Bishop Pontier, new president of the Bishops' Conference of France is a Freemason

Edit: here’s a google translation from Riposte Catholique. I’m not sure how this doesn’t get into the news. The Grande Oriente of France, the lodge to which Bishop Pontier belongs, has a very strong left inclination. Not that it would be better if it were rightist. Most prelates are silent about the subject of Freemasonry, but this prelate doesn’t think it’s problematic in the least, further proof that Bishop’s Conferences, if any were needed, are worse than worthless.  Here’s a google translation with some editing:

POSTED ON APRIL 17, 2013 BY MAXIMILIAN BERNARD IN BISHOPS , IN A , PEREPISCOPUS

The Archbishop of Marseille was elected after three ballots, after which he received a majority of two thirds of the French bishops. He will succeed Cardinal Vingt-Trois, who reaches the end of his two non-renewable mandates, June 30.

Member of the Priestly Fraternity Jesus Caritas, which is connected with the spirituality of Charles Foucaud, Bishop Pontier, also has broken links with the political world. Aged 70 years (born May 1, 1943), thin and discreet, Archbishop Pontier, from the Tarn, was ordained a priest in 1966 in Albi, then Bishop of Digne in 1988, then to La Rochelle and Saintes and finally Marseille, he is archbishop since 2006.

In 2009, he praised Islam during Ramadan:

"Who has not communed with the periphery of the Muslim community without knowing. Community is made visible at Ramadan the habits acquired in our country. Christians have at heart to discover the values ​​by this pillar of Islam and express their friendly closeness to the Muslims who live among us. "

He also chaired the Episcopal Committee France-Latin America (CEFAL),whose orientation is clearly in favor of liberation theology.

On the Taubira law, he stated his opposition and invited the Christians of his diocese to "train, discuss, argue ...", write to elected officials. He chaired the committee "Studies and Projects" of the episcopate, to examine the issues.

In his Who's Who of the bishops, Golias gave the maximum score (5 bolsters) to Bishop Pontier and explained that “he would one day become president, although he is too far to the left for the taste of many of his colleagues". And besides Golias, the Grand Orient of France welcomed his election for his (“rather fraternal, generous, and open views …")

Pontier Bishop is a member of the Grand Orient of France. [Emphasis ours.] He would even attend further meetings regularly. Questioned by the faithful on the subject during a pastoral visit, Archbishop Pontier has never denied that membership is still contrary to the law of the Church.

He will be assisted by two Vice-Presidents, Vice-Presidents:

-Bishop Pascal Delannoy, Bishop of Saint-Denis and until now President of the Episcopal Council and Finance Committee on Economic, Social and Legal Affairs of the CEF.

-Archbishop Pierre-Marie Carré, Archbishop of Montpellier and until now President of the doctrinal commission of the CEF.

Link to Riposte Catholique...

SSPX Addresses Bishop Williamson’s “Resistance"

We present here in 3 parts a public conference given by Fr. Daniel Themann on April 16 at St. Mary's, Kansas, which answers some questions from the so-called "Resistance" concerning the SSPX's recent discussions with Rome.

Fr. Themann carefully outlines necessary principles for properly understanding the situation while contrasting examples of Archbishop Lefebvre during his own talks with the Holy See, particularly of what led up to the "May Protocol".

CDs of the conference are available from:

Immaculata Bookstore  St. Mary's, KS
1-800-724-6862   info@immaculata.com

Belgium: Archbishop Venerates Our Lady as He’s Attacked by Anarchists

Edit: this isn’t the first time Archbishop Leonard Mutien has been attacked by the disciples of impurity. At another point, he was assaulted by a pie. The effeminate attack was launched against the Archbishop, whose communications director quit in a fit of rage earlier over the comment, because he said that AIDS “was a form of intrinsic justice”. I think now is a good time to point out that the good Archbishop, whom we’ve described in the past as the Lion of Belgium, is still there doing his job, despite a few faithless colleagues and a vicious anti-Catholic press.

What was also interesting about the press coverage from newscom.au is that the journalist accused the Archbishop of kissing a water bottle. It’s just one more of those times when the things Catholics do escape the basic understanding of profane minds. Actually, the Archbishop kisses a plastic image of Our Lady, which had been blasphemed by the Femen anarchists who attacked him with the water within. It’s a particularly touching image to see him so reviled and full of love.

Institute of the Good Shepherd: Ecclesia Dei Imposes Commissar Administrator for New Election

(Bordeaux / Rome) Nine months after the elections for the appointment of a new Superior General and a new General Council of the traditional Instituts du Bon Pasteur and the subsequent internal conflict is now before the decision of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei. The Commission, which is under the Institute since 2006, has appointed a provisional administrator, who has a mandate of six months. Its mission is to prepare new elections for the governing bodies at this time and carried out under his supervision. The Institute of the Good Shepherd was made up of former members of the Society of St. Pius X. and established that because they no longer wanted to endorse their canonically irregular status.

The Institute, based in Bordeaux, is in contrast to the SSPX, recognized as a society of Apostolic Life of Pontifical Right of the Church in 2006 and placed under the Ecclesia Dei Commission.

In spring 2012 a visitation of the Institute by the Ecclesia Dei Commission came to the election of the Institute. The visitation by the then-Secretary of Ecclesia Dei, Monsignor Guido Pozzo, had caused quite a stir and considerable unrest in tradition-bound circles. It had been put out as an example within the SSPX, as a reason why the Brotherhood should not agree to any agreement with the Holy See. Rome had demanded and required of the Institute an appropriate consideration of the Second Vatican Council in priestly formation, to reconsider the categorical exclusion of the celebration of the New Rite and to recognize the Catechism of the Catholic Church in its 1997 edition as the authoritative compendium of Catholic doctrine.

At the General Chapter on 5 July, a new Institute's director was chosen for younger members, who were critical of the Roman terms. The New Superior General, Father Roch Perrel, however, was a choice that was disputed by the founders and former Superior General, Father Laguérie, due to procedural deficiencies in Rome. In one of his first acts as prefect of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, Archbishop Gerhard Ludwig Müller appealed which took place on the 30th of July 2012 and ordered the repeat of the elections.

This recent decision of Rome dealt at first sight with neither of the two warring sides fairly. They also denied the claim of Abbé Philippe Laguèrie to continue to be the rightful superior general. Elections under Roman supervision will provide clarity and bring peace back to the Institute. Long periods of time are considered problematic, in which ambiguity and uncertainty prevail: first nine months until the decision of Rome and now another six months to the elections. The majority of the Institute, it was possible, despite the adverse circumstances, to be faithful to the the founding charism with the necessary peace and serenity. This solid foundation made possible the growth in the Institute by new entrants and seminarians in the last few months.

Text: Giuseppe Nardi Image: Institut du Bon Pasteur Translation: Tancred AMGD

Bishop Fellay Lays the Cornerstone of New Seminary

On the 20th of April, Msgr. Bernard Fellay, the Superior General of the Society of St. Pius X, laid the cornerstone for a new seminary and blessed its bell.

Jesus not found outside the Church, Pope preaches

Edit: Wow!

April 23, 2013 1:34 PM Posted by Tom
Jesus not found outside the Church, Pope preaches



By Estefania Aguirre

Vatican City, Apr 23, 2013 / www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/jesus-not-found-outside-the-church-pope-preaches/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+catholicnewsagency%2Fdailynews+%28CNA+Daily+News%29&utm_term=daily+news

(CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis said that people cannot be fully united to Jesus outside of the Church during a Mass to commemorate Saint George, the saint he is named after.

“You cannot find Jesus outside the Church,” he said April 23 in the Apostolic Palace’s Pauline Chapel.

“It is the Mother Church who gives us Jesus, who gives us the identity that is not only a seal, it is a belonging,” he declared in his homily.

The pontiff spoke about Christian identity as well as persecution, making it the sixth time in two weeks he has mentioned those who suffer for the faith.

Speaking about the Gospel reading for today from Saint John, Pope Francis underscored that “the missionary expansion of the Church began precisely at a time of persecution.”

“They had this apostolic fervor within them, and that is how the faith spread!” he exclaimed.

It was through the Holy Spirit’s initiative that the Gospel was proclaimed to the Gentiles, the Pope noted, and the Spirit “pushes more and more in this direction of opening the proclamation of the Gospel to all.”

The pontiff also repeated a line from his April 17 homily in St. Martha’s residence, when he emphasized that being a Christian is not like having “an identity card.”

“Christian identity is belonging to the Church, because all of these (the apostles) belonged to the Church, the Mother Church, because finding Jesus outside the Church is impossible,” he said.

“The great Paul VI said it is an absurd dichotomy to want to live with Jesus but without the Church, following Jesus out of the Church, loving Jesus without the Church,” he added.

Pope Francis said that “if we are not sheep of Jesus, faith does not come” and that it is “a rosewater faith and a faith without substance.”

The Pope also commented on Barnabas, who was sent to Antioch and was glad to see that the grace of God had encouraged people there to remain true disciples.

“Let us think of the consolations that Barnabas had, which is the sweet and comforting joy of evangelizing,” he preached.

“Let us ask the Lord for this frankness, this apostolic fervor that impels us to move forward, as brothers, all of us forward,” he remarked.

Both Syrian Bishops Released by Rebels

(Damaskus) Two Syrian Bishops who were kidnapped yesterday, the Syrian-Orthodox Bishop Yohanna Ibrahim and the Greek Orthodox Boutros Yazigi should be free again and released in Aleppo. This was reported by by the Orthodox Partriarcate to Reuters. Already this afternoon there was a report released by Arabic section of Catholic News Service Zenit. Zenit states that the release had been made possible through negotiation by "the head of the Russian Orthodox Curxh, the Greek Foreign Minister and the UN special envoy for Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi".

From Aleppo there has been no report this far. In any case the communication with the embattled city is difficult. The report of the release has been released by another important source, the Oeuvre d’Orient, a Christian relief organization from France, which traditionally has good contacts to Syria's Christians. "According to our Surian sources both bishops were released around 2pm and can be found in the Greek Orthodox Church of St. Elias of Aleppo", is what the Internet site of Oeuvre, that was "pleased" over the release of the Bishops. "At the same time the relief organization condemned the murder of the Syrian-Orthodox Deacon, who was driving the car for both bishops.“. The perpetrators had shot him immediately at the time of the abduction..

The Oeuvre d’Orient appealed to the international community of nations, to work for the release of two abducted priests who have been held for months at an unknown location.

Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Bild: Missionline

http://www.katholisches.info/2013/04/23/die-beiden-in-syrien-entfuhrten-bischofe-sind-frei/

[Update] Bishop Williamson Visits the “Resistance” in Germany

(London) Bishop Williamson, who was expelled from the Priestly Fraternity of St. Pius X. , wants to visit Germany in the next few days. He wants to meet priests and laity of the SSPX to encourage them to break away. The plan seems to include the consecration of a chapel in a small monastery in houses. Similar to the Carmelite Sisters of Brilon, the chaplain   had urged the separation from the Fraternity of St. Pius X, but took place  years ago, because the Society of St. Pius X. rejects sedevacantism.

Bishop Williamson is to visit also the sisters in Brilon Forest, which recently by parted from the Society of St. Pius X. Another stop is expected to be Wigratzbad. There was recently a priest in the 25th Year of his consecration a sedisvakantistische community, about over 50 people.  Previously, he worked for the Society of St. Pius X. believers in Überlingen. In Constance, he founded the club Saint Thomas Aquinas  and V. to get established. He has  been the Spiritual Director of the monastery for years  in close contact with the sisters there and he preaches the spiritual exercises regularly. He left the Society before, but returned once more to her. For some time he hasn’t prayed  for the Pope during Holy Mass, which was viewed very critically by his superiors and confreres.

Bishop Williamson is expected to be a private visit to Ober-Ramstadt, where he attended a newlywed couple, originally from him in a chapel of the Society of St. Pius X. wanted to get married. This was forbidden by the German District Superior of the Society of St. Pius X, Father Franz Schmidberger, whereupon the Prior of Rheinhausen wed the couple.

The dispute between the leaders of the Society of St. Pius X. and the situation around  Williamson continues to escalate. A splitting or separation of this group is imminent. At a wedding, which took place recently, a German Prior openly criticized the Superior General of the SSPX, Bishop Bernard Fellay as a “traitor". The same has been said by a priest during last year's Pentecost pilgrimage. Observers interpret this as a threat of force to impose the upper a particular opinion without wanting to leave the SSPX itself.

Many priests were present at the aforementioned wedding who had left the SSPX years ago, well before the talks with the Vatican and priests who left the Society recently and officially denounce the present course of the Fraternity as "modernist". Some of these priests, went after their departure initially, surprisingly to communities standing close to the Vatican, but left it again quickly to seek out "vagantes".

Laymen, who  openly position themselves sedisvacantist, earned a  ban by the German District Superior. You may in specific cases currently still receive the sacraments in the chapels of the SSPX, but not distribute leaflets and not to incite unrest. Such measures are nothing special and were immediately imposed by district leaders since the founding of the SSPX.

 Layman who’ve been banned are supposed to have co-organized  Bishop Williamson’s trip. Bishop Williamson is clearly testing how much and what kind of support he can expect in Germany.

Most of the "priests in the resistance"  were already expelled years before for disobedience and intemperate criticism of superiors. Transfers and composition of priory communities were often the main points of criticism. Whether the "resistance priests” themselves are under an authority or establish their own initiatives where they are the only authority themselves remains to be seen.

Since the "theological" justification for the "resistance" moves on thin ice and the talks between the Vatican and the Society of St. Pius X. seem to be misinterpreted, the conflict provides the current [? Father Firmin Udressy?] superior of the German district, Father Franz Schmidberger, more on a personal level: described the behavior in a preface of his newsletter in April 2013 as  "stubbornness, self-righteousness, condescension, addiction to criticism, false dialectic, mockery and malice".

The Society of St. Pius X. has endured since its inception from attacks on the top, on the one hand of progressives, on the other side from sedivacantists. Therefore regular articles on the part of the SSPX are regularly published like Rightful disobedience to authority and Mgr Lefebvre: About the negotiations with Rome.

Bishop Williamson extended the position of sedevacantism for weeks in his periodical Eleison Comments  and the direction begins to differentiate itself from Archbishop Lefebvre. Presumably he is trying to found the St. Marcel Center of the global initiative to expand sedevacantism the future.

Since its founding in 1970 by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, the Society of St. Pius X  has lost two or three priests per district every year,  because they were dissatisfied with their superiors, or they were excluded because they refused, “to pay their rightful leaders  due respect and obedience. "

The SSPX claims to have 569 priests worldwide according to its report in 2012. The number of faithful, who are connected to it should include, according to Cardinal Darío Castrillón Hoyos in 2007, about 600,000 people, including 100,000 in France. Other sources mention 150,000 followers.

Blogs and forums of "resistance" currently claim there are  22 priests who are supposed to be associated with this initiative worldwide.

Bishop Williamson was convicted in January in Regensburg court on the charges of incitement for a fine of 1800 Euros.The district court justified the relatively small fine with the fact that Williamson currently enjoys no income according to the court. Williamson is appealing against the judgment before an appeal.

[Update 17:06 clock: Williamson's visit in Germany is making the process of reconciliation between the Society of St. Pius X.and the Vatican enormously difficult, if not halting it entirely, which is most certainly his intention.

He writes in his column of 9 March ""We think that lifting the excommunications would set in motion an irresistible process of drawing closer, with a view to an agreement between the Holy See and the SSPX, or at least an agreement with a large part of the SSPX priests and faithful." Comment: indeed the friendly contacts between Rome and the SSPX were setting such a motion in process in January of 2009, and only an outburst from within the SSPX of the most horrible heresy of modern times - "anti-semitism" - stopped that process. But either Catholic reconciliation with Vatican II is no problem, or one has to say that that outburst was providential, because it also stopped, at least for a while, the false reconciliation.” In the article published in February’s column he writes: And historical truth goes by evidence, the most reliable kind of which is the material relics of the past, because these are in principle quite independent of human emotions.

Bishop Williamson is indifferent, in his own words, to whether his statements could be used in Germany or not, even if he refrained from publishing his words, because he pursues another goal with the help of Holocaust "denial", namely the torpedoing of the talks between Rome and the Fraternity. This intention should correspond to the so-called Dolus eventualis, according to which the offender holds for the possible success of its commission as a result of the seriousness of his actions and condones it to hazard the conditions and accept it. In other words, Bishop Williamson has deliberately committed a crime as a provocation in order to achieve a different purpose, the torpedoing of the talks between Rome and the Fraternity.

That Bishop Williamson cites in this context on the one hand the truths of divine revelation, and on the other hand sees his actions as inspired by the Divine Providence, it is an interesting insight into his state of mind.]

Text: Linus Schneider
Photo: Jens Falk

Link Katholisches...

Socialist France Rushes to Sign Own Death Warrant

Edit: Socialist Prime Minister Hollande who has breathlessly rushed the passing of pernicious and immoral legislation amid growing popular dissent,  will probably signed the execrable legislation into “law”, if such can be done.  We also think it will be done.



St. George, pray for us!

Eucharistic Miracle in Argentina: The Parish and the Parish Priest

Edit: previously we addressed an alleged Eucharistic miracle confirmed by Pope Francis. One of the readers requested to know where the priest and his parish. It's Fr. Alejandro Pezet of the parish of Jesús Misericordioso de Rosario de Lerma in Buenos Aires. Here are some photos we present without comment which were taken from his Facebook profile, although we will say that it does seem that he’s very interested in a kind of Lifeteen Ministry.

One thing we will note is that the Host fell to the floor while someone was receiving It in the hand, as noted by the Diocesan investigator Doctor Zugibe. We still don’t know what became of the “sample” or of any further miracles associated with this phenomenon.

French Traditionalists Accused of Anti-Semitism

Edit: no good deed goes unpunished and even acts of charity are chastised and scrutinized by totalitarians in France as one report has it, at least one judge has some native common sense. Some people just don't have any concern for social justice:

Paris (Reuters) The mayor of Paris condemned the ruling and urged the police to appeal the ruling.

"Faced by this initiative which stinks of xenophobia, I want once again to express city hall's desire to fight all forms of discrimination, racism and anti-Semitism," mayor Bertrand Delanoe said in a statement.

The food handouts are organized by a nationalist group called Solidarity of the French (SDF). It says its "pig soup," which uses pork fat for stock, is country fare much loved by French traditionalists.

http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSL0226439620070103?irpc=932

Parisian Police Beat FSSPX Priests: Catholic priests pummeled by the Regime!

Edit: here’s the video from Gloria.tv, which, despite the beating it’s receiving in Europe from the German Bishops’ Conference, is still putting out the good news. We found this video at a Peruvian Traditionalist El Sacristan Serrano, he goes on to describe this story with the title, “More than words”. It’s already got almost 10,000 hits on it. The SSPX priests were present at the demonstration Manif Pour Tous on April 19th, and were very roundly beaten, knocked to the ground and kicked.

Meanwhile, as Mundabor reports, the Society is begging the Holy Father not to let souls perish. They write a passioned letter by Bishop Fellay to Friends and Benefactors:

We beg Heaven and the authorities of the Church, in particular the new Supreme Pontiff, Pope Francis, Vicar of Christ, Successor of Peter, not to allow souls to perish because they no longer learn sound doctrine, the revealed deposit of the faith, without which no one can be saved, no one can please God.

What good is it to devote oneself to serving people if one hides from them what is essential, the purpose and the meaning of their life, and the seriousness of sin that turns them away from it? Works of charity done for the poor, the needy, the infirm, and the sick have always been a true concern for the Church, and we must not excuse ourselves from it, but if it becomes merely man-centered philanthropy, then the Church is no longer carrying out her mission, she is no longer leading souls to God, which can really be done only by supernatural means: faith, hope, charity and grace. And therefore by denouncing anything that is opposed to them: errors against faith and morality. Because if people sin, for want of that denunciation, they are damned for eternity. The Church’s reason for being is to save them and to help them avoid the misfortune of their eternal perdition.

Syria: Franciscan Church Utterly Destroyed

Edit: an increasingly US brokered war continues in Syria as Catholics and Orthodox Christians are being driven from the land.



Damascus, 22/04/13 (Kipa) The Franciscan church and associated monastery in the Syrian town of Deir ez-Zor were destroyed in a violent explosion. This was reported by the Vienna-based foundation "Pro Oriente", citing the Vatican's Fides news agency on Sunday. Speaking to the press agency Tony Haddad said, the Franciscan Church was until then the only remaining undamaged Christian house of worship in the city on the Euphrates. It remains unclear how the church was destroyed.

Eyewitnesses reported that rebels entrenched in the Church, following which government soldiers took the church under attack. There is also the version of a car bomb.

Haddad revealed his bitterness about "so much hate and disrespect.” The religious explained that there are no more Catholics. Recently had left together with the Mother Teresa Sisters and about a dozen residents of a nursing home, the city in view of the critical situation of the two in Deir ez-Zor, and just recently was Franciscan Fathers. They were the last surviving Catholics at Deir-ez-Zor. Haddad is nevertheless optimistic: "The church is made of stone and can be rebuilt one day will begin in the spring of Middle East peace." (Kipa / cap / on)

Former Papal Master of Ceremonies Open to Aberrounions

Archbishop Piero Marini: "Yes to civil rights, no to the equivalence to marriage". On the new Pope: "The Church experiences hope after years of fear"

ANDREA TORNIELLI VATICAN CITY



"It is necessary to recognize the union of persons of the same sex, because there are many couples that suffer because their civil rights aren’t recognized. What can’t be recognized is that this union is equivalent to marriage". Archbishop Piero Marini, delegate for Eucharistic congresses, said this yesterday in an interview given during the IV National Eucharistic Congress in Costa Rica. Marini was answering a question about the secularity of the State.

Marini, 70 years old, was the master of ceremonies of John Paul II for a long time and also accompanied the beginning of Benedict XVI's pontificate. In the interview he talks about his relationship with Wojtyla and the sensitivity of the Polish Pope. And he also speaks about the new Pontiff. "It’s a breath of fresh air; it’s opening a window onto springtime and onto hope. We had been breathing the waters of a swamp and it had a bad smell. We’d been in a church afraid of everything, with problems such as Vatileaks and the paedophilia scandals. With Francis we’re talking about positive things". With the new Pope, added Mgr. Marini, "there’s a different air of freedom, a church that’s closer to the poor and less problematic".

Link to Vatican Insider...

France: Not Thousands, Millions March in the Streets to Defend the Ancient Institution of Marriage

If it took a woman to drive the English out of France, it may take another woman to drive out the Socialists.


Edit:    Again, another Manif Pour Tous is upon us as millions of Frenchmen take to the streets to protest against the destruction of their civilization. This time, some news media have anticipated the event and are even beginning to acknowledge its significance. A broad base of support is present, starting with the Catholic Primate of France, Cardinal Vingt-Trois, the main organizer who inspired and gave the event such traction, Frigide Barjot, Muslims, Republicans and the whole spectrum of modern France has shown up to defend an ancient and enduring institution.

Here’s a picture of Frigide as she dons her helmet with a very telling suggestion as to her own personal allegiance.  In our enthusiasm, please allow us to suggest comparisons with other militant female saints:

The Valiant Frigid Barjot "The Eucharist:
 More than a Symbol"

 Photo source.

Indeed, according to French Wiki, she defended Pope Benedict against the media onslaught when he was being attacked for pardoning the SSPX in 2009.

Her petition «Touche pas à mon Pape» gathered over 32,000 signatures.

Meanwhile, millions of the Frenchmen have staged a demonstration in the capital, Paris, in a valiant and continuing effort to block a ridiculous bill on aberro-marriage. Which touches on the issue of numbers. Many people don’t like the idea of gay Paris being a focus of such “retrograde” ideas, so the press is being accused on Gallia Watch, and other places as well, of manipulating the photos. I think it’s indisputable that this is taking place, even the article we’ve sourced here bellow says that there will be merely thousands participating.

Opponents of gay marriage took to the streets in Paris on Sunday, carrying French flags and pink and blue banners which represented the colors of the Demo for All group, the spearhead of the movement against the legislation.

“We're here for children's rights. We don't want the state to be complicit in a child being deprived of a father or a mother,” said a French woman during the event.

The French parliament is expected to pass the first article of the bill, which allows same-sex couples to marry and adopt children, on April 23. The upper house of the French parliament approved the first article by 179 votes against 157 on April 9.

Link to soure..

Cardinal Schönborn Criticizes New Legislation to Attack Church’s “Privileges"

Chairman of the Bishops' Conference criticized controversy in the context of the referendum and refers to positive role of religions for public

Vienna (kath.net / KAP) , Cardinal Christoph Schönborn (photo) has spoken for a more objective discussion about the fundamental question of the role of religion in the public sphere. It was "a simple matter to argue against certain groups and to stir up envy," as is currently done to the Church, noted the Cardinal in his column in the daily newspaper “Heute" on Friday and criticized that "in the context of the 'Anti-Church-Privileges referendum' much was said that was frivolous."

In contrast, the Chair of the Bishops’ Conference maintains that in Austria "all religions before the law have equal rights and duties" and the Catholic Church does not enjoy "special privileges" over other religions. "The good cooperation between state and religion in Austria is exemplary throughout Europe," says Schoenborn.

Biases and deficits in the debate are ascertainable from the perspective of the cardinal if the "huge wealth" of the Catholic Church is considered. Schönborn: "Then I would reply: Yes, the Church is 'filthy rich', rich in stone witnesses of the Christian culture of our country, which must be maintained. Did you know that the Church pays more in value added taxes for the renovation of its churches and monasteries, than they get in government subsidies?"

Overlooking numerous services of the Church to the community Cardinal Schönborn said, "It's true: the public sector financial support to Caritas, the Church's hospitals, the denominational schools but it pays here for services that would be much more costly for the tax payers, the state would have to provide these services themselves."

Link kath...

Spanish Anarchists Set off Bombs Against Catholics and Bishop

[International Business Times] An anarchist group has targeted prominent Roman Catholics in Spain using bombs hidden in boxes of sex toys.

Two devices were sent by the anti-clerical Pro Sex Toys group, according to Spain's EFE News One agency, concealed amidst vibrators.

They targeted the archbishop of Pamplona, Francisco Perez, and the headteacher of a private school belonging to the ultra-conservative [sic] Legionnaires of Christ movement in Madrid.

One bomb exploded in a postal sorting office, leaving a member of staff with slight injuries.

"Please accept our apologies," the group said in an email sent to an anarchist website at the beginning of last month. "Next time we won't fail.”

The archbishop told EFE that he vaguely recalled receiving a package that contained powder that police removed. "We didn't give it much importance, but later it was said to be a bomb," he said.

The same group is believed to be behind a number of other attempted bombings.

Recently a bomb inside a pressure cooker left outside a public prosecutor's office was detonated by bomb squad officers.

Another bomb containing a gas canister, shrapnel and explosive powder planted in Madrid's Almudena Cathedral also failed to explode.

The anarchists, who use other names such as the Artisans Club for New Uses for Coffee, claimed to have made a bomb out of an espresso coffee machine packed with gunpowder and shrapnel that was planted at a bank branch, though they did not reveal where.

Police in Spain believe the group probably only has five members, but authorities have expressed concern that extremist groups could take advantage of widespread disillusionment as unemployment in the country hits 26 percent.

Link to article...

The Church Must be Free From Moralism and Ideology

Francis Pearl of the day: The ideologues end up being talentless intellectuals, moralists without goodness. Purity of heart is simple and leads to the path of repentance. Call to Prayer for the Church. By Armin Schwibach

Rome (kath.net / as) The Word of God must be humbly accepted, because it is a word of love. Only then it can enter into the hearts of people and change their lives. With these words Pope Francis turned in his homily for the Mass on Friday of the third week of Easter, to the congregation in the Vatican Guest House "Domus Sanctae Marthae". In the Eucharist, some employees of the Vatican printing press and the newspaper "L'Osservatore Romano" participated.

The Conversion of St. Paul and the discourse of Jesus in the synagogue of Capernaum were based on the readings of the day (Acts 9:1 to 20; Jn 6:52 to 59) the center of the short homily the pope concentrated on the speech of Jesus: Jesus speaking to Saul, who persecuted him, he spoke to Ananias, whom He would call to take Saul, and he was also speaking to the teachers of the law. To them he said: "Who does not eat my flesh and drink my blood, which will not be saved."

The voice of Jesus "goes through our mind and reaches the heart. For Jesus seeks our repentance." Paul and Ananias replied, astonished, but with an open heart. They "respond like the big history of salvation, like Jeremiah, Isaiah. Moses also had his difficulties, 'Lord, I do not understand it, talking about how I should go unto the Egyptians, and tell them that?' And Mary, 'sir, but I'm not married!' This is the response of humility, the response of those who accept the Word of God with the heart. The teachers of the law, however only answer with their heads. You do not know that the word of God goes to the heart, they know nothing of repentance."

But who are those that respond only from the head? Francis said: "These are the great ideologues. The word Jesus goes to the heart because it is the word of love, the beautiful word that love brings, which can love us. The ideologues who "cut the path" even the path of beauty. And they discussed sharply among themselves, 'How can this man give us his flesh to eat?' All of it: a problem of the understanding! And if the ideology feeds into the Church, when the ideology enters into the understanding of the Gospel, it understands nothing. "

There were dealing with those people who follow the "path of duty": "this is the moralism of people, who claim to realize the Gospel only in what they have understood by the mind." Thus, they are not engaged "on the path of repentance, Jesus invites them to take that way".

More than that: "On the path of duty, they load everything onto the shoulders of the faithful. The ideologies distort the gospel. Each ideological interpretation which may come from each side, is a distortion of the Gospel. And these ideologues - we have seen in the history of the Church - they then end up to being talentless intellectuals, moralists without goodness. And we don’t really talk about beauty, because we do not understand it.“

The road of love, however, "the road of the Gospel is simple: it is the path understood by the saints."

"The Saints put the Church ahead!”, said Francis at the end of his sermon: "The road of conversion, the road of humility, of love, of the heart, the beauty of the road ... Let us pray to the Lord for the Church today: Lord deliver them from any ideological interpretation and open the heart of the Church, our Mother Church, and for the simple Gospel, for that pure Gospel that speaks to us of love, that brings love and is so beautiful! And it also makes us beautiful, we, with the beauty of holiness. Today we want to pray for the Church!".

Link to kath.net...

Priest Shortage is Not the Fault of the Council -- The Cause is Older, Virtual Council Led to Outbreak

(Rome) "The decline in priestly vocations, which followed the Second Vatican Council, is attributable in no way the Council nor its partly dubious reception. It is necessary to recognize that the crisis had been that there were deeper and older roots” and that the conciliar reforms have likely curbed the destructive consequences. This was written by Mauro Cardinal Piacenza, Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy in the new book Presbytero Ordinis 50 years later. It is the first volume in a new series of books on the Council documents that the traditional Catholic publisher Cantagalli (Italy) has presented on the occasion of the 50 years since the opening of the Second Vatican Council.

The Cardinal, again recovering, then takes up that contradiction between the "real" and "virtual" council, which Pope Benedict XVI. stressed shortly before his resignation. The real council as an expression of the church is tangible in the Council documents and only there, the virtual council, however, is in an artificial world of expectations, interpretations and projections of the people’s own thoughts of that time and the post-conciliar period. According to Cardinal Piacenza these parallel perceptions of the council have been made apparent during and after the Council, the crisis of the priesthood, of the tens of thousands of priests who abandoned their priesthood and by the continuing lack of vocations, whose causes then are already traced to the time before the council.

In a New Book Series Cardinals Conciliar Documents Before - start priests decree by Cardinal Piacenza

Each volume of the new series is dedicated to a document of the Council and is published by a cardinal. That of Cardinal Piacenza (216 pages) contains the conciliar document to the ordained priesthood in Latin and Italian, the comments to be presented by the editor. The series is not aimed at a specialist audience, but to a broad readership. The publisher writes that it "will look to the teachings of the Council documents themselves, by dispensing ideological or special interpretations" of it. It is hoped that the publisher "to help the youth" to discover the "big event, which had marked the history of the Church of the 20th century” and “without adopting a one sided treatment of its legacy.” In view of the "not so young", the publisher hopes that this “will renew the joy of experiencing new enthusiasm and missionary zeal of the conciliar years.”

As far as the publisher publisher. In its commentary on the Council document, which deals with the priesthood, Cardinal Piacenza writes: "If sociologists and religious historians stress that the loss of priests, and the decline in priestly vocations which followed the Ecumenical Vatican Council II, know nothing like this in the history of the Church, not even when you compare it with the Lutheran "Reformation", then this is not due to the council in any way, nor its partially ambiguous reception. "the roots of the crisis of vocations and thus the crisis of the priesthood are older. "The reforms of the Council and also Presbytero Ordinis have curbed the destructive impact," said the cardinal.

Conciliar decree "in full compliance with all the Church's tradition"

The Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy noted then that in an analysis of the Conciliar Decree it is clear "that the teaching there presented both the sacramental and from the pastoral point of view in full compliance with the entire tradition of the Church and with the dogmatically important councils, including that of Trent, and offered a profile of the priestly identity, which is completely rooted in the sacrament of Holy Orders and is entirely dependent on this, as also touches on the mission."

Piacenza writes in his analysis that “especially in the first decades immediately after the release of Presbytero Ordinis, new forms of exercise of the priestly office were sought, which would correspond more to the needs of contemporary culture and are more efficient from the missionary point of view. This search, however, had not a little one-sided result in the hearts and minds of those addressed that would allow that secular standards enter into the horizon of faith, and thereby took newly evangelized world again to recover with a completely secular faith, often entire communities. “

Toward every reform “the criterion must stand measured above all others: is the salvation of souls"

The cardinal affirmed that "every authentic renewal in the Church is not possible without the fundamental contribution of the priests. So it is true that the Holy Spirit is free to form the new face of the Bride of Christ in every era, especially as He gives saints, women and men who are fully satisfied by Christ and therefore are able through their own lives to evangelize and renew the Church and the world, so it does not apply equally, that the priests in their daily and concrete exercise modify their pastoral office for the holy people of God, which is the highest authority demonstrated by the universal Church and in Her as a way of necessary renewal. In this it is not an easy task, says Cardinal Piacenza, “the criterion being measured always above all others: is the salvation of souls. In any reform and its implementation, a key question must always be clear and decisive: Does it help the faith? Does it promote a greater attachment to Christ? “

And Cardinal Piacenza continued: "If this simple and direct criterion would always been applied, there would be neither dangerous, unfounded distortions of doctrine nor nostalgic hardening of questionable missionary benefit."

Text: Giuseppe Nardi Image: Opus Dei Translation: Tancred

Link to Katholisches...

Boy Scouts About to Cave in to Homoheresy

Edit: The Eye Witness made some trenchant observations, and it looks like this is what the Boy Scouts are in for.  We wonder, will there be special badges and Scout manuals celebrating perversity?

(Reuters) - The Boy Scouts of America on Friday moved to partially lift its long-standing ban on gays, with a decision that would allow openly gay youth members but continue to bar gay adults in one of the largest youth serving organizations in America.

If the resolution is approved in a nationwide vote in May, "no youth may be denied membership in the Boy Scouts of America on the basis of sexual orientation or preference alone," Deron Smith, the organization's spokesman, told Reuters.

The report found religious groups linked to the Scouts were concerned with homosexual adult leaders not with youth and concluded "a change in the membership policy specific to youth only would be consistent with the religious beliefs of the BSA's major chartered organizations."

Gay rights groups want the ban lifted for youth and adults and the proposal immediately drew criticism.

Link to Reuters…

Contacts:

Donor-advised funds, charitable trusts, bequests, and other types of major gifts for Scouting:

Stacy Huff, director, stacy.huff@scouting.org 

Colin V. French, director of administration, colin.french@scouting.org 

Victor Korelstein, major gifts director, victor.korelstein@scouting.org 

Dustin Farris, major gifts director, dustin.farris@scouting.org 

Chris Blum, major gifts director, chris.blum@scouting.org 

Drew Glassford, major gifts director, drew.glassford@scouting.org 

Chris Redo, major gifts director, chris.redo@scouting.org 

Diane Smith, donor relations specialist, diane.smith@scouting.org 

Robin Kresge, administrative assistant, robin.kresge@scouting.org 

Boy Scouts of America
National Council
P.O. Box 152079
Irving, Texas 75015-2079

Phone

972-580-2000

Fatima and the Third Secret -- Why is Pope Francis Having the 97 Year Old Secretary of John XXIII Come to Rome?

(Rome) Is there a Marian reading of recent church events? Antonio Socci focuses on this question in the news daily Libero (April 14). Pope Benedict XVI., who sees his powers dwindling  and does not feel strong enough to face the challenges of the time announced his resignation on the 11th February, taking place on the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes,.

His successor, Francis is elected on March 13 , a date that commemorates the apparitions of Fatima. In the small Portuguese city, the Mother of God appeared between the 13th of May and 13th of October on the 13th of each month before three children. The 13th Day of each month is Fatima Day in  Catholic piety  and thus is a Marian date.

Sister Lucia of the Immaculate Heart,  which was the religious name of one of the children, wrote down the Third Secret of Fatima in 1944 after much reluctance. Only when she was stopped from writing expressly by her bishop, she got the call. The minutes were kept by the Bishop of Leiria, since 1957 and they are located in the archives of the Congregation for Doctrine and the Faith in Rome. Each newly elected Pope is shown the content of the the Third Secret by the time of his inauguration.  Only in 2000, did Pope John Paul II  order the publication of the secret to counteract speculation about a near end of the world or a third world war.

Much has been puzzled about the Third Secret of Fatima, about "a Bishop dressed in White”, which was written of by the Sister Lucia dos Santos, one of the three seers: "We had the idea that it was the Holy Father.” 

Pope John Paul II referred to the prophecy when he and the then Secretary of the Congregation, now the Cardinal Secretary of State, Tarcisio Bertone, made to reveal the third secret in the Holy Year in 2000 by the then Prefect of the Congregation of the Faith, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger. In the belief, which was granted to the shepherd children by Our Lady, they saw that the white-robed Bishop is killed by soldiers. In 1981, a few months after the assassination attempt on John Paul II by the Soviet hired assassin Ali Agca, Cardinal Ratzinger, the previous Prefect of the CDF, Franjo Cardinal Seper, had made a connection between the vision and  the Pope surviving the severe injuries inflicted by the attack . The attack was on May 13th was committed on the day of Fatima. The Pope ascribed his salvation to the Mother of God.

Early on, however, there were doubts whether the publication was complete. Due to past testimony of several top church officials, several lines seem to have continued to be kept secret. However, doubts were also placed on the interpretation. Among others, it was the Austrian Bishop Kurt Krenn of Sankt Pölten, who publicly reported a little later about such doubts of Joseph Ratzinger. The Prefect of the CDF had therefore been of the opinion that the prophecy was not referring to the assassination, but had a far greater dimension. One dimension that concerns the whole Church, as well as the popular intuition showing in the murder of the other bishops, priests and lay Catholics. So the Third Secret concerns future events that have yet to occur.

Recently, the question is raised whether the words referred to the resigned Pope or to his successor, who likes to call himself "Bishop of Rome".

Francis saw how Pope John Paul II had a special devotion to Mary. The Mother of God is Francis' first "escape" from the Vatican on the day after his election, when he went to venerate the icon in the Papal Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, and also prayed at the grave of Pope St. Pius V.  In his first Angelus in St. Peter's Square, he mentioned Fatima.  About two weeks ago  Pope Francis surprisingly called  Archbishop Loris Capovilla.  The now over 97 year old, retired Curial Archbishop was the first secretary of Pope John XXIII from 1958 to 1963.  On Easter Monday, the 1st of April, the phone rang. The Pope was personally at the other end and told Capovilla  he wanted to meet with him. The Monsignor promises soon to come to Rome, where he has not been any more since the beatification of John XXIII on 3 September 2000.

The reason it is said that the old prelate was to be placated, that  the Pope wanted to say thank you for a brochure that Monsignor Capovilla had written for the Year of Faith and Cardinal Comastri had given to the Pope. The Pope’s call merely to say thanks for a brochure was not convincing in the least for a set of Vatikanisten.

Capovilla was the last topic of conversation, because he talked about a memorandum that Benedict XVI. had written for his successor. The Vatican denied the allusion. At the meeting of the two Popes in Castel Gandolfo, in any case, a box full of documents and a large, sealed envelope was seen.

"Why has the Pope contrived to want to see  the former secretary of Pope Roncalli in the first month of his pontificate and at he exclusion of the public? What was so urgent?” asked Antonio Socci.

On the 7th of April the Patriarch of Lisbon, Cardinal Jose Policarpo of the Portuguese Episcopal Conference, of which he is chairman, announced that Pope Francis had asked the patriarch to consecrate his pontificate of Our Lady of Fatima. The consecration will be on 13 May, taking place on the 96th Anniversary of the apparition.

Is Pope Francis talking with Archbishop Capovilla about the Third Secret of Fatima? He, therefore, is making him come to Rome, as the timing of the announcement made shortly after he consecrated  as his pontificate to Our Lady of Fatima suggests? What does the Pope think or know related to the prophecy and the future of the Church? What must we expect?

Text: Martha Weinzl
Picture: Fatima

Translation: Tancred

Link to Katholisches… 

Additional background on Antonio Socci’s work…and Cadinal Capovilla...

Hans Küng Hopes for Rehabilitation

Hans Küng hofft auf Rehabilitation

(Hannover) The Tübingen Theologin and church critic Hans Küng hopes to be rehabilitated by Pope Francis. “It would be a sing for many, that injustice can be made good”, said the 85 year old for Hannoverschen Allgemeinen Zeitung on Thursday. He hopes that this “will still happen in my lifetime.” The German Bishops’ Conference had withdrawn Küng’s ecclesiastical permission to teach in 1979. He denied, among other thins, the Dogma of Papal infallibility. Küng is the president of the foundation Weltethos, which he recently resigned for reasons of age.

From Katholisches...

Photo credit...

France Braces for New Demonstrations Against Aberromarriage on Sunday

The Das christliche Konzept der Menschenwürde sei in Frankreich nicht mehr als ethische Referenz anerkannt, sagte der Pariser Erzbischof, Kardinal Andre Vingt-Trois, bei der Frühjahrsvollversammlung der französischen Bischofskonferenz

Paris (kath.net/KNA) according to the President of the French Bishop's Conference, Cardinal Andre Vingt-Trois (Foto), Christendom has lost its spiritual dimension. The Christian concept of human worth is now recognized as nothing more than an ethical reference, said the French Archbishop in connection with the the Spring Convocation of French Bishops on Tuesday in Paris. As an example he described the planned introduction of same-sex marriage and of the adoption right for homosexuals, whose backers advocate not recognizing the difference of the sexes.


Vingt-Trois called upon French Christians to actively address their faith in daily life and to change society in this way long term. The various month long demonstrations of different social groups against "homosexual marriage" was described by the Cardinal as "the echo of our point of view". The bishops are meeting till Thursday.

From Wednesday the French National Assembly are deliberating in a second address about the controversial legal project for the legalization of same-sex marriage. The independent association "manif pour tous" has renewed in the meantime it's calls for a demonstration against "homo-marriage" on Sunday in Paris.

On Friday the French Senate had consented in its first deliberation in any case to adopt more alterations to the legislative text. Already since the middle of February the French National Assembly had drafted in its first deliberation passing with a large majority. Then when both parliamentary chambers have agreed to the entire text, then it can go into power. According to the wish of Socialist President Francois Hollande the new regulations will go into effect in the first half of 2013.

Séance d'ouverture de la CEF - Discours d´ouverture de l´assemblée, prononcée par le Cardinal André Vingt-Trois, Président

From the “Egomenical” Council to the Homosexualization of the Church -- Ariel Levi di Gualdos

 (Rome) He is young and combative, his life was a struggle between Judaism and Christianity, he decided for Jesus Christ and became a Catholic priest. The talk is of Ariel Gualdo di Stefano Levi, born in 1963. He is a student of the Jesuit Peter Gumpel, a priest of the Diocese of Rome and has the fire of a convert. He is the author of several books and editor of the theological journal series Fides Quaerens Intelletcum. In 2007 Erbe Amare, il secolo del sionismo (Bitter Herbs: The Zionist Century) appeared, 2009 Nada te turbe, 2011 E Satana si fece Trino relativismo, individualismo, disobbedienza. Analisi sulla Chiesa del terzo millenio (And the devil makes ​​himself triune. Relativism, individualism, disobedience: An Analysis of the Church of the third millennium).

The Priest and Jewish convert's writings to provoke

Each of his works is like a cold shower and a heated provocation at the same time. It is this emotional roller coaster Levi di Gualdo wants to achieve in his readers. A tepid middle ground does not exist for him. The most recent book, The Devil Made Himself Triune is a razor-sharp polemic from the priest and theologian, as it is explained in the subtitle. In order to tap the full meaning of the title, it is necessary to resort to the Church Fathers. St. Jerome and St. Augustine described the devil as a monkey god. A monkey aping God to turn things upside down and create a parallel perception to reality.

The book is divided into three parts. The first part is dedicated to the free loyalty and obedience to the Church. The Second Vatican Council was “deformed by the post-conciliar theologians into a egomaniacal Council" and abused as an instrument of apostasy and rebellion within the Church. The neologism of "ecumenical" and "egomaniacal" gives you an idea of ​​Levi di Gualdos militancy.

An Absolutist Mind at all Times is Characteristic of Apostates

Substantiated without circumlocution and with plenty of buttressing, the author assails the progressives in the Church who pretend to be an army of priest and theologian rebels, who are always have their mouths open and are ready at any time to demand "more collegiality and democracy" but to have built true dictatorships in the church at the same time.  "The hegemonic and absolutist mind is not something typically conservative, but rather of the apostates of all time, who gave rise to the worst forms of the suppression of freedom of thought and made the dominant opinion into a forced unity.”

This small army of dilapidated priests in jeans and tie theologians, who have neared to the people of the church, have initiated forms of clericalism, as they had never been before. The consequences were that "after decades of theological and liturgical scurrility, oddities, the churches of the West are half empty, and the crisis of credibility weighs like an executioner's ax on the clergy." The presumption of this modern clericalism was to reduce to the author, God, to an object, which one could impose one's will. "This fact leads to the denial of God as a God who is no longer recognized as the Lord of life and history.”

Bultmann to Ravasi - Is the condemnation of Modernism by Pius X no longer valid?

As an example, the author draws the chapter "From Bultmann to Gianfranco Ravasi," the world of ideas published by Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, president of the Pontifical Council for Culture an "autopsy". Here Levi di Gualdo raises the question of whether the contents of the Encyclical Pascendi Dominici Gregis, with Pope St. Pius X. Modernism condemning it as a synthesis of all heresies would still be valid today. The question is of crucial importance, since many of the Pius X theses condemned today the basis of numerous published theological writings expected to be learned in the theological faculties and seminaries. "The question that arises is: This happens because of the changing historical circumstances that the validity of those condemnations is extinguished, or is it because the soldiers have risen from the belly of the Trojan horse and now frolic inside the walls?”

Levi di Gualdo maintains that Cardinal Ravasi illustrated in the preface to the first, the Italian edition of the first volume of the work, "Jesus of Nazareth" by Pope Benedict XVI. that the use of “real” instead of “historic” is able to contradict what the Pope says in the book. The author sees this as "the usual word game” used by Bultmann and the thesis of the reality of the myth. "A thesis in the preface to the book of Benedict XVI. hurled like a ripe tomato against a white wall. “

Psychological Homosexualization the Church an Epidemic Evil

The second chapter of the book is devoted to the psychological homosexualization the Church, which accounts for the author and held to be far more serious than the pedophilia scandal. In Church history it was made an unprecedented phenomenon in the last decades. Homosexuals have created an internal Church lobby, which they operate with mafia-like methods. This lobby has created a form of clerical Pornokratie and has a negative effect on the life and institutions of the Church. "The request from the Holy See for years has forcefully imposed, not to ordain candidates with open or latent homosexual tendencies, that is simply ignored by many dioceses in which they act contrary to Roman directives. You can not have peace of mind, when severely limited to strict public statements, while a homosexual priest then increases his, in the same proportion as the bishops increase who march parallel to the ideological advance of homosexualization, proceeding in concert with a latent homosexual psychology. Or to put it more bluntly: some seminarians in the seminaries formed "religious brotherhoods” during in the 70s and 80s are today bishops, and no sooner had it, than they have to be first surrounded with like-minded subjects who systematically are placed in all key positions in the diocese, including seminaries where they mutually protect each other and reproduce.”

Rome must remove Homo-bishops - to Crush the Snake's Head

Ariel Levi di Gualdo assesses the decision "to be moved to concrete action: removal of the bishops from their diocese who promote and propagate homosexuals to the sanctuary.” It means that the Church “is to be cleaned of this dangerous homosexual decadent disease," says the Roman priest. "In various dioceses in which homosexuality has come to power, today the heterosexual candidates are excluded from the ordination. If they are already priests, they are discriminated against and discharged by a homosexual lobby. Appeals and recommendations at this point are no longer sufficient, readiness must be to cut the snake off at the head.” The author himself doesn’t lack a sense of humor in this subject. “In view of a blatant case", but this by no means was even a single case where in a diocese "in the last 20 years, eight of ten ordained priests" had “evident operational errors”, then “it suddenly struck me," and I said to the bishop, "he would have rather been consecrated as the prioress of the Discalced Carmelite nuns, as the Reverend Mother was the last man in the clergy of his diocese.”

The third chapter is devoted to the freedom of free choice of the people for good or evil, will be discussed soon.

Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Image: Fides et Forma
Translation: Tancred

SSPX Reaffirms its Wish to Continue to Criticize Vatican II and the New Mass

Edit: The Society of St. Pius X and its Superior, Bishop Bernard Fellay, are reconfirming their allegiance to the spiritual legacy of their founder Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre in their willingness to continue reaffirming the timeless traditions and dogmas of the Church and resisting those things which they say are inconsistent with it, like Religious Liberty, False Ecumenism and Collegiality. Bishop Fellay also identifies two Romes, which may as well refer to two parties working against each other during the discussions on the side of Rome.

The following letter, which comes from DICI, the Society of St. Pius X’s website, is going to reiterate the Society’s notion that the agreement they were expected, but not prepared, to sign is not something which they can accept. If you recall, the Society was being prepared to be brought into the official structure of the Church without the rigid and draconian restrictions on their religious liberty. As of present date, the CDF and the parities who have drafted the most recent Preamble for their signature, demand a level of obedience they expect from no other part of the Church at present date. We don’t know what this means, or if this is going to be accepted by those responsible in the Vatican for this reconciliation. Here’s an excerpt of the letter from Bishop Fellay:

Letter to Friends and Benefactors (April 2013)

15-04-2013

Dear Friends and Benefactors,

It has been quite a long time now that this letter has kept you waiting, and it is with joy, in this Easter season, that we would like to take our bearings and to present a few reflections on the situation of the Church.

As you know, the Society found itself in a delicate position during most of the year 2012, following the final approach of Benedict XVI in attempting to normalize our situation. The difficulties resulted, on the one hand, from requirements that accompanied the Roman proposal—to which we could not and still cannot subscribe—and, on the other hand, from a lack of clarity on the part of the Holy See that did not allow us to know precisely the will of the Holy Father or what he was ready to concede to us. The trouble caused by these uncertainties vanished as of June 13, 2012, with a clear confirmation, on the 30th of the same month, by a letter from Benedict XVI himself clearly and unambiguously spelling out the conditions that were being imposed on us for a canonical normalization.

These conditions are of a doctrinal nature; they entail the total acceptance of the Second Vatican Council and of the Mass of Paul VI. And so, as Archbishop Augustine Di Noia, Vice President of the Ecclesia Dei Commission, wrote in a letter addressed to the members of the Society of Saint Pius X at the end of last year, on the doctrinal level we are still at the point where we started out in the 1970’s. Unfortunately we can only agree with this observation by the Roman authorities and acknowledge the current relevance of the analysis by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, founder of our Society, which was unwavering in the decades following the Council, until his death. His very accurate insight, which is at the same time theological and practical, is still valid today, fifty years after the start of the Council.

And also:

“Compelled by the facts, it is necessary to conclude that the Council has favored, inconceivably, the diffusion of liberal errors. Faith, morals, and ecclesiastical discipline have been shaken to their foundations according to the predictions of all the popes. "

  Link to DICI….

Muslims Want to Use Hagia Sophia in Trebizond as a Mosque

Currently being considered is how to hide the Christian frescoes with curtains in the church of Trabzon (13th century) during Islamic religious services because of the ban on images in Islam.

Istanbul (kath.net / CBA / red) The authorities in Trabzon in northeast Turkey, want to share an old Byzantine church for Islamic worship. Currently being given is how they could disguise the Christian frescoes in the Hagia Sophia of Trabzon during Islamic worship because of the ban on images of carpets, Turkish media reported on Monday.

Much like the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, it was built in the 13th century in Trabzon as a church, and was later converted into a mosque and finally declared a museum. In the case of Istanbul's Hagia Sophia, the authorities have in recent years repeatedly rejected the demand of Islamic groups seeking permission for Islamic services in the sacred building.

In 2006, an Italian priest Father Andrea Santoro, was murdered in another church in Trabzon. He was praying, kneeling on Sunday in his church, as the 16-year-old student, OUzhan Adkin, shot and killed him with two bullets from behind. As the bullets penetrated the priest’s back, Akdin had exclaimed loudly, "Allahu Akbar," "God is great", kath.net reported . Santoro's mother forgave the murderer of her son. The killer appears to be still serving his 18-year prison sentence for "premeditated murder”.

Link to kath.net...

Pope: Some Want to Turn Clock Back to 1968?

Edit: he's definitely referring to those who wish to turn back the clock to 1968. Obviously, if Vatican II has taught us anything of history it's that the Church is ancient, but ever young and always reforming. The following is from Radio Vatican:

Pope Francis said the Holy Spirit pushes people and the Church forward but we resist this and do not want to change. His remarks came during his homily at the Mass on Tuesday morning celebrated at the Santa Marta residence which was dedicated to Benedict XVI in honour of his 86th birthday. Susy Hodges reports:

Text follows:
Pope Francis dedicated Tuesday's mass to Benedict XVI 16th who turned 86 on this date. “May the Love be with him, comfort him and gave him much consolation,” he said.

Pope Francis’ homily at the mass was centred on the theme of the Holy Spirit and our resistance to it. It took its inspiration from the first reading of the day which was the story of the martyrdom of St. Stephen who described his accusers as stubborn people who were always resisting the Holy Spirit.

Put frankly, the Pope continued, “the Holy Spirit upsets us because it moves us, it makes us walk, it pushes the Church forward.” He said that we wish “to calm down the Holy Spirit, we want to tame it and this is wrong.” Pope Francis said “that’s because the Holy Spirit is the strength of God, it’s what gives us the strength to go forward” but many find this upsetting and prefer the comfort of the familiar.

Nowadays, he went on, “everybody seems happy about the presence of the Holy Spirit but it’s not really the case and there is still that temptation to resist it.” The Pope said one example of this resistance was the Second Vatican council which he called “a beautiful work of the Holy Spirit.” But 50 years later, “have we done everything the Holy Spirit was asking us to do during the Council,” he asked. The answer is “No,” said Pope Francis. “We celebrate this anniversary, we put up a monument but we don’t want it to upset us. We don’t want to change and what’s more there are those who wish to turn the clock back.” This, he went on, “is called stubbornness and wanting to tame the Holy Spirit.”
The Pope said the same thing happens in our personal life. “The Spirit pushes us to take a more evangelical path but we resist this.” He concluded his homily by urging those present not to resist the pull of the Holy Spirit. “Submit to the Holy Spirit,” he said, “which comes from within us and makes go forward along the path of holiness.”

http://en.radiovaticana.va/m_articolo.asp?c=683419

Link to photo site...