Monday, January 19, 2015

"Women's Culture" of the Pontifical Council for Culture -- Women's Priests and the Abolition of Celibacy?

Cardinal Ravasi
(Vatican) in early February convenes the Plenary Assembly of the Pontifical Council for Culture . It will introduce some novelties. Above all, there will be more irritating  voices around this event.

Pope Francis Against Misogyny and Machismo

It is considered difficult to make it out. It's even worse  when you raise expectations. Yesterday, Sunday, Pope Francis spoke to thousands of young Filipino students at the Pontifical and Royal University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Manila. The Catholic Church leader said, as it suits him best, which is extemporaneously. In his speech, he took up the cudgels for women. In the audience there were at least as many girls as boys. However, only one girl was among the selected ones who were allowed to present a question to the Pope: "There are few women among you.Too few. Women have a lot to say in today's society. Sometimes we are misogynistic and give women no room."
The Universidad Santo Tomaso Manila was founded in 1611 and is the oldest university in Asia. Since 1927, enrollment has been open to women. Currently, there are more than 42,000 students studying at the university.

Feminist Theologians  Accuse Pope of "Antiquated Modes of Thought"

Despite the criticism against  "machismo" do not seem to be satisfied on this point all feminists and theologians with Pope Francis. On The Contrary. In a recent issue of the Journal of the Città dell'uomo (city of man) the progressive theologian Maria Cristina Bartolomei published a scathing criticism of Pope Francis, whom she accused of adherence to an "antiquated, and ossified in old and outdated categories,"
When hearing from  theologians  à la Bartolomei hear you understand the Apostle Paul, "when he orders that women should keep silence in the Church," wrote the Catholic Pro-Lifer Claudia Cirami in Papale Papale. Bartolomeis' "analysis" of Vatican documents  hardly extends beyond the fundamental criticism that it was a question of  "documents by men for men."   Besides this Bartolomei is otherwise "super happy"  with Pope Francis.

Progressive Cycle

The "city of men" is a cultural-political association founded by Giuseppe Lazzati. Lazzati (1909-1986) comes from the environment by Giuseppe Dossetti, the procedural "organizer" of the vote success of the "Rheinish Alliance" at the Second Vatican Council. Dossetti, the head of the left wing of the Christian Democrats, Lazzati  became a Christian Democrat after the war, for whom he was a member of the Constituent Assembly (1946-1948) and then to 1953, a member of parliament. Lazzati stands with Dossetti on that section  of political Catholicism, which dreamed of a common 'social' future with the political left, including the Communists, or at least was open to left alliances. They found support with certain reservations, in a part of the ecclesiastical hierarchy that Paul VI. represented on the papal throne.
In 1958 Lazzati got a chair of Christian Literature of Antiquity at the Catholic University in Milan. In 1961  Archbishop of Milan Montini made him the editor of the Catholic newspaper "L'Italia". After his election as Pope, Paul VI. offered Lazzati more posts. In 1968, he leaves the chair to his assistant Raniero Cantalamessa and Rector of the Catholic University. It was an office which he held until 1983. He died in 1986, and  in 1991 with the help of the Archbishop of Milan, Carlo Maria Martini,  the beatification process began. On July 5, 2014 Pope Francis recognized Giuseppe Lazzati recognized as a Servant of God.

"Return" to Regain 1789

Lady Theologians
From this environment came the sarcastic words now, while Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi sought, the  President of the Pontifical Council for Culture with every effort to regain the alleged "return" of the Church in matters of women. By "return," the former Archbishop, Carlo Maria Cardinal Martini of Milan meant the 200 years since the French Revolution, which  the Church had to catch up.
For the 4th-7th February, he is holding a general meeting of his Congregation on the them of "Women's Culture: equality and difference".  It is to consult about a document that was "worked out by a group of women in the light of pastoral considerations of members and consultants." This group is about to become a kind of "Women's Council" as it says on the website of the Pontifical Council for Culture with great satisfaction. That would indeed be an "unprecedented novelty" in the Vatican. (See the report one of the new Consul of the Dicastery working on the document, the "erotic Buddhist" Pablo d'Ors - The "Erotic Buddhist" that Francis made ​​as the Consultant for Cultural Pontifical supports women priests? ). D'Ors announced that will speak at the General Assembly in February on the admissibility of "women's ordination" and the repeal of the priestly celibacy. For both had, the Spanish priest, "the time is right."

Teatro Argentina, "Sexy Video" and Feminist Anathema

Excommunicated "priestesses" the Association "Roman Catholic Women Priests' jostle at a "diner table "
That Cardinal Ravasi  has a penchant for public visibility, is known not only within the Vatican walls. Thus, for the opening of the General Assembly of the Pontifical Council for Culture a novelty has been planned. It will not take place in the Vatican, but the most famous Roman theater, the Teatro Argentina. The reference to the homeland of Pope Francis is gladly seen as a  fortuitous byproduct. The event is freely accessible. To apply, a private video was produced by the Vatican's Pontifical Council with the Italian theater and film actress Nancy Brilli, which was released before Christmas on the Internet.
But who would have hoped thus to satisfy everyone, was wrong. Even during the Christmas season,  the feminist US theologian Phyllis Zagano opened fire from the columns of the National Catholic Reporter (NCR). The flagship of the progressive US Catholics printed a broadside against the Vatican, Cardinal Ravasi and Nancy Brilli. Zagano explained it was because of the "Sexy" way  with the commercial broadcasters to advertise in a style.  A style that "is obsolete in the most advanced countries and in majority of Muslim countries is totally unacceptable," said the feminist.
Instead of a "provocative" promotional video with a pretty actress in the Vatican, they should, according Zagano, publish a collection of stories of abused, raped, imprisoned and murdered women. To be perfectly equal, the feminist theologian listed the same seven such possible topics.

Karinal Ravasi in "Sackcloth and Ashes"

This was just the first blow, but the second one followed immediately. John L. Allen, for years Vaticanist of the National Catholic Reporter, with best wire there, even though since 2014 he has been under contract with the Boston Globe, he found  a statement by Cardinal Ravasi   statement for Zağano's attack.
The Cardinal "sank in sackcloth and ashes," said Vatican expert Sandro Magister. "Now I understand that we have probably made ​​a mistake with the actress," said Allen who was able to quote the dicastry head. And promptly, the English version of the promotional video disappeared from the website of the Pontifical Council for Culture . There, the Italian version of the video runs on the English side to the motto: which no one will understand in the United States.
On the Internet, however, it is still in circulation if no longer desired by the publisher. The video CALL # LIFEOFWOMEN .
Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Image: Catholic Herald / PapalePapale
Tran: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
AMDG

Eritrea Now Has Its Own Archeparchy from the Ethiopian Catholic Church

Archeparch Menghisteab Tesfamariam of Asmara
(Rome) In the dispute within the  Ethiopian Catholic Church  united with Rome, Pope Francis has intervened with the establishment of a separate Metropolitan Church of Eritrea. The construction of the new Archeparchy of Asmara separates the territories of the states Ethiopia and Eritrea by churches. Thus, the last overriding differences are to be overcome.
As the first Metropolitan of the Archeparchy, the Pope has newly appointed  Menghesteab Tesfamariam from the Comboni Religious Order.
Most of the Christians of Ethiopia and Eritrea are  of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, which emerged from the Patriarchate of Alexandria and is therefore strongly influenced by Copticism. Evangelization in the Horn of Africa had already begun in the first century. The first Ethiopian Christian was already mentioned in Scripture.
In 1450   the first union with Rome took place  because of Muslim attempts at conquest. followed in 1603 with another union  by Emperor Asnaf Sagad II., but  ended with the fall of the Emperor in 1632. Only in the 19th century were lasting unions on a small scale  achieved, which were promoted during the Italian colonial rule from 1894 in Eritrea and from 1936 also in Ethiopia. In 1930  the establishment of the first Ethiopian Catholic Ordinariate was established.
Over the years, several dioceses  were originated. Now Pope Francis has divided the former ecclesiastical province of Addis Ababa by the establishment of a second ecclesiastical province of Eritrea with three suffragans. Its membership includes about six percent of the Eritrean population. The Ecclesiastical Province of Addis Ababa remain two suffragan dioceses. They contain less than one percent of the Ethiopian population.
Unlike Latin Metropolitans, the Uniates have far-reaching powers    within their area of jurisdiction. 
Text: Giuseppe Nardi 
image: Archeparchy of Asmara
Trans; Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
AMDG

Saturday, January 17, 2015

Death After Papal Mass in Philippines

Strong winds at the airport broke anchorages and caused a serious accident.

Tacloban (kath.net/ KAP)   Pope Francis' visit in Tacloban has been overshadowed by a death. After the Papal Mass, strong winds knocked over the moorings for one of the enormous loud speakers that were built at the airport, as Vatican Radio reported. It fell on a woman who succumbed to her injuries later. Philippine bishops assured the local media that Pope Francis learned her name, and pray for them.

Here's footage of Pope Francis leaving Tacoblan in a storm.


Friday, January 16, 2015

Islamic Terror and "Charlie Hebdo": Archbishop Wants to Decriminalize Blasphemy

Archbishop Jean Grallet
(Paris) The terror attack in Paris was justified by the insult of Muhammad and executed in the name of Allah.  One day before the assassination religious leaders, including the Catholic Archbishop of Strasbourg, called for the decriminalization of the offense of blasphemy. 
" Blasphemy is directly opposed to the second commandment. It consists in uttering against God - inwardly or outwardly - words of hatred, reproach, or defiance; in speaking ill of God; in failing in respect toward him in one's speech; in misusing God's name. St. James condemns those "who blaspheme that honorable name [of Jesus] by which you are called. 78 The prohibition of blasphemy extends to language against Christ's Church, the saints, and sacred things. It is also blasphemous to make use of God's name to cover up criminal practices, to reduce peoples to servitude, to torture persons or put them to death. The misuse of God's name to commit a crime can provoke others to repudiate religion.
"Blasphemy contradicts the reverence owed ​​to God and his holy name. It is in itself a grave sin, "citing the Catechism of the Code of Canon Law , Canon 1369th

The Catechism does not apply to all Catholics?

Too bad that this only seems to apply to the Catechism today, but is no longer a part of the Catholic Church. Just one day before the Islamic attack on the editor of Charlie Hebdo in Paris, with remarkable timing, asked Archbishop Jean Pierre Grallet of Strasbourg along with Protestants, Jews and Muslims, the official deletion of blasphemy as a criminal offense in the Criminal Code. Such an offense no longer exists in secular France for a long time. Since the Alsace and German Lorraine was annexed in 1920 as a result of the First World War in France, there still exist continuity with parts of the German legal system.
The law currently in force provides for up to three years in prison for one  who  "incites a nuisance by blasphemy in public with offensive intent". In 2013, the  Ligue de Défense des Muslumans Judicial cited to this this penal provision in the Court of Strasbourg and display against cartoons of "Charlie Hebdo".
The procedure has been canceled due to formal errors. The Muslim League sees this lack of willingness to apply the law in force. For the rest of France, the offense against God since the time of the French Revolution is already no longer a criminal offense.

Archbishop Grallet: The Criminal Statute has Become "Obsolete"

A native of French Lorraine Franciscan, Archbishop Grallet, confirmed that among the representatives of the various religions "matured conviction for some time" was to demand the abolition of this charge because it has become "obsolete." "The Republic has sufficient means to invite us to mutual respect," Archbishop Grallet had explained. In it he reiterated with Abdellaq Nabaoui, deputy chairman of the Conseil régional du culte musulman (CRCM) in Alsace, who said he represented "the same line. What interests us is the freedom of expression." What some of his co-religionists think about it, you could see a few hours later in Paris.
The common demand was officially made during a hearing before the Observatoire de la laïcité raised in Paris. The "Monitoring Center of Secularism" is one of President François Hollande government agency launched initiatives   to monitor compliance with the strict separation of church and state. It reports directly to the Prime Minister. The president is the socialist politician Jean-Louis Bianco, who is also a European political adviser of his party.

Prosecution of blasphemy "an attack on freedom of speech"

Bianco and the other members of the "Monitoring Center" congratulated the religious leaders for the insight that it is "an exaggerated determination"  operative in the penal provision and this is an "attack on freedom of speech". Nicolas Cadène, the rapporteur of the "Monitoring Center" stressed that the religious leaders "have even suggested that we bring it to an end" because they consider the provision has "become obsolete". Nicolas Cadène, also a socialist, is a staff member of the cabinet of Environmental and Energy Minister Segolene Royal.
In the official opinion of the Observatoire de la laïcité  they name the "values" of "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity" as "one and indivisible, secular, democratic and social republic," in France. And it was brought simultaneously in comparison to the 2011 massacre of Anders Breivik.
A part of the Catholic Church, including the Archbishop of Strasbourg, holds it in common with the "Monitor" as it being "outdated"  to put the deliberate blasphemy to God under penalty, although Scripture, the Magisterium and the Tradition of the Church say otherwise. A view of the Catechism enough. Corrispondenza Romana commented on the events with an ironic rhetorical question: "Who knows if you will, sooner or later, reshuffle the cards in calling for the convening of an extraordinary Synod of Bishops?"
Text: Giuseppe Nardi
image: Corrispondenza Romana
Trans: Tancred verkon99@hotmail.com
Link to Katholisches....
AMDG


Thursday, January 15, 2015

Neo-Cardinal Pimiento: "One Can Tolerate Gay Marriage"

(Bogota) He is nearing 100 and will be almost the oldest member of the College of Cardinals, when  Pope Francis will put the purple biretta on his head on February 14.  We are talking about Colombia's neo-Cardinal José de Jesús Rodriguez Pimiento, for almost 20 years emeritus Archbishop of Manizales.
In the current issue of the weekly magazine Semana dated January 11, an interview with  the Cardinal who will turn 96 years old was published in spe. The interview was published under the title "In the name of Francis."
The weekly claims to have conducted the interview because of the cardinal survey.  The named topic is"gay marriage and Cuba."
Semana: What did you feel when you heard the news?
José de Jesús Pimiento: Surprise. I'm not hoping for such an honor, because I have become an elderly and withdrawn person. It is a noble and generous offer of the Pope, that inspires me and acknowledges the work  that I have done. It is a comfort.
Semana: Why do you think Francis has chosen you?
José de Jesús Pimiento: He wants to highlight those who have effectively worked in the ministry. He sees us as models. Although I do not think I'm that, I humbly recognize that honor.
Semana: What was your job?
José de Jesús Pimiento: I have worked in various dioceses and given stimulus to the social work of the Church. I have coordinated the Accion Social Accion Catolica and  done definite work to assist the victims of the tragedy of Nevado del Ruiz. I have twice led  the Episcopal Conference, have been involved with the Holy See on the reform of the Concordat and worked in favor of implementing the Second Vatican Council in Colombia. I could not do everything what I wanted, but at least I moved ideas.
Semana: And what did you do?
José de Jesús Pimiento: I helped, instead of exploitation and capitalism, to solve the problems of the poor, like the excessive accumulation of goods that cause misery in the world.
Semana: Could the Pope also send a message of peace to Colombia?
José de Jesús Pimiento: I do not know if he plans to. In any case, my appointment is a call to Colombia to better understand its spiritual values ​​and preserve them.
Semana: Do you agree generally with Francis?
José de Jesús Pimiento: I was touched because he stimulates the life of the Church. He is a creative shepherd, and knows his thinking on needs   time to apply. Today we encourage the values ​​that humanity needs.
Neo-Cardinal Pimiento "One can tolerate gay marriage"
Semana: What do you think about gay marriage?
José de Jesús Pimiento: The state legislature makes many mistakes. What  the Lord and nature have determined can not be changed. Gay marriage is a  union that can be tolerated, but it is not a marriage.
Semana: What do you say about the work of the Pope in the case of United States and Cuba?
José de Jesús Pimiento: What he has done is not just   political, but the application of the Gospel in the life of  States.
Semana: Are you now living in the Vatican?
José de Jesús Pimiento: I'll stay where I am, in the retreat house of the Foyer de Charité from Bucaramanga and will continue to help those who seek me for advice.
Born in 1919 in Colombia, José de Jesús Rodriguez Pimiento  was ordained a priest in 1941.  In1955 Pope Pius XII appointed him Titular Bishop of Apollinis in Lydia (now Turkey) and Auxiliary Bishop of Pasto. In 1959 he was appointed by Pope John XXIII. to the See of Monteria. As a diocesan bishop, Msgr. Pimiento took part in the rest of the Second Vatican Council. In 1964 he was appointed by Pope Paul VI.  as Bishop of Garzón-Neiva and in 1975 as Archbishop of Manizales. In 1996, Pope John Paul II. acccepted the age-related resignation of the then 77 year old  archbishop. As a delegate, he participated in the II. And III. General Conference of Latin American Bishops, In 1968 in Medellin (Colombia) and 1979 in Puebla de los Angeles (Mexico), he was elected Chairman of the Colombian Bishops' Conference 1972.   It was an office which he held two consecutive periods. After his retirement he returned to pastoral care and worked as a missionary.  For several months he managed his home diocese as Apostolic Administrator. In 2005 he celebrated his golden jubilee as bishop.
Translation: Giuseppe Nardi
image: Semana (Screenshots)
Trans: Tancred verkon99@hotmailcom
AMDG

Jesuit Periodical Removes Charlie Hebdo Cartoons Without Comment

Edit: it's truly a sad time when Jesuit has become synonymous with blasphemy and sacrilege.

(Paris), the French Jesuit magazine Études has deleted the pieces by the anti-Christian Charlie Hebdo- caricatures  from its website.
Études had made ​​"solidarity" with the victims of the attack in Paris by publishing caricatures of the radical left-wing satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo against Christianity, the Catholic Church and Benedict XVI set (see separate report ). The article with the cartoons were  also to appear in the printed February issue of the Monthly Magazine.
In contrast, there arose violent protest, which prompted the editorial staff headed by the Jesuit François EUVE to delete the article without comment.
Text: Giuseppe Nardi
image: viechretienne.fr

Wednesday, January 14, 2015

Venezuelan Bishops Warn Pope Francis About the Evils of Socialism

Edit: an anonymous poster made us aware of this from American Thinker , reporting on a story originally from the Investor's Business Daily, that there are some bishops, in Latin America of all places, who are being critical of Pope Francis' championing of Socialist ideas.  Who better to criticize those ideas than bishops who have to live with the realities, hardship, persecution of a Socialist country every single day?

Venezuela's bishops Monday blamed "Marxist socialism" and "communism" by name for the horrors and chaos gripping their country, according to a story in El Universal.

The bishops said the long lines of people trying to buy food and other basic necessities and the constant rise in prices are the result of the government's decision to "impose a political-economic system of socialist, Marxist or communist," which is "totalitarian and centralist" and "undermines the freedom and rights of individuals and associations."

The Venezuelan bishops specifically stated that the private sector was critical for the well being of the country. The document, read by Monsignor Diego Padron in Spanish, said the country needs "a new entrepreneurial spirit with audacity and creativity."

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Jesuit Periodical Publishes Anti-Christian Caricatures by "Charlie Hebdo" Out of "Solidarity"

(Paris), the French Jesuit journal Études published, in "solidarity" with the victims of the attack in Paris, anti-Catholic cartoons of the radical left-wing satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo. In contrast, the Jesuit Father Jean-François Thomas took objection.
"I have no illusions about the effect of my protest, but I still want him to put it forward, because I know that a considerable part of the Jesuits in my community feels the same, but can not express or does not dare to express."  With these words Father Thomas, a French Jesuit, began  a letter which he sent to the competent religious superiors to protest against the Jesuit magazine Études.

Scurrilous "Solidarity"

The solidarity with the victims of the attack on Paris during these  days of highest media coverage, is yielding strange blooms.  Catholic voices warn of false solidarity with the anti-Christian ideology of radical left-wing blade.
Unlimited, however, is the "solidarity" of the Jesuit magazine Études who made ​​the decision to reprint "some cartoons relating to the Catholic Church."  This magazine will show their "solidarity with our brothers and  the other victims who were  murdered," they said.
One of the four printed Charlie Hebdo-cartoons shows the crucified Jesus, asking "to remove the nails," so that he could take part in the conclave. Another cartoon was a salute to and  editorial about the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI. It shows the Pope in homosexual outfit saying, "Free at last". The Jesuit magazine did not publish the most blasphemous among all the anti-Christian Charlie Hebdo cartoons, those against the Holy Trinity. We do not even wish to give words to this representation.

Freedom of blasphemy?

"We share, so I hope at least, not the 'values' of this weekly newspaper," writes Father Thomas. "The horror of the attack can not" make us forget that "freedom of expression is not a freedom to insult   believers daily and even to blaspheme God." The Jesuit insists that "there is no anti-blasphemy law" needed, but "some common sense, good taste and a little bit more respect." Humor, even "unpleasant, can make you laugh," but vulgarity, "which is made absolute, is truly lamentable and causes only new hatred and still attracts more hate."

The Society of Jesus is not Charlie Hebdo

The last issue before the assassination speaks volumes. It bristles with cartoons against God, Mary and the birth of Jesus. It is debatable to be able to publish blasphemies against the "right" of the satire newspaper.  "But a Jesuit magazine  who does these things is an outrage. The most heinous is that against Benedict XVI. The ridicule of the drama of the crucifixion is pathetic. I never thought that certain Jesuits could laugh at something like this. Personally, I cry every day because of my sins and because of the suffering of Christians, many persecuted by the editors of Études, have been not nearly defended with the same zeal," said Father Thomas.
Études has been in publication since 1856 and today carries the subtitle "magazine for contemporary culture." The editor since 2013 is the theologian and physicist Father François EUVE SJ. Father EUVE is the holder of Teilhard de Chardin-Chair at the Centre Sèvres, the Jesuit College of Paris. The Chair is funded and awarded by the Fondation Teilhard de Chardin.The Foundation was founded in 1962 and owns the copyright to all the writings of the late Jesuit Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (+1955) and the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle located in Paris.
Text: Giuseppe Nardi
image: Études
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
Link to Katholisches...
AMDG




Monday, January 12, 2015

Papal Purge: Bishop Coadjutor Assigned to Traditional Diocese of Albenga-Imperia

Bishop Oliveri Celebrates the Old Rite
(Rome) Pope Francis has found a coadjutor for the Bishop of Albenga-Imperia, Msgr. Mario Oliveri with right of succession to the side. As Bishop Oliveri enjoys good health, the papal decision appears as a disempowerment  without disavowing the ruling bishop entirely through impeachment. It is the indirect, more elegant form of impeachment. The direct form was felt by Bishop Rogelio Livieres of Ciudad del Este. A dismissal with no ifs or buts.
A coadjutor, sometimes with right of succession, is an auxiliary device, such as when an incumbent bishop is no longer in a position to fully exercise his office fully for health reasons.  This form is also utilized to correct undesirable developments in a diocese or to  reconcile  a successor fluidly without drastically making  visible a public break.

Heavy State of Tradition in the World and Especially in the Church

No this is occuring in the diocese of Albenga-Imperia Riviera.  The traditional alignment of Bishop Oliveri is undesirable. A minority of the diocesan clergy made fierce resistance to the renewal of the diocese in the Catholic faith, which Bishop Oliveri, by replacing   folk altars in churches with appropriate high altars,  promoting the sacrament of penance, the traditional Rite, establishing old ritual communities, and the unabbreviated preaching the doctrine. Majorities play no role in the church, but it should be noted that the majority of the clergy followed this bishop. The diocese has far and wide the highest number of seminarians who are trained in both forms of the Roman Rite.
But then, Pope Francis took the Chair of Peter and quickly found someone in Liguria to afford the opportunity to get rid of the bishop. They quickly sought the anti-clerical media. The liberal daily, Secolo XIX took over the role of the battering ram. Because of their attitude which is critical of the Church they have already offered skirmish in the past few years  with the bishop. That it was seriously meant, with the intention  to drive Bishop Oliveri from office, became clear  a few days ago even as the German media jumped straight into slander mode.

Standardized Strategy of Slander Against Faithful Church Representatives

The ingredients have long been standardized in the case of orthodox bishops. The spreading of rumors, outraged mention of unproven allegations. There are always enough people who accept any slander willingly.
 Secolo XIX has been well informed about from Church circles by the end of October 2014, announced the appointment of a Coadjutor for Albenga-Imperia. A provisional administration of the diocese and disempowerment of the officiating bishop, which was welcomed by the newspaper. Rome was silent. Startled devout Catholics were mocked as seeing "ghosts" and having, attempting to raise and lift  a "blind" antipathy against the reigning pope.
But the rumor was not a rumor. On January 10, Pope Francis, the previous bishop of Pitigliano-Sovana-Orbetello, Msgr. Guglielmo Borghetti has been sent to the diocese of Albenga-Imperia as Coadjutor with right of succession.

Why the Fear of Tradition?

Two things would appear from the new "purging": Pope Francis applies "tolerance and compassion shown demonstratively"  to everyone, but not for traditional Catholics, so says Secretum meum mihi . Against them he cherishes a "deep-seated inner aversion".  Second, it seems the pope can not bear that bishops have full seminaries and numerous priestly vocations, as soon as they turn to the tradition. Tradition was tolerated only within the separate, manageable and controllable enclosure of "Ecclesia Dei".   But where  tradition leaves this enclosure and radiates into the new ritual Church, they will fight relentlessly as the treatment of the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate, Bishop Livieres and now Bishop Oliveri show.
"Why are even high church officials, including the Pope, so afraid of  tradition? Why don't they exercise their proverbial cherished tolerance? Is it because it holds up the mirror to them and thus call into question their own life's work and understanding of the Church? On closer examination, even brings them to falter?" asks Secretum meum mihi.  Perhaps because the crisis of vocations and all related implications surrounding the priesthood, Holy  Orders, Sacrament of Penance and the Eucharist, including the considerations and plans for the approval of viri probati (priests who left and are now married), the abolition of celibacy, the admission of women to the diaconate and priesthood could collapse within itself?
On December 22, Pope Francis listed 15 "diseases"  in his Christmas message to the Roman Curia, on which  they suffer. "The action against the small Ligurian diocese has confirmed at least ten  of the fifteen pathologies mentioned by Pope Francis," said Traditio Catholica . But in this case it is the Pope, who seems to have a short memory.
Unlike Bishop Livieres of Paraguay, Bishop Oliveri is taking the papal humiliation in silence, as is common in Europe. Bishop Livieres had been ordered to Rome, but he had learned from the media of his deposition. In vain he had asked the Pope for an audience. But the Pope granted him neither an audience yet another opportunity to defend himself against the complaints. Then the bishop had informed the media that he had "naturally accepted the decision" of the Pope, but that the Pope would be "responsible" before God for his decision. Bishop Livieres has been also active since then in evangelization, but without a diocese.
Text: Giuseppe Nardi
image: diocese of Albenga-Imperia
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
AMDG

Friday, January 9, 2015

Cardinal Burke Summoned for Papal Audience

(Rome) Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke, Cardinal Patron of the Sovereign Order of Malta , was received on Thursday by Pope Francis in audience.
The American cardinal, born in 1948, was ordained a priest by Pope Paul VI after completing his theological studies at the Gregorian University in Rome in 1975 by Pope Paul VIIn the United States he was active in counseling  and education, then completed a doctorate in canon law at the Gregorian University and returned in 1984 to the United States where he worked in pastoral care and as Vice-Chancellor of his home diocese in Wisconsin. Because of his reputation as an excellent canonist Pope John Paul II. brought him to Rome as   defender of the bond of marriage in  the Supreme Court of the Apostolic Signatura in Rome.
In 1994 he was appointed bishop of his home diocese of La Crosse, 2003, then an appointment as Archbishop of St. Louis and in 2008 by Pope Benedict XVI. appointed him Prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura in Rome and thus to the Dicastry Head of the Roman Curia.
On November 10, 2014, the Holy See Press Office announced in its day Bulletin  that Cardinal Burke was replaced as Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura on November 8 and made Cardinal patron of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta.
The relatively young cardinal was thus removed as Dicastry Head, away from the Roman Curia and deported to a post of honor without a role in church leadership. This unusual degradation was already effective in September.  Cardinal Burke himself made public the instructions.

Punishment and Removal from Church Leadership and Synod of Bishops

The American cardinal had, like no other Cardinal of the Catholic Church,  expressed criticism in the past few months   for the administration,  gestures, decisions and statements of Pope Francis. As the Head of a Dicastry, Cardinal Burke  was in office because of the Synod of Bishops on the family. There, the conflict came to a head when he openly spoke of "manipulation " and "betrayal"  and accused Pope Francis in the way he handled  controversial topics in the Synod of Bishops, "to have caused a lot of damage."  In October 2015, there will be a second decisive part of the Synod of Bishops. Due to his distance from the Roman Curia, Cardinal Burke can not participate officially. Only the Pope himself could appoint him as a member of the synod, which is yet considered very unlikely.
All observers, no matter what direction, saw the dismissal of a punishment of the Cardinal. Already in the fall of 2013, Pope Francis had severely curtailed the influence of the American Cardinal of his Church leadership by removing him from two congregations. Above all, Burke's influence on the appointment of bishops in the United States, which he had under Pope Benedict XVI, had been completely eliminated. Among the Cardinals, who opposed the defense of the marriage sacrament of the Kasper Group, Cardinal Burke was the real engine. Due to his removal from the Curia, orthodoxy would lose its dynamic head.
Just two months after the demotion, Pope Francis is to receive his critic. Prior to the drastic personnel decision, there was no discussion between the Pope and the Cardinal.  Cardinal Francis had only  granted one audience, which took place on 11 June-2013. The content of the yesterday's meeting is unknown.
Text: Giuseppe Nardi
image: MiL
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
AMDG

Thursday, January 8, 2015

Tonga, Xai Xai, Cape Verde Before Brussels, Venice and Turin -- The New Cardinals

(Madrid / Rome) The Spanish Catholic Church Historian and well-known blogger, Francisco de la Cigoña has published his interpretation of the new cardinals to be appointed by Pope Francis,   according to the motto: Let us be glad it could all have been worse.
Very  Franciscan and therefore very surprising he has created 20 new cardinals, fifteen voting and five  over 80 years of age.
It is thought that only the voters are important, but this is not so. The appointment of cardinals who have reached the age of 80, also has its importance. It reflects primarily whom the Church recognizes and provides information about the weights or the whims of a pope. A cardinal comes in rank before any bishop or bishop emeritus of whatever diocese. If one were to speak of the retired Bishop of Xai Xai, the vast majority do not even know where that is. But a Cardinal Langa has weight.

Next Cardinal Consistory by 2017 -  Lehmann's Departure Will be a "Great Day for the Church" 

Pope Francis has appointed five electors   more than Paul VI. which was determined with the maximum limit of 120. By March 2016, except given a sudden death, no seat will therefore be vacant in the electoral college of the Catholic Church.The Cardinals Naguib (18 March 2015), Rigali (April 19), De Paolis (September 19), Abril (September 21) and Mahony (27 February 2016) will be the next to complete 80 years of age and depart as voters. Their vacant seats are already occupied now by Pope Francis' appointments. It was not until the 80th birthday of Cardinal Terrazas on March 7, 2016 that a chair will be  vacant in the conclave again. It will take some time before the appointment of new cardinals is possible, probably in February 2017. Until then, besides Cardinal Terrazas more cardinals will have lost their right to vote: Dias on 14 April, and on May 16, 2016,  Lehmann.  What a great day it will be for the Church, Levada on June 15, Okogie on June 16, Turkotte on June 26, Ortega on October 18, Lopez Rodriguez on October 31, Antonelli on 18 November and Sarr on 28 November. By the end of 2016, eleven seats will be thus vacant.  Unless the Pope  changes Pope Paul VI's. fixed number of voters.

The Good News: No Cardinals Forte, Paglia, Hans Küng, Gutierrez or Casaldàliga

The good news is the announcement of the new cardinals followed by a reaction of relief. Some Church leaders believe Pope Francis  has clearly made the worst appointments. Worrying names for the Italians, Forte and Paglia, the papal ghostwriter Fernandez, or even unthinkable names such as Hans Küng, Gustavo Gutiérrez or Casaldàliga went by.
However, it must be said that the worst members of the College of Cardinals come from Pope Francis. This is also true for the now newly appointed cardinals. The worst among the new, so I am told, is the New Zealander, Dew, the Portuguese Clemente and the Uruguayan Sturla. The Patriarch of Lisbon is said to be  the best representative of the Portuguese episcopate, which is mediocre overall. His predecessor, Patriarch Policarpo was just a solemn booby and one can only hope that the new Cardinal does not behave the same way. Sturla of Montevideo seems to always be just a Salesian without education, as there are several of them that seem to have come to their posts as if by a win at gambling. 
It also tells me that one of the two newly appointed Italian diocesan bishops is bad, while others are said to be excellent. As a very good and also surprising appointment,  I can cite those of retired Italian Curia Representative, De Magistris.
Poor is the appointment of the Cardinal nepotist from Vietnam, who will sit in the near future in the electoral college. But we do not speak here of the Pope being in the right  mood  to honor a friend. 
Outstanding on the other hand is   Mexican Suarez and good and surprising is  the Spaniard Blazquez, who is a man of solid grounding in the Doctrine of the Faith. I rejoice with the Archdiocese of Valladolid. The last date archbishop, whose last created cardinal was born in 1838, Justo José Maria Cos y Macho. His cardinal appointment was in 1911 by Pope Saint Pius X.

Peripherism and Insularism - In the United States Probably Only The Bishop of Honolulu Had a Chance 

The Peripherism and Insularism of the Pope is what's surprising. The elevation of the Archbishop of Addis Ababa is understandable, as are those of Rangoon and Bangkok. But the Cape Verde Islands, Tonga and Xai Xai can only be ascribed to mood.  But that's what it is. The appointees are so obscure  that I at once had to look at the Pontifical Yearbook.  Pope Francis likes islands. On this occasion three. Two of them must be sought with the magnifying glass on the map.  In his first  consistory there were two such islands: Haiti and the Antilles.
I would imagine that there were not a few archbishops who were not considered, who will now ask: Why not me? To be honest, I was wondering that, and find no other answer than the one I have already mentioned. I suppose it is not issued to the archbishops. Mini-dioceses, such as Tonga and the Cape Verde islands will receive disproportionate weight in the Catholic Church. The Diocese of Tonga is three times as large as Liechtenstein and numbers 15,000 Catholics.  Does the appointment belong to the diocese, or - as it should be in principle - the reigning bishop? Anyway, no one has  ever heard of him.
In addition to  non-Roman Europe, especially in  the United States there will be the great absentee in this consistory. There will be no cardinal Cupich (Chicago), but neither a Cardinal Chaput (Philadelphia) or Gomez (Los Angeles).  It would probably have most likely  been the Bishop of Honolulu, also unknown to me, who had a chance because he comes from an island.
Clearly, however, it seems the papacy  will deduct the dignity of Cardinal of Venice and Turin. The appointment of the bishops of Perugia, Ancona-Osimo and Agrigento speak loud and clear.
Seven out of 20 new cardinals come from Europe. This is still a third. And yet only the Romanesque Southern Italy, Spain and Portugal have been considered as diocesan bishops actually. France got a curial official and the German-speaking area a 80-year old out of service diplomat. 

Some Candidates Are to "Hopeless Cases"

It seems to me that the archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels, with regard to the dignity of Cardinal, has become a "hopeless case." The same is probably true for Moraglia, Patriarch of Venice, Archbishop Nosiglia of Turin. Cape Verde Islands, Tonga and Xai Xai are now above  Brussels, Venice and Turin.
Latin America gets Cardinals from Mexico, Panama and Uruguay as well as a consolation for Colombia and Argentina. The privileged continent seems to be Asia with Vietnam, Thailand and Burma. By contrast, the Japanese Catholicism  is pending, which it is likely to remain. But the real climbers are Oceania with the awarding of two cardinals  to New Zealand and Tonga. Three purple Birettas go to  Africa: Ethiopia, Cape Verde and Mozambique.
The religious communities receive four surveys a fifth of the new Cardinal dignities. Two Salesians, a missionary and an Augustinian, with me the favor of the Salesians seems unjustified.
Another oddity is revealed in the  Cardinal appointments by Pope Francis. The age of the appointees is driven to new heights. In February 2014, he created the 99 year old Loris Capovilla Cardinal because he was the secretary of John XXIII. In February 2015, he  will charge a 95-year-old cardinal with the Archbishop Emeritus of Manizales in Colombia. After all, behind Capovilla and Canestri, he became immediately the third oldest member of the College of Cardinals.
It is also remarkable that there are several under the  newly called, appointed just  before their retirements, which would preclude their voting in fact, while they are still able to vote in a conclave for at least five years. Among them are the archbishop of Hanoi (76), Archbishop of Ancona-Osimo (75) and the Archbishop of Morelia (75).
In sum: Let us be glad it could have been worse.
Translation: Giuseppe Nardi
image: La Cigueña de la Torre
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
AMDG

Wednesday, January 7, 2015

Blasphemous Charlie Hebdo Magazine Attacked by Unknown Assailants who Shouted Islamic Slogans: False Flag?

Update: we removed the offending photo.  Hope people are more angry with Charlie Hebdo than they are with us.

Edit: this graphic cartoon didn't get much press outside of France that we recall. There certainly wasn't the kind of response from the Christian world that there has been in the Islamic one.  The Christian world has cravenly stood by as a silent and ineffectual spectator with respect to such things.

Still, the identity and the motivations of the perpetrators are unknown.  Until an organization takes responsibility for it, which to date no one has, it will be impossible to know.  But even if it was Islamics, surely no one expects that the blame will be put where it belongs.

Photo: courtesy of LC

Tuesday, January 6, 2015

2015 Canonization of Archbishop Romero Attended by the Pope

(San Salvador) Is 2015 the year of Oscar Arnulfo Romero? "Leading circles of the Church of El Salvador are confident that 2015 will be  'el año'  for the beatification of the Archbishop of San Salvador, Oscar Arnulfo Romero, assassinated in 1980." They no longer ask themselves whether the beatification will come, but are already discussing the details of where and how the ceremony will take place and who will preside over it, "the blog Super martyrio is dedicated to  the process of beatification of Archbishop Romero (1917-1980).
On New Year's Eve was an interview with the Auxiliary Bishop of San Salvaddor, Msgr. Gregoria Rosa Chavez was given to Canale 21 and aired. Canale 21 is a media network of three television channels and a dozen radio stations, which was created by  Salvadoran entrepreneurs of Palestinian origin.   Auxiliary Bishop Chavez said that everything had been done, what needs to be done. Actually, he expects a speedy beatification:  "The Pope believes  the sanctity of Monsignor Romero   and is sure that the step is set ... The good news is that it comes."

Auxiliary Bishop Chavez, who was employed in the Diocesan High School of San Miguel and worked for Romero, referred to the trip planned for September by Pope Francis to the United States and Mexico. From there it is only a "jump" to San Salvador, and  perhaps the Pope could come "for Romero". 

Carlos Colorado, author of Super martyrio, is already certain that Pope Francis will personally enact the beatification in San Salvador: "Very likely it will take place in the period between mid-February and mid-March" An "appropriate moment" could also be the cardinal consistory of the 12-15th of February in Rome, say Colorado.

Beatification Process under Benedict XVI. Stopped 

Believers remember Archbishop Romero at St. Peter's Square
The blog called  at the same time for  a novena for a positive conclusion of the beatification process. . A Novena to the Three Kings, which began on December 29, Memorial of Saint Thomas Becket wrote Super martyrio: Becket was the "last bishop murdered (1170) at the altar before  Bishop Romero."
The beatification of  the Salvadoran Archbishop had been put on hold under Pope Benedict XVI.  The exact reasons for this are not known. It is speculated that there were fundamental concerns, or whether he wanted to prevent a political appropriation of Romero's image. The archbishop was shot by a right-wing military and therefore became an icon of the political left, especially outside El Salvador, where more than superficial knowledge   of the Central American country is hard to come by, but over which is laid   the right-left-template. In Italy there are many of left local establishments named after Archbishop Romero, streets, squares and public buildings offer testimony of the trial of a political "beatification".
This occurred simultaneously with Romero's assassination at the risk that for the canonization had  less to do with   personal virtues, but more with the "right"   disposition of the person concerned by certain political circles. It was in Europe that the same leftist circles collected the money for the Cardenal brothers and the Sandinista regime in Nicaragua, who claimed  Archbishop Romero for themselves. At least after to his murder.

Romero: "They will kill me, I do not know whether the right or the left"

However, the situation in El Salvador and the Church's position was much more differentiated than a filtered left iconography in distant Europe. Archbishop Romero seemed to be sure of being murdered in a premonition. However, he was not sure whether he would be killed by his enemies on the left or right (see report in German Oscar Romero, 30 years after his martyrdom - "They will kill me, I do not know whether the right or the left" ).
Romero's statement is hardly mentioned because it does not fit into a black and white scheme. Would you   remember him in Europe  if he had been executed by order of the leftists? Certainly he  would be otherwise remembered  especially in other circles, even within the Catholic Church.
There is a warning about the  image of Archbishop Oscar Arnulfo Romero. This is perhaps the reason why Pope Benedict XVI.  distanced the beatification  or at least to save it for a later, less politically charged time. What was   Archbishop Romero's position  to liberation theology, really? Is his criticism of the military dictatorship to be confused with approval of the liberation theology?
Since the election of Pope Francis,   voices have  not stopped, who are announcing an imminent beatification. Because he is Latin American? Because a "climatic" match is assumed between Romero and Bergoglio or at least claimed? Or because the consistency between political promoters of the Romero-memorial and the new Pope, or is simply assumed by the former?
In April 2013,   Pope Francis did announce shortly after the resumption of the beatification process, warning Jesus Delgado Vicar General of San Salvador against  a " political instrumentalization" of Archbishop Romero.
Text: Giuseppe Nardi
image: Super martyrio / Giovani Emissione
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
AMDG