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Episcopal Manoeuvres in the Dark

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Catholic Bishops of England and Wales announced yesterday that Pope Francis had appointed Msgr James Curry, Parish Priest at Our Lady of Victories, Kensington, a salubrious parish in West London, as Auxiliary Bishop of Westminster Archdiocese and Titular Bishop of Ramsbiria (Ramsbiriensis). This news will come to no surprise to anyone paying attention to Church politics in the United Kingdom. Msgr Jim, as he is known, has been long considered a favoured member of the “Magic Circle”, a self-selecting small pool of like-minded “insiders” who come through lines of patronage that can be traced back to one man. Archbishop Derek Worlock , the progressive former Archbishop of Liverpool and mentor to the current Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster, Vincent Nichols . What is perhaps more of a shock is that it has taken so long to arrange his promotion, occurring as it does, at the end of Cardinal Nichol’s tenure as Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster – Nichols was 75 in 2020. It almost seems l
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Gone but not forgotten: Months later, former Knoxville Bishop Richard Stika is threatening priests

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Stika presents a microcosm of the sewage we're still mired in ... From Knox News Sentinel : Though he hasn’t been employed by the Catholic Diocese of Knoxville for nearly a year, former Bishop Richard Stika continues to make his presence felt, contacting whistleblowers directly with threats of a lawsuit, including one who is a key witness in the sexual assault lawsuit against the church. That lawsuit was filed by a former diocesan employee who alleges  a former diocesan seminarian raped him  and details how the diocese, led by Stika, interfered with the investigation and worked to discredit him. Knox News independently verified the interference, which led to the firing of an independent investigator. As complaints about Stika's leadership and handling of allegations of sexual abuse and misconduct piled up in the diocese,  the bishop offered his resignation  and it was accepted by Pope Francis in June 2023. But Stika has continued to try to assert control over some of the priest
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Professor Janet Smith asks does everyone have the right to truth?

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... is it always a violation of justice in a postlapsarian world to deprive some people of the truth?  Professor Janet Smith asks does everyone have the right to truth?  Evildoers sacrifice many of their rights. For instance, we deprive prisoners of their freedom of movement. When the community is under attack and resources are needed, private property can be taken to defend life and property. And, of course, the person poised to murder forfeits his right to life, which is why a policeman can fire his weapon with the intent to kill. Why, therefore, should we imagine that everyone enjoys an inviolable right to truth in all communications? Isn’t giving the truth to a Nazi like returning a loaded weapon to a madman? Does he have any right to the truth? By her analysis, something analogous holds for communication. In a sinless world our words and gestures serve only to convey the truth, but in a fallen world they promote civility, encourage, console, and on some occasions stymie the evildo
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Italian prosecutors to bring charges against Becciu’s brother

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The Pillar reports : Public prosecutors in Sardinia are set to bring charges against the brother of Cardinal Angelo Becciu, after completing an investigation into alleged theft and fraud in the management of Church charitable funds. Local police completed their investigation in January, according to a report from Rai , the Italian state broadcaster, and are expected to file charges against Antonio Becciu, his wife Giovanna Pani, and Pani’s daughter. The local director of Caritas, Fr. Mario Curzu is also expected to be charged, along with five other individuals in the case, with prosecutors alleging the group misappropriated more than 2 million euros between 2013 and 2023. The money, identified as coming from the “eight per thousand” system by which Italians taxpayers are required to allocate .8% of their annual income tax return to a recognized religious body or state run social assistance program. According to investigators, the funds originated with the Italian bishops’ conference a
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East End Evangelisation

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"Embarking on a Quest: In Dialogue with Father Paschal Uche and Mark Lambert"

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Journeying through the depths of contemporary society, Father Paschal Uche and Mark Lambert engage in a riveting discourse exploring the intricacies of evangelization amidst a secular backdrop. Their dialogue unfurls a tapestry of insights, illuminating the pressing need for a revitalized commitment to the transformative essence of the Gospel. With candor and conviction, they delve into the labyrinthine challenges faced by the Church in its mission, grappling with the specters of apathy and ennui that often cloak congregations. Together, they unveil the urgency of authentic exemplars of sanctity, those luminous beacons igniting fervor and faith amid the prevailing shadows. Their exchange resounds with a clarion call to confront head-on the encroaching secularization of faith, championing Christ as the sovereign nucleus of the Church's sacred vocation. Through their discourse, a resounding refrain emerges: a clarion call to rekindle the flames of evangelization, to walk hand in hand
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Gay blessings and theological porn: why leading cardinals are distancing themselves from Pope Francis

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  Just before Christmas, the Vatican’s new doctrinal chief Cardinal Victor ‘Tucho’ Fernandez unveiled a new style of blessing designed to make gay couples feel at home in church without changing the Church’s teaching on marriage. The Argentinian Tucho has for years been Pope Francis’s protégé – but for how much longer? The new gay blessings, supposedly blessing the couple but not their union, have been decisively rejected by all the Catholic bishops of Africa, forcing Francis to backtrack and say they could ignore Fernandez’s decree. Then, last week, it was revealed that in 1998 Tucho published a book on, of all things, the theology of orgasms. It is jaw-droppingly graphic, has been widely described as ‘creepy’, and has encouraged leading cardinals hoping to succeed Francis to distance themselves from this pontificate. Listen to this episode of  Holy Smoke  if you want to know about the new crisis tearing apart the Catholic Church – but be warned: the erotic musings of the future Prefe
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