Pope Francis Celebrates Surprise "ad Deum" Mass --- Greeting From Secretary of State Parolin?

(Vatican) Francis Pope celebrated a surprise Holy Mass last Thursday over the grave of Pope John Paul II, which has drawn some attention. The Pope has celebrated ad Deum for the first time.

The celebration was held in the side chapel of St. Peter's Basilica, in which the body of John Paul II was reburied after his beatification, from the Crypt of the Popes below the main nave. There's no people's altar in the side chape. Such, however, Pope Francis could have been put back as easily as he had placed it in the Sistine Chapel, when he celebrated on the day after his election for the cardinals gathered for his first Mass as pope.

Attention was paid to the direciton of celebration because Pope Francis, when compared to his predecessor Benedict XVI., is considered little sensitive to liturgy and looks with some distrust on the part of the Church, which is committed to the traditional liturgy and tradition.

At the celebration is ad Deum completely normal for all Privatzelebrationen in St. Peter's Basilica, which take place on the side altars. The clothing of his concelebrants leads to a lack of liturgical sensibility open mind. "The act of the pope is neither blatantly something special. And yet it is of importance. If he does not ad Deum would want to celebrate, a word from him would have been enough to get put down a table, forgiveness, a refectory. So we consider it merit and as a gesture of good will," said Messa in Latino.

The Spanish Catholic Church historian and blogger Francisco de la Cigoña wonders if it is a signal to the traditionalists. The gesture would be, says de la Cigoña, in continuity with the greeting message to the Second International Pilgrimage to Rome, which had its culmination in the Pontifical Mass in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman rite in St. Peter on October 26th.

De la Cigoña was astonished here that the greeting message was signed by the new Secretary of State, Curial Archbishop Pietro Parolin on behalf of the Pope, although he could not take possession of his post for health reasons. It's a sign that the offices of the State Secretariat to continue working in a familiar form, though the Church is currently without a Secretary of State. Monsignor Parolin is still for convalescence in his home in northern Italy. What appears so far is the first and only official act of Archbishop Parolin, it probably had been asked like this for by the Pope himself. Otherwise, the procedure is hardly explicable, says de la Cigoña.

Text: Giuseppe Nardi

Image: Messa in Latino / Osservatore Romano

Link katholisches... AMGD

Pope Francis Names Nuncio Pietro Parolin to Secretary of State -- A Few Days After ++Dolan's Criticism

(Vatican) Pope Francis has appointed Italian Archbishop Pietro Parolin, Vatican diplomat as the new Secretary of State. The decision has been made even if it has not yet officially been announced by the Vatican. Monsignor Parolin, currently Apostolic Nuncio to Venezuela, will be the successor of Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, whom Pope Benedict XVI. had appointed to the Secretary of State. At age 58, the diplomat from Veneto will soon belong to the youngest cardinals of the Catholic Church.

From 2002 to 2009, Monsignor Parolin was Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs at the State Secretariat of the Roman Curia. The career development shows that the Vatican diplomat comes from the school of former Secretary of State Cardinal Angelo Sodano and is close to him. His name was mentioned immediately after the election of Pope Francis among the possible candidates for the highest office in the Roman Curia behind the Pope.

The press agency of the U.S. Bishops Conference Catholic News Agency (CNA) had already reported in late June that Nuncio Parolin would succeed Cardinal Bertone in office and his appointment was predicted for those days ( see separate report ). It came to naught. For the time being. At the end of July the influential Archbishop of New York, Cardinal Timothy Dolan unexpectedly issued a harsh criticism of Pope Francis ( see separate report). The main point of criticism was that he had not yet gotten to the appointment of a new Secretary of State. Cardinal Dolan criticized the new Pope in an abrupt tone a lack of "management" and "leadership". The cardinal said in an interview with the National Catholic Reporter, is expected to have a change at the head of the Secretariat of State more concretely before the summer break. "I expect that after the summer break one or the other signal more in the direction of change in the administration." Shortly after the criticism of Cardinal found a wider audience, then the appointment of the Apostolic Nuncio to Venezuela is to be number two in the Vatican, as it had already announced CNA one and a half months ago.

As Under Secretary, Monsignor Parolin was responsible for diplomatic negotiations between Israel and the Holy See, inter alia, by 2009. In 2011 the diplomate seemed to be the fifth proposed replacement for the Archdiocese of Milan, but did not reach the three proposed candidates. Benedict XVI. appointed Archbishop, the then Patriarch of Venice, Cardinal Angelo Scola.

He was born on 17 January 1955 in Schiavon, Pietro Parolin was ordained a priest on 26 April 1980 of the Diocese of Vicenza. In 2009 he was appointed Apostolic Nuncio to Venezuela, and thus in the active service in the Vatican diplomatic corps in this activity. At the same time, Pope Benedict XVI. appointed him Titular Archbishop of Aquipendium. His episcopal consecration was on 12 September 2009 by Pope Benedict XVI. The diocese itself was established in 1649 in the Papal States Acquapendente (Lazio) and was thus abolished in 1986 by John Paul II, and was incorporated into the diocese of Viterbo. In 1991, was the first appointment of a titular bishop.

Text: Giuseppe Nardi
 Image: Settimo Cielo
Trans:  Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
AMGD

Holy Father recalls Dietrich von Hildebrand's Warning About False Irenicism.

The Mysterious Staff of the Cardinal Chamberlain

During the sedevacant the Cardinal Chamberlain carries his own insignia.

Rome (kath.net/un) The photographs and video recordings of the closing of the papal apartments show Cardinal Chamberlain Tarcisio Bertone with a golden staff with dark red velour coating.  Upon his naming as Camerlengo of the Church, Cardinal Bertone was handed this staff with the following words:  “Accipe baculum in signup jurisdictions et auctoritatis.  In nominee Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti. Amen -- Take this staff as a sign of jurisdiction and authority.  In the name of the Father the Son and the Holy Ghost. Amen.”

He entrusted the Cardinal Chamberlain immediately after this ceremony as his representative, the Vicechamberlain of the Roman Church.  During the lifetime of the Pope, the staff remains with the Vicecamerlego -- this stems from the time, when the worthies were in the office of the Governor of Rome and occupied a “bastone del governo” (Staff of Government).  The Cardinal Chamberlain takes the staff to himself when the Pope is dead or resigned.

At all important functions of the Sedivacant, beginning with the sealing of the Apostolic Palace, are his own.  So it can be said that he is entrusted with the worldly affairs of the Church during the time when there is no pope with a high decree of power.

kath.net...

Power Struggle in the Vatican -- Benedict XVI's Plan to Finish it -- New Secretary of State?

Edit: A book appearing in Italian has caused much disquiet in the Vatican and has angered Benedict XVI. Everything revolves upon the recent appearance of "Sua Santita" (Your Holiness) by Gianluigi Nuzzi. Within there are numerous letters direct from the Pope or his personal secretary Msgr Georg Gänswein, confidential letters. Regarding the breach of trust and the damage to the private sphere, it has infuriated the Pope. The Vatican announced last Saturday that it plans to proceed legally with respect of a "theft" and "receiving of stolen goods". Legal steps have already been considered both within and outside of the Vatican.

Code name "maria" -- behind the data leak in the staff surrounding Cardinal Sodano is suspected

The Journalist Gianluigi Nuzzi insists that "Maria" is his source. Behind the code name there are several personalities, who -- so says the author -- documents what the Vatican would have kept damned up, in order to bring the Church State's suppressed facts into the light.

What is sold to the public as a "noble deed" in the "struggle against dark powers" is seen quite differently in the Vatican. Behind the publication of the confidential documents is placed a power struggle of the old guard, who were in control before the appointment of the non-diplomat Cardinal Tarscio Bertone as Secretary of State. The main source for the data skimming are suspected to be associates of Bertone's predecessor Cardinal Sodano.

Bertone's Appointment was not Digested by the "Old Guard"

Cardinal Sodano originated in contrast too his successor from the renowned Diplomatic Academy in the Piazza Minerva in Rome. Not that Cardinal Sodano himself is to be considered as an initiator, very probably however, his closest associates. The public dissemination of the leaks has only one goal: to discredit the current occupant of the Cardinal Secretary and also to strike at Pope Benedict through that.

Many of the letters published in Nuzzi's book are top secret. The Secretary of the Pope will, after he has read them, then conduct them from the Papal residence to the Secretary of State. There someone intercepted them made photocopies and disseminated these. The leak has been looked for throughout the hierarchy of the Church State. The perpetrators or perpetrator had at least an intentional or unintentional cover. Only then will it be known how they moved about in the smallest city state in the world.

The Investigation Commission Reckons Quick Discovery

An ad hoc investigation commission under the direction of Cardinal Julian Herranz, Josef Tomko and Salvatore de Giorgi should place a name on the lea and bring to light, who did this "monstrous" and "criminal breach of confidence". The machinations are already in motion. It will be determined that the responsible will be very quickly discovered. The circle of persons, and the access to secret documents in the archive of the Secretary of State is very small.

Diplomats Against Salesians

The new governing style of Cardinal Bertone in the Secretariat finds its way and can be summed up under the formula "less diplomacy and more Gospel", which pushes the old team to anger. In addition to that there were several errors that the new Cardinal Secretary of State committed, especially in the first five years of the reign of Pope Benedict XVI. It was not enough for Cardinal Bertone to be the prophetic and intellectual to support the momentum of the Pope and make it visible within the Church and outside. Above all, he carried within the Roman Curia a Salesian preference to items that traditionally were in the hands of Vatican Diplomacy. The Cardinal Secretary of State is himself a Salesian of Don Bosco. He desire to surround himself with people he trusts, of course. The newly appointed were distinguished with academic qualifications, but it's the additional fact that they have no diplomatic experience. For that reason the cleft between the new and the old guard has been deepened. The appointment of the Bishop of Savona, Domenico Calcagno, as apostolic administrator of the Holy See, Bishop of Vercelli, Giuseppe Versaldi, prefect for the Economic Affairs and the rector of the Salesian University, Enrico Dal Covolo, at the Pontifical Lateran University. All three qualified for these tasks undoubtedly raised the ire of the old team. And it seems that the anger was so great that they felt it would be necessary to have a new Secretary of State. In this mood were the nominations of the Pope himself, which touched on his closest circle, as an object of criticism. There were the new secretaries, of course, brought their own way of working, and the women who lead the papal household. John Paul II had to be nuns, preferably Benedict XVI. consecrated laymen of Memores Domini, as the Vatikanist Paolo Rodari notes.

Viganò's Case Made the Struggle Public

The case exemplifies Viganò's grave internal struggle and let him be openly visible to the outside for the first time. This was followed in rapid succession and are thus likely to be directly related. Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, a faithful follower of the former Secretary of State Cardinal Sodano, Secretary of the Governorate since 2009, the Papal State, was removed in October 2011 before the expiration of his term of office of the Roman Curia. Viganò, number two in the administrative office of the Papal States, wanted to become the new governor and compete to succeed Cardinal Lajolo. Instead, he was deported to the post of nuncio to the United States of America. The ambassadorship is one of the most prestigious in the world, but Viganò did not want his "deportation" to take place without a word. Probably in the hope of being able to prevent his transfer, the first "bomb" was placed by the Curial Archbishop himself Er wrote several letters, among other things, to the Secretary of State Cardinal Bertone and Pope Benedict XVI., In which he called the names of those from whom he claimed that they had placed him in a bad light "to polish him off" with the goal to leave him out. The letter to Cardinal Bertone was leaked to the media and then read in a television broadcast by journalist Gianluigi Nuzzi, who has since published a book. The cost to Viganò in the U.S. was so ill-timed. Especially now that the bishops are locked in a bitter confrontation against President Obama for religious freedom.

The "Old Guard" Campaigned for Vignano


Viganò maintained in the letter that he had been removed because he wanted to take action against "lazy apples" who had allegedly doing business for themselves behind the Pope's back. He did not forget to note that these "apples" stood close to the Secretary of State Cardinal Bertone. But there is nothing more could be done. The Pope had decided that Viganò after his two strongly worded letters which immediately appeared in the media, and probably because of it, should leave Rome. He had to go although in his favor, and ultimately against Secretary of State Bertone, several important cardinals had offered support who invariably belonged to the old guard of John Paul II and who had prevailed mainly in the last years of his pontificate. Among them was Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, the former prefect of the Congregation for Bishops, who was regarded in 2006 as a possible successor to Sodano as Cardinal Secretary of State, Cardinal Georges Cottier, theologian of the Pontifical House, and especially Cardinal Agostino Cacciavillan who sent the Pope an urgent letter, and is also a close companion of Cardinal Sodano.


Benedict XVI's determined advocate of transparency is intended to be discredited as "coverup man".

One purpose of the publicly leaked documents is also to discredit Pope Benedict XVI. The Pope, who more than any other, has been an advocate from the very beginning of his pontificate and has internally insisted on the tackling on several occasions the unpleasant and painful affairs openly and aggressively, and this was not only demanded of the pedophile scandal, but exemplified by the new rules that should target indiscretions could be conceived in distorted manners like "patching" and "coverup". Whoever committed this breach of trust proved himself to be aware of the anti-religious sentiments of many journalists. "New Guard" did not give expected backing to the Pope.

The truth is quite different than it appears

Behind the backs of the Pope two groups contribute to the Roman Curia in a bitter struggle against each other: the old guard, which Benedict XVI. wanted to overthrow after his election and the new guard, which he gave his confidence, but that expectation has not really paid out. The hoped-for support and strengthen the reform and renewal plan that Pope Benedict XVI. envision for the Church and with whom he wants to equip the church for the third millennium did not materialize. These include a profound reorientation as those in Europe to abandon the traditional idea of ​​a national church. It seems different, heterodox old forces want desperately to hold on to. To some extent they also include the paradox of "grassroots" groups that adorn themselves with the label of radical to the old forces that desperately want to hold on. The pope sees the other hand, as a faithful Catholic minority in Europe and ventures in contrast to the say-so of bishops and lay representatives. He sees that his task is to strengthen the minority and not indulge in the fiction of a national church, which no longer exists.

The Pope actually victims of intrigue - appointment of a new Cardinal Secretary of State?

Pope Benedict XVI. is the real victim of scheming game with this. But the pope is different than commonly assumed, a strong man of action. His understanding of many things is distinguished only by prevailing ideas. At the Roman Curia things are undergoing structural alterations, including the appointment of a new Cardinal Secretary of State. As a candidate for the office of the Vatican's "prime minister" there is the French Curial Archbishop Dominique Mamberti. Mamberti, currently Head of the Department of Foreign Affairs of the Secretariat of State, and thus is the "foreign minister" of the Holy See is one of the Diplomatic Corps. He is said to possess the ability to work well with both factions too. This peace is what the Pope desires in order to free the back for its renewal program. Thus lie ahead with the appointment of a new prefect of the Congregation in two key changes. his plans for a fundamental transformation of the Roman Curia.

The Pope Plans a Fundamental Transformation of the Roman Curia

Pope Benedict XVI. Last Wednesday, took advantage of a meeting with the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, to speak about the future of the SSPX, was to receive the Regensburg Bishop Gerhard Ludwig Muller in audience. Personnel decisions have not been on either of the items. Which is why all there are still other names included for the Secretary of State and the CDF.
German Text: Giuseppe Nardi Bild: Petrus Translation: Tancred Link to katholisches...

Factions Fighting for Position in the Vatican

Edit: Considering how the Jesuit, Father Becker, was passed over for a Cardinal's hat, when he's clearly in good health, there's a lot going on at the Secretary of State. It seems that Cardinal Bertone is opposing some of the more conservative appointments, but then, it also seems as though the criticisms being leveled against him aren't very substantial either. It's also interesting in light of frantic reports in the Italian press about a supposed threat on the Pope's person.

It is not impossible that these Cardinals have a foreseeable future in the Congregation of Doctrine and the Faith.

(kreuz.net) On the 12th of January the journalist Franco Massimo reported about apparent factionalism in the Milan daily 'Corriere della Sera'.

There are two factions: the group of State Secretary Cardinal Bertone and his opponents.

Between the lines, Massimo ascertained that the opponents of the Secretary of State are to be found in the ranks of the Italian Bishops Conference.

There was  [?]  even a group of Cardinals who intend to draw up an anti-Bertone memorandum.

Inner-Italian Conflict

Massimo says that with the most recent increase in the Consistory of Cardinals -- 30 of 120 -- has generated a lot of frustration.

At the same time, the Italian Bishops' Conference and the Vatican agrees that the Italians will not be able to agree on a candidate at the next Papal election.

Thus, Massimo points out the lines of conflict.

The Confidence of the Secretary of State


Of the new Cardinals there are three followers of Secretary of State Bertone:

- Archbishop Domenico Calgano, the President of Apsa, which manages the assets of the Holy See.

- Archbishop Giuseppe Versaldi, the President of the Prefecture for Economic Affairs of the Holy See.

-Archbishop Giuseppe Bertello, the President of the Vatican Governorate.

Msgr Versalde had originally been Cardinal Bertoni's candidate for the Archdiocese of Turin.

Actually, the Italian Bishops' Conference chose another candidate -- Msgr. Cesare Nosiglia (67).

Thus Msgr Versalde has been summoned to Rome, where he is to receive a Cardinal's hat before the current Archbishop of Turin.

In any case, the Secretary of State had no luck when the Patriarch of Venice, Angelo Cardinal Scola was named Archbishop of Milan.

According to Massimo's information, he is to have opposed this nomination.

The Charges Against Cardinal Bertone

The journalist explains that the Pope had not once succeeded in calming the conflict between the Bertone group and their opponents -- although he has publicly and privately called them to order.

Against Cardinal Bertone there are many -- often unspecific -- charges:

-Through the naming of new Cardinals his power base will -- in so far as a powerless Vatican generally allows -- grow further.

-He has made the Secretariat of State into a kind of Vice-Pope.

-He is one of the worst Secretaries of State, which the Vatican has ever had.

- He is indebted to provincialism and has reduced the international profile of the Catholic Church.

Two Unmentioned Things


Two important things were left unmentioned by Massimo.

Cardinal Bertone is already 77 -- and consequently a Secretary of State on call for retirement.

Other than that, there is a Salesian of Cardinal rank, the Old Liberal Prefect of the Congregation for Causes of Saints, Cardinal Angelo Amato (72).

Like Cardinal Bertone, he is a former Secretary of the Congregation of Doctrine and the Faith.
It is not to be ruled out that Cardinal Amato could could return to there as Prefect.

Still More Spies in the Vatican

The sister was in the apartment of the Cardinal tidying up.  Then she pushed against the statue of the Mother of God of Fatima, which then fell to the floor.

Cardinal Casaroli's Coat of Arms

(kreuz.net)Pope John Paul II. was not the only one in the Vatican who pursued spies.  The Italian news agency, 'Adnekronos' reported on the 29th of December.


Even the former Secretary of State, Agostino Cardinal Casaroli († 1998), found a bug in his home.

It was for that reason that the Cardinal is said to have been shadowed by the Soviet Secret Service, KGB throughout the 80s.

Cardinal Casaroli was  in office from 1979 to 1990.

According to reports from 'Adnkronis' the Cardinal had a little statue of Our Lady of Fatima in his dining room.

One morning  a sister, who was a servant  in the residence, bumped into the statue.  The statue fell to the floor whereupon a bug was suddenly visible.

The Italian Secret Service had determined in the  90er that the bug had been placed by Irina Trollevera in the residence of the Secretary of State.

Mrs Trollerova was a Czech citizen and was married to the Cardinal's nephew.

Already since the election of John Paul II († 2005) in  1978, the KGB had planned to wiretap the Pope.

The goal of the exercise was, "to discredit the Church and the Pope himself with disinformation-actions and provocations."

Actually Pope John Paul II. had already had his experience with Secret Services.

He was already being investigated by the Communist Secret Police of his own country.

Link to the original at kreuz.net...

Rome is Powerless in Germany

Most of the colleagues in 'Networks of Catholic Priests' are not prepared any longer to endure the patience-solutions, which have been proposed by the Roman authorities.

There are still only old Liberals coming in German, unscrupulous careerists in mitres.

(kreuz.net) "As the Priest Network was in Rome for the Priestly Year this Summer and we have been in contact with various dicasteries,  we were shaken by the powerlessness and helplessness of the Roman authorities in the face of Germany's plight."

Hendrick Jolie (46) said this in an interview in the most recent edition of the Catholic monthly magazine 'Kirchliche Umschau'.

 Fr. Jolie is a Pastor in the Diocese of Mainz and member of the Spokesman Committee of the 'Network of Catholic Priests' [Netzwerks Katholischer Priester].

"It is not even so, that one doesn't know in Rome, what is going on in Germany." -- he continued.

The 'Network' has been on a visit to Rome preparing an appeal, as it brought its own dossier on conditions in the German Church: "The opposite was actually the case."

A Congregation answered that it is "still much worst" than portrayed in the dossier.

In Germany The Problems Pile Up

Especially in connection with the British Hero Bishop Richard Williamson Rome was schoked, that the Bishops themselves were not too shy to distance themselves from the Pope rather than defend him.

Fr. Jolie counted numerous problems in the German Church:

-  The Pro-Abort organization 'Donum Vitae'

-  The ecumenical scandal- 'Kirchentag' with its homosexual propaganda

-  The distribution of Holy Communion to unbelievers.

-  The 'Central Committee of German Catholics' with its unspeakable President

-  The infamous ‘Königsteiner Erklärung’

-  The so-called pastoral teams which bury the office of shepherd.

For Fr. Jolie it is "always the same little game":  "Rome writes an instruction, a reprimand or the Pope admonishes the Bishop personally, to correct certain erroneous developments, and what happens -- nothing!"

The Thread of Patience is About to Break

 In Rome they feel powerless to go publicly against the powerful German Church-tax apparatus:

"Letters, reprimands and directions from Rome are met by the local authorities with so much disinterest, that it takes your breath away, is what someone in the Secretary of State Office told us."

For Father Jolie nothing else can be done, "than either to wait for the disintegration of the German Church-tax Monster or even waiting for a >>biological soluion<< in expectation on a decision maker."

Then he finally adds:  "Most colleagues in the Network are not ready to put up with the "Patience-Solution" being proposed by the Roman authorities.

 Link to original, kreuz.net...