Originally published at crisis magazine
Assaults on the city of Rome, the See of Peter, have not been infrequent over the course of the millennia.
Attila attempted. But he failed when he came into the formidable presence of Leo, called “the Great,” resulting in a dramatic volte-face.
Napoleon conquered Rome in 1809.
Orthodox. Faithful. Free.
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The Italian Nationalists of the Risorgimento mounted attacks upon Rome in 1848, forcing Blessed Pius IX to flee in a simple black Roman cassock to Gaeta in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.
Hitler subdued Rome on June 4, 1944.
Yet none of these can compare to the assault being suffered by Rome today. This time the foe is Synodal Listening—II, and it is nothing less than the squandering of Christ’s salvific inheritance. To witness princes of the Church and assorted empurpled prelates parade about as though in some Rogerian self-actualization exercise makes a Catholic shutter. If not for Christ’s words, “And the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it,” a Catholic would be tempted to think he was witnessing the end of Catholicism. body .ns-ctt{display:block;position:relative;background:#fd9f01;margin:30px auto;padding:20px 20px 20px 15px;color:#fff;text-decoration:none!important;box-shadow:none!important;-webkit-box-shadow:none!important;-moz-box-shadow:none!important;border:none;border-left:5px solid #fd9f01}body .ns-ctt:hover{color:#fff}body .ns-ctt:visited{color:#fff}body .ns-ctt *{pointer-events:none}body .ns-ctt .ns-ctt-tweet{display:block;font-size:18px;line-height:27px;margin-bottom:10px}body
