(Rome) The Apostolic Commissioner, the Capuchin Father Fidenzio Volpi OFM Cap from the Congregation of Religious, with the approval of Pope Francis, instead of the Order leadership, with sole decision-making power at the head of the Order of the Franciscans of the Immaculate set (FI), has given the real reason for the drastic intervention in the life of the Order for the first time.
The progressive Vaticanist Mario Tosatti had published a few days ago in the daily newspaper La Stampa a letter from a member of the Third Order of the Franciscans of the Immaculate, in which the radical approach of the Commissioner has been criticized (see separate report "Unrestricted War" against the Franciscans of the Immaculate Conception? The Unspeakable "Blemish" ). The interventions affect not only the male religious branch, but also the Third Order, which was completely paralyzed by Father Volpi.
Commissioner Confirmed for the First Time What Observers Suspected from the Beginning
The Apostolic Commissioner responded with a letter to Tosatti's publication. In it, he explained for the first time the actual reason for the actions of the Vatican against the Order and its founder. The Franciscans of the Immaculate Conception is alleged to have "drifted" in a "Crypto-Lefebvrian, anyways traditionalist" direction. Even Tosatti reads from the extensive letter, in addition to several minor matters, what "the real problem" is.
The Commissioner stated thus confirming what was immediately clear to observers by the prohibition of the traditional rite and in the decree made by the Religious Congregation. The tough measures are directed against the rediscovery of the traditional rite and against the defense of the Church's tradition. Commissioner Father Volpi does not distinguish between "Lefebvrian" and "traditionalist", and thus, not even between the canonically unrecognized Priestly Society of St. Pius X and the canonically recognized Ecclesia Dei communities. Obviously, an attachment to tradition is for the Commissioner basically a "problem". A direction that is not only displeasing to the Capuchin, but must be fought. And he has done so with great zeal since last August. Obviously, it was this aversion that qualified him for the task of the Apostolic Commissioner.
De Matteis "Prediction" Came True
Already in August wrote the well-known historian Roberto de Mattei:
In the coming days and weeks we will know better the plans of the Commissioner, Fidenzio Volpi, but their rough lines can already be guessed: isolate the Founder, Father Manelli; decapitate the heads in the General Council of the Order faithful to him, deport the "traditionalist" brothers to the periphery, give the reins of the Order to the dissidents; entrust the novitiates to Fathers who are not under suspicion of "traditionalist" sympathies; sterilization of the publications and the Franciscan writings that deal in particular with "controversial" issues within the Church "controversial": avoid Marian "maximalism," an "exaggerated" rigor in moral teaching and especially any criticism, be it ever so respectful of the Second Vatican Council, plus opening of the Order for "ecumenical dialogue" with other religions; restriction of Vetus Ordo to special exceptions; in short, the destruction of the identity of the Franciscans of the Immaculate Conception, which is even worse than their removal.
The public response by Father Mario Volpi Tosatti confirmed in black on white, the fears expressed immediately by de Matteis and others. It also reveals what the Congregation of Religious has moved under Cardinal Prefect João Braz de Aviz and apparently Pope Francis, to smash this thriving Order of pious men. An Order that, a few months ago, had access to Pope Benedict XVI.
Different Ways of Handling: a Comparison
As Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was elected Pope in 2005, he personally went and decided against Marcial Maciel Degollado, the founder of the Legionaries of Christ (LC). Benedict XVI. said about Maciel that he revealed "a very serious and objectively immoral behavior that is confirmed by indisputable testimony" and "sometimes in the form of real crimes" and expressed "an unscrupulous life without true religious sentiment". Yet Benedict XVI. did not proceed against the Order, which had distinguished itself in many ways. Due to the commotion in the Order about the Founder and Superior General, and to allow a new beginning, he placed the Order under provisional administration. For this purpose he appointed Cardinal Velasio de Paolis, who accompanied the Order in a fatherly way to start anew. A path that will be successfully completed in early 2014.
As Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected pope in 2013, he agreed to a decisive action by the Congregation of Religious against the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate to (FI). Neither the Order nor its founder, Father Stefano Manelli were guilty in any way. They had not committed neither shameful crimes, as Marcial Maciel had, nor spread heresies, caused confusion or violated in any other way against Church doctrine and order. It was the alignment of the Order, although recognized in the Church and legitimate and encouraged till February by the previous Pope which do not fit anymore. A direction that has now been referred to the Commissioner responsible, disparagingly, as a "crypto-lefebvrian, anyways traditionalist". Not a Cardinal, but a simple Capuchin, was used by the Congregation of Religious as Commissioner, not a fatherly friend of the Order, but a declared opponent of tradition.
Commissioner Volpi also want to put hand to the Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate Conception
Even against the female branch, the Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate Conception, the Commissioner would like to proceed, although the decree of appointment says nothing about that. Father Volpi has accused the Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate Conception of being traditional and even more "unruly" than to be the male branch. In reaching this conclusion, the Apostolic Commissioner came to it because the female convents immediately expressed the desire to cling to the Old Rite. The female branch of the Order has insisted on its independence since the announcement of the decree against the male branch. Father Volpi has even accused the CDF last October, and even Cardinal Prefect Braz de Aviz, of not pushing hard enough against the Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate, because the Commissioner has not been extend a grant of jurisdiction.
Text: Giuseppe Nardi
image: Libertà e Pensiero
image: Libertà e Pensiero
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
Edit: looks like they're going after Ecclesia Dei communities next.
AMGD
16 comments:
Whoever thought otherwise? I think you are quite right to posit who might be next on the hit list. And if that comes about, will bishops take the cue and start cracking down on their more traditionally-minded secular priests? There comes a point when the Pope cannot simply hide behind a signature, but acknowledge he is the prime mover. If you want to shake up the Church from top to bottom, first you get rid of your most likely opponents pour encourager les autres.
You probably didn't see the comment logs when we were the first to air this in English.
Some agents provacateur were even attempting to discredit the accurate reports that this was going down.
Now if the devil itself wanted to destroy the Church how would it proceed? Well, the most graces come through the holy sacrifice of the Mass so it must be attacked and thus a "novus ordo" was imposed on the whole Church by a freemason with the consent of the (confused?) pope. It was a protestant liturgy with some added 'twists'. Because the Vetus Ordo has the most graces and faithfulness attached to it, it was vigorously attacked and suppressed. And even today when it is being rediscovered and embraced we have continued attacks. This order and its founder DID NOTHING WRONG! The only 'crime' was to embrace the Mass of the Ages and the true Franciscan penitential life. To appoint a modernist Capuchin ( this branch is dying out due to modernism) who does not always even wear the holy habit and has been heard to make fun of penitential practices was a great blow to the Order. He has done all the things predicted. He has stopped the Marian apostolates in Italy which is to say he does not seem to love the Mother of God nor wish to promote the message of Fatima. He is shutting down the books and media of the Order which are holy and true and lead souls to Christ. All of this has the stench of hell on it.
Leftists are always projecting their own foul motivations on their opponents. "Crypto Lefebvrian" - "Father" Volpi speaks like a Gramscian marxist!: "We have marched through the institutional church and we will stamp out like the bugs they are any nascent reactionaries who rise to resist us!" He is acting like a political commissar and not as a Catholic priest!
I know who is worse than these closet marxists though - the liberals in the Church who still consider themselves Catholic but won't admit to themselves that VII has been an abject colossal failure.
The insanity of the hierarchy is on full display. The Dutch prelates come to the Vatican and bemoan the collapse of the Dutch Catholic Church - which they estimate began on or about 1960 - and ask the Pope in his wisdom to help them understand how this could have happened. They can't seem to figure out on their own what could have happened - after all, nothing major changed in the Church between 1960 and now, did it? At the same time, a growing order with a devoted and growing lay following is put on the existential rack as if they were heretics! The hierarchy is demented!
The continuing question I have for the Friars of the Immaculate - if your primary guide should be the salvation of souls, why are you tolerating this abuse? Before tolerating any more "charitable intervention" you should demand from the hierarchy a spelling out of exactly what your errors were. Without something in writing these modernists will continue to make unfounded allegations without consequence. Get it in writing! Let's see if the hierarchy is stupid enough to say, e.g., that you weren't "faithful to the spirit of VII". Then you can say you followed "the hermeneutic of continuity", It is obvious that they will continue to get away with this for as long as there isn't a syllabus of errors to condemn the abusive and heretical interpretations of VII by liberals.
I did see your previous post and wondered how one of the commenters could know what was said in Confession and how he/she could account for the healthy number of vocations to the Order.
Actually, I'm curious to know for how long the dissidents were members of the Order. As for the Commissioner, there is a strong whiff of something personal.
There was doubt in the beginning, but some corners were already openly attacking the Franciscans back in September for that reason, but there were those who doubted. https://veneremurcernui.wordpress.com/2013/07/30/the-complaints-of-less-than-1-of-franciscans-of-the-immaculate-led-to-the-disciplinary-action/
Well, you know, the German Bishops are running wild, selling pornography. The American Female Religious are more interested in being hippie peace activists and agents of Cultural Marxism than Catholics, and 800 or so loyal Catholic religious, one of the few growing and healthy orders in the whole Church, and you've got to stamp them out instead.
Where are the calls for dialogue and the need for diversity now?
Russia really did spread its errors throughout the world, didn't it?
So, an "attachment to tradition" is the problem for the Commissioner. That is the same thing as to say that being Catholic is the problem. Because according to Catholic doctrine, only traditionalists are Catholics, as Pope Leo XIII said: "The doctrine of the apostles is the true faith." (Satis Cognitum, 32). And Pope Pius XII said: "Only those are to be included as members of the Church who have been baptized and profess the true faith." (Mystici Corporis, 22). Since ecumenism and religious liberty were previously condemned by infallible authority, not to mention the numerous other heresies of Vatican II and since Vatican II, those cannot be considered part of the doctrine of the apostles, and those who hold to them cannot be considered Catholics. The new Vatican management is making war on the Catholic faith. That is what happens when Freemasons get into Church offices.
Evils like this are so common as to show Archbishop Lefebvre was indeed a true prophet. His refusal to go along with the Vatican in 1988 is being justified more and more, almost every week. Thank God for him.
"Before tolerating any more "charitable intervention" you should demand from the hierarchy a spelling out of exactly what your errors were."
Arcbishop Lefebvre asked why he was uncanonically condemned in 1974. No answer. Father Manelli and the Franciscans are likely to be treated equally badly.
Satan must be having a good giggle right now. Screwtape has managed to get Wormwood into a position of power over his worst enemies. I exhort the Franciscans to collectively pray for the exorcism of their order. The Immaculata is your greatest friend and ally - she will not desert you.
That is the whole point. Those abusing the Franciscans are modernists. They never contradict a prior magisterial teaching by naming a particular dogma and saying "we reject it and adopt this instead".
They make naked assertions that they have a new understanding of some issue and pretend that it doesn't conflict with a prior magisterial teaching.
Allowing superiors to intervene in your order based on an allegation of (1) an abusive requirement that the old mass be said; or (2) a commitment to tradition; or (3) being a "crypto-Lefebvriest" doesn't pass the straight-faced test. These are transparent excuses advanced by meddling liberals who are rejecting a perfectly valid form of Catholicism that the Franciscans practice. The modernists need to put the specific errors of the Franciscans in writing. Things have changed since the 70s and 80s - the internet changed everything. If the authorities were to justify their intervention by, e.g., "we heard that the leadership was authoritarian" or "we heard the order was traditional" they should be rejected out of hand as being swishy non-catholic indictments by meddling fifth columnists who don't have the faith.
My point was if the Franciscan leadership judiciously used the internet by, e.g., leaking correspondence they could illustrate to the faithful exactly how un-Catholic this intervention was.
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Let us not be fooled, not even for ONE minute.
The root of this lies at the very heart of the Throne of Saint Peter. Clearly, these are the expressed intentions of the Holy Father himself, Pope Francis, who wishes to suppress ALL manifestations of Tradition among the faithful, which is the SOLE authentic practice of the True Faith in Holy Mother Church.
The Commissioner is only implementing what he has received ultimately from the hands of His Holiness. All of his actions have the papal blessing and imprimatur, if not its explicit direction and instructions. Otherwise, it would be utterly impossible for an Apostolic Commissioner to so ruthlessly and diabolically rip a very successful and growing Order to shreds in this fashion. This is the Pope's work.
We must fervently pray for the immediate intervention of our Blessed Mother on behalf of the Franciscans of the Immaculate; and for the redirection of the heart of our Holy Father, who will otherwise, surely lead us into perdition.
"He has stopped the Marian apostolates in Italy which is to say he does not seem to love the Mother of God nor wish to promote the message of Fatima."
Fr Volpi stopped the "Day for Mary" in Italy. Is this what you mean? How could he do this to the laity?
...and there's this...
"...who [Fr Volpi] does not always even wear the holy habit and has been heard to make fun of penitential practices..."
It's the ignorance that bothers me. It makes the situation with Fr Manelli and the Franciscans of the Immaculate even worse.
[You couldn't make this stuff up as they say.]
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The liberal modernist post-conciliar media are worse than the Frankfurt School with the propaganda and labelling. There is no such phenomenon as "lefebvrian" - we are talking about Sacred Tradition in The Faith. The Vatican spin doctors love to deflect public attention away from years of lies about abolishing the Latin Mass and so forth. The labels they use are Lefevrianism, SSPX, right wing extremists or neo-pelagians. All of them are empty nonsense. The Franciscans want Tradition not modernism - so do many of us for that matter as did the great Archbishop Lefebvre. we know that liberalism is protestant and anti-Catholic.
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