The Pope’s Revenge — Archbishop Gänswein Fired

Curia Archbishop Georg Gänswein is the most recent victim of Pope Francis.

(Rome) Francis has been described as vindictive and vengeful by several authors critical of the Pope. The retaliation for the latest book by Cardinal Robert Sarah and Benedict XVI follows: Pope Francis removes Archbishop Georg Gänswein from his office as Prefect of the Pontifical House.

There have been similar rumors several times in the past, but now it's fixed. However, official confirmation of the latest Bergoglian sentence is still pending. "Apart from the media advance notice, Santa Marta is once again afraid of it," said a Vatican employee. This should be less to be expected, because Pope Francis has so far not been deterred by critical voices in his intentions, least of all if they come from faithful circles.

The "Black Pope", Jesuit General Arturo Sosa Abascal, formulated the situation on September 16, 2019 after six and a half years of the current pontificate:

"Pope critics know that Francis will not change his mind."

[Katholisches] The words were geared towards the Amazon Synod still pending at that time and its main intention to abolish priestly celibacy. This is exactly what the book of Cardinal Robert Sarah, Prefect of the Roman Congregation for Divine Worship and Order of the Sacraments, and Benedict XVI. did. Together they made a plea for priestly celibacy and the sacrament. With their “hands off celibacy” they drew a red line, the first unspoken addressee of this is Pope Francis. The post-synodal letter on the Amazon Synod is still pending, but it shows what faithful Church groups have feared since 2014: Francis creates an exception to the rule that leads to the intended dam break. The German bishops have been waiting impatiently for a long time. A whole series of bishops in the German-speaking world, in Austria and Switzerland it is no different, can hardly wait to dispose of celibacy on the dung heap of history. He is said to be carried to the grave with unctuous ramblings. That is why the Bergoglian bishop generation is not embarrassed (see Married Priests? What bishops of the German-speaking area say about this).

The book by the cardinal and the past pope, which makes it clear that Pope Francis crosses the red line with a softening of celibacy and breaks the tradition of the Church, caused an outburst of anger in Santa Marta. The result was a scandalous media theater, staged by the papal inner-circle, with which confusion about the authorship of Benedict XVI. was generated. Since the secular mass media has a wider reach, well-meaning Catholics still believe Benedict XVI. had denied authorship and must somehow have been "concocted" by Cardinal Sarah. In reality, the fake news campaign aimed to counteract the effectiveness of the book and its defense of priestly celibacy. Contrary to the widespread claim that celibacy is "only" a law of the Church and therefore can be changed at any time, it is "of divine and apostolic origin" (Roberto de Mattei), see also Cardinal Sarah: "Celestial celibacy is not just a law the Church". Celibacy, however, stands in the way of the "sexual revolution" and its view of sexuality. This has been the mainstay of the fight against celibacy since the 1960s.

Archbishop Gänswein came, because of his double position as private secretary of Benedict XVI. and as Prefect of the Pontifical House of Francis immediately and directly into the line of firing. He now also feels the revenge of Santa Marta, which affects him, but of course also and not least,  this means Benedict XVI. It remains to be seen whether the retaliation will be packed into a dismantling of the Papal Prefecture. Whatever the packaging should look like, Msgr. Gänswein is removed from his office, the motivation and the papal intention are clear.

The convinced Bergoglian and pope biographer Austen Ivereigh already asked in an interview on August 10, 2019 to isolate Benedict XVI, whose authority has remained unbroken in large Church circles worldwide. Ivereigh's invitation to Santa Marta was:

"We have to get the circle around Benedict XVI. under control."

Note the personal pronoun "we", which, besides Ivereigh, means the papal inner-circle and Pope Francis himself. The first, closest and most important “circle” of Benedict XVI. is his private secretary and long-time, loyal employee of Archbishop Georg Gänswein.

Ivereigh was the spokesman for Cardinal Cormack Murphy-O’Connor, a member of the ecclesiastical “gang of four”, which he referred to as Team Bergoglio, and Ivereigh himself revealed their existence. The four-member cardinal group (Kasper, Lehmann, Murphy-O'Connor and Danneels), according to the British journalist and author, organized the election of Jorge Mario Bergoglio as Pope as the executive arm of the inner-Church secret circle of St. Gallen.

A struggle is raging in the Church “between two churches”, as the historian and President of the Lepanto Foundation Roberto de Mattei analyzed, one of which could not be the Church of Jesus Christ.

[Update, 12.05 p.m.] Curial Archbishop Georg Gänswein was "put on leave”  by Pope Francis. Informally, it is embellished that Gänswein should have more time to look after Benedict XVI. And take care of him. Vatican circles currently do not expect the post of Prefect of the Pontifical House to be filled. Access to the Pope, one of the prefect's main tasks, was handled by Francis from the start through other hands. Archbishop Gänswein's duties were largely reduced to the duty of attendance when receiving state visits and as an extra for papal activities.

Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Image: MiL
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
AMDG

Society of St. Pius X Six Years After the Letter of Benedict XVI Between Vocations and Schism

(Menzingen) The Catholic monthly magazine Il Timone has published the following article about the traditional Society of St. Pius X (SSPX)  not presently   in unity with Rome.

"Six years ago, on 10 March 2009, Pope Benedict XVI wrote the "Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church Concerning the  lifting of the excommunication of the four bishops consecrated by Archbishop Lefebvre."  It was one of the most moving and vibrant documents of his magisterium and at the same time also one of the most dramatic. It was created to respond to a wild campaign, which was sparked by the media and parts of the Church against him, to give in to the  "biting and devouring" as St. Paul complains in his letter to the Galatians, and what Benedict XVI. then pointed to describe the climate of those days.

In his letter, which is worth reading in its entirety because of its clarity and depth,  Benedict XVI wrote. amongst other things:

'Can we be totally indifferent about a community which has 491 priests, 215 seminarians, 6 seminaries, 88 schools, 2 university-level institutes, 117 religious brothers, 164 religious sisters and thousands of lay faithful? Should we casually let them drift farther from the Church? I think for example of the 491 priests. We cannot know how mixed their motives may be. All the same, I do not think that they would have chosen the priesthood if, alongside various distorted and unhealthy elements, they did not have a love for Christ and a desire to proclaim him and, with him, the living God. Can we simply exclude them, as representatives of a radical fringe, from our pursuit of reconciliation and unity? What would then become of them?'

The letter  has new relevance these days because of two events. The first  is that Bernard Fellay, Superior General of the Society of St. Pius X has announced that the Society has a count, this year in its history, of more than 600 priests for the first time. More than 100 priests in just  six years. Today, the Society maintains permanent establishments in 35 countries. However, their Apostolate extends to 70 countries. Its spread is particularly strong in the US, where it is building a new seminary, which will become its largest seminary. 'Shall we let them drift farther from the Church?' asked Benedict XVI. in his letter.

The second message is extremely fatal, published   yesterday by Rorate Caeli. One of the four bishops consecrated by Lefebvre, Richard Williamson,who was expelled in 2012 from the SSPX,  wants to at least consecrate one new bishop: Father Jean-Michel Faure, former superior of the Latin American District of the SSPX and former rector of the seminary La Reja, Argentina. He also belongs with Williamson, to those who have left the Society. The ordinations are to take place in the monastery formerly associated with the SSPX  of Santa Cruz in Nova Friburgo, a city in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. With the episcopal ordination  Williamson would again incur excommunication , as well as for the new illegitimate bishop, and it would form one of those runaway lines of apostolic succession that Rome has tried to avoid in all circumstances, because they are able to produce schismatic groups, because it is a sacramental Potestas  they can claim for themselves.

Translation: Giuseppe Nardi
Image: Il Timone

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotail.com

Link to Katholisches...

AMDG

Benedict XVI. Prays --- And Formulates an Opposing Position

Edit: the most revealing, cutting  comment was quoted by Sandro Magister and not present in this piece:

"John Paul II did not ask for applause, nor did he ever look around in concern at how his decisions would be received. He acted on the basis of his faith and convictions, and he was also ready to take fire. The courage of the truth is to my eyes one of the main criteria of holiness."

(Vatican)   Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. prays, but he also gives advice," says Vatican expert Sandro Magister. And he does it more often. While the reigning Pope Francis called upon and  hailed, the Emeritus Pope raises his predecessor John Paul II. A fine but meaningful action. Benedict XVI. is it not primarily about the person of the Polish pope, who had called him to Rome and his pontificate, which he helped to shape from the background, but rather it is related  to the Magisterium, particularly realling the Encyclical Veritatis splendor , and the Declaration Dominus Iesus , two documents Benedict XVI. as a contrast and corrective to current developments.Veritatis Splendor was co-authored by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, in his capacity as prefect of the CDF. It raises the absolute claim of fundamental moral truths. Dominus Iesus is a document of the CDF, which was, however, contrary to conflicting claims, approved in full by  John Paul II. The Polish Pope also, said Benedict, had no fear, "as to how his decisions would be taken."  Recent references can be called to mind.

Cardinal Kasper Warned of the "Shadow Pope" - Francis Publicly Called For This

Cardinal Walter Kasper, the spokesman of a fundamental attack on the sacrament of marriage, the sacrament of confession and religious anthropology,  found sharp words for Benedict during  the sedevacant between the resignation and the election of  Francis. With words that were directed against the resigning Pope, he warned against interfering in the election of his successor and his pontificate. It is Pope Francis, in his Ash Wednesday interview in Corriere della Sera who exhorted Benedict XVI. to take an active role in the Church. Also the course as part of an unprecedented development in the history of the Church. "The Pope Emeritus   is not a museum piece. He is an institution," said Pope Francis and much more, including the request,  "that it would be better if he saw people went out and would participate in the life of the Church."

"No sooner said than done," says Master. "A few days later, a book was published with a text of Benedict XVI. Not about any text, but an assessment of his predecessor John Paul II ."  A real public opinion, not only of the person, but also the crucial basic lines of this memorable pontificate," said Master. With emphasis, which can not but be read, because it is as a pointed comparison to  the current situation of the Church and thus the reigning Pope.

Four Major Encyclicals and Two Key Documents

The text contains a number of significant points. One of them is that of liberation theology, which has gained new relevance in the Vatican. But two other points are important. The first digit refers to the most important encyclicals of John Paul II Of the fourteen encyclicals   Benedict XVI. singles out five.

Redemptor hominis from 1979, where John Paul II, "offers his personal summary of the Christian faith", and today "this is a great help to those,who are in the search,' says Benedict.

Redemptoris missio of 1987,   "which emphasizes the importance of the permanent mission of the Church's mission" .

Evangelium vitae of 1995, which "develops one of the fundamental themes of the entire pontificate of John Paul II: the inviolable dignity of human life, from the first moment of conception," said Benedict.

Fides et ratio of 1998, which " "offers a new vision of the relationship between the Christian faith and philosophical reason."".

"Veritatis Splendor" against Pragmatic Morality Without Good and Evil

 Benedict XVI.  devote  a few lines of comments to these  four encyclicals. Then he mentioned a fifth encyclical, which he dedicated, in contrast to the other, a lot of space, and thus the weighting still underlines.

This is the Encyclical Veritatis Splendor on some fundamental questions of the Church's moral teaching in 1993.  Perhaps the least recognized encyclical of John Paul II it  is considered by Benedict XVI. which the Church relies on in Her  current position as the most important legacy of the Polish pontificate. "The Encyclical on moral issues took long years of maturation and remains unchanged from actuality," says Benedict XVI.:

"The Second Vatican Council was in contrast to the prevailing orientation of moral theology to natural was that  Catholic moral teaching about Jesus and His message, had a biblical foundation.  However, this was only rudimentarily attempted for only a short time. Then, the opinion prevailed that the Bible did not have its own proclamation to morality, but refers only to moral models whose validity varies from case to case. Morality is a matter of reason and not of faith, it was said. So on the one hand   the sense of natural law as a foundation for morality disappeared, without any Christian idea taking its place. And since you still could see a Christological morality neither a metaphysical basis, they  resorted back to pragmatic solutions: on a morality that is based on the principle of a balancing of interests, in which there is no longer truly the  bad and the truly good, but only more, what is the point of view of efficiency, better or worse. The great task that John Paul II was presented with in that encyclical was, again to track down and expose and a metaphysical foundation in anthropology thus a Christian concretization in the new image of man from the Scriptures. "

Because of its prominence, of the utmost importance Benedict XVI recommends.  people of today to read and study this encyclical again, and think about.

"Dominus Iesus" and the Essential Elements of the Catholic Faith

The second point concerns the Declaration Dominus Iesus on the uniqueness and universality of redemption of Jesus Christ and the Church in 2000. "Dominus Iesus summarizes completely the essential elements of the Catholic faith." Dominus Iesus was the most criticized doctrinal document of the Polish pontificate and indeed outside and inside the Church. And yet it is, says Benedict XVI., together with Veritatis splendor,   two of the outstanding and important documents of the pontificate of John Paul II. Not only that, he recommends both documents to the Church today as a guide.

In order to undermine the significance  of Dominus Iesus, opponents attempted to attribute it solely to opponents of  the then Prefect of faith. The opposite was the case. Benedict XVI. emphasized in the book now published, that had been complete agreement between him and John Paul II. as to its contents as well as what the timing and the need to publish were concerned.   Pope Emeritus describes this previously unknown background:

"Because of the vortex, which had originated around Dominus Iesus, Pope John Paul II told me that he intended to unambiguously defend the document during the Angelus.
He asked me to draw up a text for the Angelus, which was waterproof, so to speak, and alllowed no other  interpretation. It should be made ​​clear in an unambiguous way that he approved of the document without ifs and buts. 

Therefore, I prepared a short speech, but would not it be too forward and tried with clarity but without express hardness. After he read it, the Pope said to me: "Is this really clear enough? 'I said yes. 

Anyone familiar with the theologians, is not surprised that there were still those who claimed afterwards that the Pope had cautiously distanced himself from  this document. "

Just how indigestible the  Declaration Dominus Iesus was for parts of the Church, was demonstrated   in February 2010 in a statement by Cardinal Kasper. On the edge of a meeting of the Papal Council for Promoting Christian Unity, he turned to Vatican Radio following question:

Vatican Radio: "You stated in your opening remarks that mistakes have been made with the publication of the document 'Dominus Iesus'  according to ecumenical partners. What did you mean? "

Cardinal Kasper: "I will not say that there is doctrinal error, since this document reflects   Catholic doctrine, but that there are problems with some formulations that are not easily accessible to our partners."

Today, Cardinal Kasper seems to have more weight in the Church than ever before. Benedict XVI. formulated in various places an opposite position, publicly and privately. So he wrote, as Curial Archbishop Georg Gänswein announced in a ZDF interview, a four-page critique of the interview of Pope Francis in the Jesuit magazine Civilta Cattolica .

The judgment of Benedict XVI.  about the person of John Paul II  he summarizes in his article a statement, in which he expresses admiration for the "courage", "with which he fulfilled his task in a truly difficult time. John Paul II was not expecting applause and also did not look worried about how his decisions could be taken. He acted out of his faith and his beliefs and was also willing to suffer criticism for it."

Years ago, Joseph Ratzinger coined the phrase on the exercise of the papal office:

"A pope who would not be criticized today would have missed his task in this time."

The book, in which the new text of Benedict XVI. has appeared: . "On the Side of John Paul II Told by His Friends and Associates", with an exclusive contribution of Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI, ed. From Wlodzimierz Redzioch, Edizioni Ares, Milan, 2014, pp. 236, € 15,90.

Text: Settimo Cielo / Giuseppe Nardi
image: CR / NBQ
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
Link to Katholisches...

AMGD

Vatican in the Crosshairs of the NSA? Cardinal Bergolio Watched Since 2005 Conclave

(Vatican) According to the weekly magazine Panorama, comparable to the German magazine Focus, the American NSA and the Vatican spy have intercepted phone calls intercepted and read emails. Vatican spokesman Father Lombardi puts a good face on a bad game.

"We know nothing about it and above all we do not have any worries in this respect." With these words, Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi tried to downplay reports that the National Security Agency of the USA also systematically monitors the Vatican. These significant technical eavesdropping techniques have even been used against the Pope . According to Panorama against Benedict XVI. and now against Pope Francis, but probably already against John Paul II.

In Italy, as has been confirmed officially, between the 10th of December 2012, and the 8th of January 2013, 46 million phone calls between the U.S. and Italy were recorded by the NSA. Among them are the phone calls to and from the Vatican. Despite the denial of Father Lombardi, there are no illusions at the Vatican. Actually, no one assumes that the Vatican had been excluded from the coverage monitoring. The discussion circles in this context are concerned especially whether the whole preparations for the conclave or of the resignation announcement of Pope Benedict XVI. were also overheard. Just overheard? The distinction between the passive to the active player is fluid in espionage. According to the USA it was about the "national security" and is defined in terms of "national interests" and the particular ideological orientation of the government in Washington.

Italian observers are convinced that the monitoring of course did not only include the period of 10 December to 8 January, but before and after, and probably also applies now.

According to Panorama the Domus Internationalis Paolo VI was among the objects being monitored, and the second guest room of the Vatican, where Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio usually stayed when he was in Rome. As mentioned in the Wikileaks releases is known to the Vatican, Cardinal Bergoglio has been monitored at least since the 2005 conclave, as he was the opposing candidate of Benedict XVI.

Still according to the Panorama report not only were incoming and outgoing phone calls in the Vatican monitored, but also those to cardinals and bishops outside the Vatican were classified and assigned by the NSA to four categories: leadership intentions, threats to financial system, Foreign Policy Objectives, Human Rights.

Among other things, the filling of leadership positions of the Vatican Bank IOR aroused the interest of the American. A few days after Pope Benedict XVI. announced his resignation, a new board president, German banker Ernst von Freyberg, was appointed by the competent Commission of Cardinals for the Vatican Bank with the approval of the Pope. Since the resignation of the Director General Freyberg shall exercise this interim office also from the 1st of July.

Text: Giuseppe Nardi
 Image: Vatican Insider
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

Link to katholisches...

H/t to Eye Witness also.  We saw this last night and got around to just translating it and must confess that Voice of Russia and Al Jazeera are not savory sources we like at all, since they have a suspicious point of view.  We have more trust, such as it is, for Panorama.


AMGD

The Pope Lives in a Hotel? -- The Pope and the Papal Home

Layout of Pope’s Apartment: Hardly sumptuous.

by Claudia Jakober

(Vatican) People like Pope Francis. That is a grace for the Church. Yet the visibly staged shows of humility and meekness by the new Pope have not met with complete approval. They construct an unfair contrast, as if the Popes had not been humble. Just read the wills of deceased Popes gradually and note again the humility and frugality of Benedict XVI., who took advantage of the existing garments, as shown by the fact papal coat of arms can easily be seen.

More decisive than approval for some quick and easy modesty, is that the pope receives more obedience and opens the minds and hearts of the people for the comprehensive Christian message. In that case, if then only his recent decision were also to earn applause, not to collect on the Apostolic Palace, or papal apartment rather. The question of the usefulness of such demonstrative acts remain in the air.

Is it true that the new pope lives in the hotel?

I was recently asked this. The question was so surprising that I was on the verge of immediately responding with an indignant no. But I kept silent and it was better that way. It is really true that he lives in the hotel.

The Pope’s Office

But is it "better" when a pope lives in a hotel instead of his own house? The Pope still occupies the suite at Domus Sanctae Martæ that he had taken as a cardinal at the beginning of the conclave. These are the guest houses built by John Paul II in the Vatican and to a certain extent it is the hotel of the tiny enclave. I only really became aware of this, as has been reported after the papal election to an astonished public, that the new pope had initially paid the outstanding account in the guest house. The Cardinals have to pay for their accommodation during the conclave in the Vatican?

Apostolic Palace accessible mostly for public

The Apostolic Palace dates back to late antiquity. The oldest visible parts today originated in the Middle Ages. In its form known the world over was designed from 1508 to 1519 by Antonio da Sangallo. The extensive grounds include 1,400 rooms and halls that have been designed over the centuries by the greatest artists the world over by Raphael Michelangelo and Bramante to countless others.

Today in many parts of the palace are where the Vatican Museums housed and open to the public, so the general public, the Raphael Rooms, the home of Pope Alexander VI. Borgia and the famous Sistine Chapel. In the sprawling palace are also where a number of Vatican authorities and parts of the Roman Curia are housed, the Prefecture of the Apostolic Household soon to be occupied by recently appointed Curia Archbishop Georg Gänswein, director of the Office of the liturgical Celebrations of the Pope, Bishop Guido Marini, then the great Apostolic Library and especially the legendary Papal Secret Archives, with its nuclear bomb proof vaults.

The Apostolic Palace of the Vatican has been the official residence of the Pope in his capacity as head of the Church since the High Middle Ages. In contrast, the Papal Quirinal Palace was the residence of the Pope as head of state of the Papal States. After Italian troops had forcibly torn the Papal States from the pope, Italian Kings have have resided there since 1870. Since 1946, the Italian President's palace is in the Quirinal.

The Pope’s Bedroom

The part inhabited by the Popes in the Vatican Palace has varied over time. Parts can be viewed in the Vatican Museums. In more recent modern times, the popes lived in a part of the second floor in which Leo XIII as the last pope lived and died there. The rooms have not changed, but are not accessible. Pope St. Pius X. moved in 1903 to just above it rooms of the third floor. Here is where all of the Popes have lived and died since then till 28 February 2013, the resignation of Benedict XVI.

Only ten of 1400 spaces form private residence of the Pope - The chapel is half

What are the papal apartments, the new Pope rejects so ostentatiously? The apartment of the Pope consists of ten rooms: a hall /corridor, a small office for the papal secretaries, library/meeting room, a study for the Pope, a private chapel, which occupies most of the space, a bathroom, a doctor's office for emergencies a dining room, a small living room and kitchen (the illustration above shows the approximate condition of the apartment at the end of the pontificate of Pope John Paul II). In 2006 after decades of all of the electrical wiring and the kitchen had been renewed. In the 1930s, rooms connected to the Papal chambers included some small apartments which were created for members of the papal household. During the Pontifcates of Benedict XVI. there was an apartment at the disposal of his brother Georg.

The rooms are according to the standards of the 16th Century, quite spacious, but very modest, not to say the old-fashioned furnishings, because popes are not in fashion. Who would really like any of Benedict XVI.’s furniture? He took them in humility.

Papal apartment now reduced - the hotel has all improvised and provisional

After breaking the seal, which is mounted on the death of a pope (in the specific case, after inconceivable resignation of Benedict XVI.) to the papal apartment, upon being brought to the new aparemtns the new pope then explained that the chambers were too big. He remained in the guest house and the papal apartment was probably rebuilt to his specifications. The efficiency of Vatican artisans is well known. The renovation work has been completed since last week. The new landlord has now but changed his mind. He also doesn’t he want to move in the smaller apartment, but to stay in the hotel, where he receives his staff and guests as well as the state government of Argentina President Kirchner or the Jesuit Father General.

Is it cheaper to live in a hotel room than in their own homes? And the cost of renovations? For personal secretary, the papal secretary, other staff, including the security forces had rooms had to get settled in rooms at the Domus. Everything looks improvised, provisional, and so unsettled, as were the new pope only to be the temporary representative of Christ, or at least temporarily in Rome.

The Papacy needs continuity not activism 

Then there is the inevitable question of whether it is really appropriate that the Pope has his household in a hotel, where elsewhere in the Vatican all the appropriate facilities are available, which is now empty. He receives individuals and small groups in the guest house. Some guests of the Vatican live in quasi Suite to Suite with the head of the Catholic Church, who they visit. The Pope used the same general dining room every morning like the others in the house accommodated guests. This is almost has the closeness of a bosom friend but is it appropriate? What good do these things do, but convey the impression of an exalted activism?

What the Church needs is always a new form of preaching. John Paul II was a philosophical thinker. Benedict XVI. a theological thinker. Francis could rely primarily on new pastoral accents. Much would be gained if he would make sure that the documents of Vatican authorities would be implemented in generally accessible language. The Pope has to preserve and secure a haven of stability and continuity, and to be more so in a troubled, short-lived time as catechesis always needs a new translation into the language of the time.

Pope Benedict XVI. exuded dignity in his person. The poses of the people is different, just like people are different. You could see that even with the unusual, even strange encounter of two recent popes at Castel Gandolfo, which should offer no comparison.

Pope John Paul II was an extremely popular and accessible Pope, the Pope looked like no one before, in the proximity to the people. A closeness that Benedict XVI. because of his age, was never able to accompany. John Paul II always radiated near always a great inner dignity at a maximum, which is of particular importance to the office of the pope. Not the personality due to the incumbent, but the ex officio, as Vicar of Christ. Pope Francis still conveys the impression of a friendly village priest.

The Pope is a father, he is Christ's representation of the father of all believers, of all the baptized and the whole of humanity. He is the high priest, he manages the grace of mediating sacraments, he stands on the place of the only Savior and Redeemer, for which humanity thirsts longingly at all times. To him all people should and want to look up to him, because they sense something of the truth rising, accompanied by Christ and so many people, as the Scriptures reveal, perceived, even the blind when he came near them.

Domus Sanctae Martæ new Apostolic Palace?

That a head of state and the head of the Church of the largest religious group in the world is housed in a hotel, is indeed something new. The Apostolic Palace is now in a sense, the guest house of the Vatican. Because as Apostolic Palace is actually the building where the Pope lives.

Whether it is good or even better than the current system, should at least be questioned. And who is enthusiastic, ultimately, if I can tell someone that my Pope, the head of the church, whom Christ entrusted with the keys to heaven, for my and your dramatic life with all the ups and downs of our lives, now lives "out of humility" in a hotel.

Yes, that's something new. An ah-hah moment it is not. Is this not rather short-lived activism in an even more brief life, which gets quick applause and just as quickly forgotten? The Papacy, however, is timeless, eternal, until the end of time.

Translation: Tancred

Link to Katholisches...