Effectively Laicized Glaswegian Priest Continues to Languish in Limbo While Partly Exonerated in Rome

Edit: after perusing an article in Renew America about Father John Corapi, which I thought might be more recent while I was looking up more recent news about the based Scots Hermits for a reader,  who were excommunicated on Christmas, I looked up this article from November 20th last year. People are still holding out for this priest.  I can’t find his book anymore, either. After receiving a terse email from a diocesan priest that Despard is being bad, and immature, I hadn’t heard anything more about this.

The other Sunday, I saw a really effeminate priest deliver a homily in a David Sederis style with all the sassy mannerisms at the nearby Cathedral. This priest will no doubt find himself promoted to bishop, while faithful ones like Despard who don’t go along with the aberrosexual thing, tend to get the boot.

Supporters of a Roman Catholic priest suspended after making gay bullying claims have staged a protest outside their bishop’s residence in Bellshill. More than 60 demonstrators, many holding placards, demanded the reinstatement of Fr Matthew Despard who is from Motherwell. 

 The protest was held exactly six years after the priest was suspended from his parish position in Blantyre. Ad Fr Despard, 54, was disciplined after writing and publishing ‘Priesthood in Crisis’ . The book made claims of sexual bullying within the church. It was withdrawn after a church tribunal ruled the contents were defamatory.

 Fr Despard was suspended in 2013. He formally quit his role at St John Ogilvie Church three years ago. He was asked to resign by Bishop of Motherwell Joseph Toal who said his book had caused “considerable scandal”. The priest’s backers are angry that, despite a church court in Rome “partly reversing” the Scottish tribunal’s decision, he has not been reinstated and appointed to one of the parishes within the diocese.

 Anne Simpson, chairperson of a support group, said: “Given the shortage of clergy in this day and age, we can’t afford to be without priests of the calibre of Fr Despard. “He is dedicated to his priestly vocation. “He has been treated unjustly. “ Whatever he has supposedly done wrong he has been punished severely for it.”

 After a ten-minute silent protest outside Bishop Toal’s home at St Gerard’s Church, the demonstrators handed over a letter demanding Fr Despard’s immediate reinstatement to a parish within Motherwell Diocese.

 The church did not respond to a request for comment. However, Bishop Toal has said previously that Fr Despard must “fulfil certain requirements” before he can be reinstated. [A spokesman informed us the same thing, and said that Fr Despard has a bad attitude. Lol]

https://www.motherwelltimes.co.uk/business/priest-protest-staged-outside-bishop-of-motherwell-s-residence-1-5049159

AMDG

Pope Shuts Down Traditional Order

Pope Francis has confirmed the abolition of the Priestly Society of the Holy Apostles by the Brussels Archbishop De Kesel. The reason: too many and too orthodox priestly vocations.

(Rome) Pope Francis signed a decree dissolving the fraternity of the Holy Apostles. Nothing is charged to the Brotherhood. It was guilty of nothing. Their only mistake seems to be orthodoxy in a liberal environ that seems to despise nothing more than faithful priestly vocations.

The Fraternité des Saints Apôtres

The Fraternity of the Saints Apôtres, Dutch Broederschap van de Holy Apostles, was canonically established in April 2013 by the then Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels and Primate of Belgium, Mgr. André-Joseph Léonard. The brotherhood goes back to the French priest Michel-Marie Zanotti-Sorkine.

Priestly Society of the Holy Apostles

Archbishop Léonard called the faithful community to Belgium to help with the spiritual renewal of his archdiocese. He allowed the fraternity and gave it the parishes of Sainte-Catherine / Sint-Katelijnekerk, in the center of Brussels, and Saint-Joseph in the formerly Flemish, now French-speaking Ucclé (Ukkel) in the south of Brussels.

Archbishop Léonard, Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels since 2010, who was strongly opposed because of his faithfulness inside and outside the Church, built with the help of the Priestly Fraternity a parallel formation of priests outside the diocesan seminary. This is a path other bishops had already taken before him.

Archbishop Léonard’s initiative proved to be a complete success. The Society was able to achieve what the progressive diocesan institutions could no longer do: to lead young men to the "beauty of vocation and service as diocesan priests". The Brotherhood is a community of world priests, but with a strong community life. She sees in it the answer to the crisis of the world priesthood in Western Europe. The parishes entrusted to them flourished in contrast to the neighboring parishes and were visited by numerous young people.

Although the community was only three years old, in the spring of 2016 it included six priests, one deacon and 21 seminarians. An extraordinary success considering that last year there was not one new entry into the Archbishop seminary in the Archdiocese of Brussels.

Danneel's retribution

Among the pope makers of the current pontificate, there is  the progressive Cardinal Godfried Danneels, who was Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels before Msgr. Léonard. Pope Benedict XVI. made him an archenemy when he did not chose Danneels’  preferred candidate. Archbishop Léonard had therefore to face heavy resistance in the liberal archdiocese from the beginning. This massive resistance made the necessary reform of the seminary impossible for the time being, which is why he wanted to promote priestly vocations by establishing a second seminary and to build a new clergy.

Michel Marie Zanotti Sorkine

But his episcopate was too short. With the resignation of Benedict XVI. and the election of Francis the hour of the long-retired Danneels struck again. As a personal friend of the new pope, he was able to take revenge. Pope Francis refused Léonard the cardinalatial dignity and made instead the then apostolic nuncio in Belgium a cardinal, who had been Danneels’ preferred candidate and whom Léonard wanted to prevent. A double affront to Léonard.

Hardly had he completed his 75th birthday then he was retired by Francis, and Pope Bergoglio made Danneel's preferred candidate, albeit with a five-year "delay" yet, the new primate of Belgium. Not only that: he raised the new Danneels-compliant archbishop, Jozef De Kesel, immediately to cardinal.

There has seldom been more a demonstrative presentiment  in this pontificate than in Brussels, of who is in papal favor and who is not, and what that means.

De Kesel's purge

The new Archbishop De Kesel,  with whom Danneels also retired to the Archbishop's Palace, began to systematically eradicate what Archbishop Léonard had done to recover a local church lying on the liberal soil. It is not just about people, but about a far more  involved conflict of direction.

Archbishop Leonard ordains SocietyMembers 

One of the first victims of the purge was the Priestly Fraternity of the Holy Apostles. In June 2016, De Kesel threw the Brotherhood out of his diocese. And to make sure that it did not find acceptance in another Belgian diocese, he immediately made for an expulsion from all over Belgium. The reason? Hard to believe: too many and too orthodox priestly vocations.

The official reasoning was obviously just a pretext: The expulsion was "out of solidarity" with the French bishops - several members of the Society, especially their superior Zanotti-Sorkine, are French - because there is also a shortage of priests there. The seminarians were offered the opportunity to switch to the diocesan seminary or to leave Belgium, as if the training at the Brussels Priestly Seminary was the same as that of the Priestly Fraternity.

But that was exactly what it was about. A progressive episcopate obviously wants progressive priests or if not, the. no priests. In one of the first public statements as Primate of Belgium, De Kesel called for the abolition of celibacy with reference to the prevailing lack of priests.

It is easy to see a direct connection between the expulsion of the fraternity and his plea for married priests.

The thing is not surprising. In 2017, De Kesel "totally" applauded the proposal to set up an Islamic prayer room at every Catholic school.

Brussels: dechristianized and islamicized

The fact that two Brussels parishes would remain without a priest as a result of the expulsion did not seem to burden Archbishop De Kesel. Neither is the fact that the parishes experienced a veritable renaissance after being transferred to the Society. After the expulsion of the Society, De Kesel ordered the demolition of the St. Catherine's Church, as it is no longer needed because of massive parish mergers. One third of the churches have already closed or are due to close.

Ordination by Archbishop Léonard 2015

Since the Society was established according to diocesan law, the new Archbishop De Kesel could also dissolve them again. He did just that for the Saints Peter and Paul Day in 2016, the day on which the new priests are traditionally consecrated in the dioceses. The main task of the Society is the promotion of vocations and the formation of priests. However, the consecrations of the Society had been suspended by De Kesel.

Brussels today is the heavily de-Christianized and massively Islamized capital of the European Union (EU). Nevertheless, the incumbent archbishop has the luxury of removing from his archdiocese those forces that promise renewal. The Priestly Society of the Holy Apostles was only one stage of his purge against orthodox groups. Others were to follow.

Believers are taking legal action

The members of the two parishes of Brussels, under the auspices of the Society, did not for a moment believe that their Archbishop, out of sheer "solidarity" with the French bishops, showed the Society to the door. At the same time 80 seminarians were studying in the diocese of Namur, of which only 25 were Belgians. So far, however, the other 55 seminarians have not been sent home out of  "solidarity". Not even the numerous African or Polish priests who work in Belgium. Therefore, the parishioners asked De Kesel for a discussion. Without a result.

Several laymen then took legal action and turned to Rome. They appealed to the Congregation of Clergy objecting to De Kesel’s decree of dissolution. However, the prefect of the Congregation of Clergy was the first dicastery leader, which Pope Francis changed after his election. Cardinal Beniamino Stella, previously Vatican diplomat, has been sitting there ever since.

In November 2016, the Congregation of Clergy rejected the cases filed by the faithful "without any justification".

Sainte-Catherine church of Brussels

This left only the path to the Apostolic Signatura, to which anyone, layman or cleric, can turn if he sees his rights violated. Prefect of the Signatura was the brilliant canonist, Cardinal Raymond Burke. But Pope Francis had also exchanged him. To be precise, he had been similarly rudely thrown him out of the Vatican, as De Kesel had thrown the Priestly Society out of Belgium. Since the end of 2014, the former Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Vatican, Msgr. Domenico Mamberti, is Prefect to the Supreme Court of the Apostolic Signatura. Formerly a Vatican diplomat like Stella.

In December 2016, the Brussels faithful brought their case before the Signatura. The promoter Justitiae gave a positive opinion. According to the notification to the consignors, the cause should be submitted to a judge's collegium in autumn 2017 for treatment. "We were in good spirits, the right is and remains right."

But then things happened differently.

“A bad story "

On 25 November 2017, the consignors received a succinct statement that the case had been closed. Even before the ordinary legal process was completed - or perhaps for that very reason - Cardinal Stella, the Prefect of the Congregation of the Clergy, had visited Pope Francis and submitted to him a decree for the definitive dissolution of the Priestly Fraternity of the Holy Apostles. Pope Francis signed the decree, challenging the case. The objection to the resolution decree by Cardinal De Kesel had become obsolete with the dissolution decree of Pope Francis.

Taking advantage of the papal powers, the ordinary legal process was reduced to absurdity without any apparent necessity. The procedure is understood by those affected as arbitrary. It recalls the approach of Pope Francis against the Franciscans of the Immaculata. With the decree of the Congregation of Religious, the disempowerment of the Order, the appointment of a commissioner and the ban to celebrate without special permission the Holy Mass in the traditional form, the affected religious, including the Superior General and founder of the Order, P. Stefano M. Manelli appealed to the Apostolic Signatura. Pope Francis, however, highhandedly rejected any recourse. The persons concerned have since arbitrarily delivered the decision.

The Catholic Internet newspaper Nuova Bussola Quotidiana commented on the papal decision against the priestly brotherhood of the Holy Apostles by saying:

"The decree signed by Pope Francis seems to violate the right of the weakest in the Church. It’s a story that does not throw a good light on the way business is done by the head of the Reformed Roman Curia and the Pope. A bad story. "

Text: Giuseppe Nardi

Image: fraternitedessaintsapotres.com

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

AMDG

Pope Francis Suspends Bishop Lovieres -- Intrigue Against Faithful Bishop Continues

Bishop Lovieres Suspended

Edit: basically, if the Pope himself were held to these standards, he would have to suspend himself.  

Of course, the media, and ambulance chasing, political activist attorneys love him too much to bring him down.

(Asuncion) Pope Francis has dismissed  Bishop Rogelio Ricardo Livieres Plano of Ciudad del Este in Paraguay today. At the same time, he has appointed Bishop Ricardo Jorge Valenzuela Ríos of Villarrica del Espiritu Santo as Apostolic Administrator of the vacant episcopal chair.

The decision had already been signed off last summer, when the attention of Pope Francis  fell obtrusively upon  the Latin American Diocese and an Apostolic Visitor was sent.

After completion of the Visitation, soothing and friendly explanations of the transferees were indeed given, but whoever knows internal church practices, already feared the peace before the storm.

In a statement, the Vatican press office states:

After a careful examination of the findings of the Apostolic Visitations made ​​to the Bishop, dioceses and seminaries of Ciudad del Este, by the Congregation for Bishops and the Congregation for the Clergy, the Holy Father has proceeded with the replacement of Bishop Rogelio Ricardo Livieres Plano. He has appointed Ricardo Jorge Valenzuela Ríos, Bishop of Villarrica del Espíritu Santo, as Apostolic Adminostrator of the now vacant diocese.

The grave decision taken by the Holy See, under the weight of serious pastoral concerns, is for the greater good and unity of the Church of Ciudad del Este and episcopal communion in Paraguay.

The Holy Father, in the exercise of his ministry as "the perpetual and visible principle and foundation of unity of both the bishops and of the faithful" (LG 23) calls for the clergy and the entire people of God of Ciudad del Este to accept the Holy See’s decision with the spirit of obedience, docility and an open heart, guided by faith.

Moreover, he invites the entire Church of Paraguay, led by its pastors, to a serious process of reconciliation and to overcome any factionalism and discord, so that the face of the one Church "purchased with the blood of his own Son" is not wounded and the "flock of Christ" is not deprived of the joy of the Gospel (cf. Acts 20: 28).

The serious decision of the Holy See, judiciously because of serious pastoral reflections is governed by the higher good of the unity of the Church of Ciudad del Este and the Episcopal Community of Paraguay.

The combined Vatican statement in understandable words

Bishop Livieres celebrates Old Rite

The Vatican statement must be translated into understandable words: faithful bishops disturb the "communion of bishops" and will continue in the name of an ominous "peace"  be sent into the desert.  Msgr. Ricardo Jorge Valenzuela Ríos, Bishop of Villarrica del Espiritu Santo, who is appointed by the Pope, is one of the most liberal bishops of Paraguay, as the Apostolic Administrator. An additional slap in the face.

The faithful Bishop Rogelio Ricardo Livieres Plano constituted an exception among Latin American diocesan bishops. Within a few years his Diocese of Ciudad del Este had flowered. In almost every parish of the Diocese  the Holy Mass is celebrated in the Old Rite. The seminary of the diocese has more than 200 seminarians, more than the seminaries of all other dioceses in Paraguay together.  Bishop Livieres was thus among the bishops what  the Franciscans of the Immaculate were among  the Orders. He showed that faithfulness in doctrine and liturgy brings great blessing. He became a bone of contention for the other bishops, who had very different "track records" to show.  Large archdioceses such as Buenos Aires and Montevideo have less than 30 seminarians (see report Latin Mass Boom in Paraguay - Causes Pope Francis to arrange visitation ). "That explains why the development in the Diocese of Ciudad del Este was interfered with by progressive parts of the Church," said Messa in Latino.

Bishop Livieres: Annoyed by Tradition and the Old Rite

Visitor Cardinal Abril and assistant in Ciudad del Este

Bishop Livieras also did something  else that did the Franciscans of the Immaculate did, they lifted up their voice, equally among the others. However, a voice that was heard outside of the choir.

Now he is the victim of an intrigue which was quickly threaded together. The scattering of some unsubstantiated rumors, and the denunciations in Rome, which conspired to send a visitation.  The diocese refuted the rumors disseminated point by point in a detailed dossier. Bishop Livieres saw through the game quickly, and named the Archbishop of Asuncion Msgr. Eustaquio Pastor Cuquejo Verga as one of the main schemers, which he did publicly in a speech at the March for Life, where he accused him ofb "homosexuality"  and complained that he had still not been removed from office . [Of course, this happens all the time, but bishops rarely say anything in public.]

Visitation Ordered by Pope

Bishop Livieres indictment that he openly raised  and not in the form of a denunciation, as his opponents  characterize it  had totally different kinds of consequences. Pope Francis sent a Visitor from 21-26th July, not to Asuncion, but to Ciudad del Este. The Episcopal Conference of Paraguay announced the impending visitation with obvious satisfaction at a specially convened press conference, of course, without  Bishop Livieres knowing about it.

If the impression  is awakened in the Vatican statement that the Congregation for Bishops and the Congregation for the Clergy had separately or even independently performed "visitations", this is not true. There was only one visitation and it was decided by Pope Francis personally. He also sent for the Visitor, Cardinal Santos Abril, Archpriest of the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore. Cardinal Abril, served from 2000-2003 as nuncio in Argentina and has been a close friend of Pope Francis (see report Pope suspended Ordinations in the Diocese of Ciudad del Este - A Deja-vu? ).

Believers demonstrate for Bishop Livieres

Catholic Tragedy

In Ciudad del Este is an oft repeated  Catholic tragedy,  one which has been experienced  the last 25 years  several times in the German language area. The attacks and intrigues were not always, but too often, successful. Not only bishops were deposed. In Austria a revolt of the progressive clergy and full-time employees of the Church,  rose up and put fraternal pressure and the interacted with the religion-hostile media already to prevent the consecration and inauguration of a bishop who'd just been  appointed.

Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Image: Eco Ciudad del Este / Diocesis de Ciudad del Este
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
Link to Katholisches...
AMDG

Washington D.C.: Homosexual Agenda Leads to Yet Another Priestly Suspension

Edit: Yes, it's official, just as we said it would.  One of the most Liberal Cardinals in the American Church strikes a blow for political correction at the expense of the Catholic Faith.   The faithful priest, Father Marcel, has been suspended for doing his job.

After an effeminate apology from the chancery staff, insult is added to injury and a loyal priest now finds himself suspended.

This is becoming an all-too-familiar pattern Father Demets, Father Skoblicki and Father Micheal Rodriguez more recently. .  Many of your Lefty and more effeminate types out there make a study of ignoring these things when they happen and the etiology behind them.  But the Restore DC Catholicism blog recommends cutting off your donations.  We think that's a great idea.

Other blogs picking this up are Socon or bust, or less savory blogs like, DignityUSA, who gloats.

At least one blog recalls the neo-Con and lefty inspired running down of Father Corapi.

It's a wonder how these Old Liberal prelates have any expectation of obedience at all.

You can check out an excellent letter too, on this blog, it's right here.