Dom Josep Maria Canals i Lamiel, the “Dynamite Priest” who became a Carthusian monk, died on 18 September, aged 96. Known for his energetic ministry among working-class communities, he entered the Grande Chartreuse at 55 and later Montalegre, becoming prior at 87. When the monastery once faced possible closure, Canals said he prayed before Our Lady of Lourdes and offered his own life so that Montalegre would not be abandoned. He remained there until his death.
Dom Josep Canals, una vita donata tra il mondo e il silenzio
Church decline: Scottish bishops present plans to merge dioceses. The bishops of Scotland have presented on Monday seven options for a possible reduction in the number of dioceses. The Vatican had asked the bishops to review the diocesan structure in light of declining clergy numbers and diminishing resources. The bishops, however, say the process is “about how we can better proclaim the Gospel” and “strengthen our parishes and communities for evangelisation”. Six options envisage mergers: five would each merge two dioceses, while one would bring together three. The seventh option would retain Scotland’s current eight dioceses but provide for greater cooperation and mutual support. The eight dioceses are currently divided between the ecclesiastical provinces of Glasgow and St Andrews and Edinburgh. The proposed mergers are Argyll and the Isles with Paisley; Argyll and the Isles with Glasgow; Paisley with Galloway; Galloway with Motherwell; and St Andrews and Edinburgh with Dunkeld. A …Bontsi
Leo XIV awards Ratzinger Prize to theologian who attacked Benedict XVI’s Summorum Pontificum. John C. Cavadini will be awarded with the 2026 Ratzinger Prize, announced today by the Joseph Ratzinger–Benedict XVI Vatican Foundation. Pope Leo XIV will present the prize on December 19 at the Apostolic Palace. Cavadini, a professor of theology at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, has written extensively on Ratzinger. Benedict XVI. appointed him to the International Theological Commission in 2009. Cavadini is an explicit critic of Benedict's Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum that liberalized the traditional Roman rite. In 2022, the three "conservatives" Cavadini, Mary Healy and Fr Thomas Weinandy published a series in Notre Dame’s Church Life Journal on the post-Vatican II liturgical reform. “In normalizing the Tridentine Mass, Benedict undermined the principle by which, as he himself insists, Vatican II must be interpreted: a hermeneutic of continuity,” they wrote. They went further …Bontsi
The Ratzinger-Frings attack on the Holy Office (1963) On 8 November 1963, Card. Frings declared in the Conciliar aula: “The Holy Office’s manner of conducting itself in many spheres is not in step with our times, is detrimental to the Church, and is a cause of scandal for many.” He was, of course, speaking from a script known to have been previously dictated by Ratzinger.2 Peter Seewald commented that “no one had ever dared before to criticize Ottaviani’s machinery so fiercely.” 3 It is a well recorded fact in the annals of the Council that Card. Ottaviani was several times publicly humiliated by progressivist reformers, especially from Germany, in a manner that defied both Christian charity and the gentlemanly code of ethics. The Frings/Ratzinger broadside, which constituted one of the Council’s most emotionally-charged and dramatic events, was no exception.
It's been said by many that Trump has something big coming. They said, it's not good either. When I read this I felt I knew why he was doing it. When he said he was going to nuke Russia he was not kidding. Just like the other day he said, he was going to wipe out Iranian people. AGAIN! So why not build two more military bases close to Russia? Just crawling closer and closer to Russia. An easy target. usnews.com/…en-two-new-military-bases-in-greenlan… Distance from Greenland to Russia is 5,017 kilometers. This air travel distance is equal to 3,117 miles.
Pope Boniface VIII ~ Furthermore, we declare, we proclaim, we define that it is absolutely necessary for salvation that every human creature be subject to the Roman Pontiff..
Pope Leo’s Vatican asks Catholics to ‘esteem’ other faiths in their newest statement on Inter-religious Dialogue "Evangelization, conversion, and bringing one towards Christ are not cited in this conception of dialogue." Pope Leo's Vatican asks Catholics to 'esteem' … Excerpts from the newest document "A Journey of Hope" “Church’s relations with followers of other religions.....a true search for God among all people.” "...non-Christian religions should no longer be seen as adversaries, but as travelling companions on the path of truth,..." "The goal is not simply an intellectual exercise but an authentic encounter..... in a shared search for truth and goodness." NEWS FLASH: Catholics and the Catholic Church already possess God and the Truth in the Person of Our Lord Jesus Christ....they alone are on the "path of truth" and it must be widely proclaimed as such. Contrast this latest heterodox document issued by the Vatican with the Words of Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself: At length he …Bontsi
Including anyone who is said to have been elected Pope. If those elected to the Office of the Papacy do not faithfully subject themselves to the Magisterial, time-honored teachings of the Catholic Church and the dogmas passed down to them by previous Popes and entrusted to them, we cannot but dissent from their heterodoxy and continue as faithful Catholics ourselves, leaving them to answer to God for their betrayal of their Office.
Opus Dei has rejected claims that it took the historic Virgin of Torreciudad in Spain without permission. The Diocese of Barbastro-Monzón owns the statue, but Opus Dei says agreements from 1962 and 1966 allowed it to care for the image and move it to the new Torreciudad church. It has remained there since 1975. Bishop Ángel Pérez Pueyo wants the statue returned to the old hermitage. Opus Dei says a 1966 notarial document shows that the move was authorized. The old hermitage and the new church are only a few metres apart at the same Torreciudad site. What began as a legal disagreement over old agreements and the statue’s location has developed into an increasingly bitter and personal Church dispute.
The YARN British police questioned a Christian street preacher after complaints that his Bible sermon was racist and homophobic, despite admitting they had not heard it and could not identify the offending words. He denied the claims, produced his own recording and was neither arrested nor charged in the exchange. Officers repeatedly suggested that a listener feeling harassed, alarmed or distressed could establish a public-order offence. It cannot. Section 5 of the Public Order Act requires threatening or abusive conduct likely to cause that result. Section 4A also requires intent. A complainant’s perception may trigger a hate-related police record, but it cannot create an underlying crime. Britain’s Court of Appeal exposed this danger in the Harry Miller case, finding that police guidance on non-crime hate incidents unlawfully chilled freedom of expression. Sections 29J and 29JA separately protect criticism and expressions of antipathy towards religions, beliefs and sexual conduct from …Bontsi
Vatican concludes “reflection process” with bi-ritual congregation SJM. The Vatican has formally concluded a multi-year reflection process involving the Servants of Jesus and Mary (SJM), a Catholic religious congregation in Austria, founded in 1988. The community celebrates both the Novus Ordo and the traditional Roman rite. It remains closely associated with the Catholic Scouts of Europe (KPE). The Vatican’s process began in late 2022, when it appointed former abbot Raimund Schreier as Apostolic Assistant. His task was to “accompany” the SJM for a period originally planned to last three years. The community examined its history, internal structures, self-understanding and its founder, former Jesuit Andreas Hönisch. In June, the community and the Apostolic Assistant submitted the relevant documents to the Vatican’s Dicastery for Religious. It has now declared the process concluded. According to the SJM, the dicastery encouraged the congregation to: - “continue promoting an open culture …Bontsi
A 'ritual concert' featuring shamanic elements was held inside a medieval Spanish church. On September 18, Barcelona’s Romanesque church of Sant Pau del Camp hosted a “ritual concert” by Kuyay Santosha. The event featured ancestral chants, improvisation and music presented as a bridge between the human and "the sacred". Santosha describes her work through healing music, ancient spiritual ritual, and uses instruments including a shamanic drum. Tickets cost €25. Sant Pau del Camp is being used for the Novus Ordo.
After more than four centuries, the Dominicans have left the Sanctuary of Nuestra Señora de Las Caldas de Besaya in Cantabria, Spain. Last Sunday, the Dominicans formally entrusted the sanctuary to the Diocese of Santander. The church will remain a place of worship. The property continues to belong to the Dominicans. But the resident Dominican community - once one of the Order’s important houses in Spain - has come to an end. The scale of the change is captured by Fr. Francisco García Ortega OP, the last superior of the community. He entered the Dominican Order at Las Caldas 55 years ago, aged 17. At the time, the sanctuary housed Dominican philosophical studies. “We were more than 200 friars, and now we are only two,” García Ortega told DiocesisDeSantander.com. Those two are García Ortega and Fr. Fernando Serrano Pérez OP, who has served at Las Caldas for about 30 years. The Dominicans first came to Las Caldas in the early 17th century. Fr García Ortega noted that during four centuries …Bontsi
St. John of the Cross ~ They (spiritual persons) are apt to picture figures and forms of persons belonging to the life to come - the forms of certain saints...
