of reform, creating a “different Church” as Pope Francis has said he desires. That is the papal mainstream misreading of Vatican II.

Cardinal Koch’s words will have more impact on the majority of Cardinals more so than the words of Cardinals Sarah, Mueller, Burke and others who have complained about Pope Francis in very public ways and have experienced His Holiness’ wrath for doing so.

Cardinal Koch is basically pleading for what Pope Benedict XVI advocated especially in his Christmas speech to Cardinals at the beginning of his papacy which is reform in continuity. That is wonderful and I hope the cardinals of the Church take notice.

From the National Catholic Register:

Cardinal Koch Rejects Extreme Traditionalist, Progressive Positions On Vatican II

In light of this, the cardinal considered that 'the two extreme positions are so close, precisely because they do not interpret Vatican II within the general tradition of the Church.'

In his acceptance speech for the honorary doctorate awarded him by the Catholic University of Valencia, Cardinal Kurt Koch rejected the extreme positions of progressives and traditionalists regarding the Second Vatican Council.

The prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity reflected in his address on the tension between the two essential parts of the Second Vatican Council: fidelity to the sources and fidelity to the signs of the times.

 For the cardinal, “the relationship between these two dimensions has always characterized the Church, but the tension has become more acute in a new way after Vatican II.”

Faced with this dichotomy, Cardinal Koch argued that “beyond secularist conformism and separatist fundamentalism, it is necessary to seek a third path in the Catholic faith, which has already been shown to us by the council.”

According to the prefect, both the so-called progressives and the traditionalists “conceive of Vatican II as a rupture, although in opposite ways.” For the former, the rupture occurred after the council, while the latter understand that it occurred during it.

In light of this, the cardinal considered that “the two extreme positions are so close, precisely because they do not interpret Vatican II within the general tradition of the Church.”

In his address, Cardinal Koch recalled, with regard to the traditionalist view that focuses solely on the sources, that Pope Benedict XVI stated that “the magisterial authority of the Church cannot be frozen in 1962.”

The risk of worldliness in the Church

On the other hand, “if the emphasis is placed solely on ‘aggiornamento’ [updating], there is a danger that the opening of the Church to the world, desired and achieved by the council, will become a hasty adaptation of the foundations of faith to the spirit of the modern age,” the cardinal noted.

“Many currents in the postconciliar period were so oriented toward the world that they did not notice the tentacles of the modern spirit or underestimated its impact,” the cardinal observed, “so that the so-called conversion to the world did not cause the leaven of the Gospel to permeate modern society more but rather led to a broad conformism of the Church with the world.”

Cardinal Koch’s proposal in the face of both positions, which he considers equally disruptive, is “the restoration of a healthy balance in the relationship between the faith and the Church on the one hand and the world on the other.”

In his view, if the Church cannot be confused with the world, “the original identity of faith and the Church must not be defined in such a way that it separates itself from the world in a fundamentalist way.”

In this sense, he added that the dialogue between the Church and the contemporary world “must not make faith and the Church adapt to the world in a secularist way, dangerously renouncing her identity.”

What does the reform of the Church mean?

For the prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, the reform of the Church cannot imply “a change of essence” but consists in “the elimination of what is inauthentic” through a process of purification of the Church “based on its origins,” so that “the form of the one Church willed by Christ can become visible 

 “For the council, fidelity to its origins and conformity to the times were not opposed to each other. Rather, the council wanted to proclaim the Catholic faith in a way that was both faithful to its origins and appropriate to the times, in order to be able to transmit the truth and beauty of the faith to the people of today, so that they can understand it and accept it as an aid to their lives,” he emphasized.

For the cardinal, “the council did not create a new Church in rupture with tradition, nor did it conceive a different faith, but rather it aimed at a renewal of faith and a Church renewed on the basis of the spirit of the Christian message that has been revealed once and for all and transmitted in the living tradition of the Church.

VATICAN II LITURGIST WRECKOVATES SAINT PETER BASILICA’S HIGH ALTAR

 I think this is the second time in a few years where Vatican II liturgists have done this to the basilica’s high altar. It is quite a symbol of what they have done to the altars and liturgies of the Church throughout the world!

Watch the X video HERE.

THE BISHOP OF CHARLESTON IS THE LAST BISHOP FROM THE PROVINCE OF ATLANTA TO CHIME IN ON WHAT THE CHURCH TEACHES ABOUT IMMIGRATION…

 

Bishop's Pastoral Statement on Immigration Procedures

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
 
The Gospel of Matthew emphasizes the values of faith, mercy and justice, and how they relate to Judeo-Christian tradition. We recall the words of our Lord in the Gospel of Matthew, “For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me” (25:35-6). Jesus taught us that this is the standard by which we will be judged on the last day. It is important to keep this message at the forefront of our daily living and always strive to fulfill our commission to love and serve others.
 
We believe that every person is created in the image of God and must be treated with dignity and care as his son or daughter. We will continue to ensure that our churches, schools and missions remain places of worship, education, hospitality and grace for those who live in our midst.
 
Our shared faith calls us to walk alongside and accompany the most vulnerable, and we remain committed to serving every member in our communities with the love and understanding that Christ modeled for us. Pope Francis, in his letter for World Day of Migrants and Refugees, said that “God not only walks with his people, but also within them … he identifies himself with men and women on their journey through history, particularly with the least, the poor and the marginalized.”
 
The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that Catholic teaching does not support an open border policy in this modern world; however, the Catechismdoes emphasize a commonsense approach where the duty to care for the stranger is practiced in harmony with the duty to care for the nation.
 
As your bishop and pastor, I offer my gratitude for all those immigrants in the Diocese of Charleston who, through their goodness and faithfulness, contribute so much to our Church and to our country. Over several generations, immigrants have settled within the diocese from many foreign nations. Catholics from different continents have enriched our diocese with their great faith and devotion to our Lord, with their families and service to Christ’s Church across South Carolina. Their presence is a gift to us all, and we are grateful to God for them. We pray for their faithfulness, resilience and perseverance now in the face of many uncertainties.
 
As a Church, we will be always concerned with the dignity of the human person and basic human rights. The Church recognizes that there are persons residing in this nation without legal documentation, and we do not excuse this violation of our country’s laws. Every country has the right to protect and maintain its borders.
 
Pope Francis encourages us to participate in Christian charity through welcoming, protecting and accompanying. We can see firsthand the contributions of our brothers and sisters from many nations to our communities and to this state. We will continue to accompany them along the faithful way, as Christ accompanies us on our journey through this life. Though Catholics all over the world differ in our expressions of faith and our perspectives, we are united by the Great Commission to stand as one Church, loving God and our neighbor.
 
May we, as one Body in Christ, unite in faith and understanding as we move forward. May the Lord grant us the wisdom and courage to act with justice and mercy. And may the Holy Spirit guide us to promote a culture of peace, respect for life and the dignity of every human person.
 
In Christ’s love,  
 
Most Rev. Jacques Fabre-Jeune, CS  
Bishop of Charleston

A COMMON DATE FOR EASTER? I DON’T LIKE IT!

What I would like, in my most humble opinion, is not a common fixed dated for Easter, but a common way to discern the movable date of Easter. I can take the Western Way or the Eastern Way. I like a movable date for Easter because it keeps us guessing.

But apart from that, if the Roman Catholic Church in union with Eastern Orthodoxy chooses a common date for Easter, how many Protestant sects would follow suit????

I suspect the more liberal and clearly dying mainline Protestant denominations will go along.

But will Southern Baptists?

Will other fundamentalist Christians follow what the pope has initiated?  Many fundamentalist Protestants believe that the pope, any pope, is the anti-Christ and the Catholic Church is the whore of Babylon. They won’t go with popish ideas or mandates.

Those of us who are Catholic in the south where the Catholic Church is a small minority, would be celebrating Easter at a different time than the vast majority of Protestants. 

Let’s just leave things as they are and not complicate it further! The path to hell is paved with good intentions. 

TIME LIKE AN EVER ROLLING STREAM AND PRAYERS NEVER CEASING…

 

Pope has bronchitis: Upcoming audiences at Casa Santa Marta

A Holy See Press Office statement says Pope Francis is affected by bronchitis and will be conducting his activities at his residence in the Vatican in the coming days.

By Vatican News

A Vatican Press Office statement to journalists said “Due to bronchitis that he is experiencing these days, and in order to continue his activities, on Friday, February 7, and Saturday, February 8, Pope Francis' audiences will be held at Casa Santa Marta.”

The Holy Father also held his scheduled audiences on Thursday morning at his residence in the Vatican instead of at the Apostolic Palace. He received young priests and monks of the Oriental Orthodox Churches on a study visit to Rome and later met with midwives, gynaecologists, and healthcare personnel from provinces in Italy’s southern Calabria region.

Last Wednesday, during the general audience in the Paul VI Hall, Father Pierluigi Giroli, an official of the Secretariat of State, read the Pope's catechesis, while the Pope personally delivered an appeal for "countries suffering from war."

DEMOCRATS WOULD REALLY BE PUT OUT WITH THESE REPUBLICANS!

HARPER VALLEY PTA DEMOCRATS!

Watch this Facebook video HERE!

ONE TRAGEDY AFTER ANOTHER AND THE TRIVIALIZATION OF TRAGEDY AND GRIEF….

A young child was killed after his bicycle collided with a pick-up truck in his neighborhood. Evidently the family, grieving to say the least, have no Church affiliation . Thus a local church has stepped in to offer “a celebration of life” for the poor victim of this tragedy and comfort for his family, friends and classmates.

However, the “celebration of life” includes fun and games and frozen treats for the children participants! 

The trivialization of a tragedy is sad enough, but not affording a child and those who grieve him something more dignified and solemn is a sign of our superficial society and faux-religious sentiments. 

“Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord and may perpetual light shine upon him. May he rest in peace and may God’s grace of comfort be poured upon those who grieve.”

Here is an edited version of what I found in our newspaper today:

A local church is organizing a public celebration of life this weekend for a 10-year-old who died in a collision with a truck while riding a bike in his neighborhood.

The event is planned for 2-4 p.m. Saturday at a local Park. It will include a memorial service, bounce houses for children and free frozen treats from Kona Ice.

“All are welcome to attend as the community comes together to remember and celebrate [the child’s]  joyful spirit, bright smile, and the boundless love that he brought to everyone that knew him,”

THE BISHOPS OF NORTH CAROLINA, PART OF THE PROVINCE OF THE ARCHDIOCESE OF ATLANTA, WHICH MY DIOCESE IS ALSO, ISSUE THEIR PROPHETIC MESSAGE TO THE NATION ABOUT LEGAL IMMIGRATION AND MAKING A PATHWAY FOR LAW ABIDING UNDOCUMENTED MIGRANTS/IMMIGRANTS TO BECOME DOCUMENTED AND CITIZENS

 

The more prosperous nations are obliged, to the extent they are able, to welcome the foreigner in search of the security and the means of livelihood which he cannot find in his country of origin. Public authorities should see to it that the natural right is respected that places a guest under the protection of those who receive him. Political authorities, for the sake of the common good for which they are responsible, may make the exercise of the right to immigrate subject to various juridical conditions, especially with regard to the immigrants' duties toward their country of adoption. Immigrants are obliged to respect with gratitude the material and spiritual heritage of the country that receives them, to obey its laws and to assist in carrying civic burdens.

Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2241

February 5, 2025

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

The issue of immigration policy and enforcement is both complicated and emotional. While we agree that there is room for disagreement and discussion with respect to immigration policy, we wish to remind our more than one million Catholic faithful in North Carolina of the stated positions of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, formed by Catholic social teaching, and encourage personal reflection and formation on these issues.

The issue of immigration is not merely about policy, it is a moral concern impacting the human dignity and human rights of every person. We recognize there are persons residing in the United States without legal documentation and we do not condone violating the law. We respect our borders and laws AND support immigration policy reforms and care for those who are already here, many already contributing members of our society for years. We do not see these ends as mutually exclusive. Every day we see firsthand the consequences of a system that creates fear and anxiety among individuals who make substantial contributions to the economic and social fabric of our communities. Immigrants are a vital part of our Catholic parishes who both receive and administer the sacraments of our faith.

As Catholics, we advocate for the recognition that immigrants, as members of God’s human family, are deserving of and must be granted the appropriate dignity as our brothers and sisters in the Lord. Jesus Himself was a refugee and taught us to welcome the stranger and to realize that in welcoming the stranger, we are welcoming Christ Himself.

Our Catholic Charities offices stand ready to help with food and other household necessities for all families that find themselves in distress at this time. Through those offices we will continue to provide Legal Immigration Services via staff who have been accredited to complete legal documentation by the Board of Immigration Appeals in the U.S. Department of Justice. These DOJ Accredited Representatives assist families and individuals in achieving an immigration status that enables them to work, reunite with family members, or take steps toward becoming citizens who could contribute to the well-being of their family and society. We will not counsel anyone to thwart or resist proper law enforcement but will continue to provide education about individuals’ legal rights.

On a broader level, we, the ordinary Bishops of North Carolina, and the Bishops of the United States. will continue working to find lasting solutions to our immigration system based on principles of Catholic social teaching, namely:

• People have the right to migrate to sustain their lives and the lives of their families. Before God all are equal; the earth was given by God to all. When a person cannot achieve a meaningful life in his or her own land, that person has the right to move.
• A country has the right to regulate its borders and to control immigration. Catholics should not view the work of the federal government and its immigration control as negative or evil. Those who work to enforce our nation's immigration laws often do so out of a sense of loyalty to the common good and compassion for poor people seeking a better life. In an ideal world, there would be no need for immigration control. The Church recognizes that this ideal world has not yet been achieved. 
• A country must regulate its borders with justice and mercy. Immigration policy that allows people to live here and contribute to society for years but refuses to offer them the opportunity to achieve legal status perpetuates a permanent underclass and does not serve the common good. It is the position of the Catholic Church that pastoral, educational, medical and social services provided by the Church are never conditioned on legal status. All persons are invited to participate in our parishes, attend our schools, and receive other services offered by our institutions and programs. 
• Humanitarian protections for vulnerable families should be a priority. Catholic teaching maintains that families are the foundation of society, and the success of any civilization hinges on the well-being of its families. For generations, families living in the United States have included combinations of citizens and noncitizens. We urge the preservation and strengthening of access to asylum, refugee resettlement, protections for unaccompanied children, assistance for victims of human trafficking, temporary forms of relief, and other humanitarian protections already enshrined in our law. 

As members of the human family, each individual deserves and must be granted the dignity that not only supports and fosters the common good of our society but also reflects the reality that we are all fundamentally brothers and sisters in the Lord.

Mary, Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, Patroness of the United States of America, watch over and pray for us now and always.

Most Reverend Michael T. Martin, OFM Conv.
Bishop of Charlotte

Most Reverend Luis Rafael Zarama
Bishop of Raleigh

DOWNLOAD STATEMENT (PDF

IT DOESN’T TAKE MUCH TO MAKE AN UGLY SPACE AND ALTAR LOOK NICE AND ATTRACTIVE!

 

Even with a plain, ugly altar, instead of spending money a parish doesn't have for a new, expensive and beautiful altar, an altar frontal is a cheap solution and quite beautiful when you compare the altars without it!

 Read about it and more photos:

Another Repurposed Space Turned into a Chapel in Tyler, Texas

CRUX SHOWS HOW SIMILAR TRUMP AND FRANCIS ARE IN LEADERSHIP STYLE; EDWARD PENTIN SHOWS WERE THEY DIVERGE GREATLY…

 

Two interesting articles:

—Francis and Trump: Leaders who prize loyalty

—Trump’s Early Decisions Expose Damage Caused by Vatican Complicity With Democrat-Run Globalism, Says Italian Scholar

SOUND DOCTRINE, MORALS AND TEACHING FOR A SECULAR WORLD…

Given the vitriolic political polarization in our country and world and vial, compulsive knee-jerk reactions to everything political, the bishops of the Georgia Catholic Conference have issued a statement that is very measured and good. This is their guiding principle: 

“Our hope, especially during this Jubilee Year, is attaining immigration reform that is faithful to three basic principles of the Church’s teaching on immigration: People have the right to migrate to sustain their lives and the lives of their families. A country has the right to regulate its borders and control immigration. A country must regulate its borders with justice and mercy.”

Our country has allowed millions of people to enter without documentation. Those who have entered with violent crimes in their country of origin or those who have committed violent crimes once here need to be deported. Others, though, the majority,  have contributed to the communities in which they live, work hard and improve our way of life. Mercy needs to be shown to those who have worked hard and contribute greatly to the American way of life. A pathway to becoming documented and eventual citizens should be developed in a compassionate and humane way.

Here is the statement of the Bishops of Georgia:

Statement on Immigration, Georgia Catholic Conference 

The Catholic Church proclaims to the world that human life is sacred and has intrinsic value because every human person is fashioned in the image and likeness of the Creator. God created mankind in his image; in the image of God, he created them; male and female he created them. (Gen 1:27) This fundamental belief propels the Catholic Church to speak on issues of life, not for political ends, but rather to shed light on the beauty and mystery of our shared humanity.

Our Holy Father, Pope Francis, often speaks of our need to be cognizant of the poor and marginalized in our midst. In addressing a recent conference entitled “For World Balance,” His Holiness remarked, “The poor and the sick, the young and the elderly, migrants and displaced people, even those deprived of their freedom, must be at the center of our considerations, so that no one is excluded and everyone's human dignity is respected.” Especially during this Jubilee Year, we are called to unite as Pilgrims of Hope to focus on our relationship with Jesus Christ, who is our ultimate and everlasting hope for the future.

As there is much discussion today about immigration, we, the Catholic Bishops of the State of Georgia, want to bring attention to the plight of the refugee and migrant who have come to our country and are living in our midst. The current rhetoric regarding the topic of immigration often demonizes all immigrants, causing anxiety, fear, harassment, and intimidation. Unsubstantiated and uncharitable comments about our brothers and sisters who have immigrated here from other countries do not respect our call to recognize human dignity and must be condemned.

As spiritual leaders, we recognize the diversity of the flock entrusted to us and are concerned about the welfare of those who have immigrated to Georgia seeking a better life for themselves and their families through honest work. Many industries in our state – including agriculture, construction, and residential services – rely on the presence of immigrant labor and would be negatively affected by proposed immigration policy changes. The immigrants we meet every day in our ministry are faithful people who are dedicated to God, the Church, family, and community. They put a human face on the immigration crisis. However, we also understand and agree that those who come to our country with previous criminal records and those who commit crimes after their arrival must be held accountable and deported to their home countries.

We wish to affirm the recent statement by Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio (Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA), President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), and Bishop Mark J. Seitz (Diocese of El Paso), Chair of the USCCB Committee on Migration, which expresses concern regarding the negative consequences recent executive orders will have on the most vulnerable among us, including immigrants. Our hope, especially during this Jubilee Year, is attaining immigration reform that is faithful to three basic principles of the Church’s teaching on immigration: People have the right to migrate to sustain their lives and the lives of their families. A country has the right to regulate its borders and control immigration. A country must regulate its borders with justice and mercy. (USCCB, “Catholic Social Teaching on Immigration and the Movement of Peoples”)

As Catholics we share one faith and one baptism. As creatures fashioned by the same God, we share in the same sanctity of human life. The call and desire of every Catholic, regardless of national origin or legal status, is to worship the Almighty, and we pray that our churches may be places of peace through solemn prayer, places of grace afforded by the celebration of the Sacraments, and places of compassion provided by fellowship and accompaniment. We invite you to join us in prayer for our country and her leaders, that they may be blessed with wisdom, compassion, and openness to collaboration. We also lift in prayer our immigrant brothers and sisters and all who are marginalized, that the light of Christ will guide them to peace. During this Jubilee Year and always, may we have the desire to journey together as Pilgrims of Hope.  

WHAT WILL BE POPE FRANCIS’ LASTING REFORM OF THE REFORM AND PAPAL LEGACY?

If we are blessed to enter our late 80's, biological processes that lead to the end of our earthly lives begin to snowball. You can see it in our faces. Thus we reflect on the last things and what takes place after we are gone. This photo taken this Wednesday morning at the papal weekly audience illustrates what I mean.

I have faith that the next pope will make some serious corrections to the current pope’s magisterium especially has it regards clarity in doctrine and morals as well as a return to the teaching authority of the pope and bishops in union with him without politicizing the magisterium through worldly, political processes and lobbies, euphemistically called synodality. 

But let’s look at Pope Francis’ legacy that needs to continue.

What I am writing should be couched within my opinion that Pope Francis’ liturgical style should not continue and the next pope needs to be more pastoral to “trads” and those who desire the older liturgical forms of the Catholic Mass and Sacraments. Christ has to be first, not a particular form of ecclesiology that has political and social elements concerning who does what, a kind of outdated, politicized DEI!

But this is what I see as good and needing ongoing promotion:

1. Pope Francis’ emphasis on pastoral care of people but with clarity of truth telling and strong medicine and sometimes radical surgery and amputations in the field hospital of the Church—a great metaphor that needs its full impact!

2. Pope Francis’ emphasis on devotions and devotional lives of Catholics, especially devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, which includes adoration and Benediction, devotion the the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Holy Rosary and a whole array of popular devotions of various countries with a inculturated ethos. 

3. Pope Francis’ emphasis on the devil and evil and the temptations of the devil through worldly processes and ideologies

DUH! THE ALTAR ARRANGEMENT FOR THE PRESENTATION OF THE LORD VESPERS…

 Why doesn’t the Vatican realize how much better this candle and crucifix arrangement looks from any camera angle!

Someone keeps playing with the center crucifix removing it in favor of the processional cross placed to the side of the altar. Why the back and forth?

And for Mass the six candles are placed in a peculiar way especially from angle views. 

DANGER WILL ROBINSON! DANGER!

UPDATED PHOTOS WITH TABERNACLE AND AD ORIENTEM MASS AND RED MORE MUTED BELOW ORIGINAL PHOTOS

Unless my eyes are deceiving me, and the new red look is certainly hard on my eyes, the new platform for the renovated sanctuary looks very dangerous to this aging priest! 

I like that the top step was expanded so one can walk completely around the altar without going down any steps. That’s an improvement to say the least.

But here is where my eyes may be playing a dreadful trick on me due to the bright red. On the sides of the expanded space, it appears there are not steps, like a stage rather than a side approach to a Catholic altar!

I can see elderly priests and the not so elderly falling off of that and breaking their necks!!!!! Wow!!!! Unsafe, danger, danger, danger!

Before:

After:

CRÈCHE AND PROPERS FOR THE SOLEMNITY OF THE PRESENTATION OF THE LORD IN THE TEMPLE, AKA, THE PURIFICATION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, AKA, CANDLEMAS, AKA, GROUND HOG DAY…

 I celebrated the Vigil Mass for Candlemas at Saint Francis By the Sea Church on Hilton Head Island’s north end. I infrequently celebrate there.

I was most pleased, though, to see that the crèche had not been taken down after Epiphany but remained in place for Candlemas! How many parishes do that today????? Did yours?

Also, the proper Entrance chants were chanted in English and to a very singable refrain for the congregation as well as the Communion Antiphon. 

How many Modern Mass parishes actually hear and sing the official chants of the Mass which are prescribed. Normally they get a metrical hymn of some kind. Could you imagine substituting the Liturgy of the Word with something that approximates the Scriptures and that the liturgy director does so with his or her tastes to boot! But that is what happens to the Introit, Offertory and Communion Antiphons, which are Scripture, someone, usually the music director picks something else, something she or he likes. UGH!

FROM THE “IF IT AIN’T BROKE, DON’T WASTE A COLOSSAL AMOUNT OF MONEY FIXING IT!

Immaculate Conception Church in Omaha, Nebraska:this is an FSSP TLM parish’s before and after. Evidently even traditionalists have a zeal for unnecessary renovations and wasting of money to do it. 

Am I being too critical? What do you think:

BEFORE:

AFTER: