Cardinal Braz de Aviz Suggests Mixed Orders to Solve Collapse of Religious Orders

(New York) The Catholic Church loses 2,000 religious   world-wide  every year. The loss has its clear focus in Europe. Cardinal João Braz de Aviz, Prefect of the Roman Congregation of Religious drew a bleak picture for the future of Orders in Europe. "The average age of women religious in Europe is 85 years, which means that they will soon die without being replaced." In other words, they are dying out.

The  Focolare Movement cardinal spoke  last August 19 at a meeting with religious in the Cathedral of Sao Paulo in Brazil. Currently, there are approximately 1.5 million religious and 3 million members of congregations and communities of consecrated life worldwide. The former Archbishop of Brasilia in 2011 was appointed by Pope Benedict XVI. as Prefect of the Congregation of Religious and 2013, confirmed by Pope Francis in this office. Growth is takingn place  on a larger scale in Africa and Asia. In Europe the situation is, however, dramatic.

No comparable collapse in European Church history

Said Cardinal Braz de Aviz of collapse knows nothing comparable in the Church's history, at least not on this scale, which affects almost the entire European continent. A similarly dramatic process of dissolution was experienced in  Catholic monastic life was only experienced in the countries of the Reformation. The circumstances are still difficult to compare. Early 16th century it was an explosive appearance, while a long infirmity is now to be observed, to name only one aspect. In many parts of Europe, the honors system was then powerful and alive.

Cardinal Braz de Aviz also personally embodies the de facto destruction of the Order of the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate. Their tree bore fruit,  in contrast to many other religious, and yet - or perhaps because, as some people think - it was needed. 

"Knots" that are to be untied for Recovery

Brothers and sisters of the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate: Founder Father Manelli celebrated in the traditional rite. "By their fruits ..."

The Government site of the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais has published several "knots", which need to be  resolved, according to Cardinal Braz de Aviz, to establish Catholic monastic life again.

First, the cardinal spoke to the vow of poverty: Many religious possess millions in assets, such as deposits with the Vatican Bank IOR, half of whose deposits belongs  to Orders. He spoke of an order with a religious vow of poverty which, without saying who  the Order is, has 30 million in the bank.

The Cardinal also complained of the often "oppressive" ways  obedience is lived within Community. Obedience is necessary, but must be exercised as an obedience between brothers. In this context, the prefect complained lack of a "turnover" of superiors. He mentioned the example of religious superiors who are vested in their office at 35 years old, who are "damaging to their subordinates". There were also religious
 superiors, the Cardinal said, who change the rules of the order to remain in office for life.

"Family atmosphere" and "mixed communities"

Braz de Aviz also reported the case of a former provincial superior of a  congregation of women religious who petitioned for a dispensation at the age of 80 from the order in order to fulfill her "desire for motherhood." They left the order and have adopted a three-month-old child.

The cardinal commented that it was necessary to create a family atmosphere in the communities. As a possible way to a familial atmosphere the Cardinal called for the establishment of joint communities. In this regard, there are outdated ideas to overcome, said the prefect of the Congregation for Religious: "In the past we had difficulties when it comes to living together, because it was said that one must be careful, because the woman is a danger because the man is a danger ..." ,

The cardinal added the limitation that he "would not recommend the creation of mixed communities in the same house" at least, because the third vow of chastity, would have to be retained.

The speech, according to the report, had been acknowledged by the attending religious representatives with long applause. The President of the Conference of Religious of Brazil in the state of Sao Paulo, Sr. Ivone Lourdes Fritzen, thanked Cardinal Braz de Aviz for his "openness and transparency", as regards the challenges of religious life.

Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Bild: Estado de Minas (Screenshot)/MiL
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
Link...
AMDG

Frontal Attack: "Dominus Jesus" is "Unfortunately Formulated"

Kardinal Kurt Koch
© +ecumenix, Flickr, CC BY-NC

Cardinal Kurt Koch

Fidelity to the Pope and to the Conciliar Magisterium is only expected of the Society of St Pius X -- not Old Liberal Curial Cardinals, who are undermining the Faith.

(kreuz.net) The statement in 'Dominus Jesus" that Protestants are not churches in the proper sense, is a stumbling block and an "unfortunate formulation".

This is what Old Liberal Cardinal Kurt Koch -- President of the Pontifical Office for Unity said at an event of the Old Liberal 'Focolare Movement' in Bern according to reports by the Swiss weekly 'Reformierte Press'.

'Dominus Jesus' is a declaration by the Congregation of Doctrine and the Faith in August of 2000.  It was signed by then Cardinal Ratzinger.

A Piece of Bread

Cardinal Koch answered in the negative, if he found it correct to refuse Reformed Christians Communion.

"I would never refuse this to anyone who came to Communion.  I've never personally done this."

For the Reformed their Supper is a piece of bread, that recalls Holy Thursday.

A Charter for Hocus Pocus Communion?

Cardinal Koch only wants to "speak" to the Reformed Christians who snap up Communion.

The 'Reformed Press" asked if this statement by the Cardinal is a "charter for Swiss priests", to give their hocus pocus Communion to people who don't believe in it?

Link to kreuz.net...

Kneeling Catholic: Focolare chief priest, Fr. Silvano Cola, says humanity's 'collective consciouness

Editor: Kneeling Catholic's got the goods on the Corpus Christi Bishop Mulvey's Focolare association. He doesn't mention his bishop by name, but sometimes the company you keep doesn't reflect well on you.


This link explains how Focolare says we must adopt a "new type of behavior" which fits our new modern collective consciousness. http://www.focolare.ie/General/BeingOneArchives/1992/Number01/04Silvano.htm


Father Cola (RIP)>>>>>>.....The considerations we will make may sound like a criticism of the past. However, they should not be regarded as negative. Obviously with time a new consciousness emerges and with it a new type of behaviour which automatically seems to deprecate former ways. My intention in this article is not to criticize the past. All that was done in the past was perhaps the best for those times, for those people, in that situation and for the collective consciousness of that historic moment. At present the collective consciousness of humanity seems to have matured, resulting in a new step forward. This requires a change in the way we read the Gospel .....

http://kneelingcatholic.blogspot.com/2011/07/focolare-chief-priest-fr-silvano-cola.html

Distribution Stopped: "YouCAT"

Editor: Naturally, Cardinal Schoenborn's catechism has some problems with it.

But he's now shifting the blame:

[Catholic Culture] Cardinal Christoph Schönborn of Vienna, who supervised the production of YouCat, said that each translation was produced under the aegis of another prelate. The Italian translation was guided by Cardinal Angelo Scola of Venice.

The Italian edition of "YouCAT" contains a substantial translation error. Who will take responsibility? Naturally, no one.

(kreuz.net, Vatikan) The publication of the Italian edition is part of a Vatican commission? This was reported by the news agency of the US-Bishops Conference 'Catholic News Service'.

The Italian edition of 'YouCAT' appears in the press 'Citta Nuova'. It belons to the falsely ecumenical Focolare Movement.

Youth catechism's Italian edition suspended after translation error


The English language "Youcat: Youth Catechism of the Catholic Church" is published by Ignatius Press of San Francisco. (CNS/Ignatius Press)

By Carol Glatz
Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Distribution of an Italian edition of a new youth catechism was temporarily suspended because of a translation error concerning the church's teaching on contraception.

Thousands of copies of the Italian translation of "YouCat," a recently released supplement to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, erroneously left the impression that Catholic couples could use "contraceptive methods."

As a result, "the product is temporarily suspended, but not halted," so that the Italian publisher can "examine the text," Elena Cardinali, a spokeswoman for the Citta Nuova editorial group, told Catholic News Service April 12. Citta Nuova, the publishing arm of the Focolare lay movement, handled the Italian edition of the catechism.

The youth catechism was originally written in German and the work was supervised by Austrian Cardinal Christoph Schonborn of Vienna. The Italian edition was translated by Pietro Podolak and translation revisions were overseen by Cardinal Angelo Scola of Venice, according to the credit pages in the book.

The 300-page book uses a question-and-answer format to talk about what the church teaches.

Question 420 of the Italian edition and its brief reply incorrectly suggest that a married couple can use contraceptive methods.

The question in the Italian version reads: "Can a Christian couple turn to contraceptive methods?" The answer reads: "Yes, a Christian couple can and must be responsible about their capacity of being able to give life."

The answer in Italian goes on to explain -- in line with church teaching -- that the church does not accept artificial means of contraception, but does allow regulation of fertility through natural methods.

The error was not found in the original German text of "YouCat," nor in the U.S. English edition, which was published by Ignatius Press.

The German text of question 420 "asks whether a Christian married couple may regulate the number of children they have. It does not ask whether the couple may use methods of contraception," wrote Mark Brumley, president of Ignatius Press, on the Ignatius Press blog, Insight Scoop.

"I don't know why the Italian translation reads as it does, nor do I know how it came about that it reads as it does, but it should be fixed to reflect, without ambiguity, the church's teaching that contraception is evil," Brumley wrote April 12.

"It is my understanding that the Italian text is being fixed," he added.

A Vatican official, speaking on background, said a previously planned press conference April 13 was expected to clarify the issue.

The English translation of the question and reply in "YouCat" as published by Ignatius Press is: "May a Christian married couple regulate the number of children they have? Yes, a Christian married couple may and should be responsible in using the gift and privilege of transmitting life."

The "YouCat" Italian edition came out in bookstores March 30 and sold 14,000 copies in five days, a Citta Nuova press release said April 6. At that time, Citta Nuova said some 46,000 copies had already been printed and more than 27,000 copies ordered.

It was the third best-selling religious book in Italian, it said, coming in behind Pope Benedict XVI's "Jesus of Nazareth" and a recent biography of Pope John Paul II.

"YouCat" was to be translated into at least 13 different languages and about 700,000 copies were to be distributed to young people taking part in World Youth Day 2011 in Madrid. An electronic version will also be available.

Pope Benedict wrote the book's foreword and said he wanted to supplement the Catechism of the Catholic Church by translating it "into the language of young people."

Cardinal Ravasi: Duet Instead of Duel Against the Cultural Fog: Another Voice Against Multiculturalism

More The idea of multi-clturalism is shattered, said the President of the Pontifical Council on Culture.  The "double sickness of Europe".  by Armin Schwibach

Rome (kath.net/as) Not only the British Prime Minister David Cameron [Sarkozi and Merkel as well], but also the President of the Council for Culture Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi,  has recognized that the idea of multiculturalism as the cohabitation of different cultures in western lands is shattered.

For Ravasi it is necessary that at this point of the dialogue has brought out the "interculturality", that are interacting with "powerful cultural identities". The president of the Council of Culture expressed itself in this way at Castel Gandolfo at the event of the 35th meeting of Bishops who are associated with the Focolare Movement.

At the same time he proposed the possible publication of documents on the side of the Vatican dealing with this theme, according to a report in today's edition of the Milan paper "Corriere della Sera".

Cardinal Ravasi explained that it is necessary to manage a confrontation, which not be described as conflict and is communicated from within values, without each losing its own identity.  Multiculturalism has been a fact since antiquity, it is present to all in the midst of the urban environment.   There are various cultural presences established there,  which in any event  are colliding together in diverse forms leading from fundamentalism.

"Dialogue" is presented that it is a "dia-logue" " and with it a relation between two "logoi".  This means that the goal of interculturalism is not consist in the identification of the building of a single global society.

The attempt of multiculturalism is in the atempt of a "duel" for domination, said the Cardinal.  Against that it is above all necessary today, to form interculturalism as a "duet", by which the two can be strengthened, rather forming the different identities not to be like each other, rather they harmoniously encounter each other.

Cardinal Ravasi warned of a "double sickeness" in Europe.  this is on the one side aggressively approaching ideology of "the sword" , which is not necessarily excluded to the Christian, and on the other side from "cultural syncretism, superficiality, banality, stupidity, depraved morals, colorless and a overbearing cultural fog, which is predominant."

New Corpus Christi Bishop is Into Focolare Cult

We were over whispering at the Loggia and people thought we were crazy, we were whispering to ourselves whispering these words like a curse, "the new ordinary of Corpus Christi is into Focolare?" But what Rocco won't tell you, because he can't tell you, is that there is a problematic aspect to the Focolare movement. Most of you who are self-described Traditionalists probably know that Focolare is a movement of masonic proportions rooted in the heretical Sillonist Movement condemned by Notre Charge Apostolique. But this site isn't just for you, we're trying to inform other people, we hope, things that we pick up that the ordinary person in the pew won't see and doesn't realize, actually teaches some things that are contradictory to what the Church teaches. Now before you go on accusing us of setting up a parallel magisterium of our own creation, take the time to find out what Focolare stands for. You don't have to be a fire breathing traditionalist to be upset about a cultic, pentecostal group like Focolare. I wouldn't want my children participating in it and you shouldn't either.


And don't be participating in ad hominem attacks, y'all.

Reference works dealing with the phenomenon of Focolare:

The Pope's Armadas...

Christian Order...