Big Pulpit

Vatican Spokesmen Admit Lying About Kim Davis’ Meeting

. . .after lying & hiding the truth about the private meeting of Pope Francis & Kim Davis in 2015, Vatican officials now admit Pope Francis & his high-ranking officials knew who Kentucky Clerk Kim Davis was & approved a private meeting with her during his 2015 visit to the United States.  Fr. Federico Lombardi, S.J., former director of the Holy See Press Office, has now “recalled that Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò had spoken the night before the Davis meeting with Pope Francis & his collaborators & obtained their consensus”. . .

from the Liberty Counsel

U.S. Bishops are Divided in a Way Rarely Seen in Public – I. Lovett, The Wall Street Jrnl
Is the Pope a Catholic? – John O’Sullivan
Attention Attorney Generals: Seminaries Visited by McCarrick – E. Yore, The Remnant
Why Was Viganò Publicly Polite to Disgraced McCarrick? Answered – Fr. Z’s Blog
30 Aug 1568: St. Pius V’s Bull Against “Gay” Clergy – Fr. Z’s Blog
Ideology Blinding the Church to Its Real Problem: Credibility, Leadership – E. Morrissey
On Sackcloth, Ashes & Staying Catholic During the Abuse Crisis – T. Worner, NC Register
Abuse: What to Make of the Current Situation? – Dom Cingoranelli, Catholic Stand
The Catholic Church Must Confess Its Sins, All of Them – Ed Morrissey, The Week
Rise & Walk Boldly to Repair The Church – Cathy G. Knipper, Catholic Stand
Finding a Bearing During the Crisis – Tom Collingwood, Catholic Stand
Note: A new post is published daily at 12:01 am U.S. Central Time

What the Priest Scandal Is & Is Not About

. . .some people say that to focus on the homosexual nature of the crimes is unjust to the girls & women who were victims, & that in any case it is not to the point.  4 out of 5 of the victims in the whole scandal were male, & most of them were not little children, but adolescent boys & young men.  It may well be that a disproportionate number of homosexual men entered the seminary in order to hide their desires from themselves or from others, & that therefore we should not interpret that ratio too severely.  But the social stigma cuts in both directions.  If it raised the number of homosexual men who became priests, it also undoubtedly lowered the number of men who would ever admit to having engaged in homosexual relations.  If a boy is even half as likely as a girl to report that he has been molested by a man—almost always not by force but by enticement & invitation into indecency, so-called “grooming”—then the ratio is more like 8 males to 1 female, rather than the 4 to 1 ratio whereof we have hard evidence, & 4 to 1 is already staggering.  Perhaps it was 10 to 1, or 12.  We don’t know. . .

by Anthony M. Esolen, Ph.D.,

of Crisis Magazine

Australia Has Had Enough of Pope Francis – Mark via Twitter
Can Archbishop Viganò be Trusted? with Dr. Taylor Marshall – Taylor Marshall Ph.D.
Pope Francis Touts Virtue of Silence After Sex Abuse Cover-up Claims – AP via CBS News
Vatican Admits Kim Davis Meeting was both Private & Approved, Rosica Lies – NY Times
Layperson Yells “Shame on You” During Cardinal Wuerl’s Homily – CBS News via Twitter
Pope: Silence is the Best Response to People Lacking Good Will – CNS via Cthlc Herald
Time’s Up on Pope Francis Being Able to Handle Clergy Abuse Crisis – The Boston Globe
Viganò, Francis & McCarrick: Where Things Stand on Allegations – J.D. Flynn, NCRegister
Stonewalling Silence = Complicity With Sex Abuse – Rod Dreher, The American. . .
Reflections from the Ruins – James Patrick, The Catholic World Report
The Viganò Report & the Kim Davis Distraction – Phil Lawler, Catholic Culture
Attacking the Whistleblower: Abuse-enabling Culture Alive & Well in Vatican – Js. Shaw
Let’s Say Pope Francis Resigns, What Next? – Martin Bürger, One Peter 5
Journalist behind Vatileaks Affairs says Viganò is Credible – Elise Harris, Crux
14,000+ Women to Pope: “Your Words are Inadequate” – California Catholic Daily
Ex-Vatican Spokesmen Challenge Papal Accuser Over Davis Meeting – John Allen, Crux
Vatican Officials Keep Asking Journalists to Investigate Them, Do They Mean It? – J Duin
Note: A new post is published daily at 12:01 am U.S. Central Time

We’re Looking at a Lame Duck Papacy

. . .Pope Francis’ response to Archbishop Vigano’s testimony has, so far, been a sad silence which echoes his silence over the questions about marriage formally presented by some of his cardinals. . .

. . .if this lack of leadership continues we may see the development of a lame duck papacy. . .

by Father Dwight Longenecker

Cupich Continues to Make It Worse for Himself – Mitchell Armentrout, Chicago Sun-Times
The Strange Case of Austen Ivereigh – Mark Lambert, De Omnibus Dubitandum Est.
News of Viganò has Hit the Curia Like an Atomic Bomb – Fr. Richard Heilman, RCM
Archbishop Viganò Responds to Videos of Papal Meeting, Speech – Ed Pentin, NCRegister
Michael Sean Winters Suffers a Journalistic Aneurysm – Fr. Z’s Blog
Card. Tobin Reportedly Declined to Investigate McCarrick Rumors – The C. World Report
Cowardice Motivated by Fear of Looking Insufficiently Progressive – Amy Welborn
The Vatican is a Kind of Criminal Shambles – David Warren, Essays in Idleness
How the Pederasty Cover-up Will Make Combatants Within The Church – Paul Rahe
Wherein Homosexualist Fr. James Martin Tries to Deceive You – Fr. Z’s Blog
These Wicked Men Have Made My Daughters Victims, Too – Austin Ruse, Crisis Magazine
Bishop Guglielmone of Charleston Wants a Full Investigation – Fr. Z’s Blog
“If” Pope Francis Resigns, Renewing the Magisterium – Fr. John Hunwicke, Fr Hunwic. . .
The Hard Questions Remain, but Who Will Ask Them? – Matthew E. Bunson, NC Register
Timeline of McCarrick’s Rise to Power & Subsequent Fall – Elise Harris, Crux
Postmodernism Even Lays Waste to The Church – Scott McKay, The American Spectator
Transparency & Accountability, but Above All Truth – Russell Shaw, The C. World Report
Argentine Bishops Declare Support for Pope Francis – CNS via Catholic Herald
Note: A new post is published daily at 12:01 am U.S. Central Time

Further Questions Emerge About Benedict XVI’s Sanctions on McCarrick

. . .despite the high probability Benedict did impose sanctions against McCarrick, it appears the attitude was to ignore his willingness to flout them. . .

by Edward Pentin,

of the National Catholic Register

John Allen: There is No Papal Cover-up, CatholicTwitter Pounces – Catholic Twitter
Four Reasons Why I Beleive Archbishop Viganò – Fr. Dwight Longenecker
Spadaro Speaks! – Rod Dreher, The American. . .
Where is Cardinal Wuerl? – Steve Skojec, One Peter 5
The Hypocrisy Of Pope Francis’s Silence – Rod Dreher, The American. . .
Cardinal Wuerl’s August 30 Letter to Priests – Catholic Standard
Vigano’s Testimony; McCarrick’s Defiance – Fr. Raymond J. de Souza, NC Register
Latest on Pope Cover-up: Support for Francis, Benedict XVI, & Synod – John Allen, Crux
Bishop Cozzens: Nienstedt Investigation was ‘Doomed to Fail’ – The Cthlc World Report
Top Tages-Anzeiger Newspaper: Silence of 2 Popes Seems Strange – M. Hickson Ph.D.
The Viganò Report & What Cardinal Wuerl Didn’t Know – E. Condon J.C.L., NC Register
Petition to His Holiness, Pope Francis: Investigate! – Fr. Z’s Blog
Cheyenne Diocese Finds 3rd Allegation of Child Abuse on Bishop Jos. Hart – NC Register
Chicago-area Diocese Agrees $1.4M Settlement in Priest Abuse – Her. G. McCann, Crux
Interview: Ed Pentin Talks about Covering the Vatican – Bree A. Dail, One Peter 5
PA Senate Leader Cautions Against Retroactive Claims – M. Scolforo & M. Levy, Crux
Bishop Burns of Dallas asks Pope to Convene Synod on Clergy Abuse – D. Sedeno, CNS
Abp. Wester of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe: Support the Victims – Archd. of Santa Fe
Abp. Nauman of the Archd. of Kansas City: Bishops Need Accountability – The Leaven
Note: A new post is published daily at 12:01 am U.S. Central Time

Archbishop Chaput Calls on Pope Francis to Cancel Youth Synod in Light of Abuse Crisis

. . .Archbishop Charles Chaput Had Written to Pope Francis Asking Him to Cancel the Upcoming Youth Synod Set to Take Place in Rome. . .

by Maike Hickson, Ph.D., & Pete Baklinski

Francis the Backslider, He Didn’t Just Cover Up For McCarrick – Sandro Magister
25 Bishops have Voiced Support for Archbishop Viganò – Joshua Mercer, Catholic Vote
Why Didn’t Uncle Ted Come To Dinner? Evidence Backing Viganò – Rod Dreher
Archd. of Washington Intimidating Investigative Reporters – E. Bruening, Wshngtn Post
Exclusive Viganó Interview: McCarrick was Restricted Under B16, But Disobeyed – L.B.
Donald Wuerl, the Church’s Most Oblivious Cleric – Alexandra DeSanctis
Pope Francis & McCarrick: Where Does the Evidence Lead? – Dan Hitchens, Cthlc Heral
Addressing the ‘Proofs’ against Viganò: Noise without Substance – One Peter 5
Sex, Money, Clericalism, & The Papal Foundation – Rod Dreher, The American. . .
Francis & the Journalists – John Waters, First Things
Theory: Canonical Prosecution of an ‘Uncle Ted’ Type of Prelate – Ed Peters J.C.D. J.D.
Celibacy is Not the Problem – Fr. John Hunwicke, Fr Hunwicke’s Mutual Enrichment
Change.org Petition: Cardinal Wuerl Must Leave – Boston Catholic Insider
Colombian Cardinal Denounces ‘Shameful’ Attacks on Pope Francis – Catholic Herald
‘We Deserve Answers Now’: Catholic Women Pen Letter to Pope – National C. Register
Bishop Backs Victim Fund Over Abuse Lawsuits in Pennsylvania – Marc Levy, Crux
The Sex Scandals Are Not a Reason to Reject Catholicism – Dave Armstrong, NC Register
On Clericalism – Jay Toups, Hope in the Storm
Note: A new post is published daily at 12:01 am U.S. Central Time

“Gay” Pride Parade in Rome with Fr. James Martin & a Bishop Close to Pope Francis

. . .have you ever worked on a jigsaw puzzle where you didn’t have the finished photo?  Slowly enough pieces fit together & you see what is the intended result. . .

by Father John Zuhlsdorf,

of Fr. Z’s Blog

From a Moral-Historical Perspective, This Crisis is Worse Than You Realize – NC Register
Why Won’t Pope Respond to Viganò? Is the answer Peronism? – Taylor Marshall Ph.D.
Church Militant Website Claims Wuerl Fleeing to Rome – Claire Chretien, Life Site
Quæritur: If Pope Francis Resigned. . . Then What? – Fr. Z’s Blog
Catholic Priest Demands Resignations of Bishops & Cardinals – Dorothy C. McLean
Aftershocks of Cover-up Accusation Against Pope Felt in Rome – John L. Allen Jr., Crux
Viganò has Broken the Silence, Expect the Vatican to Dig In – Fr. A. Lucie-Smith Ph.D.
Bishop Lopes: I Don’t Believe Bishops Who Plead Ignorance of McCarrick – Cthlc Herald
Viganò: Journalists Must Ask Where are Documents B16 Gave to Francis – D. Montagna
6 Cases Where the Sexual Abuse Scandal Touches Pp. Francis – Elizabeth Yore, Life Site
Pope Francis, Generally Voluble, Now Surprisingly Mum – Fr. Z’s Blog
A Crisis, But Not of Faith – George Weigel, The Wall Street Journal
No Response from the Vatican to DiNardo Request for an Apostolic Visitor – Phil Lawler
Bishop Daly of Spokane: We Must Investigate Viganò’s Claims – Diocese of Spokane
Italian Press in Spittle-Flecked Nutty; Malicious Idiocy from Beans & Wormtongue – Z
The Deeper Crisis: Abuse of Authority – Fr. Timothy V. Vaverek, The Catholic Thing
Seminarians Served as McCarrick Aides During Abuse Investigation – National C. Register
How the Media Fails Church Coverage – Sohrab Ahmari, Commentary
Viganò Letter: Cardinal Parolin Says Pope Francis is ‘Serene’ – Catholic Herald
Note: A new post is published daily at 12:01 am U.S. Central Time