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| Archbishop Negri of Ferrara |
Tabloid Launches Attack "for Pope Francis'
The left tabloid Il Fatto Quotidiano (FQ) launched a frontal attack two days before against Archbishop Negri.The thrust is similar to that of the journalist Gianluigi Nuzzi, who now has to answer for Vatileaks II scandal because of his appropriation and disclosure of confidential Vatican documents to the court itself. His book "Via Crucis," he claims to have written, "to help Pope Francis".
Similarly now Il Fatto Quotidiano argues. The anti-clerical newspaper pretends to rush to the aid of Pope Francis, against the dishonorable (Nuzzi) and prelates who are enemies of the Pope (Fatto Quotidiano).
According to FQ, Archbishop Negri wishes for the death of Pope Francis. The headline on the front page read: "Francis Must Meet the Same End as Any Other Pope".
Wiretapped Conversation on the Train?
FQ reported on a conversation between the Archbishop and his secretary, the other, unnamed, random "passengers" must have overheard it during a train journey on 28 October. Archbishop Negri is said to have said to his secretary: "Let us hope that the Virgin helps Bergoglio with the same miracle as the other." The "other," Archbishop Negri did not say, but FQ is claiming he meant Pope John Paul I who was only Pope for 33 days in 1978, before he died of a heart attack.
The unexpected death of Albino Luciani from the long-standing heart disease, left numerous conspiracy theories run wild, but none of them could be proved.
Il Fatto Quotidiano concluded from an overheard conversation that Archbishop Negri also wishes the reigning Pope a quick death.
The newspaper also presented a criticism of Msgr. Negri on the recent appointment of bishops recently. Negri did, says FQ, criticize in a telephone conversation with the journalist Renato Farina, from the daily newspaper Libero, the appointment of Matteo Zuppi and Corrado Lorefice as archbishops of Bologna and Palermo. Negri is supposed to have said: "After the appointment of Bologna and Palermo even I could be Pope. This is an outrage. Incredible. I'm lost for words. This is something I've never seen."
Farina has denied since, ever having had such a telephone conversation with Archbishop Negri, and has announced legal action against Fatto Quotidiano.
Archbishop Negri: "Injured my Dignity as a Man and as a Church Representative"
Archbishop Negri turned yesterday with a declaration of his diocese. The FQ-products have "seriously injuried my dignity as a person and as a church representative, but also the dignity of the Church." The newspaper had disregarded the most elementary rules of journalism, "and attributed to me in quotes, statements that I never made, and took others out of context in order to turn it into the opposite of what I said." The Fatto Quotidiano has "made a supposition by a journalist into a certainty."
Because of his clear stance on Catholic doctrine, his unflinching rejection of Freemasonry and his strong words, which distinguish him from other bishops, Archbishop Negri has suffered from opponents who are not only outside the Church. Currently, everything is focused against his person, from the spite of anti-ecclesiastical circles outside and progressive circles within the Church and whom they brand as "anti-francistic" by emphasizing a real or perceived contrast and place themselves behind the Pope.
Negri Embodies Everything Currently Considered Ecclesiastically "Out"
Archbishop Negri is considered traditional, which means that he is decried in some Italian church circles as a "traditionalist". He repeatedly criticized the progressive advances of wanting to overturn the Sacrament of Marriage through Communion for divorced and remarried. Equally clearly, he raised his voice against "gay marriage" and the gender ideology. In his archdiocese he stepped fearlessly into conflict with politicians and mayors who wanted to set up registers for gay couples at the registry offices. Because of his belonging to the community of Communion and Liberation (CL), he is considered by the political left as standing in the center-right camp, in which the known CL representatives, like the longtime head of government of Lombardy, Roberto Formigoni, holds positions. It's a direction that was, incidentally, true for the minority of CL members. This is also a result of the current pontificate.The new CL-majority wants to be close to Pope Francis. That explains why CL hastened after the FQ-story to distance itself from Archbishop Negri and call on him in a gruff tone, "to clarify his statements."
Calls for "Resignation"?
"Why Il Fatto Quotidiano attacks Archbishop Negri is not difficult to understand. He is the figurehead of a Church, which currently has a tough time against the new church of Pope Francis, who applauds progressives and the careerists in the Church and the secular media," says IntelligoNews. It appears doubtful that the Archbishop could have publicly said those things in a train among numerous passengers. "Is FQ in possession of recordings of illegally wiretapped telephone conversations or has an unfaithful employee of Negri's brought something against him? We do not know. Among the many issues surrounding the FQ-story, there is yet one that is "perhaps the most disturbing: Is it permissible to criticize Pope Francis, without running the risk of being spied upon, popped on the cover and brought to the public pillory? Or is it perhaps as Negri says, that behind this is just another example of a theological hatred of the Church?" said IntelligoNews.
Just how serious are the opponents of Archbishop Negri, is shown even more in media reports by La Repubblica, flagship of the left-wing press in Italy and only newspaper that Pope Francis reads daily, headlined: "The Shocking Statement of the Bishop of Ferrara". The daily La Nuova Ferrara, which appears in Negri's See, wrote: "The Resignation is in the Air".
That seems to be the real target of the action. Archbishop Negri is unlikely to emerge undamaged from this campaign.
Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Image: InfoVaticana
Image: InfoVaticana
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
AMDG
