Ban on Criticizing the Pope is a Structural (Conservative) Problem

Cardinal Kasper: Amoris Laetitia is "the most important document
in Church history of the last 1,000 years"

(Rome) While Cardinal Walter Kasper called Amoris laetitia "the most important document of the Church's history in the past 1000 years," his great adversary in the Synod of Bishops in 2014, "Cardinal Raymond Burke" (Sandro Magister), clings to formal restrictions.

There is no shortage of parts of the Church that match vociferously with Kasper's  assessment. This includes the daily newspaper Avvenire  of the Italian Episcopal Conference . It  is  headed by  another papal confidant, Bishop Nunzio Galatino. The daily sees Amoris Laetitia not just "according to the thinking of a wise father," but exactly how Cardinal Burke does not want to see it. Namely, a regular document of the Magisterium Amoris Laetitia which was a "revolutionary" document that sealed  "by archiving  pastoral prohibitions and constraints," and "that had turned more into a reading of the code of canon law, instead of the Gospel."

"Poor Cardinal Burke, who clings to codes and commas"

"Poor Cardinal Burke, a great canonist, who clings to nothing but codes and commas ...", said the Vatican expert Sandro Magister. "Undoubtedly," said Magister,  Pope Francis  has also thought of Burke, when he speaks of the Article 305 in Amoris Laetitia, writing of those who know "only how close their heart only with moral laws...", "as if they were boulders that were thrown on the lives of people. "

In comparison, the proponents of the "pastoral reorientation" (Cardinal Schönborn) appear to have an easy time. They offer to people supposedly what they want to hear.

Conservative prohibition of criticism  forces it to a sideshow 

Even Cardinal Walter Brandmüller, another Cardinal who had rendered outstanding services in the past two years to defend the sacrament of marriage, has so far limited his formalistic criticism of Amoris Laetitia. The content of the post-synodal letter was not the problem, but the false interpretations. In other words, what the Pope says, that it is all right, it is  just misunderstood. A reading of this pontificate, which was bumpy from the start and  easily turns into a stumbling block, just as  now.

Cardinals Burke and Brandmüller  in not criticizing the pope, are forced to resort to a sideshow and to steer clear of the actual battlefield. Criticism of Amoris Laetitia  turns out to be weak when it renounces the direct, substantive confrontation. While some are going onto the sidelines,  Cardinals like Kasper and Schönborn roll ahead at full speed on the main line and announce the exact opposite. They talk about content and refer explicitly to Pope Francis. The do not address  formal questions. 

The weakness of the cardinatial resistance is homemade in this case because the cardinals themselves are possessed of their strongest means, when they bring forth a substantive confrontation. What are they afraid of? Are they afraid of the consequences? What consequences? Is it not perhaps a lack of the insight on the part of the papacy, which proves to be the inhibition?

Approaches a substantive criticism

Both cardinals seem to be aware  of the weakness of their own reasoning. Sandro Magister points out that both Burke and Brandmüller, for example,  don't dispense  quite completely with a  substantive review.

Cardinal Brandmüller  explained  to the Bild newspaper that it was unacceptable to grant exemptions to the Communion ban for people living in the state of the public and persistent adultery. This is categorically impossible for religious reasons and also in individual cases.

Cardinal Burke sees the danger in a dangerous misconception that in Amoris Laetitia the formulation of marriage as an "ideal" may arise. "In the document, there are numerous references to the "ideal marriage." Such a description of marriage can be misleading. You can lead the reader to think that marriage is an eternal idea of what  men and women approach more or less under varying circumstances. But Christian marriage is not an ideal. It is a sacrament that gives the grace of a man and a woman to live in a true, lasting and fruitful, mutual love," said Cardinal Burke.

Rethink self-imposed ban on the Pope's criticism

The self-imposed ban against criticizing the Pope proves to the defenders of religious marriage and morality as a major weakness because it is structural. With consistent compliance, it gives the other side an almost insurmountable advantage and can be repeated as well as on other matters.

The self-limitation is  anachronistic anyway because Pope Francis had given his critic Antonio Socci a free pass  in which he explained that the criticism is legitimate and is thought to be, according to Socci, that the  criticism was "good for" the Pope. Socci had nevertheless doubted the legality of the Pope's election for half a year.

In a time in which the Pope is himself the engine of controversial breaks, faithful Catholics, particularly the so-called "conservatives" have to rethink their attitude towards the Pope. They will not fail to be bound and  soon  will not be able to check  if and how they have  been weighed down by the erroneous ballast of the papacy. And they will have to get rid of it if they want to fulfill their duty to defend the immutable doctrine.

Then to hoped that the pontificate of Francis might not be long, could yet prove to be as  double-edged as the prohibition of criticism.

Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Image: MiL (Screenshot)
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
Link to Katholisches...
AMDG

But What if the Pope Does What Protestants Have Been Accusing Him of Doing For Five Hundred Years and He Contradicts the Gospels?

Edit: does this mean we have to give Babette's Feast a five star rating on Rotten Tomatoes?  If the Bergoglian Magisterium contradicts perennial Catholic teaching and even Christ Himself, then what?

Amoris Laetitia is "non-magisterial"? Not so fast ... 

The following piece was written exclusively for Rorate by a wise -- and very informed -- holy priest who felt compelled to speak out: 

By Father Ignatius
The contents of Amoris Laetitia -- and its approval -- through omissions and coded language, of sacraments for the divorced and remarried, I suppose, came as no surprise to any of us. Over the past three years, Francis repeatedly announced his determination to find a way for this radical change, so we were all conditioned to expect the sound of the explosion when it finally came. 

Nor did most of the critical reactions come as a surprise. Writers like those whose posts immediately appeared onRorate (de Mattei, Socci, Confitebor) denounced the phony, modernist doctrinal/pastoral distinction in the document for the shell game it is. 

What did cause surprise, however, was Raymond Cardinal Burke’s commentary on Amoris Laetitia that appeared in theNational Catholic Register. Given the strong language that the good and esteemed cardinal had previously used to warn against a change in church teaching and practice on sacraments for the divorced and remarried, we all expected him to come out against the document like a Leo rugiens.

Pope Bergoglio Praises Feminist Marxism in "Amoris Laetitia"

Francis "Amoris laetitia": "remarkable improvements in the recognition of women's rights". He criticized female genital mutilation, violence against women, surrogacy etc. - Significance of the man in the family

 Vatican (kath.net) Pope Francis writes in "Amoris laetitia:" In this brief look at the reality, I would like to emphasize that while there have been notable improvements in the recognition of women and their participation in the public area of ​​rights, there is still much that needs work in some countries. The eradication of unacceptable practices are not yet managed.

I point to the shameful violence that is sometimes perpetrated against women, the abuse in the family and various forms of slavery, which are not a proof of male power, but a cowardly loss of dignity. The verbal, physical and sexual violence, which is perpetrated in some marriages against women, contradicts the nature of the conjugal union. I think of the terrible genital mutilation of women in some cultures, but also of the inequality in access to decent jobs and decision-making positions. The history bears the marks of the excesses of patriarchal cultures where the woman was considered of secondary importance, but we mus also recall surrogacy or "the exploitation and commercialization of the female body in contemporary media culture."

Some think many current problems have occurred since the emancipation of women. "But even that is not a valid argument. It is wrong, it is not true! It is a form of chauvinism. "The identical dignity of man and woman is a cause of joy to us that old forms of discrimination have been overcome and developed in the families as a practice of reciprocity.

If forms of feminism have arisen that we may not consider appropriate, we admire nevertheless in the clearer recognition of the dignity of women and their rights, a work of the Spirit. [See Femen, No Fault Divorce and the influence of the Nanny State on the family.] The man "plays a particularly important role in the life of the family, particularly with regard to the protection and support of his wife and the children [...] Many men are aware of the importance of their role in the family and fill it with their male spirit. [Only when he's allowed to.]

The absence of the father from the life of the family, deprives the education of children and severely affects their integration in the society. It may be a physical, emotional, mental and spiritual absence. This lack brings the children to an adequate model paternal behavior "(Amoris laetitia 54-55). Amoris Laetita - TEXT PDF - Several times Click on the picture to start the download

The Condemnation of Action Française and the Birth of Vatican II

Edit: We received this interesting piece which addresses the life of Father Roger Thomas Calmel, O.P., about some of the preliminaries that led to Vatican II and the defeat of scholasticism in France, which took place well in advance of the fateful year of 1963. We've also attached the postscript by Roberto de Mattei. This was originally posted on Rorate Caeli, but taken down for some reason:



Posted by Sacerdos Romanus at 2/27/2016 @ Rorate-Caeli

Pope Pius XI’s condemnation of a political party supported by many French Catholic royalists was a revival of the ralliement of Pope Leo XIII, a dangerous ecclesiastical policy that was reversed by St. Pius X [see comment below]. The condemnation paved the way for the rise of a new theology that would be of great influence at Vatican II.

***

The Condemnation of Action Française and the Birth of the Nouvelle Theologie

Anthony Sistrom

The Condemnation of Action Française signaled the end of Thomist dominance in French seminary studies and the arrival of the nouvelle theologie. As a result three leading Thomists were fired from their jobs: Fr. Henri LeFloch, cssp, rector of the French seminary in Rome, Cardinal Louis Billot, SJ who taught at the Greg and Fr. Thomas Pegues, OP regent of studies at St. Maximin in Provence.

On the eve of the Condemnation, Fr. Marie Vincent Bernadot, OP and Fr. Etienne Lajeunie, OP met with Pius XI. They found common goals. Pius XI wanted to normalize relations with the French government and an opening for his beloved Catholic Action. Frs. Bernadot and Lajeunie wanted the removal of Fr. Pegues from his post at St. Maximin and a ban on Action Française as the bastion of Thomism.

In the wake of the condemnation Fr. Bernadot would launch his journal, La Vie Intellectuelle and a publishing house, Editions du Cerf that would publish Catholicism by Fr. Henri de Lubac, SJ. The conventional account of this affair is newly told by Fr. Peter Bernardi, SJ “Action Française Catholicism and Opposition to Vatican II’s Dignitatis Humanae” in the festschrift A Realist Church: Essays in honor of Fr. Joseph Komonchak. Fr. Bernardi tries to convict Cardinal Billot of antiliberalism, failing to convict Pius XI for a monumental error which Pius XII would reverse in his first act as pope. Vide Philippe Prevost, “Condamnation de l’Action française : preferer la verite historique a route papolatrie.” But the last word belongs to a saint. Fr. Roger Thomas Calmel, OP writes at the end of his life (1974):

Between the two modernisms there was the savage condemnation of Action Francaise; in that lamentable affair a pope very authoritarian unable to understand that his repressive operations carried out according to his desire, had no. other outcome than disaster; first the crushing of Catholics attached to the Syllabus, then the rise of an episcopacy not opposed to modern errors; regarding the famous Catholic Action, it would not find any advantage other than politicizing itself and bending in the direction of socialism.

“The ralliement of Leo XIII: a pastoral experience that moved away from doctrine” – by Roberto de Mattei

Posted by New Catholic at 3/19/2015 @ Rorate-Caeli.blogspot.com/2015/03/the-ralliement-of-leo-xiii-pastoral.html

Roberto de Mattei

Corrispondenza Romana

March 18, 2015

The 1905 Separation, the complete failure of Leo XIII’s policy of ralliement: “The Separation: ‘Let us separate – I will keep your assets.'”

Leo XIII (1878-1903) was certainly one of the most important Popes in modern times, not only for the length of his pontificate, second only to Blessed Pius IX’s, but above all for the extent and richness of his Magisterium. His teaching includes encyclicals of fundamental importance, such as Aeterni Patris (1879) on the restoration of Thomist philosophy, Arcanum (1880) on the indissolubility of marriage, Humanum genus (1884) against Masonry, L’Immortale Dei (1885) on the Christian constitution of the States and Rerum Novarum (1891) on the question of work and social life.

The Magisterium of Pope Gioacchino Pecci appears as an organic corpus, in continuation with the teachings of his predecessor Pius IX as well as his successor Pius X. The real turning point and novelty of the Leonine pontificate, by contrast, is in regard to his ecclesiastical politics and pastoral approach to modernity. Leo XIII’s government was characterized in fact, by the ambitious project of reaffirming the Primate of the Apostolic See through a redefinition of its relationship with the European States and the reconciliation of the Church with the modern world. The politics of ralliement, that is, of reconciliation with the French, secular, Masonic Third Republic, formed its basis.

The Third Republic was conducting a violent campaign of de-Christianization, particularly in the scholastic field. For Leo XIII, the responsibility of this anticlericalism lay with the monarchists who were fighting the Republic in the name of their Catholic faith. In this way they were provoking the hate of the republicans against Catholicism. In order to disarm the republicans, it was necessary to convince them that the Church was not adverse to the Republic, but only to secularism. And to convince them, he retained that there was no other way than to support the republican institutions.

In reality, the Third Republic was not an abstract republic, but the centralized Jacobin daughter of the French Revolution. Its program of secularization in France was not an accessory element, but the reason itself for the existence of the republican regime. The republicans were what they were because they were anti-Catholic. They hated the Church in the Monarchy, in the same way that the monarchists were anti-republican because they were Catholics who loved the Church in the Monarchy. The encyclical Au milieu des solicitudes of 1891, through which Leo XIII launched the ralliement did not ask Catholics to become republicans, but the instructions from the Holy See to nuncios and bishops, coming from the Pontiff himself, interpreted his encyclical in this sense. Unprecedented pressure was exercised on the faithful, even going as far as making them believe that whoever continued to support the monarchy publically was committing a grave sin. Catholics were split into two currents of the “ralliés” and the “réfractaires”, as had happened in 1791, at the time of the civil Constitution for clergy. The ralliés accepted the Pope’s pastoral indications as they attached infallibility to his words in all fields, including those political and pastoral.

The réfractaires who were Catholics with better theological and spiritual formation, on the other hand, resisted the politics of ralliement, retaining that, inasmuch as it was a pastoral act, it could not be considered infallible and thus could be erroneous. Jean Madiran, who did a lucid critique of ralliement (in Les deux démocraties, NEL, Paris 1977), noted that Leo XIII had asked the monarchists to abandon the monarchy in the name of religion in order to conduct a more efficacious battle in defense of the faith. Except that, far from fighting this battle, with the ralliement, he effected a ruinous policy of détente with the enemies of the Church.

Despite Leo XIII and his Secretary of State Mariano Rampolla’s endeavor, this policy of dialogue was a sensational failure and unable to obtain the objectives it proposed. The Anti-Christian behavior of the Third Republic increased in violence, until culminating in Loi concernant la Séparation des Eglises et de l’Etat on December 9th 1905, known as “the Combes law” which suppressed all financing and public recognition of the Church; it considered religion merely in the private dimension and not in the social one; it established that ecclesiastical goods be confiscated by the State, while buildings of worship were given over gratuitously to “associations cultuelles” elected by the faithful, without Church approval. The Concordat of 1801, that had for a century regulated the relations between France and the Holy See, and that Leo XIII had desired to preserve at all costs, fell wretchedly to pieces.

The republican battle against the Church, however, encountered the new Pope along its way, – Pius X, elected to the Papal throne on August 4th 1903. With his encyclicals Vehementer nos of February 11th 1906, Gravissimo officii of August 10th of the same year, Une fois encore of January 6th 1907, Pius X, assisted by his Secretary of State Raffaele Merry del Val, he protested solemnly against the secular laws, urging Catholics to oppose them through all legal means, with the aim of conserving the traditions and values of Catholic France. Faced with this determination, the Third Republic did not dare activate the persecution fully, so as to avoid the creation of martyrs, and thus renounced the closing of the churches and the imprisonment of priests. Pius X’s politics without concessions, proved to be far-sighted. The law of separation was never applied with rigor and the Pope’s appeal contributed to a great rebirth of Catholicism in France on the eve of the First World War. Pius X’s ecclesiastical politics, the opposite of his predecessor’s, represents, in the final analysis, an unappealable historical condemnation of the ralliement.

Leo XIII never professed liberal errors, on the contrary, he explicitly condemned them. The historian, nevertheless, cannot ignore the contradiction between Pope Pecci’s Magisterium and his political and pastoral stance. In the encyclicals Diuturnum illud, Immortale Dei e Libertas, he reiterated and developed the political doctrine of Gregory XVI and Pius IX, but the policy of ralliement contradicted his doctrinal premises. Leo XIII, far from his intentions, encouraged, at the level of praxis, those ideas and tendencies that he condemned on the doctrinal level. If we attribute the significance of a spiritual attitude to the word liberal, of a political tendency to concessions and compromise, we have to conclude that Leo XIII had a liberal spirit. This liberal spirit was manifested principally as an attempt to resolve the problems posed by modernity, through the arms of diplomatic negotiation and compromises, rather than with the intransigence of principles and a political and cultural battle. In this sense, as I have shown in my recent volume Il ralliement di Leone XIII. Il fallimento di un progetto pastorale (Le Lettere, Florence 2014), the principal consequences of ralliement, were of a psychological and cultural order more than a political one. To this strategy the ecclesiastic “Third Party” was called upon, which throughout the 20th century tried to find an intermediate position between modernists and anti-modernists who were contending the issue.

The spirit of ralliement with the modern world has been around for more than a century, and the great temptation to which the Church is exposed to, is still [with us]. In this regard, a Pope of great doctrine such as Leo XIII made a grave error in pastoral strategy. The prophetic strength of St. Pius X is the opposite, in the intimate coherence of his pontificate between evangelical Truth and the life of the Church in the modern world, between theory and praxis, between doctrine and pastoral care, with no yielding to the lures of modernity.

Cardinal Cordes: 'Amoris Laetitia' -- There is a Risk of Abusing the Statements

Roman Curial Cardinal Cordes on "Amoris Laetitia": There arises the risk of abuse of the statements, if they do not remain anchored in word and spirit of the whole letter, but are singled out and are quoted selectively

Rome (kath.net) "The Papal Letter (Amoris Laetitia) is in the continuity of a long standing conception and teaching. It recalls the Second Vatican Council ("Gaudium et Spes"), the encyclical of Pope Paul VI."Humanae Vitae", the "theology of the body" - presented by John Paul II -., referring to the encyclical of Pope Benedict XVI "God is love" The German Cardinal Paul Josef Cordes explains this in an interview with the "Daily Mail"... Cordes sees the writing as a compendium of the Marriage and Family Pastoral which can truly give a fresh impulse.

On the question of the newspaper, whether the Pope did not go too far in two footnotes (336 and 351) relating to sections 300 and 305 of "Amoris Laetitia," the cardinal explained that with the careful reading of the document it comes to light that the pope wants to address any and all of the needs of even the most complex cases. This leads, according to Cordes, then "occasionally to very subtle arguments," such as the "conscience" or a "special situation".

The Cardinal then stated: "So the risk of misuse of his statements arise when they do not remain anchored around the letter in word and spirit -- are just singled out and quoted selectively. This is also with the reallocation of the problem to the secrecy of the confessional, can not be found as 'a loophole of mercy' -- as it was called for at the Synod of the German Bishops in Würzburg 1975."

According to Cordes, should the consideration of a particular case, according to "Amoris Laetitia"(no. 300) "this discernment can never prescind from the Gospel demands of truth and charity, as proposed by the Church". The Pope himself explicitly warned against this connection that the Church would represent a "double standard." The corresponding footnotes, says the Cardinal, must be seen "in light of theological basic orientation" such as the Council of Trent (Canon 7) or the first Post-synodal letter to the family.

"Divorced and remarried faithful 'stand in the way, in so far as allowance (i.e., the Eucharist reception), since their state of life and their living conditions are in objective contradiction to every covenant of love between Christ and the Church, which the Eucharist makes visible and present'(Familiaris consortio No. 84)." This sentence from Familiaris Consortio can not be archived. For it was John Paul II. who the Catholic Church owes for the systematic reflection on this subject. Last but not least, according to Cordes. this Pope as a saint, a witness to the truth of the highest authority.

Link to Kath.net...

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

Edit: at least he's not like Father Longenecker who uses it as an opportunity to attack real Catholics who are legitimately scandalized. He actually comes to the table with a rational account.

AMDG

The Vatican and Orthodox Churches Work Together to Rebuild Damaged Churches in Syria

(Rome) The Holy See of the Roman Catholic Church and the Moscow Patriarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church will jointly rebuild the churches destroyed in Syrian war.

A joint working group of the Vatican and the Russian Orthodox Church have travelled to Syria and Lebanon to gain an impression of the extent of the devastation. Consultations were also held on site. This was recently announced by the Moscow Patriarchate with a press release.

The reconstruction is primarily concerned with the sanctuaries and monasteries which were destroyed by Islamic jihadists and in the course of fighting. Soon will they will start generating an accurate list of Christian shrines. Using this list, we'll establish priorities together, so Moscow.

The Catholic-Orthodox delegation that traveled to the Middle East includes the Catholic Archbishop of Moscow, Msgr. Paolo Pezzi, and the Orthodox priest and theologian Stephan Igumnov, the Secretary for Interfaith Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate. The two church officials were accompanied by representatives of the Pontifical relief organization Church in Need.

Text: Giuseppe Nardi Picture: Youtube (Screenshot)

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com AMDG

New U.S. Nuncio: a Return to the Age of Jadot

 Edit: another Olde Liberal appointment, as we reported earlier, Archbishop Christopher Pierre will surely bring more awful appointments to the American scene. NCR correctly recalls Jadot, who did so much to undermine the Catholic Church in the U.S. after the tragic Council.

VATICAN CITY

Pope Francis has replaced the Vatican’s ambassador to the United States just days after he was lauded by the country's bishops at their seminary in Rome during a posh annual honors banquet.

Italian Archbishop Carlo Viganò -- who has represented the Vatican in Washington since 2011 but came under scrutiny when his name surfaced last year in questions over how Francis came to meet controversial Kentucky county clerk Kim Davis during his September U.S. trip -- will be succeeded by French Archbishop Christophe Pierre.

The replacement of what is formally known as the apostolic nuncio to the United States, which had been rumored for months, was announced by the Vatican Tuesday. Viganò had turned 75, the traditional retirement age for Catholic bishops, in January.

http://ncronline.org/blogs/ncr-today/francis-replaces-vatican-ambassador-vigano-days-after-he-s-lauded-us-bishops

Amoris Laetitia Makes Bishop Fellay Want to Cry

Edit: on the blog chiesapostconcilio, they report Bishop Fellay's reaction to the Post-Synodal Exhortation during his sermon for Holy Mass on April 10th at Puy en Valay. It was first mentioned at the Italian site of the Italian district here.

"... An Apostolic Exhortation which bears the title "The joy of love," but that makes us cry. This exhortation is a summary of the two synods on marriage. It is very long and contains many things that are right, that they are beautiful, and after building a beautiful building, a beautiful boat, the Supreme Pontiff has made a hole in the keel of the boat, along the waterline. You all know what is happening. Needless to say, the hole was made by taking all possible precautions, thus it is needless to say that the hole is small: the boat sinks! Our Lord himself said that even an iota, not a single iota will be taken away by the law of God. When God speaks, his words do not admit exceptions, when God commands, he is of infinite wisdom that has provided for all possible cases. There is no exception to the law of God. And now, suddenly, it is claimed that this law of marriage, which keeps saying that "marriage is indissoluble" (the repeats this sentence, it must be said), then it says you can, despite everything, have exceptions in the sense that these so-called divorced and remarried in this state of mortal sin may be in a state of grace, and therefore could receive communion. It is very serious! Very serious! I think they do not sufficiently measure the seriousness of what has been said. Needless to say, are small exceptions put there in the corner; that's how it went to Communion in the hand and as I explained with the little hole in the vessel is appropriate, the boat sinks! "(1)

Santa Marta Surprises: Poor Judas Was Victim of the Judges of the "Letter of the Law"

It would have been better had he never been born.

Edit: according to Denziger-Bergoglio, there was some astonishment at Santa Marta over the suicide of Judas, that he his repentance led to the despair of suicide. It's an astonishing exegesis which even rises to challenge Jesus' own words.  Denziger-Bergoglio sarcastically suggests:

 It is a just an act of reparation for the murder of "poor Judas". For Denzinger-Bergoglio, after reading the homily today at Casa Santa Marta, published by L'Osservatore Romano, we propose to the Congregation for Divine Worship to declare Judas patron and protector of the Post-Synodal Exhortation, Amoris Laetitia (for whoever wants to: cultidiv@ccdds.va and vpr-sacramenti@ccdds.va), towards a new concept of repentance and purpose of amendment that overcomes the outdated ideas, clinging to the ossified letter that the Catholic Church has supported for two millennia. And also ... let yourself be surprised by God!

Francis in Santa Marta: 'the teachers of the letter' and the closed heart - they use the word of God against the word of God. For them it is not for the people but for their prefabricated pattern.

By Armin Schwibach

Rome (kath.net/as) The first reading from Acts (Acts 6:8 to 15) was the focus of the sermon by Pope Francis at Mass in the chapel of the Vatican guest house "Domus Sanctae Marthae" on Monday for the third week of the Easter cycle. The teachers of the law charge Stephanus with slander, because "they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit with which he spoke" (v.10). They "incited men with the statement: We have heard how he railed against Moses and God. They stirred up the people, the elders and the scribes, pressed upon him, grabbed him and dragged him to the council."(v 11-12).

Their hearts, said the Pope, were closed to the truth of God. It clinging solely to the truth of the law, more than that in the truth of the letter. So these people could find no other way than the lie, false witnesses and death.

Jesus gave them just criticized this attitude, because "their fathers had killed the prophets", and now they erected monuments just for those prophets. The answer of "teacher of the letter" was more cynical than hypocritical: "If we had lived at the time of our fathers, we would not have acted this way." And so they would now wash your hands and keep themselves clean. But "your heart is closed to the Word of God, it is closed to the truth, it is closed to the messenger of God who delivers the prophecy to bring it to the people of God":

"It hurts me when I read that portion from the Gospel of Matthew (Mt 27:3 to 10), as the Judas repents of his act, he goes to the chief priests to return the coins, and says, 'I have sinned'. They reply, 'What is that to us? That is your thing!' A heart locked before this poor, repentant man who did not know what he should do. 'That's your thing,' and he went away and hanged himself. And what did they do, as Judas goes away to hang himself? Do they talk and say, 'Well, that's a poor man'? No! Immediately it comes down to money: 'You must not put the money in the treasury; because there is blood on it'.... This rule, and this, and this, and this ... - The teacher of the letter!"

"For them a person's life is indifferent," said Francis continuing, "for them the repentance of Judas is indifferent: the Gospel says that he repented his act and he was then rejected. For them, only the prefabricated pattern of laws are important, and many words and many things that they have built themselves. And that is the hardness of their hearts. And that is the hardness of the heart, the folly of the heart of this people who, seeking evidence in light of the fact that they can not resist the truth of Stephen, condemn him with false witnesses." Stephan's end, like all prophets, he ends like Jesus.

And this repeats itself in the history of the Church:

"The story tells of many people who killed who have been convicted, even though they were innocent: condemned with the word of God, against the word of God. Think. There are the witch hunts or to the trial of Saint Joan of Arc, so many others who were burned, who were sentenced because they did not not meet with the word of God according to their judges. [Schwabach here omits that Holy Father said, "Even Judas".] This is the example of Jesus, who died on the Cross - because of his loyalty and obedience to the Word of the Father. But with how much tenderness did Jesus say to the disciples of Emmaus: You foolish men! How slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken."(Lk 24,25) Today we want to pray to the Lord that he looks with the same tenderness in the small or large follies of our heart, that he caresses us that he says to us, you foolish men? How difficult is it for you yet!' and then begins to explain these things."

What Rome Expects of the Society of Pius X -- Interview of Archbishop Guido Pozzo

Archbishop Guido Pozzo (Ecclesia Dei) on the "Preconditions" for the
canonical recognition of the Society with Rome

(Rome) What Rome expects from the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) said Curial Archbishop Guido Pozzo, Secretary of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei . The interview was held by Luca Marcolivio for the press Zenit .

About two weeks ago Bishop Bernard Fellay, Superior General of the SSPX was received by Pope Francis at the Vatican. The private audience caused quite a stir since it is known that Francis has no strong sympathies for  tradition.

New "Doctrinal Preamble"?

Curial Archbishop Pozzo described the meeting as "useful" on the "path" of the SSPX,  "towards a full reconciliation" that "will be made a canonical recognition of the institute."  Currently it is "primarily" about creating a more trusting and respectful air, "to overcome  hardening and distrust".

When asked which "basic requirements" Rome is urging of the SSPX for recognition, Pozzo said that the SSPX would submit a "doctrinal statement" which "at the appropriate moment," is one that will contain all the "essential and necessary points". Pozzo described such points as: "the approval of the creed, the sacramental bond and hierarchical communion with the Roman Pontiff, the head of the episcopal college united with him."

Specifically the Curial Archbishop explained, "that the SSPX is asked to recognize that only the Magisterium of the Church is entrusted with the preservation, defense and interpretation of the deposit of faith, and the Magisterium is not higher than the Word of God, but this serves only to hand down doctrine." The supreme Magisterium is the "authentic interpreter" even of  the previous texts of the Magisterium  "in the light of the everlasting tradition," including those of the Second Vatican Council. So there is no place for "opposing novelties", but only for a deeper understanding of the Depositum fidei, "always in the same doctrine, the same sense and in the same tradition."

Discussions have "led to a significant clarification" of Vatican II

As for the Second Vatican Council, the trodden path of the "recent years" have "led to a significant clarification," said Pozzo. "The 2nd Vatican Council can only be understood in the context of the entire tradition of the Church and her constant magisterium in an appropriate manner."  In addition, a different weighting and thus binding of each document is observed. The person in charge of Ecclesia Dei emphasized that there even after "the canonical recognition" the conciliar documents can continue to be discussed. The aim of the "discussion, deepening" must be to "avoid any misunderstandings and contradictions" that "to our knowledge are currently spread throughout the Church".

Outstanding issues such as religious freedom, ecumenism are not "an obstacle to recognition"

The open questions about the relationship between church and state, freedom of religion, practice of ecumenism and inter-religious dialogue as well as "some aspects of liturgical reform and their actual use" would "be discussed and remain points to be clarified." but however, "they are not an obstacle for the canonical and legal recognition" of the SSPX.

Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Image: La Croix (Screenshot)

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

Link to Katholisches...

AMDG

Apostolic Exhortation is Disastrous

            Roberto de Mattei

Corrispondenza Romana 

April 10, 2016

[Rorate Caeli] With the post-synod Apostolic Exhortation, Amoris laetitia, published on April 8th, Pope Francis has officially given his opinion on marital moral issues which have been under discussion for two years now.

At the Consistory of 20th and 21st of February 2014, Francis had entrusted the task of introducing the debate on this theme to Cardinal Kasper.  Cardinal Kasper’s theses, according to which the Church must change Her matrimonial praxis, formed the leit motiv of the two Synods on the Family in 2014 and 2015 and now forms the basis of Pope Francis’ Exhortation.

In the course of these two years, illustrious cardinals, bishops, theologians and philosophers have intervened in the debate to demonstrate that there must be an intimate coherence between the Church’s doctrine and praxis. Pastoral care in fact, is based on dogmatic and moral doctrine. “There cannot be pastoral care that is in dissonance with the Church’s truths and morality, in contrast with Her laws and not oriented to the ideal achievement of the Christian life!”  revealed Cardinal Velasio De Paolis, in his opening address at the Umbrian Ecclesiastical Tribunal on March 27th 2014. 

http://rorate-caeli.blogspot.com/2016/04/de-mattei-post-synod-exhortation-amoris.html?m=1

"Devout" Astronaut Takes Hosts Into Space

Edit: it shouldn't be hard, even for a space cadet, but the primacy of personal conscience has its way with objective. The article from Catholic Family News is worthwhile.

First of all, Saint Thomas Aquinas taught that “out of reverence for this Sacrament, nothing touches it but what is consecrated.” Thus, he said the sacred vessels of the altar are consecrated for this holy purpose, but also, the priest’s hands are consecrated for touching this Sacrament. And St. Thomas said that it is therefore not lawful for anyone else to touch it, except to save it from desecration. (Summa, III, Q. 82. Art. 3)

This reverence for the Blessed Sacrament, and even for the smallest particles, was incorporated into the traditional Mass — the Old Latin Mass — which contained strict rubrics on this point:

http://www.cfnews.org/page10/page79/day_the_host_dropped.html

[Christian Daily] Astronaut Mike Hopkins, a devout [sic] Catholic, sometimes finds himself praying and also taking Communion inside the Cupola, a small module on the International Space Station (ISS) with seven large bay windows that give a panoramic view of the Earth.

"When you see the Earth from that vantage point and see all the natural beauty that exists, it's hard not to sit there and realize there has to be a higher power that has made this," Hopkins said after his 2013 space mission, as quoted by Catholic SNews Service.

Under a special arrangement with the Church, the astronaut takes six consecrated hosts with him aboard the space module. When broken into pieces, the hosts are enough for a once-a-week Communion for Hopkins on-board the ISS.

http://christiandaily.com/article/catholic-astronauts-still-keep-their-faith-strong-while-in-space/51153.htm

SSPX Disagreements With Vatican II Are No Obstacle

Edit: this is the deal breaker, which was denied to the Society lay time documents were brought to them for signing.

[Rorate Caeli] Abp. Pozzo, Secretary of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei, spoke to the semi-official daily of the French episcopate, La Croix, on the relations between the Holy See and the Society of St. Pius X, and among other relevant things said the following:

"The difficulties raised by the SSPX regarding Church-State relations and religious freedom,the practice of ecumenism, and the dialogue with non-Christian religions, of certain aspects of the liturgical reform, and of its concrete application, remain the object of discussion and clarification, Abp. Pozzo [of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei] added, but they are not an obstacle for the canonical and legal recognition of the SSPX."

http://rorate-caeli.blogspot.com/2016/04/main-vatican-ecclesia-dei-official.html?m=1

Statement of the Confraternity of Catholic Clergy in response to the Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia

The priests and deacons of the Confraternity of Catholic Clergy in England and Wales affirm with the Holy Father, in his Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia, the unchanging teaching of Christ and His Church regarding marriage, the family, and human sexuality.  They renew their pledge to continue to follow the teaching and example of Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd, who acts with great clemency towards sinners, but also with pastoral clarity: ‘Go and sin no more’. (John 8:11)

 

Our members are heartened that the Exhortation calls for a return to the wisdom of Humanae Vitae (82), defence of the ‘inalienable rights’ of the unborn child (83), re-affirmation of the role of parents as the primary educators of their children (84), and warning of an encroaching ‘gender ideology’ (56).  In response to the Holy Father’s call, the Confraternity's members particularly pledge themselves to work for better and more profound marriage preparation and accompaniment, and clearer, unashamed and more positive articulation of the good news of the joy of human love.

At a time when moral relativism has caused such confusion, the Confraternity recognises the need to work with pastoral sensitivity, guided by the consistent principles of Scripture and Tradition, and will help its members to discern wisely how to help individuals hurt by the crisis in marriage and family life of which the Holy Father speaks.  Those in irregular unions are a particular focus of pastoral concern, and need to be brought closer to Christ and his Church.  Confraternity clergy will continue to encourage those in problematic marital circumstances to move forward, by personal discernment in the light of the Gospel, and to deepen their involvement in the life of the Church, without losing sight of the fact that certain situations constitute objective and public states of sin.  The Church's pastors must never neglect the call to repentance, and the need to avoid scandal which would cause the weak to fall, while accompanying their people with kindness and understanding.

http://www.confraternityccb.org.uk/CCCB/News/Entries/2016/4/9_Statement_of_the_Confraternity_of_Catholic_Clergy_in_response_to_the_Apostolic_Exhortation_Amoris_Laetitia.html

We Now Know Who Pope Francis is Voting For in the Next US Presidential Election

 

(Rome) The officially preferred the Vatican political current is to the far left. The recent confirmation delivers the invitation of Senator Bernie Sanders in the Vatican. Sanders is the challenger to Hillary Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination. He was invited, and he alone of all the presidential candidates by the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, the actual executive arm of papal policy

The social (istic)  perspective on the world

Arranger in the background is Curia Bishop Marcelo Sánchez Sorondo. Sanchez Sorondo already threaded the change of course in terms of UN post-Millennium Development Goals and climate change. The prerequisite is that the Vatican gives up its opposition to the neo-Malthusian population policy. A requirement that Pope Francis in September 2013 in an interview with the Roman Jesuit journal Civilta Cattolica unofficially announced, and Sanchez Sorondo actively converts into concrete policy coin (see his interview about the alleged link between abortion and climate change ).

In terms of the socio-political (abortion, gender ideology)  Sanders represents the same positions as Clinton, and these are far removed from those of the Catholic Church. Where Clinton and Sanders differ most clearly is in the area of ​​social and economic policies. That is thew key to the Vatican's  invitation, while his abortion advocacy is no longer an obstacle under Pope Francis.

Next week Bernie Sanders will fly to Rome, although the decisive phase of the pre-selection battle is taking place  in the US. He is to participate in a meeting of the Vatican Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences. The reason for the meeting are the anniversaries of two social encyclicals: 25 years of the encyclical Centesismus annus and 125 years of the encyclical Rerum Novarum .

The 1891 by Pope Leo XIII. published encyclical Rerum Novarum , the first social encyclical of the Church's history and is considered the "mother of all social encyclicals". Centesimus annus was published in 1991 under Pope John Paul II. for  its 100th anniversary, which was a response to the collapse of the communist dictatorship in the Soviet bloc.

Who Pope Francis would have liked as the 45th President of the USA

How the US public sees the relationship between Pope Francis and Bernie Sanders

Sanders is the only one of five official US presidential candidates, who was invited to the Vatican. Who Pope Francis would like to see in person as the 45th President of the United States at the White House, is thus brought to expression in this unveiling. Whether such an open declaration and taking sides is good for the Church, is an entirely different matter.

The preference is of a non-confessional nature. Among the five remaining candidates, there is not a Catholic, only a former Catholic, and that's not Sanders. On the Republican side, the three candidates still in the race: Donald Trump is Presbyterian, Ted Cruz, a Southern Baptist and John Kasich, who was been baptized as a Catholic, is today an Anglicans. Hillary Clinton from the Democrats is Methodist, her challenger Bernie Sanders is a Jew. Sanders would be the first Jewish state and government chief in US history.

Lesbos and the "democratic socialist"

The Vatican meeting will be held on 15-16 April. Details are not yet known. There is no provision, says Vatican Radio that Sanders makes a speech. The meeting is therefore likely to be only the external occasion for a private meeting with Pope Francis. The coincidence between Sanders and the pope is expected to take place on Friday, because on Saturday, Francis will be flying on to the Greek island of Lesbos . Also, in terms of immigration policy, the Catholic Church leader and US Senator from Vermont are among all presidential candidates, the closest.

Sanders describes himself as a " democratic socialist " and a "great supporter of the Pope". In the primary campaign for the Democratic nomination, he moved back to being  favored against Clinton. The race is not yet decided.

To the biggest Italian daily Corriere della Sera. Curia Bishop Sanchez Sorondo explained the Sanders-invitation with the words, "because he shows a real interest in the study of papal documents."  During the election campaign for the most powerful political office in the world that is not enough to justify an obvious partisanship. He had "seen no other candidates who quote the Pope in their election campaign," said Sanchez Sorondo, who comes from Argentina with Pope Francis and is one of the closest confidants of Pope.

Duel Pope - Donald Trump

However, the other candidate, Sanders opponent Clinton, has already tried to avail herself with Pope Francis for their election campaign.

It was, however, a remote duel between Donald Trump, the leading candidate of the Republicans, and the Pope on February 18. The reason was  immigration policy. [He was silent during the Same-sex marriage dispute in Italy.] During his visit to Mexico, Francis had mixed into politics during his visit to the  border fence in the US and  dueled with Trump for the first time in the local election campaign. With the exclusive invitation for Sanders in the Vatican, it is clear in any case that Pope Francis least favors Donald Trump on the popularity scale to Bernie Sanders.

This is clearly too much of political partisanship and too much of the over-emphasis on his person over the Office, which is irritating to high Vatican representatives.

At the Vatican conference alongside other prominent Sanders Links politicians will take part, including the presidents of Ecuador and Bolivia. The latter gave Pope Francis in July 2014, a sickle-and-hammer-cross , which was seen by many Catholics as distasteful, if not blasphemous.

Participants Jeffrey Sachs: climate change and population reduction

For $ 25.90: Francis and Sanders 2016

Among the conference participants next week will also be Jeffrey Sachs, director of the Earth Institute of Columbia University and as personal adviser to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. His role sounds more meaningful: as Jeffrey Sachs is a leading proponent of the theory of human-inflicted climate change, on which  the current world climate policy is based. He is also a representative of the neo-Malthusian theory, which calls for a radical population reduction. Nevertheless, he managed to with the influence of Sanchez Sorondo, to be appointed by Pope Francis as a member of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences. An appointment in the field of "non-negotiable values" (Benedict XVI.) shows that a paradigm shift has occurred.

Weight of Catholic voters - remodeling the church in the United States

In terms of weight (number, organization and money) the German Bishops 'Conference and the US Bishops' Conference, form the two antipodes of this pontificate. The German Bishops' Conference wants Francis to win,  the US wants him to remodeling. His meddling in the US election campaign also has to do with it.

Catholics account for nearly one quarter of the US electorate. If you count the former Catholics (like John Kasich) to even a third. Catholics in the US,  traditionally vote democratic for historical reasons.That changed under the Republican US President Ronald Reagan (1981-1989). In the latest polls,  the Catholic electorate showed transitions to being deeply divided. The unilateral papal partisanship that differs strikingly from the position of the US episcopate,  contains all the elements within itself to sharpen this division.

Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Image: accidentalsocialist / cleveland.com lookhuman.com (screenshots)

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

Link to Katholisches...

AMDG