Gloria.TV News on the 27th of January 2015

Strange Guests: Last Saturday afternoon Pope Francis received in private audience a 48-year-old Spanish woman who dresses like a man and had her breasts removed. She was accompanied by her lesbian lover. The woman had written to Francis complaining that – quote – she felt emarginated from the Church after she had – quote – “changed her sex.” In December the pope had called the woman twice.

Dead: Fr. Richard McBrien died early Sunday morning at the age of 78. For more than three decades, he was the star of the theology faculty at the University of Notre Dame. McBrien advocated women priests, an end to celibacy, artificial birth control, and weakening the position of the Pope. Therefore was very loved and praised by the anti-Catholic media. The renowned philosopher and author Ralph McInerny associated McBrien with –quote - "pell-mell pursuit of warm and fuzzy Catholicism".

Useless Proposals: The proposal to merge some Pontifical Councils into a single Congregation encounters resistance inside the Vatican – according to formiche.net. Also the proposal of Cardinal Rodriguez Maradiaga, the coordinator of the Council of Cardinals - to unify all the offices that deal with justice raised little enthousiasm. Experts pointed out that this would be an unknown solution to any modern system, as you would end up putting together the Supreme Court with the department that prepares and interprets the legislation, joining them to the Penitentiary, which deals with confessions.

Mental Illness and Depression: Last weekend Lady Gaga organised in New York a bachelorette party that featured her Catholic high school friends. Standing among her male stripper pals, the caption on the photo read, “Lord help the parents of Catholic school girls.” Catholic League’s Bill Donohue writes: “It would have been more accurate to say, “Lord help the parents of these Catholic school girls”. And: “They got drunk, wrecked the hotel room, ate like pigs, pole danced all night, and celebrated with phallic symbols.” Last October Lady Gaga told her fans in London: “I take medication every day for mental illness and depression and don’t feel bad about it.”