RORATE CÆLI: May 2015

They want to bleed Cardinal Pell to death -- just let them try!

On this Trinity Sunday, let us pray to the Most Blessed Trinity so that the hand of Cardinal Pell may be strengthened. His numerous enemies in the Roman Curia have reached a new low: now they use an English member of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors established by Pope Francis himself (abuse survivor Peter Saunders) on Australian private television (Channel Nine) to criticize the Cardinal and say that he "has to go" and that his position is "untenable" due to supposed failures of leadership when dealing with such matters when he was Archbishop of Melbourne.

The Cardinal's statement on the matter is at the end of this post -- he will use legal measures, and it is likely that it is Saunders' position that will become untenable, as it is clear that he is making use of his own position as member of a Pontifical Commission for the protection of minors to influence the very composition of the Roman Curia. Despicable politicking and power games by "Progressive" power players.

This is not about the Cardinal's tenure in Victoria; this is about his position in the Curia now and especially in the Synod. The goal is clear: it is to weaken Cardinal Pell by all sides so that he may be silent and meek in the Synod Hall in October, quite unlike the way he was last October, when he did not let the "Progressives" move against the words of Christ as they had planned.

They will do everything to have their way in the Family Synod. Everything. They will stop at nothing. God help us. God protect the good Cardinals and bishops.

***

STATEMENT FROM SPOKESPERSON FOR CARDINAL GEORGE PELL

Cardinal Sarah: "[New] Rite of Baptism doesn't even mention word 'Faith' - there's a big problem right there." | "Don't deceive people with 'mercy' without repentance."

CARDINAL SARAH: DON’T DECEIVE PEOPLE WITH THE WORD “MERCY” GOD FORGIVES SINS ONLY IF WE REPENT OF THEM

Matteo Matzuzzi

Il Timone

May 30, 2015

“If the Eucharist is considered [simply] a meal we share in and that nobody can be excluded from it, then the sense of Mystery is lost”. So says Cardinal Robert Sarah, the new Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments, in an intervention given at the John Paul II Pontifical Institute for the Studies on Marriage and the Family, at his presentation of: “The Family – a work in progress”, a compilation of essays published by Cantagalli, in view of the upcoming Synod in October. A compilation intent on stimulating a discussion which touches on the “hot issues” of homosexuality, sexuality, divorce, in-vitro-fertilization, euthanasia and celibacy. Three volumes make up the collection, two of which are written by professors of the John Paul II Pontifical Institute: “The Eucharist and divorce: does the doctrine change?” by José Granados (who has also been nominated consultant to the Synod of Bishops) and “Different Families: imperfect expressions of the same ideal?” by Stephan Kampowski. The third, “What does Jesus think of the divorced and remarried?” is the work of Luis Sanchez Navarro, Ordinary of the New Testament at San Damaso University in Madrid. Il Foglio had anticipated ample extracts of Professors Granados and Sanchez’s books on April 15th of this year.

As we had announced earlier this week, the priestly ordinations of the Fraternity of Saint Peter (FSSP) will be broadcast live online from Lincoln, Nebraska, today.

The ceremony will be broadcast live via the iMass apps or LiveMass.net at 10:00 AM local time (CDT), 3:00 PM GMT/UTC, from the new St Thomas Aquinas Newman Center church.

The ordinands are:

Deacon David Franco, FSSP

Deacon John Kodet, FSSP

Deacon Timothy O’Brien, FSSP

Deacon Michael Malain, FSSP

Deacon Ian Verrier, FSSP

Deacon Simon Zurita, FSSP

We have also received news of the following thanksgiving masses schedule of one of today's ordinands, Rev. Deacon (later today Rev. Father) John Kodet:

The high priest then questioned Jesus about his disciples and his teaching. Jesus answered him, "I have spoken openly to the world; I have always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where all Jews come together; I have said nothing secretly." (Jn 18:19-20)

***

May their names live in infamy forever and ever for their intent to assemble secretly to discard the clear words of Our Lord Jesus Christ in the name of Him Who Himself is Love, and to favor a certain kind of press to make their new doctrine known to the world:

BISHOPS:

Cardinal Reinhard Marx, president of the German Bishops’ Conference, Archbishop of Munich and Freising
Archbishop Georges Pontier, president of the French Bishops’ Conference, Archbishop of Marseille
Bishop Markus Büchel, president of the Swiss Bishops’ Conference, Bishop of St. Gallen
Bishop Franz-Josef Bode of Osnabrück, Germany
Bishop Heiner Koch of Dresden-Meißen/Meissen, Germany
Bishop Felix Gmür of Basel, Switzerland
Bishop Jean-Marie Lovey of Sitten/Sion, Switzerland
Bishop Bruno Ann-Marie Feillet of Reims, France
Bishop Jean-Luc Brunin of Le Havre, France

PROFESSORS/PRIESTS:

Sins that Tend to the Destruction of the Human Race

A striking passage from a manual of theology of the last century, once widely used in seminaries:

The sins that cry to heaven for vengeance are: Wilful murder, sodomy, oppression of the poor, defrauding labourers of their wages. This category of four grievous sins is not a class of the worst possible sins, for none of them are opposed directly to God, but of sins that must provoke God's anger in a way that we do not attribute to His Divine anger against many other sins, and because Holy Scripture speaks of them as a class apart and as crying to God for vengeance.

IRELAND: a post-mortem examination - by Roberto de Mattei

IRELAND

Roberto de Mattei

Corrispondeza Romana

May 27, 2015

Cong Abbey

In his masterpiece “The Soul of the Apostolate”, Dom Jean-Baptiste Chautard (1858-1935), Trappist Abbot of Sept-Fons, expressed this maxim: “A holy priest coincides with a fervent populace; a fervent priest - a pious populace; a pius priest - an honest populace; an honest priest - an impious populace” (Italian version, Rome 1967, p. 64). If it is true that there is always a degree less in the spiritual life between the clergy and the Catholic people, after the vote in Dublin on May 22, we should add: “An impious priest coincides with an apostate populace.”

Ireland in fact, is the first country where the legal recognition of homosexual unions has been introduced not from the top but from the bottom, through a popular referendum; yet Ireland is also one of the oldest Countries with a deep-rooted Catholic Tradition, where the influence of the clergy is still relatively strong in part of the population.

Confirmations and Pontifical Mass in Rome

On Trinity Sunday, 31 May 2015 at 11 am, His Excellency the Most Reverend François Bacqué, Titular Archbishop of Gradisca and Apostolic Nuncio, will celebrate Confirmations followed by Pontifical Mass at the Parish of the Priestly Fraternity of St Peter (FSSP) in Rome, Santissima Trinità dei Pellegrini, on the occasion of the Patronal Feast of the Parish.

So, what did the "Progressive" Bishops discuss in their secret Pre-Synod meeting?

The meeting was first made public by Le Figaro (see here), and took place on Monday in the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, run by the Jesuits -- it was later characterized as a routine meeting.

What was exactly discussed there? The German Bishops' Conference made public the anodyne communiqué at the end of this post, but today's Italian daily Il Foglio has more revealing snippets of the confidential conference, obsessed with same-sex caresses and marital infidelity:

"I will not destroy Sodom for the sake of ten righteous men."

[Statement of Bishop Stefan Oster, Diocese of Passau, Germany, on his Facebook concerning the recent statement of the largest German Catholic lay organization ZdK, May 12, 2015:]

Here are some thoughts as an orientation concerning a problematic declaration – in my eyes – of the Central Committee of German Catholics [ZdK] made public this past weekend:
[...]

If we were to consider the Church's Faith as it has been lived and shared until now and specifically concerning these topics [of marriage, sexuality and the family], then the approval of the requests made by the ZdK would mean a dramatic change of much that has been heretofore held to be valid concerning marriage and human sexuality. The Church believes – because of the Revelation that was given to her – that lived sexual practice has its legitimate place only within a marriage between a man and a woman, both of whom are open to the procreation of life and both of whom have made a bond that is to last until the death of one of the spouses. […] this bond is called a Sacrament, and it is strengthened with the help of God's own explicit promise to be the third part in this bond vowed between the two; He is the One Who binds this relationship, Who sanctifies it, makes it indissoluble and Who is also, again and again, the Source of Salvation for them.

"The Pope: I don’t watch TV, I read only La Repubblica"

Good news: the Pope does not watch TV. On the other hand, his only daily newspaper is to the far left side of the Italian political spectrum.

The Pope: I don’t watch TV, I read only La Repubblica

To an Argentine newspaper: No video-watching, it is a vow he made in 1990

Paolo Luigi Rodari

La Repubblica

May 25, 2015

Rome. The Pope in an interview. “I read only one newspaper, “La Repubblica”, which is a middle-class newspaper [Note: La Repubblica is the newspaper of record of the anticlerical Socialist upper classes in Italy, under the direction of new papal interviewer, Atheist journalist Eugenio Scalfari]. I read it in the morning and it doesn’t take me more than 10 minutes. But, I haven’t watched the TV since 1990. It is a vow I made to the Virgin of Mount Carmel on the night of July 15th 1990.

You suggest: Learning from Luther the Right Way Part 2 – Papacy
Special discount for Rorate readers

The following was submitted to Rorate, and we worked out a 25% discount for our readers. Go to the end of the post on the next page (by clicking "Read more" below) to see the significant discount for our readers. Part 1 can be found here.

St. Robert Bellarmine has long been considered one of the greatest apologists in defense of the Church, and his works have been a perennial challenge to the Protestant Revolt. For all that, today very few are familiar with Bellarmine’s actual writings, due to the loss of Latinity in our own culture. This is gradually being remedied, however and I am pleased to announce the publication of St. Robert’s De Romano Pontifice, On the Roman Pontiff, volume 1.

Pope Francis: Poverty, corruption and human trafficking are the worst evils of our time.

[Original post time: 05/25/15 at 5:19 PM GMT. Expanded 05/26/15 at 3:45 AM GMT]

La Voz del Pueblo: Isn't it utopian to think that poverty can be eradicated?

Pope Francis: Yes, but utopias lead us forward. It would be sad if a young man or young woman did not have them. There are three things that we must all have in life: memory, ability to see the present, and utopia for the future. Memory cannot be lost. When peoples lose their memory, there is the great drama of neglecting the elderly. An ability of hermeneutics regarding the present, to interpret it, and to know where one should go with this memory, with these roots that I bring, how I consider it in the present, and there is the life of young men and adults. And the future, there is [the life] of the young above all, and that of children. With the memory, with the ability of administration in the present, of discernment and utopia towards the future, there is where the young are involved. That is why the future of a people is made manifest in the care for the elderly, who are the memory, and of children and the young, who will take it forward. We adults have to receive this memory, work it out in the future, and give it to the children. I once read something very beautiful: "The present, the world we have received, is not only a inheritance from the forefathers, but rather a loan that our children grant us so that we could return it improved." If I cut off my roots, and lose my memory, what will happen to me is what happens to every plant, I will die; and if I live only a present without looking ahead to the future, what will happen to me is what happens to every manager who cannot plan. Environmental pollution is a phenomenon of this kind. The three must go together, when one of them is lacking a people starts decline.

***

La Voz del Pueblo: What are the worst evils that beset the world today?

Pope Francis: Poverty, corruption and human trafficking. I can be wrong with the statistics, but what will you tell me if I ask you: When it comes to spending, what thing in the world comes after food, clothing and medicine? The fourth is cosmetics and the fifth are pets. That is serious. Pet care is like love that is somewhat programmed; that is, I can program the loving response of a dog or a little cat, and I do not need to have the experience of love with human reciprocity. I am exaggerating, so do not take it literally, but it is to make you think.

- Francis

Interview with La Voz del Pueblo

May 24, 2015

Radicati Editorial: The Martyrs were never for dialogue

Mediterranean shore in Libya following the massacre of 21 Copts in early 2015

Editorial: Radicati nella fede, May 2015

Newsletter of the Catholic community of

Vocogno, Diocese of Novara, Italy

We are once more in times of Martyrdom. What is happening to Christians in Asia and Africa has forced us to use the word “martyr” again. Christians are being killed, en masse, and in the most horrendous ways, simply because they are Christian; all this makes us say that the age of martyrdom has returned.

To be truthful, the Church has never emerged from times of martyrdom.

The studies published on the occasion of the last Holy Year (2000) had already reminded us of the number of martyrs over twenty centuries of Christianity. The number is immense: about 80 million! And even more shocking: about half of this 80 million belong to the last century!

Event: FSSP Ordinations in North America - Live Broadcast on Saturday, May 30

The Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter in North America has Priestly Ordinations in two locations in 2015 (Nebraska and Quebec). Only the Lincoln, Nebraska, ceremony will be broadcast live by LiveMass and its YouTube channel.

Additional details below:

United States:
–
May 30, 2015
High Mass at 10am CDT

Toledo Cathedral - Capilla Mayor

A reader sends us the notice for the following Event:

A historic pilgrimage from September 14-24, 2015 with Fr. James Fryar, FSSP to Spain & the Rock of Gibraltar, in the quincentenary of St. Teresa of Avila's birth!

On May 24, 1990, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith published one of the most important documents of the postconciliar period: the Instruction on the Ecclesial Vocation of the Theologian,or more succinctly, Donum Veritatis.

Fontgombault Abbey in May

WHITSUN

Sermon of the Right Reverend Dom Jean Pateau

Abbot of Our Lady of Fontgombault

(Fontgombault, May 24, 2015)

Replevit totam domum, ubi erant sedentes.

It filled the whole house where they were sitting. (Acts 2:2)

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

My dearly beloved Sons,

The Book of the Acts of the Apostles tells of the first moments when the good news of the Gospel is proclaimed. It is a book full of action, as its title indicates, “Acts of the Apostles”.

Yet, in an astonishing way, this book does not begin with actions. Shortly before the Ascension of the Lord, the disciples had received a somewhat paradoxical order: “Not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait there for the promise of the Father” (Acts 1:4), the Holy Ghost that was to come upon them. Those who were called to teach all the nations and to make disciples of them, were first to withdraw from the world and receive the strength of the Holy Ghost. Only then could they be witnesses of the Lord in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and Samaria, and even to the uttermost part of the earth (cf. Acts 1:8).

After the Ascension, the Apostles obeyed the commandment of their Master:

They went up into an upper room, where they were staying. […] All these were persevering with one mind in prayer with the women, and Mary the Mother of Jesus, and with His brethren. (Acts 1:13-14)

On the morning of Pentecost, the unity of the Apostles is emphasized by a redundancy:

They were all together in one place. Erant OMNES pariter in EODEM loco. (Acts 2:1)

In other news: Rome celebrates first homosexual "civil unions"

The referendum in Ireland has overshadowed an event that is arguably of almost equal significance: last Thursday's celebration by the Roman city government of that city's first homosexual "civil unions". It might not be long before most of the rest of Italy follows suite, as the current Italian government is pushing for homosexual "civil unions" to be recognized within this Spring.

Ireland: With shepherds like these...

To no one's surprise, Ireland today became the first country to legalize homosexual "marriage" by popular vote. (Other countries did so by judicial fiat or parliamentary vote.) The "yes" campaign got 62.1% of the vote nationwide; in Dublin it garnered more than 70% of the vote.

When the history of the rise and fall of Catholicism in Ireland is written, Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin and Bishop Donal McKeown of Derry (one of Ireland's largest dioceses) deserve their own chapter. Their disgraceful ambiguity in the run-up to the referendum made their "nos" meaningless, if not worse than a straightforward "yes". Let us revisit what Archbishop Martin said in a speech at All Hallows College, Dublin on the 6th of May:

“This Pope is creating a certain atmosphere”

[" Whatever breaks from continuity is not good for the Church"]

Romain Leick and Walter Mayr

Der Spiegel

May 23, 2015

Author Martin Mosebach thinks it dangerous that Pope Francis serves emotions above all else and is making his mark through his appearances at the cost of the Church.

***

The Georg Büchner Award winner Mosebach, 63, is a conservative, sometimes even reactionary, Catholic. Mosebach has spent many years looking at the role of the Church in the modern world. In his 2007 book “The Heresy of Formlessness”, he criticised the effects of the Second Vatican Council which ended in 1965 and brought about a new orientation to the Catholic Church. In 2014 he published his novel “Das Blutbuchenfest”.

SPIEGEL: Mr. Mosebach, you have spent the last year in Rome. Have you been able to connect with the general enthusiasm for this Pope?

Mosebach: I remember the moment in March 2013 when a cardinal informed the waiting crowds that a new Pope had been elected who called himself Francis. At that moment I knew what problem would face the Church.

BREAKING - European "Progressive" Bishops Planning Synod Coup: Secret Meeting in Rome on Monday

Jean-Marie Guénois, Religious Affairs correspondent for French daily Le Figaro, has the report (main excerpt below) of a Vatican-II-style Rhineland coup for the October 2015 Synod on the Family:

Family Synod: a Very Discreet Meeting of the Reformers in Rome

Jean-Marie Guénois

Le Figaro

May 22, 2015 - 6:24 PM (Paris time), updated at 6:50 PM

On Monday [May 25], European episcopates will debate the welcoming of remarried divorcees and homosexuals in the Church.

Cardinal Burke and the Institute of Christ the King in Lourdes

The Institute of Christ the King held its most recent pilgrimage to Lourdes at the beginning of this month, joined (again) by His Eminence Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke.

This writer was pleased to attend all of the liturgies and events led by the Institute, including a Solemn High Mass offered by Monsignor Gilles Wach, founder and prior of the Institute, with Cardinal Burke assisting; a conference by the cardinal, entitled "The Crisis Of Christian Culture And Our Mission To Restore It"; second vespers for the feast of Saint Joseph the Workman, with Cardinal Burke; a Solemn High Pontifical Mass offered by Cardinal Burke; a conference by Monsignor Wach; and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament led by Cardinal Burke followed by the singing of the Te Deum.

The liturgies were offered in the upper church of the Basilique de Notre Dame de l'Immaculée Conception de Lourdes, and in the parish church of the Sacred Heart in Lourdes. Each were standing room only.

As with all Institute liturgies, great care was given to every moment of worship. Gregorian chant was sung by a superb schola of eight members of the Institute, and an outstanding organist played pieces ranging from Bach's "Fantasia in G Minor" to softer offertories and interludes. Several sets of beautiful vestments were brought to the churches for the cardinal and clergy. Dozens of canons and seminarians assisted in choir, joined by other clergy such as the rector of the parish church. And the Sisters Adorers of the Royal Heart of Jesus were in their distinctive blue habits, in the first pew. Possibly unbeknownst to the sisters, they served as the congregation's guide for when to sit, stand and kneel -- as the customs in France are significantly different from those of, for instance, the U.S.

"Yes" means a yes to Satan, and all of his works, and all of his pomps. It means welcoming all "snakes" back into the island.

No means a renewal of the baptism of the Irish nation: renouncing Satan, and all of his works, and all of his pomps.

Ireland fought and the Irish gave their blood for independence in the name of the Most Holy Trinity and in honor of Our Lord Jesus Christ. If it becomes a Nation of Satan, then why be independent at all?

***

CONSTITUTION OF IRELAND

In the Name of the Most Holy Trinity, from Whom is all authority and to Whom, as our final end, all actions both of men and States must be referred,

We, the people of Éire,

Humbly acknowledging all our obligations to our Divine Lord, Jesus Christ, Who sustained our fathers through centuries of trial,

Gratefully remembering their heroic and unremitting struggle to regain the rightful independence of our Nation,

And seeking to promote the common good, with due observance of Prudence, Justice and Charity, so that the dignity and freedom of the individual may be assured, true social order attained, the unity of our country restored, and concord established with other nations,

Do hereby adopt, enact, and give to ourselves this Constitution.

THE NATION

ARTICLE 1

The Irish nation hereby affirms its inalienable, indefeasible, and sovereign right to choose its own form of Government, to determine its relations with other nations, and to develop its life, political, economic and cultural, in accordance with its own genius and traditions.

May Month of Mary: II - "Mother," Our Lord says to the Blessed Virgin, "I can refuse you nothing."

Basilica of Notre-Dame-de-la -Garde, Marseille

The Holy Virgin is often compared to a mother, but she is much better still than the best of mothers; for the best of mothers sometimes punishes her child when it displeases her, and even beats it: she thinks she is doing right. But the Holy Virgin does not so; she is so good that she treats us with love, and never punishes us.

The heart of this good Mother is all love and mercy; she desires only to see us happy. We have only to turn to her to be heard.

The Son has His justice, the Mother has nothing but her love.

God has loved us so much as to die for us; but in the heart of our Lord there is justice, which is an attribute of God; in that of the most Holy Virgin there is nothing but mercy. Her Son was ready to punish a sinner; Mary interposes, checks the sword, implores pardon for the poor criminal. "Mother," Our Lord says to her, "I can refuse you nothing. If hell could repent, you would obtain its pardon."

The most Holy Virgin places herself between her Son and us. The greater sinners we are, the more tenderness and compassion does she feel for us. The child that has cost its mother most tears is the dearest to her heart.

Saint John Mary Vianney

Online Latin courses beginning this June!

Suggested and highly recommended by friends of Rorate:

The Academy of Classical Languages is pleased to offer two Latin courses beginning this June, each at a different level:

An introductory course for beginners: “Latin Level 1,” meeting Mondays and Wednesdays, 8:30-9:30pm CST, June 8 - July 1. We use the Natural Method of learning language with Hans Orberg’s Lingua Latina books. Level 2 is scheduled to continue during the month of July, same days and times.

A more advanced course: “Readings in Classical Latin,” Wednesdays and Fridays, 1:15 - 2:15pm CST, June 10 - July 3. We use Hans Orberg’s second book, Roma Aeterna, which introduces the reader to come of the classics of antiquity. Other readings (liturgical, biblical) may be included, depending on interest among the participants. Texts are read and commented on in Latin, with a minimum of the vernacular used in class. If demand is sufficient, further sessions are scheduled.

The instructor for both classes is John Pepino, PhD.

Do take a look at their website for more details, testimonials, etc.:

http://www.academyofclassicallanguages.com/

Martin Mosebach: The Liturgy as a Window to Another World

Our friends at the Society of St. Hugh of Cluny recently sponsored a Solemn Mass at the Church of the Holy Innocents in New York City which was followed by a talk on the liturgy by the celebrated German novelist and advocate for the Traditional Mass, Martin Mosebach. This is a translation of a talk that Mosebach was asked to give by the Bishop of Limburg/Lahn on Ash Wednesday 2013.

I know it will give great delight to our readers, not only because of its trenchant analysis of the liturgical situation in which we find ourselves, but also because of the beauty of his style, which, mirabile dictu, comes across in the excellent translation.

The Liturgy as a Window to another World (1)

Martin Mosebach

(Address Given at Holy Innocents Parish, New York, May 12, 2015)

When it became apparent in the early 1950s that television sets would soon be in many households, German bishops deliberated about whether it would be wise to allow or even promote television broadcasts of the Holy Mass. Indeed, people thought about such questions sixty years ago and they asked the great philosopher Josef Pieper for an expert opinion. In his opinion, Pieper rejected such television broadcasts on principle, saying they were irreconcilable with the nature of the Holy Mass. In its origins, the Holy Mass is a discipline of the arcane, a sacred celebration of mysteries by the christened. He mentioned the lowest level in the order of priests – done away with following the Second Vatican Council – the ostiary, or doorkeeper, who once had to ensure that the non-baptized and those temporarily excluded leave the church and move to the narthex following the liturgy of the Word. The Orthodox still do so in some places; the call of the deacon, “Guard the doors” is heard in every Orthodox liturgy before the Eucharist. While in Georgia I once experienced this demand, often merely a ceremony of a recollected past, being taken literally. A monk approached me, fell to his knees and apologetically asked me to leave the church since I, as a Roman Catholic, was not in full agreement with the Orthodox Church. I gladly acquiesced as I think not everyone has to be permitted everywhere all the time. Sacred places and holy acts are first declared quite plainly by the drawing of boundaries and such boundaries must somehow be visible and palpable. Still, anyone who has not given any thought to the dubiousness of filming the Mass has perhaps on occasion felt uncomfortably moved when they saw believers receiving communion on television or as the camera rested on the face of a celebrant chewing the host. Are such feelings truly only atavistic, produced by ancient magical fears? Other cultures are also acquainted with an aversion to photography. It is as if it would disturb a spiritual sphere.

This Sunday, for the Feast of Pentecost, there will be a traditional Latin Mass celebrated at St. Paul's Church in Harvard Square, Cambridge, Massachusetts. The renowned St. Paul's Choir School will be singing the music.

SYNOD BATTLES: Blackmail, Veiled Schism Threats, the Kasperization of the German Church, and the Destruction of Marriage - Document and Analysis

1. DOCUMENT

Zentralkomitee der deutschen Katholiken (Central Committee of the German Catholics)

Saturday, May 9, 2015

To Build Bridges between Teaching and the Reality of Life – Family and Church in the World of Today

Plenary Assembly on May 8 and 9, 2015 in Würzburg [Germany]

Declaration of the Zentralkomitee der deutschen Katholiken (Central Committee of the German Catholics) in preparation for the XIV Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops in the Vatican [October] 2015

The Central Committee of the German Catholics (ZdK) [Rorate note: the oldest, main and most influential group of German Catholics, founded under a different name in 1848 and responsible for the famous Katholikentage, Catholic Days] welcomes the call of Pope Francis to all the faithful to make a statement about the situation of the family in the Church and in the world of today. The world-wide reactions to this call will have to be put together during the General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops in the fall of 2015. The ZdK is aware of the universal Church's understanding of the context for the discussion of the topic and pays special attention to its own regional considerations.

[…]

With the following four central messages, the ZdK would like to make a contribution to the debate, in light of the preparation of the consultations for the XIV General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops; it would thus like to invite a discussion about its following statements and to seek allies for the upcoming challenges.

1) We regard the sacramental marriage as the model for a life-long bond as a promise for a successful life with the help of God. We confess this to be the model of life and we encourage couples to make such a marital promise and to found a family. At the same time, we respect other forms of cohabitation in which important values are realized: reliable responsibility for one another; fidelity in that relationship; and a commitment to walk together the path [sic].

2) As a church in the world, the ZdK works in a special way for a strengthening and for a promotion of marriage and the family in our society and in the state. By family, we mean also the different non-marital forms of reliably lived partnerships and of generational responsibility which make a large contribution to the societal solidarity and which ought to be treated justly.

3) The Church's teaching has to be further developed with the help of a dialogue with the faithful, and with an attentiveness to their respective life realities. As a church which is attentive to men, their sorrows and hopes, we are called to engage with confidence the given society of today with all its manifold, socially accepted forms of living, and to become ourselves bridge-builders between practice and teaching.

4) In our church [in Germany], we support a strong pastoral care for marriage and the family, which needs, locally, a convincing personal offer [of specific and special care], also in changing pastoral structures.

In detail, this means that:

[…]

In other forms of communal living, as well, there are to be found values which signify a marriage as a covenant between God and men: an unbreakable [sic] “yes” to the other person, the constant readiness to reconcile, as well as the perspective upon a fruitful relationship in exchanging the gifts of different persons.

These forms of living and family [also] have to be honored, even if they are not to be found in the form of the sacramental marriage. We think here of enduring partnerships [cohabitation], civil marriages, as well as civilly registered partnerships [i.e., homosexual unions].

Corrispondenza Romana: One way or the other, Volpi no longer in charge

Corrispondenza Romana

Roberto de Mattei

May 17, 2015

After the article we published on May 15th 2015 as to the end “of the Volpi era”, a bulletin signed by “Father Fidenzio” appeared on the Franciscans of the Immaculate’s site, wherein the Commissioner acknowledges that he was taken ill on April 29th, of “having started” his convalescence, and of being “on the point of” resuming normal work activity: which doesn’t explain how he was able to re-engage, as he says “in the full exercise of his governing tasks.” Respect for Father Volpi’s privacy stops us from giving further information about the actual conditions of his health.

The Vatican Bollettino for today reports that Fr. Timothy Radcliffe OP, has been appointed by Pope Francis as Consultor to the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace. The former Master General of the Dominican Order is a prominent supporter of the Kasperite proposal in favor of communion for the "divorced and remarried". He has also spoken out in favor of the ordination of women, if not to the priesthood, then at least to the diaconate (see this.) However he is more famous for his frequent public interventions pushing for greater acceptance of homosexuality, having been a frequent celebrant of the infamous "gay Masses" in Soho, London. Rorate has noted his blatant support for homosexuality a couple of times (see this and this - scroll to the bottom of each post).

Synod Battles: "The Swiss Church was manipulated by the Liberal Lay Employees of the Bishops' Conference"

Communiqué of the Francis of Sales Association of Journalists, Switzerland

Swiss Church Is Being Manipulated By [Liberal] Lay Employees [of the Conference of Bishops]–

Defective Preparation for the Upcoming Assembly of the Synod of Bishops

According to well-informed circles close to the Swiss Bishops, those Pastoral Assistants, Catechists, Lay Theologians and some others who have evaluated a [recent Swiss] poll on behalf of the upcoming Synod of Bishops (Part II in October of 2015 in Rome) have done so according to their own tendentious inclinations.

The Rite of Canonization introduced last year will be used again on Sunday, the 17th of May for the canonization of the Beatae Émilie de Villeneuve (1811-1854), Maria Cristina (Brando) of the Immaculate Conception (1856-1906), Mariam Baouardy of Jesus Crucified (1846-1878) and Marie-Alphonsine Danil Ghattas (1843-1927).

"The Franciscans of the Immaculate: 'the Volpi era' is over."

Corrispondenza Romana

Roberto de Mattei

May 13, 2015

Sic transit gloria mundi. For the Franciscans of the Immaculate, the Institute founded by Father Stefano Maria Manelli, ( externally commissioned on 11th July 2013) the “era of Volpi” , which will certainly be remembered as one of the saddest in the history of this religious order, is over. Father Fidenzio Volpi, assigned by the Congregation for Religious as Apostolic Commissioner to liquidate Father Manelli’s order, is in fact in a Roman clinic, after suffering a cerebral ischemia, followed by a hemiparesis, which has seriously compromised his health, forcing him to renounce, irrevocably, his appointment as Commissioner.

As already predicted by some Catholic and secular news agencies in the preceding weeks, Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle, Archbishop of Manila, was elected yesterday as the new President of Caritas International. He succeeds Oscar Cardinal Rodriguez Maradiaga, who is stepping down after serving two terms. Tagle himself was not in Rome yesterday; John Allen notes that he was in Chicago receiving an honorary doctorate from the Catholic Theological Union, one of the Americas' most liberal theological institutes.

Some had raised the possibility that Cardinal Tagle would run unopposed, with the only other candidate standing down. However this did not happen: the other candidate (Maronite Archbishop Joseph Soueif) remained in the race. Catholic News Agency further notes that there was a very real difference in emphasis between the programs offered by either prelate:

You Suggest: Novena of Masses supporting Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles

A reader sent us the following. We urge any assistance possible to the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles -- a special group of nuns close to our hearts:

The Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles are running a Novena of Latin Masses in honor of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus which will be

offered at their Priory. Here is what they have posted on their website:

A Sacred Heart Novena of Traditional Latin Masses according to the 1962 Roman Missal (extraordinary form) will be offered for THE SANCTIFICATION OF ALL FAMILIES (or persons) enrolled in the Novena.

The nine Masses will begin with the Feast of the Sacred Heart on June 12th and will conclude on June 20th.

The suggested donation is $15 for each enrollment which includes an enrollment card sent to each family (or person) enrolled.

The link for enrolling in the Novena is HERE.

Besides the spiritual benefits coming from such a Novena, the community of 25 Nuns (with a median age of 28!) would greatly appreciate a generous participation as the proceeds will help them expand their Priory to accommodate the many young Postulants who are entering this year.

Fontgombault Sermon - Ascension: Rather than gaze into the sky, let us convert our hearts and follow the Martyrs of today

ASCENSION

Sermon of the Right Reverend Dom Jean Pateau

Abbot of Our Lady of Fontgombault

(Fontgombault, May 14, 2015)

Postquam locutus est eis, assumptus est in cælum.

After He had spoken to them, He was taken up into Heaven. (Mk 16:19)

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

My dearly beloved Sons,

Is the feast of the Ascension a new Good Friday? At the ninth hour, when He was nailed and lifted up on the Cross, Christ cried out with a loud voice and yielded up His spirit.

Bl. Jacinta Marto

Francesca Bonadonna

Famiglia Domani

May 22, 2014

Almost a century has passed since the great Fatima event when Our Lady, messenger of God, appeared to the three little shepherds to give an immensely important message and to offer Her maternal intercession for a humanity afflicted by sin - a humanity, more narcotized than ever by creeping secularization, Most Holy Mary is the Queen of the eagerly awaited kingdom, foreseen according to Her promise and unforeseen according to its time and modality; the hope of a new millennium for the children of Light i.e. the militant forces of the People of God moved by the Holy Ghost amid the breakers of unrest and disorder but heading towards the safe harbor described in St. John Bosco’s dream, which points to the two pillars of salvation: the Holy Eucharist and the Virgin Mary.

The stages of Fr. Gustavo Gutierrez's rehabilitation and ascent to favor have been well-documented on this blog and elsewhere, beginning with the appointment of Gerhard Cardinal Müller as Prefect of the CDF in 2012, and accelerating with the election in 2013 of Pope Francis, who received Gutierrez in private audience later that year. In February 2014, he was present in the Vatican for the launch of Cardinal Müller's book Poor for the Poor: The Mission of the Church; two of the book's chapters were written by Gutierrez, and the preface was written by ... Pope Francis.

Today, Fr. Gutierrez -- without any clerical collar or insignia, let alone any sign of his Dominican habit -- was the star speaker at the Vatican press conference for the General Assembly of Caritas Internationalis, alongside Caritas' outgoing President and the Coordinator of the C9, Oscar Cardinal Rodriguez Maradiaga. Praising the "change in atmosphere" in the Vatican, Gutierrez also stressed that the Vatican had never condemned his work, commenting that he was not being "rehabilitated" because he never needed it in the first place.

In reality the lack of a condemnation does not mean anything; the postconciliar Vatican's desire to punish dissident theologians has always been greatly exaggerated. A very long list can be compiled of glaringly dissident and prominent "theologians" who massively wreaked havoc in Catholic institutions during the past 35 years without getting so much as a "bad book review" from the CDF.

There could be also other reasons for the lack of a condemnation: foot-dragging by the relevant episcopal authorities, for instance...

Cardinal Pell’s Letter of Support for the Roman Forum

Cardinal Pell recently sent the following letter of support for the Roman Forum, which will be taking place in Gardone from June 29th to July 10th this year. Note the Cardinal’s emphasis on the importance of tradition in responding to signs of our times.

The Philosophers Robert Spaemann and Hans Joas on the New Pontificate

“One Does Not Get Fully Rid of the Impression of Chaos”

[The following is not a full translation, but the main excerpts of the interview.]

Robert Spaemann and Hans Joas represent a kind of intellectual polarity in the current assessment of Pope [Francis] and the Church. In spite of the contrasts between these two philosophers, there are also some striking parallels. Spaemann and Joas both personally profess the Faith and Church and they have dealt with these questions professionally. Volker Resing [Editor-in-Chief of Herder Korrespondenz] moderated the interview.

Question: Pope Francis has been in office for two years now, . Again and again, he has surprised many people. He has raised hopes among some, but others are rather skeptical. How do you assess the phenomenon of Francis?

Robert Spaemann: My perception is ambivalent. Sometimes, I am thrilled by what he says. Sometimes, I only can shake my head. He does not fit into any of the clichés which one has ready to use here among us. His piety is very traditional. He speaks much about the Holy Family, he warns again and again against the devil – and this in a very concrete manner. We have not heard anything the like in many years. He says for example: “If you have chased away the devil, be attentive, he comes back and first looks very innocent.” He speaks like a Latin-American bishop who is fully rooted in the piety of his people. On the other side, in my view, his cult of spontaneity is not helping. In the Vatican, some people are already sighing: 'Today, he has already again another different idea from yesterday.' One does not fully get rid of the impression of chaos. And it is irritating how he prepares the Synod. It is the intention that two parties meet at the synod which the Pope wants to to lead into a dialogue whereby he himself plays the role of a moderator. At the same time, however, he takes sides already in advance by favoring the position of Cardinal Walter Kasper, he has excluded the Institute John Paul II for Studies on the Family from the pre-Synod consultations and tries with the help of explicit pressure to influence those consultations.

Question: How do you see the situation with Pope emeritus Benedict XVI?

by Dr. John Lamont

Those who wish to apply a 'hermeneutic of continuity' to Vatican II, or who deny that there can be any opposition or rupture between the documents of that council and Catholic tradition, or who claim that the assertion that the authentic teachings of Vatican II formally contradict the tradition of the Church is false, might consider the following passage from the council's pastoral constitution Gaudium et Spes: