Fri Jan 9, 2026 - 10:15 am ESTFri Jan 9, 2026 - 10:28 am EST (LifeSiteNews) — Former Hungarian Ambassador to the Holy See Eduard Habsburg’s newest books tries to give readers a guide on how to have a large, wholesome family in today’s anti-family Western World. In an exclusive interview with LifeSiteNews, Habsburg talked about his latest book, Building a Wholesome Family in a Broken World, in which he gives tips to young singles and married couples on how to go about founding a family. Throughout the book, he draws on examples from his own life of being married for over 30 years and having six children, as well as the lives of his royal ancestors. Eduard Habsburg-Lothringen is the great-great-great-grandson of Franz Joseph I., who was emperor of the Austro-Hungarian Empire from 1848 until his death in 1916. Habsburg is an author, script writer, and served as Hungary’s ambassador to the Holy See from 2015 to 2025. “Having lots of children is the greatest gift that spouses can make to …
Pope Leo XIV met today with members of the Diplomatic Corps. Key points of his address largely drawing from St Augustine and Benedict XVI and Francis. Main phrases. - This past year saw […] the return to the Father’s house of my venerable predecessor, Pope Francis. The whole world gathered around his coffin on the day of his funeral, and sensed the loss of a father who had guided the People of God with immense pastoral charity. - The weakness of multilateralism is a particular cause for concern at the international level. A diplomacy that promotes dialogue and seeks consensus among all parties is being replaced by a diplomacy based on force, by either individuals or groups of allies. Peace as Domination - War is back in vogue and a zeal for war is spreading. - The principle established after the Second World War, which prohibited nations from using force to violate the borders of others, has been completely undermined. - “Peace” is sought through weapons as a condition for asserting …More
Phil Lawler: Well, the cardinals managed to shatter my hopes immediately. Even before my comments were posted, they had voted to take the topic of liturgy off the agenda for the consistory. Instead the two-day meeting will focus primarily on… wait for it… synodality. Synodality: the same topic that was discussed at the last two meetings of the Synod of Bishops. The same topic that was discussed at an unprecedented number of preparatory meetings, at which Catholics who work for the church talked with each other about how to broaden their conversations. Synodality: a topic that has utterly dominated conversations in ecclesiastical circles for several years now, without producing any clear understanding of what the word means. When you meet with your fellow parishioners after Sunday Mass, do you find that the conversation turns to synodality? Neither do I. It’s not a topic that ordinary, faithful Catholics discuss. Yet it has become the favorite— even obsessive— topic for conversations …More
Help is not on the way. Yesterday, in a cautious optimistic post about this week’s meeting of the College of Cardinals, I observed that “it is difficult to imagine how the consistory could discuss the liturgy without immediately raising the most contentious subject under that heading: the suppression of the Traditional Latin Mass under Traditionis Custodes.” Well, the cardinals managed to shatter my hopes immediately. Even before my comments were posted, they had voted to take the topic of liturgy off the agenda for the consistory. Instead the two-day meeting will focus primarily on… wait for it… synodality. Synodality: the same topic that was discussed at the last two meetings of the Synod of Bishops. The same topic that was discussed at an unprecedented number of preparatory meetings, at which Catholics who work for the church talked with each other about how to broaden their conversations. Synodality: a topic that has utterly dominated conversations in ecclesiastical circles for …
If you haven't been to a dance party at SEEK, one of the biggest Roman Catholic conferences of the year, and danced to 'Shakira' while a nun fills the room with bubbles from a bubble gun, can you really call yourself a Catholic?
2 Peter 2:1-2 "There were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies and, denying the Master who bought them, will bring swift destruction upon themselves. Many will follow their debauchery, and because of them, the Way of truth will be blasphemed. Romans 6:23 : "The wages of sin is death".
It's like the time I visited an airport chapel that actually had a scheduled daily Mass for travelers AND the Blessed Sacrament present in a tabernacle - BUT they also had a "prayer rug corner" for Muslims. Some came in while I was saying the breviary and I resolved NOT to leave until they did to ensure no profanation. Luckily I had a long layover so I silently prayed the Jesus Prayer as they did their "rituals" in the back.
Lusaka, 05 January, 2026 / 2:58 pm (ACI Africa). Members of the Zambia Conference of Catholic Bishops (ZCCB) have condemned what they describe as an attack against their colleague, Archbishop Alick Banda, and the entire Church in the southern African country, following a “money-laundering” probe initiated against the Bishop. Archbishop Banda was reportedly summoned to appear before the Anti-Money Laundering Investigations Unit of Zambia’s Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) on Monday, January 5. The Archbishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of Lusaka is linked with investigations into allegations that he received a vehicle from the Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA), which allegedly auctioned several vehicles without following the law. In a statement that was circulated on Sunday, January 4, the Bishops say that Archbishop Banda received the summons on 31 December 2025. In the statement, the Bishops affirmed their solidarity with the Archbishop of Lusaka and all Catholics in Zambia amid …
Pope Leo XIV met with Cardinal Pierre, the U.S. nuncio, in private today. The meeting took place against the backdrop of the U.S. and Venezuela's recent tensions, as well as ahead of Cardinal Pierre's 80th birthday later this month. Photo from June 2025.
At the end of his talk at SEEK 2026, Father David Michael Moses encouraged attendees to run up to and gather in front of the stage as he belted out a rock song about living a Christian life. He took a selfie from the stage with the young people cheering behind him and ended his performance by doing “the worm” dance on the stage as the crowd went wild.
Not a church - but read to learn about China: On December 23, 2025, police in Xinglongzhai Village, Hezhou, Guangxi forcibly demolished Longfu Temple, a folk-religion shrine rebuilt by villagers in 2024–2025 with private donations. Despite no prior objections during reconstruction, authorities suddenly labeled the temple an illegal structure and deployed over 100 personnel to carry out the demolition. Villagers protested, forming human barricades; clashes followed, resulting in arrests and injuries. Police ultimately fired irritant gas into the temple to force out women sheltering inside before razing the building. The incident reflects a broader campaign by the Chinese Communist Party to suppress religious and community spaces viewed as ideologically uncontrollable, highlighting growing tensions between state power, local communities, and cultural memory.
Longfu Temple in Hezhou, legally rebuilt in 2024, was destroyed despite local villagers’ protests and resistance. by Liang Changpu The police demolish Longfu Temple. Screenshot. On December 23, in Xinglongzhai Village, Zhongshan County, Hezhou City, Guangxi, the Chinese Communist Party once again demonstrated its unique interpretation of “religious management”: if it exists, demolish it; if villagers resist, gas them; if anyone films it, arrest them. This time, the target was Longfu Temple, a modest folk‑religion shrine rebuilt by villagers with their own savings after decades of neglect. The temple had stood in the area for generations, long enough that locals cannot even remember when it first appeared. But in today’s China, longevity may be a liability. As villagers reported, the local government dispatched more than 100 personnel, including police, firefighters, and medical staff, to carry out a “forced demolition operation.” One might think such a large team was preparing to …
I'd wager dollars to doughnuts that this had a lot more to do with land development and someone's palms getting greased than it did with any religious or political suppression.
Holy and Sorrowful Mother of God, please Bless the Evert Family in their time of need for their Son John Paul. The Sixth Sword of Sorrow: Jesus is Taken Down From the Cross (John 19:38-40) Prayer We thank you, Beloved Mother, for your courage as you stood beneath your dying Child to comfort Him on the Cross. As our Savior drew His last breath, you became a wonderful Mother to all of us; you became the Blessed Mother of the world. We know that you love us more than our earthly parents do. We implore you to be our advocate before the Throne of Mercy and Grace so that we can truly become your children. We thank you for Jesus, our Savior and Redeemer, and we thank Jesus for giving you to us. Please pray for us, Mother. Then, pray 1 Our Father and 7 Hail Marys.
“Tina Thompson found a different way to be Catholic,” reads the lede of a sympathetic story in the Kansas City Reflector The heroine of the story had strayed from her Catholic faith, but now announces that she has returned, as a priest. And the reporter takes her seriously, adding that “she is one of hundreds of women Catholic priests around the world.”
Phil Lawler: Odd, isn’t it, that a “Catholic priest” would be ordained in a non-Catholic church? There was no bishop on hand, and the Unity Church, as described, does not sound like even an approximation of Catholicism. Since she cannot act as a priest in a Catholic church, how does Thompson plan to serve? catholicculture.org/commentary/its-not-same/
New York Archbishop Deletes Evidence of Homosexual Chancellor: Despite receiving dozens of emails and phone calls urging him to address the scandal involving his "married" homosexual chancellor in the Diocese of Joliet, newly appointed New York Archbishop Ronald Hicks remains silent. According to Complicit Clergy, Hicks even removed references from the diocesan website in an apparent effort to conceal the fact that David Salvato had ever worked for him.
Before He Went to Work for Bishop Hicks, Salvato Was Employed by Archbishop Gómez
Last week, we shared with you the story that David Salvato, the chancellor for the diocese of Joliet, ‘married’ his boyfriend on December 13. Bishop Hicks, the bishop of Joliet, has remained silent in spite of receiving dozens of emails and phone calls asking him to address this scandal. Hicks went as far as scrubbing the diocesan website to conceal that Salvato ever worked there. Now we learn that before he went to work for Hicks, Salvato worked as a canon lawyer for Archbishop Jose Gomez for 10 years. Salvato worked in the Metropolitan Tribunal were he oversaw the investigation of nearly 200 marriage annulment cases each year. Did you get that? Gómez assigned a homosexual man to make decisions about hundreds of marriage annulments in his archdiocese. How is someone who does not subscribe to the Catholic Church’s teaching on human anthropology make decisions about a sacramental marriage involving a man and a woman? A Catholic woman shared similar concerns in a comment on the Salvato …
As Trump’s ICE raids target Catholic parishes, Bishop Earl Fernandes — one of the Church’s prominent conservative leaders — is defying the White House. He’s lifting the Sunday Mass obligation for immigrant families living in fear, declaring: “No one should have to choose between their faith and their family’s safety.”
Uh, I'd like to see ANY evidence that "ICE raids" are emptying churches. You would think it would be all over the media. But other than bishops granting dispensations willy-nilly for certain ethnic groups, I haven't seen any actual reportage. Seems like performative posturing to me.
Business is business even when it comes to the Sunday obligation of going to Mass. It was the same during the covid-19 “pandemic.” The Church capitulated to Caesar. The experimental shot will save you, not the Eucharist.
The Irish Episcopacy like the German One has been dying since the 80s due to the influx of progressive idealisms. Female Ordination is an example of such folly
Archbishop Eamon Martin of Armagh, Ireland, lamented in an interview with TheTablet.co.uk on 28 December that the Vatican’s study group on female deacons had been “published in isolation” from those of the other nine synod study groups set up by Pope Francis. He would have preferred the report on women deacons to be published alongside those of the other groups examining co-responsibility and the role of lay people in the Church, as this would have provided a more balanced perspective, in his view. He added: “It’s interesting that Pope Leo XIV said this question remains open rather than saying it's over.” Archbishop Martin considers it "a really important question" of how women can fully exercise their baptismal priesthood. He considers his question “very, very pressing” because “those who have thought that the path to decision-making, leadership and service in the Church goes through the priesthood will now feel that women are excluded”. In Dublin, Women Are “Ministers of the …More
The Synodal wing, which effectively dominates Ireland’s stagnant Church, appears to be grappling with cognitive dissonance in light of Rome’s unequivocal refusal to approve women deacons
Archbishop Giuseppe Laterza, 55, the Apostolic Nuncio to the Central African Republic and Chad, has apologized conditionally following criticism over remarks he made during an Advent homily - while at least defending the substance of his remarks. Background to the Controversy The controversy stems from a homily delivered on 20 December 2025 during the Christmas novena at Conversano Cathedral in southern Italy. During the sermon, Archbishop Laterza reflected on the Annunciation: “Mary is truly free because she knows how to obey. Mary is the freest woman in the world… we should tell this to some feminists.” The homily was livestreamed on the cathedral’s official social media channels, and clips were later widely shared online. The phrase “ditelo alle femministe” (“tell that to feminists”) quickly became the focal point of public backlash. Archbishop Laterza’s Response Archbishop Laterza told La Gazzetta del Mezzogiorno in an interview published on 22 December 2025 that his words had …More