Hit List Against "Anti-Bergoglians"? -- Misericordina for Pope Critics

(Rome) In yesterday's Sunday edition of the Turin daily La Stampa that also operates the news site Vatican Insider, two Vaticanists, Giacomo Galeazzi and Andrea Tornielli, published a list of alleged "Francis opponents" in the Catholic Church with great ceremony.  Just as meticulous as arbitrary, the formation resembles a proscription list for future purges. In coming to an end of the Holy Year of mercy a healthy portion of Misericordina will again be leveled against alleged enemies of Pope Francis.

The Progressives and the Conservatives 

The learned political scientist Giacomo Galeazzi (born 1972) worked for six years for the newsroom TG1 of the public service broadcaster RAI 1 (departments abroad and religion). Since 2001 he is an editor of the daily newspaper La Stampa, for which he was described as Vaticanist in 2008. Galeazzi never made a secret of his progressive sympathies.

The learned classical scholar, Andrea Tornielli (born in 1964), began his journalistic career with the publications for  Communion and Liberation (CL) community. From 1992-1996 he was one of the editors of the monthly magazine 30Giorni (English Edition: 30days). This was followed for 15 years as Vatican expert at the rightwing daily newspaper Il Giornale . Since 2011 he is, next to Galeazzi, Vaticanist at the liberal daily La Stampa and coordinator of Vatican Insider .

Giacomo Galeazzi and Andrea Tornielli

In 2005 or 2010 had observers would have said that Galeazzi and Tornielli represented very different positions. Since 2013 they have both been partisans of Pope Francis. While the progressive Galeazzi personally keeps his distance from  the "progressive" Pope, the conservative Tornielli was promoted under Francis even as the house vaticanist  with direct access to the Pope.

In January 2015 Galeazzi and Tornielli submitted their first joint book: "Pope Francis. This economy kills."

Proscription list in the style communist publications of the 70s

Both jointly published yesterday, in the style of communist and neo-Marxist newspapers of the 70s, in two whole newspaper pages,  a list of Catholic publications, organizations and initiatives, which are "dangerous to the unity of the Church and the Pope's health." The headline read: "The anti-Francis-Catholics who are attracted to Putin's power."  "Their aversion to Francis keeps them together," say the authors in the first sentence.

It is "especially shabby," remarked Messa in Latino, that the item appeared at the same time on the Internet site La Nuova Europa (New Europe), published by the Christian Russia Foundation (Christian Russia), a media initiative which was first established, to give the Christians persecuted by communists a voice in Russia.

Ubi solitudinem faciunt, pacem appellant, wrote Tacitus. In this specific context, freely translated, you might say. You make a desert and call it peace. Messa in Latino speaks of a "grotesque and slanderous attack".

There has been an assertion of an "assinational plot" made several times as criticism against conservative Catholics in the past three years. The prelude was made by the Austrian pastoral theologian and former dean of the Catholic Theological Faculty of the University of Vienna. In September 2013 Paul Zulehner was on camera as the inventor of a rumor . The pastoral theologian showed up in an ORF interview,  impressed by the "reforming zeal" of the pope and also "worried" that Francis could be killed. Zulehner knew at once to name the potential offenders, namely "conservative Catholics," for whom the reforms would be "too much". He is still guilty of the malicious, politically motivated insinuation.

The "Anti-Bergoglio-Catholics"

The "unity of the Church" and the "health of the Pope" have been threatened by the "Anti-Francis-Catholics". These are called "Anti-Bergoglio-Catholics" and "Para-Sedevacantists" referring to the characteristics of which they are a part, who "worship" Russia's President Putin and sympathize with the "Islamic and anti-European", "populist" Lega Nord.

The pattern of indictment that applies with respect to Italy by the two Vaticanists, can be transferred to other countries without much imagination.

 Galeazzi and Tornielli wrote:

"The galaxy of dissidence against Bergoglio, ranging from Lefebvrians who have decided to wait for a traditional Pope 'to return to the union with Rome, to the Lega-Catholics put Francis in contrast to his predecessor Ratzinger and have launched a campaign: 'My Pope Benedict.'"

Daring criticism of Pope Francis

The compilation is in reality a motley list of very different Catholic initiatives which, however, have two elements in common with  each other: they are not progressive and have publicly dared to criticize certain actions of Pope Francis.

Proscription?

The authors eagerly seek to throw all initiatives into the same pot, that they are more or less outside the Church. Who does not fit into your picture, must be put in the corner. They have designated the Society of St. Pius X., and this is followed by entities such as the Internet newspaper, La Nuova Bussola Quotidiana or estimable personalities like the editor Riccardo Cascioli, of the Lepanto Foundation and Corrispondenza Romana by the renowned historian Roberto de Mattei, the blog Settimo Cielo of veteran Vaticanist Sandro Magister, the Forum Libertá e Persona ( Freedom and Person).These are all initiatives who stay far away from any cheap polemics.

The list continues with tradition related news sites like Messa in Latino , Chiesa e Concilio post and Riscossa Cristiana and the monthly magazine Il Timone .

Galeazzi and Tornielli point fingers at Cardinals Raymond Burke and Carlo Caffarra, at Archbishop Luigi Negri and Bishop Athanasius Schneider, the liturgist Nicola Bux, Prof. Roberto de Mattei, Antonio Socci and many other more. The reason? They have all been guilty of defending the unchanging doctrine of the Church publicly and draw attention to pieces of evidence pointing in an opposite direction.

Politically Correct Gauntlet

The authors do not skimp on topics where those listed will be struck with clubs of political correctness before the audience: "Para-Sedevacantists", "Lefebvrian," "Islamophobic", "anti-European" and finally - they want to play it safe - even "Putin admirers". Already it is apparent in the title that the whole "galaxy" is assumed to be financed through murky channels issuing from Moscow.

The page Messa in Latino took it with humor: "We need to improve our internal secret service, because we have not even been noticed yet by the cash flows from Moscow. We will give you the account numbers and accept the benevolent euros and rubles."

At the same time they called upon Canon 212, paragraph 3 of the Code of Canon Law  that holds explicitly that each Catholic has the right, where it is necessary, to criticize the ecclesiastical authority, and the Pope.

Galeazzi and Tornielli see in the listed other hand, "revolutionaries", "coup plotters" and "Putin Cronies."

One should notice: If a close papal confidant like Tornielli swings into such a sweeping attack, it means that there is a rough wind coming to Rome from Pope Francis.

Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Image: MiL / La Stampa (Screenshots)
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
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