Amy-Jill Levine was elected the first Jewish president of the Catholic Biblical Association of America on July 20, 2026. In February 2020, Levine stated: “So I'm not a Christian, I'm not a Messianic Jew, I do not worship Jesus as Lord and Savior, and for me the New Testament is not sacred scripture.” Discussing the Gospels, she continued: “I will argue, that not all the comments the gospel writers attribute to Jesus were spoken by him. I think they added some things.” She added: “My bias or my agenda is in part to help Christians stop making Jewish practice and belief look bad in order to make Jesus look good.”
1. Jüdin Präsidentin der Catholic Biblical Association Amy-Jill Levine, 1. jüdische Präsidentin der Catholic Biblical Association (USA): "I'm not a Christian. I'm not a Messianic Jew. I do not worship Jesus as Lord and Savior and for me the New Testament is not a Sacred Sripture. I will argue, I hope convincingly or at least I'm convinced that not all the comments the gospel writers attribute to Jesus were spken by him. I think they added some things." „Ich bin keine Christin. Ich bin keine messianische Jüdin. Ich verehre Jesus nicht als Herrn und Erlöser und für mich ist das Neue Testament keine Heilige Schrift. Ich werde darlegen – hoffentlich überzeugend, oder zumindest bin ich selbst davon überzeugt –, dass nicht alle Äußerungen, die die Evangelisten Jesus zuschreiben, tatsächlich von ihm gesprochen wurden. Ich glaube, sie haben einiges hinzugefügt" Amy-Jill Levine wurde am 20. Juli 2026 zur 1. jüdische Präsidentin der Catholic Biblical Association der USA gewählt: National Catholic …अधिक
In Lungo’s case, it seems likely that some at least will take this same line in response to his apparent Freemasonry. But for the Vatican, the case is — or should be — much more acute, since it involves the wholesale moral condemnation by the Church of a legal category of persons.
Lourdes Bans FSSPX Masses: On August 13, Bishop Jean-Marc Micas of Tarbes and Lourdes, France, issued a statement concerning the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X (FSSPX) pilgrimage to Lourdes. He cited the episcopal consecrations at Écône on July 1 and the subsequent decree of the Holy See. The FSSPX is no longer authorized to celebrate Mass or other sacraments inside the Lourdes Sanctuary, nor to organize public prayers there. Individual pilgrims remain free to pray privately. Bishop Micas wrote that he was aware the decision would cause “pain” and “perhaps incomprehension.” The FSSPX had held organized public worship at Lourdes for many years, including Masses, confessions, processions and public prayers within the Sanctuary.
A depiction of Our Lady by Romanian artist Teodora Axente has sparked controversy in Siena, Italy. The Virgin on this year's Palio banner os androgynous and departs from any Marian iconography. The Municipality of Siena commissioned Axente to create the Drappellone, the painted silk banner awarded to the winning contrada, one of Siena's historic districts, in the city's centuries-old Palio horse race. Axente was appointed by the city government on the proposal of Mayor Nicoletta Fabio. The banner was unveiled on August 10. It places the Virgin above Siena and its contrade, protecting the Golden Rose associated with Pope Pius II, and commemorates the 500th anniversary of the 1526 Battle of Camollia. Axente called the figure her personal vision of the Madonna and said the figures in the work were “more androgynous” and therefore “universal characters.” On August 13, the Archdiocese of Siena published a statement by Father Enrico Grassini, rector of the Collegio dei Correttori. He rejected …अधिक
On July 20, at Loyola University Maryland in Baltimore, the 88th Annual Meeting of the Catholic Biblical Association (CBA) elected Amy-Jill Levine, 70, as president for 2026–2027. She is the first Jewish president in the CBA’s history. Founded in 1936, the CBA is an independent association with longstanding institutional ties to the U.S. bishops. Its constitution says it pursues biblical scholarship “in conformity with the teaching of the magisterium of the Catholic Church.” Levine is a New Testament scholar and is a longtime member of the CBA. In spring 2019, she became the first Jewish scholar to teach New Testament at Rome’s Pontifical Biblical Institute. She has also had three audiences with Pope Francis. In a sermon at Washington National Cathedral on March 7, 2021, Levine said: “I’m a Jew. I don’t worship Jesus as Lord and Savior.” "Lectionary Revision Is Only A Start" In an interview published by The Christian Century in June 2023, Levine describes parts of the Gospel of John as …अधिक
It is illogical to be considered a scholar regarding the New Testament while denying the Word and the Truth contained therein within the context of Catholic theology and doctrine. But it is both illogical and heretical to make the appointment in the first place. From the excommunicating- happy Vatican, the sound of crickets.
Catholics Walk With the Blessed Sacrament in Dublin - ShalomWorldNews Around 1,500 Catholics gathered in Dublin on August 16 for the third annual Eucharistic and Marian Procession, marking the Feast of the Assumption. The faithful prayed the Rosary and accompanied the Blessed Sacrament through the city streets, stopping at significant locations, including the GPO and Leinster House, for prayer. The Children’s Rosary of the UK also joined the faithful, leading prayers along the route. The day concluded with Holy Mass at St. Andrew’s Church.
May the Heart of Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament be praised, adored and loved with grateful affection at every every moment in all the tabernacles of the world even unto the end of time. ~ Amen.
During a secret Vatican consultation in 2016, six voters didn't simply doubt the Medjugorje apparitions but reportedly concluded that the devil was behind the phenomenon, Italian journalist David Murgia reported August 17 on IlSegnoDiGiona.com. Six participants in the confidential consultation of the Vatican's then-Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith concluded that Medjugorje could not be explained without the “original, direct and foundational intervention” of the Evil One. Three of the six were reportedly cardinals. In Murgia's account, they considered Medjugorje not a “Mariophany” - an appearance of Mary - but a “Satanophany.” Their proposed judgment was constat de praeternaturalitate maligna: essentially, a finding of malign preternatural origin. The six were part of a larger group of 33 Church figures who submitted opinions on Medjugorje in 2016. According to Murgia, 21 rejected a supernatural origin, nine favored it, and three remained undecided. The six who attributed the …अधिक
Leo XIV’s Peru Visit Prepared By Pachamama Offering: On 13–14 August, “Entrelazando Voces por la Dignidad,” a regional gathering of social organizations and Indigenous communities, took place in Cusco, Peru. Spanish-language outlets, including Vatican News, linked it to preparations for Pope Leo XIV’s November visit. Bishop Lizardo Estrada Herrera, auxiliary bishop of Cusco and CELAM secretary-general, inaugurated the gathering; Bishop Miguel Ángel Cadenas of Iquitos also attended. InfoVaticana video shows the event opening with an Andean offering to Pachamama/Mother Earth. Participants received coca leaves, performed guided breathing, blew three times on the leaves, and placed them with food offerings in bowls on the ground. Bishop Estrada is shown adding coca leaves to the offering. Monsignor Jordi Bertomeu, Vatican official overseeing the dissolution of the community Sodalitium, also took part, placing coca leaves in the offering.
Un comisario pontificio y un obispo depositan coca en un «pago a la tierra»: Jordi Bertomeu oferente a la Pachamama
Diocese of Pissburgh: This is the last Sunday Latin Mass at St Titus in Aliquippa, PA. The final TLM will be Friday 9/4 at 7pm. The servers lead Fr Michael Roche in the recessional while the faithful cry out: "Faith of our Fathers, Holy Faith, we will be true to thee till death!" Video by Mason-Dixon Latin Mass Society
It's a test of faith to those who attend this mass. Will they return to the putrid Novus Ordo of travel to the mass that glorifies God , no matter where it may be.?
The Mass in the traditional Roman rite plays “no separate or prominent role” in the Archdiocese of Cologne, "conservative" Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki told Die-Tagespost.de on the occasion of his 70th birthday on August 17. “I see myself entirely at home in the tradition and teaching of the Second Vatican Council,” Cardinal Woelki said. The liturgical reform was “one of the essential reforms” of Vatican II. The cardinal expressed gratitude to the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter (FSSP), which celebrates the Roman liturgy at designated locations in the archdiocese. “I see this as an enrichment, because there have always been different rites in the Church,” he explained. His but: “The Novus Ordo Missae has a beauty and dignity that is in no way inferior to the Tridentine rite.” For Cardinal Woelki, the ars celebrandi is decisive. Liturgical abuses are not confined to the Novus Ordo, Cardinal Woelki believes. If Mass were merely "rattled off in ten to twelve minutes" - something that …अधिक
If any part of the NO has dignity and beauty matching the TLM it is only because that part that is beautiful is a remnant part of the Old Rite that was spared from the butcher’s (Bugnini’s) knife.
Italian Diocese Expands Women’s Roles in Church Administration. Worse than Germany: The Italian Diocese of Trapani, is increasingly appointing laypeople - including women - to formal Curia and diocesan roles as the number of priests declines. The diocese now has fewer than 100 diocesan priests and is bringing in priests from Madagascar, Tanzania, and religious institutes to fill parish vacancies. Among the most significant appointments, lawyer Susanna Catalano has been named the diocese’s second vice-chancellor. Four lay Catholics will receive the instituted ministry of catechist, including two women, Francesca Messina and Caterina Vesco.
Trapani, mancano i preti ma crescono i laici in Curia: Fragnelli cerca sacerdoti all’estero e nomina la seconda vicecancelliera
Chapter V ~ On Charity to Sinners [Whoso shall cause one of these little ones which believe on Me to stumble, it is profitable for him that a great millstone should be hanged about his neck, and that he should be sunk in the depth of the sea. —St. Matt. xviii. 6 (R.V.). Deal not roughly with him that is tempted; but give him comfort, as thou wouldest wish to be done to thyself. —The Imitation of Christ, i. 13.] I ~ The example of St. Antony, showing how he valued a sinner who repented. It happened that a certain brother in the community of the abbot Elias fell into sin. The brethren expelled him from the monastery and he fled to St. Antony who then dwelt on the inner mountain. The saint kept him there some time and then sent him back to the monastery from which he had been cast out. The brethren, when they saw him, immediately drove him forth again. Then, as at first, he fled to St. Antony, and said to him, "My father, they will not receive me." Then the saint was grieved, and sent to …अधिक
"II ~ How the abbot Besarion desired to share the reproach of the Lord, of whom they said, "He eateth with publicans and sinners." A certain brother had sinned, and the priest ordered him to go out of the church and depart from the company of the brethren. Then the abbot Besarion arose and went out along with him, saying, "I also am a sinner."
The Archdiocese of Olomouc, Czech Republic, has cancelled a homosexual “pilgrimage” scheduled for September 19, in Olomouc. Olomouc Archbishop Josef Nuzík, 60, was expected to preside at the Eucharist, giving the event direct institutional backing. The program also included a presentation by priest Cyril Havel on Building a Bridge, a book by American Jesuit James Martin; a video greeting from Martin; testimony from parents of alleged transgender-children; and a discussion of different Christian approaches to homosexual pastoral care. Organizers claimed a “wave of negative and hostile reactions” online, although they did not identify who was responsible or where these reactions were posted. Claiming they could no longer guarantee participants a safe environment, organizers cancelled the event on August 14. The event, Pouť na půli cesty (“Pilgrimage Halfway”), was to be the second pilgrimage for homosexuals, their relatives and other participants. It was organized by pastoral ministries …अधिक
US Sisters and the Macarena Retirement Tour: The Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) held its 70th anniversary gathering in Orlando, Florida, from 11 to 14 August. They posted a video on Facebook showing elderly women in civilian clothes dancing the Macarena (1995). The fitting headline: "When Catholic sisters get together, watch out for the dance parties! ". Macarena was popular when the sisters were in their 50s. The LCWR represents the leaders of many women's religious congregations in the United States.
Dance party of "nuns": The LCWR 70th Anniversary Gathering was held August 11–14, 2026, in Orlando, Florida. The event brought together Catholic women and men religious from the United States, Canada, Latin America and other parts of the Americas for prayer, worship, talks, discussion and community events.
And you wonder why vocations to the nunnery have collapsed. People who have a religious vocation take their lives seriously and look for serious opportunities
2. Historical Context and "Dance Manias" Catholic history records instances where mass dancing was interpreted through the lens of spiritual affliction or divine punishment. [1, 2] St. Vitus’ Dance (Chorea): In the Middle Ages, outbreaks of compulsive, uncontrollable dancing (now understood as a neurological or psychological phenomenon) swept through Europe. [1, 2, 3, 4] Spiritual Intercession: Victims were sent to shrines of St. Vitus, a Christian martyr, to pray for deliverance and healing from what many at the time feared was a demonic curse or affliction. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5] 3. Ritual Dancing and Entry Points Catholic moral theology warns against practices that willingly open a person up to the influence of evil spirits. Trance Induction: Repetitive, frenzied, or rhythmic dancing used in occult or neo-pagan rituals is designed to lower conscious defenses and alter the state of mind. [1, 2, 3] The Danger of Invitation: Exorcists warn that participating in dances meant to invoke …अधिक