Where Peter Is

there is the Church

Where Peter Is

Author: Mike Lewis

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Amoris Laetitia / Archbishop Chaput / Archbishop Viganò / Pope Francis

The Archbishop Doth Protest too Much

On Thursday, the Catholic News Agency (CNA) published an unattributed defense of Philadelphia Archbishop Charles Chaput, arguing that he did not endorse the ‘testimony’ of Archbishop Carlo Viganò, and that Chaput was a supporter of the Holy Father. In his testimony, the former nuncio accused Pope Francis of lifting formal sanctions on then-Cardinal McCarrick and called on Francis to resign. The CNA article then recounted several other instances suggesting Abp. Chaput is a supporter of...

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Cardinal Burke / Church News / Dissent / Homilies / Pope Francis

Links: Pius X vs Francis; Cardinal Burke; Abp Gregory ordains 10 in DC

Happy Trinity Sunday, and Happy Father’s day! Today Pope Francis visited the city of Camerino in Italy, which was struck by earthquakes 3 years ago that took the lives of nearly 300 people. Vatican News reports that in his homily, he spoke about healing woulds and rebuilding after such a tragic event: “Remembering is a key word for life”, said Pope Francis. “Remembering gives us the strength not to surrender”. The Pope admitted that bad...

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Homilies / Pope Francis

Savor the Harmony of the Holy Spirit

This morning in his homily on the feast of Pentecost, Pope Francis spoke at length about the work of the Holy Spirit. Excerpt: The Holy Spirit does not bring only harmony within us but also among us. He makes us Church, building different parts into one harmonious edifice. Saint Paul explains this well when, speaking of the Church, he often repeats a single word, “variety”: varieties of gifts, varieties of services, varieties of activities” (1 Cor 12:4-6). We differ in the variety of our qualities...

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Uncategorized

A quick note about comments

This is just a quick post about comments on our site, for those who might be confused. Our more regular commenters seem to be generally aware of our policy — it’s more of a “practice” than a formal policy, but we often receive questions from new commenters. Please don’t consider these to be absolute, strict rules, but a glimpse of what typically happens behind the scenes when comments are submitted. First of all, we want...

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Ecumenism / Pope Benedict XVI / Pope Francis / Tradition

In-Flight presser from Romania: Francis on Tradition and Benedict

UPDATE 6/3/19 CNA has published an English translation of the entire press conference. Here are Francis’s comments in fuller context. On ecumenism: I always have this idea: Ecumenism is not reaching the end of the game, of the discussion. Ecumenism is walking together, walking together, praying together… The ecumenism of prayer. In history, we have the ecumenism of blood. When they killed Christians they did not ask: Are you Catholic? Are you Orthodox? Are you...

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Dissent / Pope Francis

“I pray for them because they are wrong”

Pope Francis recently gave a 40-minute interview to a Mexican TV station, the full transcript of which has not been released in English (full Spanish transcript here). Several English-language outlets have translated portions, including America magazine, CNA, and Vatican News. Much is covered in the wide-ranging interview, including abortion, immigration, sexual abuse, Amoris Laetitia, homosexuality, China, Theodore McCarrick, and Archbishop Viganò. This interview also contains what appear to be his first public comments on the...

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Pope Francis

Why we do what we do

Back in 2017, when I began planning this website, many of my fellow Pope Francis-supporting friends weren’t entirely enthusiastic about my idea. After all, why should I give any attention at all to the pope’s detractors? Doing so, they asserted, would give credence to their claims and conspiracy theories, as well as their faulty understanding of the Magisterium and papal primacy. Wouldn’t it be better to simply ignore them and let them fade away into...

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Dissent / Radical Traditionalists

Why the Nichols Letter is different

Since the release of the open letter signed by Aidan Nichols and others, many of Pope Francis’s critics on social media are defending it with the same talking points they’ve used to defend their positions on the “dubia” and many other initiatives critical of the Holy Father. They are applying lines like, “we need clarity from the pope,” or “We love Francis but he needs to correct some things.” Apparently, they haven’t read it closely...

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Dissent / Papal Resignation / Radical Traditionalists / Uncategorized

We cannot take our faithfulness for granted

Several years ago, I realized that I hadn’t seen a friend of mine for a few months. He and his family were active in my parish. He was a young man with a very lovely wife and a bunch of rambunctious little boys. They could always be found in the narthex during the 11:30 Sunday Mass, working hard to wrangle the kids and doing their best to participate in the Mass. He was active in...

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Uncategorized

Meditate on the Stations of the Cross with Pope Francis

This year’s meditations on the Stations of the Cross at the Colosseum, led by Pope Francis, were written by Italian Sister Eugenia Bonetti, who has worked with victims of sex trafficking for decades. Crux recently wrote about her background and her decision to accept the invitation to compose the prayers: The 80-year-old nun, who has dedicated much of her life’s work to rescuing women from human trafficking and sex slavery, was convinced to say yes...

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Papal Primacy / Pope Francis / Radical Traditionalists

The Real Papolaters

On Monday I wrote a short piece on Pope Francis’s trip to Loreto, where he visited the Holy House that is believed to have been Mary’s home when she was visited by the angel Gabriel at the Annunciation. My piece focused on his address (in which he defended the traditional Catholic teaching on marriage and the family), and the fact that he officially signed his new apostolic exhortation on young people, entitled Christus vivit (“Christ...

abuse crisis / Christus Vivit / From Papa Francis / young people

The new Apostolic Exhortation: Christus vivit – Christ lives

Update: The exhortation has been released and is available on the Vatican website.  The Exhortation, signed on March 25, was released today, April 2, the Memorial of the Death of John Paul II. Update #2: It is also posted on Zenit’s website, which is much more mobile-friendly. Today, during a pilgrimage to Loreto, Pope Francis signed the text of the soon-to-be-released Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation, which is the fruit of the 2018 Synod on Young People,...

Dissent / Papal Primacy / Pope Francis / Radical Traditionalists

Getting it Half-right: Sedes and SSPX

In recent days, a number of articles defending the legitimacy of Francis’s papacy have appeared on websites that are usually critical of the Holy Father, including a two-part blog post on One Peter Five by Robert Siscoe (click to read parts 1 and 2). Siscoe, who co-authored a 2015 book entitled True or False Pope? Refuting Sedevacantism and Other Modern Errors, appears to be a member of what is colloquially known as the “Recognize and...

abuse crisis / China / Pope Francis

China’s “other” cardinal

With all the attention Cardinal Joseph Zen has been getting with regard to his protests against the China/Vatican deal, most American Catholics probably aren’t aware that Hong Kong has two retired cardinals. Taking a much different approach than his predecessor, Cardinal John Tong, has offered his support for the agreement, and has spoken of the hope that a unified Catholic Church in China represents. While the bishop of Hong Kong does not have jurisdiction over...

Holiness / Pope Francis / Silence

Take Time this Lent for Prayer and Reflection

Lent is upon us, and even though it started a little later than usual this year, WPI is a bit behind schedule in posting about it. Yesterday evening, Pope Francis and the officials of the curia began their annual Lenten retreat. Zenit reports: The meditations are presented by Abbot Bernardo Francesco Maria Gianni, O.S.B., Oliv., of the Abbey of San Miniato al Monte, and their theme will be: “The City of the Ardent Desires,” For...