From the Synod Road Show -- Fr. Lombardi: "I don’t have to tell you anything I don't want to."

These comments deserve emphasis:

"And the point here is this: You cannot trust what you are hearing from Fr. Lombardi and Fr. Rosica. They either say things that aren't true or won't talk about things that are true. The official word that comes out about anything has to be immediately doubted as either not true or incomplete or a misdirection. This is the kind of thing you expect from the White House, not official representatives of the Catholic Church. 

"Why all the secrecy, the deception, the stacking of the deck? These are legitimate questions, and the Vatican has a duty to deal in a straightforward fashion, not play duck and weave when it comes to information.... 

"Every day, reporters gather into the press hall to essentially be presented propaganda from heterodox Churchmen, who use the Vatican's Press Office to muzzle orthodox dissent from within the Synod Hall. This gives a massively distorted picture of the reality in the hall, whatever it is. Reporters are forced to go and talk privately with bishops and their staffs to get some idea of what's going on, because what we are being told is going on is not the real story."

The devil thrives on secrecy and distortion. He often interjects the lie within the truth. Remember that expression, "lying through your teeth!" It applies here big time. ("All the better to  eat you with, my dear.") And that's what the wolves in the Vatican Press Office are doing.

 I'm glad there are honest journalists at the Synod who are getting the word out about the manipulation and reporting the concerns from the Synod Fathers. One of those journalists is Edward Pentin. He's reporting one of the big concerns of many of the cardinals: WHO WILL WRITE THE FINAL REPORT! Cardinal Pell released a statement expressing that concern. And no wonder. The situation reminds me of Stalin's statement that it doesn't matter who votes, but who COUNTS the votes. The same with the results of the Synod. It doesn't matter what the Synod Fathers actually say, but who REPORTS what they say.

And what should the Synod say?  Pentin's report about a talk given by Cardinal Raymond Burke shortly before the Synod began outllines the purpose of a synod which is not to change doctrine, but to more effectively teach and promulgate it. Cardinal Burke quoted canon 342 of the Code of Canon Law that describes the purpose of a synod:

The Synod of Bishops is a group of Bishops selected from different parts of the world, who meet together at specified times to promote the close relationship between the Roman Pontiff and the Bishops. These Bishops, by their counsel, assist the Roman Pontiff in the defense and development of faith and morals and in the preservation and strengthening of ecclesiastical discipline. They also consider questions concerning the mission of the Church in the world.

Is that what we see happening at the Synod? Sadly no. Read the complete report on Cardinal Burke's talk. And keep praying for the Synod Fathers and Pope Francis. This is an important moment for the Church. Maybe more important than you think. In 2008 Cardinal Carlo Caffara, archbishop of Bologna, was interviewed by Tele Radio Padre Pio. This exchange took place:

Q. There is a prophecy by Sister Lucia dos Santos, of Fatima, which concerns “the final battle between the Lord and the kingdom of Satan”. The battlefield is the family. Life and the family. We know that you were given charge by John Paul II to plan and establish the Pontifical Institute for the Studies on Marriage and the Family.

Yes, I was. At the start of this work entrusted to me by the Servant of God John Paul II, I wrote to Sister Lucia of Fatima through her Bishop as I couldn’t do so directly. Unexplainably however, since I didn’t expect an answer, seeing that I had only asked for prayers, I received a very long letter with her signature – now in the Institute’s archives. In it we find written: the final battle between the Lord and the reign of Satan will be about marriage and the family. Don’t be afraid, she added, because anyone who works for the sanctity of marriage and the family will always be fought and opposed in every way, because this is the decisive issue. And then she concluded: however, Our Lady has already crushed its head.

So watch the Synod and don't trust the wolves, but follow the advice of Padre Pio and Lucia of Fatima: Pray, hope, don't worry, and don't be afraid...becaus Our Lady has already crushed Satan's head.

May Jesus Christ be Praised