Pope and Media Silent as Caracas Cathedra Attacked by Reds

[American Thinker] Less than a week after 49 Egyptian Christians were massacred in two bombings in Alexandria and Tanta during Palm Sunday mass, Venezuela's socialist thugs stormed a Wednesday Holy Week mass, assaulting the presiding archbishop of Caracas, the church's worshippers and trashing and looting the church. The attack wasn't on the same level as the terrorist bombing, but it signaled an emboldened and increasingly violent state, which may well have been drawing inspiration from the horror in Egypt. 
As one wag on Lucianne.com put it:

Communism: the other religion of peace. 

The archbishop in question, Cardinal Jorge Urosa Sabino, was no ordinary archbishop. For years he has blasted the horrors of Venezuela's chavismo for leaving the poor more impoverished and hungry than ever, even as it purports to speak in its name. He's denounced dictatorship and warned of its ascent in the country. Along with many archbishops, he's tried to warn Pope Francis that materialistic communism is an unmitigated disaster for the country.

Read more: http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2017/04/where_is_pope_francis_in_the_wake_of_socialist_mob_assault_on_archbishop_in_venezuela.html#ixzz4eFodRecP
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Brave Priest Suspended for Criticizing the Administration of Pope Francis on Islam and Amoris Laetitia

Edward Pushparaj at his Deaconal Ordination by the Archbishop of
Pescara. Because of criticism leveled against Pope Francis, the recently ordained priest
from India was supsended

(Rome) He, a Catholic priest, criticized Pope Francis on the last Palm Sunday in his homily - and was suspended.

According to Il Pescara of 10 April, Palm Sunday Mass in the Parish of St. Anthony of Padua in the town of Montesilvano in the Abruzzi in Italy came to grief. In the parish, the Indian priest, Edward Arulrai Pushparaj has been serving for some time. Don Pushparaj had already worked as a deacon in the parish. Already in the past he had criticized the office of Pope Francis. He did so in his sermon on Palm Sunday.

The priest had described "Pope Bergoglio, as an evil for the Church," according to the daily newspaper, referring to eye witnesses. The Indian criticized the "extreme openness to dialogue" with regard to positions and persons who represent positions that are openly contradictory to the doctrine of the Church. In particular, the priest criticized the "willingness to dialogue with Islam." His criticism also against the post-synodal letter Amoris laetitia was "hard".

Msgr. Tommaso Valentinetti, Archbishop of Pescara-Penne, was informed about the content of the sermon.This required enlightenment from the local pastor, Don Antonio Del Casale. The preaching had to serve the "meditation of the readings of the day, and certainly not to give personal judgments, especially if they were not in communion with the Pope," the archbishop said. "I think it is right to give the priest a time of rest and free him from his present obligations. It is certain that priestly ministry in the Catholic Church presupposes communion with the Holy Father." [LOL]

The archbishop also announced: "I intend to visit the parish of St Anthony of Padua at Easter, to take care of their sorrows."

The complaint against the Indian priest had been presented by the faithful to the Archbishop, as the daily newspaper had shown through. Some of the faithful even accuse the priest of "raising his voice to criticism" on the sidelines of his sermons.

Don Edward Arulrai Pushparaj was ordained priest in 2013 by his local bishop, Archbishop Antony Pappusamy of Madurai, but sent to the "sister diocese" of Pescara-Penne. Don Pushparaj comes from the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. He had already begun his theological studies in India and then continued at the papal universities in Rome.

Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Photo: La Porzione (Screenshot)

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

Link to Katholisches...

AMDG

Pope Appoints Jesuit Gomorrist to Communications Slot

[America] On April 12, Pope Francis appointed James Martin, S.J., America's editor at large, as a consultor to the Vatican's Secretariat for Communications.

The pope created the new secretariat on June 27, 2015, which consolidated all existing Vatican communications offices and operations under one department. Msgr. Dario Edoardo Viganò, formerly the director of the Vatican Television Center, was made its first director. 

"I'm very happy to serve the church in this new way," Father Martin said upon learning of the appointment...."

AMDG

Media: Pope Francis Dismisses Vatican Swiss Employee

Greg Burke did not want to comment on the circumstances

Vatican City (kath.net/KAP) According to Italian media reports, a high-ranking Swiss employee in the Vatican has been dismissed by the personal intervention of Pope Francis. It was Eugene Hasler, secretary of Bishop Fernando Vergez Alzaga, the second man in the Governorate of the Vatican, onlinemedia reported on Thursday. The motive for the unusual papal intervention was to be internal tensions. Hasler appears to have an authoritarian style. The layman Eugene Hasler is the son of the former major of the Swiss Guard, Peter Hasler. His father served 42 years in the papal guard.

The Vatican confirmed Hasler's departure. Greg Burke did not want to comment on the circumstances. Hasler has not been working in the Vatican for a week, says Burke. Hasler's mother Maria Michela Petti, according to the reports, said that her son had not yet received a letter of dismissal.

The governor is responsible for the infrastructure of the Vatican, from the post office to the nursery. It is often referred to as the government of the smallest state in the world. At the top is the Italian Cardinal Giuseppe Bertello. The Spanish Bishop Vergez, the immediate superior of Hasler, as general secretary, is a sort of deputy head of government. 

Link to kath.net...

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

AMDG

Pope Francis and the Roman Corpus Christi Procession -- A Difficult Relationship

(Rome) The Roman Eucharistic procession, does not seem particularly appealing to Pope Francis. At no other feast besides Holy Thursday does he engage in more and more revolutionary interventions.

750 years of Corpus Christi in Rome with Some Interruptions

After the celebration of the Holy Mass in front of the Lateran Basilica, the Eucharistic procession, the Eucharistic procession takes place on the evening of the Thursday after Holy Trinity Sunday to the papal Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore.

Authoress of the Pope's Stations of the Cross Meditations Was a Participant of the "Illuminiati" - Meeting of 2015

Via Crucis at Colosseum. The meditations for 2017 come from
Anne-Marie Pelletier

(Rome) This year's Good Friday meditations at the Pope's Stations of the Cross, which traditionally take place at the Coliseum in Rome, are by the French theologian Anne-Marie Pelletier. The well-known alumna of the Institut Européen des Sciences des Religions (IESR) in Paris is not an unknown person.

Ratzinger Prize Winner 2014

A larger circle was announced in 2014, when the Joseph Ratzinger Prize was awarded. The prize has been awarded since 2011 by the Vatican Foundation Joseph Ratzinger - Benedict XVI. "For special scientific-theological services in the context of contemporary discourse." The foundation was established in 2010 by Pope Benedict XVI. In the first two years, Benedict XVI personally awarded the prize. He also renounced his participation. According to the foundation, the prize is awarded by a board of trustees, but "in consultation" with Benedict.

Anne-Marie Pelletier was the first woman to receive the Ratzinger Prize. She was particularly honored for her studies on "Woman in Christianity". Cardinal Müller, who presented the award in 2014, spoke of an "outstanding figure of today's French Catholicism." In addition to the IESR, Pelletier also teaches at other academic institutions, including the Jewish Institute Universitaire Elie Wiesel. She is a member of the French Association for Bible Studies (ACFEB) and a member of the Institut Lustiger.

In May 2015 she appeared in the list of some 50 participants in a secret meeting, which took place on the day of Pentecost at the Pontifical University of the Gregorian in Rome (see The Church's "Illuminati" - List of Catholic Secret Members). The list reads as Who is Who the Kasperians. The secret meeting was to prepare strategies to bring about a coup in the October (upcoming) bishop's synod on the family. The objectives were: to admit married couples and homosexuals to the sacraments. In summary, the "Pastoral Innovation", as the Vaticanist Edward Pentin wrote from the National Catholic Register, was the goal.

Cardinal Marx, Archbishop Pontier, Bishop Büchel, were invited

Three presidents of European bishops' conferences were invited to the meeting. The most important among them was Cardinal Reinhard Marx, President of the German Bishops' Conference and Archbishop of Munich-Freising, on the side of which the DBK General Secretary, Jesuit Hans Langendörfer, was present. The other guests were Archbishop Georges Pontier, President of the French Episcopal Conference and Archbishop of Marseille, and Markus Büchel, President of the Swiss Episcopal Conference and Bishop of Sankt Gallen.

Anne-Marie Pelletier

The latter was not without piquancy, since St. Gallen in 1996 was the meeting point of the subversive, inner-Church secret circle, which named itself after the city. The secular group founded by Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini (then archbishop of Milan) had its predecessor, Bishop Ivo Fürer, but the success of this tradition was continued by Markus Büchel. The invitation was of course only informal, because officially it was only a private meeting behind closed doors.

The invitation by the two presidents of the Bishops' Conferences of Germany and France reveal the "Rhenish Alliance," which was of considerable importance for the Second Vatican Council.

The list of participants reveals planning with military precision: not only Church representatives and theologians met. Among the invited guests were selected representatives of leading media such as ZDF, ARD, FAZ, NZZ and, of course, La Repubblica, the daily newspaper of Eugenio Scalfari - according to Pope Franziskus, the "only" newspaper he regularly reads. Pentin then pointed to Pelletier's view that the Church needed "a dynamic of mutual listening" by guiding Magisterium's conscience "and echoing of what the baptized say."

As Pentin reported, Pelletier also argued that the bishop's synod was "condemned to failure" when "simply reaffirming what the Church has always taught." A definite conception of the party. It is now a particularly rare honor for Pope Francis.

Text: Giuseppe Nardi

Image: CNS / Youtube / benedictines-ste-bathilde.fr / FVJR-Benedetto XVI (Screenshots)
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
AMDG

Tossati: "Priest Shortage? This Pope Gives no Incentive for Young Men"

(Rome) The question of the lack of priests, the abolition of celibacy as a prerequisite for the priesthood, and the admission of married men to the ordination of priests are now again discussed with particular insistence. In yesterday's edition of the La Vanguardia newspaper, their correspondent in Rome, Eusebio Val, published two full pages of an extensive report entitled "The Hour of Married Priests?" A reportage that allows interesting voices to be heard.

Snapshot at a priest's consecration: "Pray for priestly vocations"

La Vanguardia, Catalonia 's largest daily newspaper, also reported on the positions of two leading Vatican officials, Sandro Magister and Marco Tosatti, both of whom are critical of the pontificate of Pope Francis. Both argue that the Argentine pope really insists that the abolition of celibacy is "not a solution" for the priestly shortage, but at the same time, in his own environment, a way of overcoming the priestly shortage which forsees the abolition of priestly celibacy.

The daily newspaper cites the Vaticanista Sandro Magister statement to Pope Francis:

"He always speaks in an ambiguous way. We should not be surprised. This is his style. The ambiguity opens a gap in order to discuss something, and then, in the end, to decide in the end. "

No less critical was Marco Tosatti. Pope Francis did not contribute to the promotion of priestly vocations and correcting the priestly shortage:

"It seems obvious to me that this pope is not providing an incentive for young men (towards the priesthood). The numbers say that, and you can not discuss numbers."

Religious orders and communities, such as the Franciscans of the Immaculate or the Priestly Society of the Holy Apostles, have many vocations." But this is exactly why they "are today attacked by their bishop or the pope."

And further:

"If young men join them [communities and orders], and you have one thing over their heads, then you can not expect vocations to arise in other places."

For both Vaticanistas, says La Vanguardia , the question of how the priestly deficit can be remedied is not about "liberalizing or relativizing the doctrine of the Church, but the exact opposite." The young people who have a calling feel serious and want to be taken seriously. They do not want the same thing in the Church that they can find elsewhere. They commit themselves for a lifetime. They must do this for what is worthwhile and not merely for a general discourse of goodness and solidarity. They are looking for more and they do not find it at the moment. That seems obvious to me."

Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Image: MiL / Blog do Fernando (Screenshot)
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
AMDG

Knights of Malta -- The Double Truth About that 30 Million

[Magister] The reply of Eugenio Ajroldi di Robbiate, director of the communications office of the Order of Malta, to what was published on March 23 by Settimo Cielo on “the mystery of those 30 million Swiss francs,” has not been passed over in silence by other knights of the Order, closer to the mental workings of former Grand Master Fra' Matthew Festing, forced to hand in his resignation last January 24 to Pope Francis in person.

This is what is attested to in the following letter, from a person very well-informed on the affairs of the Order, rich in information that in its turn contradicts, corrects, or completes what has been stated by the official spokesman.

*

Dear Magister,

Sometimes even those responsible for the external communications of big organizations make mistaken or imprecise statements. There is no exemption to this rule for the Order of Malta, which recently has generated great confusion, especially on the New Zealand CPVG trust with its Swiss fiduciary, at first denying its existence and then creating a great deal of confusion on the legal circumstances that have led to opposition between the Order and the trust.

A few clarifications need to be made on the latest position statement of the Order, to correct or contradict its contents.

Albrecht Freiherr von Boeselager was not removed as an elected member of the Sovereign Council, but because a disciplinary procedure had been initiated against him. The circumstance had determined his suspension as a member of the Order, and therefore his automatic disqualification from the position of Grand Chancellor. The whole procedure had been examined by the Office of the Advocate General, which had confirmed its validity. All the circumstances were reported in a statement on the website of the Order, which was later removed. The Grand Master had attached a copy to a letter sent to numerous personalties connected to the Order on January 14, 2017. Over the last 15 years, two members of the Sovereign Council, both Italian, have resigned from their positions at the request of the Grand Master.

Pope Francis Before the Most Blessed Sacrament: "He did not kneel, remove his pileolus, and assume an attitude of prayer"

Pope Francis sat in the crypt of Milan Cathedral before the Most Blessed Sacrament:
"He did not kneel, sat, not once did he remove his pileolous and assume an attitude of prayer"

(Milan) In the context of his visit to Milan today and the meeting with the clergy of the Archdiocese in the Cathedral of Milan, Pope Franziskus spent some time before the Blessed Sacrament. "He does not kneel, but sits down on a beautiful chair surrounded by other prelates who stand ..." Thus,  Antonio Socci criticized the scene, which provoked criticism from different sides.

The traditional page Messa in latino added some comments. Its author criticized Francis' attitude before the Blessed Sacrament, as had not yet been voiced by him in the four years of this pontificate.

"The Pope did not visit the Blessed Sacrament on the main altar (which would have been a good and proper opportunity to provide visibility to the worthy worship of God, the climax of the liturgy and the cult), but in the crypt, almost as if it were a private act that is made in secret and in a hurry.
A prie dieu was not even provided. That is, the master of ceremonies of the cathedral had instructions not to set him one up at all. The pope does not want to use the prie dieu and apparently does not even have one on hand.

Francis did not even remove the white pileolus on his head before the Blessed Sacrament. It was once named Soli Deo because it is only removed for God in the Sacrament.

Expression and body language, the folded hands, indicate that the pope is not taking a prayerful disposition before the Lord in prayer and worship, but just as if he were in a program and had to make an intermediate stop in the crypt which had annoyed him. The look seems apathetic as if he did not see God in the Most Blessed Sacrament.

Francis before the Most Blessed Sacrament: "Apathetic look, no disposition of prayer"

Pope Francis does not seem to have the intention of wishing to foster acts of worshiping God, as they are only due to God. He does not kneel down, as is known (he suffers, it is said, but not officially). But he sits instead of not taking the pileolus off and not to fold his hands? No, I believe he does not believe in the real presence!

On Holy Thursday we will see it.

It is pointless: I am told that I must love and respect this pope. I just do not succeed in loving him. It is hard for me to respect him.

He is Pope by right, but he does not sanctify and teach it in his office. Perhaps he is pope only in government (Therewith, to place the Franciscans of the Immaculate under provisional administration and to dismiss bishops, to protect homosexual priests, and to promote worker priests).

Christian Caritas is merited when it comes out of love for Christ. Without Christ, it is only atheistic social aid."

Text / translation: Giuseppe Nardi
Image: Vatican.va (screenshot)
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
Link to Katholisches...
AMDG

Has Pope Francis Finally Addressed the "Dubia"? -- "No to Communion for Remarried Divorced and Abortion Politicians"

Chile's Bishops report concerning their visit to Rome that Pope Francis declared a "clear no"
to Communion for the remarried divorced and for politicians who promote abortion.  Has the Pope changed his disposition? The President, Msgr. Santiago Silva and General Secretary, Auxilliary Bishop Fernando Ramos (Right)

(Rome) As it appears, Pope Francis has no longer any "doubts", according to the reports of the Chilean bishops who recently made their ad limina visit to Rome. The papal statements reported by them are a radical turn-around. "Since it is unacceptable that the President of the Chilean Episcopal Conference and his Secretary General have invented the words of the Pope, the news is of the utmost importance," said the Spanish columnist, Francisco Fernandez de la Cigoña. "As Fernandez de la Cigoña says," some of the statements sound as if Cardinal Burke had spoken. "What happened?

The allusion to the "doubts" refers to the "Dubia" (doubt), which gave the four cardinals addressed to the pope against controversial parts of the Post-Synodal letter Amoris laetitia to the Pope. For more than five months, the head of the Catholic Church has refused to respond to the five questions on central themes of the faith and morality. Shortly before Christmas, one of the four signatories, Cardinal Burke, spoke of a reprimand in camera caritatis. If this did not come to anything, the Pope would be subject to a public reprimand.

Now, the leaders of the Chilean Episcopal Conference reported that Pope Francis had explained the doctrine of the Church with "clear words".

"The Pope!" says Fernandez de la Cigoña.

Cancellation of situational ethics - Only voluntary celibacy not on the papal agenda

The Chilean daily El Mercurio conducted a joint interview with the President and Secretary General of the Chilean Bishops' Conference. One focus was the ad limina visit to Rome and the question of the remarried and divorced. Both confirmed that  Pope Francis instilled to them a clear "no to the Communion for remarried divorced persons and for politicians who pronounce for abortion."

The Secretary-General, Monsignor Fernando Ramos, also disagreed with the statement that Pope Francis had spoken in an interview with the weekly newspaper Die Zeit for the abolition of priestly celibacy. The Pope has made it clear "that a more voluntary celibacy is not in his agenda".

On the question of the Communion for remarried and divorced, Francis had rejected a "situational ethic" and told an anecdote from his family to clarify the matter.

"What happened?"

The distinct "no" to the communion for remarried divorced persons told to the Chilean bishops upon their visit to Rome led Fernandez de la Cigoña to the question:

"What happened? I dont know. Something has happened, for what Francis has told the Chilean bishops is not what can be read out from Amoris laetitia and read out by two cretins on Malta and most of the German bishops, and certainly not what Francis told  the Argentine bishops in a letter. 

So what happened? 

I dont know. But it may be that Francis saw the situation in which he had ridden the Church, but he did not want to enter into history causing a schism with incalculable consequences. His popularity among those who really count in the Church has declined sharply. Not a few have sussed out the not infrequently meaningless verbal chaos and have convinced themselves of the arguments of their opponents. 

Perhaps he himself has realized that the arguments of his opponents have a great weight, for if all the popes before him have taught something else, it seems quite obvious that  all the others may not have been wrong, but he is wrong. Everyone who wants to hear what he wants to hear is applauded in the short term, but in the medium term the voice of the pope falls into disrepute because different interpretations, which can be called upon, devalue his voice. 

Now it is time to wait to see if the statements of the Chilean bishops or the contrary are confirmed. Everything is possible. Their statements are excellent, including the personal anecdote about his niece, who is married to a divorced man. The divorced, a Catholic, goes to the confessional and says to the confessor: "I know you can not absolve me, but bless me." The married nephew is clearly aware of his situation. And apparently this also applies to the papal uncle. 

I think these are very important statements about which we can look forward. All Catholic. I know, of course, that it is still difficult to assess its real significance and scope in comparison to other statements to the contrary: What will tomorrow bring?"

Also important is the papal "no" to the communion for politicians who pronounce in favor of or use abortion. How does this attitude fit in with the latest testimony of the pope confidant Marcelo Sanchez Sorondo? Sorondo had explained in an interview with Jan Bentz for Arrangements that he talks to the abortion promoters because that will "do more". Specifically, he addressed "more" in the fight against the "new slavery" to the UN agenda. At the same time, Sanchez Sorondo frontally attacked the Pro-Life movement and accused them of "achieving nothing".

Text. Giuseppe Nardi
Image: Infocatolica / Vatican.va (screenshot)
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
Link to Katholisches...
AMDG

Dialog With the Lutheran World Federation at the Cost of Catholic Identity

Pope Francis with Munip Jounan, President of the Lutheran World
Federation on 31 October, 2016 in Lund.

With "Joint Declaration" of Lund, Pope Francis has signed a protestant document on 31 October 2016. In this way he brought the Protestants an ecumenical gift for the Lutheran Jubilee which he put in place of essential dimensions of  Catholic Church identity.

A guest contribution by Hubert Hecker.

October 31, 2016 is certainly considered the eve of the Protestant Reformation Jubilee. On that date Pope Francis traveled to the Swedish city of Lund. The Lutheran World Federation had been founded in 1947.  There are 145 Lutheran communities with 70 million Protestants are members included in this umbrella organization. In Lund, Pope Francis signed a "Joint Declaration" for the Catholic Church and Munip Jounan for the Lutheran World Federation.

Two texts in contradiction

In the introduction,

• That "we begin with the memorial of 500 years of Reformation."
• Furthermore, "we deplore before Christ that Lutherans and Catholics have wounded the visible unity of the Church . ...
• Many members of our communities yearn to receive the Eucharist in a meal as a concrete expression of full unity . ...
• If we commit ourselves to move from conflict to fellowship, we do this as part of the one body of Christ , into which we have all been incorporated through baptism. ... "

According to the Catholic catechism, believers are introduced into the Church through the sacrament of baptism as members of the body of Christ. According to the dogmatic Council document, Lumen Gentium No. 8 , the "Church" and "Body of Christ" are to be understood as follows: Jesus Christ wrote "His holy Church ... here on earth as a visible structure, and bears it as such unceasingly. ... The only complex reality - the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church ... " is the society equipped with hierarchical organs and the mysterious body of Christ, the visible assembly and  spiritual community. This Church is realized in the Catholic Church, led by the successor of Peter and the bishops in communion with him. This does not exclude that there are various elements of sanctification and truth outside their structure. "This is particularly true of the separate sister churches of Orthodoxy and the ecclesial" communities" of Protestantism.

The Ecumenism decree also states that only the Catholic Church has the full abundance of the means of salvation which the Lord has entrusted to Peter and the apostleship to constitute the Church as "the one Christian body on earth, to which all are fully incorporated who are already in some way a part of the people of God" (Unitatis redintegratio, No. 3).

The Pope signed a Protestant statement

Already, on the first close reading of the two published document excerpts, the impression appeared that they were contradictory in essential points. More precisely, the Joint Declaration reflects the Protestant church image, which is contrary to the Catholic understanding of the Church in the Council. It is precisely in the understanding of the Church that the "most serious dogmatic contrast" exists between Lutherans and Catholics, according to Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller in his lecture at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. The differences in questions concerning the Church, office, and sacraments should not be reduced to "striking formulas."

This is exactly what the Joint Declaration of 31 October is.  It seems to be the least common denominator in Church doctrine. However, a Lutheran-style church understanding has emerged. This means a weakening, if not a departure from the Catholic ecclesiology. Accordingly, the Pope has signed a Protestant statement. He brings an ecumenical guest gift to the Protestants at the Lutheran Jubilee, by displacing essential dimensions of the Catholic Church identity.

The EKD emphasizes the ecclesiastical identity of the Protestants ...

The EKD [Evangelische Kirche Deutschland] President Heinrich Bedford-Strohm warned at his Vatican visit in early February: "There should be" no homogenization, which eats one's own. We want to restrain Church dividing identity." (FAZ 7. 2. 2017). The Protestants emphasize their ecclesiastical identity - in contrast to Catholic doctrine. In the Lunder Declaration they have introduced their self-understanding of church. This is not to blame them. But the Pope and his advisers are accused of not having anchored the Catholic, "Church dividing identity" in the Joint Declaration. In so far as the pope signs the Lutheran image of the Church as a common denominator, the pope has permitted the "character" of the Catholic Church to be swallowed down in the supposedly "common," but actually Protestant decline.

... the Pope wants ecumenical dialogue at all costs - even his own identity.

This is shown in the individual statements of the Joint Declaration:

What is with the pope as the head of the Catholic Church commemorating the Reformation in the "We" modality? Luther wanted to replace the "devilish" Pope's Church at least in the "German nation" by his new-believing church. The result was the division and separation of his community from the Church.

Luther wanted to abolish the Catholic Church "as a visible structure" and replace it with an invisible church of the faithful assembled. Luther's contemporary, the humanist Gerhard Lorich from Hadamar, criticizes the reformer as a demolitionist of the Church. The complaint that "Lutherans and Catholics" had equally "wounded the visible unity of the Church" is wrong on both sides: Luther alone and his followers destroyed the visible church in their sphere of influence by separating themselves with their new ecclesial community. On the other hand, the Pope's self-condemnation is absurd that Catholics have "wounded the visible unity of the Church".

According to the doctrine of the Council, the Church founded by Jesus Christ is realized in the Catholic Church with Its sacramental hierarchical character. Luther and his followers did not want a Church in the classical sense but a non-sacramental, new-believing community. But there can be no second apart from the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church. That is why the 145 members of the Lutheran World Federation are called and are merely "ecclesial communities".

The Joint Statement speaks of "members of our communities ...". Grammatically, the Catholic Church is also meant.  As a signatory, the Pope thus demoted the Church into one of the many ecclesiastical communities and thereby denied this. If, however, only the Protestant communities which desire a common eucharistic meal are meant, the sentence is a twofold presumption. In the case of their rejection of the Sacrifice of the Mass, the Consecration, and the Transubstantiation, the Lutherans want to receive Communion, and see it as an "expression of full unity."

It is a doctrine particular to the Lutherans that all the baptized members of the Protestant communities belong to the Body of Christ. According to apostolic-Catholic doctrine, the baptized are part of the people of God. But they do not constitute the Church in its visible and invisible-spiritual form of the mystical body of Christ. They are outside the Church, into which they should be incorporated for their salvation - according to the Council Decree Unitatis redintegratio .

The Pope and his advisers have the sacred duty of studying the doctrine of the Catholic Church, to take it to heart, and to explain it. This would prevent them from signing questionable new doctrines of the Protestants.

Text: Hubert Hecker
Photo: MiL
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
Link to Katholisches...
AMDG

Pope Francis Gives First Interview to German Journalist: "I am a sinner and I am fallible"

[From Die Zeit] In an interview with the ZEIT, which will appear on Thursday, Pope Francis has critiqued the faith. When asked whether he also experiences moments in which he doubted the existence of God, he says: "I also know the empty moments." But the crisis is also an opportunity to grow: "A faith that does not fall into crisis (...) remains infantile." Pope Francis himself has the experiences of a normal believer. "I do not see myself as something special," says the head of over a billion Catholics around the world: "I am a sinner and am fallible." To every kind of papal cult, therefore, Francis declares a rejection. "We must not forget that the idealization of a person is always a subliminal kind of aggression." When I am idealized, I feel attacked," he says in an interview with ZEIT, which took place at the Vatican in late February. It is the first interview that Francis has given during his four-year term to a German journalist.

The Pope is concerned about the rise of populism in the Western democracies: "Populism is evil and ends badly, as the past century has shown," says Francis. "Populism means to use the people", it always needs a Messiah and also the justification to keep the identity of the people.

The Pope described the increasing lack of priests as a problem in many countries, for example in Germany. The Church is challenged and should face this and other problems also fearlessly. The task of theology is to research. "The truth is not to be afraid," says Francis, "Fears closes doors, freedom opens them, and when liberty is small, it opens a window." In addition, in the interview, there will be a discussion on celibacy, the ordination of married men to the priesthood, Francis addresses himself to the hostility toward his person and whether he will accept the invitation to visit Germany in the "Luther Year."

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

Cardinal Müller: "End with the Cliche of a Reforming Pope and Anti-Reform Resistance"

(Rome) Cardinal Gerhard Mueller, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine and the Faith, is visibly angry. He had had several occasions to do this in recent times. It is not always possible for him to react. He does not accept everything silently. Now he has reacted to the resignation of Marie Collins.

The resignation of the Irish citizen, Marie Collins as a memeber of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors was reproached by some of the media in an accusation against the Congregation for the Faith, led by Cardinal Prefect Müller. That was astonishing. Müller is known for a practice of zero tolerance. It was a hard indictment that he had hindered the work of the anti-pedophile commission. It is an accusation that does not want to match the facts.

"Fake News" from and about the Vatican

The presentation by the media, out of agency reports, however, was one-sided. The resignation had been properly exploited in order to put the position of Cardinal Müller and his Congregation in a bad light on such a delicate subject. The "evil Congregation of the Faith" is a stereotype, which not a few frequently want to willingly believe. The context of the "evil Congregation of Doctrine and the Faith" and the hindrance of the persecution of pedophile clerics and anti-pedophile prevention are all the more a scandalous mixture. Only, this is just not right. They are a lame media, or in other words, fake news, as they are so fond of saying. Coincidence, bad research, disinformation, attempted influence in inner-church affairs?

The line of zero tolerance, which Cardinal Müller pursues in terms of sexual child abuse, is authentic. It is different with the course of Pope Francis. Those who have good contacts with close papal-dignitaries or the pope himself are treated more gently than those who do not have these contacts. The key word Don Mercedes should suffice to name this line Of double standard. The dismissal of three members of the Congregation of the Congregation of the Congregation, which the Pope himself ordered, and which was enforced against the will of Cardinal Mueller, is also connected with the subject. Two of the three dismissed were concerned with the prosecution of clerical offenders, and their dismissal was not because they had a double standard. They represented the null-tolerance line of Cardinal Mueller, still holding to that which had been issued  by Pope Benedict XVI.

Cardinal Müller's Defense - The Case of the Chilean Bishop

Cardinal Müller can not publicly argue a series of connections to his own justification and the protection of his dicastery, because they could appear as a criticism of Pope Francis. Nevertheless, he did not want to take the attacks sitting down and formulated a defense. He criticized the criticism of the resigned Marie Collins, who had been chastised by the media for the Congregation, with the remark that the "Anti-Abuse Commission had so far only asked the Congregation for the dispatch of letters." In plain words, what impediment should have taken place if the Commission did not want anything from the Congregation, and therefore nothing could have been rejected.

The concrete reason for Collins's resignation, who herself had even been abused as a child, is the case of the Chilean bishop who had himself demanded Collins' resignation. Since this was not done after repeated requests, she took her own step to protest according to this threat. However, the bishop's benefactor is not the Congregation of Faith, but  Pope Francis himself.  The bishop concerned is Juan de la Cruz Barros Madrid, the Bishop of the Chilean diocese. Francis himself had appointed him Bishop of Osorno in 2015. Immediately, victim organizations were indignant at the appointment. However, Francis stood by Bishop Barroso Madrid, and in Rome, he even assured the Chilean faithful who wanted to bring to this to his attention (see The Bishop of Osorno has a super lawyer, Pope Francis, including a video of the correction). The bishop is not accused of sexual abuse, but a priest, Fernando Karadima, who is very well known in Chile.

Cardinal Müller's more fundamental criticism: "end with the stereotype"

The defense of Müller is thus made clearer in a further sentence, when he attacks a common stereotype: "With this stereotype that the pope stands on one side and the resistors on the other." Thus, the Cardinal already cited Matteo Matzuzzi in the Sunday edition of Il Foglio  in its title.

The fact that Cardinal Müller mingled his statement by no means only in the matter of the anti-pedophile commission is evident from his choice of words. The quotation goes back to an interview of the Cardinal Prefect with Gian Guido Vecchi of the Corriere della Sera. Müller had said:

"I think that this stereotype should be brought to an end, the idea that on the one hand is a pope who wants reform, and on the other a group of adversaries who want to block it."

The words could also be translated so as to recognize their explosive nature. It is probably due to the conflict over the anti-pedophile commission, but it can also be read in a general context. "End with the stereotype that this pope is on the side of the good and the resistance is on the side of the evil."

Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Image: MiL
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
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The Invisible Last Super Under Pope Francis -- Footwashing: The All-Purpose Social Gesture

(Rome) The Holy See announced the papal celebrations for the Holy Week, together with the Feast of Easter. As in previous years, the calendar is devoid of the day of the Holy Thursday.

On the morning of the 13th of April, the Pope will be celebrating the Chrism Mass as usual in St. Peter's. The Mass of the Last Supper is not mentioned,  the evening of Holy Thursday, with which liturgically, the Triduum Sacrum begins.

Pope Francis will not celebrate the Last Supper of the Lord in the Lateran Basilica, the Episcopal Church of Rome and the "Mother of All Churches", but in a place not yet known. In the fifth year, a central liturgical moment, which is of paramount importance to the Universal Church, disappears from the field of vision.

As in previous years, a "spectacular" foot wash can be expected in 2017 as well. The speculation among Vaticanists is currently looking at whose feet the Pope will wash this year, excluding the public and the Church.

The Mass on the evening of the Holy Thursday is a liturgy of constitutive importance for the Catholic Church and of great concentration. The washing of the feet recalls the sign the Lord made to the apostles. It's a sign that the apostolic succession must always be a humble service. To express this, Popes, Cardinals and Bishops wash feet as direct followers and direct subordinates.

This is just one element. On the same evening, the establishment of the Blessed Sacrament of the Most Holy Sacrament was conceived by Jesus Christ, and inseparably, the establishment of the consecrated priesthood. This dual institution forms the center of the liturgical liturgy and is closely connected with the Church as a sacred sacred space. This really requires that the Holy Mass in Cœna Domini be celebrated by the leaders in their bishop's church with the faithful.

In other words, the establishment of the sacrament of the priesthood and of the altar's Sacrament (Eucharist) are again behind the gesture of footwashing, which appears above all as a social gesture, through the papal visit to an unknown, closed place.  It's an aspect emphasized by the circumstance that Pope Francis has also washed the feet of Muslims.

Since the visits to prisons and the refugee home, the question has also been raised as to whether Pope Francis gave Communion to those others than believers. Corresponding inquiries were not answered either by the Vatican or by the chaplains of the institutions visited.

In 2014 an initiative of Catholic media called on the bishops not to leave their cathedrals this evening to celebrate in other places. The absence of the bishop from his bishop's church is an "anomaly". This initiative, however, had to fallen into the void, since it was the Pope himself who left his bishop's church, the Lateran Basilica. Pope Francis has made the central Liturgy of Holy Thursday "invisible", according to Messa in Latino. The Holy Mass in the Lateran Basilica was open to all the faithful and was broadcast on television.

The Missa in Coena Domini by Pope Francis, which exclude the public:

2013: Visit to the Youth Prison
2014: visit to a disabled facility
2015: visit to prison
2016: visit to refugee home
2017 :?

Text. Giuseppe Nardi
Photo: Vatican.va (Screenshot)

Link to Katholisches...

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Pope Bergoglio's Double Standard in Pederasty Cases

(Rome) What does Pope Francis mean in the sexual abuse of minors by priests: zero tolerance or double standards?

Cardinal Gerhard Mueller, Prefect of the Congregation for the Congregation of the Faith, called for a clear line in an interview published yesterday by La Repubblica: "Zero tolerance for pedophile priests. The bishops are to force them to self-report. "

Only the day before, Nicole Winfield, associate press correspondent from the Vatican, reported that Pope Francis, on the other hand, had a double standard  in the matter of pedophile priests.

Officially zero tolerance, in fact "the exact opposite"?

Officially "zero tolerance" is demanded and thus spread by the media. "Quite apart from the radar, things are diametrically opposed," says Secretum meum mihi. Whoever among the pederasts has "friends" among the Roman Curia, who are close to the Pope, has good prospects to get off easily.

The key to the two dimensions that Pope Francis uses is "mercy." In this context, Nicole Winfield refers to the dismissal of Cardinal Müller's three close associates at the CDF. Two of these were directly concerned with the cases of pedophile priests and their punishment. An accident? If one follows the statements of Winfield, then not.

According to the Vatican, Pope Francis "quietly reduced the punishments against a number of priests" who had been condemned by the Congregation for Religious responsible for serious offenses for the sexual abuse of minors. The Pope turned to "his vision of a merciful Church," according to Winfield.

"Don Mercedes" and the friends of the pope

The correspondent mentions the case of Don Mercedes. The Italian priest had been found guilty by the Congregation of Doctrine and the Faith, but had been pardoned by Pope Francis. Don Mercedes, aka Mauro Inzoli, found a new young victim in this way, and was now condemned by an Italian criminal court. As AP reported, a new Church law procedure is already pending against Don Mercedes.

The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith considered the suspension of his priesthood. He should be condemned to a life of repentance, prayer, and silence and no longer be allowed to exercise his priesthood. Don Mercedes, however, had good relations with the Roman Curia, those who were close to the Pope.

Pope Francis is known to persecute opponents, but not to let friends fall, nor the friends of his friends. Under Pope Benedict XVI, there was actual zero tolerance. Between 2005 and 2013, 800 priests were sentenced and deprived of their ministry. Petitions for pardon were only granted in the rarest cases and after careful examination.

Were Dismissed Figures in the Congregation in the Way?

Winfield cited the removal of the three members of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, two of whom had to return to their home diocese at the end of 2016, who were directly linked to the sanctions against pedophile priests. The employees were directly involved in the prosecution of pedophile priests. Was the "zero tolerance" undermined by their removal because they were not receptive to "friendships"? Their dismissal had been ordered directly by Pope Francis. Cardinal Müller tried to defend them against it. The Pope told him Directly: Who has the say! The third dismissed must vacate his Office as of 31 March.

Pope John Paul II was criticized for being too slow in the prosecution of pedophile priests. However, it was at that time the necessary sensitivity for the subject arose. Today, the Church is a pioneer among all institutions in the fight against sexual abuse. Pope Benedict XVI, who was serious about zero tolerance, was nevertheless heavily beaten by mainstream media. Towards the end of his term, church-factional groups wanted to drag him to an international court because of pedophile priests. At the same time, the Church under his leadership made serious, more than any secular association, than left-wing experimental education projects and secular sports clubs have shown. Even then, observers spoke of a mere pretext for damaging a displeased pope.

This presumption seems to be a new affirmation: Pope Francis, who, in contrast to his two predecessors, who appears to have a double standard, has so far been treated with velvet gloves in the case of pedophile priests.

Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Image: MiL
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
AMDG

Cardinal Burke Defends Himself Against "Slander" -- Whoever Wants to Understand What Happens in the Vatican Must Read Between the Lines, Must Look Behind the Curtains

Cardinal Burke with the Knights Malta

(Rome) Cardinal Raymond Burke, a brilliant jurist and the highest judge of the Holy See until the end of 2014, is a patient man with a great deal of suffering. But he can not just stand by for everything. Anyone who currently wants to understand what is happening in the Vatican and in the Church must listen carefully, look behind the scenes, read between the lines and, above all, question what the "information disinformation channels" are rumoring in the Vatican,  says Marco Tosatti. In other words, anyone who wants to see through this, is called to be an observer. This is exhausting but necessary in the service of the Church.

In November 2014 Pope Francis dismissed him, away from the Vatican, to become Cardinal Patronus of the Order of Malta, to which he only said of this humiliation, where the Pope says to go, I go. When Pope Francis sent him to Guam, he said he did not see it as exile.

Cardinal Burke does not want to be the scapegoat

However, he does not want to be a scapegoat for the dirty laundry of others in the Order of Malta. In the Order, which is at the same time a sovereign state in international law, a severe power struggle had spread in December / January. With Vatican support, the first rank of the professed knights was in fact deprived of power by some members of the second class. Burke, the jurist, had to stand idly by to the legally unclean activity. The best laws are only as much in effect  as people are found to ensure their compliance. In the Vatican, the Constitution was overthrown. Interpretation?

Journalists approaching the "magical circle" around Pope Francis, as Tosatti commented, gave the astonished public a certain reading of the events in the Order that had little to do with reality. Cardinal Burke did not speak, did not correct this. He was the Pope's ambassador to the Order. Ambassadors do not have to express their opinion, but to speak publicly only in the interest of their client.

The power struggle in the Order of Malta

Finally the letter became known to Burke on 1 December 2016 by Pope Francis. A letter containing clear instructions for action against certain power centers in the Order. As the Ambassador of the Pope, Burke also held on to the wasps' nest. He could not know this. The Cardinal Secretary suddenly interfered, stood up against him, and declared that with the Pope's letter everything had been quite different and misunderstood.

The Knight of the Second Estate, Albrecht Freiherr von Boeselager, as Major Chancellor in the Order, had been deposed by the Grand Master of the Order and reinstated by the Vatican, with Papal authority. The centuries-old hierarchical structures in the Order had been overridden by a papal fiat. Scarcely again in office, and now as the real ruler in the Order, Boeselager entered the press at the beginning of February, declaring that he no longer had any use for Cardinal Burke in the Order. A few days later, the Vatican sent the Cardinal to the South Seas, far from Rome.

"I regard this as libel"

Boeselager's attack was too brazen for the Cardinal. He came to the public to clarify that he had never called for the resignation of Boeselager. The accusation was piquantly repeated by Ludwig Hoffmann of Rumerstein, an Austrian knight, ie, a member of the old guard. Hoffmann von Rumerstein, according to the Order's Constitution, heads the Order until the election of a new Grand Master, but he has only to say as much about Vatican interference as the Vatican will allow. The unilateral representation of a certain Fronde has found numerous adepts, followers, and naive followers.

After Cardinal Burke's speech, Cardinal Burke then became clear: the assertion that he and not Grand Master Fra Matthew Festing had demanded Boeselager's head, "I regard as defamation." Grandmaster Festing, the subordinate in the internal power struggle, returned on January 24 after a conversation with Pope Francis, disappointed and unnerved. Hoffmann von Rumerstein may have thought of using the viewpoint of the Order's new representation in this critical situation. After all, the professed knights, like him, have to reckon with the fact that Pope Francis completely deprives them of power. The papal announcements to "reform" the Order were felt as a threat by parts of the Order.

"Anyone who allows distribution of contraception should also take responsibility for it"

After a reconstruction of the facts, the resignation request to Boeselager was not planned at all. Grandmaster Festing, with the written request of the Pope of December 1, wanted to create clarity. To this end, he invited Boeselager on 6 December and confronted him with allegations which had come to light independently by means of two investigation reports. It was only when the Grand Chancellor showed himself inscrutable that the confrontation escalated. The Grand Master demanded Boeselager's resignation. When this refused, Festing dismissed him. The rest is known .

Cardinal Burke on the clash of 6 December:

"I had no authority to demand the resignation of the Grand Chancellor. I have merely pointed out that a person consciously admitting the distribution of contraception in the works of the Order should also assume responsibility for it. The Grand Master then asked the Grand Chancellor to resign, which he refused. Then the Grand Master proceeded to his dismissal without me being involved in any way. "

Now the Pope had sent him to Guam to conduct proceedings against an emeritus archbishop. He sees this as a task, not as an exile from Rome.

"The Pope has never personally spoken to me about this mission."

Two operations and the proven information disinformation channels

The actual nomination was made by the Congregation for the Congo. Marco Tosatti wrote:

"In fact, in this rather mournful story two different, interrelated operations can be distinguished. The first operation concerns internal power struggles in the Maltese Order, which are probably also about money. It is unfortunate that the figure of the Pope was so obviously involved in this operation: he was the one who forced the Grand Master to retreat. We do not know what means he used to do."

Another aspect, according to Tosatti,

"...is the intervention of the Vatican Secretariat of State: It is known that the family of the Grand Chancellor who has been deposed and been rejoined after the Anschluss of the Order, by the Vatican has excellent relations with the Terza Loggia [Third floor, Secretary of State]; But they have substituted him for the task of spiritual renewal of the order ... "

The Swiss journalist Giuseppe Rusconi spoke of the Anschluss, referring to the "Anschluss" of Austria to the German Reich in 1938, in order to say that at the end of January, the Vatican was doing the same with the Maltese Order. The "Terza Loggia" means the third floor in the Apostolic Palace and is synonymous to say that the Boeselager family has "excellent relations" with the Pope.

Tosatti continues:

"The second operation, on the other hand, appears to be an opportunistic action. There is an opportunity to attack, discredit Burke, who is a nuisance in other areas, and, at the same time, to confuse the real maneuvers by smoke candles. It is enough to make the rumors that  [Burke] is guilty of all the guilt, friendships, informational channels ... Always this Burke! How much patience can the Pope muster with him! ... "

If you want to understand what is happening in the Vatican and in the Church, you must take the trouble to read between the lines, to look behind the scenes, and to look closely at who says what and what he says, especially when it is supposedly neutral, "in the newspaper stands".

Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Photo: Ordine di Malta Sicilia (Screenshot)
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
Link to Katholisches...
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