Bishop Edward Slattery Celebrates Immemorial Mass of All Ages Ad Orientem for All Hallows

Edit: with all the people complaining abbout the sky falling, we thought we'd give this some attention.

[Okie Traditionalist] Tonight, the Diocese of Tulsa, especially the Catholic faithful devoted to the Traditional Mass, got a spiritual booster shot in the arm from their recently retired bishop--Bishop Edward Slattery--celebrating the Ancient and Venerable Roman Rite at the Cathedral, on behalf of All Souls.

Curiously, the Cathedral website only announced a Novus Ordo for this evening at the local cemetery LINK. Even its Sunday bulletin made no mention of the Bishop's High Mass (LINK). It took a phone call by an Okie Traditionalist Correspondent to the cathedral's secretary to confirm that His Excellency would in fact be saying a public Traditional Mass where, until just recently, he was Chief Pastor.

As discussed here (LINK), Bishop Slattery has been one of the rare bishops actively promoting the Traditional Latin Mass, and the first American bishop to start saying Mass Ad Orientem every Sunday in his cathedral. As sitting bishop, he often said the Tridentine rite of his own accord at the cathedral and elsewhere, not only as a courtesy to several Latin Mass communities he actively founded over the last 2 decades.

Link...

Also, Laramie Hirsch...
AMDG

Magister: The Jesuits Have Lost Radio Vatican -- Shortwave Broadcasts Discontinued

Edit: the following is from Sandro Magister, espressoonline's resident Vaticanist who sits at the center of the storms racking the Church and its leaders in Rome. It's interesting to see how Father Lombardi is slowly being pushed into further retirement and irrelevance at 74. Will the Vatican's communications and press service be dominated by a dominated by a Godless global corporation?

ROME, October 30, 2016 – Jorge Mario Bergoglio is the first Jesuit in history to sit on the throne of Peter. And yet precisely during his reign the Society of Jesus is at risk of disappearing from the Vatican.

It still has charge of the astronomical observatory. But it has lost command of the press office, the radio network, the television station, the heart of the communication system of the Holy See.

For a few years Fr. Federico Lombardi was at the head of all three of these installations. But one after another they have been taken from him, and no other Jesuit has replaced him.

The new boss of the Vatican media, placed by Pope Francis at the helm of the newly created secretariat for communication, is the Lombard monsignor Dario Edoardo Viganò, an expert on cinema, as far as can be imagined from the vision of his predecessor.

Link to Chiesa...

Oriented Liturgy: Benedict XVI Stands Behind Cardinal Sarah -- And Pope Francis Sinks Into Silence

Holy Liturgy: Celebration Direction versus deum, facing to the East,
from which the Lord will come.

(Rome) The news is startling indeed, and was supported by different news agencies like Riposte Catholique and Boulevard Voltaire: Benedict XVI. adopted a position this  October 12th in the Osservatore Romano  on the battle escalating within the Church for the orientation of the Sacred Liturgy. He did not hesitate in himself making the line of Cardinal Robert Sarah entirely his own. Thus, the former head of the Church openly distanced  himself from the line of his successor Pope Francis.

Benedict XVI. has made this downright sensational step on soil familiar to him,  theology. He spoke in favor of changing the celebration direction in the New Rite. The direction of the celebration in the liturgical reform of 1969/1970 facing the people should be abandoned and returned to the celebration facing east, says Benedict. The German Pope wrote:

"In the orientation of the liturgy to the east, we see that Christians want to strive together with the Lord, for the salvation of the whole creation."

It is not the celebrant, who must become  the eyes of all, since - says Benedict XVI :

"A shepherd of the flock of Jesus Christ is never  facing only to the circle of his own faithful."

Benedict XVI. openly contradicts the line of his successor - Cardinal Sarah's Push

Some have expected that since there would be backlash by Pope Bergoglio. Since the publication of the opinion of Benedict XVI.  it's been more than 20 days, so it is probable that no backlash will come, at least not directly.

"The situation is really irritating," said Corrispondenza Romana . A Pope that will be contradicted by his surviving predecessor in a core area, the core area of the Holy Church. In other words: The predecessor slips back into the role of the Pontiff and Supreme Pastor to do what was supposed to be done by his successor, the reigning Pope.

But why has it come about? Last June the prefect of the Roman Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, Robert Cardinal Sarah, called upon "all, priests and faithful" to "face eastwards" to turn in the Holy Mass, at least in those central parts of the Mass where one turns directly to God: the Kyrie, Gloria prayers and especially the Eucharist. The cardinal urged not only all priests, again to change the Zelebrationsrichtung eastwards, as it has always been in the Church. He also named a specific date to implement the change: the First Sunday of Advent 2016th

The proposal was immediately agreed upon by Cardinal Raymond Burke, once the highest of judges and lawyers of the Church, whom Pope Francis removed in November 2014 from the Roman Curia because he resisted the weakening of the marriage sacrament.

The proposal was also decisively rejected on the part of those circles in the Vatican, who are close to  Pope Francis. The then Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi rushed to the microphone to explain: "There are no new upcoming liturgical directives."

A statement by the Press Office, with which distanced the Holy See from Cardinal Sarah's proposal remained anonymous. Who was commissioned, which office and which person is in charge, is still unclear. There is no doubt, however, that it was approved by Pope Francis.

Unfriendliness against Cardinal Sarah - backing from Benedict XVI.

Since then Cardinal Sarah was  invited to a few more of the numerous events than earlier that take place continuously in the Vatican. The most recent unfriendliness towards the courageous Cardinal from Guinea was his cancellation as a speaker at the opening of the academic year at the Pontifical John Paul II Institute. For Studies on Marriage and Family. Pope Bergoglio, who had previously conducted profound changes at the Institute, which amount to a change of direction, even gave the opening speech.

It was less marveled at that Cardinal Sarah was not even invited by Pope Francis to commemorate Luther and accompany him to the Swedish city of Lund.

But it was Benedict XVI., who stood with his authority behind Cardinal Sarah and the proposal to "reform the liturgical reform".  It would be difficult for the reigning pope to enter the field against the theological competence of his predecessor,without daring to reveal sheer arbitrariness.

This could explain why  21 days after the publication of Benedict XVI's opinion he is still silent.

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

Archbishop Piero Marini Suffers a Severe Stroke -- Disciple of Bugnini

Curial Archbishop Piero Marini was an assistant to the architect
of the post-conciliar reform, Annibale Bugnini. In the night of October 31st, he
suffered a severe stroke.

And thou hast girded me with strength unto battle; and hast subdued under me them that rose up against me. 

(Rome) Curial Archbishop Piero Marini suffered a stroke in the night of 31 October. He is in the hospital Anna Rizzoli Ischia. The condition of the 74 year old Church representative is considered critical. Today a transfer to the Gemelli Hospital in Rome could take place.

On the morning of October 31, Don Antonio Angiolini, the pastor of  the Good Shepherd on the island of Ischia, found him lying on the floor of his room. The Archbishop has been hold up for some time on the island, which he has chosen as a second home.

His appointment this last October 28 by Pope Francis as a member of the Roman Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments was only just announced.

Piero Marini spent 20 years under John Paul II, as the papal master of ceremonies.

Marini, who was ordained a priest in 1965, is a student of Curial Archbishop Annibale Bugnini, the architect of the post-conciliar liturgical reform.  Marini worked as Bugnini's secretary and worked directly on the implementation of the liturgical reform. The reform relies on the Second Vatican Council, however, there were theoretical and practical innovations, which are not covered by the Council.

Pope Benedict XVI., therefore, did not confirm Piero Marini as master of ceremonies. It was a decision about which the archbishop has held a grudge even till today. Some see Pope Francis' hand played in his selection to the Consultors of the Pontifical Office for the Liturgical Celebrations of the Pope.  After the election of Pope Francis, Marini explained, satisfied: "You breathe fresh air. It is a window that opens to spring and hope. So far we have breathed the bad air of swampy suffocating waters."

Piero Marini, since 2007, has been the President of the Committee for International Eucharistic Congresses,  who has often been seen in the past three and a half years at the morning Mass with Pope Francis in Santa Marta. He is a constultant of the Pope in liturgical matters.

Pope Francis appointed Piero Marini Chairman to the Special Commission for the Liturgy in the Roman Congregation for Eastern Churches.   It's a decision that was met with skepticism by experts.

His appointment as a member of the Congregation for Divine Worship is seen as part of an experiment, to thwart Cardinal Robert Sarah, Prefect of the Congregation in his aspiration for a "reform of the liturgical reform."

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

 to press

Christian Times: Charges Against Bill Clinton for Underage Sex Ring

Edit: unlike other websites that fall within the ambit of restoratio, we are political. Being a pet of those in power, whether out of utility or wholehearted collaboration, will never give results. This isn't the perfect source, but we'll see what happens in the coming days.

[Christian Times] Sources within the New York Police Department are confirming that the NYPD is currently investigating allegations that Bill Clinton performed sexual acts on underage girls ranging from 5 to 14 years old in recent years. These reports have been confirmed my multiple others, and it appears that the NYPD is closing in on the former President.

According to senior sources within the department, investigators are making plans to bring charges against Clinton and his accomplices after finding new information in Anthony Wiener’s emails this weekend.

News broke in May that Clinton’s relationship with known pedophile Jeffrey Epstein extended much further than previously reported.

Link Christian Times 

Huma Abedin also had a file marked, "Life Insurance" which included this information.
AMDG

Pope Faces Indifference in Godless Sweden

Edit: here's a piece by Allistair Scrutton about the mostly indifferent reception Pope Francis faces in Sweden, despite his own attempt at rebranding and making the Catholic Church more like Sweden. Even if he is making Europe more welcoming to Islamic invaders while making it more inhospitable to confirmed Catholics, his efforts are met largely with indifference on the part of the people to whom he's desperately trying to appeal.

[Sweden] Usually feted ecstatically by Catholics across the world, Pope Francis may face a far more muted reception when he arrives next week in Sweden, one the world’s most secular nations, with openly gay Lutheran bishops and special cemeteries for atheists.

Add to that the fact that Francis will be there to take part in a joint Catholic-Lutheran service in Lund to mark the start of the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther’s anti-Catholic Reformation that led to a bloody schism in Europe.

In the first papal visit to the country in nearly 30 years, Francis, who is seen as breathing freshness into traditional Catholic doctrine and reaching out to other religious communities, will also hold a public Mass in Malmo, a gateway for thousands of immigrants who have fled from Middle East wars over the last few years.

While trips to the likes of the Philippines attract huge crowds, Francis’s attempt at dialogue with Lutherans may go either unnoticed or criticized by Scandinavians whose views on sexuality and abortion are among the world’s most liberal.

http://blogs.reuters.com/faithworld/2016/10/27/into-the-heart-of-godlessness-pope-francis-heads-for-sweden/

Melbourne Archbishop Closes Down Pro-Life Witness in Australia

Edit: from a reader. We share his concerns.

[Melbourne] Australia's John Paul II Institute for Marriage and Family is to close. In a surprise move, Archbishop Denis Hart of Melbourne, Australia, told staff and students on 26 October of his decision. 

The Archbishop cited concerns about low enrolments, but the Sydney Catholic Weekly says it understands student numbers have increased in recent years. (Link: https://www.catholicweekly.com.au/melbourne-archbishop-shuts-down-the-john-paul-ii-institute-for-marriage-and-family/)

Responding to suggestions that the Centre is too costly for the Melbourne archdiocese supporters have pointed to the Institute's national character and said costs should be shared with other Australian dioceses.  

Commentators have said the Institute's closure will remove the main orthodox Catholic voice in Australian debates on marriage and bioethics issues. They suggest the background appears to be Pope Francis' lack of support for sustained debate on such issues.

The Institute, founded in 2001, is affiliated to the Pontifical Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family, founded by Saint John Paul II. 

The Institute was founded by Anthony Fisher OP, now the Archbishop of Sydney. The current director is Professor Tracey Rowland, a respected lay theologian who is a member of the Vatican's International Theological Commission. 

AMDG

Bishop Blesses "Demo for Everyone" Demonstration Against Sex Education

Fulda's Bishop has been shocked that the CDU Minister of Education Lorz has ratified by ministerial decrees the new curriculum "and ignored both the vote of the national parent's advisory council and the opinion of the Catholic bishops in Hessen."

Wiesbaden / Fulda (kath.net/idea) The bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Fulda, Heinz Josef Algermissen, gave his episcopal blessing to the "Demo für alle" [Demo for everyone] on the 30th of October in Wiesbaden. It is directed against the new curriculum for sex education in Hesse. The program provides that students should learn and accept different sexual orientations and family situations. As Algermissen wrote in a greeting, he was shocked by the fact that the Minister of Education of the Rhineland, Ralph Alexander Lorz (CDU), introduced the new curriculum through a ministerial decree, "ignoring both the vote of the parent's advisory council and the opinion of the Catholic bishops in Hesse."  Algermissen honors the participants in the demonstration. They have showed that they are not indifferent to the sex education of children and adolescents. They have campaigned for "our society to remain Christian." His greeting ended with the words: "I would like to express my thanks to you and I will gladly give you my episcopal blessing." On the other hand, the curriculum was welcomed on the part of the protestant churches in Hesse.

Alliance Secretary General Steeb: Protest is needed

The General Secretary of the theologically conservative German Evangelical Alliance, Hartmut Steeb (Stuttgart), also welcomes the demonstration and calls for participation. It is unfortunately necessary to publicly express disapproval, he writes in an opinion, according to "idea" the Protestant news agency.

21,000 signatures against the new curriculum

As the nationwide action alliance "Demo für alle", over 21,000 people signed an online protest petition against the curriculum. The demonstration will be under the motto "Parental Rights - Stop Indoctrinating Sexual Education". One expects around 2,000 participants - not just from Hesse. At the same time the organization distanced itself from support it has received from extremist circles such as the NPD and other right-wing extremists. You should stay away from the event, it says in a Facebook post. A counterdemonstration is also planned to support the curriculum. The association "Warmes Wiesbaden" (Gay Wiesbaden) called for this.  It has organized the aberro-demonstration Christopher Street Day (CSD) and also expects 2,000 participants.

Hartmut Steeb (Evangelische Allianz Deutschland) at the DEMO FÜR ALLE on 28.2.16 in Stuttgart

Trams: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

AMDG

Battle of Milvian Bridge

Edit: in 312 on October 28th, the Emperor Constantine defeated the forces of Maxentius at the Battle of Milivian Bridge.  His victory was not only decisive in a political sense, but in a religious dimension as well since Constantine attributed his victory the divine intervention, more specifically, the intervention of Christ.  This victory and Constantine's own conversion and personal intervention in later passing the Edict of Toleration, led to the triumph of Christianity over pagan Rome.

Bishop Bonny of Antwerp Accused of Homophilic Statements by Catholic Laity in Rome

(Brussels) The Bishop of Antwerp, Msgr. Johan Bonny, has been brought on charges in the Roman Congregation for the Clergy. "We demand clarity as to whether this is still a Catholic, what Bishop Bonny has claimed or not," said the Belgian, Catholic lay association Pro Familia .

The Bishop has been widely known in recent years primarily through his homophilic utterances. Born in Ostende in West Flanders 1955, Bonny was appointed in 2008 by Pope Benedict XVI, however, he is a "product" of the former primate of Belgium, Godfried Cardinal Danneels, and the then apostolic nuncio, Karl-Josef Rauber. Danneels was retired and "disowned" in 2010 by Benedict XVI.  because the German pope did not see Danneels'  ideal progressive candidate as fit to succeed, but chose the "conservative" André-Joseph Léonard instead. Rauber was also retired by Benedict XVI. Both Danneels and Rauber are, incontrast, held in high regard by  Pope Francis.  Danneels belonged toTeam Bergoglio , who [illegally] organized the election Jorge Mario Bergoglio in the conclave of 2013. Rauber was raised by Francis to Cardinal, while he denied Archbishop Léonard the purple.

"Acknowledge Homosexual love" 

The controversial Bonny-book

Last October 11 is Bonny's book "Mag ik? Dank je. Sorry. Vrijmoedige dialoog over Relaties, huwlijk en gezin" (May I? Thank you. Sorry. Frank dialogue about relationships, Marriage and Family) appeared. As the Gazet van Antwerpen had already reported on October 6, Antwerp's bishop speaks for "new religious rituals" from "which we can recognize the reality of life between homosexuals also from ecclesiastical and religious perspective?" The marriage is indeed  a connection between man and woman, but it is though that the Church should recognize homosexual unions and bless them in a private ritual.

The Belgian Association of Catholic laity Pro Familia (not to be confused with the West German branch of the international abortion group Planned Parenthood ) was no longer prepared to accept this "Belgian situation." They filed a complaint because of  several lines in Bonny's new book with Cardinal Beniamino Stella, Prefect of the Roman Congregation for the Clergy.

Bishop Bonny writes therein:

"In no way could we continue to assert that there is no other form of love outside of heterosexual marriage. We encounter the same love even in a man and in a woman's life in the experience of a gay or lesbian couple.

Roman Congregation for Clergy now has to give an answer

"The Roman Congregation is the competent, senior administrative body, which now must provide an answer to the question of whether what Bishop Bonny teaches is Catholic, or whether it is a false doctrine that contradicts the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The Catechism refers to aberrosexuality as "an objective disorder". The Congregation will have to consider also whether the bishop is to be condemned for it or not," said OsservatorioGender Rodolfo de Mattei.

They had arrived at a crossroads. It is no longer possible to turn a blind eye. The Catholic lay organization calls for clarification, since the Catholic deposit of faith is not a hotchpotch of different opinions.

The step of the Belgian Association of Pro Familia can also be seen against the background of great confusion caused by the post-synodal papal Letter Amoris Laetitia, which has been driven to new heights. It gives the impression that the Catholic Church has spread the idea everywhere, the "air of a spiritual Wild West" where everyone  - whether episcopal conferences, dioceses or individuals - are trying to do what he wants, and to interpret in his own way, even the most controversial parts of the recent post-synodal letter.

When it became known that the complaint would be introduced, Bishop Bonny said: "Everyone is free to go where he wants." At the same time, he urged his critics to read the texts of Pope Francis again, "especially Evangelium Gaudium  and Amoris Laetitia" before they turn to the Congregation of Clergy. 

"Variations in the perception of moral teaching"

"Bishop Bonny showed ostentatious security by 'spoking for all who today want to be Christians' of, respect, and of variations' in the perception of moral teaching within the Church," said OsservatorioGender.

The Catholic lay organization Pro Familia sees the matter differently: The Church can not bless what God has forbidden. Bishop Bonny had already been made similarly worded statements in the past.  Nevertheless, he was sent by the Belgian Bishops' Conference as the only representative to Rome for the Synod of Bishops on the Family.  There must be a limit of endurance. The Catholic lay organization made it clear that it is not going to be satisfied with an evasive or noncommittal answer from Rome.

Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Picture: CR / Lannoo (Screenshot)
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
Link to Katholisches...
AMDG

Istanbul: Hagia Sophia to Have a Permanent Imam -- De Facto Transformation Into a Mosque

(Istanbul) Since 2003 when the Islamic Party for Justice and Development (AKP) took control of the government in Turkey under  Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a re-Islamization of the country has taken place.

Since mid-19th century  the expulsion and oppression of Christians had begun. In the decade 1910-1920 the coup de grace against the Christians took place by a cruel and bloody genocide.  Armenians, Greeks and Chaldeans were killed, expelled or forced to convert to Islam. One hundred years ago  in Istanbul, then still Constantinople, it was said that it was half Christians and Muslims. About 25 percent of the residents in the  area of what is now ​​present-day Turkey were still Christians. Today there are only 0.2 percent.

Prestige

The "Prestige" items of Re-Islamization is fulfilled by the conversion of famous ancient Byzantine churches. After the Turkish conquest of the country, they were made into mosques. Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, a representative of a national Turkish secularism, made them museums. For years,  ACP Islamic circles have again called to make them mosques.

Magnificent frescoes in the Hagi Sophia of Trebizond: the four Evangelists surrounded by angels. Mosque since 2012.

In some cases, Erdogan's government is already putting the various proposals into practice.

• The Hagia Sophia of Nicea which was built in the 6th century by Emperor Justinian I.  again became a mosque in 2011.  In 787 it had witnessed the Second Council of Nicaea. In 1337 Nicaea was conquered by the Muslims and made into a mosque. However, the Turks forfeited it and gave it up at  the end of the 19th century. Under Atatürk it became a museum in 1935.
• 2012  Hagia Sophia of Trebizond followed.  It had been built in 1250 by Emperor Manuel I Comnenus on the site of an earlier church. In 1204 the Byzantine Empire had been conquered during the Fourth Crusade. The noble family of Comnenus established the Empire of Trebizond as a successor state. In the new capital, the Hagia Sophia was inspired by the famous model of Constantinople. Trebizond would even last a few more years than Constantinople. In 1461 the small empire on the Black Sea was conquered by the Muslims as well. Since the Basilica was a few kilometers outside the city walls, it was only desecrated in 1511 by the Turks and  converted into a mosque only in 1584. The monastery which was attached to the Basilica was inhabited until the early 18th century by Greek Orthodox monks. The use as a mosque ended in the 50s of the 20th century. In the spirit of Ataturk it was then made into a museum. At the same the church frescoes whitewashed by the Muslims were uncovered again.

Hagia Sophia of Constantinople, the magnificent Basilica of the East

The most significant and magnificent Basilica of the Byzantine Empire, Hagia Sophia of Constantinople is still a museum. The question is: for how long?

The Hagia Sophia was begun under the Emperor Constantine the Great  in 325. Under Emperor Justinian I it took its present form and was consecrated in 537. It is one of the outstanding monuments of late antiquity. The great dome which rests only on four pillars, represents an architectural masterpiece. It was the cathedral of the Patriarch of Constantinople and the coronation church of the Byzantine emperors. For 1128 years,  the Divine Liturgy was celebrated there, of which 916 years was in its form visible today.

After the conquest of Constantinople in 1453 by the Turks, it was desecrated and converted into a mosque in the same year.

The Hagia Sophia, the largest and most splendid Basilica of the East, the imperial church of East Rome was desecrated by the Turks and converted into a mosque after the conquest of Constantinople in 1453. The Christian basilica can be seen today. In the Muslim period, four minarets were built and the cross was replaced on the main dome with the crescent to mark the Islamic conquest. In 1931 it was converted into a museum and is the biggest tourist attraction of Istanbul.

Since 2010 Demand for Renewed Conversion Into a Mosque

Its conversion into a mosque was called for at the political level in 2010. In 2012 an unknown Muslim Turk named Talip Bozkurt from Kahramanmaras in Anatolia, made a proposal in the Turkish Parliament to transform the Hagia Sophia back into a mosque. The suggestion was taken up and entered into parliamentary debate in January 2013.

Hagia Sophia of Nicaea, in 787 meeting  place of a council. Mosque since 2011

The Orthodox Patriarch of Moscow and Constantinople demand its the return to the Christians. If the Hagia Sophia is to be reopened for prayer, then it should be a church again, says Patriarch Bartholomew

Due to its  formative significance on the cityscape of Istanbul, neither Muslims nor Turkish nationalists are ready to return it to the Christians. For the AKP government, the issue of re-Islamization of the monument has a special symbolic meaning. This also applies to the  Prime Minister Binali Yildirim, who was relected in  May. In order to understand the reasoning behind this, the words of the then Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey, Bulent Arinc, on the conversion of Hagia Sophia of Nicaea (Iznik Turkish) in 2011, are useful:

"With this act we have recovered the recognition of our ancestors. The Hagia Sophia of Iznik is the booty of our conquest and as such we have a right to it. A church can be converted into a mosque. "

From a Ramadan Mosque to a Permanent Imam

Last June, the Hagia Sophia was converted to a mosque during Ramadan for a month. This is only a first step, say observers. Since then, imams who entered the Basilica, were there to do two of the five Islamic daily prayers. Now the next step will take place. As the Turkish news agency Anadolu reported, a proposal was made jointly in Constantinople between the State Office for Religious Affairs and the Mufti of Fathi to nominate a permanent imam for the Hagia Sophia who will perform the five-day prayers daily.

With the appointment of Imam, conversion into a mosque is consummated fact, regardless of any  expressed decision.

For now there is still no response from the Greek Government and the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople. Athens has criticized attempts at Islamicization in the past as an "insult to the religious sensibility of millions of Christians", which is all the more serious because these have been "undertaken by a country that wants to join the European Union."

In the European and overall in the international press it is difficult to find mention of these initiatives toward Islamicization. "Not a good sign," writes  Corrispondenza Romana.

Text: Andreas Becker
Image: Wikicommons / MiL
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
Link to Katholisches...
AMDG

Cardinal Canizares: "They Will Never Bring Me to Silence"

Valencia's Cardinal Antonio Canizares Llovera has once again criticized gender ideology. This ideology has been destroying the family, so he should not be silent, the Archbishop said.

Family | Valencia - 18/06/2016

[katolisch.de] Valencia's Cardinal Antonio Canizares Llovera has once again criticized gender teaching. "They will not silence me," the clergyman said according to Spanish media reports (Friday). "If I were to be silent, I would be a bad bishop."

He would continue to tell the truth "even if they crucify me". "We need the family, and this ideology destroys it, so we must not be silent, but must react."

Already a few weeks ago, Canizares had spoken in a sermon against "the gender ideology" and the influence "of the gay empire". Homosexual groups and other political groups subsequently filed a criminal complaint against the Cardinal; His words were "full of hatred, homophobic and macho." However, Valencia's archbishop is not willing to withdraw his remarks. "Is it homophobic to defend the family?" he replied.

As early as October 2015, Canizares had made a name for himself when he spoke of an "invasion of immigrants", which could prove to be a "Trojan horse" in the face of the refugee crisis. This gave him harsh criticism and withdrawal demands from several politicians. He then suggested a more moderate tone and called in a message to treat the immigrants with "true charity". (Luk / KNA)

Communist Government of Venezuela Rocked by Massive Protests -- Possible Coup

All the Pope's horses and all the Pope's men, couldn't put poor Maduro together again!

 Edit: Maduro has been globetrotting lately, attempting to gather support for his oppressive regime in various quarters, including fellow traveller, Pope Bergoglio. He may have to go into exile. See the mass demonstrations live, here.

Caracas (AFP) - Opponents of Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro rallied in the streets Wednesday and he convened a crisis security meeting as the leftist leader resisted their efforts to drive him from power.

Thousands of opposition supporters began to gather at seven points around Caracas in the morning and said they planned to march and join up in the east of the capital.

It is a key test of strength in a mounting political and economic crisis that is destabilizing the South American oil producer.

The socialist president and center-right-dominated opposition accuse each other of mounting a "coup" in a volatile country rich in oil but short of food.

Continue... AMDG

Abbott of Mariawald Resigns -- War on Catholicism Continues

Edit: the Trappist Monastery of Mariawald is located in the vicinity of the of Heimbach with 4,400 inhabitants - it lies fifty kilometers southeast of Aachen. This monastery, which has seen some decent growth in the past, has changed over to the Immemorial Rite. The war against Catholicism internally continues.

We're extremely skeptical about any supposed continuation of tradition.  The irony is, this monastery was all but dead before they embraced tradition. The intention now appears to be they are going to make sure it goes back to being dead.

 Reported by Rorate:

In a letter to friends of the Abbey of Mariawald, O.C.S.O. published by Gloria.tv, Abbot Josef Vollberg has announced that he is resigning as abbot. As his reason Dom Vollberg states that he takes this step in order to avoid "the risk... that the abbey could be closed against the will of the community." The abbey will now be ruled by its pater immediatus, Abbot Bernardus Peeters of the Abbey of Koningshoeven in the Netherlands. Abbot Bernardus has appointed Dom Josef to serve as prior of the community after his resignation as abbot comes into effect on the first Sunday of Advent.

There are a lot of other communities that have far more serious problems that aren't being given these sorts of attentions.

Venezuela's President Makes Surprise Visit in the Vatican -- PopeReceives "Oppressors Instead of the Oppressed"

Venezuelan "Bolivian" President Nicolas Maduro at his first audience with Pope Francis in 2013. Maduro gave the pope a picture of the Venezuelan nationalist Simon Bolivar.

(Rome) Yesterday evening, the "Bolivian" President of Venezuela was received in audience in a surprising way by Pope Francis. The Venezuelan opposition accuses the Pope of having received the "oppressor instead of the oppressed."

Nicolas Maduro took over the presidency in 2013 after the death of his predecessor and party boss, Hugo Chavez. Maduro and Chavez belong, by  self-definition, to an "anti-imperialist, anti-capitalist, internationalist, chavist, socialist" Bolivarian revolutionary movement. In 2007 they founded the Venezuelan Socialist Unity Party (PSUV), whose president is Maduro today.

In the past few days, Venezuela's head of state has been touring several countries. He visited Azerbaijan, Iran and Saudi Arabia, where he was received in Riyadh by King Salman ibn Abd al-Aziz. Venezuela has the largest oil deposits in the world and yet the population lives in bitter poverty.

Maduro's parents, his Venezuelan father was Jewish, the Colombian mother Catholic, were already active in the Venezuelan left-wing movement. Nicolas Maduro was baptized and educated Catholic. For a time-long Maduro was the supporter of the Indian guru Sathya Sai Baba, who died in 2011. He describes himself as a Christian.

The Vatican Press Office published the following statement yesterday evening:

"The meeting took place against the backdrop of the worrying situation of the political, social and economic crisis that has permeated the country and which has a strong impact on the daily life of the entire population. In this way, the Pope, who is concerned with the well-being of all the Venezuelans, would continue to offer his contribution to the country's institutionality and to every step that would help solve the open questions and create greater trust between the various sides. He has implores the courage to take the path of honest and constructive dialogue in order to alleviate the suffering of the people, especially the poor, and to foster a climate of renewed social cohesion, which allows us to hope with the hope of the future Nation. "

Maduro and the Vatican "disinformation"

In Venezuela, regime critics have claimed that Maduro was trying to stay abroad as long as possible in order not to face the dramatic problems in the country and the opposition.

Maduro was received by the Saudi king Salman ibn Abd al-Aziz before his surprising stopover in Rome.

On Saturday, when Maduro had already traveled abroad, Pope Francis sent the Apostolic Nuncio for Argentina, Monsignor Emil Paul Tscherrig, to Venezuela to mediate between the government and the opposition. The opposition calls the government a "dictatorship".

Criticism is also loud at the Vatican. The former Allende Minister,  Luis Badilla, who heads the semi-official Vatican press service, Il Sismografo, is said to have ideological sympathies for the Latin American leftist movements and leftist governments. Badilla described the Maduro visit as a "bold gesture" to "meet Pope Francis and talk about the drama of his country."

"Quasi incognito," said Madilla, he arrived in Santa Marta yesterday afternoon, where "he spent a long time talking to the Holy Father and some of his closest collaborators about the dramatic situation in his country." The country is at the "edge of the abyss", according to Badilla. There should be "neither victors nor vanquished", says the former Allende collaborator.

According to circles close to the maduro-critical Archbishop of Caracas, Pope Francis, wants to prevent the foreseeable overthrow of the "Bolivarian" rulers. In Venezuela, the fear is currently being raised that the "Bolivarists" would not accept the now inevitable end of their rule nonviolently.

In any case, Badilla had succeeded in distorting the events by "disinformation" so that the papal reception for the "oppressor" appeared as a "courageous step." The fact is that the "Francis has received the oppressor, but never the oppressed," already twice in audience.

On 9 October, Pope Francis had announced the appointment of a second Venezuelan as a cardinal. On 19 November, Baltazar Enrique Porras Cardozo, the Archbishop of Merida, was elevated to the rank of Cardinal by the Pope. Observers also see in it a papal attempt to support the "Bolivarian" national front. Cardinal Urosa Savino, Archbishop of Caracas and Primate of Venezuela, is the only cardinal in the country, who is known for his critical attitude towards the socialist regime.

Cardinal Urosa Savino had opposed the papal plans for a softening of the marriage Sacrament in the bishop's synod in 2015. The cardinalisation of Archbishop Porras Cardozo has served toward the neutralization of Cardinal Urosa Savino, while the government has received a high-ranking Catholic contact. Critics say that, in support of the Socialist Unity Party PSUV, Pope Francis even seemed to accept the division of the Venezuelan Church in a favorable way.

Text: Giuseppe Nardi

Image: vatican.va/SPA (Screenshots)

Trans: Tancred Vekron99@hotmail.com

AMDG

New Bishop of Ablerga-Imperia to Turn Altars to People -- "I don't like to celebrate Mass on a false altar"

(Rome) The small diocese of Albenga-Imperia on the Italian Riviera was led by Mario Oliveri, one of the most traditional bishops in Italy. In the priestly seminary the seminarians were trained in both forms of the Roman rite. Numerous priests also celebrated in the traditional form of the Roman rite. The bishop promoted the establishment of traditional communities. It's an attitude that brought him some enemies.

A handful of diocesan priests had been opposing the "too conservative" diocesan bishop since Oliveris's appointment by Pope John Paul II. Several times, with the help of a local daily newspaper, the liberal Secolo XIX, they unsuccessfully intrigued against the bishop.

With the election of Pope Francis, the bishops found an ear in Rome

The situation in the internal Church dispute changed suddenly with the election of Pope Francis. The opponents of the bishop suddenly found themselves an ear Rome about the bishop "di stampo tradizionalista" (traditionalist inclination), as he was called. Bishop Oliveri was a member of the Roman Congregation for Divine Worship and the Order of the Sacraments, as well as a member of the Congregation of Clergy.

The beginning of the end of Msgr. Oliveri as diocesan bishop of Albenga-Imperia was the provisional administration by the Congregation of Religious of the Franciscans of the Immaculata, which was imposed in July 2013 with the approval of Pope Francis. Under Bishop Oliveri, the Order had set up three branches in the diocese, as well as the Marian pilgrimage site and Mass locations  in the traditional rite.

Bishop Oliveri was the only bishop to turn to the Holy See in the second half of the year, defending the traditional Father Stefano Maria Manelli. It was a gesture that did not sit well with either the Apostolic Commissioner or the Holy See. The reaction to the episcopal defenses was not long in coming. The Commissioner closed all three religious branches in the diocese shortly before Christmas 2013.

Campaign against Bishop Oliveri

A short time later, the daily Il Secolo XIX, which had already initiated a campaign against the bishop in the previous years, opened a large-scale campaign against Monsignor Oliveri. The newspaper eagerly reported what had been given to it by Church leaders. When the campaign was launched, these insiders apparently had already done some work in Rome, because the newspaper already suggested a possible removal of the bishop.

"Is this the poor church that Pope Francis wishes?"

"Is this the poor church that Pope Francis wishes?" The Secolo XIX revolted by the sight of seminarians in this image with Bishop Oliveri.

"After a long series of scandals involving numerous priests of his diocese," Pope Francis had initiated an investigation.  This is what you can read on the Italian Wikipedia page, which is certainly not a guarantor of neutrality. The reality, however, looks different: big headlines, little content.

Pope Francis had been disturbed the "preference" for baroque chasubles and surpluses with lace, according to Secolo XIX. A reproach, which was supposed to suggest "pomposity", actually meant the rejection of the traditional liturgy.

"Is this the poor church that Pope Francis wants?" The daily newspaper Secolo XIX asked with artificial indignation under the picture here, which shows Bishop Oliveri with seminarians.

"Prayed For Benedict XVI"

Priests were also accused of "inappropriate" behavior, and in cleverly formulated sentences they suggested sexual misconceptions of all kinds. On closer examination of the sentences, no concrete accusations were raised, which would be capable of defending successfully if they were prosecuted for defamation.

Priests would "continue" to pray  for Benedict XVI. raged Secolo XIX, scandalized that  Masses in the traditional rite were close to secret societies ( "semicarbonare", in reference to the Masonic Carbonari in Italy in the first half of the 19th century). In short: the usual ingredients with which secular media nowadays expose a Catholic bishop and Catholic priest to public mockery and leads to social ostracism. Actions of this kind usually take place from antagonistic circles in the Church, who use the help of willing media to carry out their intrigues.

Transitional period 2015: Bishop-Koadjutor Borghetti (front), Bishop Oliveri (behind). 

In his little diocese, Bishop Oliveri had more seminarians than some large dioceses. But even that had to be bad since he was "conservative." In the meantime, seminarians are quite undesired in some "modern" and laity-oriented dioceses. The more seminarians, the more "suspect" is a bishop, he is "Conservative" or - even worse - "traditional." Pope Francis "does not like it", said the Secolo XIX 2014, reporting that the seminarians were  "wearing the most precious surplices" and in the majority coming from "other dioceses". The first accusation is simply silly, as the picture published in the accusation shows (see above). The second is that young men who are called to the priesthood who seek a seminary in which the sacramental priesthood is not questioned and the formation of a priestly self-consciousness is not hampered. Liberal dioceses are not at the same time reproached for the fact that they have more seminarians from Africa than native ones. It is still problematic that in the dioceses of the German-speaking world, a quarter to one third of the total clergy, whether lent or incardinated, come from Poland and Nigeria.

"Excessive attachment to the traditional liturgy"

The accusation collection of the Secolo XIX, which for a whole year was the driving force against Bishop Oliveri, contained in the same paragraph the accusation of having ordained "gay" priests  and ordaining "anti-gays." Both were charged by the newspaper accusingly, whereby - hardly surprisingly - only the allegedly "anti-gay" priests were actually named. The bishop was also accused of having ordained priests who actually take seriously the existence of the devil and hell.

The main assertion can be found only in the last paragraph of a long indictment and slander of the Secolo XIX of October 31, 2014:

"The exaggerated attachment to the traditional liturgy - almost all the altars of the diocese were turned around as a tribute to the Motu proprio [Summorum Pontificum] granted by Ratzinger - will be examined in future by Francis."

With "turned altars" the daily newspaper said that again ad Deum or ad orientem was celebrated and no longer turned to the people according to the Protestant example. This was the real, unheard-of "scandal" of Bishop Oliveri. Bishop Oliveri had been the first diocesan bishop of the world in 2008, according to the motu proprio Summorum Pontificum by Pope Benedict XVI. a pontifical High Mass from the throne. Seven Franciscan nuns of the Immaculata, at that time, made their solemn profession in the Convent of Imperia before the bishop. Someone in the church had been present to observe this unfavorably.

The new bishop: "I do not like to celebrate the Mass on a false altar"

After a year of stiring the pot, Bishop Oliveri was defacto disempowered by Francis on January 10, 2015,  without mentioning reasons, by appointing to him a Bishop Coadjutor. On September 1, 2016 Bishop Oliveri became emeritus, and the Coadjutor, Guglielmo Borghetti became the new diocesan bishop of Albenga-Imperia. In the official language  it was suddenly said that everything would remain the same, with which, after successful settlements, even the believing Catholics would be reassured.

A year and a half later, things are quite different.  Secolo XIX reported on 22 October with satisfaction at the first measures of the new bishop:

"The new course of Borghetti: altar facing the faithful. Stopping the nostalgic priests from celebrating Mass with their backs turned to the people."

Bishop Borghetti is quoted in the Saturday edition with the sentence:

"I do not like to come to parishes and celebrate mass on a false altar: all the churches must have beautiful altars facing the people."

The bishop used the word "posticcio", which means "artificial", "false", "ambiguous".

The Secolo XIX said in the usual aggressive tone:

"No more celebrations with the priest, who turns his back on the people of God, except in small chapels (...) In short, the opening of Benedict XVI. For the Latin Mass has to refer to exceptions, not to a general tendency."

"Little notion of the poor Church of Pope Francis, open to the people of God"

In order to avoid any doubt, Bishop Borghetti promised a drawing that would show the "ideal altar space" according to which the priests would have to address themselves, according to the newspaper.

Of the "sex scandals" drummed up for a whole year, the newspaper knows nothing more than at the appointment of Borghetti as the Coadjutor. A mocking page, however, was also missing in the article of October 22nd. It once again reveals the real, ideologically motivated background:

"Who knows how those priests who have replaced the 'counciliar altar' with the traditional one and who have little idea of ​​the poor Church of Pope Francis and Bishop Borghetti, who have been open to the people of God, have ever anticipated by the Council?"

Whoever defends faith and liturgy in the traditional form has therefore "little knowledge of the poor Church" of Pope Francis and is against the "people of God."

Officially, Bishop Borghetti emphasized several times, not to distinguish between "progressive" and "traditionalists". Such "categories" do not exist for him, but "only Church ecclesiastics. What also applies in the Church is also true in Albenga-Imperia," the bishop said. The rest is a matter of interpretation.

Text: Giuseppe Nardi

Image: Secolo XIX / MiL (Screenshots)

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

AMDG

Blasphemous Display Modified in Estonia After Protests

A controversial exhibit altered after protests. It shows a picture of the Virgin on a screen that breaks and is replaced by the lettering 'Reformation'. The change is triggered by a foot pedal.

Tartu (kath.net/LSN/jg) The Estonian National Museum in Tartu has modified a controversial exhibit, which deals with the Reformation. Even Urmas Viilma, the Evangelical-Lutheran Archbishop of Estonia, had previously criticized the work.

In the recently opened museum, a holographic image of the Virgin Mary was displayed on a screen. The base on which the screen was mounted contained a plate. When the visitors put their foot on this plate, the hologram would "break", the screen turned white and the word "Reformation" appeared. After a while the hologram appeared again. On its Facebook presentation, the museum explained that the exhibit was an "artistic representation of the Bildersturm (breaking of images).

The work makes religion ridiculous and offends the religious feelings of believers, criticized Archbishop Viilma, also on Facebook. For many believers, the Virgin Mary is far more than a historical figure. She is still revered and begged for help. She deserves respect.

After protests the plate was removed at the base. The hologram of the Virgin Mary "breaks" and disappears at regular intervals, and the word "Reformation" appears on the screen.

Most Estonians are non-confessional, less than 30 per cent belong to a religious community. The largest community is the Evangelical Lutheran Church, which accounts for 13.6 per cent of the population, followed by the Orthodox Church with 12.8 percent.

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail

AMDG.