Bishop Huonder Leads Rosary Procession in Einsiedeln to Commemorate Lepanto

 A good thousand believers took part in this year's rosary procession in Einsiedeln on October 8th.

For centuries it was customary to carry out a solemn rosary procession on the occasion of the rosary festival to commemorate the victory of Lepanto in Einsiedeln. This tradition was lost after the Second Vatican Council but was taken up again by the Militiae Immaculatae and is now shared by three organizations. This year's procession took place on October 8th and is growing from year to year.

Despite the sometimes-heavy rain, a good thousand believers came to Einsiedeln, including many young people and families, to hold the rosary festival to the glory of God and with the request for a Christian future for the country - but this year also for the world consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary to thank 80 years ago.

On October 31, 1942, in the middle of the Second World War, the 25th anniversary of the Marian apparitions of Fatima was solemnly concluded and Pope Pius XII. consecrated the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, to which she herself had called in Fatima, during a radio address. The turning point in the war coincided with the Battle of El Alamein. A prominent and - from a Catholic point of view - unbiased eyewitness, the then British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, wrote: "One can almost say that we did not record a single victory before El Alamein and afterwards not a single defeat."

The procession was spiritually led by Msgr. Vitus Huonder, Bishop Emeritus of Chur, and two priests. Bishop Vitus Huonder declared at the end of the procession at the Frauenbrunnen on the monastery square that "the consecration is an act of the special and solemn dedication of the faith and thereby becomes a source of a special blessing". In the case of consecration to the Blessed Mother, this is a deep act of faith in the Blessed Mother's participation in the work of salvation of her son Jesus and, connected with it, in God's goodness and mercy. After his speech, those present knelt and led by the bishop, prayed together the prayer of consecration written by Pope Pius XII.

The Militia Immaculatae, is a Catholic movement founded in 1917 by Saint Father Maximilian Kolbe. It promotes devotion to Our Lady, particularly through the distribution of the Miraculous Medal and the Rosary. Father Maximilian Kolbe is known to many because 80 years ago he voluntarily gave his life in the hunger bunker in the Auschwitz concentration camp for the father of family who was a fellow prisoner. The Militia Immaculatae of the traditional observance has several thousand members in German-speaking countries and over 100,000 members worldwide.

This year, the organizing committee was expanded by two Catholic movements: The Fatima World Apostolate of Switzerland, which was founded in 1952 to spread the message of Fatima, and the prayer initiative Switzerland Prays, which arose in the wake of the Corona crisis and meets every Wednesday evening at 140 Places in Switzerland and prayed the Rosary. 

Tradition in Einsiedeln

The Feast of the Rosary is celebrated annually on October 7th to commemorate the victory achieved by praying the Rosary in the greatest galley battle in history, on October 7th, 1571 in the Strait of Lepanto (Greece). There the outnumbered Christians triumphed against the Ottoman fleet and ended Turkish dominance in the Mediterranean.

Information for the 2023 Rosary Procession and more can be found on the Rosary Prayer website.

Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Image : rosary prayer. info

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

AMDG

Battleground Swiss Diocese of Chur Handed Off to Opus Dei Prelate

Msgr. Joseph Bonnemain is the new Bishop of Chur.

(Rome) Msgr. Marian Eleganti, the auxuliary bishop of Chur, was retired today by Pope Francis. At the same time, the Holy See announced the appointment of the new Bishop of Chur. The diocese has been deeply divided for decades.

In 2019, the Benedictine Msgr. Eleganti, although only 63 years old at the time, offered Pope Francis his resignation in the course of the retirement of Bishop Vitus Huonder. While the diocese of Chur was vacant, Francis left the former abbot of the Benedictine abbey of St. Otmarsberg in office. With the appointment of a new diocesan bishop today, the Pope accepted Eleganti's offer of resignation.

The diocese of Chur is the oldest and largest diocese in Switzerland. A struggle for control of the diocese has been raging since the late 1980s. Therefore, towards the end of his episcopate, Bishop Johannes Vonderach (1962–1990) asked for a bishop coadjutor with succession rights. This was granted to him in 1988 in the person of Wolfgang Haas. The resistance against Msgr. Haas was so strong that in 1997 he was sent to the Archdiocese of Vaduz, which was set up especially for this purpose. Up until then, the Principality of Liechtenstein had belonged to the Diocese of Chur. The conflict flared up again with each new appointment. Through the interaction of non-church media and progressive church circles, a priori image of the bishops was drawn and the development of their work was severely impaired.

In 1999 Marian Eleganti was elected Abbot of the Mission Benedictines of Uznach. In 2010 Pope Benedict XVI appointed him. at the request of Bishop Vitus Huonder as auxiliary bishop of Chur. Among other things, Eleganti acted as the Rector of the Chur seminary and episcopal vicar for the religious. Media remote from the Church and progressive church circles repeatedly put the two bishops under pressure and publicly pilloried them.

Because of such discrepancies in the Swiss Bishops' Conference about the October 2018 Youth Synod convened by Pope Francis  Msgr. Eleganti resigned in 2018 from his position as youth bishop of Switzerland. He had accused the Synod Director of "contradictions and not being inscribed by the Holy Spirit."

The auxiliary bishop of Chur and the Austrian philosopher Joseph Seifert exercised 2,019 sharp critique of the Abu Dhabi document on the "brotherhood of man", which Pope Francis signed with the Grand Imam of al-Azhar in the United Arab Emirates as the "heresy of all heresies ”. 

Msgr. Marian Eleganti: The Benedictine has been auxiliary bishop of Chur to this day

The controversial post-synodal letter Amoris Laetitia -actuated critical remarks by Eleganti in defense of marriage and family. He was the first and only Swiss Bishop who signed the Commitment to the Inalienable Truths of Marriage Sacrament, which had been presented by Auxiliary Bishop Athanasius Schneider and other Kazakh bishops at the end of the 2017.

In the course of the so-called Corona pandemic, he created a spiritual dimension to the events and called for penance and conversion. In early March 2020 he regarded the development with  plain words and drew heavy criticism on himself because certain opinions are barely tolerated. He criticized the fact that the Church's answer to the Corona crisis was largely limited to hygiene regulations, which was tantamount to "capitulation". He also emphasized that receiving Communion could not pose a risk of infection. With their provisions on Holy Communion, the bishops would say that receiving the body of Christ could make one sick. However, it was more important for the Swiss bishops to keep step with the government. Even bishops from the neighboring Federal Republic of Germany kept their distance from Msgr. Eleganti. The Apostolic Administrator of Chur, Msgr. Peter Bürcher, issued a de facto ban on speaking to Eleganti in the matter of Coronavirus on the grounds that the auxiliary bishop would cause “confusion among the faithful and in public”. The official Corona narrative, which is known to be supported by most governments, but which is not known who invented it, were not to be disrupted.

 

The new bishop of Chur

Almost two years after the retirement of Bishop Vitus Huonder, Pope Francis today appointed a new Bishop of Chur. The appointment of the shepherd of such an old diocese takes place according to proper law. According to this, Pope Francis should have received a three-way proposal from the cathedral chapter and the 22 canons, should have chosen the new bishop. In November 2020, however, the cathedral chapter waived this privilege because no one could agree on a candidate. In this way, as in the more recent bishops, Francis made it possible for himself to make the decision that fell on Joseph Maria Bonnemain, priest of Opus Dei and himself a member of the cathedral chapter.

The Pope preferred a temporary solution, since Monsignor Bonnemain is 72 years old and has to offer his resignation in three years. Even in the event that the Pope should leave him in office beyond the canonical age limit, his term of office is likely to last for a maximum of five years.

Bonnemain is the son of a Swiss from the canton of Jura and a Catalan, which is why he was born in Barcelona. He studied medicine in Zurich and then philosophy and theology in Rome. In 1978 he was ordained a priest for Opus Dei, now a personal prelature. At the University of Navarre he studied canon law and worked since 1981 as a Church judge for the diocese of Chur. From 1983 to 1992 he was a member of the Delegation of the Holy See to the WHO in Geneva. 2002, he was appointed Swiss Bishop Conference of the Secretary for the Commission of Sexual Abuse. Since 2003 he has been a member of the Chur cathedral chapter. Most recently he worked as an official of the diocese and hospital chaplain.

The diocese of Chur is the only diocese in the world that has its own episcopal vicar for the matter of the traditional rite. This task has fallen since June 2015 to P. Martin Ramm from the Pristly Fraternity of Saint Peter. 

Until the enthronement of the new bishop, the diocese is headed by the Apostolic Administrator Msgr. Bürcher. He announced that he would announce the date for the episcopal ordination and the inauguration as soon as possible.

Text: Giuseppe di Nar-
image: MiL

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

AMDG

Did Bishop Williamson Lie About Bishop Huonder at SSPX Episcopal Consecration?

Edit: Interestingly, there is no mention of this in the American or German Society pages.  Also, to be fair, Bishop Williamson only said it was “fairly certain” Bishop Huonder would be the consecrator.

"The Roman Catholic corporation of the Canton of Zurich, with its unjust attack on Bishop Huonder, is more likely to have damaged the concern to influence the Chur bishop election in its own right." 

By Roland Noé

Zurich (kath.net/rn) The Roman Catholic Corporation of the canton of Zurich (a structure created by the state, independent of the bishop, which collects and administers the Church-tax) has been publishing for some time verbiage against the diocese of Chur, which belongs to the Canton of Zurich. The existing bodies in other cantons are interested in remaining socio-politically in the majority in order not to jeopardize the Church-tax system. They fight, therefore, against Catholic positions like the celibacy or the Chrich’s teachings on sexual morality, which are not within the society’s majority. And they wish for the same reason a bishop willing to adapt to the spirit of the times, as in the diocese of Basel and St. Gallen.

In the run-up to the upcoming election of a new Bishop of Chur, the Zurich corporation had published several articles on its homepage in which the Holocaust denier [Oh, no!] Richard Williamson, who is excluded from the Society of St. Pius, spreads falsehoods, for example the assertion that the Bishop of Chur would serve on the past White Sunday to consecrate two bishops for the Society of Saint Pius X.

Now Williamson is spreading new falsehoods, and the Zurich Corporation is publishing these again on their homepage, which also serves as the mouthpiece for the Canton of Zurich Bishop Vicar of the diocese of Chur, Josef Annen.

This time, the Corporation homepage and the episcopal vicar  are claiming that the Bishop of Chur is an opponent of Pope Francis and wants to bring the Society back to the Catholic Church to harm the Holy Father.

At the request of kath.net, the diocese of Chur explains: "We are not commenting on the conspiracy theory of a Holocaust denier. We note, however, that Pope Francis wants to accompany and integrate rather than to exclude. In this sense, the Holy Father also wants to proceed with the Society of Saint Pius X and seek rapprochement. This wish is fulfilled by the Bishop of Chur through his contacts with the Society. Theories that construct a contrast between the wishes of the Pope and the diocese of Chur have no foundation.”

In the Vatican, it is an open secret that Pope Francis has maintained personal relations with the Society since his time in Argentina.

The Zurich corporation is therefore ill-informed and likely to have hurt with their attack on Bishop Huonder, rather with the intention to influence the episcopal election of Chur. The question remains whether the bishop vicar responsible for Zurich is behind the attack on his superior.

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

AMDG

Progressive Apparatchiks in Switzerland Threaten Split If They Don’t Get Reformist Bishop in Chur

The truth is that the anti-Church reforms would just cause the split. This is true for anyone who wants to change the Church using synodal or other ways - The Monday kick by Peter Winnemöller

Linz (kath.net) Episcopal election campaign is a strange term. Nevertheless, he somehow uses it to address the incidents in Zurich. To use funds of the Church for an anti-church action behind the back of the bishop, in fact, that is only possible in Switzerland. The state churches manage the funds, the bishops have no say. This is an untenable situation, against which, however, only a few bishops resist.

One who resists this is Bishop Vitus Huonder. Already immediately after his election he was attacked and slandered. The Left media had him in mind from the beginning. A bishop who represents the Church's teaching in faith and morals, is an abomination to the world.

The term of office of Bishop Huonder is coming to an end. He will be on duty until Easter, when he will soon be on retirement. The mice are already rehearsing the dance on the tables. Most recently, the Regional Vicar of Zurich, Josef Annen, who recently, together with Synodal President Counselor, Franziska Driessen-Reding, wrote an open letter to Pope Francis as an ad in various newspapers published at the expense of the Church.

The background is the desire to get a bishop in the diocese of Chur in the future, who is amenable to the national church and no longer tries to interfere. Where the future bishop should be in matters of faith is clearly visible in the contents of the open letter.

The age-old reform agenda of the mission of Church sexual morality, the democratization of the Church and the women's priesthood are embossed in the paid advertisement. In many places in the Church - like the synodal path of the DBK - it shows how constant drops slowly hollow the stone. But consider at this point that reforms that take place against faith and custom are not in the truth.

Reforms of this kind do not change the Church, they do not change the teaching and certainly not the faith. They only inevitably lead to schism. The would-be reformers know that, because it is not for nothing that in the open letter designed as an ad, a split is blatantly mentioned as a threat. It is perfidious to use separation as a pressure medium in this form. It is diabolical, therefore, where there are threats of a split demands for required reforms are not met.

The truth is that the anti-Church reforms would just cause the split. This applies to all who want to change the Church in synodal or other ways. They do not change the Church, they divide parts of the Church and take many of good faith into the spiritual abyss. That is the danger that must be counteracted.

After the term of office of the current bishop of Chur, it is therefore not important to have a bishop who is after the hearts of the reformists. A bishop is needed who can continue to proclaim the faith without any curtailment and who can and wants to defy the unhealthy ecclesiastical system in Switzerland.

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

AMDG

Bishop Huonder's Retirement Postponed -- "It's a Complete Surprise"

Bishop Huonder

(Chur) "The surprise is complete," the reaction of a Swiss priest friend last night when he communicated the news. Bishop Vitus Huonder of Chur has had his retirement put off for another two years by Pope Francis. Hardly anyone reckoned with this confirmation, even those closest to the bishop.

Msgr. Huonder has been bishop of the oldest Swiss diocese since 2007. On the 21st of April, he completed his 75th year and submitted his resignation on the same day. "That's it," was what the same priest said ten days ago.

Yesterday, Bishop Huonder wrote a letter to "all priests, deacons and pastoral staff in the Diocese of Chur".

"On April 21, 2017, I offered Pope Francis my resignation as a diocesan bishop. In the meantime Pope Francis, after weighing all the circumstances, has already decided and told me that my resolution, now pro-doc, has now been accepted. 'Tunc', so 'then', will be Easter 2019. I will be able to work as a diocesan bishop for two more years."

The Bishop recalls that the Holy See also left his predecessor in the office, Monsignor Amédée Grab, who remained until the age of 77, and till an Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese was appointed until the election of a successor.

Since this was the course under Pope Benedict XVI., however, nobody had expected the usual procedure under Pope Francis. Last autumn, a campaign had been launched against Bishop Huonder, who was already seeking his successor. It was requested that no bishop at all be appointed.

The surprise is also "complete," since Bishop Huonder, with has opposed Amoris Laetitia with the "excellent" Pastoral letter "The Holiness of the Marriage", against the Kasperians and the ambivalent attitude of Pope Francis, who refuses to make a clarification. This faithful confession of the traditional faith and morality has met with little satisfaction in the past few months at the papal court.

Bishop Huonder wrote in his letter:

"The sign of confidence on the part of the Pope, which is connected with his decision, has stirred great gratitude within me. I will continue to use all my powers to continue pastoral service, together with our Auxiliary Bishop Marian, with all priests, deacons and pastoral staff, for the salvation of the souls and the well-being of the Church of Chur."

"I am grateful to Pope Francis for his decision favoring continuity for our diocese.  And I thank him for giving me the opportunity to continue and accompany non-completed work within the diocese as well as at other levels."

Bishop Huonder is the first diocesan bishop of the German-speaking world and beyond, who has appointed his own diocesan vicar to the faithful attending the Immemorial Roman Rite in his diocese. Since diocesan vicars are appointed by the incumbent bishop, the extension also applies to Father Martin Ramm of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter.

"The surprise is complete," as the Swiss friends repeated.

Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Image: Bishopric of Chur (screenshots)

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

Link to Katholisches...

AMDG

Diocese of Chur: Conflict Regarding the Successor of the Faithful Bishop Huonder Ignites

Progressive Insurrection in the Diocese of Chur

(Bern) Progressive Swiss Catholics are again attempting an uprising. Several movements have launched a  petition "It's enough!" [Es Reicht!]. In this way they demand the appointment of an Apostolic Administrator for the Bishopric of Chur by Pope Francis. The leader of the insurrection is the regional Vicar General, Martin Kopp, who has been responsible for central Switzerland since 2002.

The Diocese of Chur in Switzerland is one of the oldest and most important diocese in the German-speaking world. It also includes Romansh Switzerland and the Italian valleys of Graubünden. Once, parts of Tyrol and Vorarlberg and Liechtenstein belonged to the diocese.

Progressive fight against Chur's Bishop

Not only is Graubünden subject to the Bishop of Chur, but also other Swiss cantons, namely Schwyz, Nidwalden, Obwalden, Uri, Glarus, and the canton of Zurich, which has been reformed for 500 years and has been liberal for 200 years. This has not a little to do with the attacks by progressive Church circles against the Chur bishops, which have lasted for decades.

Bishop Wolfgang Haas, who was enthroned in 1990, had so much resistance against him that the Vatican withdrew him. For this, the Principality of Liechtenstein was separated from Chur and designated as an independent diocese. In order to express the disapproval with the Swiss progressives, the Vatican made Vaduz an Archdiocese and Haas its first archbishop.

As Bishop of Chur he was followed for ten years by the hermit Benedictine Amédée Grab. The Liberals, whom he tried to involve, calmed down somewhat, but then, with all the greater intolerance, have rebeled against Bishop Vitus Huonder, who has been in office since 2007.

Yesterday: Own Diocese of Zurich - Today: no Bishop

Occasions are always found when the basic consensus is denied, because a "different" church has long been desired. Since it was not possible to force Bishop Huonder to his knees, the canton of Zurich wants to secede and establish itself as an independent diocese. 30 per cent of Zurichers profess themselves as Reformed, 27 per cent as Catholics.

Regional Vicar General Martin Kopp, the author of the initiative "Es reicht!"

On April 21, 2017, Bishop Huonder will complete his 75th year of life. In Chur no one really expects that Pope Francis would extend his office.

It's about the succession. The progressive church circles dream of a "reformed" church, which is remote from Rome. In this picture the Pope is especially disturbing to these same circles, even if he is called Francis. For this reason, there is a demand for a separate diocese of Zurich has now been abandoned. Chur is an ancient diocese, Zurich would be a new diocese and would be more directly under the supervision and control of Rome. They do not want that at all!

This is why the new suggestion by Bishop Sikar Kopp is not to appoint a successor but to appoint an apostolic administrator. The Progressives want to prevent a second bishop Haas or a second Bishop Huonder and would like to have a bishop separate from Rome.

"Without a new beginning the Diocese of Chur is dead," exclaimed episcopal vicar Martin Kopp on 24 October in the Daily News, which repeatedly turned to attacks against Bishop Huonder and the Catholic Church. "It can not go on like this so far," says Kopp, who had already conflicted in the past with his bishop and  closest collaborators. He has defended "homo-blessings" and liturgical slapstick.

"Tensions" provoked by Progressives

The faithful Chur Society of Priests replied on the 26th of October that although we share Kopp's view that "tensions in the diocese of Chur" must be overcome.  "However, regardless of whether the diocese is governed by a newly elected bishop or an apostolic administrator, this person must fulfill the mission of the Church, which every bishop assumes upon his consecration." And further: "To reduce tension in the diocese of Chur, Chur's priesthood pleads for more prudence and self-reflection, with the help of the Gospel. The latter moves us to contradict the regional Vicar-General: Hope dies last, and for the diocese of Chur, the proverb is that those declared dead live longer!"

The "tensions" in the Bishopric of Chur are attributed above all to the public-law Landeskirchen. Their existence is a peculiarity of Switzerland, which is connected with the Reformation and with the victory of the Liberals in 1847. In contrast to the state, the diocese is not a corresponding partner (church tax, parish property, finances, annual budget, employees), but to the canton which  a  corporation in public law, called a "Landeskirche", which must be democratically constituted by law. What applies to the cantonal level continues in every parish. In addition to the church-legal structure there is a state-church structure parallel to all levels (federation, cantons, municipalities).

In the historically Catholic cantons, the church has more room for maneuver. In the historically reformed cantons, including Zurich, the Protestant constitution is imposed upon the Catholic Church. The tone is not given by the diocese, but by the public-law body "Roman-Catholic Landeskirche". As is known in the Catholic Union in the Federal Republic of Germany and in Austria, the bodies of these committees are very progressive. And 500 years of the formation of the Reformation seem to encourage new elements of Protestantism imposed upon parts of the Catholic Church.

The progressive initiative wants petition to continue by the end of the year, then the petition, including signatures will be handed over to the Apostolic Nuncio and the Swiss Bishops' Conference.

Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Image: Diocese of Chur / SMM (screenshots)
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
Link to Katholisches...
AMDG

From Empty Seminaries to Full Seminaries -- Ordinations at the Society of St. Peter

(Wigratzbad) Last Saturday, Bishop Vitus Huonder of Chur ordained 11 subdeacons of the Fraternity of St. Peter. At the same time the Bishop of Chur ordained 15 seminarians in the traditional rite to minor orders as porters and lectors. Five seminarians were ordained exorcist and acolyte. All ordinands are preparing for the priesthood at the International Seminary of the Society St. Peter of Peter (FSSP) in Wigratzbad in the diocese of Augsburg near Lake Constance.

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This coming February 20th, there will be another 13 subdeacons  ordained at the second international seminary of the FSSP in the US. "Therefore, there is a realistic prospect that in 2017, 24 new priests are to be ordained for this old ritual community," said Messa in Latino .That would be twice the average of the past twelve years.

"Perhaps we should make the Holy Father aware that there are not just empty seminaries, but also full seminaries when he complains of the lack of priests next time. And that there will be a reason when there are the seminaries of tradition that are full," says Messa in Latino alluding to the speech of Pope Francis last February 1st, to participants at the conclusion of the Year of Consecrated Life .

At the Pontifical Mass, Bishop Huonder was assisted by Father Arnaud Evrat, the General Secretary of the Society of St. Peter, Father Jean-Laurent Lefevre, House Master of the Establishment at Fontainebleau, and Father Christian  Jäger, Administrator for the Apostolate of the Society of St. Peter in Munich.

Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Bild: FSSP Wigratzbad (Screenshots)

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

Link to more photos @ Katholisches...

AMDG

Bishop Huonder Receives Death Threat

The shepherd has consulted the police about to a letter to him with a bullet.

Zurich (kath.net/ KNA) The Bishop of Chur Vitus Huonder was apparently threatened after his comments about aberrosexuality. The dioese has been advised by the police about the safety of the bishop, said the "Neue Zürcher Zeitung" (Sunday). Among others Huonder had received an anonymous threatening letter with a bullet, diocese spokesman Giuseppe Garcia told the paper. The diocese has ruled out criminal charges. The bishop will be praying for those who threatened him.

Huonder had cited in a lecture in Fulda on July 31, among other biblical passages from the Old Testament, the Book of Leviticus. This calls sexual acts between people of the same sex an "abomination" and that they are to be "put to death". These passages quoted alone, said Huonder, "would be enough to give the issue of homosexuality a right turn from the perspective of faith." This triggered strong criticism. Subsequently, the Bishop of Chur apologized "to all people" who "felt hurt" by his remarks on the subject of abberrosexuality. His lecture on marriage, family and sexuality was at one point, "not thought out," he told the Swiss tabloid "Blick". He would now "comment in more detail and the whole presentation when he submits it for further review." (C) 2015 Catholic News Agency KNA GmbH. All rights reserved. Any media use and forwarding only under written agreements with CBA allowed. Photo: (C) kath.net/ sb Link to Kath.net... Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

AMDG

Pray for Embattled Swiss Bishop Huonder!

Edit: Bishop Huonder has been a faithful Catholic bishop in German speaking Switzerland, possibly the only one. He's been featured here on this blog for some time, and it's a wonder he's persevered as long as he has, given the resistance of the Swiss civil servants who hold most of the official posts in his dioces and sabotage him. 

We don't expect he will survive this professionally and may join other bishops like him, who've been unjustly dealt with in early retirements.

Here's an eloquent post from Deacon Keith Foirnier in defense of this embattled and noble Catholic bishop, and friend of tradition:

In the politically charged language of the present, Bishop Vitus Huonder is a “conservative” if not an “extremist.” In fact, he is simply a faithful Catholic Christian. And for that he’s being threatened with three years in jail. It’s happening in Switzerland, but the conflict epitomizes a wider phenomenon of anti-Christian secularists on both sides of the Atlantic using the courts to target Christians for simply standing up for biblical truth.

In 2011, Huonder, the Catholic Bishop of the Diocese of Chur in Switzerland, supported parents being able to opt out of having children as young as four subjected to mandatory “sex education” which rejected the truth about the dignity of human sexuality, the gift of sexual differentiation, and marriage. In 2013, he issued a pastoral letter to the faithful under his care exposing unbiblical gender identity theories and defending the Christian vision of the human person, the family and a truly just and human social order. He called upon the faithful of the Catholic Church to “use their social rights” to protect “the dignity of man founded on the order of Creation and of Redemption.” Last February, he called for a Swiss priest who had purportedly “blessed” the union of a lesbian couple to step down from his ministry.

Here is the challenge he faces. In Switzerland, there is a wholesale rebellion against the Christian vision of the human person, and of the family and society founded upon it. Leaders of the rebellion abhor the clear and unchangeable teaching of the Bible and the Catholic Church. Included in the ranks of these dissidents are some Catholic clerics. To say their leaders do not like this Catholic Bishop is an understatement.

https://stream.org/bishops-faces-three-years-in-jail-for-defending-marriage/

AMDG

Bishop Huonder -- A Tower of Strength

But the noise of the roaring lion seems more impressive act to many than he who show how truth of things lie before our eyes.  A commentary by Dominik Lusser, Stiftung Zukunft CH

Edit: they may feed Catholics to the lions before long. We know that the author may not appreciate the problems with the terms "homosexual" and "gay".  It's best of all not to use these terms as they accept some false premises about the sin which cries out to heaven for vengeance.

Chur (kath.net) A few days ago the Bishop of Chur, Vitus Huonder has outlined the Catholic view of marriage in a 50-minute presentation at the congress "Joy of Faith" in Fulda. In a few sentences began to speak homosexuality, and quoted the passage from the Old Testament Book of Leviticus: "One who lays with a man as with a woman, then you have committed an abomination. Both are punishable by death. Their blood shall be upon them." The media has raged ever since that Huonder had therefore demanded the death penalty for the practice of homosexuality.



But what the makers of public opinion suggest, appearing in the context of Huonders speech and in the light of the New Testament mercy, is downright absurd.

The reason for this willful ignorance is clear: The only German Swiss Bishop who dares to proclaim what is not only the Christian revelation but also the simple view of reality, should be muzzled. But the truth is that homosexual acts are disordered and destructive in themselves and not originating from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity. While teaching the gospel the Bishop Huonder shows mercy to all sinners, to which he himself knows himself to belong.

The sin itself can not for that very reason ever be approved. Homosexuals' pastoral care is therefore for Christians especially in people with homosexual orientation - as far as this goes - to accompany them from their unintentionally disordered inclination. But this point of view puts the gay lobby in a blank rage in contrast to many ex-gays and ex-lesbians who lead a happy life today.

The Swiss gay umbrella organization Pink Cross has even filed criminal charges against Huonder of the crime of public incitement. The time for an outcome of the proceedings within the time for the initiation of a criminal procedure by Pink Cross is probably not (yet) ripe. The direction, however, is clear: the totalitarian gay lobby and its allied mainstream media it comes to force Christians by any means in the recognition of their not so funny ("gay") lifestyle.

Indeed, as the research shows, among other things, young people are usually introduced to homosexuality by a significantly older adult partner, while the sexual initiation among heterosexuals usually takes place within their age group. Homosexuals experience sexual abuse much more frequently as a child or youth.

Gays are much more likely to be exposed as adults to sexual abuse. Homosexuals of all ages are both physically and mentally, considerably less healthy than the average population: Big differences consist, inter alia, depressive disorders and suicidal tendencies. There is no connection between the health of homosexuals and possible social discrimination.

In contrast, the instability of the family situation and early sexual activity seem to be factors that can lead to self-harm. According to a study by the University of Zurich from 2006 only 30 percent of gay men accept their sexual orientation. Almost half had in the four weeks preceding the survey at least, one time when they used alcohol excessively. Even where drugs and intoxicants are concerned, gays exceed the average of men by many times. Homosexual men are also the largest risk group for contracting HIV and other STDs: The likelihood of contracting HIV among gays up to 100 times greater.

The abundance of these empirical facts which indicate clearly the problematic nature of the homosexual inclination, actually should provide the St. Galler Bishop, Markus Büchel, the backbone to stand up for Catholic doctrine, instead of stabbing his brother bishop of Chur publicly in the back. But the noise of the roaring lion seems more impressive act to many than he who show how truth of things lie before our eyes. It is all the more important that there are still people who speak this truth clearly and calmly all. Come what may!
  Lecture by Bishop Huonder in Fulda
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
Link to Kath.net...
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When a Bishop Cites Uncomfortable Passages from the Old Testament

Bishop Huonder has published his presentation at the "Joy of Faith" Congress - presentation of the bishop as a video on kathTube

Fulda (kath.net)  The Bishop of Chur Vitus Huonder has published an opinion on the distorted media reports on Monday that arose during his lecture at the congress "Joy of Faith" last Friday: Kath.net documented the opinion of the Bishop of Chur from today: I am sorry if my 50  minute lecture in Fulda on 2 August 2015 which deals with the biblical basis for marriage and family, was occasionally understood as a reduction of homosexual people in the media. It was not meant for that. I quoted in the  the lecture several uncomfortable passages from the Old Testament that affect generally the marriage, sexuality or family.

I want to clarify that I have no desire to in any way diminish homosexual people with the presentation, whose main theme is the marriage from a Christian perspective,  and that I, when it comes to homosexuality, quote what is in the Catechism of the Catholic Church also in the annotations Lecture:  

2357 Homosexuality refers to relations between men or between women who experience an exclusive or predominant sexual attraction toward persons of the same sex. It has taken a great variety of forms through the centuries and in different cultures. Its psychological genesis remains largely unexplained. Basing itself on Sacred Scripture, which presents homosexual acts as acts of grave depravity, [Cf.Gen 19, 1-29; Rom 1.24 to 27; 1 Cor 6,10; 1 Tim 1,10.]141  That the Church tradition has always declared that "the homosexual acts are wrong in themselves" (CDF, ​​explanation. "Persona humana" 8). They violate the natural law, because the transmission of life is excluded the sexual. They do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity.  They should not approved in any case.


 2358 The number of men and women who have deep-seated homosexual tendencies is not negligible. This inclination, which is objectively disordered, constitutes for most of them a trial. They must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided. These persons are called to fulfill God's will in their lives and, if they are Christians, to unite to the sacrifice of the Lord's Cross the difficulties they may encounter from their condition.

2359 Homosexual persons are called to chastity. By the virtues of self-mastery that teach them inner freedom, at times by the support of disinterested friendship, by prayer and sacramental grace, they can and should gradually and resolutely approach Christian perfection.

These words from the Catechism are the basis of the pastoral charity also towards people sensitive to homosexuality  who I have emphasized in the lecture in Fulda and in the unity of faith, apply to all of our Church pastors.

 Presentation of the Bishop of Fulda in video

Link to kath.net...
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
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Swiss Bishops' Conference Insults Bishop of Chur

Diocese of Chur in Pressecommunique: "The diocese hopes that the Bishop of Chur will not be the matter of the subject of discussions of the SBK Bureau, but be one of the participants."

Bishop Vitus Huonder at Pontifical High Mass

Givisiez (kath.net) Scandal in the Catholic Church of Switzerland. The Secretariat of the Swiss Bishops Conference has publicly snubbed the Bishop of Chur, Vitus Huonder. A conversation between a delegation of the anti-Rome-grouping "It's Enough!", which has constantly criticized the Bishop of Chur Vitus Huonder, and the Bureau of the Swiss Bishops Conference (SBK) a few days ago has been interpreted in Chur as a snub. Reason: Bishop Huonder had not been invited to participate. In a pressecommunique presented by Giuseppe Gracia, media relations officer of the diocese of Chur, read that the Diocese hopes "that the bishop of Chur will not be the subject of  the discussions at the SBK Bureau, but one of the participants. The bishop recalled  a communique dated the 5th of March, in which he noted that all Swiss bishops are united in faith."  [Obviously, they don't.]

On the other hand, there should be enough disagreement "from the initiators of 'It's Enough' to show fundamental disunity in essential elements of the faith. Therefore, a meeting will also take place with representatives of the Alliance in Chur. The goal will be a dialogue that does not stop at persons, but is creating clarity about where the initiators expect something different than what is the official teaching of the Church. 

Recently, a disagreement between the initiators and the Episcopal Conference was demonstrated again. The Bishop of Chur has said he was "confident that the way a factual work-up can demonstrate that it is not about people or on questions of communication style, but specific to the rejection of concrete beliefs".  Bishop Huonder is planning a meeting in Chur, which will serve the debate on these issues.

Link to kath.net...

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

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Rome's Conduct With Traditional Communities -- Society of St. Peter and Franciscans of the Immaculata

(Rome)  The conduct of Rome with traditional communities is completely varied.   A significant aspect of this whether one  is under an Order or the Institute. What difference does it matter whether it's an Old Ritual community of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei established in 1988, or religious congregation, depends on a comparison of the visitations of the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate Conception and the Fraternity of St. Peter. In the North American District of the Fraternity of St. Peter, a proper Apostolic Visitation will be held. The routine operation has been arranged by the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei, to which the Society belongs. As Rorate Caeli reported, a three-member visitor delegation  was appointed. The main visitor is Bishop Vitus Huonder of Chur, co-visitators are Abbot Hervé Courau from the Benedictine Abbey of Notre-Dame de Triors in France and the Bishop Emeritus Fabian Bruskewitz of Lincoln in the United States.

Huonder Bishop, Bishop Bruskewitz and Abbot Courau as Visitors

Both Bishop Huonder  and Bishop Bruskewitz are  closely linked to the FSSP. They  have already presided over ordinations of the Society more than once and have celebrated in the old rite.  Bishop Huonder established the first traditional parish in the German-speaking world the and appointed a  Society of St. Peter priest as  the pastor. In the diocese of Lincoln, the Society erected their seminary in 1994 during the episcopate of Bishop Bruskewitz (1992-2012) in North America. Abott Courau heads  a traditional  Benedictine abbey in France. Notre-Dame de Triors is a subsidiary foundation Fontgombault. Abbot Courau visited the Cistercian Abbey of Heiligenkreuz near Vienna in the Autumn of 2013, where he celebrated in the traditional rite with the monks of the monastery who served at the altar.

In the case of the Fraternity of St. Peter it is an ordinary visitation. When the Franciscans of the Immaculate Conception extraordinary visitation was arranged in 2012 by the Congregation of Religious, is where the differences in treatment begin. The Fraternity of St. Peter is under the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei for Orders and Communities of the Old Rite. The appointed visitators are connected to the traditional rite. The starting point of the visit is supported by brotherly love and basically benevolent, as expected by the canon law.

Hostile Attitude of the Congregation of Religious Against Franciscans of the Immaculate

The situation was quite different with the Franciscans of the Immaculate. They are under the Congregation for Religious  because they were established in 1990 as  new rite Order. Following a gradual development under Pope Benedict XVI they had returned to the Immemorial Rite. The Congregation of Religious appointed a Visitor with Monsignor Vito Angelo Todisco   who was openly hostile to  the Order. He himself had briefly belonged to the Order at a young age, but  had left and since repeatedly remarked disparagingly upon the Franciscan community of Father Stefano Maria Manelli. The basic intention of the Congregation of Religious was obviously directed from a bias in the very beginning  against the Order.  They culminated after July 2013, since with  the abdication of Benedict XVI,  the biggest obstacle had been removed to a radical intervention and the provisional administration of the Order. The Apostolic Commissioner, the Capuchin Fidenzio Volpi has since been working systematically towards the eradication of the traditional charism of the Order, to beat it back into a new ritual Order and thus to be "normalized".

The Franciscans of the Immaculate sought contact with the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei, but they were not under it. The request, in the fall of last year, the request to establish a new old ritual Order under the supervision of Ecclesia Dei after the establishment of the provisional administration and the banning of the old rite was not previously considered by the Congregation of Religious. The open revelation of these brothers  was followed instead by the Commissar making more purges. 

"Keep all  institutes  and communities of Ecclesia Dei in your prayers"  this call ends Rorate Caeli the report on the appointment of the Visitors of the Fraternity of St. Peter.

Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Picture: Rorate Caeli

Link to Katholisches...

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