Why would anybody want to become a priest?

Edward Pentin: A respected priest in Rome "was incredulous that certain Vatican cardinals who will remain nameless are still in positions of authority."

Leo Wants Catholics to Rediscover the “Ecumenical Potential” of the Lutheran Augsburg Confession While U.S. Diocese Warns Faithful Away From SSPX Masses
Lutheran doctrine gets an ecumenical rehabilitation, Amoris Laetitia will be “tested by experience,” Auckland priests are warned against importing 1962 practices, and the SSPX gets the hammer.
Leo Wants Catholics to Rediscover the “Ecumenical Potential” of the Lutheran Augsburg Confession While U.S. Diocese Warns Faithful Away From SSPX Masses
Lutheran doctrine gets an ecumenical rehabilitation, Amoris Laetitia will be “tested by experience,” Auckland priests are warned against importing 1962 practices, and the SSPX gets the hammer.
On Thursday, Leo XIV welcomed leaders of the Lutheran World Federation to Rome and looked ahead enthusiastically to 2030, the five-hundredth anniversary of the Augsburg Confession.
That would be the Augsburg Confession of Philipp Melanchthon. Luther’s collaborator. The foundational Lutheran text presented to …

‘Life of Mary’ by Bl. Anne Catherine Emmerich; Part II; Chapter 2. IMMACULATE CONCEPTION…’; ‘4.5 AGITATION IN NATURE AND MANKIND.…‘pages 73-74; points 4.5
[Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich – XVIII-XIX Century AD; born: Flamschen, Holy Roman Empire/died: Dulmen, German Confederation; Mystic; Stigmatist, Writer]
4.5 AGITATION IN NATURE AND MANKIND AT MARY’S BIRTH.
At the time of Mary’s birth I saw a great and joyful agitation in nature, in the animal world, in the hearts of all good men, and I heard the sound of sweet singing. Sinners, however, were overwhelmed by fear and sorrow. I saw, specially near Nazareth, but also in the rest of the Promised Land, many who were possessed break out at that time into violent ravings.
They were hurled from side to side with loud cries, and the devils shrieked from within them, ‘We must surrender, we must go out!’
In Jerusalem I saw how the aged priest Simeon, who lived in the Temple, was startled at the moment of Mary’s birth by loud shrieks coming from …

Cardinal Fernández to publish text on ‘transmission of faith’ this month
The prefect of the DDF said the document was drawing on a global survey of bishops regarding evangelisation.
Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández has announced that a new document on the transmission of the faith will be published by his dicastery in October.
Speaking to participants in the annual Vatican course for newly consecrated bishops, Fernández gave details about the next document his Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) is due to release. He stated that the text “on the transmission of faith” was requested by Pope Francis in his “last days”, in order to “stimulate discussion and reflection in the community”.

Cardinals Praise ‘Irreversible’ Synodality And ‘Healing’ Nature Of Church Decline
Describing Pope Francis’ synodality as “irreversible” and the decline in Church figures as “healing”, two prominent cardinals have weighed in on the future of the Church in Europe.
Synodality is impossible to forestall, Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich attested this past week. Luxembourg’s Cardinal Hollerich served as the relator general of the multi-year Synod on Synodality and thus – alongside Cardinal Mario Grech – has become one of the most vocal champions of Pope Francis’ synod and synodal style.
Synodality, as begun by Pope Francis, is “irreversible” Hollerich claimed. Its goal is to change the Catholic Church which operates “from above” to become a more democratic Church. “We need a Church of the Christians, where I, as a bishop, am among the Christians,” he stated.
Hollerich described such a change as necessary, but noted that it must be supported across the Church, otherwise it would lead to “conflict …

Leo XIV appoints Mexican Bishop who said after ‘Fiducia supplicans’: “We bless everyone”.
On September 21, Pope Leo XIV has promoted Monsignor Jorge Carlos Patrón Wong as Archbishop of Puebla de los Ángeles, Mexico.
He was born on January 3, 1958, in Mérida, Archdiocese of Yucatán and ordained a priest on January 12, 1988, for that Archdiocese.
In 2009, he was appointed Coadjutor Bishop of the Diocese of Papantla and received episcopal ordination in December. On May 2, 2012, he became diocesan bishop of Papantla.
Francis brought Patrón Wong to Rome. On September 21, 2013, he became Secretary for Seminaries at the Congregation for the Clergy.
“Don’t Define Seminarians by Homosexuality”
Asked in 2014 by LaStampa.it, about homosexual seminarians and support of a “gay culture”, Monsignor Patrón Wong replied evasively that sexual maturity is one component of broader personal maturity: “We cannot judge the state/existence in which a person comes before us.”
And: “It is important … not to …

Statement from Lambeth Palace | Archbishop of Canterbury
Last week the Hubert Walter Award for Reconciliation and Interfaith Cooperation was presented to Maulana Hafiz Muhammad Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi in a ceremony at Lambeth Palace. The award was given for Imam Ashrafi’s longstanding support for religious minorities in Pakistan, particularly the Christian community – support that is valued by many Christians in Pakistan including its Anglican Church.
It is a longstanding principle of interfaith dialogue and co-operation that we must engage with one another across deeply-held differences, and that remains the case. However, previous comments made by Imam Ashrafi have come to light that have led Lambeth Palace to reconsider this award and we can now confirm today that the award has been withdrawn. We have contacted Imam Ashrafi to make him aware of this decision. We continue to pray for the Christian community in Pakistan, and for all those working for interfaith dialogue and harmony in …

Pope Leo Promotes Synodality Bishop Who Has ‘Courage To Make A Different Church’
Pope Leo XIV appointed a synodality enthusiast who accepts as “open questions” the possibilities of Holy Communion for unrepented active homosexuals and the “ordination” of women to the diaconate.
The Vatican announcement was issued Monday that Bishop Pedro Luis Fuentes Valencia, C.P., was named Military Ordinary for Bolivia, ending four years in which the Passionist prelate had governed the same jurisdiction only as apostolic administrator while remaining auxiliary bishop of La Paz.
The Holy See Press Office identified him as titular bishop of Temuniana and noted that he had represented the Bolivian Episcopal Conference at the Synod of Bishops in Rome in 2023 and 2024.
Reporting from the Paul VI Hall in October 2023, the Bolivian bishops’ conference quoted him describing the opening retreat with discussion themes including “losing fear, (and) having the courage to make a different Church.”
At a June 2024…

Leo XIV has named the homosexual activist Michael Saporito, 64, Bishop of Metuchen, New Jersey (September 15).
Monsignor Saporito, 64, is currently auxiliary bishop of Newark.
Institutional Connection to McCarrick
A native of Newark, Saporito entered the McCarrick seminary in 1987. In 1992, Archbishop Theodore McCarrick ordained Saporito to the priesthood.
In 1999, homosexual McCarrick elevated the young Rev Saporito as assistant director of vocations.
Founded Homosexual Ministry in Parish
During Saporito’s tenure as pastor of St. Joseph Church in Maplewood (2004–2011), the parish employed an openly homosexual man as its full-time director of music and liturgy. He said he disclosed the relationship before being hired.
Furthermore, as pastor of St. Joseph, Rev Saporito founded a group for homosexuals called "Open Arms Ministry." A 2011 report noted that the parish's embrace of homosexuals came under Saporito: “Above all, according to parishioners, Saporito - through words and deeds …

Synodality Is Inspired by the Protestant Model - Cardinal Brandmüller
Cardinal Walter Brandmüller, 97, in a text published by Sandro Magister on September 8, writes about “synodality.” Main points:
- According to the classical Catholic understanding, a synod is a meeting of bishops for the purpose of exercising jointly their teaching and pastoral ministry.
- In 1965, Paul VI created the so-called Synod of Bishops as a consultative body of the pope.
- Recently established bodies whose members include, in addition to bishops, priests and lay faithful of both sexes cannot properly be called synods.
- Competent laypeople can, of course, be entrusted with a consultative role. But wherever such collaboration is practiced, one should carefully avoid any misleading use of the terms “synod,” “synodality,” and the like, and instead find a term that adequately expresses the actual situation.
- The establishment of such bodies arises from an effort to adopt secular structures and democratic procedures …

July’s breakout at OpenAI was far more complex than initially realized
Hundreds of AI agents collaborated to escape their containers, disguising their actions and even sacrificing themselves.
An AI breakout that made headlines in July was much more sophisticated than previously realized, investigators have found.
Hundreds of OpenAI agents collaborated to break out of their containers, disguising their actions and even sacrificing themselves as they attacked Hugging Face, a widely used open-source code library, according to a recent post from METR, a research nonprofit.
“This incident was orders of magnitude larger and more complex,” than previous instances of AI agents behaving in ways programmers didn’t intend, wrote METR researcher Ajeya Cotra, who co-led the investigation.
The report alarmed experts, who warned that AI-enabled hacks in the future could make the July breakouts involving Anthropic and OpenAI look quaint.
Even if the big AI companies figure out how to make reliable …

Experten: Viele biblische Figuren zeigen psychische Auffälligkeiten
Laut den Wissenschaftlern Simone und Claudia Paganini zeigen viele biblische Figuren psychische Auffälligkeiten von Depressionen bis zu narzisstischen Tendenzen. "Angefangen bei der Genesis mit Adam und Eva bis zum Seher der Offenbarung – in jedem Buch gibt es Figuren, bei denen man Hinweise auf ein psychisches Störungsbild findet", schildern sie in einem Interview mit "Christ und Welt" (aktuelle Ausgabe). Jedoch: "Wir finden natürlich keine Anamnese-Berichte in der Bibel."
In den biblischen Erzählungen fehlten viele Details, die ein Psychiater für eine Diagnose brauche, so die Forscher weiter, die ein Buch zu dem Thema verfasst haben. Dennoch ließen sich Symptome feststellen. Mose beispielsweise zeige nach der Befreiung des Volkes Israel Anzeichen für eine Depression. "Er ist sehr erfolgreich, trotzdem kann er sich nicht freuen. Die Last der Verantwortung trägt er allein, er ist erschöpft und antriebslos, wünscht sich …

Pope Leo XIV’s prayer intention for the month of September is for the care of water. “Water is a symbol of your grace and love that renews us through Baptism. We beg forgiveness that it has been turned into a commodity, forgetting that it is a universal gift, a right without borders," the Holy Father expressed in his prayer released September 1 on the occasion of the Season of Creation. He added a plea to become “pilgrims of the essential, capable of living simply, denouncing waste and pollution, and defending the right of every person to drink without fear and without inequality.”

Cardinal Zen: ‘Protection’ of the family a ‘primary mission’ for Church today
Joseph Cardinal Zen has urged Catholics to make protecting the family a “primary mission” in pastoral work, in order to fight back against a society that has lost an understanding of the “meaning of life”.
In an essay published today on his blog, Cdl. Zen offered a commentary both on scripture and on the state of the Church in the world today. Such is his regular style, linking the sacred texts to a specific message, and this latest was no exception as he dwelled on the parable of the pearl of great price.

Leo XIV Ratified Another Chinese Regime Bishop
Today, Rev. Francis Xavier Duan Yongkun, 45, was consecrated a bishop. The Vatican announced only today that Pope Leo XIV had appointed him on June 15 as Coadjutor Bishop of Bameng, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China.
For the previous three episcopal appointments in China, the regime publicly announced the election of the bishop-designate before the Holy See. In today's case, no comparable notice about the Chinese selection process has been released.
Underground Bishop chose recognition
The Diocese of Bameng (40,000 Catholics, 30 priests, 20 religious sisters) is not vacant.
The current bishop, Matthew Du Jiang, is only 63 years old. He was consecrated for the Catholic underground Church in 2004 and officially recognized by the Chinese authorities as bishop in 2010. As part of the recognition process, he was required to participate in an installation ceremony concelebrated with Bishop Ma Yinglin of Kunming, then a leading figure in the …

Father James Martin calls for ‘gay priests’
Continuing his public advocacy on LGBT issues, Fr James Martin SJ has argued that the Catholic Church should officially admit ‘gay’ priests.
In a new essay published by his pro-LGBT organisation Outreach, Fr James Martin has presented his case for why the Church should admit homosexuals to the priesthood. He notes that he is only in favour of admitting celibate men, but after establishing that as the foundation of his argument, the prominent Jesuit calls on the Church to change its rules regarding seminary admission and ordination.

Courageous Priest Receives Publication Ban From His Archbishop
Fr Joachim Heimerl says Archbishop Josef Grünwidl of Vienna has imposed a “publication ban” on him under threat of suspension. In an interview with Stilum Curiae, the Austrian priest discusses the dispute, his understanding of priestly obedience, and why he believes the measure has no legal basis
Fr Joachim Heimerl, a priest of the Archdiocese of Vienna, has said that Archbishop Josef Grünwidl has imposed a “publication ban” on him.
In an interview with Marco Tosatti’s blog Stilum Curiae, the priest said the Archbishop sent “some letters that were not very friendly”. He said a recent letter informed him of a “publication ban” and warned that, if he did not comply, there would be “sanctions” that could even extend to “suspension”.
Fr Joachim Heimerl is a well-known Austrian priest who was ordained for the Archdiocese of Vienna in 2019. Before his ordination, he was a scholar of German studies and published a variety of works …

Leo XIV appointed, on this Thursday, July 16, 2026, Capuchin priest Jean Miguina as bishop of the diocese of Sarh, Tschad.

Bishops Attack FSSPX - "Invalid Sacraments", "Abuse of Eucharist"
Many bishops in the USA (and elsewhere) forbid Catholics from attending Mass in chapels belonging to the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X, yet they welcome schismatics and homosexuals. Three examples:
Arlington Bishop: FSSPX Sacraments Are "Invalid"
Bishop Michael Burbidge of Arlington, Virginia, instructed Catholics to “avoid participating in the activities of the FSSPX.”
In a letter dated 8 July, he wrote that "any celebrations of the sacraments of confession and matrimony by the FSSPX are invalid, and the administration of other sacraments is illicit".
In September 2025, Bishop Burbidge said that his meeting with the Greek Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew was “incredible,” and marked a “historic moment of Christian unity”.
Covington Bishop: FSSPX Mass Is "Abuse of Eucharist"
Bishop John Iffert of Covington, Kentucky, said in a recent statement that the sacraments from the FSSPX are “illicit”:
“The Masses these priests …