Twenty-two previously undisclosed letters by members of the former Loyola Community in Slovenia have been included in the Vatican's ongoing canonical criminal trial, according to OSVNews.com (August 6). The letters were written during Easter 2000 after the community's superior, Sister Ivanka Hosta, asked the 40 sisters to write directly to Rupnik about their relationship with him as part of the Jubilee Year. The sisters were instructed to describe what had happened and to offer forgiveness in a process of reconciliation. Twenty-two of the letters describe psychological, spiritual or sexual abuse. The letters are held in the archives of the Loyola Community, now in the custody of the Archdiocese of Ljubljana. Their full contents have not been made public. According to OSVNews, the letters describe alleged manipulation, coercion, abuse of authority, and physical and sexual assaults. Several sisters said Fr Rupnik used spiritual direction and religious language to pressure them into acts …अधिक
Bishop Athanasius Schneider recalled his childhood in the underground Church of the Soviet Union during a talk in Cobh, Ireland, on August 3, AdVaticanum.com reports. “There were times when we had gatherings like this, but we had to close the windows and the doors because we were checked by the secret police, and we had to hide priests.” He recounted the story of Bishop Alexander Chira (1897-1983), a clandestine Greek Catholic bishop whom Soviet authorities urged “not to deny Christ, but only to become Orthodox,” thereby breaking communion with Rome. “He refused,” Bishop Schneider said, and, as a consequence, he was imprisoned in “several concentration camps called gulags.” Afterward, Bishop Chira lived under house arrest in Karaganda, concealing his identity as a bishop to avoid being sent back. “He could not reveal his identity as a bishop,” Bishop Schneider said. “Otherwise, he would be sent back. So he could only say to the people, ‘I am Father Alexander.’” Catholic priests celebrated …अधिक
Sharpen the saw A hunter was walking through the woods when he came across a lumberjack struggling to cut through a fallen tree. The man was bent over his saw, working with all his strength, but the blade barely seemed to move through the wood. Sweat poured down his face, his muscles were tense, and every stroke looked more exhausting than the last. The hunter stepped closer and quickly noticed the problem. “Your saw is completely dull,” he said. “Why don’t you stop for a few minutes and sharpen it?” The lumberjack looked up in disbelief. “Stop?” he replied. “I don’t have time for that. I still have twenty more trees to cut!” Then he lowered his head and went right back to struggling with the same dull blade. Hard work matters, but effort alone does not guarantee progress. Sometimes we become so focused on staying busy that we never stop to ask whether there is a better, faster, or more effective way to reach the goal. A small investment of time, money, training, or better tools can …अधिक
Normalization of Pseudo Deaconesses at the Altar: On 26 July, the Parish of Timelkam in the Diocese of Linz, Austria, celebrated the patronal feast of St. Anne in Oberthalheim, reported the parish's Facebook page. As is now common in German-speaking dioceses, a female pastoral assistant, vested in an alb and liturgical scarf, was carrying out liturgical ministry from both the ambo and at the altar during the Eucharist.
In der Pfarrei St. Anna Kirche Oberthalheim in der Diözese Linz in Oberösterreich übernehmen Frauen bei der Messe maßgeblich die Leitung bestimmter Aufgaben, darunter: - das Verlesen des Evangeliums - das Halten der Predigt - das Sprechen des Segens - das Stehen neben dem Priester und sogar die Unterstützung beim Aussprechen bestimmter heiliger Worte
Christians in Saydnaya Cancel Public Feast Celebrations: In an unprecedented move, the Christians of Saydnaya, Syria, have canceled all public celebrations of their major feasts in August and September .The parish councils of the Greek Orthodox, Syriac Orthodox, and Melkite Greek Catholic churches announced the suspension of the Feast of the Transfiguration, Our Lady of Saydnaya, and the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. The decision follows months of arbitrary detentions, kidnappings, and growing intimidation of the town's Christian community.
Verklärung des Herrn und Kreuzerhöhung abgesagt - syrische Christen gehen beispiellosen Schritt wegen Verfolgung
Saint Donatus of Arezzo | Courageous Bishop & Martyr | Feast Day August 7 Today, the Church celebrates Donatus of Arezzo, whose feast day is observed on August 7. Saint Donatus lived during the 4th century, a time when Christians still faced periods of persecution within the Roman Empire. He eventually became the Bishop of Arezzo, where he devoted himself to preaching the Gospel, celebrating the sacraments, and strengthening the faith of the Christian community. Ancient tradition remembers Donatus as a holy shepherd known for his wisdom, charity, and unwavering trust in God. Several miracles are associated with his ministry, including accounts of restoring a broken chalice used for the Holy Eucharist—a sign that reminded the faithful of Christ's power to restore what has been broken. During a renewed wave of persecution, Saint Donatus refused to deny his faith in Jesus Christ. Remaining faithful to the end, he suffered martyrdom around AD 362, giving his life as a witness to the …अधिक
"Every religion legitimately considers itself to possess the truth," Cardinal Jean-Marc Aveline, Archbishop of Marseille and president of the French Bishops' Conference, said in an interview on Avvenire.it on August 5. Talking about Marseille's religious diversity [where Arabic has long become the dominant language], Cardinal Aveline described the coexistence of Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, and Christians as a theological challenge: "We did not invent the plurality of religions, nor the fact that every religion legitimately considers itself to possess the truth." On the Church's catholicity, Aveline claims: "The Creed we recite every Sunday embodies the Church's vocation to catholicity. If I had been born in China, I would have been Confucian; in Japan, Shinto." He argued that the Church's catholicity means recognizing "the desire for God in the hearts of women and men of every religion." Citing the Second Vatican Council, he said the Holy Spirit offers everyone "the possibility of being …अधिक
“The Blessed Virgin Mary told me that the devil is in the mood for engaging in a decisive battle against the Virgin. From now on we must choose sides. Either we are for God or we are for the devil. There is no other possibility.” ... Sister Lucy dos Santos, the last surviving seer of Fatima (died 2005)
Leo XIV will wear liturgical vestments by his homosexual tailor Filippo Sorcinelli, 51, during the celebrations today in Assisi and on 22 August in Rimini. Sorcinelli said this in an interview with Corriere.it on 2 August. The Assisi vestments draw inspiration from 13th- and 14th-century paintings of the Porziuncola, while the Rimini vestments, created for a Eucharist by the sea, feature porthole motifs symbolizing water as the source of life. Sorcinelli says every papal vestment is designed specifically for the place and liturgy in which it will be used. He first met the future pope when he was still a cardinal, fitting him with a mitre presented by Augustinian confreres from Vienna. Sorcinelli says he later saw the same mitre reappear after Prevost's election as pope. Leo XIV's election helped Sorcinelli overcome a deep existential crisis. After more than a decade designing vestments for Pope Francis, Sorcinelli had considered leaving liturgical design to focus on organ music and his …अधिक
Today, Leo XIV has appointed Monsignor Eusebio Ramos Morales, 73, until now Bishop of Caguas, as the new Metropolitan Archbishop of San Juan, Puerto Rico. He was ordained a priest in 1983 after completing studies in philosophy and theology in Puerto Rico, Mexico, the United States and Rome. He has served as a parish priest, seminary rector, professor of dogmatic theology, Bishop of Fajardo-Humacao from 2008 to 2017, and Bishop of Caguas since 2017. In 2024, he became President of the Puerto Rican Episcopal Conference. The Puerto Rican bishops adopted one of the world's most restrictive implementations of Traditionis Custodes (2021), ending all Masses in the Roman rite on the island. Hard-line COVID vaccine policy In August 2021, Bishop Ramos signed the Puerto Rican bishops' pastoral instruction declaring that COVID vaccination was a "moral duty", that Catholic conscience objections were not recognized, and that priests and deacons were forbidden from issuing religious exemption letters …अधिक
A wise old man was visiting New York City with a friend. Around lunchtime, they were walking near Times Square, where the sidewalks were packed and the noise seemed endless. Car horns blared, taxis crowded the intersections, sirens echoed between the buildings, and thousands of conversations blended into one constant roar. Suddenly, the visitor stopped. “I hear a cricket,” he said. His friend stared at him. “A cricket? In the middle of Manhattan? There’s no way you could hear one through all this noise.” “I’m sure of it,” the man replied. “There’s a cricket nearby.” He stood quietly for a moment, listening. Then he crossed the sidewalk and walked toward a large concrete planter filled with shrubs. He bent down, carefully moved a few leaves aside, and there it was—a tiny cricket hidden among the branches. His friend was amazed. “That’s unbelievable,” he said. “You must have extraordinary hearing.” “Not at all,” the man replied. “My hearing is no better than yours. People simply notice …अधिक
One must first understand why wars are fought in the first place. Christian Rakovsky, a founder of Jewish Bolshevism and one of the architects of World War II, was very clear on why that war was fought. First, to punish Germany for printing their own money and prevent their example from spreading to other nations. Second, to prevent Germany's nationalistic spirit from spreading to other nations. Third, and most importantly, to weaken and destroy the Catholic Church. Here are Rakovsky's own words, tape recorded and reprinted in the book Red Symphony by Dr. J. Landowsky "Hitler, this uneducated and elementary man . . . took over for himself the privilege of manufacturing money . . . Are you capable of imagining what would have come of this system if it had infected a number of other states . . . This is very serious. . . . There is only one solution - war. "We have yet another reason, a religious one. Communism cannot be the victor if it will not have suppressed the still living Christianity …अधिक
In these hours of Apostasy and Confusion in the Church: Which is the TRUE Church of Jesus? 1) Revelation 12:17; “Those who keep God’s commandments and hold fast to the Testimony of Jesus. 2) Revelation 2:8-11; To the angel of the church in Smyrna write: This is what the First and the Last, who was dead and came to life, says. I know your tribulation and your poverty—though you are rich—and the slander of those who call themselves Jews but are not, but are in fact a synagogue of Satan. Do not fear what you are about to suffer: the Devil will throw some of you into prison to test you, and you will face tribulation for ten days. Remain faithful even unto death, and I will give you the crown of life. Let anyone who has ears listen to what the Spirit says to the churches: the one who conquers will not be harmed by the second death. a) Colossians 1:13; The people delivered from the power of darkness and transferred into the Kingdom of the Son of His love. b) Philippians 3:20; Citizens of heaven …अधिक
1) Objawienie 12:17; „Ci, którzy przestrzegają przykazań Bożych i trzymają się świadectwa Jezusa”. 2) Objawienie 2:8-11; Napisz do anioła Kościoła w Smyrnie: Tak mówi Pierwszy i Ostatni, który umarł, a ożył. Znam twoje uciski i twoją biedę – choć jesteś bogaty – oraz oszczerstwa tych, którzy nazywają siebie Żydami, ale nimi nie są, lecz w rzeczywistości są synagogą szatana. Nie bój się tego, co masz wycierpieć: diabeł wrzuci niektórych z was do więzienia, aby was wypróbować, i będziecie znosić uciski przez dziesięć dni. Bądź wierny aż do śmierci, a dam ci koronę życia. Kto ma uszy, niech słucha, co Duch mówi do kościołów: ten, kto zwycięży, nie poniesie szkody od drugiej śmierci. a) Kolosan 1:13; Lud wywolniony z mocy ciemności i przeniesiony do Królestwa Syna Jego miłości. b) List do Filipian 3:20; Obywatele nieba, którzy oczekują Pana Jezusa Chrystusa jako swojego Zbawiciela. c) 1 List Piotra 2:9; Wybrany ród, królewskie kapłaństwo, święty naród, lud będący Jego własnością, aby głosić …अधिक