Who’s Worse? Mirus Attacks Taylor Marshall — Thinks Denying Communion to Adulterers is Extreme

Edit: Jeff Mirus has been a horrible, but not very talented opponent of Catholic tradition for years. He’s been presiding over this really low energy website and he ranges from really flat-footed CUF [Catholics United for the Faith] apologetics and analysis. Now he’s taking shots at Taylor Marshall’s ironically named new book “Infiltration” by the Opus Dei publishing house, Scepter.  ( I used to love reading Father Diogenes on Mirus’ site.)

In short, it looks like Mirus thinks Opus Marshall is kooky and extreme for saying adulterers can’t receive Communion.  

Since Opus Marshall has discovered the Masonic conspiracy, he’s talking about it like no one else has heard of it before. You’d think an Opus guy would have been to a Lodge meeting already....

Would the real Catholics please stand up?

Catholic Monitor has this take. He doesn’t seem to perceive the dance between two who are really on the same side. Mirus is absolutely “idiotic”.

[Catholic Monitor] It just makes you want to laugh when Dr. Jeff Mirus shrieks that Dr. Taylor Marshall's new book "Infiltration" and it's publisher Sophia Institute Press are not "sound" in their "Catholic editorial judgment."
(CatholicCulture.org, "Infiltration: An idiot's guide to the problems of the Church, May 31, 2019)

Mirus in his review of the book reviles Marshall and apparently the pre-Vatican II eleven Popes since 1738 for calling out "the secret machinations of the Masons" with his really funny attempt at trying to sound reasonable with his accusations in what appears to be a attempt to smear their reputations.

Here are some of his never ending name calling ravings which are so left-wing "crazy relative"-like you want to laugh:

- "idiot's"
- "absurdity of a crazy relative"
- "McCarthyism"
- "conspiratorial"
- "Catholic far-right"
- "Marian apparitions"
- "papal visions"
- "loss of sanity"
- "Satan's human tools"
- And on and on he goes in crazy left-wing relative-like shrieks...

Read further:

https://catholicmonitor.blogspot.com/2019/05/communion-for-adulterers-mirus-shrieks.html?showComment=1559402104521&m=1#c1351768896962313987

AMDG

Cardinal Müller Decries Church Officials as Amateurish in Their Attacks on Salvini

Cardinal Müller defends the popular Italian Interior Minister Salvini against attacks by Church officials: "It is absurd that the pope’s staff, like P. Spadaro, act here like political judges."

Rome (kath.net) Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller has defended Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, who allegedly did not receive an audience with Pope Francis, against attacks by left-wing Catholics. Salvini, who is also very popular with Catholics in Italy, has repeatedly used Christian symbols in the election campaign and also referred to Christian roots. In an interview with Corriere della Sera, Müller hopes that the Church will come to terms with Salvini and reject the attacks by some church representatives from the close circle of Pope Francis. These are "amateurish" and "inappropriate". "An ecclesiastical authority can talk about theological matters so amateurishly," said Müller. Moreover, one should not interfere in politics, if there was a democratically legitimized parliament and a government like in Italy. "It would be better to talk to Salvini, to discuss with him, to correct him if necessary."

For Müller, the interference of bishops in politics is worse than when Salvini uses religious symbols. "I prefer those who want to talk about Christian traditions to those who want to remove them." It is absurd that Pope’s staff, like P. Spadaro, act here like political judges.” In addition to the attacks of the Jesuit, there were other bizarre attacks on Salvini. The Italian Bishop Domenico Mogavero, for example, said that those who choose Salvini should not call themselves Christians. The bishop even claims that Salvini's views are "inhumane, anti-historical" and diametrically opposed to the Gospel. Cardinal Müller rejects such attacks. "No one can say that those who do not want to have migrants are not Christians, of course we have to welcome migrants, but we can not identify with one single policy."

For Müller, it is strange that Pope Francis is talking to the regime of Venezuela or the Chinese regime, which has persecuted millions of Christians but does not want to speak with Salvini. "But we are here in Italy, not in China, you have to talk to everyone in the spirit of brotherhood."

Trans: Tancred vekron@hotmail.com
AMDG

Taylor Marshall and Tim Gordon Slander E. Michael Jones

Update/up 17:12 GMT:

Update: here’s the video. I felt he was being a little hard on Voris, but I’m sure Voris can take it.

Inb4 anyone does a Taylor Marshal and tone polices this blog, I want to point out that he’s the one who’s shooting at Catholics for no good reason and carrying water for George Soros. He’s worse than Mark Shea.

Edit: like a creeping viper, Taylor Marshall moves in to devour another promising Catholic apostolate. A few years ago, he managed to get a small, rare Catholic Liberal arts school in Texas shut down because he didn’t like the tone of his fellow faculty members, so he joined forces with the local ordinary to get the Mass shut down on the basis of some fairly shaky accusations on Marshall’s part.  AKA Catholic’s take was very charitable, and the thing was also covered
At Rorate as well as this blog.

Now he and his new foil, Tim Gordon (Butthead), are aiming their sites at the prolific polymath, E. Michael Jones.  Gordon started out by accusing Jones of calling mother Angelica a lesbian, and Jones took to a video to contradict this false witness.  At that point Marshall did what he does and flagged Jones for copyright.  What kind of Opus Dei snake flags someone’s youtube because it makes them look bad?  Could it be Taylor Marshall, who’s finding E. Michael Jones’ tone and very Catholic teaching about the perfidious Jewish nation to be too much?

Things are heating up on the Twitter and Facebooks!

Taylor Marshall must be doing it wrong because his channels never get flagged.

AMDG

Archbishop Viganò Accuses Pope of Lying

ROME, May 28, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) — For what appears to be the first time, Pope Francis has openly denied that he knew anything of former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick’s immoral activities, directly contradicting Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò’s account of their conversation on the subject. 

“I didn’t know anything ... nothing, nothing,” Pope Francis said in a new interview published on Tuesday in Vatican News.

In response, the former apostolic nuncio to the United States has directly accused Pope Francis of lying.

Link...

AMDG

Pope Lashes Out Uncontrollably as Right-Wing Parties Arise Victorious

VATICAN CITY (AFP) - Pope Francis warned on Monday (May 27) against a rise of intolerance and racism as far-right nationalists and eurosceptic parties made historic gains in European elections.

"The signs of meanness we see around us heighten our fear of 'the other', the unknown, the marginalised, the foreigner," he said in a message for the World Day of Migrants and Refugees.

"It is not just about them, but about all of us, and about the present and future of the human family.

"Migrants, especially those who are most vulnerable, help us to read the 'signs of the times'," he said.

Link...

AMDG

New Editio Typica of the Missal Reported by Avennire no Word of “Pro Multis”

After an unwilling  journey that lasted 16 years, the new edition of the Editio typica is printed in Italian: But what about the change words pro multis?

(Rome) Pope Francis gave the green light to publish the new edition of the Editio typica of the Missale Romanum in the Italian vernacular.  The Italian daily Avvenire, published an article without mentioning the most important point that led to the new edition: the translation of the words of change pro multis.

An oversight may be excluded. First, the article in its central passage:

The Italian re-translation of the Missale is ready to enter parishes of the peninsula. There is still no sure date, but the pope’s "green light" has been given. During the first day of the Spring Bishops' Conference of the Italian Episcopal Conference, Cardinal Gualtiero Bassetti, President, announced to the bishops that Francis would be pleased to announce the publication of the third edition of the Missal Romanum by Paul VI. in Italian. The Italian text was examined by the Congregation for the Divine Worship and the Sacrament Order for the necessary confirmatio. It is still too early to know when some formulas will change that celebrate the Eucharist in our language. It will probably take several months for the "renewed" liturgical book to come into force.

The new translation was decided last November by the General Assembly of the Bishops. Among the innovations introduced are those of the Lord's Prayer: we will no longer say, "and lead us not into temptation,” but "let us not fall into the temptation." In addition, in the same prayer the insertion of a "also" provided ("as are forgiven"). [1] In this form, the text of the Our Father already appears in the new Italian translation of the Bible, adopted by the Episcopal Conference in 2008, and has already been incorporated into the renewed Italian edition of the Lectionary, where the classic "peace on earth to men of good will" replaced by the new version “Peace on Earth to the people beloved by God."
The changes take place at the end of a path that lasted more than 16 years.

John Paul II’s and especially of Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger and later Pope Benedict XVI. desire was to bring the translations into the vernacular as close as possible to the Latin original. The first Italian edition of the Editio typica came into force in 1970 and implemented the liturgical reform. The deficits of this translation made the second edition necessary already in 1975. It is still in use today, though in the translation from 1983. Now it is replaced by the third edition.

Benedict XVI. in 2006, soon after his election as Pope, he ordered that the words of consecration pro multis should no longer be translated as "for all" but as "for many". On the other hand, there was some strong resistance, especially from the German Bishops’ Conference and the Italian Bishops' Conference. After six years, 2012, Benedict XVI. insisted again, and the same in German. By the time of his resignation his directive could be further delayed.

While other language areas have been publishing and using the new edition for several years, nothing has changed in the German and Italian-speaking world. 13 years after Benedict XVI. had  prescribed a more faithful translation, pro multis it is still rendered as "for all" in German and Italian churches. The mills of the church are slow to grind is the old dictum, but in this specific case, it is about willful procrastination resembling a boycott.

In the Avvenire article it is striking that the central point of the revision of the Editio typica was Benedict XVI’s  re-translation of pro multis, is not mentioned. In some ecclesiastical circles even this legacy of Benedict XVI seems to be  a thorn in the eye, which is why they prefer to remain silent.

Text: Giuseppe Nardi

Image: Avvenire (screenshot)

[1] This "too" is already included in the German version.

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

AMDG

The Vatican II Revolution Reexamined

 By David Martin

While the gale force of the post-conciliar tempest continues to uproot the Faith, dislodge morals, blow apart revered traditions, topple the Church's edifice, and spread doctrinal debris throughout the Church, there are those who insist that the problem today isn’t due to Vatican II but to a “misinterpretation” of the Council.

Unfortunately, misinterpretation had nothing to do with this, for this revolution was the result of years of careful planning. We might see the conciliar documents as the blueprint for this plan. The ambiguities, omissions, and outright errors in the documents were deliberately calculated by progressivist theologians and bishops who intended to exploit these errors in the text after the Council closed.

If we have lay people today assuming priestly functions as “Eucharistic ministers,” it’s because Vatican II defines the laity as a “common priesthood.” (LG 10) If the Church today ecumenically dignifies other religions, it’s because Vatican II says that “Christ has not refrained from using them as means of salvation.” (UR-3) Clearly, there was a plan for change in the works.

Italians Ignore Pope to Vote For Salvini’s Lega Nord

[Daily Express] MATTEO SALVINI's Lega Nord (League) Party has claimed a convincing European Parliament victory, in a shock result in Italy.

The group has around 32 percent of the vote so far on the night, way ahead of the Democratic Party. Interior minister Matteo Salvini leads League, which came third in the 2018 general election. Following his victory, Mr Salvini said in Milan: “A new Europe is born.

“I am proud that the League is participating in this new European renaissance.”

He said previously: “As far as I'm concerned, if the League wins nothing changes in Italy, everything will change in Europe, starting from tomorrow.”

Link...

AMDG

Vatican outraged that anti-immigration leader commends Italy to Mary

By David Martin

Vatican leaders including Pope Francis are outraged at Italy's deputy premier and interior minister Matteo Salvini for having commended his country, its citizens, and himself to the Immaculate Heart of Mary in the face of the growing Islamic insurgency. Francis refuses to meet with Salvini because of his strong opposition to the EU's open border immigration policy.

During a rally on May 18, Salvini kissed his rosary, looked up to statue of the Blessed Virgin atop the 14^th-century Milan Cathedral and said on behalf of the Italian people, "I entrust Italy, my life, and your lives to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, who I’m sure will bring us to victory." He said, "I am the last among good Christians, but I am proud to always have a rosary in my pocket."

That Vatican leaders should oppose Salvini is telling. Apparently they support the 500 undocumented African migrants that stormed and seized Terminal 2 of France’s Charles de Gaulle airport on Tuesday, and shouted, "France does not belong to the French." https://needtoknow.news/2019/05/migrants-seize-paris-airport-terminal-france-does-not-belong-to-the-french/

Francis' globalist push for a centralized world government with open borders is unfortunately fueling the increasing insurgent attacks we have seen throughout Europe in recent months. As pope he should scrap his political aspirations and join Salvini in his noble attempt to protect Italy from evil. The fact that he doesn't support Salvini raises serious questions about his pontificate and calls to mind Christ's words: "He that shall deny me before men, I will also deny him before my Father who is in heaven." (Matthew 10:33)

For the whole story, continue here...

Vatican leaders outraged as anti-immigration politician commends Italy to Mary

President Bolsonaro Consecrates Brazil to Sacred Heart

At this very moment, in Brasilia, the consecration of the largest Latin American country to the Immaculate Heart of Mary is taking place.

(Brasilia) Brazil is having a great day today. [Yesterday] But that is not the case everywhere. If not in the Apostolic Palace, at least in Santa Marta, the Vatican has other concerns: universal brotherhood, climate change, a right to unlimited migration, and more recently, rejection of the sovereignty movement. This does not only apply to the US and, because of the upcoming elections, above all the EU, but also Brazil. There today President Bolsonaro consecrates his country to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. But the Episcopal Conference and Santa Marta signaled lack of interest and the official Catholic media keep the consecration under wraps.

Pope Francis would have liked to continue to see the Labor Party (PT) in power in Brazil, but it failed because of its own corruption. Jair Bolsonaro was elected as the new Head of State and Government last autumn. His coalition consists of several decidedly Christian parties, some of them are evangelicals. He is a Catholic, but married to a free-church member. In Brazil, it may therefore happen that the Head of State and Government quoted a Bible verse on Twitter. This morning President Bolsonaro welcomed the Brazilians with the tweet:

"And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." John 8:32. This message is always ahead of our mission. Good morning everyone!

Marian Consecration of Brazil, May 21, 2019

This Twitter message is related to the particularity of today. Today, at 7 pm Central European Time, the consecration of Brazil to the Immaculate Heart of Mary took place in the federal capital Brasilia. It took place not only in the presence of President Bolsonaro, but directly in the Presidential Palace. President Bolsonaro gave the act of consecration the mark of highest state authority by his signature.

The consecration is, regrettably, not an act of the Brazilian Bishops' Conference, but goes back to the initiative of the Catholic laity. The consecration was performed by Don Fernando Areas Rifan, the Apostolic Administrator of the Apostolic Personal Administration of St. John Maria Vianney. The Apostolic Personnel Administration, which is the world's only de facto diocese in the traditional rite.

The driving force of the consecration are the Marian Congregation and other Catholic organizations, as well as the Frente Parlamentario Catolico, in which Catholic federal MPs have joined forces.

Initiative by two members of parliament

The idea itself comes from the two deputies Chris Tonietto and Eros Biondini. They emphasized that the consecration was also and precisely a state act, with which the whole country was consecrated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

The veterinarian Biondini, who also studied political science at the Pontifical Catholic University of Minas Gerais, became famous in Brazil for the country's largest Catholic music event, which he launched and organized. The now 48-year-old moderated a few years a music program of the Catholic TV channel TV Canção Nova. In 2006 he was elected deputy of his native country Minas Gerais. Since 2010 he has been a member of the Brazilian Federal Parliament. The main focuses of his parliamentary work include the political renewal of Brazil, the resistance against attempts to make the hypothesis of allegedly human-induced climate change, or the idea of ​​"controlling the climate,” the basis of politics, instead he wants to focus on the strengthening of the family and the protection of unborn children. In 2017, he voted in favor of the law criminalizing the killing of unborn children.

Chris Tonietto with President Bolsonaro

Christine "Chris" Nogueira do Reis Tonietto is a lawyer and member of the Catholic Cultural Center Don Bosco. She became known in 2017 for her initiative against insulting the Catholic Church and the Catholic faith in the Brazilian YouTube comedy Port dos Fundos. In the parliamentary elections in October 2018, she was elected a member of the Federal Parliament. Her broadcasts and Twitter messages ended her mostly with "Viva Cristo Rei!" (High live Christ king).

Tonietto wrote on Twitter today:

"We will be there with the entire group of Catholic MPs to which I belong. We express our deepest support and pray to God to bless our beloved Brazil, the land of the Holy Cross!”

When the governor of Alabama signed the Abortion Abolition Act, Tonietto wrote on Twitter on May 16:

"A big day for the right to life."

On May 17, she was able to further spread the message of  the next strengthening of the right to life of unborn children:

"With a 66-vote lead, the Missouri State legislature voted for several abortion laws that severely curtail this shameful practice in this state."

Tonietto supports the initiative of President Bolsonaro, who recommends the "anti-communist catechism" of the Steyler Missionary and Archbishop of Diamantina, Geraldo de Proença Sigaud, who died in 1999, to those who say they are Catholic but defend communism. During the Second Vatican Council, Archbishop Sigaud belonged to Coetus Internationalis Patrum and was considered in Brazil as the fiercest opponent of Helder Camara, the archbishop of Olinda and Recife.

Cool disposotion taken by Episcopal Conference and Santa Marta

The Brazilian Bishops' Conference, which has long been inspired by the liberation theology, behaves coldly towards the new head of state, especially since Pope Francis clearly expressed his sympathies (and antipathies). They are silent on the  Consecration to Mary. Nothing can be heard from Rome of the cordiality with which Francis thought of the two former Presidents Luis Inacio Lula da Silva and Dilma Rousseff of the Labor Party. Lula da Silva, sentenced to twelve years in prison for corruption, even received a statement of solidarity in prison from the pope.

Instead of looking forward to having Catholic interlocutors among the deputies, the Episcopal Conference and Santa Marta refer to allied journalists of the Pinprick Initiative. The discussion was, openly or suggestively, about “political abuse" of religion.

Because the President of the Republic dedicates his land to the Immaculate Heart of Mary? Because Catholic MPs had the idea for this consecration and put it into action?

The politicization of the Church leads to worrying dead ends, is how episcopal reactions to the consecration of Brazil to Mary go.

Nevertheless, the consecration is a great day for Brazil.

Whoever wants to spread the word about the Consecration, has the opportunity to do so, among other things via the Twitter hashtag #OrePeloBrasil (pray for Brazil).

Text: Giuseppe Nardi / Andreas Becker

Image: Twitter / Chris Tonietto (Screenshots)

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

AMDG

Bishop Huonder Retires to a House of the Society of Saint Pius X

The Bishop and the Society today published a statement on this

Chur (kath.net) The bishop of Chur, Vitus Huonder will now retire to a house of the brotherhood of St. Pius X. In a joint statement by Huonder and the Pius Brotherhood from today it  states: 

"The purpose and intention of this step consists solely in devoting oneself to prayer and silence, to celebrate only the traditional Mass, and to work for tradition of which he sees as the only means for the restoration of the Church.

Recognizing the courageous decision of Bishop Huonder, the Society of St. Pius X is pleased to offer him the spiritual and priestly environment that he so desires, and others may follow this example "to renew everything in Christ".

The following description from Gloria.tv is interesting:

It points out that "the troubles did not start yesterday," a fact nobody disputes, calling the current papacy the “ripening of the fruit” which is "poisoned." 

Surprisingly the statement avoids a confrontation with the letter's content, speculating instead about its possible "results," on whether it is "prudent" or has "a chance to succeed." It even claims that its "failure might ridicule the authors and their cause." 

The letter is even called a "waste of time" which begs the question why the SSPX commented on it in the first place.

Related...

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

AMDG

“The Time of Mercy is Over”

St. Padre Pio on the field of mercy and justice.

The tension between mercy and justice is in the Church's current focus because of Pope Francis' emphasis on mercy. St. Pio of Pietrelcina (1887-1968) also commented on this field of tension in a letter:

"Once, when our last hour has passed and our hearts have stopped beating, then everything will come to an end for us, the time to gain graces, as well as the time to forfeit graces. Just as death will find us, so will our judgement before Christ. Our pleading cries, our tears, our sorrow for repentance, which on earth had won us the heart of God and could have made us, with the help of the sacraments, from sinners into saints, they then avail nothing more. The time of mercy is over, and the time of justice begins.”

Padre Pio da Pietrelcina, Epistolario IV, ed. from Convento Santa Maria delle Grazie, San Giovanni Rotondo 2002.

Image: Youtube (screenshot)

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

AMDG

Reunion Between Orthodox and Uniates in Ukraine

Unrest and new movement in Ukraine.

(Kiev) Orthodoxy does not rest in Ukraine. At the same time there is a new movement in the country, which forms a transitional zone between the Latin and Greek churches. The Metropolitan of the new Ukrainian Orthodox Church and the Grand Bishop of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, unified with Rome, are said to have discussed the possibility of unification. Under what sign?

Historically, Ukraine belongs to the catchment area of ​​the Eastern Church and was originally under the Patriarchate of Constantinople. Because of the territorial principle of Orthodoxy, this fact is still relevant today in the field of jurisdiction.

The Ukrainians united with Rome

But the west of the country  was influenced by Poland and Lithuania for a long time and was therefore influenced by the Catholic Church. On the basis of the reunification of the Eastern and Western Churches at the Council of Florence in 1439, part of Ukrainian Orthodoxy established unity with Rome in the sixteenth century. The reason was the unauthorized elevation of Moscow as a "Third Rome" to patriarchy, after Constantinople had been conquered by the Muslims with its historic patriarchal seat.

The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church united with Rome is the strongest religious community in the three westernmost regions of Ukraine, Lviv, Tarnopol and Ivano-Frankivsk (Stanislau), which belonged until 1918, as part of the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, to Austria. They also celebrate like the Orthodox in the Byzantine rite.

The vast majority of today's Ukraine is Orthodox, but is divided into several, divided churches. The fault lines run along the question of statehood and the relationship with Moscow.

When the capital of the Byzantine Empire was overrun by the Ottomans in 1453, Moscow replaced Constantinople in the Russian area, which led to a split in Ukraine and gave rise to the Union of Ukrainian Orthodox in Poland-Lithuania with Rome.

About 10% of Ukrainians belong to the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church today. They live mainly in the extreme southwest of the country. The number of Roman Catholics is very low at less than one percent. All Catholics together make up about 10.5 percent of Ukrainians, as of April 2018.

Ukrainian independence movement and Orthodoxy

In the course of the first independence of Ukraine in 1919 and the second independence in 1991, the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kiev Patriarchate were created autocephalous, that is to say, Orthodox churches independent of Moscow, but yet not recognized by the Moscow Patriarchate.

After long conflicts, the two autocephalous churches of Ukraine in 2018 joined the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (Ukrainian Orthodox Church), which was recognized by the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople on January 6, 2019 as a canonical national church. For the recognition by Constantinople was waived on the Kiev Patriarch already established in 1991.

Religion in Ukraine (by region). In the Carpathian Mountains the new Ukrainian Orthodox Church is the largest religious community.

On 15 December 2018 Bishop Epiphanius was elected Metropolitan in the Kiev Sophia Cathedral to the first head of the new, autocephalous national church.

The Moscow-faithful part of Ukrainian Orthodoxy is affiliated to the autonomous Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate.

The three Orthodox churches that existed from 1991 to 2018 competed for recognition as a legitimate national church. It was mainly about the ownership of the church buildings. The Ukrainian government supported the formation of an autocephalous national church in order to strengthen state independence and reduce Moscow's political and religious influence. With the 2018 merger of the two independent, Ukrainian Orthodox churches, this goal was realized against the protest of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Two-thirds of Ukrainians profess to be orthodox Christians. However, the ongoing conflict between Moscow and Kiev means that some of the Orthodox do not want to attribute themselves to one or the other of the two churches. The different numbers of church affiliation of Orthodox Ukrainians can therefore vary considerably. The latest figures come from the Razumkov Center in cooperation with the All-Ukrainian Church Council of April 2018. Today, 47 percent of Ukrainians belong to the Ukrainian Orthodox National Church, which is particularly strong in Northwest and Central Ukraine. About 14 percent of the Ukrainians, who concentrate mainly in the east of the country and in the Crimea, profess the Russian Orthodox Church.

Patriarch Filaret dissatisfied with his role

Since its canonical recognition by Constantinople, the autocephalous national church has been headed by a metropolitan, although the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Kiev Patriarchate from 1991-2018 was headed by a patriarch. Most of the time, from 1995-2018, Filaret was its head.

Filaret, now 90 years old, is Honorary Patriarch of the new Ukrainian Orthodox Church. For several weeks, however, he has been in conflict with his successor and former secretary, Metropolitan Epiphanius. Filaret recently even threatened to annul Epiphanius's allegiance and establish an independent patriarchy. The elderly patriarch is considered to be the central figure of ecclesiastical independence of Ukraine. Recently, he was honored as the "Hero of Ukraine" with the highest honor in the country.

Patriarch Filaret (his successor Epiphanius to his right)

In 1990, Filaret was considered a potential candidate for the Moscow Patriarchate. But this did not happen. When the Soviet Union broke up in 1991, he sided with the Ukrainian independence movement and separated from the Moscow Patriarchate. With this step, he laid the foundation for Ukrainian autocephaly.

The main reason for the rupture now is that Epiphanius, according to Filaret, does not sufficiently seek to be close. The honorary patriarch is worried about the future of Ukrainian autocephaly since in the presidential elections on April 21 the previous "protector of the church", Petro Poroshenko, was voted out. As the new President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Selenskyj will be sworn in within a few days, and so far he has not distinguished himself either by his closeness to the National Church or his proximity to religion.

Selenskyj met with Metropolitan Epiphanius after his election victory, without making concrete promises to the head of the National Church. Epiphanius nevertheless announced the support of the future head of state.

Filaret also demands, as a patriarch, to be mentioned in all liturgies, which is the case in only part of the churches, while Epiphanius is mentioned everywhere. Filaret's letterhead continues to bear the inscription "Patriarchate of Kiev". He is convinced that the legal status persists as a patriarch. Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople had forced him to retreat in 2018 in return for the recognition of autocephaly, otherwise he would be church leader today and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church would have patriarchal status. Moscow is the only patriarchate of Oorthodoxy that could elbow between the historic patriarchates of Constantinople, Alexandria, Jerusalem and Antioch. Filaret wants to extend this claim to Kiev, because today's capital of Ukraine was originally the "mother of all Rus".

Association of Orthodox and Uniate?

Epiphanius has not yet commented on the criticism of Filaret. For other statements of the Metropolitan provide for discussion. In a statement for Espresso.TV he spoke of the "permissibility" of a possible union with the united with Rome Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, which is led by Major Archbishop Svyatoslav Shevchuk. There is very good agreement between Metropolitan Epiphanius and Grand Archbishop Svyatoslav.

Metropolitan Epiphanius (left) with Archbishop Svyatoslav of the Greek-Catholic Uniate.

The Metropolitan told Espresso.TV, "We are implementing many important projects with the Greek Catholics and are participating in numerous events". The two church leaders are said to have already talked about a possible union of the two churches. Epiphanius said:

"At a meeting with his Beatitude Svyatoslav, we talked about deepening our cooperation. In it we unfold a dialogue and do not know where it will take us. Theoretically, it is possible to get to the Union.”

Epiphanius is convinced that all Orthodox Ukrainians are destined to unite, meaning both the Orthodox Ukrainians of the Moscow Patriarchate and the Greek Catholic Ukrainians.

Text: Giuseppe Nardi

Picture: AsiaNews

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

AMDG

Pope Francis “is a Great Friend of Liberation Theology”

Frei Betto: There is no future for humanity other than socialism.

One of the leading ideologues of Marxist liberation theology, the Brazilian Dominican Frei Betto, was interviewed by the daily Diario Libre in the Dominican Republic. In it he described Pope Francis "as a great friend of liberation theology" and talked about the future of humanity and celibacy.

The son of a journalist and a writer who studied journalism himself, he was in his youth a member of Catholic Action, which was close to the Communist Party in Brazil. His role-model was the Communist leader and later guerrilla Carlos Marighella. Betto also became politically active at the time. At the same time he joined the Dominican Order in 1964, which was aligned to the Marxists in São Paulo. In the year of his entry into the Order, he was arrested and tortured by the military for two weeks because of his political activism. In 1966 he resigned from his profession and was arrested again in 1969, this time for two years.

Consultant of communist dictatorships

After his release, he became the liaison of revolutionary circles of Brazil to the communist regime in Cuba. In 1973, he retired to the Favela district of the poorest and joined as a non-combatant of the communist guerrilla movement Ação Libertadora Nacional Marighellas. The ALN kidnapped the then US Ambassador to Brazil. Betto's role model, the guerrilla leader Marighella, was tracked down and shot by the military in the Dominican monastery of Sao Paulo in 1973.

In the 1980s Frei Betto worked as an adviser to socialist dictatorships, alongside Cuba for Czechoslovakia, the Soviet Union, Poland, the People's Republic of China and Nicaragua.

In 2003 he said there had been three "traumatic" moments in his life: the overthrow of the Chilean Popular Front government of Salvador Allende, the overthrow of the communist government of Granada of Maurice Bishop, and the collapse of the Sandinista revolution in Nicaragua.

Past times: Frei Betto with Brazil's President Lula and Cuba's President Fidel Castro

Together with his friend and liberation theologian Leonardo Boff, Betto supported his friend Luis Inacio Lula da Silva and his workers' party in Brazil. When Lula became head of state in 2003, he made Fei Betto a government advisor. UNESCO distinguished the Dominican "for his commitment to human rights and social justice". In the circle of like-minded people they honors each other.

"I believe in a god without religion"

His journalistic work also includes a "New Credo" in which he confesses:

"I believe in the God liberated from the Vatican and all religions existing today and in the future. The God who is above all baptisms, before all sacraments, and who goes beyond all religious doctrines. Free from the theologians, he disinterestedly spreads himself in the hearts of all, the faithful and the atheists, the good and the bad, those who consider themselves saved and those who consider themselves children of damnation, and also those who are the secret, who will face death with indifference.
I believe in the god who has no religion [...]
I believe in the God who hides on the back of atheist reason [...]. "

Already on January 29, 2019, Frei Betto spoke in an interview with the Italian daily Il Fatto Quotidiano:

"Cardinal Bergoglio was not progressive, but as Pope Francis, he became a promoter of liberation theology. In his social-ecological encyclical Laudato si (2015) he explores the causes of environmental degradation. And his positions on communion for the divorced and the confession for the children of homosexual couples are big leaps forward, even if he has to struggle between all the hurdles that are thrown between his legs. "

Pope Francis "is today the most important head of state"

At the beginning of May, Frei Betto was a guest at the International Book Fair Santo Domingo in 2019. On this occasion, he was interviewed by the Dominican daily Diario Libre, who presented him on May 4th as "Leftist intellectual, Dominican and central figure of liberation theology".

In his replies he defended the socialist regime of Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela, declaring that "there is no country in the world that has violated human rights more than the US,” and that "the rights" in Brazil are "drastic measures" eliminating the elected left-wing government.

Overall, according to the Dominican, there is "no future for humanity other than socialism.” It could be said that socialism did not work in the Soviet Union, but that did not mean that socialism had failed.

Of Pope Francis he thinks:

The incumbent Pope needed time because before him there were "34 years of conservative pontificates.” However, the election of Francis was a big step forward because:

"The Catholic Church today is a conservative body with a progressive head."

And further:

"Francis is a great friend of liberation theology. Francis is certainly today the most important head of state, who has the courage to defend the poorest, and the refugees in Europe, who have the courage to accuse the Geldimperialismus and the Marktvergötterung. "

"The celibacy thing must stop"

On the current celibacy debate Frei Betto raved:

"Yes, that's another problem. As long as the Church does not stop with this obligatory celibacy thing ... that must stop. There was no idea of ​​compulsory celibacy in Jesus' head. (...) The problem lies in the macho tradition that started after Jesus in the Church and imposed this compulsion. It should be like in the Protestant churches that a pastor can marry.”

In contrast to many progressive hierarchists in the Church, one can at least not blame the Brazilian Dominican for disguising his convictions.

On April 10, 2014, Frei Betto was received in audience by Pope Francis. Of the topics discussed, the Brazilian then revealed to have sided with an excommunicated brother:

"I asked the pope about his brother, who was burnt at the stake and asked him to rehabilitate Giordano Bruno officially. I think the Church should finally do justice. "

Pope Francis had given him no negative answer, but said that he would "pray" for Giordano Bruno.

The former Dominican Giordano Bruno had been burned on 17 February 1600 as one of the few heretics, by the Roman Inquisition at the stake in Rome. A total of 97 people were executed in Rome during the 250 years that the actual Inquisition was active, most were felons. After the Italian unification,  Church opponents, especially the Italian Masons, created a myth around Giordano Bruno to make his case an instrument in the fight against the Church. It was (and is) not precisely in line with the historical facts. That was also the reason why the Masons of Italy erected a statue on the Campo dei Fiori, where Giordano Bruno was executed. Militant atheism, which describes itself as a "humanism critical of the Church,” venerates the former Dominican brother as their “heretical anti-saint." This includes the atheist Giordano Bruno Foundation in Germany and Austria.

Frei Betto is in strange company, but that does not seem to have bothered him since his youth.

Text: Giuseppe Nardi

Image: Diario Libre (Screeenshot)
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
AMDG

Brutal Attacks by Islamic Invaders to Influence Upcoming Elections

Once again, placid Offenburg became the scene of a brutal crime committed by an African migrant. There, a 25-year-old Somali attacked a 75 -year-old, retired pensioner in front of the station.

[philosophia perennis] Now Merkel's Baden governor and the allied news organ, "Badische Zeitung", explains how a typical example of a blanket migrant violence could be "politically instrumentalized".

Sure, of course! It was indeed triggered by a politically incorrect decision. Just like the murder of the doctor from Offenburg who had his throat by an African in the middle of surgery (SWR). On the 26th of May it is time to make a statement in Offenburg!

PENSIONER WAS NOT MORE CONCERNING

About the brutal attack on the pensioner, the police had this to say:

"On the night of Thursday there was a momentous attack at the crossroads of Freiburg Place and Straßburger Strasse. According to initial information, a young man had brutally kicked a retiree lying on the ground, till he was no longer responsive. A passing witness had noticed this incident shortly before 2 o'clock and alerted the police. Four patrols from the police station Offenburg as well as two vehicles of the federal police arrived at Freiburg Place only a few minutes after the emergency call  and found what was presumed to be the attacker there on the ground beside the severely injured older man.

“The slightly injured 25-year-old Somali resident of Hesse was provisionally arrested. The 75-year-old had to be admitted to a clinic with severe head injuries. The background of the attack and further information on the persons involved are currently the subject of police investigations.”

THE FEAR OF BLAME BEFORE REGIONAL ELECTIONS

Meanwhile,  the ruling system’s official mouthpiece, the  Badische Zeitung is plagued by the concern that the constant crimes in the area of ​​the station - including a rape, as well as the beastly murder of a doctor, could compromise the "sense of security in the Ortenau city" at the foot of the Black Forest.

"At that time the situation had become politically instrumentalized and had also shaped the OB election campaign last fall. Now there are already fears that this case could also have an impact on the ongoing municipal election campaign.” The newspaper laments and deliberately represses the fact that, above all, that the failed immigration policy has led to a rapid increase in attacks.

But what has been triggered by a failed policy can also be corrected by a good policy, even if a regime clinging desperately to power and its corresponding elite do not like it. (KL)

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

AMDG

Fox News Celebrity Priest Leaves Priesthood

Edit: just received this letter from a reader. Father Jonathan Morris was a member of the Legionares of Christ which he left in 2009. He is Director of Catholic Cable Sirius Radio and was a commentator on Fox News giving an “ethical” take on the news.

 There’s something corrosive about the mass media that leads to corruption. Or is it a certain group controlling the media? All of that attention and adulation must have taken its toll, not to mention close association with people of the ilk of Bill O’Reilly and Sean Hannity. Is anyone allowed a voice on the media who can’t be compromised? Will we ever see the likes of Father Charles Coughlin or Father Leonard Feeney on the radio again?

Truly, becoming attached to these kinds of fake people in the media is a recipee for  spiritual bereavement, confusion and despair, and it’s hard to not see a certain intentionality behind it. Naturally, this will put Morris in the ideation of vir probatus and it wouldn’t be challenging to see this man jumping on the bandwagon to end clerical celibacy. Here is Father Morris’ letter:

After taking some months of sabbatical to be with family and to dedicate more time to prayer and retreat, I have decided to ask the Holy Father, Pope Francis, to release me from the duties and responsibilities of the clerical state (priestly vows).
Taking this step is something I have considered often and at length in years past and discussed with my spiritual guides. While I have loved and thrived in so many aspects of my ministry, deep in my interior I have struggled for years with my vocation and with the commitments that the Catholic priesthood demands, especially not being able to marry and have a family.
My fear of disappointing people’s expectations of me has always held me back from taking this step. Only now, because of this sabbatical, have I had the clarity of mind and peace of soul to move in this direction.
My decision is not about an existing relationship, but rather about the peace and spiritual freedom I trust will come in the future by following God’s will for my life now.
My own experience should not take away anything from the many heroic men and women who are living out their religious vocations with admirable fidelity and fulfillment. I will be in the pews ready to support you, because my faith in God and love for my Church is stronger than ever. I look forward to serving in new ways alongside of you.
I hope you are able to hear in my written word the newfound joy I have in my heart as I begin this new chapter, despite my fear of stepping into the unknown.
I am grateful to God, my family, and to all of you for so much love, support, and understanding. Some will not understand; I’m okay with that too.
Please pray for me.
Jonathan Morris
PS. The best way to reach me is by email: fjdm1972@gmail.com In a few days, I will temporarily suspend my social media accounts to help me live out more peacefully the remainder of my sabbatical, but I wanted you to hear this news from me first. Only after my sabbatical will I respond to media inquiries and re- engage in the media.
05/17/2019

AMDG

Vatican Eager to Canonize Evita and Peronism

"The Vatican has given the green light" - Argentina's CGT union launches a campaign for the canonization of Eva Peron five months before the presidential election.

(Rome) CGT is the largest union in Argentina. For the upcoming May 27th, it has called a nationwide general strike against the government and demands, on the occasion of her 100th birthday, the canonization of Eve "Evita" Peron.

"On its 100th anniversary, the CGT declares Evita the saint of the people."

This is the title of a publication that was presented on Tuesday evening in Calle Azopardo in the historic headquarters of the  Confederación General del Trabajo de la República Argentina (CGT), or General Trade Union Confederation. The presentation in Salon Felipe Vallese kicked off a campaign by the Peronist union to "achieve the canonization of Eva Peron," said Carlin, the country's largest daily newspaper, in yesterday's edition.

Padre Pepe two days ago in the CGT headquarters

The campaign started with the participation of Father Jose Maria Di Paola, better known as "Padre Pepe". The priest is a friend of Pope Francis.

The union representatives announced that they had obtained the approval of the Vatican and the Argentine Bishops' Conference for the campaign.

Argentina's Saint

Argentina has so far had three saints: Nazaria Ignacia March Mesa, José Gabriel del Rosario Brochero and Hector Valdivielso Saez.

Nazaria Ignacia of St. Teresa of Jesus (1889-1942) was born in Spain. In 1906 she moved with her family to Mexico, where she became a nun. In 1925 she founded her own female missionary order in Bolivia, Cruciatarum Ecclesiae Missionariarum. The last years of her life were spent in Argentina, where she created numerous facilities for youth and the poor. In 1992 she was beatified by Pope John Paul II, and canonized in 2018 by Pope Francis

Jose Gabriel del Rosario Brochero (1840-1914) was an Argentine priest who spent his pastoral life as a country pastor. In autumn 2013 he was beatified and canonised in 2016 by Pope Francis.

The Argentinean Hector Valdivielso Sáez (1910-1934), born in Buenos Aires, entered the Christian Brothers in 1926 and accepted the religious name of Benito of Jesus. For teacher training he was sent in 1929 to religious houses in Spain. When an alliance of Catholic parties became part of a coalition government in 1934, the radical left called for revolution in the style of the Bolshevik October
Revolution of 1917. In Asturias, the Revolutionary Committees of Socialists and Communists

ordered all priests to be arrested as "enemies of the people." Brother Benito of Jesus was also arrested while he was doing retreats. Sentenced to death by a revolutionary court, he was executed on October 9, 1934 along with other prisoners. As one of the martyrs of Turon, he was beatified in 1990 by Pope John Paul II and was the first Argentine to be canonized in 1999. 

Pope Francis added the first two canonizations to this first saint. In addition, Argentina today counts 13 blessed. This includes the controversial beatification of Bishop Enrique Angelelli last April.

"Immortal" Evita

As far as the CGT union is concerned, Eva Peron, the wife of the two-time coup d'état and two-time head of state and government of Argentina, Juan Domingo Peron, should also be elevated to the altars. Eva Peron's "Evita" by Andrew Loyd Webber and Tim Rice, with their hit Do not Cry for Me Argentina, has been "immortalized" since 1976. The main characters of the musical alongside Evita are still her husband Juan Domingo Peron and Che Guevara, the communist revolutionary, guerrilla leader and patron saint of the extreme left and also some parts of the extreme right.

Eva Peron (1919-1952).

"What the Peronist union CGT demands can take years. A canonization process begins in the diocese in which the candidate died," says Clairin, dampening expectations somewhat.

Eva Peron died on July 26, 1952, at the age of only 33, in the Argentine capital, which is why the
Archdiocese of Buenos Aires is responsible for the opening and first phase of the beatification process, which was chaired by Pope Francis from 1998-2013. The Pope is said to have become a convinced Peronist at a young age. When Peron became president for the first time, Jorge Mario Bergoglio was twelve years old.

Last Tuesday night, the entire CGT leadership was present. The campaign for beatification, according to the CGT secretary-general, is intended to be the prelude to a "counter-culture" which "says everything and is always humble.”

"Eva Peron gave her life for a providential mission, the mission to save the dignity of the human person in its transcendent sense. That was the synthesis of a deep faith in her people and in God. "

And further:

"In this deeply Christian, Catholic and humanistic framework, the CGT understands the message and the immense work of Eva Peron."

One wants to compare those who try to gain a hearing "with many words but little knowledge at the lower level" with  market hucksters.

The "canonization" of Peronism

The union also posted a photo showing priest Padre Pepe at the lectern at the CGT union headquarters, along with his campaign launch press release. A logical step, since Padre Pepe is a personal friend of Pope Francis, and the Holy See and, accordingly, the Argentine Episcopal Conference gave the green light to the CGT campaign.

Padre Pepe with Pope Francis in the Vatican.

According to critics, Argentinian Peronism seeks its own canonization and sees it as an opportune moment under Pope Francis and his politicization of the Church. When the Peronists were defeated in the presidential elections of 2015, Francis made no secret of his disappointment and has since then given the elected, non-Peronist head of state Mauricio Macri the cold shoulder. That was "a reason" why Francis as Pope did not visit his homeland, because he did not want to help Macri to a second term by his presence.

At the end of October 2019, the regular elections will take place. In mid-August, the political groups determine their candidates in open primaries. According to polls, neither Macri nor the Peronists can be sure of a victory. However, the Peronists are counting on a return to Casa Rosada, the official residence of the President, from where they have ruled the country 24 out of 36 years since the end of the military dictatorship.

The union CGT

An important role is played by the General Confederation of Trade Unions (CGT), formed in 1930, as in France and Italy, as an alliance of socialists, communists and revolutionary syndicalists. After the 1943 coup d'état, most of the union supported Labor Minister Juan Domingo Peron. When he was dismissed and arrested as a minister in 1945, the CGT called for a general strike. The agitation, in which Eva Peron participated, forced Peron's release.

Padre Pepe with Archbishop Bergoglio (Buenos Aires). We have known each other for a long time.

For the presidential elections of 1946, the union founded the Labor Party (PL) and contributed significantly to Peron's election victory. In return, it received half the mandate of the three-party Peronist coalition, the Speaker of Parliament, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the important governorship of the province of Buenos Aires, by far the most important member state. In 1947, the three parties dissolved and joined together under Peron leadership to the Peronist Party (PP), which calls itself today Partido Justicialista (PJ). The CGT was the mainstay of Peronism.

With the fall of Peron in 1955, the Peronist movement was banned. In 1966, leading parts of the union supported the coup d'état without reaching an agreement with the new rulers. Radicalization increased in the late 1960s. Underground organizations emerged on the left bank of Peronism, forcibly overthrowing the government and attempting to put Peron back to power. The best-known guerrilla groups were the Montoneros, the ERP and the Peronist Armed Forces (FAP), which also murdered several CGT trade unionists as traitors, including two secretaries-general in 1970 and 1973 (presidents). Their front page included the journal Cristianismo y Revolucion (Christianity and Revolution), which was published in 1966-1971 in the context of Marxist liberation theology, the left-wing priest movement for the Third World and among other things spokesman of the left-wing revolutionary and guerrilla organizations.

"People's Saint"

In fact, Peron was able to become president and head of government for a second time in 1973, but died the following year. In office until 1976, his second wife, Isabel Peron, who tried to build on the nimbus of Eva Peron, politically, but could not pacify the country, and was dragged down by rampant favoritism and corruption even deeper into the crisis. When the military took power in 1976 in the midst of chaos, the CGT was also persecuted. Several union representatives were arrested, some disappeared in the hands of the military never to return. Through numerous strikes, especially since 1979, the union pushed from the underground to an end to the military dictatorship that came in 1983.

Since its re-establishment, the CGT is again the largest and most influential union in the country, but has had to share its influence with the split-off in 1992, CAT, also a Peronist but leftist, half-sized union.

With the campaign for the beatification of the former Primera Dama (First Lady) of Argentina, the largest trade union in the country is entering unfamiliar uncharted territory.

Text: Giuseppe Nardi

Image: ElC / Calrin / Vatican.va (Screenshots)

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

AMDG

Pope Francis Overturns Vatican Prohibition on Medjugorie

By David Martin

In a direct breach of a 2013 CDF decree, Pope Francis has decided to authorize pilgrimages to Medjugorje, Yugoslavia, which can now be officially organized by dioceses and parishes without being restricted to a private capacity as before.

The announcement was made Sunday at the parish shrine in Medjugorie—held by millions to be the site of the Virgin Mary’s appearances to six children—by Archbishop Luigi Pezzuto, the Apostolic Nuncio to Bosnia-Herzegovina and Archbishop Henryk Hoser, the Holy See's Special Apostolic Visitator.

The "ad interim" director of the Holy See Press Office, Alessandro Gisotti, responding to journalists' questions about the Vatican announcement, said, "Considering the considerable flow of people who go to Medjugorje and the abundant fruits of grace that have sprung from it, this authorization is part of the particular pastoral attention that the Holy Father intended to give to that reality, aimed at encouraging and promoting the fruits of good."

Pope Benedict's Ruling Defied

The paradox of this authorization is that Medjugorie has no fruits to its credit. The Vatican announcement in fact defies the Church's previous position under Benedict XVI that the Virgin Mary never appeared to six children in Medjugorie.

At the direction of the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Archbishop Carlo Viganò, the former Apostolic Nuncio to the United States issued a letter on October 21, 2013, stating that Catholics "are not permitted" to participate in any meetings that promote belief in the Medjugorie visions. In his letter, Viganò said that "all should accept the declaration," stating that: "On the basis of the research that has been done, it is not possible to state that there were apparitions or supernatural revelations."

The declaration was based primarily on the verdict of the bishops of Yugoslavia on April 10, 1991, who decreed:

"On the basis of studies it cannot be affirmed that supernatural apparitions and revelations are occurring"

The bishops' denunciation was reflected in a March 25, 1985, letter from Bishop Zanic to the pastor of the Medjugorie Church, Fr. Tomislav Pervan, wherein he told him: "I demand from you that you remove the 'visionaries' from public display and put an end to their 'visions' in the parish church."

In October, 1993, Bishop Ratko Peric of Medjugorie was interviewed by Fr. Ante Tonca Komadina who at the time was editor of the diocesan newspaper, "Crkva na Kamenu." Therein the bishop backed the 1991 decision of his predecessor Bishop Zanic, saying:

“When he [Bishop Zanic] heard the small fibs and large lies, insincerities, inexactitudes, and all sorts of fabricated stories from those who claimed that the Gospa was appearing to them, he became totally convinced that it was not a matter of supernatural apparitions of the Gospa. Then he started to bring out the truth and to expose the falsehoods."

Started by Sex-Predator

From the onset, Medjugorie had every appearance of being fake, and in 2009 the Vatican issued a decree against Fr. Tomislav Vlasic—a fake mystic and sex-predator charged with abusing and impregnating a nun—who was the founder and central figure of the Medjugorie movement. He was punished and stripped of his priestly status on July 27, 2009, because he had continued with the movement in defiance of the 1991 episcopal decision in Yugoslavia.

Beginning in 1981, six children under the direction of Fr. Vlasic began making fraudulent claims of having seen the Virgin Mary in order to stir up mischief and to assist Vlasic’s efforts to undermine Bishop Zanic of Medjugorie.

Born of the Charismatics

Of key significance was the fact that Vlasic was heavily involved with the Charismatic Movement, a diabolical sect wherein the devil presents himself as the Holy Spirit to lure Catholics away from the institutionalized Church. Pope Paul VI condemned the Charismatics 1969 when he said it attacks "the very existence of the Church... extinguishing the real flame of Pentecost." (May 17, 1969)

Just prior to meeting the Medjugorie "seers" in 1981, Vlasic was in Rome to participate in the International Charismatic Renewal Conference, and there he was told by Sr. Briege McKenna, a false prophetess, that he would become the center of a worldwide Marian movement with the help of the "Holy Spirit." As soon as reports of "apparitions" began emerging from Medjugorie, Vlasic left his assignment at Čapljina for Medjugorie without the permission of his bishop (in violation of Canon 127), and became the spiritual director of the six children.

It was then that the Medjugorie cult began to solidify into what it was to become—a demonic monstrosity for the destruction of the Faith—and it was Vlasic who directed the "seers" from thence on what they were to say in their messages. In 1984 he even wrote to Pope John Paul II to tell him that he was the one "who through divine providence guides the seers of Medjugorie."

 “By Their Fruits You Shall Know Them”

The fruits of Medjugorie speak for themselves, which include a falling away from the sacraments, a departure from tradition, contempt for the priesthood, attendance at interfaith worship, entanglement in fake mysticism (sorcery), promiscuous behavior, and the illusion of unconditional mercy in spite of sin.

That is to say, Medjugorie is not Catholic but is a wing of the international New Age network that simply uses the name of Mary to bewitch the faithful with a new gospel. Medjugorie is all about advancing the Charismatic Movement, which is directly tied to the so-called renewal since Vatican Council II. It advocates one-world ecumenism and teaches that God works through other religions, which of course is heresy.

It was for reason that Bishop Andrea Gemma, the Vatican’s former top exorcist, described the Medjugorie visions as the "work of the devil."

Why is Pope Francis now authorizing pilgrimages to Medjugorie?

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2019-05/pope-authorizes-pilgrimages-to-medjugorje.html