Tossati: "Priest Shortage? This Pope Gives no Incentive for Young Men"

(Rome) The question of the lack of priests, the abolition of celibacy as a prerequisite for the priesthood, and the admission of married men to the ordination of priests are now again discussed with particular insistence. In yesterday's edition of the La Vanguardia newspaper, their correspondent in Rome, Eusebio Val, published two full pages of an extensive report entitled "The Hour of Married Priests?" A reportage that allows interesting voices to be heard.

Snapshot at a priest's consecration: "Pray for priestly vocations"

La Vanguardia, Catalonia 's largest daily newspaper, also reported on the positions of two leading Vatican officials, Sandro Magister and Marco Tosatti, both of whom are critical of the pontificate of Pope Francis. Both argue that the Argentine pope really insists that the abolition of celibacy is "not a solution" for the priestly shortage, but at the same time, in his own environment, a way of overcoming the priestly shortage which forsees the abolition of priestly celibacy.

The daily newspaper cites the Vaticanista Sandro Magister statement to Pope Francis:

"He always speaks in an ambiguous way. We should not be surprised. This is his style. The ambiguity opens a gap in order to discuss something, and then, in the end, to decide in the end. "

No less critical was Marco Tosatti. Pope Francis did not contribute to the promotion of priestly vocations and correcting the priestly shortage:

"It seems obvious to me that this pope is not providing an incentive for young men (towards the priesthood). The numbers say that, and you can not discuss numbers."

Religious orders and communities, such as the Franciscans of the Immaculate or the Priestly Society of the Holy Apostles, have many vocations." But this is exactly why they "are today attacked by their bishop or the pope."

And further:

"If young men join them [communities and orders], and you have one thing over their heads, then you can not expect vocations to arise in other places."

For both Vaticanistas, says La Vanguardia , the question of how the priestly deficit can be remedied is not about "liberalizing or relativizing the doctrine of the Church, but the exact opposite." The young people who have a calling feel serious and want to be taken seriously. They do not want the same thing in the Church that they can find elsewhere. They commit themselves for a lifetime. They must do this for what is worthwhile and not merely for a general discourse of goodness and solidarity. They are looking for more and they do not find it at the moment. That seems obvious to me."

Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Image: MiL / Blog do Fernando (Screenshot)
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
AMDG

Heresy Charge Against "Black Pope" -- Pope Francis and Cardinal Müller Are Presented With Heresy Charge Against Jesuit General

Jesuit General Arturo Sosa Absacal left of Pope Francis: is the
"Black Pope" spreading heresy?

(Rome) Next Sunday, Pope Francis will visit the small diocese of Carpi in the Po Valley.  A courageous priest of this diocese is currently pestering the Pope. He raises the question with a memorandum of whether the new Jesuit Father General, Arturo Sosa Absacal, spreads heresies.

Memorandum against the "Black Pope"

The priest is Don Roberto Bertacchini and is a pupil of three priests of stature, the German Jesuit, Father Heinrich Pfeiffer, art historian at the Gregoriana in Rome, and the two Italian Jesuits, Father Francesco Tata, former religious prosecutor of Italy, and Father Piersandro Vanzan, Augustine connoisseur and leading author of the Roman Jesuit paper, Civiltà Cattolica . The reference to his Jesuit teachers is not without significance in the matter. Bertacchini was ordained priest in 2009 by the then Archbishop Carlo Ghidelli of Lanciano-Ortona.

Last week, as the Vaticanist Sandro Magister reports, Don Bertacchini sent both Pope Francis and Cardinal Gerhard Müller a memorandum. On six pages, the priest critically comments on a recent interview of the new General Superior of the Jesuit Order, who has been in office since October 2016. The Venezuelan Arturo Sosa Abasca  stands very close to Pope Francis, himself Jesuit.

Does the Jesuit General Want a "Christianity without Christ"?

The Jesuit general had represented theses in the interview, which are "so serious that they can not be passed over without silence, without making one's self complicit." Bertacchini accuses the "Black Pope", as the Jesuit general is traditionally called, of speaking of  "a Christianity without Christ".

Magister published Bertacchini's memorandum . Giuseppe Rusconi, the Swiss Vaticanista, published the interview where he criticized him last February 18. Arturo Sosa had reviewed the text and released it for publication.

Bertacchini's criticism is centered on the massive doubts expressed by the Jesuit General about the credibility of the Holy Scriptures. Arturo Sosa made fun of it. Rusconi addressed himself to criticism of the controversial papal Amoris laetitia . The words of Jesus were opposed to the admission of remarried divorced persons to the Sacraments. Sosa replied sloppily that nobody could know exactly what Jesus had said "really," because no one had "a tape recorder" with him.

According to Bertacchini, the Jesuit General says that the words of Jesus on the indissolubility of marriage are not a theological fixed point, but only the point of departure for the doctrine, which must then be developed "comfortably." In this way, however, the exact opposite could be represented, in other words the compatibility of divorce and Christian life."

Jesuit genius "too smart" to openly represent a heresy

Bertacchini emphasizes that Arturo Sosa Absacal SJ, "is too smart to fall into an obvious heresy, which in some respects is even worse. It is, therefore, necessary to follow the thread of his reasoning."

In an interview, the Jesuit General asked whether the evangelists were credible or not. His answer: One must distinguish. He thus implied, by way of a roundabout way, that it is not said, about the credibility of the Gospels. He thus questions the truthfulness of Jesus' whole doctrine of faith. The Jesuit had been careful to go into details. He remained general, but nevertheless offered a statement destructive in its core. If we consider that, in all his statements on marriage and the newly remarried divorced, Pope Francis never cited the words of the Lord on the indissolubility of marriage, the thrust of the Jesuit General would be clear. Bertacchini added:

"If the Pope does not quote these passages, it means that he has made a distinction and does not consider it authentic. They are therefore not binding. But all the popes have taught the contrary! So what? They will be wrong. Or they have said true things and taught for their time, but not for ours. "

The Jesuit General does not say it apertis verbis, but interprets it and lets it show through.

"This gives the Pope's a reading to the  family pastoral, which deviates from the traditional doctrine."

Jesuit General: "We know today that Jesus never taught that marriage is indissoluble"

Sosa asserts nothing less than that

"We know today," that Jesus probably, probably almost certainly, never taught that marriage is indissoluble. The evangelists would have misunderstood this."

"On the other hand, the Sensus fidei tells us that the evangelists are credible. Our Jesuit General, however, rejects this credibility and even ignores the fact that St. Paul received this doctrine from the teaching as directly following Jesus, and passed it on to his congregations." (1 Cor 7: 10-11).

According to Bertacchini, the consensus of the Synoptics is "too clear" in the rejection of  adultery.  Moreover, St. Paul reaffirms this doctrine in the Epistle to the Ephesians and even strengthens it. He reaffirmed it by quoting the passage from the book of Genesis, which Jesus also quoted, and strengthened it because Christ loved the Church in an indissoluble way, so much so that he gave his life for it and beyond his earthly life. This faithfulness of the Lord is what Paul calls the model of marital fidelity.

There is, therefore, evidently a continuity between the pre-Easter and the post-Easter teachings. Equally obvious is the break with Judaism, which retained the possibility of the repudiation. Bertacching asks the following questions: "If Paul himself refers to Jesus for this break, what is the meaning of the Gospels? Where should this leap come from which determined the practice of the early Church, if not of Christ?"

It should be remembered that divorce was also permitted in the Greco-Roman sphere, and that a form of the concubinage existed, which could easily lead to a later marriage, like the life of St Augustine shows. The rejection of a abandonment, divorce, concubinage constitutes a cultural breach, a phenomenon which is decisive in the history of culture, what should it point back to, if not to Jesus? And if Jesus is the Christ, why should the faithfulness of the Gospels be doubted?

"Apart from this, if Jesus is not to have said these words, from whence comes the drastic commentary of the disciples in Matthew 19:10 (" then it is not good to marry at all?") Among these disciples was also the evangelist himself who does not strike a good figure. They understood late what Jesus taught them because they were then still dependent on the traditions of their time that Jesus criticizes. "From a historical point of view, the pericope Mt 19, 3-12 is credible in every respect," the priest said.

Bertacchini then goes into detail on the "dogmatic horizon" of the statements of the Jesuit General. In it, he expanded his criticism and extends it to a recent article in the Roman Jesuit journal Civilta Cattolica, with the Jesuit Giancarlo Pani, where the prohibition of female priesthood is questioned. Bertacchini criticizes the fact that the solemn gospel, which calls for infallibility, is questioned without hesitation. The priest criticizes this work of subversion with the aim of destroying safe dams.

What will Pope Francis do with the inscription of Don Roberto Bertacchini? What will CDF Prefect Müller do with it?

Link to Katholisches...
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
AMDG

Castro Mistress: Fidel Received the Last Rites

69-year-old in an interview with the Italian church broadcaster: Dictator met with a priest every day and developed a positive attitude towards Christianity

Rome (kath.net/KAP) The long-term Cuban dictator Fidel Castro (archive photo) had received the sacraments before his death in December 2016. "Some Jesuit fathers have told me that Fidel Castro died being comforted by religion, and they said to me, "be quiet because Fidel died in a Christian way," said Anna Maria Traglia, a former lover of Fidel Castro, for the Italian Church broadcaster "TV 2000." According to her information, the "Maximo Lider" was visited daily by a priest.

Traglia, now 69 years old, is the niece of Cardinal Luigi Traglia, who in turn, in the 1970s, was the vicar of Pope Paul VI. In Rome. When she was 27, she had met Castro by the intermediation of his relative, the secretary at the Cuban embassy in Rome, whom Traglia had met and befriended. For years she had been Fidel's lover, said Traglia, who spoke of a "great love" until the end of her life and lived in Cuba for a long time. 

On her urging, a parish was opened in Havana, where she had attended Mass every Sunday afternoon, said Traglia. After the service Fidel was waiting for her in front of the church door in a car with the number plate "Comandante 1."  She had also unintentionally introduced a meeting between Castro and Cardinal Agostino Casaroli. When she was invited by the nuncio at that time, Castro had simply come along, causing the Vatican diplomat to be embarrassed, as there were no instructions for this situation. However, a "mutual sympathy" had developed immediately between the two men.

Traglia traveled to Cuba a year and a half ago, when Castro was already in bad health. By May 2016 there had also been regular telephone contact with the ex-dictator. On her last encounter she found Castro "very changed", said Traglia. "One day he told me: I often think of your words, referring to my Christian faith."

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

Link to Kath.net...

AMDG

Steve Skojec to Move to Patheos

[Catholic Conspiracy] In what’s bound to shake the Catholic blogosphere to its foundations, OnePeterFive founder and executive director Steve Skojec announced this morning he is moving his popular site to the Patheos Catholic Portal.

“After months of careful deliberation, I have accepted an offer extended by Sam Rocha, editor of Patheos Catholic, to have 1Peter5 hosted at the world’s largest religious website. I am excited about expanding 1P5’s reach. I look forward to joining his well-established team of talented writers. I’m humbled that my little ol’ blog is considered worthy to be published along side such luminaries as The Divine Wedgie, Jappers and Janglers, and Daffey Thoughts.

“I’m sure many of my readers will be surprised by this move,” he continued, “but they’re ultra-faithful followers, totally dedicated to my cause, and they will continue to read me. You will read 1Peter5.”

Read further....

AMDG

Speaking of Fake News for the Record

[Rorate] Now, this is no April fool's, but quite serious.

Rorate has learned from several different sources in Italy that the recent page "Anonimi della Croce", led by a "friar" named "Fra' Cristoforo" is merely a disinformation website by an agent provocateur, whose sole purpose is to provoke real outbursts of outrage or scandal from pious Catholics out of its fake news and fake rumors.

Though Rorate has never used it as a source, ever, we know people who have and would just like to warn them.

- See more at: http://rorate-caeli.blogspot.com/2017/04/important-speaking-of-fake-news-beware.html?m=0#sthash.nS4DphAv.dpuf

I don't think I can go on any longer

My Personal Hero, Cardinal Lehmann

Edit: things have been proceeding steadily downhill for months and what with so much negative feedback, death threats, weird phone calls in the middle of the night, being followed, I've come to the conclusion that this has been a long hard road with few consolations and a lot of headaches.   I will have to hang up this blogger job. I can't even get people to donate to katholisches, a truly excellent weblog for the German reader which has insights and news stories.

This will probabaly be my last post. So long and thanks for all the good vibes!

Please Help So that Katholisches May Continue Into Next Month

Belisarius Begging for Alms

This doesn't benefit us in any way, except in that we translate them.  So we're trying to help their work which is edifying and informative.

There's 550 Euro still to go:

http://www.katholisches.info/

AMDG

Brothel Owner Charges Austrian Cardinal of Being Regular Visitor

Edit: as one of the commenters at Kath.net points out, it is unlikely that a Viennese Cardinal would go to such a place where he could easily be identified, and another points out that whoever it was didn't pay enough money to keep her absolute silence. The teller of the tale, Nina Janousek, is mordantly obese and has had two heart attacks, hence her stated reason for writing the book is that she will die soon. It's also a strong indicator of her character that she named Charley Sheen, but favorably, as one of her best customers, since he enriched some of her girls and was very generous. She said, "the best kind of Kavalier."

A bishop was also implicated.

It's not enough that +Schönborn benefits from selling pornography, and honoring aberrosexual Communist "artists", or throwing faithful priests under the bus, but it probably isn't him she's violating her professional discretion over.  We should already know that +Schönborn has done far worse things already than visiting a brothel.

Austria's most legendary brothel operator has published an explosive book and also charged an Austrian cardinal, who has regularly visited the brothel

[Kath.net] The owner of the Nobelbordell Nina's Bar, Nina Janousek, published a book on Friday, which also explosive as regards the Catholic Church. The book tells of how prominent suitors came and entered. Among other things, she tells about the "sexual preferences" of a cardinal. According to the report of the newspaper "Österreich", the Cardinal did not spend much money in the establishment. He chose a girl and retired with her to the student room. After sex he stayed alone back there. "As I later learned from one of my ladies, he prayed for a while, probably asking for forgiveness, because his lust had led him to the bar, and after this devotion, he always left my nightclub in a hurry."

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

AMDG

San Francisco Archdiocese and Holland's Dioceses to be Consecrated to Immaculate Heart

(Amsterdam / San Francisco) The dioceses of the Netherlands and the Archdiocese of San Francisco in the USA are consecrated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Apparition of the Virgin Mary.

In 1917, in Portugal, near Fatima, theMother of God appeared to three shepherd children. She let the children see terrible things, but also gave them the promise that "in the end" Her Immaculate Heart would "triumph".

Liefrauenbasilika of Maastricht

As the Katholiek Nieuwsblad published on March 21, the bishops of the Netherlands will jointly dedicate the land to the Immaculate Heart of Mary this May 13th. On May 13, 1917, the first of a total of six apparitions took place, which happened till October on the 13th of each month. On 13th May 2017, Pope Francis will visit Fatima and canonize the first two seers to die, the siblings Francisco and Jacinta Marto.

Jacinta was seven years old at the time of the first appearance, and her brother Francisco, eight years. The third seer's child, her cousin, Lucia de Jesus dos Santos, was then ten. Francisco died in April 1919, Jacinta in February 1920 and Lucia in February of 2005. On May 13, 2000 the siblings were beatified by Pope John Paul II in Fatima. The beatification process for Lucia has been ongoing since 2008.

The consecration of the Netherlands to the Immaculate Heart of Mary will take place on the 13th of May in Maastricht's Liebfrauenbasilika during the First Vespers.

Consecration of the Archdiocese of San Francisco

On March 28, the Archdiocese of San Francisco announced in California (USA) that the Archdiocese was to be consecrated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary on 7 October 2017. The declaration is signed by Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone himself. According to the Archbishop, "the desire of many faithful" who asked for the consecration of "Our Archdiocese to the Immaculate Heart of Mary".

Preparing for the Consecration of the Archdiocese of San Francisco

Archbishop Cordileone recalled the 100th anniversary of the Virgin Mary's death in Fatima. He voted for the consecration on 7 October, because this day coincides with the celebration of the Rosary, an "important day" in which the victorious battle of Lepanto will be remembered. The Rosary, in turn, is closely connected with Fatima.

The Archbishop called on the faithful to prepare spiritually for the consecration so that it could be "fruitful". He announced to the Catechists. He is confident that through the intercession of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, the Archdiocese will be given "rich graces" when "we are spiritually prepared and adequately prepared."

In preparation for the Consecration, a special page was established at the Archbishop's website.

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

Cardinal Cañizares: "There is a veritable Holocaust ongoing against Christians" and "The powerful are silent"

Cardinal Cañizares Preaching on Sunday

(Madrid) Cardinal Antonio Cañizares, Archbishop of Valencia and new Deputy President of the Spanish Bishops' Conference issued a "Holocaust" alert for the Christians in the Middle East.

A "Holocaust", according to the Cardinal and former prefect of the Roman Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, is happening under the eyes of those who "direct the destinies of the peoples". These offer "passivity and silence" against the persecution and extinction of Christians in the Middle East.

Cardinal Cañizares raised his voice in his sermon in the Cathedral of Valencia last Sunday for the protection of persecuted Christians. "Thousands and thousands of Christians are being persecuted today and massacred in a regular and new Holocaust," and under the eyes of the powerful in this world who would be silent and idle.

The Cardinal took advantage of the feast of Saint Joseph, the foster father of Jesus Christ, to draw attention to the fate of Christians in the Middle East. He called on Joseph, who protected the Jesus Child and Mary from the persecutors, as advocates for the protection of the "persecuted, homeless, displaced and fleeing Christians, who endure so much enmity in their homeland."

Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Image: InfoVaticana

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

Link to Katholisches...

AMDG

Knights of Malta -- The Double Truth About that 30 Million

[Magister] The reply of Eugenio Ajroldi di Robbiate, director of the communications office of the Order of Malta, to what was published on March 23 by Settimo Cielo on “the mystery of those 30 million Swiss francs,” has not been passed over in silence by other knights of the Order, closer to the mental workings of former Grand Master Fra' Matthew Festing, forced to hand in his resignation last January 24 to Pope Francis in person.

This is what is attested to in the following letter, from a person very well-informed on the affairs of the Order, rich in information that in its turn contradicts, corrects, or completes what has been stated by the official spokesman.

*

Dear Magister,

Sometimes even those responsible for the external communications of big organizations make mistaken or imprecise statements. There is no exemption to this rule for the Order of Malta, which recently has generated great confusion, especially on the New Zealand CPVG trust with its Swiss fiduciary, at first denying its existence and then creating a great deal of confusion on the legal circumstances that have led to opposition between the Order and the trust.

A few clarifications need to be made on the latest position statement of the Order, to correct or contradict its contents.

Albrecht Freiherr von Boeselager was not removed as an elected member of the Sovereign Council, but because a disciplinary procedure had been initiated against him. The circumstance had determined his suspension as a member of the Order, and therefore his automatic disqualification from the position of Grand Chancellor. The whole procedure had been examined by the Office of the Advocate General, which had confirmed its validity. All the circumstances were reported in a statement on the website of the Order, which was later removed. The Grand Master had attached a copy to a letter sent to numerous personalties connected to the Order on January 14, 2017. Over the last 15 years, two members of the Sovereign Council, both Italian, have resigned from their positions at the request of the Grand Master.

The Prime Minister of Luxembourg is Received in Vatican With "Husband"

[Adalante Te Fe] On March 24, a meeting of Pope Francis held a celebration with 27 leaders of the world on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome, in which this "curious" shot  of Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel, a well-known pro-sodomy activist, along with his "husband", was taken.

Attentive to this least "strange" event in the Vatican itself, is the leftist Secretary General of Podemos, Pablo Iglesias who has been quick to point it out with a complain about how Cardinal Cañizares is supposed to hate sodomites:

Benedictine Monastery Hosts "Drag Show"

Edit:  we've heard of Benedictine hospitality, but is that extended to the Devil? Given the atmosphere of decadence, malignancy and outright evil, isn't it just possible that Collegeville wouldn't be this open about its depravity? This monastery and school were caught before for attempting to host a naked retreat. The naked retreat was cancelled.

Now a student organization funded by the school is promoting a "drag show". From the school funded website:

By Meredith Jarchow – mgjarchow@csbsju.eduTalented performers, dramatic makeup and high heels will ensure that this Friday isn’t a drag. 

For several years CSB/SJU People Representing the Sexual Minority (PRiSM) has hosted an annual drag show at CSB/SJU. This year’s show will take place on Friday, with the theme “Life is a Drag” which will include student performers as well as professionals. 

This year, the drag show was preceded by a few different events including a drag makeup tutorial and Ally training with the Institute of Women’s Leadership to raise awareness of LGBTQ+ women for Women’s History Month. 

“During this month, oftentimes [lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning] (LGBTQ+) women are forgotten or aren’t part of the conversation,”

PRiSM co-president Anna Peichel said via email. “We wanted to just provide information about how to be allies and create safe spaces for LGBTQ+ women and LGBTQ+ folks in general.” 

The PRiSM drag show provides students with an opportunity to try drag in their own style and perform for an audience. 

“Doing drag is really dependent on the person, one person might create a long routine and another might want more crowd interaction,” Peichel said. “We really let the students do whatever they are most comfortable with.”
For CSB senior Paige Maki, this year will be her second performance in the PRiSM drag show. 

“I enjoy truly becoming my persona as Danny Deeper, and being able to dance in a ridiculous fashion but not feel any shame or embarrassment for it,” Maki said via email. “I also love the audience that comes because they are all so encouraging and don’t care if you mess up or aren’t the best performer.” 

In addition to the performances, the drag show will also provide the audience with a 21+ area that includes a cash bar. PRiSM hopes to create a welcoming atmosphere for all audience members, according to Peichel. 

“Drag queens and kings are amazing and great at their jobs, they shouldn’t make you feel uncomfortable in any way,” Peichel said. “They are usually very funny and put on very humorous performances. Be ready to laugh, cheer and have dollar bills ready for your favorite performers.” 

While this is not an experience many students on campus may have ever had, Maki and Peichel hope that those who have never attended a drag show to learn more about it this Friday. 

Maki says this event is important to the CSB/SJU community “to become more open minded, meet us, see that we are here and we aren’t that different from anyone else,” Maki said. “This event raises awareness about a community that not many people know about, and it shows that anyone can do anything they put their mind to.”
The biggest misconception about drag shows? The makeup, according to Maki.
“The makeup isn’t as easy as many would think for both drag queens and drag kings,” Maki said. 

There is no cost to attend the drag show, which will begin at 8 p.m. on Friday in Gorecki 204.

http://csbsjurecord.com/2017/03/prism-hosts-life-is-a-drag-annual-drag-show/

AMDG

Program of Contrasts: Francis in Milan -- Benedict's Prayerful Dialog in Rome

(Rome) The pictures of the last 25th March, the Feast of the Annunciation, which show Pope Francis before the Most Blessed Sacrament exposed for him in the Winter Choir (Coro Jemale) of the Cathedral of Milan, sitting without taking off his Pileolus, without prayer, have caused Catholics to show disappointment and horror.

Eucharistic worship is the highest expression of the awesome glorification of God. It happens in every Holy Mass. The Church is also aware of the solemn exposition of the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar. At the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus' Friday, June 11, 2010, Pope Benedict XVI ended his Year of the Priest. On the evening before, a prayer vigil with Eucharistic worship took place on St. Peter's Square. Benedict XVI had dedicated the entire year to the priesthood, presented the priest of Ars, John Maria Vianney, as a model to every priest. The Pope also introduced the Eucharistic Adoration and the promotion of the Eucharistic Adoration with the spiritual reflections of the French priest. The central aspect of faith is reverence of the saint, in a very special way before the Most Blessed Sacrament.

The images of 10 June 2010 form a contrasting program for believing people. The worshiping dialogue between the Pope and the Lord in the Most Blessed Sacrament of the Altar.

AMDG

Milan Priest From the Margins Makes "Mano Cornuta" Before Mass

(Rome) An AFP photographer, Giuseppe Cacace, immortalized a bizarre scene on the outskirts of the Pope's visit to Milan: a priest making the mano cornuta. The "horned hand" is considered a rather vulgar gesture in Italy to offend someone else, but it has even wider meanings right down to Satanism.

The "weirdly dressed guy with a colorful newsboy hat" (Corriere della Sera), who presented the Mano cornuta before the beginning of the Holy Mass celebrated by Pope Francis in Milan, is not a satanist who had become part of the priesthood but a priest and is known as Don Luca Raimondi. Don Raimondi, who by his conspicuous attitude "decidedly fell out of the circle of the priests present" (Corriere), is pastor in the diocese of Monza (church province of Milan).

The significance of the disparaging gesture can have numerous meanings. In Italy s a way to tell the other person that his wife / girlfriend is unfaithful to him, put on horns (adultery). The gesture also occurs in the case of a surprise, as a defense against a misfortune or a misfortune.

But the hand gesture is also seen as a satanist greeting, as a gesture of invocation or confession to Satan. Just as common, the Mano cornuta is a scene-typical pose in the hardrock subculture, known there as Devil horns or Metalhand.

Buddhism also knows it in the form of a mudra (hand gesture). This "persecution or deflection gesture" (Karana) has also flowed into yoga. "With the horns of a wild yak, the adept is going against the demon or opponent." This is an intensified "threat gesture" (Tarjana), which is directed against a demon or an opponent only with a raised index finger.

Don Luca Raimondi is considered to be a "priest at the margins". He attends to four parishes of a pastoral unit, which includes three places in Brianza.

Through the publication of the picture with the unusual gesture and the following storm of indignation, he saw himself forced to make an explanation. Yesterday the priest justified it to his faithful during Holy Mass with a story so unbelievable that he would have better saved it.

The short version: It was an hour before the beginning of the Mass. There was a cheerful, cheerful mood. It happened  in the priest's block. Then, on the cell phone, a woman called to him, who from a distance reserved for the faithful, motioned to him, joked with him about his newsboy hat, and said she wanted to have it. He had said no, and that with the raised index finger. When the woman insisted, he had then raised his pinky finger to say no. "These are the risks of communication," Don Raimondi said. Whoever believes it. Even if the story were accurate, the question would remain unanswered, as a priest loosely and without any connection, forms a hand to Mano cornuta.

"More importantly, I brought 200 people to Milan," said Don Luca. He had only raised the sleeves of  chasuble beforehand because of the "heat". A "cheerful, open mood," was ruling over the place, the priest said. It was just a "joking gesture." The AFP photo, however, does not seem to confirm this.

Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Image: Corriere.it (Screenshot)
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
AMDG

Pope Francis Before the Most Blessed Sacrament: "He did not kneel, remove his pileolus, and assume an attitude of prayer"

Pope Francis sat in the crypt of Milan Cathedral before the Most Blessed Sacrament:
"He did not kneel, sat, not once did he remove his pileolous and assume an attitude of prayer"

(Milan) In the context of his visit to Milan today and the meeting with the clergy of the Archdiocese in the Cathedral of Milan, Pope Franziskus spent some time before the Blessed Sacrament. "He does not kneel, but sits down on a beautiful chair surrounded by other prelates who stand ..." Thus,  Antonio Socci criticized the scene, which provoked criticism from different sides.

The traditional page Messa in latino added some comments. Its author criticized Francis' attitude before the Blessed Sacrament, as had not yet been voiced by him in the four years of this pontificate.

"The Pope did not visit the Blessed Sacrament on the main altar (which would have been a good and proper opportunity to provide visibility to the worthy worship of God, the climax of the liturgy and the cult), but in the crypt, almost as if it were a private act that is made in secret and in a hurry.
A prie dieu was not even provided. That is, the master of ceremonies of the cathedral had instructions not to set him one up at all. The pope does not want to use the prie dieu and apparently does not even have one on hand.

Francis did not even remove the white pileolus on his head before the Blessed Sacrament. It was once named Soli Deo because it is only removed for God in the Sacrament.

Expression and body language, the folded hands, indicate that the pope is not taking a prayerful disposition before the Lord in prayer and worship, but just as if he were in a program and had to make an intermediate stop in the crypt which had annoyed him. The look seems apathetic as if he did not see God in the Most Blessed Sacrament.

Francis before the Most Blessed Sacrament: "Apathetic look, no disposition of prayer"

Pope Francis does not seem to have the intention of wishing to foster acts of worshiping God, as they are only due to God. He does not kneel down, as is known (he suffers, it is said, but not officially). But he sits instead of not taking the pileolus off and not to fold his hands? No, I believe he does not believe in the real presence!

On Holy Thursday we will see it.

It is pointless: I am told that I must love and respect this pope. I just do not succeed in loving him. It is hard for me to respect him.

He is Pope by right, but he does not sanctify and teach it in his office. Perhaps he is pope only in government (Therewith, to place the Franciscans of the Immaculate under provisional administration and to dismiss bishops, to protect homosexual priests, and to promote worker priests).

Christian Caritas is merited when it comes out of love for Christ. Without Christ, it is only atheistic social aid."

Text / translation: Giuseppe Nardi
Image: Vatican.va (screenshot)
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
Link to Katholisches...
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Priestly Society of St. John of Ciudad del Este Abolished -- Legacy of Bishop Livieres Dismantled

Ciudad del Este: Dissolution of the Society of Saint John (CSSJ) by Bishop
Steckling

(Asuncion) On March 16, the Priestly Society of St. John (CSSJ) has been abolished by Bishop Wilhelm Steckling of Ciudad del Este in Paraguay. The abolition is connected with the removal of Bishop Rogelio Livieres Plano, who was deposed in 2014 by Pope Francis. Both interventions have something in common: they were done without official naming of reasons, were accompanied by dirty media speculations and are part of a hard factional debate on the understanding of the Church. 

Vocations crisis is no natural phenomenon

When Bishop Rogelio Livieres was deposed by Pope Francis in the late summer of 2014, the Holy See gave no reasons for the radical intervention. Officially, it was never disclosed what the bishop who died in 2015 during an operation had been accused of doing. This provided more space for speculation. From the Pope's decree, however, it was clear that Bishop Livieres had disturbed the "concord" in the Episcopal Conference. In Paraguay, which strongly progressive and liberation theological, lay the crux of the matter.

Bishop Rogelio Livieres (1945-2015)

Bishop Livieres belonged to Opus Dei . He was appointed by Pope John Paul II, and took over a diocese on ropes, which had hardly any priests. Until then, the seminarians of all the dioceses of the country were trained in a central national seminary in Asuncion, whose mind was formed on liberation theology. Bishop Livieres withdrew his seminarians and founded his own seminary. The education was oriented to the teachings of the Church, the sacramental priesthood was emphasized and the reverence for the sacrament of the altar was lived. In the parishes, the bishop intensified the religious instruction by founding Bible study groups and the formation of catechists. In addition, Eucharistic worship and the celebration of Holy Mass were promoted in the traditional Rite.

Archbishop-Coadjutor of Guam Demands an End to Liturgical Abuse -- Deadline: Two Weeks

Michael Byrnes, new Archbishop of Hagatna on Guam

(Hagatna) The Archbishop-Coadjutor of Hagatna at Guam, headed by Michael Byrnes, who had been in office since 30 November 2016, formerly Auxiliary Bishop of Detroit, has criticized the liturgical abuse on the South Sea island, which is a non-incorporated territory of the USA.

Archbishop-Coadjutor Byrnes, in fact, heads the Archdiocese as the official in charge of an ecclesiastical process against Archbishop Anthony Apuron. Monsignor Byrnes has urged all parts of his archdiocese to comply with liturgical regulations for the celebration of Holy Mass. Specifically, his reservations are directed against the Neocatechumenal Way. The charismatic group, counted among the "New Communities," was asked by the Archbishop to suspend the formation of new groups for a year and to celebrate the Mass according to the General Instructions.

Celebration of the Neocatechumenal Way on the Island of Guam.

According to Monsignor Byrnes, Holy Mass is to be celebrated on Sunday (after the First Vespers) and not systematically on Saturday, on a consecrated altar in a parish church or approved chapel, and that Holy Communion would be immediately consumed after the reception.

Criticism is concerned with the special liturgical forms of the Neocatechumenal Way, with a judaizing, actually a pseudo-Jewish, character. The groups of the Neocatechumenal Way celebrate Holy Mass on Saturday (Sabbath) in their own rooms outside the churches and as a closed group. Holy Communion is not immediately taken at the reception, but taken back to one's place.

The Coadjutor also criticized the separation of this community, which is isolated from the parishes and leads a special life in the Church. Bishop Byrnes says that his concern is to restore the Archdiocese. The Neocatechumenal Way was recently accused of splitting the diocese.

On 15 March, Monsignor Byrnes presented his concerns and his demands in a pastoral letter addressed to the Archdiocese. This calls for the suspension of the establishment of new groups of the Neocatechumenal Way for a year. The Archbishop-Coadjutor announced the appointment of a delegate with the task of visiting all the communities of the Neocatechumenal Way next year to ensure the correct celebration of Holy Mass and to examine the catechists of this community for their preparation and suitability.

The bishop granted a period of two weeks to cease liturgical abuse.

The pastoral letter was published by the Pacific Daily News.

The Neocatechumenal Way is known as a lifelong "Way" (itinerarium) of the faith instruction. It includes more than 40,000 groups worldwide with more than one million members.

Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Image: Church Militant (Screenshot)
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
Link to Katholisches...
AMDG

Has Pope Francis Finally Addressed the "Dubia"? -- "No to Communion for Remarried Divorced and Abortion Politicians"

Chile's Bishops report concerning their visit to Rome that Pope Francis declared a "clear no"
to Communion for the remarried divorced and for politicians who promote abortion.  Has the Pope changed his disposition? The President, Msgr. Santiago Silva and General Secretary, Auxilliary Bishop Fernando Ramos (Right)

(Rome) As it appears, Pope Francis has no longer any "doubts", according to the reports of the Chilean bishops who recently made their ad limina visit to Rome. The papal statements reported by them are a radical turn-around. "Since it is unacceptable that the President of the Chilean Episcopal Conference and his Secretary General have invented the words of the Pope, the news is of the utmost importance," said the Spanish columnist, Francisco Fernandez de la Cigoña. "As Fernandez de la Cigoña says," some of the statements sound as if Cardinal Burke had spoken. "What happened?

The allusion to the "doubts" refers to the "Dubia" (doubt), which gave the four cardinals addressed to the pope against controversial parts of the Post-Synodal letter Amoris laetitia to the Pope. For more than five months, the head of the Catholic Church has refused to respond to the five questions on central themes of the faith and morality. Shortly before Christmas, one of the four signatories, Cardinal Burke, spoke of a reprimand in camera caritatis. If this did not come to anything, the Pope would be subject to a public reprimand.

Now, the leaders of the Chilean Episcopal Conference reported that Pope Francis had explained the doctrine of the Church with "clear words".

"The Pope!" says Fernandez de la Cigoña.

Cancellation of situational ethics - Only voluntary celibacy not on the papal agenda

The Chilean daily El Mercurio conducted a joint interview with the President and Secretary General of the Chilean Bishops' Conference. One focus was the ad limina visit to Rome and the question of the remarried and divorced. Both confirmed that  Pope Francis instilled to them a clear "no to the Communion for remarried divorced persons and for politicians who pronounce for abortion."

The Secretary-General, Monsignor Fernando Ramos, also disagreed with the statement that Pope Francis had spoken in an interview with the weekly newspaper Die Zeit for the abolition of priestly celibacy. The Pope has made it clear "that a more voluntary celibacy is not in his agenda".

On the question of the Communion for remarried and divorced, Francis had rejected a "situational ethic" and told an anecdote from his family to clarify the matter.

"What happened?"

The distinct "no" to the communion for remarried divorced persons told to the Chilean bishops upon their visit to Rome led Fernandez de la Cigoña to the question:

"What happened? I dont know. Something has happened, for what Francis has told the Chilean bishops is not what can be read out from Amoris laetitia and read out by two cretins on Malta and most of the German bishops, and certainly not what Francis told  the Argentine bishops in a letter. 

So what happened? 

I dont know. But it may be that Francis saw the situation in which he had ridden the Church, but he did not want to enter into history causing a schism with incalculable consequences. His popularity among those who really count in the Church has declined sharply. Not a few have sussed out the not infrequently meaningless verbal chaos and have convinced themselves of the arguments of their opponents. 

Perhaps he himself has realized that the arguments of his opponents have a great weight, for if all the popes before him have taught something else, it seems quite obvious that  all the others may not have been wrong, but he is wrong. Everyone who wants to hear what he wants to hear is applauded in the short term, but in the medium term the voice of the pope falls into disrepute because different interpretations, which can be called upon, devalue his voice. 

Now it is time to wait to see if the statements of the Chilean bishops or the contrary are confirmed. Everything is possible. Their statements are excellent, including the personal anecdote about his niece, who is married to a divorced man. The divorced, a Catholic, goes to the confessional and says to the confessor: "I know you can not absolve me, but bless me." The married nephew is clearly aware of his situation. And apparently this also applies to the papal uncle. 

I think these are very important statements about which we can look forward. All Catholic. I know, of course, that it is still difficult to assess its real significance and scope in comparison to other statements to the contrary: What will tomorrow bring?"

Also important is the papal "no" to the communion for politicians who pronounce in favor of or use abortion. How does this attitude fit in with the latest testimony of the pope confidant Marcelo Sanchez Sorondo? Sorondo had explained in an interview with Jan Bentz for Arrangements that he talks to the abortion promoters because that will "do more". Specifically, he addressed "more" in the fight against the "new slavery" to the UN agenda. At the same time, Sanchez Sorondo frontally attacked the Pro-Life movement and accused them of "achieving nothing".

Text. Giuseppe Nardi
Image: Infocatolica / Vatican.va (screenshot)
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
Link to Katholisches...
AMDG

Vatican Official Confirms Agreement with SSPX

Edit: it's comical to see Lawler embrace ideas he's always been resistant to. Some day I'd love to see him kiss Bishop Fellay's ring.

March 20, 2017

[Catholic Culture] The secretary of the Ecclesia Dei commission has confirmed that the Vatican is close to an agreement with the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) that would regularize the status of the traditionalist group.

Archbishop Guido Pozzo told the German newspaper Die Tagespost that the Vatican will ask the SSPX to endorse a formal declaration, resolving some remaining doctrinal issues. However, confirming what SSPX leaders have said, the Archbishop Pozzo acknowledged that the SSPX would be allowed to continue raising questions about some teachings of Vatican II. Over the years, the archbishop observed, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has answered a number of questions about conciliar documents, and “I do not see why this work of clarification and answers to doubts and reservations... could not be carried forward.”

Archbishop Pozzo said that, in interpreting the documents of Vatican II, one clear principle would be continuity: that if an understanding of the Council’s message involves a break with the constant teaching of the Church, “this intepretation must be rejected as false or inadequate.”

The archbishop suggested that the cause of reconciliation for the SSPX should be confided to the care of Our Lady of Fatima, as the Church approaches the 100th anniversary of the apparitions.

http://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=31058

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