Is Bergoglio Going After Poland's Radio Maryja Next?

Radio Maryja, the idiosyncratic Catholic radio station in Poland, is a thorn in the side of some.

(Rome) Since in Poland the Catholic national conservative party Law and Justice (PiS) is in power, the country is "under observation" by the EU. In Brussels, political forces set the tone, which are much further to the left and can hardly stand it when the sovereign electorate chooses other political forces. In turn, the EU Commission, the EU Parliament or the EU jurisdiction and, of course, the Western media, both Poland's and Hungary's government are disparaged as a "dirty children" of the "community."  The aim of the permanent pressure is either to induce the government to give in or to urge the electorate to choose a government to the left. Does the Vatican also participate in this under Pope Francis?

Specifically, it's about the radio station Radio Maryja. In 1991, soon after the end of Communist rule, a launched station was started that was modeled upon Radio Maria Italy . The founder and program director is the Redemptorist, Father Tadeusz Rydzyk. With the so-called “world family” of the Radio Maria stations, however, there was a split in the mid-1990s. In the Federal Republic of Germany in particular, efforts were made to keep a distance because of a different approach to one's own history. Radio Maryja is one of the five most listened to channels in Poland. In contrast to the other Radio Maria stations,  Fr. Rydzyk  pursued - since Poland had just over 40 years of an anti-church Communist dictatorship -   a political line and cultivated clearer language.

This was mainly due to the fact that the dictatorship had been overcome, but that the former Communist rulers outside the government and parliament were still at many levers, not least in the judiciary. Under the changed name, they even briefly returned to power in the 1990s. The way to overcome the dictatorship personally and above all, spiritually proved to be long and rocky.

The radio station, to which the TV station TV Trwam now belongs, supports the PiS without, however, becoming dependent. From left media, especially the left-liberal Gazeta Wyborcza, has repeatedly campaigned against the channel. A look at the German Wikipedia page provides an insight into this.

But the Church hierarchy was not always happy with the broadcaster, which has more to do with its independent willfulness. Pope Benedict XVI congratulated Radio Maryja on its 20th anniversary.

The leftist opposition in Poland, but also outside, is a thorn in the side because of its Catholic and conservative positions and even more because of its influence on public opinion. The most recent attempt to silence the transmitter has just started.

According to Wirtualna Polska, a mainstream medium owned by France Telecom, a request to the Vatican Secretariat of State was sent in December 2019 on "limiting" the political positioning of Radio Maryja. The transmitter should have a purely "religious character."

.

The initiators of the claim, an Adam N. and a Witek M., remain anonymous. They sent their petition to the Vatican in several languages through Canadian middlemen. Wirtualna Polska is one of the mass media, of which Radio Maryja has been attacked in the past. In 2018, a Warsaw court sentenced the online portal to apologize to P. Rydzyk for spreading false allegations.

According to La Fede Quotidiana the request to the Vatican to proceed against Radio Maryja  was treated on March 26 by Pope Francis. He asked Msgr. Roberto Cona of the Secretary of State to review the matter and prepare a response.

A central role in the new attack on the conservative radio station is played by the Polish-Canadian politician Thomas Lukaszuk who actively supported the petition against Radio Maryja. The internet portal onet.pl , with good connections to Lukaszuk, promoted the petition to the Vatican for a long time last year. Onet.pl is largely owned by Ringier Axel Springer Media AG and is comparable to Web.de and Gmx.at in the left- justification of news reporting .

Lukaszuk's father had fled to Canada from Communist Poland. In 1982 his family was also able to follow him. Thomas Lukaszuk was a member of Parliament in Alberta from 2001 to 2015. From 2010 to 2014, he was Minister of the Government of the Canadian state, including 2012/2013 as Deputy Prime Minister.

Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Image: Radio Maryja (screenshot)
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
AMDG

#Procesja Connects Millions of Poles for Corpus Christi on Social Media

Polish Catholic Bishops' Conference: "Let's get a picture in the social media of how we are experiencing the Feast of Corpus Christi in our countries"

Poland (kath.net) "Let's make a picture of how we experience the Corpus Christi feast in our countries in social media. Share pictures and films that we tag with the hashtag #Procession." The speaker of the Polish Bishops' Conference, Rev. Pavel Rytel-Andrianik, said Friday. Last year, this initiative brought together 5 million Poles. "I hope that this will be the case again," said. Rytel-Andrianik. "If you want to see how the processions in Poland present themselves, please state #Procesja (Procession)." John Paul II said that faith will be strengthened if it is passed on  "- recalls the bishop's spokesman sharing the experience of faith on Facebook and Twitter. "Corpus Christi is a public testimony of our faith, and we can do that on social media as well, by sharing images and movies with the #procession hashtag, and we get a picture speaking to how we experience this festival in our country," stressed Rev. Pavel Rytel-Andrianik.

The spokesman of the Polish Bishops' Conference says that Corpus Christi is the moment in which Catholics come in processions on streets of the cities to worship Jesus and meditate on the mystery of the presence of Jesus in the Holy of Holies. "This is not a demonstration, but the great prayer of the whole Church that unites many people who come to the community to worship Jesus and invite him to their daily lives. After all, the processions pass by our living, working and entertainment places. So we can say that the feast of Corpus Christi should emphasize the presence of God in all our affairs. We can also share this experience on social media by releasing images and films with the hashtag #Procession during Corpus Christi and the Octave of this celebration "- emphasizes Rev. Rytel-Andrianik.

He added that previous initiatives of this kind have been very popular on the social media and have shown that there is a need among their users to share the experience of the faith. "One very important aspect of such initiatives is the fact that we are able to participate in important religious events by publishing pictures or films, such as those taken by smartphone. Moreover, those who for various reasons can not participate in processions in person, can connect spiritually"- says the bishop's spokesman.

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
AMDG

Poll: Most Committed Polish Would Attend Immemorial Mass of All Ages If Given the Opportunity

Edit: just received this poll result from Una Voce Miami.

Ten years after the motu proprio, we have decided to complete our 2009-2011 European survey campaign regarding the reception of Pope Benedict XVI's Motu Proprio. This campaign covered the continent's principal Catholic countries, whether in the wake of papal visits (Portugal, United Kingdom, Spain) or at the request of our local partners. However, it had overlooked the highest-ranking country in terms of Church vitality: Poland. We therefore decided that the time had come to survey the country of Pope John Paul II.

Rather than commissioning a survey from a commercial institute, we followed the advice of Una Voce Poland and turned to the Institute for Catholic Church Statistics (ISKK). It was founded in 1972 by the Society of the Catholic Apostolate (the Pallottines) and works for the Polish Bishops’ Conference. The institute’s Catholic character means that the survey was taken directly on a group made up of committed Catholics (1) which gives this poll an original importance since it deals only with practicing Catholics. After gathering over 800 responses, they selected 635 that matched the distribution of committed Catholics in the Polish population.

I - THE RESULTS

Survey conducted by the ISKK (Institute for Catholic Church Statistics) from May 13 to June 4, 2017. Online panel method on a cross section of 635 committed Catholics. (1)

> 1: Do you go to Mass? (1)
Every Sunday and holy day: 93.6%
Nearly every Sunday: 5.8%
Once a month: 0.6%

> 2: In July 2007 Pope Benedict XVI said that the Mass could be celebrated both in its modern form, termed “ordina ry” or “of Paul VI”—with the priest facing the people—and also in its traditional form, termed “extraordinary” or “Tridentine”—in Latin, the priest facing the tabernacle. Were you aware of this?
Yes: 89.5%
No: 6.9%
No answer: 3.6%

> 3: What is your opinion of the Mass in the Extraordinary Form (in Latin and facing the tabernacle)? (Note: the total is above 100% because the pollster allowed multiple answers)
It is an expression of fidelity to the Church’s tradition: 49.9%
It is something normal: 37.3%
It does not correspond to contemporary culture: 17.6%
It is a strange practice: 4.2%
Other: 16.7%
Hard to say: 12.1%

> 4: If the older Mass were celebrated (in Latin and facing the tabernacle) in YOUR parish, would you attend?
Weekly: 28.9%
Once in a while: 51.6%
Never: 15.1%
Hard to say: 4.4%

II - JUST LIKE EVERYWHERE ELSE . . .

Polish Catholicism, a leaven of victorious resistance to Communist dictatorship, went through a triumphant era in the late 20th century. From a doctrinal and liturgical point of view, it was less exposed to the “Springtime of the Council” and its abuses. Even today, Gregorian chant and Communion on the tongue remain the norm in most of the country’s parishes.

In this rather conservative and isolated context, it is interesting to note that the extraordinary form —so often presented as a reaction to abuse— would draw one worshipper in four every Sunday if it were part and parcel of ordinary parish life. A result that corresponds to the average found in the other countries (19% in France in 2008; 25% i n Germany in 2010; 27.4% in Spain in 2011; etc.).

III - PAIX LITURGIQUE'S DETAILED COMMENTARY

1) The Poles are aware of the extraordinary form’s legitimacy

In Poland, nine committed Catholics (1) in ten know that the extraordinary form has full citizenship in the Church. This is a very high result. Besides the fact that it seems normal for committed Catholics to be informed on the different aspects of the life of the Church, one may also think that after ten years knowledge of Benedict XVI’s motu proprio has made some headway: in the first place through local word-of-mouth, then through the place that the extraordinary form has on social networks, and also thanks to the work of associations such as Una Voce Poland that organize lectures, ceremonies, and pilgrimages to promote the Latin and Gregorian liturgy.

2) A Catholicism preserved from the liturgical wars

The answer to question #3, which was slightly modified by the ISKK pollsters as compared to our usual item (2), brings out the fact that only one in 25 committed Catholics sees the older liturgy as a “strange practice.” Furthermore, less than one in five (17.6) considers that it does not conform to contemporary culture. In any event one may imagine that for some this answer is not a negative, since it only notes the incapacity of the contemporary world to make room for tradition.

On the other hand, the fact that one committed Catholic in two sees the extraordinary form as “an expression of fidelity to the Church’s tradition” is unambiguous. This survey therefore shows us the face of a church which, while it certainly has suffered along with the whole Church from the break imposed by the liturgical reform, nevertheless has by and large remained immune to a “progressive” opposition against the older liturgy as well as to the rupture that has harmed, and continues to harm, our Western European churches. 

3) 8 Polish Catholics in 10 . . . 

. . . would gladly attend the extraordinary form if it were celebrated in their parish: 28.9% would prefer to do so and 51.6% would do so once in a while. The close to 30% of Massgoers who would attend the traditional Mass every Sunday if it were celebrated conveniently in their parish (19% in France in 2008, 40% in Italy, 25% in Germany, etc.) shows the true weight of the extraordinary form. This again confirms the existence of a vast silent mass (at least one in four Catholics) that aspires to more sacrality and solemnity in its liturgical and spiritual life. Only 15% of practicing Polish Catholics express no attraction to the extraordinary form, which leaves a great field for the motu proprio Summorum Pontificum to make its way, patiently, among that country’s parishes.

4) The scientific confirmation of all our earlier surveys

The fact that, thanks to the ISKK’s specific competency, this Polish survey bears only on practicing Catholics makes it a reliable benchmark for analyzing the results of our earlier national surveys. All of our other surveys targeted Catholics generally, i.e. both Massgoers and non; at our request the polling institutes highlighted the answers specific to practicing Catholics. Because of the dramatic drop in even monthly Mass attendance among West European Catholics, however, the samples of Massgoers might be considered too small to be fully representative.

In reality, scientists are well aware that the more samples are numerous, the more the statistics are reliable. The consistency of the results obtained in the seven countries of our earlier surveys —France, Italy, Germany, Portugal, Great Britain, Switzerland, and Spain— was already a significant statistical element. Their agreement with the results of the Polish survey, obtained from a cross section exclusively made up of practicing Catholics, strongly confirms their validity.

-------
AMDG

Another Europe: Sunday Mass Attendance Rises in Poland to 40 Percent

The Other Europe:  Polish Mass Attendance Climbs

(Warsaw) There is "another Europe". The latest figures from Poland make it clear. The number of visitors to Sunday Mass has risen to 40 percent in 2016.

According to the statistical institute of the Catholic Church in Poland, the proportion of visitors in the survey population increased from 39.1 percent in 2015 to 39.8 percent in 2016. The number of Communion recipients rose from 16.3 percent to 17 percent, as Pawel Rytel-Andrianik for Zenit reported.

Poland has one of the densest parish nets in the Catholic world. About seven percent of all parishes are run by religious orders. 92 percent of Poles profess the Catholic faith. The number of priests working in parishes is almost 21,000. More than 7,000 religious are also active in the parishes.

In 2015 369,000 baptisms and 270,000 First Communions were offered and 134,000 marriages were consecrated. The figures point to a healthy, positive demographic development.

In more than 60,000 parishes around 2.5 million believers are active. A further 1.8 million believers are voluntarily active in the social sector, in child care, disability facilities, schools and hospices.

Polish catholicity is characterized by a rich Marian tradition and diverse forms of popular piety. The rosary and liturgical functions, which are based on the Marian works of Fatima, play a particularly strong role.

Text: Gerda Weiser
image: Il Timone

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

Link to Katholisches...

AMDG

Different Land, Different Bishops -- Poland's Bishops Demand Abolition of Abortion

(Warsaw) The Polish bishops are demanding, together with the pro-life movement, a complete protection of life and a total ban on abortion.

Currently, the killing of unborn children is allowed in exceptional cases, such as rape, until the 12th week of pregnancy, in cases of severe malformation of the fetus and when the mother is in danger of death. The current law dates back to 1993 and ended the communist regime introduced, "freedom" for the killing of unborn children. Even during the communist dictatorship, Poland had the most restrictive abortion law under the socialist republics of the Soviet bloc. In 1956, the killing of unborn children was legalized. The highest abortion rates were, according to statistics in the 1960s. The Soviet Union in 1920 was the first country in the world,  allowing the killing of unborn children under the law.

After the presidential and parliamentary elections of last year, which brought a change of government, the right to life organizations have now  presented a bill that has the support of the new national conservative PiS government confirmed by Prime Minister Beata Szydlo and the PiS leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski.  

"You can not stop at the compromise of 1993"

"When it comes to protecting the lives of unborn children, you can not stop at the compromise of 1993," said the Polish Episcopal Conference.  A joint pastoral letter of the bishops was read yesterday, on White Sunday (Mercy Sunday),  in all parishes of the country. The bishops have called on the faithful to support the fight against the evil of abortion and advocate for comprehensive protection of unborn life. The protection of the lives of the  defenseless, innocent children must have validity in Poland.  It tells a lot about a nation how they treat  their unborn children.

The new bill provides that the killing of the unborn child should be possible only in mortal danger of the mother. Whoever performs at an illegal abortion or supports it will  be punished in future by five years in prison. At present, two years are provided, which thus can be suspended on probation.

According to the Ministry of Health legal abortions under the liberal economic previous government have almost quadrupled to 1,812 cases in 2014. Feminist organizations, however,  talk of 200,000 abortions a year, if you were to consider the women who go for abortion abroad. Evidence of these horrendous figures are however not presented. Since the early 1970s, there is a  proven standard of the abortion lobby  to assert completely excessive illegal abortion numbers to allow for  the "necessity" of a legal regulation, i.e. to justify the legalization of killing unborn children. Neutral observers currently  count 7,000-10,000 illegal abortions.

International institutions try to put Poland under pressure

Feminist and pro-abortion organizations agitate for the legalization of infanticide. The feminist group Feminoteka demonstrated with unscrupulous slogans for a "right" to kill unborn children, "My body belongs to me", "Abortion is sacred" and "Vade retro Pro Vita".

International institutions such as the EU and UN are exerting pressure on Poland to legalize infanticide. In November 2015, there came the perverse paradox that the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, who were responsible for compliance with the UN Children's Convention in 1989 of Poland on behalf of the Children's Rights, demanded the legalization of abortion.

Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Image: IPCO (Screenshot)

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

Link to Katholishes...

AMDG

Polish Minister: New Government Believes in God and Fatherland

Royal Banner of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth

Poland's new foreign minister Witold Waszczykowski has rejected criticism of the European Commission of the government's ruling PiS party ("Law and Justice"). The previous government followed a certain "left policy concept."

Berlin (kath.net/KNA) Poland's new foreign minister Witold Waszczykowski has rejected criticism of the European Commission to the government of the ruling PiS party ("Law and Justice"). "We just want to heal our country of some diseases, so that it can recover again," the minister said of the controversial approach of his government against the state media in an interview with the "Bild" (Monday).

The previous government pursued a certain "left policy concept" said Waszczykowski. "When the world must automatically move only in the direction of a Marxist model - to a new mix of cultures and races, a world of cyclists and vegetarians who only focus on renewable energies and fight against any form of religion. This has nothing to do with traditional Polish values.

"The PiS party promotes a contrast that moves the majority of Poles: traditions, awareness of history, love of Fatherland, faith in God, in a normal family life between husband and wife. And these days we even prefer 'Merry Christmas', and not 'Happy Holidays' - because we still celebrate the birth of Jesus," said the Minister. This was possibly "a shock to our opponents 'who believed in progress:' whose 25 years of left and liberal indoctrination could not eliminate these traditional values. And that we have have even won the elections."

Kath.net... Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com AMDG

Confidant of John Paul II: "We Are in the Midst of an Islamic Invasion"

Bishop Tadeusz Pieronek: "The EU is Aiming
to Islamicize Europe"

(Warsaw) The EU cares more about the interests of the financial oligarchy than the real concerns of the poor.  At the same time they are aiming at the  Islamization of Europe. These are the words of Msgr. Tadeusz Pieronek, Emeritus Auxiliary Bishop of Sosnoviec and former Secretary General of the Polish Episcopal Conference. The Professor of Theology at the Jagiellonian University in Krakow is considered an expert in canon law and was a great friend and confidant of Pope John Paul II.   Msgr. Pieronek is titular bishop of Cufruta in the former Roman province Bycancium in present-day Tunisia, which has been under Islamic rule since 698.  Bruno Volpe led an interview for La Fede quotidiana   with Archbishop Pieronek. Here is an excerpt from it.

Archbishop Pieronek: "I do not make policy. But I think of the recent elections in my country. The Liberal Party, which was in the government, had pushed  too far to the left, followed  EU directives without contradiction that today often do not coincide with the Christian values ​​and the Catholic tradition of our country. As Poles we have to pay attention to our peculiarities and our identity. 

As European citizens, we have not only the possibility, but - I would say - even the duty,  to peacefully rebel against this Europe, which is currently managed by different standards than those that we want and that are contrary to Christian values. 

An EU that is very attentive to the interests of financial oligarchies, but pays little attention to those among the real poor. This does not take into account the European Christian values ​​in its. 

In addition, they have succeeded to Islamicize the continent  piece by piece. We are in the midst of an Islamic invasion.

Is Orban right?

Bishop Pieronek: Despite his limits, he is trying to the Christian character of Europe. rope.

Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Image: La Fede quotidiana

Trans:: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

Link to Katholisches...

AMDG

President of Polish Bishops' Conference Sounds the Alarm

Stanisław Gądecki, Archbishop of Posen and President of the Polish Bishops' Conference has spoken of an attack against Catholic teaching on marriage and sexuality on October 17, 2015 in the Synod Hall.  

Some said that they do not wish to change doctrine, but that is indeed exactly what they are trying to do.

The proposal for a change in the order of the sacraments is in reality an attempt to change the doctrine by the back door.

The intervention of the Archbishop is of great significance, because these attacks had been carefully planned afore time. Additionally the polish delegates can count on the support of other East European synod participants. 

The proposal of the German delegation, to give more autonomy to the "local churches" (what's meant are Bishops' Conferences), was sharply criticized by Cardinal Raymond Burke for  Lifesitenews. Kirche. The Church must declare the truth and this is not dependent upon the time and place, says the Cardinal, who is not a Synod Father.

In view of the desolate situation of German Catholicismleads directly to the formation of national churches. 

Changes in the teaching on marriage and the new role of the "local churches" are presently the most heatedly debated themes in the synod. Both poles in the synod --  conservatives and progressives -- are becoming increasingly augmented, as they attempt to promote their viewpoints. 

http://mathias-von-gersdorff.blogspot.de/2015/10/synode-polarisierung-verscharft.html?m=1

Polish Bishop Suspends Msgr. Krzysztof Charasma

Edit: from Toronto Catholic Witness:

The Bishop of the Diocese of Pelplin, Ryszard Kasyna has issued a canonical admonition to Msgr. Krzysztof Charamsa, who yesterday came out as a practicing homosexual. He has since been removed from active duty in the CDF. 

The original Polish may be read at Polonia Christiana:

Statement on Father Krzysztof Charamsa:

In connection with the communique issued by the Holy See Press Office concerning the declaration of Fr. Krzysztof Charamsa and his statements to the media contrary to the Scriptures and teachings of the Catholic Church, whereas according to the norms of the Code of Canon Law, Fr. Krzysztof Charamsa has been admonished by the Reverend Bishop of Pelplin to return to the way of Christ's priesthood.

At the same time the Bishop of Pelplin asks all priests and the faithful to pray for this intention.

Signed, 

Fr. Ireneusz Smagliński, spokesman for the Bishop of Pelplin

http://torontocatholicwitness.blogspot.com/2015/10/breaking-news-bishop-of-pelplin-issues.html?m=1

Media: Are Poland's Bishops Rejecting the Marx-Proposal to Meet and Agree on His Heretical Proposals?

Edit: very likely.

Preparation for the Synod of Bishops: Warsaw church newspaper "Idziemy" writes, they should go to a meeting to bring the Polish Bishops' Conference President Gadecki "to convince him to take the position represented by Cardinal Marx."

Dachau (KAP / kath.net) The DBK-chairman Reinhard Cardinal Marx is said to have proposed at the beginning of May to the Polish bishops, who had come on the 70th anniversary of Dachau Liberation in Bavaria during the meal, to hold a meeting. This was reported by Würzburg Catholic newspaper "Die Tagespost", citing the US newspaper "National Catholic Register" and the Warsaw church newspaper "Idziemy". This meeting reportedly, according to Marx should have the objective "to work towards a consensus" regarding a common position at the Synod of Bishops in the autumn. The 14th Ordinary General Assembly of Bishops will be held from the 4th to the 25th of October at the Vatican on "The Vocation and Mission of the Family in the Church in the Modern World".

The proposal by Marx was, however, rejected by the Polish bishops. The Polish journal "Idziemy" writes in a comment, the President of the Polish Bishops' Conference and leader of the Polish synod delegation, Archbishop Stanislaw Gadecki, stand in the teaching on marriage "without a doubt" faithful to the teaching of St. John Paul II. But it they would,  in Marx's proposed meeting, said Gadecki "to persuade him to take the position Cardinal Marx represents". 

Link to kath.net...

Update: the German Bishops' Conference is denying this, and only specifies that representatives are meeting to clarify the points at which they disagree.  Weasels.

Poland's New State President Entrusts His Office to the Black Madonna of Czestochowa

Poland's New President Asks Black Madonna
For Her Aid

(Warsaw) For almost 250 years,  there has been  an ongoing attempt to banish faith from public life. It is tolerated as a private expression, but not as a public confession. All the more  disturbing then is the public confession of a statesman. Poland's new President Andrzrej Duda, elected on Whitsunday, is already overwhelmed in the international press with negative headlines, even before he has taken office.

La Repubblica, the "broad sheet" of Pope Francis, the only daily newspaper, which the Catholic leader reads   every morning, has described the choice of Catholic Duda as "a terrible shock", the "Polish Dossier fits to Europe's other nightmares".

Andrzej Duda is really a practicing Catholic. Barely elected, he went to Czestochowa ,, the Polish national shrine,  to the Queen of Poland    to kneel r for all to see before the Black Madonna  praying for  and asking counsel in his responsible office.

Obama and the ambivalence calculated politician piety

Obama Lights Candle in  Catholic Church 

When politicians make pious gestures, then  sometimes there underlies political calculation or provocation. Christians are aware of this ambivalence which plays into the  arms of whoever want to banish Christianity in the private closet.

There are pretty embarrassing  images of US President Barack Obama, from which one does not even know what Christian denomination he belongs or whether he belongs to one. On May 28th, he attended the influential Cuban exile Community  in the United States in the context of rapprochement between Cuba and the United States. Not all of them will see the resumption of normal relations with a benevolent eye, as long as the Castro brothers and the Communist Party in Cuba have the final say.

Obama ostentatikously visited on this occasion   the Catholic Church Our Lady of Charity in Miami (Florida), the "National Church" of Cuban exiles, and lit a candle by the sight of an image of Mary, the Mother of God.  That can't  hurt,  is what the powerful master in the White House himself  may have thought. Pious gestures are  hardly credible acts.

Austria's Catholics got on a roller coaster of emotions from the Christian Democrat Minister of Agriculture and Environment,  Andrä Rupprechter of the ÖVP. At his swearing-in, he said, unlike his Social Democratic Minister colleagues, not only the formula "so help me God", but added  his own "and in front of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ". Unbelievers as the devout Austrian marveled not a little. Should there still be politicians who do not leave their faith in the cloak room of the antechamber of parliament and government and feel obliged to  commit themselves in their  political decisions to their faith?

Less than four months later, the same Christian Democrat again drew attention, but this time with quite unchristian demands for the legalization of gay marriage and the possibility that homosexuals could adopt children. Finally, it turned out that the Minister with black party membership was a convinced Trotskyist in recent years. Whether the bigotry a one-time mistake or a belated antichrist Trotskyist provocation was present at the swearing in, remains a mystery to the Minister.

The first three actions of the new Polish president

Andrzej Duda is not Obama. The representative of the Christian Poland sat immediately after his election "out of conviction" ( tempos ) three acts. 

He rose to Jasna Gora, the Klarenberg, to thank Our Lady of Czestochowa for the victory and to offer Her his office. 

He visited the grave of Witold Pilecki, who voluntarily went to Auschwitz in order to organize resistance against Nazism among the prisoners. After the war he was tried and executed by a communist People's Court to death. 

He visited the grave of Lech Kaczynski, the 2010 who was the Polish President who died in a plane crash,  with whom he had begun his political career and today in Poland is  a symbol of an independent Poland, which has freed itself from  Russian domination, but  neither is patronized by  the EU  with an anti-Christian agenda or is want to be a pawn of unlimited financial speculators.

President Duda emphasized during the election campaign "the specificity of Poland, its traditions and its Christian roots" that are "essential" for him for a recovery and a revival of Poland.

What specific, trendsetting circles outside Poland consider of  the new Polish head of state, has become well known through the media.

Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Image: Mil / CNS

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

Link to Katholisches...

AMDG

St. Stephen's Skull Imprisoned in Evil Dominican Reliquary

Edit: remember the film "Prince of Darkness" where the Catholic Church is the steward of an alien artifact that is a portal of evil forces bent on destroying humanity?

Well, the Dominican Museum of Dubrovnik has introduced a reliquary that looks just as evil, which imprisons the head of St. Stephen. Didymus at the Toma Blizanac blog from Croatia has just posted about this modernist statement.

Why do Dominicans have a museum anyway. These things don't belong in museums, a thing of the 1789 Revolution, but in a Church for the veneration of the people

Initiative Against Sex Education in Poland Defeated

The bill called for imprisonment up to two years for "public promotion or endorsement" of sexual behavior in the presence of children under 15 years.

Warsaw (kath.net/KNA) In Poland, a popular initiative against sex education in schools has failed. The Members of Parliament voted on a bill from citizen committees last Friday at 264 to 169, to "Stop pedophilia." The bill called for up to 2 years imprisonment for the "public promotion or endorsement" of sexual behavior in the presence of children under 15 years.

The initiative "Stop pedophilia" accuses the government to taking away student's sense of shame by sex education and make them vulnerable to sexual predators. The popular initiative had been signed by around 250,000 citizens. While the conservative opposition party "Law and Justice" called for the bill, the ruling right-wing liberals and the left opposition opposed it vehemently.

(C) 2014 CBA Catholic News Agency. All rights reserved.

Link to Kath.net... 
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com AMDC

Poland's Communist Dictator Died Reconciled to the Church

(Warsaw)  two days ago the former self-confessed atheist and communist dictator of Poland, Wojciech Witold Jaruzelski (1923-2014), passed away on May 25th in Warsaw, provided with the last sacraments and reconciled with the Catholic Church.

Jaruzelski was born into a Catholic family of the Polish gentry. The family fled to Lithuania to escape German troops  where it was captured by the invading Soviet troops and deported to the Altai Mountains. Jaruzelski and his father had to do forced labor. To avoid this, the 20-year-old joined the Polish Bering-Army established in the Soviet Union, which fought alongside the Red Army against the Axis powers.

Despite Soviet Deportation He Entered Into the CP

After the Second World War, he was admitted to the General Staff Academy. After the Soviets had wiped out the Polish officer corps  in 1940 at Katyn, Moscow built from 1945 a new Army loyal to the regime.  Thus, Jaruzelski joined the ruling Communist Party in Poland in 1947, established with Soviet Help in 1945, which became in 1948 the Polish United Workers' Party  (PZPR). In addition to the military, Jaruzelski quickly made ​​a political career. In 1956 he was promoted to General, from 1964 he was a member of the Central Committee of the PZPR. He was defense minister in 1968 because of his loyalty to the regime and led to Poland by the crushing of the Prague Spring.

 Solidarity Suppressed With Martial Law

When the free trade union movement Solidarity  under Lech Walesa shook the communist regime in Poland, Jaruzelski himself  was at the head of the regime and could withstand this   for several years. In 1981 he became Prime Minister of Poland, took over the party leadership of the PZPR and imposed martial law, outlawing Solidarity  which was supported by Pope John Paul II,  and forced it underground. He was later to be justified that  the clampdown was in order to prevent a planned military intervention by the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact by an intra-Polish solution. From 1985 to 1990 the general was Polish head of state.

 His role in the Communist regime around the break-up of Solidarity and whether  democratic change followed because of his resistance is still controversial. In 1997 it became known that Jaruzelski had asked for military aid against the imposition of martial law in Moscow, should there be a need for it. In 2007 charges were  brought against him of Communist crimes. The former general was threatened with a conviction for high treason. Because of his poor health, the trial has been suspended.

Grace of Faith

As it is now from Poland,  the former Communist dictator died reconciled with the Catholic Church in his 91st year.The declared atheist and opponent of the Church was still touched at the end of his life   by the grace of God. He returned to the faith of his childhood, received the last sacraments, and died in the bosom of the Church. Perhaps this is thanks to the prayers of many Polish compatriots, who prayed for his conversion, which included the Polish Pope.

Text: Giuseppe Nardi
image: Semana

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

Link Katholisches...

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The Cross Remains in Polish Parliament -- Kulturkampf Against Anti-Christian Powers

(Warsaw) A Warsaw court rejected the demand to remove the crucifix hanging in the Polish parliament. The Christian symbol will continue to hang in the parliament hall in Warsaw, because it "violates no law." The atheistic party Ruch Palikota (Palikot Movement) still wants to continue their anti-Christian campaign and are now calling Strasbourg against the judgment.

"Even if the cross is a religious symbol, you can not ignore its importance it has as a symbol of national identity and  Polish culture" and thus "no law is violated." The Warsaw court justified its ruling that the crucifix still hangs in the Polish parliament.

Anticlerical Palikot Movement Provoked Fierce Culture War

The decision ends an ongoing dispute since 2011, which the annticlerical, left-liberal Palikot Movement had launched (for backgrounds and origin of the Palikot Movementsee the report hangover to Poland-election - "Not a good day for the protection of life" - Anti-Clerical Phantom has a Face   ). It calls for the removal of the cross from the hall of the Sejm , the first chamber of the Polish Parliament.The Cross with Corpus had been installed on the initiative of Catholic deputy after the fall of the communist regime.

The Palikot party, named for an entrepreneur,  now wants to bring their anti-Christian campaign before the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. It argues that the presence of a cross in Parliament "violates the right to freedom of conscience and religion".

The Polish judiciary is of a different opinion and rejected the application. It recognizes the Christian symbol's special historical and cultural significance, which is an integral part of the Polish identity, especially as concerns the role of the Catholic Church over the past two centuries for national unity, especially during the Second World War and the Soviet occupation to in 1989.

Prime Minister Tusk welcomes Court Decision

The decision was also welcomed by the liberal-conservative Prime Minister. Donald Tusk. He stressed that the secularism of a state should not be expressed in fruitless arguments about the placement of crosses in public space. One survey found that 71 percent of Poles are in favor of maintaining the cross in parliament. However, the aggressiveness of anti-Christian groups leads to the cross are becomingthe focus of  more and more of legal proceedings. The atheists strive in numerous methods in the hope of someday finding a judge who will make a breach in their favor.

The Palikot Movement concluded in 2013 with representatives of the post-communist left alliance Europa Plus, which wants to compete with left-liberal, pro-EU positions in the European elections in 2014 and offers itself as an alternative choice  for the entire left spectrum of the left-wing Liberals to the Greens and Communists .

Historical praise of the Russian Orthodox Patriarch  for Polish Church

40 percent of Polish Catholics regularly attend Sunday mass. 90 percent of Poles regard the Catholic Church as a central factor, "unifying  the people." Recently, even the Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill I of Moscow praised  the "Catholic Church of Poland" because it is "at the forefront of the European Union and  defends Christian values".An award of extraordinary importance in view of the old historical enmity that has existed between Catholic Poland and Orthodox Russians.

Text: Giuseppe Nardi
image: Asianews

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

Link to Katholisches....

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