(Rome) For the first time in its history a Spaniard will not take a top position in Opus Dei. The election of the new Vicar General of the personal prelature fell to the Argentine Msgr. Mariano Fazio, whom Jorge Mario Bergoglio knows personally. "It's a decision that seems carefully considered in order to strengthen and improve the relationship between the Prelature and Pope Francis," said the Vatican expert Sandro Magister.
In these first two years of the pontificate, the relation between the Pope and Opus Dei has been formally excellent. This was contributed to by the hearings which were granted Msgr. Carlos Maria Nannei, the predecessor Fazio as vicar of Argentina. In reality, the signals indicated in the exact opposite direction.
No dispensation for beatification - No Opus Dei representative to Synod
The Opus Dei would have liked the beatification of their second superior, Msgr. Alvaro del Portillo, in Rome. Portillo was the successor of the founder, St. Josemaria Escriva de Balaguer. However, Pope Francis did not grant a dispensation. Thus, the ceremony was held last September 27 in Madrid, although the new Blessed had spent the last decades of his life in Rome and died there.
It has also not escaped observers that Pope Francis not summoned on a single representative of Opus Dei to the synod as experts or auditors for the 2014 Synod of Bishops, although the personal prelature counts many renowned theologians and canonists in its ranks. Since there is no President of a Bishops' Conference and no head of a dicastry in the Roman Curia which belongs to Opus Dei, the work of God has had no part in the Synod work.
In 2015, the Synod of Bishops things will be different. Among the Synod Fathers elected by the episcopal conferences there are already three representatives of Opus Dei: Archbishop José Gomez of Los Angeles (USA), Archbishop Antonio Arregui Yarza of Guayaquil in Ecuador and Bishop Jaime Fuentes Martín of Minas, Uruguay.
Dismissal of Opus Dei Bishop Livieres of Ciudad del Este
A few days before the start of the Synod of Bishops in 2014 Pope Francis decreed the dismissal of an Opus Dei bishop. On September 25, it was announced in Rome and Paraguay that Bishop Rogelio Ricardo Livieres Plano, a most outstanding figure, was relieved of the episcopate of the Latin American country, without giving a reason of why his office was taken. Bishop Livieres was summoned to Rome a few days earlier (in his environment, it means you've lured him from his diocese), where he had learned from the media of his dismissal. The statement by the Vatican Press Office, still had given to understand that the faithful bishop disturbed his brother Bishops in Paraguay. Since Liviere promoted priestly vocations in contrast to other dioceses and built a private seminary for that reason, free of the influence of liberation theology, he had three times the number of seminarians in a diocese which includes ten percent of Catholics in the country, which is almost three times as many seminarians as all of the other dioceses. The bishop also promoted the traditional rite. The seminarians were trained in both forms of the Roman Rite. In almost all of the parishes of his diocese the Immemorial Mass of All Ages was celebrated. It's a situation that was unbearable in other parts of the church. Despite repeated requests to see Pope Francis, he was refused an audience. Since Bishop Livieres did not let his dismissal by the Vatican without comment, he was immediately dropped from Opus Dei.
Weakening of Opus Dei in Peru
In Peru, Opus Dei had suffered bitter defeats. In recent months, two of its prelates were emeritus of age. Neither Archbishop Juan Antonio Ugarte Pérez of Cuzco nor Bishop Jesús Moliné Labarte of Chiclayo were replaced by brothers of the Opus Dei. Although Cardinal Juan Cipriani Thorne an Opus Dei member is Archbishop of Lima in 1999, he was in contrast to his predecessor never elected President of the Peruvian Bishops' Conference. John Paul II. tried to renew the Peruvian episcopate on Cipriani Thorne and Opus Dei. It was a renewal that got stuck half way and now runs in reverse. With the recent appointment of bishops, the anti-Opus Dei majority was strengthened in the Peruvian episcopate.
Mariano Fazio: El Papa Francisco
Attempts to find favor with Francis
Msgr. Mariano Fazio was appointed to be the new vicar general of the only personal prelature of the Catholic Church, after having been received last September 30th by Pope Francis. The name of the Argentine prelate was then curiously misspelled in both the daily bulletin of the Press Office and in the Osservatore Romano as "Fassio".
Fazio is a Professor of the History of Political Theory at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross of Opus Dei in Rome. He is a long time proven expert in the modern history of ideas. In Argentina it is said that Fazio knows the enemies of the Church and their thinking.
The former Vicar (Upper) of Opus Dei in Argentina wrote right after the choice of the Archbishop of Buenos Aires to be pope, a Francis-book: "El Papa Francisco: Claves de su pensamiento." (Pope Francis The key of his thought). That may have been taken into account in the calculation, that Pope Francis will hopefully be benevolent to the Argentine Fazio. He has not explained, however, the "key" to Bergoglio's thinking in his book.
Text: Giuseppe Nardi
image: Rialp / Diario Argentino
image: Rialp / Diario Argentino
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
AMDG
22 comments:
The slimy tentacles and stench are reaching into everything.
I am a parishioner at an Opus Dei parish. I have never seen a priest not respect the Body and Blood of Our Lord, nor have I ever heard anything near to being contrary to the Faith as it has been handed down. And I have seen plenty of them. I presume faithfulness and therefore have complete confidence in Msgr. Fazio because he is a priest of the Opus Dei.
please understand I was not accusing Opus Dei....I was saying that the marxist-thug-slime-machine out of the vatican is now coming after them.
I blame them for kicking Bishop Livieres out. This act of preemptive obsequiousness is one of the problems I perceive with Opus, but they were definitely being sidelined in Synod 2014.
Yes....I accede the point on Livieres...that sunk to the high Heavens.
Susan, my comment was not a reply to yours, it was independent of what you, who have proven to be a considerate and fair woman and correspondent, wrote. I know the Opus Dei receives a lot of criticism- for all I know, some of it is warranted, I can understand the skepticism of non-O.D. Spaniards towards the laymen-- but I just want to put a good word in for the O.D. priests before someone slams them. My observation is that they are solid priests, and a couple I know resemble St. John Vianney in holiness and saintliness.
Tancred is way more up on the Bp Livieres affair than I, so I trust his judgment.
The late Fr Hesse mentioned that Opus Dei were big defenders of Vatican 2. Now we get a guy so far left of Vatican 2 and he wants nothing to do (apparently) with Opus Dei. I guess OD should have joined with the traditionalists long ago.
Barnum, I haven't had a lot of dealings with OD priests, but the few I have had have been quite good. Quite frankly, so has every interaction I've had with a Legionary. There are some truly wonderful men of God out there, struggling mightily against the ill-wind now ripping up the last greenery left in the desert....we just need truly good shepherds for them. Look at the magnificent work that Bp. Morlino's done (a Jesuit no less!) with the seminary situation in Madison (one of the beast's bellies). Look at Cordileon fighting the good fight in satan's seminary, and being ripped to shreds for it. If he stays strong, he might one day be named one of the Church's greatest Bishop Saints...but that takes a LOT of strength.
Pray for good and holy shepherds; pray that their strength won't fail; pray that we'll be sent uncountable numbers more...especially, and most urgently, at the top.
The Beatification was a way of winking to O.D. to keep silence during the 2014 Synod. Behind closed doors they wring their hands in helplessness yet they are the only cohesive religious tour de force to stop Synod 2015 modernism and Vatican III in its tracks. You see the masters of the universe who now act as if they own the Vatican (strut around like they own it) did not like Bl. Alvaro whom rumors relate was martyred by the very same masters of the universe thus why Rome was disallowed for his Beatification. Research where Blessed Alvaro went to just prior to his death on behest of the Vatican and you will understand what I am pointing to.
That Opus Dei were big defenders of Vatican ll is questionable. When St. Jose Maria Escriva de Balaguer said the his first and last Novus Ordo Mass he is quoted as saying, "Que es esta cagada?" (Which must be understood as Spaniards speak). He asked Pope Paul Vl for permission for all Opus Dei Priests to continue saying the Old Rite, he was denied but he was given permission to say the Old Mass himself till his death. Modernists have long tried to destroy Opus Dei with many calumnies. Those who are Opus Dei clergy remain faithful to the spirit of their founder, that is what Opus Dei is all about.
The O.D. are defenders of Christ and His Church. They do not badmouth Popes, bishops, other priests, the laity, or anyone else. They preach (among a handful of recurring admonitions that you will hear from every O.D priest if you know them long enough) personal holiness, meaning look after your own sins, your own vulnerabilities. They don't defend Vat II per se, but Christ and His Bride.
And I find it impossible to believe the commenter below when he says that O.D. kept silent during the Synod for a few reasons: 1) Why would anyone risk his soul so that Don Alvaro could be canonized? and 2) I don't have a census here, but I know many bishops have O.D. spiritual advisors, so those bishops speaking would have been enough. 3) They actually believe that Christ watches over His Church.
I tried, but the best I could find is that Bl. Alvaro went to the Holy Land, and nothing more detailed. Where did he go, 9:18?
Great! Nothing like shaking things up a little. When will we see other than an Irish bishop in NY diocese?
I have zero reason to doubt the late great Fr. Hesse
A question for you Opus Dei folk, do you read the approved prophecies? Ever looked into Fatima? We were told this was all coming and we know how it ends too, with The Great Monarch and Holy Pontiff and a GREAT council, a real council, not a pastoral council. After this council all will be restored to greater glory than ever for the last glory of the Church before the AC comes. You think there will be any "novus ordo" then? Why don't you do everyone a favor and start defending TRADITION now rather than later. There is not much time left before these events occur,
"He asked Pope Paul Vl for permission for all Opus Dei Priests to continue saying the Old Rite, he was denied but he was given permission to say the Old Mass himself till his death."
So what you're saying is Jose Marie Escriva did not have the moral and spiritual fortitude of Archbishop LeFebvre, Fr Calmell and many others? Okay, understood, not many did have the courage the the time. This might be something to be considered and reviewed down the road after the minor chastisement when the NO is finally outlawed forever.
Barnum, unfortunately I have heard a number of OD co-operators bad-mouth those who have a love of the traditional Mass. They have been critical of the way people who attend the Traditional Mass dress, etc. Some of the priests are indeed very good. Others unfortunately seem to have adopted a modern outlook and one priest said, "Be tolerant for the sake of unity even if something is wrong". That to me is not Catholic teaching.
Opus is a mixed bag. Some are decent, others are as insufferably Liberal as any fruit prof at Notre Flame.
Yes, but not taking part was a win/win for Opus Dei because in that way they didn't take sides. Always wringing their hands behind closed doors. How about they speak out against what is wrong for a change rather than criticising those that do and accusing those who speak out of having no joy. I would like to hear them stand up and defend marriage between a woman and a man for one thing. If you go to an Opus Dei recollection all you will hear are endless repetitions of the writing of St Maria Escriva, about confession, which is good, but nothing much else. Totally without much substance I found.
I have been to Opus Dei Masses on a number of occasions and while their Masses follow the rubrics I have become concerned at some of the sermons in which it was stated that, for the sake of unity, that we should tolerate things, even when they are wrong. So that to me is far and away from Catholic teaching and I refer everyone to Fr Rhonheimer who is a professor at the Opus Dei Seminary of the Holy Cross who has accused the Church of being anti-semitic and written a veiled criticism of Pius XII. He also supports abortion where the mother's life is in danger and the baby will surely die - he says in that instance the child loses it's right to life; he accepts the use of condoms where one spouse has Aids (no mention of chastity in this situation); he says masturbation is acceptable for producing sperm for invitro fertilisation. Looking on the internet there are other Opus Dei priests make statements that simply don't uphold Catholic teaching.
I also have heard Opus Dei member criticise the clothes of those who attend the Traditional Mass. I have also noted they rarely attend any devotions, certainly not on Divine Mercy Sunday and do not stay for Benediction etc but prefer to spend their time chatting to friends outside in the yard.
I finally did hear one Opus Dei priest stand up for marriage between one man and a woman just before the synod but it has been years coming and they've waited too long. They support the Novus Ordo Mass but it is fast going down the drain because they have failed to catechise the people like the liberals.
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