Benedict XVI. Made Changes to the Enthronement Rite of the New Pope -- Ferula Papalis and Tiara?

(Vatican)  Osservatore Romano  published an interview with the Minister of Cermonies of the Pope, Msgr Guido Marini in its Saturday edition. On the 18th of February Pope Benedict XVI. received Msgr Marini in audience. On this occasion he made “in the power of his Apostolic authority” some changes in the Ordo rituum pro minister Petrini initio Romae episcopi.

In the interview Msgr Marini explained the proposed changes by the Pope. What was not also mentioned regarding the use of the Ferula Papalis is that Pope Paul replaced it with a cross staff that was characteristic of the pontificate of John Paul II. Pope Benedict XVI. returned the old practice with Palm Sunday of 2008, initially by using the Ferula of Pius XI, then from 2009 a lighter custom made Ferula was found for him. Will the Tiara be reserved, a visible expression of papal authority even if it is only placed on special occasions on the statue of the Apostle Peter and first Pope?

First: What is the Ordo Rituum per ministerii Petrini initio Romae episcopi?

As the introduction to the Ordo under Nr. 2 says, it deals with the Rituale, which the papal celebration of the Bishop of Rome  upon the occupation of his See and the places it governs.

In other words the book contains all of the liturgical texts for the celebrations of the new Pope from the moment of the solemn proclamation of his election to his visit to the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore.

The Ordo was approbated by Benedict XVI. with the rescript Ex audientia Summi Pontificis of 20 April 2005, on the day after his election as Pontifex Maximus. I must also add that the office for the Liturgical celebration of the Pope required at that time great subject knowledge and a large work for study and preparation, in order to bring the Ordo in its form.

Holy Father With Ferula

The Pope has now approved some changes in the same way. Can you tell us the reason?

It seems to me that I can describe two in particular.

First of all the Pope once experienced the celebration at the beginning of his Pontificate in 2005.

This experience and the consequent employment with that ended some interventions from him for the improvement of the texts in the sense of a harmonic development. Second, he wanted to continue in this line, that he had taken the steps toward changes in the papal Liturgy.

In other words: for the better celebration of Holy Mass to distinguish it from other rites which are not directly connected.

I refer for example to the rite of canonization, of the Resurrexit on Easter Sunday and the conferring of the Palium to new Metropolitan Bishops.

What will happen in practice?

As already indicated, the celebration of the inauguration of the Bishop of Rome will be ordered just as also with the enthronement in the Lateran Basilica the typical rites before and outside of Holy Mass and no more within the same. What the celebration of the inauguration of the Bishop of Rome involves, so all of the Cardinals will participate in the oath of obedience.

In this way the gestures which the electing Cardinals will perform during the election in the Sixtine Chapel, will again retain a public dimension and with that include all members of the College of Cardinals and at the same time is an expression of his Catholicity.

It doesn’t involve a novelty, which all well remember at the act of obedience in the beginning of the pontificate of John Paul II, in which all the Cardinals at the time participated. It suffices to think on the famous and moving picture, the embrace of Pope Wojtyla showed with the former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger as with Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski.

In the interview Msgr. Marini refers to the rite of obedience as reported by Cathcon:

When Pope Benedict celebrated his inaugural Mass in 2005, 12 people were chosen to represent all Catholics: three cardinals, a bishop, a diocesan priest, a transitional deacon, a male religious, a female religious, a married couple and a young man and a young woman recently confirmed.

Among the first acts of the new bishop of Rome, is provided for in the visit to the two papal basilicas of Saint Paul Outside the Walls and St. Mary Major. Are there also some changes in this regard?

In contrast to what was has been envisaged for the Ordo, new pope does not have to do this immediately after the election, but can make it as he deems an appropriate time and do in an appropriate form, be it with a Mass, with the Liturgy of the Hours or special liturgical form, what previously had been required.

Is there anything new in the field of music?

The former Ordo allowed for mostly a new musical repertoire, which was composed on the occasion of the drafting of the Ordo.

The current Benedict XVI approbated version provides more freedom in the choice of the sung parts and allows the rich musical treasure of the Church's history to bring to bear.

Einleitung und Übersetzung: Giuseppe Nardi
Bild: Wikicommons

The Feast of St. Peter Damian: A Window to the Past

Edit: today is the feast of St. Peter Damian, the great reformer who authored the book "Liber Gomorrhianus” and presided in his office during a time of great reforms as well as tribulations.  Along with the Feast of the Chair of St. Peter, it provides a a parallel, a back drop and historical prospective in the face of current events which all too many feel are unprecedented, if not apocalyptic.

During St. Peter Damian’s time, Benedict IX resigned his office to St. Peter's friend, the brilliant John Gratian.  After abdicating in penitence, the very troublesome and corrupt Benedict IX entered the seclusion of the monastery of Grottaferrata.  Here’s an excerpt from Catholic Encyclopedia:

Although living in the seclusion of the cloister, Peter Damian watched closely the fortunes of the Church, and like his friend Hildebrand, the futureGregory VII, he strove for her purification in those deplorable times. In 1045 when Benedict IX resigned the supreme pontificate into the hands of the archpriest John Gratian (Gregory VI), Peter hailed the change with joy and wrote to the pope, urging him to deal with the scandals of thechurch in Italy, especially with the evil bishops of Pesaro, of Città di Castello, and of Fano (see BENEDICT IX; GREGORY VI.) He was present inRome when Clement II crowned Henry III and his wife Agnes, and he also attended a synod held at the Lateran in the first days of 1047, in whichdecrees were passed against simony. After this he returned to his hermitage (see CLEMENT II; DAMASUS II). Pope St. Leo IX was solemnlyenthroned at Rome, 12 Feb., 1049, to succeed Damasus II, and about two years later Peter published his terrible treatise on the vices of theclergy, the "Liber Gomorrhianus", dedicating it to the pope. It caused a great stir and aroused not a little enmity against its author. Even thepope, who had at first praised the work, was persuaded that it was exaggerated and his coldness drew from Damian a vigorous letter of protest. Meanwhile the question arose as to the validity of the ordinations of simoniacal clerics. the prior of Fonte-Avellana was appealed to an wrote (about 1053) a treatise, the "Liber Gratissimus", in favour of their validity, a work which, though much combatted at the time, was potent in deciding the question in their favour before the end of the twelfth century. In June, 1055, during the pontificate of Victor II, Damian attended asynod held at Florence, where simony and clerical incontinence were once more condemned. About two years later he fell ill at Fonte-Avellanaand nearly died, but suddenly, after seven weeks of pain, recovered, as he believed, through a miracle.

Image taken from “Catholic Family Today Blog" Here is also some ongoing analysis by Doctor Moynihan of La Repubblica’s article with some interesting interactions with the clergy…

It’s interesting to note that Moynihan doesn’t seem to think that any documents could have found their way into unfriendly hands by way of Paolo Gabrielle.

It’s also interesting to note that he identified the La Repubblica journalist as having Communist connections.

Priest Forgives His Father, Who Sired Him in Rape

A priest, who was conceived in rape has forgiven his father.  He was penitent and years later came to the Faith and goes to confession with his son.

Loja (kath.net/CNA) A priest who was conceived in rape has forgiven his father.  He did penance and returned to the Faith years later and goes to confession with his son.

“I could have ended up in the dustbin, but I lived”, said P. Luis Alfredo Leon Armijos from Ecuador.  His mother was raped by her employer.  She was 13 years old and worked in his house as a maid in order to supper her family financially.  Her family wanted to abort the child.  She flew to another city where she succeeded in bearing the child.

Later she was able to return with the help of the rapist.  He recognized the child and supported P. Leon’s mother  The relationship to his father was distant, but it was stamped with respect.  At the age of 16 he encountered the Charismatic renewal.  There he deepened his faith.  At 18 he felt called to the vocation of the priesthood and entered, against his father’s wishes, into the seminary.  At 23 he was ordained a priest.  Two years later he entered into the Neocatechumenal Way.  At this time he learned how he came into existence.  P. Leon helped his mother to lay aside her hatred against his father and to forgive him.  And also he learned with the help of the Gospels to forgive his father.

After many years he received a message from his father, who shortly before a surgical intervention was very afraid.  He asked his son, to hear his confession and returned to his Faith after 30 years.  “I said to him:  you have earned heaven, eternal life”,  recalled P. Leon.    His father broke into tears after hearing this.

“If you are a child or single mother, look how God our Father has cared for you in your life”,  recommends P. Leon, when he talks about his life.

Link to kath.net...

Italian “Newspaper” Alleges Curial Blackmail

Photo: Catholic lane

Edit: it’s always a mark of suspicion when a news story becomes universally acclaimed and repeated to the point where its assertions, misapprehensions, inaccuracies or malice become common currency.

Remember when the Eponymous Flower Blog posted the story from Father Dariuscz Oko back at the end of October? The courageous Polish priest is studying the homosexual subculture within the Church in connection with a Vatican investigation. This priest said then that the Holy Father has been persistently working to combat evil within the Church. Still, who can say what his abdication means to this battle. Obviously, there are those who will attempt to portray this as a failure of the Church to act responsibly and will attempt to shame the Holy Father’s efforts. Who will win indeed, the wolves or the shepherds?

Presently the suggestion is that Pope Benedict XVI has resigned not for the reasons he’s stated, but for more pecuniary, and even possibly reasons of a more scandalous nature.

The following is an interesting blog entry from a Doctor Robert Mouynihan who is the founder of Vatican Inside Magazine,  on the Catholic lane blog, with the very encouraging title, “Italian Press Alleges Curia Blackmail".

The story involves the revelation of a study which was ordered by the Holy Father to determine the source of a problem within the Church’s hierarchy and Its employees. Three trusted senior Cardinals were chosen and they very methodically interviewed, compiled charts and information to provide a presentation of the raw material they’d collected. Unfortunately, the information was leaked to other agencies, clearly not trustworthy or ideologically reliable, like the anti-Catholic, and Socialist, La Repubblica.  It has an agenda, shockingly or not, like the New York Times in the US.

The origin of this story and the way it’s being spun is the problem. Doctor Moynihan is going to explore the story by talking to those who’ve originated it, namely it’s principle originator, Ignazio Ingrao, who is known as a Vaticanista, operating the blog “Urbi et Orbi”. It should be clear that no one can deny the pedigree of the Italian paper that is disseminating this spin, but what of those who’ve accepted its interpretation uncritically, and worse, come to more uncharitable conclusions than the originator of this story. Indeed, the publication which hosts Mr. Ingrao’s blog, Panorama.it, is part of the Burlesconi publishing empire. Surely this is an unbiased source, considering the long standing hostility of Mr. Berlusconi for the teachings of the Church, if not the Church Herself.

Doctor Moynhian shouldn’t have to go far to see what’s behind this portrayal.

Here’s an excerpt:

While we were speaking, Italian journalist Iacopo Scaramuzzi, another excellent Vaticanist, came up. He waited respectfully a few steps away, and came up when I nodded to him and stepped away toward the kiosk. I bought the two copies of La Repubblica. When I returned, Scaramuzzi was asking Saraiva Martins questions about the Pope’s resignation, about the Pope’s mood during these days of Spiritual Exercises, and about the qualities of spirit and character that the next Pope will need.

As the two spoke, a reporter and cameraman from Associated Press walked up. “May we?” they asked, with the camera already rolling. For a while they filmed the conversation, and then the AP journalist broke in, asking if Saraiva Martins had read the news that had broken that morning in La Repubblica, about the alleged blackmail of Vatican officials. Saraiva Martins glanced at me, holding the two copies of the paper, then said, “No, I cannot make any comment on that. I haven’t yet read the article.”

A moment later, the interview was over, and Saraiva Martins and I began to walk away toward his residence nearby. I waited until we were under the colonnade opposite the press office, in front of the Ancora bookstore, then handed him the second copy of La Repubblica. He thanked me and he said we could speak again after the end of the Spiritual Exercises on Saturday.

Indeed, some might remember that Vatileaks butler Paolo Gabriele has some possible connections in a Monastery closed by the Holy Father as reported by Orbis Catholicus.

Syria: Christian Dragged From Bus and Shot, Because he Wore a Cross

(Damascus) A Syrian Christian of the Armenian Church was put to death by Islamists on the road to Aleppo. As the news agency Fides reported while Christians were traveling on a bus towards Aleppo,  the bus was stopped by armed Islamists, who had set up a roadblock. The Islamists were scanning the bus, to relieve the passengers relieved  of possessions and looking for potential victims of kidnappings for ransom.  On the 9th of February two priests were  kidnapped in this way. The Armenian Catholic priest Michel Kayyal and the Greek Orthodox priest Maher Mahfouz. Both are still in the hands of Islamist gangs.

As the Islamists in the bus investigated the travelers, they also encountered a Syrian Christians Yohannes an  Armenian, who wore a cross on a necklace. They dragged him out of the bus and shot him at close range. For safety reasons,  as Fides reports, they omitted the messenger service on the publication of his full name in order to protect the family of the victim. As the Armenian Church announced, he is a "martyr", because the Christian was killed in "odium fidei", out of hatred for the Christian faith.

Just recently, a group of Christians to reach Beirut to escape the perilous situation in Syria. Their bus was hit by a rocket in flight. Two Christians, Boutros and his 22 year old fiancée Naraya, who wanted to get married soon, were killed. Islamists then stole everything they could steal in this bus brutally brought to a halt.

The Christian churches in Syria have decided not to pay a ransom for kidnapped Christians. A decision that was made after much consideration, as Fides reported, because Christians do not want to be prisoners of a lucrative Islamist kidnapping industry. If they were to pay, it would just such but inflame.

Instead, call the churches to the international community to take action against the inhumane practice of kidnapping in Syria. The Christians of Syria urge all Christians to support through prayer and spiritual sacrifices. Fides reported that the church tours in Syria, it is agreed that the rescue of the hostages, including the two priests, is to lead a spiritual battle and not as fundraising to collect money  for ransom payments.

Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Image: Faith

Link to katholisches...

Cardinal Darmaatmadja Resigns -- Only 116 Electors in the Conclave

(Rome)  It will now be only 116 and not 117 Cardinals who will participate in the Conclave in order to elect the next Pope.  The 78 year old Indonesian Cardinal Julius Riyadi Damaatmadja and emeritus Archbishop of Jakarta will “of his own free will” not participate in the Conclave, because his state of health no longer allows him to take the trip, as reported by Asianews.

The Cardinal lives in an Emmaus House because of “worsening” health problems for some time, an elder hostel for priests in Central Java.  As Asianews reports, the Cardinal is among other things almost blind.  A “collected,  independent movement” is no longer possible as he himself explained to the news agency by telephone.  “I am convinced”, says Cardinal Darmaatmajda, “it is not possible for me to sit with the other Cardinals in order to elect another Pope.  For this reason he is “extraordinarily sorry”, but he doesn’t want to hinder the Conclave because of his health and possibly bring confusion to the process of the election.


The Jesuit Darmaatmadja was ordained to the priesthood in 1969  and was named the Archbishop of Semarang in Indonesia in 1983 by John Paul II.  John Paull II. was also the one who raised him to the state of Cardinal in 1994 and called him to be the Archbishop of Jakarta in 1996.


Text: Asianews/Giuseppe Nardi
Photo: Asianews

Liberation Theology Will Get a Boost if Cardinal Turkson

Edit: right now, he’s the most favored to be the next Pope. This article identifies some of his political views which are in line with Liberation Theology and Marxist thinking. Right now Cardinal Turkson is the overall favorite to be next Pope according to Paddy Power, despite attempting to take himself out of the running by telling the press what he’ll do when he becomes Pope.

There is a world where it is possible to ‘wipe the tears from the eyes of those who suffer injustice‘. So says the man tipped by many to become the 294th successor to St. Peter as Pope and spiritual leader of the world’s one billion Roman Catholics.

Cardinal Peter Turkson of Ghana, who currently serves as president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, is a renowned champion of the poor and marginalized.

In a lecture at Durham University Centre for Catholic Studies two years ago, Cardinal Turkson argued that:

“…despite the naysayers, economic resources do exist that could help wipe the tears from the eyes of those who suffer injustice, who lack the basics of a dignified life, and who are in danger from any deterioration in the climate.”

In a call to action, he added that the poor “benefit from champions in solidarity who believe that injustice can be reduced, that harmonious relationships can be fostered, that our planetary ecology can be made sustainable, that a world of greater communion is possible”.

In October 2011, the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace he heads set out a radical critique of global financial arrangements, which skew wealth and power away from developing countries.

Read further...

Another Bishop with connections to Ghana is Bishop Terry Steib S.V.D. of the Diocese of Memphis Tennessee in the USA. Interestingly, the coat of arms shows a connection to Marxist causes of black power movement and East Germany.

It’s not surprising that this Bishop is a very enthusiastic supporter of aberrosexuality.

 Part of his coat of arms even has a red chicken, symbolic of the Convention People's Party of Marxist agitator  Kwame Nkrumah, who was backed by the Soviet Union. 

Here is a description of Bishop Steib’s coat of arms, since none of the examples on line can be blown up successfully to give a decent picture:

The arms of Bishop Steib feature a tri-colored field - black, red, and green - which recalls the Flag of the Black Liberation Movement [represented by the cockerel]; this in turn is based on the Flag of the nation-state of Ghana, whose independence in 1957 gave rise to the general decolonization of the African continent. The colors represent, respectively, the great people that has sprung from this land, the blood shed in its defense, and the green plains of Africa. [It looks a lot like the flag of Communist East Germany, too]

H/t to Jay’s Analysis 

Society to be Consecrated to St. Joseph

The following from piusbruderschaft.de, the German Province website of the SSPX:

On the 19th of March the Society will officially consecrated to St. Joseph.  As a preparation for this important event pius.info has published texts and prayers to the great patron of the Church, so that the priests and faithful might correspondingly prepare.

Read the documents of Pius IX. and Leo XIII about St. Joseph.

As almighty God appointed Joseph, son of the patriarch Jacob, over all the land of Egypt to save grain for the people, so when the fullness of time was come and He was about to send to earth His only-begotten Son, the Savior of the world, He chose another Joseph, of whom the first had been the type, and He made him the lord and chief of His household and possessions, the guardian of His choicest treasures.

Indeed, he had as his spouse the Immaculate Virgin Mary, of whom was born by the Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ our Lord, who deigned to be reputed in the sight of men as the son of Joseph, and was subject to him.

Him whom countless kings and prophets had desired to see, Joseph not only saw but conversed with, and embraced in paternal affection, and kissed. He most diligently reared Him whom the faithful were to receive as the bread that came down from heaven whereby they might obtain eternal life.
Because of this sublime dignity which God conferred on his most faithful servant, the Church has always most highly honored and praised blessed Joseph next to his spouse, the Virgin Mother of God, and has besought his intercession in times of trouble.

And now therefore, when in these most troublesome times the Church is beset by enemies on every side and is weighed down by calamities so heavy that ungodly men assert that the gates of hell have at length prevailed against her, the venerable prelates of the whole Catholic world have presented to the Sovereign Pontiff their own petitions and those of the faithful committed to their charge, praying that he would deign to constitute St. Joseph Patron of the Church. And this time their prayer and desire was renewed by them even more earnestly at the Sacred Ecumenical Council of the Vatican.

Leo XIII (1878-1903)

Excerpt from the Encylcical Quamquam pluries, 15 August 1889

Although We have already many times ordered special prayers to be offered up in the whole world, that the interests of Catholicism might be insistently recommended to God, none will deem it matter for surprise that We consider the present moment an opportune one for again inculcating the same duty. During periods of stress and trial - chiefly when every lawlessness of act seems permitted to the powers of darkness - it has been the custom in the Church to plead with special fervour and perseverance to God, her author and protector, by recourse to the intercession of the saints - and chiefly of the Blessed Virgin, Mother of God - whose patronage has ever been the most efficacious. The fruit of these pious prayers and of the confidence reposed in the Divine goodness, has always, sooner or later, been made apparent. Now, Venerable Brethren, you know the times in which we live; they are scarcely less deplorable for the Christian religion than the worst days, which in time past were most full of misery to the Church. We see faith, the root of all the Christian virtues, lessening in many souls; we see charity growing cold; the young generation daily growing in depravity of morals and views; the Church of Jesus Christ attacked on every side by open force or by craft; a relentless war waged against the Sovereign Pontiff; and the very foundations of religion undermined with a boldness which waxes daily in intensity. These things are, indeed, so much a matter of notoriety that it is needless for Us to expatiate on the depths to which society has sunk in these days, or on the designs which now agitate the minds of men. In circumstances so unhappy and troublous, human remedies are insufficient, and it becomes necessary, as a sole resource, to beg for assistance from the Divine power.


You well understand, Venerable Brethren, that these considerations are confirmed by the ,opinion held by a large number of the Fathers, to which the sacred liturgy gives its sanction, that the Joseph of ancient times, son of the patriarch Jacob, was the type of St. Joseph, and the former by his glory prefigured the greatness of the future guardian of the Holy Family. And in truth, beyond the fact that the same name - a point the significance of which has never been denied - was given to each, you well know the points of likeness that exist between them; namely, that the first Joseph won the favour and especial goodwill of his master, and that through Joseph's administration his household came to prosperity and wealth; that (still more important) he presided over the kingdom with great power, and, in a time when the harvests failed, he provided for all the needs of the Egyptians with so much wisdom that the King decreed to him the title "Saviour of the world." Thus it is that We may prefigure the new in the old patriarch. And as the first caused the prosperity of his master's domestic interests and at the same time rendered great services to the whole kingdom, so the second, destined to be the guardian of the Christian religion, should be regarded as the protector and defender of the Church, which is truly the house of the Lord and the kingdom of God on earth. These are the reasons why men of every rank and country should fly to the trust and guard of the blessed Joseph. Fathers of families find in Joseph the best personification of paternal solicitude and vigilance; spouses a perfect example of love, of peace, and of conjugal fidelity; virgins at the same time find in him the model and protector of virginal integrity. The noble of birth will earn of Joseph how to guard their dignity even in misfortune; the rich will understand, by his lessons, what are the goods most to be desired and won at the price of their labour. As to workmen, artisans, and persons of lesser degree, their recourse to Joseph is a special right, and his example is for their particular imitation. For Joseph, of royal blood, united by marriage to the greatest and holiest of women, reputed the father of the Son of God, passed his life in labour, and won by the toil of the artisan the needful support of his family. It is, then, true that the condition of the lowly has nothing shameful in it, and the work of the labourer is not only not dishonouring, but can, if virtue be joined to it, be singularly ennobled.

Joseph, content with his slight possessions, bore the trials consequent on a fortune so slender, with greatness of soul, in imitation of his Son, who having put on the form of a slave, being the Lord of life, subjected himself of his own free-will to the spoliation and loss of everything.

Through these considerations, the poor and those who live by the labour of their hands should be of good heart and learn to be just. If they win the right of emerging from poverty and obtaining a better rank by lawful means, reason and justice uphold them in changing the order established, in the first instance, for them by the Providence of God. But recourse to force and struggles by seditious paths to obtain such ends are madnesses which only aggravate the evil which they aim to suppress. Let the poor, then, if they would be wise, trust not to the promises of seditious men, but rather to the example and patronage of the Blessed Joseph, and to the maternal charity of the Church, which each day takes an increasing compassion on their lot.

Archbishop Zollitsch Apologizes to Pope Before Sticking the Knife and Twisting

Edit: just before sticking the knife in today, with respect to abortifacient contraceptives, the Chairman of the German Bishops’ Conference asked Pope Benedict XVI’s forgiveness. Contrition requires a willingness to amend one’s failings.  It’s what Rorate Caeli daringly describes as an Sedevecant act as the Bishops of Germany continue on their schismatic anti-Roman course. Ironically, the most loyal men in Germany to the Pope has are the SSPX.



 Here’s a quick translation of his speech:


GCC Chairman Zollitsch: "I would urge, as Chairman of our Bishops’ Conference, to turn to the Holy Father to beg forgiveness for any errors that may have been committed in the Church’s areas in Germany against him."

Trier (kath.net / dbk) Pope Benedict XVI. had “born hostility and injustice in the following of Christ. In his speech at the beginning of the week, the Roman Pope has asked for leniency for all of his flaws. I want, as President of our Conference of Bishops, to turn to the Holy Father and beg forgiveness for any errors that may have been committed in the Church’s area in Germany against him,” so said Archbishop Robert Zollitsch, Chairman of the German Bishops' Conference on Monday in his explanation of himself in the end of the declining pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI. within the German Bishops’ Conference Spring Plenary in Trier.

kath.net documents the assessment of the pontificate, Pope Benedict XVI. by the chairman of the German Bishops 'Conference, Archbishop Robert Zollitsch, in the Spring Assembly of the German Bishops' Conference on 18 February 2013 in Trier, in full:

In a way all of Germany took a share in the share in the honor that was bestowed Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger when he was one of the Cardinals in conclave of 19 April 2005 to be elected as Bishop of Rome and the Successor of Peter. "We are the Pope," it said in a mixture of pride and joy. Today, after eight years, an overriding sense of deep respect and gratitude, but also quite mixed melancholy. A farewell still hurts too, especially when it comes to familiar and respected persons.

Pope Benedict XVI. all his life, struggled to fathom the unfathomable mystery of God. With great humility he wanted to get closer to God with all his senses to reveal Himself, let who God and what God wants for people: and the Praying in the celebration of the Sacraments, but also with the specifically human means of reason, and in ever new penetration of Scripture and the teaching of the Fathers of the Church, he dedicated his life to the approach to God.

This fundamental decision of his life shapes our Holy Father in such a transparent way that people revere him as their spiritual and intellectual authority. So do most people even those who can understand it because of individual decisions or adjustments or do not want. We are therefore well advised to his decision to resign in a few days, the Bishops, as recognizing what it should be: an expression of the life of faith that is aware of both: of the dignity of man, which is supported by the program Church, to witness God in this world, but also about the finitude of man knows that motivates him to recognize the narrow limits of his own strength and the latest live from the confidence that God, not man, brings success.

When the Holy Father was two years ago here in Germany, he urged again and again the fact that the Church for its own, draws from its transcendent divine source the vitality of its water and to fish in troubled waters is credulous and vulnerable to disappointment in the use of the forces of that world. The correct relation of the Church to the world is what he has particularly urged in his keynote speech to us in the Konzerthaus in Freiburg. We now know with more calm than at the time that he wanted to get the correct and important message of his life to bear draw some gift from the wells of salvation and let himself be the salvation of none other than the Lord.

This particular message, in fact, his words and actions during the entire period of his pontificate. The image of man acquires its contours from the belief in God and Benedict XVI. therefore life has a very positive image of people had, for man reflects God as his likeness, and was redeemed and brought home close to God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Particularly, it is the aesthetic forces and reason that characterize the people - and Pope Benedict XVI. would add, his love of wealth. Why he was so happy and passionate theologian: Man, with all the forces of reason comprehend the self-revelation of God and wants to bring to bear. Each of us has guided always by the voice and persuasiveness of the oeuvre of Joseph Ratzinger and take guide us; last well until last Christmas, when he gave us at the end of his Jesus trilogy, the "Prologue" donated to the infancy narratives.

I am sure that the high opinion which the Holy Father cherishes in relation to man, has its basis deeply rooted in the experiences of his parents' home and in the faith life of the young Joseph Ratzinger. The security in a place of love gave to him the core beliefs of his life. More clearly Pope Benedict XVI. always a intuition for the degradation of wickedness and human error. Not that he would castigate sad and tragic developments in persons and society just simply to be denunciatory and unloving. He paid a visit to one of his closest aides in prison once. But he wanted to be clear in his assessments. This concerns the superficialities and turmoil of a society that separates itself from its Christian roots, values, as well as the failure of those who work towards reconciliation and not just peace, but not to let the violence in its many forms run its course. No, Pope Benedict XVI. did not shrink from calling a stop to destructive and hostile forces in the world and the people by name.

All this, however, in the spirit of honesty and self-criticism. Neither has anyone expressed the fallibility and seductibility of the Church itself as he. Honestly, he has spoken of the horrific wounds the priests and other representatives of the Church have inflicted on young people for life, humiliating them by sexual violence. In Rome, and while many of his travels, he found clear words of condemnation for sexual abuse and he was followed by his meeting with those affected by words and deeds.

When Pope Benedict XVI. from the freedom that faith gives, openly addressed the destructive and false sides of society and ecclesial life, yet never in a loud voice, and certainly not in a self-righteous tonality. He wanted - he has said repeatedly - to be a "humble worker in the vineyard of the Lord" and someone who knows about the wonderful power of compassion. Also to the power of compassion, for us as an example, were in my mind, the beautiful words during the Milan Family Congress in 2012 when he talked about how much it drives him, that in modern society, it has become so fragile and difficult for the family living together and all concerned that the Church has been close as brothers and sisters. Truth, clarity and compassion are three pillars of thought and action that remain to us from the present in a special way in this pontificate drawing to a close. How infinitely difficult it can be to be merciful, Benedict XVI. at last must see himself as he was deceived in the closest circle of his confidants and he did not even begrudge him this important place of protection and personal familiarity.

The Holy Father knew to make political points, especially in the context of his travels. As examples I will mention only the trips to Poland, where he, the pope from Germany, also visited the Auschwitz concentration camp, or his stay in the Middle East, especially in Israel and Palestine, or even in the United States and in Australia. Just as the Holy Father has made in relation to the ecumenical approach of the churches and communities, he never wanted for bold action and initiatives. This particularly affects the Orthodox churches, especially Russia. The great religions received the Pope and they have thanked him, especially the Jews and the world of Islam.

Not everything Pope Benedict XVI. has attempted has succeeded. He received the criticism and has an infinite number, of so many tense interrelated expectations of so many from around the world which he could not meet, of course. That is to say, implicitly and part of the honesty which Pope Benedict XVI. desired and practiced. In the act of turning to SSPX For example, he has invested a lot of energy and could not reach the goal. Their lack of understanding, he is just as exposed as the disappointment the other on the other side of the ecclesiastical spectrum, expecting certain ecclesiastical reforms. [Unlike the Jews and the Muslims, of course, or his own alleged contrition in the face of his own failings to implement desired reforms in the liturgy, and the ongoing withering German Catholic Church.]

Pope Benedict XVI. has suffered greatly. But he has steadfastly and consistently exercised his ministry in the knowledge that he on behalf of another, a greater man, stands. He has worn in imitation of Christ even hostility and injustice. In his speech to the beginning of the week the Roman Pope has asked for leniency for all its flaws. I would ask as Chairman of our Bishops' Conference to the Holy Father reversed pardon for any errors that may have been committed in the area of ​​the church in Germany against him. Above all, I'm making a spokesman for the many millions of people in Germany and all the faithful who feel a very big thank you for his service: who feel spiritually from him nourished and in faith effort supported, and the his ministry as the Good Shepherd and bridge builders as great experienced. I want to thank you very emphatically say nice that our Holy Father has nourished our pleasure to be Catholic and to find a home in the church, which can not take a death and no power in the world to us.

COME WITH ROME to the last general audience with Pope Benedict XVI: 26. to 28 February. Bus ride from Linz, Salzburg and Innsbruck. More info here: http://www.kath.net/detail.php?id=40069

Outgoing Tip: 'We' have never been pope! Rend your hearts!

The Next Pope Will Decide on the SSPX: No Ultimatum

Edit: The decision won’t be made by laymen who work for secular or allegedly Catholic news services, heterodox senior clergy or anyone else who doesn’t have the competence to make the decision. No doubt, those older hands, with a little professional advice, will help the next pope, provided that Pope Benedict doesn’t recant his abdication before February 28th at 8pm. As reported by the Society German District and at English DICI, there will be no “ultimatum” as prescribed by lesser lights. There is no deadline. As VIS reports:

Regarding the issue of the Society of St. Pius X, he reaffirmed that the date of 22 February to decide the issue is pure hypothesis and that Benedict XVI has decided to entrust the matter to the next Pope, therefore, a definition of relations with that society should not be expected by the end of this pontificate.

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.

The Church’s Enemies Lick Their Chops at the Resignation of Pope Benedict XVI.

The singularity of Pope Benedict’s decision has awakened the greed of the anti-Rome circles.

[kreuz.net] At the Consistorium of the 11th of February 11th 2013, Pope Benedict XVI announced to the assembled Cardinals his abdication of the Petrine Office entrusted to him on April 19th 2005, as “my powers in consequence of advanced age is no longer enough, in order to execute the Petrine Office in a reasonable way”  -- it was probably the most unusual step, which one could expect from a Pope.  But perhaps not only from a German Pope,  who also saw the last days of John Paul II, and experienced the marked limitations and personal sufferings first hand.

Interpretation of Duty


This is where the German interpretation of the virtue of duty (and the understanding of their physical incapacity) on the interpretation of his predecessor, whose longtime personal secretary and present Archbishop of Krakow, Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, put it clearly: “One does not climb down from the cross!”

The Holy Father had drawn only a small circle into his confidence about himself, making his decision after repeated examination of conscience before God. Even for Cardinal Angelo Sodano, the Dean of the College of Cardinals it was "a bolt from the blue," German Cardinal Meisner was "totally shocked": "The ministry is indeed a kind of fatherhood. The father indeed one remains one all of his life.”

Nevertheless, the step is the Pope as sovereign over Christendom is respected per se as legitimate - if he was right, however, we do not know.

Greed of the Anti-Clericalists

That of anti-clerical as well as inner-church anti-Roman side now tries falsely to conjure a desacralization of the papacy, which is only an expression of their political will.

So for example, one of the leading Italian Freemasons, Ernesto Galli della Loggia of all people, tries to get a foot in the door to the Vatican: "If it is possible, namely, that a pope resigns - and a centuries-old practice at the highest summit were overturned - then so other innovations are possible. Then, just as other age-old practices … may be overthrown. “

Galli speaks to the Curia, the mode of determination of the next pope: "Can not ... the election of a pope be subject to a handful of old male oligarchs ...? May the power of the Congregations still be in their own hands? Is it acceptable that there is still a boil that exists like the IOR, the Vatican Bank? “

These violent attacks by the representatives of an organization that is not suspected of being in too close proximity to Rome to show one thing: The fact that it has not yet managed to establish themselves in the Curia, and that the Vatican Bank (probably one of the few banks) is not controlled by them - one should rather look after the scandal of the Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena and its ousted (Masonic) CEO Giuseppe Mussari and the role of Mario Draghi, the current ECB chief.

Greed of the Flower Children

In a similar horn blow the Left-Catholic anti-Roman troops are summoned, who now bring their remote corny jokes out of mothballs from the time of 1968 again: women priests, "opening oneself" for democratic structures of localism (trans. media-driven election of bishops) that the Church of Rome has to "get away from the Roman centralism” reconsidering abolishing the celibate clergy, and “allowing open, humble, compassionate, especially to the people who live differently than the equivalent officially-ecclesiastical doctrines"(remarried divorcees and Homo-erroneous).

The path of Pope Benedict XVI.
But just as the pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI. has taken the right and opposite way to the aforementioned: The recovery of the tradition of the Church (with its fiercest advocates, the SSPX), and a return to the core of the faith.

What the Church needs the least, is a self-secularization by political functionaries and transparency afforded by the media, as the gateway to the Vatican.
Link to kreuz.net...