Cardinal Sarah: "The Church is Not a Battlefield"

 

Cardinal Robert Sarah in the first interview since his retirement by Pope Francis.

(Rome) The daily Il Foglio today published a conversation with Robert Cardinal Sarah, the Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship who was resigned on February 20 by Pope Francis. The cardinal from Guinea is one of the most prominent Church representatives, who was repeatedly in conflict with the ruling Pope. Cardinal Sarah comments on current and future challenges for the Church and his relationship with Pope Francis. He talks about the background to his book with Benedict XVI. in defense of the sacramental priesthood and priestly celibacy and warns against the German Synodal Way and a "creeping apostasy". The interview was conducted by Matteo Matzuzzi, Il Foglio's Vaticanist.

"The Church is Not a Battlefield"

display

Matzuzzi recalls that Cardinal Sarah's books, four in number, the first of which was published in 2015, all became international bestsellers. "Which is something of a miracle, given the complex subjects of his works and the low inclination in modern humanity to read," says Matzuzzi.

Many were surprised when the Vatican press office announced the retirement of Cardinal Sarah two weeks ago. However, the decision was not as surprising as Matzuzzi represents. The autumn of 2019 was the expiration of the five-year term of office as Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Order of the Sacraments. A formal extension, contrary to what the Vaticanist suggested, did not take place. A second term would have lasted until 2024. Obviously too long for Francis. He tacitly left the cardinal in office, which gave the Pope the opportunity to terminate Sarah's mandate at any time and without a spectacular dismissal. This was all the more true when the cardinal turned 75 in June 2020 and Francis had to put his resignation on his desk.

“The Pope asked me to do my job in the service of the universal Church donec aliter provideatur to continue, that is, as long as the Holy Father does not determine otherwise. A few weeks ago the Pope informed me that he had now decided to accept my resignation. I immediately told him that I was happy and grateful for his decision. I have repeated it many times: obedience to the Pope is not just a human necessity, it is the means to obey Christ who put the Apostle Peter and his successors at the head of the Church. I am happy and proud to have served three Popes, Saint John Paul II, Benedict XVI. and Francis, in the Roman Curia for more than twenty years. I have endeavored to be a loyal, obedient, and humble servant of the truth of the Gospel. Even if some journalists keep repeating the same stupid things: I have never opposed the Pope."

 

Matzuzzi wants to know what memory he takes with him of his service at the Divine Service Congregation, which deals with the liturgy.

“Some see the leadership of this dicastery as an honorary position of little importance. In contrast to this, I believe that responsibility for the liturgy places us in the center of the Church, the very foundation of her being. The Church is neither an administration nor a human institution. The Church mysteriously extends Christ's presence on earth. 'The Liturgy', says the Second Vatican Council, 'is the climax towards which the Church's work strives, and at the same time the source from which all her strength flows' ( Sacrosanctum Concilium, 10), and 'consequently every liturgical celebration, as the work of Christ the priest and his body, who is the Church, is primarily a sacred act, the effectiveness of which no other activity of the Church achieves in rank and measure' ( Sacrosanctum Concilium, 7). The Church exists to give God to people. That is precisely the role of the liturgy: to worship God and impart divine grace to souls. When the liturgy is sick, the whole Church is in danger because her relationship with God is not only weakened, but profoundly damaged. The Church therefore runs the risk of breaking away from its divine source in order to become a self-centered institution. It affects me very much: There is a lot of talk about the Church and its necessary renewal. But are we talking about God? Let us talk about the work of redemption that Christ accomplished, mainly through the paschal mystery of his blessed suffering, his resurrection from the dead and his glorious ascension, the paschal mystery, through which he 'destroyed our death by dying and recreated life through his resurrection' (Sacrosanctum Concilium , 5). Instead of speaking of ourselves: let's turn to God! That is the message that I have repeated over and over for years. If God is not at the center of the life of the Church, then she is in mortal danger. That is certainly the reason why Benedict XVI. declared that the crisis of the Church is essentially a crisis of the liturgy because it is a crisis of the relationship with God. That is also why I, Benedict XVI. following, insists: The purpose of the liturgy is not to celebrate the community or man, but God. This is very well done by expressing the oriented celebration. 'Where a direct common turning towards the east is not possible', says Benedict XVI., 'The cross can serve as the inner east of faith. It should stand in the middle of the altar and be the common point of view for the priest and the praying community. So we follow the old call to prayer that stood on the threshold of the Eucharist: 'Conversi ad Dominum'- Turn to the Lord. So we look together at the one whose death has torn open the temple veil - at the one who stands for us before the Father and embraces us in his arms, who makes us the living new temple of the Holy Spirit (cf. 1 Cor 6:19) . When everyone turns to the cross together, the danger of being too human and self-contained, face-to-face is avoided. Let us open our hearts so that God can break in. For the idea, as Joseph Ratzinger said, that the priest and the people must face each other in prayer, arose only in modern Christianity and was completely foreign to early Christianity. It is clear that the priest and the people do not face one another, but pray facing the only Lord, the Christ, who walks towards us in silence. That is one of the reasons why I have insisted on the need for there to be room for silence in the liturgy. When man is silent, he leaves room for God. Conversely, when the liturgy becomes 'talkative', it forgets that the cross is its center and one organizes around the microphone. All of these questions are crucial because they determine the place we give to God. And unfortunately they have turned into ideological questions." 

“The regret” that speaks from these words is unmistakable, said Matzuzzi, who asked what Cardinal Sarah meant by “ideological questions”.

“Too often today in the Church we behave as if everything were a question of politics, power, influence and the unjustified imposition of a hermeneutic of the Second Vatican Council of total and irreversible break with tradition. It was very painful for me to see these factions fighting. When I have spoken of liturgical orientation and a sense of the sacred, I have been told: 'You are against the Second Vatican Council'. This is wrong! I don't think there is any point in the struggle between progressives and conservatives in the Church. These are political and ideological categories. The Church is not a political battlefield. All that counts is the ever deeper search for God, to meet Him and humbly kneel down, to worship Him. 

When Pope Francis appointed me, he gave me two instructions: to implement the liturgical constitution of the Second Vatican Council and to implement bringing to life the liturgical legacy of Benedict XVI.. I am deeply convinced that these two instructions form a single direction, because Benedict XVI. is certainly the personality that understood Vatican II most deeply. To continue the liturgical work of Benedict XVI. is surely the best way of applying the true council. Unfortunately, some ideologues want to oppose the Church before the Council to a Church after the Council. They divide and do the work of the devil. The Church is one, without breaks, without changes of direction ,because their founder Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever (Heb 13: 8). The Church strives towards God, orientates us towards him. From the Creed of Saint Peter to the Second Vatican Council to Pope Francis, the Church turns to us Christ. Giving the liturgy its sacred character, leaving space for silence and sometimes celebrating it towards the East, as Pope Francis does in the Sistine Chapel or in Loreto, means applying the Council in a deep and spiritual way. I point out an extraordinary coincidence: On the day on which my replacement was announced, Pope emeritus Benedict XVI sent me. the French edition of his works on the liturgy. I saw in it an invitation from Providence to continue this work of  restoring a liturgy that places God at the center of the life of the Church." 

But how was the collaboration with Pope Francis?

“Some insinuate that we are enemies for no reason and without being able to provide concrete and credible evidence. But that's not correct. Pope Francis loves sincerity. We have always worked with simplicity, regardless of journalists' imaginations. Pope Francis, for example, received and understood the book 'From the depths of the heart,'  for which I worked together with Benedict XVI. I have not hidden my concern to him about the ecclesiological consequences of questioning priestly celibacy. When he received me after this publication, while press campaigns accused me of lying, the Pope supported and encouraged me. It seems that he had read with appreciation the copy with a dedication, which Pope Benedict XVI. in his fine way had sent him. On this occasion I could see that the truth always triumphs over the lie. There is no point in starting large communication campaigns. All it takes is the courage to be honest and free. The support of Pope Francis, the constant affection of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. and the thousands of letters of thanks from priests and laypeople from all over the world have allowed me to understand the depth of the message of the risen Jesus: Do not be afraid! "

But how does Cardinal Sarah see the future of the Church?

“I am a member of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. There I see with immeasurable joy how the Church radiates holiness. Let us rejoice to see the impressive number of so many daughters and sons of the Catholic Church who take seriously the Gospel and the universal call to holiness  'for from the side of Christ who fell asleep on the cross has emerged the wonderful mystery of the whole Church ''' ( Sacrosanctum Concilium, 5). Regardless of what those “born blind” say, and despite the many sins of their members, the Church is beautiful and holy. It is the expansion of Jesus Christ. The Church is not a secular institution. Her health is not measured by Her power and influence. The Church experiences Good Friday today. Water seems to be entering the ship from all sides. Some betray Her from within. I think of the drama and the terrible crimes of the pedophile priests. How could mission be fruitful when so many lies obscure the beauty of Jesus' face? Others are tempted to betrayal by leaving the ship to follow the powers that be right now. I think of the temptations especially in Germany from that Synodal way. We are asked what is the Gospel, if all this is pulled through to the end: a real silent Apostasy. But Christ's victory always comes through the cross. The Church must go to the cross and to the great silence of Holy Saturday. We must pray with Mary over the body of Jesus. See, pray, repent and make amends so that we can better proclaim the victory of the risen Christ." 

And what will Cardinal Sarah do now?

“I will not stop working. I'm also happy to have more time to pray and read. I will continue to write, speak, and travel. Here in Rome I continue to receive priests and believers from all over the world. More than ever, the Church needs bishops who speak clearly, freely and faithfully to Jesus Christ and to the doctrine of faith and morality of His Gospel. I intend to continue and even strengthen this mission. I must continue to work in the service of the unity of the Church, truth and love. I humbly wish to sustain the reflection, prayer, courage and faith of many confused Catholics who have been through the many crises we are currently going through, confused and disoriented: anthropological crises, cultural crises, crises of faith, crises of the priests, crises of morality, but above all crises of our relationship with God." 

  

Text: Giuseppe di Nar-
image: MiL

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

AMDG

Cardinal Sarah: "Nobody Has the Right to Stop a Priest from Giving Communion or Hearing Confession"

Leader of the Vatican Congregation for Worship criticizes restrictions on Church life through excessive corona protection measures - "Nobody has the right to stop a priest from giving communion or hearing confession"

Vatican City (kath.net/KAP) Cardinal Robert Sarah, head of the Vatican Congregation of Worship, has criticized restrictions on Church life through excessive corona protective measures. In an interview with the Italian daily "Compass", he said on Saturday: "Nobody has the right to stop a priest from giving Communion or hearing confession." He doesn't think much of online Masses in times of crisis. This leads to a wrong direction, also the priests. "You have to look at God - not at a camera," said the cardinal.

Considerations to distribute the Hosts in the services in plastic bags for hygiene reasons were strictly rejected. "No, no, no - that's absolutely impossible. God deserves respect. You can't put him in a bag." That is "total madness". The Eucharist must be treated with dignity. "We are not in the supermarket," said Sarah, speaking of "absurd" ideas. Holy Communion was not the subject of negotiations. 

The fact that public services are currently not possible in many places should not lead to "profane" acts, said the curia cardinal. Despite all the difficulties, every believer still has the opportunity to ask a priest for communion. 

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

AMDG

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

Bishop Laise, Defender of the Reverent Reception of Holy Communion Dies

Bishop Juan Rodolfo Laise with Cardinal Robert Sarah.

"We think we can say that the introduction of hand communion and its spread all over the world is the gravest disobedience to papal authority of recent times."

Msgr. Juan Rodolfo Laise wrote these words in the concluding remarks of his book

"Communion in the Hand. Documents and History "(Comunión En la Mano, Documento e Historia, 4th ed.).

 On Facebook, the Press Office of the Diocese of San Luis in Argentina announced that old Bishop Laise died at the age of 93 years at the sanctuary of San Giovanni Rotondo in Italy. There lived the retired bishop for 17 years. Yesterday afternoon he died in the infirmary of the Capuchin Friary.

Msgr. Laise was born on February 22, 1926 in Buenos Aires. As a young man he entered the Capuchin Order. In March 1949 he took the solemn religious vows and received priestly ordination in September of the same year. He then studied both civil and canon law. From 1954 he was a professor of canon law and morality at the Theological Faculty of Villa Elisa in Argentina. After becoming Provincial of the Capuchin Order, Pope Paul VI appointed him Bishop Coadjutor of the diocese of San Luis in 1971. In the same year he became diocesan bishop there. In 2001, Pope John Paul II accepted his resignation for reasons of age.

Msgr. Laise then retired to Italy in the Capuchin Monastery of San Giovanni Rotondo, where saintly Father Pio, also a Capuchin, spent most of his life, died in 1968 and is also buried.

As a great worshiper of the saint, the bishop moved near him. Since then he has worked there as a beloved confessor for pilgrims in Italian and Spanish. At the place of action for Father Pio was where he also wanted to die.

St. Padre Pio (1887-1968)

Bishop Laise is the author of numerous catechetical books and the social doctrine of the Church. He is considered one of the outstanding proponents of the Communion on the tongue, from which he also moved back to the traditional Roman Rite.

In 1997, he dedicated the book mentioned above to the rejected practice of hand-communion, which was translated into several languages ​​and made him known internationally. In his diocese, he was the first diocesan bishop to refuse the hand communion and took back the corresponding dispensation. The prohibition of the hand communion has been keep since then also its two successors upright.
 Every morning at 6 o'clock Bishop Laise celebrated Mass in the traditional Rrite in San Giovanni Rotondo. His confreres resisted a public celebration at the convent. In an interview in 2016 he said:

“Unfortunately, there is no openness to the traditional liturgy among the Capuchins of the Convention, who are generally at a certain age. In contrast, among the young priests who come to visit, there are some who are well-disposed. It would be good if there was a public celebration for the many pilgrims of the place of pilgrimage, and I am sure that the faithful would respond very positively. Time, however, does not seem to be ripe, as far as the superiors are concerned. As for me, pro bono pacis, I celebrate by trying to avoid any tension. "

"The example of the hand communion has made me think"

On the current situation among the priests, he said:

"It is necessary to distinguish between the generations. We experience a positive attitude among the young priests, an attitude that often arises when they get in touch with a priest, thanks to whom they are allowed to discover the traditional Mass. In this way they get access to a spiritual and theological treasure, which until then was unknown to them and which only needs to be explored and shared. The content of the traditional Mass is much richer, much more precise than the modern Mass. The Blessed Virgin, the Holy Archangel Michael, and the holy apostles Peter and Paul are present in all the formations of the extraordinary form, while in the ordinary form they have disappeared completely or almost completely. As long as I celebrated with the new Missal, I always chose the First Eucharistic Prayer, the Roman Canon.” 

He endeavored to assist young priests and seminarians in their quest for holiness. Accordingly, he also kept in touch with the International Seminary of the Society of Saint Peter in Wigratzbad, which he visited personally in 2004.

In 1949 he was still ordained a priest in the traditional form:

"I celebrated itfor 20 years, including my time in Rome, when I studied at the Gregoriana. I also celebrated it during the Bugnini reform, when it betrayed the intention of the Council Fathers - and perhaps Paul VI's. Anyway, the example of the "Handkommunion" makes me pensive, the Paul VI. not wanted, as instructed by the Memoriale Domini, but which was forced by the German and French bishops. " 

Like a legacy he said then:

“I wish that all bishops become aware of the importance of oral communion as a reference to the Holy of Holies, then they will take the same position as the Bishop of Oruro! This is the only way to truly testify to the Lord's Eucharistic Presence through words and deeds. We regret that today it is not the same throughout the Church as Paul VI. in Memoriale Domini has defined that communion should always be received by mouth. Therefore, I am glad that the Bishop of Oruro, the words of Pope Paul VI. reaffirmed. "

In the fall of 2016, Bishop Laise was one of the first signatories to the Lenten Declaration on Church Doctrine on Marriage and the Family, which called on Pope Francis to reaffirm the truths of sacramental marriage.

"How should holy communion be received? Kneeling and in the mouth "

One year ago, exactly one year ago, the bishop and capuchin spoke publicly for the last time. In an interview, he criticized the actions of some German bishops who want to create facts in terms of inter-communion.

"I am strongly against it. How can we share this sacrament with someone who does not share the foundations of the doctrine? We are heading for a confusion. The entry of Luther's statue into the Vatican also surprised me negatively. The Protestants are heretics in every respect, which is why intercommunion is not possible. It is only when the Protestant shares the Catholic faith in an appropriate and accurate way. "

On Holy Communion he said on this occasion:

"When you go to Holy Communion, you have to be aware of what you receive. Instead, in many cases, superficiality prevails. This does not depend on modernity itself, but on the careless climate, which has little inclination for the sacred, and which is a consequence of modernity. This climate, it is regrettable to have to say this, is present not only in everyday life, but unfortunately also in the church. We churchmen are partly responsible. I do not want to bring charges, but from this point of view, the Pope would have to insist more, but it does not. "

When asked how Communion should be received, he admonished:

"Kneeling and in the mouth. The body of Christ whom we receive in the Sacrament is worthy of respect and honor. I repeat: We have also lost the value of sanctity in the forms, and that is a very grave misuse for which Paul VI. bears the guilt that opened the door to these behaviors. After the Second Vatican, the Church began to waver as far as the sacred is concerned."

He also affirmed that so-called remarried divorced people are "absolutely not" allowed to communion.

"Anyone who divorces and enters into a civil union is in a state of grave sin, beyond the grace of God, and can not receive the Sacrament unless he does penance and has a concrete and real resolution to change his life , In this question the Gospel, the Magisterium of the Church and the sacramental order are valid. Nobody has the authority to change it. We are only the administrators of the sacrament, but not the owners. It is therefore true that the concrete danger of relativism exists for the concrete implementation of Amoris laetitia. It would therefore be opportune to clarify how it was demanded with the Dubia.”

Bishop Juan Rodolfo Laise was buried on Tuesday afternoon. The Requiem was celebrated by Msgr. Franco Moscone, the new Archbishop of Manfredonia-Vieste-San Giovanni Rotondo. It took place in the 1959 consecrated pilgrimage church of Santa Maria delle Grazie (Our Lady, Help of Christians). Directly adjacent to it is the old 16th-century monastery church with the image of the Blessed Virgin, before which Fr. Pio celebrated Holy Mass offering in the traditional form of the Roman Rite until old age, and  it was also the favorite church of Bishop Laise.

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

Vatican Cardinal Denounces Political Push for Open Borders

Cardinal Robert Sarah: Catholic Church should not support "this new form of slavery that is mass migration"

By David Martin 

In an interview last week, Cardinal Robert Sarah, prefect of the Vatican’s Congregation of Divine Worship, condemned the present pontifical push for migration into Europe, saying that the Catholic Church should not support “this new form of slavery that is mass migration.” He said, “God never intended these fractures.” 

The cardinal was indirectly rebutting Pope Francis’ political activism in telling Christian nations that they should open their borders to Islamic “refugees” and be more “welcoming.” Sarah said that using the Bible to promote migration constitutes a “false exegesis,” and said it is better “to help people flourish in their culture than to encourage them to come to Europe.”

.

In his recently published book titled Evening Draws Near and the Day is Nearly Over, the cardinal says it is wrong to “use the Word of God to promote migration” and laments the “collapse of the West,” as well as the “migratory processes” that threaten Europe’s identity.

According to Sarah, the stability of Christian Europe is indispensable for the peace and security of the world. “If Europe disappears, and with it the priceless values of the Old Continent, Islam will invade the world and we will completely change culture, anthropology, and moral vision,” he warned.

The cardinal pulled no punches in decrying treasonous bishops, cardinals, and priests who ignore their pastoral duties and who instead engage in this political activism.

“In the Church there have always been betrayals. Today, I can say without fear that some priests, some bishops and even some cardinals are afraid to proclaim what God teaches and to transmit the doctrine of the Church,” he said. “And so they say confusing, vague, inaccurate things, to escape any criticism, and to enlist in the stupid evolution of the world. This is a betrayal.”

He laments false pastors who “yield to the morbid, wicked temptation to align the Church with the current values of Western societies” and who “want people to say that the Church is open, welcoming, attentive, modern.”

Sarah said that while “Some have adopted the ideologies of today’s world with the fallacious pretext of being open to the world,” we instead “should bring the world to be open to God, who is the source of our existence.”

He minced no words in repudiating this globalist push for a one-world government, saying, “This contemporary desire to globalize the world, ridding it of nations with their distinctive characteristics is sheer madness.”

Cardinal Sarah is certainly on key in rebutting Francis’ idea of allowing Islamic insurgents to overrun the nations. It doesn’t take a theologian or learned person to know that guarding our borders is what protects and liberates while opening our borders is what destroys and enslaves.

This applies to the Church too. Opening the Church’s doors and allowing the world to overrun it has wrought great destruction in the Church since Vatican II. And then they wonder why we have the abuse problems!  Allowing heretics and sodomites to come in and lay their eggs is what has hatched the evil. Allowing wolves to enter and tear at the sheep is the work of a “hireling,” not a shepherd.

Sarah alluded to Francis, saying, “If he does not teach the faith, if he enjoys activism instead of reminding people that they are made for prayer, he betrays his mission.” He said, “Jesus says, ‘I will strike the shepherd and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered.’ This is what is happening today. People no longer know who to turn to.”

Vatican Cardinal: Encouraging Immigration Misrepresents the Gospel

(Breitbart) The prominent Vatican Cardinal Robert Sarah, as his newly released book is causing furor in Europe, said it is wrong to “use the word of God to promote migration.”

The Guinean cardinal, prefect of the Vatican’s Congregation for Divine Worship, said that using the Bible to promote migration constitutes “false exegesis,” adding that it is better “to help people flourish in their culture than to encourage them to come to Europe.”

David Martin is the former moderator for St. Michaels Radio which is the one radio program of our time specializing in Catholic prophecy. He has also authored numerous articles on the Church and the Papacy which have appeared on various blogs and websites.David presently resides in Los Angeles, California where for thirty years he has coordinated a Catholic ministry. He is a daily communicant in his parish church and strongly supports Benedict XVI’s aspiration to see the Traditional Latin Mass returned to every Catholic parish of the world.

AMDG

Cardinal Sarah Calls in Faithful to Pray Novena to Our Lady for Bishops

Cardinal Robert Sarah calls on the faithful to pray for the bishops "at this difficult time".

The Prefect of the Roman Congregation for Worship and the Order of the Sacraments, Robert Cardinal Sarah, supports the novena "Marie qui fortifie les évêques" published by the French publisher Life editions, literally "Mary, who strengthens the bishops" "Mary, strengthening the bishops". Cardinal Sarah calls on the faithful to help prayerfully with their pastors, especially in these difficult times.

The imprimatur for the publication of the novena was given by Bishop Marc Aillet of Bayonne, Lescar et Oloron. The cardinal from Guinea refers to St. Paul, who in a few words expressed what the apostolic ministry of the bishop is:

"As servants of Christ, we should be considered and administerers of the Mysteries of God" (1 Cor 4: 1).

On the day of his episcopal consecration, the new bishop is turned upside down by the Gospel who has just been anointed with the christening oil. He receives a ring as a sign of his apostolic authority, which he always has to bear as an expression of the special, permanent and final bond and his unity with the Church

In the middle of the priesthood, the new bishop, as successor to the apostles, also wears the miter. It is the symbol of his supreme pastoral responsibility in the service of the people of God, with that very special holiness of the shepherd offered as a sacrifice for the salvation of souls. In prayer, each priest prays for the bishop every day. The faithful should also pray for their bishops and for all the bishops and ask the Lord to shape them on the model of great bishops and intercessors, such as St. Augustine, St. Charles Borromeo, St. Francis de Sales.

Finally, the new bishop receives the pastor's staff of the shepherd, because from now on his whole life shall serve the service and salvation of the souls entrusted to him by Jesus, the Good Shepherd, to guide them to the "green pastures" as it is described in Psalm 22, on which the grace which springs from the heart of our Lord Jesus Christ springs forth like living water.

"We understand at once that the episcopate is a heavy burden requiring untiring pastoral care ... a burden that can cause great fatigue, especially spiritually. Before serious decisions have to be made, the bishop is alone before God, which is why on certain days he can feel a very heavy and indescribable loneliness. The task of the bishops is therefore immense: in the West because of the complex situations of de-Christianization (...) "

"Above all, there are many bishops who live in real emergencies: material distress, sometimes with dioceses where misery reigns, and of course moral distress in all the countries where Christians are maltreated or even persecuted because of their faith. This is especially true of the countries under the rule of Islamic law and totalitarian communism.

"The bishop finds great comfort and strength in the prayer of his people, which rises like a pleasant fragrance to the throne of God. Pray for the one who has been commissioned to lead the people of God, true to the spirit of wisdom and the abundance of divine graces, faithful to the duties, fulfilling g his episcopal ministry in the present context of a Church plagued by persecution and the pains of relativism and indifference. The initiative of the "Novena Maria,” which strengthens the bishops, not only seems to me to be excellent, but indispensable. It reveals the intimate and inseparable union of the shepherd and the Christian people in the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

“May the Mother of the Church, Mother of the Believers and Shepherds, help us, enlighten us, guide us and lead us to the Heart of Jesus pierced for our sins! Because she was the first disciple of our Redeemer, the Virgin Mary, Redemptoris Mater - the Mother of the Redeemer - teaches us in the meditative prayer of the Rosary to listen to Him and trust Him despite all obstacles. She teaches us to pray to Jesus, her beloved Son, gradually to enter into His familiarity and to fully love and serve Him humbly.

“I wholeheartedly bless this initiative in trusting Our Lady, Mother of the Church, whom Holy Bishop Charles Borromeo has called as 'Our Lady of Good Counsel'. "

Text: Giuseppe Nardi

Picture: Riposte Catholique

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

AMDG

Cardinal Sarah Sees Promotion of Married Clergy as an Attack on Tradition

Curial Cardinal warns at a Pontifical High Mass for a Chartres pilgrimage: When the sacrament of Holy Orders is given to married men ("viri probati"), it leads to serious consequences and a definitive break with the Apostolic Tradition

Chartres Vatican (kath.net) "Dear brothers in the priesthood, always keep this certainty: to be connected to Christ on the cross, because priestly celibacy gives witness in the world! The resumption by some of the efforts to separate celibacy from the priesthood by giving the sacrament of ordination to married men ('viri probati'), which, as we have said, 'for pastoral reasons or necessities', leads to serious consequences, a definitive break with the Apostolic Tradition. Then we would establish a priesthood according to human criteria, but not continue the priesthood of Christ, obedient, poor and chaste. In fact, the priest is not just an 'alter Christi', but he is truly, ipse Christ: ‘Christ Himself! Therefore, the priest who follows Christ in the Church will always be a sign of contradiction!" Curial Cardinal Robert Sarah told the pilgrims in Chartes / France at a Pontifical Mass. Sarah is Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Order of the Sacraments.

Almost 12,000 pilgrims came to the traditional Pentecost pilgrimage to Chartres.

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

AMDG

"Every Christian is Spiritually a Vendéan" -- Cardinal Sarah on the "Inner Rebellion" against the "Columns of Hell"

Cardinal Sarah at the Grave of Saint Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort,
who was born in Bretagne, but died in the Vendée and is buried there.

(Paris) An extraordinary and prophetic sermon was given by Robert Cardinal Sarah, Prefect of the Roman Congregation of Divine Worship and the Order of the Sacraments, in Saint Laurent sur Sèvres in the Vendée. The occasion was the opening of the 700th anniversary of the Diocese of Luçon.

The Catholic and Royalist population of this French landscape and its surroundings rose up from 1793 to 1796 in an insurrection against the anti-Christ and anti-royalist programs of the French Revolution. Their insurrection was cruelly suppressed by the revolutionaries in the name of "freedom, equality, brotherhood." The cruelty of the Revolutionary Government and its "hell columns," as the revolutionary groups were called, which precipitated the uprising in the Vendée, caused about 200,000 deaths by systematically burning entire villages and killing the population. Today, the extermination policy of the revolution is sometimes referred to as genocide (genocide) and "populicide" (popular murder).

The Cardinal will be in the Vendée until 15 August, the Feast of the Assumption of Mary.

The full text of the sermon:

Dear Brothers in the Lord!

We Christians need the spirit of the inhabitants of the Vendée! We need such an example! As we have to leave our sowing, our harvest, the furrows drawn by our plows, to fight - not for the defense of human interests, but for God!

Cardinal Sarah preached on the 12th of August in the Vendée

So who will stand up for God today? Who will dare to face the modern persecutors of the Church? Who will have the courage to rise, unarmed, only with the Rosary and the Sacred Heart, to meet the columns of death of our days, the relativism, the indifference and the contempt of God? Who will tell this world that the only truth worth dying for is freedom to believe?

Brothers, as once our brethren of the Vendée, today we have been called to confession, that is, to martyrdom!

Today, our Christian brothers in the Middle East, in Pakistan, in Africa, die for their faith, destroyed by the columns of the Islamic persecution. Therefore, you, people of France, you, people of the Vendée, when will you take up the peaceful weapons of prayer and love to defend your faith?

Dear friends, the blood of the martyrs flows in your veins. Be faithful to it!

We are all mentally sons of the martyrs of the Vendée! Also we Africans, we who have received many missionaries from the Vendée, who came to proclaim us Christ and to die with us! We must remain faithful to their heritage!

In this place the spirit of these martyrs surrounds us. What do they tell us? What are they going to give us?

First and foremost their courage! When it comes to God, no compromise is possible! The glory of God is not for discussion! This has to start with our personal life, our prayer life and our worship.

Brothers, it is time to rise up against the real existential atheism that stifles our lives. If we pray in the family, we place God in the first place! A family who prays is a family that lives! A Christian who does not pray, who leaves no space for God by silence and worship, dies!

From the example of the Vendée, we also learn the love of the priesthood. Because their "good shepherds" were threatened, they rose. Your children, when they see the faithful example of your ancestors, love their priests, love the priesthood!

You must ask: Have I also been called to be a priest in the succession of these good priests who have suffered martyrdom by the revolution? Would I have the courage to give life entirely to Christ and to my brethren?

The martyrs of the Vendée also teach us the forgiveness and mercy. Despite persecution and hatred, they have preserved in their hearts the concern for peace and forgiveness. Remember, commander Bonchamps 1) had given 5,000 prisoners given the freedom in 1793 a few minutes before he died. We should counteract hatred without resentment and without animosity. We are to be armed with the heart of Jesus, and like this we shall be full of meekness.

Finally, we also learn the generosity and selflessness of the martyrs of the Vendée.

Your ancestors did not themselves fight for their own interests. They had nothing to gain. Today they teach us true humanity. We live in a world dominated by the dictatorship of money, interests and wealth. The joy of selflessness is everywhere despised and mocked. Nevertheless, only the generous love and the unselfish surrender of one's own life can defeat the hatred of God and of men, the origin of every revolution. The inhabitants of the Vendée have taught us to resist all these revolutions. They have shown us that there is only one answer to the colonialists, the National Socialist extermination camps, the Communist Gulag, the Islamic barbarism: the complete self-giving of one's own life. Only love defeats the powers of death!

Today again, perhaps today more than ever before, the revolutionary ideologues want to destroy the natural place of self-giving, joyous generosity and love - I mean the family!

Gender ideology, contempt for fertility and loyalty are the new guiding principles of the revolution. The families have become many Vendées, which are to be exterminated. It is planned to systematically wipe them out as they once did against the Vendée.

These new revolutionaries are annoyed by the selflessness families with children. They laugh at the Christian families because they embody everything they hate. They are ready to send their columns of hell against Africa to put the family under pressure and impose on it sterilization, abortion and contraception.

Africa will resist like the Vendée!

Everywhere: Christian families must be a joyous avant-garde of an insurrection against this new dictatorship of egoism!

Now, in the heart of every family, every Christian, every person of good will has to raise an inner Vendée! Every Christian is mentally a Vendéan! Let us not allow the unselfish and generous devotion to be stifled in us. Let us also learn how the martyrs of the Vendée, to draw this gift from their source: the heart of Jesus. Let us ask that a powerful and joyful inner Vendée rise in the Church and in the world.

Amen!

Text / Translation: Giuseppe Nardi
Image: Le Salon beige / Messa in latino
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
AMDG

Cardinal Sarah: The Church is Unshakably Established -- Despite Noisy Popes

"Paradoxically, there have been many chatty theologians for many thousands of years, many noisy popes, many presumptuous, self-confident followers of the apostles. But the Church is unshakably established upon Peter, the rock, and Mount Golgotha. "

Robert Cardinal Sarah in his latest book "The Power of Silence: Against a Dictatorship of the Noise,"  Concept 40.

Image: Wikicommons

Katholisches...

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

AMDG

Ad Orientem Mass Returns to San Francisco Parish

SAN FRANCISCO (ChurchMilitant.com) - Starting Ash Wednesday, a parish priest in San Francisco is offering all Masses ad orientem — facing the altar.

Father Joseph Illo — pastor at Star of the Sea in Abp. Salvatore Cordileone's archdiocese of San Francisco — told Church Militant the inspiration behind this change in orientation came from Cdl. Robert Sarah, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Liturgy. Referencing Cdl. Sarah's talk at the 2016 Sacra Liturgia conference and Cdl. Sarah's book — God or Nothing — Fr. Illo related, "It was Cdl. Sarah's suggestion that we requested permission to implement; but Abp. Cordileone gave his approval."

http://www.churchmilitant.com/news/article/fr.-illo-restoring-ad-orientem-mass-ash-wednesday

AMDG