2005-2015 -- Ten Years After the Enthronement of Pope Benedict XVI

(Vatican)  It was April 25th 2005 on a Sunday, a day with picture perfect weather as the enthronement of Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger as Pope Benedict XVI took place beyond the magnificent facade of St. Peter's. The new Pope gave an impressive sermon, which was already in a series which he gave as Dean of the College of Cardinals in the Exequies before the burial of John Paul II on April 8th and for the Mass Pro Eligendo Romano pontifice on April 18th. The speech was most notable for the statement: "Pray for me, that I do not flee for fear of the wolves." 

Ten years later it is appropriate to read again what the German Pope said then at the beginning of his pontificate.

Your Eminences,
My dear Brother Bishops and Priests,
Distinguished Authorities and Members of the Diplomatic Corps,
Dear Brothers and Sisters,

During these days of great intensity, we have chanted the litany of the saints on three different occasions: at the funeral of our Holy Father John Paul II; as the Cardinals entered the Conclave; and again today, when we sang it with the response: Tu illum adiuva – sustain the new Successor of Saint Peter. On each occasion, in a particular way, I found great consolation in listening to this prayerful chant. How alone we all felt after the passing of John Paul II – the Pope who for over twenty-six years had been our shepherd and guide on our journey through life! He crossed the threshold of the next life, entering into the mystery of God. But he did not take this step alone. Those who believe are never alone – neither in life nor in death. At that moment, we could call upon the Saints from every age – his friends, his brothers and sisters in the faith – knowing that they would form a living procession to accompany him into the next world, into the glory of God. We knew that his arrival was awaited. Now we know that he is among his own and is truly at home. We were also consoled as we made our solemn entrance into Conclave, to elect the one whom the Lord had chosen. How would we be able to discern his name? How could 115 Bishops, from every culture and every country, discover the one on whom the Lord wished to confer the mission of binding and loosing? Once again, we knew that we were not alone, we knew that we were surrounded, led and guided by the friends of God. And now, at this moment, weak servant of God that I am, I must assume this enormous task, which truly exceeds all human capacity. How can I do this? How will I be able to do it? All of you, my dear friends, have just invoked the entire host of Saints, represented by some of the great names in the history of God’s dealings with mankind. In this way, I too can say with renewed conviction: I am not alone. I do not have to carry alone what in truth I could never carry alone. All the Saints of God are there to protect me, to sustain me and to carry me. And your prayers, my dear friends, your indulgence, your love, your faith and your hope accompany me. Indeed, the communion of Saints consists not only of the great men and women who went before us and whose names we know. All of us belong to the communion of Saints, we who have been baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, we who draw life from the gift of Christ’s Body and Blood, through which he transforms us and makes us like himself. Yes, the Church is alive – this is the wonderful experience of these days. During those sad days of the Pope’s illness and death, it became wonderfully evident to us that the Church is alive. And the Church is young. She holds within herself the future of the world and therefore shows each of us the way towards the future. The Church is alive and we are seeing it: we are experiencing the joy that the Risen Lord promised his followers. The Church is alive – she is alive because Christ is alive, because he is truly risen. In the suffering that we saw on the Holy Father’s face in those days of Easter, we contemplated the mystery of Christ’s Passion and we touched his wounds. But throughout these days we have also been able, in a profound sense, to touch the Risen One. We have been able to experience the joy that he promised, after a brief period of darkness, as the fruit of his resurrection.

The Church is alive – with these words, I greet with great joy and gratitude all of you gathered here, my venerable brother Cardinals and Bishops, my dear priests, deacons, Church workers, catechists. I greet you, men and women Religious, witnesses of the transfiguring presence of God. I greet you, members of the lay faithful, immersed in the great task of building up the Kingdom of God which spreads throughout the world, in every area of life. With great affection I also greet all those who have been reborn in the sacrament of Baptism but are not yet in full communion with us; and you, my brothers and sisters of the Jewish people, to whom we are joined by a great shared spiritual heritage, one rooted in God’s irrevocable promises. Finally, like a wave gathering force, my thoughts go out to all men and women of today, to believers and non-believers alike.

Dear friends! At this moment there is no need for me to present a programme of governance. I was able to give an indication of what I see as my task in my Message of Wednesday 20 April, and there will be other opportunities to do so. My real programme of governance is not to do my own will, not to pursue my own ideas, but to listen, together with the whole Church, to the word and the will of the Lord, to be guided by Him, so that He himself will lead the Church at this hour of our history. Instead of putting forward a programme, I should simply like to comment on the two liturgical symbols which represent the inauguration of the Petrine Ministry; both these symbols, moreover, reflect clearly what we heard proclaimed in today’s readings.

The first symbol is the Pallium, woven in pure wool, which will be placed on my shoulders. This ancient sign, which the Bishops of Rome have worn since the fourth century, may be considered an image of the yoke of Christ, which the Bishop of this City, the Servant of the Servants of God, takes upon his shoulders. God’s yoke is God’s will, which we accept. And this will does not weigh down on us, oppressing us and taking away our freedom. To know what God wants, to know where the path of life is found – this was Israel’s joy, this was her great privilege. It is also our joy: God’s will does not alienate us, it purifies us – even if this can be painful – and so it leads us to ourselves. In this way, we serve not only him, but the salvation of the whole world, of all history. The symbolism of the Pallium is even more concrete: the lamb’s wool is meant to represent the lost, sick or weak sheep which the shepherd places on his shoulders and carries to the waters of life. For the Fathers of the Church, the parable of the lost sheep, which the shepherd seeks in the desert, was an image of the mystery of Christ and the Church. The human race – every one of us – is the sheep lost in the desert which no longer knows the way. The Son of God will not let this happen; he cannot abandon humanity in so wretched a condition. He leaps to his feet and abandons the glory of heaven, in order to go in search of the sheep and pursue it, all the way to the Cross. He takes it upon his shoulders and carries our humanity; he carries us all – he is the good shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep. What the Pallium indicates first and foremost is that we are all carried by Christ. But at the same time it invites us to carry one another. Hence the Pallium becomes a symbol of the shepherd’s mission, of which the Second Reading and the Gospel speak. The pastor must be inspired by Christ’s holy zeal: for him it is not a matter of indifference that so many people are living in the desert. And there are so many kinds of desert. There is the desert of poverty, the desert of hunger and thirst, the desert of abandonment, of loneliness, of destroyed love. There is the desert of God’s darkness, the emptiness of souls no longer aware of their dignity or the goal of human life. The external deserts in the world are growing, because the internal deserts have become so vast. Therefore the earth’s treasures no longer serve to build God’s garden for all to live in, but they have been made to serve the powers of exploitation and destruction. The Church as a whole and all her Pastors, like Christ, must set out to lead people out of the desert, towards the place of life, towards friendship with the Son of God, towards the One who gives us life, and life in abundance. The symbol of the lamb also has a deeper meaning. In the Ancient Near East, it was customary for kings to style themselves shepherds of their people. This was an image of their power, a cynical image: to them their subjects were like sheep, which the shepherd could dispose of as he wished. When the shepherd of all humanity, the living God, himself became a lamb, he stood on the side of the lambs, with those who are downtrodden and killed. This is how he reveals himself to be the true shepherd: “I am the Good Shepherd . . . I lay down my life for the sheep”, Jesus says of himself (Jn 10:14f). It is not power, but love that redeems us! This is God’s sign: he himself is love. How often we wish that God would make show himself stronger, that he would strike decisively, defeating evil and creating a better world. All ideologies of power justify themselves in exactly this way, they justify the destruction of whatever would stand in the way of progress and the liberation of humanity. We suffer on account of God’s patience. And yet, we need his patience. God, who became a lamb, tells us that the world is saved by the Crucified One, not by those who crucified him. The world is redeemed by the patience of God. It is destroyed by the impatience of man.

One of the basic characteristics of a shepherd must be to love the people entrusted to him, even as he loves Christ whom he serves. “Feed my sheep”, says Christ to Peter, and now, at this moment, he says it to me as well. Feeding means loving, and loving also means being ready to suffer. Loving means giving the sheep what is truly good, the nourishment of God’s truth, of God’s word, the nourishment of his presence, which he gives us in the Blessed Sacrament. My dear friends – at this moment I can only say: pray for me, that I may learn to love the Lord more and more. Pray for me, that I may learn to love his flock more and more – in other words, you, the holy Church, each one of you and all of you together. Pray for me, that I may not flee for fear of the wolves. Let us pray for one another, that the Lord will carry us and that we will learn to carry one another.

The second symbol used in today’s liturgy to express the inauguration of the Petrine Ministry is the presentation of the fisherman’s ring. Peter’s call to be a shepherd, which we heard in the Gospel, comes after the account of a miraculous catch of fish: after a night in which the disciples had let down their nets without success, they see the Risen Lord on the shore. He tells them to let down their nets once more, and the nets become so full that they can hardly pull them in; 153 large fish: “and although there were so many, the net was not torn” (Jn 21:11). This account, coming at the end of Jesus’s earthly journey with his disciples, corresponds to an account found at the beginning: there too, the disciples had caught nothing the entire night; there too, Jesus had invited Simon once more to put out into the deep. And Simon, who was not yet called Peter, gave the wonderful reply: “Master, at your word I will let down the nets.” And then came the conferral of his mission: “Do not be afraid. Henceforth you will be catching men” (Lk 5:1-11). Today too the Church and the successors of the Apostles are told to put out into the deep sea of history and to let down the nets, so as to win men and women over to the Gospel – to God, to Christ, to true life. The Fathers made a very significant commentary on this singular task. This is what they say: for a fish, created for water, it is fatal to be taken out of the sea, to be removed from its vital element to serve as human food. But in the mission of a fisher of men, the reverse is true. We are living in alienation, in the salt waters of suffering and death; in a sea of darkness without light. The net of the Gospel pulls us out of the waters of death and brings us into the splendour of God’s light, into true life. It is really true: as we follow Christ in this mission to be fishers of men, we must bring men and women out of the sea that is salted with so many forms of alienation and onto the land of life, into the light of God. It is really so: the purpose of our lives is to reveal God to men. And only where God is seen does life truly begin. Only when we meet the living God in Christ do we know what life is. We are not some casual and meaningless product of evolution. Each of us is the result of a thought of God. Each of us is willed, each of us is loved, each of us is necessary. There is nothing more beautiful than to be surprised by the Gospel, by the encounter with Christ. There is nothing more beautiful than to know Him and to speak to others of our friendship with Him. The task of the shepherd, the task of the fisher of men, can often seem wearisome. But it is beautiful and wonderful, because it is truly a service to joy, to God’s joy which longs to break into the world.

Here I want to add something: both the image of the shepherd and that of the fisherman issue an explicit call to unity. “I have other sheep that are not of this fold; I must lead them too, and they will heed my voice. So there shall be one flock, one shepherd” (Jn 10:16); these are the words of Jesus at the end of his discourse on the Good Shepherd. And the account of the 153 large fish ends with the joyful statement: “although there were so many, the net was not torn” (Jn 21:11). Alas, beloved Lord, with sorrow we must now acknowledge that it has been torn! But no – we must not be sad! Let us rejoice because of your promise, which does not disappoint, and let us do all we can to pursue the path towards the unity you have promised. Let us remember it in our prayer to the Lord, as we plead with him: yes, Lord, remember your promise. Grant that we may be one flock and one shepherd! Do not allow your net to be torn, help us to be servants of unity!

At this point, my mind goes back to 22 October 1978, when Pope John Paul II began his ministry here in Saint Peter’s Square. His words on that occasion constantly echo in my ears: “Do not be afraid! Open wide the doors for Christ!” The Pope was addressing the mighty, the powerful of this world, who feared that Christ might take away something of their power if they were to let him in, if they were to allow the faith to be free. Yes, he would certainly have taken something away from them: the dominion of corruption, the manipulation of law and the freedom to do as they pleased. But he would not have taken away anything that pertains to human freedom or dignity, or to the building of a just society. The Pope was also speaking to everyone, especially the young. Are we not perhaps all afraid in some way? If we let Christ enter fully into our lives, if we open ourselves totally to him, are we not afraid that He might take something away from us? Are we not perhaps afraid to give up something significant, something unique, something that makes life so beautiful? Do we not then risk ending up diminished and deprived of our freedom? And once again the Pope said: No! If we let Christ into our lives, we lose nothing, nothing, absolutely nothing of what makes life free, beautiful and great. No! Only in this friendship are the doors of life opened wide. Only in this friendship is the great potential of human existence truly revealed. Only in this friendship do we experience beauty and liberation. And so, today, with great strength and great conviction, on the basis of long personal experience of life, I say to you, dear young people: Do not be afraid of Christ! He takes nothing away, and he gives you everything. When we give ourselves to him, we receive a hundredfold in return. Yes, open, open wide the doors to Christ – and you will find true life. Amen.

Photo: Trinta Giorni
Post: Giuseppe Nardi
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
Link to Katholisches...
AMDG

Old Liberal Bishop of Chicago Commits Sacrilege

Edit: as covered on ChurchMilitant.TV, one of the most Leftist prelates in the American Church commits sacrilege by cynically using the Blessed Sacrament as a bargaining chip, if you'll excuse the expression.

As follows:

Therefore, what appears to be a grave violation of Canon 844 has been committed. Present at the Mass was Chicago's new archbishop Blase Cupich.

In addition to the violation of canon law, the question is being asked: Was a sacrilege committed on the new archbishop's watch?

According to canon law, since the governor is a non-Catholic, he is unable to be given Holy Communion unless a number of conditions are all met:

1. Foremost, there must be a grave and urgent need, usually understood to mean danger of death.
2. The governor must demonstrate Catholic faith in the Real Presence.
3. He must be duly disposed, and not conscious of any grave sin

Bishop of Brixen Gives Veto for Renovation of Altar Space

Proposed Altar Space in Parish of Brixen: Altar and
Ambo Equal

(Brixen)   Bishop Ivo Muser of Bolzano-Bressanone (South Tyrol)  has given an absolute no to the reorganization plans for the presbytery of the Brixen parish church of St. Michael.

The parish church in Brixen will undergo an extensive renovation. On this occasion, the sanctuary was to be "modernized". Zealous lay with some clerical support were to effect a transformation of the presbytery of the Baroque style Gothic parish church.

Art Contest: Winner Project with a Lack of Understanding of the Liturgical

The church renovation has been in swing since May 2014.  The sanctuary is untouched. A competition was held to determine what to do in   which nine South Tyrolean artists participated.The winning project chosen was the sculptor Lois Anvidalfarei.

When the project was presented to Bishop Muser,  it  was so hair-raising that he gave his veto. Since then, there have been long faces and volunteers among the church apparachiks, who sometimes have significant problems with episcopal or papal authority. The parish council feels offended and says that the negative decision of the bishop to Easter was "not good news".

Bishop Muser is committed to conciliatory language but remains in the matter. The project has been buried by him and should remain so. The bishop was particularly offended by the arrangement or fashionable disorder in the newly planned sanctuary, which lacks liturgical understanding. In particular,  Bishop Muser considered the altar arrangement unacceptable.

Parish Church of St. Michael to Brixen

Altar and ambo equivalent

According to Anvidalfarei and the parish council, the altar should not take (Volksaltar) the central position, but be laterally offset and placed at the edge to allow an appreciation of the Ambo.  The Ambo and altar as equal members of the presbytery. It is a protestantantic reorganization, which reveals prolixity and especially a lack of awareness of the Eucharist as the central moment of the Mass and its sacrificial meaning.

The intentions of transformation  confirm a stunning lack of liturgical knowledge and  is everywhere to be found among the leading Catholic laymen. The middle and younger generation were  often never consulted.

Text: Giuseppe Nardi
image: Facebook page FF (screenshot) / Wikicommons bookseller

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

Link to Katholisches...

AMDG

Tacky Liberal Incoherence, No. 1

Women don't need men. No. They only need someone to provide them with the emotionally satisfying, heterosexual intimacy and biological children they need to be happy.

Earthquake at Pontifical Oriental Institute --- Dismissals, Depature and a Murder

(Rome) There is an earthquake in the Pontifical Oriental Institute (Pontifical Institutum Studiorum Orientalium) in Rome, which is run by the Jesuit Order.  Jesuit General Adolfo Nicolas deposed the Rector, the Vice Rector and the two Deans, effectively the entire leadership. The new Provisional  rector was the renowned Islamic scholar and orientalist Samir Khalil Samir, who is also a member of the Jesuit Order.

The Death of Lanfranco Rossi

Last week  the Pontifical Oriental Institute (PIO) mourned the death of Lanfranco Rossi, who was a visiting professor on Oriental  Spirituality. The 60 year-old priest, who  also taught at the Pontifical Gregorian University, was found dead in a field not far from Rome, close to a nearby religious community whose spiritual director he was. According to media reports, the investigators are certain after the autopsy that the priest was murdered. The corpse has stab wounds to the head and strangulation marks on the neck. Rossi had been strangled and left dying by his perpetrators. The Superior of the religious Community "I ricostruttori nella preghiera", however, emphasized in the official press statements that Rossi had died a natural death.  [!] Investigations have been entrusted to a special squad of the Carabinieri.

In the room of the deceased, three skulls were found. The investigators concluded a satanic motive from this. The skulls  had been, according to the Order, "relics". Critics speak of controversial prayer practices of non-Christian traditions. Murder in the course of a robbery  is expressly excluded as a motive in this case.  The community, to which Rossi belonged, lives in absolute poverty.

The Community of "Rebuilding in Prayer"

Rossi, a priest of the Diocese of La Spezia, belonged to the community of "Ricostruttori nella preghiera"  ( Rebuilding in Prayer). The community was founded in the early 80s by the Jesuit Gian Vittorio Cappelletto (1928-2009), who was inspired in the 70s by an encounter with an Indian guru about eastern forms of life. Cappelletto wanted to lead people who had turned away from the faith,  back to prayer. Community members sleep on the floor, eat only vegetarian, shave neither beard nor hair and pray at night in cemeteries.

The mixture of oriental spiritual forms from alien religious "masters" and Christian spirituality is not without controversy. The Community has been accused of having "syncretic" and "neo-Gnostic"  elements. In the meditation courses with a five-point "knowledge extension" are elements of yoga and include the Ananda Marga doctrine. Father Cappelletto was sponsored by the Society of Jesus and they asked him to make the convent's facilities available for its new forms of meditation, the so-called "deep meditation."

The community, which consists of men and women living in common, was canonically approved by the Bishop of La Spezia. In 1989, the first two priests were ordained. Today, it has 27 priests, seminarians and twelve postulants, about 100 devotees and a wider group of several hundred laymen.

Jesuit General Dismisses the Entire Management  of the Oriental Institute 

Quite apart from the murder case, far larger earthquakes shattered the meditative peace of the Pontifical Oriental Institute. In fact, the entire senior management of the Institute was dismissed by the Superior General of the Jesuits.

The dismissal decree, signed by General Adolfo Nicolás Pachón Provost, Vice Chancellor of the Institute, was only posted for a day on the bulletin board of the Institute.

Since Tuesday, April 14, Rector James McCann, Vice Rector Massimo Pampaloni and the Deans of the two faculties of Oriental Studies and Oriental Church Canon Law, Philippe Luisier and Michael Kuchera, all members of the Jesuit Order, are relieved of their duties.

Samir Khalil Samir New Interim  Rector of the Institute

For the time being of the 77-year-old Orientalist and scholar of Islam Sami Khalil Samir Father is an interim lead the institute with the rank of pro-rector. Originally from Egypt, the Jesuit enjoys worldwide reputation. He has taught at the Saint Joseph University of Beirut and many universities in Europe and the United States.

The two faculties are being provisionally conducted with the rank of pro-deans by Father Edward Farrugia and Father Sunny Thomas Kokkaravalayil. Farrugia is Professor of Oriental and Patristic Dogmatics. Kokkaravalayil is an associate professor of legal doctrine and legal methodology, legal theology, Malabarite law and Chaldean law.

The dismissal decree entered into force with immediate effect before the start of the new academic year forthcoming in the fall. In a letter accompanying the decree, the Superior General blamed the "loveless" Spirit which had demoralized the faculty with serious consequences for the mission of the institution.

"Loveless" Climate or Incompetence?

The Pontifical Oriental Institute founded in 1917 by Pope Benedict XV. together with the Congregation for the Oriental Churches. The Cardinal Prefect of the Congregation is the Argentine Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, Grand Chancellor of the Institute.

In 1922 Pope Pius XI. made it an Institute of the Jesuit Order. The appointment of the director is subject to the Pope on a proposal from the Jesuit General, after consultation with the Jesuit faculty.

In recent months, some of the deans and professors had called for the dismissal of the rector. A native of the US, Jesuit McCann was accused of inability to conduct an academic operation. Jesuit General Nicolas sent an inspector with Father Gianfranco Ghirlanda. Father Ghirlanda is a former rector of the Pontifical Gregorian University and canon law expert.  The result of this inspection was the removal of the entire senior management of the Institute.

"That Father McCann enjoyed no special appreciation in the Vatican, one could imagine already on 19 February 2014 when Pope Francis, appointed Vice-Rector Pampaloni and deans Luisier and Kuchera to consult the Congregation for the Oriental Churches, but not him, the incumbent Rector: an all the more pressing humiliation as the secretary of the Congregation was and is his brother in the Jesuit order, the Slovak Archbishop of the Greek rite, Archbishop Cyril Vasil."

Decline of the Institute?

That something was amiss at the Institute  was at least publicly known since  the retirement of the American liturgist, Father Robert Taft, on 15 December 2011. The Laudatio for Father Taft was held by Stefano Parenti, Professor of Oriental liturgies at the St. Anselm Pontifical Athenaeum and students of Taft. Parenti is currently working with Taft in the publication of a monumental history of the Byzantine Liturgy in several volumes.

The Laudatio was published in the journal Studi sull'Oriente Cristiano. Parenti said at the time: "Unlike today, the Pontifical Oriental Institute was until the end of the 80s of the 20th century a superb place for the study of Oriental liturgies, especially the Byzantine liturgy. Who undertake the burden  in the future to write the history of the Institute, will know who is responsible for that  which led to such a spectacular debacle in a massacre that outsiders observed from a distance,  and revealed a desolate arena without winners and losers."

And further:

"We find ourselves in what is described in politics as  a 'systematic error', which has long been known, but was ignored by those who were supposed to be vigilant. Added to this is the uncertainty of many contracts and singular recruitment and promotion procedures for doctorates, which is why there are full professors who had remained only assistants in good state European or American universities in the best of cases until retirement. "

Harried Eastern Christians - Bangert Institute

In fact, "a glance at the list of the faculty," said   Sandro Magister, there can be seen the precarious situation of fixed-term contracts to teaching assignments. Many teachers teach at other universities and are only briefly committed by the Institute to complete a program with the students within a few weeks, for which at other universities an entire semester is scheduled.

"Above all, however, it is striking that the Institute, particularly in a time in which the Oriental Christianity located in the Middle East, North Africa, but also in Ukraine is in an acutely deep crisis and  hard pressed, has  very little to say. Its expert advice, in-depth specialist studies and reports would not only be of special importance "for the local Christian communities, but also for the Holy See," says Magister.

Vice Rector Converted to the Russian Orthodox Church

Last year, the Institute was rocked by a spectacular departure. Former Vice-Rector (until 2013), the American Jesuit of Ukrainian-Hungarian descent, Father Constantin Simon, a specialist in Russian Christianity, turned his back on  the Jesuit Order and the Catholic Church. On June 7, 2014 he was officially incorporated as a priest in the Russian Orthodox Church. The initiation liturgy was led by Archimandrite Amwrosi of Peterhof, the Russian Orthodox Auxiliary Bishop of St. Petersburg, and Rector of the St. Petersburg Theological Academy of the Moscow Patriarchate.

"Some see in the earthquake of these days only the prelude to a temporary closure of the Institute for the purposes of a radical restructuring," said Sandro Magister.

Text: Settimo Cielo / Giuseppe Nardi
Photo: PIO

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

Link to Katholisches...

AMDG

Abuse-Hoax Claims Another Conservative Bishop

Edit: As you all know, Lefty Bishops get special treatment when it comes to the media inspired harassment campaign against the Catholic Church. Of course, other traditional institutions get singled out, but when it comes to those in power, like the various political parties, the oversight, in many cases frankly unjust, doesn't come to this level when it comes to Democratic or Republican legislators, and their ecclesiastical supports.

Moreover, why hasn't Francis been questioned when it comes to Cardinal Daneels whose record on sexual abuse by aberrosexual clergy actually is abysmal? Some will recall the Francis has given Daneels a prominent advisory position at his Bishops' Synod.

Also, why hasn't the Abbot of Collegeville been singled out for this kind of treatment. He really does protect vicious pederasts of the most criminal kind, who presently lurk in various haunts in Minnesota as we speak. Surely, liberal Catholic media organs would prefer to dwell on Bishop Finn's alleged rigidity and "unpopular" leadership styles.

This unequal treatment makes this entire thing much easier to understand when we see that this is a war of Powers and Principalities.

"Backfire" -- Call for Archbishop Cordileone's Ouster Creates Solidarity for Him

Archbishop Cordileone

(New York) In the US, a paid advertisement has become a national issue. This past April 16   a full page advertisement appeared in the newspaper, The San Francisco Chronicle  with an appeal to Pope Francis.  It appealed to impeach Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone   and drive him out of the city. It's an unusual initiative,  but for   Catholics in the German-speaking world, however, this is quite familiar.

The accusation is made by financially wealthy signatories of the appeal? The Archbishop is contrary to the papal postulate "Who am I to judge?".  The occasion are guidelines by the Archbishop of the 4th of February, about the Catholic schools in his archdiocese, which he demanded that   Catholic marriage and morality be recalled and called on schools to ensure it's disseminated  to the students (see report Rebellion Against Archbishop: "Who are you to judge? ").

Accusation: Archbishop is Contrary to Postulate "Who am I to Judge?"

The gay lobby within and outside the Catholic Church feels challenged by the Archbishop, who dared to recall the Catholic doctrine in terms of homosexuality. Specifically,  the archbishop asked that school personnel have to adhere to Catholic doctrine in their teaching in word and deed.

"Too intolerant" is the archbishop and he should therefore be removed from office, opine a hundred signatories of the appeal, which describe themselves as Catholics or to be exact, as a "dedicated Catholics, inspired by the Second Vatican Council."

Among the signatories is Brian Cahill, former director of Catholic Charities of San Francisco and "a number of rich patrons," says Vatican expert Sandro Magister. Among them are also Charles Geschke, President of Adobe Systems and former Chairman of the Board of the University of San Francisco. Among the Americans  there was also Tom Brady Sr. the father of Tom Brady JR., a quarterback for the New England Patriots , in the National Football Leagueplay.

Progressive Catholics in Alliance with Major Media

Appeal against Archbishop Cordileone: Pope to remove him from the Office

The San Francisco Chronicle , the largest daily newspaper in Northern California, which published the appeal as a paid ad, placed the signatories as "prominent Catholics." It belongs to the Hearst group, which also includes the Internet platform San Francisco Gate.

To give the publication even more importance   San Francisco Gate launched a survey with four pre-formulated answers - two for and two against Archbishop Cordileone - to the question: "Should Pope Francis remove Archbishop Cordileone from the Archdiocese of San Francisco?"

But the shot backfired. The survey showed that the overwhelming majority of citizens are not identified with the signatories of the appeal, but in solidarity with Archbishop Cordileone.[!]

The Survey, Which Was to Demolish Cordileone, but in Reality Strengthens

On the evening of 20 April, the answers to the questions were: "Should Pope Francis remove Cordileone as Archbishop of the Archdiocese of San Francisco?"

76 percent, "No, the archbishop promotes the values ​​of the Catholic Church";

12 percent: "Yes, the Archbishop stoking a climate of intolerance";

10 percent, "No, the archbishop is right to oppose same-sex marriage";

2 percent, "Yes, his moral code for the teachers of Catholic schools is contrary to the law."

"Liberal" Catholics in the "Most liberal" City in the US only Small Minority

"The signatories of the appeal may be 'prominent Catholics' but they are not in tune with the faithful nor do they have a great following and not even in the city in the USA, which the media portrays as the most liberal," said Sandro Magister. "And that Pope Francis is considering: That he  remove Archbishop Cordileone from his office, is simply unthinkable".

The personnel policies of Pope Francis for the US is mostly opaque since the disempowerment and finally, the removal of Cardinal Raymond Burke of the Roman Curia, but shows  a strong  progressivist bent in its counter-tendency to the American episcopate.

The hitherto most important appointment concerned the successor of Cardinal Francis George as Archbishop of Chicago. For this diocese, one of the most important in the United States, Francis appointed Bishop Blaise Cupich, a progressive outlier.

Appointment of Bishops from Pope Francis' Progressive List

This past March 3rd, Francis appointed  with Robert McElroy Bishop of San Diego, another progressive. McElroy is a priest of the Archdiocese of San Francisco, where he was the personal secretary of ultra progressive Archbishop John R. Quinn. Quinn had even been raised by Pope Paul VI. to the office. In 1995 a turnaround  came with his retirement in the archdiocese. John Paul II. Replaced him with William Levada, later Prefect of the Congregation. He was succeeded by George Hugh Niederauer and 2012 finally Salvatore Cordileone.

Cordileone was from 2002-2009 Auxiliary Bishop of San Diego, the  Southern California diocese   on the border with Mexico, which the Pope has entrusted to McElroy. Archbishop Cordileone, a wise man with a clear voice and determination, has become the target of fierce attacks since his inauguration in San Francisco. They come from both inside and outside of the Catholic Church. One reason is that the Archbishop is friendly to tradition  and has even celebrated  in the Immemorial Rite. As already indicated in the past,  Cordileone's opponents hardly shrink from attempting  to discredit the Archbishop and force him out of office.

However, the latest attempt backfired.

Text: Giuseppe Nardi
image: TLDM / Settimo Cielo

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

Link to Katholisches...

AMDG

Why We Pilgrimage to Turin: Jesus is a Lamb to Us and a Lion to His Foes

by Roberto de Mattei *

(Turin) coming from 19 April to 24 June 2015, the grave cloth of Christ, which is the Holy Shroud of Turin, will be on  public display. Only five years after the most recent exhibition,  pilgrims will be able to venerate the holy linen cloth in the cathedral of Turin again. The occasion is the 200th anniversary of the birth of St. John Bosco. The next opportunity to see the grave cloth is not likely to arise again until 2025.

The Holy Shroud is the  cloth in which the body of Our Lord Jesus Christ was wrapped in the grave. The Synoptic Gospels recall this (Mark 13:46; Matthew 27.59; Luke 23.53).  Likewise, the Gospel of John, which speaks of a "soudarion". It is not a simple "icon", one of the countless "likenesses" of Our Lord Jesus Christ, which are scattered all over the world, but an authentic relic, the most precious of Christianity, before over the centuries the Popes, Saints and millions of ordinary faithful have prayed.

Invention of Photography Lifted a Veil of Secrecy

The invention of photography lifted a veil that lay on the mystery of the grave cloth and kept it hidden for nearly 2000 years of its contents and revealed it for everyone. The overall shape of the Savior is stamped in life-size on the linen cloth and shows the viewer something like the negative of a photograph. It has a lot of details that no painter would have ever imagined, let alone be able to paint  without knowing the photographic process in every detail.

The man on the grave cloth of Christ shows the whole drama of the Passion. The accuracy of the Gospel is a factual historical  report as regards the scourging, the crown of thorns, the crucifixion, the wounded side of Our Lord, is proved by the grave cloth in quite an extraordinary way. The grave cloth in the embossed presentation confirms the prophecy of Isaiah: "no unwounded spot, / only bumps, bruises, and fresh wounds, they are not bound, not sound  / not relieved from head to foot with oil" (Isaiah 1.6) ,

Give a Meaning to Suffering

Why this suffering? Our faith teaches us that Jesus came into the world to redeem us from the sin of Adam, to have come through all the physical and moral evil of the universe in the world. "Through one man sin entered into the world and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men because all sinned", the Apostle Paul writes (Rom 5:12). Since then, the man is born in pain and lives and dies in pain. But the whole suffering humanity was ransomed by Jesus Christ. The grave Shroud of Turin reminds us that human life is suffering because of the fall, but that all suffering was worn by him who was without sin. In Him we can find the answer for our suffering.

Nothing elevates man more than the assumed freely and courageously endured suffering. One of the biggest fallacies of life is to think one can be happy by dodging suffering. In reality, the man who does not suffer is unhappy because he remains without the joy that grows out of the fact, to offer one's own suffering makes sense. That non-sentient creatures suffer without being able to offer their suffering makes sense. The man, however, can detect, due to his intelligence, that the pain is a result of sin, the original sin and actual sins, and that he can give a sense to this pain to undo the sin in union with Christ and to atone.

Grave Cloth is the True Image of the God-Man - In suffering, We Gaze at Him

The grave cloth, the true image of the Man-God, teaches us how to suffer. In the moments of sorrow and physical and moral pain we look at the man of grave cloth. His appearance is disfigured, but what touches the most to the core, is the contrast between the visible consequences of torture and torment he has suffered and the peaceful majesty,brought to expression in his face. Jesus gives us the model for the attitude of patience, of seriousness and composure, with which we are to bear adversity and sacrifice that inevitably characterize our lives. With patience but always to be accompanied by immense confidence of those who conquered death by his death.

Grave Cloth Impressive Proof of His Resurrection

The Holy Shroud not only proves the truth of Christ's suffering, but also provides us with an impressive proof of his resurrection. The scientists that have studied the sacred linen cloth, confirm that only a mysterious power, a sudden flash of radiation and would have the negative impression of the cloth can memorize. In other words, only the resurrection of Jesus Christ,  scourged and crucified under Pontius Pilate unto death may explain the mysterious origin of the grave cloth. He had predicted that He would rise again on the third day, and that the resurrection from the dead, the highest proof of his divinity, was the great miracle that all the miracles and prophecies summarizes all in itself.

Jesus is victorious, raised in triumph, not only allegorically or spiritually, as  a certain progressivist theology would have it, but with visible body, blood, soul and divinity. The grave cloth shows his negative image  "photographed" with His glorious body at the moment of resurrection and thus provides us with another argument to hold that we can find eternal salvation only in the Catholic Church.

As in Adam all die, even so in Christ all live

In his letter to the Corinthians, St. Paul reminds us of this fundamental truth, first proclaimed by the apostles: the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. If Christ had not died and rose again, salvation would never have taken place. The resurrection is the foundation of our faith. By a man, Adam, death came into the world. By another man, man and God, came life. As in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be revived.

All of humanity is, as St. Augustine says, "summarized in the story of two men, one of whom has lost us  by doing not His will and not obeying Him who had created him. The other has saved us by not doing his will, but that of Him who had sent him. In the story of these two men is the whole Christian faith. "The Holy Week summarizes this drama together and at the Easter Vigil, is familiar to us in the liturgy of the Church with its message of hope and victory.

With the Resurrection Begins  the Kingdom of the Sacrificed Lamb

Easter, says Dom Guéranger, is the proclamation of the kingdom of the sacrificed Lamb, it is the acclamation of the elect in heaven "the Lion of the Tribe of Judah has triumphed, the shoot from the root of David!" (Rev 5.5). Jesus is awakened and resurrected "as a lamb for us, as a lion for his enemies" by uniting the attributes of strength and gentleness. The force with which we fight the enemies of our faith, and love, we are to exercise toward our brothers.

The suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ was the pillar of the apostolic preaching and must be the foundation of our faith. The grave cloth is the visible and moving Compendium. That's why we go to Turin to venerate this sacred relic reverently.

Roberto de Mattei , historian, father of five children, Professor of Modern History and History of Christianity at the European University of Rome, Chairman of Lepanto Foundation, editor of the monthly magazine Radici Cristiane and online news agency Corrispondenza Romana, author of numerous books, most recently appeared: Vicario di Cristo. Il primato tra di Pietro normalità ed eccezione (Vicar of Christ, the Primacy of Peter Between Normality and Exception.), Verona, 2013;  The Second Vatican Council - a hitherto unwritten history, Ruppichteroth 2011th

Translation: Giuseppe Nardi
image: Corrispondenza Romana

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
H/t: Mazarra

Link to Katholisches...

AMDG

Cardinal Brandmüller: Whoever Wants to Change Dogma is a Heretic -- Even When He Dons Purple

Cardinal Walter Brandmüller is one of the leading critical voices bracing themselves against the Vatican Family Synod proposals to undermine the Catholic Sacraments- and moral teaching. He is one of five cardinals, who appeared out in the anthology "Stay in the Truth of Christ"  along with Gerhard Müller, De Paolis, Burke and Caffarra for the Synod of Bishops on the family in 2014, where they took a stand against Cardinal Kasper's proposal, to admit those in irregular living situations, to be admitted to communion.

Dr. Maike Hickson interviewed Cardinal Brandmüller for Life Site News . The courageous Catholic ( Open letter a concerned American Catholic Pope Francis ) is considered to have the provided special thanks questions and answers.

LifeSiteNews: Could you present once more for our readers clearly the teaching of the Catholic Church, as it has been consistently taught throughout centuries concerning marriage and its indissolubility?

Cardinal: The answer is to be found in the Catechism of the Catholic Church no. 1638-1642.

Can the Church admit remarried couples to Holy Communion, even though their second marriage is not valid in the eyes of the Church?

That would be possible if the concerned couples would make the decision to live in the future like brother and sister. This solution is especially worth considering when the care for children disallows a separation. The decision for such a path would be a convincing expression of the penance for the previous and protracted act of adultery.

Can the Church deal with the topic of marriage in a pastoral manner that is different from the continual teaching of the Church? Can the Church at all change the teaching itself without falling herself into heresy?

It is evident that the pastoral practice of the Church cannot stand in opposition to the binding doctrine nor simply ignore it. In the same manner, an architect could perhaps build a most beautiful bridge. However, if he does not pay attention to the laws of structural engineering, he risks the collapse of his construction. In the same manner, every pastoral practice has to follow the Word of God if it does not want to fail. A change of the teaching, of the dogma, is unthinkable. Who nevertheless consciously does it, or insistently demands it, is a heretic – even if he wears the Roman Purple.

Is not the whole discussion about the admittance of remarried to the Holy Eucharist also an expression of the fact that many Catholics do not believe any more in the Real Presence and rather think that they receive in Holy Communion anyway only a piece of bread?

Indeed, there is an indissoluble inner contradiction in someone who wants to receive the Body and Blood of Christ and to unite himself with Him, while in the same time he disregards consciously His Commandment. How shall this work? St. Paul says about this matter: 'Who eats and drinks unworthily, is eating and drinking his judgment...' But: You are right. By far not all Catholics believe in the Real Presence of Christ in the consecrated host. One can see this fact already in the way many – even priests – pass the tabernacle without genuflection.

Why is there nowadays such a strong attack on the indissolubility of marriage within the Church? A possible answer could be that the spirit of relativism has entered the Church, but there must be more reasons. Could you name some? And are not all these reasons a sign of the crisis of Faith within the Church herself?

Of course, if certain moral standards that have been valid generally, always, and everywhere are not any more recognized, then everybody makes himself his own moral law. That has as a consequence that one does what one pleases. It can be added the individualistic approach to life which regards life as a single chance for self-actualization – and not as a mission of the Creator. It is evident that such attitudes are the expression of a deeply rooted loss of Faith.

In this context, one can state that there was little talk in the last decades about the teaching about the Fallen Human Nature. The dominant impression was that man, all in all, is good. In my view, this has led to a lax attitude toward sin. Now, that we see the result of such a lax attitude – an explosion of inhuman conduct in all possible areas of human life – should this not be a reason for the Church to see that the teaching on the Fallen Human Nature has been confirmed and to therefore proclaim it again?

That is true, indeed. The topic 'Original Sin' with its consequences, the necessity for Redemption through the suffering, death and Resurrection of Christ has been largely suppressed and forgotten for a long time. However, one cannot understand the course of the world – and one's own life – without these truths. It is unavoidable that this ignoring of essential truths leads to moral misconduct. You are right: one should finally preach again about this topic, and with clarity.

The high numbers of abortion especially in the West have done great harm, not only for those killed babies, but also for the women (and men) who decided to kill their child. Should the prelates of the Church not take a strong stance about this terrible truth and try to shake the consciences of those women and men, also for the sake of their salvation? And does not the Church have a duty to defend with insistence the Little Ones who cannot defend themselves because they are not even allowed to live? “Let the Little Ones come to Me....”

Here one can say that the Church, especially under the last popes as well as under the Holy Father Francis did not leave any room for doubt about the despicable character of the killing of unborn children in the womb. This applies no doubt also to all bishops. However, another question is, whether and in which form the teaching of the Church has been witnessed and presented in the public realm. That is where the hierarchy certainly could do more. One only has to think of the participation of cardinals and bishops at pro-life marches.

Which steps would you recommend for the Church to strengthen the call to holiness and to show the path how to attain it?

One certainly has to witness to the Faith in a way that is fitting for the specific situation. In which form this can happen, depends upon the specific circumstances. There opens up a whole field for creative imagination.

What would you say about the recent statements of Bishop Franz-Josef Bode that the Catholic Church has to adapt increasingly to the “life realities” of the people of today and adjust accordingly her moral teaching? I am sure that you as a Church historian have in front of your eyes other examples from the history of the Church, where she was pressured from outside to change the teaching of Christ. Could you name some, and how did the Church in the past respond to such attacks?

It is completely clear and also not new that the proclamation of the teaching of the Church has to be adapted to the concrete life situations of society and of the individual, if the message shall be heard. But this applies only to the way of the proclamation, and not at all to its inviolable content. An adaptation of the moral teaching is not acceptable. 'Do not conform to the world,' said the Apostle St. Paul. If Bishop Bode teaches something different, he finds himself in contradiction to the teaching of the Church. Is he conscious of that?

Is the German Catholic Church permitted to go her own paths in the question of the admittance of remarried couples to the Holy Eucharist and thereby decide independently of Rome, as Reinhard Cardinal Marx pronounced after the recent meeting of the German Bishops Conference?

The well-known statements of Cardinal Marx are in contradiction with the dogma of the Church. They are irresponsible in a pastoral respect, because they expose the faithful to confusion and doubts. If he thinks that he can take nationally an independent path, he puts the unity of the Church at risk. It remains: the binding standard for all of the teaching and practice of the Church are her clearly defined doctrines.

Link to Lifesite...

Cardinal Sarah: "Rediscover the Sacrality in the Holy Mass"

(Rome) In his interview book "Dieu ou rien" (God or nothing) the new Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship, Cardinal Robert Sarah, also took a position on  the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum of Pope Benedict XVI.. The French traditional information service Paix liturgique published the statements in his "Letter 65".

Paix liturgique had welcomed the appointment of Cardinal from Guinea to succeed Cardinal Canizares in the fall of 2014.  Now the information service writes:

Cardinal Chose Birituelle Paris Parish to Talk About the Liturgy

"In early March 2015 Cardinal Robert Sarah, Prefect of the Roman Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments remained for a long time in Paris and the surrounding area  in order to consult on  the resultant interview book, "God or Nothing"  with the journalist Nicolas Dat" (Fayard). The book paints a personal and surprising portrait of one of the most discreet and yet most important prelates of this pontificate.

While there are a large number of events  attended to by the book, the Cardinal wanted to devote a considerable part of his time not the media, but the faithful. He visited several parishes. In each he took on a specific topic of his book. This included the liturgy, precisely about which he spoke  in the parish of Saint-Eugène-Sainte Cécile, in which both Rites have been celebrated for 30 years," says  Paix liturgique. The following is an excerpt of the liturgy part of Cardinal Sarah's book.

Joy and Gratitude for Summorum Pontificum

"Personally, I have received Summorum Pontificum with great confidence, joy and gratitude. It is the sign and proof of how the Church, mother and teacher, look at all the faithful, by taking into account all the sensitivities. Benedict XVI. wanted to support the wealth of different spiritual expressions in the belief that they will lead to the Church to true unity and an ever brighter scope for  the holiness of the Church.

I think that this beautiful motu proprio fits perfectly within the bounds of the Council Fathers furrow. Therefore, we can not pretend we have forgotten what was declared expressly in Sacrosanctum Concilium: "For the liturgy contains as a divine institution immutable parts and parts which are subject to change. These parts may change over time, or even if something should  have crept into it, that it doesn't affect the inner nature of the liturgy less than if they have been found to be less suitable or equivalent."

In the letter Summorum Pontificum accompanied Benedict XVI wrote .:

For that matter, the two Forms of the usage of the Roman Rite can be mutually enriching: new Saints and some of the new Prefaces can and should be inserted in the old Missal. The "Ecclesia Dei" Commission, in contact with various bodies devoted to the usus antiquior, will study the practical possibilities in this regard. The celebration of the Mass according to the Missal of Paul VI will be able to demonstrate, more powerfully than has been the case hitherto, the sacrality which attracts many people to the former usage. The most sure guarantee that the Missal of Paul VI can unite parish communities and be loved by them consists in its being celebrated with great reverence in harmony with the liturgical directives. This will bring out the spiritual richness and the theological depth of this Missal.

It is likely that we can better understand the celebration of the Mass according to the Missal of the old Mass as an act of Christ and not of men. Thus the  mysterious and mystagogical character is also  perceptible. Even if we actively participate in the Mass, it is not about our action, but  those of Christ. In his Apostolic Letter Quintus Annus Vicesimus. John Paul II asks wherein lies  active participation.

But what is this active participation? What must you do? Unfortunately, the word was very quickly misunderstood to mean something external, entailing a need for general activity, as if as many people as possible, as often as possible, should be visibly engaged in action.  However, the world "part-icipation" refers to principal action in which everyone has a "part".  And so if we want to discover the kind of doing that active participation involves, we need, first of all, to determine what this central actio  is in which all the members of the community are supposed to participate. The study of the liturgical sources provides an answer that at first may surprise us, though, in the light of the biblical foundations considered in the first part, it is quite self-evident.  By the actio nd the need for a general acting out derived therefrom, as if as many as possible as often as possible must be visible to all go into action. But the word "participation" (or "participation '' refers to a main plot, in which all are part-have. So if you want to find out about which actions to do it, then you have to determine first of all, that because these actual central "actio" is, to which would also involve all members of the community [...] Under the actio of the liturgy refers its  sources, the Eucharistic Prayer. [...] The real liturgical action, the true liturgical act, is the oratio -.. the great prayer, which forms the core of the Eucharist which was therefore described by the Fathers as oratio ... .This oratio- the Eucharistic Prayer, the "canon" - is really more than speech is actio in the highest sense, because it happens that human actio (as they had hitherto been practiced by the priests in the various religions) withdraws and gives room for the actio divina, the action of God (Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger. The Spirit of the Liturgy, Herder, 6.Aufl, Freiburg im Breisgau 2002, S. 147f).

The Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum tries to reconcile the two forms of the Roman Rite and tries above all to help us to rediscover the sacredness of the Holy Mass as an act of God and not of man. Here we touch upon a really important point. The problem of widespread indiscipline, lack of respect and loyalty to the Rite,  may even attack the validity of the sacrament."

Excerpt from Robert Cardinal Sarah: Dieu ou rien, Fayard, Paris 2015, pp 400-402

Text: Giuseppe Nardi
image: MiL\
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
Link to Katholisches...
AMDG

A Turning Point in the Franciscan Papacy

[Chiesa] ...Last Sunday Pope Francis could have said as little as possible. Instead, and this is what is new, he went further, and by far.

Not only did he put the genocide of the Armenians at the head of the other genocides of the past century, but he listed them one by one, down to the ones that are still being carried out today to the harm of many who are “persecuted, exiled, killed, decapitated for the sole fact of being Christian,” whether they be Catholic or Orthodox, Syriac, Assyrian, Chaldean, Greek. Like one hundred years ago, he said, “it seems that humanity is not able to cease from shedding innocent blood.”

Virulent reactions from the Turks, waffling from Western politicians. For Francis the peace and quiet is over.


http://chiesa.espresso.repubblica.it/articolo/1351032?eng=y
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Back from Hospital -- Thanks For the Prayers and Encouragement

For Christ Has Reconciled Everything to Himself

On Easter Sunday, I went over many things in my mind, even some that have to do with Katholisches.info. I had not expected to spend the Easter Octave in the hospital.  Everything came unexpectedly quickly and radically.

The instantaneous decision to visit the hospital, proved to be  true coincidence. "This is very serious,"  I was told, after 48 hours the cause had been securely identified. The statistics speak indeed of an impressive situation. In the German speaking areas alone,  tens of thousands of people die every year of it because the symptoms are misinterpreted and the danger is not recognized.

The events led me to consider once more, just how fragile human existence is in this world. Out of the blue life and death come close. And how wise and humane, is the Church Who exhorts us to be prepared.

The so kind wishes, which were communicated to me, especially those of the readers, did not make it easier for me to stay in hospital, but I was also very touched inwardly. Praise for me dissolves in me a certain amount of embarrassment, but I could accept this gratefully as it was in brotherhood. It's an experience in such a situation for which I would like to thank from the depths of my heart.

The "Spiritualized" Emptiness of the Full Tomb

Minden Cross (almost 1000 years old)

In the hospital, there was the opportunity for some good conversation, which demonstrated the innermost desire and longing of people for beauty, truth and goodness. In each hospital room of a public hospital there was hung a cross, all anti-cross-judgments and secular attacks notwithstanding.

The visit to the hospital chapel was sobering, as far as the "spiritualized" emptiness found. It reminded me of the outrageous content, of the arrogant  Easter paper of the EKD, according to  which it was "not definitive" for the Christian faith, whether the grave of Christ was empty or not on Easter Sunday.  But Christ was present in the Blessed Sacrament. What a grace in such a place. The Tabernacle: a charming cube of a steal shell from a creative designer whose configuration might  be more suitable for a luxury refrigerator.

The wall before which  the priest celebrated Mass versus populum, though pleasingly colorful, was but meaningless. On the altar, after all, was a metal cross as the only support for the troubled human eyes. The bars of the cross without corpus were so thin that one's eyes could hardly fix it, they did not want to fall into the position of having to constantly watch the priest in his actions. On a side wall, a wonderful wood corpus of the Lord caught the eyes, hung a larger than life.   What a contrast in the same chapel.

A young man kneeling reverently beside me in the pew, I invited afterward in front of the chapel to an event, where he had the opportunity to get to know the tradition.

The appreciation of the readers made it easier for me to switch off completely for this time. This also means that I now have some catching up to do, it is read to follow up on contacts to gather information and to rate the seven and.

Call genocide genocide also - The Martyrdom of Armenians

Armenian settlement area in 1896

The only report, despite the "intermission", that I've received in the hospital bed, has pleased me: Pope Francis named the 100th anniversary of the suffering of the Armenians for what it was, namely genocide. That had been done before him by John Paul II. Already in 1915 Benedict XV, raised his voice in favor of this ancient Christian.

In the international sense we speak of genocide, in the canonical sense in a far higher level of martyrdom. What happened in parts of the Ottoman Empire and wanted the beginning of the 20th century by the young Turkish government, was the martyrdom of an entire people, even more so: the martyrdom of Christians. Flayed, interned, displaced and killed were the Armenians, the Greeks, the Syrian Christians (Chaldeans, Assyrians, Arameans).

Their crime? To be Christians. Expressed cynically: Your crime was to be Christians in the "wrong place". The new nationalism demanded uniformity by hegemonization. The hegemon was Muslim, Sunni and Turkish. There was no place for Christians, was the verdict that was mercilessly and violently executed in all directions in bloody deeds.

Unfortunate and disturbing is the reaction of present-day Turkey. It is doubly questionable because those governing now  stand in the tradition of the Young Turks and yet have a greater distance to the events. Only what insight can  be expected from other Muslim governments and political / religious movements in the Islamic world, when the Turkish government, which has been courted by the West for so many decades and is considered the closest partner of Israel in the Middle East, shows so little insight?

It is distinguished from the Church of Christ,  Who calls a spade a spade and stands to behind her brothers and sisters in the faith. Especially where the policy is prepared, based on which interest whatsoever, to expose merciless killing on the one hand  and on the other hand to cover up the killing of the other.

Days of Recovery

Now, these are still days of recovery, but the doctors were convinced that the therapy is going well and have released me to home. It will take a bit to close the gaps. The longer essay on Dom Helder Camara, on which I worked on Tuesday in the Octave of Easter and from which I was torn out, will have to be postponed for the time being. I hope to publish it as soon as possible.

I want to thank all of our readers and also all employees, authors, and not least the editor, for the sympathy and prayer, but also for the patience in such  fast-moving times and especially the "blindness" somewhat in the information area.  It will be my job and obligation to comply with this confidence through their daily work. In the meantime, I would ask you to recommend me the grace of our Lord, so that the recovery completely successful and no complications.

In grateful Bonding
Your Giuseppe Nardi

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

Link to Katholisches...

AMDG