The significance of Cardinal Brandmüller's latest condemnation of the Amazon Synod: "A situation never before seen in the Church's history"

By now (6th September 2019), many media outlets (among them Catholic Herald and Catholic News Agency) have reported on the latest broadside against the upcoming Amazon Synod (and its Instrumentum Laboris) by Cardinals Raymond Burke and Walter 

This is not the first time that either Cardinal has denounced this horrid document. What is new is Brandmüller's declaration that the current crisis surpasses even the Arian Crisis in severity: 

"'We must face serious challenges to the integrity of the Deposit of the Faith, the sacramental and hierarchical structure of the Church and its Apostolic Tradition. With all this has been created a situation never before seen in the Church’s history, not even during the Arian crisis of the fourth and fifth century,' Brandmüller added.

De Mattei: The John Paul II Institute has fallen. But has it fallen with honour?

Roberto de Mattei

Corrispondenza Romana

August 7, 2019

In the momentous battle presently going on inside the Church a tower has fallen: The Institute of John Paul II.  So as to contextualize the event, the article by George Weigel which carries the title - The Vandals sack Rome again”* is helpful.  According to Weigel, after the Second Vatican Council  a “War of the Conciliar Succession” opened between “two groups of previously-allied reformist theologians”, identified by two periodicals, Concilium and Communio: the former ultra-progressive, the latter moderate. At stake was the battle “for the control of faculty slots in theology departments around the world”.

The election of John Paul II, who appointed Joseph Ratzinger Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, marked the predominance of the moderates over the extremists. The latter, from 1978 onwards, found themselves “on the outs in the great game of ecclesiastical politics – even though they continued to maintain an iron grip on most theological faculty appointments and on a lot of theological publishing”. John Paul II – the American writer explains – did not purge the ecclesiastic universities of progressive professors, but instead promoted the foundation of new institutes like the Ateneo di Santa Croce dell’Opus Dei (and we’d add: Regina Apostolorum  of  the Legions of Christ). Pope Wojtyla was in fact “quietly confident that good coinage – good theology – would eventually drive out bad ethical coinage”.

Note: more on Josef Seifert's "retirement" for Amoris Laetitia critiques.

A few days ago, as reported by various Catholic websites such as Infovaticana, One Peter Five and LifeSite News, a notification was posted on the website of the Archdiocese of Granada denouncing Dr. Josef Seifert for his recent article "Does pure logic threaten to destroy the entire moral doctrine of the Catholic Church?". (Rorate was one of the websites that published it.) Dr. Seifert's positions are listed at the bottom of Rorate's repost:

Josef Seifert is the founding Rector of the The International Academy of Philosophy in the Principality of Liechtenstein, holder of the Dietrich von Hildebrand Chair for Realist Phenomenology at the IAP-IFES, Granada, Spain, and elected by Saint Pope John Paul II as ordinary (life-long) member of the Pontifical Academy for Life (a charge that ended with the dismissal of all PAV members by Pope Francis in 2016, and the failure to be re-elected as member of, a profoundly changed, PAV in 2017)

IAP-IFES stands for "International Academy of Philosophy -  Instituto de Filosofia Edith Stein". IFES, founded in 2005 and owned by the Archdiocese of Granada, notes on its website that it has acted as the Granada campus of IAP since 2009. In listing the IAP's faculty, the IFES website still starts, with evident pride, with Seifert: "The IAP has a permanent faculty of high quality professors, guest professors and friends who frequently teach at their campuses. Notable among them is the renowned phenomenologist Professor Josef Seifert, as well as figures such as ..."

However, the Granada Archdiocesan notification reveals that Seifert had already stopped (or, as is more likely, been stopped from) teaching in IFES since September last year, shortly after his much-longer critique of AL (Amoris Laetitia: Joy, Sadness and Hopes) was published. The same notification also speaks of Seifert's impending "retirement" from the International Academy of Philosophy because of his criticisms of AL. (It is not sufficiently clear from the actual notification if he is being retired only from IAP-IFES, or from IAP itself.)

Commentary: CDF instruction on cremation - affirming the status quo while opening the door to further concessions.Zenit report: Cardinal Müller clarifies -- "not a mortal sin", "not prohibited" to scatter ashes of the deceased or turn these to mementos

Merely a preference.

The new CDF instruction on burial and cremation, which was released yesterday, is being hailed in the Catholic media as a reaffirmation of the Church's "strong preference" for burial. One finds headlines that speak of the document as putting "restrictions" on cremation, or as instituting "strict conditions" upon it. Unfortunately, after a careful reading of the document and considering the pervasive culture of permissions and exceptions in the Church, we are compelled to come to different conclusions.

To put the new instruction in context, we need to revisit the first document by which the Holy See relaxed the traditional ban on cremation on a global scale: the instruction Piam et constantem, issued by the Holy Office in 1963 and published in L' Osservatore Romano and Acta Apostolicae Sedis the following year. (An English translation of this document can be found here.) Written with the customary brevity and clarity of the old Holy Office, it speaks of the various temporal reasons that compelled the Holy Office to "relax somewhat the prescriptions of canon law touching on cremation". Henceforth, cremation was permitted, as long as it was not chosen due to "anti-Christian motives". However, it remained officially discouraged (even if no longer forbidden). This was made abundantly clear in the first and fourth articles of the instruction:

All necessary measures must be taken to preserve the practice of reverently burying the faithful departed. Accordingly, through proper instruction and persuasion Ordinaries are to ensure that the faithful refrain from cremation and not discontinue the practice of burial except when forced to do so by necessity. For the Church has always maintained the practice of burial and consecrated it through liturgical rites.

***

The devout attitude of the faithful toward the ecclesiastical tradition must be kept from being harmed and the Church's adverse attitude toward cremation must be clearly evident. Therefore the rites of ecclesiastical burial and the ensuing suffrages may never be carried out at the place of cremation itself, not even simply to accompany the body as it is being brought there.

For the record: Video plea to the Pope for doctrinal clarity

ROME, July 13, 2016 (LifeSiteNews) -- In a spirit of love, humility, and faithfulness, 16 international life and family advocates are asking Pope Francis in a powerful new video to unambiguously speak the truth of the Catholic faith, to end doctrinal confusion, to restore clarity, and to be the Holy Father that Catholics need.  

"God is Father and Mother": as Jubilee of Mercy nears, Francis calls for "revolution of tenderness" and criticizes his own Church.

ZENIT has published an English translation of Pope Francis' interview with "Credere", the official magazine of the Jubilee of Mercy. We are posting the most important sections here; emphases ours. At the end of this article is our commentary on the extreme danger posed to Catholicity by the Pope's assertion that God is "Father and Mother". And then there is the, by now, depressingly familiar line about how the Church "excludes people" and is too legalistic, following a "hard line", "stressing only the moral rules." 

The Italian text of the interview was published on the Vatican website yesterday, December 2, 2015. We repeat: the original of this interview is on the VATICAN WEBSITE. 

The Holy See's New Alliances - I.Behind Laudato Si: Meet the Irish dissident who was one of the chief advisors behind this encylical - and what he said about its theology

The New Yorker published last week a long opinion piece (A Radical Vatican?) by Naomi Klein, a radical eco-feminist (and abortion supporter who has publicly disparaged pro-lifers) who was specifically invited by the Vatican to be one of the four speakers at a major press conference held on July 1 in the Aula Giovanni Paolo II, organized by the Holy See Press Office and the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace. The press conference's goal was to introduce the international conference “People and Planet First: the Imperative to Change Course” held in the Augustinianum on July 2-3. The conference was co-hosted by the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace along with CIDSE, an international alliance of 17 Catholic Development Organisations; predictably it focused to a great extent on Laudato Si. Klein also served as a panelist during the conference at the Augustinianum.

"A Radical Vatican?" is noteworthy not only as an example of how secular figures that the Vatican itself considers as allies are treating the encyclical as an epochal break from Catholic tradition, but also for its passages about the theological intentions behind the encyclical. (See below; emphases ours.) Here we find Naomi Klein quoting Fr. Seán McDonagh, who is part of the "administrative team" of the ultra-liberal and theologically dissident "Association of Catholic Priests" (ACP) in Ireland -- and was involved in drafting the encyclical. McDonagh's role in drafting Laudato Si is trumpeted not just by the ACP's website (which calls him "one of the chief advisors to the Vatican in the composition of the encylical") but by his own congregation (the Columbans -- see this) and by Vatican Radio, which not only acknowledges that he was one of the theologians consulted for the encyclical, but also chose to interview him about its importance. (Keep in mind that it is exceedingly rare for any of the actual drafters or advisors for an Encyclical to be publicly identified by official Church sources.)

For the record: Pope Francis personally clarifies that he was not offended by Hammer-and-Sickle "crucifix", explicitly acknowledges the Marxism of its Jesuit originator -- and praises him.

As expected, Pope Francis held an in-flight press conference on his way back to Rome this Monday. As widely reported by secular media, he made use of this opportunity to personally clarify his thoughts about the Hammer and Sickle "crucifix" (and the medallion, the "Order of Fr. Espinal" featuring a smaller version of the same) that were presented to him by President Evo Morales of Bolivia. Catholic News Agency has, thankfully, published a translation of the entire press conference (Full text of Pope Francis' in-flight interview from Paraguay to Rome.) The relevant portion is reproduced below (followed by our commentary):

Instrumentum Laboris for 2015 Synod published:Translation of Selected Passages and Commentary.Plus: Will the "Kasper hypothesis" be smuggled into official Church discipline under the cover of extremely vague and clever language?

Blazing the trail for those who want to judge the validity of their own marriage...

The Instrumentum Laboris for the 2015 Synod, an enormous and extremely long-winded document, was published on June 23 but only in Italian. This will be the guiding document for the Synod discussions, guaranteeing that this year's Synod will be at least as contentious as last year's Extraordinary Synod. The portions in italics are taken verbatim from the Lineamenta published last year that served as the guiding document for the consultations that formed the Instrumentum Laboris. In this post we provide extensive extracts from it, mostly taken from its third section. Our commentary will focus mostly on how some passages in this document secure a path for the "Kasper proposal" in favor of remarried divorcees to be accepted by the Synod.

The first two parts of the document deals with the challenges and issues of pastoral care facing families and naturally take up topics on which there is little disagreement among Catholics. It is the third part where the explosive topics that characterized last year' Synod are yet again proposed for discussion. It is clear, in particular, that the "Kasper hypothesis" or "Kasper proposal" in favor of giving communion to some civilly-remarried divorcees whose sacramental marriages have not yet been declared null by the Church, without requiring them to renounce their existing cohabitation arrangements with their second "spouses", is not yet dead. Most of our select translations are taken from this part of the document.

No. 115 claims that there is a widespread agreement in favor of dispensing with the "second instance" or the confirming sentence in cases of nullity. (Canon Law presently requires that a declaration of nullity by the diocesan or local tribunal -- the "first instance" -- must be confirmed by a higher court -- the "second instance".) Cardinal Burke has spoken (see this) about the devastating effect this has on marriages as demonstrated in the United States from 1971 to 1983, when the absence of the requirement for a confirming sentence resulted in a flood of declarations of nullity.

Kiko Argüello and the Neocatechumenal Way: defenders of the family - but at what cost to Catholic doctrine?

{For the background to this post see our article: Rome's immense pro-family rally - a victory for marriage and for children in the face of secular and Bishops' hostility}

Kiko’s sombrero casts its shade on the demonstration in Rome of June 20th

 Corrispondenza Romana,
Roberto de Mattei

June 22nd 2015

The success of the demonstration against the ideology of Gender, on June 20th in Rome, was such that it almost overshadowed the echo of the media on Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato si, presented two days before in the Vatican.  The two events, which coincided, gave the opportunity to the sociologist Marco Marzano, of the university of Bergamo, to address “the challenge between two churches” : the first: applauded the Pope’s encyclical dedicated to social and ecological issues with a massive standing ovation; the second: took to the squares in Rome, to defend the traditional family  and  to reject equality between genders and any concession to the rights of homosexual couples”. (“Il Fatto Quotidiano” June 21st 2015).

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:

Good times for dissident Dominicans:Über-liberal Timothy Radcliffe appointed by Pope Francis as Consultor to the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace

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).

The Father of Liberation Theology's full rehabilitation:A perfect example of ecclesiastical amnesia at work

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...

The "punishment" of Fr. Costadoat: a slap on the wrist?An important clarification from Chile

At the beginning of Holy Week, Rorate posted about the action of Cardinal Ricardo Ezzati SDB in refusing to renew the mandatum of the liberal Jesuit theologian Jorge Costadoat SJ: For the record: Cardinal Ezzati's letter announcing the removal of a dissident Jesuit theologian from the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile.

Shortly afterwards, Rorate received the following clarification from an academic in the Pontifical University of Chile. For prudential reasons we can neither reveal his name nor his teaching position in the University. The clarification has also been slightly edited for this posting.

The situation regarding Jorge Costadoat is far more complicated than it appears. The academic authorities have declared that Costadoat is and will continue to be a member of the PUC of Chile, as researcher and in other academic capacities (including the so-called "extension", which are the activities in which we give lectures, seminars, etc., to the general public), but simply will not teach theology; and that his name can be proposed for the mandatum "in the future" (according to the Dean of Theology) or "within a year" (according to the Rector). So he has not been removed or dismissed. And this has been confirmed by the Cardinal.

Cardinal Danneels (family "expert" chosen by Francis) tried to convince King Baudouin to Sign Abortion Law - and shocking news of Brussels succession

Pro-life sovereigns: Queen Fabiola, Pope John Paul II, King Baudouin (Danneels walks behind them)

Two Belgian politicians admit for the first time openly that Cardinal Godfried Danneels tried to convince King Baudouin to sign the law on abortion in 1990. Former politicians Philippe Moureau (PS, Parti Socialiste) and Mark Eyskens (CVP, Flemish Christian Democrats) said this in a documentary for the Flemish Broadcasting Corporation VTM on April 6, 2015 (http://nieuws.vtm.be/binnenland/135916-25-jaar-abortuswet-boudewijn-onder-druk, at 2:05). According to VTM, cardinal Danneels did not want to comment.

For the record: Cardinal Ezzati's letter announcing the removal of a dissident Jesuit theologian from the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile

{UPDATE 04/11/15: The "punishment" of Fr. Costadoat: a slap on the wrist? An important clarification from Chile}


The Salesian Archbishop of Santiago de Chile, Cardinal Ricardo Ezzati, made waves last week in the Hispanic Catholic world when he refused to renew the mandatum of one of South America's most high-profile and liberal theological dissidents, Fr. Jorge Costadoat SJ - yes, a Jesuit, like the Pope. The decision effectively bars the Jesuit from continuing to teach theology in the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, of which Cardinal Ezzati is also the Grand Chancellor. The Cardinal communicated his reasons for taking action against Costodoat in a letter to the University's Superior Council:

Pontifical Catholic University of Chile

Office of the Grand Chancellor

Santiago, March 24, 2015

VGC-61-2015

Esteemed members of the Honorable Superior Council,

The Faculty of Theology has a central role within the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile (cf. ECE [Statutes] 19), placed under the foremost and direct guardianship of the Grand Chancellor -- as is the case in the other schools of Catholic theology in the world --, among other reasons because the future consecrated persons are formed in it and because it carries out a fundamental task at the service of the entire academic community. The right to confer the canonical mandatum belongs exclusively to the Grand Chancellor and is an indispensable requirement for the teaching of theology in our Faculty.

For the record: Another prominent liberal gets a major US diocese

To no one's surprise and a day after the news had been leaked to the "correct" blogs and websites, the Vatican today announced the appointment of Robert McElroy, 61 years old and currently an Auxiliary Bishop in San Francisco, as Bishop of San Diego, California -- the 13th largest diocese in the USA (out of 197). The Diocese of San Diego, it so happens, has more than double the number of Catholics of the Archdiocese of San Francisco. 

McElroy recently declared publicly in favor of the Kasperite thesis and has been a leading public critic of the enforcement of Canon 915 against pro-abortion politicians. With his "elastic" and dissenting views on homosexuality he became one of the architects of the policies that would lead to San Francisco becoming one of America's most "gay-friendly" sees (at least before the enthronement of Cordileone).

We leave it to the usual "progressive" pundits to discuss his "credentials" at greater length and to openly explain, in great detail, why his appointment is great for their agenda. 

Kasperite Indoctrination for the Archdiocese of Chicago?Cupich on the 2014 Synod: "the media reported what actually took place"

Yesterday, an extreme "progressive" American publication released what is partly a long interview, partly a cheering mutual-praising and self-serving powwow, with Archbishop Blase Cupich, without doubt Pope Francis' most important appointment (so far) to the United States' episcopate. After reading this, there is only one thing we can say to our friends in Chicago: we will keep you in our prayers.

Archbishop Cupich during the first Sunday Mass after his installation. 

Four of the most important passages in the interview ("BC" is "Cupich"). Emphases are Rorate's:

Continuing Madness:1) Some in the Curia wanted Burke out of the College of Cardinals2) More German Catholic weakness on homosexuality and "remarried" divorcees

1) Rome-based journalist and vaticanista Andrés Beltramo Álvarez (a native of Argentina who writes for Mexican newspapers, and also for the Spanish version of La Stampa's "Vatican Insider"), who used to be very level-headed and even conservative in previous pontificates, albeit always giving neutral coverage, is one of those who have chosen to become unofficial spokesmen of the current pontificate. Interestingly in a blog post last week  featuring an extended critique of Cardinal Burke, we can find this pearl:

Bp. Athanasius Schneider on the Synod, "manipulation", and the "neo-pagan" and heterodox midterm relatio - Midterm relatio a stain on the honor of the Apostolic See

Polonia Christiana

November 4/5, 2014

The Church and the world do urgently need intrepid and candid witnesses of the whole truth of the commandment and of the will of God, of the whole truth of Christ’s words on marriage. Modern clerical Pharisees and Scribes, those bishops and cardinals who throw grains of incense to the neo-pagan idols of gender ideology and concubinage, will not convince anyone to either believe in Christ or to be ready to offer their lives for Christ - said + Athanasius Schneider Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Saint Mary in Astana, Kazakhstan in interview with Izabella Parowicz.

Your Excellency, what is Your Excellency’s opinion about the Synod? What is its message to families?

During the Synod there had been moments of obvious manipulation on the part of some clerics who held key positions in the editorial and governing structure of the Synod. The interim report (Relatio post disceptationem) was clearly a prefabricated text with no reference to the actual statements of the Synod fathers. In the sections on homosexuality, sexuality and “divorced and remarried” with their admittance to the sacraments the text represents a radical neo-pagan ideology. This is the first time in Church history that such a heterodox text was actually published as a document of an official meeting of Catholic bishops under the guidance of a pope, even though the text only had a preliminary character.