The Pope's Strength: Does it Come from God or from "the People"? "Progressives" Make a Pope In Their Own Image

Jacques-Louis David
Le Serment du Jeu de Paume le 20 juin 1789 [The Tennis Court Oath on June 20, 1789], c. 1791
Musée Carnavalet

The ultra-"progressive" founder of the interreligious community of Sant'Egidio, and also former (unelected...) minister of the Italian government, Andrea Riccardi (more about him here), is one of those ideologues who have never received a vote in their lives but think they can better describe what "the people" want.

In an interview to French weekly L'Express published this Friday, he reaches the height of "progressive" populism. In his view, the strength of the Pope comes not from God, but "the people."

"The strength of Pope Francis is the people"

...

On which allies can the Argentine pope count?

His strength is the people. In my view, he has achieved an alliance, not with the Church's hierarchy, but with the faithful, to whom he gives orientations, but without decreeing to them, "You must do like this, or like that." He appeals to the liberty and responsibility of Christians, who come by the way massively to Saint Peter Square to see him. In the Anglo-Saxon world, his glow is particularly strong. A well-known American journalist has told me, "He's become our new Mandela." He has conquered Germany, that had turned its back on Benedict. Among you, in France, he does even better than John Paul II, who had connections, such as Jean-Marie Lustiger. Francis raises enthusiasm by himself. He is not submitted to the media, it is the media that turns towards him.

It must first be made clear that this was never said by the Pope, who was not elected by "the people," but by a very restricted and exclusive Church structure -- revolutionary populism is what "progressives" want to make the Pope look like, a Pope in their own image.

This populism must be denounced from the outset.

The enlightened one

The new President of the Council of Ministers (Prime Minister) of the Italian Republic, an unelected man handpicked for the job by international institutions (this is not meant necessarily as any kind of support for his predecessor), named as new Minister for International Cooperation a very famous Italian Catholic: Andrea Riccardi, the founder and leader of the greatest and most influential community dedicated to ecumenism and inter-religious dialogue, the Community of Sant'Egidio. 

More on the mysterious Sant'Egidio sect, the main organization behind the Assisi meetings, from this 1998 article in English by Sandro Magister (who says, in this note in Italian, that Riccardi, also unelected, is somewhat disappointed because he modestly thought he should have been named head of the Farnesina, the Italian Foreign Office):

Celebrating Assisi in Arras with the Koran on the Altar

In the Church of the Holy Savior (Saint-Sauveur), in the Diocese of Arras (Pas-de-Calais, France), an "Interreligious prayer vigil" was held on October 26, 2011, to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the first Assisi interreligious meeting:

Best ecclesial comment on the so-called "Peace Movement"

[Radio announcer:] Citizens, listen to the voice of your conscience: remember, in the secret of the voting booth, God can see you -

[Don Camillo:] But Stalin can't!

...

[Helper:] Reverendo, it's 5 PM, it's time to shut down the speaker.

[Don Camillo:] It's 5, Moscow time; it's 10 to 5 in Rome!

...

[Don Camillo:] Fellow citizens, do not forget it: the Peppone party is the Baffone [Stalin] party. Chi vota colomba, si scava la tomba. [Whoever votes for the dove digs his own grave.]

Don Camillo e l'onorevole Peppone (1955)

Script: G. Guareschi

Assisi III: Peter greets his Master

From Getty images:

1. Tu es Christus, Filius Dei vivi.

2. Omnes de Saba venient ...

Tip: XA- Le Forum Catholique.

Editorial note: Assisi Ignored

It is apparently true: as one commentator noticed in his own country, other than in some Italian dailies (and RAI, the Italian State network, that helped film it), the Assisi meeting generated only generic notes by news agencies reproduced by national or local papers. In most mainstream sources, it was ignored.

Should this be viewed:

(1) as something good, and perhaps the result of a successful effort to downplay the event?

or (2) as something not particularly good, in the way it feeds the ongoing notion that the Papacy (and all it represents) is becoming increasingly irrelevant (as in the repeated meme that the Vatican now feels as inconsequential as the Republic of Venice right before its fall to Napoleonic troops)?

Regardless of anything said or done in Assisi yesterday, events such as the one that took place there tend to be portrayed or seen in the secularized world as confirming what they see as the irrelevance and empty self-importance of faith in general - for many adult men and women, an assembly of religious leaders may look more purposelessly pathetic or pity-inducing than inspiring or scandalous. Perhaps the time has come for the ecclesiastical hierarchy to leave behind some frivolous notions of the second half of the 20th century, including the promotion of an amorphous "peace movement".

[Image: Ludovico Manin, last Doge of the Most Serene Republic of Venice.]

Assisi III: Papal address

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Distinguished Heads and Representatives of Churches, Ecclesial Communities and World Religions,

Dear Friends,

Twenty-five years have passed since Blessed Pope John Paul II first invited representatives of the world’s religions to Assisi to pray for peace. What has happened in the meantime? What is the state of play with regard to peace today? At that time the great threat to world peace came from the division of the earth into two mutually opposed blocs. A conspicuous symbol of this division was the Berlin Wall which traced the border between two worlds right through the heart of the city. In 1989, three years after Assisi, the wall came down, without bloodshed. Suddenly the vast arsenals that stood behind the wall were no longer significant. They had lost their terror. The peoples’ will to freedom was stronger than the arsenals of violence. The question as to the causes of this dramatic change is complex and cannot be answered with simple formulae. But in addition to economic and political factors, the deepest reason for the event is a spiritual one: behind material might there were no longer any spiritual convictions. The will to freedom was ultimately stronger than the fear of violence, which now lacked any spiritual veneer. For this victory of freedom, which was also, above all, a victory of peace, we give thanks. What is more, this was not merely, nor even primarily, about the freedom to believe, although it did include this. To that extent we may in some way link all this to our prayer for peace.

But what happened next? Unfortunately, we cannot say that freedom and peace have characterized the situation ever since.

For the record: Assisi III preparatory prayers

The paraliturgical prayer ceremony that is to be held in St.Peter's Square tomorrow, in preparation of Assisi III, which will take place on Thursday, begins with the Tu es Petrus and ends with the Salve Regina (there are readings, a papal homily, and new-rite-style "Intercessory Prayers" in between).

(PDF booklet file available in several languages, including English, with Italian translations, in the Vatican website).

Liberation: like the Allies in Rome

OK, not exactly:

Libya's transitional leader has declared liberation of the country ... . Mustafa Abdul-Jalil also told thousands of supporters at a ceremony on Sunday that Islamic Sharia law would be the "basic source" of legislation in the country, and that existing laws that contradict the teachings of Islam would be nullified. [CBS News and several sources.]

[The Telegraph adds:] Mr Abdul-Jalil went further, specifically lifting immediately, by decree, one law from Col. Gaddafi's era that he said was in conflict with Sharia - that banning polygamy.

Rome, by the way, is slightly closer to Tripoli, the capital of Italy's former colony in North Africa, than it is to Paris, Brussels, Berlin, or Athens. Let us pray for Christians in nations with Muslim majorities!

Well, at least, "we'll always have Paris" - and Assisi!

["Meeting of the religions for peace", promoted by the Catholic Church in Paris on the same day as the Assisi pilgrimage. Image source: Sant'Egidio]

"Dear Hindu friends," we will be "spiritually united with" those in Assisi III

From the Daily Bulletin of the Holy See Press Office:

Christians and Hindus: together in promoting religious freedom

Dear Hindu Friends,

1. The Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue is pleased to send you its cordial greetings as you celebrate Deepavali on 26 October of this year. May God, the source of all light, illumine your hearts, homes and communities for a life of peace and prosperity,

2. Maintaining our tradition of sharing a reflection on this occasion, we propose this year the theme of Religious Freedom. This subject is currently taking centre stage in many places, calling our attention to those members of our human family exposed to bias, prejudice, hate propaganda, discrimination and persecution on the basis of religious affiliation. Religious freedom is the answer to religiously motivated conflicts in many parts of the world. Amid the violence triggered by these conflicts, many desperately yearn for peaceful coexistence and integral human development.

3. Religious freedom is numbered among the fundamental human rights rooted in the dignity of the human person. When it is jeopardized or denied, all other human rights are endangered. Religious freedom necessarily includes immunity from coercion by any individual, group, community or institution. Though the exercise of this right entails the freedom of every person to profess, practise and propagate his or her religion or belief, in public or in private, alone or in a community, it also involves a serious obligation on the part of civil authorities, individuals and groups to respect the freedom of others. Moreover, it includes the freedom to change one's own religion.

4. When respected and promoted, religious freedom allows believers to be more enthusiastic about cooperating with their fellow citizens in the building of a just and humane social order. But wherever and whenever it is denied, suppressed or violated, "the growth of the authentic and lasting peace of the whole human family" is stifled and frustrated (cf. Pope Benedict XVI, Message for the World Day of Peace, 2011). There are many fields in which a specific contribution can be made to the common good, such as the defence of life and the dignity of the family, the sound education of children, honesty in daily conduct, and the preservation of natural resources, to name a few. Let us strive, then, to join hands in promoting religious freedom as our shared responsibility, by asking the leaders of nations never to disregard the religious dimension of the human person.

5. The very day after you celebrate Deepavali this year, many religious leaders from across the globe will join Pope Benedict XVI in a Pilgrimage to Assisi to renew the pledge made twenty-five years ago, under the leadership of Blessed John Paul II, to make religions channels of peace and harmony. We will be spiritually united with them, confident that believers will always be a blessing for the whole world.

We cordially wish you a joyful celebration of Deepavali.

Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran

President

Archbishop Pier Luigi Celata

Secretary

Who will be present in Assisi III?

According to the prelates present at today's press conference on Assisi III (official name: "Day of Reflection, Dialogue, and Prayer for Peace and Justice in the World - 'Pilgrims of Truth, Pilgrims of Peace' - Assisi, October 27, 2011"), those present will include:

-"From the Eastern Churches, 17 delegations";

-"From the Western Churches and ecclesial communities, 13 delegations will be present";

-From Jewish Organizations: delegations of the "International Committee on Interreligious Consultation", "of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel", the "Chief Rabbi of Rome";

-"4 personalities in representation of the Traditional Religions of Africa, America, and India";

-"18 people" of "religions related to the Indian subcontinent";

-"67 Buddhists"; 

-the "President of the Confucianism Association", "the President of the Tao Association", "2 Shinto delegations from Japan", representatives of "the New Religions of Japan";

-"48 Muslims" from "Arab countries and the Middle East, and from Western nations", including "a representative of the King of Saudi Arabia and Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques", and "5 personalities, accompanied by other 7 Muslim representatives" from "Pakistan, Bangladesh, Thailand, and Indonesia;

- And also 4 invited guests of the Pontifical Council for Culture, including a member of the Austrian Communist Party.

The "search for truth" of the meeting "is a precondition for knowing one another better, for overcoming all forms of prejudice, and of syncretism which obscures identity". [Source: Bollettino of the Holy See Press Office.]

Is Benedict XVI going to Assisi III, or not?

The Pope's calendar for activities in October has one curious omission: there is no mention of any visit to, or activity in Assisi on October 27, although he will take part in a "Prayer in preparation of (sic) the Meeting in Assisi on October 26 at St. Peter's.

A recent report on EWTN also repeats the information (which seems not to have been adequately publicized) that Assisi III will not contain interreligious prayers. The final details of the event will be made public by October 18.

(H/t to Colleen Hammond)

Pre-Assisi: Can you feel the luv?

The Septemberfest of inter-religious dialogue and multiclulturalism (see left: official logo of the official website) promoted by Andrea Riccardi's Sant'Egidio Community (can we call them Riccardians?), took place this week in Munich (Bavaria, Germany).

It was a rainbow of hope for humankind, a Friedenstreffen filled with friendliness! Now, we would like to mock this pre-Assisi conference, but it would be inappropriate, not because it would be wrong, but because it really does not need our help for this. Just read their anodyne final appeal, made public today on Sant'Egidio's website:

Men and women of different religions, we have gathered together in Munich in Bavaria upon the invitation of the Archdiocese of Munich-Freising and of the Community of Sant’Egidio, which has tenaciously carried on the “Spirit of Assisi” for 25 years.

SSPX on Assisi 2011

La Porte Latine, the website of the French District of the Society of Saint Pius X (FSSPX / SSPX), made available yesterday a communiqué by its Superior, Fr. R. de Cacqueray, on the inter-religious meeting to be hosted in Assisi on October 27, 2011, 25th anniversary of a similar meeting held in the same city under the auspices of Pope John Paul II. A full translation of the text has just been made available by the American District, with the same introductory note, "With the approval of the SSPX's Superior General, Bishop Bernard Fellay".

This is the full text of the Communiqué, as provided by SSPX.org:

____________________________________

Renewing the Assisi Scandal

Errare humanum est, perseverare diabolicum

9-13-2011 [Original publication: 9-12-2011]


With the approval of the SSPX's Superior General, Bishop Bernard Fellay, this text of Fr. Regis de Cacqueray (District Superior of France) was first published in French on laportelatine.org on September 12.

What is going to happen this October 27, 2011? A simple friendly encounter among men and women of good will? Desultory discourse on the divinity of Christ and of His Church? No—the renewal by the reigning pope, Benedict XVI, of the unprecedented scandal perpetrated by his predecessor, John Paul II, on October 27, 1986. What will occur this October 27, 2011? A call for conversion to the Catholic faith? The Pope’s declarations clearly indicate what this day will be: the meeting of representatives of all the false religions, called by the Pope personally to join in a day of reflection where all are invited to pray for peace.1

Pope apparently not initiator of Assisi-III

[Summary of a post on the website of the FSSPX German District - translation and tip: reader]

In a personal note of the Pope to Prof. Dr. Peter Beyerhaus, he apparently hints at not having been the initiator - hence, responsible for - of the religious meeting in Assisi later this year.

Vatican Press Office Statement on Assisi III

"Pilgrims of truth, pilgrims of peace"

Day of reflection, dialogue and prayer for peace and justice in the world

Assisi, 27 October 2011

On 1 January 2011, after the Angelus, Pope Benedict XVI announced that he wished to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the historic meeting that took place in Assisi on 27 October 1986, at the wish of the Venerable Servant of God John Paul II. On the day of the anniversary, 27 October this year, the Holy Father intends to hold a Day of reflection, dialogue and prayer for peace and justice in the world, making a pilgrimage to the home of Saint Francis and inviting fellow Christians from different denominations, representatives of the world’s religious traditions and, in some sense, all men and women of good will, to join him once again on this journey.

Italian Catholic Intellectuals Beg Benedict XVI To “Flee the Spirit of Assisi”

(UPDATE January 23, 2011 10:28 A.M.: As DICI itself indicates, certain passages from the original letter have been removed from this translation. I have now included translations of the missing passages in blue, with the complete Italian text as my reference. I have also adjusted the division of the text into paragraphs to bring the translation nearer to the original. 

In my judgment the non-inclusion of certain passages in the DICI translation has given a slightly harsher tone to the translation than is actually to be found in the original, and somewhat distorted the line of argumentation actually used by the authors, who refer to Vatican II and to a book of the then-Cardinal Ratzinger in support of their appeal to Benedict XVI. CAP)

From DICI:

On January 11, Catholic Italian journalists and academics caused to appear in Il Foglio a supplication to the Pope, begging him not to go to Assisi next October. Here are some of the most significant extracts.

Most Holy Father,
Holy Father Benedict XVI,

We are some Catholics who are extremely grateful for the work that you are performing as Pastor  of the universal Church in recent years. We are grateful for your great assessment of human reason, for having given us the Motu proprio "Summorum pontificum", for your profitable relationship with those Anglicans who are returning to unity and for many other things as well.

We take the liberty of writing you after having learned, precisely during the massacre of the Coptic Christians (Ed. in Egypt, December 31, 2010), your intention of convening in Assisi, in October, a large inter-religious assembly, 25 years after “Assisi 1986”.

We all remember this event that took place so long ago.

An event like few others in the media, that, independently of the intentions and declarations of he (those) who convened it, had an undeniable repercussion, relaunching in the Catholic world indifference and religious relativism.

Msgr. Fellay at the Congress of the Courrier de Rome

Rorate presents the following translation of an article published on Summorum Pontificum Observatus on January 10, 2011. Assuming that this report is accurate, Msgr. Fellay's speech on the evening of January 9, 2011 was greatly different in tone, compared to his homily on the morning of the same day. Emphases mine.

Monsignor Fellay in a nuanced way sums up the congress of the Courrier de Rome

Yesterday evening, Sunday , January 9th, at the Maison de la Chimie, rue Saint-Dominique, Monsignor Bernard Fellay, Superior General of Saint Pius X Priestly Fraternity (FSSPX), as usual, gave the last of the speeches at the conference organized by Abbé du Chalard (Courrier de Rome) and the Saint Pius X Institute. In order to understand the significance of this exercise, we should bear in mind that Monsignor Fellay here expresses himself publicly, knowing well that his words will be reported and commented upon ad extra, but he does it paradoxically enough by employing the language he uses for internal use, with connotations, and directed at his priests.

He answered the successive questions posed to him by abbé Lorans, by extending successive responses that certainly were very much focused on the Fraternity, but the tone of which may be summarized in the following way, considering the points seemingly most relevant to the listeners, who sometimes were quite surprised:

- On the subject of the foundation of the Priestly Fraternity by Mgr Lefebvre, Mgr Fellay insisted on the Founder’s original wish being that of “making priests”, even before that of responding in a militant way to the crisis of the Church.

- As for the crisis and its present developments, Mgr Fellay criticized very incisively Assisi III, as he had done earlier in the same morning during his sermon at St-Nicolas du Chardonnet. (See Rorate's post on this sermon. CAP) Noting however that Assisi II was better than Assisi I, he pronounced an ideal hypothesis for Assisi III, which he himself did not think would happen (the pope could ask his guests to convert themselves) and he drew no consequences out of this (“we will see what this will provide [us] in the discussions”).

- Regarding the doctrinal discussions taking place in Rome, he insisted heavily upon the “unbelievable” progress that they represent in themselves. Rome never debates over its Magisterium. It is a thing unheard-of. However, Rome has agreed to a debate over the Council, because it is not infallible. That is why the FSSPX “holds the contract”: an event of such a dimension requires peace and serenity. FSSPX thus “tacitly” exempts itself from attacking as it did in the past. But the war against Modernism continues and most important of all – we must not believe that “everything has been done” ("tout est arrive").

- On the subject of what the FSSPX may give to the Church: Mgr Fellay, evoking a retreat that he preached in Albano for 30 Italian diocesan priests, indirectly underlined the positive aspect of the Motu Proprio (asking that one should not criticize it). The priests who return to the traditional liturgy also return to the traditional doctrine, but they return from afar. And to drive home the point: there are – especially in Rome – very good people, priests, bishops and even cardinals.

 

The highest point of this discourse of “openness” was the citation of a conversation that Mgr Ranjith, now a Cardinal, had had with him. Mgr Ranjith said to him that one would probably have to wait 20 years for the liturgical reform to give way to the Traditional Mass. Mgr Fellay comments: there will be intermediate, “gradual” stages, where everything will not be good, it is true, but neither will everything be bad.

SSPX Bishop Fellay: "Assisi will be full of devils!"

Remarks on the Feast of the Epiphany during a sermon given at St. Nicolas du Chardonnet on the Solemnity of the Epiphany, January 9, 2011.

An inauspicious start: Assisi 2011

In his Angelus message today, Pope Benedict XVI announced that, on the 25th anniversary of the visit of Pope John Paul II to Assisi for the meeting of different religious leaders in 1986, he will visit Assisi in October 2011 for a meeting with "Christian brothers of the different confessions, leaders of the world's religious traditions, and, ideally, all men of good will".

Interreligious dialogue: as the massacre of Christians in Alexandria reminded us just today, "How's that workin' out for ya?"