This just in from Newsweek.com: “The Edge, lead guitarist with the Irish band U2, has become the first rock star to play in the Sistine Chapel, a venue he described as ‘the most beautiful parish hall in the world.’

“The performer, whose real name is David Evans, sang four songs on Saturday night for about 200 doctors, researchers and philanthropists who attended a conference at the Vatican on regenerative medicine called Cellular Horizons.

“Backed by a choir of seven Irish teenagers, and wearing his trademark black beanie cap, he played acoustic guitar and sang a cover of Leonard Cohen's ‘If It be Your Will’, and versions of U2 songs ‘Yahweh’, ‘Ordinary Love’ and ‘Walk On.’

“He joked with his audience, telling them he was stunned when asked to play in the chapel, which was painted by Renaissance master Michelangelo in the 16th century. He then thanked Pope Francis and other Vatican officials ‘for allowing us to use the most beautiful parish hall in the world’.

The Edge dedicated his performance of ‘Walk On,’ written in 2000 for Myanmar democracy advocate Aung San Suu Kyi when she was under house arrest, to Pope Francis, who he described as "the people's pope. ‘He's doing an amazing job and long may he continue,’ he added.” READ MORE HERE

REMNANT COMMENT: And of course, this was the same event at which pro-abort ‘Catholic’ VP Joe Biden was also on hand. Old Uncle Joe didn’t sing for anyone but did deliver a talk at the same conference, just before managing to land a private meeting with Pope Francis.

Bit of irony here, of course, that since 1492 the Sistine Chapel was the sacred place where the College of Cardinals gathered to elect a new pope—the rock of St. Peter. History will now record that under the reign of Francis the Great, that same chapel—famous for its fresco of the Second Coming of Christ and images of the damned being sent to hell and tortured by demons—became a venue for rock stars (...seems strangely fitting somehow). 

Anyway, remember the bit about Arian heretics back in the fourth century taking over the Catholic buildings while a small remnant kept the old Faith? Well, is it just me or does it seem that Pope Francis the Great is bound and determined to demonstrate that the same thing is happening today.  Every time I turn around there seems to be another pro-abort, liberal, population-control whacko being paraded through the halls of the most important buildings of old Christendom. It's almost as if Francis the Great is saying: "I will do whatever I please with your buildings!"

 

So where's our St. Athanasius?

In December of 2015, Father Celatus—a diocesan priest—penned an article for The Remnant in which he promised to boycott the Year of Mercy. At the time, Father wrote: "The Last Word is boycotting the Year of Mercy, much as we have boycotted the Luminous Mysteries and other V2 novelties. I urge all pastors and the faithful as well to be very wary of this Jubilee Year Trojan Horse.

“If Francis of Rome wants a Year of Mercy then he should act in obedience to the Blessed Mother and consecrate Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. That single act would usher in an entire era of divine mercy and peace for the Church and world. But short of that long overdue act of consecration we should not expect mercy but rather an ever intensifying application of divine wrath upon the V2 church and world. Regrettably, there is little hope for divine clemency under the pontificate of Francis, who continually proves to be an unprecedented chastisement and scourge upon the Church and world.” READ FATHER’S ARTICLE HERE

This just in from NCR: "Vice President Joe Biden arrives in Rome on Thursday to attend a conference on breakthroughs in regenerative medicine, part-hosted by the Pontifical Council for Culture.

"Biden will deliver a talk the following day about the Obama administration's "Moonshot" initiative which aims to make therapies available to more patients and accelerate cancer research by improving cancer prevention and detecting it at an early stage..." READ STORY HERE

REMNANT COMMENT:  The Vice President will meet Pope Francis after the conference, by the way.  Now, I know--this is just a lot of silly liberal spin. Biden probably made the whole thing up, in fact. Or maybe it's the drive-by media up to their old tricks again. I don't know.  One thing's certain--Pope Francis will have had nothing to do with that scheduled private meeting with pro-abort apostate Joe Biden. That meeting will have been a chance encounter that couldn't possibly have been avoided.

This is all about one thing--cancer research and saving kids, and Biden's talk at the Vatican is essential to the success of the conference. Anyone who reads more into it is just a pope-bashing hater of Francis the Great.

Got it? Good. Now have a nice day.

This just in from RenewAmerica.com: "The liberal media are so in love with Pope Francis that they can't report the hard truth about his blatant interference in the 2016 presidential campaign and what it represents.

Not only was socialist Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) invited to a conference of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences (PASS) on Catholic social teaching and the world situation, he also met personally with Pope Francis.

A secular Jewish atheist, Sanders is not even a member of the Catholic Church. "I am not actively involved with organized religion," Sanders has said. His brother Larry says, "He is quite substantially not religious."

Instead, he is a socialist with strong ties, if not membership in, the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), the same group that backed Barack Obama's run for president in 2008 and is the U.S. affiliate of the Socialist International.

His involvement in the Vatican conference demonstrates how Pope Francis is moving the Roman Catholic Church into the global socialist camp. READ FULL STORY HERE

REMNANT COMMENT: It must be increasingly difficult for the neo-Catholics to keep their heads buried far enough beneath the sandy surface to miss the most dramatic coup d’état in history. They can stay in denial down there all day long if they want, but, as this story helps make obvious, the rest of the world is waking up. The human element of the Catholic Church has fallen. The walls have been breached. The fort has been betrayed. Welcome to the springtime of Vatican II!  
   

This just in from the Catholic Herald: "The Bishop of Wrexham, announcing the closure of 22 churches by 2020, says some changes will begin 'within weeks'

"The Bishop of Wrexham has said that the closure of 22 churches across his diocese is a “huge opportunity for renewal”.

"In a pastoral letter to the diocese, Bishop Peter Brignall announced that he plans to shut 22 out of the current 62 Catholic churches by 2020.

"He wrote: “To some it will be shocking, to others not radical enough; to some it will come as a relief, to others a disappointment or even a scandal; to us all it will be a challenge, but I firmly believe also a huge opportunity for renewal.

“It will mean pastors and communities will have to look afresh at how we live parish life, how the Catholic Church in north Wales is profoundly missionary.” FULL REPORT HERE

REMNANT COMMENT: Ah, springtime. Isn't it wonderful? “On present calculations," noted His Excellency, "by 2020 the number of under-retirement-age priests will be 22..."

That's fabulous. And a few years after that, there won't be any priests at all left in Wales. And just imagine what an awesome opportunity for renewal THAT will be!

To help get our buildings back, subscribe to The Remnant today. 

This just in from Vatican Radio: "(Vatican Radio) Christians who say “it’s always been done that way,” and stop there have hearts closed to the surprises of the Holy Spirit. They are idolaters and rebels will never arrive at the fullness of the truth. That was the message of Pope Francis at Mass on Monday morning at the chapel in the Casa Santa Marta."

The Pope's words:  “Christians who obstinately maintain ‘it’s always been done this way,' this is the path, this is the street—they sin: the sin of divination. It’s as if they went about by guessing: ‘What has been said and what doesn’t change is what’s important; what I hear—from myself and my closed heart—more than the Word of the Lord.’ Obstinacy is also the sin of idolatry: the Christian who is obstinate sins! The sin of idolatry. ‘And what is the way, Father?’ Open the heart to the Holy Spirit, discern what is the will of God....This is the message the Church gives us today. This is what Jesus says so forcefully: ‘New wine in new wineskins.’ Habits must be renewed in the newness of the Spirit, in the surprises of God..." READ REPORT HERE

REMNANT COMMENT: Give us a break, Holiness. Those of us who are still paying attention to your schoolmarm papacy are beginning to long for the good ole days of Pope Who Am I To Judge.  Now it’s more like: "Whom am I to judge?"-- as in: "Whom am I to judge first? Get in line!"

This today from the New York Times, of all places: "MONTECRISTI, Ecuador—The earth shook and the steeple fell, taking most of the bell tower with it. A white facade gave way, leaving the pews open to the street. But amid the wreckage at the basilica, one object remained untouched: Our Mother of Monserrate, the statue of the Virgin Mary for which the church was named.

"Dressed in gold robes and wearing a tiny crown, she is only about three feet tall. But the statue, which landed on these shores from Spain in the 16th century, has long played an outsize role in the history of Montecristi.

"She survived bombardment by pirates and became a rallying point for Catholics when a secular government expelled priests generations later. Every November, hundreds of thousands of pilgrims trek from across Ecuador for nine days of festivities in her honor.

"Now, after a 7.8-magnitude earthquake upended the nation last weekend, the survival of Our Mother of Monserrate has become a symbol of the persistence of this hillside town." FULL STORY HERE

REMNANT COMMNENT: As the world falls further and further into apocalyptic chaos, and the Catholic Church hoists the white flag of surrender, it becomes more obvious every day that there will be no human solution, that heaven waits for man's repentance, and that only God can save us now.

Is it so surprising, then, that even as His mother stood at the foot of the Cross at His crucifixion, she should emerge again for the world to see at the crucifixion of His Mystical Body?  God is showing us where the hope of the whole world can be found--in the Statat Mater on the Monte Christi.

O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee. 


 

Remember this?

 

"They have changed our churches. They have closed them. And now we're not even allowed to kneel when that awesome Presence comes down into that one Host. I'm tired of your witchcraft. I'm tired. I'm tired. I'm tired of being pushed in corners. I'm tired of your inclusive language that refused to admit the Son of God is a man. I'm tired of your ticks. I'm tired of your deceits...I'm so tired of your liberal Church....This is not an accident. We've swallowed this for thirty years. And I'm tired of it...I'm a Roman Catholic... I believe in God the Father, Creator of Heaven and Earth. I believe there is a Trinity. I believe that He died and He suffered and He rose. I believe in that. But you don't. You spread your errors to children, and our children don't even know the Eucharist anymore, they don't understand that it is the Blessed Sacrament, that it's the body and blood of Jesus Christ. Your catechisms are so watered down. I don't like your Church. You have nothing to offer. You do nothing but destroy.  " 

She didn't get everything right about Vatican II and the Revolution which it spawned, of course. She certainly didn't realize just how high up the chain of command the enemies of the Church had risen. But Mother Angelica had an instinctive sense that something was terribly wrong, and I believe she will be remembered as one of only a few who possessed the courage to stand against assaults on the Church coming from within the Church, wherever and whenever they were recognized as such.

One can only imagine what Mother Angelica would say of the disastrous reign of Pope Francis.  As she notes in the video above, "I shall kneel at the consecration."  She'd never even imagined that a pope was coming who would not. 

May she rest in peace.

This today from CatholicCulture.org: "Before departing for the Greek island of Lesbos on April 16, Pope Francis greeted Sen. Bernie Sanders and his wife. The two were staying as guests at Domus Sanctae Marthae because the presidential candidate was speaking at a conference organized by the Pontifical Academy for Social Sciences." READ MORE HERE

REMNANT COMMENT: When The Remnant covered the run-up to this tête-à-tête between the pope and the most socialist presidential contender in U.S. history, we were accused of taking liberal lies and reporting them as fact. Why? Because we’re just a bunch of “Francis haters", of course.

Remember? Besides, Bernie was making it all up! Francis had nothing to do with it, and in fact would NEVER meet personally, even briefly, with pro-abort Bernie Sanders. The Remnant was scolded and told to apologize for running such a hateful and false story.

So, now what?

Crickets?

Really!?

The pope, himself, speaking to reporters on his plane later last week, confirmed that his brief meeting with Sanders had indeed taken place, saying “This morning when I was leaving, Senator Sanders was there. He knew I was leaving at that time, and he had the courtesy to greet me.”

A powerful and controversial politician being given a few moments in which to meet the Pope does not happen by accident. It makes no difference how long the meet and greet lasted. The point is the pope's personal secretary arranged it the night before and it took place exactly on schedule the following morning.

And all of this took place only after Bernie Sanders and his wife, Jane, had had dinner at the Casa Santa Marta with Sanders' foreign policy adviser, Jeffrey D. Sachs (yes, the  very same 'sustainable development' guru so beloved by Pope Francis) and his wife, Sonia, who were joined by Bishop Sánchez Sorondo and Cardinal Óscar Andrés Rodríguez Maradiaga of Honduras, the pope’s right-hand man and one of the Vatican’s top power players.

So what do the brave defenders of the Pope have to say now? Not one of them feels even the slightest compunction to apologize to The Remnant? After all, they went out of their way to go on social media and try to shoot the messenger, undermine our credibility, judge our motives, even accuse us of hate.

Is this okay?  This is the new godly?

Sister Mary Catherine back in the 3rd grade would have called that calumny. She used to use the analogy of a guy ripping open a feather pillow from high atop a skyscraper, allowing all those feathers to fly out over the city. "How is it possible," Sister asked, "to ever get those feathers back into their case once you've released them into the wind? It's impossible, just as it's impossible to take calumny back, once you've spoken it [or typed it out on Facebook]."

But when it comes to the public calumny of ‘rad trads’, these good people evidently do not feel bound by the requirements of Christian charity.  They will go silent over the Bergoglio & Bernie meeting, and wait for the next papal scandal to come along before commencing to calumniate The Remnant for reporting on it accurately...rather than covering it up like good little neo-Catholics should.

The emperor is buck naked, of course, but our courageous critics remain bound and determined to gag the 'rad trads' who keep pointing out the obvious, rather than praising the humble prince's lovely raiment like a bunch of darn fools.  

Interesting bit from Churchpop.com: "If for some reason you don’t know who Kobe Bryant is, he’s only one of the best basketball players ever. And he recently retired from the NBA.

What most people don’t know, though, is that he’s Catholic. And that, according to a recent interview, his Catholic faith helped him through one of the darkest times of his life.

Born in 1978 in Philadelphia, Kobe (he’s known by his first name) was raised in a Roman Catholic family. When he was six, his family moved to Italy, to a small town an hour outside of Rome. Because of this, Kobe speaks fluent Italian to this day.

He was drafted into the NBA right out of high school, the first time a guard had ever been drafted that young, and he quickly became a star. Soon people were speculating about whether he was “the next Michael Jordan.”

In 2001, when he was 23, he married 19 year old Vanessa Laine, who is also Catholic. The wedding was held at St. Edward Roman Catholic Church in Dana Point, California. Two years later in 2003, their first child was born. READ STORY HERE

REMNANT COMMENT: Bryant was accused of rape in 2003--a charge he vehemently denied. He was, however, guilty of adultery, and although he and his wife stayed together for a long time after the scandal and even had another child together, Mrs. Bryant eventually filed for divorced.

Kobe credits his Catholic faith and a priest friend for having helped him put his life back together since then: "The one thing that really helped me during that process—I’m Catholic, I grew up Catholic, my kids are Catholic—was talking to a priest."

In 2013 Bryant and his wife called off their divorce and got back together. In retirement as of this year, one of the greatest basketball players of all time is a happily married practicing Catholic. 

A living legend in a world that practices a form of sports idolatry, it's no wonder this kid fell a few times, and fell hard. But isn't it wonderful to see the grace of God at work even in this day and age, and especially in the very rich, glamorous and spiritually dangerous world of the professional athlete. May God continue to go with Kobe Bryant and his family.

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