5 major earthquakes in 48 hours. And I feel fine. Just fine.

@Pontifex @Pontifex_ln ¡Papa Francisco! Arrepentirse de su blasfemia ! — Hilary White (@Hilarityjane66) April 17, 2016 Every day. From the Mass today: Third Sunday after Easter Introit: “…In the multitude of Thy strength, Thine enemies shall lie to Thee…” Collect: O God, who to those that go astray dost show the light of Thy truth, that they may return to the path of justice: grant that all who are enrolled in the Christian faith, may both spurn all that is hostile to that name, and follow after what is fitting to it.

Steve just reported, via friends in Rome: Today on the plane press conference on the way back to Rome from Greece, Pope Francis was asked a very direct question about the exhortation: Some maintain that nothing has changed with respect to the discipline that governs the access to the Sacraments for the divorced and remarried, and that the law and the pastoral practice and obviously the doctrine remains the same; others maintain instead that much has changed and that there are many new openings and possibilities.

  Ladies and gentlemen, the only man in Christendom to read the WHOOOOoooole thing! via the commbox: “I just finished reading Amoris Laetitia. “With this document, it appears obvious what his game plan is. The Pope appears to be inaugurating a New Church that is or will be essentially a grouping of dis-unified “denominations” nominally under a vague form of authority of the Seat of Peter.In Germany we already have essentially a new Lutheran denomination.

The Philippines Bishops Conference issued a statement today saying, _“After collective discernment, your bishops will come up with more concrete guidelines on the implementation of the Apostolic Exhortation. But mercy cannot wait. Mercy should not wait. Even now, bishops and priests must open welcoming arms to those who have kept themselves out of the Church because of a sense of guilt and of shame. The laity must do no less.

Actually, I’m pretty glad no one is around to see me when the music is turned up. It’s like watching white people trying to dance, only in my case, it’s middle-aged, overweight white people. If I started a band these days, I’d have to call it Suzi Cinquanta ~ A dire il vero, sono abbastanza contento che nessuno è in giro per vedere me, quando la musica è alzato.

…and retained Latin, with Gregorian Chant having “pride of place,” in the liturgy. This document from the pope is just like that. Everything’s fine. Jim-dandy. Peachy. Awesome, even. Bishops’ got this. You can go back to whatever you were doing. ~

Must be Monday… Nothing to see here… _The secular media and even some Catholic media are describing the recently-issued post-synodal apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia, “On Love in the Family,” as a revolution in the Church, as a radical departure from the teaching and practice of the Church, up to now, regarding marriage and the family._ Such a view of the document is both a source of wonder and confusion to the faithful, and potentially a source of scandal not only for the faithful but for others of good will who look to Christ and his Church to teach and reflect in practice the truth regarding marriage and its fruit, family life, the first cell of the life of the Church and of every society.

Homily coming today. Stand by and prepare for turbulence, everyone. Like the incredible hissy-fit he threw (so bad the Swiss Guard cleared the building to help cover it up) when he learned there were 13 cardinals willing to stand up to him. Yeah, that story is still running around the old town, and there were plenty of witnesses from whom we have heard privately, so suck it up, Sheakin.

This humping behemoth of a document is longer, in pages, than the entire collection of documents of Vatican II. And who’s going to actually read it? Well, pretty much no one. Because it doesn’t matter what’s in it or not in it. (Given that it was written by people who have no conception of a logical contradiction hardly helps.) What does matter, that we’ve been saying for some time, is how it will be used.