Putin, the United States elections, and the upcoming Conclave - by Roberto de Mattei

 [Rorate Note: Hours after the original Italian article was published by Professor de Mattei, Washington was abuzz with the news that there is a severe, though not imminent, national security threat posed by Russia regarding nuclear developments in space, in defiance of standing treaties. House Republican leadership has urged the White House to make as much information available as possible on this grave matter.]

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PUTIN, THE UNITED STATES ELECTIONS, AND THE UPCOMING CONCLAVE 

Roberto de Mattei

February 14, 2024

A mantle of concern looms these weeks over the decision-making centers of the Western world.  On Jan. 24, General Patrick Sanders, chief of staff of His Majesty's Army, said that British nationals may be called upon in the not-too-distant future to fight against Russia (https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-68086188). For Dutch Admiral Rob Bauer, head of the NATO Military Committee, it is also necessary to prepare for an imminent conflict (https://www.standard.co.uk/news/world/russia-war-nato-military-exercise-admiral-rob-bauer-brussels-cold-war-b1133399.html). In the same days, the Swedish Minister of Civil Defense, Carl-Oskar Bohlin, said that everyone must prepare for the worst-case scenario, such as a war with Russia, before it is too late (https://www.anews.com.tr/world/2024/01/19/could-russia-go-to-war-with-sweden).

"Prigozhin, Putin, and Western Christendom: The West is Currently Sick, but it is not Evil, and it can Recover" -- by Roberto de Mattei

Roberto de Mattei

August 30, 2023

The crash of the plane on which Wagner Brigade leader Yevgeni Prigozhin was traveling on August 23 caused no less uproar in the world's media than his attempted rebellion against Putin that occurred exactly two months earlier, on June 24, 2023. In both the first case and the second, the most cerebral hypotheses have been put forward to explain the event. There are those who attribute the bombing not to the Russians but to Ukrainians or the Americans; there are those who are convinced that there was a double on the plane and Prigozhin is still in Africa; and there are those who deny the bombing, claiming that it was all a set-up to allow Prigozhin to disappear and, at the same time, Putin to demonstrate his strength. The hypothesis that Prigozhin was made to be assassinated in revenge by Putin seems all too obvious and normal in a world where narratives are superimposed on reality, creating a climate of dark uncertainty in which nothing can be stated categorically and clearly. We are so accustomed to "abnormality" that a "normal" reading of events seems trivial to us, not least because these events present themselves to us in an often contradictory and confusing manner. 

Russia and the invasion of Ukraine: why are so many "Conservatives" agreeing with Extreme Marxists and Communists?

by John Lamont

At the outset of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, opinions in the West were virtually unanimous in condemning the Russian attack and supporting aid to Ukraine. As the war continues, however, dissonant voices have emerged on the conservative side. They have alleged that Russia’s attack was not a pure act of unprovoked aggression but was motivated by legitimate security concerns, and that the military aid to the Ukrainians should cease. This position of some conservatives is a further burden and risk for the suffering Ukrainian nation which is fighting for its life.  It is also – a much lesser consideration – a problem for conservatives and for many Catholics, who have given ear to this anti-Ukrainian stance or have even accepted and promoted it. The problem is a problem of moral integrity and moral credibility. Those Catholics who have bought in to the anti-Ukrainian line have lost both. It is for this reason that this anti-Ukrainian line needs to be addressed in a Catholic forum.    

The case for this line depends on not addressing or mentioning essential facts. The best way to respond to it is to describe the main features of Russia’s goals and actions in Ukraine.  

"Russophilia", the West and anti-Romanism - by Roberto de Mattei

In 2004, in a dialogue with Senate President Marcello Pera, then-Cardinal Ratzinger identified as a cultural evil of our time the self-hatred of the West (in Without Roots; Europe, Relativism, Christianity, Islam, Mondadori, Milan 2004).

One expression of this hatred of the West is "Russophilia," an intellectual tendency that became an international organization on March 14, 2023, with the presentation in Moscow of the "International Movement of Russophiles." Among the 120 representatives from 46 countries, chronicles report the presence of an Italian, Princess Vicky (Vittoria) Alliata di Villafranca, known for her keen interest in the Islamic world. Another well-known figure, Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, addressed a warm message to the conference participants, stating, among other things, that "the Russian Federation undeniably stands as the last bastion of civilization against barbarism." The role of the Russian Federation "will be decisive" "in an 'Antiglobalist' Alliance that returns to citizens the power that has been taken from them, and to nations the sovereignty eroded and ceded to the Davos lobby."  

Like any error, Russophilia starts from a truth: the decadence of the West, which has turned its back on its history and values. The Magisterium of the Catholic Church has pointed out as responsible for this decay an enemy that, "in recent centuries has attempted to work the intellectual, moral, social disintegration of the unity of the mysterious organism of Christ" (Pius XII, Address of Oct. 12, 1952 to the men of Catholic Action). ...