De Omnibus Dubitandum Est.

Something unusual happened at Pope Leo XIV’s first consistory — a written note attributed to Cardinal Arthur Roche on the Traditional Latin Mass was handed out, but no one is allowed to see it. Liturgy was on the agenda but never discussed, and many faithful Catholics are asking tough questions about Traditionis Custodes, unity, and transparency. Why was this document kept from public view? What does it signal about the Church’s direction? READ IN FULL HERE

In this episode of Catholic Unscripted, Katherine Bennett and Mark Lambert sit down with "radical firebrand" Fr James Altman to hear the remarkable story of his vocation, a journey that led him from a successful life as a lawyer (and MBA) to the seminary, and ultimately to the priesthood. Fr Altman shares how God’s hand was at work long before he ever imagined a collar: childhood loneliness that became spiritual strength, the quiet grace of holy religious sisters, early devotion to the martyrs, years of serving in the Church while feeling “different,” and then a single, overwhelming moment at an ordination that changed everything. This conversation is honest, intense, funny in places, and deeply encouraging for anyone who’s ever wondered: “Is God calling me… and what do I do if He is?” We live in an age that glorifies self-creation, self-expression and self-sovereignty. But Christianity is built on something utterly different: obedience, surrender, and being sent. A priest...

Pope Leo XIV’s first extraordinary consistory was meant to be a moment of reassurance. Instead, it has exposed the deepest fault lines in the Church today. In this episode of Catholic Unscripted, I take you inside what has really unfolded during this decisive week in Rome — beyond the official communiqués and carefully managed language — to examine why so many faithful Catholics are uneasy, and why this moment matters far more than it may first appear. We look closely at the renewed invocation of Vatican II and synodality, and ask whether these terms are being used as instruments of continuity or as placeholders for perpetual uncertainty. Drawing on the long-standing theological divide between Concilium and Communio, I explore how this unresolved post-conciliar tension is now shaping the direction of Pope Leo XIV’s pontificate. I also examine the significance of Cardinal Timothy Radcliffe’s prominent role at the opening of the consistory, why his elevation has raised serious concer...

Over the past week, many Catholics have been anticipating Pope Leo XIV’s first extraordinary consistory with a mixture of hope, relief, and unease. On the surface, the signals look familiar: synodality, Vatican II, liturgical reform, participation. For some, that familiarity is reassuring. For others, it raises an immediate and troubling question: are we simply returning to the same categories, the same debates, and the same unresolved tensions that have defined the post-conciliar Church for decades? In a new, long-form analysis now published on Catholic Unscripted on Substack, I take a close look at what has actually happened so far during this consistory, what has been said publicly by Pope Leo, cardinals, and bishops, and what these signals may mean beneath the surface. One of the most important moments came not in a formal decree, but in Pope Leo’s general audience catechesis on Vatican II. His emphasis on liturgical reform and active participation has been widely reported, bu...

“Is there more to life than money?” That’s not just a rhetorical question, it’s the gateway to a deeper question: Is there more to life than material reality itself? In a culture obsessed with success, power, and profit, what does it mean to truly invite Christ into the way we think about the world and ourselves? In Katherine’s latest article “Between Flesh and Spirit: Lily Phillips and What It Means to Invite Christ In,” She unpacks this very tension: how a purely material worldview shapes the choices we make, the values we embrace, and ultimately how we understand sin, redemption, and the person of Jesus. In an age where commodification extends even to intimacy and identity, what does it look like to see the material world through the lens of Christ? 👉 Katherine explores how Machiavellian metaphysics, the idea that reality is only material facts and there are no ideals, drives decisions that sacrifice human dignity for gain. And she offers a vision shaped by Catholic truth: that ...

This week, Pope Leo XIV has summoned the entire College of Cardinals to Rome for an Extraordinary Consistory — his first since ascending to the Chair of Peter. On the surface, the official agenda looks familiar: synodality, evangelisation, Curial reform, a renewed reading of Evangelii Gaudium and Praedicate Evangelium. The language would not have been out of place a decade ago. But appearances can be deceiving. What matters just as much as what is being discussed is how it is being discussed. For the first time in years, all cardinals are being asked to participate in sustained, structured consultation rather than observing from the sidelines while decisions emerge elsewhere. It is quite extraordinary to think that the last real extraordinary consistory (with the exception of a meeting in August 2022) dates back to February 2014. Interesting fact: Prevost, in the Sacred College since 2023, will be among the "first-timers" at this consistory he has called! That fact alone ...