Catholic Church

By Jules Gomes, ChurchMilitant - Pope Francis' Fratelli Tutti has also come under fire for promoting an understanding of "universal fraternity," that goes beyond the traditional understanding of "Christian brotherhood."... The Grand Orient of Italy, a Masonic lodge, earlier eulogized Fratelli Tutti as "close to the ideals that have constituted the very foundations of Freemasonry from the very beginning," Church Militant reported.

By Patti Maguire Armstrong, EWTN News - The cultural landscape is troubling, aptly observes Father of Mercy William Casey in You Shall Stand Firm: Preserving the Faith in an Age of Apostacy. As Father Casey, a well-known speaker and frequent EWTN guest, writes: “Most of us have the good sense to realize we are now living in a dangerous time of spiritual and moral decay.”... “I say ‘dangerous,’ not just because of the dangers it presents to the salvation of souls and eternity,” he continues, “but if history is a sure guide, these are very dangerous times for the very life and future of the United States.

By John Grondelski, EWTN News - The Italian website La Nuova Bussola Quotidiana (LNBQ) ran an insightful piece Sept. 6 on what it called “walls of sound” and “analgesic noise.” Aurelio Porfiri was reacting to a growing phenomenon in Europe, where churches cannot seem to decide if they are places of worship or tourist sites. He complained about the piping of canned music — usually organ pieces or Gregorian chant — into otherwise empty churches to give visitors a churchy ambience, what we might call ecclesiastical elevator music. ...