Mel Gibson's Upcoming "Berserker" and "Maccabees" Will be Catholic Films

Saint Olaf II, Martyr

Edit: There's an old platitude that to know history is to be Catholic, and so Mel Gibson is taking on two historical projects guaranteed to treat Christian themes.

On the one hand, you're bound to see the heroic resistance of the Christians as the terrible Vikings come down and destroy their world.  Perhaps we will hear of the brave resistance of Alfred the Great and how he magnanimously introduced the Vikings he conquered into his household?

Perhaps he'll tell the story of the conversion of St. Olaf who went down fighting gloriously at the Battle of Skittelstad on July 29th 1030 and accomplished more as a martyred Saint, than a great but merely heroic epitome of valor, to win over his battle hearty people to the true religion of peace.

Our speculations aside, it's clear that the Viking film is going to be made, it's going to be called "Berserker" [Literally, bare shirt fighter].  He looks determined to make it.

Despite his efforts to make a film about the scirptural story of Maccabees , there are many who look in askance at the effort.  They view it cynically as an attempt to coddle Jewish sensibilities in the wake of his "tirade".  In reality, Maccabees is a Catholic story which should cause modern Jews, and not a few Catholics,  to reconsider what they believe.  It is a story of how God used a small band of Jews to liberate Palestine in one of the most amazing upsets in history.

Don't look for it in a protestant Bible, unless it says "apocrypha" included.  Also, it's not really Apocrypha, it's part of the Biblical Canon and the reservations of a few biblical scholars and Protestants should not stop you from meditating on how it points to Catholic teachings like purgatory.

"2 Maccabees 12:46: "Thus he made atonement for the dead that they might be freed from sin."


If you're a Catholic, you should expect to see a lot of Catholic references in both films.  Mel's trying to make up for his failings by doing good works, like helping Whitney Houston with her addictions, which earned him some admiration and gratitude from the family who invited him to her funeral in Newark, New Jersey.

Whatever he decides to do with these complimentary and beautiful subjects, they will be two things:  great stories,  Catholic stories.

The following is an interview and it was well done:

Los Angeles Times] Reserved and reflective, Mel Gibson came to the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood to celebrate the legacy of his “Mad Max” films but, of course, the 56-year-old star’s recent career calamities were the silent passenger that accompanied him during the trip down memory lane.
Thirty-three years have passed since ”Mad Max” exploded on the scene with a high concept and a low budget (about $400,000) and began the minting of an international movie star. Sitting in the dark with the time-capsule moment, Gibson found it hard to recognize his 21-year-old self up on the screen. “I thought,” he said, “it was one of my kids.”
Above, you can watch the full video from the American Cinematheque event where I interviewed Gibson about the career-launching franchise and you’ll hear that the conversation veered off at times to his filmmaking future, the TMZ era and the emotional wear and tear of recent seasons. There was also a lot of applause — and two standing ovations — from the sell-out crowd. And, for that, the two-time Oscar winner seemed truly thankful.

Watch video, here....

Elvis' Old Friend Returns to Holywood a Witness of Religious Life

Edit:  She looks terribly refined in that garment, a sign of contradiction.   The secret is that there is an entire universe in the cloister, a beautiful halo of stars about the house at night and incredible wonders in a life lived with childlike purity.


Perhaps sister will inspire more young women to evaluate their course in life and embark on an adventure most men would be too timorous to undertake themselves.

Of course, the habit works on a lot of different levels, there's a level of wonder and a reflection on what it means, it's a prayer.
If you plan to watch the Oscars this Sunday, keep your eye out for Dolores Hart, the 1960s starlet who starred opposite Montgomery Clift, Robert Wagner, and Elvis Presley — twice.
She’ll be easy to spot: just look for the cheerful-looking woman in the nun’s habit. That’s because Hart, who famously shared one of Presley's first on-screen kisses, is now Mother Prioress Dolores, Benedictine nun. Her unusual life story, from the glitz of Tinseltown to a cloistered convent in Connecticut, where she now lives, is the topic of a new HBO documentary, “God Is The Bigger Elvis.”
 Hart, now 73, grew up in Chicago and got her start in acting at the age of 19 locking lips with Elvis as one of his love interests in the 1957 movie, "Loving You." She went on to star in a series of high-profile movies and Broadway productions, and was nominated for a Tony Award in in 1959. She also got engaged to Don Robinson, a Los Angeles architect.

Link to original...

Photo:

© 2012 MSNBC Interactive.  Reprints

The Future of the Church -- The 25 Youngest Cardinals of the Catholic Church

(Vatican) [Katholisches] By this weekend the fourth Consistorium of the Pontificate of Benedict XVI will have taken place.  The Pope raised then  22 Church representatives to the position of Cardinal.  18 of the Cardinals created on 18 February 2012 have still not reached their 80th year and would be able to belong to a Conclave to elect the next Pope.


The Spanish Vaticanist Francisco Jose Fernandez de la Cigona posted a list of the 20 youngest Cardinals in the Church Senate,  it was here widened to include 25 of the youngest Cardinals and with corrections and above all some completion.  Among the 25 bearers of the purple, there are two Italians, but three US- Americans, two Poles, two Brazilians and four Cardinals from the German speaking areas (two of the Bundesrepublic of Germany, one Austrian and a Swiss).  The two from Germany are at the same time the youngest Cardinals of the Holy College.  The Viennese Archbishop Cardinal Christoph von Schönborn is the only one who belongs to an order. [Dominican]

Parenthesis will appear at the end of each short biography of the church-political considerations of Fernández de la Cigoña , which for various reasons are not his own.   My own observations will follow in parenthesis.  [Ours will follow in brackets in red: Tancred]

1.  The "Benjamin" of the College of Cardinals is the German Rainer Maria Woelki  (55) , Archbishop of Berlin, born 1956,  ordained on 1985 as a priest of the Archdiocese of Cologne, in 2003 was made the titualar Bishop of Scampa and Auxiliary Bishop of Cologne by John Paul II,  by Pope Benedict XVI. he was named in Juli 2011 to the Archdiocese of Berlin, in February 2012 was raised to the rank of Cardinal by Pope Benedict XVI. (conservative) [neo-conservative]

2. Also the second youngest Cardinal is Reinhard Marx a German (58),  Archbisop of Munich and Freising, ordained priest of the Archdiocese of Paderborn, 1996 by Pope John Paul II, as the titular Bishop of Petina and Auxiliary Bishop of Paderborn, called  by John Paul II as Bishop of Trier  and in 2007 to be the Archbishop of Munich and Freising, in November 2010 by Benedict XVI as Cardinal. 9conservative) [Old Liberal]

3. The third youngest in the Sacred College is the Hollander, Willem Jacobus Eijk (55), Archbishop of Utrecht, ordained a priest for the Diocese of Roermond in 1985, 1999 by Pope John Paul II as Bishop of Groningen, by Pope Benedict XVI in December 2007 as Archbishop of Utrecht, in February 2012 called to the College of Cardinals by Benedict XVI. (conservative)

4. Peter Erdo (59), Hungary, Archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest,  ordained a priest in 1975 for the Archdiocese of Estergom-Budapest, named in 1999 by John Paul II as titular bishop of Puppi and Auxiliary Bishop of Zekesfehevar, by John Paul II in 2002 to Archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest and in OCtobert 2003, elevated to Cardinal.  He was an elector at the Conclave of 2005 at which Pope Benedcit XVI was elected. (conservative)

5. Philippe Xavier Ignace Barbarin (61), French, Archbishop of Lyon, in 1977  ordained a priest of the Diocese of Creteil, in 1998 he was made Bishop of Moulins by Pope John Paul II, in 2002 he was Archbishop of Lyon and in 2003 was raised to Cardinal.  He was an elector in the Conclave of 005 at which Pope Benedict XVI was elected  (weakly conservative)

6. Kurt Koch (61)  Swiss, Curial Cardinal, ordained in 1982 as a priest for the Diocese of Basel, in 1995 he was made Bishop of Basel by John Paul II, in 2010 by Pope Benedict XVI as President of the Papal Council for the Promotion of Unity among Christians in the Roman Curia, in 2010 he was promoted to the rank of Curial Bishop and in November 2010 to Cardinal (conservative)

7. Timothy Micheal Dolan (62) US-American, Archbishop of New York, ordained to the priesthood in 1976 in the Archdiocese of St. Louis (Missouri), in 2001 Pope John Paul II, named him titular bishop of Natchesium and Auxiliary of the Archdiocese of St. Louis (Missouri), in 2002 he was made Archbishop of Milwaukee (Wisconsin), in February 2009 Pope Benedict XVI made him Archbishop of New York and in February 2012 he was made Cardinal (conservative)

8.  Kazimierz Nycz (62) Pole, Archbishop of Warsaw, in 1973 he was made a priest of the Archdiocese of Krakow, in 1988 made titular Bishop of Villa Regis and Auxiliary Bishop of Krakow by Pope John Paull II, then in 2004 was made Bishop of von Koeslin-Kolberg, in March 2007 he was made Archbishop of Warsaw by Pope Benedict XVI. and in November 2010 raised to Cardinal. (conservative0

9. Odilo Scherer (62), Brazilian, Archbishop of Sao Paulo,  in 1976 he was ordained to the priesthood in the Diocese of Todedo (Parana), in 2001 he was made titular Bishop of Novi and Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Sao Paulo, in March 2007, Pope Benedict XVI eleved him to to be Archbishop of Sao Paulo and in November 2007 raised him to Cardinal.

10.  Daniel Nicholas Di Nardo (62), US American, Archbishop of Galveston , in 1977 he was ordained priest of the Diocese of Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania) and in 1997 made Bishop Coadjutor of the Diocese of Sioux City (Iowa), in 1998 there Diocesan Bishop, in 2004 was made Bishop Coadjutor of the Archdiocese of  Galveston-Houston (Texas),  in 2006 Pope Benedict made him the Archbishop of Galveston-Houston and in November 2007 made him a Cardinal.  (Conservative)

11. Josip Bozanic (62), Croatian, Archbishop of Zagreb, in 1975 he was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Krk, in 1989 Pope John Paul II named him Bishop  coadjutor of the Diocese of Krk, in the same year he became the Diocesan Bishop,  in 1997 he was called to be Archishop of Zagreb and raised to Cardinal in 2003.   Cardinal Bozanic was a Papal elector in the Concclave of 2005, where Pope Benedict XVI. was elected.


12. José Francisco Robles Ortega,  Mexican, Archbishop of Guadalajara, in 1976 he was ordained a priest in the Diocese of Autlan, in 1991 he was made titular Bishop of Bosse and Auxiliary of Touluca, in 1996 was named Bishop of Toluca and in 2003 named as Archbishop of Monterrey (Neuvo Leon), in November of 2007 Pope Benedict XVI raised him to Cardinal and in February 2011 was named Archbishop of Guadalajara. (Conservative)

13.  Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson (63), Ghanese, Curial Cardinal, in 1975 he was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Cape Coast, in 1992 Pope John Paul II named him the Archbishop of Cape Coast and in 2003 he was raised to Cardinal, in 2009 Pope Benedict XVI made him President of the Papal Council for Justice and Peace in the Roman Curia.  Cardinal Turkson was a Papal elector in the Conclave of 2005 at which Pope Benedict VI was elected. (no opinion)

14.  Raymond Leo Burke (63) US-American, ordained a priest in 1975 for the  Diocese of La Crosse (Wisconsin), named Bishop of Lacrosse by Pope John Paul II of LLacrosse and in 2003 called to be Archbishop of St. Louis (Missouri), in November 2008 Pope Benedict XVI called him to become Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura in the Roman Curia, and in November 2010 he was raised to Cardinal. (conservative) traditionally inclined.

15. Albert Malcom Ranjith Patabendige Don (64) Singhalese, in 1975  was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Colombo, in 1991 was named titular Bishop of Cabarsussi and Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Colombo by Pope John Paul II, in 1995 he was named Bishop of Ratnapura and 001 as Official for the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples in the Roman Curia, in 2004 made Apostolic Nuncio to Indonesia and to East Timor, in December 2005 Pope Benedict XVI named him as Secretary for the Congregation of Rites and the Sacraments in the Roman Curia, in June of 2009 he was named Archbishop of Colombo and in November 2010 raised to Cardinal. (Conservative) traditionally inclined.

16.  Joao Braz de Aviz (64) Brazilian, Curial Cardinal, in 1972 was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Apucarana (Panama), in 1994 was made titular Bishop of Flenculeta and Auxiliary Bishop of The Archdiocese of Vitoria (Espirito Santo), in 1998 he was named the Bishop of Ponta Grossa (Parana< in 2002 as Archbishop of Maringa (Parana) and 2004 as Archbishop of Brasilia, in Jannuary 2011 as Prefect of the Congregation for the Institute of Consecrated Life and for the Society of Apostolic Life in the Roman Curia by Pope Benedict and was elevated to Cardinal in 2012. (no opinion)

17.  Giuseppe Betori (64),  Italian, Archbishop of Florence, ordained a priest in 1970 in the Diocese of Foligno, then as Secretary of the Italian Bishop Conference by Pope John Paul II.  Then in 2001 aas titular Bishop of Falerone, he was then named as Archbishop of Florence by Pope Benedict XVI and in February elevated to the rank of Cardinal. (conservative)

18.  Thomas Christopher Collins (65) Canadian, Archbishop of Toronto,  ordained in 1973 to the priesthood for the Diocese of Hamilton (Ontario), in 1997 he was made Bishop Coadjutor of the Diocese of St. Paul in Alberta by John Paul II, then in 1997 he was made Diocesan Bishop there, in 1999 was made Coadjutor of Edmonton (Alberta), in the same year was made Archbishop, in December 2006, he was  named Archbishop of Toronto and in February 2012 was raised to Cardinal by Pope Benedict XVI.. (no opinion)

19.  Fernando Filoni (65), Italian, Curial Cardinal, 1970 ordained as a priest for the Diocesee of Nardo, in 2001 was made titular Bishop of Voltumum and Apostolic Nuncio to Iraq and in Jordanian by John Paul II,  he was then named as Nuncio to the Philippines by Pope Benedict XVI, and in June 2007 as substitute of the Secretary of State in the Roman Curia, in May 2011 as Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples he was named and in February 2012 raised to Cardinal. (no opinion)

20. Antonio Canizares Llovera (65), Spaniard, Curial Cardinal, in 1970 he was ordained to the preisthood in the Archdiocese of Valencia, in 1992 was ordained the Bishop of  Avila by Pope John Paul II, in 1996 he was named Archbishop of Granada and in 2002 as Archbishop of Toledo, in March of 2006 Pope Benedict XVI raised him to the rank of Cardinal and in December 2008 he became Prefect for the Congregation of Divine Rites and Sacraments in the Roman Curia. (Conservative)

21. Vinko Puljic (66) Croatian,  Archbishop of Vrhbosna (Sarajevo), ordained a priestst in 1970 for the Diocese of Banjaluka, in 1990 was made Archbishop of Vrhbosna (Sarajevo) and in 1994 na raised to Cardinal.  Cardinal Puljic was an elector in the Conclave of 2006 where Pope Bnenedict XVI was elected.

22. Stanislaw Rylko (66), Pole, Curial Cardinal, in 1969 he was ordained a priest in theArchbiocese of Krakow in Poland, in 1995 Pope John Paul II made him titular Bishop of Novica and he was named as Secretary to the Papal Council for the Laity to the Roman Curia, in 2003 he was named to be President of the Papal Council for Laity, in November 2007 Pope Benedict made him Cardinal.

23. Robert Sarah (66) Guinea, Curial Cardinal, in 1969 was ordained a priest of the Archdiocese of Conarky, in 1979 named at Archbishop of Conarky by Pope John Paul II, in 2001 as Secretary of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples in the Roman Curia, in October 2010 as the President of the Papal Council Cor Unum by Pope Benedict XVI, and in 2010 was raised to Cardinal.

24. George Alencherry (66) Indian Indian, Senior Archbishop of Emakulam-Angamaly of the Syro-Malabar Church, he was ordained a priest in 1972 in the syro-malabar Archbdiocese of Changanacherry, in 1996 Pope John Paul II named him to the syro-Malabar Dioceser of Thuchalay, in May 22011 was elected the Senior Bishop of the Syro-Malabar Church and confirmed by Pope Bnenedict XVI, and in February 2012 was raised to Cardinal.

25. Christoph Graf Schönborn OP (67), Austrian, in 1970 was ordained to the priesthood in the Dominican Order, in 1991 was made titular Bishop of Sutrium and Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Vienna,  in 1995 he was made Archbishop Coadjutor of Vienna, in the same year he was then made Archbishop, in 1998 he was elevated to the rank of Cardinal.  Cardinal Schönborn was an elector at the Conclave of 2005 at which Pope Benedict XVI had been elected.

Text: Ciguena-torre/Giuseppe Nardi
Bild: Vatican Insider


Link to katholsches...

Why is Catholic Insider Supporting Austrian Dissidents?

Edit: Catholic Insider is an internet blog started by Vaticanist Andrea Tornielli.  It seems to take a more conservative position with respect to most things and is very hostile to the FSSPX.  Now it's giving an unchallenged hearing to Austrian dissidents, chipping away at the Sacrament of Marriage.  Giving air to a dissident theologian, Father Eberhard Schockendorf, an instructor of Moral Theology in Salzburg,  who belongs to the ultra-Liberal "Austrian Catholic Action", Tornielli helps to take a few shots at the indissoluble Sacrament of marriage.

"Divorced and remarried persons are entitled to receive communion." At the seminar in Salzburg by Austrian Catholic Action, the German theologianEberhard Schockenhoff, a professor of moral theology at the University of Freiburg, has launched an appeal for a "theological re-evaluation " of divorced and remarried persons and a new way to interact with them by the Church. According to Schockenhoff, the Catholic news agency Adista reports, the Church must emphasize its readiness for reconciliation in the spirit of the biblical sources and the practice of the early Church, breaking away from an attitude of "moral condemnation" that provokes in the interested parties a "painful feeling of exclusion".

Focusing on the pain and alienation people feel is no excuse to change the nature of a Sacrament with respect to the reception of Holy Communion, but it can become a means through which to legitimate divorce.

Such rationales often form attacks on Catholic Sacraments.  These are things such as the personal shame involved, how difficult it is and that it constitutes a "pastoral" problem.

It is in fact the "pastoral" problem which has involved attacks on other Catholic doctrines, like sexual affairs, homosexuality and women priests.

Anything, including the murder of unborn babies, can be justified by such approaches, but Tornielli is more interested in pointing out that this dissident priest has written a book on the subject and he claims that Pope Benedict has even considered this to be an open question.  The question is also handled by another fallacious course of reasoning, by an appeal to archaism/  Tornielli continues:

Secondly, there is no reason that bars this step, either in the Scriptures or in the practice of the early Church. The reference to Jesus' words on the indissolubility of marriage before God, says the theologian, cannot simply be treated as a canonical norm, [How else are canonical norms developed if not out of the Fathers, Scripture and Tradition?] while in the Gospels of Matthew and Mark, and in the writings of St. Paul there would be "counter-tendencies" and "exceptional circumstances" in which divorce could be tolerated. And if the indissolubility of marriage remains "the only valid yardstick," this does not mean, Schockenhoff argues, that from a biblical point of view there cannot be "emergency situations" as an exception to this standard.

This "flexibility in rigor" [Tornielli is concerned with rigour, is he?] also characterized the practice of the early centuries of the Church. Similar positions were expressed, the German theologian points out, by Joseph Ratzinger who, in a 1972 essay, wrote that underneath or within the classical magisterium "there has always been, in practical ministry, a more elastic practice that has never been regarded as entirely consistent with the true faith of the Church, but that has never been totally ruled out"; regulated admission to the sacraments of the persons concerned, Ratzinger said, "is fully in line with the tradition of the Church."

The Holy Father may have written that questionable statement before he was Pope, but that doesn't mean he still subscribes to those opinions, nor does it mean that he's going to bulldoze over two thousand years of consistent tradition with regard to the Sacrament of Marriage in order to satisfy a small group of elderly dissidents in Austria and their disobedient leaders.

German Court OKs Insulting the Catholic Church

Edit: This is bad law any way it's sliced.  The can't honestly throw this case out and charge Bishop Williamson for the same thing later on.  Can they?  Perhaps this is the future of German justice in a land that sends millions of its children to certain death every year in abortuaries?

The Catholic Church may be referred to as a "Child F... sect"  --  Update:  Contact date Berlin Federal Court-- Berlin-Tiergarten and State Prosecutor


Berlin (kath.net/idea)  The Catholic church may now be referred to as a "Child F... sect".  That is the conclusion of the Federal Court in Berlin-Tiergarten.  The State Prosecutor had filed a complaint against Jörg Kantel, the author of the weblog, "Schockwellenreiter", because he leveled  an insult  of denominations, religious societies and communal world views (Para 166 StGB).  Kanthel had entitled an entry on the 29th of June 2011 as "Kinder f.... sect" where he described Cardinal Joachim Meisner of Cologne as the head of the "Kinder f... sect".  He pled freedom of opinion and the press.  The standing judge refused the opening of main proceedings.   The statement was not meant to disturb the public peace because,  "in fact substantial discussions in public on the theme of abuse in the Catholic Church". Because the prosecutor lodged no appeal of the non-opening decision, this is final.  KATH.NET has asked the German Bishops' Conference for an opinion and will continue to report.

Link to kath.net...

Berlin Prosecutor's Site...

E-mail poststelle@sta.berlin.de

Imam Thinks Israel Should not Exist: Banned in Vienna!

Edit: it's not like the Immam is singing the praises of Medjugorje, promoting women priests or displaying blasphemous portraits at the Cathedral bookstore or anything. In any event, Cardinal Christoph von Schönborn had to move quickly to protect the reputation of his predecessor's masterwork of false irenicism.

He thinks the death penalty for adultery is justified, and denies that the State of Israel has a right to exist. [Gasp]  Update:  Only after media reports did Cardinal Schönborn forbid further entrance of radical preacher at Church Institute.

Vienna (kath.net) He thinks that the death penalty for adultery is justified.  He denies that the State of Israel has a right to exist. He is promoting the re-establishment of the Caliphate in the Islamic world.   And Shaker Assem, speaker of the Panislamic "Hizb ut-Tahir" (Party of Freedom), which planned a Califate conference for the 10th of March ("Die Presse", reports),  regularly preaches on Friday in the Islamic prayer center of the Viennese Afro-Asiatic Institute (AAI).   "Die Presse" news reported this on Friday.  The Institute was founded by Cardinal König as a "political development house of education"  and is according to the times an ecclesiastical foundation, which is supported by means from the Archdiocese of Vienna.

For AAI- business manager, Nikolaus Heger this is a "difficult situation",  over which there has been much discussion.  Assem is also a good "dialog partner", who  seeks discussion and disputation.  "If you were to pole Muslims, you would find many who do not believe Israel should exist."  Exactly for this reason, it is important to draw people like him into the dialogue, Hegner says.

Update on Friday:  The controversial Caliphate preacher Shaker Assem may not lead the Friday prayer of the Viennese Afro-Asiatic Institute (AAI).  The Archdiocese of Vienna reported this on Friday in a communique.  Cardinal Christoph Schönborn has come to this decision as the protector of the Institute founded by Cardinal Franz König with AAI- business leader Nikolaus Heger. "The Archdiocse must generate clarity over the situation, especially when the State authorities have not yet evaluated Imam Assem as a hate preacher," it reads.

More from Die Presse...

From kathnet...

Islamic States Condemn Attacks Against Churches in Israel

Edit: Israeli settlers have often been hostile to Christians living in Palestine in the past and many Christians have fled the Middle East to escape the violence coming from all sides in the conflict.

General Secretary of the Union of 57 Islamic States, Ihsangoglu, weighed sharp criticisms.

Riad (kath.net/KAP) The organization for Islamic Collaboration  (OIC) have roundly condemned the anti-Christian defacement of a Church in Jerusalem and are holding Israel responsible.  The attack against Church property occurred in succession with other attacks of Israeli extremists against Christian and Muslim property, explained the General Secretary of the Union of 57 Islamic States, the Turkish historian Ekmeleddin Ihsangoglu, on Wednesday in the Saudi Jeddah.

The international community must protect the holy places and put pressure on Israel, in order to bring an end to such activities and enforce the adherence to International Law, says Ihsanoglu.  Previous attacks by the radical Islamic Hamas against Christian and Islamic structures were condemned.  The occurrence is a witness of an "Israeli racism, which is established against a Palestinian presence in Jerusalem, whether it is Islamic or Christian."

On Monday anti-Christian slogans were discovered  on a Baptist church in the center of Jerusalem.  Additionally, three cars parked there had their tires slashed.  According to media reports the things that are on the church, things like curses against Jesus and his Mother Mary, and also "Death to Christendom" and "We will crucify you".

Two weeks previously there were threatening slogans written in Hebrew on the Greek Orthodox Holy Cross Monastery near the Israeli Parliament.

Link to kath.net...

Liturgical Abuse: Mardigras Mass in Germany

Edit: Ochsenhausen (Oberschwaben) A reader of piusbruderschaft.de sent a video he took with his camera to them. It follows a request by the German District of the SSPX for a halt to these blashemous and disrespectful practices of "Fools' Masses" or Mardigras Masses.

There is a five minute film below with some poor sound and visual quality, but it shows you the basic story. Mardigras (Fasching) Liturgies are extremely popular in some parts of Germany it seems. In point of fact, often playing the fool, many Secular and Order priests actually contradict the Second Vatican Council's decree on the Liturgy especially in so far as it specifically states that neither priests nor even bishops may alter its decrees and make changes.  Don't forget, rules don't apply to them (Liberals), they can do whatever they want.

The pastor, Dean Sigmund Schaenzel, presided over the liturgical abuse in a part of Germany called Schabia. He only uses the ambo once a year, and this year he threw flowers from it and the manuscript for his speach. The theme of this Mass, which included "schunkling" by the laity, which is a Doctor Seuss kind of thing where people link arms and sway back and forth to the music, alternating directions between rows.  It's really neat.  The theme for the Mass reads, "fall out of the frame". Everything about it is demeaning and whatever the intentions of the priest, these things clearly demean the Sacraments and make a mockery of the Vatican Council itself.

Holy Father to Priests: Do Not Accommodate the Opinions of the World!

Edit: we used the Douay Rheims translation.  It's interesting to see the Secretary of State, Cardinal Bertone, standing next to the Holy Father and bowing for the blessing in the most child-like way. The speech is a beautiful Lenten meditation which restates the humble truth about the first of all virtues.


Benedict XVI: there is need in the Church for the humility to accept also small roles.  Humility is the first virtue, which offers freedom in truth. translation from report Armin Schwibach.

Rome (kath.net/as) Every year at the beginning of Lent, Pope Benedict XVI meets with the clergy of his Diocese on this Thursday morning.  Also this year the meeting takes place in the audience hall of "Paul VI" at the desire of the priests in the framework of "lection Divina" rather than a free speech.  The "lectio" is inspired by a section from a letter of St. Paul to the Ephesians (Eph 4: 1-16)

I therefore, a prisoner in the Lord, beseech you that you walk worthy of the vocation in which you are called:  With all humility and mildness, with patience, supporting one another in charity. Careful to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 One body and one Spirit: as you are called in one hope of your calling.

 One Lord, one faith, one baptism.  One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in us all.  But to every one of us is given grace, according to the measure of the giving of Christ.  Wherefore he saith: Ascending on high, he led captivity captive: he gave gifts to men.  Now that he ascended, what is it, but because he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? He that descended is the same also that ascended above all the heavens: that he might fill all things. And he gave some apostles, and some prophets, and other some evangelists, and other some pastors and doctors: For the perfecting of the saints, for the word of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ. 

Until we all meet into the unity of faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the age of the fulness of Christ:  That henceforth we be no more children tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the wickedness of men, by cunning craftiness by which they lie in wait to deceive.  But doing the truth in charity, we may in all things grow up in him who is the head, even Christ: From whom the whole body, being compacted and fitly joined together, by what every joint supplieth, according to the operation in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body, unto the edifying of itself in charity. [Douay-Rheims]

The great suffering, which has been endured by the Church in Europe and in the West, consists in a lack of vocations, said Benedict XVI.  The Lord therefore calls everyone.  For that it is necessary to hear this call.  The natural disposition of a priest is to be humble, mild and big hearted, because: "If I am humble, then I will also have the freedom to oppose myself to the prevailing thinking."  This humility empowers the priest to seek the truth.  Therefore it would e necessary to accept small roles in the Church, have have, however, great value in the eyes of God.

"I must accept my small position in the Church",  said the Pope.  The vain ostentation of those who do not teach this, finally oppose Him himself, and causes unhappiness.  The humility on the other hand leads, not to walk into appearances, but in deeds, "what God had considered for me and what for me is the part of Christian realism".  False humility on the other hand leads to the destruction of the unity of the Church.  To respect yourself and the other are two things which belong together. It is in that which consists the "great harmony of the Church and creation: that every one else is as the other."

The humble man obtains the freedom, in the name of truth to meet with those who are related to him.  The opposite of  humility -- the pride -- is then the root of all sins, which consist, in a desire to  stay in the midst of the world.  Christian being means, to resist this temptation,  to have humility before all others means a life lived in truth, which says:  "Only in my smallness can I be great".

Another great problem in the Church in today's times consists in "religious Analphabetism".  It is necessary to include  the content of the Faith,  the Pope cautioned, this is "not in the sense of a parcel of Dogmas."  Most of all, it must be done so that the priest can renew and make enable himself to meet Christ.

Many describe themselves as "worldly Catholics", in so far as they may have emancipated themselves from the Magisterium of the Church.   Actually, however, this is not the outcome of a "worldly Faith", rather a dependence upon the world.  True emancipation means much more, said Benedict XVI, pointedly, "free yourself from this dictatorship of opinion and believe in the Son of God".  Only in this way "is one able to find an answer to the challenges of our time."

Link to kath.net...

80 Percent of United Arab Emirate's Population is Foreign

The bell in the Catholic Church of St. Mary's in Dubai was founded by the then ruler, Sheikh Rashid Bin Said Al Maktoum.  by Abdullah Leonard Borek.

(kreuz.net)  The United Arab Emirates is a land with five million inhabitants on the easterly coast of the Arab peninsula.

To better understand the situation this land finds itself it should be known that about eighty percent of the people living in the country aren't native.

They come from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and the Philippines.

From those who come from these lands, the majority living there are Christians.  There are no native Christians.

There are no Church domes


In the United Arab Emirates, as also in other Gulf states, Christians and other religious minorities can practice their religion unhindered.

The State  permits the teaching of the Christian religion in areas determined by law, in so far as they do not interfere with public interest or offend morality.

There are limitations respective of the public display of religious symbols

Otherwise churches may not have copper domes, mostly to exclude them from being compared to Mosques.

The State Helps


On the other hand, church communities  thoroughly enjoy the good will of the state.

This is shown for example in the properties put made available for church construction.

The bells of the Catholic Church of St. Mary in Dubai was founded in 1966 by the then ruder, Sheikh Rashid Bin Said Al Maktoum.

The Christians -- especially those from ethnically defined churches -- are generally not so well off as guest workers from the Indian subcontinent.

It is the case that these communities are not very often capable of the financial means to build their own churches.

They arrange things with established communities,  who posse their own churches.

German Supreme Court Acquits Bishop Williamson of Sedition

Update: In well over a month, the paranoid  Regensburg Chief prosecutor, Wolfhard Meindl, will continue a second complaint against Bishop Richard Williamson.  This was threatened by the 'Katholschen Nachrictenagentur' [KNA].  The complaint will involve again the supposed sedition.  It still allows, however, new charges in the same case.  Do German courts really allow double jeopardy?


Edit: apparently the Black Scare is being checked in Germany's highest court somewhat as Bishop Williamson is acquitted of sedition. It wasn't clear that he had intended his remarks for a wider audience in Germany.

Bishop Williamson at Pilgrimage
 in Fulda, 2006

The German muzzle-justice system, condemned throughout the world, must save what there is to save.  They have given the brave British have given absolute justice.

(kreuznet, Munich) The Supreme Court in Nürnberg have discontinued legal proceedings against British Hero Bishop Richard Williamson.

This was reported by the Court's press office on Wednesday.

Msgr Williamson had -- supposedly-- effected only an act of preparation.

It is being handled as "a (still) not punishable conduct" -- says the press office.

In order for a charge of sedition, Msgr Williamson would have had to express himself in public or to a gathering.

The criminal division stressed that the judgment does not testify that the historical inquiries are legal in muzzle-Germany.

The German Media Bosses are the Seditious Ones


The Regensburg Court did not specify in its verdict in which manner and where exactly in Germany the Bishop's interview had been published.

The evidence, therefore the facts of the case, were not adequately demonstrated.

It says only, that Msgr Williamson had to have understood that the interview also concerned Germany .  (Despite it being in English]


On the contrary, it was never explained, how and where there was any exception to giving a public interview for broadcast in Germany.

The Media Bosses Are Blamed


The State Prosecutor could, given the same facts of the case still make formal charges.

Then the whole case could be rolled out again.

The blameworthy German media bosses are interpreting the free speech as a "error of proceedure".

Muzzle-Justice From the Pressure of the Media Bosses


Regensburg Court had charged Bishop Williamson with a fine of 10,000 Euro.

The State Court confirmed the judgment and lowered the fine to 6,500 Euro.


Link to original...

Have the Plans for the Tower of Babel Been Discovered?

The scientific magazine, 'Geo' sees evidence -- Biblical Archaeologist Peter van der Veen: No, there is no  knowledge about the biblical Tower.

Hamburg/Schorndorf (kath.net/idea)  First, a contemporary building plan for the biblical tower of Babel has been discovered.  The scientific magazine 'Geo' (Hamburg) reports that the Babylonian ruler Nebukadnezar II (604-562 B.C.) had tried to rebuild the fallen tower.  An inscription from a stele gives information about the construction workers:  "I was mobilized from all lands everywhere, every man and every ruler."

This points to evidence that there could have been a Babylonian confusion of langauges, as it says in Genesis, written in the 1st Book of Moses, Chapter 11.  The tower is said to have a lateral length of 91.5 meters and had been about 90 meters tall.

At the top of the seven story of the building works (in Babylonian 'Ziggurat') there is to have been a Temple for the main deity of Babylon, Marduk.  The stele is in the possession of the Norwegian businessman Martin Schøyen.  Although its existence has long been known, the inscription was only officially published in the past year.

Biblical Archaeology:  No new knowledge

This revelation contains no new knowledge about the biblical tower, says Archaeologist Peter van der Veen (Schorndorf near Stuttgart).  He published a doctoral dissertation about biblical archaeology at the University of Mainz.

Structures of the kind described by Moses, were already present three millennia before Christ.  According to ancient sources, the Akkadian King Scharkalischarri around 2,200 B.C. is to have rebuilt a tower that was destroyed earlier.

Also known are towers from the time of the King Hammurabi of Babylon, in the 18th century before Christ, who was famous for his legislation.  This is probably the tower which Moses in the 15th century probably knew about, and came to his idea to write about the beginnings of humanity, said
Van der Veen.

The tower of Nebukadnezar, who lived 900 years later, could not have been the precursor of the biblical tower.  Nebukadnezar tried to copy one of these earlier towers in order to put himself at the stature of Hammurabi.

The evidence on the stele indicates, that the Babylonian stele, that the Babylonian ruler took many captives in war from numerous lands and used them as forced labor.  "There was certainly here a great  variety of languages being spoken.  They had nothing to do with Moses' account, which pointed to the confusion of languages denoting God's punishment for human arrogance,"  said van der Veen.

Link to original...

Pope's Homily: The Ashes Bring the Cosmos into the Liturgy

Pope Benedict XVI led a procession on Wednesday afternoon, from the church of St. Anselm to the Church of St. Sabina on the Aventine hill in Rome, where he celebrated Mass and distributed ashes to the faithful at the beginning of Lent.

Ash Wednesday is a day of fasting and penance on which we begin a new journey towards the Easter of Resurrection, the journey of Lent. I would like to reflect on the liturgical sign of the ashes, a material sign, a natural element that, in the Liturgy, becomes a sacred symbol, so important on this day that marks the start of our Lenten journey. In ancient times, in the Jewish culture, it was common to sprinkle one’s head with ashes as a sign of penance, and to dress in sack-cloth and rags. For us Christians, there is this one moment which has important symbolic and spiritual relevance.

Ashes are the material sign that brings the cosmos into the Liturgy. The most important signs are those of the Sacraments: water, oil, bread and wine, which become true sacramental elements through which we communicate the Grace of Christ who comes among us. The ashes are not a sacramental sign, but they are linked with prayer and the sanctification of the Christian people. Before the ashes are placed on our heads, they are blessed according to two possible formulae: in the first they are called “austere symbols”, in the second, we invoke a blessing directly upon them, referring to the text in the Book of Genesis which can also accompany the imposition of the ashes: “Remember that you are dust and unto dust you shall return”.


Link to Santa Sabina....

Umberto Eco's New Book

Edit: Umberto Eco writes books Dan Brown only dreams he can write.  The title of Eco's new book points to a polarity in Europe during the 19th Century as one world attempts to destroy another.  

The Bohemian National Graveyards are places where "freethinkers" are buried.  In the history of American history, it underscores a divide which existed in the Czech immigrant community and back home.  Many Czechs did not want to be identified as Roman Catholic, and so they were buried in separate cemeteries.  The organization still exists today.

Umberto Eco's  touches on this polarity existent in the Europe of the 20th Century, and if his past books are any indication of this present book, it will be a book to the further disadvantage of Catholicism.

The highly anticipated, controversial novel, sold in more than forty countries Nineteenth-century Europe—from Turin to Prague to Paris—abounds with the ghastly and the mysterious. Conspiracies rule history. Jesuits plot against Freemasons. [As if Freemasons didn't plot against Jesuits] Italian republicans strangle priests with their own intestines. French criminals plan bombings by day and celebrate Black Masses at night. Every nation has its own secret service, perpetrating forgeries, plots, and massacres. From the unification of Italy to the Paris Commune to the Dreyfus Affair to The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, Europe is in tumult and everyone needs a scapegoat. But what if, behind all of these conspiracies both real and imagined, lay one lone man? What if that evil genius created its most infamous document? Eco takes his readers on an unforgettable journey through the underbelly of world-shattering events. Eco at his most exciting, a book immediately hailed as a masterpiece.

Link to Amazon.com...

Cardinal Cottier Sees the Anger of Satan in Vaticanleaks

As regards self-destructive powers in the Church and in the Vatican:  Satan is angry, because the Church is alive. A further chapter of "Vatican Leaks" turns. by Armin Schwibach

Rome (kath.net/as)  "Benedict XVI is the structural pillar":  the newspaper of the Italian Bishops' Conference, "Avvenire" entitled its interview on the 21st of February with the former theologian of the Papal House, George Cardinal Cottier (90).  In his address before the Consistory last week the Cardinal expressed himself on the most recent scandal in the wake of "leaks", through a confidential document from various posts of the Roman Curia were to the outside.


Although it seemed that the problems were solved primarily by the security services of the Vatican, the problem and those responsible have been identified, and the story of "Vatican Leaks" will have a sequen this Wednesday on the 22nd of February.  The TV channel "La7", which three weeks ago had broken the story of a letter with revelations of the former Secretary of the Governorate of the Vatican City State, and today's Nuncio to the United States, Carlo Maria Vigano', and his criticism of "corruptoin", he ascribed in the Vatican, will now interview one of the moles in the Vatican.


As far as this, the mole has also to disclose the motives of the "spies" and their number, which is given  in total about 20. What is clearly brought to the fore is that this is not the result of a "media campaign" but that the colleagues of the Pope in the Curia break their oaths of office and wage their own campaigns in the media.[!]  Why is this happening?  From anger or tedium, this is what the "mole" says in an interview with the show "Gli INtoccabili" (The Untouchables).


Probably it goes perhaps something more of what Cardinal Cottier pointed out in his interview with "Avvenire".  Benedict XVI does not allow himself to be daunted by the thunder storm and flood, which has the intention to shake the Church, because: he knows that the foundation will outlast the superficiality of this aspect.  Cottier had already considered the events of the last weeks during the days of the Consistorium and has contended with other Cardinals about it.


On this he has observed that he had not been the only one to have had these thoughts:  "In the past travails around the Church the work of Satan can be seen.  In the sense:  If the Church were only asleep in mediocrity or only concerned with intrigues and rivalries, the devil would not have much to do with it.  If he is interested in causing much disruption, that means that there is a vitaility in the Church, which Satan wants to oppose.  And this vitality is the power of the Faith, it is the Christian life, which advances all over the world these days."


Link to original...kath.net...

Polish Conference President: Freemasonry Without and Divisions Within the Church

The President of the Polish Bishops' Conference, Archbishop Jozef Michalik:  "We are seeing how the Church is being targeted, as various libertarian, atheistic and Free masonic circles are attacking."


Przemysl (kath.net/KNA)  Poland's Catholic Church is being driven to the wall, in the opinion of the president of its Bishops' Conference, Archbishop Jozef Michalik. "We are seeing how the Church is being targeted, as various libertarian, atheistic and Freemasonic circles are attacking," said a critical Michalik in a Pastoral Letter for Lent this Monday.


Even the "government institutions", which are actually promoting pluralism in the media, have finally "discriminated" against a Catholic television station. Michalik said, with a glance at the denial of a digital license for "Trwam", the TV broadcaster of the conservative "Radio Maryja", that the conscience of the nation is becoming focused. There are attacks on the Catholics that do not fall on liberal TV broadcasters and print media.


Much more dangerous in the Archbishop's estimation are "divisions within the Church".  Spiritual superiors and even Bishops have refused to obey.  Michalike did not name names in his pastoral letter.  The text should be available at a reading in the coming Sunday at Liturgies in the southeast Polish Diocese of Przemysl.


A spectacle concerns perhaps the Priest Piotr Natanek from the Diocese of Krakow.  He campaigned massively for the introduction as Jesus as King of Poland and called upon, despite warnings from the Catholic Church leaders, "the Knights of Christ the King".  The Krakow Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz had forbidden Natanek,  to celebrate Masses any longer or hear confessions.


The denial of a digital frequency for "Trwam"  has strained the relationship for weeks between the Church and the conservative-liberal government.  More than a million Poles signed, according to the TV broadcaster, a letter of protest to the Broadcasting Authority.  They refused the license because of the supposed financial instability of the broadcaster.  The membrs of the Broadcasting Authority are responsible to both chambers of Parliament and the State President.  Besides "Trwam" four other TV broadcasters with licenses have failed
.

Link to kath.net...

Interview Kath.net: SSPX German Superior Says Hermeneutic Must Go Farther [Part I]

Edit: This is truly one of the most respectful interviews we've ever seen. Doctor Schibach is almost sympathetic to Father Schmidberger, who gets to state his position and gets a good hearing. The interesting thing is Doctor Schwibach's mention of the unifying quality of the truth, and Father Schmidberger's citation of the measure of the truths of the Faith, "everywhere, always and by everyone". N.B. kath.net customarily drops the title of Father after the first mention.

Kath.net -- exclusive interview with the German District Superior of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Pius X.  Father Franz Schmidberger FSSPX:  The previous teaching office must be the criterium for the expressions of Vatican II.  by Armin Schiwbach

Rome (kath.net/as) In a thorough interview the District Superior of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Pius X. explains the essential points and contents of the efforts to reach full unity with the Holy See.
 
kath.net: With the arrival of a "Doctrinal Preamble" on the 14th of September 2011, the over one year long doctrinal discussion between the Holy See and the Society of St. Pius X (FSSPX) reached its formal conclusion. As the Secretary of the Papal Commission "Ecclesia Dei', Prelate Guido Pozzo, had established a point in time, the text of fthe Preamble had been considered, that the Superior of the FSSPX after an in depth analysis could come to aa principally positive and agreeable answer. There is the possibility of seeking further precision and clarity and integrating the text. It is however conclusive that the substance of the Preamble will undergo changes.

In his Sermon on the 2nd of February 2012 at "St. Thomas Aquinas Seminary" in Winona (Minnesota USA) Bishop Bernard Fellay explained, he had been somewhat constrained, to say no to the Preamble: "We will not sing it. We quite agree with the principles, but we also find that the conclusion is the opposite."

How can there be a principle agreement to contradictory conclusions and what are these?


Schmidberger: This occurs when everything in the world, with desire instead of understanding, that one sees that Vatican II is in full harmony with the previous teaching office. And for that one has found a magical expression: "Hermeneutic of Continuity". I will give and example of this:

In "Lumen Gentium" it says in § 1, that the Church is a Sacrament of the unity of mankind. But where in Holy Scripture, by which Church Father, in which Papal utterance and in which Council has there anything like this to be read? The Church is therefore disposed to build the mystical Body of Christ and to grant to souls the supernatural Faith and life of Grace, but not also to an inner-worldly human brotherhood.

Or you might take "Lumen Gentium" Nr. 16: Since when do we pray with Muslims to the one true God? These honor Allah, we, the All Holy Trinity -- that is not the same!

In Nr 8. of the same document it says, the Church of Christ subsistere -- is realized, is embodied in the Catholic Church. Pope Pius XII taught expressly in full communion with the teaching office until Vatican II: The Church of Christ is the Catholic Church.

In "GAudium et Spes", the famous Pastoral Constitution, it says in Nr 12, that the goal and the focus of all things on earth is man. In my old Catechism, I read, that the goal and focus of all things on earth is God. Even this is not the same.

In the Decree on Ecumenism it says in § 3, that the Holy Ghost esteems other creeds, as instruments of sanctification. If that's right, then Protestants don't need to convert and no Orthodox need accept Papal Primacy.

In the explanation of Religious Freedom it says in § 2 that man is supposed to have such a right, which is rooted in his worth, therefore also represented in the natural law. This conception is expressly rejected going back to Pope Pius XII. You only need to look at "Quanta Cura" of December *, 1864, where Pius IX castigates such views.

The hermeneutic has to propagate continuity far better, in order to see things brought to their proper light.

kath.net: Catchword: Tradition -- Teaching Office. Pope Benedict XVI identified the living tradition together with the Holy Scriptures as the "highest guide to Faith" 9see. Post Synodal Apostolic Writing "Verbum Domini", 18, see. Dogmatic Constitution "Dei Verbum", 21)

How do we define the relationship between Tradition, the extraordinary Teaching Offfice and the ordinary Teacching Office with respect to the reality of the Second Vatican Council? What and how is "the Tradition" for you?


Schmidberger: The extraordinary Teaching Office is the solemn declaration of an article of Faith, it is through the Pope alone, it is through a General Council under the direction of the Pope.

The ordinary Teaching Office [Magisterium] is the daily prouncement of the faith which is dispersed [verstreuen: implication that there aren't many Bishops out there in union with Rome...] Bishops in unity with the Pope. The Second Vaticum falls in its entirety neither in the former, nor in the latter category, because it did not want to state doctrinal positions, nor to condemn errors; it attempted to bring the past deposit of Faith to modern people and to speak to the modern world in ordinary language. Thus, is every part of infallibility covered, which will be resumed in the infallible declarations, but not innovations at all, as they have been previously shown to be.

Still a word must be said about "living Magisterium": Surely the bearer is living, but public revelation is closed with the death of the last Apostle. Fundamental novelties may not come to pass; there is only a homogeneous development.

kath.net: In a discussion with kath.net the Italian historian and author, Roberto de Mattei explained the book, "The Second Vatican Council. A Story Untold Till Now". (Verlag Kirchliche Umschau 2011):

"The Tradition, which is the "living Magisterium" considered in its Universality and continuity, is itself infallible, while the so-called 'living' Magisterium -- understood as the actual promulgation of the Church's hierarchy -- this is only so under certain qualifications. The Tradition is placed, to wit always, under the divine assistance; for the Magisterium only employs this when it expresses itself extraordinarily or when it teaches in an ordinary form, the doctrinal continuity in a particular time -- or moral reality."

Is it possible for you, in the foundation of these present upheavals to take up a productive "struggle" for a new affirmation of the truth?



Schmidberger: This would in fact seem to be exactly the way in which one can become united; we have proposed nothing else as a foundation for the doctrinal discussions with the Holy see: The past teaching office must be the criterium for the concepts of Vatican II. The reversed approach, that would make Vatican II a criterium for earlier declarations, is putting the horse before the cart and leads to contradiction and confusion.

Perhaps one should go at this point to St. Vinent of Lerins with his "Commonitorium".   What he says is this: "What will a Catholic Christian do, (...) if some new contagion didn't just affect a small part, rather that it looked to infect at the same time the entire Church? Then  he would take care even so on this, to hold fast to the ancient Faith, which may never be misled by deceptive novelty." Thus he realizes his Catholic Faith, "quod ubique, quod semper, quod ab omnibus, creditum est". -- what was everywhere, what was always, what was believed by everyone.

To be Continued...kath.net...

Egypt: Salafists Riot and Attack Coptic Church

Edit: if someone in the government told you that they "couldn't guarantee your safety" as the Egyptian Parliament told a Coptic family near Alexandria, it sure would look like a threat.  Considering he heavy handed treatment of Copts in Egypt before and since the Arab Spring, it looks like this treatment will continue.

Riot in the village of Meet Bashar, northeast of Cairo is inflamed in a conflict over conversion. 

Cairo (kath.net/KAP)  2,000 Salafists have attached the Coptic Church of the Egyptian Village of Meet BAshar and burned down the rectory.  Also the residences and autos of Coptic Christians from the village, some 50 km northeasterly of Cairo were destroyed.  The peace was only brought back with a massive police presence;  otherwise the functionarites from the inspirational Party "Justice and Freedom" came to the village and persuaded the Salafists that it ould be better if they disappear from Meet Bashar.

The Salafist riots began on Sunday, 12 February.  The cause -- as so often in similar cases -- a conflict surrounding conversion.  In Meet Bashar it involved 14 year old Rania Khalil.  Her Coptic father was converted some days earlier to Mohamedism.  On the 12th of February, the girl disappeared.  Salfaisten have come to insist that the Christians had abducted the girl from the village, in order to prevent her conversion to Mohamedism.  Rania Khalil has been discovered in the mean time and is presently being questioned by the authorities.

Link to original kath.net...

Lutherans Fade into the Sunset of the West

They have hands and feel not: they have feet and walk not: neither shall they cry out through their throat. -Saint King David

Edit: As Lutheranism becomes increasingly irrelevant, struggling to maintain its numbers while it reaches out to minority populations while it further derationates its "principles", it becomes indistinguishable from everything that goes on outside of it.

As Lutheran "leaders" usher in Buddhist gurus and Yoga prayer groups, all that remains behind are aging congregants and elderly spiritual vagrants from 68" Here's a story about how they're casting a vote that would have made Martin Luther regret he took the destructive steps he made so long ago.

[Star Tribune] Minneapolis-area Lutherans on Friday went on record against changing the state Constitution to define marriage as between one man and one woman. Their vote made them one of the largest faith groups yet to formally oppose the amendment that will go before voters Nov. 6, which would ban same-sex marriage in Minnesota. Close to 700 Lutherans, representing congregations in the Minneapolis Area Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, voted on a resolution opposing the amendment at the group's annual assembly at a Prior Lake church. When the vote was called, those in favor of the resolution flashed green cards with the word "yes." Those against it waved red cards that said "no." The greens overwhelmed the reds, and no formal tally was called for by synod leaders.

Link to Tribune...

Fr. Schmidberger Calls on Germany's Priests to Stop Liturgical Abuses and Quotes Vatican II

(Berlin) In the past years there have been celebrations of so-called "Faschings Liturgies" [Mardigras]  in various areas in the German speaking areas.

The Society of St. Pius X in Germany is appealing "with insistence" to "all priests" on Sunday before Ash Wednesday to forbid  "Faschings Liturgies".   The critics from the Society are concerned about "blatant abuses" , which have "slithered" into parishes.  "With the intention of offering church visitors diversions, many priests have begun to introduce Faschings elements into the Liturgy" and enter dressed as clowns at the altar.  "In many places there are Mardigras bands in the churches, where people link arms and sway back and forth, where Mardi Gras songs are sung and the sermon is a fool's speech," so says the German District of the Society.


The District Superior, Father Franz Schmidberger, stressed in his broadcast that he wasn't criticizing Carvinal, which bears a special expression of Catholicism.  The Carnival must in any case by separate from the Catholic Liturgy.  "Don't you have anything at home to eat and drink?",  cites the Society the Apostle Paul's 1st Letter to the Cornithians (11,22), in order to ask, if there are not community centers or party halls, in order to celebrate, to sway and give fool's speeches?


"The Mass is not some community celebration, rather it is the most mysterious, most holy presence of the Sacrifice of Christ on the Cross, made present by the Flesh and Blood of the Son of God on the Altar.  It's not the place for informal greetings, confetti and false noses!"


The Superior of the Society of St. Pius X in Germany recalled then, that "Faschings Liturgies" are as much against the "liturgical order of Tradition", as they are also "against the prescriptions of the Second Vatican Council".  In the Constitution Sacrosanctum Concilium of the Second Vatican Council, it says further: "The Holy Liturgy is above all a prayer to God" (SC 33) and:  "The regulation of the Liturgy only in accordance with the authority of the Church; and  indeed the Holy see in accordance with the law and the Bishop."  (SC 22 § 1)

The SSPX calls upon the priests in Germany, "to finish the disgrace of Carvinal Liturgies" and asks "the Bishops to defend the sanctity of the Sacrifice of the Mass again." Text: Giuseppe Nardi Image: Church Circle Paderborn.de Link to katholisches....