Roberto de Mattei
Corrispondenza Romana
November 29, 2017
Corrispondenza Romana
November 29, 2017
Over the last few weeks three interviews
from prominent cardinals have appeared. The first was released by Cardinal Walter
Brandmüller to Christian Geye and Hannes
Hintermeier for the Frankfurter Allgmeine Zeitung on October 28th
2017; the
second was given by Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke to Edward Pentin on November 14th for The
National Catholic Register; the third, to Cardinal Müller, appeared on
November 26th in the Corriere
della Sera, by Massimo Franco.
Cardinal Brandmüller revealed his anxiety
concerning the possible beginnings of a division in the Church. “ The fact alone that a petition with 870,000
signatures addressed to the Pope asking him for clarification has still not
been answered and likewise the 50 scholars of international
ranking have yet to obtain a reply -
raises questions. This is truly difficult to understand .” “Addressing some dubia, i.e. doubts and questions to the
Pope, has always been an absolutely normal way to dissipate ambiguities. Simply speaking, the question is the
following: Can something that was considered a sin yesterday be good today?
Further, we now have the question whether there are actually acts - as has been the constant teaching of the
Church – that are always and in all circumstances morally reprehensible? Such as in the case of killing an innocent person or adultery for example?
This is the point. If there should be in
effect a “yes” response to the first question and a “no” to the second, this
would be a de facto heresy, and consequently
a schism. A split in the Church.”
Cardinal Burke, who confirmed that he was in
constant communication with Cardinal Brandmüller, advanced a fresh warning “on the gravity of the situation which
continues to worsen” and reaffirmed the need to shed light on all the
heterodox passages in Amoris laetitia.
We are in fact faced with a process which constitutes “a subversion of the essential parts of Tradition”. “Above
and beyond the moral debate, the sense
of sacramental practice in the Church is being increasingly eroded, in
particular as regards Confession and the Eucharist.”
The cardinal once again addresses Pope Francis
and the entire Church, by stressing “ how
urgent it is for the Pope, in the exercise of the ministry he has received from
the Lord, that he confirm his brethren in the faith, by expressing clearly the
teaching on Christian morality and the importance of the Church’s sacramental
practice.”
Cardinal Müller, for his part, confirms that
there is the danger of a schism inside the Church and the responsibility of
this division does not belong to the Dubia Cardinals of Amoris laetitia, nor the signatories of the Correctio filialis to Pope Francis, but the Pope’s “magic circle”,
which is blocking open and balanced discussion on the doctrinal problems raised
by these criticisms.
“Caution:
If the perception of an injustice is given by the Roman Curia, it could
inevitably set in motion a schismatic tendency, difficult afterwards to recover
from. I believe that the cardinals who expressed their doubts on Amoris
laetitia, or the 62 signatories of an even excessive letter of criticism to the
Pope should be heard, not liquidated as “Pharisees” or grumblers. The only way
out of this situation is through clear and frank dialogue.” “Instead, I have the impression that in the
Pope’s “magic circle” there are those who are mainly concerned about snitching
on presumed adversaries, thus blocking open and balanced discussion.
Classifying all Catholics according to the categories of “friend” or “enemy” of
the Pope, is the gravest damage they are causing in the Church. One remains
perplexed if a well-known journalist, as an atheist, boasts of being the Pope’s
friend; and on a parallel a Catholic bishop and cardinal like myself is being
defamed as the Holy Father’s opponent. I don’t believe that these people can
give me lessons in theology on the primacy of the Roman Pontiff.”
According to his interviewer; Cardinal Müller,
has yet to digest the “hurt” of his three collaborators being dismissed shortly
before his non-renewal as head of the Congregation last June. “They were good, competent priests who had
worked for the Church with exemplary dedication”, is his judgment. “People
cannot be sent away [like that] ad libitum, without evidence or procedure, simply because someone anonymously
reported that one of them made some vague criticism of the Pope …”
Under what kind of regime are people treated
this way? Damien Thompson in The Spectator wrote about it last July 17th.
(https://blogs.spectator.co.uk/2017/07/
pope-francis-is-behaving-like-a-latin-american-dictator-but-the-liberal-media-arent-interested/).
The dismissal of Cardinal Muller’s
collaborators “brings to mind his most authoritarian predecessors – or, indeed, some
Latin American dictator who hugs the crowds and advertises
his ostentatiously humble lifestyle while his lieutenants live in
fear of his rages.” This aspect of
Pope Francis’ Pontificate is now the object of a book, recently published with
the significant title The Dictator Pope (https://www.amazon.it/Papa-Dittatore-Marcantonio-Colonna-ebook/dp/B077M5ZH4M
The author is an Oxford-educated historian who
hides under the name of “Marcantonio Colonna”. His style is sober and
documented, but his accusations against Pope Bergoglio are numerous and strong.
Many of the elements he has based in the formulation of his accusations are
well-known, but what is new is the accurate description of a series of
“historical pictures”: the intrigue of Pope Bergoglio’s election, piloted by
the “St. Gallen Mafia”; Bergoglio’s
Argentinean behavior and actions before his election; the obstacles Cardinal
Pell encountered after having attempted a financial reform of the Curia; the revision of the Pontifical
Academy for Life; the persecution of the Franciscans of the Immaculate and the
decapitation of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta.
The mass-media, always ready to lash out with
indignation at any episode of bad government and corruption, are silent about
these scandals. The foremost merit of this historical study is having brought
them to light. “Fear is the dominant note
of the Curia under the law of Francis, along with reciprocal suspicion”. It is not only about informers who are
seeking to obtain advantages by reporting a private conversation – as Cardinal Müller’s three members of
staff discovered. In an organization
where morally corrupt people have been left in place and even promoted by Pope
Francis, underhanded blackmail is the order of the day. A priest in the Curia said
ironically: “The saying goes that it is who you know that counts not what you
know. In the Vatican, here’s how it is: what you know counts more than who you
know.”
Marcantonio Colonna’s book, in short, confirms
what Cardinal Müller’s interview
conceals: the existence of an atmosphere of espionage and delation which the former Prefect of the Congregation
for the Faith attributes to a “magic circle” conditioning the Pope’s choices,
whereas the Oxford historian reports it as Pope Francis’ modus gubernandi and compares it to the autocratic methods of
the Argentinean dictator Juan Peron, of whom the young Bergoglio was a
follower.
One might respond that nihil sub sole novum
(Ecclesiaste 1, 10). The Church has seen many other deficiencies in
government. However, if this pontificate is actually bringing about a division
among the faithful, as the three cardinals highlighted, the motives cannot be
limited to the Pope’s way of governing, but have to be sought in something
which is absolutely unprecedented in the history of the Church: the separation
of the Roman Pontiff from the doctrine of the Gospel, which he has, through
Divine mandate, the duty to transmit and guard.
This is what is at the heart of the religious problem of our times.
Translation: Contributor Francesca Romana
