Rorate Caeli

A Plot against the Pope?

Several Italian religious journalists (including Rodari, for Il Riformista, Tornielli, for Il Giornale) are reporting today on a dossier circulating within the Vatican which could reveal that a plot was planned for several months to embarrass the Pope in the "Williamson affair".

We had received the main accusation a few days ago, but had considered that it should be made public by other means.

Here is the text received by us:

"Msgr. Williamson was interviewed on Nov. 1st 2008 on religious matters (tradition and Vatican II) in the Bavarian seminary of SSPX (this in order to let Msgr. Williamson be accused for negationism in that country). Suddenly the journalist Ali Fegan of the program Uppgrad Granskning (Mission Research) asked him about a quote of one speech that took place in Canada some years ago on the gas chamber during the WWII. We all know the trap in which the bishop put himself in a very ingenious way, too confident in the opportunity to diffuse his niche ideas on holocaust than to protect the Church from the evil. This trap was indeed prepared for His Holiness Benedict XVI.

"But who told the journalists of the SVT (Swedish Television Broadcast) about this speech of Msgr. Williamson? If you see all the program broadcasted on January 21st 2009 you will find out that the suggestions came from a french journalist: Fiammetta Venner. Who is she? She is a very well known french lesbian activist. She work together with her [partner] Ms. Caroline Fourest (see her profile here: http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiammetta_Venner). Together the lesbian couple gave to the press a new book on sept. 2008 (during the Pope's visit to France). The title of this book is: Les Nouveaux Soldats du pape. You can read more at their web site: http://nouveauxsoldatsdupape.wordpress.com/about/. In the interview, the lady accuses the SSPX of connection with far right parties in France, an opportune preamble to the accusation of Antisemitism.

"Now we found the people that suggested the plot. But who drove it in order to have ready the program up to the moment of the certain signature of the decree or removal of the excommunication of the SSPX bishops? Certainly someone in the Vatican that attempted to hit the Pope and his entourage and to weak the ambitions of the SSPX.

"Who is he? We have up to now some ideas of the personality. It has to be someone well affirmed in Rome, with good connections in France and a good relationship with Scandinavian church. The program was prepared in Sweden, a quite cold country for Catholicism, but why there? One answer can be the idea to launch a crusade for the reconversion to Catholicism of Sweden made by the SSPX (that for instance has only 30 people as Swedish faithful). In the program there is also an interview made by the bishop of Sweden Anders Arborelius OCD. He spoke about inclusivity as a principle of Christianity, instead of racism and intolerance (of which he seems to accuse the SSPX). ...

"So the people of which we are speaking as to be a Progressive high level Vatican officer that just few days in advance to the publication of the signed decree by the Commission of Legislative Text informed the journalist to come out with the incredible program. ..."

Even if there was a "plot", Bishop Williamson was not forced to say what he said at the interview...

Nonetheless, this falsely inflated media circus is not even the most important of this Pontificate! Or has it been forgotten that oversimplified or distorted reports of the Regensburg address caused actual deaths in areas with Muslim populations? And have the international news agencies apologized for that?

In a couple of weeks, this will be ancient history for the media - this story's news cycle, even in Catholic circles, is about to end...