Thursday, August 27, 2015

Cardinal Braz de Aviz Suggests Mixed Orders to Solve Collapse of Religious Orders

(New York) The Catholic Church loses 2,000 religious   world-wide  every year. The loss has its clear focus in Europe. Cardinal João Braz de Aviz, Prefect of the Roman Congregation of Religious drew a bleak picture for the future of Orders in Europe. "The average age of women religious in Europe is 85 years, which means that they will soon die without being replaced." In other words, they are dying out.
The  Focolare Movement cardinal spoke  last August 19 at a meeting with religious in the Cathedral of Sao Paulo in Brazil. Currently, there are approximately 1.5 million religious and 3 million members of congregations and communities of consecrated life worldwide. The former Archbishop of Brasilia in 2011 was appointed by Pope Benedict XVI. as Prefect of the Congregation of Religious and 2013, confirmed by Pope Francis in this office. Growth is takingn place  on a larger scale in Africa and Asia. In Europe the situation is, however, dramatic.

No comparable collapse in European Church history

Said Cardinal Braz de Aviz of collapse knows nothing comparable in the Church's history, at least not on this scale, which affects almost the entire European continent. A similarly dramatic process of dissolution was experienced in  Catholic monastic life was only experienced in the countries of the Reformation. The circumstances are still difficult to compare. Early 16th century it was an explosive appearance, while a long infirmity is now to be observed, to name only one aspect. In many parts of Europe, the honors system was then powerful and alive.
Cardinal Braz de Aviz also personally embodies the de facto destruction of the Order of the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate. Their tree bore fruit,  in contrast to many other religious, and yet - or perhaps because, as some people think - it was needed. 

"Knots" that are to be untied for Recovery


Brothers and sisters of the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate: Founder Father Manelli celebrated in the traditional rite. "By their fruits ..."
The Government site of the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais has published several "knots", which need to be  resolved, according to Cardinal Braz de Aviz, to establish Catholic monastic life again.
First, the cardinal spoke to the vow of poverty: Many religious possess millions in assets, such as deposits with the Vatican Bank IOR, half of whose deposits belongs  to Orders. He spoke of an order with a religious vow of poverty which, without saying who  the Order is, has 30 million in the bank.
The Cardinal also complained of the often "oppressive" ways  obedience is lived within Community. Obedience is necessary, but must be exercised as an obedience between brothers. In this context, the prefect complained lack of a "turnover" of superiors. He mentioned the example of religious superiors who are vested in their office at 35 years old, who are "damaging to their subordinates". There were also religious
 superiors, the Cardinal said, who change the rules of the order to remain in office for life.

"Family atmosphere" and "mixed communities"

Braz de Aviz also reported the case of a former provincial superior of a  congregation of women religious who petitioned for a dispensation at the age of 80 from the order in order to fulfill her "desire for motherhood." They left the order and have adopted a three-month-old child.
The cardinal commented that it was necessary to create a family atmosphere in the communities. As a possible way to a familial atmosphere the Cardinal called for the establishment of joint communities. In this regard, there are outdated ideas to overcome, said the prefect of the Congregation for Religious: "In the past we had difficulties when it comes to living together, because it was said that one must be careful, because the woman is a danger because the man is a danger ..." ,
The cardinal added the limitation that he "would not recommend the creation of mixed communities in the same house" at least, because the third vow of chastity, would have to be retained.
The speech, according to the report, had been acknowledged by the attending religious representatives with long applause. The President of the Conference of Religious of Brazil in the state of Sao Paulo, Sr. Ivone Lourdes Fritzen, thanked Cardinal Braz de Aviz for his "openness and transparency", as regards the challenges of religious life.
Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Bild: Estado de Minas (Screenshot)/MiL
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
Link...
AMDG

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

¨A religious group will betray the Church¨ said Pedro Regis in Bahia, Brazil. Keep a close on on the Focolare Movement in the near future.

Anonymous said...

Religious Life committed suicide in after the council at the hand of individuals such as Braz de Aviz. These characters live out of a fantasy structure camouflaged as “theological” but which is pathological in practice and tragic in consequences. What they accomplished at the end of the sixties for religious, is now falling upon us as a church in its totality. He and his ilk require either commitment, incarceration or retirement.

Anonymous said...

Mixed orders are a recipe for disaster ,as proven by the one founded in Medjugorje by Fr.Tomislav Vlašić who ended up a father in more ways then one. http://www.spectator.co.uk/features/2189236/sex-lies-and-apparitions/

Boniface said...

The Church experimented with mixed religious houses briefly in the 12th century before utterly abandoning the idea.

Anonymous said...

The Church is ONE, other churches are just names and show, better few but true than mixed zones. God bless+

Anonymous said...

I do not feel any sympathy for the European religious Orders, especially of nuns which have abandoned their traditional habits decades ago, and all forms of true Catholic tradition in religious life. They have abandoned schools, hospitals and other holy apostolates in favor of “justice, peace and the integrity of creation, human trafficking and justice for women”. The habit, prayer, Catholic tradtion, discipline, loyalty to Church teachings have been thrown the trash by the “deforms” of Vatican II and the abuses in religious life that sprang from them.
Most of the major religious Orders of nuns in Europe, and here in the USA DO have median ages approaching 85. So do some large religious Orders of men such as the Trappists, Jesuits, Augustinians, etc. All of these Orders were once famous for holy lives and exemplary witnesses to the beauty and joy which radiated from traditional religious life nourished by the Tridentine Latin Mass and Catholic devotions such as Eucharistic adoration and the Rosary. This Cardinal Bras de Aviz, who was a disasterous appointment of Benedict XVI replacing the wonderful Cardinal Franc Rode is a perfect example of the filth and corruption of Vatican II religious life.
Who can forget the great and monumental works of some of the greatest religious Orders in the Church: the Jesuits, the Franciscans (dying out rapidly in Europe), the Capuchins, Dominicans, Trappists, Salesians, Sisters of Mercy, Sisters of Mary Reparatrix, Daughters of Charity, Sisters of Saint Joseph, Franciscan Missionaries of the Divine Motherhood, Franciscan Missionaries of Mary, Salesial Sisters, Little Sisters of the Poor, etc.
Nearly all will be gone in a decade or so, victim of the filth and corruption, the laxity and turning away from the Faith. This present Pope also epitomizes such an example.
What we need, besides a new and traditional, holy Pope, is a movement among young people, priests, religious sisters, and even laity, who could come together and establish new, traditional branches of the dying Vatican II Orders. Then when the once holy and flourishing but now dying original Orders fade away, the new communities will be there to carry on the work. The SSPX has provided good example by supporting some new traditional offshoots of dying Vatican Ii Orders, but much more needs to be done.
If not, the Church will be infinitely poorer in decades to come. We have Vatican II, its reforms, and people like Bras de Aviz and Pope Francis to thank for it all

Gabriel said...

Catholics began leaving the Church in droves well before Vat II. There was a massive disengagement of 40% in Western countries between 1954 and 1962.

Anonymous said...

Do you have any proof?

Anonymous said...

I wonder if there desire for mixed orders has anything to do w/this statement:
"He spoke of an order with a religious vow of poverty which, without saying who the Order is, has 30 million in the bank."

I've heard F complaining of "rich" orders that have one or two members - wonder if the mixed thing is so that the homos can get their hands on the sisters' assets (vs their asses as one would normally surmise).

Anonymous said...

Another bizarre and totally ridiculous and false statement by Gabriel, trying to put blame on anything except where it belongs...Vatican II, it's deforms, and the accelerated collapse caused by Francis and people like Bras de Aviz.

Athelstane said...

This will not end well.

But then, it's not going to end well for these orders no matter what course is adopted, barring something miraculous.

Tancred said...

There were problems in the 19th century where people like Gaybriel were staking out their positions, but the decline really began in earnest in the early sixties, thanks to the near complete capitulation at Vatican II led by the evil Progressives led by the evil Suennens and a host of like-minded periti.

Anonymous said...

There were some nuns in their seventies who had spent their lives in enclosed orders ,their convents sold they were moved to apartments,it must have been a nightmare for some of them going from a community to isolation in a high rise block of apartments ,not all welcomed the changes some were given no choice.

Jim said...

Sign your post.

Catholic Mission said...

Franciscans of the Immaculate Lay Association intervention needed

http://eucharistandmission.blogspot.it/2015/08/franciscans-of-immaculate-lay_29.html

Anonymous said...

MAKE VIRAL: MAN ERUPTS DURING CATHOLIC CLIMATE CHANGE MEETING. WANTS HIS CHURCH BACK. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPMMIXASNt0