VIDEO: Leading cardinal warns Vatican insiders out to destroy Church

For years now, most Roman Catholic bishops, priests and laypeople have been saying -- "hoping" would be a better word -- that their is no crisis in the Church, that everyone is onboard with the unoly crusade of the man who calls himself Pope Francis to merge the True Faith with all the other faiths into a One World Church, the religion of the New World Order.

That's a lie! Pope Bergoglio is opposed by millions of traditional Catholics who cling for dear life -- eternal life -- to the True Faith. This week, one of the most powerful princes of the Church, Gerhard Cardinal Müller, Prefect Emeritus of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, declared war on those inside the Vatican who are "occupying the Catholic Church" and, according to the Cardinal, engaging in a "hostile takeover."

In the latest edition of the Remnant Underground, Michael Matt presents and comments on portions of Raymond Arroyo's recent interview with the Cardinal Müller on the topic of Francis' "Church of Accompaniment". Listen as the prelate warns that if we don't resist, they will "destroy the Catholic Church!"

Note from Ed.: This is an edited version of the original Remnant Underground video. We wanted to focus solely on Raymond Arroyo's interview with Cardinal Müller, and Michael Matt's comments. In the first 15 minutes of so of the full-length video, Mr Matt talks about the election of Giorgina Meloni as Prime Minister of Italy, and the controversy over over which side we should take in the war in the Ukraine. Click here to see the video in its entirety on Remnant TV.

Notice to Catholics: Revision to Ash Wednesday rite

The following Notice to the Faithful has been received from the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments (Latin: Congregatio de Cultu Divino et Disciplina Sacramentorum), the congregation of the Roman Curia that handles most affairs relating to liturgical practices of the Latin Church as distinct from the Eastern Catholic Churches.

In keeping with the spirit of Vatican II, and mindful of the admonitions of the Holy Father, Pope Francis the Humble, to last month's Meeting on the Protection of Minors in the Church (Italian: Incontro su La Protezione dei Minori nella Chiesa), the ritual for Ash Wednesday has been revised as follows:

As the celebrant marks the sign of the cross

on the head of each penitent, he shall say

"Turn away from sin and turn back to the Gospel"

to which the penitent shall answer

"You first!"

Second sex scandal in Rome! Pope asks forgiveness... from whom?

Wow! Another distraction from the work of the Synod on the Family currently splitting the fathers into two warring camps. (See "13 Cardinals write Pope to denounce manipulation of Synod" WWW 14/10/15)

First we had the scandalous affair of Monsignor Krzysztof Charamsa, a Polish theologian who, for the past 17 years, has been living in Rome. Until he was abruptly dismissed on October 3rd, he had worked as an official in the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith! He was dismissed from his position in the CDF and relieved from teaching assignments in pontifical universities in Rome, following his coming out as a flaming homosexual. See "Priest in Vatican's Gay Mafia outs himself, gets fired" (WWW 3/10/15)

A Vatican spokesthingy bearing a passing resemblance to Fr. Federico Lombardi said at the time that Msgr Charamsa's high-profile coming out on the eve of the Synod was "grave and irresponsible". He was accused of trying to exert "undue media pressure" on the bishops' debate on family issues, including the Church's position on homosexuality and homosexuals.

Today, Pope Francis asked for forgiveness on Wednesday for scandals at the Vatican and in Rome, an apparent reference to the case of Msgr Charamsa and a scandal exposed in the Italian media last week about an order of priests who run a parish in an upscale neighbourhood of Rome.

According to Reuters, parishioners of Santa Teresa d'Avila parish wrote to local Church officials alleging that a clergyman there had had encounters with "vulnerable adults". Newspapers said these took place in an adjacent park often frequented by male prostitutes. Their letter said they had assembled evidence about the clergyman's illicit activities and were furious to discover that, instead of being disciplined, he had been transferred to another part of Italy.

The Holy Father was less specific. During his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square, Pope Francis said, "Today...in the name of the Church, I ask you for forgiveness for the scandals that have occurred recently either in Rome or in the Vatican." That's all.

Asked what the Pope meant, Father Lombardi -- for it was he, as always -- was unwilling or unable to say which scandals His Holiness had in mind. But, he said, said Francis wanted to reach out to ordinary people who are "disturbed or pained" when they read about scandals caused by "the Church or men of the Church".

Further reading: "'Who am I to judge gays?', asks Pope" (WWW 29/7/13)

13 Cardinals write Pope to denounce manipulation of Synod

From Rome we hear shocking reports of strong pushback by conservative Roman Catholic bishops against the plot of Cardinals Baldisseri and Kasper and other "progressives" to change traditional teachings of the Church on matters of divorce and homosexuality.

Vatican insider Sandro Magister, an eminently reliable source, reported Monday in Chiesa that 13 leading Cardinals wrote to Pope Francis on October 5th to express the "serious concerns" of themselves and other bishops over the procedures of the Synod on the Family. In their judgment, the rules and documents of the conclave are "designed to facilitate predetermined results on important disputed questions". They also view "Instrumentum laboris" (working document) as inadequate as a "guiding text or the foundation of a final document."

In layman's language, as Walt revealed on October 2nd, the fix is in!

Sig. Magister named 10 of the 13 Cardinals who signed the letter as:
- Carlo Caffarra, Archbishop of Bologna, Italy, theologian, formerly the first president of the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family;
- Thomas C. Collins, Archbishop of Toronto, Canada;
- Timothy M. Dolan, Archbishop of New York, United States;
- Willem J. Eijk, Archbishop of Utrecht, Holland;
- Gerhard L. Müller, former bishop of Regensburg, Germany, since 2012 Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith;
- Wilfrid Fox Napier, Archbishop of Durban, South Africa, President Delegate of the Synod (a position he also held at last year's session);
- George Pell, Archbishop Emeritus of Sydney, Australia, since 2014 Prefect in the Vatican of the Secretariat for the Economy;
- Robert Sarah, former Archbishop of Conakry, Guinea, since 2014 Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and Discipline;
- Jorge L. Urosa Savino, Archbishop of Caracas, Venezuela;
- Angelo Scola, Archbishop of Milan, Italy.

Click here to read the complete text of the Cardinals' letter to the Pope, in English, as revealed by Sig Magister in Chiesa, 12/10/15. See also "Archbishop Chaput feels 'sense of hopelessness' about Synod on Family" (WWW 9/10/15)

Yesterday, Father Federico Lombardi, the sock puppet in charge of the Vatican press office, called the leaking of the Cardinals' letter a "disruption". Because the authors of the letter intended it to remain confidential, he said, "It would be inappropriate to allow it to have any influence."

In layman's language, "Don't listen to those guys with the red hats. Just listen to the Pope, who speaks through me!"

Father Lombardi then muddied the water more than somewhat, by claiming that Cardinal Pell, who has acknowledged writing to the Pope, has said that neither the text published in Chiesa nor the list of signatories was accurate. He also said that Cardinals Erdo and Scola, named by Sig. Magister, and Cardinals Piacenza and Vingt-Trois, not identified by Sig. Magister, had denied having signed.

Meanwhile, the Jesuit periodical America reported in "Thirteen Cardinals, Including Di Nardo and Dolan, Challenged Pope’s Decisions on Synod" that the correct list of 13 cardinals includes Cardinals Caffarra, Collins, Dolan, Eijk, Müller, Napier, Pell, Sarah, and Savino -- named by Sig. Magister -- and four not on his list: Daniel Di Nardo (Archbishop of Galveston-Houston), John Njue (Archbishop of Nairobi, Kenya), Elio Sgreccia (President Emeritus of the Pontifical Academy for Life), and Norberto Rivera Carrera (Archbishop of Mexico City).

Another Vatican spokesthingy, Father Thomas Rosica, posted a link to the America article on his Twitter account, thus lending credence to the new report.

And now... this very morning, Rome time... Sig. Magister has published a follow-up to his original account, headed "The Letter of the Thirteen Cardinals to the Pope. Episode Two". He confirms the names of the signatories, and stakes his reputation on the authenticity of the text, apart perhaps from a few marginal inaccuracies and questions of form. Above all, he says, the letter is important for underlining what is at stake: control of the procedures of the Synod, and thus its outcome.

"The substance," he writes, "remains that which the statement of Cardinal Pell and even more so the interview with Cardinal Napier have confirmed: a widespread and growing unease among many synod fathers over the insistence in imposing upon them as the basis of discussion a document, the 'Instrumentum laboris', which every day shows itself more and more to be inadequate, and the fear that this with its ambiguities will contaminate the 'Relatio finalis', the writing of which is in the hands of a commission entirely appointed from on high, with an overwhelming presence of innovators."

Conservative bishops strike first at Synod on the Family

Agent 10 has gone straight! Straight from Washington to Rome, that is, to be there in person while the bishops of the Roman Catholic Church deliberate on the family, marriage and sexuality in the 2015 edition of their synod. He shares Walt's opinion that the Pope's fix is in, but takes some hope in signs that the "conservative" bishops intend to go down fighting.

One such was an address Monday morning by Peter Cardinal Erdo, of Budapest, who, in summarizing the main themes of the "Instrumentum Laboris" (Working Document", came out strongly in support of the traditional teachings of the Church on marriage and sexuality. The prelate stated that Catholics who are divorced and remarried cannot be admitted to Communion as long as they remain in a second conjugal union. He also rejected the idea that homosexual relationships can be treated as similar to marriages.

Cardinal Erdo’s speech placed him squarely in opposition to the "Kasper proposal" -- generally thought to have the backing of (if it wasn't written by) Pope Francis and the Synod Secretary, Cardinal Baldisseri -- which puts forward a rationalization for admitting divorced and remarried Catholics to Communion, and advocates a "positive attitude" toward homosexual unions.

Noting that the Synod is taking place at a time when society is experiencing a "flight from institutions", Cardinal Erdo insisted on the duty of the Church to uphold the indissolubility of sacramental marriage. He said that while the Church must show mercy to people whose marriages have failed, the acceptance of Christ's mercy demands conversion.

In the case of Catholics who have entered into a second marriage, the prelate went on, the rule barring reception of the Eucharist is not an arbitrary prohibition but a recognition of the objective truth that their living arrangement is contrary to the Gospel. While divorced and remarried Catholics should be encouraged to take an active role in the life of the Church, he added, "that is different from admission to the Eucharist."

Regarding homosexual relationships, Cardinal Erdo said that it is wrong to suggest that same-sex unions are comparable to marriages. "There is no basis for comparing or making analogies, even remotely, between homosexual unions and God’s plan for matrimony and the family."

Cardinal Erdo also cautioned against acceptance of the calls from the "progressives" for "gradualism" in pastoral practice -- the suggestion that Catholic pastors could accept couples living in irregular unions, while hoping to guide them into a fuller acceptance of Church teaching. "Between truth and falsehood, between good and bad, there is no law of gradualism."

For that reason, the Cardinal told reporters in a press conference after his speech, the Synod should not consider any dramatic change in teaching. Catholic doctrine can and should be developed, he said. However, "development is not unlimited. We have to look at tradition."

Further reading:
"On Day One of Synod 2015, conservatives strike first" Crux, 5/10/15
"Synod Opening: Beautiful words, but then..." Christopher Ferrara in Catholic Family News, 5/10/15

Priest in Vatican's Gay Mafia outs himself, gets fired

Goodness! How embarrassing! On the very eve of the Roman Catholic Bishops Synod on the Family, already rigged to roll out a holy welcome mat for homosexuals (see "Synod on the Family: the Pope's fix is in" (WWW 2/10/15), a Polish priest, Monsignor Kyzysztof Charamsa has told the world he's "happy and proud" to be gay!

Well... no biggie, right? We all know there are 1000s of gay priests. Msgr Charamsa himself told a Polish newsmagazine "The clergy is largely homosexual [Walt's emphasis] and, unfortunately, it is also homophobic to the point of paranoia but paralyzed by the lack of acceptance for its own sexual orientation." The point of outing himself, he said, is to challenge Church's "paranoia" towards sexual minorities.

If Msgr Charamsa were just an ordinary priest, in a parish in someplace like Bilaystok or Bydgoszcz, it wouldn't matter very much. But he's not. He's a theologian who, for the past 17 years, has been living in Rome, where he worked as an official in the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith!

The CDF, formerly known as the Holy Office and presided over not long ago by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, as he then was, is the department of the Church charged with interpreting and protecting the Roman Catholic Faith. It is the office which has stated time and again that the homosexual lifestyle is gravely disordered, but that being queer is not a sin. However, it teaches -- or used to teach -- homosexual acts are mortal sins.

Msgr Charamsa may have missed that when he learned his catechism for he confessed to Corriere della Sera that he is not only gay, but living in a loving relationship with a man. [The link includes a video, not recommended for readers who are easily nauseated. Ed.]

Msgr Charamsa's scandalous confession should give the lie to those (Hello, Jeff Mirus!) who scoff at claims by Walt and others that there is a Gay Mafia operating openly within the Vatican, indeed within the very part of the Church bureaucracy charged with protecting the Faith of our fathers.

Sadly, Msgr Charamsa is only a soldier. There are others, in much higher positions. Some of them will be taking part in, or even leading (!!!), the Synod on the Family which opens tomorrow. The meeting of nearly 300 bishops and Cardinals is set to last three weeks, during which these learned and pious men will review Vatican's "approach" to gay relationships and same-sex marriage. What do you suppose they will decide? Write your guess on the back of a postage stamp and send it to Walt at the usual address.

Footnote: Oh, nearly forgot... Vatican officials said today that Msgr Charamsa's personal situation "merited respect" (!!!), but added that his statements were "very serious and irresponsible" and might possibly "subject the Synod assembly to undue media pressure." So...he has been relieved of his duties at the CDF, and will no longer allowed to work at the pontifical universities. Has he been defrocked? Errr, no. He's still a priest.

Synod on the Family: the Pope's fix is in

The 2015 installment of the Roman Catholic Bishops' Synod on the Family will unfold in Rome later this month. Walt predicts (lifetime pct .981) that Pope Francis and the Gay Mafia in the Vatican, having failed to get their agenda -- welcome homosexuals, let divorced Catholics remarry, "be inclusive -- approved by the required two-thirds majority last year, will succeed this year.

Why do I say that? To begin with, at least one major issue -- the status of Catholics who have divorced and remarried -- has been defused by the Pope's relaxation of the rules and process for annulment -- the so-called "Catholic divorce".

A petition for a decree of nullity can now be approved by the local bishop, and the grounds can be just about anything from infidelity to separation to lack of proper intent right down to "etc". I'm not kidding about "etc". That little abbreviation has actually been added to the list! So a divorced Catholic wishing to get back into communion with the Church need only get the OK from the local bishop, et voilà!

When it comes to more contentious issues -- the acceptance of gay "marriage", for example -- the pro-queer modernists in the Vatican are nailing the puck to their sticks [croziers? Ed.] by changing the rules! New rules for the Synod will include elimination of both an interim report and a final message from the bishops, according to an article by Edward Pentin in the National Catholic Register.

In "Critics Sound Alarm Over Possible Changes to Synod Process", Mr. Pentin reports that the new rules -- which are being unveiled by the Vatican even as I write -- will leave Pope Francis to deliver the final message on the Synod’s discussions. Citing "informed sources", he writes that the Pontiff Francis wants "nothing in writing" from the Synod fathers, leaving it to His Holiness to take from the deliberations exactly what he and his modernist cronies want.

Another rumored change is that the rule on propositions having to pass by a two-thirds majority might be eliminated and a simple majority take its place. This would favour controversial proposals, such as those put forward by Cardinal Walter "the Friendly Ghost" Kasper, because his thesis only received a simple majority at the last synod. It should have therefore been rejected under the rules in place, but the Holy Father insisted that it, and the paragraph on a new approach to same-sex relationships that also failed to achieve a two-thirds majority, remain in the lineamenta (guidelines), for this October’s synod.

As the Synod on the Family nears, Catholics need to be aware of what is at stake. If the indissolubility of marriage can be rejected, along with the Church’s teaching that homosexual acts are intrinsically evil, then no doctrine is safe, no moral teaching beyond questioning. This is a moment of unprecedented crisis. Let us pray that the Holy Spirit, Who Our Lord told us would protect His Church from error, will move the bishops to stand up to the pressure being exerted by the modernists, and hold fast to the Traditional Catholic Faith.

Further reading:
"'Unacceptable.' The Base Document of the Synod 'Compromises the Truth'" On the verge of the Synod, three theologians critique and reject the "Instrumentum Laboris". Complete text of their charges, reported by Sandro Magister, in Chiesa, 29/9/15.
"2014 Vatican Synod's 'Welcome gays!' moment was rigged!" (WWW 2/9/15)
"'Church must include, not exclude' says chief Synod rigger" (WWW 18/9/15)

"Church must include, not exclude" says chief Synod rigger

Two weeks ago, in "2014 Vatican Synod's 'Welcome gays!' moment was rigged!", Walt recommended, a new e-book by journalist Edward Pentin. In The Rigging of a Vatican Synod, Mr. Pentin lays the blame for the pro-queer "interim report" of the 2014 Synod on Family Life at the feet of the Synod's secretary, Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri.

Walt predicts that -- having failed to silence the bishops opposed to gay marriage, Communion for divorced and remarried Catholics, and the rest of the "progressive" (read: anti-traditional) agenda -- the Prelate and those in the highest offices of the Roman Catholic Church who pull his strings, will have another go when the Synod resumes in October.

What would make me think that? Check out an address given by Cardinal Baldisseri to at a diocesan conference in Sessa Aurunca, Italy, on September 15th. As reported by L'Osservatore Romano (the Vatican's version of Pravda) summarized under the rubric "L'arte dell'accompagnamento" on page 6 of today's edition, the Secretary General of the Synod of Bishops said emphatically that the Church must "include" rather than "exclude".

According to His Eminence, "the crisis of the family is due also to the hiddenness of the Church", which is called to "listen", "accompany", and "include" rather than "exclude", so that all may experience the "incomparable beauty of matrimony."

Walt wants to know how many times one may experience "the incomparable beauty of matrimony". Traditional Catholic teaching -- the Faith of fathers, living still (although just barely) -- is that marriage is a Sacrament which may be received only once. So divorced Catholics who want a second helping would seem to be among those who should be excluded.

And what about homosexuals? Aren't they part of "all"? The Church teaches (or taught, once upon a time) that homosexuality is a grave disorder, and homosexual acts seriously sinful. Does Cardinal Baldisseri mean that, in the name of "inclusivity" we should "accompany" the sodomites on their quest for the "incomparable beauty" etc?

Ah yes... "accompany", that's the key word. One may translate "L'arte dell'accompagnamento" as "The art of the accompaniment". Let's go along with the poor tormented sinners, to keep them company. After all, they can't help it, can they? Perhaps they don't even know that their "lifestyle choice" is contrary to the laws of God and nature.

Walt wonders if Cardinal Baldisseri (and/or his well-travelled master) has read A Man for All Seasons, the play by Robert Bolt about the life and martyrdom of Saint Thomas More. Here's a short passage which seems a propos. The Duke of Norfolk is urging Sir Thomas (as he was before he was beheaded) to join him and all the other nobles or England in swearing to the Act of Succession, which was meant to validate Henry VIII's divorce and remarriage.

NORFOLK: Frankly, I don't know whether the marriage was lawful or not. But damn it, Thomas, look at those names... You know those men! Can't you do what I did, and come with us, for fellowship?
MORE: And when we stand before God, and you are sent to Paradise for doing according to your conscience, and I am damned for not doing according to mine, will you come with me, for fellowship?

That would be a nice question to put to Cardinal Baldisseri. Would he repeat his call for the Synod to "rediscover the art of accompaniment". I wonder...

Synod on the Family: the question no-one wanted to answer

Last week, in "2014 Vatican Synod's 'Welcome gays!' moment was rigged!", Walt recommended the new e-book by Edward Pentin which explains how certain prelates of the Roman Catholic Church arranged for the insertion of their pro-LGBT agenda into the "Interim Report" of the 2014 Synod on the Family.

Here's the last paragraph of that post:
Mr. Pentin points the finger at Cardinal Baldisseri, but Walt (and many others) would like to know who appointed the prelate to be secretary-general of the Synod? Whose agenda was the Cardinal pushing... or following? And who's in charge of this year's Synod? Oh... wait... According to the Vatican website, it's none other than... wait for it... Lorenzo Cardinal Baldisseri!

Traditional Catholics have been waiting with bated breath [not "baited" Ed. -- "bated breath" means breath which is being held] to see what tricks the Church's Gay Mafia and other modernists have up their sleeves this time. The "Instrumentum Laboris" (working paper) for the Synod was released in June and has been scrutinized and found ponderous, if not incomprehensible.

This, at any rate, is the opinion of John Vennari, well-known Catholic activist and editor of Catholic Family News. Last week, Agent 10 recorded Mr. Vennari asking a tough question to the panel at a lecture on the 2015 Synod given at the Franciscan University of Steubenville OH by Cardinal Raymond Burke.

The panel consisted of 8 or 10 [Did Agent 10 lose count? Ed.] theologians and philosophers, including Cardinal Burke, at the far right in the picture. You can hear one of them, a lady, laughing after Mr. Vennari posed his question. After that comes a very awkward silence, broken finally by Dr. Michael Sirilla, who came up with the only possible answer, thus saving the moment.



If you're a Catholic, concerned with the direction in which Holy Mother Church is being led ["misled", surely! Ed.], you should attend Catholic Identity Conference, 2015, to be held September 25th-27th at the Holiday Inn in Weirton WV.

The theme of the conference is "The Three Rs of Modernism: Recognize it, Refute it, and Return to Tradition". Speakers include Pat Archbold, Christopher Ferrara, Michael Matt, Dr. John Rao, Fr. Michael Rodríguez, Louie Verrecchio, Dr. James Vogel, and... wait for it... John Vennari and Dr. Michael Sirilla!

For more information or to register, click here. Tell `em Walt sent you!

2014 Vatican Synod's "Welcome gays!" moment was rigged!

The Gay Mafia at the Vatican must think that faithful Catholics have short memories. Come October, the pro-LGBT gang in Rome -- which may/may not include Pope Francis -- will try again to push their agenda through a second "Synod on Family Life", which wags like Agent 10 have already dubbed "Vatican III".

The goal of the Synod is to rectify the unimaginable political incorrectness of the Synod held in October 2014, at which a majority of cardinals and bishops had the temerity to reject an "interim report" recommending that the Church demonstrate more "openness to gays and their gifts and qualities". See "Majority of bishops reject "Welcome gays!" (WWW, 18/10/14).

The bishops failed to approve even a watered-down version of the section on ministering to gays, which stripped away the welcoming tone contained in the "interim report". Two other paragraphs concerning the other hot-button issue at the Synod -- whether divorced and civilly remarried Catholics can receive communion -- also failed to pass.

Why? Because the "updating" of the Church rules on these subjects would be contrary to God's law and nearly two millennia of Catholic teaching! See "Catholic bishops say "interim report" asking Church to welcome homosexuals grossly misrepresented by pro-LGBT media" (WWW 14/10/14).

So how did those proposals get on the table? Aha, that's the BIG question, and journalist Edward Pentin provides the answer in The Rigging of a Vatican Synod? An Investigation of Alleged Manipulation at the Extraordinary Synod on the Family (Ignatius Press, 2015).

The book, excerpted this week by Catholic World Report, tells how the 2014 Synod of Bishops' controversial interim report came to include the paragraphs on homosexuality and cohabitation that provoked strong reactions from several prominent synod participants. See "Even a liberal Cardinal calls pro-LGBT Synod report 'worthless'" (WWW 16/10/14).

Mr. Pentin quotes Father Stephen Fawcett, a Synod staff aide who was keeping the official diary of the proceedings, as saying the interim report was not an accurate reflection of the bishops' discussions. "It just was not."

And Wilfrid Cardinal Napier of South Africa observed that the document -- prepared a small cadre of prelates organized by Lorenzo Cardinal Baldisseri, the secretary-general of the Synod -- was released by the Vatican Press Office even before the Synod fathers saw it.

Mr. Pentin points the finger at Cardinal Baldisseri, but Walt (and many others) would like to know who appointed the prelate to be secretary-general of the Synod? Whose agenda was the Cardinal pushing... or following? And who's in charge of this year's Synod? Oh... wait... According to the Vatican website, it's none other than... wait for it... Lorenzo Cardinal Baldisseri!

Click here to read The Rigging of a Vatican Synod?, as excerpted on the Catholic World Report website. You can buy the e-book from Ignatius Press, at a web sale price of only $12.32.

"Gay triumph now complete" - African journo mocks US Protestants' acceptance of Supreme Court gay "marriage" decision

African-born journalist Ken Mufuka writes a "Letter From America" every week in the Financial Gazette, one of Zimbabwe's courageously independent newspapers. This week his topic is Obergefell v. Hodges, the recent decision of the Supreme Court in which the dishonourable court, by a vote of 5-4, tortured the "equal protection" provisions of the Constitution into a finding that homosexuals (gays, lesbians, transexuals, bisexuals and queers in general) have the same rights as straight folk to marry and have their nuptials celebrated by society.

Gay "marriage" maybe be against God's law, but it's now the law of the USA. God save the United States of America!

Well, that's Walt's view. In "Gay Triumph Now Complete", Mr. Mufuka [pronounced with a long "U". Ed.] takes an even dimmer view of the decision, but he takes much longer to say so. Walt has excerpted some of the more acidic bits of his column. The words are Mr. Mufuka's; the emphasis is mine.

July 4, or Independence Day, commemorates the overthrow of the British imperialists by American patriots in the war of independence. It is big deal, as they say here. Citizens use this day to blow off steam, dance in public and generally engage in good-natured goofy behaviour, even disgracing themselves. It is all done in good faith. The police look the other way.

The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) “community” had the best July 4th celebrations ever. They say that such a joyous time as this comes only once in a millennium. Their celebrations started June 27, when the US supreme court announced two rulings.

A pro-gay reprobate judge, Anthony Kennedy, announced the judgment. The issue was whether same sex marriages were protected in the US constitution. To cut a long story short, marriage is not mentioned because it was assumed, supported by immemorial custom that a man shall leave his home to find a damsel and marry her.

Having failed to find a constitutional clause, the reprobate judge strained all sensibilities to create one out of thin air, calling it equal protection under law. Same sex partners, wrote the pro-gay judge, bring with them the hope that in their marriages they are not “condemned to live in loneliness, excluded from one of civilization’s oldest institutions. They ask for equal dignity in the eyes of the law. The Constitution grants them that right.”

Chief Justice John Roberts, who disagreed with the decree, nevertheless, saw the earth shattering impact it had on the future of the world. The decision cannot be justified on moral or historical grounds.
The fact remains that United States is an exceptional, confirmed in its own righteousness. As such arrangements have been put in place for the advancement of the gay agenda to the world.

Protestant denominations...had foreseen the gay decision, they were unprepared for the onslaught within their own organizations.... Infiltrated by earthly philosophies over the years, they were left wondering in the wilderness, as gay forces outflanked and swiftly destroyed all opposition. South Carolina Methodists barely survived a gay resolution, but it was very close, 752 votes against 550. The pro-gay lobby promised that “they will be back, the fight is not over.”

The 3.8 million members Lutheran Church (USA) which split into two denominations over the issue revisited it with wisdom gained from experience. Each individual denomination will, after prayer, instruct their pastor whether they will permit gay weddings in their church.

The Anglicans, meeting in Utah, the home of the polygamous Mormon Christians, suffered resounding defeat, 173 delegates in favour, against last-stand motley of 27 resisters. There is another juicy change among Anglicans. Gays can now be married in the full communion of the church, and church wedding bells are allowed. Little boys and girls can walk in the isle to present flowers to a gay couple.

When the deputies took on another position on gender neutral religion, they suffered a worse defeat, 184 supporting the change against miserable 23. In this second resolution, God is no longer “Our Father in Heaven” but the Creator of the Universe. It is, however, alright to say: “God our Mother in Heaven” or to say: “The faith of our mothers.”

It's tempting for us Catholics -- especially traditional Catholics -- to sneer at the Protestants' capitulation to the homonazis, but Holy Mother Church is not immune from the cancers of moral rot and political correctness. The pro-queer agenda, along with weakening of the Church's laws on divorce and remarriage is being pushed relentlessly by the gay lobby in the Vatican and in the liberal churches of Germany and the low countries. This fall will see another Synod on the Family, at which same sex "marriage" will be back on the table. Stay tuned.

Note from Ed.: No, we don't know if Mr. Mufuka is a Catholic. Why don't you ask him? mufukaken@gmail.com.

African Cardinals strongly oppose "German strategy" on divorce and same-sex "marriage"

Sister Lucia, the seer of Fatima, wrote that "In Portugal, the dogma of the Faith will always be preserved etc". In the ongoing debate about the significance and meaning of the "etc", almost everyone (except Agent 3) has overlooked the fact that, at the time Sister Lucia wrote that part of the Third Secret of Fatima, "Portugal" included a number of overseas territories and colonies, including Angola and Moçambique, rather large chunks of southern Africa.

Walt was thinking about this today while reading "Synod. Africa’s Hour", a report by Sandro Magister on the recent meeting in Ghana of the presidents of that continent’s episcopal conferences. The African prelates -- Robert Cardinal Sarah and four other cardinals, along with 45 bishops -- voted unanimously to oppose "the strategy of the Germans" on divorce and homosexual unions, and thus preserve the dogma of the Faith which the Europeans (including Pope Francis) seem ready to repudiate.

What is the strategy of the of their modernist colleagues from France, Switzerland, and especially Germany, who gathered a few days earlier at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome? Sig. Magister explains it this way: "Given that the maximum objectives of the blessing of second marriages and of homosexual couples appear to be out of reach, this 'strategy' would consist of opening loopholes that could be expanded later, naturally while affirming in words that there is no intention to change anything about doctrine."

From the remarks of Cardinal Sarah, Sig. Magister chose these quotes to summarize the Africans' contrary sentiments. Cardinal Sarah called on his colleagues to not be afraid:
- "of reiterating the teaching of Christ on marriage";
- "to speak at the synod with clarity and with just one voice, in filial love of the Church"; and
- "to protect the family from all the ideologies that want to destroy it, and therefore also from the national and international policies that impede the promotion of positive values."

Strong stuff! But will the modernists and the "gay mafia" embedded [geddit? Ed.] in the Vatican listen? Is the Pope Catholic? Be careful. The second is a trick (or tricky) question!

VIDEO: Getting down at the Synod - satire by John Vennari

Perhaps, gentle reader, you've forgotten the scandalous Synod of Bishops which unfolded in Rome last fall. If only we (those of us who hold to the Faith of Our Fathers) could forget! This was the "Synod on the Family" at which Pope Francis and his liberal fellow bishops tried to push through changes in the law of the Church which would make it more welcoming to the LGBT crowd.

They also proposed admitting divorced and remarried Catholics -- objectively living in sin -- to Holy Communion. Understandable though that idea may be from a humanitarian viewpoint, it would fly in the face of the Church's dogma on marriage, based on the teachings of Jesus Christ Himself.

For details and comments, see "Catholic bishops say "interim report" asking Church to welcome homosexuals grossly misrepresented by pro-LGBT media" and "Even a liberal Cardinal calls pro-LGBT Synod report 'worthless'".

In spite of a lot of arm-twisting by the Pope, Cardinal Kasper and other misguided bishops, the proposals to change the unchangeable Dogma of the Church were rejected. But stay tuned, because the modernists -- dare I say heretics! -- in the upper echelons of the Church will bring these novelties back again... and again and again until they succeeded in making Holy Mother Church conform to the wishes of the secular humanists who dominate our formerly Christian Western world.

Next time these ideas come up for discussion, you might refresh your memory by reference to a little satire composed, played and sung by Walt's old friend, John Vennari. Here it is.

Under Pope Francis, Christianity matters less - key points from interview with Sandro Magister

From time to time Walt has referred to -- and sometimes quoted at length -- the noted Vaticanista, Sandro Magister. I am a follower of his Settimo Cielo blog in l'Espresso. His first article appeared in the Italian daily l'Espresso in 1974.

On the occasion of his 40th anniversary, Maestro Magister was interviewed at length by Goffredo Pistelli, who writes for Italia Oggi. The interview was published, in translation, on the Rorate Caeli website. Here are the key points. Quotes from Signore Magister are shown in purple. The emphasis is mine.

Pope Francis, Sig. Magister conceded, has been basking in worldwide success. But, he said, there are contradictions inherent in the Pope's character, which can be seen  by analyzing  his statements and actions since his elevation. "Throughout his life, he has been a person who has acted on different fronts at the same time. He does the same thing now as Pontiff; he leaves passages open, and on first reading, there are many contradictions."

For example, Francis "is a very talkative Pope. He has telephoned and approached all different kinds of people both near and far. But he has been silent about [the plight of] Asia Bibi", the Pakistani Christian woman who has been imprisoned for years, condemned to death for apostasy. See "Martyr in waiting needs your prayers", posted on WWW in March 2011.

So also, the Pope has said not a word about the kidnapped Nigerian girls and "that unbelievable act of a few days ago in Pakistan when a Christian married couple were burnt to death in a furnace."

Indeed, the Pontiff has been silent about Islam and the Muslim world in general. And his hand-picked Secretary of State, Cardinal Parolin was very prudent when speaking at the United Nations recently. They seem determined not to upset the Muslims, in contrast with Benedict XVI’s lecture at Regensburg, which incited strong reactions and even deaths.

Sig. Magister calls the Vatican's political correctness "caution pushed to extremes.... I don’t see any advantage to it. It seems to me that it hasn’t resulted in any help, even minimal or partial, for the Christians in those regions. Caution is understandable, if it’s measured in proportion to the effect. It’s valid if it produces lesser damage."

The point, the analyst says, is that "We have a power like ISIS and we are too fast in saying that Islam has nothing to do with it; that they are instead nurtured by radical Islam, which doesn’t resolve the question of rationality and the relationship between faith and violence. That is exactly what Pope Ratzinger had addressed in Regensburg. In fact the only true dialogue between Christianity and Islam came about after that lecture...."

Pope Francis has said repeatedly that he doesn't want to make compromises with doctrine, that he respects the Tradition of the Church. But then he opened discussions on "modernizing" or "reforming" the Tradition, like the ones at the recent Bishops Synod on the Family, about Communion for the divorced and remarried, which effectively touch the very foundations of the Church.

Why, the interviewer asked, does he do so? Sig. Magister responded, "It was all inevitable considering the Pope’s decision to assign the opening of the discussions to Cardinal Walter Kasper. This basically was the start of the hostilities...."

What Cardinal Kasper is proposing are the same theses defeated in 1993 by Pope John Paul II and Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, the Prefect of the Holy Office who later became Benedict XVI. Sig. Magister's opinion is that "it is inevitable that Communion for the divorced and remarried will result in the acceptance of second marriages, and so to the dissolution of the sacramental bond of matrimony."

Is that what Francis wants? As Cardinals Burke and George have remarked recently, it's hard to know. The Pope works both sides of the street! According to Sig. Magister, "It’s another recurring practice of this Pontificate -- reprimands to one side and the other. However...the scoldings aimed at the traditionalists, the legalists and the rigid defenders of doctrine appear to be much more numerous. On the other hand, whenever he has something to say to the progressives you never understand who he is really referring to."

That confusion to the point of bewilderment is growing is undeniable, Sig. Magister says. "We have leaders in prominent positions...who are making this clear, even if they don’t express it in drastic and antagonistic terms.... There isn’t a prejudicially hostile tendency against the Pontiff [but] certainly there are evident manifestations of uneasiness.

"Take for example the Episcopate in the United States, that is, the bishops of one of the most numerous Catholic populations in the world. In recent years, that Episcopal Conference expressed a coherent and combative line in the public arena, even regarding certain decisions by Barack Obama on ethical issues. A line shared by many prominent prelates."

Now, he continues, the American cardinals and archbishops "like Timothy Dolan from New York, Patrick O'Malley from Boston, José Gomez from Los Angeles or Charles Chaput from Philadelphia, are all uneasy. This is the episcopate that [Cardinal] Burke himself comes from and is certainly not restricted to the marginal traditional circuits, but continues to be part of one of the most solid national Churches."

The interviewer next refers to a new book by Antonio Socci, Non è Francesco, ("It's Not Francis", Mondadori, 2014.) Sig. Socci's thesis (as Walt understands it) is that since the Pope cannot lead the Church into error, if Francis is leading the Church into error, he must not be truly the Pope. QED.

Sig. Socci adduces evidence -- a missing ballot -- to suggest that Pope Francis was not validly elected. But even if he's wrong on that, could his reconstruction of the Pope's contradictions be taken to prove his thesis? Sig. Magister was asked if he'd read the book. Here's what he said.

"Yes, I read it all in one evening. It’s a real page-turner.... And not for the theory of the invalid election: the result of the cancellation of a ballot in the conclave because there was an extra blank ballot-card. In my view it’s an inconsistent theory.

"[I found it interesting] because of what’s creating the book’s success, so much so that it has reached the top of the best-sellers list, exceeding the books of and about Bergoglio. That’s because it reconstructs, in incontestable facts and words, the contradictions we have been talking about."

One of the contradictions of this papacy, the interviewer pointed out, is that despite Francis' enormous personal popularity,  religious practice has not increased. On the contrary, the aversion to Catholicism is increasing. Sig. Magister contrasted the popularity of Pope Francis with that of his two predecessors.

"The popularity of his predecessors was very strong. John Paul II experienced world-wide success and not only during the years of his illness. Also Benedict XVI between 2007 and 2008, reached the highest levels in the polls, even if this has been forgotten. His trip to the United States was the peak, where he received a great welcome even from secular public opinion.

"[The difference is] that the predecessors were mostly popular inside the Church, even if they were harshly criticized from strongholds of non-Catholic public opinion. Whereas Francis' popularity is more conspicuous outside the Church, even if it isn’t eliciting waves of conversions. Actually, with him there seems to be a certain pleasure in outside culture...in seeing the Head of the Church shifting towards their positions, which he seems to understand and even accept.

"The Christianity from the mouth of Bergoglio is no longer provocative, does not create problems as in the past, it can be treated with courtesy, superiority and detachment. Christianity matters less." 

Further reading from Sandro Magister's blog Chiesa (24/11/14): The Lenses of the Cardinal, the Sociologist, the Journalists - "All focused on Francis. To understand who he is and where he wants to go. In the Church, at all levels, criticisms of the pope are no longer being silenced. They are voiced openly. Among the cardinals, the most explicit is Francis George."

Further reading on WWW:
"The 'liquid' message of Pope Francis; will he be the last supreme pontiff?"
"Is the Catholic Church about to disintegrate?"

Breaking news: Majority of bishops reject "Welcome gays!" document

From the Vatican, AP reports that Catholic bishops have, by a majority vote, scrapped the "openness to gays and their gifts and qualities" set out in an interim report of the Synod on the Family.

The bishops failed to approve even a watered-down version of the section on ministering to gays, which stripped away the welcoming tone contained in a draft document published by the pro-LGBT Vatican Press Office earlier in the week.

Two other paragraphs concerning the other hot-button issue at the synod -- whether divorced and civilly remarried Catholics can receive communion -- also failed to pass.

BBC News calls the vote against the proposals a setback for Pope Francis. In spite of the vote against the revised sections, the Pope said the full draft document should be published. Walt guesses that's so the world can see how homophobic and reactionary are the bishops outside of the Vatican's gay mafia.

Stay tuned for great fits of pissing and moaning from not just the BBC but every "progressive" secular humanist commentator in the world. Walt will post some commentary from the other side -- the traditional Catholic side -- as it becomes available.

And here's the first one, the report of an interview Cardinal Robert Sarah gave to Catholic World News. Key quotes:
- The Church has never judged homosexual persons, but homosexual behavior and homosexual unions are grave deviations of sexuality.
- Let us pray for those pastors who leave the Lord’s sheep to the wolves of decadent and secularized society, far from God and nature.

In case you missed them, here are links this week's posts on the Synod:
Oct. 14: Catholic bishops say "interim report" asking Church to welcome homosexuals grossly misrepresented by pro-LGBT media
Oct. 16: Even a liberal Cardinal calls pro-LGBT Synod report "worthless"

Even a liberal Cardinal calls pro-LGBT Synod report "worthless"

Something got lost in the translation! Believe it or not, that, according to the Catholic News Agency's Vatican observer, Andrea Gagliarducci, is the Vatican's excuse for how the controversial Interim Report of the Synod on the Family came to be "misunderstood".

The document was written in Italian, which Pope Francis directed to be used as the official language of the synod. He did this because, as New York's Cardinal Timothy Dolan admitted not long ago, few of the prelates can read or understand Latin any more. That the language of the Church has at last become "dead" is yet another of the poisoned fruits of Vatican II. Too bad, because Latin has always been esteemed by lawyers and theologians for its precision and lack of ambiguity.

The hoo-hah about the Church's sudden admiration for the LGBT community, as reported here on Tuesday, arises (they tell us now) from a mistranslation of paragraph 50 of the relatio [report]. The Italian original, after praising the "gifts and talents" homosexuals may [my emphasis] give to the Christian community, asked: "le nostre comunità sono in grado di esserlo accettando e valutando il loro orientamento sessuale, senza compromettere la dottrina cattolica su famiglia e matrimonio?"

In the English translation provided by the Vatican, this is rendered as: "Are our communities capable of providing that, accepting and valuing their sexual orientation, without compromising Catholic doctrine on the family and matrimony?"

The key word "valutando" would be better translated as "evaluating," and, in this context, "weighing" or "considering". The English translation, however, suggests that the homosexual orientation should be "valued", a notion that old fuddie-duddies who are faithful to the traditional teaching of the Church find confusing, to say the least. Any suggestion that the use of "valuing" by the Vatican Press Office reveals a pro-LGBT bias are of course groundless!

Meanwhile... Cardinal Gerhard Müller, the Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith -- aka the Holy Office in the old days when the name was appropriate -- has denounced the report as "worthless". Speaking in one of the Synod’s small working groups after the release of the relatio post disceptationem, the prelate said the document was "completely wrong" in its portrayal of the Synod fathers’ discussion. He added that it was "shameful" that the report had suppressed some points of view while promoting, errr, certain others.

More pushback came from South African Cardinal Wilfrid Napier, who told journalists the document had been misunderstood and that’s why it had caused "such an upset" -- the more so because the relatio is only an "interim report", and the Synod has not yet ended. "We couldn't possibly have agreed on it," he said, yet "The message has gone out, it is not what we are saying at all.... [But] there’s no way of retrieving it. It is not a true position. Whatever goes out after looks like damage control."

In a full page interview published in the Italian daily Il Foglio, American Cardinal Raymond Burke said, "It seems to me that information is being manipulated in a way that gives comment to only one theory instead of faithfully reporting the various positions expressed.... This worries me very much because a significant number of bishops do not accept the ideas of an opening, but few [people] know that."

Curiously, "Bully" Burke did not name those whom he held responsible for pushing the pro-queer agenda. He could only have meant the Vatican Press Office, which, as noted above, supplied the translation. Walt would have thought the Cardinal would have felt a little more freedom to name names, since he's being demoted from head of the Apostolic Signatura (the Vatican "Supreme Court") to exile in the largely ceremonial role as head of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta. See "Pope Plans on Exiling Conservative Catholic Hero Cardinal Raymond Burke" on Breitbart.

Also on Tuesday, Cardinal Burke told Catholic World Report that the bishops "cannot accept" any changes that are not based in Scripture or Church teaching. He also said that a statement on the issue from Pope Francis is "long overdue". According to Marco Tosatti, writing in La Stampa, the Pope doesn't say anything during the Synod sessions, but contents himself with scribbling little notes which he passes to the Synod’s secretary-general, Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri.

Further reading: Sinodo, il cardinale Mueller all'attacco: "Relazione vergognosa". Right... it's in Italian. But you can use Google Translator.

UPDATED: Catholic bishops say "interim report" asking Church to welcome homosexuals grossly misrepresented by pro-LGBT media

Much backing and filling at the Vatican Tuesday night over jubilant lamestream press reports that the Synod of Bishops now in progress (if such a word can be used) has recommended that the Church welcome homosexuals and all the "gifts and qualities" they can bring to Her. Before we get to the update, please read Walt's initial reaction, posted here earlier today.

Walt is struck dumb [He means "speechless". Ed.] by this weekend's news from the Vatican. In a preliminary report halfway through their Synod on family life, Catholic bishops in conference assembled are recommending "accepting and valuing" LGBT [He means "queer"... Well, that's what they call themselves! Ed.] faithful and all the "gifts and qualities" they can bring to the Church. I will resist the temptation to make any snide or sarcastic comments, reminding myself that the true teaching of Holy Mother Church is to hate the sin -- see St. Paul's Epistle to the Romans, 1:24-29 -- but love the sinner.

Having said that, if homosexuality is to be regarded by the "new, improved Catholic Church" as something better than "disordered", and if homosexuals are to be made welcome in our communities, what about same-sex "marriages"? The bishops' report reaffirms the Church's teaching that marriage is for a man and woman only, but at the same time says the church must recognize the "positive" aspects of civil unions, with the aim of bringing Catholics who live together without benefit of clergy to a lifelong commitment in a church wedding. Would that be regardless of the gender of the partners? Walt awaits a clear answer.

While waiting, Walt remembers the words of Joseph Priestley -- no pun intended -- an English theologian, who said in 1761 that "in all controversies, it is better to await the decisions of time, which are slow and sure, than to take those of synods, which are often hasty and injudicious."

Footnote: Economists and marketers will tell you that the LGBT crowd is one of the most affluent "market segments" of North American society. Not having children -- well, most of them, anyway -- on whom to squander their incomes, they have oodles of money to splash around on nice clothes, entertainment, and so on. I'll leave the "so on" to your imagination. Of course the queers' affluence has nothing whatever to do with the bishops' willingness to embrace them.

And now the "correction", as reported in "Pushback on Synod document" on the Catholic Culture website. As their analysis is a bit lengthy for this space, I'll just copy the key paragrahs.

Controversy sharpened at the Synod of Bishops, as many prelates have complained that an interim report released on October 13 did not accurately represent the thoughts of the Synod fathers, and the Vatican press office hastened to announce that “a value has been attributed to the document that does not correspond to its nature.

The relatio post disceptationem, which was intended to summarize the discussion during the first week of the October synod, "is a working document," the Vatican observed in an unusual statement released on the day after the document appeared. The press office emphasized that the relatio was designed not to be an authoritative statement, but to be the basis for discussion during the second week of Synod deliberations.

Cardinal Raymond Burke, who has been consistently outspoken in his defense of Church teaching regarding marriage, charged that the relatio did not accurately reflect the Synod discussions but "in fact, advances positions which many Synod Fathers do not accept and, I would say, as faithful shepherds of the flock cannot accept." The American cardinal reported that "a great number of the Synod fathers found it objectionable."

Many prelates observed that the early release of the relatio had triggered an enormous volume of media coverage, much of it inaccurate, conveying the impression that the Church would change her teachings. (BBC provided a vivid example of this sort of analysis, announcing that Pope Francis had "scored a first quiet victory" in the document and saying that the Pontiff had "convinced many Catholic Church leaders to moderate their formerly strongly critical language about gay unions.")

"We’re now working from a position that’s virtually irredeemable," said South African Cardinal Wilfrid Fox Napier, referring to the media coverage. "The message has gone out that this is what synod is saying, that this is what the Catholic Church is saying," he said. "Whatever we say hereafter will seem like we’re doing damage control." [Indeed! Walt]

With a week still remaining before this session of the Synod concludes, it seems clear that critics of the relatio will organize a strong campaign to ensure that the Synod’s final document is very different from the interim report.

That was a close one, wasn't it... But if the bishops think they've dodged a rainbow-coloured bullet, Walt would advise them not to underestimate the power of the LGBT lobby, both in the lamestream media and within the Vatican itself!

Further reading: "The Secret Synod Does What We Expected: Evil", by Christopher A. Ferrara, posted on Monday on The Remnant website.

Fear-mongering about Islam? Who? Walt?

Sunday's post "'Belgistan' - a vision of our future" brought a scathing comment (via Agent 17) from a gentleman who resides in, errr, Belgium. The CBN video, the gentleman says, is bovine excrement, at least as regards the numbers of Muslims in "Belgistan".

Walt has never found CBN any less accurate than, say, Fox News, so didn't ask Ed. to do a fact check. For the record, what I heard was that Muslims represent about 25% of the population of Brussels, and a smaller minority nation-wide. Whether they are 49%, 4.9% or 0.49% of Belgium's population seems to me beside the point. The point is this. Given that Muslims are breeding like little fez-wearing rabbits, and Christian Belgians aren't managing even the replacement rate, the Muslims will eventually be the majority.

Just by coincidence, the same point was made at the Vatican on Saturday, when Peter Cardinal Turkson, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, showed the Synod of Bishops a video that Vatican Radio described as a "fear-mongering presentation of statistics attempting to show how Islam is conquering Europe and the rest of the world".

The video emphasized the high birth rates among Muslims in Europe, in contrast with the falling fertility of native Europeans, and concluded that the continent would soon be predominantly Islamic. Was it the same video as the one referred to here? As the Synod meets in camera, we don't know. Was the point the same? Definitely!

Catholic World News quotes Vatican Radio as saying, "Why one of the Curial cardinals chose to show this piece of anti-Islamic propaganda is quite unclear." But, it said, the dramatic presentation did give rise to some energetic discussions, with some bishops criticizing the video while others chose to emphasize the need for more effective evangelization among the people of formerly Christian Europe.

Footnote: Cardinal Turkson is Ghanaian, so let's hold fire, please, on the usual charges of Catholic European racism.