De Omnibus Dubitandum Est.

What has struck me about the internet this morning is the way in which it seems to be throwing up to me two opposing views from two Cardinals with respect to the African Bishops at the Synod.

Cardinal Kasper is reported in Zenit as commenting that African Bishops should not be listened to:
Cardinal Kasper: Africa is totally different from the West. Also Asian and Muslim countries, they’re very different, especially about gays. You can’t speak about this with Africans and people of Muslim countries. It’s not possible. It’s a taboo. For us, we say we ought not to discriminate, we don’t want to discriminate in certain respects.ZENIT: But are African participants listened to in this regard?Cardinal Kasper: No, the majority of them [who hold these views won’t speak about them].ZENIT: They’re not listened to?Cardinal Kasper: In Africa of course [their views are listened to], where it’s a taboo. Maria Madise, Voice of the Family’s coordinator, said: “Cardinal Kasper should apologise for his …

At this stage, I hope you've read the title of this post and are thinking to yourself, "I can't wait to see how he joins these things together!". I've given myself a bit of a job eh? In reality, this may well provide you with some insight as to the way in which my mind wanders from one thing to another, as it sketches out my thoughts over the course of a couple of days.



If you enjoyed Father Kevin's homily on the Ascension, as well as my own, rather melancholic reflections, you might well be interested in the irrepressible, rambunctious, Cardinal Timothy Dolan's blog from yesterday:
What did the bewildered, scared, confused apostles do upon Our Lord’s Ascension into heaven? They took our Blessed Mother Mary, locked themselves into a room, and . . . prayed! That prayer demanded perseverance, because it took nine days for Jesus to reply. The response He gave to that patient prayer of His Mother and best friends was beyond their most exalted hopes: the Ho…

Further to my post about Michael Voris criticising Cardinal Tim Dolan here, an interesting discussion ensued, mostly on Twitter it has to be said.

Generally speaking, I am an admirer of Michael Voris as I am of anyone with strong Catholic credentials. Voris is 100% committed to Christ's Church on earth and is very vocal about it. His grasp of Catholic teaching and his faith is inspiring. Many people would say we need his vocal style, because our priests and bishops are not vocal enough. This is pretty much the claim that Voris levels against Cardinal Dolan.

As part of the discussion, Michael himself tweeted that silence has no influence


One thing I find about the internet is that a lot of people are either one thing or another thing, very clearly. I try not to be so rigid in terms of my defined stance because I am all too aware that I don't know everything. I do stand humbly before the Church and submit to her teaching. When individuals claim this or that interpretation of tr…

I stumbled across this video yesterday:



I was a bit shocked, a bit hurt, and a lot upset.

I was shocked, because Cardinal Dolan is a bit of a personal hero. I have always considered--based on the evidence--that he is an outspoken evangelist, never afraid to stand up for the Church and her teachings. If Michael Voris is a supporter of orthodoxy, should he not be a supporter of Cardinal Dolan?

I was hurt because Cardinal Dolan is a Prince of the Church, someone I follow because he has devoted his life to Christ and can help me to be a better disciple myself. Watching Michael Voris' no-holds-barred attack on Cardinal Dolan made me feel like someone was attacking Holy Mother Church.

I was upset because Voris makes a lot of sense and makes some excellent points I cannot ignore. The Church is damaged by a lack of pastoral teaching. Everyone knows this, and I think it is especially evident in the responses to the Synod on the Family Questionnaire which has recently been circulated. Catho…

After the high emotion of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI's departure from the Vatican yesterday, which seemed to move so many people, there is a tremendous turning to prayer which I can sense all around me. All our priests locally in Southend Deanery arranged evenings of prayer and adoration in thanksgiving last night. I was aware of many other gatherings throughout the country as well. In Leigh we had our Lenten Reflection evening and of course the Pope was mentioned warmly and frequently. We had Benediction and Compline afterwards as always and this presented an opportunity to kneel before the Blessed Sacrament and pray in thanksgiving for so gentle a leader as Benedict XVI, and to express our longing for a future leader as wise and as humble.

Of course this is reflected on the internet as well, with many prominent Catholic bloggers either overtly calling the faithful to prayer, or mentioning it in passing, because it is, of course, the natural response of us all now to turn to God …