Public Protest Against Panama City's Interreligious Syncretistic Meeting on Feast of the Assumption

August 16, 2024
Metropolitan Archdiocese of the Panama City
Archbishop José Domingo Ulloa Mendieta
E. S. D.

Dear Metropolitan Archdiocese of Panama City,

On August 15, every year and since time immemorial, the Solemnity of Our Lady in her glorious Assumption is celebrated, in fact the city was founded under the name of Our Lady of the Assumption of Panama on August 15, 1519. This Solemnity demonstrates the crowning success of Mary Most Holy in this life, to such an extent that the Most High kept her away from the corruption of death to be taken body and soul to heaven to reign for all eternity with her Divine Son. The supreme joy in which the whole Christian world was immersed for centuries is incalculable and through the writings of the saints we can learn how sublime this solemnity is. Unfortunately, this brief letter is not an address of congratulations, but a cry that rises from the depths of a faithful that is overwhelmed and outraged by the serious lack of respect that is being committed against Our Holy Mother of Heaven.

No, Francis, God did not "will a plurality and diversity of religions": saying so is "altogether abandoning the divinely revealed religion."

Point:

The pluralism and the diversity of religions, colour, sex, race and language are willed by God in His wisdom, through which He created human beings.

Document co-signed by Francis and the "Grand Imam of Al-Azhar" Ahmad Al-Tayyeb

Counterpoint:

Never perhaps in the past have we seen, as we see in these our own times, the minds of men so occupied by the desire both of strengthening and of extending to the common welfare of human society that fraternal relationship which binds and unites us together, and which is a consequence of our common origin and nature. For since the nations do not yet fully enjoy the fruits of peace - indeed rather do old and new disagreements in various places break forth into sedition and civic strife - and since on the other hand many disputes which concern the tranquility and prosperity of nations cannot be settled without the active concurrence and help of those who rule the States and promote their interests, it is easily understood, and the more so because none now dispute the unity of the human race, why many desire that the various nations, inspired by this universal kinship, should daily be more closely united one to another.

A similar object is aimed at by some, in those matters which concern the New Law promulgated by Christ our Lord. For since they hold it for certain that men destitute of all religious sense are very rarely to be found, they seem to have founded on that belief a hope that the nations, although they differ among themselves in certain religious matters, will without much difficulty come to agree as brethren in professing certain doctrines, which form as it were a common basis of the spiritual life. For which reason conventions, meetings and addresses are frequently arranged by these persons, at which a large number of listeners are present, and at which all without distinction are invited to join in the discussion, both infidels of every kind, and Christians, even those who have unhappily fallen away from Christ or who with obstinacy and pertinacity deny His divine nature and mission.

Certainly such attempts can nowise be approved by Catholics, founded as they are on that false opinion which considers all religions to be more or less good and praiseworthy, since they all in different ways manifest and signify that sense which is inborn in us all, and by which we are led to God and to the obedient acknowledgment of His rule.

Not only are those who hold this opinion in error and deceived, but also in distorting the idea of true religion they reject it, and little by little turn aside to naturalism and atheism, as it is called; from which it clearly follows that one who supports those who hold these theories and attempt to realize them, is altogether abandoning the divinely revealed religion.

Pius XI

Mortalium Animos

Celebrating 500 years of the Lutheran Heresy, Italian Catholic Churchmen and Lutherans sign agreement towards fake unity

NOTE: Dear Readers, in all my years of translating religious documents for Rorate Caeli, I have never translated one so devoid of any real content, so forgive me if it’s not a “good” read -- superficiality is not easy to translate. F.R.

To be reconciled in order to proclaim the Gospel

Declaration of the Italian Episcopal Conference and the Italian Lutheran Evangelical Church for the 500^th anniversary of the Reformation [sic, Revolt]

“Rather than past conflicts, the divine gift of unity among us will guide collaboration and deepen our solidarity. Closely united in our faith in Christ, praying together, listening to one another, experiencing the love of Christ in our relationships, we, Catholics and Lutherans, are open to the power of the One Triune God. Rooted in Christ and rendering witness to Him, we renew our determination to be faithful heralds of the infinite love of God for all of mankind” (Joint Declaration on occasion of the Catholic-Lutheran  Commemoration of the Reformation, Lund, October 31, 2016).  These words have guided the path of reconciliation and sharing which has involved Catholics and Lutherans in many places throughout this year,  [so as]to experience  a mutual commemoration of the 500^th anniversary of  the commencement of the Reformation, along the lines indicated in the document: From Conflict to Communion of the Lutheran-Catholic Commission for Unity.

There have been numerous initiatives in Italy, at various levels, in which Christians have taken part in commemorating the Reformation of the XVI century, in a spirit which, even if it cannot be considered a novelty in the light of steps made over the past few decades, it has surely opened up a new season on the path to constructing a visible unity of the Church through which the scandal of divisions can be brought to an end.

Lamont on Catholicism, Islam and the Neomodernist betrayal of Christians suffering at the hands of the Mohammedans.

Catholics and Islam

John R. T. Lamont

A special essay for Rorate Caeli

The recent terrorist attacks by ISIS have increased the urgency of understanding the ideology that drives the attackers. Catholics naturally look to the leadership of the Church for guidance on the nature of Islam, its relation to the ideology of ISIS, and the approach that Catholics should take to the threat of ISIS terrorism and to Islam itself.  Unfortunately, the episcopal leadership of the Church has not provided such guidance. If anything it has done the opposite, in Europe and North America at least; it has misled the faithful on the nature of Islam and the relationship between terrorist extremism and the main tenets of the Muslim religion. A good example of this deception can be found in a pamphlet recently issued by the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, entitled 'Catholics and Muslims in Canada: Believers and Citizens in Society'. It is worth examining this pamphlet in some detail, to better understand both the character of this deception and the real content and implications of Muslim belief.  

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!

First Major Text of Benedict XVI Ratzinger following resignation - On Catholic Faith, Missions, and other Religions - Full translation by Rorate

Message of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI

for the naming of the reformed Aula Magna

of the Pontifical Urbaniana University

October 21, 2014 

I would like to in the first place express my heartfelt thanks to the Rector and to the academic authorities of the Pontifical Urbaniana University, to the staff and to the student representatives, for their proposal to name the rebuilt Aula Magna [Main Hall] in my honor. I would like to thank in a special way the Chancellor of the University, Cardinal Fernando Filoni, for having organized this initiative. It is a cause of great joy for me to be able in this way to be always present amidst the work of the Pontifical Urbaniana University.

A New Symbol in Catholic Heraldry: "The Tree of All Religions"

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.

For the record: Latest Church pronouncements on Iraqi Christians

1. Chaldean Catholic Patriarch Sako - need for United States direct involvement in removing jihadists from the Nineveh Plains:

________________________

2. Pope Francis' letter to the Secretary-General of the United Nations (made public today):

Full text of Pentecost Sunday's "Invocation for Peace" in the Vatican

In the sacred languages of Hebrew, Arabic, Italian, and English, with His Holiness Pope Francis, the President of the State of Israel, the President of the Palestinian National Authority, and other guests:

_________________________

INVOCATION FOR PEACE

Vatican Gardens, 8 June 2014

INTRODUCTION

Musical meditation.

Announcement

May the Lord give you peace!

We have gathered here, Israelis and Palestinians, Jews, Christians and Muslims, so that each of us can offer his or her own that each of us can express his or her desire for peace for the Holy Land and for all who dwell there.

Together with Pope Francis, who greatly desired this moment, Patriarch Bartholomaios of Constantinople and all those present, Presidents Shimon Peres and Mahmoud Abbas will join in this calling, voicing the desire of their respective peoples to invoke to God the common longing for peace.

This evening’s meeting will consist of three parts, followed by a conclusion.

Each part will be devoted to an invocation by one of the three religious communities, in chronological order: Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

Each part will itself unfold in three moments. The first moment will consist of an expression of praise to God for his gift of creation, and for his having created us as members of the human family.

In the second moment, we will ask pardon from God for the times we have failed to act as brothers and sisters, and for our sins against him and against our fellow men and women.

In the third moment, we will ask God to grant the gift of peace to the Holy Land and to enable us to be peacemakers.

Each of these three moments will be framed by a brief musical interlude. A musical meditation will conclude each of the three main parts.

Interreligious dialogue 101: Ad flip-flopem

Post-Temple Judaism: Recalling the order of worship in the Temple, in the solemn prayers in the synagogue the faithful, together with the different ministers and led by them, worship all together facing East, turned to the "Ark" where the Word of God is held.

___________________

Islam: In thousands of mosques around the world, the most solemn prayers take place on Friday, as, in the noon prayers, and following the major and minor sermons, the faithful and congregation leaders bow down and pray all together in the same direction facing the mihrab wall that indicates the qibla, the direction of what they consider the holiest of places on earth: the Kaaba, in Mecca.

___________________

Post-1970 Catholicism: "Without shedding of blood there is no remission," says the Epistle to the Hebrews, and millions of Catholics assemble in their churches to witness the unbloody re-presentation of the central event in the history of the Universe, the redemptive sacrifice of the King of Time and Space, really and actually present - Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity - in the Eucharistic species. In the religion that is incarnational in every sense, where each spatial detail makes every difference, the faithful pray all together in the same direction facing the holiest thing on earth:

Father and the band.