McCarrick’s Crimes Are “Private Matters” According to Pope’s Advisor

Cardinal Maradiaga, one of the closest pope's confidants, says after being heavily criticized after the revelations, he has received "death threats".

(Rome) As far as Pope's confidant Cardinal Maradiaga, Archbishop of Tegucigalpa and coordinator of the C9 Cardinal's Council is concerned, ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick's crimes committed under canon law are a "private matter" and an "administrative issue".

Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga is one of the busiest figures in the current pontificate, earning him the nickname "vice-pope". Indeed, the Primate of Honduras and former President of Caritas Internationalis is said to have ambitions after Francis’ succession.

Religion Digital, the main progressive news portal in the Spanish-speaking world, published an interview with the Cardinal, which sounded a bit different in tone than he has recently.

Aberro-lobby in the Vatican a media fantasy

In January 2016, in an interview with the daily newspaper El Heraldo de Honduras, he confirmed the existence of a "gay lobby in the Vatican" that puts "pressure" on Church leadership to make decisions in their favor. Among other things, Maradiaga said at the time:

El Heraldo: Was there an infiltration of the gay community into the Vatican or a similar attempt?

Cardinal Maradiaga: Not only that, the Holy Father himself has said that there is a "lobby" in that sense. The Holy Father is slowly trying to clean it up. These are things ... you understand and there are actions to serve them pastorally, but what is wrong can not be true.

Now he is saying:

"The gay lobby in the Vatican is something that exists more in the printing ink of the media than in reality."

Cardinal Maradiaga

Cardinal Maradiaga: Papal critics have "no faith"

The comment was based on the former apostolic nuncio, Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, who in his famous dossier, published on the 26th of August, lists Cardinal Maradiaga as one of the ex-Cardinal McCarrick's patrons. The former Vatican top diplomat, sneered Maradiaga ironically, should know himself that the "gay lobby in the Vatican" is above all a media fantasy.

In general, the interview surprised by its non-answers, which in turn and in their way, nevertheless, also gave information.

The cardinal was specifically addressed on the Viganò dossier and the McCarrick case:

Religion Digital: The Viganò dossier accuses the Pope of covering up Cardinal McCarrick's homosexual relationships with seminarians and calls for his resignation. What do you think about this?

Cardinal Maradiaga: Making a private issue into a bomb that explodes in the world and whose splinters violate many people's beliefs does not seem right to me. I think that a management question should be spread on calmer and more objective criteria, and not with a load of bitter expressions. I think that Msgr. Viganò, whom I knew, is not the same person who writes and says these things.

Religon Digital: If it is true that Viganò informed the Pope, then why did not Francis act?

Cardinal Maradiaga: Actually, I do not know to what extent the Holy Father acted or not. This is an issue beyond my knowledge and competence. I believe that the Pope is a man of God who always acts with faith and wisdom.

Maradiaga's thesis: All is just a conspiracy against Francis

Already in the past, the Honduran cardinal had complained of a conspiracy against Pope Francis. It’s an allegation in which he repeatedly linked criticism against him with criticism of Francis, and was a victim of Franciscan critics who would attack him to actually hit Francis. Religion Digital has no problem picking up on this thesis and accentuating it.

Religion Digital: Is the Viganò dossier part of a conspiracy of the extreme right in the US that does not accept the Magisterium of Francis?

Cardinal Maradiaga: From the first moment one could perceive that there has been a reaction against Pope Francis, who wants to interfere with his teaching. Tensions are inevitable in the face of diversity, but to seek the truth and love the Church is a duty for all, especially when acting out of faith. Accepting or not accepting the person of the Pope does not come from the secular optics of sympathy and antipathy, but from that of the faith. When faith is lacking, the foundation is missing.

It is also not new that Cardinal Maradiaga, without responding directly to the criticism, denies that critics of the administration of Pope Francis have faith.

Homosexuality and priesthood

Religion Digital: Is there a gay lobby in the Vatican?

Cardinal Maradiaga: I have the impression that the idea of ​​a gay lobby in the Vatican is disproportionate. This is something that exists more in the printing ink of newspapers than in reality. It is obvious to me that the purpose of all these expressions, charged with poison and slander, is to strike the Holy Father. But if they have no faith, the actors of this media circus will not give up their lies.

Religion Digital then wanted to get from the pope's confidant an answer to a question that has become particularly explosive and topical in the context of recent scandals. However, the cardinal owes a clear answer to a clear question. Most readers of Religion Digital and probably most of the faithful can not do anything with his answer. The non-Catholics, certainly not.

Religion Digital: Can a homosexual who has achieved a clear psychological and sexual maturity become a priest?

Cardinal Maradiaga: All Bishops' Conferences in all countries of the world are aware of the absolute and apodictic principles of the Church, such as those set forth in Ratio Fundamentalis Institutionis Sacerdotalis.

The progressive medium was satisfied with that. Inquiries were waived.

Religion Digital: Did Cardinal McCarrick support the election of Francis, and did the Pope feel indebted to the North American Cardinal?

Cardinal Maradiaga: First and foremost, one has to understand the ultimate significance of this assertion in the case of Msgr. Viganò. It seems to me baseless. He was not in the conclave. I honestly do not believe it.

But that's not all.

"Hitman” and "death threats"

Two days after Religion Digital, the Italian daily Il Giornale also published an article with a sensational headline citing a conversation with Cardinal Maradiaga:

"The war in the Church does not know a truce: 'Eminence, if you speak, we'll kill'”

The author is Fabio Marchese Ragona, a journalist who has maintained close contacts with the Cardinal for many years. The subject is alleged death threats against the Honduran Cardinal..

"After the allegations and attacks of the past months, also through the dossier of Msgr. Carlo Maria Viganò, which targets the Pope and other cardinals, one of Francis' closest associates received anonymous phone calls, in Spanish, with serious death threats: If he publicly opposes those who accuse him, he will be dead."

While Cardinal Maradiaga, in an interview with Religion Digital, reneged on all his critics and those of Pope Francis, in an interview with Il Giornale he tries to give the impression that all his critics are threatening him with death.

Already on August 29, he had in an interview, described the Vaticanist Edward Pentin (EWTN, National Catholic Register) as a “hitman.” With several revelations published last spring, Pentin, a reputable professional journalist, had weighed in heavily on the Cardinal.

Allegations scratch the papabile image

But it is not only Pentin's revelations that scratch the papabile image of the archbishop of Tegucigalpa. A few days ago, a priest raised new charges, which according to Maradiaga's own account, was suspended without stating a reason and without any possibility of defending himself. The priest is the native Spaniard Bernardo Font, who addressed Pope Francis in July with an open letter.

Like ambassador widow Martha Reichmann Valladares, he feels cheated by Maradiaga.

Recently, the cardinal denounced the social networks he accuses of spreading criticism against him as "fecal networks." With respect to Il Giornale, he now more or less stated that any criticism of his person was a form of murder threat.

Observers doubt that such a defense strategy can last long, but above all that it helps Pope Francis.

They defended Maradiaga in the end of January and declared the then criticism of the cardinal for settled. But the criticism did not stop, and new revelations were added, so that in July Maradiaga had to sacrifice his right hand, Auxiliary Bishop Juan Jose Pineda, in order to keep himself. Pineda's departure, in turn, has a lot to do with homosexuality and the question of whether or not homosexuals can and should become priests, which Maradiaga answered only very evasively.

Text: Giuseppe Nardi

Image: Il Giornale / Religion Digital (Screenshots)

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

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Deviants Rule the Vatican Under Francis' Papacy

ROME, July 11, 2017 (LifeSiteNews) -- Not only are gay-orgies happening in the Vatican, but the extent of homosexual activity in the Vatican under Pope Francis’ watch has “never been worse,” a reliable senior member of the Curia told National Catholic Register’s Ed Pentin. 

Pentin wrote earlier this week that this Vatican Curia member confirmed to him that “multiple sources” within the Vatican, including another senior curial figure, say that the report of a drug-fueled gay orgy right next to St. Peter’s is true. 

“He said the extent of homosexual practice in the Vatican has ‘never been worse,’ despite efforts begun by Benedict XVI to root out sexual deviancy from the curia after the Vatileaks scandal of 2012,” Pentin wrote in his report. 

https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/top-vatican-official-gay-sex-in-vatican-never-been-worse-than-under-francis

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Vaticanists on Pope Francis: "Fewer Interviews, Your Holiness. They Only Cause Confusion."

 (Rome) "Interviews are not my forte," said Pope Francis at the beginning of his pontificate.  How right he was. But why then does he give so many interviews? That is what numerous Catholic observers have asked themselves in their comments since the recent flying press conference on the return flight from Mexico to Rome. Some have come to a clear conclusion and even dare to call  out to him. Their wish is: "Less interviews, Your Holiness."

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It is contemplated with a certain melancholy that canny supporters   in the first bewildering months after the election of Pope Francis, attempted to persuade Jorge Mario Bergoglio not to give interviews. Interviews are a form of communication that would not suit Francis because of the improvised nature of the answers.

The illusion and the return flight from the World Youth Day

The Catholic world was disabused in the return flight from World Youth Day 2013 in Rio de Janeiro. Since then,  the infamous phrase  "Who am I to judge?" has become an unofficial, but more permanent and authentic motto about this pontificate.

In September of the same year, a no less controversial interview followed with the Roman Jesuit journal Civilta Cattolica and the very singular conversations with atheist Eugenio Scalfari.  Since then there has been a dizzying height of papal gushing  at each impromptu press conference in the assembly line. Thus, Francis has changed the form of communication of the Popes, who had hitherto basically waived interviews.  It is with good reason that they thought this.

Last week there were comments on a bandwidth from A for abortion to Z  for Zika virus, from John Paul II. to Donald Trump, from walls to Moscow.

A contradictory Pope

The Pope speaks and contradicts himself and contradicts his own conflicting and he does not even seem to notice. Opinions differ to the latter.

It is more likely that he knows exactly what he says, and has accounted for certain reactions and effects, wherewith he wants to achieve conscious or at least tacit acceptance. While it seems true that he adapts his speeches to his audience, never the less, the coincidence of the statements is not in the game.

The subsequent corrections, semi-corrections and pseudo-corrections by Vatican spokesman, Father Federico Lombardi SJ, therefore, provide for no lack of tragedy and embarrassment. Frequently, the subsequently filed corrections were at best, half-hearted disclaimers. Lombardi, who enjoys no direct access to the Pope,  thereby has multiplied the impression,  to wish to deny something, because it contradicts the Church's teachings, but is  inhibited in this because the statement  might actually concur with the opinion of the pope, or, given a denial, tape recordings could later be presented to prove the contrary. It's a fatal situation.

Reaffirming through half-hearted contradictions

The egg dance about the shocking Pope interviews with Atheist Eugenio Scalfari is unlikely to be bested. But the word  "Scalfari Magisterium' was coined, which carries the core of capitulation in itself.

Subsequently, only Lombardi  denied   informally that Francis had assured Scalfari  that "all remarried divorcees who want to be admitted to communion". At the same time Lombardi explainedthat there would be no official correction. There was also to be no denial. Absent correction, what Scalfari claimed was validated. The overriding conclusion: Pope Francis really said it just as  Scalfari announced it to the world.

The same applies to Scalfari's Pope interviews from 2013 and 2014, now reprinted in a  neatly bound  anthology by the official Vatican publishing with Pope interviews. Since then,   theologians are arguing whether and to what degree the interviews are part of the ordinary papal magisterium.

The Pope as Smoke Machine

Mists around Pope Francis  rise  and he very diligently sets off smoke grenades.

The Vatican expert Sandro Magister explained this papal procedure by using the example of the debate on the legalization of "gay marriage" in Italy: The Pope speaks and acts and sends out signals that are promptly understood by the world to be taken in a certain contradictory manner to the Magisterium. At the same time the Pope and his Adlati who act as smoke grenades to throw good Catholics in confusion and thus to lead them by the nose.

In an almost mocking way, Pope Francis said on his return from Mexico in one breath that he would not  interfere in the political affairs of Italy, and interjected himself at the same time in the political affairs of the United States.

Both times the statements targeted  in perfect focus on encouragement and praise from the same political page. In both cases, the Pope attacked the respective opposition against the ruling political left.  In both cases, the papal statements meant political interference, in Italy by demonstratively asserting noninterference with which he stabbed  Catholic families in the back, defending against their  remarkable action against the legalization of "gay marriage"  and gender ideology, in the US. by  thick headed interference against the most promising challenger to eight year long leftist government. The excommunication-shy Pope,  who has only "excommunicated" the Mafia, but figures like Emma Bonino, who  by her own admission is a child murderer 10,000 times over, and abortion-, divorce-, gender- and euthanasia advocate, he previously dubbed  "Great" and therefore put her on the same level with Pope Paul VI., excommunicated with astonishing thoughtlessness the Presbyterian and thus non-Catholic, Donald Trump from the Christian world.

Political bias does not do justice to the Petrine ministry

The political bias that   the Pope carries before himself like a flag,  might do well for his position as head of state, as Italy is the big neighbor of Vatican City, and the USA is the only remaining superpower. But governments change and tomorrow, Matteo could indeed reign in Rome,  but not Matteo Renzi of the Left-Democrats, but Matteo Salvini of the Northern League. And in the US,  tomorrow maybe Donald Trump will be sitting in the White House. Notwithstanding this: His position certainly does no good as head of the Church, as the successor of Peter and Vicar of Christ. The decisions and statements of the Pope should only  be obligated to his mission to proclaim the truth and to strengthen brothers.

Statements and actions must be measured against their consequences. Which résumé do the Pope's never denied statements about homosexuality, the divorced and remarried , on intercommunion or the Zika virus be drawn? The world reads them as a license and Catholics argue about whether the Pope had already mean it, as he had said it. The one marching resolutely forward with "papal blessing"  and the others are paralyzed in conflicts of interpretation.

The Pope interviews that "at best create confusion in all cases"

Phil Lawler, editor in chief of CatholicCulture asked about the recent flying press conference: "How dangerous was the most recent pope interview? Let me recount." Lawler's "recounting" led to a damning: The many words of the Pope would "in the best case scenario, cause confusion". Lawler's conclusion:

"The frequent public interviews of the Pope and the unfortunate list unfortunate responses have become a predictable source of confusion, frustration and even embarrassment for believers."

His  urgent recommendation follows:

"Pensive Catholic leaders should use their influence to convince the Holy Father of the fact that he was right [in which he once said that interviews were not his strength] and that he is wrong now when he  uses interviews as a regular part of his public office."

The situation of the famous Vatican expert Edward Pentin from New Catholic Register isn't different.  Pentin wonders whether the controversial interviews are not too high a price to be paid, in view of the confusion that this "informal" style creates "by a pope who is not a moral theologian".

Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Image: MiL

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

Link to Katholisches...

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