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Vatican Publishes ‘Emerging Issues’ Report On Engaging With The Gays

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A Vatican report, released on Tuesday, aimed at creating a “paradigm shift” in how the Church talks about same-sex attraction, has sparked its own conversation about its direction regarding same-sex unions.

The report, published by the General Secretariat of the 2023 Synod on Synodality, was drafted by Study Group No. 9 — of the 10 study groups established by Pope Francis in February 2024 — to understand how to engage with “controversial” or “emerging issues.”

While not having been credited in drafting the report, Fr. James Martin, SJ, who has been accused by many church leaders of undermining the church’s teachings on same-sex attraction, played a large role in promoting the report and holds personal ties with one of the authors of its cited testimonies.

Although the report was supposed to cover the concern of dealing with controversial topics at large, the highlight of the 30-page final report was the testimonies of two openly gay “married” men, the first time such testimonies have been included in a report from the Vatican, the Religion News Service reported.

One of the men said that his “sexuality isn’t a perversion, disorder, or cross; it’s a gift from God. I have a happy, healthy marriage and am flourishing as an openly gay Catholic.” (Read more from “Vatican Publishes ‘Emerging Issues’ Report On Engaging With The Gays” HERE)

Pope Leo Hosts Exorcist Summit at the Vatican Over Fears of Worldwide Surge in Satanism

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. . .Pope Leo XIV hosted the world’s most senior exorcists at the Vatican, who reportedly warned him of a terrifying global rise in “occultism, esotericism, and Satanism.”

The Chicago-born head of the Catholic church held a private meeting with a delegation of Catholic priests from the International Association of Exorcists (AIE) this month, according to EWTN Vatican.

“They presented a report on the growing prevalence of cases related to occultism, esotericism, and Satanism, and the spiritual consequences they believe this has for many people,” the outlet reported.

“During the meeting, the Association asked the Pontiff to ensure that every diocese in the world has one or more adequately trained exorcist priests.”

Father Francesco Bamonte, AIE vice president, said ignoring these concerns “leaves many faithful without an adequate response to grave spiritual suffering, sometimes pushing them toward inappropriate solutions.” (Read more from “Pope Leo Hosts Exorcist Summit at the Vatican Over Fears of Worldwide Surge in Satanism” HERE)

The Vatican Finally Responds to Olympics “Last Supper” Controversy; Is the Olympics Closing Ceremony Going to Mock Christianity?

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By Deadline. In a rare weekend release, the Vatican responded Saturday to the controversial drag performance that depicted Leonardo da Vinci’s “Last Supper” painting during the 2024 Paris Olympics’ opening ceremony last week. . .

The Vatican Saturday said that the performance showed a lack of “respect for others.”

“The Holy See was saddened by certain scenes at the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympic Games and cannot but join the voices raised in recent days to deplore the offense done to many Christians and believers of other religions,” it said in a weekend press release.

“At a prestigious event where the whole world comes together to share common values, there should be no allusions ridiculing the religious convictions of many people. The freedom of expression, which is clearly not called into question here, is limited by respect for others,” the Vatican said. (Read more from “The Vatican Finally Responds to Olympics “Last Supper” Controversy” HERE)

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Is the Olympics Closing Ceremony Going to Mock Christianity?

By News Editor. The closing ceremony poster for the Olympics has ignited a heated debate over its use of Christian symbolism.

The Olympics poster, which has garnered attention on Reddit, depicts a dramatic and vivid representation that aligns with a biblical quote about Satan’s fall from grace.

Poster of the Closing Ceremony of the Olympics (“And he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven” Luke 10:18)
byu/Shaami_learner inconspiracy

The Reddit post features a striking image with the phrase “And he said to them, ‘I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven’” from Luke 10:18.

Vatican Says ‘Gender Theory,’ Surrogacy, Euthanasia Among Violations of Human Dignity

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The Vatican said Monday that gender-transition surgery and surrogacy are grave violations of human dignity. It put them on par with abortion and euthanasia as practices that reject God’s plan for human life.

In a 20-page document titled “Dignitas Infinita” (“Infinite Dignity”), the Catholic Church’s doctrine office also condemned euthanasia and assisted suicide, which it called “a special case of human dignity violation.”

According to the document, “poverty, the situation of migrants, violence against women, human trafficking [and] war” violate human dignity, as do surrogacy, gender theory, abortion and euthanasia.

While “every person, regardless of sexual orientation [should be] treated with consideration,” human life should be treated as an immutable gift from God, the document says. “Desiring a personal self-determination, as gender theory prescribes … amounts to a concession to the age-old temptation to make oneself God,” it says.

“[A]ny sex-change intervention, as a rule, risks threatening the unique dignity the person has received from the moment of conception,” the doctrinal document states. (Read more from “Vatican Says ‘Gender Theory,’ Surrogacy, Euthanasia Among Violations of Human Dignity” HERE)

Disturbing: Vatican Says Transsexuals and ‘Homoaffective’ Persons Can Be Baptized, Serve as Godparents

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The Vatican’s doctrinal office (DDF) declared this week that transsexuals and “homoaffective” persons can be baptized and serve as godparents provided certain conditions are met.

Transsexual persons, even if they have undergone hormone therapy or sex reassignment surgery, may receive the Sacrament of Baptism “if there are no situations in which there is a risk of generating public scandal or confusion among the faithful,” stated the text, signed by Argentinean Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández.

The document was published this week in response to six questions (dubia) submitted to the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) by Bishop José Negri of Santo Amaro, Brazil.

The responses “re-propose, in substance, the fundamental contents of what has already been affirmed in the past by the Dicastery concerning these matters,” the document asserts.

Shortly afterward, the former prefect of the very same DDF, Cardinal Gerhard Müller, released a text criticizing the document for its confusing language as well as for employing “transhumanistic terminology” antithetical to a Catholic understanding of the human person. (Read more from “Disturbing: Vatican Says Transsexuals and ‘Homoaffective’ Persons Can Be Baptized, Serve as Godparents” HERE)

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Vatican: Transgender People Can Be Baptized and Be Godparents Under Certain Conditions, Vatican Clarifies

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The Vatican on Wednesday clarified several questions regarding people who have received transgender medical treatments, same-sex couples, and Catholic sacraments.

The Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, which exists to defend Catholic doctrine, published a document on Wednesday responding to six controversial questions submitted by a Brazilian bishop over the summer.

Some of the questions dealt with whether a transgender person can be baptized, serve as a godparent at a baptism, or be a witness at a wedding. The other questions dealt with whether a same-sex couple’s child can be baptized and whether a cohabiting person in a same-sex relationship can be a godparent or witness at a wedding.

On the first transgender question, the Vatican responded that a person who has received gender surgery or hormone treatment can be baptized “under the same conditions as other believers, if there are no situations in which there is a risk of generating public scandal, or disorientation among the faithful.” (Read more from “Vatican: Transgender People Can Be Baptized and Be Godparents Under Certain Conditions, Vatican Clarifies” HERE)

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Cardinals up in Arms Over Pope’s Remarks About LGBT Blessings, Ordination of Women

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A group of cardinals is concerned about the development of Catholic doctrine ahead of the upcoming Synod on Synodality.

Cardinals Raymond Burke, Walter Brandmüller, Joseph Zen Ze-kiun, Juan Sandoval Íñiguez and Robert Sarah submitted a set of dubia, formal requests to the pope and Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith for clarification on doctrine, in July.

The dubia requested clarification on five specific issues the cardinals believe have lacked clarity from the Holy See: the inability to reinterpret divine revelation, the inadmissibility of blessings for same-sex couples, the hierarchical authority of bishops, the ordination of women to the priesthood and the necessity for repentance for sacramental absolution.

Dubia are typically answered with simple yes or no responses, but Pope Francis answered the list of topics in long form in the same month. (Read more from “Cardinals up in Arms Over Pope’s Remarks About LGBT Blessings, Ordination of Women” HERE)

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Why Is the Vatican Investigating a Conservative Bishop in Texas?

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A Texas bishop with a history of conservative activism and criticism of Pope Francis received a Vatican-ordered “visitation” that ended on June 23, but the reasons behind the investigation remain uncertain.

An apostolic visitation is a rare procedure that can be invoked by the Vatican to review a diocese’s leadership and can lead to disciplinary action, according to the Catholic News Agency. A spokesperson for the Tyler Diocese confirmed to the Daily Caller News Foundation that the meeting with Bishop Joseph Strickland had taken place but declined to comment on whether Strickland’s public comments on social issues and the Pope were the cause for the visit.

“So, it was a visitation, a visitation did happen but the whole process is confidential so out of respect for all those involved we’re not really able to say anything beyond that,” the spokesperson told the DCNF.

The spokesperson also confirmed that the visitation had concluded by Friday but declined to comment on what the aftermath would be. (Read more from “Why Is the Vatican Investigating a Conservative Bishop in Texas?” HERE)

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Vatican to Determine if ‘Miracle’ Happened at Church Where Parishioners Reported Multiplying Hosts

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The Vatican is reviewing claims of a “miracle” at a Catholic church in Connecticut after parishioners reported that Communion hosts mysteriously multiplied at a March Mass.

The Archdiocese of Hartford investigated the claims at St. Thomas Catholic Church in Thomaston and is sending the results to the Holy See in Rome, the Hartford Courant reported last week.

The reported miracle occurred at a March 5 Mass, when a parishioner assisting with Communion reported that there was a shortage of hosts — wafers used during the ritual to symbolize the body of Jesus Christ — only to then find there were plenty.

“God has duplicated himself in the ciborium,” said the Rev. Joseph Crowley, who oversees the congregation, referring to the type of container used to hold the hosts. “It’s really, really cool when God does these things, and it’s really, really cool when we realize what he’s done.”

After the incident, Hartford Archbishop Leonard Blair told reporters he appointed a priest well versed in church law to look into the reported miracle. (Read more from “Vatican to Determine if ‘Miracle’ Happened at Church Where Parishioners Reported Multiplying Hosts” HERE)

Photo credit: Flickr

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China Reportedly Breaks Agreement With Vatican Again

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Bishop Shen Bin has become the new bishop of Shanghai, AsiaNews and other news websites in China reported April 4. He is the head of the Chinese Council of Bishops, which is not recognized by the Holy See. His appointment to Shanghai by this body did not reportedly come with the the endorsement of Rome, which means that once again the agreement established between China and the Holy See in 2018 has been ignored.

“The Holy See was informed a few days ago of the decision of the Chinese authorities to transfer Bishop Shen Bin of Haimen to the Diocese of Shanghai and learned this morning through the media of this transfer,” said the director of the Vatican press office, Matteo Bruni, when questioned by journalists on April 4. He did not give further details.

According to Asia News, Bishop Shen Bin, until then bishop of Haimen, a diocese north of Shanghai in Jiangsu province, was installed without the approval of Rome. “Sources told AsiaNews that the appointment is ‘unilateral,’ without papal approval,” the agency said.

This would be the second violation in just over four months of the agreement on the appointment of bishops established between Rome and Beijing. Signed in 2018 and subsequently renewed in October 2020 and 2022, this agreement stipulates that the choice of new Chinese bishops must be validated by the Holy See and the Chinese authorities. (Read more from “China Reportedly Breaks Agreement With Vatican Again” HERE)

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