CAPG's Blog 

"As regards matter, only doctrines of faith and morals, and facts so intimately connected with these as to require infallible determination, fall under the scope of infallible ecclesiastical teaching." Catholic Encyclopedia.

Divorce:The Church is clear that “a ratified and consummated marriage cannot be dissolved by any human power or for any reason other than death” (CCC 2382).

Slavery:
"We order and command all and each of the faithful of each sex that, within the space of fifteen days of the publication of these letters in the place where they live, that they restore to their earlier liberty all and each person of either sex who were once residents of said Canary Islands...who have been made subject to slavery. These people are to be totally and perpetually free and are to be let go without the exaction or reception of any money..." Pope Eugene IV in 1435 wrote to Bishop Ferdinand of Lanzarote in his Bull, Sicut Dudum

Usury: The acceptance by human society of murderous famines, without efforts to remedy them, is a scandalous injustice and a grave offense. Those whose usurious and avaricious dealings lead to the hunger and death of their brethren in the human family indirectly commit homicide, which is imputable to them. (CCC 2269) Did the Church Changed its stance on Usury

Freedom of Conscience: "Religious freedom, in turn, which men demand as necessary to fulfill their duty to worship God, has to do with immunity from coercion in civil society. Therefore, it leaves untouched traditional Catholic doctrine on the moral duty of men and societies toward the true religion and toward the one Church of Christ." Dignitatis Humanae

"We have said recently that We are happy and proud to fight the good fight for the liberty of consciences, not (as some, perhaps by inadvertence, have made Us say) for liberty of conscience, which is an equivocal expression, and one too often abused to signify absolute independence of conscience, an absurd thing in a soul created and redeemed by God." Pope Pius XI in his Encyclical Non Abbiamo Bisogno, in 1931,

Prayer to God to save the Church by Sanctifying His priests who have fallen away

O God, our Lord, we obey without delay to Thy gracious invitation to pray. Encouraged by Thy desire, we worship at your sacred feet, crying out to Thee for our guilty priests. Deign to be reminded, Lord, that Thy priestly Body is Thy crown of predilection, the splendor of Thy glory, the chosen part of Thy heritage.

We implore Thee to arm Thyself with holy indignation against Satan, who dared to plant the banner of sin in Thy own sanctuary, and to chase him away in shame from Thy solemnly dedicated domain.

What would it cost Thee, O Lord, to turn the most hardened hearts into penitents? Only one simple glance at Peter was enough to retrieve him from the abyss of a three times apostasy; would it cost Thee more to touch and convert those who have had the misfortune to imitate his weakness?

O Jesus, our King and Pontiff, we beseech Thee on behalf of Mary, Thy Mother and ours, save the Church, save Thy faithful, save Thy blessed honor, by saving priests! Amen.

My dear brethren, I call that man bad company who is without religion, who does not concern himself with either the commandments of God or those of the Church, who does not recognize Lent or Easter, who seldom comes to church or, if he does come, then only to scandalize others by his irreligious ways. You ought to shun his company; otherwise you will not be long in becoming like him without your even noticing it. He will teach you, with his bad talk as much as by his bad example, to despise the holiest things and to neglect your own most sacred duties. He will begin to turn your devotion into ridicule, to make some jokes about religion and its ministers. He will speak to you at length, in scandalous terms, about the priests or about Confession to such effect that he will cause you to lose entirely your taste for the frequent reception of the Sacraments. He will discuss the instructions of your pastors only in order to turn them into ridicule, and you can be quite certain that if you keep company with him for any length of time, you will see that, without even realizing it, you will begin to lose all taste for anything which is profitable towards the salvation of your soul. I call bad company, my dear brethren, this young or this old slanderer who has nothing but bad and foul words in his mouth.

Take good care, my children, for this type of person has a poison of his own! If you frequent his company, you may be quite certain that you will imbibe it and that, without a miracle of grace, you will die spiritually. The Devil will make good use of this wretch to sully your imagination and to corrupt your heart.

 I would call that person bad company, my dear brethren, who is curious or restless or backbiting, who wants to know all that goes on in other people's houses, and who is always ready to form judgments about what he does not see at all. The Holy Ghost tells us that these people are not only hateful to the whole world but are also accursed of God. Fly from them, my dear brethren; otherwise you will become like them. You yourselves will perish with them.

Prayer for Lent: O Lord who, for our sake, didst fast forty days and forty nights; give us grace to use such abstinence that, our flesh being subdued to the spirit, we may worthily lament and acknowledge our wretchedness, and may obtain perfect remission and forgiveness of Thee, the God of all mercy, who livest and reignest with the Father and Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen

Source: Lenten Reading plan: Daily readings from St. John Vianney, Patron of Parish Priests, compiled by Fr. Bryan W. Jerabek. Used with Permission