The Numbers Leaving the Church in Germany Are Climbing

The German Bishops' Conference has published the number of people leaving the Church in 2014. After 178,805 in 2013, 217,716 people have left the church in the following year. An increase of 20 percent! This is topped by the Protestant Church

Munich (kath.net/pm) The German Bishops' Conference (DBK) are in the midst of silly season this Friday and the dioceses have reported the Church statistics in 2014 and again this is explosive, because the number of leaving the Church has risen significantly again. After 178,805 people left in 2013, 217,716 people have left the church in 2014. That's an increase of about 20 percent. Church attendance has risen with an increase of 0.1 percent to 10.9 percent. The total number of priests is 12,219 (2013 12,336). The number of pastoral assistants is at 3,171 (2013: 3,140) which increased slightly as did the number of community workers at 4,526 (4,470 in 2013). Cardinal Reinhard Marx commented in a press release: "The statistics released today show that church is multiform and is a missionary force, even if we are made painfully aware of the high number of people leaving the Church, that we do not reach people with our message, there are personal life decisions behind the number of leaving the Church that in each case we profoundly regret but also respect the freedom of choice. We will strive to continue our mission credibly to gather so that we can proclaim the joy of the Gospel and many people will find a home in the community of church. The faith joy and momentum of Pope Francis has given us a great help. We want to be on the move with him 'raising' the church in Germany, to actively bring the people for God's sake in community and gives testimony of the great message of the Gospel."

The numbers leaving the Catholic Church are still comfortably topped by the Protestant church. There 410,000 people have left. According to the EPD deaths are also here included, however. They do not wish to publish exact numbers at present. Thus, the Catholic German Bishops' Conference counted 23.9 million members at the end of 2014, the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD) approximately 22.63 million.

Link to Kath.net...
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
AMDG

Southernmost Church in the World: Where Father Kirilov Celebrates Mass at 25 Degrees Below Zero

Father Sophrony Kirilov at the Southernmost Church
in the World

"The Russian workers at the South Pole expect, like every other believer, spiritual support and a Church very devoted to God." With these words  Russian Orthodox priest Sophrony Kirilov describes his task. He's a "special envoy" of the Moscow Patriarch on King George Island, as the British call them, or Isla 25 de Mayo, as the Argentines say. The island belongs to the sub-Antarctic archipelago of the South Shetlands. Here Father Kirilov cares for the southernmost church in the world.

The Russian priest is one of a hundred people who spend even the winter in this latitude, although the temperatures can reach minus 25 degrees centigrade. In the summer the average temperature rises only slightly above the zero-degree mark. The island is 95 kilometers long and at its widest point 25 kilometers wide. Overall, it accounts for an area of ​​1150 square kilometers, in which, after all, 500 people stay there in the summer. The majority lives in the Incorporated in a Chilean settlement Villa Las Estrellas (Star Village). In winter  there are all of  the 50 people. They have the Catholic Chapel of Mary Queen of Peace in the settlement.

The archipelago was discovered in 1819 by British navigator William Smith. He took possession of  it for Britain  and gave the largest island the name of the then reigning British King George III. from the House of Hanover.

"In the world there is no peace and quiet. Here, however, it is still "

Trinity Church Iconostasis

Father Kirilov is 38 years old and belongs to a group of Russian priests, they are rotate in Antarctic chaplaincy. It is for the fourth  assignment to the Southern Shetlands. A "special place", he says. "In the world there is no peace and quiet. Here, however, it is silent. God loves the silence. It is a privileged moment in the relationship between man and God."

In 2003 at the request of the Patriarch of Moscow,  the southernmost church in the world, Holy Trinity Church,  was built in  the Russian Antarctic.  The research station, for a time was also a depot of the Russian Antarctic fleet,   founded in 1968 during the Soviet era.  It is named after the seafaring Baltic German  Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen (1778-1852), who served the Russia as an Admiral. Two years later William Smith also discovered islands in the Antarctic.

The church is entirely built of wood, which was specially brought from Russia. In 2004 it was consecrated. Since then, Russian priests also perform their services in Antarctica. In summer, station staff and visitors have to withstand the gale force winds of up to 200 kilometers per hour in order to reach the church. In winter it's  cold. Here, especially at the end of the earth, when  people enter  the church, they are really moved by the beauty and grandeur of icons, reported Father Kirilov.

At night the church is illuminated from below, to be a kind of beacon for ships.

The exhibition: "Thanks be to God. It is always a precious gift for me "

Southernmost Church in the World

Father Kirilov celebrates Holy Mass in the church: "Thanks be to God. It is always a precious gift for me ". Of course he would wish for more believers. In winter there are but usually only 15 Russians living on the station.

On weekdays Father Kirilov also works as a mason and carpenter. The painted carvings at the entrance to the church come from him. The flower ornaments recall in the long winters, the beauty and diversity of nature. With a pair of skis or a snowmobile he also likes to  explore the island.

In addition to the Orthodox Church and the Chilean chapel in the King George Island in Antarctica, there is since 1976 a Catholic chapel, which is dedicated to St. Francis of Assisi. It is located at the Argentine research station Esperanza (Hope) on the Antarctic Peninsula.

In 2013 a group of scientists of the French / Italian  Concordia Research Station Dome, also on the Antarctic mainland, the shrine "Mother of the Eternal Glaciers". It stands at an altitude of 3233 meters.

Life in Antarctica is not easy, says Father Kirilov. Moscow  is 16.000 kilometers away. That makes itself felt. "Nevertheless, I know that I have the day I leave when another priest replaces me, I will have nostalgia for this terribly inhospitable land." Why it is so?  "Here you can pray to God in peace."

Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Image: Timone

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

Link to Katholisches...

AMDG

Parish Festival Not "Grand" Enough: Priest Hospitalized

In southern Italy, a Catholic priest has been beaten up by a parishioner because he is said not to have planned a parish celebration "grandiose" enough. Rome (kath.net/KNA) In southern Italy, a Catholic priest has been beaten up by a parishioner because he is said not to have planned the parish celebration that was "grandiose" enough. As the Italian daily "Avvenire" reported on Wednesday, the incident in the Calabrian Caraffa del Bianco occurred during a meeting for the organization of the upcoming fiestas in the town of Madonna degli Angeli.

One participant did not agree with the plans and allegedly punched a priest in the face who is native of the Congo, Sylvestre Ibara. He had desired "pomp", the report said.

The priest has been brought to the hospital for evaluation.

The local bishop condemned the act according to the report as a "serious act of violence". This is directed against a priest who had come from far to share the "love of the Gospel" in this place, says the Bishop of Locri-Gerace, Francesco Oliva. (C) 2015 Catholic News Agency KNA GmbH. All rights reserved. Link kath.net... AMDG

"Brotherly Visit" -- Pope Francis Offers "Ultra-Progressive" Clique Another Victim

Pope Francis Fascinated by Archbishop Altieri's Pectoral
Cross in June 2013

(Rome) "The Holy Father Francis has accepted the resignation of pastoral governance of the Archdiocese of Passo Fundo (Brazil) submitted by His Ecc Msgr. Antonio Carlos Altieri SDB, adopted in accordance with Canon 401 § 2 of the Code of Canon Law."  This news was published in the daily bulletin of the Holy See yesterday.

One might assume Archbishop Altieri from the Salesian Order is seriously ill and therefore prevented from continuing the leadership of his diocese. "The truth is that his 'resignation' followed on what would be called today, a fraternal visit," said Secretum meum mihi . In fact, it refers to an Apostolic Visitation. In this specific case, Pope Francis had sent the Brazilian Cardinal Claudio Hummes as Visitor to the Archdiocese Passo Fundo. That same Cardinal Hummes, Jorge Mario Bergoglio allegedly recommended after his election, to call Francis and the new Pope, and had shown the Pope the way by saying:  "Do not forget the poor."

"Bishop who does not behave the way  ultra-progressive clergy wants, has numbered days"

What the local Brazilian media reported is reminiscent of similar cases in the past year. "The direction of 'mercy' against bishops whose  whose inclinations do not fit the Franciscan era: A more or less conservative bishop who does not behave as   the ultra-progressive part of his clergy wants, has numbered days," so says the Brazilian site Fratres in Unum . "The liberal clique is well organized, knows what it wants and knows especially which way it has to tread."

In Passo Fundo there is a Theological Institute, which is in the hands of liberation theologians. They complained to the Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Antonio Carlos Altieri, is said to   have spent $ 600,000 for the renovation of the bishop's residence, the Seminary, the Archdiocese and a retreat house. [That's cheap.]

In another complaint Archbishop Altieri was charged with  pursuing "rubricismus" and "ritualism" pursuing, say, in the sacred liturgy focusing too much on compliance with the rubrics and a worthy celebration. In addition, the group of priests criticized his willingness of the bishop to accept seminarians who have been rejected by other dioceses.

In fact, the seminary of Passo Fundo counts itself as having, in relation to its population, an above average number of seminarians. In the Archdiocese which is however different reasons: "One focus of Archbishop Altieri is the pastoral care of vocations, therefore, is also the renovation of the seminary. It shows what is important for the diocese. And it was necessary because of the many seminarians," said the deputy rector shortly after the start of the visit. Only  unofficially was was it confirmed today in the diocese that "appropriate seminarians were taken that were too 'conservative' who were rejected in other dioceses." With the addition: "You know, many bishops are fairly liberal."

Bishop was "at least a ray of hope"

Archbishop Altieri was dubbed by the media as a "conservative" in the Brazilian episcopate. He was not closely connected to tradition. In 2014 he turned against the state efforts to equate homosexual relationships to marriage.  "Society can not simply turn a blind eye to the equality of homosexuals". In the Diocese of Passo Fundo, "concubinage among the clergy is widespread, Archbishop Altieri was at least a ray of hope," said Fratres in Unum. In Archbishop Altieri, Catholics hoped  for a suppression of the influence of liberation theology in Passo Fundo.

At the beginning of the visitation, Archbishop Altieri informed the whole diocese about it and urged all to "full" and "constructive" cooperation with the Visitor, "so that we participate in it  through our prayer and reflection on the importance of this moment, which Providence gives us." The fact that the visitation would end with his removal from office, the Archbishop had not considered possible.

Msgr. Paulo De Conto, Bishop of Montenegro, will initially carry out the task  as Apostolic Administrator the Archdiocese Passo Fundo until Pope Francis will have appointed a successor to Archbishop Altieri.

Archbishop Altieri was born in 1951, ordained a priest in 1978 and 2006 appointed by Pope Benedict XVI.  as Bishop of Caraguatatuba. In 2012 he was appointed, also by Benedict XVI., as Archbishop of Passo Fundo. At the age of 63 years, he has now been put out of service.

Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Image: Secretum meum mihi / Wikicommons

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

Link to Katholisches...

AMDG

Vatican and the UN Organize Event With Leftist Mayors on Climate Change -- Rapprochement Continues

Curial Archbishop Sanchez Sorondo, Papal Confidant and
Architect of the Collaboration Between the
Catholic Church and the UNO

(Rome) on the 21st and 22nd of July, mayors from around the world meet at the Vatican to discuss the global climate and modern slavery. What sounds so politically correct, should be through and through. Initiator of the Mayor Meeting is the Argentine, Marcelo Sanchez Sorondo, Curial Archbishop, the chancellor of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences and the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences . He was the organizer behind the eco-Encyclical Laudato Si who besides creating the contacts next to the dead letter, especially at the United Nations and the "high politics".

He organized ahead of the encyclical, the concept of an international workshop of "climate change and sustainable development" in the Vatican. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon will give the opening speech. The keynote speaker will be his right hand, the UNSDNS Director Jeffrey Sachs (UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network). Thus, not only will the representatives who believe in  manmade global warming will gather in the Vatican, but also the neo-Malthusians.  Not only that, but climate skeptics were systematically removed from the registration list. The Vatican has been (see the promoters of a guided, one-sided meeting in accordance with the UN World Warming thesis  Climate skeptics Excluded From  Vatican Meeting - Other Opinions Undesirable ).

60 Mayors from Around the World Meeting in the Vatican - are "Exclusively" of the Left

The end of May  Sanchez Sorondo gave an inglorious interview in which he meant to identify the causes for the global children's killings by abortion and climate change (see Abortion and Climate Change: In the Vatican someone was persuaded of great nonsense ). The Curial Archbishop has since been an architect of the approach of the Catholic Church to the UN agenda. It's an initiative  that he can develop only with the necessary backing from the highest level.

Sanchez Sorondo's next step will be to bring 60 mayors from around the world to the Vatican  next week. The cross-section is impressive, and the political positioning of the mayors rather "colorful". Coming will be  the leftist Catholic Mayor of Rome, Ignazio Marino; the communist mayor of Milan, Giuliano Pisapia; the left-liberal mayor of Naples, Luigi De Magistris; the left-wing mayor of Madrid, Manuela Carmena (from the beginning of her judicial career a member of the Communist Party of Spain, then without a party, the 2015 top candidate of an electoral alliance between the Socialists and the radical left movement,  Podemos); the feminist, Socialist Anne Hidalgo, mayor of Paris.

Abortion and Homosexualization not an issue -  Climate Change and New Slavery Instead

Sanchez Sorondo between UN General Ban Ki-moon and Pope Francis

The previously mentioned reveal a political flip side, at least the preference of the parties and their representatives on the left of center are without fear of contacting   the extreme left. That these leftists are fighting for abortion as a "human right" and the unconditional legalization of "gay marriage," apparently it does not bother the Vatican. Rather, it is operating by the new closing ranks, as Sanchez Sorondo reaffirmed in an interview and by the climate change agenda.

The invitation of the Mayor of Lampedusa, Giusi Nicolini,   seems more to serve a media-compatible appearance. Under Pope Francis it was already apparent since the  then inconspicuous Bishop of Agrigento, was raised to Cardinal because Lampedusa is in his diocese. Since the apple does not fall far from the tree, Nicolini is included, who received the mayor's office with 26 percent of the vote, and who belongs to the appropriate political spectrum. She was supported "by a member of the Left Democrats and the little that there is in civil society on the island," said the leftist daily Il Fatto Quotidiano in the arrogant tone of the Jacobins.

Symposium in Cooperation with the UN - Opening Speaker: the Neo-Malthusians Jeffrey Sachs

Sole representative of the German-speaking countries is the Social Democrat Christian Gaebler be who will represent Berlin. Gaebler is, since 2011, Secretary of State for Urban Development and Environment in Berlin and a member of the SPD left wing.

On July 21, they will gather for the conference "Modern Slavery and Climate Change: The Commitment of the Cities", in which Pope Francis is to participate and speak words of greeting. Thus, there are apparently  two "interconnected emergencies" to be  discussed, "the world's climate and the new forms of slavery". On July 22, the mayors will participate, also  in the Vatican, in the symposium "Prosperity, People and Planet: Achieving Sustainable Development in Our Cities," which will take place in cooperation with the UN. The opening speech of the symposium will be given by  the aforementioned neo-Malthusian Jeffrey Sachs, who it befalls since he is a member of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences.

"The UN is not the Devil, but the Opposite" - Unilateral Invitations

Session on the new forms of slavery

"The United Nations is not the devil, but the opposite," said Sanchez Sorondo to a journalist's question, whether it was not strange that the Vatican was harboring a UN event. "The symposium is not organized by the UN, but by the Pontifical Academies and the UN," said the Archbishop. He meant the two academies, whose chancellor he is. Already Paul VI. has visited the United Nations in New York goes the justification of the Pope's confidant. "In September, Pope Francis will visit them. I do not see where there should be a problem. In the United Nations to recognize the devil, is position typical of   the right, that is not the position of the Holy See. The united left gathered in the Vatican  would all be  happy with this statement.

On the question of other journalists, whether the "exclusive presence of mayors of the left of   center is not a sign of partiality," Sanchez Sorondo answered mockingly: "The invitation is open to everyone, if you bring us another mayor, we are grateful. We have no reservations."  The one-sided color preference of the loaded mayor guest list suggests the opposite. It should rather have been a selective contact  including invitation.

Group Santa Marta

Symposium in cooperation with the UN on climate change

Sanchez Sorondo founded the two events with  "urgency". This is, says the   Archbishop, also so the "Group Santa Marta" was emphasized. As the Argentine explained it is the closest familiar circle of Pope Francis, one of the groups formed from the Pontifical Academy of Sciences   by the Pope and Cardinal Nichols two years ago, which includes  police chiefs and bishops belong from around the world and maintain an exchange of views. "We followed their advice, and tried also to gather the mayors together to find a better approach to mitigate climate change and to eliminate new forms of slavery" says Sanchez Sorondo.

The discussion on the 21st and 22nd of July will be held on the basis of the Pope's address to the "social movements" in Bolivia and the eco-Encyclical Laudato Si. Sanchez Sorondo explicitly praised Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi, "who is a  Jesuit as Pope Bergoglio is."  The Argentinian said: "If you want to understand Pope Francis or Father Lombardi, then check out the movie The Mission on  the Jesuit Reductions in Latin America."

On the new slavery the Archbishop said: "We want the mayor to work to put the abuse, exploitation, trafficking in human beings within their towns to an end" and "we want just that using the Mayor for programs for social to develop integration of the victims at national and local level in order to avoid deportation or expulsion to their countries of origin ".

The full list of participants

The full list of participants: Christian Gaebler (Secretary of State, Berlin), Betsy Hodges (Minneapolis), Ed Murray (Seattle), Charlie Hales (Portland), Marty Walsh (Boston), Mitch Landrieu (New Orleans), Anne Hidalgo (Paris), Stian Berger Rosland (Oslo), Ignazio Marino (Rome), Dario Nardella (Florence), Luigi de Magistris (Naples), Giusi Nicolini (Lampedusa), Piero Fassino (Turin), Antonio Decaro (Bari), Gregor Robertson (Vancouver), Eduardo Paes (Rio de Janeiro), Eduardo Accastello (Villa Maria, Argentina), Tony Cham Many (Kochi, India), Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf (Tehran), Julius Ihonvbere (Edo State, Nigeria), Rose Christiane Ossouka Raponda (Libreville, Gabon) Aliou Sall (Guediawaye, Senegal), Jaroslaw Jozwiak (Vice Mayor, Warsaw), Yelgi Lavinia Verley Knight (Siquirres, Costa Rica), Alfred Martin Aruo (Soroti, Uganda), Karin Wanngard (Stockholm), Angela Brown-Burke (Kingston , Jamaica), Matthew Appelbaum (Boulder, Colorado), Marcio Lacerda (Belo Horizonte), Fernando Haddad (Sao Paulo), Monica Fein (Rosario), Gustavo Petro (Bogota), Miguel Angel Mancera Espinosa (Mexico City), George Ferguson ( Bristol), Jose Fortunati (Porto Alegre), William A. Bell (Birmingham, Alabama), Milan Bandic (Zagreb), Enzo Bianco (Catania), Edwin Lee (San Francisco), Leoluca Orlando (Palermo), Massimo Zedda (Cagliari) Sam Liccardo (San Jose, California), Mpho Parks Tau (Johannesburg), Kagiso Thutlwe (Gaborone, Botswana), Paulo Garcia (Goiania), Gustavo Fruet (Curitiba, Brazil), Alfred Okoe Vanderpuije (Accra, Ghana), Tony Lloyd (Manchester), Manuela Carmena (Madrid), Mahamudo Amurane (Nampula, Mozambique), Giuliano Pisapia (Milan), Antonio Carlos Magalhaes Neto (San Salvador), Nasereddine Zenasni (Algiers), Virginio Merola (Bologna), Giorgio Gori (Bergamo) , Jean Oscar Sanguza Mutunda (Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of Congo), Federico Pizzarotti (Parma), Edmund G. Brown Jr. (governor of California), Mambe (Governor of Abidjan, Ivory Coast).

The next stages of the rapprochement between the Holy See and the United Nations are the Pope's speech before the UN General Assembly in September and the UN Climate Change Conference in December after the doubleheader next week.

Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Image: Mil / Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences (screenshots)

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
LInk to Katholisches....

AMDG

U.S. Secretary of State Attends Latin Mass in Vienna

Edit: certainly he's continuing his practice of sacrilegious Communions.

Vienna (kath.net/KAP) U.S. Secretary of State popped into the Saint Stephen's Cathedral on Sunday just before the conclusion of his Austria trip. "Kerry came just before 11 by the side door into the Cathedral and took part in the Latin Mass.", said Sacristan Georg Rejda for "Kathpress" (Monday). About an hour before the start of Mass officials of the Federal Police and the U.S. Delegation checked out the situation in the Cathedral. The visit of the U.S. Representative was unremarkable, a private person - as stated. The political significance of the important guests, was only revealed by the security detail.

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Kerry was occupied for a good two weeks negotiation in the nuclear dispute surrounding Iran between the 5+ 1 group (the five UN voting powers and Germany) and Iran. The dispute surrounded the West's concern for ascertain able and believable guarantees that the Islamic Republic will not develop nuclear weapons and only use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. In return, Western sanctions will be discontinued.

The 71 year old travels with his 50 man entourage from the noble Hotel Imperial zum Coburg, where he is negotiating, and unleashes a chaos of traffic. Kerry is the first Catholic Secretary of State since the early 1980s. The Democrat from the eastern State of Massachusetts is considered to be a friend of Europe in Washington. Kerry visited Pope Francis initially last January.

Kerry has family roots in Austria: his father's family is from Bennisch in former Austrian Silesia (today Horni Benesov in Czech Republic ). His grandfather Fritz Kohn (1873-1921) converted in 1901 from Judaism to Catholicism, emigrating with his family to the U.S. and changed his surname to "Kerry".

Copyright 2015 Katholische Presseagentur KATHPRESS, Wien, Österreich



http://www.kath.net/news/51345

Balled Fist! --- Radical Left Meets in Catholic Basilica

Hat on and balled fist: Left-extremists Meet in Belgian
Basilica

(Brussels) Pope Francis got a hammer and sickle from Bolivia's President Evo Morales.  It's the creative  "work" of  "protest art", the Pope said, from a Marxist and liberation theologian Jesuit Father Luis Espinal SJ. That Espinal was Marxist, was confirmed  by Pope Francis on the return flight from Latin America to Rome. Nevertheless, the head of the Church did not look offended by  the obvious provocation.  The Christian victims of Marxism were not mentioned by the Pope. Instead, he described the Marxist Espinal as a "special" person. A naive or a brazen trivialisation of Marxism?

If the hammer and sickle can be hung around the Pope's  neck like an award and feel in no way offended, why shouldn't radical leftist  groups meet in a church then?

Communist Party of Belgium invited European and Latin American Radical Left in Church

Last June 11, a meeting of Latin American and European radical left took place in the Belgian National Basilica of the Sacred Heart on Kuckelberg place, named after the town of Koekelberg in Brussels. The foundation stone was laid in 1905 for the Basiliek van Koekelberg upon   the 75th anniversary of Belgian independence. In 1952 Pope Pius XII. raised it to a minor Basilica .

Left-wing extremists to political meeting in a church: The chalk and cheese

For strange meeting was planned for June 11 by the Marxist-Leninist  Partij van de Arbeid (PvdA) of Belgium. It holds two of the 150 seats in the Belgian Chamber of Representatives.

The PvdA which belongs to the Communist International was formed   in the 1960s from the Katholiek Vlaams Hoogstudentenverbond (KHV) at the Catholic University of Leuven . What dazzling cross-currents inspired it from the beginning. The PvdA-founder Ludo Martens, former head of the KHV-association magazine in Leuven, built contacts to all communist regimes of his time. The Communist agitator also acted as one Stalin's admirers. Criticism of the 1953 deceased Soviet dictator was something Martens said was "fascist propaganda from the US". The PvdA is the Belgian branch of the Communist International, which also belongs to the Communist Parties of China, Vietnam and Cuba. These are countries in which Christians are exposed to severe persecution.

Che Guevara's daughter, Vice-President of Cuba and Venezuela and Many Clenched Fists

(From left) Ecuador's President Rafael Correa with PvdA chairman Peter Mertens (with hand in his pocket) - PvdA MP Raoul Hedebouw (with clenched fist) and Che Guevara's daughter Aleida Guevara

In the basilica left-wing and right-wing populist Latin American heads of state and opposition leaders gathered with European sympathizers.  Those who were heard  at the meeting with political speeches and political songs, among others, was  the daughter of Che Guevara, a left-wing idol, Miguel Diaz-Canel, the Vice-President of Cuba, Jorge Arreaza, the vice president of Venezuela and Rafael Correa, the President of Ecuador, and the Greek Parliament deputy Anastasia Gkara. On display  in the church were also many extended left arms with clenched fist, one of the central symbols of communism. The body language and behavior of those gathered gave expression that the radical left and the church did not match.

The occasion for the meeting was the summit held between the European Union (EU) and the countries of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC). According to self-definition, those  gathered in Brussels included "1,500 representatives of popular movements".

"An abuse of a Christian place of worship for the political purpose of anti-Christian ideology," said Christianophobia .

Abuse of the National Basilica for Political Rally

Sacred Heart Basilica and the Kuckelberg

Although church construction started in 1905 it  was only completed only in 1970. Today it is the fifth largest church in the world. It is in the charge of the Basilica of Oblates of Mary Immaculate (OMI).  A separate building was built for the community. Originally planned in the style of Gothic cathedrals, the church was realized in the style of French Art Deco. The same political left, who has now held a meeting in the Basilica, organized violent protestants against the Church after the Second World War. 

The municipality Koeckelberg counted  almost 2,200 inhabitants in 1846, of whom 97.9 percent were Flemings, 1.5 percent Walloons and 0.5 percent were German. In 1947, the place already had 15.000 inhabitants, of which only 39.9 percent Flemings, 0.3 percent German, but 59.8 percent were Walloons. In 1999, 87 percent were designated as  French-speaking.

Built on a hilltop, the basilica offers views over the whole of Brussels. Who gave the leftists permission to hold a political meeting,  not just in any church, but in the National Basilica of Belgium, is not known. It's also not known what  obscure contacts there must be between the Communist Party of Belgium and parts of the Catholic Church.

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

Bagdad's Christians Threatened by Criminals

Church Under Guard

(Baghdad) In the past two weeks four Chaldean Christians have been kidnapped in the Iraqi capital. Two of them were murdered, despite the payment of a ransom. The  Chaldean Patriarchate united with Rome  laments that the security situation of Christians has worsened in the capital Baghdad.

Qais Abd Shaya and Saher Hann Sony were kidnapped and despite the efforts of their families and the Chaldean community to obtain their release, they were murdered.  The perpetrators conceding the demanded ransom, but did not comply with the agreements. "With great pain," complained the Chaldean Patriarchate in a press statement, there is a deteriorating security situation for Christians. Dangers threatening not only by the advancing Islamists. The war, which the Islamic State has (IS) carried into Iraq, leading to a general brutalization.

Kidnapping for ransom of Christians Considered as "Legitimate"

Unscrupulous characters and gangs are active as highwaymen. With the kidnapping and ransom of Christians the gangs and clans build on  old patterns of behavior that had been thought to be overcome.

Fortunately the kidnapping of two Christians Bashar al-Ghanem Akrawi, a doctor, and Saad Galyana Shaba ended, for their families and the Christian community had to raise a ransom. In this case, the perpetrators at least kept the agreements.

The murder of Shaya and Sony also unsettled the Christian community. Therefore, Patriarch Raphael Louis I. Sako of the  Chaldean Catholic Church united with Rome calls for more protection from the state. Christians, "are in all respects citizens of that State. For almost 2000 years, Christians have contributed to the culture and civilization of this country. We therefore appeal to the state authority and the state security forces in Baghdad to send us the protection every citizen of the country deserves.  We appeal that the State shall protect the life of Christians, our churches and property of our people."

In Patriarchate it is  held  that  Christians with Muslims on the one hand, are just as liable to be common criminals. Upon investigation  it is confirmed that the latter are invariably Muslims. The kidnapping of Christians and the ransom to fund-raising is considered as "legitimate".

Text: Asianews / Giuseppe Nardi
Image: Asianews

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com 

Link to Katholisches...

AMDG

The Hermeneutic of Communism? Pope Francis' "Beatification" of Marxist Jesuit

(Rome) On the return flight to Rome Pope Francis answered a few questions for the accompanying journalists on the plane. The Catholic Church leader was asked also to explain the provocative gift made the Pope of the hammer and sickle with Christ from the Bolivian President Evo Morales. Vatican Radio published the questions and complete answers in the original language.

Aura Vistas Miguel (Portugal Vaticanist): "Holiness, how did you feel when you saw the gift of President Morales with sickle and hammer with Christ? What became of this subject?"

Pope Francis: "I - it is strange - did not know that and did not know that Father Espinal was a sculptor and a poet. I have learned that during  these days. I've seen it and it was a surprise for me. Secondly: It can qualify as a genre of protest art. For example, there was an exhibition by a brave, creative Argentine sculptor  in Buenos Aires a few years ago. There was protest art, and I remember a work that showed a crucified Christ on a bomber coming down. This was a critique of Christianity, which is allied with imperialism, represented as a bomber. 

First point: So I knew nothing about it; Second point: I qualify it as protest art that can be offensive in some cases. In some cases. Third, for this particular case: Father Espinal was killed in 1980. That was a time when the liberation theology had many different currents, one of them was the Marxist analysis of reality, and Fr. Espinal belonged to this. I knew because I was at that time Rector of the Faculty of Theology and they talked a lot about it, and who their representatives were in the different currents. In the same year  the Superior General of the Society of Jesus, Father Arrupe, wrote a letter to the whole society about the Marxist analysis of reality in the theology that he stopped a little, saying, No, you can not. These are different things, you can not do that, that's not right. And four years later, in 1984, the CDF published the first small volume, the first statement of the Liberation Theology, which criticized it. 

Then came the second, which was more open to the Christian outlook. I simplify, of course. Let's take a hermeneutics of that era.   Espinal is an enthusiast of this Marxist analysis, as well as theology, for which he used Marxism. Hence comes this.  The poems of Espinal belong to this genre of protest, but it was his life, it was his way of thinking, he was a special man with a lot of human genius, and who fought in good faith. As I have done such a hermeneutics, I understand this. For me it was not an insult. But I had to make this hermeneutics, and I say this to you, so that no false opinions arise. This object is with me now, it's coming with me. You may have heard that President Morales wanted to give me two honors, the highest award of Bolivia and then the Order of Fr. Espinal, a new order. Well, I have never accepted a ceremony that does not suit me. But he did it with a lot of good will and the desire to do me favor. And I thought that that comes from the people of Bolivia - I've been praying for it and I thought: If I bring it to the Vatican, where it goes to  a museum and no one sees it. So I thought to offer it to the Virgin of Copacabana, the Bolivian Mother, so that it goes to the Sanctuary: The work will be in the Sanctuary of Copacabana, together with the two awards that I received. Christ, however, I take with. Thanks. "

Translation if: Giuseppe Nardi
Image: Vatican Insider

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

Link to Katholisches...

AMDG

Where Are the Retractions on Pope's Love of a Murderous Ideology?

Edit: the following is an editorial by a Catholic Doctor who has seen more than his fair share of this sort of thing. He asks some important questions.

Early on, we were being vilified and called nasty names. We were right the whole time as it turns out.

Creative Minority Report featured the piece:


By Brian Kopp

Please take a look at the trajectory of this most recent story On the Pope and the Marxist crucifix.

Day 1: Catholic apologists for this pope here and in the mainstream Catholic press and some MSM erroneously claim that the pope is offended by the blasphemous Marxist crucifix, recoils in shock and exclaims, "No. That's not right." They further claim the pope rejected this crucifix and returned it to Bolivia. Anyone who reads the story in another light is pilloried and shamed here and elsewhere.

Day 2: Vatican press office claims the pope did not say "No. That's not right," but "I didn't know that". Many continue to believe the original erroneous narrative.

Day 3(?): The pope lays the necklace and pendant with the blasphemous crucifix at the feet of a Bolivian Shrine of Our Lady. Papal apologists claim its a sign of his displeasure and that he gave the larger crucifix back to Bolivia to lodge his displeasure.

And Today:
Pope says he wasn't offended by 'Communist crucifix'
"During a news conference en route home to Rome on Sunday, Francis said he interpreted Morales’ gift through the prism of Espinal’s Marxist bent and viewed it as protest art.

"After taking into consideration the time in which he lived, Francis said: “I understand this work. For me it wasn’t an offense.”

"Francis added that he brought the crucifix home with him." [Source]

http://www.creativeminorityreport.com/2015/07/guest-post-shifting-narrative-on.html?m=1

The "Humanistic" Network -- An Example

(Montreal) who was declared a "humanist of the year" in 2015?   All things being equal,  to avoid any misunderstandings: the most human among humans is not what is meant. In Canada there is a Fondation humaniste du Québec (FHQ) and Mouvement québécois laïque (MLQ). The latter was founded in 1976, the former ended in 2004. Since 1993, the secular movement (MLQ) has given awards by the name  Prix Condorcet Dessaules.

The winner of 2015 is Alain Simoneau. But who is Alain Simoneau? One might reply: Any Canadian citizen who lives in the city of Saguenay in Quebec State. Less known are the reasons why Simoneau was honored with acclaim and a prize worth 5,000 dollars.

According to the Humanist Foundation, which has officially presented the award for several years, the atheist Alain Simoneau has accomplished "greatness". He persuaded the Supreme Court of Canada, supposedly for the benefit of all mankind, to abolish the traditional prayer at the beginning of the council meeting of his hometown.

Cardinal Bifi Passes Into Eternity

Edit: we are grateful to Missa in Latino for the sad notice of the passing of this Cardinal.

He died at the age of 87 years, the retired archbishop of Bologna, Cardinal Giacomo Biffi.

From the time he was hospitalized in Villa Toniolo (Bologna) where he had undergone a difficult surgery with removal of a leg, his health had deteriorated last Thursday, then a slight improvement before the collapse.

Biffi has died  2:40 am  on Saturday, July 11.

He turned 87 years last June 13 and had recently received a letter from Pope Francis: "I was informed of your medical condition and I wish to express my deep sympathy in this time of suffering."

Biffi was born in Milan on June 13, 1928, he had studied scholasticism in the diocesan seminary and was ordained priest on December 23, 1950 by Archbishop Cardinal Alfredo Ildefonso Schuster Benedictine.

He graduated in theology in 1975 with a thesis on "Guilt and Freedom in Today's Human Condition."


We add that the Cardinal was at once a critic of the attacks on the Church's teachings against serious sexual sins, as with the lavender mafia, the presence of the anti-Christ, against the Islamification of Europe,   a student of Vladimir Soloviev and a firm believer in ecclesia semper reformanda. We cite this interesting and hopeful excerpt from Sandro Magister:

Another reference to the diocese of Milan is in a chapter that Cardinal Biffi added toward the end of the book, in order to comfort those who fear a decline or even a disappearance of Christianity in the world.   

In order to demonstrate that God "can always turn in favor of believers situations that appear desperate," Biffi gives two examples.  

 The first is the appointment of Ambrose as bishop of Milan in 374: "After the twenty-year episcopacy of Auxentius, a man of polluted faith, in league with the Arian empress Justina and a docile instrument of court meddling in the life of the 'holy nation', humanly speaking no one would have bet a dime on the revival of Milanese Catholicism. But then came Ambrose, and everything changed. 'After the late death of Auxentius', St. Jerome writes in his 'Chronicon', Ambrose became bishop of Milan, and all of Italy returned to the true faith'."  

 The second example is the arrival of Charles Borromeo as head of the diocese in 1566: "In the second part of the 16th century, after the long period of the 'de facto' unavailability of the pastors appointed (with the episcopacy, among others, of two worldly prelates from Ferrara, Ippolito I and Ippolito II d’Este), no one could have decently hoped in a re-blossoming of Ambrosian Christianity. But in 1566 Charles Borromeo arrived, a 27-year-old cardinal, and began the true 'Catholic Reformation'."

AMDG

For the Record: Protestants Protest "Whore of Babylon" Basilica Block Party in Minneapolis

Edit: In 2011, lavender pressure groups protested the Basilica Block Party. But even protests from their brothers in arms didn't stop them from selling the Church's patrimony on the street for a few farthings. This year, there are Protestants protesting what they see as an obvious manifestation of the "Whore of Babylon." Protestants don't need much prompting to make unjust accusations, but they're getting a lot of help from evil clergy and the pro-Catholics in their employ. The Basilica Block Party in Minneapolis, Minnesota USA, is an event surrounding the decadent parish of St. Mary's Basilica in downtown Minneapolis. The event has been going on since 1995, so this is the 21st year. There are major Rock acts around it, featuring music with disedifying subject matter. The stated purpose is to raise money for St. Vincent de Paul and to preserve the historic landmark of the Beaux-arts edifice.

The front is partly blocked off with an enormous stage, and a barrier has been built around the foreground to control entrance to the event, which can cost as much as $375. There are corporate logos all over the church grounds, particularly featuring the beer Bud Light which not only supports planned parenthood, but is an avid campaigner for the cause of normalizing aberrosexual deviancy.

They've even cancelled confessions.

There is no Catholic Action opposing this. To our knowledge there has never been any, but a small group of protestants decrying the "Whore of Babylon" were present in protest. Seeing the throngs of Minnesota Catholic womanhood, barely dressed, the front of the church covered with corporate logos, the lineup of depraved musical acts and the dissident and scandalous nature of the parish itself, make it difficult to argue with them.

Iraqi Franciscan Freed in Syria

Orontem region especially dangerous for Christians. Aleppo / Jerusalem (kath.net/ KNA) A week ago in the Syrian province of Idlib, a kidnapped Iraqi religious is free again. As the Franciscan Administration of the Holy Land in Jerusalem announced on Friday night, apparently police investigations led to the release of 41-year-old Iraqi.

The Franciscan Dhiya Aziz, a minister in Jacoubieh, was arrested last Saturday by an unknown armed group of fighters southwest of Aleppo and brought for questioning to the local emir. Since then, there has been no contact with him. According to information of the Order it was initially suspected that Jabhat al-Nusra, an al-Qaeda affiliated rebel group, had participated in the kidnapping.

Born in Mosul, Aziz had first worked in Egypt and Jordan, from which he volunteered to go to Syriac Lattakieh and was then assigned to Jacoubieh. The region on the Orontes is considered particularly dangerous, since it has fallen under the control of al-Nusra Jabhat.

In June, a Catholic priest was also killed in an attack on a Franciscan monastery by rebels in the province of Idlib. The monastery was robbed. A friar also living at the place and sisters were unhurt. (C) 2015 Catholic News Agency KNA GmbH. All rights reserved. Link to kath.net... Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com AMDG

Archbishop of Mossul Seeks Western Help Against Terrorists

Catholic Archbishop: Pure expressions of sympathy do not convince him. In addition, the West is itself threatened. "Today, they are with us. Tomorrow they will be with you."

Frankfurt (kath.net/KNA) The Catholic Archbishop of Mosul, Yohanna Petros Mouche has strongly criticized the attitude of the West towards the "Islamic State" (IS) terrorist militia. "People in the West fight for the preservation of endangered species. How can they stand idly by when a whole nation is sold," he told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (Wednesday). He appealed to Western countries to liberate the territories occupied by the IS.

Pure expressions of sympathy do not convince him, says Mouche. In addition, the West is itself threatened. "Today, they are with us. Tomorrow they will be with you," warned the archbishop. For the Syrian Catholic Christian he would like, "our own area in which we are secure."

The IS has controlled Mosul since June of last year. The second largest city of Iraq is regarded as strategically and economically significant, partly because of its oil refineries. At first no one had realized how dangerous the terrorists would be for the Christians of the region, Mouche said.

He also criticized the Iraqi government. "The weakness of the Iraqi central government laid the way for weak souls to threaten minorities in diverse ways."

Unstable conditions had only made the IS ​​possible. He does not even trust the extremists to run a state, declared Mouche. "They have tried to erase the cultural heritage of humanity in the Middle East. These people can establish no state in the democratic sense. Their policy is just one of destruction. " (C) 2015 Catholic News Agency KNA GmbH. All rights reserved. Link to Kath.net... Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com AMDG

Incorrigible Jesuit *Still* Heads Vatican Radio German Section

Father Hagenkord doesn't care about appearing priestly.

Edit: Father Bernd Hagenkord is a professional Jesuit who's really got his ear attuned to the techno rhythms of today's subterranean culture.  As detailed first in English on this blog, he published an article featuring a summary of a dissident theologian who thinks that the natural law is not up to the task of dealing with same sex relationships, which was  headed by way of good vibes and sympathy for recent events in the USA, as a probable distraction: two women kissing each other on the mouth.   Consequently, the link which included the picture was taken down, but the article reappeared again with the picture a few days later on the 7th, and involved more complaints and this time from Gloria.tv and ChurchMilitant.com.  Again, the picture was removed, but the even more heretical and offensive article attacking the natural law still remains.

Since then, the busy Jesuit has also penned a febrile denunciation of those who had complained, raging that these people were in "need of a psychiatrist".  This incriminating blog entry has also since disappeared from the street clothes Jesuit's blog, Laudetur Jesus Christus.  

Up to date, the Jesuit is continuing to backpedal about the picture, but he has offered  a half-hearted  explanation to Edward Pentin,  (according to kath.net)  that the photo appearing on the Jesuit's blog, and then reappearing later on even after Pentin had complained, was a technical glitch.  The earnest Jesuit at Vatican Radio claims he doesn't understand how to remove a photo from the text.  Apparently, the offending text is still there.  It's far more offensive than the picture.

Finally, the Jesuit also claims, so Kath.net,  that the offensive photo did not serve its journalistic purpose and that he was sorry it was used.  [Sorry you were caught?] Is his memory so short that he doesn't remember the last time he celebrated sodomy, that also resulted in the same situation?  He was ordained around 2002 according to Wiki, and has been active in the German Section of Vatican Radio since October 1st.

Photo as it appeared on July 17th on Vatican Radio
in 2014

Basically, he's not sorry.  He's done this before, he'll do it again.  It's also probable that no one's going to stop him, unless he gets promoted to an even more sensitive job where he can do more damage.  This is the most recent and uncontrite blog entry as it appears on his blog:

It's not really a scandal. For a report on same-sex partnerships, we had posted a picture posted on the network showing  the two kissing women. Perhaps it was not too wisely chosen because it does not really fit the report, but it's not really a scandal.What happened next took me completely by surprise. 

It was not a shit storm, but went in that direction. It was the tone that came over us and surprised me. As my friend Michael would say:  it was not at the the level, there wasn't one."Homo-Perversion", "Are you still a Catholic?", "Disgusting porn images" and so on.  This is because some people are out there really obsessed, quite ill and can not stand that some people are different. And we still wonder (we = community, we = churches) that gay people feel discriminated against? Even today. 

Yes, even today. Wild verbal slap, as if words have no reality and effect. All in the name of teaching truth and church. 

I don't want to analyze this, that  could and should be done well, maybe some other time. But it is significant that in us and especially in the US - there are very many super-Catholic show-Christians  - a single image is sufficient to make them so excited that their choice of words know no limits. 

It really doesn't have anything to do with  same-sex partnerships, it is the intention to artificially inflame and (I say it deliberately) to excite and to rise excessively above others. Above all, people probably enjoy perceiving themselves as oppressed. What this has to do with charity or even normal interpersonal behavior, eludes me. 

Within the church the tone is brutal which we have noticed  for some time. But even if we make mistakes here or other times, we are not prepared to join this game.

Addendum JULY 9: since the number of so-called comments that are not blocked has increased, I now close this thread (10 O'clock in the morning). I'm sorry for all those who wish to participate constructively and have involved, but everything has a limit. [There were some 165 comments]

Angaben gemäß § 5 TMG:

Bernd Hagenkord
Redaktionsleiter Deutschsprachige Redaktion
Piazza Pia
00120 Città del Vaticano

Pope's Speech in Quito Contaminated by Masonic Propaganda

Pope Francis in Parque del Bicentenario in Quito: "Which
Liturgical Color is that?"  Asks Secretum meum mihi

(Quito) The Spanish writer and former chief editor of the daily newspaper La Gaceta , Eduardo García Serrano, views  the preaching of Argentine Pope Francis in Quito as a "victim" of the  "black legend".   In German-speaking lands, one would speak of historical falsification, which sometimes has legal repercussions.

Pope Francis spoke in Parque del Bicentenario of Quito on the independence of America. "Although Pope Francis is Argentine he is  Latin American,"  in Quito he is said to have "forgotten or ignored" that "Catholic Spain freed the Indians of Latin America with the Gospel and not the Masonic-oligarchic  independence movement of the 19th century,"  wrote Eduardo García Serrano. "It was the Catholic Spain, which struggled to establish laws for the Indies' against the enslavement of the Indians and  recognized them as equals among equals."

"It is thanks to Spain, if the church today has an Argentine pope," said the well-known journalist.

Through his address, the Pope had shown "that he is a victim of the black legend with his understanding of Spain and the discovery and evangelization of America." Moreover, he had also shown that his "view of historical development which led to the independence of the Spanish-speaking countries of Latin America, has been contaminated by Masonic propaganda."

Masonic Creoles Wanted Independence From Spain Against the Will of the Indigenous Peoples 

Simon Bolivar and San Martín (right) Agreed on 26 July 1822 in Guayaquil, to take  military action against Spain in South America

"It was precisely the Masonic Creoles who were at the head of the anti-Spanish independence movement that was against the will of the indigenous peoples, because the indigenous people saw with good reason the best guarantee of their liberties against the Creole elite in belonging to Spain. This centuries-old paradox has been found in the heretical theology of liberation in its most recent   expression that praises  indigenism as an engine of the  independence of Hispanic America by Christ  in the appearance of Che Guevara and   priests of the  leisure and adventure outfit brand of Coronel Tapiocca,"  said Eduardo García Serrano ,

Pope Francis began his sermon in the Parque del Bicentenario with the words:

"I imagine those modest words of Jesus at the Last Supper as a loud cry before this Mass - we face the common front! - In this Mass, which we celebrate in the Bicentenario Park, the Park of the bicentenary of that declaration of the Independence of Latin America. That was a declaration which emerged from the consciousness of the lack of freedom, oppression and plunder, the subjection to, 'the accidental  utility of those in power '( Evangelii Gaudium 213). "

In these few sentences is included the "whole cultural and historical gibberish" of the last 200 years,  said Eduardo García Serrano. The Pope emphasized the defense of indigenous people against the oligarchs, but also the falsification of history according to the oligarchs. The first Masonic Lodge was founded in 1812 in Buenos Aires and immediately looked towards "independence" from Spain.

"The Argentine Pope seems to ignore that Spain has evangelized the Americas and that it is thanks to this Catholic Spain, which was not only bleeding in the Netherlands and Germany, as his predecessor Benedict XVI. recognized, that the catholicity was not entirely supplanted by the Protestant Reformation of Northern Europe. Spain defended the territorial and spiritual universality of the Catholic Church as the only true religion," said Eduardo García Serrano.

Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Image: InfoVaticana / Wikicommons

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

Link to Katholisches...

AMDG