De Omnibus Dubitandum Est.

Recently, Pope Francis spoke at morning Mass about the devil. This is something you probably won't find reported on mass media, it is really disquieting that the head of 1.1 billion Catholics, a man of science, a man with such a wealth of experience, a man with such an inspirational, humble, way about him, should believe in the reality of evil spirits. Here's the homily: Pope Francis brilliantly preaches on an important topic. It is a topic to which he seems often pressed to return: the reality of the enemy, and the necessity of resisting him. Really important things to take to heart, here, things we need to think about. I posted the video on my Facebook page and it sparked off a rather valuable theological discussion. There is no doubt that the devil is a bit of a touchy subject in modernity, and I think it would be fair to say that we have quite limited knowledge about that sort of thing. It is interesting to note, however, that every culture in human history has...

From (Romereports.com)  2013 marks 50 years since the death of Pope John XXIII, who summoned the Second Vatican Council. Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli was born in Sotto il Monte, a small village in the province of Bergamo, northern Italy, in 1881. On June 3, 1963, he died of stomach cancer. This is a nice little video from Rome Reports telling us a bit about this man who was known as 'the good pope'.

After the high emotion of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI's departure from the Vatican yesterday, which seemed to move so many people, there is a tremendous turning to prayer which I can sense all around me. All our priests locally in Southend Deanery arranged evenings of prayer and adoration in thanksgiving last night. I was aware of many other gatherings throughout the country as well. In Leigh we had our Lenten Reflection evening and of course the Pope was mentioned warmly and frequently. We had Benediction and Compline afterwards as always and this presented an opportunity to kneel before the Blessed Sacrament and pray in thanksgiving for so gentle a leader as Benedict XVI, and to express our longing for a future leader as wise and as humble. Of course this is reflected on the internet as well, with many prominent Catholic bloggers either overtly calling the faithful to prayer, or mentioning it in passing, because it is, of course, the natural response of us all now to turn to God...

Professor Scott Hahn made this interesting comment regarding the Pope's resignation today on his Facebook page: Back on April 29, 2009, Pope Benedict XVI did something rather striking, but which went largely unnoticed. He stopped off in Aquila, Italy, and visited the tomb of an obscure medieval Pope named St. Celestine V (1215-1296). After a brief prayer, he left his pallium, the symbol of his own episcopal authority as Bishop of Rome, on top of Celestine's tomb! Fifteen months later, on July 4, 2010, Benedict went out of his way again, this time to visit and pray in the cathedral of Sulmona, near Rome, before the relics of this same saint, Celestine V. Few people, however, noticed at the time. Only now, we may be gaining a better understanding of what it meant. These actions were probably more than pious acts. More likely, they were profound and symbolic gestures of a very personal nature, which conveyed a message that a Pope can hardly deliver any other way. In...

Some shocking news this morning that Pope benedict XVI is to step down from the Papacy due to ill health. His full statement: Full text from Pope Benedict XVI: Dear Brothers, I have convoked you to this Consistory, not only for the three canonizations, but also to communicate to you a decision of great importance for the life of the Church. After having repeatedly examined my conscience before God, I have come to the certainty that my strengths, due to an advanced age, are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of the Petrine ministry. I am well aware that this ministry, due to its essential spiritual nature, must be carried out not only with words and deeds, but no less with prayer and suffering. However, in today’s world, subject to so many rapid changes and shaken by questions of deep relevance for the life of faith, in order to govern the bark of Saint Peter and proclaim the Gospel, both strength of mind and body are necessary, strength which in the last few months, has d...

This graphic is a piece of homework my son William produced in year 7 to answer the question 'Who was Jesus' (the tense of which I objected to and so we changed it here). Unfortunately it was rejected & he was told it was too complicated! One of the theological battles being fought currently is one that revolves around the historical study of the person of Jesus Christ. The trend over recent decades has been to separate the Jesus of faith from the Jesus of history. This approach perhaps reached its zenith with the theologian Rudolf Bultmann who proposed his final theory, which has become known as the Bultmanian dichotomy, in his work History of the Synoptic Tradition (New York: Harper & Row, 1963).  Renowned theologian Joseph Ratzinger: now Pope Benedict XVI, has tackled this dichotomy head on in his recent work Jesus of Nazareth in which he demonstrates clearly the powerful story of Jesus Christ's actions on earth, actions which drew on what had bee...

Inspired by Heresy Corner , and in celebration of Pope Benedict XVI's 85th birthday & the 7th anniversary of his pontificate this week, here are ten, not all together serious reasons why you should break with secular orthodoxy and love the Pope: 1. Julie Burchill hates him. So does Claire Rayner, who is quoted as saying that "in all my years as a campaigner I have never felt such animus against any individual as I do against this creature." Silly woman. That pompous ass Geoffrey Robertson QC has written an entire book about how much he wants to arrest him. And did I mention Peter Tatchell? Anyone who manages  to collect such an impressive roll-call of humourless, self-important and tedious enemies must be doing something right. 2. His shoes. Got to love those ruby slippers. They even have their own Facebook page . None of your Prada rubbish, either, as was once inaccurately reported: these are unique, handmade pumps created by a leading traditional craftsman, for ...