Eleven Cardinals Climb into the Ring Against the Kasperians -- The Voice of Africa Will Also be Heard

(Rome) "Remain in the truth of Christ" The publication of the book was accompanied in 2014 by heated polemics. Back then  five cardinals and several theologians worked on   the anthology. The initiator of the relevant publication and spokesman for the defense of Catholic moral teaching on marriage and the Synod was US Cardinal Raymond Burke. He was subsequently relieved of his duties of Dicastery head by Pope Francis and removed from the Roman Curia. It was a clear signal of what is tolerated and what is not desirable, though it was not necessarily with the desired effect. Now comes another book with the same concerns. This time  it will be even eleven cardinals who step into the ring. If their book gets same fate as its predecessor, which had been so unwelcome in Rome that it never reached the synod?

Kasper's "Conspiracy"

In 2014 even the publishers who produced the book in different languages, were accused of participating in a "conspiracy against the Pope". Cardinal Walter Kasper said openly it in an interview on September 18, 2014: "The aim of the polemic is not me, but the Pope". It may be that this is a question of a defense strategy: It involves securing one higher than himself for  his protection and by his authority bring critics to silence.  The conspiracy thesis caused considerable outrage among other high dignitaries of the Church, which was a  means of discrediting the former Bishop of Rottenburg-Stuttgart.

The German cardinal was, however, not far wrong by referring to Pope Francis. Without the participation of the Argentine Pope, it would not come  that the Kasperians  got such a global platform. Cardinal De Paolis, one of the five involved in the former book, reiterated this, without naming Kasper. In the daily newspaper La Repubblica he said: "There are even some who speak of a conspiracy. There is no conspiracy; bring only the will a position to expression."

In 2014 Non-Kasperians were silenced - 2015?

Someone wanted in any case bring the dissenting voices to silence because they disturbed a path that was  already clearly laid down, even though the pope had called for a "free" discussion.  This "openness" was only valid in only one direction, while calls for "free" discussion on the other side an admonition? Or are there those under the Pope around Cardinal  working autonomously  and using only the large gates that the reigning Pope has opened? After all, all important positions   of the Synod of Church representatives are held by those  who have themselves known through their statements and actions as Kasperians.

As La Nuova Bussola Quotidiana reported yesterday, the script could be repeated. It is true that a group of cardinals has worked on a new text that is to be opposed to opposing Kasper Group in the Synod of Bishops. The new book is likely the to bear the title "Marriage and Family"  with the subtitle: "Pastoral Prospects of Eleven Cardinals." The group of Cardinals who are actively opposing has increased markedly over the previous year. Moreover, considering the considerable number of eleven cardinals, and that those churchmen witch most insight, see the possibility of a real threat of the Catholic marriage and morality, so there is thus not a "pipe dream" concerning anxious or even extravagant Catholics somewhere off in the wide world.

Eleven Cardinals Defend "Marriage and Family" against Kasper with new book

Among the eleven cardinals, however, there are to be found - unlike rumor claims - neither Burke nor Cardinal Cardinal Brandmüller but Archbishop Cardinal Carlo Caffarra of Bologna, Major Archbishop Cardinal Baselios Cleemis of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church and president of the Indian Bishops' Conference; Paul Josef Cardinal Cordes, Chairman Emeritus of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum ; Archbishop Dominik Duka of Prague, Cardinal, Primate of Bohemia and President of the Czech Bishops' Conference; Archbishop Willem Jacobus Eijk of Utrecht, Cardinal; Cardinal Joachim Meisner, Archbishop Emeritus of Cologne; Archbishop John Cardinal Olorunfemi Onaiyekan of Abuja, former President of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar; Cardinal Antonio Maria Rouco Varela, Archbishop Emeritus of Madrid and former president of the Spanish Bishops' Conference; Camillo Cardinal Ruini, Vicar of Rome, Cardinal emeritus and former President of the Italian Bishops' Conference; Robert Cardinal Sarah, Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments; Archbishop Jorge Liberato Urosa Savino of Caracas, Cardinal and Primate of Venezuela.

"In Times of Increasing arbitrariness, the Church Must Speak More Clearly"

The editor of the book is the German canon lawyer, Winfried Ayman from the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich. Last June, Aymans wrote in L'Osservatore Romano, "in times when civil law increasingly tends to expose the marriage contract to arbitrariness, in any event  increases in every way, the preaching of the Church must be all the more clear."

Also in this case, again all are accused of obstructing the debate or - worse - to oppose the Pope or even plotting against this? Someone there will certainly try. However, the number of cardinals who were already in the ring in 2014 has increased   and those who have now followed seem unwilling to vacate the field. Their very large number should be food for thought. With so many Cardinals seeing the need to publicly defend the Church's teaching, then that can mean only one thing: someone is trying to  attack this doctrine. Cardinals from Burke to Brandmüller, and Caffarra onward to Onaiyekan and Sarah will attempt to frustrate them.

Beat Kasper on His Own Field: Pastoral

The eleven cardinals want, as far as it is known, to beat Kasper on the battlefield chosen by him, the pastoral. The German cardinal asserted and continues assert that he will not touch  doctrine, but is "only" trying to change the Pastoral approach.  Meanwhile, this thesis has been widely refuted as a fundamental intervention in the pastoral, will be automatically chang the teaching by the general practice. [That's how Vatican II was "won"]  The eleven Cardinals deal with issues such as those who can be helped, like those who have been abandoned by their spouse and yet remain faithful to their marriage. A key issue of the new publication should be that   marriage preparation can be improved,  since it  has proven to be obviously inadequate. It is also about the question of how the marriage preparation can respond to the situation only slightly or hardly,  when the religiously instructed young people are also strongly influenced by a secularized culture.

The publication of the book is scheduled for the second half of September. In Italy it is, as foreseen, to be released by the heavily besieged  publisher Cantagalli. There are, again, planned translations into different languages. We can only hope that the attempt to get the book of eleven Cardinals to all synod participants, will be successful this time.  The Book of Five Cardinals never came last year to  the synod. The fault  must belong to the post office, insists Cardinal Baldisseri,   the Secretary General of the Synod of Bishops. Others suspect rather that the Synod Director prevented the delivery, in plain text, Baldisseri himself.

Nova Patria Christ Africa

Just as before,  the issue in the room, is who is the great director in the background. Quite a few tap Pope Francis himself, who has not yet officially commented on the question of communion for the divorced and remarried. However, a long series of indirect statements, gestures and actions show him as a supporter of Cardinal Kasper and its thesis.

Another book will be released to the Synod of Bishops, which also has eleven cardinals and bishops for authors. All are from Africa and want to make the voice of Africa heard with the publication of the book.  It is a continent that is determined to fight for Catholic marriage and morality and is showing itself  a "nova patria Christ Africa".

Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Image: Nuova Bussola Quotidiana
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
link to Katholisches...

AMDG