Image: Antonio Escobar y Mendoza, a prominent casuist of the 17th century. One might think casuistry is dead and buried, that the controversies of the 17th century should be over once and for all. Rarely do any of our contemporaries still read the Lettres Provinciales (Provincial Letters) and the authors whom Pascal (1623-1662) attacks therein.…
Rorate Caeli has released a translation of a remarkable interview, originally published in 2008, with Cardinal Carlo Caffarra of Bologna. In it, he references correspondence he had with Sister Lucia, the principal visionary of Our Lady at Fatima: Q. There is a prophecy by Sister Lucia dos Santos, of Fatima, which concerns “the final battle between…
Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, the Archbishop of Vienna, Austria, has been chosen by Pope Francis to present his apostolic exhortation, Amoris Leaetitia, on 8 April. We’ve already explored some of his statements over the past few days, because we believe it may shed light on why he was chosen for this particular task. Of special importance in this regard is…
Many observers were troubled by the news that Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, archbishop of Vienna, Austria, was chosen by Pope Francis to be one of the main speakers at the press conference on 8 April in order to present the Apostolic Exhortation on the Family. He had caused a controversy shortly after the last October 2015…
Cardinal Walter Kasper — the most infamous member of the German episcopacy — appears to be just tingly with anticipation for the coming apostolic exhortation on marriage and family. Ed Pentin reports (with my emphasis): According to the Italian newspaper Il Terreno, the German theologian told an audience in the Italian city of Lucca on Monday evening that in a “few…
The Vatican grapevine informs us that the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation on Marriage is expected to be released this Saturday, March 19th. Yes, that’s the Feast of St. Joseph, because irony. Unsurprisingly, there are serious reasons for concern: Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia reportedly disclosed the news today at a conference with priests in Portugal, according to Il Sismografo, a semi-official Vatican news aggregator…
It’s typically bad form to say “I told you so.” (But if you’re going to gloat, do it like Hilary. Then it’s hilarious.) Still, when you are perpetually maligned and attacked for your concerns and predictions, it’s sometimes appropriate to document the events as they unfolded to show that you really were on the scent. (Sorry #Bishopsgotthis…
Editor’s note: as with all stories attempting to uncover what is transpiring behind the scenes at the Vatican, this report includes, by necessity, a certain amount of speculation based on information gleaned from unnamed sources. While the Italian press appears to have long-since accepted the blurring of the lines between reporting and rumor that is…
Since early October, Catholics have peeked through the looking glass to see if the Jabberwock of doctrinal plasticity could be slain. It is a destabilizing place to be. Never in their lifetime have most Catholics been here before. We watched, pawns in “a great huge game of chess that’s being played—all over the world—if this…
These days, the Universal Church is wending her way to the end of the liturgical year, which can be a bittersweet time for believers. As the days shorten and natural light diminishes, we are asked to remember the myriad witnesses who have gone before us “marked with the sign of faith.” Our long, rich history…
Bishop Athanasius Schneider, today’s “lone voice crying out in the wilderness” among our bishops — our Athanasius contra mundum –has laid out his thoughts on the recently-closed Synod in an exclusive analysis provided to Rorate Caeli. We offer them our sincere thanks for allowing us, and others, to reproduce it full, so that the truth may be…
