Immemorial Mass of All Ages in Notre Dame Cathedral and Canterbury

Pilgrimage of Tradition to Notre Dame -- Plenary Indulgence in the "Year of Faith" 

(Paris) 2013 is not just still the Year of Faith called by Pope Benedict XVI. In the Archdiocese of Paris, the 850th anniversary of the consecration of the Cathedral of Notre Dame.  That powerful gothic Cathedral, which in the past days has been desecrated by the suicide of  conservative historian, Dominique Venner and a subsequent grotesquely staged and paid entrance of the political agitators Femen.

On May 29th in connection with the Year of Faith and the 850th Anniversary of the Cathedral's consecration, a pilgrimage of tradition will also take place.  Around 7pm the pilgrimage will depart from the parish church of St. Eugene-St. Cecile in Paris.  The parish is 'birutual'.  It celebrates on Sunday and work days in the ordinary as well as the extraordinary form of the Mass in the Roman Rite.

The pilgrimage will lead through the old city to Notre Dame.  In the Cathedral at 8:15 the Immemorial Mass of All Ages will be celebrated.  The participants have the possibility under the usual qualifications, to receive a plenary indulgence for living and death, as granted by Pope Benedict XVI..

Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Bild: Facebook Messe tradionelle a Notre-Dame de Paris
Translation: Tancred

Ed: in addition to this historical event, it would be remiss of us not to mention another historic event, the first Immemorial Mass said in Canterbury Cathedral as it was reported by the Remnant in the following video.

The Popes Will Meet

Edit: the following just came from Katholisches.

On Saturday, the 23rd of March, Pope Francis will visit his predecessor Pope Benedict XVI in Castel Gandolfo as announced

Pope Benedict and the SSPX: A Chronology

Edit: for the record from pius.de, Germany’s SSPX website.

Pope Benedict resigns. A sensational report from Rome, special programs, reports, recaps: The issue is all the rage. Never since Celestine V in 1294, a pope has resigned. [Gregory XII]

The pontificate was marked by Benedict's attempt to find a canonical solution for the SSPX. Already in 2009, the pontiff had withdrawn the unjust Excommunication against the four bishops consecrated by Archbishop Lefebvre.

Unjust because Archbishop Lefebvre did not wish to split with the consecration, but wanted to save the tradition.

pius.info has summarized all the stages of the talks between Pope Benedict and the SSPX, which began in 2005

(Photo: Pope Benedict and Father Franz Schmidberger at a general audience in Rome)

2005: Bishop Fellay welcomed the election of Cardinal Ratzinger as Pope as a "ray of hope". End of August, Bishop Fellay of Benedict XVI. received in audience. The conversation showed, according to the Vatican, the "desire to arrive at a perfect communion.”

July 2007: Benedict XVI. allowed in the letter " Summorum Pontificum "that Masses may be celebrated everywhere according to the rite of 1962. This is now called "extraordinary form of the Roman Rite.”

15th December 2008: In a letter to "Ecclesia Dei" Fellay asks for the remission of the excommunication on behalf of the four bishops. He assures the recognition of papal primacy and the acceptance of the Magisterium of the Pope.

21st January 2009: By decree the Congregation for Bishops lifts the excommunication of the four Bishops Bernard Fellay, Alfonso de Gallareta, Bernard Tissier de Mallerais and Richard Williamson.

24th January 2009: The Vatican shares the remission of the excommunication in a formal communication. Almost simultaneously, a Swedish TV interview is made known in which Williamson denied the existence of gas chambers. ( Opinion of the district )

10th March 2009: Benedict XVI. wrote to all the bishops of the universal Church. In it, he admits technical mistakes of the Curia in the Williamson affair, he also reiterated its intention to integrate the SSPX back into the Catholic Church.

8th July 2009: Benedict XVI. binds the Commission "Ecclesia Dei" closely to the CDF and he invites the SSPX  to regular discussions about doctrinal issues in Rome.  The decision on the results remain subject to the Pope.

26th October 2009: At the headquarters of the Congregation in Rome beginning theological discussions in a "cordial, respectful and constructive atmosphere". For the Holy See, representatives of the CDF and the Commission "Ecclesia Dei” take part, followed by ten more meetings. For an interview,  read the interview with Bishop Fellay

14th September 2011: The Vatican puts a “Doctrinal Statement” before the leadership of the SSPX on basic beliefs of the Catholic Church for signature. In case the Brotherhood agrees, discussions on legal and structural issues of integration could be included.  ( asked the Superior General in Rome )

7th October 2011: On the Feast of the Holy  Rosary the meeting of the Superiors of the Society of St. Pius X.  begins in Albano (Rome). The 30 priests discuss the "Doctrinal Statement” presented by Rome.

12th December 2011: Father Franz Schmidberger, presented on behalf of Bishop Fellay, the answer to the "Doctrinal Statement”.

Jan. 2012: Bishop Fellay of the CDF receives a further explanatory extension letter.

16th March 2012: The Superior General meets with the Prefect of the Congregation of the Faith, Cardinal William Levada. The offer extended to the Society  "is not enough to overcome the doctrinal problems," said the written reply of the Cardinal. Rome expected a renewed statement from the SSPX in a month. (For the Vatican press Communiquée )

15th April: Renewed response from Bishop Fellay. The Press Office of the Vatican confirmed receipt of the response as follows: "The text of the response of HE Bishop Bernard Fellay, Superior General of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Pius X, who was at the meeting of March 16, 2012 called for the Offices of the Congregation is arrived yesterday, April 17, 2012. This response is checked by the dicastery and is then submitted to the judgment of the Holy See." (Rome, 18.4. 2012)

13th June: The Superior General and his first assistant (Father Pfluger) come to Rome to accept the response of the CDF. There is a two-hour meeting with the Prefect of the Congregation, Cardinal Levada. Bishop Fellay explained again his answer as “Declaration doctrinale" [declaration of faith]. During the discussions, the deep gap in teaching (Arrangement of the New Mass, controversial points of Vatican II) was addressed again. A continuation of the theological conversations is formulated as a possibility. In addition, the Superior General is presented with a concept for the recognition of the Fraternity of St. Pius X as a "personal prelature."

26th June 2012: Pope Benedict appoints a new contact for the SSPX: The Italian-American Curial Archbishop, Joseph Augustine Di Noia, was appointed Vice President for the Vatican Commission "Ecclesia Dei", and will continue on behalf of the President of "Ecclesia Dei", the prefect of the Congregation , to coordinate unification efforts with the traditionalist Society of St. Pius X .

Second July 2012: Pope appoints Bishop Gerhard Ludwig Müller to the Roman Curia, and appoints him as the successor to William Joseph Levada, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, as well as President of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei, the Pontifical Biblical Commission and of the International Theological Commission. Thus Bishop Muller is the negotiator for talks with the SSPX.

9th - 14 July 2012: At the mother house of Ecône (Switzerland)the General Chapter of the Brotherhood is convened to the focus on the talks with Rome. The tenor is clear that the "Doctrinal Statement" can not be signed without further ado. The General Chapter shall adopt a "Declaration of Principles ".

19th July 2012: Rome recognized the receipt of the Declaration of Principles , It doesn’t see an acceptable response to the Doctrinal Clarification: "The Holy See has taken note of the Declaration, but remains in anticipation of the announced official release of the SSPX regarding the continuation of the dialogue between the Society and the Pontifical commission 'Ecclesia Dei'. " ( Opinion of the Vatican )

18th September: Father Schmidberger gives an interview for pius.info the current situation with Rome.

4th October 2012: Bishop Williamson is expelled from the Society. The General House justified the step in an official statement : "HE Bishop Richard Williamson has removed himself for several years from the leadership and direction of the Society, and refused to offer the respect and obedience which he owes his lawful superiors."

4th February 2013: Archbishop Müller puts pressure on the SSPX. In an interview with Die [very anti-Catholic] Welt , he announces, "We will not wait forever,” 

Die Welt:. How will you continue the process of reconciliation with the estranged Pius brothers. 

Müller:.. "Easy and hard. The CDF has presented the Society with the Doctrinal Preamble which  includes nothing but the totality of the Catholic faith, where the Pope is legitimately entitled to the finally binding teaching authority.  It has been given no response so far.  We are waiting but not forever. “ [++Mueller has lied about representing the Pope’s will before.]

11th February 2013: Pope Benedict announces his resignation.

How will continue the negotiations? Will the new pontiff be open to the concerns of the Tradition?  Will he protect what Benedict has already accomplished?

The General House of the SSPX has issued a statement on the resignation of the Pope and thanks him for his courage and steadfastness. The Superior General, Bishop Fellay calls for prayer for a pope who renews all things in Christ.

For the Record: Pope Benedict XVI is First Pope to Resign Since Gregory XII

Penance: From the Paris Psalter

Edit: there will be a Conclave in March.  Interesting that Cardinal Muller, now the Prefect of the Congregation for Doctrine and the Faith, won't have a vote in the next Conclave.

Considering that the Holy Father is taking his singular and shocking step by announcing his resignation just before Lent and on the same day he's announced the Canonization of the Martyrs of Otranto, this resignation really has really been conceived to induce penance and deep meditation.

Here's a statement from the Holy Father:

Dear Brothers,  

I have convoked you to this Consistory, not only for the three canonizations, but also to communicate to you a decision of great importance for the life of the Church. After having repeatedly examined my conscience before God, I have come to the certainty that my strengths, due to an advanced age, are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of the Petrine ministry. I am well aware that this ministry, due to its essential spiritual nature, must be carried out not only with words and deeds, but no less with prayer and suffering. However, in today’s world, subject to so many rapid changes and shaken by questions of deep relevance for the life of faith, in order to govern the bark of Saint Peter and proclaim the Gospel, both strength of mind and body are necessary, strength which in the last few months, has deteriorated in me to the extent that I have had to recognize my incapacity to adequately fulfill the ministry entrusted to me. For this reason, and well aware of the seriousness of this act, with full freedom I declare that I renounce the ministry of Bishop of Rome, Successor of Saint Peter, entrusted to me by the Cardinals on 19 April 2005, in such a way, that as from 28 February 2013, at 20:00 hours, the See of Rome, the See of Saint Peter, will be vacant and a Conclave to elect the new Supreme Pontiff will have to be convoked by those whose competence it is. Dear Brothers, I thank you most sincerely for all the love and work with which you have supported me in my ministry and I ask pardon for all my defects. And now, let us entrust the Holy Church to the care of Our Supreme Pastor, Our Lord Jesus Christ, and implore his holy Mother Mary, so that she may assist the Cardinal Fathers with her maternal solicitude, in electing a new Supreme Pontiff. With regard to myself, I wish to also devotedly serve the Holy Church of God in the future through a life dedicated to prayer. 

BENEDICTUS PP XVI

Video to the Martyrs of Otranto, whose Canonization was announced today by the Holy Father:



Other Popes who've resigned...

Cleveland..St. Malacy.

Conclave in March...

Cardinal Keith O'Brien shocked by the news...

Resigning for health reasons...

Remnant frets about wolves, and mentions Vatileaks, but suggests end run by Pope Benedict....

Edit cont:  This puts Benedict in a position to influence the choice of a successor, while he works behind the scenes to effect his policies.  Whether this is true remains to be seen.

Many of this Pope's initiatives, like Reform of the Reform when some high-profile resignations and the reconciliation with the Society of St. Pius X, took a serious hit after Vatileaks as well.  This may be an effort to sidestep the issues raised by that, or it may indeed be a final nail in the coffin of those initiatives.

Hopefully, it will be remember that it is God who is in charge of His Church as he continues to chose men who serve Him as shepherds of His flock on earth.

Also, as Scott Hahn pointed out this morning, and we noted long ago.  This Pope has a devotion to St. Pope Celestine V.

Expect the next Pope to be Conservative.

The Ecumenical Movement Can Not be a Contract of Mutual Interests

Rome (www.kath.net/as)  The unity of Christians is the privileged medium of the credible presentation of the Faith to those who do not know Christ or those who have already received the Gospel as a priceless gift,  but have forgotten it again.   With these words, Pope Benedict XVI. addressed the Feast of the Conversion of Paul in the Papal Basilica of St. Paul Before the Walls to the faithful gathered for the Vespers at the conclusion of the week of prayer for the unity of Christians.

The unity among Christians, says the Pope, is above all a work of the Holy Ghost.  The prayer and the spiritual ecumenism "is formed in the heart of the mission of ecumenism,"  which without faith becomes a kind of contract of common interests.   The preconditions for a mutual brotherhood is in that the communion with the Father.

If the dialog reflects a priority for the Faith,  this is allowed, it opens itself with secure trust in God's work, that the Holy Ghost will lead to full communion.  This permits the acquisition of spiritual riches,, which are present in the various churches and church communities.

In view of a society as it appears today, where the Gospel appears ever less important,  but which is still in need of reconciliation, dialog and mutual understanding, the challenge is there to announce Christ in common and to give the world a shining example in the quest for communion."

The doctrinal question which still divide, "may not be left behind or set aside",  says Benedict XVI.  They must be courageously in a spirit of brotherhood and approached with mutual respect.  Ecumenism carries lasting fruits, if they are accompanied with concrete gestures, which heals the understanding and promotes relations.

The divine gift of unity "is inseparable from that of Faith, and the Faith is inseparable from the personal holiness as well as the search for justice".  Benedict XVI recalled the Christians in India,  who had prepared this years week of prayer, as well as the difficult situations in which they live, to bear witness.

"To go with God" means above all, to enter into the radicalness of the Faith, "like Abraham, we  trust in God and place all of our hope in Him."  At the same time this means that we go beyond limitations, "beyond hatred, of racism and social and religious discrimination, which divides entire societies and damages them."

Link to kath.net...

German Trappists Continue Traditional Restoration of Their Community

In 1963 Eberhard Vollberg was born in Frankfurt.  In December of 1986 he entered the Trappist Monastery of Mariawald.  He received the monastic name of Josef and studied theology and philosophy at the Austrian Cistercian Abbey of Heiligenkreuz near Vienna.  In June of 2006, he was ordained a priest and in November of the same year selected to be Abbot by the abbey's chapter. Under his leadership Mariawald undertook the task, in connection with the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum to use the traditional liturgical books.

Four years after this return to Tradition Paix Liturgique held an interview with Abbot Josef about this decision and its effect on the spiritual life of the Abbey.  The interview was in Brief 31 of the German edition of Pax Liturgique.

1) Could you say a few words about your Cloister, its history, its surroundings and its place in the Catholic world of Germany?

The Trappist Cloister of Mariawald is on the edge of the Eifel National Park, a distance of about 50 km south west of Cologne, a lonely place on the heights, surrounded by meadows and woods.  Its history began about the end of the 15th century with the growing interest in an miraculous painting, a Pieta.  In 1486 the Cistercians came here, in 1511 the Cloister church was consecrated.  The confusion of the French Revolution, just as much as the Kulturkampf and the Nazi-terror led to a gradualy dissolution and destruction, but the Mariawalder Cloister always restored itself like new.

Mariawald is the only Trappist Cloister in Germany.  The Trappists are monks of the renewal movement of the Cistercians in the 17th century, named after the Cloister of La Trappe.  The shortening of the order "OCSO" stands for Ordo Cisterciensium Strictoris Observantiae -- Cistercian Order of the Strict Observance.

In the Catholic wold of Germany Mariawald has lately taken a special place since the reform of 2008/09.  By a priviledge of the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI., the Abbey looked to the books of the liturgy in the Rite according to the books which were in use by the Cistercians in 1963.  Mariawald is following the Holy Father's wish when he was Prefect and since then, to protect against the amnesia toward the spiritual roots and the everywhere encroaching self-destruction of the heritage of a more than 1,500 year old tradition.  The way of Mariawald  is so far understood as service to the sanctity of the Church and Christians in the world.

The reaction of the Catholic public corresponds to farflung circles not to the will of the Holy Father;  all too often the reform is dismissed as reactionary and therefore rejected.  On the other side Mariawald is also accompanied by joyful agreement and gratitude, as among others to those faithful who come to the Sunday High Mass and shown by the significant inquiries after guest retreats.  Also mentionable is also the tolerance and respect of certain friendly neighboring relationships of various communities, some of which have honored  and revered the holy image of Mariawald --- a relationship which is unfortunately the exception up until now.

2)  Could you explain your motivations, to address the Motu Proprio "Summorum Pontificum" of 2008 and choose the extraordinary form of the Roman Rite for you Cloister?  How as the situation before?  Has your community suffered in the post-Conciliar crisis?

Fruits following on the Second Vatican Council  were not recognizable:  The Community had became significantly smaller.  Between 1965 and 2011 there were many departures and among the vocations, older men and only two vocations of younger, who proved their worth.  For that reason there was the desire, in stead of the anthorpocentric tendencies of the new orientation, to turn again to put God back in the center.  Just like a tree, which can only live from the power of its roots, so may the monk -- and not only him! -- fill in the wisdom of hundreds of years as a treasure, of himself and the Church again with youthful power.

It is still noticed that the Liturgy Mariawald is not completely identical with the Roman Rite, but has some particularities in its calendar, in the Liturgy of the Holy Mass and especially in the Office.

3) How has the choice changed your religious life?  What are the practical alterations in the Breviary, the Prayers of the Office, the Music education and Liturgical celebration and the Mass service?

The reform has made the spiritual lives of the monks more remarkable and strenuous.  The new "old" Liturgy has to be learned; the singing of Gregorian chant is an art, which requires special schooling; the care of the Latin as the required language of cultus requires eagerness to learn and industry; the prayers of the Breviary is a demand of more time, and the beginning of the hours at night at 3am really needs a preparedness to self denial.  All of the effort finds its own reward  in the experience of the threatened loss of wealth.

The altar service must also be learned, the visitors to the liturgy also must learn. The Latin liturgy versus deum instead of versus populum offers another and truly also deeper way of participatio actuosa.  Similarly, Communion on the tongue leads to the possibility of a conscious awe.  By the way, the Holy Father gives Holy Communion on the tongue according to the Novus Ordo -- and gives an example of his desired "Reform of the Reform".

4) What is the impact this has had on the lives of your community? On the relationship between the monks, on the spiritual life?

Forty years with the reformed liturgy has made a reorientation of course difficult, especially for the older brothers. Initial tensions have subsided, however, the situation has calmed down. The opening for the unabridged tradition, the intensification of the spiritual life, as we fervently hope, has born fruit, not least because of new vocations. This impatience is misplaced. To speak with the image of a friend of the monastery: The Company of the reform of Mariawald is like trying to turn an ocean liner traveling at full speed by 180 °. Both will not succeed immediately. Also Mariawald needs time - and the prayer of many.

5) What  stock can you take from this choice from today's perspective? You have shown an effect on vocations? How many monks have you today, how many were there in 2008?

If you're ask for an appraisal of this decision: I'd do it again - despite a number of  and somtimes subtle difficulties.

There were and are many candidates for admission to Mariawald, since the reform there have been about 40 to 50. But with the specific requirements of the strict rule almost all will leave. This reflects the general social phenomenon of our times. The escape from a lifelong relationship is reflected, too, in all the unmarried people cohabitating and the growing number of divorces. The inability to commit has probably burdened all orders and is not specific to our reform path.

In 2008 twelve monks were part of the convent, and of them, two have died in the meantime. Today, there are thus ten, including a brother who has recently taken perpetual vows - they're still showing the willingness to bond - and a newly recorded novice. Later this year, a postulant will be included, and there are two or three others seriously interested. Not to mention there are three external monks belonging to the monastery to Mariawald.

6) Do you get visited by priests from dioceses and other religious communities, who have the desire to discover the extraordinary form or to learn it?

Inquiries from priests to learn the celebration of the Usus Antiquior from us, are still coming, however, at first they were more common. With its limited manpower Mariawald can not afford this training.

7) It is obvious that at parish level, the "Reform of the Reform" of Benedict XVI, who wants to encourage more kneeling Communion, Gregorian Kyriale, Eucharistic Prayer in Latin, celebration to the East, altar crucifix, etc., is spreading slowly. Do you observe a Motu Proprio effect in your Trappist community?

A positive response to the request of the Holy Father, to bring tradition in the Novus Ordo is not visible. Rather, there is, as it seems a rigid denial and continued discrimination against the Holy Father and a clear disregard of such statements as the Council for Liturgy. Obedience and humility don't seem to be ideals.

In our monastic community, to respond briefly to your last question, in the course of the reform efforts, there is, if not an unconditional love of all tradition, acceptance has still grown. They really do love them, wanting no longer to do without them.

Link to source...

Father Schmidberger: There Isn't Much More to be Expected From the Pope

Father Franz Schmidberger: Volte Face in the Vatican

"What use is the Motu Proprio to the Old Liturgy if a year thereafter, one of the worst opponents of this Liturgy is given a key position?"

(kreuz.net)  There are rumors that in the case of the regulation of the Society of St. Pius X that a certain western European country will have its ambassador to the Holy See threatened with resignation.

This was explained by Father Franz Schmidberger, Mathematician and German District Superior of the Society in an interview with the Catholic monthly 'Kirchliche Umschau'.

The Vatican Appeared Satisfied with the Answer

The clergyman recapitulated the most recent history of the negotiations of the Society with the Vatican.

On the 16th of March the CDF attempted to give an ultimatum to Society General Superior, Bishop Bernard Fellay, to accept the Dogmatic Preamble of September 14th.

Thereupon Bishop Fellay published a dogmatic text, which stressed the persistence of the Society in the Catholic position:

"The proposal of Msgr. Fellay went as far as we could, to satisfy the side of the CDF's position, and on the other side not to give up any of our positions."

The text found, according to Schidberger, "clearly the approval of the Holy Father and also the agreement of the Congregation for Doctrine and the Faith".

Pressure Was Put on the Pope

Then there came an unexpected change of position: Bishop Fellay received a new text on June 13th frot he CDF.

The new demands contained within were described by Father Schmidberger as "very surprising".

 The Pope was not made happy happy, according to the CDF, with a subsequently specified interview, which Msgr Fellay gave on the recognition of the the Society.

At the same time, there was probably pressure put on the Pope.

Not Acceptable

The new demands bound the recognition of the legitimacy of the New Liturgy.

That was not acceptable according to Father Schmidberger: "How can one recognize a Liturgy as legitimate, which flees from the Catholic Faith and not to it?"

The second demand touched upon the Pastoral Council: The Society many only still discuss particularities of the Council.

They must then -- against their convictions -- attempt to reconcile it with the continuity of the earlier Magisterium.

Bishop Fellay had answered this text according to the statements of Father.

The Pope Speaks and Negotiates With a Forked Tongue

Father Schmidberger believes that the appointment of the heterodox Archbishop Gerhard Luwig Müller as guardian of the Catholic Faith was responsible for a change of course toward the Society in the Vatican.

He also criticized the appointment of Archbishop Arthur Roch as Secretary of The Congregation of Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments:

"What is the point of a Motu Prorprio about the Old Liturgy, if you appoint one of its worst opponents to a key position, which will counteract the Traditional Mass?"

Catholic, Roman Catholic

However, Father Schmidberger decisively rejects any separation with Rome.

He cited the founder of the Society, Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre: "Neither Liberal nor Modernist, nor schismatic, rather Catholic, Roman Catholic!"

This devise of the Archbishop called for almost a daily tightrope walk for the society in view of the Church crisis.

A Pilgrimage for Lefebvrists?

The future of the negotiations with the Vatican would be dependent upon Archbishop Augustine Di Noia and his scope of negotiations.

Father Schmidberger discerns then that the Society still has to remain in its current position of misunderstanding.

He appealed to the faithful, not to be bitter toward the Holy See, rather to preserve love.

Some prelates in and out of the Curia have pleaded for the Society:  "They have recognized how important the effect of the Society in the official area would be."

Father Schmidberger thinks:  "Would the consideration not have value, if it meant the pastoral care of a pilgrimage or another seminary?"

The Errors Are Finally Discussed Openly

Father Schmidberger can't imagine a renewal of the Excommunication of the Society.

At the same time he insists that Msgr Muller is "really not our friend".

He demands the acceptance of the the errors, which have led to the Conciliar and post-Conciliar decline.

The recognition of the Society would mean for the ecclesiastical confession, that certain expressions are to be corrected and requires the Traditional Mass for the healing of its members.

Father Schmidberger expects little of the Pontificate of Benedict XVI.:  "Humanly, since his last personal decisions in Rome, there is not overly much to be expected."

Link to kreuz.net...

Attack on Pope Benedict XVI is Prevented -- Islamic Terror Cells Arrested in Lebanon

(Berlin)  As it has now been revealed, a planned Islamic terror attack upon Pope Benedict XVI had been planned during his Papal trip to Lebanon.  This was written on a site of the Shi'ite website close to Hezbollah.  The terror cells were arrested on September 16th on the last day of the Papal visit.

The Lebanese security service was able to locate and neturalize the terror group, according to the report from the Shi'ite news site Elnashira which is associated with Hezbollah,  which appeals to a "high-level  information source".  The attack is supposed to have been carried out by two cells, whose members were arrested in the early morning of the 16th of September by Anti-Terrorist units.  On Sunday Pope Benedict XVI celebrated a solemn Mass of departure for 350,000 faithful.

According to Elnashra the Lebanese security services held information, that terrorists clothed as security service officials would gain access to the area for the Papal Mass. The police employed an entire unit, in which the terrorists had infiltrated, near other armed units, but without live ammunition.  The internet site reported additionally that the Vatican security forces were immediately informed at the point of time which they were informed about the exact position of the anti-terrorist operations, but that the Pope in any case wanted no alteration of the program.

On Saturday, the 15th of September Pope Benedict XVI directed a dramatic appeal for peace to the world.  He demanded the building of a "culture of peace" and for the creation of a "new model of brotherhood".  The head of the Catholic Church demanded in addition a stop to every attack on human life.  On the following day, he is to have been murdered by Islamic terrorists.

Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Bild: Paroquia de Martins/Tempi
Translation: Tancred

Link to Katholisches....

Maronite Cardinal Warns Against Abolishing Priestly Celibacy

Philippe Cardinal Barbarin

Of all things the Greek-Catholic Bishops, whose clergy is married,  have warned against abolishing celibacy.

(kreuz.net) On the 27th of Septemer Philippe Cardinal Barbarin of Lyon at the French magazine 'Paris Match' commented on the slow burning media issue of "celibacy".

"Don't squander this treasure"

The Cardinal recalled that Pope Benedict XVI had addressed this already in the first Bishops' Synod.

It was then that the former Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Cardinal Sfeir (92) spoke especially caustically about the abolishing of celibacy.

"Even with us, the Maronites, priests may marry"  -- explained the Cardinal:  "During the war in Lebanon, all of the married priests left with their wives and children."

No one blamed them for that: "Actually, the only ones remaining behind, were those who were married to their communities."

He continued: "Don't squander this gift".

"What do you want me to tell you?"

'Paris Match'  grasped in the air that supposedly twenty percent of the clergy live with a woman.

"A High statistic" -- cried Cardinal Barbarin:  "That is, as we would say, that thirty percent of husbands   betray their wives."

"What do you want me to tell you?" -- was the Cardinal's pugnacious reaction.

It would be natural to desire that people who are married are faithful:  "Even the Republic wants that."

Cardinal Barbarin recalled then that even civil servants officiating civil marriages in the mayor's office use the words "respect" and "faithfulness".

Link to kreuz.net....

Disciple of +Lefebvre: Benedict's Liturgical Renewal is Tridentine

(Paris)  In the French publisher Godfroy de Bouillon is a book about Pope Benedict XVI's changes in the Liturgy reform since the beginning of his pontificate.  The author of the book it he priest Paul Aulangier.  The book contains more of his preliminary steps to put the theme together and serves as a knowledgeable synopsis of the last seven years of liturgical renewal.   The basic starting point of the introduction is the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum of 2007, which had reintroduced the classical form of the Roman Rite as the "extraordinary form" in the Church and had set it next to the "ordinary form".  Aulagnier showed the steps leading to how the "Old Mass" had experienced its return in the Church since its implementation through the Motu Proprio.

The author did not only deal with the question as to how Summorum Pontificum was implemented, rather also the previous history as to how it became the Motu Proprio.  Already in 1986 a commission of Cardinals appointed by the Pope then expressed itself for the return of the Tridentine Mass and also that the Pope did not stand against it.  Some Bishops Conferences wanted therefore to prevent the entire enterprise with all of their resistance.   So the Church had to wait till 2007 when the recognition of the Mass of All Ages was possible.

Aulagnier has published and analyzed all of the important documents  and came to the conclusion that Pope Benedict XVI, with his reform of the reform, envisioned in the future on the other hand only a single form of the Roman Rite one next to each other.   The Pope wrote already in the Motu Proprio about the "mutual enrichment".  In the concepts themselves which were still recognized by the hierarchy, there is a deferment taking place, which shows a shift in language toward appreciation for the "Old Mass".   Benedict XVI's goal is that he wants that both forms intermix and become one and do this from Tradition.  Where Pope Benedict has persistently since the beginning of his pontificate taken the steps of liturgical renewal, this is Tridentine, says Aulagnier.

The author shows that Benedict XVI would have undertaken the renewal more quickly with more steps, but there was strong resistance from the ranks of the Bishops, those of the French and the German episcopate before the publication of the Motu Proprior Summorum Pontificum, and this resistance is still there, although it is weaker.  The Pope had slowed his pace, because he wanted to win and convince.


Perhaps more importantly, said Aulagnier, as the papal documents are the Pope's  model for the practical implementation of the reform. There is an "educational" approach of the Pope by his example, that would be slow, but it has an extension throughout the world. The number of  sites where the Old Rite is offered take place everywhere. Nevertheless, during this pontificate no substantial change in the Missal of Paul VI was accomplished., from which you can see from the new translation of the Missal into English from. Aulagnier closes with a reference to a speech by Bishop Athanasius Schneider in Paris over the five wounds of the liturgy. The author says that it was long difficult to imagine that two Missal would co-exist equally, it still needs many steps to overcome this situation.

A book that understands itself as "an inventory", will be  much discussed. The author, Paul Aulangier was one of those seminarians in the French Seminary in Rome, who turned for help in the post-conciliar period to Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre and followed him. Consecrated in 1971 by Archbishop Lefebvre as a priest, he was among the founding members of the Society of St. Pius X. From 1976 to 1994 he was the District Superior of France and was involved instrumentally in building the Brotherhood in their "home country".  In 2004 he was expelled from the SSPX because he supported the unification of the Apostolic Personal administration of St. John Vianney in Brazil with the Holy See. Father Aulagnier founded the Institut du Bon-Pasteur, a new home which Pope Benedict XVI been established as an institute of pontifical right.


Link to katholisches original...

Petition For Pope Benedict to Say the Traditional Mass Publicly

Young people want a Liturgy that inspires them to be extraordinary Catholics -- not a Liturgy in which they can be ordinary and commonplace -kreuz.,net [whoever he may be]

(kreuz.net)  The Brazilian Attorney Ottavio Demasi has started an Internet Petition.  It aims to move Pope Benedict XVI to publicly celebrate the Rite of 1962.  The petition has been running since early July.  Demasi is active in a southern Brazilian city of 20,000 on the edge of Sao Paulo.

The Only Real Mass

The signatories have the opportunity to justify why they have signed the petition.

Jonathan Sipangkui from Malaysia writes: "Because I am a Catholic".

Or Gabriela Parra from Brazil:

"I have signed because it is the only true Mass, which we have.  The other is a great lie, which was established by evil men, who wanted to destroy the Catholic Church."

Only the Mass Can Defeat the Enemy

Nathan Allen from the USA maintains that it would have been unthinkable for every Catholic before 1969, that the Pope would need a special reason to offer a Holy Mass according to a Mass book, which all of his predecessors had used.

Actually "because we find ourselves in the special situation, in which the enemies of the Church are in its highest positions" was another reason given by Allen.

"The Roman Mass is the offering of the cross and the greatest weapon the Church has against all heresies."

And: "Only the true Mass can defend the Church from so many enemies both within and without."

Activism Instead of Prayer

Elizabeth Fitzmaurice from the USA writes, that she only visits the New Mass in exceptional circumstances:

"I fight the whole time during that, to bring myself to prayer."

Because:  "The New Mass was designed to keep the people occupied, occupied, to keep them occupied, so  that they can't experience prayer, silence and contemplation."

John Polhamus from the USA continued:

"Young people want a Liturgy which inspires them to become extraordinary Catholics -- no Liturgy, which leaves them ordinary and commonplace."

Link to kreuz.net....

Bishop Fellay States What's Been Evident All Along About Vatican II

Edit: remember when we pointed to the fact that the Holy Father was willing to accept the SSPX's reservations about Vatican II?
Bishop Fellay: ‘total acceptance of Vatican II’ no longer prerequisite for full communion with Holy See [br]


CWN - June 08, 2012[br /] [br]Stating that discussions with the Holy See “have allowed us to present clearly the various problems that we experience with regard to Vatican II,” the superior general of the Society of St. Pius X said in an interview that “what has changed is the fact that Rome no longer makes total acceptance of Vatican II a prerequisite for the canonical solution.”

“The attitude of the official Church is what changed; we did not,” said Bishop Bernard Fellay. “We were not the ones who asked for an agreement; the Pope is the one who wants to recognize us. You may ask: why this change? We are still not in agreement doctrinally, and yet the pope wants to recognize us! Why? The answer is right in front of us: there are terribly important problems in the Church today.”

Asked about religious liberty, ecumenism, and other doctrinal issues that have been points of disagreement between the Holy See and the Society, Bishop Fellay said that.

Link to CWN...

Holy Father to Priests: Do Not Accommodate the Opinions of the World!

Edit: we used the Douay Rheims translation.  It's interesting to see the Secretary of State, Cardinal Bertone, standing next to the Holy Father and bowing for the blessing in the most child-like way. The speech is a beautiful Lenten meditation which restates the humble truth about the first of all virtues.


Benedict XVI: there is need in the Church for the humility to accept also small roles.  Humility is the first virtue, which offers freedom in truth. translation from report Armin Schwibach.

Rome (kath.net/as) Every year at the beginning of Lent, Pope Benedict XVI meets with the clergy of his Diocese on this Thursday morning.  Also this year the meeting takes place in the audience hall of "Paul VI" at the desire of the priests in the framework of "lection Divina" rather than a free speech.  The "lectio" is inspired by a section from a letter of St. Paul to the Ephesians (Eph 4: 1-16)

I therefore, a prisoner in the Lord, beseech you that you walk worthy of the vocation in which you are called:  With all humility and mildness, with patience, supporting one another in charity. Careful to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 One body and one Spirit: as you are called in one hope of your calling.

 One Lord, one faith, one baptism.  One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in us all.  But to every one of us is given grace, according to the measure of the giving of Christ.  Wherefore he saith: Ascending on high, he led captivity captive: he gave gifts to men.  Now that he ascended, what is it, but because he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? He that descended is the same also that ascended above all the heavens: that he might fill all things. And he gave some apostles, and some prophets, and other some evangelists, and other some pastors and doctors: For the perfecting of the saints, for the word of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ. 

Until we all meet into the unity of faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the age of the fulness of Christ:  That henceforth we be no more children tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the wickedness of men, by cunning craftiness by which they lie in wait to deceive.  But doing the truth in charity, we may in all things grow up in him who is the head, even Christ: From whom the whole body, being compacted and fitly joined together, by what every joint supplieth, according to the operation in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body, unto the edifying of itself in charity. [Douay-Rheims]

The great suffering, which has been endured by the Church in Europe and in the West, consists in a lack of vocations, said Benedict XVI.  The Lord therefore calls everyone.  For that it is necessary to hear this call.  The natural disposition of a priest is to be humble, mild and big hearted, because: "If I am humble, then I will also have the freedom to oppose myself to the prevailing thinking."  This humility empowers the priest to seek the truth.  Therefore it would e necessary to accept small roles in the Church, have have, however, great value in the eyes of God.

"I must accept my small position in the Church",  said the Pope.  The vain ostentation of those who do not teach this, finally oppose Him himself, and causes unhappiness.  The humility on the other hand leads, not to walk into appearances, but in deeds, "what God had considered for me and what for me is the part of Christian realism".  False humility on the other hand leads to the destruction of the unity of the Church.  To respect yourself and the other are two things which belong together. It is in that which consists the "great harmony of the Church and creation: that every one else is as the other."

The humble man obtains the freedom, in the name of truth to meet with those who are related to him.  The opposite of  humility -- the pride -- is then the root of all sins, which consist, in a desire to  stay in the midst of the world.  Christian being means, to resist this temptation,  to have humility before all others means a life lived in truth, which says:  "Only in my smallness can I be great".

Another great problem in the Church in today's times consists in "religious Analphabetism".  It is necessary to include  the content of the Faith,  the Pope cautioned, this is "not in the sense of a parcel of Dogmas."  Most of all, it must be done so that the priest can renew and make enable himself to meet Christ.

Many describe themselves as "worldly Catholics", in so far as they may have emancipated themselves from the Magisterium of the Church.   Actually, however, this is not the outcome of a "worldly Faith", rather a dependence upon the world.  True emancipation means much more, said Benedict XVI, pointedly, "free yourself from this dictatorship of opinion and believe in the Son of God".  Only in this way "is one able to find an answer to the challenges of our time."

Link to kath.net...