Manfred Scheuer, Custodian of Decline, Is the New Bishop of Linz

Manfred Scheuer is New Bishop of Linz

Martha Weinzl

(Vienna) In the Austrian diocese of Linz there is an ambivalent mood that reflects the overall condition of the Catholic Church in Austria. Some are happy, others are depressed. On November 16th it was reported by state radio ORF, that Innsbruck Bishop Manfred Scheuer (60), will be the new diocesan bishop of Linz. The daily newspaper, Oberösterreichische Nachrichten reported today triumphantly: "Linz gets the Bishop it desires'".

Haste in Announcing

The Vatican did not immediately confirm the appointment rumors, but they were reported by the Catholic News Agency  and on the website of the Archdiocese of Vienna as a reliable fact. According Oberösterreichische Nachrichten the appointment is to take place "in the coming days" [It was actually 18 November] the appointment. Despite this reservation, there can be no doubt about it: Manfred Scheuer is next bishop of Linz. The Austrian government, which must agree to every episcopal designation under concordat, today issued  their consent for Scheuer.

Someone there was in any case in a hurry with the announcement of the change from Innsbruck to Linz. Within the Church secrecy applies  until the official appointment by the Pope. It's an indication of how happy are certain high Church circles over the appointment. An appointment that they have benevolently promoted. The Diocese of Linz is a prime example of the ecclesiastical decline. There is therefore a lot of interested eyes on a bishop's appointment.

Criteria for an Austrian Bishop Anno 2015

The criteria for a bishop candidate are laid down in church, but paper is patient. The actual criteria are in Austria something like this:

A bishop should be as  inconspicuous as possible and an unknown quantity, even more so, he should not offend anywhere, at least not in public opinion in  relevant  circles in politics, media and business, he should therefore be situated as much as possible in the middle of prevailing general climate in the country   and not be an open rebel, but especially not "hurt" anyone  by which is meant the divorced and remarried, those living in wild "marriages" or elites living in homosexual relationships in society and the church, including the female proportion of them who have had an abortion. In sum, this means that he should not develop too many initiatives, fit well into the post-Conciliar councils modes, in other words be a team player and recently also demonstrate  "synodality", and above all avoid being a committed  and determined preacher of the Catholic faith.

The most important thing for a bishop is that  he should keep Church exit numbers as low as possible so that the church-tax continues to flow.

So bottom line, he  should largely pass himself off as Mainstream  or provide sufficient guarantees to accommodate this. So he will report primarily to speak on subjects  in which he may make his agreement with the government and the public, at least in the published opinion. And, he will be silent on those parts of Catholic doctrine as much as possible that are not part of the mainstream.

It is in this frame that  the appointments have  moved so far for Austria under Pope Francis. The displacement of Scheuer from Innsbruck to Linz, including  Feldkirch, Salzburg, Graz-Seckau and the Military Ordinary is the fifth appointment of the Argentine Pope,  is a look at the message of the press agency of the Austrian Bishops' Conference KAP which reveals included  keywords:. "The man of the middle," "Counciliar"," ecumenical "," Caritas" (organization). A few days ago Scheuer presented his latest book, whose title is reminiscent of Pope Francis: "Against the Church's narcissism," whose subtitle is a "spiritual-political plea."

Diocese in "Progressive" Managed Decline

This raises the question, for whom is Msgr. Scheuer is  the "desired Bishop" and just who are the "many" are who  want him at the head of the Diocese of Linz?

The highest diocesan bodies have engaged in profiling for two years for the future bishop. Given that the diocesan apparatus is interwoven with the left green and liberal, one can imagine the requirements. Bishop Scheuer, a native of Upper Austria, was named instead of  the "ideal candidate". This has its reasons.

The subversive, largely non-Catholic milieu feared for its sinecures and conveniences. The zeal for "the cause" of "another church" did its work. For better understanding, Linz is hard fought ground between "Church reformers" and "conservatives," the latter are certainly at a disadvantage. They may toil in the lower floors, while others have made themselves comfortable on the upper floors.

Zauner's"Rhenish Alliance," & Aichern's "Priestess"

After decades of "liberal" bishops a change could hardly be reckoned. Yet in 1956, Bishop Franz Zauner was appointed by Pope Pius XII.   (since 1949 coadjutor), the Diocese  under John XXIII. expressed swung with flying colors into the camp of the "optimists," in historical terminology, into the camp of the "Rhenish Alliance". Linz was one of the dioceses of the German-speaking world, where the "spirit of the Council" raged especially virulently. With Alois Wagner,  Zauner received an even more liberal Auxiliary Bishop for the "implementation of the Council".

He was followed after 24 years by the jolly Benedictine Maximilian Aichern. He was a compromise candidate to prevent Alois Wagner as a candidate of the "liberals" and Kurt Krenn as a candidate of the "conservatives". This presented Aichern as the prototype of an "ideal" Austrian bishop. Neither "left", nor "right", but in the center and in case of doubt rather "left" in order to clarify it in an inappropriate reference to political categories. Aichern finally became so colorful that he was retired prematurely in the cause of the "female priesthood" of  Mayr-Lumetzberger. That was, however, again after 24 years.

For the "priestess" Christine Mayr-Lumetzberger,  Aichern may have perhaps felt some weakness because she came as a Benedictine nun from the same Order. Aichern could never really clear it up, that he had sponsored the "priestesses training" for Mayr-Lumetzberger from the diocesan funds. In any case, the ex-nun was not satisfied with the state of consecrated life, but felt called to something higher. She jumped out of the convent and married. But the marriage could not quench the voracity of her thirst. So she left in 2002 to be dubiously consecrated as an invalid "priestess". Shortly thereafter, she grabbed, considering the motto, going whole hog, yet no less  invalid a consecration to "Bishop".

Then came the bishop exchange. Aichern was in good Austrian,  elegantly made an emeritus. Although Benedictine, he no longer wanted to return to the monastery. This included a statement. On Mayr-Lumetzberger there was silence. She would simulate obscure ceremonies, sometimes in Catholic churches. Whether it is always with knowledge of the pastors or clandestinely, is to be seen.

Schönborn's "Most Conservative" Auxiliary,  Bishop of Linz

Vienna's Archbishop, Cardinal Schönborn, the strongman in Austria church, then sent his "most conservative" auxiliary bishop to Linz. That was in the year of 2005.

The ambassador was called Ludwig Maria Schwarz *) and came from the Salesian Order. In the faithful Church circles the sigh of relief was unmistakable. They had been systematically pushed out of the Church leadership. Yet the  full-time church apparatus, which was powerfully over bloated, worked assiduously to grow ever larger. The diocese now has more full-time diocesan apparatus employees than priests. The former feel patronized by the apparatus, cowed, annoyed and imposed upon, often in favor of further lay-Apparatchiks.

The situation in the parishes is the desolate part. The good priests form islands of faith and resistance. They have to deal with rebellious, especially amateurish,  and supposedly theologically  (un)formed individuals. These priests can expect no help from the Diocese.  They know that. The numerous submissions to numerous offices, desks, positions and agencies of the Ordinariate  often find themselves thrown unopened into the trash. That was the only form of "direct protection" and "mental hygiene".

On the other hand, the more "progressive" clerics get more  backing. One third of the Upper Austrian clergy signed the  "Call to Disobedience"  launched in 2006 by  the so-called Pfarrer-Initiative. This reinsurance  also involves the subject of the appointment of bishops.

Bishop Schwarz is considered a trustworthy, but irresolute man. [Really?] "Too good," is how he is generally acknowledged. An award for the bishop is not yet praise. His "goodness" has a downside. He came up the Danube with the mission to eliminate the proverbial "Linz situation". That's what he tried: he forbade the laity preaching and the baptisms by pastoral assistants. But the Appartschiks  cut him off quickly. The result was an inner emigration of the bishop. Sometimes you would hear nothing more from him for months in the public. After a period of such he was shown in 2013 in his own church newspaper while feeding the ducks. Was it a form of withdrawal from communication to the outside,  or an expression of utter resignation?

Remained an Onlooker

The reference to his "own" church newspaper is to be understood as a euphemism. There, the Appartschiks have the final say, anyway, not the bishop. The Linz Church Newspaper has always been renowned as a platform for a "church, faith and an attitude critical of Rome," says the Upper Austrian Catholic newsletter "The Truth" in 2009. The church newspaper had ten years previously wanted to offeer the price of its  with the Homosexuals Initiative Linz, that was only prevented by the protests of the people.

At least one personnel decision by Bishop Schwarz had positive results: in 2006 a CD on sexuality was sent to 15,000 Upper Austrian teenagers,  it was concerned with the advertising of contraceptives, abortion and homosexuality. The  Aichern appointed  "communications chief" of the diocese who was responsible for the action had to resign in 2009. He fell softly and now heads the Media Office of the Austrian religious communities. Its president,  Abbot Christian Haidinger, trumpeted that the Catholic moral teaching is "inhuman" and that he is in favor of  Communion for divorced and remarried, women priests and the lifting of the priestly celibacy. Things.are likely better among like-minded people.

Bishop Schwarz twice consecrated FSSP deacons to priests in his tenure, most recently this past July 4th. It reveals what achievements this bishop would have been able, had he would had a suitable staff and a suitable environment around. This is certainly not an excuse.

Bishop Schwarz leaves his office after ten years  as the head of the diocese and can claim to have remained an onlooker in a certain way.

The Case of Wagner

After the "liberal" desert in the country,  a decade would hardly have sufficed anyway   to give the diocese its orientation again. That was also seen in Rome under Pope Benedict XVI. Therefore, in 2009,  Bishop Schwarz should have been provided with the intellectually brilliant, theologically and pastorally experienced priest of Windischgarsten, the dogmatist Gerhard Maria Wagner as an auxiliary bishop.

What Benedict XVI.  had  estimated of Wagner, was that he was despised by "liberal" circles near him.  Wagner is known for his faithfulness. Feared especially is his intellect and his pugnacity. The parallels were to the St. Pölten Bishop,  Kurt Krenn, also from Upper Austria, were quickly drawn. His bishop's chair had been sawed beneath him in laborious work of 2004. The "progressive" and even the "moderate" trendsetting church circles of Austria therefore wanting nothing less than a second Krenn.

So the horn of the hunt was blown. In no time the appointed auxiliary bishop had become fair game. The Bishop of Linz in spe,Manfred Scheuer, hastened to distance hiself from his former classmate Wagner. To position oneself correctly at the right time, is part of the small multiplication table of the elites. Their art is to survive, - and to rise even higher if possible.

To make it short: Pooling efforts of anti-Church circles, "church critical" media, progressive hardliners and not least, the internal Church mainstream around Cardinal Schönborn, Wagner was prevented. Every day some new dirt was hurled at him. Which he would have withstood, but the plea finally came out of the Rome for "the sake of peace" to renounce the office. Wagner obeyed and stepped back, even before he had received episcopal ordination. How could the Bishop to be also be against the will of the Pope who had appointed him?

The Case of Wagner illustrates the influence of the Viennese Cardinal, who succeeded in altering Benedict XVI's decision. A persistent rumor goes that this was only managed by the "devil painted on the wall," that is, a schism was predicted, should Wagner become an auxiliary bishop.

Minimize Risks With Scheuer

A Bishop Wagner would have been hard for the Linz apparatchiks to  bear. But this assumed that Wagner would succeed Bishop Schwarz. A Bishop Wagner would set  alarm bells ringing in liberal circles.

Six years have passed since then. This past June 4th Bishop Schwarz finished his 75th birthday. But Pastor Wagner played no role in the appointment of the new Bishop.

The case explains in large part why Scheuer is considered in certain circles  a "preferred candidate". Each appointment entails unknowns and risks. The appointment of Scheuer minimizes these to a manageable size. As the reigning bishop, there is also a far better chance to get through the personnel decision in Rome, than a new "liberal" candidate.

The good forces in the Diocese of Linz, which make themselves known  in a whole series of initiatives, are forced to come to this decision reluctantly. The deficits are known that await a remedy but for which there is but no remedy in sight.  Finally, the following applies: The apparatus works primarily -  for the apparatus. With Bishop Scheuer,  the apparatus has a good chance, that everything remains as it is. And that is saying something in Linz.

The Negative Side of the Diocese

It is said that the essence and the mission of the diocese distorting apparatus retains its sinecures and continues to represent a Christianity Light.
It is said that cathedral minister Strasser may proceed with the destruction of the sanctuary.
It is said that the pastor of a Linzer parish can continue  in an apartment instead of the rectory with his wife and children.
It means  that as a whole, the priests with concubines (some of whom are male)  in the diocese, who are apparent  to such an extent as they were just after the Reformation. For the next 15 years they may be reassured that  their way of life will not change.
It is also stated that in some parishes on Sunday, as in Linz and Wels, instead of the pastor, a pastoral assistant with alb and pseudo stole, celebrating "worship", singing, preaching, pottering at the altar anything indefinable.
It is said that in the oldest church in Linz, "worship" is still celebrated every Sunday, but only on one Sunday is it a Holy Mass, while on the other Sundays  a "Liturgical Team" celebrates, where  the church visitors are actively prevented from fulfilling their Sunday obligation.
It is said that the church newspaper still ekes out a wallflower, located in politically correct tired platitudes.
It is said that with church funds  dodgy leftist clubs are sponsored and so that these anti-clerical circles in Catholic education worldwide can gather in the diocese.
It is said that faithful initiatives continue to receive no real support and a serious evangelization of the country is out of the question.
It is said that  everything that is "believed" in the official Catholic associations, no episcopal examination is subjected.  Also in Linz, as in most dioceses, it would rather not know the bishops
Listing is disillusioning, which is why it should be left off with.

The 14th Bishop of Linz

Manfred Scheuer is the 14th Bishop of Linz, a still relatively young diocese, which emerged only on a 1783/1785 imperial initiative. Until then, Upper Austria belonged ecclesiastically to the diocese of Passau.

Scheuer, born in 1955, taught dogmatic theology at the Catholic University of Linz. How much this is good, you can consider, when you know that Bishop Schwarz,  although he was rendered the luxury of a private university, never the less preferred to send his few seminarians to study in Innsbruck. He could have sent them also to Heiligenkreuz, but that would already have been too much of a good thing and in the Diocesan bodies without opposition unenforceable. But opposition was to Bishop Schwarz an abomination. As I said, a "good man".

His academic career led Scheuer then to Trier. He was also the postulator for the conscientious objector Franz Jägerstätter. The attitude Jägerstätter is not without controversy. Scheuer in any event gathered  politically correct points with him.

He never appeared as an open rebel, but was, however, more inclined  for "liberal" concerns than for "conservative" ones. The "disobedient" cleric found in him a benevolent interlocutor. The demands of the "rebels", he never rejected, but explained only in perfect modern Church talk, some were "unworkable"  at the diocesan level.

In Scheuer's previous diocese Innsbruck Martha Heizer, the chairman of "We Are Church",  simulated Mass before peers at home. Scheuer took no action, however,  as it was his duty, but appointed a commission of inquiry in 2011. Only when the CDF imposed excommunication in spring 2014, Scheuer brought the Roman decree.

Scheuer's track in the sand

So what does not leave any traces after twelve years as bishop of North Tyrol? Striking it was only through his inaction in the case of Heizer; prompt distancing of Bishop Wagner; the hasty confession as a Kasperian who advocated for "more rights" for divorced and remarried; by the removal of a chaplain, who had dared to speak of hell and purgatory; as an extra in multireligious events of the governing state; of the "stimulated" to allow  lay preaching as "pastorallly necessary".

Scheuer has proved himself especially as an administrator of the creeping decline. It seems that more  can not be expected in the Austrian Schönborn-Church of a diocesan bishop.

And as such, Scheuer is the "desired Bishop" of like-minded in Linz. Impulses for spiritual renewal of the Church of Upper Austria beyond a watered-green-savvy Christianity are not to be expected from him. The tragedy continues.

Finally, but by no means least to be regretted, as the very "progressive" agenda, categories foreign to the Church, like "conservative," "liberal," "moderate" has prevailed, the Protestant Synodal thinking has been borrowed as a mimicry of parliamentary structures. It suggests a false equivalence and equality of different positions next to each other.  Whoever finds more followers and has occupied important positions, can just enforce it. The only distinction in the Church  should be between an orthodox and a heretical position. Under the influence of relativism on the other hand,   all  positions are tolerated indifferently as valid (almost). Moreover, what was rejected yesterday, can already be tolerated tomorrow. The   confusion and disorientation caused among priests and laity lies in front of everyone and calls out for help.

*)[Kreuz always called Schwarz an Old Liberal, and he was a scourge of Wagner and a very successful and pious Polish priest who upset a few non-participating members of his parish and the local media.] 

Text: Martha Weinzl
Image: Archdiocese of Vienna (Screenshot)

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

Link to Katholisches...

AMDG

"We Are Experiencing the Best Moments in the History of Freemasonry"

Freemasons Meeting at Santiago de Campostela

(Madrid) "We live in one of the best moments of Freemasonry."  This was confessed by the Grand Lodge of Spain in the latest issue of El Oriente.

El Oriente, is the press organ of the Grand Lodge  with the words of Oscar de Alfonso, the Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Spain. In a Masonic meeting in Santiago de Compostela, which was (the way to the light) under the slogan "El Camino Hacia la Luz", the Grandmaster said: "We are experiencing one of the best moments in the history of Freemasonry."

At the end of October in Santiago de Compostela an international Masonic conference the beaproned brothers gathered from Spain, Argentina, Chile, Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay. The result of the Sixth Conference of the Inter-American Masonic Confederation is a "Masonic Charter", which was adopted by the lodges delegates.

Decided "Masonic charter"

Coat of Arms of the Grand Lodge of Spain

Represented in Santiago de Compostela were the Grand Lodge of Spain, the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of Bolivia, the Grand Lodge of Argentina, the Grand Orient of Brazil, the Grand Lodge of Chile, the Symbolic Grand Lodge of Paraguay, the Grand Lodge of Ancient, Free and Accepted Masons of the Republic of Peru, the Legal Grand Lodge of Portugal and the Grand Lodge of Freemasonry of Uruguay.

According to the Grand Lodge of Spain combine the mentioned grand lodge includes"10,400 lodges with 350,000 Freemasons". They are aligned with the Scottish Rite Grand Lodge of England.

What exactly the "Carta Masonica" includes  was not released by the lodges. El Oriente provides only some hints in a report.  How meaningful they are decided about the actual content of the Charter, therefore, can not be said. The "Masonic Charter" finds, however, that the society stands before new problems."Fundamentalism, intolerance, the penetration of economic crime in the republican sense of community,  which produces social hostility" were explicitly mentioned.

Demanded Are New "Steering Forms" in Politics

The Grand Master of the Grand Lodge Oscar de Alfonso (with chain)

In addition, the  Masonic Charter diagnosed a general crisis of governance and steering forms in politics. The reason for this are the different forms of corruption and ethical relativism. By contrast, the Masonic Charter calls for the creation of a "new man" whose ideals "humanist, secular and tolerant" are "on the basis of freedom, equality and fraternity". This "new man" would be realized through the establishment of an "open society", "new forms of cohabitation", "new forms of production" and "new forms of civic, democratic and representative forms".

The Inter-American Masonic Conference also spoke out in favor of legalizing the killing of unborn children by abortion in Chile and therefore supports the efforts of former UN Women Director and UN Under-Secretary General of the reorganized Socialist Chilean President Michelle Bachelet.

El Oriente, the publication of the Spanish Grand Lodge is published by the Communications Secretariat of the Grand Lodge.

From 18-21 November 2015, the meeting in San Francisco in the US,, the XIVth World Conference of the regular  Masonic Grand Lodge, like the Scottish Rite, under the motto "The Chain of Union: Strengthening Fraternal Bonds in a Changing World".

Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Image: Gle.org (screenshots)
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
Link to Katholisches....
AMDG

Paris After the Attacks: "In the Banlieues It Is Dangerous to Show That You Are Christian"

Banlieue in Paris

(Paris) Ever since the riots in 2005, the French term Banlieue is in all languages a synonym understood as  problem district, of neighborhoods  with a high proportion of immigrants, unemployment, social welfare, drug use, crime and Muslims. The Banlieues have not decreased since 2005, but continued to spread.

A French member of the military has left Paris two years ago to find a better and safer environment for her young son. She now lives in northern Italy. There, the monthly magazine led Il Timone has interviewed her. Part of the phenomenon of Banlieue-propagation is a sense of intimidation and takes place in many ways limiting the freedom of expression. To remain anonymous, the former soldier's name was  personalized in the French Nationalallegory, "Marianne."

"Anyone who was born In Paris really can't live there any  no longer. The Paris knows certain dynamics, knowing that it is a struggle without end."

Why did you leave France?

Marianne: I was born in Paris. I studied there. Even when I was little and went to school, I grew up surrounded by violence. On the way to the subway, I experienced violent clashes again and again. Often those involved were armed. It is very difficult for the state to survey all the violence and even harder to keep them under control. I've actually never felt safe. When knew I was becoming a mother, I was still in the military and served in a peacekeeping unit with the UN mission. I had just returned   from a strenuous deployment at the border between Lebanon and Israel. The next operation would lead me to the Ivory Coast. Since,  I decided to change my service. So I joined the Department of the Interior.  This led to the decision to leave with my child, to make it possible for him to grow up in a better and quieter area. My desire was to enable my child a life as a child.

What can you tell us about the banlieue?

Marianne: I was employed in a special unit in Public Safety. This included the fight against violence and drugs. I went through an intense year in the middle of Paris. The inhabitants of the banlieues have shot from the blocks of flats at us, threw televisions, microwave ovens and sinks out of the windows. I was injured several times. It is very difficult for the police and the army, to go into the problem area on the outskirts of Paris, a fortiori, to control them.

Were you also subjected to religiously motivated violence?

Marianne: Yes, throughout the deployment.

What kind of coexistence between believers of different religions have you have experienced in France?

Marianne: As the secularism applies in France, there is discretion. It is not recommended to show one's own religion. If it is respected, everything is relatively calm. Thus the Christian faith has been forced out of the public space. In the suburbs, however, it is better for a very different reason not to show that you are a Christian. There exists a very different climate. There, Islam has the final say.

How did you live your Catholic faith in France?

Marianne: I've been a practicing Catholic for two and a half years. This has played a crucial role in my life decisions. In Italy I live my faith freely. There is no comparison to France. I belong to the Third Order of Franciscans. I live the faith freely and in fraternity. It is life changing. Here I am protected. My son is now five years old. That he can grow up with the Church is the most beautiful thing I could give him for life.

Introduction / translation: Giuseppe Nardi
Image: Wikicommons
Trahs: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
Link to Katholisches...
AMDG

Folk Music Instead of Choral --- Milan's Schola Gregoriana Mediolanensis Shown the Door

Schola Gregoriana Mediolanensis

(Milan) The famous Schola Gregoriana Mediolanensis of Milan, which is dedicated to the care of Gregorian and Ambrosian chant, has been removed from the Basilica of San Vittore al Corpo from Milan to make room for folk singing.

The Choral Schola founded in 1980 by the famous musician Giovanni Vianini and since then,  choral schola director, consists of a men and a women's schola, which currently includes 20 singers each. Together they form a mixed choir. Vianini is internationally recognized as a choral expert.

For 35 years, the Schola serves the dual founding mission: the liturgical choir service and the care and preservation of Gregorian and Ambrosian chant. In Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milan, as well as in the Basilica of San Vittore, remains true to the Ambrosian Rite of the Catholic Church. It goes back to the Church Father Ambrose, who was archbishop of Milan from 374-397. The first church of San Vittore is dated to the fourth century according to tradition. Today's Baroque edifice comes from the 16th century.

School of the Ambrosian Chant

The schola has  introduced  more than a thousand students from around the world to choral singing in the past 35 years. The Schola can refer to numerous recordings. 23 CD's are currently commercially available. In addition to radio and television appearances, the Schola sang in numerous cathedrals and monastery churches in Italy, but also abroad, such as Fontgombault, Chartres, Rouen, Paray le Monial, Poitiers, Citeaux, Senanque,  in Metz, Einsiedeln, Disentis, Engelberg, Müstair, Uznach , St. Gallen, just to name a few.

In its care of Gregorian Chant, the schola follows the school of the Benedictine monks of Solesmes. In the care of  Ambrosian chant, it forms its own school, which is based on the publications and studies commissioned by Cardinal Ildefons Schuster (archbishop of Milan from 1929 to 1954) and his own studies of the medieval codices.

"Choral's Prayer, is the sung word of God in the sacred liturgy"

"The singers are not professionals, but devote themselves seriously to the study and care of this important repertoire of sacred music. It's a musical treasure that is carried forward especially in the sacred liturgy, because this music is prayer,it  is the sung word of God, the language of the ineffable," it says on the website of Schola Gregoriana Mediolanensis." Gregorian chant is for the sacred music like the sunlight is for the trees, " with these words Schola Master Vianni explained the importance of choral singing to his students. "Gregorian chant rises literally to Heaven."

However, in the Basilica of San Vittore, where the Schola has done their volunteer service for 35 years, there is no room for the chant. "The Choral must make room for shallow singing with guitar accompaniment and electronic organ. The tradition of folk singing is not to be underestimated, however, to distinguish it from the sacred music. What is today but offered as contemporary folk singing, is neither liturgical either in its   music or its lyrics. The melodies often have nothing to do with the Church music and the lyrics are sometimes at best merely religiously inspired," said a disappointed member Schola.

"The verticality of choral singing must yield the horizontality of a flat folk song"

The expulsion of the Schola Gregoriana Mediolanensis is no single case. "The verticality of choral singing must give way to the horizontality of a flat, modern folk singing. This involves a misunderstanding of the active participation of the faithful. In Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milan there  is unfortunately a systematic rejection of the Ambrosian and Gregorian chant under way," said Messa in Latino.

A Sample of Schola director Giovanni Vianini. One of many recordings, with whom he recorded songs of the Ambrosian chant.

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

Pope Francis Blames Benedict for Corruption Passes Buck on Chaoqui

Edit: there are suggestions that Francesca Chaoqui is a member of the Italian Secret Police, but it's impossible to believe that Pope Francis didn't know more about her when she was brought on board, than he suggests in his interview.  She was a high profile appointment obviously conceived to present a more open, inclusive Vatican.  It's difficult to discern what he's saying, but it also looks like he's accusing Pope Benedict of the corruption he's pretending to fight with the C9, made up mostly of some of the most liberal and princely Cardinals of the Church.  It's hard to call most of them Catholic.

(Paris) The Vatileaks 2 scandal is substantiated in a lawsuit by the Vatican court. Therin, none of the   details are spared that  make for all the ingredients of the perfect Sex, Crime and VaticanStory. That the bustling Francesca Chaouqui should betray her Vatican mentor, Msgr. Lucio Angel Vallejo Balda, since the police of the Vatican  showed up, makes them even more interesting to the media and even more embarrassing for the Vatican. Her appointment shall be directly attributed to Pope Francis on the recommendation of Msgr Vallejo Balda

When questioned by journalists,  Pope Francis  gave reply on the return journey from Africa regarding Vatileaks 2. His full answers:

Question: There is much talk about Vatileaks. Without going into details about the process, which takes place just: How important is the free and secular press in uncovering the corruption?

Pope Francis: The Free Press, the secular and ecclesiastical, but professional in any case: The professionalism of the press may be secular or religious. It is important that it has professionals and that the messages are not tampered with. For me it is important because the accusation of injustice and corruption is a good work. The professional press have to say anything, but without falling into the three most common sins: disinformation, which is to tell only half the story, and the rest not; defamation, if the non-professional public spotted the people; and the defamation that has things to say, which takes the reputation of a person. These are the three flaws that threaten the professionalism of the press. We need professionalism. And when it comes to corruption, it's good things to say: "Corruption exists here, here and here." And if a truly professional journalist was wrong, he apologizes.

Question: We could get into the COSEA appointing Monsignor Lucio Angel Vallejo Balda and Francesca Chaouqui.?Think of having made a mistake?

Pope Francis: I think that was a mistake. Vallejo joined because of the role he had and did have up until now: he was secretary of the Prefecture for the Economic Affairs of the Holy See. How did she get in: I am not sure, but I think I am right in saying that it was he who said she was someone who was well acquainted with the world of business relations. They worked and when the work was complete, COSEA’s members kept some positions in the Vatican. Mrs. Chaouqui did not stay in the Vatican: some say she was angry about this. The judges will tell us what her real intentions were, how they did it. It did not come as a surprise to me, I didn’t lose any sleep over it because they showed everyone the work begun with the commission of nine cardinals, to root out corruption and the things that are wrong. There’s one thing I want to say, not about Vallejo and Chaouqui. Thirteen days before John Paul II’s death, during the via Crucis, the then Cardinal Ratzinger, talked about the filth in the Church. He denounced the first one. Then John Paul II died and Ratzinger, who was a dean on the "pro eligendo Pontefice” Mass, talked about the same thing. We elected him because of his openness about things. It is since that time that there has been corruption in the air in the Vatican. Regarding the trial: I have not read the charges in full. I would have liked the whole thing to have been over and done with before the Jubilee but I don’t think that’s possible because I want all the defence lawyers to have time to do their job and the freedom of defence.”

Question: How will you proceed, to prevent the recurrence of these things?

Pope Francis: I thank God that there is no longer Lucrezia Borgia! [laughs] But I do not know, with the Cardinals, to do away with the Commission. Not true? Thank you.

Text: Giuseppe Nardi/Vatican Reports translation
Image: Mil

Trans of Nardi's Text: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com Link to Katholisches... AMDG

Jihadist Terror Cell Uncovered in Italy, Allegedly Planning Attack Against Pope

(Rome) in Italy a jihadist cell was exposed. The Italian and Kosovar police led in a joint anti-terror operation in Italy and in Kosovo. Four Islamists were arrested on Tuesday. All those arrested are from Kosovo and the Muslims are of Albanian origin. They are accused of having planned an assassination attempt against Pope Francis. "This is the last pope" is a quote from an Internet entry of the aforementioned Islamists.

Internet surveillance is supposed to have brought  the four suspects under investigation. They have published "unique" images which identified them  as sympathizers of the Islamic Stateidentifies (IS). They have regularly visited websites by jihadist groups, and maintain contacts with Islamists in Syria.

The group had directed threats against Pope Francis and Tracey Ann Jacobson, who was until August 2015, the US ambassador in Kosovo. The suspects "celebrated" the attacks in Paris and urged further attacks.

According to police, the group's leader was arrested in Kosovo. Weapons were seized n his house.  The base of the cell, however, is to have been in the Italian province of Brescia, where three other people were arrested.

"We are in your streets"

In recent months, many Muslims were detained in several police actions. At the end of July  two Islamists, a Tunisian and a Pakistani were arrested. They had leaflets with the black banner of the Islamic State (IS) and circulated the text: "Islamic State in Rome. We are in your streets." Similar pamphlets have surfaced in recent years in several Italian cities.

On the day before the attacks in Paris, Islamists were arrested in various provinces, 17 of them in the South Tyrolean town of Merano. Among them is also Abdulrahman Nauroz.   He and his cell, according to police, recruit new fighters for the Jihad militias in Syria and Iraq. Contacts existed in Switzerland and Finland. Whether this group also had contacts with the Islamist scene in Austria and the Federal Republic of Germany, has not been announced by the investigators so far.

Italian security agencies fear that Islamic terrorist militia could be planning an attack in Rome during the Holy Year, which begins this coming December 8.

Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Image: Polizia di Stato / TG5 (screenshots)

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

Link to Katholisches...

AMDG

Pope Adopts NewChurch Trinitarian Formula

[Zenit] --Q: Holy Father, now that we are about to begin the Jubilee, can you explain what movement of the heart drove you to highlight precisely the subject of mercy? What urgency do you perceive in this regard, in the present situation of the world and of the Church?

--Pope Francis: The theme of mercy has been strongly accentuated in the life of the Church, since Pope Paul VI. John Paul II stressed it strongly with Dives in Misericordia, the canonization of Saint Faustina and the institution of the Feast of Divine Mercy on the Octave of Easter. In line with this, I felt that it is somewhat a desire of the Lord to show His mercy to humanity. Therefore, it didn’t come to my mind, but rather the relatively renet renewal of a tradition that has however always existed.

My first Angelus as Pope was on God’s mercy and, on that occasion, I also spoke of a book on mercy which was given to me by Cardinal Walter Kasper during the conclave; also, in my first homily as Pope, on Sunday, March 17, I spoke of mercy in the parish of Saint Anne. It wasn’t a strategy; it came to me from within: the Holy Spirit wills something. It’s obvious that today’s world is in need of mercy, it is in need of compassion, or to begin with <compasion>. We are used to bad news, to cruel news and to the greatest atrocities that offend the name and life of God. The world is in need of discovering that God is Father, that there is mercy, that cruelty isn’t the way, that condemnation isn’t the way, because the Church herself sometimes follows a hard line, she falls into the temptation of following a hard line, into the temptation of stressing only the moral rules, many people are excluded.

http://www.zenit.org/en/articles/text-of-pope-s-interview-with-italian-jubilee-publication-credere

HT: Rorate

He's also sanitizing the Ugandan Martyrs:

https://www.lifesitenews.com/opinion/pope-francis-astoundingly-neglects-to-mention-real-reason-ugandans-were-bru?utm_source=LifeSiteNews.com+Daily+Newsletter

AMDG

NZZ: "The Pope and His Opponents: Francis in the Headwinds"

Cardinal Leondaro Sandri

by Manfred Ferrari

This is one comment, typical of the Neue Zürcher Zeitung   (NZZ), among the best I've ever read on the subject. As a journalist who has been working for three decades with the Vatican Curia, I can agree with the author in many ways. A reform of the Curia was long overdue. But this has to be drawn with tact and consideration out of the myriad of  Vatican cliques. The commissioning of outrageously expensive consulting firms was an unfortunate choice.

In addition, Pope Francis has received some internal crossfire due to  unhappy personnel decisions, particularly also because he (against his better judgment) did not want to reverse. The extravagance of the Curia, which often arises from a frightening arrogance has hardly relented even under the new pontiff.

An example: As the Greek Catholic Church on 16 September 2013, was inaugurated in Astana / Kazakhstan *, the Vatican ordered a private jet in Switzerland so that the Argentine curial official and his staff  could walk in with  "dry feet."  This was certainly not within the meaning of Pope Bergoglio.  But even Pope Paul VI. had his work cut with his Curia. When he gave an analysis of the reform of the Curia at Bishop Edouard Gagnon in order, these disappeared without a trace, even before Pope Montini could see them. Even for Pope John Paul II. it was not possible gather all findings in a single study (existing in a single output).

*) The private company MAX Airlines had carried (from Berne-Rome-Kazakhstan and back)  Cardinal Leonardo Sandri (Argentina) and his suite. The estimated cost was approximately 15-20000 Swiss francs to be a guest at the feast of the dedication there! How many poor children could have been supplied with it? With Alitalia Flight + Aeroflot this would have cost 548 euros per person. And now the Vatican is taking action (according to my information, at the express wish of Pope Francis) against two Italian journalists, because they denounced the wastefulness of Vatican cardinals in their books. According to the new Law Code of the Vatican they could be faced with imprisonment between 5 - expect 10 years, even if they are expected to be pardoned. With this action, Pope Francis may lose his goodwill with the international press. Pity!

Text: Manfred Ferrari, Vaticanist kathmedia.org, fotoferrari.com
Image: Una Fides

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmmail.com

Link to Katholisches...

AMDG

The Easily Falsifiable Pope Francis: "War is the Leading Cause of Death"

Edit: so easily falsifiable but intimately linked to the usual statements of pacifists and freethinkers everywhere.

Great write up:

[veneremurcernui] Pope Francis made an absolutely ludicrous statement.  Wars are so far from being the leading cause of death virtually EVERYWHERE in the world his statement below beggars belief.  Is he really this ill-informed, or unhinged, or given to ridiculously flawed on the spot statements?

On his recent flight back from Africa, Pope Francis was asked a “gotcha” question from the press regarding condom use in avoiding the spread of HIV on that continent where it is so rife.  After undermining 2000 year old doctrine yet again, Pope Francis went on a rant that exposed his incredibly simplistic (I would really like to say, stupid) view of the causes of poverty and suffering in the world while once again harping against “arms manufacture” and wars.  But when he claims that wars are the number 1 cause of death (he said this generally, as if it is a universal truth around the world), he really demonstrated his grave inability to either proclaim the Faith or even think clearly, missing the obvious fact (which rarely, if ever, appears to occur to him) that ABORTION has been the leading cause of death around the world over the past 40 years, with probably close to two BILLION lives snuffed out in that time from this satanic sacrifice of perfectly innocent (of actual sin) children:

https://veneremurcernui.wordpress.com/2015/12/01/pope-francis-wars-are-the-leading-cause-of-death/

HT for Image: ES

Pope Seeks Union With Orthodox Church

Edit: they both have a common faith in the dogmas of climatology.

(Vatican Radio)  In an address upon conclusion of the Divine Liturgy celebrated by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I at the Orthodox Church of St. George in Istanbul, Pope Francis said “the one thing that the Catholic Church desires and that I seek as Bishop of Rome…is communion with the Orthodox Churches.”

Below, please find the complete text of the Holy Father’s address:

            When I was the Archbishop of Buenos Aires, I often took part in the celebration of the Divine Liturgy of the Orthodox communities there.  Today, the Lord has given me the singular grace to be present in this Patriarchal Church of Saint George for the celebration of the Feast of the holy Apostle Andrew, the first-called, the brother of Saint Peter, and the Patron Saint of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.

http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2014/11/30/pope_francis_i_seek_communion_with_orthodox_churches/1113017

The Martyrs of Uganda Died Because They Resisted the Aberrosexual Desires of Their King

Charles Lwanga and Companions

(Kampala) On Saturday, 28 November Pope Francis  visited Namugongo in Uganda. At 8:30, he  visited the memorial of the Anglican martyrs and at 9 o'clock the memorial of the Catholic martyrs. There he will conclude with the celebration of the Mass. In Namugongo, Charles Lwanga and other pages at the court of the Kabaka, king of Buganda were burned alive because of their Christian faith  on 3 June 1886.  In 1887 a total of 32 Christians were executed at the royal court in fourteen months between late and early 1885. 22 of them were Catholics, as well as Charles Lwanga.

The martyrs of Uganda were beatified  by Pope Benedict XV in 1920. In 1964 they were canonized by  Pope Paul VI.  on and June 3, has since been the Memorial of St. Charles Lwanga and his Companions.

The visit to Namugongo occupies a central place for the  visit to Uganda. There the Pope will celebrate his only public Mass in this East African country.

The Martyrdom of Charles Lwanga and Companions for Their Faith and Chastity

The visit is not without its explosiveness. Uganda has been widely criticized in the recent past because of the very different paths it took in matters of homosexuality, abortion, contraception and AIDS, than the West with its customary   abortion and contraceptive mentality.  The events in Namugongo have to do with homosexuality, and thus with AIDS and prevention,  and are therefore of particular relevance. But  hardly anyone knows  that in Europe.

To learn why Charles Lwanga and the other Christians found such a cruel death, you have to read the Roman martyrology. Charles Lwanga came, like his companions, from  the Bagandian nobility. The young noble sons were part of the entourage of the king, whom they served. The King of Buganda was then Mwanga II. While Charles Lwanga and other young nobles were baptized and followed Christ the King with great zeal his ear was lent in contrast to the  Islamic emissaries trying push back the growing Christian influence by the persecution of Christians, of Catholics and Anglicans.

Polygamy, Homosexuality and Islam

The reasons were not only political (influence by British, German and Arab, Anglicans, Catholics and Muslims), but also moral. The Roman martyrology speaks of the "obscene demands" of the king. This refers to homosexual desires of the then 20th Kabaka (king). These desires  were rejected by Christians at his court. Mwanga II. put them to death for it.

The highlight of this persecution was on June 3, the burning of Charles Lwanga and twelve companions in Namugongo, where a church was built in their memory. The Muslim advisor at the king's court had fewer problems with the way of life of the king. This was officially mainly for polygamy, who paid homage to the Kabaka of Buganda. The Christian understanding of marital monogamy was a serious cultural break with political implications. Due to the numerous women of Kabaka the various tribes of Baganda had share in the kingship. Polygamy was the matriarchal element of the unwritten constitution that secured kingship of all the tribes on a rotating basis. Islam, which permits polygamy, came to meet these political needs. This was also unofficially more congenial for the tyrannical King's homosexual desires, who desired to demonstrate  his power in the sense of  the sexual domination of men and women.

The Kabaka was overthrown later, was baptized Anglican, and returned with the British to power, but was soon overthrown again  in a joint action by the British and tribal superiors and died in 1903 in British exile in the Seychelles.

At the 117th anniversary of the Martyrdom the CDF Took a Position in  2003 on Homsexuality

It was no accident that the CDF, with the signature of its then prefect Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, precisely on June 3, 2003, published the document "Considerations Regarding Proposals of Legal Recognition for Unions Between Homosexual Persons."  It was a document on an issue that is one of the most controversial of our time. On this subject, the Catholic Church was exposed to massive external, but also internal pressure.

In the "Considerations"  the CDF states initially on marriage:

"The Church teaches that Christian marriage is an effective sign of the covenant between Christ and the Church (cf. Eph. 5:32). This Christian meaning of marriage, far from diminishing the profoundly human value of the marital union of man and woman, confirms and strengthens it (cf. Mt from 19:3-12. Mk 10:6-9). "

And then about homosexual relationships:

"There are absolutely no grounds to establish analogies between homosexual unions and God's plan over marriage and the family, not even in a broader sense. Marriage is holy, while homosexual acts go against the natural moral law. [...] They  are not  to be approved in any case.
Homosexual relationships are condemned in Scripture as a serious depravity ... (cf. Rom 1:24- 27;. 1 Cor 6,10; 1 Tim 1:10). This judgment of Scripture does not allow the conclusion that all those who suffer from this anomaly are personally responsible, but testifies that homosexual acts are not in themselves in order. This moral judgment is found in many Christian writers of the first centuries, and was unanimously accepted by Catholic Tradition. "

Homosexual acts "Cry Out to  in Heaven for Vengeance"

Homosexual relationships are among the four deadly sins or  sins "outrageous", as the Catechism of Pope John Paul II. Is, or sins "crying out to  heaven for vengeance", as it says in the Catechism of St. Pius X.

Today there are in the Catholic Church, at least that of the so-called West, a tendency to simply suppress this part of Catholic doctrine. The one part is no longer talks about it and thus escapes further criticism from without the church further and homosexuals. Another part adopts the position of the secular world and the homosexuals. Parallel to this is homosexuality, including its branches, of pedophilia and ephebophilia, which have become an internal problem of the Church.

Ambiguous Signals from Pope Francis on Homosexuality

Pope Francis has so far sent out mixed signals  in terms of homosexuality. On the one hand he severely criticized the gender theory several times.  On April 15, 2015, he  wondered at the general audience "whether the so-called gender theory is not an expression of frustration and resignation, which aims at the eradication of sexual difference, because they no longer understand, to confront it. We risk here, to take a step backwards. The displacement of the differences is the problem, not the solution."  Earlier this year, said the Pope in Manila of "a new ideological colonization, the attempt to destroy the family." Specifically, he criticized the international institutions that bind financial loans for States for the introduction of "gay marriage".

On the other hand, he  also made the famous-infamous phrase of his pontificate: "Who am I to judge?"  It's a sentence that has been widely abused by homosexual and homophilic circles to justify homosexuality and the legalization of "gay rights". Although this use of the sentence has not escaped the Vatican, it has not been corrected by Pope Francis. At least not in a sufficiently understandable and clarifying extent because  the abuse continues.

Homosexual organizations introduce King Mwanga II. as an example that homosexuality also belongs "to Africa". The example of martyrdom for the purity of Charles Lwanga and his companions was an important factor in the successful fight against AIDS by the Ugandan government. To the western contraceptive mentality, the government opposed in collaboration with the Christian churches chastity and continence. In the late 1980s nearly 30 percent of the population were infected with HIV, while their number fell in 2004 to 6 percent. The successful method is liked neither by the UN population experts nor the abortion lobby or the Western media, which is why very little was known internationally about the "miracle on Lake Victoria" in the fight against AIDS.

No Place is More Appropriate than Namugongo to Speak a Word of Clarification on Homosexuality

No site would be more appropriate than Namugongo with the grave of Saint Charles Lwanga and his companions, who suffered martyrdom because of the defense of their chastity, to speak a word of clarification on homosexuality and to raise his voice for the whole world to hear. It's a subject that should be made a "priority" of world politics in  circles external to the Church. Above all, it would be the appropriate place to correct that controversial sentence that weighs on this pontificate and on the whole Church since the return flight from Rio de Janeiro in late July 2013: "Who am I to judge?"

Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Image: Settimo Cielo / Wikicommons

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

Link to Katholisches...

AMDG