Bergoglio to US Bishops: People Who Are Fixated on the Ordination of Viri Probati and Female Deacons Will be Disappointed

Pope Francis: People who are fixed on the ordination of viri probati or female deacons will be disappointed with the letter "Querida Amazonia"

Vatican (kath.net) Pope Francis in a conversation with some US bishops from Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming on Monday during the "ad limina" visit made it clear that people fixated on ordaining viri probati or female deacons, will be disappointed by the post-synodal Apostolic Exhortation "Querida Amazonia".  The letter will be published tomorrow, Wednesday.  This is reported by CNS.

 Bishop Oscar Solis of Salt Lake City informed the agency that the Pope did not provide any details about "Querida Amazonia", but made it clear that he did not currently believe in the ordination of viri probati.  The discussion about this should not be over, however.  The Pope also warned the bishops that many in the avoidance are only focused on these two points.  For him, however, the focus is on the social, pastoral, ecological and cultural challenge.

 kath.net video blog with Jan Ledóchowski, President of the Platform for Christian Democracy: https://christdemokratie.at/

 Swiss law "against homophobia" is a gross restriction of private autonomy!

Seven years after stepping down, Benedict fuels 'two popes' headache

Catherine MARCIANO

AFPFebruary 11, 2020, 1:39 AM CST

Vatican City (AFP) - Seven years after his surprise resignation, Benedict XVI -- weakened by age but still intellectually spry -- appears unable to remain in the shadow of his Argentinean successor Francis, creating the appearance of "two popes" at odds.

On February 11, 2013, at the age of 85, the German intellectual Joseph Ratzinger announced in Latin to astonished cardinals that he would cease being pope, a situation unheard of for seven centuries.

For five years, the unusual cohabitation in the smallest state in the world between the 265th pope in retirement and the 266th, Francis, went on without a hitch.

https://news.yahoo.com/seven-years-stepping-down-benedict-fuels-two-popes-040116183.html

AMDG

Pope Francis Abolishes Celibacy

Francis and the Amazon Synodal - sophisticated regional circles with pre-fabricated results and global ramifications.

By Roberto de Mattei *

The message we anticipated was in the air. The confirmation is sent to us confidentially by some bishops who have received part (not all) of the post-synodal Apostolic Exhortation from Pope Francis on the Amazon Synod. This part essentially deals with paragraph 111 of the Synod's final document.

“Many church communities in the Amazon region have enormous difficulties in accessing the Eucharist. It takes months or years for a priest to return to a church to celebrate the Eucharist, to offer the sacrament of reconciliation, or to celebrate the anointing of the sick for the ill in the church.

We value celibacy as a gift from God insofar as this gift enables the missionary disciple ordained to the priesthood to devote themselves fully to the service of the Holy People of God. It stimulates pastoral love, and we pray that there are many vocations that live the celibate priesthood. We know that this discipline 'is not required by the nature of the priesthood itself' (PO, 16), although there is a ratio of usefulness to it for many reasons. In his encyclical on priestly celibacy, St. Paul VI. upheld this law and exposed the theological, spiritual, and pastoral motivations that motivate it. In 1992, the post-synodal exhortation of St. John Paul II for priestly training confirmed this tradition in the Latin Church (PDV, 29). In view of the fact that legitimate diversity does not affect the community and unity of the Church, but expresses it and is at its service (cf. LG, 13; OE, 6), as evidenced by the existing diversity of rites and disciplines, we propose that within the framework of Lumen Gentium 26, the competent authority shall lay down criteria and provisions for the ordination of suitable and recognized men of the congregation to priests who practice fruitful permanent diaconate and receive adequate priestly training to support the life of the Christian community to be supported by preaching the word and celebrating the sacraments in the most remote areas of the Amazon. "

So the breach has been made. There is then no reason to ban what other regions of the world will allow in some areas of the Amazon. The German bishops, and not just them, are ready to open priesthood to married men who are deemed appropriate by the competent authority. What is thereby liquidated is not only a changeable "Church discipline", but a law of the Church, which is based on a commandment of divine and apostolic origin.

Fifty years ago at the symposium of European bishops in Chur in July 1969, Cardinal Leo-Joseph Suenens read an appeal by Hans Küng to abolish the celibacy of priests in his closing speech. This demand coincided with the role assigned by the progressive theology of sexuality: an instinct that man should not suppress by asceticism, but "liberate" by finding a form of "realization" of the human person in sex. Since then, this demand has expanded and has gone hand in hand with the Church's process of secularization and self-destruction.

In reality, the violations of celibacy and simony were always the great plagues that afflicted the mystical body of Christ in times of crisis. And the call for abstinence and poverty, as the Gospel calls it, were the banner of the great saints of church renewal. In the coming days of February, the anti-reformer will not, as is so often the case, be a bishop or a group of bishops, but the successor of St. Peter.

Ecclesiastical celibacy is the glory of the Church, and what makes it so is the will of Christ, which the apostles have handed down to our times.

Is it conceivable that the Catholics can remain silent in the face of this scandal?

* Roberto de Mattei, historian, father of five, professor of modern history and history of Christianity at the European University of Rome, chair of the Lepanto Foundation, author of numerous books, most recently in German translation: Defense of Tradition: The Insurmountable Truth of Christ, with a foreword by Martin Mosebach, Altötting 2017 and The Second Vatican Council. A previously unwritten story, 2nd adult Edition, Bobingen 2011. [His books are available in English on Amazon.com]

Books by Prof. Roberto de Mattei in German translation Martin Mosebach's books can be obtained from our partner bookstore.
Translation: Giuseppe Nardi
Image: Corrispondenza Romana
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
AMDG

Christendom and "Leitkultur"

Klosterneuburg Abbey near Vienna looks back on 900 years of tradition. Its huge dome bears the imperial crown with the cross.

By Wolfram Schrems

Sometimes there is discussion about what constitutes Europe and what it is based on. The discussion then comes to the "influence" of Christianity, to the "three hills" Golgotha, Acropolis and Capitol and to the "Leitkultur." But all of that is idle. We would simply not exist as peoples and as individuals without the work of the Catholic Church.

A few basic thoughts on this topic from an Austrian perspective:

During the land grabbing by so-called “refugees” in autumn 2015, I spoke to a Hungarian diplomat about the role of Christianity in the development of the peoples of Europe. I hypothesized that without Christianity the Hungarians would have remained a primitive and predatory nomadic people. The answer of my interlocutor surprised me, but in retrospect it turns out to be smarter than my only half-thought. He said: Without Christianity, there would be no Hungarians at all, they would have disappeared from history.

Obviously, the historically conscious Hungarian had recognized something that underpins the radar of today's everyday consciousness. However, nowadays there is not only a certain sluggishness in perceiving (and pronouncing) natural things but also a kind of censorship:

The question of how Christianity is the "foundation" of Austria and Europe is sometimes raised. However, the discussion is not very knowledgeable. This is also the case because even Church leaders refuse to use the expression "Christian West" and prevent any meaningful discussion, at least in the area of ​​the Church. Therefore, if you actually come to this question among Catholics with a contemporary spirit, you will encounter mute ignorance.

The orb, the world dominated by the cross of Christ

The thesis of this essay is based on the diplomat's conviction: Without the motivating power of the Catholic faith, there would be no European civilization, and consequently no European peoples. There would not be "us" as individuals because our ancestors would not have been created. There would not be "us" as a nation because without faith there would not have been sufficient cohesion and self-assertion.

Because Catholics, and especially monasticism, which is a more intensive realization of the faith, created the structures on which our culture and our existence as European peoples are based, amid immense sacrifices. We still draw on what is left. Catholic Christianity is thus not only a “contribution” to European civilization among others, but also the reason for it and the actual foundation.

So to the individual points to support this thesis:

Monasteries as structure-building centers

The existence of the monasteries in this country has become so self-evident to many that they stop thinking about their origin and meaning. At most, some people come across their “wealth”. But there is no further thought here: the monasteries are "rich" because generations of monks have labored without pay and have accomplished enormous work to feed and afford modest accomodation for the poor. These range from pioneering activities such as clearing and building, to agriculture, to welfare, science, medicine, fine arts and music. The monastery school and hospital are Catholic inventions. They are an answer to Christ's judgment speech, the main sentence of which is: What you do to the least of my brothers, you did to me.

After all, the knights of the monks contained Islamic aggression for several centuries and made the development of Christian Europe possible in the first place.

Another fact is considered by many too little:

Work as a source of added value

The Benedictine Ora et Labora made the call to work culture-defining. If you don't want to work, you shouldn't eat, as the Apostle Paul says, and: The thief should no longer steal, but work and earn something with his hands so that he can give it to the needy.

This access to work has created solid and lasting economic structures, including welfare work (poor relief). This approach differs from an economy that is based on usury, begging, extortion or caravan robbery and therefore neither produces anything nor creates jobs nor cares for the needy, on the contrary, it produces them.

As is well known, Greek and Roman paganism despised physical labor and therefore kept slaves. Islam also has this attitude. But Christianity strives to sanctify work, even the “low” work, and itself through work. The Benedictine rule prescribes physical work and nobody has to be too good for it.

Under early medieval conditions, this can be understood as a social upheaval towards the positive.

There is something else associated with permanent work:

Stabilitas loci: prerequisite for stability

Benedictine monasticism usually implies (usually) lifelong ties to a particular monastery. It differs from the missionary work of the Anglo-Saxon and Irish traveling monks and from the mendicant orders founded in the 13th century. We also owe a lot to both groups in Europe. The focus here should be this: The stabilitas loci was a haven and anchoring during the time of the migration of the peoples. It was an alternative lifestyle - and of course it is also at a time that “migration” celebrates as a value in itself.

Beyond the life of the individual monk, the monasteries achieved tremendous temporal continuities. This fact is also little anchored in the collective consciousness: Even relatively short-lived monasteries, e.g. those that fell victim to the Josephine monastery storm [When Freemason Emperor, Joseph II looted the monasteries and "put everyone to work"] in this country, worked over a period of time that affected all current political continuities, far outshines the existence of the Republic, the EU, and the USA among other things. The Gaming Charterhouse may serve as an example, having only run as a monastery for over four hundred years. That is more than five times as long as the existence of the second Austrian republic.

Incidentally, in the 14th century, the building was so solid that all of the parts of the former monastery are still usable in Gaming - only to illustrate the contrast to the "modern" design. (And because we are talking about the continuities: When Gaming was founded, the Benedictine monastery Kremsmünster had already stood about six hundred years, but one normally does not think about it and it is not subject to the opinion published in the [!].. Fake news media. )

The continuity and reliability of the monasteries therefore contributed as crystallization points to the formation of cultural and political continuities.

This is related to the following:

Education: theology and tradition of ancient culture

The monasteries were and are places of education. The complete Benedictine imperative is yes: Ora et labora et lege. Any accusation of “hostility to science” against the Catholic faith is absurd given the facts. Theology also holds the building of science together as the keystone, illuminates the naturally recognizable reality with supernatural light and prevents science-drivers from misusing their knowledge, as does a Promethean, even satanic alchemy and magic.

Within this framework, science was able to develop in the service of human needs. Just think of the life-saving monastic medicine. 

For our question about the foundation of European culture, it is also important to see that the best of ancient wisdom about the monasteries has come to us. According to the Catholic faith, everything true, good and beautiful has a part in the eternal Logos and comes from it. The Gospel of John says that "in the beginning", in principio , ie "in principle", was the Logos, the word, the meaning, the understanding, not the absurd.

References to logos can be found in ancient thinkers such as Socrates, Plato, Aristotle and Cicero. Based on its own traders, ancient philosophy, which de facto hardly shaped the political life and culture of their contemporaries, would have disappeared without a trace. One must not believe that a Plato has met with great interest on a social scale. The circle of the academy was too small. Plato was unsuccessful politically. His dialogues would have been lost. But it was the monks who copied the testimonies of ancient wisdom and therefore preserved them and made them fruitful for Christian philosophy and theology, and thus for the development of culture.

It is therefore obvious that Athens and Rome, i.e. the Acropolis and the Capitol, the two “hills” next to Golgotha ​​(after a dictum by the German Federal President Theodor Heuss), have shaped Europe only because the Church has the best of them, Philosophy and jurisprudence. The three hills are not "equal", if you want to put it that way, because they are not equally effective in history.

Ancient thinkers, state theorists and lawyers then found their place within the framework of the revealed faith. Of course, this does not reach that of the bearer of the express revelation, so it is not a scripture, but it must not be despised either.

summary

The motivation of the monk, like any other Catholic, is not to provide cultural achievements as an end in itself, but to give glory to God and to attain eternal life. This can only be reached via a steep and narrow path. The above-mentioned tangible and intangible assets were then created through indirect profitability. The instruction of the Sermon on the Mount came true on a large scale: First look for the Kingdom of God, everything else will be added to you. This allowed a true “culture” to emerge from colere : cultivate, maintain, refine, cultivate and worship the true God. The villages and towns grew around the churches and monasteries. What held the communities together was the common belief.

At the same time, the peoples gained their profile. As is well known in the missio of Christ, he says: Make all nations my disciples. Not only the individuals, but the peoples as a whole should implement the teaching of Christ. This practically made the Church the inventor of “ethnopluralism”, if you put it that way. Obviously, the uniform Latin liturgical and scientific language was no obstacle to the development of the national peculiarities within Christianity. Thus, Germans, French, English, Poles, Croats, Hungarians and all others were united to Christian peoples, in the Church under the Roman Pope and through the Latin language in an uncomplicated understanding.

The content of the Catholic faith proved to be plausible in its action, the moral regulations as beneficial, the central imperative of love for God and neighbor as liberating. Faith opened meaning and peace of conscience and let its confessors come to terms with it. The horror of paganism with its idols and human sacrifices disappeared.

Paradisiacal conditions were neither attained nor sought because the Church faith precludes any conception of such conditions on earth. The alleged “consolation” to the hereafter has proven to be a real consolation for the people of the Migration Period and the “Middle Ages” and has led to the aforementioned cultural achievements.

It is therefore irrelevant whether the present thoughts may be perceived as "romantic" or "idealizing": we are there as individuals and as a nation only because of this and can only look back on 1500 years of Catholic culture in our homeland because our ancestors were creators of life-promoting and community-building structures. We are there because countless of our ancestors have received medical help in Catholic hospitals and orphanages and have therefore been able to stay alive longer and start a family. Circumstances, as they were, led to the generation of our ancestors, from whom we descended.

We should always be aware of this.

If the Church had not gained a foothold in Europe, Europe would have remained a meaningless Eurasian peninsula. No peoples would have developed that were worthy of historiography. A conglomerate of descendants from ever-invading and massacre pagan hordes could not have enabled national continuity, cultural and human development.

So the Hungarian diplomat was right.

At a time when churches and monasteries are often little more than empty shells due to the apostasy of hierarchies and devotees, the destruction of faith will also entail the destruction of the cultures and peoples that have arisen from it. In Fatima it was said that peoples who do not convert will disappear from the face of the earth. Well, as you can see, it doesn't require atomic bombs.

Text: MMag. Wolfram Schrems, Vienna

• (This essay is the revised version of an article that first appeared in the Attersee Report , the publication of the Attersee Circle within the Freedom Party of Austria , No. 21, 2019, p. 14. It is a pleasant surprise that it appears in the FPÖ gives those responsible who are at least interested in Catholic positions and who always offer a platform to an articulating author of this kind. WS)

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

AMDG

Archbishop Issues Decree Forbidding Eucharistic Monsters and Sacrilegious Hand Communions

Bishop issues decree prohibiting hand communion.  Consultation with the Bishops' Conference is not necessary.

 By: Created by Gero P. Weishaupt on February 4, 2020 at 3:19 p.m.
 chalice

The body of Christ should no longer be given to the hand.  This was determined by the archbishop of Kampala, Cyprian Lwanga, the capital of Uganda, according to the internet portal katolisch.de in a "Decree on the proper celebration of the Eucharist".  The prescribed oral communion should prevent abuse with the Holy Host.  "In addition, the distribution should only be done by priests in proper official garb.  Cohabiting but unmarried couples are excluded from the Eucharist,” it says.

 Contrary to other statements of the Internet portal, an agreement with the Bishops' Conference is not necessary.  Each bishop is his own and responsible top shepherd of his diocese and is not bound by any instructions from a bishops' conference.  A diocesan bishop would only be bound by a general decree adopted by the majority of the conference and reviewed by the Apostolic See (can. 455).  Even if agreements within a bishops' conference make sense for a uniform pastoral approach by the bishops, a bishop ultimately only has to follow God and his conscience in his pastoral service.  The next higher instance of a diocesan bishop is not the Episcopal Conference, but the Apostolic See.

 Photo: Kelch - Image source: C. Steindorf, kathnews

Edit: I could have said, bishop of the margins, but he’s much bigger than that.

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
AMDG

Communist Bishops Want to Censor the Internet: Auxiliary Bishop vs. Auxiliary Bishop

Auxiliary Bishop Barron (Los Angeles) and Auxiliary Bishop Schneider (Astana) represent censorship versus frankness.

(Rome) Cardinals against cardinals and bishops against bishops are currently taking place in the Church. And the vast majority of the pastors are silent - not necessarily elegant, but overwhelmed or cowardly. The most recent example is two auxiliary bishops who take completely opposite positions on the same subject. On one side is Msgr. Robert Barron, Auxiliary Bishop of Los Angeles, on the other side Msgr. Athanasius Schneider of Astana.

"It is time to introduce a permit"

Monsignor Robert Barron was appointed Titular Bishop of Macriana and Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles in 2015 by Pope Francis. He is quite well known in the English-speaking world for his publishing activities as the founder of the non-profit organization Word on Fire Catholic Ministries. He recently advocated the introduction of a Nihil obstat by the bishops for everyone who publishes on social networks. According to Bishop Barron, online activities by Catholics should be subject to approval. What he brings up is the ecclesiastical variant of a tightened network enforcement law and coincides with the aspirations of certain secular circles in the left political spectrum since the election victory of US President Donald Trump in November 2016 to try to restrict the Internet.

The justification for the required Internet censorship is also congruent with worldly endeavors. There is "hate speech," Auxiliary Bishop Barron said, and positions that "move away from the theology of the Church." What is meant by this seems less clear today than one might think at first glance. What exactly is “the theology of the Church” today that does not tolerate a dissenting opinion? Theology is not the same doctrine. Which theology should you not “move away from” in order not to lose the episcopal permission to publish on the Internet?

The U.S. Catholic National Catholic Register published an interview with Auxiliary Bishop Barron on January 29.

Question: Do you think the Church needs to develop its vision and social teaching in relation to social media?

Auxiliary Bishop Barron: I would like to make a proposal in this regard, knowing that as a little backbencher to the Bishops' Conference I have absolutely no authority to do that. But like John Paul II in Ex corde ecclesia the bishops are called upon to exercise greater oversight of the universities under the aegis of the church, I would recommend that we bishops exercise some authority over those who claim to teach for the Church in social media space. To be honest, there is a troubling number of such people on social media who deal with hateful, divisive speech, who often contradict the theology of the Church and, unfortunately, have a strong influence on God's people. I think that the shepherds of the Church who oversee the magisterium can and should point out when people damage the body of Christ on social media. I wonder if it's time to introduce something like a permit for those who claim to teach the Catholic faith online

"It is our right to express our concern"

Msgr. Athanasius Schneider, who was founded in 2006 by Pope Benedict XVI. Titular Bishop of Celerina and Auxiliary Bishop of Karaganda. In 2011 the same Pope appointed him as Auxiliary Bishop in the Archdiocese of Astana. In September 2019, Bishop Schneider, together with Diane Montagna, published the conversation book "Christus Vincit: Christ's Triumph Over the Darkness of the Age " in the United States. Diane Montagna is the courageous Rome correspondent from LifeSiteNews who asked uncomfortable questions about the idolatry of the Pachamama at press conferences on the Amazon Synod.

The book deals with the same subject that Auxiliary Bishop Barron commented on, but Auxiliary Bishop Schneider answered it quite differently.

Question: Is the Internet an important tool for the laity to defend the faith?

Auxiliary Bishop Schneider: Yes, of course. I see the internet and social media as tools of providence that offer laypeople who want to defend their faith a unique opportunity to be united. That would not have been possible 30 years ago. Now I see lay people, men and women who have the courage to say to their pastor, bishop and also the Holy See: “Please, we are concerned about these facts. This is not the belief of our fathers. We ask to defend the faith of our mother, the Church. "The liberal church establishment - I call it the church nomenclature [1] - now accuses the laity of interference and says: "It is not your business. Shut up!"

Question: That smells of clericalism, wouldn't you say?

Auxiliary Bishop Schneider : Yes, this attitude of these clerics against the lay faithful is evidence of enormous clericalism The lay faithful must answer these arrogant clerics. That is what the Second Vatican Council teaches about the layperson's duty to testify and defend faith. You can tell these clerics: “If you love the Second Vaticanum so much, you must allow yourself to be criticized! Let us stand up and speak frankly in the Church to defend our fathers. We have the right to express our concern, including the Pope, because we are a family. ”In this new and courageous attitude of many lay people, I see a realization of the intentions of the Second Vatican Council. God allowed evil after the Council and uses it to gain greater good from it.

Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Image: Archdiocese of Los Angeles / Corrispondenza Romana

---

[1] The "nomenklatura" were the communist functionaries, all key positions occupied in the socialist dictatorships in the Eastern Bloc and all areas of public life supervised and directed.

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

AMDG

The Dutch Bishops Then and the German Bishops Now Want to Destroy Priestly Celibacy

Pope Paul VI defended priestly celibacy with a remarkable speech on February 1, 1970.

(Rome) Exactly 50 years ago, Pope Paul VI. gave an important speechfor priestly celibacy. The reason for this was attacks by bishops who wanted to abolish celibacy. The parallels are obvious: Back then it was Dutch bishops, today they are German bishops. The geographic and linguistic direction from which the attack comes has remained the same. The difference is in the attitude of the ruling pope. Pope Francis' word during his visit to Colombia that he would never agree to an end to celibacy was - as experience shows - unfortunately worth nothing. This statement is hard and painful. Who would have thought of reporting it of a pope, but what is worth a word if the opposite of that is done

The absence of a formal act of consent is ultimately irrelevant when it is initiated, encouraged, encouraged and tolerated in practice, which is denied according to words, see the behavior in connection with the admission by Amoris laetitia of people in serious sin to communion, see the behavior towards the German Bishops' Conference in connection with the admission of Protestant spouses to Communion, see the behavior in connection with the Amazon synod .

In March 2017, in an interview with the weekly newspaper Die Zeit, Francis declared his willingness to speak about the admission of married priests. The same Francis, a few months later, on September 9, 2017, in Colombia, appeared to be vigorously defending the sacramental priesthood - and also celibacy - in front of a mass audience that was less liberal than the readership of the Die Zeit. That there are no vocations at the present time is a "fairy tale," thundered Francis:

"And don't come here to tell me: 'No, of course, there aren't that many calls for a special consecration because - that's clear - with this crisis we are experiencing ...' Do you know what that is? Are these fairy tales? Is that clear? Even in the midst of this crisis, God calls."

The Pope’s Revenge — Archbishop Gänswein Fired

Curia Archbishop Georg Gänswein is the most recent victim of Pope Francis.

(Rome) Francis has been described as vindictive and vengeful by several authors critical of the Pope. The retaliation for the latest book by Cardinal Robert Sarah and Benedict XVI follows: Pope Francis removes Archbishop Georg Gänswein from his office as Prefect of the Pontifical House.

There have been similar rumors several times in the past, but now it's fixed. However, official confirmation of the latest Bergoglian sentence is still pending. "Apart from the media advance notice, Santa Marta is once again afraid of it," said a Vatican employee. This should be less to be expected, because Pope Francis has so far not been deterred by critical voices in his intentions, least of all if they come from faithful circles.

The "Black Pope", Jesuit General Arturo Sosa Abascal, formulated the situation on September 16, 2019 after six and a half years of the current pontificate:

"Pope critics know that Francis will not change his mind."

[Katholisches] The words were geared towards the Amazon Synod still pending at that time and its main intention to abolish priestly celibacy. This is exactly what the book of Cardinal Robert Sarah, Prefect of the Roman Congregation for Divine Worship and Order of the Sacraments, and Benedict XVI. did. Together they made a plea for priestly celibacy and the sacrament. With their “hands off celibacy” they drew a red line, the first unspoken addressee of this is Pope Francis. The post-synodal letter on the Amazon Synod is still pending, but it shows what faithful Church groups have feared since 2014: Francis creates an exception to the rule that leads to the intended dam break. The German bishops have been waiting impatiently for a long time. A whole series of bishops in the German-speaking world, in Austria and Switzerland it is no different, can hardly wait to dispose of celibacy on the dung heap of history. He is said to be carried to the grave with unctuous ramblings. That is why the Bergoglian bishop generation is not embarrassed (see Married Priests? What bishops of the German-speaking area say about this).

The book by the cardinal and the past pope, which makes it clear that Pope Francis crosses the red line with a softening of celibacy and breaks the tradition of the Church, caused an outburst of anger in Santa Marta. The result was a scandalous media theater, staged by the papal inner-circle, with which confusion about the authorship of Benedict XVI. was generated. Since the secular mass media has a wider reach, well-meaning Catholics still believe Benedict XVI. had denied authorship and must somehow have been "concocted" by Cardinal Sarah. In reality, the fake news campaign aimed to counteract the effectiveness of the book and its defense of priestly celibacy. Contrary to the widespread claim that celibacy is "only" a law of the Church and therefore can be changed at any time, it is "of divine and apostolic origin" (Roberto de Mattei), see also Cardinal Sarah: "Celestial celibacy is not just a law the Church". Celibacy, however, stands in the way of the "sexual revolution" and its view of sexuality. This has been the mainstay of the fight against celibacy since the 1960s.

Archbishop Gänswein came, because of his double position as private secretary of Benedict XVI. and as Prefect of the Pontifical House of Francis immediately and directly into the line of firing. He now also feels the revenge of Santa Marta, which affects him, but of course also and not least,  this means Benedict XVI. It remains to be seen whether the retaliation will be packed into a dismantling of the Papal Prefecture. Whatever the packaging should look like, Msgr. Gänswein is removed from his office, the motivation and the papal intention are clear.

The convinced Bergoglian and pope biographer Austen Ivereigh already asked in an interview on August 10, 2019 to isolate Benedict XVI, whose authority has remained unbroken in large Church circles worldwide. Ivereigh's invitation to Santa Marta was:

"We have to get the circle around Benedict XVI. under control."

Note the personal pronoun "we", which, besides Ivereigh, means the papal inner-circle and Pope Francis himself. The first, closest and most important “circle” of Benedict XVI. is his private secretary and long-time, loyal employee of Archbishop Georg Gänswein.

Ivereigh was the spokesman for Cardinal Cormack Murphy-O’Connor, a member of the ecclesiastical “gang of four”, which he referred to as Team Bergoglio, and Ivereigh himself revealed their existence. The four-member cardinal group (Kasper, Lehmann, Murphy-O'Connor and Danneels), according to the British journalist and author, organized the election of Jorge Mario Bergoglio as Pope as the executive arm of the inner-Church secret circle of St. Gallen.

A struggle is raging in the Church “between two churches”, as the historian and President of the Lepanto Foundation Roberto de Mattei analyzed, one of which could not be the Church of Jesus Christ.

[Update, 12.05 p.m.] Curial Archbishop Georg Gänswein was "put on leave”  by Pope Francis. Informally, it is embellished that Gänswein should have more time to look after Benedict XVI. And take care of him. Vatican circles currently do not expect the post of Prefect of the Pontifical House to be filled. Access to the Pope, one of the prefect's main tasks, was handled by Francis from the start through other hands. Archbishop Gänswein's duties were largely reduced to the duty of attendance when receiving state visits and as an extra for papal activities.

Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Image: MiL
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
AMDG

Italian Cardinal Says That if Catholics Don’t Like Francis, They Can Become Protestant

'There are too many people talking about the Pope,' said Cardinal Bassetti, President of the Italian Bishops' Conference, when he met media representatives.

Edit: I’d have thought approving of this Pope was something Protestants were likely to do. Would Protestants welcome traditionalist Catholics like they welcome unrepentant sodomites?

Perugia (kath.net/lifesitenews/jg)
 "If someone does not like the Pope, he should be allowed to say it because he can go other ways," said Gualtiero Cardinal Bassetti, President of the Italian Bishops' Conference, during a meeting with media representatives in Perugia on January 25.

 "There are too many people talking about the Pope," Bassetti said of the growing discontent with Pope Francis among Catholics.  He told someone to go to the Protestants if he didn't like the Catholic Church.  They would have neither a pope nor a bishop.  Everyone can make their own decisions.”  "Enough complaining.  It doesn't help anyway,” he said.

 Cardinal Bassetti (77) is Archbishop of Perugia-Città della Pieve (Italy).  Pope Francis made him cardinal in 2014.  He has been the President of the Italian Episcopal Conference since 2017.

 It is not clear who Bassetti (archive photo) specifically meant by his outburst described by Italian media.  Il Messaggero suspected that the displeasure of many Italians with Pope Francis' stance on immigration could have triggered the cardinal's acrimony.  At the media meeting, Bassetti presented the program for the Mediterranean initiative "Mediterranean: Border of Peace" organized by the Italian Episcopal Conference, which will take place in Bari from September 19 to 23

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
AMDG

Leaked Documents Reveal Pope Francis’ Plan to Open the Door to Married Priests

By David Martin

What we have suspected all along is now confirmed. Leaked documents reveal that Pope Francis' forthcoming Apostolic Exhortation of the Amazonian Synod is an attempt to open the door to married priests in the Catholic Church.

According to a late-breaking story from LifeSiteNews, “Pope Francis’ post-synodal exhortation of the Amazon Synod will abolish celibacy, according to several bishops who have leaked the document.”  (LifeSiteNews, January 31, 2020)

The article states: “According to documents obtained by Corrispondenza Romana, the apostolic exhortation, due for release in February, reproduces verbatim a paragraph dedicated to priestly celibacy in the synod’s final document.”

In a clear break from Church teaching, the exhortation says:

“We know that this discipline [of priestly celibacy] ‘is not demanded by the very nature of the priesthood.’” Going on it says: “We propose that criteria and dispositions be established by the competent authority, within the framework of Lumen Gentium 26, to ordain as priests suitable and respected men of the community with a legitimately constituted and stable family.”

Professor Roberto de Mattei, who received the leaked documents from “several bishops,” says, “There is no reason to prohibit in other regions of the world what will be permitted in some parts of the Amazon.”

Trial Balloon

This in fact has been the plan from the beginning, i.e. to use the Amazon as a trial balloon. The ploy was to first sanction married priests in the Amazon region so that other areas of the Church ‘deprived’ of this dispensation could then cry “discrimination” and clamor for married priests, whereupon the Vatican would concede to their wishes with the justification that the plan thus far had been “successful” in the Amazon.

In a concerted attempt to rebut this insidious effort to open the door to married priests, Cardinal Robert Sarah and Benedict XVI recently co-authored a new book, titled From the Depths of Our Hearts: Priesthood, Celibacy and the Crisis of the Catholic Church, in which the two staunchly defend the Church’s 2000-year prohibition of married priests. 

Therein, Benedict XVI says:

“The ability to renounce marriage in order to place oneself totally at the Lord’s disposal is a criterion for the priestly ministry. As for the concrete form of celibacy in the ancient Church, it should also be pointed out that married men could only receive the sacrament of Holy Orders if they had committed themselves to sexual abstinence.”

This echoes what Benedict said in his 2007 post-apostolic exhortation on the Eucharist, Sacramentum Caritatis:

“In union with the great ecclesial Tradition ... and my Predecessors in the Petrine Ministry, I affirm the beauty and the importance of a priestly life lived in celibacy as an expressive sign of total and exclusive dedication to Christ, to the Church and to the Kingdom of God, and consequently confirm its obligatory character for the Latin tradition” (n. 24).”

In a recent interview on the new book, Cardinal Robert Sarah says:

“Priestly celibacy is not a simple canonical discipline. If the law of celibacy is weakened, even for a single region, it will open a breach, a wound in the mystery of the Church. There is an ontological-sacramental link between the priesthood and celibacy. This link reminds us that the Church is a mystery, a gift from God that does not belong to us. We cannot create a priesthood for married men without damaging the priesthood of Jesus Christ and His Bride, the Church.”

Celibacy indeed is an integral part of the priesthood, for which reason it has always been mandatory. Being a priest requires that one be able to serve Christ with unretained freedom, which isn’t possible if he is bound by carnal affections.

In the new book, Benedict XVI reminds us that the renunciation of all things is a criterion for entering the priesthood, which is in keeping with Christ’s teaching: “If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14:26)

Unfortunately, a pagan infested Vatican has been having misfits over the new book, alleging that it opposes Pope Francis by raising the "specter of a parallel magisterium," when in fact the book upholds the true Magisterium against Francis' counter-magisterium. According to Bishop Athanasius Schneider, Cardinal Sarah’s intervention in getting this book published “has provoked, so to speak, the anger of hell.”

Obviously, Sarah and Benedict are doing something right so we pray that they continue with ever more constancy to uphold their new book for the greater liberty and exaltation of Holy Mother the Church.  

https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/breaking-pope-francis-to-abolish-priestly-celibacy-according-to-leaked-amazon-synod-exhortation