De Omnibus Dubitandum Est.

I have to say, I thought Michael Voris' ecclesiology here was really rather beautiful. His exposition of Christ's love for His Church is one which evokes the Scriptures and reminds me of ecclesiology lectures with Dr. Tim Kelly!




This program is from ChurchMilitant.TV

Fr. Ray Blake made some really interesting observations at the beginning of July regarding the lack of action currently on Catholic blogs. “Most Catholics but especially clergy want to be loyal to the Pope in order to maintain the unity of the Church,” he said. “Today that loyalty is perhaps best expressed through silence.”

Fr. Ray's thinking is that in the previous pontificate “there was a solidity and certainty in Benedict's teaching which made discussion possible and stimulated intellectual honesty, one knew where the Church and the Pope stood.” He added, “Today we are in less certain times, the intellectual life of the Church is thwart with uncertainty.”

Cardinal Raymond Burke suggested a different approach recently. Cardinal Burke, who serves as head of the Vatican’s highest court, the Apostolic Signatura, the Pope has made a strategic decision to focus on making the Church appealing, and thus bishops and priests “are even more compelled to underline these teachings (on…

Michael Voris has finally admitted that there is a "new" Catholic Church emerging. Has he finally capitulated to modernism? Has he decided that progress is, after all, inevitable? He explains all about the new emerging Church in his latest Vortex episode. Travelling around the world, meeting and speaking with groups of faithful Catholics has given him excellent insight into what is going on inside the Church all around the globe:



As I have said before, I think Voris is a bit like a modern day Old Testament prophet. His message is often really uncomfortable, but his focus is always about supernatural faith, against error, and for God and His Church.

His articulation of the concerns of so many who contact me: the confounding of the orthodox, the lauding of heterodox by Church establishment, the apathy of bishops, the way that being good, and loyal, and faithful- supporting more reverence and catechesis, only seems to get you into lots of hot water with the diocese.

The essent…

There have been a couple of really quite serious disagreements in the Pro-Life movement over the last few days. First of all, John Smeaton, Director of SPUC.

On his personal blog, he asserted that Bishops everywhere should follow the Nigerian bishop's lead in defense of families.

Smeaton stated that, as a Catholic, a parent, and a pro-life leader "Standing up against the worldwide homosexual agenda is crucial for the protection of children."  

Smeaton goes on to explain that SPUC have produced a paper about the impact that same-sex marriage will have on schools, yet he fears that many Catholic schools are also likely to be open to the homosexual agenda. I have to concur, most people are really struggling to understand why there is a problem with SSM, indeed, in America, it is said that Catholics are the greatest supporters of SSM!

Why? Well, I think the first reason is that we all want to live and let live. Our first disposition is to charity, and should always be. The …

I think that the manner of reception of Holy Communion and the attitude to the Blessed Sacrament is very important.

Since Vatican II, we have seen a marked emphasis on the meal aspect of the Eucharist at the expense of the Sacrificial aspect. Yet the Church teaches, and has always taught that the Eucharist is indeed a Sacrifice. Pope John Paul II referred to Jesus' institution of "the Eucharistic Sacrifice of His body and blood," which is, he said, not only a reminder but also "the sacramental re-presentation of the Lord's passion and death" (Ecclesia de Eucharistia, 11).

Perhaps the sacrificial dimension of the Eucharist is uncomfortable for many of us. Of course, we have no experiential concept of sacrifice apart from the Eucharist itself. This action would be immediately recognised for what it is by anyone who knew what a sacrifice is: all the elements are there, altar, bound victim, the priest who offers the sacrifice.

The sacrificial model comes to us …

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…