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He makes things harder on people trying to be faithful Catholics. We're told one minute we need to uphold traditional marriage and for that we get the fun prize of getting "bigot" and "homophobe" foisted on us. And then the Pope says something and people feel even more justified in their pejoratives. Of course we must hate gay people if we persist in our traditional beliefs. The pope himself is less rigid than you. I really wish I didn't have to care about traditional marriage, and could just say "hey get married to whoever you want." Would make my social life a lot easier. A lot less iso

The Bishop of Rome is indeed a very strong symbol and a tool of the unity of the Catholic Church which over centuries has been working as such despite the sins (sometimes outrageous) of particular Popes. Yet I am afraid that absolute faith in the Bishop of Rome can become a pitfall for the Catholic Church if the Pope (any Pope) diverts from the correct teaching. I do not remember that Alexander VI Borgia was heretical, he was just a sinner. In my opinion, the major bad Pope Francis does to the Church is that he blurs. He says things in a way they can interpreted and re-interpreted and be

As a certified Spiritual Director, I see lots of red flags here. No I don't believe you are too young to see a SD. Personally I would suggest a female SD due to your age. And there are ways to do this that make it safe. Suggestions given above are very creative and certainly can be utilized.....not ideal, but doable! I've had directees your age....many were mature, others were not. And my "job" was to help them on their path to spiritual maturity, clarity, and holiness. Many people have a misguided belief of what a SD is and is not. They equate a priest with a confessor with a

I ended up being immersed into grown up life and responsibilities. I would troll the site occasionally to see what was up. I'm just happy my account wasn't deleted. Thank you, dUSt.

Thank you all! Only the Lord knows the day and hour... but He leaves us signs so we know it coming. We can know the month or the year... St. Pio writes about things. I highly suggest studying what he wrote. Also, you all have to watch Father Ripperger’s Our Times parts 1 - 4. Please watch them, recorded in 2016. Highly knowledgeable exorcist. you also have to watch A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing. when Pope Leo saw the vision, satan was given the power and the time, 100 years… That hundred years is nearing the end… Demons are highly active right now, more than they’ve ever be

Greetings all! A lot is going on in our world… In our time… could be the end times... Keep in a state in grace. We are going through a chastisement. Russia was not consecrated like God told us to in Fatima. Study Akita and Fatima apparitions. 3rd secret of Fatima: The great apostasy will start at the top. Listen to Archbishop Vigano, and pray for Francis. Please watch father Ripperger’s (an exorcist) videos on YouTube… 1) Our Times- Akita and Fatima parts 1-4 2) Demonology 3) Guardian angels God Bless & Pax Christi! ironmonk

I'm probably one of those, at least somewhat. Though I've long been very much attracted to traditionalism (of the FSSP variety, not SSPX) I probably have not been able to go full all in, partially because I cannot always attend a Latin Mass (Extraordinary Form) so I willingly attend the Ordinary Form otherwise. My main desire is to just see the Extraordinary Form more available and to see some devotions and practices brought back (For example, Ember Days). But as far as what Mass someone wants to attend, whether they wear a veil or how they are receiving communion, I generally avoid those deba

It was once re-branded as Catholic vs Catholic bickering. the spirit of the rule as I interpret it is that we shouldn't be debating the validity of things at the heart of people's experience of their Catholic faith. like saying the novus ordo is invalid or receiving on the hand is evil and wrong or saying the pope is not really the pope would be prohibited; but mostly leeway is usually allowed for respectful discussions about issues within the church even if two Catholics are debating each other. anyway mediators can correct me if i'm wrong on the current level of interpretation of

Francis's claim to be "silent like Jesus" could easily be part of the PR game it's reasonable to suspect he's doing. Jesus told us to let our yes's mean yes and our no's mean no. Him being silent before his accusers was to show us how to humbly submit to persecution, it is NOT meant to be something we can use as an excuse to avoid answering an accusation (false or true) that people have a right to get an explanation from us for. The alternative is not for a pope to never speak except formally. The alternative is that it should be the pope himself who corrects the record if/when there i

My response would be (since you're asking some people, in essence, to defend or characterize themselves) that if you had to pin me down I would probably be considered trad, depending on who you talked to. I have a lot of opinions about stuff, but most of it is in the context of learning and deepening my knowledge of faith and history which is an ongoing process. I have no particular interest in defending other people I don't know against impressions you have formed about them except to say that some certain generalizations in the paragraphs above come off as judgy as anything I've ever seen on

Your point would be good except you blew it with the video. I believe that was a homily he gave in the aftermath of the accusation from his former nuncio, Vigano, that he promoted cardinal mccarrick in spite of knowing he was a sex predator. Vigano seems a crank, but at least part of what he said was confirmed independently. Anyway, the response from the Pope was to claim he would be silent like Jesus, and those who accuse are tools of the devil. This was a turning point for me as far as my feelings with the Holy Father. After everything we've been thru with sex abuse, we deserved a

I'm so glad... maybe this will be a missing piece for you. My husband and I have regularly given to Mater Ecclesiae. It's not that I'm opposed to people helping our future religious with their debts, but rather, it should be done with as much prudence as possible to have the best outcome, whether the person stays in religious life or not. Just send them to the community college instead... then finish off at a four-year school. My daughter will graduate in May with zero debt following this plan.

Hey girl. I wish you well on your journey. I disagree with most of the responses here. First let's leave off the PeOpLe ShOuLd be ReSpOnSiBle FoR tHeIr DeBt stuff. It's not like someone ran up their discover card buying tickets to Beyonce. There's a bunch of wealthy middle aged men who get extremely rich making a hard sell on teenagers who aren't old enough to drink but are old enough, for some reason, to saddle themselves with a 6 figure level of debt that can't be discharged in bankruptcy. Just who is responsible for this immoral train wreck? ...guess that's a convo for another da

I never said Trump was good for black people. I was offering a hypothetical which may or may not apply to the current election. Maybe I should have been clearer. But since you asked, I would think the Jews in your current example would have no reason to react so prickly. I don't know why it's necessarily paternalistic. You can look at objective data and say certain things have been better for a certain group of people. If unemployment drops or rises for a certain group I could say that's good or bad no? Of course having a job isn't the end all be all. Why can't you look at a specific

And that indicates a devotion to one’s promise of confidentiality! Bravo....

I don't necessarily disagree with civil union laws if they can be written in a way that doesn't involve sex. For example, what if me and my brother could never find a girlfriend and grew up as ugly, lazy, losers. We, as brothers, should be able to live in the same house and have some laws that can help us with civil issues. I'm hoping this is as far as the pope's endorsement goes. Gay people, like all sinners, shouldn't be discriminated against or shouldn't be denied the same legal protections as any other person. Now, if these laws extend extra benefits simply for being gay, and me and m

Ok so... don't go into the conversation thinking of it as spiritual direction. Honestly the term "direction" gets thrown around a lot by people ... some of whom are just ignorant and some of whom should know better. Your parents would be in the first category; the priest, if he refers to this conversation as "spiritual direction", would be in the 2nd ... the world being what it is, you are too young to have an actual spiritual director (other than what you can get from a regular confessor in the setting of confession.) Even letters or phone calls would be frowned upon... the reason being

Personally, I would gently tell them that I would feel uncomfortable being totally open with a spiritual director with them being present for what will be a very personal unburdening of my heart, and would ask them if they would consider allowing me to speak with a female vocational director that the priest could recommend. That way, they wouldn’t have to be worried that you will be placed in a compromising situation.

THE BAND IS GETTING BACK TOGETHER

So this morning I glanced up and all I saw was the undercarriage of a bus. Really, I don’t bash the Church, or Eastern Orthodox. I have immense respect for the Church and religion, despite how people choose to “follow” whatever. Nor have I ever, ever, ever, been a Browns fan.

Peace, now post this thread both on c a t h o l i c a n s w e r s and f i s h e a t e r s and sit back and enjoy as you either a) get banned and/or b) smugly sit back to see all of your negative impressions confirmed. Couldn't resist...

I guess we'll have to see how the numbers in the Senate turn out, and just how many will have to be flipped/

I'll respond to the original query: I grew up more rad-trad than most. We were schismatic (my parents didn't know it at the time). The group I was with ended up being excommunicated years later. We left that group when I was 15. We ended up going to the Latin Mass for several more years at an FSSP parish almost 2 hours away, until a new mission (and later parish) was started a bit closer to home (45 mins). I'm still thankful for the whole experience, largely because we were actually taught the catechism there. Thanks to that I have a much better understanding of Catholic

Wow, we agreed on something. Nice! High-five!

persecuted for his love of Christ. not just persecuted in the general sense of unjustly or falsely accused. persecuted for the love of Christ is the ONLY time you should get to use the "I'm being silent like Jesus" line, IMO; you can't use it when someone who would have knowledge of events makes an accusation--you must directly respond to those. I think you can also be silent to an accusation if it's something like "when did you stop beating your wife"; but you shouldn't invoke Jesus there, and that should only be done in a case where the answer creates the story (ie no one ever thought

Peace, we aren't all trads here but I do agree that Phatmass over the years seems to have become basically a trad influenced forum. It can be a little off-putting when one isn't a trad, but I still come to check things out and always hope there will be a chance for some different views while not generating antagonism. I think you walk the line pretty well.

Thanks. You too. I am extremely judgmental, but nobody is perfect. I wouldn't say that I want anybody to defend themselves. I would guess that many of my impressions are wrong, but yeah, I don't get where a lot of Trads are coming from. If my impressions are false, I have difficulty understanding what the truth of the matter is, or what the alternative is, I guess you could say. Of course, not every one of my impressions applies to every Trad in the world. To a certain extent you have to generalize to start a discussion of that sort. If we are talking about this forum, for examp

How do you see this thread going?

I don't have to explain anything. You already know exactly why I wrote that. But I will anyway, for my "entertainment". 1) Pope Francis has not made an impression that he approves "homosexual unions". In the very video that everyone is whining about he said "And that doesn’t mean to approve of homosexual acts, not at all.” He mas not made any statement anywhere all that suggests that he approves "homosexual unions." 2) Pope Francis did not create the scandal. That's complete BS. The scandal was created by a filmmaker who manipulated his words, and an insane media that ran with i

@KnightofChrist, it's not unreasonable to suspect Pope Francis might be playing a PR game, let something slip out or purposefully let it be misinterpreted and then let the officials correct it, while remaining silent himself. If that's what he's doing, it's unfortunate. IF that's what he's doing, that doesn't mean you should come out with the automatic assumption that the quotes from the media are accurate. Because on the other hand he's also not coming out and correcting the correctors, part of that PR game is that he does indeed still allow his position to be shown to be the offi

Here's something interesting out of Portland, Oregon -- as a result of the recent violence and unrest -- they held an exorcism, rosary and Eucharistic procession. Maybe their big brother (Seattle) can take a hint and do something as well, I grew up outside that city and it's gone from leftist clown parade to a drug infested crime hole with its own problems of civil unrest in the last decade. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/portland-archdiocese-holds-rosary-eucharistic-procession-for-peace-59216

Encyclicals are literally, "papal letters" -- so they aren't necessarily infallible in themselves but depending on the subject, may enforce teachings that are infallible. The Church has never taught that the death penalty was intrinsically evil. Popes as recent as Benedict XVI have allowed for diversity of position on its permissiveness. So in that sense I don't think the position Francis has taken can be set up to be infallible. I think this is why the term "inadmissible" is used, because it's framing capital punishment as an unnecessary practice in light of modern circumstances, as opp

Sorry, I meant Moraga street. There are some mosaic steps there, which if you climb will give you a sweeping view of the street as it leads out to the beach. If you google "moraga street been there done that" and look at images, the first image is a picture taken from the steps looking out towards the ocean. It's late afternoon getting towards sunset and the water is glowing pink. And the street itself is glowing from the light reflecting off the ocean. You can see cars and even people going about their business on the street but they are all basking in this warm comforting light. That

The pope didn't say anything about marriage. How's this any different than the pope standing up for the rights of persecuted Muslims, or the rights of immigrants, or the rights of any group of human beings that are not Catholic? I don't think he's changing church teaching here--if anything, I can see the gay community rejecting his thoughts on the matter because "civil union" isn't endorsing gay marriage.

Margaret Mary Funk is amazing.

i guess it's worth noting the irony, that i have an honors degree in environmental science, from a competitive university that maybe five percent of the population has any chance of getting into. but if he won't listen to the overwhelming consensus of scientists, why is he going to listen to two more science peeps? it's far fetched to think that the coral reefs and other ecosystems affected by global warming just decided to start dying when the industrial age started, after all these millions of years. it's clearly implied that there's a causal correlation here.

Thank you so much for the feedback and ideas! I have heard those 2 organizations are great and have helped many men and women! I just wanted to share a response to some of the valid situations/concerns raised above in case other discerners read this and are in a similar situation of receiving a call and having education debt. When I received the call and began this discernment these very possible situations you have described stopped me from thinking this was possible to say Yes to God. But after attending the Vocation Awareness Program in Dallas, TX I was given tools and inform

Rightly or wrongly that was the first thing that crossed my mind when I read about raising money to pay off loans before entering. I think it would be wrong not to pay money back if a person ended up leaving before final vows.

Also, Mater Ecclesiae Fund for Religious. The advantage to these organizations is that if you end up discerning that you do not have a vocation, which may happen, there is no guilt or bad feelings about the money that your benefactors spent to pay off the entirety of your loan. And what do you do? Try to pay them back? Justice would seem like you should, but the reality is pretty much impossible. On the flip side, I know a couple who paid quite a bit of a young lady's loan so that she could enter a community, and she left after about 8 months. It became obvious she didn't have a vocati

The topic of gay marriage was not discussed in the documentary. In his ministry, Pope Francis has frequently affirmed the doctrinal teaching of the Catholic Church that marriage is a lifelong partnership between one man and one woman. The pope has also said that “marriage is between a man and a woman,” and said that “the family is threatened by growing efforts on the part of some to redefine the very institution of marriage,” and that efforts to redefine marriage “threaten to disfigure God’s plan for creation.”

Just a general comment -- snide remarks or subtle mockery is not a good look. Question or disagree with charity so this doesn't start rolling into personal attacks. I have disagreed with some of the pope's comments or private opinions for some time now, or at the very least, felt they needed clarification. And for the sake of stating the obvious in case some confused people might be reading this board, a Catholic should treat the pope with respect, but they do not have to agree with every off the cuff statement or opinion a pope may have. Private opinions are not the same thing as a pope

I have a hard time with "endorsing gay civil unions". The couple in this union would very likely not be Catholic. And if they were and they were in a civil union (or civil marriage here) they would be allowed to attend mass but not receive. They would likely not be able to receive the sacrament of reconciliation. but then again that's true of heterosexual civil marriages as well. And nobody has a problem saying "Hey would love to have you in the Church but I respect your right to be you!" So if this is just the pope calling a duck a duck, I'm not sure what the fuss is about? If he wa

No disagreements there. About as good of a chance as the million other times people predicted the apocalypse. We need to get you a tin foil hat.

Yeah I am not even going down another rabbit-hole with you. If you want to take the stance that Trump is not sexist, have at it. Yeah I don't know about all that. Someone is drinking the Kool-aid, but I should have known that when you wrote that Trump is the "least racist president in history." Except if we are talking about "The Left" of course. Then we can accuse away. Yeah, I don't think his name was very good to start off with, but that's cool. But why so enthusiastic with the defense? You really need to create a thread like "Yeah, anyone who thinks Trump is

With a lot of points already made, I'd frankly recommend to wait until you turn 18 before starting spiritual direction and until this point, stay with a regular confessor. Is there something like a diocesan vocations office in the youth ministries in your region? Maybe they can help you, too.

My gamma said I had a face for radio

@PaxCordisJesu As much as I think spiritual direction is important for discerners, it's not totally surprising that you wouldn't be able to have one-on-one SD with a priest under age 18. I agree that you can't have real SD with your parents present. But often diocesan "Safe Environment" standards are pretty strict in this regard. Also, I don't know your parents, and it is true that discernment is YOUR job, not your parents'. As in, you discern your vocation and tell your parents afterwards, they themselves don't get a "vote." Yet at the same time, your parents almost certainly have your

As a mom, I would never subject my daughters to this. Who ever heard of spiritual direction with other people present? I wouldn't have done it as a teenager, no way. My daughters have had spiritual directors they have privately met with since the age of 16 with our permission, sometimes sitting in lawn chairs in the front yard in full view. We chose the director for them, even, based on the priest's holiness. But I'd never sit in and listen, and to be frankly honest, I wouldn't want to. But also as a mom, they do have the right to call the shots for a little longer. Often, young women wil

Is that a fat joke?