What do we do if the Synod takes a ‘strange turn’? The simple answer just got Cardinal Burke big applause.

Join Cardinal Burke and 615,000 other concerned Catholics and sign the Filial Appeal to Pope Francis asking him to clearly reaffirm Chruch teaching on marriage at the Synod on the Family. Click here.

ST. LOUIS, Missouri, September 15, 2015 (LifeSiteNews) -- On Sunday, September 13th I had the honor to be one of the hosts for His Eminence, Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke, here at a dinner/lecture in the Clayton Plaza hotel ballroom, sponsored by the St. Louis lay apostolate "Credo of the Catholic Laity," to which I am the spiritual adviser.

His Eminence was warmly welcomed and introduced by the retired Auxiliary Bishop of St. Louis, the Most Rev. Robert Hermann, and then spoke to an audience of over 300 about "The Truth of Christ in Marriage". He discussed spiritual, social, doctrinal and canonical aspects of the current crisis affecting marriage and the family in Western culture, warning that this crisis has led to serious confusion and even rebellion within the Church herself.

Cardinal Burke emphasized that in our increasingly secularized and hostile culture, more weight than ever is now falling on the shoulders of Catholic parents in giving children a formation, by word and example, in what real Christian marriage is. Along with the Church's authentic and perennial teaching, he said, this sound family formation will prove to be the main source of guidance for children and adolescents, as the basic means by which parents pass on Christian truth in word and deed to the next generation.

Cardinal Burke recommended the well-known 2014 "Five Cardinals'" book, Remaining in the Truth of Christ, and again expressed strong disagreement with Cardinal Walter Kasper's proposal of admitting some divorced and civilly remarried Catholics to Holy Communion. His Eminence also noted that certain problems could arise in connection with Pope Francis' new marriage nullity legislation, promulgated on September 8th.

He commented respectfully that these revisions to the Code of Canon Law, which among other things eliminate the required confirmation of nullity decrees by a tribunal of second instance, will require "very careful interpretation and application" in the light of the Church's long canonical and doctrinal tradition. Cardinal Burke referred to his own chapter in the aforesaid book, in which he recalls his earlier experience as a Monsignor in the Apostolic Signatura during the period 1971-1983, when the 2nd instance tribunal confirmation of nullity decrees was almost completely suspended in the United States. Cardinal Burke repeated in his lecture what he said in the book: that the American experiment in “streamlining” the nullity process led in practice to a serious laxity which became widely perceived as "Catholic divorce." It seems this was one reason why the 1983 Code restored the obligatory second instance review (which had been introduced by Benedict XIV back in 1740).

Another point emphasized by Cardinal Burke is that too often today the law of God regarding marriage and chastity is being presented as just an "ideal" - as something which often requires a level of heroic sanctity that is supposedly beyond the capacity of ordinary Christians. This in turn gives rise to false ideas of "mercy" which would allow admission to the sacraments of some Catholics living in sinful situations, on the grounds that it is in effect impossible for them - at least in their present situation - to reach that "ideal"of chastity. His Eminence stressed that, on the contrary, it is the clear teaching of Sacred Scripture and the Church that God's abundant grace will always be sufficient for his children to resist any temptation and to obey his commandments, provided they sincerely turn to him in humility, confident faith and persevering prayer.

After his talk, in answer to a question as to what Catholics should do if the upcoming Synod of Bishops should take a "strange turning," His Eminence gave an immediate two-word answer that drew a big round of applause: "Stay faithful!"  Those two words well summarize the whole thrust of Cardinal Burke's courageous and outspoken witness at this time of division and uncertainty over grave moral issues in today's Church. May God bless, strengthen, and protect him!

Vatican: It’s ‘impossible’ for transsexuals to serve as godparents

MADRID, September 2, 2015 (LifeSiteNews)- After Alex Salinas, a woman living as a man in San Fernando, Spain, claimed her parish priest had allowed her to be the “godfather” for the baptism of her two nephews, local bishop of Cadiz and Ceuta, Don Rafael Zornoza took the matter up with the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. The response, which strongly affirms Church teaching on the nature of gender, was published yesterday on the diocese’s website.

“On this particular case I inform you of the impossibility of admission,” read the response. 

“Transsexual behavior publicly reveals an opposition to the moral demand of resolving the problem of sexual identity according to the truth of one’s own sex. It is therefore evident that said person does not comply with the requirement of leading a life of faith and to the function of godparent (CIC, can 874 §1,3).”

“This is not seen as discrimination, but merely as the recognition of an objective lack of requirements that by their nature are necessary to take on the ecclesiastic responsibility of being a godparent,” it concluded.

The prelate explained how Pope Francis has confirmed this doctrine on several occasions and quoted his last encyclical Laudato Si: “Human ecology also implies another profound reality: the relationship between human life and the moral law, which is inscribed in our nature and is necessary for the creation of a more dignified environment.”

Bishop Zornoza also quoted Benedict XVI on the “ecology of man,” as “man too has a nature that he must respect and that he cannot manipulate at will.”

“The acceptance of our bodies as God’s gift is vital for welcoming and accepting the entire world as a gift from the Father,” continued Zornoza quoting Francis. “Thinking that we enjoy absolute power over our own bodies turns, often subtly, into thinking that we enjoy absolute power over creation. Learning to accept our body, to care for it and to respect its fullest meaning, is an essential element of any genuine human ecology.”

The bishop went on to explain that if parents are unable to find a suitable person to qualify as godparent, the priest can baptize the child without godparents, “which are not necessary to celebrate this sacrament.”

“Words have been attributed [to me] which I have not pronounced,” he noted, referring to the media falsely reporting his approval of Salinas as godfather. He explained he had reached out to the Congregation “due to the complexity and the media relevance this matter has reached, and keeping in mind the possible pastoral consequences of any decision on the matter.”

Local media reported that the baptism, scheduled for this September, has been cancelled, and that Salinas’ sisters will not baptize their children until the bishop changes his mind.

Salinas, who had declared herself to be a “firm believer,” has now claimed to be an “apostate” due to the Church’s rejection, reported Spain’s EFE.

In a petition started by change.org, Salinas wrote she didn’t understand why “the Catholic Church denies me the possibility of being a godfather” if Spanish authorities have already changed her name from Alexandra to Alexander in her official IDs.

The petition falsely celebrated a “victory” after Salinas claimed she was being allowed as godfather.

Mainstream media, which initially reported Salina’s “celebration,” have not yet reported on the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith’s response.

Deaf Sign for Abortion

8 Principles to Outlast the "gay" revolution.

Eight principles to help Americans with conservative moral values outlast the gay revolution:













Never compromise your convictions

Take the high moral ground, Cherish sexual purity

.Defend natural marriage

 Celebrate gender distinctions

Propagate the truth

 Turn to God

and refuse to throw in the towel.

Comments from St. Mary's Academy alumni. The fruit of a Catholic education?

 Here are a couple of very telling responses from past studenst of St. Mary's Academy. 
 We need to pray for the Archbishop and true Catholic teaching for very vulnerable girls.

"Priesthood and Sisterhood are very deeply intertwined with homosexuality. When you risk being ostracized and shunned (or worse) from your work, school, family, church etc. because you are gay, being a priest or nun gives you a safe role in society with no questions asked. Now laymen feel that you are the one closer to god. go figure.

The sisters from this institution are mostly all on board with this, I grew up with several of them. Common thought is "Well, I knew I couldn't marry a man, but I still wanted my family and friends to love me and not face open discrimination daily"

A lot of girls transferred to St. Mary's for school because they were gay. Having gay teachers/nuns/students around made it such a great, safe place."

"I’ve scanned through the bigotry and trolling below and I didn’t see many comments from actual alumnae of St. Mary’s so I wanted to chime in. The news from today for some didn’t seem shocking, those on the outside looking in but for me, and countless other women this news came as a gut wrenching punch to the abdomen and not because we should’ve seen it coming and were naïve to it but because we didn’t see it coming because it’s NOT the SMA we know and truly love! My time at St. Mary’s (1995-1998) were quite literally the years the solid ground work to my foundation as the woman I am today were built. It’s a school founded on the principles of diversity and social justice. Most have nightmare stories about high school but the experience I had at St. Mary’s provided me with not only the opportunity to exist in a space more diverse than I had ever known, but also to expand my horizons on what this world truly is. The curriculum was vast, challenging and utterly rewarding.

The teachers were top notch and pushed us to become the women they know we could be whether they were gay or straight and WE HAD GAY TEACHERS, they may not have been out but they most certainly were gay.

It didn’t just teach the principles of Catholicism. It’s because of St. Mary’s the seeds of other spiritual practices were planted into my sponge of a brain… we learned about The Tao, Confucius, Shamanism, Hinduism and Buddhism. I consider my education in world religions, from a Catholic school, the initial seeds to my desire and then actual action of moving to India for a few years to study yoga, meditation and dive into the worlds of Hinduism and Buddhism and a culture nothing like my own. St. Mary’s sparked that in me…

St. Mary's was a place where I finally felt like I found a place I fit in into this world, not the religious aspect, which I still don’t subscribe to, but with the vast spectrum of amazing woman who graced their halls.

As I read the OBP article my dear high school buddy sent me tears flowed... not just for the teacher who has been wronged, not just for realizing my own alma mater would take advantage of their rights and allow their beliefs based on hate to fuel their actions, not just for ALL THE GAY teachers who HAVE taught at the school (there were at least 2 I can name off hand who taught while I attended '95-'98) but for all the girls just coming into their place in this world and their own sexuality who attend the school now or may in the future.

I didn't know I was gay when I was in high school but looking back now, it was painfully clear I was. It was the first time in my life I was around women, strong, wonderful, intelligent, witty, amazingly inspiring women who were openly gay. It was the first time I was around women who may not have been open about their sexuality but it was clear what their preference was and it's obvious now why they didn't come out.

When I think back through my own journey, which seems to never end, of coming
more into my true, authentic self, I think about those women and the impact
they had on me. This teacher wouldn't have just been able to provide the
support for the role hired but could have also been a shining inspiration for
the girls she interacted with.

Christina Friedhoff stated in her statement to everyone, "We all recognize that now more than ever, we need to come together as a community so that St. Mary’s will continue to be a safe
place for all young women.”

The only thing I can think the girls need to be kept safe from now is the hatred in the hearts of their
leadership. The fact that finger pointing, the blame game, denial statements and spin is rampant right now saddens me deeply and it makes me feel like we’ll never know the actual truth
behind what happened behind closed doors.

What HAS become clear though, through this time is that those looking in from the outside at the overall SMA experience will never know what it truly is/was to be an SMA woman. What I’ve been able to see today, because of this incident, is countless women across the generational divide, banding together not in support of the school’s/ archdioceses/catholic church’s decision, but in
support of each other, in support of the strength, confidence, passion,diversity, feminist principles and acceptance we’ve all seen, felt, experienced and embraced because of this school.

I’m proud to stand with all of them and fight for the school we know SMA IS, HAS
been and CAN BE for all past, present and future strong women. This decision… while it may have been SMA Administration making it (or whomever anyone wants to blame), is not the soul
and heart beat of what St. Mary’s Academy truly is."


 "Girls make out in the halls and cuddle. Apparently that makes them supporters."