743 Christian Refugees Have Been the Victims of Assaults in German Asylum Centers -- Open Doors Report

Open Doors makes refugee report.  Within 743 attacks are
reported against Christian refugees in German asylum centers.
The majority have been victims of Muslim "fellow refugees".

(Berlin) The Fund for persecuted Christians Open Doors Germany put together with other aid and human rights organizations report the refugee " Lack of protection of religious minorities in Germany " before. This religiously motivated attacks on 743 Christian refugees are documented and analyzed in German refugee centers.

The report quoted German Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière with the words: "We have underestimated the importance of religion." The Minister was moved to these words in retrospect on the events of recent months.

The  consequences of these findings is reflected "especially in the German refugee centers,"  says Open Doors.  Through the concealment of these facts, has led to many "wrong conclusions" about the reasons there are many attacks directed especially against Christians, which has led to the "neglect in refugee centers" which fails in the  protection of non-Muslim religious minorities from Muslims.

Last May, various aid and human rights organizations have come together, "to draw attention to the clustering of attacks against Christians and other religious minorities in German refugee camps and to demand effective protection measures for them."  The aid and human rights organizations include the Action for Persecuted Christians and Needy (AVC), the International Society for Human Rights (IGFM), Kirche in Not , Open Doors and the Central Committee for Oriental Christians in Germany .

At a press conference on May 9 in Berlin, reports of 231 refugees were submitted reporting "of the massive discrimination,  death threats and violent attacks, which refugees in Germany suffer because of their Christian faith."

This first collection was continued by the participating organizations. The result has now been submitted to "significantly extended data base". "The documented cases demonstrate the continuing unacceptable situation of Christian refugees who are discriminated against, beaten and threatened with death in the German refugee centers as a minority, by Muslim refugees and partly Muslim employees (security guards, interpreters, assistants). Even ten refugees of the Yezidi faith participated in the survey. Their information has been evaluated separately in this report."

Among the 231 Christian refugees whose negative experiences were documented, 512 more cases were added in the months from May to September. In 743 cases there were religiously motivated attacks against Christians, in ten cases against Yazidis. All attacks were carried out in asylum facilities in the Federal Republic of Germany.

The distribution of those affected  shows Berlin with 146 assaults at the top of the negative scale, while in Saxony no assault was revealed.

Of those, there were 314 reported death threats, 44 of sexual assault, 416 of bodily injury. In addition, 615 cases of "other persecution". 83 percent of these affected indicated that "several times" there were assaults.

The Christian refugees  are  "used to being treated as second-class citizens" in majority Muslim homelands. Now they see that they too can find in Germany no effective protection and reporting the violence and death threats to the police have no consequences for the perpetrators, since the Muslim perpetrators are in the majority, and often make counter charges."

In homes and refugee centers in many cases it is not the perpetrators but the victims who are perceived and accused of being "troublemakers". "Lately we are seeing it more and more that Christian asylum seekers are concerned with house bans, because they interfere with the supposedly good coexistence in the homes."

A majority of the surveyed Christian and Yezidi refugees, therefore, are hoping for  "separate accommodation".  Several also asked for  "no Muslim security personnel".

The overall impression:  Muslims are more welcome than Christians or members of other religious minorities in the "Refugee Welcome"-- apparatus.

Text: Andreas Becker
Image: Open Doors (Screenshot)
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
Link to Katholisches...
AMDG

Diocese of Fargo Forbids Mass Said Facing Liturgical East

Update: in the last few hours we've got one denial, but we've heard from a very reliable source that this is very much in the works.

A Mass said the way it's supposed to be.

[Fargo, North Dakota] At least four priests of the Diocese of Fargo, North Dakota have been forbidden by edict [at least a letter] from saying Mass the way Catholics have been praying it since the times of the Apostles. It's not difficult to look for the source of such a diabolical animus against the traditions of the Church and the desire to confuse the laity.

The Diocese of Fargo was established in 1889 and includes 30 counties of approximately 35,786 square miles in eastern North Dakota. It has a population of 71,211 Catholics out of a total population of 408,101 (17.5%). There are 132 priests (including active, retired and those serving outside the diocesan area), 42 permanent deacons, 89 religious sisters and 131 parishes in the diocese. (The Official Catholic Directory 2015).

It is headed by Bishop John Thomas Folda, who was ordained for the diocese of Lincoln Nebraska and consecrated bishop on 19 June, 2013. He attended St. Charles Borromeo in Philadephia, which might be the source of his problem. One wouldn't think a protege of Bishop Flavin wouldn't be this bad.

We've gone through the motions and contacted the chancery, but they have not contacted us.

Feel free to contact the diocese about their deplorable ignorance of the traditions of the Church, if you can get through their menu maze. Diocese of Fargo: Liturgy "Expert" 5201 Bishops Blvd. S., Suite AFargo, ND 58104-7605 Phone: (701) 356-7900

Hit List Against "Anti-Bergoglians"? -- Misericordina for Pope Critics

(Rome) In yesterday's Sunday edition of the Turin daily La Stampa that also operates the news site Vatican Insider, two Vaticanists, Giacomo Galeazzi and Andrea Tornielli, published a list of alleged "Francis opponents" in the Catholic Church with great ceremony.  Just as meticulous as arbitrary, the formation resembles a proscription list for future purges. In coming to an end of the Holy Year of mercy a healthy portion of Misericordina will again be leveled against alleged enemies of Pope Francis.

The Progressives and the Conservatives 

The learned political scientist Giacomo Galeazzi (born 1972) worked for six years for the newsroom TG1 of the public service broadcaster RAI 1 (departments abroad and religion). Since 2001 he is an editor of the daily newspaper La Stampa, for which he was described as Vaticanist in 2008. Galeazzi never made a secret of his progressive sympathies.

The learned classical scholar, Andrea Tornielli (born in 1964), began his journalistic career with the publications for  Communion and Liberation (CL) community. From 1992-1996 he was one of the editors of the monthly magazine 30Giorni (English Edition: 30days). This was followed for 15 years as Vatican expert at the rightwing daily newspaper Il Giornale . Since 2011 he is, next to Galeazzi, Vaticanist at the liberal daily La Stampa and coordinator of Vatican Insider .

Giacomo Galeazzi and Andrea Tornielli

In 2005 or 2010 had observers would have said that Galeazzi and Tornielli represented very different positions. Since 2013 they have both been partisans of Pope Francis. While the progressive Galeazzi personally keeps his distance from  the "progressive" Pope, the conservative Tornielli was promoted under Francis even as the house vaticanist  with direct access to the Pope.

In January 2015 Galeazzi and Tornielli submitted their first joint book: "Pope Francis. This economy kills."

Proscription list in the style communist publications of the 70s

Both jointly published yesterday, in the style of communist and neo-Marxist newspapers of the 70s, in two whole newspaper pages,  a list of Catholic publications, organizations and initiatives, which are "dangerous to the unity of the Church and the Pope's health." The headline read: "The anti-Francis-Catholics who are attracted to Putin's power."  "Their aversion to Francis keeps them together," say the authors in the first sentence.

It is "especially shabby," remarked Messa in Latino, that the item appeared at the same time on the Internet site La Nuova Europa (New Europe), published by the Christian Russia Foundation (Christian Russia), a media initiative which was first established, to give the Christians persecuted by communists a voice in Russia.

Ubi solitudinem faciunt, pacem appellant, wrote Tacitus. In this specific context, freely translated, you might say. You make a desert and call it peace. Messa in Latino speaks of a "grotesque and slanderous attack".

There has been an assertion of an "assinational plot" made several times as criticism against conservative Catholics in the past three years. The prelude was made by the Austrian pastoral theologian and former dean of the Catholic Theological Faculty of the University of Vienna. In September 2013 Paul Zulehner was on camera as the inventor of a rumor . The pastoral theologian showed up in an ORF interview,  impressed by the "reforming zeal" of the pope and also "worried" that Francis could be killed. Zulehner knew at once to name the potential offenders, namely "conservative Catholics," for whom the reforms would be "too much". He is still guilty of the malicious, politically motivated insinuation.

The "Anti-Bergoglio-Catholics"

The "unity of the Church" and the "health of the Pope" have been threatened by the "Anti-Francis-Catholics". These are called "Anti-Bergoglio-Catholics" and "Para-Sedevacantists" referring to the characteristics of which they are a part, who "worship" Russia's President Putin and sympathize with the "Islamic and anti-European", "populist" Lega Nord.

The pattern of indictment that applies with respect to Italy by the two Vaticanists, can be transferred to other countries without much imagination.

 Galeazzi and Tornielli wrote:

"The galaxy of dissidence against Bergoglio, ranging from Lefebvrians who have decided to wait for a traditional Pope 'to return to the union with Rome, to the Lega-Catholics put Francis in contrast to his predecessor Ratzinger and have launched a campaign: 'My Pope Benedict.'"

Daring criticism of Pope Francis

The compilation is in reality a motley list of very different Catholic initiatives which, however, have two elements in common with  each other: they are not progressive and have publicly dared to criticize certain actions of Pope Francis.

Proscription?

The authors eagerly seek to throw all initiatives into the same pot, that they are more or less outside the Church. Who does not fit into your picture, must be put in the corner. They have designated the Society of St. Pius X., and this is followed by entities such as the Internet newspaper, La Nuova Bussola Quotidiana or estimable personalities like the editor Riccardo Cascioli, of the Lepanto Foundation and Corrispondenza Romana by the renowned historian Roberto de Mattei, the blog Settimo Cielo of veteran Vaticanist Sandro Magister, the Forum Libertá e Persona ( Freedom and Person).These are all initiatives who stay far away from any cheap polemics.

The list continues with tradition related news sites like Messa in Latino , Chiesa e Concilio post and Riscossa Cristiana and the monthly magazine Il Timone .

Galeazzi and Tornielli point fingers at Cardinals Raymond Burke and Carlo Caffarra, at Archbishop Luigi Negri and Bishop Athanasius Schneider, the liturgist Nicola Bux, Prof. Roberto de Mattei, Antonio Socci and many other more. The reason? They have all been guilty of defending the unchanging doctrine of the Church publicly and draw attention to pieces of evidence pointing in an opposite direction.

Politically Correct Gauntlet

The authors do not skimp on topics where those listed will be struck with clubs of political correctness before the audience: "Para-Sedevacantists", "Lefebvrian," "Islamophobic", "anti-European" and finally - they want to play it safe - even "Putin admirers". Already it is apparent in the title that the whole "galaxy" is assumed to be financed through murky channels issuing from Moscow.

The page Messa in Latino took it with humor: "We need to improve our internal secret service, because we have not even been noticed yet by the cash flows from Moscow. We will give you the account numbers and accept the benevolent euros and rubles."

At the same time they called upon Canon 212, paragraph 3 of the Code of Canon Law  that holds explicitly that each Catholic has the right, where it is necessary, to criticize the ecclesiastical authority, and the Pope.

Galeazzi and Tornielli see in the listed other hand, "revolutionaries", "coup plotters" and "Putin Cronies."

One should notice: If a close papal confidant like Tornielli swings into such a sweeping attack, it means that there is a rough wind coming to Rome from Pope Francis.

Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Image: MiL / La Stampa (Screenshots)
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
Link to Katholisches...
AMDG

"En Route" -- In January a New Interview Book by Andrea Tornielli with Pope Francis

Pope Pope Francis and the House Vaticanist

(Rome) On Sunday, he published together with his colleague Giacomo Galeazzi a kind of list of proscriptions for the Pope's critics. Yesterday, the publishing house Piemme announced that it will write a new book on Pope Francis.

We're talking about Andrea Tornielli, who holds the office of unofficial papal house Vaticanist since 2013. The new book, which will be released in January 2017 is entitled "In viaggio" (En Route). The book will be a "long, exclusive interview with Francis contained, as the publisher announced."

Andrea Tornielli and Pope Francis are to repeat the recipe which led to the worldwide success with the book at the beginning of 2016 "Il nome di Dio è Misericordia"  (The Name of God is Mercy), which has appeared in 100 countries and has been translated into 35 languages.

The year 2016 was marked by new releases into the book market by four ecclesiastical personalities of the highest order.  It all started in January, Pope Francis, followed in April by Prefect Gerhard Cardinal Müller with his Spanish language book "Informe sobre la Esperanza" (State of the Hope).

In September Benedict XVI followed with his interview book, "The Last Conversations" with Peter Seewald, and finally in October, Cardinal Prefect Robert Sarah with the book submitted in French "La Force du Silence" (The Power of Silence).

While the interview books  by Francis and Benedict XVI. were simultaneously published in several languages,  translations of the other two books are in preparation. All four are conceived to develop an international effect.

Pope Francis also wants  to release another interview book in  2017 that will explain from the pen of Andrea Tornielli what Pope Francis intends for the Catholic Church. According publishing information the book has caused quite an international stir among publishers even before tomorrow's opening of the Frankfurt Book Fair. "First offers" for translations into other languages have already been received, says Piemme .

Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Image: SMM / Piemme (screenshots)

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

Link to Katholisches...

AMDG

New Black Pope With Marxist Past -- New Jesuit General Superior Elected

Civilita Católica Editor, Antonio Spadaro taking selfie with new Jesuit
General after his election.

(Rome) The new "Black Pope" is a Venezuelan. The Society of Jesus (Societas Jesu), better known as the Jesuits, elected Fr. Arturo Marcelino Sosa Abascal on Friday, October 14th, as the new religious superior, which the Jesuits officially call the Father General. The Vaticanist, Sandro Magister, drew attention to the Marxist past of the new General, after learning of the election.

Arturo Sosa is the 31st General since 1541. He represents about 16,500 Jesuits worldwide. In 1965, the order reached its historic peak with 36,000 members, followed by a rapid decline in the last half century. The Order was suppressed in 1773, and was not restored until 1814. The present order therefore corresponds to before abolition around 1630 and since the restoration of that around 1900. The first religious order was founded by St. Ignatius of Loyola, who directed the Order from 1541-1556.

The Jesuits do not have their own religious dress. For them, therefore, the black soutane of the world clergy is regarded as a religious habit. Because of the importance of the Order and the fourth vow of the Order, with which the Jesuits expressly pledge themselves to be loyal to the ruling Pope, and because they are dressed in black, while the Popes are dressed in white, the head of the  Order is often called the "Black Pope."

A Jesuit General is elected for life and has full decision-making power. The new election had become necessary, because the 30th General, the Spaniard elected in 2008, Adolfo Nicolás Pachón, had offered his resignation in 2014 to Pope Francis for 2016. The 35th General Chapter in the History of the Jesuit Order chose the Sosa, born in Caracas on November 12, 1948, to be the new religious order for life.

"Marxist mediation" of the Christian faith "necessary"

"The mediaeval marxista de la Fe cristiana" (the Marxist mediation of the Christian faith), was the unusual title of an essay, published by the contemporary Jesuit General, Arturo Sosa, in the journal SIC of the Centro Gumilla de Investigacion y Accion Social, as well as the Gumilla Jesuit Center  in Caracas, was headed by him from 1979-1996 before he became the Rector of the Catholic University of Táchira, one of the most western states of Venezuela, founded in 1962 in San Cristobal, the capital of the state. Father Sosa became Provincial of the Jesuit Order for Venezuela in 1996, an office he held until 2004 when he was sent to the USA.

Sosa's Marxist essay of 1978

"What is curious about this article," says Magister: "It was published in the internet archive of the magazine with the underlines and remarks of a confrere of Father Sosa, who radically differed on this topic from the current order.

Sosa's Marxist Essay

The article was published in 1978. "Since then much water" has flowed down the Tiber and also the Orinoco. "It is difficult to say how much of the theses then expressed would be signed by Father Sosa," said Magister. The 70s and early 80s were very restless. "Marxism was the duty of the rebel movements in the Third World, including the Catholic," the Vatican says.

The fact is that Father Sosa at that time declared a "Marxist mediation of the Christian faith" not only "legitimate", but "necessary". The Jesuit general has now went so far as to accept the criticism of atheist Marxism, since, according to Father Sosa in 1978, he did not criticize the "true God", but only a false god who was created by capitalist thought and bourgeois society.

 Father Sosa

Philomarxist dialectics of the "true" and "false" God

Sosa's language is that of Marxist liberation theologians. The logical consequence of this thought came from the Swiss Capucin, Walbert Bühlmann, who died in 2007, who, shortly before the collapse of the Communist Eastern bloc, defended Christian persecution by means of socialist dictatorships in Africa. According to Bühlmann, "only" those who were the "counterrevolutionary" Christians, who were not "real" Christians were persecuted, because the "true" Christians were on the side of the "revolution". Father Sosa's language of 1978 is in the same direction.

"Many things have happened in Latin America and Venezuela," says Magister. "In his last article, published by SIC in May 2014, Father Sosa condemned, without any ifs or buts, the "etatist revolution" imposed on his homeland by Hugo Chavez and his successors." In 2014 Sosa spoke of a "totalitarian dictatorship" By an instrumentalization of plebiscites, to establish a "tyranny of the majority" as a democracy.

A new Superior General was concerned only "with politics and social sciences"

In the election of October 14, 2016, however, it is astonishing that "the Jesuits, as the first Jesuit reigns as a pope, have chosen a confrere for Superior General, who has written and discussed all his life only on politics and social sciences," says Magister .

The new General (center) with Pope Francis and his predecessor
Adolfo Nicolas (right)

On the website of the Centro Gumilla, a CV of Father Sosa can be found. In the 40 lines, the word "politics" is found 19 times, while the word "theology" occurs only once, and only in connection with his earliest academic activity.

Politics has always been the subject of his teaching activity both at Georgetown University in Washington, where he was appointed in 2004, as well as for the Venezuelan General Staff and the Military Academy of the Venezuelan Air Force (Comando y Estado Mayor and Escuela Superior de la Fuerza Aérea Venezolana), where he taught from 1985-1994.

The Centro Gumilla was founded in 1968 on the initiative of the 28th Jesuit General Pedro Arrupe (1965-1983, in fact only until 1981) as the first Latin American project for political and social studies. The Center took over the publication of the magazine SIC, the oldest  publication still in circulation of Venezuela, dealing with political and social issues. The main focus has been on trade unions and cooperative societies, liberation theology and the implementation of ecclesiastical social doctrine in Latin America "under the banner of social justice."

Father Sosa was a religious monarch, like Pope Francis. It is not known whether Pope Francis, the first Jesuit on the throne of Peter, has influenced the election of the Order. However, the politicalization of the Order, embodied by Father Sosa, is reflected in a general politicization of the Catholic Church, launched by Pope Franziskus in 2013. This is a politicization with a strongly left-handed impact.

Text: Giuseppe Nardi

Image: Wikicommons / Settimo Cielo / Vprensa (screenshot) 

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

AMDG

Luthermania: Luther Visits Pope in the Vatican

I

Martin Luther arrived at the Vatican. Visit Luther's statue in the form of a statue by Pope Francesco

(Rome) The Luthermania has dominated the geographical axis of Berlin-Munich-Rome for several months. Yesterday, Pope Francis was even visited by Martin Luther in the Vatican, at least by a statue of the "reformer".  Such a form of representation is otherwise only given to saints in the Vatican. A distant premonition of what is coming?

Yesterday, Pope Francis received the participants of an ecumenical pilgrimage in collaboration with some German bishops "With Luther to the Pope". 

Francis said to them,

"What unites us is much more than what separates us!"

And further:

"At the end of this month I will, according to God, go to Lund in Sweden, and together with the Lutheran World Federation, we will commemorate the beginning of Luther's reformation five hundred years ago. At the same time, we will thank the Lord for fifty years of official dialogue between Lutherans and Catholics. An essential part of these commemorations will be to look at the future, with regard to a common testimony to today's world, which is so hungry for God and his mercy. "

And finally:

"Dear young friends, I encourage you to be witnesses of mercy. As theologians advance the dialogue in the field of doctrine, may you continue to seek  opportunities to meet, to get to know you better, to pray together, and to offer your help to each other or to persevere for those who are in distress. If you are free from any prejudice and rely entirely on the gospel of Jesus Christ, who proclaims peace and reconciliation, you will become genuine protagonists of a new stage on this path which ultimately leads to full communion, with God's help."

More remarkable than the words of the papal greeting was a photograph published by Vatican Radio, together with the report on the pilgrimage "With Luther to Rome". It shows a red Luther statue with the pope. The image was spread by the Reuters Press Agency And gives the visual impression that the Pope would bless Luther.

Text: Giuseppe Nardi

Image: Vatican Radio / Reuters (Screenshot)

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

http://www.katholisches.info/2016/10/14/luthermanie-martin-luther-zu-besuch-bei-papst-franziskus-im-vatikan/

AMDG

Meeting Between Cardinal Müller Includes Short Meeting with Pope Francis

(Rome) International agencies have reported on October 14th that Pope Francis has received the Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels, Monsignor André Joseph Léonard, in the audience. The Italian daily Libero reported that on the same day, a brief meeting of the Pope with Monsignor Bernard Fellay, the General Superior of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Pius X, had taken place.

Archbishop Léonard was a primate of Belgium for five years, held hostage by progressive church circles around his predecessor, Cardinal Godfried Danneels. Last Sunday, Pope Francis had announced that he would raise Léonard's successor, Joseph de Kesel, a progressive church representative, to the purple. The "conservative" Léonard is still denied this dignity. The award of the cardinalatial purple is a above all a question of necessities, compulsion, and, above all, attitude.

The meeting of Pope Francis with Bishop Fellay, on the other hand, took place "exceptionally". It had been a brief greeting between the Pope and the General Superior of the "Lefebvrians" in Santa Marta.

Bishop Fellay held a meeting with Cardinal Gerhard Mueller, prefect of the Congregation of the Congregation of the Congregation, as reported by DICI, the French press service of the Society last Friday. Accompanying the General Superior was the Second Assistant, Father Alin-Marc Nély. The first assistant, Father Niklaus Pfluger, was unable to attend.

Cardinal Müller, together with the secretary of the Congregation for the Congregation of the Faith, Monsignor Luis Ladari Ferrer SJ, and the Secretary of the Pontifical Commission, Ecclesia Dei, Monsignor Guido Pozzo, with Bishop Fellay.

The meeting with Cardinal Müller had been planned for a long time, says DICI. It was the second official meeting in the framework of the dialogue between the Holy See and the Society. The first meeting took place on 23 September 2014. A partial aspect of the conversations is a visit to the Society's seminaries, which have taken place since then and will be continued in the coming months.

On the 14th of October, Cardinal Müller had been received by Pope Francis in audience, as the daily bulletin of the Vatican communicated. It may be assumed that on this occasion he informed the Pope about the meeting with Bishop Fellay.

Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Bild: MiL

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

http://www.katholisches.info/2016/10/17/treffen-von-kardinal-mueller-mit-bischof-fellay-fsspx-kurze-begegnung-mit-papst-franziskus/

AMDG

Renewed Papal "Hostility" Against Cardinal Sarah -- Who Can and Can Not?

(Rome) Cardinal Robert Sarah, who has been   Prefect of the Roman Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments since the autumn of 2014, has developed over the past two years into one of the most prolific and courageous representatives of the universal Church. His traditional understanding of the Church and his public ministry has led to increasing rejection in papal circles. Within the last three months, the Cardinal of Guinea has been rebuffed for the second time.

Cardinal Sarah says what he thinks and he knows what he is talking about. He has written, among other things, two books. The first book, "God or Nothing", was published in 2015 and became a Catholic bestseller worldwide. Since then it has been translated into thirteen languages ​​and topped numerous books on Pope Francis.

Recently the Cadinal's new book, "La Force du silence" (The Power of Silence) was presented in Paris.Translations in other languages ​​are in preparation, and there is every indication that this book will be a sales success.

Clear language is essential for renewal of the Church

The clear language, spoken by the Cardinal, is different from the ambiguous formulations currently preferred in Rome which leave much room for interpretation. The controversial post-synodal Letter Amoris Laetitia became a prime example of the new papal language. Although the Church leader has been asked publicly by various groups of theologians and philosophers to provide clarity to ambiguous formulations, or withdraw the document,  the reigning pontiff has avoided since 2013 from a definition. Pope Francis hides behind references to third parties, without taking even their interpretations himself. He repeated several times, the authentic interpretation of Amoris Laetitia was what Cardinal Schoenborn explained at the presentation of the document in Rome on the 8th of April. What the Archbishop of Vienna said has not been exactly repeated by the Pope. Lately, a "pastoral document" of the bishops of the ecclesiastical province of Buenos Aires consider it as the "authentic" interpretation. There is "no need" to add anything, said Francis, but without saying what exactly is said in this document. Those in Rome speak cautiously of an "indirect interpretation". The braver ones say that it is "obvious" that Pope Francis wants to change previous doctrine, but he does not dare to say it. He therefore is handling things more "dietro le quinte" behind the scenes.

The black African Sarah is made of different stuff. He speaks in clear language, because he considers it essential for a renewal of the Church.

Call for all priests to celebrate ad orientem from First Sunday of Advent

Last July 5 Cardinal Sarah spoke as a speaker at the 2016 Sacra Liturgia UK Conference in London, asking all priests worldwide to celebrate Mass ad orientem in 2016 from the First Sunday of Advent, and on the basis that Pope Francis (see Cardinal Sarah: call to priests , from First Sunday of Advent 2016 to celebrate ad orientem again ).

The cardinal said:

"It is very important that we return as soon as possible to a common direction of prayer of the faithful and priests - to the east or at least the direction of Apse -. from whence the Lord will come again"

So he repeated a statement he had made in May in an interview with the French magazine Famille Chrétien. The Cardinal also contradicted the assertion spread in recent decades that the priests  turn their  "backs on" the people, he also celebrates facing ad orientem (to the east). It is "essential that the priest and the faithful face east together. That is exactly what Council Fathers wanted "because" priests and faithful face together in the same direction, on the returning Lord, whom they expect." In the rubrics for the celebration of Mass it was specified exactly when the priest turns to the people (see Cardinal Sarah: "Priests, celebrate ad orientem" ).

Cardinal Robert Sarah

In some circles the brightest excitement prevailed and it was followed by the first affront to Cardinal Sarah. One could also speak of a shot across the bow. On the 11th of July an anonymous statement was published by the Press Office of the Vatican. One does not know which dicastery and which person was responsible. Yet it is certain that it has been endorsed by Santa Marta, otherwise they would not have been published by the Press Office.

Vatican statement with "irritating nonsense"

With the statement  someone hastened to clarify that "no new liturgical directives" are provided for the start of Advent, as someone "falsely" had concluded from the words of Cardinal Sarah. It should also be "better to avoid the expression, 'reform of the reform' regarding the liturgy, as it was sometimes a source of misunderstandings."

In short, Cardinal Sarah's statements were denied by mention of his name. Moreover, the Cardinal was virtually represented as a liar. In the anonymous the Vatican statement it said: "This all happened by mutual agreement within the course of a recent audience that the Cardinal Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship was granted by the Pope." (see also Direction of Celebration: Pope Francis stops foray by Cardinal Sarah ).

The matter was quite differently explained  from the point of view of the Cardinal addressed. Cardinal Sarah appealed specifically to Pope Francis. He presented to him his liturgical concerns, and the Pope had encouraged him.

In London, the cardinal had announced:

"It seems to me useful to remember what I have said on other occasions: Pope Francis asked me to continue the extraordinary liturgical work begun by Benedict XVI.  (see. the message to the Sacra Liturgia-Meeting 2015 in New York, USA). It is not so that the views of his predecessor is ruled out, because we have a new Pope. On the contrary, the Holy Father Francis has an immense respect for the liturgical point of view and for the retired Pope Benedict XVI.  in conscientious fidelity to the intentions and objectives of the Council Fathers' implemented decisions."

This startled the  papal entourage which also responded and denied what the cardinal from Guinea so fearlessly and steadfastly maintains. Cardinal Sarah has stuck resolutely to what has been said, because he is convinced of the profound importance of celebrating Mass facing liturgical east: "The Lord will come from the east", which is why priests and people in the sacred liturgy should turn together to the east, as the whole Church has done more than 1900 years ( Jesus will return from the east, but in the Vatican they have misplaced the compass - Cardinal Sarah reaffirms foray to celebrate Mass ad orientem ).

The anonymous press release from the Vatican clearly explained concerns  that haunt the papal entourage. It also "clarified" that the Missal of Paul VI. is the "ordinary form" of the Roman Rite, and as such should not be replaced by the "extraordinary form".  It was also "clarified" that the altar must always be designed in such a way that the celebratio versus populum can be performed. A "false" statement, according to experts, because this quoted from Institutio Generalis Romani Missalis 2002 only applies to new churches. A celebration direction to the people moreover, was also as the leading liturgists agree, liturgical "nonsense," because the priest turns in the Eucharistic celebration with the people  to God and not to the people. Every priest  can and should celebrate eastwards, repeated Cardinal Sarah again. This requires neither a permit nor a change in the rules in force, because it corresponds to the applicable regulations.

The Outreach

In his new book "La Force du silence," Cardinal Sarah reaffirms the need to celebrate "versus orientem": The reform of the post-conciliar liturgical reform will take place, because it is necessary, said the Cardinal Prefect.

A week after the book came onto the market, a second affront to the Cardinal followed and again directly from the papal entourage.

This coming October 27 the academic year for the  Pontifical Institute of John Paul II for Studies on Marriage and Family  opened its academic year. Cardinal Sarah is to have given the opening speech. But now everything is different. The opening speech will now be held by Pope Francis personally.

The change was disavowed not only by Cardinal Sarah, it also relates to the institution itself, which was founded by John Paul II., together with Cardinal Carlo Caffarra and also in connection with the Synod of Bishops on the Family, deciding how to hold firm on the sacrament of marriage and the traditional moral teaching of the Church. Too firm according to the papal entourage, because the Institute's attitude stands in the way of the "new mercy"  to which Cardinal Kasper and Pope Francis  showed the way.

Although the staff of the Institute are the official, papal experts in marriage and family, they were neither consulted on the preparations nor the synod. Thus, the Institute has been clearly shown that his line is no longer desirable.

Last summer, Pope Francis made a tabula rasa . He replaced the leaders of the Institute from their positions and assigned those of his orientation. The new Grand Chancellor was Msgr. Vincenzo Paglia of the Community of Sant'Egidio (Assisi Interreligious Meeting), who is also appointed as the new President of the Pontifical Academy For Life. The New institute director was Pierangelo Sequeri. In other words, Pope Francis brought the Institute which held to "the Old"  back "on track" (see "Stormed and Humiliated" - The Rebuilding of the Institute John Paul II by Francis and the "sexual revolution in the Vatican". )

The Vatican expert Sandro Magister wrote:

"The result is, that Paglia has boasts to all and sundry of having received the assurance from the Pope that he will personally hold the opening speech for the new course 'of the Institute, dedicated to the contemporary and  openness - instead of the outdated and closed Sarah."

Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Image: Vatican.va (Screenshot)
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
Link to Katholisches...
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Neo-Cardinal Cupich: "My Interpretation of Amoris Laetitia is That of Pope Francis"

(Washington) The Cardinal in Spe, Blase Cupich, Archbishop of Chicago, stated in an interview that his interpretation of the controversial post-synodal letter Amoris laetitia "is the same from Pope Francis."

From a progressive outsider to the influential church prince

Monsignor Cupich was not only the Bishop of the tiny Diocese of Spokane in the state of Washington in 2014, but also the progressive outsider in the American Episcopal Conference. Nevertheless, or just as observers say, Pope Francis appointed him Archbishop of Chicago, one of the most important diocese in the world. Since then, the Argentine pope has been calling on  Cupich to bring the US episcopate on a Bergoglio course, or at least become a troublesome thorn in the flesh of a recently quite compact episcopate.

Since the American bishops did not pick Cupich perhaps because of his liberal line, for the bishop's synod on the family, Pope Francis personally appointed him.

Last Sunday, the Catholic church leader announced that he would honor Cupard on 19th November with the Cardinal dignity. Two diocesan bishops of the United States were given the purple. Among them, there is no "conservative", no less embarrassing to the papal entourage than the "traditionalists."

Cupich proved "worthy" of papal trust and distinguished himself in Chicago and Rome as a representative of the "New Mercy". The Catholic online daily Nuova Bussola Quotidiana wrote of "deliramenta of a pope confidante". What is meant by this is the emphasis on "subjective conscience".

The "untouchable" subjective conscience

The "New Mercy", where it comes in contradiction to the delivered Church doctrine, confronts the latter with the "personal conscience".

On October 16, 2015, Archbishop Cupich repeated this old-progressive thesis for journalists to declare his support for the admission of newly married divorced to Communion: "When people arrive at a decision of conscience, it is our task to help them go further and to respect them. The conscience is inviolable and we have to respect it when they make their decision, and I have always done it."

Whoever says A also says B, so the same rule, according to Cupich, also applies to homosexuals. The doyen of leftist journalism in Italy, the Eugenio Scalfari, who hails from a Masonic house,, had put words in Pope Francis' mouth, without the Vatican having denied it, that the subjective conscience is an "inviolable" and "respectable" arbiter.

Vatican Insider published an interview, which the papal court vaticanist Andrea Tornielli held with Cupich on the occasion of his elevation to the cardinal rank. Yesterday, the  English and Spanish version appeared, today also the Italian.

Tornielli: One of the most discussed topics of the past few months was the interpretation of the eighth chapter of Exhoratio Amoris Laetitia regarding the remarried divorced. There were different interpretations: there are those who say that nothing has changed, and those who say that something has changed. What is your position on this?

Archbishop Cupich: My position is the same as that of Pope Francis, who has indicated that the proper interpretation of “Amoris Laetitia” was given by Cardinal Christoph Schönborn and then again by the bishops of Argentina, for which the Pope noted “no further interpretation is needed.” So if people want to know what I think, they should refer to those sources. I also draw attention to the fine article written by Professor Rocco Buttiglione in L’Osservatore Romano on July 19 of this year, which I reprinted in our archdiocesan newspaper. Professor Buttiglione makes a convincing case for the continuity of the teaching of Pope Francis on these matters with his predecessors and with The Catechism of the Catholic Church. 

Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Image: Vatican Insider (screenshot)
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
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