The four Memores Domini, who manage Benedict XVI's household in a 2014 photograph.
(Rome) Pope Francis places the next community under provisional administration. He appointed a Jesuit as Commisar. In Rome, some speak of a "sneaky" move because it concerns Benedict XVI. What happened?
On the same day, however, his nine-year-old predecessor surprisingly traveled to Bavaria. Benedict XVI left his chosen retreat in the Vatican Gardens for the first time in seven years to visit his older brother Georg, whose health had deteriorated. The eighth German Pope returned to the Vatican after four days. Msgr. Georg Ratzinger died on July 1 at the age of 96.On June 18, the incumbent head of the Church announced that he would continue to insulate himself from Corona. Francis doesn't want to engage in any foreign travel. All pastoral visits that were already planned or in preparation were canceled without replacement. It is currently unknown whether and when they will take place.
The Commissar for the Memores Domini
Hardly had he returned to the monastery Mater Ecclesiae, that Benedict XVI. received a surprise that is as unusual as it is unpleasant. The Memores Domini Community, whose sisters live with him in the monastery, manage the household and look after him, was placed under the Provisional Administration by Pope Francis.
(Brasilia) The Heralds of the Gospel have announced in a press release their opposition to the Roman Commissar's decree. It is a "private" association, which is why the Vatican has no jurisdiction to put them under provisional administration. The Heralds therefore do not recognize the apostolic commissioner.
The press release "The Private Association of the Faithful Heralds of the Gospel on the Acting Administration" states that its president, Felipe Eugenio Lecaros Concha, met with the General Council of the Association on 17 October to ratify the Roman Commissar's Decree and to discuss further procedure. From Rome the Heralds of the Gospel had been informed that they were placed under temporary administration. Even before they got the Decree, they had to read it in the Vatican media.
The Gospel Heralds in 2017 had more than 40,000 members worldwide. They are tight and well organized.
The Congregation of Religious had appointed Raymundo Damasceno Assis, Commissar in late September, with the approval of Pope Francis Cardinal, and Bishop José Aparecido Gonçalves de Almeida as his assistant.
The meeting of the General Council took place "in a climate of complete transparency and profound sincerity as they form the basis of this ecclesial community."
There was discovered "the absolute invalidity and complete illegality of the above-mentioned decree." The reason for this is a "fundamental error contained therein," which means a "serious canonical illegality" and the result of "invalidity".
The press release contains the full statement by the President to the Commissioner appointed by Rome and his assistant, with whom he met on 18 October.
"We must declare that we do not recognize your eminence as "Commissioner" of the private association of faithful Heralds of the Gospel ."
The main center of the Heralds of the Gospel in Brazil
The formal mistake, according to the Heralds, is that the Decree is directed to a "public union of believers," but that the heralds are a "private association." The legal difference lies in the degree of Church recognition and thus in the legal status. The "private association" represents a first stage of recognition at the diocesan level, which may lead to recognition as a "public association."
To illustrate the situation, the President wrote:
"It's as if a magistrate appears in the house of Antonio López with a notice to Pedro Rodríguez."
Mr López does not receive a valid judicial notification because of a personal error. Similarly, the Heralds of the Gospel can not receive a decree addressed to another union.
However, according to the President, it is crucial that the Heralds of the Gospel, as a "private association of believers," can not be the subject of a provisional administration, since such is not provided for by Church law. To subordinate a private association to a commissioner would mean "violating the sacred and inviolable right of the faithful to be able to unite in the Church with their own statutes and their own leadership."
"If the dicastery for lay people, family and life, to which we are directly responsible, takes no action, the matter is over for us, I have informed His Eminence."
The position of the Heralds of the Gospel is based on the opinions of canon lawyers, who were called in by the association. These stated that the Roman decree violates Canon 318 of the Codex Iuris Canonici, which provides for a provisional administration only for companies and public associations. Likewise, it violates the Canons 50 and 51 because it is not sufficiently substantiated and the association was not previously heard.
According to the report of "the renowned canonist, Lluis Martinez Sistach, only public associations of the competent ecclesiastical authority in serious cases and for serious reasons, temporarily" can be subordinated to a provisional leadership.
For private associations this jurisdiction does not apply. The ecclesiastical authority therefore has no possibility of replacing the chairman elected by the association's own statutes and the management of the association (Ius Canonicum, XXVI, No. 51, 1986, p. 173).
It should also be noted that in civil matters, the final judgment of the Tribunal de Relación de Coimbra, Portugal, of 17 May 2011, unanimously stated that "the private associations of faithful are subject to the supervision of the competent ecclesiastical authorities, but not by reference to their 'obligation of oversight' appointing commissioners as representatives of the association." Relations between Portugal and the Holy See are governed by a Concordat in force.
The most important testimony in this sense, however, comes from the Dicastery of Laity, Family and Life itself: it annulled the commissioner's decree of the archdiocese of Diamantina (Brazil) against the private association of the faithful Palabra Viva. The decree was annulled by the Holy See on 15 March 2016. The reason given for the annulment was that, under existing law, the appointment of a Commissioner (Can., 318) is intended only for public associations of believers (Cann., 312-320). A corresponding application to a private association of the faithful is not legitimate and the appointment of a Commissioner is therefore not permitted.
Cardinal Assis and Bishop Aparecido took note of the remarks made by the leader of the Heralds of the Gospel on 18 October. Msgr. Aparecido, himself a canon lawyer, said that the message was that he would write to the Holy See explaining that "there is indeed an admissible objection".
Heralds of the Gospel
The Congregation of Religious, say the Heralds, basically do not have jurisdiction over a private association of the faithful, regardless of whether their members are lay or clerical.
The leader of the Heralds of the Gospel also addresses the question of the reasons for the Roman Commissioner's decree. It was still "an unknown mystery," about what the association is being accused. The reasons given in the decree are of such a general nature and of "a suspicious inconsistency" that the only consequence is "great confusion":
"Because we are aware that the Heralds of the Gospel have committed no crime and have always maintained the integrity of the faith and customs. In this sense, it is noticeable that the previous Apostolic Visitation, which took place in an atmosphere of ecclesial communion and pervaded all of us, was completed without any "problematic" question, let alone a "serious one."
Rome wants to administer the association in a tacit and arbitrary manner. But why?
"Therefore, and because the purpose of the Congregation of Orders (an authority which has no jurisdiction over our lay association), is to ask the Prefect of this Congregation, Cardinal Braz de Aviz, with the necessary respect:
"If we did something wrong, then tell us clearly what. But if not, why are you trying to punish us at any cost?"
The meeting with the two prelates appointed by Rome also addressed the "moral lynching" of which the Heralds of the Gospel, since the Roman Commissioner's Decree, have undergone by the media-led through "anti-religious prejudices." This campaign had "caused irreparable moral damage," and the responsible leadership of the association must "react in time with the necessary means," even of a legal nature.
The broadcast concludes:
We turn our eyes to the mild and mighty Virgin Mary, of whose infallible help we are certain. We re-consecrate ourselves to Her and our apostolate of the Association of Heralds of the Gospel, which already belongs to her, all for the greater glory of God.
Sao Paulo, October 19, 2019
In memory of St. John of Brébeuf, St. Isaac Jogues and companions, martyrs, and St. Paul the Cross
Humberto Goedert Press Officer of the Heralds of the Gospel
Text: Giuseppe Nardi Image: Gospel Heralds (Screenshots)
Little Sisters of Mary: The next traditional order falls victim to the Commissar.
(Rome) The Vatican is destroying another traditional order: the Petites Sœurs de Marie, Mère du Rédempteur, the Little Sisters of Mary, the Mother of the Redeemer. Ninety percent of the sisters have asked for release from their vows because of the interference of Rome.
Founded in 1949 by Mother Marie de la Croix (Maria Nault), the Order of Women has four branches in the French dioceses of Laval and Toulouse. The sisters had been transferred to the Novus Ordo in the wake of the liturgical reform after the Second Vatican Council, but under Pope Benedict XVI. in 2012 they returned to the traditional Roman rite.
Order of the Sacred Heart and Crown of Thorns symbols
This is a step that has not been favored in some Church circles in France and especially in Rome. In the situation with the Franciscans of the Immaculate and the Priestly Fraternity of the Holy Apostles, the surprising resignation of Pope Benedict XVI., cleared the way to take action against these orders, which disrupted the neuronal "consensus.”
In 1989 the Order was canonically recognized by the then Bishop of Laval as an institute of diocesan right. The diocesan Bishop Thierry Scherrer, who had been in office since 2008, "appears to be bergoglianized," according to Riposte Catholique. Above all, he seemed offended by the idea of penance, which is part of religious spirituality.
The Little Sisters of Mary experienced canonical visitations in 2016 and 2018 and were accused of "sectarian" tendencies. Such forms can certainly exist in the Church. However, the term is even more a cipher with which modernist church circles discredit faithful, religious communities, orders and prayer groups, in the better case smile and mock, in the worse case persecute.
The religious concerned describe the final report of the second visitation as "a caricature" of reality. He was unadulterated "prejudice".
The Mother Superior and the novice master were removed from the monasteries and exiled to remote places. In their place, Rome appointed three commissioners of "modern" orientation. The intervention of Rome took place at the request of the local bishop. According to the Vaticanist Marco Tosatti, it is also about "episcopal appetite" for the real estate property of the women's order. In any case, laymen of the diocese who are close to the Little Sisters suspect this.
Like the Franciscans of the Immaculate, the Little Sisters of Mary share the rediscovered love of tradition. "A love that awakens the worst instincts in the current leadership of the Holy See," Tosatti said.
The Little Sisters of Mary are active in the care of the elderly, they work in parishes, help the poor and live a spirituality that seems outdated today in the Vatican: the love of Eucharistic Adoration, the prayers of intercession, sacrifice and the Marian devotion.
Little sisters of Mary
Already in 2009, the local bishop tried to take action against the sisters. At that time Pope Benedict XVI. still ruled in Rome, which is why the attack was unsuccessful. 2016 was different. The bishop had slandered the sisters at the Order's congregation in Rome because of "suspicion of traditionalism". An accusation that has been meticulously and eagerly taken up by the papal court.
As with the Franciscans of the Immaculate, it out of
vengeance that a New World Order returned to the traditional rite, but was not released from the Order's Congregation and placed under the protection of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei. Nothing seems more to be more of an affront to the Congregation of Religous by Cardinal Braz de Aviz and Curial Archbishop Carballo than a "penetration" of tradition into the great stables of the new Catholic Orders.
And as against the Franciscans of the Immaculate, problems in the Order's administration were claimed and used as an excuse for intervening. The fact that 33 out of 38 women religious gave Mother Mother Superior an excellent judgment did not matter. The Order was "praying too much", the Order had to implement the "new theology of consecrated life," and similar accusations were made that reveal little substance, but all the more ideology.
The Congregation of the Order decreed and upholds the provisional administration, although the sisters are determined to defend themselves against "slander" as they say.
Unlike the Franciscans of Immaculate they were not denied the right of appeal. Cardinal Raymond Burke was Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura in the summer of 2013. Burke was deposed by Pope Francis at the end of 2014 and replaced by the Vatican diplomat and former "Foreign Minister" of the Holy See, Msgr. Mamberti. Unlike Cardinal Burke, Mamberti seems incapable or unwilling to act against unjust decisions of the pope. The appeal of the Little Sisters of Mary was rejected.
The nuns saw no other way but to go public. They announced that their order was placed on 17 September by Cardinal Prefect Braz de Aviz under provisional administration. "We do not accept that," said the religious women, who refer to the canon law possibility to be released from the Order.
34 of 39 nuns have sought this release because the Order is no longer the same due to the Roman Attack, to which they wish to belong and to whom they have pledged by virtue of their vows.
"We are 34 out of 39 sisters who have requested the release from the Order’s Congregation. We do not make this sacrifice lightly: we wish to remain in communion with the Church, but we can show neither clearer nor more painfully that it is impossible for us, for reasons of conscience, to obey what we have been forced to do. "
In the diocese of Laval, there is a circle of friends to support the religious, which counts more than 3,000 people.
Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Picture: Association de Soutien aux Petites Soeurs de Marie Mère du Rédempteur
by Roberto de Mattei Has the Pope appointed an external commissioner to the Order of Malta? Pope Francis undeniably likes the strategy of appointing external commissioners as he has already adopted this draconian measure against two religious communities considered too “traditional”: the Franciscans of the Immaculate and the religious of the Incarnate Word. Further, it is not by chance that the announcement of a commission to “gather suitable elements to inform the Holy See thoroughly and swiftly with regard to the matter which has recently involved the Grand Chancellor of the Order of Malta, Mr. Albrecht Freiherr von Boeselager”, was given by the Vatican Press Office on December 22nd, precisely while Pope Bergoglio was transforming his traditional Christmas greetings to the Curia into a bitter chiding against those who are resistant to his project of radical change in the Church, with implicit reference to Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke, Patron of the Order of Malta. However, in this case, the appointing of an external commissioner is not at all possible. -
The Three Commissars who succeeded the late Father Fidenzio Volpi. (r. P. Sabino Ardito)
(Rome) Apostolic Commissioner, assigned by the Congregation of Religious, and his two assistants have published "strange" Easter greeting on the website of the Franciscans of the Immaculate, says Messa in Latino.
After the first Apostolic Commissioner, the Capuchin, Father Fidenzio Volpi, who died in June 2015, the Congregation of Religious assigned a new Commissioner, the Salesian, Sabino Ardito. Unlike Volpi he was assigned two assistants. They are the Capuchin, Carlo Calloni and the Jesuit, Gianfranco Ghirlanda.
Ardito, Calloni and Ghirlanda have together signed the Easter congratulations and their words have triggered some astonishment:
So that faith can exist, it needs the evidence of the empty tomb. It is necessary, like Peter and John, to lose one's own artificial certainties: then you will have the courage to enter into the void. It is necessary that we find the courage to enter into the "grave of God," which we built as the alleged possession of the truth. The faith in the resurrection in and with Christ is the basis for the emptiness of ourselves.
The Gospels not about "emptiness"
Cryptic Easter message from commissioners to all convents and institutions of the Order
"The link established with the entrance of the Apostles Peter and John to Christ's grave can not convince them," says Messa in Latino . There is never any mention in gospels of "emptiness", not even an "empty grave". Going to the grave, they found there an "angel of the Lord" who descended from heaven, approached the grave and moved the stone. "His appearance was like lightning, and his raiment was white as snow" (Mt 28.2 to 3); "Two angels in white" (Jn 20:12). Whoever enters the grave, "looked to the right to see a young man sitting, who was dressed in a white robe" (Mk 16.5); "Two men in dazzling garments" (Lk 24,4).
The women had gone to the grave early in the morning, "but the body of the Lord Jesus, they found it not" (Lk 24:3). They reported to the apostles that "angels appeared who said that he was alive" (Lk 24:23).The apostles thought it was "nonsense and did not believe them" (Luke 24:11). Peter hurried himself to the grave and "saw only the linen cloths" laying there (Lk 24:12). John reported that he was with Peter there, "leaned forward and saw the linen cloths lying," but initially did not go into the grave, while Peter went in and "saw the linen cloths lying and the cloth that had been around Jesus' head but it was not with the linen cloths but wrapped up in a place by itself "(Jn 20: 5 to 7). Then John entered the grave and "saw and believed" (Jn 20:8).
The evangelists all testify that Christ was no longer among the dead, but is risen. But why we can not speak of "emptiness", because the resurrection means well, materially speaking, an empty grave, but no "void," because of the Evangelists "mentioned a scene full of light, angels and divine presence," said Messa in Latino .
The disciples and the women had to lose any "certainties"
The talk of "certainties" may not convince what according to the Commissioners how "Peter and John" must "lose."
From the Gospels it shows that neither the disciples nor the women had any certainty, neither a natural nor an "artificial" one. As Saint Mary Magdalene first went to the grave was "it was still dark" (Jn 20:1). Nobody thought of the resurrection. The Gospels speak of no certainty, but of darkness, doubt, fear, which are reconciled only by going to the grave. You will not find there the body of the Lord, but they do not find there a "void," but a light, an angel, a divine presence and as a sign, the folded linen cloths. You will find the exact opposite of "emptiness" for they saw, and believed even if they did not quite understand. Mary Magdalene even met Jesus at the grave.
As women and disciples went for the grave, they were full of doubt, emptiness and anxiety, but no longer, as they came to the grave. At the grave the doubts were transformed into certainty. Before they came to the grave, they had no certainty, not even a "human", which they could give up.
"This is the question in the room, what induced the honorable fathers commissioners to formulate this strange Easter congratulation," said Messa in Latino . Their message is also hardly comprehensible as the "emptiness" as "nothing" in the sense of St. John of the Cross.
Did the commissioners want to convey to the brothers and sisters of the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate, a message which purports to be a swipe at their charism, the Founder, fidelity to the Franciscan rule and against their consecration to the Immaculata? Is that all "artificial certainty" meant that you must "lose?"
The allusion about the "alleged possession of the truth" remains completely cryptic. "Naturally," the Easter message only makes sense when when it is read as an Easter admonition, which is directed against the monks and nuns who wanted to maintain fidelity to the founding charism of the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate, to a monastic rule, which is linked to the original rule of St. Francis of Assisi, to the rediscovery of the two thousand year old tradition of the Church, and therefore, also the traditional form of the Rite. It's a message that is directed against the efforts of the Order, to resist those forces and that spirit in the Church, who do homage to some concept of hermeneutics of rupture, because they want this break and approve of it.
"The only emptiness', which can therefore be seen in conjunction with the Franciscans of the Immaculate, is a deflated Order, drained of its charism, the brothers and sisters deprived of their founder, of the founder robbed of his spiritual sons and daughters, an Order, which was made defenseless. The only emptiness, "is therefore, the one that is produced by the commissioners on behalf of the religious congregation and with the approval of Pope Francis," said Messa in Latino .
Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Image: verità sul commissariamento OFFI / Messa in Latino (Screenshot)
(Rome) Fr. Sabino Ardito is the new Apostolic Commissioner of the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate. He belongs to the Salesian Order of Don Bosco and is a well-known canon lawyer. He teaches at the Pontifical Salesian University in Rome and has been employed in various departments of the Roman Curia.
Father Ardito succeeds Father Fidenzio Volpi OFM Cap. who was deceased on 7 June at the age of 75. Father Volpi had died as a result of a brain hemorrhage suffered on 29 April. The Capuchin had been appointed in July 2013 as the Apostolic Commissioner of the Order, which he left in a disastrous state.
Unlike Volpi, who was the sole Commissioner, Father Ardito is supported by two coadjutors, a Jesuit and a Capuchin. They, too, were chosen from among canonists, that canon law, "which was little respected by the previous provisional administration," said Corrispondenza Romana .
