France: Clear Shift in Seminaries -- Diocesen Seminarians Decline, Traditional and Communauté St Martin Communities Increase

What will the priest of tomorrow be like? France shows a clear
indication.

(Paris) The trend of the figures about French seminarians shows some notable trends. Riposte Catholique compares the figures of the seminarians of May 2017 with those of May 2010. What changes can be seen during these seven years, the duration which consists of an entire period of priestly formation?

At the end of the 2009/2010 academic year (shortly before priestly ordinations) there were 918 seminarians in France. At the end of the 2016/2017 academic year, the figure was 853. This represents a drop of seven percent.

The numbers include the diocesan seminaries and all seminarians, whether French or foreigners, who study for a French diocese. Also included are the secular priestly communities of tradition (including the Society of St. Pius Xth ) and the Communauté St. Martin, which is playing an increasing role in France. The picture is therefore not entirely complete, since the Catholic orders are missing. The statistics, however, deliberately includes the world clergy.

Growth of communities of tradition and community of St. Martin

Seminarists in France: comparison between the academic years 2009/2010 and 2016/2017

The 94 French dioceses experienced a drop in French seminarians of almost a fifth (-18.2 percent). In the case of foreign seminarians preparing for a priesthood for a French diocese, the decline was even more pronounced and almost one quarter (23.1 per cent).

On the other hand, the priestly societies of tradition show an annual increase. The number of their seminarians rose from 140 in the academic year 2009/2010 to 160 in the academic year 2016/2017. This represents an increase of 14.3 percent.

During the same period, the Priestly Society of St. Martin (Communauté St. Martin), which was founded in 1976 by Jean-François Guérin, priest of the Archbishopric of Tours, was canonically erected with the help of the Archbishop of Genoa, Giuseppe Cardinal Siri. Guérin died in 2005, who was the Superior General until 2004, and was a member of the old-rite Benedictine Abbey of Fontgombault. The mother house and the community priest's seminary are now in the former Benedictine Abbey of Evron.

The Priestly Society of St. Martin, who had 43 seminarians in France in 2010, had 98 in the past year. It was able to more than double its numbers. The increase is 128 percent.

The figures do not include the members of the Propaedeutic (Preseminary).

Clear shifts in the overall picture

The changes also mean shifts in the overall picture. In 2010, French diocesan seminarians accounted for two-thirds (66%) of all seminarians preparing for the priesthood in France. With the foreign seminarians who studied for French dioceses, their share amounted to 80 per cent. The seminarians of the priestly communities of tradition accounted for 15.3 per cent of the total number. The Communauté St. Martin had a share of 4.7 percent.

In 2017, the picture is clearly different: the French diocesan seminarists now account for only 58 percent of all seminarians who are covered. Together with the foreign seminarians for French dioceses, their share is 69.7 percent. The proportion of the priestly communities of tradition has increased to 18.8 per cent, and that of the Communauté St. Martin even to 11.5 per cent.

The proportion of diocesan seminarians are also distributed quite differently in the diocese. Eleven of the 94 dioceses had only one seminarian in the past year, five had no one. 13 dioceses had only two seminarians, 17 more only three, and another 18 dioceses between four and five seminarians. In other words, two-thirds of the French bishops do not even have a new priest every year.

Half of the diocesan seminarians are from 13 of 94 diocese - except Frejus-Toulon

More than half of all diocesan seminarians are from 13 of the 94 dioceses. Two diocese stand out: the Archdiocese of Paris and the Diocese of Frejus-Toulon. The largest number, with 70 seminarians, is the Archdiocese of Paris. At the lower end of the list, the seminarians of 42 diocese are to be counted in order to reach the number of seminarians in Paris. The archdiocese includes 3.3 per cent of the inhabitants of France, but accounts for 11.8 per cent of diocesan seminarians and 8.2 per cent of all seminarians.

The Diocese of Frejus-Toulon in Provence is a real exception. It has been headed since 2000 by the Bishop Dominique Rey. Although the Diocese is only 1.6 per cent of the population of France, the small diocese, with 42 seminarians, represents seven per cent of all diocesan seminarians and almost five per cent of all seminarians. On the whole, the seminary of Frejus-Toulon attracts most priestly vocations in proportion. At the seminary, 66 seminary participants were trained in the last academic year. In the past, Bishop Rey has promoted the establishment or founding of new orders and communities, including those with a missionary and traditional charism. The education at the diocesan seminary of Frejus-Toulon is also appreciated by priests of tradition.

27 dioceses had more seminarians in 2017 than in 2010. Not all of them signify a trend reversal, but some already. Worth mentioning was the increase, especially in the diocese of Lyon, Bayonne, Rennes, Montpellier, Meaux, Saint-Brieuc and Digne. The diocese of Bayonne is also headed by Monsignor Marc Aillet, a traditional bishop, who belongs to the Priestly Society of St. Martin.

Overall, a general shift can be observed. It leads away from the post-conciliar spirit and in a graded way towards the tradition.

Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Photo: Riposte Catholique
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
AMDG

First Priestly Ordination in the Immemorial Mass in Nigeria Since Liturgical Reform

(Abuja) On 15 August, the feast of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary a first Mass was celebrated in Nigeria in the Immemorial Roman Rite.

Plan of the Church of Our Lady of the Perpetual Help of Umuaka

Monsignor Gregory Ochiaga, the emeritus bishop of Orlu ordained Deacon Charles Ike from the Priestly Society of St. Peter to the priesthood. The priestly ordination took place in the parish of Enneemaka of Umuaka, which is supervised by the Society of St. Peter. Umuaka is located in the state of Imo.

Nne Enyemaka is Igbo, the language of the people of the same name who live in southeast of Nigeria, and stands for Our Lady of Perpetual Help. A copy of the Roman image is revered in the parish church built by the Society of Peter. The construction work is still ongoing.

The parish was established by the incumbent Bishop of Orlu, Augustine Uwuoma as a personal parish for the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite.

It is the first priestly ordination in the Immemorial Roman Rite, which has been offered in Nigeria since the liturgical reform of 1969/1970.

If you are interested in the church building project, you can find information on fsspnigeria.org.

Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Image: fsspnigeria.org
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
AMDG

Barcelona: Terror Cell Appartently Had Sagrada Familia in Its Sights

Investigators: Behind the terrorist attack in Barcelona and the assassination attempt in Cambrils, stood a terror cell, which might have actually had Barcelona's famous basilica "Sagrada Familia" in its sights.

Bacelona (kath.net) Behind the terrorist attack in Barcelona and the assassination attempt in Cambrils stood a terror cell, which might have actually the famous church "Sagrada Familia" in its sights. This was reported by N-TV and other media. According to Spanish media reports, the investigators found images of the Gaudí cathedral when they had analyzed the computer data of the suspects.

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The investigators further suspect that the terrorists originally planned a major attack with hundreds of dead, but could not realize it by an accident.

N-TV also reported that, according to the investigators, the Moroccan Imam Abdelbaki Es Satty, who lives in Spain, could be responsible for the radicalization of the group. The young men, who became perpetrators, were between 17 and 18 years old and have apparently radicalized themselves only in contact with the Imam. Earlier, they apparently did not have any links with Islamic terrorism.

It was begun in the last century by Antoni Gaudí and consecrated in 2010 by Pope Benedict XVI.On Sunday the funeral service for the victims of the terrorist attack took place. The church is visited annually by about two million tourists and is considered one of Barcelona's great landmarks.

The Church 'Sagrada familia' in Barcelona (architect: Gaudí) 

Pope Benedict XVII consecrated the church "Sagrada Familia" and the altar in 2010

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com AMDG

Russian Orthodoxy Sees Progress in the Dialogue with Catholics

Moscow Metropolitan Hilarion in newspaper interview: A lot has happened in the past ten years - progress also in the political relationship between Russia and the Holy See

Rome (kath.net/KAP) Russia's Orthodox Church sees a "significant step" in dialogue with the Catholic Church. In the last ten years, much has been done in relation to each other. As well as between Russia and the Holy See, said the Foreign Minister of the Moscow Patriarchate, Metropolit Hilarion, the Italian daily "Il sole 24 ore" (Thursday). There is consensus on current problems such as the loss of spiritual values ​​and Christian persecution. "This is a problem which disturb both the Orthodox Church and the Holy See in all of our soul, and drives us to unite our forces to find a common solution," the Metropolitan said.

Hilarion spoke on the occasion of the upcoming Moscow visit by Cardinal Secretary Pietro Parolin from Sunday to Thursday. His main themes he identified as the situation in the Middle East and Ukraine; Also a peace solution for Syria would surely be an issue. Parolin's visit could help to approach different perspectives and find common solutions to different problems, says Hilarion, who will also meet with Parolin himself. "I will discuss with him the full range of bilateral relations between the Russian Orthodox and the Catholic Church, and hope that we can set new perspectives for further development."

With regard to the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, he said that this was still "the most delicate issue in the relations of the two churches." At the same time, the foreign official of the Moscow Patriarchate in the interview appreciates the admission of full diplomatic relations between Russia and the Vatican in 2009 as well as the historic first meeting of Pope Francis and Patriarch Kiril I in Havana, Cuba in 2016, resulting in strengthening the collaboration of both churches.

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

AMDG 

10,000 Pilgrims of the Society of St. Pius X this Weekend at Fatima -- "Largest Pilgrimage in 100 Years at Fatima"

10,000 Faithful are expected at the Fatima Pilgrimage of the Society of St. Pius X this weekend, which has already generated media attention in the run-up. It is the fourth Fatima Pilgrimage of the FSSPX. The first took place in 1987 with Archbishop Lefebvre  

(Lisbon) This is not the first pilgrimage of the Priestly Society of St. Pius X to Fatima. What is new, however, is that this year's pilgrimage, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Virgin Mary, is given special attention by the Portuguese media. The international Fatima pilgrimage of the Society of Pius X will take place next weekend. Since the 11th of August a novena has been held.

Eucharistic Worship at Night - Militia Immaculatae

On Saturday, 19 August, Father Franz Schmidberger, Rector of the Priestly Seminary of Zaitzkofen, celebrates Holy Mass at 3 pm in the Shrine. Afterwards a procession with rosary to the place of the apparition Os Valinhos takes place. At 20:30 the exposition of the Blessed Sacrament and a Benediction follows.

Light procession in Fatima

On Sunday, August 20, at noon, worshiping the Eucharistic blessing will end at 6:30. At 9:30 am a pontifical High Mass, will be celebrated by the General Superior of the Society of Pius X, Bishop Bernard Fellay. At 3 pm, a common rosary closes the pilgrimage.

After the rosary, the consecration of the Militia Immaculatae and its members to the Immaculate Heart of Mary takes place in the same locale. The Militia was founded in Rome on 17 October, 1917 by St. Maximilian Kolbe. That was four days after the last Marian apparition in Fatima, which Kolbe at that time still knew nothing. And it was three weeks before the Bolshevik October Revolution broke out in Russia. As if he had known it, Kolbe had with the Militia already created as an antidote to the rearing of totalitarianism and enemies of the Church. In 2000, P. Karl Stehlin (FSSPX), along with the Novus Ordo Militia, also revived Militia Immaculatae in the spirit of tradition.

"Largest pilgrimage to the 100-year celebration comes from conservative community"

The Portuguese daily Jornal de Noticias reports in its edition today that 10,000 pilgrims will come to the pilgrimage of the Society of Pius X to Fatima next weekend. The title of the article, however, is obviously formulated with bad intentions:

"10,000 pilgrims protest in Fatima against the present Church"

No Catholic undertook a pilgrimage to "protest" against something. The article itself contains more applicable information.

Even more generous space was given to the FSSPX pilgrimage by the daily newspaper Diario de Noticias. It's headed:

"Greatest pilgrimage on the 100th anniversary comes from conservative community".

The article describes the reasons for the pilgrimage and briefly describes the current situation of the relations between the Society of St. Pius X and the Holy See. A big picture in the article shows Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, the founder of the Society. The Society has already carried out three pilgrimages to Fatima in the past. The first took place in 1987. 30 years ago, Monsignor Lefebvre also participated. The other two pilgrimages followed in 1997 and 2005.

Are discussions with Rome again at the "starting point"?

The media interest could be related to expectations that Bishop Fellay made statements on the current situation that resulted from Cardinal Müller's letter to the FSSPX's Superior General. Four days later, on 30th June, the Cardinal was dismissed by Pope Francis as Prefect of the Congregation for Doctrine of and the Faith.

Cardinal Müller, on 26 June, informed Fellay that the Congregation for the Congregation at its General Assembly of May had decided that the Society of Pius X and every Society member would have to sign the Doctrinal Preamble as a condition for canonical recognition. Such was offered to Monsignor Fellay in September 2011 by Cardinal Levada, the Prefect of the Congregation of Doctrine and the Faith at that time. The exact wording thereof was never published. Little changes could be made, as Cardinal Levada explained to the Society (see the chronology of the conversations between the Holy See and the Pius Brotherhood ).

At the end of June, Cardinal Müller also announced that this conditio sine qua non was endorsed by Pope Francis. The sitution in August 2017 is again or still, what Monsignor Fellay already said in June 2012: one was again at the "point of departure"?

Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Photo: Diario de Noticias (Screenshot)
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
AMDG

SSPX: The Numbers

[Katholisches] The Priestly Fraternity of St. Pius X (FSSPX) includes 635 priests, 215 seminarians and 40 pre-seminarians, 117 religious brothers and 79 oblates. The priests live in 165 priories in 32 countries and have 772 centers in 72 countries around the world.

A total of 14 districts and four autonomous houses are subordinate to the General House. Six priestly seminaries are run by the Society.

195 Sisters belong to the sister branch. 17 sisters are among the missionaries in Kenya, founded by Bishop Fellay in 2011. Four Carmel monasteries are connected to the Priestly Fraternity of St. Pius X.

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

AMDG

Porno Film Shot in a Church: Dutch Prosecutor Dismisses Charge

The Tilburg Saint Joseph's Church was desecrated by
a porno film, which the Dutch Prosecutor refused to prosecute

(The Hague) The Dutch Prosecutor's Office refuses to charge prosecution for a porn film shot in a Catholic church.

Yesterday, on the occasion of the Feast of the Assumption, the Dutch Prosecutor's Office archived the complaint against the producer and the performers of a porn film, for shooting in the church dedicated to St. Joseph in Tilburg, better known as Heuvelse Kerk. Tilburg is located in the Dutch province of Nordbrabant.

Because of the devastation of the church, the city council had received a report from the priestly council. The public prosecutor's opinion, however, is that "no criminal offense" was committed. The behavior was indeed "disrespectful", but one could not recognize a criminal offense when the penal code was read. "Blasphemy is not punishable" in the Netherlands, which is why there is no law violation, the prosecutor's office said in their statement yesterday.

The barrier, which had to be climbed over for the filming.

Two actors were filmed in a side passage of the church and in a confessional committing a sex act.

Professor Harrie de Swart, responsible for the administration of the church, expressed his surprise at the decision of the prosecutor. He recalled that the actors had to overcome a barrier to get to the "filming locations".

The prosecutor informed that the church could seek a civil procedure. Whether it will come to such a thing is not certain. De Swart yesterday advised the diocese, for "there has been enough excitement in this cause which has led to nothing."

The 81-year-old Jan van Noorwegen, who is a priest at the church, carried out a rite reparation, when the church desecration became known at the beginning of the year. The Heuvelse Kerk was built in neo-gothic style in the 1870s.

The film was shot for Meiden van Holland, the video channel owned by the Dutch porn actress Kim Holland.

Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Image: Wikicommons
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
AMDG

Evil Dominican Lashes Out at "Tyranny" of Tradition

Edit: I ask you.  Why hasn't this degenerate been at least relegated to a monastery or declared no longer the responsibility of the Catholic Church.  Even if they sent him away with a small pension.  It's the height of irresponsibility that this refugee from the sixties should have a position of authority in the Church.

BRISBANE, Australia, August 15, 2017 (LifeSiteNews) – A Dominican priest who previously said sodomy can express Christ's "self-gift" criticized "the tyranny of tradition at the exclusion of creativity" in a recent talk about Amoris Laetitia. 

Dominican Father Timothy Radcliffe, appointed as a consultor for the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace by Pope Francis, has a history of downplaying or outright contradicting the Catholic Church's teachings on sexual morality. He was the Master of the Order of Preachers from 1992 to 2001.

An article published at the Dominican Order's official website said Radcliffe addressed "absolutism and 'the tyranny of tradition at the exclusion of creativity'" in a May 10 talk in Brisbane, Australia.

https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/pro-gay-dominican-blasts-tyranny-of-tradition-in-talk-on-amoris-laetitia?utm_content=bufferdde25&utm_medium=social&utm_source=restoringculture%2Bfacebook&utm_campaign=buffer

AMDG

"Every Christian is Spiritually a Vendéan" -- Cardinal Sarah on the "Inner Rebellion" against the "Columns of Hell"

Cardinal Sarah at the Grave of Saint Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort,
who was born in Bretagne, but died in the Vendée and is buried there.

(Paris) An extraordinary and prophetic sermon was given by Robert Cardinal Sarah, Prefect of the Roman Congregation of Divine Worship and the Order of the Sacraments, in Saint Laurent sur Sèvres in the Vendée. The occasion was the opening of the 700th anniversary of the Diocese of Luçon.

The Catholic and Royalist population of this French landscape and its surroundings rose up from 1793 to 1796 in an insurrection against the anti-Christ and anti-royalist programs of the French Revolution. Their insurrection was cruelly suppressed by the revolutionaries in the name of "freedom, equality, brotherhood." The cruelty of the Revolutionary Government and its "hell columns," as the revolutionary groups were called, which precipitated the uprising in the Vendée, caused about 200,000 deaths by systematically burning entire villages and killing the population. Today, the extermination policy of the revolution is sometimes referred to as genocide (genocide) and "populicide" (popular murder).

The Cardinal will be in the Vendée until 15 August, the Feast of the Assumption of Mary.

The full text of the sermon:

Dear Brothers in the Lord!

We Christians need the spirit of the inhabitants of the Vendée! We need such an example! As we have to leave our sowing, our harvest, the furrows drawn by our plows, to fight - not for the defense of human interests, but for God!

Cardinal Sarah preached on the 12th of August in the Vendée

So who will stand up for God today? Who will dare to face the modern persecutors of the Church? Who will have the courage to rise, unarmed, only with the Rosary and the Sacred Heart, to meet the columns of death of our days, the relativism, the indifference and the contempt of God? Who will tell this world that the only truth worth dying for is freedom to believe?

Brothers, as once our brethren of the Vendée, today we have been called to confession, that is, to martyrdom!

Today, our Christian brothers in the Middle East, in Pakistan, in Africa, die for their faith, destroyed by the columns of the Islamic persecution. Therefore, you, people of France, you, people of the Vendée, when will you take up the peaceful weapons of prayer and love to defend your faith?

Dear friends, the blood of the martyrs flows in your veins. Be faithful to it!

We are all mentally sons of the martyrs of the Vendée! Also we Africans, we who have received many missionaries from the Vendée, who came to proclaim us Christ and to die with us! We must remain faithful to their heritage!

In this place the spirit of these martyrs surrounds us. What do they tell us? What are they going to give us?

First and foremost their courage! When it comes to God, no compromise is possible! The glory of God is not for discussion! This has to start with our personal life, our prayer life and our worship.

Brothers, it is time to rise up against the real existential atheism that stifles our lives. If we pray in the family, we place God in the first place! A family who prays is a family that lives! A Christian who does not pray, who leaves no space for God by silence and worship, dies!

From the example of the Vendée, we also learn the love of the priesthood. Because their "good shepherds" were threatened, they rose. Your children, when they see the faithful example of your ancestors, love their priests, love the priesthood!

You must ask: Have I also been called to be a priest in the succession of these good priests who have suffered martyrdom by the revolution? Would I have the courage to give life entirely to Christ and to my brethren?

The martyrs of the Vendée also teach us the forgiveness and mercy. Despite persecution and hatred, they have preserved in their hearts the concern for peace and forgiveness. Remember, commander Bonchamps 1) had given 5,000 prisoners given the freedom in 1793 a few minutes before he died. We should counteract hatred without resentment and without animosity. We are to be armed with the heart of Jesus, and like this we shall be full of meekness.

Finally, we also learn the generosity and selflessness of the martyrs of the Vendée.

Your ancestors did not themselves fight for their own interests. They had nothing to gain. Today they teach us true humanity. We live in a world dominated by the dictatorship of money, interests and wealth. The joy of selflessness is everywhere despised and mocked. Nevertheless, only the generous love and the unselfish surrender of one's own life can defeat the hatred of God and of men, the origin of every revolution. The inhabitants of the Vendée have taught us to resist all these revolutions. They have shown us that there is only one answer to the colonialists, the National Socialist extermination camps, the Communist Gulag, the Islamic barbarism: the complete self-giving of one's own life. Only love defeats the powers of death!

Today again, perhaps today more than ever before, the revolutionary ideologues want to destroy the natural place of self-giving, joyous generosity and love - I mean the family!

Gender ideology, contempt for fertility and loyalty are the new guiding principles of the revolution. The families have become many Vendées, which are to be exterminated. It is planned to systematically wipe them out as they once did against the Vendée.

These new revolutionaries are annoyed by the selflessness families with children. They laugh at the Christian families because they embody everything they hate. They are ready to send their columns of hell against Africa to put the family under pressure and impose on it sterilization, abortion and contraception.

Africa will resist like the Vendée!

Everywhere: Christian families must be a joyous avant-garde of an insurrection against this new dictatorship of egoism!

Now, in the heart of every family, every Christian, every person of good will has to raise an inner Vendée! Every Christian is mentally a Vendéan! Let us not allow the unselfish and generous devotion to be stifled in us. Let us also learn how the martyrs of the Vendée, to draw this gift from their source: the heart of Jesus. Let us ask that a powerful and joyful inner Vendée rise in the Church and in the world.

Amen!

Text / Translation: Giuseppe Nardi
Image: Le Salon beige / Messa in latino
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
AMDG

Bishop Schneider: "Personally Very Sad" About Rome's Letter to the SSPX -- "They Wouldn't Treat the Orthodox Like This"

(Lisbon) Just before Cardinal Gerhard Müller was dismissed on 30 June by Pope Francis as Prefect of the Congregation for Doctrine of the Faith, he sent Bishop Bernard Fellay, the Superior General of the Priestly Society of St. Pius X, a letter. In this he announced that the General Assembly of the Congregation for the Congregation, with papal approval, as a condition for a possible Church recognition of the Society, again demanded the doctrinal preamble of 2012.

On 14 July, Bishop Athanasius Schneider, Auxiliary Bishop of Astana, has asked, in the course of a lecture held in Fatima, about the abrupt turning-point in the discussions between the Society and the Holy See. The question came from a member of the Spanish-speaking Catholic news site, Adelante la Fe, who was the organizer of the event. One of the founders of Adelante la Fe is the countryman, deceased in 2015, by Pope Francis Bishop Rogelio Livieres of Ciudad del Este, whom Pope Francis had deposed without a hearing and without mentioning reasons in 2014. In a press release of the Holy See, it was said that the harmony had been restored in the Paraguayan Episcopal Conference. The following text is the title of an audio section. Bishop Schneider spoke Portuguese in Fatima:

Adelante la Fe: Recently, a letter from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith was publicly announced to the Superior General of the Society of Pius X, with which, as it seems, Rome returned to the point where the conversations under Benedict XVI. had broken down. The outcome of the current negotiations had given the impression that the problematic issues related to the Second Vatican Council in Rome might seem to be able to be the object of discussion, while now a priori a written agreement has been broached where agreement is demanded to the entire Vatican II and also to some parts of the post-conciliar Magisterium. Can you tell us something about this situation?

Msgr. Schneider: Personally, this document makes me very sad because I was one of the visitors of the Holy See who was sent to the Society of St. Pius X two years ago. There were four bishops. I was one of them. I have presented a report and proposed some solutions, and now almost everything we have done has proved to be useless. I think this is very anti-pastoral. For three years, the Holy See has encouraged visits and not followed a maximalistic path, but a pastoral way of integrating these realities of the Church, the FSSPX, pastorally to give it a chance to participate fully in the structures of the Church.

I think, therefore, that this is a very anti-pastoral gesture, and in contradiction to the whole mercy rhetoric that is being put forth - unfortunately. At the same time, on the other hand, implicitly, the entire Council is being made infallible, which is contrary to the whole tradition ... The Council is not infallible, according to its own statements, and the Popes John XIII. and Paul VI. have emphasized on numerous occasions that the Second Vatican Council had only pastoral aims. Paul VI. said many times that the Council has announced no new doctrines and that there is nothing in contradiction with the previous ones. So if nothing has been changed, then why this attitude? I see no justifiable reason for expressly declaring such a thing [expressly the recognition of the teachings of the Second Vatican Council and the post-conciliar period, as it is said in the letter of Cardinal Müller, Editor's note].

For example: Now we talk a lot of ecumenism, with particular generosity, and in the discussions with the Orthodox, the Lutherans are only required the minimum .... The minimum is required. Within the Church, however, one demands the maximum. The FSSPX, however, believes in the eternal dogmas. All dogmas. All. While the Orthodox Church, for example, denies the dogma of infallibility and of the papal primacy, and the Holy See does not even require the most indispensable.

For example, I know the Orthodox very well, because I am among them. I know their mentality. Regarding the conversion of Russia: This is not just for me, there are others who have seen it. A secret saint, who has perished in the persecution in Kazakhstan, shares the same opinion. He said, saying that the conversion of Russia ultimately means that the Orthodox Church will unite with the pope, with Rome. That is their conversion. I believe I hope it will be so. If the Russian Orthodox Church recognizes the primacy of the Pope, it will be a miracle to recognize the dogma of the Pope's infallibility, the dogma of the Immaculate Conception that she does not recognize today, and the Holy See says: "We accept all of your Dogmas, but the Second Vatican Council is strange to us: it is only pastoral, its language is not always clear, the whole about freedom of religion, ecumenism, etc. that does not convince us very much, and some statements of the Magisterium, we are here not sure. All the rest [the dogmas] we accept.

Imagine this: if the Orthodox Church were thus to be converted, the Holy See would at once grant the ecclesiastical communion without demanding what they did not yet agree with it. I'm sure. Of course one could ask oneself: "Would they do with the Orthodox what they do with the FSSPX?" No. I consider this to be very doubtful, but Divine Providence always works, and I also believe that the time is not yet ripe. It will take place when God wants it.

Text: Giuseppe Nardi Photo: Adelante la Fe (Screenshot)

 On July 26, was LifeSiteNews published the letter from Cardinal Müller, the interpretation that the former Prefect of the CDF wanted to put the talks with the SSPX on the shelf for the time being to save the Motu proprio Summorum Pontificum. At the beginning of July, a few days after Müller's letter became known, La Croix, the daily newspaper of the French Bishops'Conference, and the New York Times, had speculated that Pope Francis was allowing the recognition of the Society of Pius X in order to reverse Summorum Pontificum. Cardinal Müller, according to this interpretation, he had overturned the pope's plans and saved Summorum Pontificum.

 Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com AMDG

CDF Threatens Hospital Order With Excommumication for Practice of Euthanasia

(Brussels) Pope Francis "personally gave the assent to the request of the Congregation of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith to give an ultimatum to the Broeders van Liefde (Brothers of Love). Since 27 April 2017, the order has been offering euthanasia to mentally ill patients in hospitals located in the county. The killing on request has been legally permitted in Belgium since 2002. Since then, the "people's circle" has been widened by "improvements", which can have access to legal euthanasia. This includes the euthanasia of children, which can be carried out at the parents' request.

The decision of the Belgian branch of the Catholic Hospital led to a wave of indignation in the Catholic world. René Stockmann, the Father General of the Order, publicly expressed his disapproval and urged his Belgian confreres to respect the right of life "absolutely."

Adaptation to applicable, state law: Collaboration with the culture of death

About a dozen patients of hospitals belonging to the order had asked for euthanasia in the weeks before the euthanasia decision was announced. This led to the decision to submit to the state-sanctioned culture of death. The Belgian Provincial of the Order justified the new line with the Belgian legislation, which the order merely accommodates.

Ultimatum against the collaboration with the culture of death

The "strict conditions" under which the Order intends to carry out euthanasia are only valid on paper in Belgium. As studies have shown, the control mechanisms provided by law have never worked. They were regarded as a main argument for the legalization of euthanasia. Critics say that neither the legislature nor the executive or judiciary in Belgium want a real control. Therefore, there is a great deal of room for abuse.

The Catholic Church, in principle, rejects suicide and euthanasia; it considers a human life as sacred from procreation to natural death. Only God, according to ecclesiastical understanding, is master of life and death.

Already in April, the question arose as to whether Pope Francis would intervene. Now, with his consent, an intervention has taken place. The Belgian branch of the Broeders van Liefde was given an ultimatum to dissociate itself from euthanasia by 31 August; otherwise, steps would be taken against the Order in canon law.

The Order's Father General, René Stockmann, informed Catholic News Service that Pope Francis personally endorsed the action of the CDF. "The Holy Father was formally informed by them and also about the next steps," says Stockmann in an e-mail of 8 August.

The provincial government must sign a joint declaration

The members of the Provincial Council of the Belgian Broeders van Liefde must sign a joint declaration by which they submit "unreservedly" to the Magisterium of the Catholic Church,

"which has always taught that human life must be absolutely respected and protected from generation to natural death."

A canonical procedure has been initiated against those who are not to sign the document. Those Belgian Broeders van Liefde refusing to sign could be threatened with excommunication. The recognition of the Belgian order could be withdrawn as a Catholic order. By the entanglement in euthanasia, says Stockmann, "the Catholic identity of the Order is endangered". The Catholic columnist, Francisco Fernandez de la Cigoña, explained that it is unacceptable for Catholic religious to promote euthanasia and collaborate with the culture of death and thereby oppose ecclesiastical doctrine.

According to the Catholic News Service, the Belgian Broeders van Liefde had asked for the approval of their new euthanasia system. When the Belgian bishops and the then prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Gerhard Cardinal Müller, spoke out against this, the hospital order ignored it.

To the hospital of the Broeders van Liefde (Brothers of Love) see the second essay by Ferdinand Boischot:

1. The "Broeders van Liefde" from Belgium: from the charitable congregation to the social group
2. The "Broeders van Liefde" from Belgium: the main cariatative order of Belgium

Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Photo: La Cigüeña de la Torre / InfoVaticana
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
AMDG

Holy Mass in Immemorial Rite in the Ruins of Saint Andrew for the Return of Scottland to the Catholic Faith

(Edinburgh) The Kingdom of Scotland, located in the north of Britain, united with the Kingdom of England in 1706. In 1560 the Reformation had been introduced into the country, in contrast to England, with a Calvinist variant, which in its Scottish form is called Presbyterianism. The Church of Scotland, which is simply called "The Kirk" because of its character as a national church, has been Presbyterian since then. For centuries, the repression of the Catholic religion, which was carried out by a series of anti-Catholic laws and Catholic persecutions, took place.

Scotland on the way to Neo-Heathenism

Today, self-seeking Scotland is a country on the way to a neo-renaissance. According to the census, only 53.8 per cent of Christians admitted to being Christian in 2011, while almost 44 per cent of the Scots do not have any religious affiliation. 36.7 per cent of the Scots described themselves as religions. A further seven percent did not provide any information on religious affiliation. 2.6 percent, especially immigrants, claimed another religion (predominantly Islam).

In spite of the persecution, the Catholic faith could never be completely ousted from Scotland. Above all in the Highlands and on the Outer Hebrides, Catholic tradition never broke off. In the second half of the 19th century it was reinforced by Irish immigrants. On the inland migration of Scottish Catholics and the immigration of Irish Catholics, the now relatively strong Catholic presence in and around Glasgow has returned.

In 2011, 16 percent of the Scots believed in the Catholic faith.

Hoardes of the Catholic tradition

The Transalpine Redemptorists have their seat in the north of the island, Papa Stronsay, which is part of Orkney Islands off the coast of Scotland. In addition to the Scottish mother house, there is another monastery in New Zealand since 2007. Transalpine Redemptorists also provide the priestly missions to Samoa.

Since 2008 the Filii Sanctissimi Redemptoris (F.SS.R.) are in full unity with Rome. Connected with them is the Confraternity of St. Ninian, whose goal is that Scotland will again return to the Catholic faith. The members of the Brotherhood pray, evangelize and mission.

Patron of the Brotherhood is theSaint Ninian of Whithorn (who died around 432), who is the first missionary of Scotland. Pope Benedict XVI took part in the celebrations for St. Ninian Day on his visit to Great Britain.

Saint Ninian of Whitehorn

Whithorn (White House) is one of Scotland's oldest, Catholic cults, whose existence can be traced back to the time of Saint Ninian. Archaeologists confirm that at least at least since the late 6th century there was a monastery. This has certainly been true since the eighth century. The monastery priest had the rank of a bishop and the monastery church also served as a cathedral. As the founder of the monastery, Saint Ninian was venerated. In 1177 the monastery adopted the Rule of St. Norbert of Xanten and joined the Premonstratensian Order. The monastery had a prominent position and belonged to one of the most important places of pilgrimage in Scotland. Many Catholics, Scottish kings, most recently in 1563, Mary Stuart, made pilgrimages to the tomb of St. Ninian till the 16th century. 

Ruins of the Catholic Cathedral of St Andrews, Scotland

With the introduction of the Protestant Reformation in 1560, the flowering season abruptly ended and the abolition of the monastery took place. The last Catholic priest, Malcolm Fleming, was arrested in 1563 for the "crime" of continuing the Holy Mass. In 1568 he died in prison. The monastery goods were confiscated by the Crown in 1587 and transferred to the new Anglican Diocese of Galloway in 1606. The former monastery and episcopal church was only used as a reformed church and fell into decline. At the beginning of the 18th century the main tower collapsed. When a new parish church was built in 1822, the decay came to an end, which today can only be seen as a ruin. In Whitehorn the Monreith Cross was found, one of the largest highways in Britain. A proof of the great age of the Christian sanctuary.

Church ruins today all over Scotland and England are reminiscent of the once-flowering Catholic Church.

Walk to St. Andrews Cathedral

The Brotherhood of the Saint Ninian has undertaken a pilgrimage for the conversion of Scotland to the Catholic faith on the 5th to the 7th of August from the Scottish capital Edinburgh to St Andrews. They followed in the footsteps of the pilgrims of the Middle Ages, who pilgrimaged to St. Andrew, the patron of Scotland, to call him to intercede to God.

At the end of the three-day walk, Holy Mass was celebrated in the ruins of the former cathedral of this Scottish city in the traditional form of the Roman rite. The Bishop's Church had been desecrated and plundered by the Protestants in the course of the Reformation. At that place which they had let fall into ruin,  Catholics are again praying for the conversion of Scotland 450 years later.

Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Photo: Sancta Familia Media (Screenshots)
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
AMDG