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The central question of our time is that of Christ, even within a sickly Christianity. We do not realize that by dint of opening ourselves to everyone, we end up marginalizing Christ, we consider him superfluous, optional in the mechanism of salvation.

By Giacomo Cardinal Biffi (excerpts)

The three levels of Church-authority:

1. The Extraordinary (or Solemn) Magisterium: This category of magisterial teaching is infallible and is the easiest to identify as being such because of its explicit and definitive nature. It is exercised by either the pope alone (e.g., the papal definitions of the Immaculate Conception and the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary), or by the whole college of bishops, with the pope as their head — as, for example, when specific doctrines are defined in an ecumenical council (e.g., the Council of Florence on the necessity of the Church for salvation, Vatican I on papal infallibility, etc.).

“Again you have heard that it was said to the men of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.’ 34But I say to you, Do not swear at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, 35or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. 36And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. 37Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil.[i] Matthew 5:33- 37

The numbers in parentheses refer to the Catechism of the Catholic Church

Pope Francis writes letter in support of persecuted Catholics in Nicaragua

A report from Life Site News edited

'I wish to convey to you my closeness and the assurance that I unceasingly pray to the Blessed Virgin to console and accompany you, confirming you in your faith,' Pope Francis wrote to Nicaragua's Catholic community.

Visiting a Greek Orthodox or Byzantine Catholic church, you will find an iconostasis, or screen of icons, placed in between the nave and the sanctuary, separating off the “holy of holies” from the rest of the space. The sanctuary represents the divine liturgy in the heavenly Jerusalem, in which we participate “at a distance” while we are still in this life of pilgrimage. Meanwhile the clergy can enter through the iconostasis and go even unto the altar, because they are acting in persona Christi, in the person of Christ and as His representatives…