Cardinal Loris Capovilla, John XXIII, Fatima and his "Last Will"

John XXIII. and his Secretary Loris Capovilla

(Rome) On Sunday Cardinal Loris Capovilla died at the age of 100 years. Born near Padua in 1915 Capovilla was ordained in 1940 as a priest of the Patriarchate of Venice. There he acted as master of ceremonies in St. Mark's and from 1949 as editor of the church newspaper of the patriarchate.

Since 1925, a friend of Angelo Roncalli

In 1953 in the same year Cardinal Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli was made Patriarch he was appointed as his private secretary. The two have known each other since 1925. From that year dates the first letter Capovilla wrote to the later Patriarch and Pope. In 1958 Roncalli who was elected Pope John XXIII. took Capovilla as his secretary with him to Rome. It was a  trust that would last until the death of the Pope in 1963.

Pope Paul VI. had appointed him Archbishop of Chieti in 1967. His successor in this position since 2004 is the theologian Bruno Forte, the author of the scandalous paragraphs on homosexuality in the interim report of the Synod of Bishops in 2014. However, Capovilla's activity did not last long as a diocesan bishop. In 1971 he was appointed by Paul VI. as prelate of Loreto  as an envoy to the territorially small see of Loreto, and as a papal envoy to the Marian shrine of Loreto. At the age of 73, Capovilla resigned in 1988 as a prelate and has lived since then in the birthplace of John XXIII., who worked as his executor and working on his beatification.

Capovilla published on John XXIII. and released parts of his correspondence and diaries. Recently, he published in 2013 along with a great-nephew of Pope Roncalli, excerpts from his own council diaries. Nevertheless, he did little to bring to light the actual motives of John XXIII., which lead to the surprising convocation of an ecumenical council. Yet his publications offer many other interesting pieces of information for the most recent Church history.

The Council, the "Fire" and the "Vultures"

At the center of Capo Villas conciliar representation is a "wind of change." From the published letters of John XXIII. and it is apparent that significant figures of the later Council, including Milan's Archbishop Giovanni Battista Montini, the future successor as Pope Paul VI., or the then auxiliary bishop of Malines, Leo Joseph Suenens, later Erzbsichof of Malines-Brussels and Cardinal, were neither surprised nor irritated by the convening of the council. Instead, they dealt in direct contact with the Pope and considered the issue of the council's alignment, where it would lead and by language it should be driven. Montini and Suenens were driven by a "fire", says Capovilla, by which he was convinced that "God has kindled this fire."  There were then "many" that tried "to smother the fire," said the Pope's secretary.

Thus, the large framework is already outlined by Capovilla of a certain conciliar transfiguration which affected also and especially the figure of the Pope John XXIII. who desired an "aggiornamento" that the Roman Curia and other forces in the church wanted to prevent. Capovilla's language, there  were "the old vultures who return after a first fright," as he confided to his diary.

Pope Francis and Capovilla recte John XXIII.

The aged Capovilla became quiet under Pope Benedict XVI. This changed with the election of Pope Francis. Less than three weeks after his election, Pope Francis grabbed the phone and called Capovilla on 1 April, 2013. He told the 97-year-old he wanted to meet him. He should come to Rome. Capovilla had last been to Rome for the beatification of John XXIII in the year 2000.

There was much speculation about the background of the Pope's interest. He was invited in connection with the Third Secret of Fatima, to provide information that  Francis had wanted. It was more likely  that the new pope wanted to signal his connection to John XXIII in the person of Capovillas.  This was to weave the image of a "second" John XXIII., which was seen by some as a message to progressive Church circles, who would bring the full implementation of the Council  through the pontificates of John Paul II. and Benedict XVI.

Capovilla is associated with the Marian apparitions of Fatima, because he had not only knowledge of the Third Secret as Pope's secretary, but for publishing documents of John XXIII. and Paul VI. which revealed inconsistencies in the official Vatican version. [LOL]

Saints and Church Policy

Cardinal Loris Capovilla (1915-2016)

On February 22, 2014 Capovilla was raised by Pope Francis in the state of Cardinal. Two months later, the canonization of John XXIII. It was a canonization which is considered controversial because Pope Francis  implemented it by overriding the conditions for a canonization. A requisite second miracle is still lacking for the canonization of the Council's Pope.

On April 27, 2014 was canonized from Pope John Paul II.. For the Polish Pope a decent canonization process was completed and the second miracle recognized.

It is an open secret in Rome  that Pope Francis felt that the canonization Karol Wojtyla came very inconveniently at the beginning of his pontificate. It would give the impression of continuity that Francis wanted to avoid. The Argentine pope sent a plurality of signals after his election, connecting him to the pontificate of John XXIII.  and overcoming the impression of  the Polish-German double pontificate of 1978-2013, which is decried by progressives decried as a "restorative phase."

To. "Neutralize" the inevitable canonization of John Paul II and yet of being able to send out "right" signal, he decreed with papal authority, at the same time, to raise John XXIII. to the altars. That his canonization process was not yet completed and lacked the necessary miracle, Francis passed autocratically. The double-canonization has since been considered a self-evident example of a dubious church policy. Francis is also criticized for doing a disservice to the veneration of saints and canonization practice of the Catholic Church, which has been criticized from the Protestant and secular sides.

The former neo-Cardinal Loris Capovilla, however, was impressed by the Pope's affection.

Last orders for the funeral

After his death Capovillas' last wishes were announced for the funeral yesterday.

"I want to go in silence, as I came into the world without applause and without sensation. My body will be laid in the Camaitino Chapel. Only a ceremony for the closest friends and for the faithful who were close to me in many years. The Mass is to be celebrated  by priests friendly to me priests in the  morning, companions of my whole life. After the celebration of the procession to the cemetery should pass by Fontalla where Maria Davide Turoldo is buried, one of the great poets, which the Catholic Church has had. No public celebration. If desired, a Mass can be read to my benefit, but only after my mortal remains have been placed in the earth."

Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Image: Secretum meum mihi / Avvenire

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

Link to Katholisches...

AMDG

Canonization Without Miracles and Church Politicis -- Capovilla: Says John XXIII. Not the "Sweet-Natured Pope"

Good Pope John

Edit: an uncanonical canonization for an pastoral Council.

(Rome) John XXIII., the Pope who convened the Second Vatican Council and is to be canonized without a miracle in a few days by Pope Francis.  He was commonly known in the collective memory as the "good" and "sweet-natured" Pope .  In contrast, his personal secretary Loris Capovilla is protesting: "Please, don't call him the good-natured Pope. '"

 Capovilla's Elevation to Cardinal in Honor of the Council

 Monsignor Loris Capovilla was the personal secretary of John XXIII. during his pontificate.  This past February 22nd, Pope Francis made him a cardinal.  Capovilla, born in 1915, has become since then the oldest living Cardinal.

He's been 50 years fighting against this appellation of John XXIII., as the "Good Pope" or "sweet-natured Pope," Cardinal Capovilla has been giving  a few interviews  for the canonization of Pope Roncalli.   The figure of John XXIII. says Capovilla,   is being overwhelmed by this "good nature", said Capovilla, because Pope Roncalli was "very determined" and had been primarily  "for the Church and the world and  peace, of great importance.  His greatest importance is connected to the Second Vatican Council," said Capovilla in the newspaper Eco di Bergamo.

Johannes XXIV. oder Franziskus?  

 Again the almost century-old cardinal insisted with particular emphasis, on the similarity between John XXIII. and Pope Francis. Francis reminds  people "very" much of Pope Roncalli, says Capovilla.   The Argentine cardinal had wanted to call himself for a moment even John XXIV.  "Pope Francis and John are very similar.  Cardinal Bergoglio had thought to take the name John.  He wanted to be the successor of John XXIII.    But he also thought of Francis.  Then he spoke to the Brazilian Cardinal Damasceno and advised him to adopt a name that speaks for the poor and of poverty. So Bergoglio has opted for Francis.  But Pope John was in his thoughts."

 

Canonizations as Motivated by Church Politics?

Pope Francis, it can also be said,  that he very rarely mentions the turning point in history of  the Second Vatican Council is a point of distinction.    This includes the collection of Cardinal Loris Capovilla on February 22, whose merit it is mainly to have been the secretary of John XXIII.   and to have been  a   tireless exponent of the "epochal significance" of Vatican II.  This primarily involves the canonization of John XXIII.  on April 27, bypassing the canonically prescribed standards.  Two events with which Pope Francis contends in the large intra-church conflict, on the one hand  John XXIII and Paul VI., on the other hand, John Paul II and Benedict XVI.   The canonization of John XXIII.  is ultimately a product of chance  in internal  Church circles, which is directly related to the canonization of John Paul II.

The no Longer Preventable Raising of John Paul II to the Altars

Shortly after Cardinal Bergoglio was elected Pope, the Congregation of Saints convened on the 2nd of July, 2013  to acknowledge the miracle that paved the way for the canonization of the Polish Pope.   The schedule was at the time of the election already fixed.  This was only a formality, since the examination and approval of the miracle had already taken place by both medical as well as theological side.    Thus, it was clear that the canonization would take place within a year.  Only an administrative act by  the new pope,   would have been able to prevent what would, however, his opposition in substantial parts of the church, and not only of Poland would have been  introduced with  the John Paul II as a reference point. The idea that he of all people should raise John Paul II to the altars  is a visible gain in the validity  of his understanding of the Church seems not to have been savored by the Argentine Pope.

Causa Johannes XXIII.:  Neutralize the "Poles" Canonize the Council

So  Pope Francis quickly placed  it on the agenda of the Congregation of Saints.   However, there is for the Roncalli Pope to date, no recognized miracle.   When Cardinal Angelo Amato, prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints to Pope Francis went to tell him the decision of the Congregation on the Polish Pope, John Paul II,  the new pope also unexpectedly decided to canonize the Council Pope. 

 How this could happen without a miracle, has been rather met with an ashamed silence  in Rome.   The official media of the Holy See has never broached the subject and most accredited to the Vatican press journalists have somewhat averted both eyes, because it is the "sweet-natured Pope", who, after all, convened the Council.

Both large Postconciliar "Souls" of the Church Equal? –   Only Superficially

On 27 April, in a sense, both big "souls" of the Catholic Church, who represented a contrasting understanding of the Church since the Council, are raised to the altars.   Thus the impression.  The sarting point, however, was that the canonization of John Paul II was already too advanced at the time of the election of Pope Francis to put it on the back burner still.  However, for Pius IX und Pius XII. and Pius XII.   this has been the case for decades. The beatification of Pius IX. in 2000   had become possible only in a church-political maneuver.  It was wrested in return for the beatification of John XXIII.   
  
The double canonization of popes on April 27, 2014 will go down in the first place as an object lesson  ecclesiastically politically motivated decisions in the history of the Church.

Text: Giuseppe Nardi    

Picture: Wikicommons

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

Link to katholisches....

AMGD

“In Order to Understand the ‘Aggiornamento’, One Must Dig Deeply.” -- All of the Journals of John XXIII. to be Published

(Rome) Pope John XXIII. (1958-1963) who after years of silence is getting  new attention. This has led to the coincidence of two events: 50 years of Vatican II and the election of Pope Francis, whom some associate significantly with the counciliar Pope. These include the former secretary of Pope Roncalli, Monsignor Loris Capovilla,  who received his cardinal’s hat  from Pope Francis.  Cardinal Capovilla claimed recently that Pope Francis had originally even wanted to be called John XXIV.  This is a version that is doubted in Rome, but fits well in a particular image.

The elevation of the 93 year old Capovilla to cardinal as well as the wonderfully  loose canonization of John XXIII. next 27 April is regarded as Church policy efforts to satisfy those on the "progressive" side of the Church.  The pontificates of John Paul II and Benedict XVI are particularly criticized  as a "restoration attempt.”  Monsignor Capovilla is devoted to his literary work, especially the life and work of Pope Roncalli and in this context the Second Vatican Council .

Church Political Rehabilitation of the Conciliar Spirit against "Restoration"

The common canonization of Pope John Paul II  and the Conciliar Pope,  makes for less of a  "happy medium"  but the thwarting of  the canonization of the Polish Pope, whose process was so far advanced with the recognition of a miracle would have caused too much irritation with a delay.

In view of the unexpected canonization of John XXIII. the new and complete edition of all the diaries of Pope Roncalli has now been published. Copies of the annotated and edited edition will receive a selection of major libraries and all the Apostolic Nunciature of the world.

In order to understand the "secret" of "aggiornamento", one must dig "very low" in his life

John XXIII. left numerous personal records, including especially his appointment calendars, diaries and notes.Cardinal Giacomo Lercaro, then Archbishop of Bologna, and one of the progressive spokesman for the council said that one to the "secret" John XXIII., That is his program of " aggiornamento to understand "the Church," very low "in its life before he became Pope "dig" should.

Last Saturday, a ten-volume new work was presented at the named after the council Pope hall of the Curia of Bergamo, collecting diaries and diary Roncalli since his youth. The publication was printed in an edition of 300 copies and will be distributed to selected individuals and libraries. Nunciatures at all, the most prestigious libraries and certain libraries in symbolic places such as Tübingen and Louvain, Hiroshima and Nagasaki

"School of Bologna" is Responsible

The publication was carried out by the Foundation Giovanni XXIII of Bergamo, the Diocese of Bergamo and the Institute of Religious Sciences of Bologna, is related  school of Bologna is related to a progressive interpretation of the Council.  The head of the school of Bologna, the Church Historian Alberto Melloni then also will be one of the speakers at the presentation. The Republic of Italy promoted the publication as a contribution to "national heritage".

The ten volumes are primarily based on the archives of the School of Bologna, the Holy See, the postulation for the canonization process and now headed by Cardinal Capovilla. When presenting, smaller excerpts were presented, including a diary during his time as nuncio in Turkey (1935-1944) about the Turkish people:

"I love them in Jesus crucified and it is painful that Christians speak so ill about them and thus prove how little the gospel has penetrated into their souls. I love them, because the part of my office is, as a father, as a shepherd and as Apostolic Delegate: I love them because I believe they are called to salvation. I know that the spirit of many of my Western Catholic children is against me. But this has neither disturbed me nor discouraged me "(entry of 27 July 1936).

Text: Giuseppe Nardi
image: Wikicommons

Fatima and the Third Secret -- Why is Pope Francis Having the 97 Year Old Secretary of John XXIII Come to Rome?

(Rome) Is there a Marian reading of recent church events? Antonio Socci focuses on this question in the news daily Libero (April 14). Pope Benedict XVI., who sees his powers dwindling  and does not feel strong enough to face the challenges of the time announced his resignation on the 11th February, taking place on the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes,.

His successor, Francis is elected on March 13 , a date that commemorates the apparitions of Fatima. In the small Portuguese city, the Mother of God appeared between the 13th of May and 13th of October on the 13th of each month before three children. The 13th Day of each month is Fatima Day in  Catholic piety  and thus is a Marian date.

Sister Lucia of the Immaculate Heart,  which was the religious name of one of the children, wrote down the Third Secret of Fatima in 1944 after much reluctance. Only when she was stopped from writing expressly by her bishop, she got the call. The minutes were kept by the Bishop of Leiria, since 1957 and they are located in the archives of the Congregation for Doctrine and the Faith in Rome. Each newly elected Pope is shown the content of the the Third Secret by the time of his inauguration.  Only in 2000, did Pope John Paul II  order the publication of the secret to counteract speculation about a near end of the world or a third world war.

Much has been puzzled about the Third Secret of Fatima, about "a Bishop dressed in White”, which was written of by the Sister Lucia dos Santos, one of the three seers: "We had the idea that it was the Holy Father.” 

Pope John Paul II referred to the prophecy when he and the then Secretary of the Congregation, now the Cardinal Secretary of State, Tarcisio Bertone, made to reveal the third secret in the Holy Year in 2000 by the then Prefect of the Congregation of the Faith, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger. In the belief, which was granted to the shepherd children by Our Lady, they saw that the white-robed Bishop is killed by soldiers. In 1981, a few months after the assassination attempt on John Paul II by the Soviet hired assassin Ali Agca, Cardinal Ratzinger, the previous Prefect of the CDF, Franjo Cardinal Seper, had made a connection between the vision and  the Pope surviving the severe injuries inflicted by the attack . The attack was on May 13th was committed on the day of Fatima. The Pope ascribed his salvation to the Mother of God.

Early on, however, there were doubts whether the publication was complete. Due to past testimony of several top church officials, several lines seem to have continued to be kept secret. However, doubts were also placed on the interpretation. Among others, it was the Austrian Bishop Kurt Krenn of Sankt Pölten, who publicly reported a little later about such doubts of Joseph Ratzinger. The Prefect of the CDF had therefore been of the opinion that the prophecy was not referring to the assassination, but had a far greater dimension. One dimension that concerns the whole Church, as well as the popular intuition showing in the murder of the other bishops, priests and lay Catholics. So the Third Secret concerns future events that have yet to occur.

Recently, the question is raised whether the words referred to the resigned Pope or to his successor, who likes to call himself "Bishop of Rome".

Francis saw how Pope John Paul II had a special devotion to Mary. The Mother of God is Francis' first "escape" from the Vatican on the day after his election, when he went to venerate the icon in the Papal Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, and also prayed at the grave of Pope St. Pius V.  In his first Angelus in St. Peter's Square, he mentioned Fatima.  About two weeks ago  Pope Francis surprisingly called  Archbishop Loris Capovilla.  The now over 97 year old, retired Curial Archbishop was the first secretary of Pope John XXIII from 1958 to 1963.  On Easter Monday, the 1st of April, the phone rang. The Pope was personally at the other end and told Capovilla  he wanted to meet with him. The Monsignor promises soon to come to Rome, where he has not been any more since the beatification of John XXIII on 3 September 2000.

The reason it is said that the old prelate was to be placated, that  the Pope wanted to say thank you for a brochure that Monsignor Capovilla had written for the Year of Faith and Cardinal Comastri had given to the Pope. The Pope’s call merely to say thanks for a brochure was not convincing in the least for a set of Vatikanisten.

Capovilla was the last topic of conversation, because he talked about a memorandum that Benedict XVI. had written for his successor. The Vatican denied the allusion. At the meeting of the two Popes in Castel Gandolfo, in any case, a box full of documents and a large, sealed envelope was seen.

"Why has the Pope contrived to want to see  the former secretary of Pope Roncalli in the first month of his pontificate and at he exclusion of the public? What was so urgent?” asked Antonio Socci.

On the 7th of April the Patriarch of Lisbon, Cardinal Jose Policarpo of the Portuguese Episcopal Conference, of which he is chairman, announced that Pope Francis had asked the patriarch to consecrate his pontificate of Our Lady of Fatima. The consecration will be on 13 May, taking place on the 96th Anniversary of the apparition.

Is Pope Francis talking with Archbishop Capovilla about the Third Secret of Fatima? He, therefore, is making him come to Rome, as the timing of the announcement made shortly after he consecrated  as his pontificate to Our Lady of Fatima suggests? What does the Pope think or know related to the prophecy and the future of the Church? What must we expect?

Text: Martha Weinzl
Picture: Fatima

Translation: Tancred

Link to Katholisches… 

Additional background on Antonio Socci’s work…and Cadinal Capovilla...