Cardinal Müller Adds Dubia of His Own!

[Sandro Magister] Two books have come out recently, both of them by prominent authors and both in response to the “dubia” submitted to Pope Francis one year ago by four cardinals, concerning the post-synodal exhortation “Amoris Laetitia.”

The first of these books, published in Italy by Ares, has already prompted a lot of discussion. It is by Rocco Buttiglione, a well-known scholar of philosophy and an authoritative interpreter of the philosophical thought of John Paul II, today a staunch defender of the “openness” introduced by Francis regarding communion for the divorced and remarried, and an equally resolute proponent of the perfect continuity between the magisterium of the current pope on the subject of morality and the encyclical “Veritatis Splendor” by pope Karol Wojtyla.

But even more than by what Buttiglione has written, which was already known, the discussion has been ignited by the preface for the same book, signed by Cardinal Gerhard L. Müller, the former prefect of the congregation for the doctrine of the faith.

http://magister.blogautore.espresso.repubblica.it/2017/11/06/the-dubia-are-more-alive-than-ever-and-cardinal-muller-is-adding-another-all-his-own/

AMDG

Canonization for John Paul I is Ramping up

"33-day Pope" complained a few hours before his death in September 1978 about severe pain in the upper chest - "La Stampa": confirmation of "heroic virtue" is imminent

Rome (kath.net/KAP) Details of the death of the "33-day Pope" John Paul I has come up now. Accordingly, the Pope complained a few hours before his death on 28 September 1978 about severe pain in the upper chest, but did not want to call a doctor. This supports the official account according to which John Paul I succumbed to a heart attack. The unexpectedly early end of the pontificate had provoked speculation about a possible murder.

The new findings are based on previously unpublished documents, which are now being published in a book by the vice-lawyer for the beatification of John Paul I, Stefania Falasca ("Papa Luciani - Chronicle of a Death"). The Vatican correspondent Andrea Tornielli quoted contents of the volume appearing on Tuesday at the weekend in advance in the online edition of the Italian newspaper "La Stampa".

According to Falasca, the note on the heart attack suffered by John Paul I in the presence of his secretary John Magee can be found in the report of the papal physician Renato Buzzonetti to the Vatican Secretariat of State immediately after the papacy. In addition to medical records of Albino Luciani, the later John Paul I, the book also documents cardinals' doubts about the cause of death: for example, the papal electors questioned doctors about possible signs of malign influence before the recent conclave.

On the day of the publication of Falasca's book, a session of the Congregation of the Causes of Saints will take place  on John Paul I in the Vatican. On Tuesday or Wednesday, according to Vatican correspondent Tornielli, a confirmation of the incumbent Pope Francis about the "heroic virtue" of his predecessor can be expected. This, together with the proof of a miracle, is a prerequisite for a beatification.

Photo: Pope John Paul I

AMDG

French Government Demands Removal of Cross Atop John Paul II Monument

The previously "balanced secularism" is being shaken in France by "attacks on Christ and the cross." The Diocese of Vanne will help to find a solution.

Ploermel (kath.net) The Paris administrative court had ruled that the cross must be removed on the larger-than-life monument of Pope John Paul II, kath.net has reported. Now the Diocese of Vannes is criticizing the decision. Although the statue does not belong to the church, but to the small town of Ploermel, the diocese does not want to challenge the decision in court, the diocese explained in a press release. But the diocese regrets the tendency that Christians are less and less visible in society. The previous "balanced secularism" France has been upset by "attacks on Christ and the cross." The Diocese of Vanne will help to find a solution.

Even the mayor of Ploermel is committed to the location of the cross. He suggests that the ground on which the statue stands should be given to a private person, and French law allows crosses to be displayed on private property. The seven-meter-high Pope statue is visited by tourists.
The dispute over the cross has long been internationally known. Even the Polish government has since intervened and expressed its concern for the process.

The statue in its original form


AMDG

Catholics Pray Rosary to Oppose Evils of False Ecumenism Endorsed by Grand Rapids Diocese

Edit: received this letter from a Catholic, Tyler Nethercott, who resides in Grand Rapids, Michigan, who organized a rosary prayer outside their cathedral to object to the false ecumenism going on, where the local ordinary and many others endorse the evils of the Protestant Revolt. 

Greetings,

I wanted to provide you with a recap of a prayerful protest at the Cathedral of St. Andrew in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

On Sunday, the Feast of Christ the King, there was an "Ecumenical Prayer Celebration" taking place to commemorate the 500 year anniversary of Martin Luther's schismatic revolt against Holy Mother Church.

This event was sponsored by none other than the local Catholic ordinary, Bishop David Walkowiak.

A video of the abominable event can be found here.

In the spirit of of so many great defenders of the faith before us, we had about 30 parishioners participate in the recitation of all 15 decades of the Most Holy Rosary while holding banners (for Our Lady, St. Joseph, and Christ the King) and posters (with professions of faith, a desire for true unity, and a call to pray the rosary). Our prayers and admonitions were, as St. Paul wrote to the Ephesians, "with all humility and mildness, with patience, supporting one another in charity."

We were able to gather near the entrance to the Cathedral on public property and earned the attention of nearly everyone passing by.

A handful of people stopped, one of them expressing his displeasure with us, another for 5 minutes of discussion...even an older priest who we humbly and respectfully reminded of his duty to oppose error (and not to promote it!).

It is certain that Our Lady and Our Lord Jesus Christ, on this special feast day, would find some solace in these prayers of reparation for so many lost souls divided by the errors of one of the most infamous men of the past two millennia.

Of note, please pray for a gentleman named Russell who joined us for all 15 decades. Russell is homeless and became Protestant during his adulthood after having been Catholic as a child. His wife died from cancer, and his mother just died. His family does not want anything to do with him.

There is all but certainly more to his story, but suffice it to say he still remembered all of the prayers. He was given a rosary and some money - neither of which did he ask for.

Let us pray that Our Lady will cover him in her mantle and help guide him back to the faith and to care for his temporal needs.

If you would like to email the Bishop to express your concern with this event (and so many others like it), I believe his email is:

dwalkowiak@dioceseofgrandrapids.org

Pax et Bonum

Tyler Nethercott

Oldest Frescoes of St. Benedict Rediscovered in the Ruins of Norcia Monastery

Newly Discovered Frescoes, St. Benedict of Nursia

(Rome) The heavy earthquakes that shook the birthplace of Benedict of Nursia in the late summer and early autumn of 2016 also brought down the consecrated basilica in Norcia's city center. In the rubble, the oldest fresco of the ba

silica was discovered last month.

It is a representation of the saint who founded the Benedictine order in the 6th century. "Due to the collapse caused by the earthquakes, the image came to light," said the Director of the Heritage Office of Umbria, Marica Mercalli. "At present, the collapse-endangered parts of the wall are being cleared away in the transept."

"A precious sign" from the rubble.

"The fresco is of great importance. It was discovered last March by the prior of the Benedictine monastery of Nursia, who also bears the significant name of Benedict. Now we were able to document it in all its beauty," says Mercalli.

The Benedictines knew nothing of this fresco before the earthquake. It only shone from the rubble of the church. "The discovery is a valuable sign for us," said the Prior.

After Napoleon had expelled the Benedictines from the birthplace of their founding father, the first return of monks took place in Holy Year 2000. It is an Old Rite convent that revives the Benedictine tradition in Norcia.

The monastic community lost everything in the earthquake, the monastery and the church. The basilica had been given to them by the local bishop of Spoleto for pastoral care, but also as convent church. In recent years, the monks gradually took the necessary steps for the celebration in the traditional form of the Roman Rite of restoration, as the basilica was up to the liturgical reform of 1969.

With the reconstruction of the basilica after the earthquake, however, the church was deprived of them again by the new local bishop, because he wants to rebuild the ruined church as "modern." This would be make its further use by the monks impossible anyway. The monks accepted the decision in humility and did not say a word about it. Others speak of an "unfriendly" act of the bishop, especially since the funds for the reconstruction were promised by the Italian Prime Minister.

The monks lived in tents after the earthquake. Meanwhile, they were able to build an emergency monastery and an emergency church made of wood, which were consecrated on the Feast of the Holy Cross.

Text: Gi useppe Nardi 
Image: Nebbie del Tempo (screenshot)
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
AMDG 

Guest Post: Priest Attacks Latin Mass Community for Not Doing Their Part in Heartland

Edit: the following is a Sunday guest post from Laramie.

Sharing The Love On Fatima's Anniversary

By Laramie Hirsch

You would think that on the centennial anniversary of an apparition foretelling the world's doom, a Catholic would expect to hear a homily discussing either apocalyptic themes or perhaps a call to repentance with heavy emphasis on the use of the confessional. Or, if you are attending a Novus Ordo parish on the anniversary of Fatima, you can perhaps expect to hear a lovely little sermon about "the beautiful Miracle of the Sun." Myself, I can imagine a priest droning on and on about the beauty of God's miracles without even once mentioning a thing about the messages of the omen.

None of this was the case at a certain diocesan parish that I sometimes discuss. Though this parish has been hosting a TLM community since the reign of Pope Benedict XVI, it has recently been coming under fire under the tenure of Tulsa's latest Pope-Francis-installed bishop.

Instead of mentioning anything at all about Fatima, the Latin Mass community was roasted by the priest for not "pulling their weight" with the collections. The overall message was this: Look folks, you have a nice Latin Mass thing going on here, but it ain't gonna pay for itself. We're in the red, and you need to pick up the slack.

Of course, the parish in question has been in the red before, so there's that. But on the other hand, this parish is in a very low-income part of the city--usually the kind of parish location where the TLM community is funneled to. But this sermon was given in spite of the fact that this year's collections were a substantial improvement from the previous year's collections.

Income

According to the parish church bulletin I've obtained, the facts and figures are thus:

Anglos (28% of the parish) contribute 40%
Hispanics (60% of the parish) contribute 46%
Latin (12% of the parish) contribute 24%

(The term "Anglos" is the priest's terminology, not mine. The priest even went in to comparing the annual income of the parish's neighborhood with the more well-off neighborhoods in the city.)

Now, consider how treasured the Hispanic community is to our bishops. Consider how they are embraced and welcomed with full love by the liberal Church hierarchy and Leftist priests throughout the United States. Consider how these priests will gladly stand outside the church to greet the Hispanic crowds with a smile. And then, consider the disdain that is showered upon those who take Catholicism seriously--the Latin Mass laity--who is considered the black sheep of the Catholic world.

In this situation, we see that the Latin laity brings in TWICE the amount of money that would represent them. Even when counting for sacramental donations and annual Kermes, the Hispanic community still cannot "carry their own weight." (A kermes is a sort of Hispanic festival that's held as a parish fundraiser.)

Nevertheless, the priest will continue to be stern, giving the congregation veiled threats of parish failure if they don't bring in more money.

The indelicate "sermon" was a slap in the face. To add insult to injury, this was only the second time the newly-installed priest--who is hostile to the TLM--gave any kind of homily to the Latin community. And, perhaps as expected, he did not help the Latin priest distribute communion.


Moral Of This Story

The New Order Church has it out for all remnants of the Catholic Church as your fathers knew it. It is easy to read about this sort of thing on the internet or in a book. But I must say, to witness this spectacle in person--the blackballing, the passive aggressiveness, the icing out--to see it all live and up front is quite startling to hear about.

A priest has recently been cited to say that:

"It's no use hankering for that 'Sunday Catholic' lifestyle which Traditionalists made a great effort to restore after the earthquake of Vatican II. Both the 1950s and the 1970s are gone forever. By this crisis God is purifying His Church, which may be reduced to numbers and to a lifestyle close to those of the early Church."

This same priest warns us that the beautiful buildings, relics, artwork, and museums will all be lost, so we should brace ourselves. Latin communities are holding on to the treasures of the Church by their fingertips. But at the end of the day, the laity doesn't carry the authority of a priesthood. We are told by Our Lady of Akita that the only arms which will remain for you will be the Rosary and the Sign left by my Son. This is not hard to imagine in a Catholic Church that now intends to celebrate Martin Luther.

The wolves are circling, and our previous pope fled in fear of them.

AMDG

Cardinal Brandmüller Demands That Pope Answers Dubia

[Cathcon] Last year, four cardinals had made public their criticism of the Pope with their "Dubia". For this they learned a great deal of counter-criticism. One of them now defends the requests to Francis.

The German Cardinal Walter Brandmüller defended the "Dubia", which he co-wrote, to Pope Francis. He understood the criticism that had triggered the publication of the questions. But the step was "only taken after a waiting for an answer", he said in the interview of the "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung" (Saturday). "And especially with regard to the fact that many believers have had the same questions and are waiting for an answer," the Cardinal explained.

"What do you mean, what phone calls, letters, inquiries we get?", Brandmüller continued. "They also say," Why do you not do anything, you Cardinals ? "We finally made an oath of office and are by office advisers to the Pope." They had asked for an audience, but they also did not receive an answer on this, the 88-year-old said.

http://cathcon.blogspot.com/2017/10/cardinal-brandmuller-demands-pope.html?m=1

AMDG

Vatican Rejects Accreditation to Lebanese Diplomat --- Because of Lodge Membership

Masonic Grand Lodge of England (London), the Mother of All
Lodges, which celebrates its tricentennial this year

(Rome) The Vatican has refused accreditation to the Lebanese ambassador to the Holy See for his membership in a Masonic lodge.

"I am a Mason, but not active"

Consul General Ibrahim visiting an Armenian Hierarch in the United States

Johnny Ibrahim, who currently serves as the Lebanese Consul General in Los Angeles, has been appointed Ambassador for the Holy See by his country's government. As the Vaticanist Franca Giansoldati reported yesterday, the reason his nomination was rejected by the Holy See attributed to his Freemasonry.

Johnny Ibrahim is said to be associated with the Masonic Grand Orient of France. He himself confirmed his lodge members, but assures us that he is not active. This is similar to how Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen explained himself last year. In three television debates, the two candidates of the Federal presidential ballot met each other. Each time his opponent confronted him with his lodge membership. Van der Bellen denied it twice, the third time he admitted it by saying that he had been active "only" for a few years, then ten years passively, and finally lapsed.

The Grand Orient of France is one of the world's largest Masonic organizations. The refusal of accreditation for Ibrahim equals a renewed condemnation of Freemasonry.

1717 - 2017: 300 years of Freemasonry

The lodges are celebrating their 300th anniversary this year. In 1717, the first Grand Lodge was built in London. A short time later, the Church pronounced the first condemnation because the worldview of the lodges was incompatible with Christianity. In recent decades, attempts have been made several times, especially in German-speaking countries, to lift the sentence. When the new Codex Iuris Canonici (CIC) was published in1983 and no explicit mention of Freemasonry was found in it, the matter was considered finished, the promoters of the Catholic-Mason reconciliation jubilated. Then came a damper.

Cardinal Biffis warning - Cardinal Ratzinger's clarification

Cardinal Giacomo Biffi, who co-authored the CIC, is said to have rushed to Pope John Paul II to voice his concern that some Church leaders see a "rapprochement" with Freemasonry. He is said to have told the pope:

"If Your Holiness cancels the canonical ban on Masonry, the next conclave will look like a Lodge."

Whether it actually happened that way can not be proven. The fact is that the then prefect of the Faith, Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, made it clear in the same year that in relation to Freemasonry there is no change in the ecclesiastical position. Due to the change of canon law, a Catholic, anyone initiated in the lodge, no longer automatically incurs excommunication. Instead, the CIC Canon 1374 demands that a "just punishment" be imposed upon the declaration of a lodge membership.

However, Cardinal Ratzinger made it clear that Catholics who belong to a Lodge are still not admitted to the sacraments, not because they are excommunicated, but because they are in a state of grave sin.

The Lebanese government will have to nominate another diplomat for ambassador to the Holy See. Lebanon is the country with the largest proportion of Christians in the Middle East.

Text: Giuseppe Nardi 
Image: Wikicommons / Westernprelacy (Screenshot)
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
AMDG

Novus Horror Missae: "Erotic Mass" in Diocese of Würzburg

Bistum.TV der Diözese Würzburg - „Erotik-Messe“:

"On February 14th is Valentine's Day, the day for all lovers. In the Schweinfurt Youth church, this day is also marked by love. Yes, even in the Bible, it crackles. Eroticism in the Holy Scriptures? Answers to this question are available at the Erotic Mass."

The Erotic Mass took place on Sunday, February 14, 2016, in the Church of St. Kilian, Schweinfurt.
Video at Cathcon...
AMDG

Corey Feldman to Blow Whistle on Pedophiles in Pizzagate

Edit: we've been following him for a long time, and we've always believed his testimony about this, although he hasn't named any names yet.


We've been trying to help bring visibility to the film, "An Open Secret".  It's amazing that the film can't find distribution.  It's an amazing expose, certainly worthy of awards, but the monsters the film targets are evidently too sacred.


She should have attacked the Catholic Church, she'd be the talk of the town!


Here's Corey Feldman's plea for help in the light of apparent threats on his life:


AMDG

Trudeau Publicly Declares Himself a Catholic!

Edit: clearly he's been to confession, renounced his support of sodomy, infanticide and is ready to wage war against Islam!

MONTREAL, May 19, 2017 (LifeSiteNews) — Archbishop of Montreal Christian Lépine has defended giving Holy Communion to Canada’s notoriously pro-abortion Catholic prime minister during Mass on Wednesday, describing it as “a gesture of hope.”

Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau received Holy Communion and was among the dignitaries who spoke from the sanctuary at a Mass marking Montreal’s 375th anniversary, and which CBC broadcast live from Notre Dame Cathedral.

Cardinal Gérald Lacroix of Quebec City, Cardinal Thomas Collins of Toronto, and papal nuncio Archbishop Luigi Bonazzi were among the prelates who concelebrated with Lépine.

The event was widely publicized, with the Catholic Register running a photo on its Facebook page. Video of the Mass was also archived on CPAC.

Photo: https://mobile.twitter.com/canadianpm/status/869277082144079872

AMDG

Morning Papal Mass Before Many Empty Chairs

Pope Francis at Mass yesterday in Santa Marta where there are more empty spaces

(Rome) Whenever Pope Francis celebrates Holy Mass in Santa Marta, pictures of it are published. So also yesterday, when he once again blamed the Catholic priests for something that does not exist. In the house chapel of the Vatican guest house, since the beginning of his pontificate, the Holy Mass has been celebrated at seven o'clock in the morning.

It is noticeable in the pictures that relatively few to very few believers are present. This observation is more and more frequent. The participation in a Holy Mass celebrated by the Pope is an extraordinary privilege. Catholics would be in queues of thousands if they had the opportunity to participate.

In the spring of 2015 various media, referring to the Vatican, reported that there were "too many requests" to participate in the morning celebrations. Franca Giansoldati wrote on 23 April 2015 in Il Messaggero:

"The Pope's Mass in Santa Marta is overbooked. There are not even enough chairs."

Neither the early morning hours nor the security controls would deter them.

"Of course, the Pope wants to let everyone in. He often goes against the gendarmes and the other employees, who try to contain and order the massive current. But even Pope Francis must bow to the good will, to the rules, because all the many people who write to him every day and ask for a place (also standing room) to listen to his sermon and participate in the liturgical celebration, would not even fit into St. Peter's. The current has grown slowly, continuously, unstoppably. The inquiries come from everywhere, from small, remote villages of Northern Italy as well as from inaccessible areas of the Amazon jungle. In short, it is a planetary phenomenon."

Is it because of the high safety standards? A screened off pope, however, does not really fit the role of the office. This is quite independent of the Pope, who is the ruler, but less so to a pontificate, which openly preaches "openness". Is it possible to manage the "current" in the organizational inability of the competent authorities in the Vatican? Or is it due to the invitation policy of the papal inner circle to leave only selected people close to the pope by means of exclusive access criteria?

We do not know and ask.

Text: Giuseppe Nardi 
Photo: Vatican Radio (Screenshot)

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

AMDG

Pope Sends Letter to Family of Murdered Journalist Who'd Exposed Clintons

Pope Francis has sent a rare letter of condolence to Malta following the murder of the investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, amid calls from her sons for the island’s prime minister to resign and mounting pressure for an international investigation.

Daphne Caruana Galizia: We knew establishment was out to get her – family

In a highly unusual gesture from the Vatican after the death of a private citizen, Francis wrote on Friday to the archbishop of Malta to say he was praying for the journalist’s family and the Maltese people “at this difficult moment” and was “saddened by the tragic death”.

Five days after Caruana Galizia’s death in a powerful car bomb yards from her home in the rural north of the island, an autopsy was being carried out on her body, but police have warned it could take several weeks before the evidence gathered from the site was fully assessed.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/oct/20/pope-writes-rare-letter-of-condolence-after-of-daphne-caruana-galizia

[The Conservative Fighters] As The Free Thought Project reported in April 2016, the Panama Papers had a direct effect on the United States by revealing both elite and criminal donors who helped to finance the careers of Hillary and Bill Clinton through unethical offshore tax shelters.

http://theconservativefighters.com/news/world-renowned-journalist-exposed-clinton-foundation-found-dead/

Vatican Announces Photo of Pope Benedict XVI.

(Rome) Yesterday evening Vatican spokesman Greg Burke published a photo of Benedict XVI on Twitter.

He did not mention a reason for the publication. Burke wrote simply:

"The emeritus pope, today at 5 pm."

H/t Katholisches...

AMDG

900 Year Old Cistercian Abbey Closes in Trier

The only remaining six monks will move to another monastery of their choice.

Trier (kath.net) After almost 900 years the Cistercian abbey Himmerod is dissolved. The decision to dissolve came from the Mehrerauer Congregation to which the abbey belonged. The only remaining six monks will move to another monastery of their choice. The abbey property will be passed on to the Diocese of Trier.

The abbey was founded in 1134 by Bernard of Clairvaux. In secularization, the Abbey was abolished and rebuilt at the beginning of the 20th century and in Baroque style. The Abbey church is currently not renovated after a fire under the organ and therefore can not be used at the moment, kath.net has reported. 

The Heiligenkreuz Abbey - a Cistercian Abbey in the Vienna Woods - commented on their Facebook page with this message "very, very sad". The Heiligenkreuz monk continued to write: "We are thinking in prayer of the remaining confreres of Himmerod, whose convent is now being dissolved because there were simply too few new vocations. Please pray with us together for many new spiritual vocations and for a renewal of the faith in us in Europe, so that more monasteries will not have to be closed, but on the contrary, new ones can be founded and revived! May God, through such sad news, move our hearts, so that we may be more energetic and courageous in our faith and in the Church!" 

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

AMDG

Anniversary of the Martyrdom of Marie Antoinette

Marie Antoinette, the most beautiful flower of the Hapsburg family was cruelly abused by her Republican jailers before she surmounted the platform to the jeering of a multitude with wavering steps, slightly trembling, as Hillaire Belloc describes her for posterity. Her once beautiful auburn hair disheveled and matted, yet she walked with the pitable dignity of a woman who'd been cruelly beaten but was not defeated. The Republican organs of propaganda had whipped the crowd into a frenzy of hate for this woman and she was condemned to die without proof, stripped of her children who'd later be murdered and preceeded in death by her beloved husband, the King.

The youthful courage of this gentle and sweet woman will be remembered in eternity and her noble death will be remembered long after the lies told about her have receeded like a bad dream.

AMDG

The Last: Faithful Auxiliary Bishop Laun Dismissed on 75th Birthday

Auxiliary Bishop Andreas Laun at the "Demo for All". On October
he became 75 and was retired by Pope Francis on the same day.

(Vienna) Pope Francis accepted the resignation of Auxiliary Bishop Andreas Laun of Salzburg yesterday, the 100th anniversary of the last Marian Apparition in Fatima. Thus, in the German-speaking world, an outstanding figure holding the bishop's office has lost his office, who dared to raise his voice against the prevailing Zeitgeist. Above all, he is the last of a remarkable attempt at a course correction in the Church of Austria.

The Moral Theologian belongs to the Order of the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales (OSFS). In 1995, Pope John Paul II appointed the son of an atheist who had converted to the Catholic faith as titular bishop of Libertina and auxiliary bishop of Salzburg. Libertina is a vanished bishopric of the Roman province of Africa Proconsularis, which belonged to the church province of Carthage and was located in present-day Tunisia. By the Islamic conquest of North Africa it vanished and is what could be seen as a reminder with regard to today's Islamization of Western Europe. Recently the City Council of the Austrian capital Vienna published figures showing that the Muslims in the age group 0 - 10 years already account for almost 30 percent.

On the very day of his 75th birthday, Monsignor Laun was dismissed from office. You could say someone was in a hurry. In fact, Laun was the last remaining representative of a series of episcopal appointments with which Pope John Paul II wanted to achieve a renewal of the Catholic Church in Austria through a change of course. The fact that he would never be anything more in the Austrian Church was established in the second half of the 1990s.

The attempted course correction by John Paul II

When John Paul II became pope, the revival of Modernism in the German-speaking world was already in front of everyone's eyes. Parallel to the Second Vatican Council, an unprecedented decline of the Catholic Church took place. John Paul II wanted to counter this erosion process. It is known from the history of the Church that real renewal, owing to the hierarchical composition of the Church, takes place only through a traditionally coherent action from below and above.

For this reason, John Paul II wanted to give a new episcopate to Austria. Bishop's appointments are the only, really substantial possibility for the Pope to intervene in a local church. Since appointments are rare, however, this path takes a lot of time, which is not always sufficient.

In the Apostolic Nunciature in Vienna, especially Titular Archbishop Michele Checchini it was rumored that the main driving force in the background was the Austrian Curial Cardinal Alfons Maria Stickler.

In the middle of the eighties, Monsignor Egon Kapellari, Bishop of Gurk-Klagenfurt, was appointed a "conservative" or "best" Bishop of Austria in 1982 by John Paul II. His appointment had still prepared Cecchini's predecessors.

The Cecchini era ...

With Nuntius Cecchini then it happened in one fell swoop from 1985 on. The most important personnel decision in the Church of Austria, the appointment of the Archbishop of Vienna, was the prelude to the day, when Cardinal Franz König, who was still omnipresent at that time, was sitting. He was followed by the Benedictine Hans Hermann Groër from Göttweig Abbey. The consequence was an outcry of the "modern". The Church is threatening a "reactionary turnaround," a "return to the past." From the first day onwards irreconcilable barriers were set up against the new Archbishop whom John Paul II had raised to the rank of Cardinal.

In 1987, he was assigned an auxiliary bishop, the professor of systematic theology, Msgr. Kurz Krenn.

In 1988, with an official appointment at the beginning of 1989, Msgr George Eder was appointed Archbishop of Salzburg and with that two of Archbishop seats of Austria were held by newly appointed men. As Primas Germaniae, Eder was allowed the purple.

In the same year, the appointment of Monsignor Klaus Küng, the first Opus Dei representative on a bishop's chair in the German-speaking world, followed the Bishop of Feldkirch. Each appointment triggered violent counter-campaigns by the left-wing Church circles, which found reflexive support for Church-hostile media.

In the same year the already over 79 year old Cecchini was replaced as nuncio. He was followed by Donato Squicciarini and a first toning down of the original line. Auxiliary Bishop Kurt Krenn was removed from Vienna in 1991, where he hoped to be one of the future Archbishops, and was appointed Bishop of St. Pölten. On the same day, the Dominican scholar, Christoph Schönborn, was appointed an auxiliary bishop for Vienna. The other appointments were listed under the keyword "moderate conservatives" and remained rather colorless. Only in Salzburg, at the request of Archbishop Eder, with the appointment of Andreas Laun, was there an appointment in the Cecchini line.

... and their end

In the same year, however, the attempt of John Paul II experienced a severe setback, which was soon to turn out to be an end. In March, one person made vague accusations of sexual abuse against Cardinal Groër. The background is still highly opaque. The media fell with pleasure on the matter, and the progressive Church circles sniffed out a unique opportunity. From this an efficient, albeit rather unholy alliance was formed, which successfully blew death on the prince of the Church.

On the 13th of April of that year, Auxiliary Bishop Schönborn was appointed Archbishop-Coadjutor. It was clear at the latest that he and not Bishop Krenn would be next Archbishop of Vienna. With the effect that Cardinal Groër was made archbishop emeritus on 14 September, the Feast of the Crucifixion. In 2004 Bishop Krenn was struck down with a few other ingredients under the pressure of a staged campaign. The two main phrases of the course correction, which John Paul II had tried, had been chased out of office with shame and disgrace. Groër because of his rank and Krenn due to his outstanding intellect and his pugnacity, were feared by their opponents.

The Church referendum and the 500,000 signatures had caused fear. Squicciarini was not Cecchini. From then on, Vienna's new Archbishop, Schönborn, had a weighty word to say, also in the case of episcopal appointments.

When Alois Kothgasser was appointed Bishop of Innsbruck in 1997, Laun's career as the Auxiliary Bishop in Salzburg had already reached its final destination. The wind had turned. With the appointment of Kothgasser in November 2002 as the successor of Archbishop Eder, it was firmly established.

Voice against the Zeitgeist

Particularly active in matrimonial and family pastoral care, Auxiliary Bishop Laun, for more than 20 years as a bishop, defended the Catholic morality and natural law in an area which is receiving an ever more dangerous bombardment of a de-Christianizing the world and under the pontificate of Pope Francis within the Church, is sometimes called into question by the highest authority. That even brought Laun in 2017 a criminal complaint by homophilic SPD deputies. The Catholic doctrine has become so intolerable to many.

Laun has referred to the affliction of many faithful priest as an "inner-Christian persecution by Christians."

He also courageously raised his voice for unborn children as an auxiliary bishop. This is a theme that the dominant Zeitgeist has forced under a bell of silence. In the German-speaking world, the Catholic Church has also largely adhered to this taboo since the 1980s. Laun always consciously broke this wall of silence. Whoever has heard him speak about the unborn and the natural order knows what a weighty voice the Church has in him and yet instead of helping him gave him a muzzle.

This last happened in October 2016 when he had to cancel his participation, including a speech to the Congress Defender of Europe in Linz, "at the insistence" of the new Archbishop of Salzburg, Franz Lackner OFM. As a new initiative, the Congress attempted to articulate a counter-position to the impending loss of identity through mass immigration, multiculturalism, Islamization and genderization. The political left saw this as a threat to their cultural hegemony, which had to be immediately stifled. Laun's recall is symptomatic of the new timidity of the Church towards the temporal spirit, which some already see as a complete capitulation, clearly like Goethe's fisherman: "Half he drew them, half he put them back."

Guardians for marriage, family and life

Laun himself formulated it a few days ago against the Salzburg Church newspaper Rupertusblatt as follows:

"He regards the guardianship as an order to the bishops to pay attention to what Catholics, theologians, religious instructors represent as the doctrine of the Church," as Laun says; 'And if necessary, they should also intervene to correct: lovingly, argumentatively, but also with courage and firmness'. Some people would have 'scolded' him if he had defended "delicate positions of the church", for example, in the area of Pro-​​life. 'I am truly sad about those defeats which people have added to my own Church.' Even with his criticism of the provisions allowing abortion in the first three months, he had encountered contradictions in Church circles - even among people who at that time had signed the popular move against this law. In short, when I was a bishop as guardian, I was not infrequently defamed and attacked."

The church has to talk "about God and not primarily about the climate and other fashionable themes", says Laun. It is always about "God or nothing," said the auxiliary bishop, referring to the title of a book by Cardinal Robert Sarah.

"Jesus has not brought eternal peace, not the healing of all the sick, not the overcoming of all famines or the prevention of natural catastrophes, but He has brought God."

As the publisher of the monthly Kirche Heute and his lectures, Laun goes beyond the borders of Austria and will certainly do so in the future as far as his health permits.

The last of a remarkable experiment

22 years ago, his appointment was part of a remarkable attempt to stop the decline of catholicity in Austria by changing the course of bishop's appointments. That his appointment was the last shows how long it has already been, that this attempt has failed. When Pope Benedict XVI In 2009, attempted to appoint the dogmatic theologian and country pastor, Gerhard Maria Wagner as auxiliary bishop of Linz, the alarm was sounded from the relevant side that the attempt to recover what had happened from 1985-1995 was imminent. It was immediately stifled in the bud. In Rome, cold feet were given to the published reaction. Even before Pastor Wagner could be ordained as a bishop and his office could be established, the appointment was again dropped. Five years later, Wagner described the state of the church in Austria with the words, "a pig stye which stinks".

As an auxiliary bishop, Laun could not change much, and he was not allowed to be more.

Text: Giuseppe Nardi 
Image: Demo for all

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

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