Monday, May 23, 2022

Synodality -- A Codeword Under the Magnifying Glass


Jesuit General Pedro Arrupe, Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini and Pope Francis, a way to "complete" Vatican II.

(Rome) “Synodality” is a keyword of Pope Francis' pontificate.  At first, even inveterate Vaticanists thought it was a lapse when the new pope used this hitherto unknown word.  Even the Vatican press office believed he meant “collegiality,” a term not found in any document of Vatican II but which became a progressive code word in the post-Conciliar period.  However, Francis stuck to his neologism.  Only after a delay did the Catholic world begin to realize that the Argentine Pope was referring to far-reaching changes intended to give the Church a “new face”.

Katholisches.info wrote in November 2018: "From Martini's collegiality to Bergoglio's synodality".  In fact, there is an inner connection.  The two terms are in line, the latter, however, as a further development of the former.

From Martini's collegiality to Bergoglio's synodality

Collegiality was a key word of Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini (1927-2012), Archbishop of Milan from 1979 to 2002, President of the Council of European Bishops' Conferences and a Jesuit like Bergoglio.  For almost 20 years, Martini was the spiritus rector of the secret group of Sankt Gallen, an association of the highest progressive churchmen to sabotage the pontificate of John Paul II and install a successor they liked.  The extended arm of this group became active in 2013 as Team Bergoglio.  Next August 31st marks the tenth anniversary of Martini's death.  It was he who vigorously called for the immediate resignation of Benedict XVI. behind closed doors in June 2012.  A few months later when Martini had died in the meantime, the German Pope, actually and surprisingly did exactly that.

In the 2005 conclave, Martini himself had hopes for the papal throne, but had to recognize his hopelessness for this cause.  He then brought Cardinal Bergoglio into play to at least prevent the election of Benedict XVI.

Martini and Bergoglio, although both members of the Society of Jesus, did not really see each other, mainly for personal reasons.  Martini came from a completely different social environment and was intellectually superior to the Argentine - and was himself convinced of it.  However, both had one thing in common: They had been protégés of the same man, Jesuit General Pedro Arrupe, who led the order from 1965 to 1981/83 and revolutionized it to his detriment.

Martini was the declared opponent of two popes, John Paul II and Benedict XVI.  The cardinal already saw himself in the antechamber to the papal throne, which is why, in a coquettish play on words, he did not describe himself as anti-pope, but as ante-pope.  The allusion was explicit nonetheless.  Although Martini did not make it to the papacy in 2005, his self-assessment proved to be true, albeit in a slightly different sense: he became the ante-pope, the one who preceded the pope of his election.  A few months after his death, this wish was granted in the 2013 conclave.  Avvenire, the daily newspaper of the Italian bishops, headlined three days ago, May 17, that Martini "anticipated Pope Francis".  In fact, it was Martini who was the first to say that God was "not Catholic."  On this point, too, in his first, spectacular interview with Eugenio Scalfari for La Repubblica in autumn 2013, Francis was already following a predetermined path.

Synodality is taking shape

In the fall of 2014, “synodality” began to take shape with the first Family Synod taking place.  It quickly became apparent that the wind had turned.  The rules of the Synod have been changed.  The Pope emphasized “free speech”.  But that was only a sham for the public.  In reality, what only few noticed, the synod was trimmed down to the last detail by the papal direction for a specific result.  Opposing opinions were obstructed and hidden from the outside world.

Was that the "synodality" Francis meant?  Just an optical illusion, but in reality a well-crafted instrument of power to enforce his line?  Observers of Church events tried to understand.  But Francis is rooted in leftist thinking because of his formation through people and ideas.  It is therefore about structural changes.

On September 18, 2018, the Vatican published the Apostolic Constitution Episcopalis Communio signed by Francis three days earlier.  A document of almost explosive scope, which, however, received little attention and has not yet been applied.  So far, the synod of bishops introduced in 1965 by Pope Paul VI.  was only advisory in character.  Since Episcopalis Communio, they can also have magisterial authority.  Pope Francis stated in article 18 of the new constitution regarding the final report of the synod:

 "If expressly approved by the Pope, the final document is part of the ordinary magisterium of the successor of Peter."

 “Should the Pope give the synodal assembly decision-making authority in accordance with can.  343 of the Code of Canon Law, the final document, once ratified and promulgated by him, is part of the ordinary magisterium of the successor of Peter.”

The approach is reminiscent of the EU as revealed by then EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker:

 “We decide something, then put it out there and wait a while to see what happens.  If there is no big shouting and no riots because most people do not understand what has been decided, then we will continue - step by step until there is no turning back."

An advisory body became (if necessary) a decision-making body.  At the same time, Pope Francis stressed suspiciously often that he didn't want to change anything, just initiate processes - albeit irreversible ones if possible.

In this sense, Episcopalis Communio  became a legal norm in reserve, for the right moment.  It can be applied at any time.

The next step

Meanwhile, on March 19, 2022, the next step was taken with the Apostolic Constitution, Praedicare Evangelium.  In the course of the reorganization of the Roman Curia and the associated redistribution of responsibilities, two words have been omitted.  A little thing that is easy to overlook at first glance – a supposed little thing.  This constitution, with which the curial reform was implemented, which Francis had declared to be one of the main concerns of his pontificate and which had been demanded for years and decades, above all by progressive Church circles, ultimately went down almost “modestly” on the stage.  But the devil is known to be in the details.  Who likes to read laws and rules of procedure?  In addition, this central constitution for the reorganization of the Roman Curia is only available in Italian to this day.

The change?  Instead of the "synod of bishops", as it was called in the Italian documents, Praedicare Evaelium only speaks of "synod".  This opened the way to an undefined, broader understanding of the synod, which is completely foreign to the Orthodox Church and has hitherto been in the Catholic Church.  With exceptions.  In the German-speaking world, experiments were carried out in the 1970s in the sense of a Protestant synod understanding, above all the Würzburg Synod 1971-1975, which were then stopped by John Paul II.  With the "Synodal Path", the German Bishops' Conference is making another attempt, with the expected catastrophic consequences.

The difference?  Not only do bishops meet and are entitled to vote, but also lay people.  The Protestant understanding of "assembly" is carried over to the leadership level of the Church.

This coincides with another, no less drastic innovation by Praedicare Evangelium.  Authority no longer derives from the consecration of a bishop, but from the missio canonica, the ecclesiastical commission.  This is a double axis shift, down and sideways.  Every priest, every theology professor and every religion teacher is equipped with one.  Everyone can also lead the highest curia office and everyone can participate in synods and be entitled to vote.

Both changes show the intention of reorganizing the hierarchical constitution of the Church in the sense of Protestant and democratic elements.  However, this affects the nature of the Church.  According to the zeitgeist, everything has to be inclusive.

 The "Synodal Church"

If the Church is "synodal" - Francis repeatedly spoke of a "synodal church" - then this implies that the synod is the central element of that church.  Initially, some thought that Francis wanted to weaken the papacy in favor of a collegial governing body of bishops like the Holy Synod known to the Orthodox Church.  However, Francis thinks far beyond that.

In papal circles, synodality was already defined as a state of "permanent synod".  The power of governance would pass to a permanent synod, which would be a kind of inclusive parliament, using Episcopalis Communio.  This idea of ​​a "permanent synod" also goes back to Cardinal Martini, to which Cardinal Michael Czerny, also a Jesuit and close confidante of Pope Francis, referred with satisfaction on Monday in Milan.  The occasion was the presentation of Martini's collected works, which are published by the Bompiani publishing house of the foundation named after Martini.

In April 2019, Francis was supported by the Council of Cardinals he created to introduce “synodality” at all levels and admit women to all positions of leadership.  This practice of gender equality hides the fact that the question is not about women or men, but about clerics or lay people and about bishops or non-bishops.  The noticeable suppression of the sacrament of Holy Orders and the ministry of Peter under Francis shines through.  The latter seems paradoxical, since Francis' rule is more authoritarian than any of his immediate predecessors.

Francis goes the way there by convening ordinary and extraordinary synods, double synods, preliminary synods, recommending state synods and also multi-year synods, such as the bishops’ synod on synodality, the so-called “synod synod”, which lasts until 2023.

The synod as a workshop for experiments

It is known that Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, prior to his election as Pope, was displeased with Roman interventions, corrections, additions and deletions in synodal documents.  Some suspect that he therefore resorted to the unusual means of having all paragraphs of the working paper published, including those that did not win a two-thirds majority.  All were published at his behest, along with the respective voting results.  An approach that was not without criticism, as some recognized the promotion of a polarization that contradicts the synod principle of community and unity practiced up to now.

The polarization was exacerbated by Francis with the convening of the Amazon Synod, which took place in October 2019, and the circumstances in which it came about and its one-sided, little-confidence-inspiring preparation.  Overall, at no point was the Amazon Synod geared toward consensus, but rather a largely one-sided event by a particular segment of the Church.  The accusation was therefore voiced early on that the synod was not intended to solve problems at all, but to promote a certain progressive agenda.

Francis pulled the handbrake at the last moment.  How this came about is not entirely clear.  The fact is that Cardinal Robert Sarah, together with Benedict XVI.  published a plea for celibacy and the priesthood, to the great annoyance of Santa Marta.  After Francis had nurtured expectations in the above-mentioned circles for years to abolish celibacy for priests and to open the priesthood to lay people, especially women, a bitter disappointment followed for them.  Approval for his pontificate has continued to decline since then.

It became clear to everyone that synodality is actually not a synonym for collegiality, that Pope Francis rather regards synodality as a workshop for experiments, even at the expense of collegiality.  In doing so, he pays close attention to sounding out how far he can go without exposing himself to great resistance and even more serious accusations of heterodoxy.  Francis acts deliberately and strategically.

However, his person is to be distinguished from the structural changes that he undertook through the two constitutions Epicopalis Communio and Praedicare Evangelium.  A successor could see things differently and apply the possibilities opened up by Francis more radically.  The conditions for this were created by the Argentine Pope.

Synod final report without vote and German special way

Speaking of a two-thirds majority: So far, in the case of synods of bishops, which are a product of the Second Vatican Council and take place every three years, that is only forwarded to the pope for his post-synodal letter that can be based on the approval of at least two-thirds of the synod fathers, has been the rule.  The completely different practice of Francis is not without consequences.  Cardinal Mario Grech, Secretary General of the Synod of Bishops since 2020, demanded that the final document of the Synod of Bishops should come about according to new rules, i.e. without a final vote.  All paragraphs should be sent to the bishops' conferences, whose amendments will be obtained and only then published.

Cardinal Grech was previously Bishop of Gozo (Malta) and a particularly ardent supporter of Pope Francis.  He made a name for himself in Santa Marta in 2016 with the implementation of the controversial post-synodal document Amoris Laetitia.

And as on other points, Francis' pontificate means support for the German "Sonderweg" [German Special Way].  It is no coincidence that two of the four cardinals of the so-called Bergoglio team, which organized his election to the papacy, came from the Federal Republic of Germany.  It appears that there was agreement among them on the essential points in the run-up to the conclave.  In all steps taken by the majority of the German Bishops' Conference in the direction of their "revolution", they use doors that Francis previously opened, whether to the homosexual agenda, intercommunion or "synodality".

 That is exactly what Francis wants.  He initiates and expects others to pass the ball on.  But he wants to keep control of the game, which is a trait of his character.  In this respect, things do not always run smoothly between him and the German progressives, who have a firm stranglehold on the Church in the German-speaking world.

 The “synodal path” in Germany, like the state synods in Ireland and Australia, go back to Francis.  In Italy, the pope even loudly called for a synod in March 2019 because he was dissatisfied with developments.

He opened Pandora's box and initiated a "trial" with unforeseeable consequences because each of these Bergoglian synods represents a potential threat to the unity of the Church, the German one in particular. 

And as always, Francis is holding back, hardly appears to the outside world and does not interfere.  This is based on a Hegelian principle.

The same path leads from Martini's collegiality to Bergoglio's synodality.  It is about the "completion" of the Second Vatican Council, as implemented by the Jesuits in the spirit of Pedro Arrupe.

 Cardinal Michael Czerny SJ put it this way on May 16:

 “Cardinal Martini was a prophet.  His visions foreshadowed avenues in the Church.”

It is Pope Francis who is walking these paths.  Martini, Czerny, "did what the Council demanded of him".

 Text: Giuseppe Nardi

 Image: Wikicommons/MiL

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

AMDG




Thursday, May 19, 2022

New Archbishop of Paris Administers Confirmation to the Faithful in the Immemorial Rite


Archbishop Ulrich of Lille administered Confirmation in the Immemorial Rite last Saturday in his archdiocese

(Paris) The appointed new archbishop of Paris administered Confirmation in the Immemorial Rite of All Ages in his previous diocese. The change to the Bishop's Chair on the Seine could be a stroke of luck.


Monsignor Laurent Bernard Marie Ulrich, originally from Burgundy, was appointed the new Archbishop of Paris by Pope Francis on April 26. The inauguration will take place next Monday.


Last Saturday, May 14, he administered the Sacrament of Confirmation to a group of 55 faithful in Lille, his previous diocese. A real boost in the atmosphere of Traditionis Custodes.


On May 23, Msgr. Ulrich will succeed Archbishop Michel Aupetit, who retired on December 2, 2021 at his own request by Pope Francis. Aupetit may have fallen victim to an orchestrated intrigue, but his retirement seems to have unexpectedly turned out to be a stroke of luck.


Laurent Ulrich was born in 1951 in Dijon, Burgundy. He studied at the Universities of Burgundy and Lyon and was ordained a priest for his home diocese in 1979. He worked in parish pastoral care, from 1985 also as Bishop's Vicar and from 1990 as Vicar General. In 2000, Pope John Paul II appointed him Archbishop of Chambéry in Savoy. Pope Benedict XVI then promoted him to Archbishop of Lille in French Flanders, the Dutch-speaking part of France, in 2008. As such, offered confirmation in the traditional Rite a few days ago in his cathedral.


Archbishop Ulrich's decision to personally confirm the faithful in the traditional Rite contrasts surprisingly well with the repressive climate created by Pope Francis with the motu proprio Traditionis Custodes on July 16, 2021 and tightened by the Congregation for Divine Worship with its answers to Dubia on Traditionis Custodes.


These tightenings have it all. The new Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship, Archbishop Arthur Roche, announced on December 4, 2021 in the answers to the Dubia that only the Sacrifice of the Mass may be celebrated in the traditional form, while all other sacraments are to be administered in the Bugnine Liturgy of Paul VI. However, Archbishop Lille ignored this Roman repression and offered – perhaps for that very reason, personally – 55 faithful in the church of Saint-Étienne in Lille to be confirmed in the traditional Rite. He was assisted by priests of the traditional institute Christ the King and Sovereign Priest.


It is unlikely that this would endear the new Archbishop of Paris to Santa Marta, where any movement of the traditional liturgy that occurs outside of narrow confines is viewed with great suspicion. However, his appointment has already been made and his inauguration is imminent. In any case, Pope Francis no longer links cardinalatial dignity to specific bishoprics. The last Archbishop of Paris to receive purple was André Vingt-Trois, who was then admitted by Pope Benedict XVI to the College of Cardinals.


Even bishops, who have a reputation for being very close to Pope Francis, fall from grace when they show a gesture of benevolence to the traditional Rite. An example of this is Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, Archbishop of Bologna and senior cleric in the ranks of the Community of Sant'Egidio. He implemented the Motu proprio Traditionis Custodes in his Archdiocese to the letter, not being more generous than the Pope would allow, but using all the possibilities contained therein for the benefit of the traditional Rite. Until then, Cardinal Zuppi was considered a possible crown prince by Pope Francis, which changed abruptly. In Santa Martha, Zuppi's concessions to traditional circles were interpreted as a "gambit" to make himself popular in a future conclave.


What Pope Francis wanted was demonstrated by his protégé and ghostwriter, Archbishop Victor Manuel Fernández, Archbishop of La Plata and perhaps soon Archbishop of Buenos Aires and Cardinal. Msgr. Fernández eliminated the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum in the Archdiocese of La Plata at Christmas 2018. In doing so, he anticipated by two and a half years what Pope Francis was to achieve with his Motu proprio Traditionis Custodes


It will be seen how the relationship between Monsignor Ulrich and Santa Marta will develop. First of all, it is to be hoped that the new archbishop of Paris will take his benevolent attitude towards the traditional Rite with him to the Seine, where his predecessor Aupetit imposed restrictions, and exert an influence on the French episcopacy as a whole.

The 55 confirmands with Archbishop Ulrich and the priests and assistants of the Institute of Christ the King and High Priest.

Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Image : Facebook/ICRSS (Screenshots)

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

AMDG

Tuesday, May 17, 2022

Joe Sobran Defends Himself Against Charges of Anti-Semitism

 Edit: Joseph Sobran had just been fired from his job at National Review for “anti-semitism” and yet tries very hard (and succeeds with grace) to be magnanimous to his foes and detractors, including Bill Buckley. At this point, he still considers many Jews among his supporters. 

I wonder if he’d still have this opinion today, who knows, since he was already embracing Rothbardianism before he died.



AMDG

Saturday, May 14, 2022

"FINALLY! A Word Comes From the Church"


The priester22 campaign triggered a sigh of relief among the faithful.  Cardinal Schönborn's (left) suffocating course of making the Church a mouthpiece for the government and its backers are contradicted.

 By Wolfram Schrems*

Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, who repeatedly gives the impression of being an obedient servant of Austrian politics and its backers, once again sorely missed representing the Church and the faithful in the ORF television press hour this Palm Sunday.  In all the important issues we are currently dealing with, from the Russia-Ukraine issue to the "refugees" ("No one leaves their homeland voluntarily" [!?]) and the "conspiracy theories" to his well-known propaganda for homosexuality, he is demonstrating complete conformity with this agenda.  He even said "praise to the ORF".

And, of course, the cardinal once again spoke out in favor of COVID tyranny and the “science” that justifies it.  This passage was particularly irritating to many Catholics and others of the time.  He expressly considers compulsory vaccination to be “legitimate” (!).  In connection with critical spirits, the cardinal formulated in an insulting way and actually misused the name of God: "Dear God, let brains reign".

Men of God against Corona Terror

The cardinal was dismissive about chaplains trying to save people from the irreversible effects of the COVID gene vaccine:

 “We have a whole series of priests who are very opposed to vaccination and who represent that among the people.  That's tedious."

In view of the fact that priests in the territory of the Archdiocese of Vienna have also suffered severe damage from the vaccination, of which at least one has died (because the "vaccination" suppresses cancer defense and the cancer has therefore flared up again), such a statement is a sign of a galloping loss of reality.


Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, Archbishop of Vienna, addresses what the government is talking about and reflects the government's opinion.

The cardinal also did not correct the cheeky and slanderous insinuation of the ORF interviewer that the police chaplain who was then relieved of his office by the cardinal (whose name was not mentioned in the press hour, namely Deacon and psychotherapist Uwe Eglau) was at a rally (on 15  . January at Vienna's Heldenplatz) "appeared with people from the far right".1

Deacon Eglau, who had signed a letter from about six hundred police officers to Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP) as spokesman, spoke at this rally and expressed himself very reasonably and balanced, a real pastor and man of God.  And such a person will be thrown out at short notice.  A shame.2

The prehistory of the priest22 action


In the press hour, the cardinal probably meant those priests (and then also deacons) who had started the important Priests22 campaign

It an organization of about 121 priests and deacons who first addressed the bishops discreetly with an extensive memorandum dated February 11 and warned of freedom of conscience regarding vaccination (according to Vatican II, Gaudium et spes 16).  They also pointed to the many cases of serious vaccine damage and deaths.  Episcopal responses to the memorandum were tenuous.  Therefore, the initiators went with a heavily abbreviated version of the memorandum as an open letter, entitled "Confirma!  - Strength!  (Luke 22:32)” and dated March 25, 2022, to the public.

Unfortunately, times are so bad that only a few of these clergymen are able to expose themselves by name.  The signatures are deposited with an Upper Austrian notary.

Representing all the signatories, Kalasantiner Father Andreas Schöffberger (Vienna), Dean and Pastor Erich Neidhart (Orth/Donau-Engelhartstetten Parish Association, Archdiocese of Vienna) and the already mentioned deacon Uwe Eglau (Vienna) have given an interview to the public.  Since Youtube deleted the video, which was posted there on April 19 and stayed for about a week, it can be found on Odysee.com on the St. Boniface Institute channel.

In English translation, the open letter went around the world via eighty channels.  Feedback even came from South Africa and New Zealand.

As you can hear from the ranks of the organizers, almost all Austrian dioceses and some religious orders are represented.  However, some of the religious concerned have already been reprimanded by their superiors and are no longer allowed to comment on the subject.

The Priester22 campaign contradicts the Corona tyranny and frees the Church from the chains of government servitude

According to the organizers, the bishops were "living in a bubble".

Pastoral experience shows that even highly educated and scientifically savvy Catholics do not have a critical view of what is happening, of “measures” and “vaccination”.

In the clergy and in the religious orders there are also increasing numbers of serious illnesses and deaths, with which, however, any connection with the vaccination is reflexively denied.  Or silence is simply ordered.

As you can see, “transparency” and “dialogue” are not very far when it comes to the interests of political powers.

Incidentally, the organizers of Priester22 are well informed scientifically and medically and, based on the specialist literature and the experience of the doctors, are of course aware of the devastating mode of action of the mRNA vaccination: This leads to the suppression of the immune system, to the resurgence of cancer that has already been successfully suppressed, and to its recurrence, of tuberculosis, massive occurrence of shingles (herpes zoster) and other disorders (personality changes, symptoms similar to drunkenness such as articulation disorders, loss of taste, etc.).

From the open letter

The following is a brief overview of the statement by Priester22.

“In Austria there are an estimated two million citizens who refuse vaccination for well-considered reasons.  It is a matter of course that the Church also has to stand up for these people, according to the words of Paul: I became everything to everyone (1 Cor 9:22b).  The divisions within society that are evident will not be resolved by throwing disparaging slogans at those who oppose vaccination.”

The initiators are very critical of the calculated damage caused by the "measures":

 “Thousands of livelihoods have already been destroyed by the government’s disproportionate measures.  People (families, small, medium-sized as well as some large companies, employees, students, etc.) are facing existential ruin.  There is also psychological pressure and bullying.  (...) Not to forget the precarious situation of older people in nursing and retirement homes, who are exposed to unreasonable restrictions on visits, the increased suicide rate and the increase in psychiatric illnesses confirmed by doctors, especially among children and adolescents.  Not to mention the rifts that cut across families and friendships.  The Church cannot remain silent on this.  And more: You have to be unequivocally on the side of the oppressed and needy.  The word of the Lord is clear: What you did for one of the least of my brothers... (Mt 25:40).”

An important ethical question is the abortion contamination of the vaccines:

 “As can be seen from the serious analysis  by the Lozier Institute, all vaccines that are currently (or were) used in Austria are related to abortion – be it that they contain fetal cell lines, be it that laboratory tests with fetal cell lines were performed.  The Second Vatican Council in Gaudium et Spes 51 calls abortion a 'detestable crime'.  To counter the argument that the person using the vaccine can soothe his conscience that he is only participating in a remote involvement, as Pro-Lifers and St. John Paul II, have repeatedly emphasized, that when one  'benefits from, he at least implicitly supports, a structure of evil in the use of such vaccines.' The continued development of such cell lines and the other and increasing use of human fetal tissue to this day proves him right.”

The initiators also emphasize that truthful investigations into the danger of COVID, hospital occupancy and the effectiveness of vaccinations have hardly been made.  They also criticize the incomprehensible pressure of opinion:

 "Isn't it conceivable that since the beginning of the Covid crisis, critical voices from experts have been systematically suppressed, disqualified, ridiculed, censored or immediately branded with the defamatory label "Covidiot" and that alternative treatment methods tried out by doctors are concealed in the media or all too often  been discredited?  And aren't the available data on the catastrophic side effects of vaccination a clear call for reflection and correction?"

 At the end it says:

 “One last thing: let us not allow Austrian society to remain divided or continue to be divided.  We know who divides.  As pastors we have to fight for unity in truth.  We take to heart the word of the Lord, which He said admonishing Peter: And you, when you have converted, then strengthen your brothers!  (Lk 22:32) Convert and strengthen: Where we have been silent for too long, we ask for forgiveness.  We want to fulfill the task of strengthening with this statement.  Please send press inquiries in writing to: priest22@gmx.at

Reactions

 The initiators published around 200 letters from Catholics who thanked them for the open letter.  One of these reactions is then commented on as follows:

 "'FINALLY!  Finally a word is coming from the Church!' This quote from one of the numerous responses to our public letter expresses a motif that is often heard.

Why everything took so long and how everything developed is to be briefly explained here.

We priests and deacons of the 'Priester22' network have been confronted with the developments of the past two years just like everyone else.  We couldn't help but be amazed at how suddenly only one topic began to dominate daily events: Corona!  The measures!  Vaccination!  Just like the other people and groups, we also had to deal with the topic and take a stand.  Thank God there were also alternative news channels where other perspectives and warning voices could be heard.”

Summary

The Church in Austria seems to be deeply connected to political powers, which must also be understood as a legacy of the unfortunate heresy of Josephinism.  In the Corona campaign, high-ranking and prominent clerics, starting with Cardinal Schönborn, allowed themselves to be carried away into incomprehensible statements.  As is well known, Caritas President Michael Landau spoke more or less cryptically in favor of the coercive measures.  The Viennese [Freemason] cathedral Priest Toni Faber stated that he had "no sympathy for the unvaccinated".

 Against this background, the Priester22 campaign is a pleasant surprise.

 May it bear rich fruit!

 *Wolfram Schrems, Vienna, Mag. theol., Mag. phil., church catechist, Pro-Lifer

 Image: Youtube/AUF1 (screenshots)

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

 1 I was present at this rally and noticed what I've noticed for a good year and a half, namely that the demonstrations and rallies critical of the measures bring together speakers and participants from very different, often contrary, ideological camps.  For the ORF, of course, something is quickly "far right" if it does not correspond to the political agenda.

 2 Reference should be made to the impressive interview conducted by Marie-Christine Giuliani from FPÖ-TV with Deacon Eglau on January 25, shortly after the release.  A current interview with Deacon Eglau and Father Schöffberger can be found on the online news platform AUF 1


AMDG


Our Interesting Times: The Abortion Debate as Ethnic Warfare

Wednesday, May 11, 2022

Cardinal Zen Arrested

Edit: I’d rather link to Washington Post than the Catholic Dredgister.

Will the lying, autocratic friend of the Communist Party in Rome condemn this act?

Update: The Catholic snooze service says the Vatican is “concerned”. Wow. What nancies. 

HONG KONG — The Hong Kong national security police arrested 90-year-old Cardinal Joseph Zen, the most outspoken senior Catholic cleric in Hong Kong and the city’s bishop emeritus, along with at least three others on Wednesday for their involvement in a humanitarian relief fund, according to lawyers involved in the case.

The arrests signal a new wave of detentions under the national security law since John Lee was elected as the new chief executive of Hong Kong. He has emphasized that maintaining stability and safeguarding national security would be one of his main goals once in office. Zen, along with renowned barrister Margaret Ng and academic Hui Po-keung, were arrested under the law for collusion with foreign forces by helping out as trustees for the now-disbanded 612 humanitarian relief fund, according to local media reports.

AMDG 


Sunday, May 8, 2022

The Decline of the Catholic Church in Latin America Accelerates Under Francis

 


The decline of Catholics in Latin America continues unabated. It increased under Pope Francis.

(Rome) For decades, Latin America was considered a “continent of hope” for the Catholic Church. In fact, it is losing ground there day by day. The reasons are complex but partly homemade. At the 2013 conclave, a well-meaning section of the pope's electorate was convinced that the election of the Argentine to the throne of Peter would halt the process of erosion. This was suggested to them by interested parties. The reality looks not only sobering but devastating. The most visible “response” so far has been the Amazon SynodChurch leadership seriously believes that this is the solution. Meanwhile, Catholic Latin America continues to erode.


The election of Pope Francis was engineered by European cardinals who were not primarily concerned with Latin America, but with the West. Their program is that of the '68, which they want to push through in their own countries. To do this, they chose the detour via Latin America. The Amazon Synod was driven by the same agenda. There is talk of Indians and the rain forest on the equator, but the desired program is that of the ecclesiastical 68ers with the aim of pushing through their agenda somewhere outside the European horizon in order to then re-import it into the old Occident. This strategy follows a clear logic after the direct route was recognized as having failed.


The eroding process of the Church in Latin America as far as the part of the Church is concerned, goes back to the wrong course that was set by European missionaries on the Iberian-influenced subcontinent. This includes, above all, Marxism and its thought pattern. This is how Liberation Theology developed and other currents. They are accompanied by a latent or open hostility to Europe. A paradox? It seems so. In reality, it reflects a partly consciously, partly unconsciously intentional decomposition, as practiced in Europe. It is the rejection of one's own identity, carried out with gradually varying degrees of intensity, and thus radically or to some extent also of Christianity, in Europe as well as in Latin America. 

The fact that the 500th anniversary of Christianization is partly "forgotten" is an alarming portent, after all, it was only then that civilization found its way onto the continent. In 1492 the discovery by Columbus, a man of deep Catholic character, was commemorated. However, the commemoration was overshadowed by polemical interference.


In 2019, the Mexican bishops extended an invitation to Pope Francis to come to Mexico for the 500th anniversary of the evangelization of mainland America. The first church on the American mainland was built in Tlaxcala in 1521 and dedicated to St. Francis of Assisi. However, Pope Francis showed no interest in traveling to the celebrations – and that had nothing to do with Corona, which then messed everything up a bit.


The Tlaxcaltecs could never be subdued by the cruel Aztecs. It is historically no coincidence that they allied themselves with the Spaniards and also quickly mixed with them through marriages. Together, the Spanish-Tlaxcaltec coalition defeated the Aztec Empire and ended its cruel cult of human sacrifice and cannibalism.

While the occasion was not sufficient for Pope Francis to travel to Latin America, Mexico's leftist leader, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, called for an apology from the Church to the "native peoples" (the term indigenous is used by political correctness is avoided) – for Christianization. However, the same Obrador considers Pope Francis to be “one of the finest popes” in Church history.


media and source


Telemundo, part of NBCUniversal ( USA), the third-largest media company in the world, and other media outlets, yesterday published reports on the decline of the Catholic Church in Latin America. The headline and tenor of Telemundo are exaggerated. No regrets can be expected from the authors. Rather, they indicate that the Church opposed abortion and euthanasia, but that its erosion entails socio-political changes. Thus, with the help of massive and planned pressure from the US and European NGOs, several states have legalized the killing of unborn children and "gay marriage". The same movement is also taking place toward the introduction of euthanasia.


The published figures come from Latinobarómetro and are certainly worth considering, albeit with a caveat. The market and opinion research institute based in Santiago de Chile is described by Wikipedia as an "independent private non-profit organization", but where it says "independent" today, independence is rarely to be found. Founder and Director Marta Lagos serve on the Chilean Board of Directors of Women's World Banking ( headquartered in New York), Advisor to the World Bank based in Washington, the United Nations Development Program UNDP based in New York, the Inter-American Development Bank Washington-based IADB and member of a UN Expert Committee on Public Opinion. The advisory board of Latinobarómetro includes a representative from Eurobarometer, a not at all "independent" institution of the EU Commission.


UNDP and IADB, the Ibero-American Summit OEI and the Development Bank of Latin America CAF, as well as the Norwegian and Swedish governments, are among Latinobarómetro's major donors.


The latest numbers


Latinobarómetro compares the development from 2000 to 2020 in ten-year steps. The number of Latin Americans who describe themselves as Catholic fell from 76 percent in 2000 to 70 percent in 2010 and 57 percent in 2020. This is double the decline compared to the previous decade.


In return, the Protestants and the non-religious have grown. The proportion of Protestants in Brazil grew from 13 percent (2000) to 25 percent (2020). If you add the proportion of those who waver, according to other institutes, the proportion of Protestants in the largest Latin American country is as high as 31 percent. In Guatemala, their share has even risen from 19 percent to 41 percent since 2000, while that of Catholics has fallen to 41 percent.

At the survey's launch in Mexico City on Wednesday, the only reason given for this development was that "young people now have a wider range of options to choose from," that Protestant groups have increased their recruitment; that New Age movements incorporate pre-Columbian traditions and that faith in the Catholic Church is at an all-time low.


Nevertheless, Catholicism continues to be influential because it is socially rooted in culture and folklore, "even among non-practicing people". This even applies to Uruguay, the least Catholic country in Latin America, where only 34 percent call themselves Catholics. Nevertheless, Catholic holidays are held, such as Holy Week, which has been called “Tourism Week” since 1919, when a law of strict separation of Church and state came into force.


Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Image : Wikicommons/MiL

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

AMDG

Unhappy Reactions About Roe v. Wade Decision

Edit: from the demoniac.

 



To the Jewish Simpchimp Fischer, Oy veh! She pretended to be conservative, but now feels the moment to drop her mask and campaign for all of the right kosher causes. 

I didn’t realize Fischer was a single mother!

[Anerica] But the cause of my embarrassment has changed. You know what I mean. It is one thing to know that people think pro-lifers are dorky and uncool and to decide that you can live with that. It is quite another to know that people think pro-lifers are anti-woman and anti-immigrant and anti-poor people—and the reason they think so is because the most public faces of the pro-life party cannot seem to stop saying so.

Like many of my friends, I have backed away from identifying myself as pro-life in the last few years. I just don’t want to be associated with any of that. I stopped writing about it, stopped talking about it.

But the recent leak of the Supreme Court draft has made certain conversations unavoidable. It is a historic moment, and one that I welcome intellectually, if not emotionally, because I know it’s crucial if we’re to begin the work of building a world where abortion doesn’t seem necessary. I had to talk about it with my kids, and I have had to admit to myself that the reluctance I am feeling is not really anything more profound than embarrassment. It is nothing more complex than that same crawling sensation I felt as a child when I knew that the cool kids didn’t like me. I want to be motivated by something nobler than that, but I am not. I am just embarrassed. And I need to get over it because too much is at stake.

AMDG

Wednesday, May 4, 2022

Will the West return to Logos?

This was not supposed to happen...




Russia, Russia, Russia

Pope Says NATO Might Have Provoked Russia

ROME — Pope Francis said that NATO “barking” at Russia’s door may have led to Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine — and said he has offered to meet the Russian president in Moscow.

In an interview with the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, Francis reflected on Russia’s lethal aggression toward its neighbor and said while he might not go as far as saying NATO’s presence in nearby countries “provoked” Moscow, it “perhaps facilitated” the invasion.

Francis also condemned the “brutality” of the war and compared it to Rwanda’s civil war in the 1990s, which resulted in a genocide of the Tutsi minority.


AMDG

Monday, May 2, 2022

Roe Overturned?

 



Jodi Hicks, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California, had some strong words in response to the leaked draft. 

“This is the nightmare scenario we in the reproductive health, rights, and justice space have been sounding the alarm about and especially once the U.S. Supreme Court had a conservative majority,” Hicks said in a statement Monday night.

“The extreme conservatives on the Supreme Court have already shown their blatant disregard for constitutional rights when they allowed S.B. 8 to stand in Texas,” she said. “And now, if this opinion truly is reflective of the final decision of the majority of the U.S. Supreme Court Justices, then even if abortion remains legal today, we are just days away from more than 26 states banning access to abortion services, essential and safe health care that has been a constitutional right for nearly 50 years. Make no mistake about it, the plan has always been to ban and criminalize abortion ever since 1973 when Roe v. Wade was decided.”


AMDG

Is THIS the Line in the Sand?

Not even they believe the 💩 they feed their 🐏🐑

Emmanuel Lewis roasts Sleepy Joe while calling the event a Super Spreader.

Yes, we've all been noticing...