No Christmas in Bethlehem? The Christians Rebel

Bethlehem With Traditional Lights in 2015

(Jersualem) The Palestinian Authority has asked all of the West Bank to cancel all public Christmas festivities. There is nothing to celebrate, it is said, referring to the continuing violence in October between Palestinians and Israelis, which has already claimed 147 deaths.

Palestinian Authority and Tanzim militia: "There's nothing to celebrate"

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Bethlehem also had to bow to political pressure - at least partially. "That right  in Bethlehem, the town where Jesus was born, Christmas must only celebrated quietly, is a sad absurdity," said the Catholic weekly magazine Tempi.

The Tanzim militia, the armed wing of Fatah, called for by the municipality of Bethlehem, that erected in the square in front of the Nativity this year no Christmas tree and no crib, no Christmas lights set up in the square and in the streets, no Christmas concerts and also  the traditional fireworks will not be set off. The Tanzim militia was established in 1995 by Yasser Arafat as a counterweight to the propagating among Palestinian Muslims Islamism of Hamas. It bases its claim on the new Intifada. As long as Israeli soldiers, police and special forces kill Palestinians, "there is nothing to celebrate."

Bethlehem had a Christian majority until a few decades ago. Through the establishment of the State of Israel and the Jewish-Palestinian conflict there was a different demographic development, the Christians are now in the minority. Due to an internal Palestinian agreement between Muslims and Christians, Bethlehem has nevertheless in Vera Baboun a Christian mayor. It is thanks to Baboun's stubborn resistance that despite the conditions in Bethlehem   Christmas will be celebrated publicly in 2015.

The fireworks and the Christmas concert of the tenor Andrea Bocelli were cancelled. The Christmas lights will be only reduced. Only the two main streets are illuminated. But Baboun made the Chistmas trees on 5 December visible for miles around  (see picture)  and made the manger big. The traditional procession from Jerusalem to Bethlehem will take place on 24 December.

The procession is as usual to be led by the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Fouad Twal, led and crosses on the wall  built by the Israelis. The Christmas procession connects the two cities, which lie within sight and played a central role in the life of Jesus. "The birth of Jesus took place already facing Jerusalem, where he suffered death, but is risen. The two cities are inextricably linked," says Jamal Khader, the rector of the Latin Patriarchate in Bethlehem.

"It is impossible for Christians to Cancel Christmas"

"We are in a critical situation," said Mayor Baboun to the press. "But it is impossible for a Christian to cancel Christmas. And it is   mandatory for Bethlehem to celebrate Christmas. "Even Jamal Khader, Palestinian Christian and known peace activist, stressed that it was "unthinkable" not to celebrate Christmas. However,  Khader showed understanding that it should happen this year publicly if being somewhat subdued. "We can not hide what is happening currently. Here you are going to lose the hope of a future of peace."

Mayor Vera Baboun fights tenaciously for Christmas, but because of the majority this has its limits.  Ekram Juha, her office manager, took the sentiment towards the Washington Post to the point: "I am disappointed. I can understand if you restrict the festivities somewhere, but not here in Bethlehem. If one restricts Christmas here, where Jesus was born, it has a spiritual dimension. It relates to the sacred. Apart from this we have lived for many years under difficult conditions, yet the festivities have always taken place."

A "miracle" that Christians endure in Bethlehem

The latest "miracle of Bethlehem," said La Repubblica, it is that Christians remain in Bethlehem, persevere in the birthplace of Christ, even though they have been harassed, threatened and attacked by gangs of young Muslims. And that yet they celebrate Christmas in defiance of orders."

When Bethlehem was partitioned in 1948,  when the UN authority proclaimed the State of Israel,  its population was made up of  85 percent of Christians. The Muslim share was 12 percent. The birthplace of Jesus through all the centuries had been a sheltered place for Christians. Because of the political situation and the economic problems, Christians migrate and Muslims have more children. 20 years later, 1967, the majority was overturned.Today Christians are  only 12 percent in the city. The Christians fear to be displaced entirely in 20 years from Bethlehem. A "land Mafia"  is using tried  criminal methods, violence and official networking to drive the Christians from their land. Since the 90s, also takes place Islamization of Palestinian Muslims.

Text: Giuseppe Nardi

Photo: Tempi

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

Link to Katholisches....

AMDG

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Papal Critic's Press Credentials Restored for Year of Mercy

(Rome) At the beginning of the Holy Year of Mercy on 8th December, the Vatican expert Sandro Magister  was accredited back the Holy See Press Office.

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The accreditation was Magister last June been withdrawn after the weekly magazine L'Espresso, for whom Magister works, published the eco-Encyclical Laudato si  by Pope Francis  a few days in advance and thus disregarded the Vatican embargo. Magister insisted that publication had been decided by the editor in chief, yet he lost his approval after 41 years.

The punishment was also seen related as related to Magister's critical attitude to the pope. Observers spoke of a reprimand of an internationally known papal critic.

Only on December 4, Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi SJ had been asked if, in the context of the Jubilee Year of mercy, about  the case Magister and a possible change of attitude. Lombardi responded with a "We'll see."

On December 9, Magister was informed of the new re-registration by Lombardi, but it was made public only today.

Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Image: MilTrans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
Link to Katholisches...
AMDG

The 68 Revolution and Its Consequences: The Year of 1968 Had the Fewest Children

The 1968 Revolution, the German People and Empty Cradles

(Berlin) statisticians and demographers have calculated: "The year 1968 had the least children." This was announced in Die Welt  in an edition from last week. 1968 is regarded as the crucial "year of change", the significant outcome of this year made  the world today is as it is. With the left-wing student protests of May 1968, the long-term profound cultural, political and economic changes were introduced. Three significant consequences are the demographic collapse, mass immigration and the weighty church crisis. It was then that the decisive year took on a more significant prominence, for  1968 became  the year in which  women have borne the least children. It's a fact of a symbolic nature. 

The following considerations relate to the Federal Republic of Germany, but also apply to the other German-speaking countries and more or less include  other Western European countries.

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The God of Surprises: Papal Audiences and Events Dwindling at Christmas

Edit: this is a photo taken from Osservatore Romano by Caminante of a General Audience on December 5. Their editorial has some interesting observations, as papal audiences shrink to lower than expected numbers.  People aren't breeding like rabbits any more...and that the Romans  are beginning to grow tired of their Argentine cousin.

 Thanks Rorate.

(Image by L'Osservatore Romano, selected by the Argentinian blog Caminante Wanderer Revisited.)

The Slovenian People Resoundingly Reject Aberromarriage

In Slovenia, citizens have rejected same-sex marriage  - and declared themselves against the equality of homosexuals.  Opponents of the law received, according to the State Election Commission, more than the legally required number of 342,000 votes.

The Slovenian parliament had allowed same-sex couples  the right to marry and adopt children nine months ago. The conservative opposition and the Catholic Church had then forced the vote. The vote was also declared by them as a vote of no confidence against the government of Miro Cerar, who proposed permits for marriages of homosexuals.

Church and opposition groups rejected the law because it threatens traditional values ​​in their view. Opponents argue that only a relationship between man and woman could give children a happy upbringing.

BRK / dpa

Link to spiegel...

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

AMDG

Opus Dei Greg Burke Will be New Deputy Vatican Speaker

Greg Burke Will be the New Deputy of Vatican Speaker Father
Lombardi

(Rome) In recent days there have been rumors that Father Federico Lombardi SJ would be replaced as the Vatican spokesman and might be replaced by a layman, was  already the case  under Pope John Paul II.  in Rome. At that time, the Spaniard, Joaquin Navarro-Valls was the Vatican spokesman.

The rumor has not been confirmed, but a change of the Vice Vatican Spokesman has been announced.  So far, the Passionist Father Ciro Benedettini from the tiny country of San Marino is Lombardi's deputy as the Vatican spokesman. Father Benedettini was introduced in 1994 by Navarro-Valls in the press-service, and appointed in 1995 as deputy director. After 20 years there is now a change. Until January 31, 2016 Father Benedettini  will hold this office. From February 1, the American Greg Burke will be  Lombardi's new deputy.

Greg Burke began in the 1980s as Rome correspondent of the weekly National Catholic Register, from 1994 he was in the same function for  Time Magazine and from 2001 for Fox News. In 2012, he was appointed under Benedict XVI.  as Communication Advisor to the Vatican Secretariat of State. The appointment was seen in the context of ongoing criticism about inadequate public relations of the Holy See and a bad media image of the German pope.   Critics then held   the then Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone responsible for this.

Will Greg Burke Really be Vatican Spokesman?

Then came the unexpected resignation of Benedict XVI. and with Pope Francis everything seemed quite different. It was said that Burke was held in disgrace  because of his appointment by Benedict XVI. membership of the Opus Dei by the new Church leadership. Indeed,the American had become silent, even before he could put the expectations placed in him to the test. Senior Communications Adviser Burke got his own office at the Secretary of State but his exact field of responsibility was not defined.

With his appointment as deputy Vatican spokesman, these voices have been proven wrong, while those  who predicted that the Jesuit Lombardi would be replaced by Burke in 2012  have received new confirmation.  Father Lombardi has been Vatican spokesman since 2006.  In August 2017, he will be 75 years of age.

Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Image: Famiglia Cristiana (Screenshot)
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
Link to Katholisches...
AMDG

Osservatore Romano Pans New Star Wars Film With Anemic Review

Edit:  at last.  Probably the insufficiently Catholic Stephen Greydanus is responsible for the review.  And even more unfortunately, if you're looking for any deeper moral insights or a condemnation of the film's pantheistic, Gnostic universe, don't bother with Osservatore.  Why does anyone read it, really?

Osservatore is probably even more anti-Catholic than the LA Times.

[LA Times] An organ of the Vatican has slammed the new "Star Wars" film as a thorough disappointment because its villains are not sufficiently evil.

The Vatican's daily newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano, has given a dismal review to "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," even as it breaks box-office records.

While the Vatican might have been expected to sing the praises of any "Star Wars" film, given the series' depictions of the battle between good and evil, the latest installment, directed by J.J. Abrams, drops the ball on sheer badness with a crop of unconvincing villains, the non-bylined review claims.

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/herocomplex/la-et-hc-the-vatican-star-wars-force-awakens-review-20151220-story.html

Cardinal Dolan Takes Pope's Cue to Promote Gender Ideology

Edit: Cardinal Dolan is a little too eager to win acceptance for an unholy manner of life.

 Recently, the Cardinal was caught covering for one of his fellows, and being cavalier about the faithful laitys' complaints against a reprobate priest who was apparently thieving from church funds to pay for debauchery and wickedness for about a decade. 

Complaints by the laity are finally being heard and it looks like the Archdiocese, if not Dolan himself, is being blackmailed by the priest in question, because he witness a child being sexually abused. There's a lot more to this.

As ChurchMilitant observes, Dolan is more than eager to fire and reprimand those who are either traditional, or concerned about what's going on in his diocese.

Clearly, he should resign.

His support for gender ideology is reaching the international press:

Pope Francis says the issue of gay marriage should be studied and not dismissed out-of-hand, a senior Roman Catholic cardinal has revealed. 

Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the outspoken archbishop of New York, said Pope Francis had told him: “Rather than quickly condemn them, let's just ask the questions as to why that has appealed to certain people." 

Archbishop Dolan stressed that the Pope had not shifted the Catholic Church’s position on same-sex unions.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/10688421/Pope-says-Catholic-Church-should-not-dismiss-gay-marriage.html

Cardinal Dolan must resign.

HT to previous commenter.

AMDG

Church for Muslims -- Parish Hall for Holy Mass

Bremen-Wotlmerschausen: Catholic Parish Church
Transformed as Refugee Center for Muslims

(Berlin) The Church as a multifunctional hall. Some churches serve as exhibition halls, others as dining rooms for Christmas dinner, feeding the poor or charity galas, and still others as a cultural centers for lectures and discussions, and more recently some are used even for refugee accommodations. This is also the case in Bremen-Woltmershausen. The Catholic Church of St. Benedict was rebuilt at public expense into a refugee camp for Muslims.

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From the 330 square meter church  "small residential units with around 20 square meters" were built, reported the Weser Kurier .

In the former Catholic church some 40 Muslim refugees are to be moved. The Bremen Senator for Social Affairs, Anja Stahmann inspected the renovated and repurposed church  today with some Muslim refugees and considered the effort to be extremely successful. A Catholic church which has been  rebuilt for Muslims,  it is at last  a sensible use. Green Party politician said, "which is lived charity". Surely, you must know, yes.

For now, the Catholic parish has  made the church available for a year. "Worship should be celebrated in this period in the parish hall," said the Weser Kurier. Why   the Muslims themselves shouldn't   move into the community hall so that the liturgy, the nature of the parish community, can be celebrated in the purpose-built church, was not a quetion asked by the newspaper.

Church made available for a year as a refugee accommodation 

"Sacred objects like the altar and the wall Cross remain in the Church", because, according to the newspaper, after one year the church is expected to "be used again for worship". Whether the church was profaned liturgically, Pastor Johannes Sczyrba would not say. He and his parish are rather proud to be the first Catholic community, "which has made their church available, only for a certain time as a refugee accommodation." 

The church was built after the Second World War, as 15 million Germans were brutally driven from East Germany and linguistic enclaves in eastern Europe, which increased the number of Catholics in Bremen. The church was built in 1966 and established as a parish in 1993. Today St. Benedict's is only a

The church was built in 1966 and built in 1993 as a parish. Today St. Benedict is only a filial church  of a larger regional parish.

Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Image: Wikicommons

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

Link to Katholisches...

AMDG

Grieving Parents Call for Reform of Corrupt Benedictine Abbey in Minnesota

Edit: back in March, we took notice of the almost unanimous absence in local reporting of the abuse and suicide of Ben Spanier, and the man who most directly caused it, the Prior of St. John's Abbey, Father Tom Andert, now on leave of absence.  Andert was subsequently placed on restriction and relived of his duties pending the investigation.  When the story of Andert's dismissal broke, the local news media completely ignored Ben's very credible accusations and his death, covered almost exclusively in a blog by a former alumnus of St. John's Preparatory School.

Only yesterday, National Public Radio, itself born at Collegeville, did a piece about Ben's parents, who are calling for a change in the "culture of secrecy" at St. John's Abbey.  It's not clear what is meant by this, but the sincerity of his grieving parents and the contempt with which they've been treated by the Abbey is very real, indeed.

To date, no one is calling for the resignation of Abbot John Klassen who has consistently lied to protect predators and preserve the atmosphere of heresy in collegeville.  Those who were very vocal in calling for the resignation of Archbishop John Nienstedt, like the dissident St. John's alum, Father Mark Tegeder, are completely silent now.

How a story like this could be passed over in the local Catholic and secular media is truly a thing to behold.  We hope this call for reform isn't a call for their kind of reform.

[NPR] His parents say his problems began 20 years earlier, when he was a student at St. John's Prep in Collegeville. They say their son wasn't the same after he began spending time with the Rev. Tom Andert, a prominent priest who was placed on leave earlier this year for a separate allegation of sexual misconduct. 

The Spaniers say they're coming forward now because they want the culture at St. John's to change. Ben Spanier had attempted suicide before. His father, Eric, will never forget picking up the phone that night in 1994. On the other end of the line was the Rev. Tom Andert, the head of the boarding school at St. John's, where Ben was a junior.
"I answered the phone," Eric Spanier said. "He was calling from the emergency room in the hospital, so it was a shock." 

He said he was relieved the priest was there to care for his son.

Please Pray For Father Tim Finigan!

[Hermeneutic of Continuity] Claud Cockburn won a competition with colleagues at the Times for the most accurate yet boring headline "Small Earthquake in Chile, not many Dead." I am reminded of this when trying to calm friends and family down over what happened to me in the wee small hours this morning.

I had a minor heart attack. One of the doctors did use that expression, though a young nurse who spoke to me later was versed in the new terminology of "cardiac episode" which makes me want to think up a script for Doctor Who. I'm not dead, but the experience of not being able to breathe properly does help to sharpen up one's focus on those meditations of St Alphonsus. Perhaps my many repetitions of the prayer "that we may not be surprised by a sudden and unprovided death" got me off this time.

I have been x-rayed, injected, and given a cocktail of drugs that has brought my blood pressure down to an impressively normal figure. I have wires connecting my chest and a bleepy machine. The hospital food is actually edible and as everyone knows, despite the crazy and wasteful management of the largest employer in Europe, the staff are wonderful.

http://the-hermeneutic-of-continuity.blogspot.co.uk/2015/12/a-minor-cardiac-episode-and-my-view-for.html?m=1

Czech President: "Europe and Islam Are Not Compatible"

PRAGUE The Czech President Milos Zeman has spoken out against  Muslim immigration to Europe. "We respect the Islamic countries and their beliefs, as long as its inhabitants do not come to Europe. Because as soon as they come to Europe,  two cultures collide that are not compatible with each other," he said  in an interview with the state news agency TASR. Muslims have yet to have been assimilated in any European country. This proves the incompatibility of Islamic and European culture.

The EU Member States, urged Zeman, should rather invest more in securing the EU's external border than in the reception of refugees.

His country would have received no  asylum seekers,  had they not gone through secure countries before arriving in the Czech Republic. "To bring this stream of refugees under control, means not only to have  the police but also the army sent to the borders and in order to encourage the return of illegal immigrants. Precisely for this reason, because we are not the most secure country  for them," quoted the Austrian news agency APA Zeman as saying. (KRK)

Link to ...

AMDG

Crosses Have Been Removed from Information Signs to Montmartre in Paris Metro

(Paris) The separation of church and state is ironclad state doctrine in France. It means that there is no place for religion in the public sphere. This goes so far that crosses are removed from signs.

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The corresponding State law has applied already for 110 years.The Régie Autonome des Transports Parisiens (RATP) shows particular zeal in this. It is the state-owned enterprise, which is responsible for public transport in Paris. The RATP operates the Paris metro lines, trams and buses, rapid transit routes and the funicular to Montmartre.

Last spring, RATP was willing to accept advertising for a benefit concert of "Les Prêtres" in favor of the persecuted Christians in the Middle East only after protests.The image of Catholic priests was a nuisance to the corporate director.  Last summer, the sign of Sacre Coeur Basilica on the RATP had the crosses removed from its domes and towers.

At the metro station Anvers, which is the closest to Montmartre,  signs with the stylized silhouette of  the famous Sacred Heart Church appear and passengers can  get out there when they want to visit Montmartre. Neither the principal dome nor the side domes  or the facade towers show a cross.

Stylizations minimize the details. The crosses would but increase the recognizability in the particular case. Above all, are the crosses are the central component of the object being advertised. But Christian symbols are a problem for the RATP.

Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Image: Mil

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

Link to Katholisches...

AMDG

The Destruction of the Church in the United States Long Prepared at Benedictine Monastery

Saint John's Abbey, Heresy in Stone

Edit: the Remnant is a newspaper produced fortnightly which has, "For nearly fifty years we have been fighting in defence of the traditions of the Catholic Church and the proclamation of the Kingship of Christ. In print or online, The Remnant calls a spade a spade no matter who is using it to bury God."  Despite being so long in the trenches, they only seem to have first come across nearby St. John's Abbey as the source of trouble just this year. They seemed horrified by the recent national news item which recounted one of the many sexual predators of Collegeville who claimed to have had 200 sexual partners, but still managed to wax nostalgic about the Matt family visits with one of the founders of the so-called "Liturgical Renewal," Father Virgil Michel, and asked incredibly, "what happened?"

Alas, the Remnant doesn't see the connection between the hideous architecture of the campus, the evil of her monks,  Michel, Vatican II and the aftermath.  It's not a controversial statement to say that Father Virgil Michel was one of the forerunners of Vatican II.

We could go so far as to say that he even laid out the praxis in so far as he put his erroneous liturgical notions ad experimentum, using the local laity of Sterns County and the environs as guinea pigs.

Eponymous Flower doesn't normally link to Diocesan newspapers, particularly ones of poor quality like the Catholic Spirit, but the following article really does accurately describe many of the actors which prepared the Archdiocese and indeed, the United States, for Vatican II.   Some of the actors in the article are more guilty than others, some have misgivings, others ascribe to Vatican II things it did not call for or address, but they were all in one way or another, advocates, whether they lived to see the results or not, of a disastrous situation for the Church and the world.

Oratio pro Summo Pontifice -- 79th Birthday of Pope Francis

(Rome) The Catholic Church leader celebrates his 79th birthday today.  A partial indulgence is connected to a prayer for the Pope,  and thus has a double effect of grace.

Pope Francis was born on 17 December 1936 in Buenos Aires as the son of Piedmontese immigrants. As a child he grew up with his grandparents  who lived a few meters away from the parental home. His native language is actually Italian as the Pope has explained in interviews. Spanish he learned as soon as he came out of the house and had contact with the children of the neighborhood and at school.

Pope Francis was elected on March 13, 2013, after his predecessor, Benedict XVI., had unexpectedly resigned his office on  28 February of the same year. Benedict XVI. now lives in largely seclusion in Mater Ecclesiae convent in the Vatican.

Oratio per Summo Pontifice

Oremus pro Pontifice nostro Francisco.

Dominus conservet eum, et vivificet eum, et Beatum faciat eum in terra, et non tradat eum in animam inimicorum eius.

Oremus.

Deus omnium fidelium Pastor et rector,
famulum tuum Franciscum, quem pastorem Ecclesiae tuae praeesse voluisti, Propitius respice:
as egg, quaesumus, verbo et exemplo, quibus praeest, proficere:
ut ad vitam, una cum grege Sibi Credito, perveniat sempiternam.
Per Christ, Dominum nostrum.
Amen.

Picture: Wikicommons / Pietro Perugino: Christ handing the keys to Peter (1481), Sistine Chapel
Link to Katholisches...
AMDG

Archbishop Lori Doesn't Give a Damn for His Flock: Cares More About "Human Dignity"

Edit: it's not like he really cares about the Catholics living in the countries being targeted by Islamists, despite his claims to the contrary, which include Rome. Did you see the story about the Muslims who attacked soldiers at St. Mary Major screaming "Allah Akbar"? All of this fits nicely with a story previously put here on the increasingly menacing presence of Muslims in St. Peter's and Rome itself, where Muslims proselytize. Well, if the Pope won't do it, who will?

We wonder if there were any clerics of his stature in the Church who advocated this kind of accommodation when the Crusades were being preached. It's a good thing we had St. Lawrence of Brindisi instead of him.

(Vatican Radio) The Chairman of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ ad hoc Committee on Religious Liberty, Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore, has added his voice to a growing chorus of Catholic Church leaders appalled by the suggestion – which came from a candidate for the nomination of the Republican Party in the United States in the 2016 presidential election – of using a religious test to exclude people seeking to immigrate to the United States.

In an exclusive interview with Vatican Radio, Archbishop Lori reiteratedsentiments first expressed while he was attending a conference at thePontifical Urbaniana University in Rome earlier in December - a conference specifically focused on the persecution of Christian religious minorities. “Certainly we have to guard our borders," Archbishop Lori told Vatican Radio, "certainly the government has to see to the security and the safety of its citizens – no one doubts that – but it raises the greatest of alarms when we do so on the basis of a whole religion.”

“To say, ‘You can’t come in because you are a Muslim,’ – that certainly is a denial of human dignity, it’s a denial of religious freedom,” Archbishop Lori continued, adding, “and it is, I think, very unfair in its characterization of Islam.”

Final Report on Synod is Out in English

Edit: NCR says it's "remarkably strong". Incredulous:

[NCR] For the English-speaking world, the Ordinary Synod on the Family just came to a formal end, two months after its actual end, with the release of its final report in our native tongue.  

The world was gleefully told by the enlightened—again and again and again—that it looked as if the Church was finally going to join the modern age by surrendering to the self-evident verities of the sexual revolution. Giddy at the prospects of Pope Francis’ supposed reforming spirit, the gay community’s leading magazine canonized the Holy Father as their “Person of the Year” before the Synod even started. While this chatter of reformation made the heterodox hopeful, it made the orthodox anxious. But all that is over now and there’s a very good reason that you’ve not been blasted with the news of the synod’s conclusions. It not only dashed the hopes of those who hoped the Church would jettison its historic and biblical teaching on sexual ethics, it blew them to hell.

http://m.ncregister.com/blog/gstanton/the-synods-remarkably-strong-final-report/#.VnF8ZzK9LKA

Evil German Bishops and Theologians Demand Synodality

Edit: they are pretending that they ever did anything other than what they wanted to do anyway. 

[Distorter] Pope Francis has "given the bishops' synod back its freedom" so that this freedom not only applies to the synod but "particularly to the participation of the laity at consultations on the future of the faith," German Cardinal Karl Lehmann of Mainz said at a three-day international theological congress entitled "Opening the Council -- Theology and Church under the Guiding Principle of the Second Vatican Council" Dec. 6-8 in Munich.

The church's synodal structure must be strengthened at all levels, Lehmann said, adding that Francis has made repeated appeals for a synodal church. For Lehmann, who was ordained during the Second Vatican Council and became Karl Rahner's assistant, this "synodality" was more important than possibly holding a Third Vatican Council. There are great opportunities for the church in a globalized world as long as it discards its centralist approach, he emphasized.

The council decrees have not always been adequately applied or implemented, Lehmann said. The fact "that we didn't take the societal changes that occurred after Vatican II, most particularly those of 1968, and the deep effect they had on people, seriously enough," was one the church's gravest failures.

http://ncronline.org/blogs/ncr-today/synodality-must-once-again-become-structural-practice-church-german-cardinals-and

Italian Police Confiscate Fake Papal Blessings

ROME (Reuters) - Italian police have confiscated about 3,500 counterfeit parchments bearing blessings by Pope Francis and being sold to pilgrims in Rome, authorities said on Monday.

The bogus parchments, with elaborate lettering and pictures of the pope, were found in the printing shop of a souvenir store near the Vatican, and the proprietor was charged with producing counterfeit goods, a police statement said.

It said the parchments were printed in Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and English and had an overall value of about 70,000 euros ($77,168).

http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSKBN0TX1WG20151214

Father Sommerville Passes Away

[Vox]Father Stephen Somerville passed to his eternal reward last night, (December 12, 2015) around 11:00 P.M. Father was a retired priest of the Archdiocese of Toronto. He recently suffered two serious strokes, he was 86.

Father Somerville was also a musician and composer. He wrote the Good Shepherd Mass for the English liturgy in 1965 which was adapted in 1970 for the bowdlerised Gloria and Sanctus and then corrected back by St. Michael's Choir School in 2011 with his permission. I enjoy every opportunity to sing his Responsorial Psalms in CBWII which are finely crafted based upon his authority in chant at St. Michael's Choir School. Last weekend was the 50th anniversary of his first conducting of the Tenor/Bass Choir of St. Michael's at the annual Massey Hall Christmas Concert. I have great memories of singing Handel's Messiah standing beside him in the Bass section a number of years ago in Etobicoke and singing his corrected Gloria translation (later modified by the Choir School) with him at the piano just a few years ago when visiting him at St. Bernard's Convalescent Home. Father Somerville was also the Chaplain on the set of Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ.

He was well-known as "Canada's liturgist" having participated on the International Committee for English in the Liturgy (ICEL) which translated the Missal of Paul VI into English from the original Latin. It is important to know that the English translation used from 1965 to 1969 of the modified 1962 Roman Missal was a faithful translation. The Novus Ordo Missae was translated by ICEL using a translation method called dynamic equivalence. Father John Zuhlsdorf began his blog from years of writing in The Wanderer highlighting the grievous textual errors in the Missal, now corrected, and which still exist in the Liturgy of the Hours.

http://voxcantor.blogspot.ca/2015/12/father-stephen-somerville-requiescat-in_13.html?m=1