Blogs
Featured Image

Janaury 15, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) — In October of 2019 I had the privilege of addressing more than two dozen young adults who participated in the Voice of the Family’s Rome Youth Conference. Looking back, I can honestly say that getting to know them and spend time in prayer and go to mass with them gives me reason to hope for the future of the Church.

Today, I wanted to share with you the video of the lecture I gave to them at the headquarters of the Lepanto Foundation in Rome. In it, I explain the current state of affairs in the Church and show how Pope Francis has revolutionized it.

Simply put, Pope Francis has made not only formal and magisterial changes that are at odds with long-established practices and doctrinal teachings, but he has taken other, less formal steps to completely revamp the Church as well.

For example, Francis has continually promoted left-wing, radical prelates, many of whom were criticized for their dissident views during the reign of Pope Benedict and John Paul II. He has also dismantled the Pontifical Academy for Life.

Moreover, he has demoted faithful clergy like Cardinal Raymond Burke and Cardinal Gerhard Müller, the former Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

During his papacy, Francis has welcomed into the Vatican population control experts from the United Nations, praised abortionists like Italy’s Emma Bonino, and given audiences to transgender couples and pro-LGBT priest Fr. James Martin.

There are countless other examples as well, including derogatory remarks he made about large families, his quasi-endorsement of young couples who live together but don’t get married, and his wholly heretical teachings on the death penalty. 

But here’s the thing, Canon 212 says lay Catholics “have the right and even at times the duty to manifest…their opinion on matters which pertain to the good of the Church and to make their opinion known to the rest of the Christian faithful.”

I reminded the young people at the Rome Youth Conference that we need to speak up and admonish dissident clergy and to call on them to preach the true faith. 

While it's easy to lose hope in these times in the end, as we already know, the Immaculate Heart of Mary will triumph. Let's keep that in mind in the months and years ahead, being sure to always speak truth with charity. God bless.

The John-Henry Westen Show is available by video on the show’s YouTube channel and right here on my LifeSite blog.

It is also available in audio format on platforms such as SpotifySoundcloud, and ACast. We are awaiting approval for iTunes and Google Play as well. To subscribe to the audio version on various channels, visit the ACast webpage here.

We’ve created a special email list for the show so that we can notify you every week when we post a new episode. Please sign up now by clicking here. You can also subscribe to the YouTube channel, and you’ll be notified by YouTube when there is new content.

You can send me feedback, or ideas for show topics by emailing [email protected].

Featured Image

John-Henry is the co-founder, CEO and editor-in-chief of LifeSiteNews.com. He and his wife Dianne have eight children and they live in the Ottawa Valley in Ontario, Canada.

He has spoken at conferences and retreats, and appeared on radio and television throughout the world. John-Henry founded the Rome Life Forum, an annual strategy meeting for life, faith and family leaders worldwide. He is a board member of the John Paul II Academy for Human Life and the Family. He is a consultant to Canada’s largest pro-life organization Campaign Life Coalition, and serves on the executive of the Ontario branch of the organization. He has run three times for political office in the province of Ontario representing the Family Coalition Party.

John-Henry earned an MA from the University of Toronto in School and Child Clinical Psychology and an Honours BA from York University in Psychology.