De Omnibus Dubitandum Est.

If, like me, you are wondering why such prominence was given to the views of ACTA in the representations made by Cardinal Nichols to the Synod , this email I received today might explain. Yes that's right people. A whopping great 100 British Catholics have booked for their conference. I rest my case.

The big story this weekend was that a CDF official, in a clear attempt to subvert the synod which opened on Sunday , announced:  "My name is Krzysztof Charamsa. Monsignor Krzysztof Charamsa. I am a member of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith...the second secretary of the International Theological Commission. I'm a theologian, philosopher; I lecture  in bioethics at the Pontifical Gregorian University... I am gay" Counter Cultural Father offers his usual intelligent analysis of the flaws in Mgsr Charamsa’s thinking here . Fundamentally, it would seem clear that the Mgsr has fully bought into the secular delusion that his identity is somehow centred on his erotic desires. It was good to see that the Vatican , the CDF, his own Bishop  (if your Polish is up to it) and Fr. Dariusz Oko , who was singled out for criticism by Mgr Charamsa, all quickly responded faithfully to Church teaching. Fr. Lombardi, Vatican spokesman, said on Oct. 3 t...

I think this is a very important Catholic story at the moment, although perhaps not as important as you signing the letter supporting our loyal clergy! So if you haven't added your name yet, please do so now!!!! So, basically, Bishop Michael Campbell of Lancaster has BLASTED the heretical group of pseudo-Catholics A Call To Action on his blog after a representative appeared on local radio accusing him of not wanting dialogue. +Campbell nails it! He completely gets it and for the first time a bishop in the UK has come out and explicitly said it. If you want to know what ACTA are all about, type ACTA or A Call To Action in to the search bar at the top of my blog or start by reading this post  from December 2012. A search of my blog will reveal the link between this mendacious organisation and disgraced ex-bishop Kieran Conry, which will come as no surprise. In the radio interview which seems to have sparked all this, Alex Walker for ACTA says they are not listened to and n...

Fathers forgive me, for I am about to blog in anger. Well, frustration anyway. How excruciatingly embarrassing for poor Bishop Thomas, at the precipice of a well earned retirement, Fr. Michael Butler, Chairman of Brentwood Diocese Liturgy Commission just will not shut up! On Sunday last, he appeared on BBC Essex , allying himself with Southend Deanery's ACTA leader Tony Castle, in his attack on the New Translation of the Roman Missal. You can listen again to the whole programme here  for another six days. If you're not aware of the story so far, Fr. Butler penned a letter to The Tablet stating that it is legitimate for priests to ditch the new translation, and use the previous missal. Fr Butler’s public rejection of the authority of the Holy See and the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales is in response to The Tablet’s report that ACTA have written to the Bishops’ Conference requesting that they drop the new translation. This was picked up by Protect The Pop...

It's hard to do anything but shake one's head at the unbelievable arrogance of muddle-headed hippy, Hans Küng. It wouldn't be a problem if he wasn't so shouty. But he is. Very shouty. For me, his shoutiness means that unless there is a voice to put his opinions in some sort of proper context, all the faithful hear is  dissidents and schismatics seeking to diminish the faith, like The Tablet , The ACP and ACTA expressing how heroic he is and describing his position as a much respected theologian, and such like. Of course ACTA  and The Tablet love him! He is their leader!! Probably this stems from his consistent opposition to much of what the Church teaches and most recently, and most vocally, Pope Emeritus, Benedict XVI's papacy. In 2012, Küng called for open revolt to unseat Pope Benedict, which, of course, went nowhere. Because the only people listening are people his age, who stand against the transformative truth of an authentic, orthodox, Catholic li...

ACTA seem to have started the New Year off briskly, with lots of meetings and letters floating about. There was a recent meeting planned at the Ursuline School in Brentwood I heard and there's talk of meetings in Arundel and Brighton and Southwark diocese. Whilst most of the clergy I have spoken to write ACTA off and so don't bother to condemn what they consider a lunatic fringe, ACTA are busy stirring things up and making as much noise as possible. They invite clergy along to their meetings who often have no idea about their agenda and then publicise their involvement in an attempt to gain respectability. It's a disingenuous game of smoke and mirrors where they obfuscate what they're all about to retain a facade of respectability, then use every tool in the book to try and pretend they have official recognition and a broad support base. The brilliant Fr Ed Tomlinson never pulls his punches. He was recently sent an invitation to an ACTA meeting which is tak...

You may remember I drew attention to a meeting of ACTA in Caterham recently which was condoned and even supported by Bishop Kieran Conry. Protect The Pope had a communication from a reader who was present for some of the meeting and reported the following: 'I left just as we were being broken into Discussion Groups, and I was not the only one. Wish I had the courage and knowledge to stay and argue but I was shaking the whole way through. First up, after some prayers asking for guidance, was a meditation about a round table; to make a round table hurts the wood and the people (?) but you end up with a table around which everyone sits in equality, no head of the table. No elaboration was given, but I imagine this is a hint of the levelling of the church hierarchy.   There was a talk by Brian Pointer, Chairman A&B ACTA, briefly outlining the origins of ACTA and how some single ideals which were overwhelmingly important to individuals had to be ironed out as they couldn’t acco...

On August 24th, I was contacted by a concerned parishioner from Arundle & Brighton Diocese, who was shocked and concerned that ACTA were advertising a meeting at Sacred Heart Parish in Caterham. Further, the Parish newsletter states that "Five of our members met with Bishop Kieran recently, and he has approved meetings within his diocese." As a result of this, I wrote to Bishop Kieran, asking him for clarification. I have not, as yet, received any response. This morning, I was contacted by another incredulous parishioner, concerned about ACTA's infiltration of Arundle & Brighton, who pointed me toward St. Dunstan's , Woking, and their newsletter , which states: A Call to Action – ACTA - at the Sacred Heart Church, Caterham. Saturday 28th September 2-5 pm. (Vigil Mass for Sunday to conclude). Guest Speaker: Fr Tom O’ Loughlin. A call to action is simply a movement within the church of England & Wales to keep alive the principles and spirit of ...

I've just found out that A Call to Action, the pseudo-Catholic dissent organisation, has a meeting planned in Caterham . I think what's most shocking is that they are portrayed in this newsletter announcement as 'just another Church group' completely compatible with being Catholic: “A.C.T.A. (A call to action) is a movement within the Catholic Church of England & Wales established in 2012 to work collaboratively and constructively with our Bishop to move our Church towards the aspirations of the Second Vatican Council. It has sub groups in almost every Diocese including our own. Five of our members met with Bishop Kieran recently, and he has approved meetings within his diocese. Our Parish is hosting the first of these Diocesan Meetings." From this it would seem ACTA is acting in this diocese with the approval of Bishop Kieran Conry. As I have previously noted  Cardinal Re, prefect for the Congregation of Bishops has made a some doctrinal statements re...

I was writing a post about an email I received on Wednesday from the small group of pseudo Catholic dissenters known as A Call to Action (ACTA for short), when I noticed Deacon Nick Donnelly had beaten me to it (as usual). The email states: ...the second annual ACTA DAY CONFERENCE, open to all supporters, which will be at Newman University in Birmingham on Saturday October 26th2013, from 11am to 5pm We are fortunate to have three distinguished speakers – Prof. John Sullivan from Hope University on “Ecclesial Citizens, not sheep”, Prof. Ursula King from Bristol University on “The Church in Dialogue with Women?” and Gerry J. Hughes S.J. on “Where do we go from here?” There will be questions, discussion and the establishment of the new governing body of ACTA. One priest I mentioned this too expressed surprise at the inclusion of John Sullivan; "I thought he was sound" he exclaimed. I suppose it is useful as a measure of orthodoxy if nothing else. I wrote a post expo...

After the heterodox dissent group ' A Call to Action ' organised a series of poorly attended meetings across the country, I posted a blog  exposing the misdirection and ignorance on their website. I have been looking at the forum there (which is poorly designed and doesn't get much interest) and feeling increasingly frustrated that this group claim to be about dialogue and being an "effective sign of the Kingdom of God" whilst their website and dialogue seems to be about nurturing and promoting ideas and theories which clearly contradict Church teaching, and doing so within a closed circle of self-affirmation. It almost seems that any idea can gain a platform there, as long as it contradicts the Magisterium, from ordination of women to criticising the new translation of the Missal, from supporting dissident priests, to promoting ideas about human sexuality which contradict the teaching of the Church. I found this post by the leader of this group in my own dioc...