Novus Ordo: New Humanism of Work? Obstinate Resistors & Uniting Against Terrorism
This blog is LOADED with the latest vomit from the Vatican II "cult of man" which soon ends in a formal unification of all religions/humanity...
Vatican II's new humanism is Masonic. Masonry and Marxism go hand in hand thus it is no wonder that Bergoglio recently targeted "the workers". Vatican II taught man was the center of summit of man's efforts not God. Here we see a continuation along the same lines. Have I also not been warning you of the term "sharing" being used? This is the new Age's Socialism. Vatican II social justice program is the same as New Age Maitreya's
For a new humanism of work
· The "Pope" denounces the tragedy of youth unemployment and calls for a fight against the lawlessness that leads to corruption ·
Jan. 16, 2016
We must “form, educate [others] in a new humanism
of work, where man, and not profit, is at the centre; where the economy serves
man rather than being served by man”. The Pope expressed this hope on Saturday
morning, 16 January, in the Paul VI Hall, where he received in audience members
and leaders of the Christian Workers Movement.
In his address the Pontiff expanded on the
observation that “we live in a time when workers are being exploited”, in which
“work is not really at the service of personal dignity, but is slave labour”.
He offered a reflection articulated upon three terms: education, sharing and
witness.
With regard to the first term, the Holy Father
explained that it is not a mater only of “teaching some technical skill or
imparting ideas, but about rendering both ourselves and the world around us
more human”. In addition, education helps others “not to believe in the
deception of those who would like to convince them that work, one’s daily effort,
the gift of oneself and one’s study do not have value”. He went on to say that
“it is essential to educate and follow the luminous and demanding path of
honesty, avoiding the shortcuts of favouritism and recommendations”, which
conceal corruption. It amounts to “moral commerce” and “must be rejected” he
emphasized. “Otherwise it creates a false and noxious mentality which must be
fought: that of lawlessness, which leads to the corruption of people and of
society”. After all he added with an evocative image, “lawlessness is like an
octopus in hiding: it is concealed, submerged, but with its tentacles it seizes
and poisons, polluting and doing so much harm”.
With regard to sharing, (I warned you of the term sharing being used it equates to Socialism) Francis recalled that
work offers “the opportunity to enter into relationships with others”. As a
result, it “should unite people, not separate them”. Last, he spoke of witness,
pointing out that today “there are people who would like to work, but cannot,
and struggle even to eat”. They truly are “the new excluded ones of our time”.
Work is especially important, he stated, because “ a young person without work”
winds up “in addiction, in psychological illness, in suicide”.
Thus, Francis appealed for “access to work for
everyone”. And, he noted, “in facing people in difficulty and challenging
situations — I think also of the young for whom getting married and having
children is an issue, because they do not have a stable enough job or a house —
preaching does not help”. Instead, he concluded, it is “important to pass on
hope, to comfort through presence, to support with real help”.
Caution Francis is at it again! Resist "progress" and your now a Sorcerer!
Those who resist change are obstinate rebels and idolaters and are guilty of "divination"!
Thus says Pope Francis in his latest screed from Casa Santa Marta.
From News.Va (with emphases).
Pope Francis: obstinate Christians are rebels and idolaters
2016-01-18 Vatican Radio
(Vatican Radio) Christians who stop at “it’s always been done that way” have hearts closed to the surprises of the Holy Spirit. They are idolaters and rebels will never arrive at the fullness of the truth. That was the message of Pope Francis at Mass on Monday morning at the chapel in the Casa Santa Marta.
In the first reading, Saul was rejected by God as King of Israel because he disobeyed, preferring to listen to the people rather than the will of God. The people, after a victory in battle, wanted to offer a sacrifice of the best animals to God, because, he said, “it’s always been done that way.” But God, this time, did not want that. The prophet Samuel rebuked Saul: “Does the Lord so delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obedience to the command of the Lord?” Jesus teaches us the same thing in the Gospel, the Pope explained. When the doctors of the law criticized Him because His disciples did not fast “as had always been done,” Jesus responded with these examples from daily life: “No one sews a piece of unshrunken cloth on an old cloak. If he does, its fullness pulls away, the new from the old, and the tear gets worse. Likewise, no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the skins are ruined. Rather, new wine is poured into fresh wineskins.”
“What does this mean? That He changes the law? No! That the law is at the service of man, who is at the service of God – and so man ought to have an open heart. ‘It’s always been done this way’ is a closed heart, and Jesus tells us, ‘I will send you the Holy Spirit and He will lead you into the fullness of truth.’ If you have a heart closed to the newness of the Spirit, you will never reach the full truth. And your Christian life will be a half-and-half life, a patched life, mended with new things, but on a structure that is not open to the voice of the Lord—a closed heart, so that you are not able to change others.”
This, the Pope emphasized, was the sin of Saul, for which he was rejected. “It is the sin of so many Christians who cling to what has always been done and who do not allow others to change. And they end up with half a life, [a life that is] patched, mended, meaningless.” The sin, he said, “is a closed heart,” that “does not hear the voice of the Lord, that is not open to the newness of the Lord, to the Spirit that always surprises us.” This rebellion, says Samuel, is “the sin of divination,” and obstinacy is the sin of idolatry:
“Christians who obstinately maintain ‘it’s always been done this way,' this is the path, this is the street—they sin: the sin of divination. It’s as if they went about by guessing: ‘What has been said and what doesn’t change is what’s important; what I hear—from myself and my closed heart—more than the Word of the Lord.’ Obstinacy is also the sin of idolatry: the Christian who is obstinate sins! The sin of idolatry. ‘And what is the way, Father?’ Open the heart to the Holy Spirit, discern what is the will of God.”
Pope Francis noted that in Jesus’ time, good Israelites were in the habit of fasting. “But there is another reality,” he said. “There is the Holy Spirit who leads us into the full truth. And for this reason he needs an open heart, a heart that will not stubbornly remain in the sin of idolatry of oneself,” imagining that my own opinion is more important than the surprise of the Holy Spirit.
“This is the message the Church gives us today. This is what Jesus says so forcefully: ‘New wine in new wineskins.’ Habits must be renewed in the newness of the Spirit, in the surprises of God. May the Lord grant us the grace of an open heart, of a heart open to the voice of the Spirit, which knows how to discern what should not change, because it is fundamental, from what should change in order to be able to receive the newness of the Spirit.”
Have I not warned you that the enemy would use war and/or terrorism in order to formalize the One World Religion? Vatican II "ecumenism" is Masonic and heretical
Catholics and Jews must unite against terrorism, says Pope during synagogue visit
The Pontiff discussed violence in the Middle East during a speech at Rome's main synagogue
Pope Francis has called on Catholics and Jews to pray for “peace
and reconciliation” in the Holy Land and all places in the world
affected by conflict and terrorism.Interrupted repeatedly with applause at Rome’s main synagogue on January 17, the Pope said the Church “recognises the irrevocability of the Old Covenant (another heresy) and the constant and faithful love of God for Israel.” (Jesus accursed the fig tree)
That statement, which he already had made in his 2013 exhortation, The Joy of the Gospel, was repeated in a recent document by the Pontifical Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews. The document reaffirmed Benedict XVI’s teaching that the Church “neither conducts nor supports” any institutional missionary initiative directed toward Jews.
While frigid winter temperatures finally arrived in Rome, Pope Francis received the warmest of welcomes at the synagogue.
The visit featured an exchange of standing ovations. Members of the Jewish community greeted the Pope on their feet applauding and bid him farewell the same way; he stood and applauded with the congregation when honour was paid to the handful of survivors of the Nazi Holocaust (new Holocaust) who were present for the event.
“Their sufferings, anguish and tears must never be forgotten,” the Pope said. “And the past must be a lesson to us for the present and the future. The Shoah teaches us that maximum vigilance is always needed in order to intervene quickly in defence of human dignity and peace.” (Vatican II the new religion of man stresses human dignity as Pope St. Pius X warned)
Pope Francis was the third Pope to visit the Rome synagogue and Rabbi Riccardo Di Segni, the chief rabbi of Rome, said that in Jewish tradition “an act repeated three times becomes ‘chazaqa,’ a fixed tradition.”
The Pope, the rabbi, the president of the Rome Jewish community and the president of the Union of Italian Jewish Communities all recalled the visits of St John Paul II in 1986 and of Benedict XVI in 2010. And they all spoke of the “new era” in Catholic-Jewish relations that began with the Second Vatican Council and its declaration Nostra Aetate on relations with non-Christian religions.
But continued violence in the Middle East and the spectre of terrorism also were on the hearts and minds of all the speakers.
“Conflicts, wars, violence and injustice open profound wounds in humanity and call us to reinforce our commitment to peace and justice,” the Pope said.
“The violence of man against man is in contradiction with every religion worthy of the name and, particularly, with the three monotheistic religions” of Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
Human life is a sacred gift of God, Pope Francis said. “God is the God of life and always wants to promote and defend it; and we, created in his image and likeness, are obliged to do the same.”
Catholics and Jews must pray intensely that God would help bring peace, reconciliation, forgiveness and life to the Holy Land, the Middle East and all places where conflict and terrorism are sowing death and destruction.
Inter-religious dialogue, he said, must be based on a recognition that all people are children of the same God, who calls them to praise him and to work together for the good of all. (heresy)
However, he said, the relationship between Christians and Jews is unique because of Christianity’s Jewish roots. “Therefore, Christians and Jews must see themselves as brothers and sisters united by the same God and by a rich, common spiritual heritage.” (heresy)
In his speech, Rabbi Di Segni said the Rome Jewish community was welcoming the Pope “to reaffirm that religious differences, which should be maintained and respected, must not however be a justification for hatred and violence.”
“The Near East, Europe and many other parts of the world are besieged by wars and terrorism,” the rabbi said. After decades in which Nazism, communism and other totalitarian ideologies led to such suffering, now “violence has come back and it is fed and justified by fanatic visions inspired by religion.”
Dialogue and respect are the answer (Vatican II the new religion teaches convergence, coexistence thru dialogue NOT conversion to the true Faith) , he said, and the Pope’s visit to the synagogue is a sign of that.
Catholics asked to thank God for the ‘insights’ of the Reformation??
Joint prayer with heretics is automatic grounds for excommunication. The VII popes have automatically excommunicated so many times it is hard to keep up with.
Joint prayer with Lutherans prepared in advance of the 500th anniversary of the Ninety-Five Theses.
The Catholic and Lutheran Churches have issued a joint prayer thanking God for the “insights” received through the Reformation.The service has been devised by the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity and the Lutheran World Federation in advance of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation next year.
The first jointly developed liturgical order is based on the report “From Conflict to Communion: Lutheran-Catholic Common Commemoration of the Reformation in 2017”.
The Common Prayer, which can be adapted to suit local customs and preferences, is led by two presiders, one Catholic and one Lutheran, with two readers, again one Catholic and one Lutheran. Other ecumenical readers and leaders of intercessory prayer can take part in the service.
One prayer reads: “Thanks be to you O God for the many guiding theological and spiritual insights that we have all received through the Reformation. Thanks be to you for the good transformations and reforms that were set in motion by the Reformation or by struggling with its challenges. Thanks be to you for the proclamation of the gospel that occurred during the Reformation and that since then has strengthened countless people to live lives of faith in Jesus Christ. Amen.”
The commemoration in 2017 brings joy and gratitude, the Common Prayer says, and must “also allow room for both Lutherans and Catholics to experience the pain over failures and trespasses, guilt and sin in the persons and events that are being remembered”.
The service has readings from the report From Conflict to Communion, including: “In the 16th century, Catholics and Lutherans frequently not only misunderstood but also exaggerated and caricatured their opponents in order to make them look ridiculous. They repeatedly violated the eighth commandment, which prohibits bearing false witness against one’s neighbour.” (LOL)
One reading says: “Lutherans and Catholics often focused on what separated them from each other rather than looking for what united them. (Pope St. Pius X warned us of these heretics: "But stranger still, alarming and saddening at the same time, are the audacity and frivolity of men who call themselves Catholics and dream of re-shaping society under such conditions, and of establishing on earth, over and beyond the pale of the Catholic Church, "the reign of love and justice" with workers coming from everywhere, of all religions and of no religion, with or without beliefs, so long as they forego what might divide them - their religious and philosophical convictions, and so long as they share what unites them - a "generous idealism and moral forces drawn from whence they can") They accepted that the Gospel was mixed with the political and economic interests of those in power. Their failures resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people. Families were torn apart, people imprisoned and tortured, wars fought and religion and faith misused. Human beings suffered and the credibility of the Gospel was undermined (Francis is a jackass) with consequences that still impact us today. We deeply regret the evil things that Catholics and Lutherans have mutually done to each other.”
The service includes five commitments for Catholics and Lutherans together. “Catholics and Lutherans should always begin from the perspective of unity and not from the point of view of division in order to strengthen what is held in common even though the differences are more easily seen and experienced.” They “must let themselves continuously be transformed by the encounter with the other and by the mutual witness of faith” (mutual witness of faith?- Heresy) and should “commit themselves to seek visible unity, to elaborate together what this means in concrete steps, and to strive repeatedly toward this goal”. And they “should jointly rediscover the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ for our time” and “witness together to the mercy of God in proclamation and service to the world”.
Pseudo Traditionalists are cloaked modernists/liberals
Roger Buck is not Catholic and is apart of the "false right" crowd
Meet the traditionalist who says the Novus Ordo can be beautiful too?
Francis Phillips talks to Roger Buck the author of the 'Gentle Traditionalist'
Having blogged about an unusual book, The Gentle Traditionalist,
on Tuesday and wanting to know a bit more about its author and its
genesis, I asked Roger Buck, who devised this Irish Catholic fairy tale a
few questions. For a start, what was his faith background? He tells me he was “utterly New Age till aged 34, when I first became baptised as an Anglican in 1998.” His "Catholic conversion" came two years later. He admits he has “progressively moved from being an ultra-liberal Catholic to my far more (hopefully gentle) traditional orientation.”
Why was he drawn to the New Age cult (he is still in the cult of man) in the first place? Buck replies that he had “no faith in mainstream culture or Christianity as I perceived it”, alongside “a hunger for idealism.”
Indeed, he spent 20 years within a New Age mindset, including over two years at Findhorn, the New Age community in the north of Scotland. He had first visited Findhorn in 1980 and was still close to it when he finally converted to Catholicism in 2000. He has written about his conversion experience on his blog. Here is the link.
It is worth reading in full for an understanding of the depth and fervour of Buck’s faith, an explanation of how New Age Gnosticism fundamentally differs from Christianity, and how a mystical experience on the night of 18 September 1997 while he was actively promoting New Age literature in Cambridge made him recognise “that my life would change forever.”
When I ask Buck what made him decide to settle in Ireland, he informs me that he “cannot help but feel providentially guided here.” As he wrote in his book that it has only taken 50 years for Ireland to become thoroughly secularised, I am curious as to what signs of hope he finds in this country.
He answer soberly that his “real hope lies in realising how very, very deep the roots of the Christian heritage in Ireland really are.” This includes, as he wrote in his book, “the remarkable piety, humanity and kindness” of his Irish neighbours, who are “regularly praying by their parents’ graves” and “witnessing their continued devotion to family and friends.”
And what gave him the idea for his “fairy tale”? “It started as a dialogue to express the ideas; the fictional elements came second. For example, I needed to invent a reason as to why a secular agnostic would be drawn into such a long dialogue.” (I should explain here that the young agnostic in question longs to marry a girl who has become a traditional Catholic and who refuses to marry him as long as he remains in his secular, materialistic mindset.)
In his book Buck, as I wrote in my earlier blog, is highly critical of the Ordinary rite of the Mass. Here he is anxious to qualify this impression, insisting that, although he agrees with Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI that the “ecclesial crisis in which we find ourselves today depends in great part upon the collapse of the liturgy”, it certainly doesn’t mean he is convinced that “the Ordinary Form must go and that the Extraordinary Form is the only way.”
He directs me to the “Acknowledgements” at the front of his book, in which he wrote, “Whilst this book invokes the serious problems often occasioned by the new liturgy, our priest [in the rural Irish parish of Upper Badoney] is living proof that the Novus Ordo can be celebrated with beauty, dignity and reverence.” (Novus Ordo Mass is both illicit and schismatic and is objectively speaking displeasing to God)
Buck also quotes from his blog, in which he has written, “Who can count the many souls who have had the way to Christ illumined by such sincere priests of the Novus Ordo? There are no statistics for such matters. But let us render thanks to these courageous men who battle against the zany currents of the day!” By the “zany currents” Buck refers to “a very concerted, very liberal faction of the Church. This faction exists and it carries on conscious, yet undeclared warfare with those who try to consciously uphold Catholic tradition.”
Behind his gentle and prayerful manner, Buck is deeply serious about the liturgical crisis, telling me he wants to stress “perhaps pedantically, one thing here: it is only the fact that as a daily Mass-goer who has travelled a lot through several countries and who has thus been to Mass in hundreds of parishes, with well over 1000 priests, that has convinced me of the catastrophe…”
Readers should watch out for Buck’s forthcoming new book. He tells me that it will include “much more about the New Age movement as well as Catholic France and devotion to the Sacred Heart.”
Lawyer: 231 children abused in German Catholic choir
The allegations were reported by an attorney, Ulrich Weber, who had been hired by the Diocese of Regensburg last year to investigate claims of abuse at the Regensburger Domspatzen choir and two feeder schools between 1953 and 1992.
Weber told a news conference in Berlin on Friday that at least 50 of the 231 alleged victims made “plausible” claims of sexual abuse.
Benedict’s brother, Monsignor Georg Ratzinger, conducted the historic choir from 1964 to 1994. Asked if Ratzinger, now 92 and still living in Regensburg, had known of the abuse, Weber said: “After my research, I must assume so.”
“The events were known internally and criticized, but they had almost no consequences,” Weber said. The cases are too old to be prosecuted, he said.
Ratzinger has in the past said he knew that boys suffered physical mistreatment and he himself used corporal punishment at times, but he said he was unaware of any sexual abuse.
Most of the new allegations concern beatings and other mistreatment, such as food deprivation.
They were attributed mainly to Johann Meier, who headed one of two primary schools associated with the choir from 1953 until his retirement in 1992. Meier, who had been retained after a private investigation of reported abuses in 1987, died that same year.
But dozens of the new allegations also concern sexual abuse, ranging from fondling to rape. “The reported cases of sexual abuse in Regensburg were mostly concentrated in the period of the mid to end 1970s,” Weber said, according to Agence France-Presse. He added that “50 victims spoke of 10 perpetrators.”
Weber said that over the course of eight months he interviewed 140 people, including 70 alleged victims. He said since the report was made public, several other alleged victims contacted him.
When reports of sexual abuse in the 1,000-year-old choir first surfaced publicly in 2010, Georg Ratzinger insisted that he was unaware of them.
“These things were never discussed,” Ratzinger told a German newspaper, Passauer Neue Presse. “The problem of sexual abuse that has now come to light was never spoken of.”
But Ratzinger did concede that boys told him about physical abuse they suffered at the hands of Meier, head of one of the lower schools.
“But I did not have the feeling at the time that I should do something about it,” Ratzinger said. “Had I known with what exaggerated fierceness he was acting, I would have said something.”
“Of course, today one condemns such actions,” he said. “I do as well. At the same time, I ask the victims for pardon.”
Ratzinger himself had a reputation as a taskmaster, which was not unusual for the culture of the time, in Germany and in the Catholic Church.
“He was a very strict director and people were scared of him,” Hans Zillner, a local official who sang in the choir as a boy, told The New York Times in 2005 when Georg Ratzinger’s brother, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, was elected Pope Benedict XVI.
In the 2010 interview, Georg Ratzinger said that he, too, would use corporal punishment on the boys.
“At the beginning I also repeatedly administered a slap in the face, but always had a bad conscience about it,” he told the German newspaper. Corporal punishment was made illegal in 1980.
Ratzinger said a slap in the face was the easiest reaction to a failure to perform or a poor performance, and the force of the slap varied widely.
Whether the latest reports will lead to any further information on what George Ratzinger knew, and when, is uncertain.
The Regensburg diocese published the new report on its website Friday, along with a year-old homily by Bishop Rudolf Voderholzer in which he expressed regret for the abuse the children allegedly suffered.
The diocese has previously offered to pay 2,500 euros (about $2,730) in damages to each of the victims.
Pope Emeritus Benedict, who retired in February 2013 (Pope Francis was elected at a conclave the next month), is 88 and lives in seclusion in a monastery inside the Vatican walls in Rome.
As Cardinal Ratzinger, the longtime guardian of orthodoxy at the Vatican, he had publicly downplayed the extent of the abuse or the notion of a cover-up, saying reports of abuse by clergy and in church settings were exaggerated by the media.
But following his election as pope, and as investigations continue to reveal the breadth and depth of the scandal, Benedict began to institute firmer discipline and more effective prevention policies than had his predecessor, John Paul II.
NO SURPRISE HERE!
Top Cardinal says “Yes” to Medjugorje
Are there really any words to describe what Cardinal Schonborn, the Archbishop of Vienna, has been doing in Europe over the past few years?
To fully understand Cardinal Schonborn’s incomparable pursuit regarding his belief in the true presence of the Blessed Mother here on earth, it first must be understood that Cardinal Schonborn is a giant figure in the Catholic Church.
He was at the top of the list of contenders to be the next Pope according to most reputable Catholic pundits. Cardinal Schonborn is a former student and close friend of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. He serves as a member of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Earlier this year he was appointed as the first member of the newly created Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization. The young Cardinal is also the Editorial Director of the Catholic Catechism – the official rule book of the Catholic Church.
Cardinal Schonborn’s gravitas and impeccable catholic credentials speak for themselves, and so within this context, we find it extraordinary that he has been proclaiming, from the rooftops, or more accurately, from inside the great St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna, Austria, that the Blessed Mother is now appearing on earth in an unprecedented fashion to six “Visionaries” and he is urging the Catholic faithful to pay close attention.
The Austrian Archbishop, by his actions over the past few years, unequivocally lends support to claims that the Blessed Virgin Mary is revealing Herself to the world and that her presence on earth is for the clear purpose of demonstrating that God truly exists. Cardinal Schonborrn also insists that the Blessed Mother is bringing important messages of peace for a world that has little peace. Her messages of peace are accompanied by an urgent and incessant plea for all of humanity to reconcile with God.
Last November, in an extraordinary event in Vienna, Austria, Cardinal Schonborn celebrated Mass with a woman who claims to see and speak to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Her name is Marija Pavlovic-Lunetti. Marija is one of six visionaries who say they see the Virgin Mary and these six people are at that center of a mysterious phenomenon known the world over as “Medjugorje”.
Marija was in Austria at the invitation of Cardinal Schonborn not only to attend Mass, but to have her apparition inside St. Stephen’s Cathedral with the Cardinal there to witness the experience as well. Marija’s apparition lasted about eight minutes and afterwords Cardinal Schonborn celebrated Mass mentioning Medjugorje in his homily.
The entire apparition and Mass were shown locally on TV and broadcast throughout the world over the internet. To see the Editorial Director of the Catholic Catechism and close friend of the Pope on live television sitting patiently and reverentially in the grand setting of St. Stephen’s Cathedral as the visionary falls into ecstasy and visits the Blessed Mother who arrives quite literally from the afterlife is something special to behold. Watch it here:
But many are asking why would Cardinal Schonborn provide such a high profile platform to a supernatural phenomenon when the Catholic Church has yet to give its official approval? Why the invitation? After all, the Vatican, after years of study is set to determine the authenticity of Medjugorje.
By his actions, is it possible Cardinal Schonboen is front-running the Vatican Commission on Medjugorje. Does Cardinal Schonborn, a key member of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelisation, sense a special urgency? What are his motivations? Does he sense time is running out? Is it possible he understands the consequences for the world if the messages of the Virgin Mary are not heard and are not heeded.
Cardinal Burke needs to get his act together and denounce the Vatican II Revolution and New Mass
Cardinal Burke urges Catholics to ‘storm heaven’ with monthly Rosary to lift Church from confusion
The grassroots lay organization Catholic Action for Faith and Family has put up a page on its website for “Rosary Warriors” to sign on to the joint effort, which Cardinal Burke launched with a Mass on December 8.
“As Catholics we find ourselves in a general crisis of culture,” the organization’s spokesman Thomas McKenna told LifeSiteNews. “We seem to be losing the battle against same-sex marriage, we see Planned Parenthood killing babies and selling their body parts and nothing is done to stop them, and euthanasia is being brought in through the backdoor.” Then there is the state of “confusion” in the Church itself flowing from public statements by high officials.
Gay Cantor Fired From Germantown Parish
Apparently the incident happened back in November but the local church kept it quiet. However, because WJLA reported it a few days ago, the archdiocese did announce it via Cardinal Wuerl's blog. Read the two pieces, along with what the Washington Blade (local gay newspaper) had to say about the matter.
The man in question, Jeffrey Higgins, is 29 years old. He was born well after Vatican II, and most likely received a Catholic education that was lackluster at best. As you read the WJLA article, you'll notice that he is a "cradle Catholic". He knew enough of his faith to tell his priest in the confessional about his same-sex difficulties. He says his pastor affirmed his disordered tendencies as being loved by God the way he is. Regrettably he's most likely rendering an accurate account of that confession, and that priest will have to answer to God for the spiritually deadly advise he gave to that young man. That said, it seemed that Higgins still understood that there was a problem for he did not publicize his situation to the parish staff.
The parish in question is Mother Seton Church in Germantown MD, pastored by Father Lee Fangmeyer. Progressive indignation aside, Father Fangmeyer did the only thing he could do, in light of the unrepenant attitude evinced by Higgins. To their credit, the same can be said for Bishop Knestout and Cardinal Wuerl. The teaching of Jesus Christ on the topic of homosexual conduct must be upheld by those in service to the Church; Higgins refused to comply so there was no choice but to fire him. We certainly pray that Higgins repents of his perverted lifestyle before he dies, lest he consign himself to hell.
Francis Makes His Most Progressive Statements Yet on Social Issues
Francis making the Illuminati "V" hand sign
In the Catholic church, Pope Francis might be as cool as
they come. During his visit to the U.S., he made statements calling on
Americans to show compassion and support toward immigrants and refugees. In 2014, he urged the parents of gay children
to stand by them. The pontiff continued to rack up some major points in
an interview with Italian journalist Andrea Tornielli that Random House
published as a book called The Name of God Is Mercy.
To be released on Tuesday, the 176-page Q&A addresses
themes such as homosexuality, marriage annulment, corruption and more,
with mercy being the common thread throughout. For Francis, it's the
cornerstone of his papacy; for the rest of us it explains why he's so
chill compared to his predecessors.
Pope Francis on gay Catholics: "I am glad that we are
talking about 'homosexual people' because before all else comes the
individual person, in his wholeness and dignity. And people should not
be defined only by their sexual tendencies: let us not forget that God
loves all his creatures and we are destined to receive his infinite
love."
Pope John Paul II on gay Catholics: [All Catholics are] "obliged to oppose the legal recognition of homosexual unions."
Francis still suggested that being gay is a sin, adding that
he prefers "homosexuals come to confession." He continued, "You can
advise them to pray, show goodwill, show them the way, and accompany
them along it." Even so, it's clear the church has come a long way since
Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict, who both suggested in a 2003 letter that upholding marriage between a man and woman — and only a man and a woman — was for the "common good" of society.
Environmentalism: Path to the Formal One World Religion
US-based Hindu religious leader
addresses Roman Catholic
American-Hindu religious leader
Rajan Zed addressed the Roman Catholic Diocesan Conference in Nevada on January
9. Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, spoke on how the
"creation" and "climate change" were viewed in Hinduism.
Rajan Zed read the Creation Hymn
(Nasadiya Sukta) from Rig-Veda; and talked about the sacred sound Om,
Brahm, Brahma-Vishnu-Shiva, purusha, etc.; and quoted from Chandogya
Upanishad, etc.
Explaining the Hinduism view of
"climate change", Zed talked about respecting earth as mother,
presence of divine everywhere and in all objects, reverence for life, raising
global consciousness of humanity, sharing and compassion, transforming
ourselves, interconnectedness of everything, etc.
In Focus
Others who spoke on the occasion
included Charles T. Durante, Roman Catholic Diocese of Reno Vicar General; V.
James Jeffery, Rector Emeritus of Trinity Episcopal Church; Evon J. Yakar,
Rabbi, Temple Bat Yam at South Lake Tahoe (California); Abdul Raheem Barghouti
of Northern Nevada Muslim Community; Matthew T. Fisher, Reno Buddhist Center
Resident Priest; and Brian E. Melendez, American Indian Spirituality Scholar.
This two-day Roman Catholic Diocesan
Conference in Sparks (Nevada) also covered the topics of Rich in Mercy, Dealing
with Grief, Discovering God's Will, Love-Community-Tenderness, End-of-the-Life
Issues, etc. "Redeeming Mercy" was the theme of the Conference, which
was attended by about 800 people. Monique Jacobs was the Conference Director.
- See more at:
http://www.merinews.com/article/us-based-hindu-religious-leader-addresses-roman-catholic-conference/15912663.shtml#sthash.kVSePgab.dpuf
Silenced priest frustrated by lack of support from bishops
The founder of the Association of Catholic Priests said his experience of the last four years, having been ordered by the Vatican not to minister publicly or to speak or write about his views, makes it hard to have much faith in the Church.
Fr Flannery spoke of the lack of process surrounding his dealings with the Vatican, which demanded he make public statements renouncing his views in relation to women priests and homosexuality, issues on which he opposes Catholic policy.
“I just think it’s so frustrating, the Irish bishops have never even contacted me in the last four years. Never shown me any element of support,” he told Miriam O’Callaghan on RTÉ Radio 1. “They are in senior positions in an institution that is conducting affairs in a totally unjust and abusive fashion and they do nothing about it and I find that intolerable.
Last August, Bishop of Cloyne William Crean prevented the Redemptorist priest giving a talk at a community hall in east Cork. The bishop said he was unable to approve a parish pastoral council’s invitation, because a priest who is out of ministry cannot exercise a public ministry.
Fr Flannery also raised concern that the Association of Catholic Priests, which now has more than 1,000 members, is still unable to meet with the Papal Nuncio to Ireland.
He said that, instead of leaving the Catholic Church or the priesthood, as some suggest he should, he has got involved in an international effort to reform the Church, which is now also developing in Ireland.
“I’m now at this stage very involved in the international church movement, which is extremely stimulating and exciting and has opened up a whole new world to me,” he said.
“And in some ways this is the best period of my life right now.”
He said he had been more upset and angry about the experience of recent years of his brother, Frank Flannery, than he was about what had happened to himself.
The former Rehab boss stepped down in 2014 as a senior strategist with Fine Gael, whose recent electoral successes he was largely credited with. Despite Taoiseach Enda Kenny telling him to do so, he refused to appear before the Dáil Public Accounts Committee to answer questions about payments from the Rehab Group.
He retired as its chief executive in 2006 but had stayed on as a board member at the charity, whose use of public money was being probed by the PAC. In July 2014, the Dáil’s Committee on Procedure and Privileges told the PAC it could not compel him to appear.
Mr Flannery declined to say when he last met Mr Kenny, but told Ms O’Callaghan he still has the warmest regard for Fine Gael and for the Taoiseach.
“Enda Kenny and I are not enemies,” he said.
“I do not have negative feelings towards him at all. We soldiered far too much together for far too long for anything like that ever to come in on it.
“He will have my full backing in whatever way he might ever want it. And if he doesn’t want it, he has my very fond good wishes.”
Conservative Catholics taking offense at Dallas Bishop’s church gun ban, support of Obama gun rules
Dallas
Bishop Kevin J. Farrell speaks to the crowd before a live simulcast of
Pope Francis’ closing Mass in Philadelphia at Klyde Warren Park in
Dallas on Sept. 27. (Rose Baca/The Dallas Morning News)
Plenty of Texas gun rights advocates celebrated 2016 as the year open
carry finally arrived. But for some conservative Catholics, it’s
another reason to clash with Dallas Bishop Kevin Farrell.The Dallas Diocese forbids parishioners from bringing guns – openly carried or concealed – to their churches. A recent online column by Farrell – described by some as “strident” – has made the Bishop’s critics even more vocal.
“Sadly, Texas has become the 45th state to embrace the cowboy mentality that permits the open carrying of guns,” Farrell wrote in his column. “It is difficult to see how this new law allowing persons with concealed handgun licenses (CHL) to openly carry firearms can accomplish anything other than cause people to feel threatened and intimidated.”
New state laws permit license holders to openly carry handguns in many places, including public college campuses. But private property owners also have the right to prohibit legal gun owners from packing.
That’s created tension from the grocery store to the pulpit.
Charles Cleaver, a North Oak Cliff Catholic and gun owner, described Farrell as a leftist with an Irish-European view of guns that doesn’t have a place in Texas. The Dublin-born bishop came to Dallas from Washington, D.C.
“He just likes to ram these things down people’s throats,” Cleaver said. “I don’t know who he’s [Farrell] trying to appeal to.”
Farrell’s column received attention from the National Catholic Reporter as well as websites devoted to news about guns and news about the Catholic Church.
Annette Gonzales Taylor, a diocese spokeswoman, said Farrell understood this was a polarizing issue but felt that the “staggering” amount of gun violence needed to be addressed. And she said there have been positive reactions from priests and many parishioners.
“They come to find peace and a prayerful atmosphere,” she said about the church.
Both sides speculated that opinion on these matters could be split evenly among local Catholics.
In his column, he criticized Texas’ new open carry law and highlighted the diocese’s decision to “prohibit the possession of any weapon in any facility owned, leased and operated by the diocese or a diocesan entity, except as specifically permitted by diocesan policy.”
The column said the ban was a reflection of the church as a place of sanctuary.
The column also praised President Barack Obama’s new executive order attempting to crack down on gun sales that hadn’t previously required background checks.
“It is absurd that terrorists, criminals, and mentally unbalanced people can freely and openly buy weapons not intended for sport, but designed to kill people,” Farrell wrote.
A traditionalist Dallas Catholic blogger – who posts with a pseudonym at veneremurcernui.wordpress.com – described Farrell’s words as a “screed worthy of Huffington Post or Daily Kos.” The blogger criticized the column as misleading in its claims about the value of the new gun sales rules and the Founding Fathers’ intentions regarding the Second Amendment.
“Why doesn’t he just call us a bunch of mouth-breathing inbred hicks and be done with it?” the blogger wrote.
There was equally strong criticism of the bishop for siding with Obama.
“I find it stunning that Bishop Farrell could simply lionize Obama’s stand, thus giving him political support, without making even a slight mention of Obama’s atrocious record on so many matters of truly grave moral import, such as the intrinsic evil of abortion and his frequent warfare against the liberty of the Church,” the blogger wrote.
Cleaver, who carries a concealed handgun most of the time, said he was never a fan of the open carry movement and said that “there are yahoos on our side too.” The open carry push, he said, has led more places — including many large chain stores — to ban concealed guns.
Also, Cleaver said he does understand reasons for banning open carry in church, since it could be a distraction. For that reason, the conservative First Baptist Church in downtown Dallas allows its members to carry concealed guns but not to carry them openly.
For Cleaver, it’s about safety. He said the terrorist attack at an anti-Islam rally in Garland and ISIS threats against the Catholic Church leave him feeling vulnerable.
Taylor said many of the diocese’s churches have off-duty police officers helping with security and traffic.
Cleaver said he’ll continue carrying a gun to Mass, no matter what Farrell decides.
Remembering a friend’s warning, Cleaver said: “What good would that [gun] do for you if you’re not carrying?”
Francis does another Google Hangout – with Eric Schmidt
Question: How does a heretic recognize a heretic?
Müller denies that CDF received heresy accusations against pope
It is a great joy to witness Pope Francis' steadfast commitment to the poor, Congregation of the Doctrine of Faith Prefect Cardinal Gerhard Müller, told the German weekly Die Zeit in a lengthy, stocktaking interview on the state of the church in 2015.
"The pope's espousal of the poor and his unflinching adherence to the fact that theologically the periphery is not the margin but the center [of the church], and that the hope of humankind lies in Jesus Christ and not in the New York Stock Exchange warms my heart," Müller said.
Müller has co-authored a book on poverty with liberation theologian Gustavo Gutièrrez. The book was written because Müller is convinced that, rightly understood, liberation theology is a blessing for Latin America.
"That is why I greatly appreciate Gustavo Gutièrrez' life work -- and not because I want to score points in leftist-liberal circles," he said.
The interviewer said that Francis' critics have accused him of not appreciating doctrine sufficiently. Some of his critics had even called him a heretic.
http://ncronline.org/blogs/ncr-today/m-ller-denies-cdf-received-heresy-accusations-against-pope
An antichrist meets antichrists...
Pope Visits Rome’s Great Synagogue: You Are Our 'Elder Brothers'
Francis began visit by laying a wreath at memorial for Roman Jews killed by Nazis in 1943 and another marking slaying of a 2-year-old boy in an attack by Palestinians on the synagogue in 1982.
Princess charms pope as Monaco royals make Vatican visit
VATICAN
CITY (AP) — Princess Charlene has charmed Pope Francis during a private
call on the pontiff at the Vatican alongside her husband, Prince Albert
II of Monaco.
Francis was smiling as Charlene knelt before him, grasped the pope's right hand and kissed it Monday.
Both
the princess and the pope were in white. Charlene wore a simple,
elegantly tailored off-white coat, white gloves and beige high-heeled
pumps, while Francis wore his usual gown.
The
couple didn't bring their 13-month old twins, Gabriella and Jacques,
but Francis said: "I will pray especially for your children."
The
prince, who has a farm, presented the pontiff with a basket of fruit
and vegetables and a basket of cheese. He also gave Francis a copy of a
special edition, printed in the tiny Mediterranean principality, of the
papal encyclical, which stresses people's duty to save the Earth's
environment.
"You know it," Albert, said, jokingly The pope quipped back: "I think I've read it.'"
Albert has created a foundation to protect the environment and encourage sustainable development.
The
Vatican's description of the royals' visit said that conversation
covered matters of "common interest," including the environment,
humanitarian aid and human development.
Francis considers care for the environment a moral imperative.
Francis
chatted for 20 minutes with the couple on a busy morning that included
meetings with a Lutheran delegation from Finland and with the head of
the International Monetary Fund, Christine Lagarde.
Church Revolution in Pictures
Photo of the Week
Suor Cristina joins Sister Act musical
When we consider the seriousness of the Third Commandment – “Thou shall not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain” – then some parts of the Sister Act films can be classified as light blasphemies.Indeed, two of the musical scenes from Sister Act's performances – the ones featuring prayers to the Most Holy Virgin Mary – follow this rule: In the first part the religious hymn is sung soberly with a false piety; in the second part, the same music and lyrics are repeated to a crazy rock 'n' roll rhythm. The performers show a true satisfaction in transforming those holy songs into grotesque rock parodies. See an example here.
On January 4, 2016, the media reported that Suor Cristina, the Italian Ursuline who won an Italian TV musical competition in 2014, will appear in the musical stage production of the hit movie Sister Act. The opening presentation will be in December 2016 in Rome.
It is the bad marriage of apostasy with blasphemy. Something one could expect from a conciliar nun.
To be continued
Why the Seattle archdiocese published the names of 77 sex abusers
The Seattle archdiocese released 77 names of Roman Catholic church
clergy and officials who abused children in an effort to promote
transparency.
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Society/2016/0116/Why-the-Seattle-archdiocese-published-the-names-of-77-sex-abusers
VoxCantor...
Cardinal Zen calls out Francis, Parolin and the whole Vatican for the betrayal of the Catholic Church in China! "Would our diplomats advise Joseph to go and humbly beg for dialogue with Herod!?"
 |
| Communist appointed bishop in 2010 |
I have reposted the article one below this and a post from the great Cardinal Zen, Emeritus of Hong Kong. It is a wake-up call for these Romans who would cede to the atheistic communists the authority to suggest bishops with the Pope becoming no more than a rubber stamp.
This papacy and the malefactors behind it must be called out for this betrayal of the Church in China and the tens of thousands of faithful who endure the persecution as well as the faithful bishops and priests who minister to them and are persecuted for the Faith.
They will pay dearly in eternity for this crime.
What will 2016 bring the Church in China
by Cardinal
Joseph Zen Zi-kiun
I have not spoken about the Church in China on my blog for
some time now. Certainly not because I am too busy to do so (busy as I may be,
I will never lose interest of our Church in China), not because I fear
criticism of my ideas (at my age I have nothing to gain or lose).
No, the problem is that I'd like to give some good news,
but, as you will note, my fate is that of the prophet Jeremiah. I have searched
at length for some good news, but have found none. I realise that during this
season of Christmas and the New Year, my complaints are somewhat “extra
chorum", but I cannot be a dog without a bark.
A.
I remember that at the beginning of last year the newspaper
Wen Wei Po announced jubilantly that "relations between China and the
Vatican will soon have a good development." Soon after, the Vatican
Secretary of State said that "the prospects are promising, there is a
desire for dialogue on both sides." I had my doubts about this unexpected
wave of optimism, I saw no basis for this optimism. More than a thousand
crosses were removed from the top of the churches (in some cases the churches
themselves have been destroyed). After so long, we can no longer delude
ourselves that this was anything beyond an episode of some local official’s
exaggerated zeal. Several seminaries have been closed. Students of the National
Seminary in Beijing were forced to sign a declaration of loyalty to the
Independent Church, promising also to concelebrate with illegitimate bishops
(otherwise they would not receive a diploma at the end of their studies). The
Government is continuously strengthening a church that now objectively is already
separated from the universal Catholic Church; with enticements and threats they
induce the clergy to perform acts contrary to the doctrine and discipline of
the Church, denying their conscience and their dignity.
B.
In the latter half of 2015, there were some promising events
which however failed to live up to expectations. Bishop Wu Qin-jing of Zhouzhi,
ten years after his episcopal ordination, was finally installed as bishop, but
has yet to pay the price of a compromise (see my blog of 14 July 2015).
Shortly after, Bishop Zhang Yinlin Anyang was ordained. Even
some usually cautious Catholic media rejoiced saying that everything had gone
well. They pointed out that this ordination is the first after the last three
years of contacts between Rome and Beijing, and also the first in Pope Francis’
pontificate, presenting the event as a good start.
It is this last statement that scares me, because the
process included a "democratic election", the reading of a
"decree of appointment by the (so-called) Episcopal Conference of
China" and the canonically un-clear position of a consecrating bishop . A
similarly abnormal process took place three years ago, does it deserve our
rejoicing? (See my blog of 7 September 2015).
C.
In October comes the big news: A Vatican delegation was in
Beijing, there was a meeting. The Holy See gave no news of it. Father
Heyndrickx Jeroom broke the news (of course he knows everything). He says:
"They did not discuss sensitive issues like Bishop Su Zhimin of Baoding
still in detention, or such as Bishop Ma Daqin of Shanghai to house arrest for
more than three years (but these problems should be resolved before any
negotiations? Otherwise Obviously there is goodwill on the part of Beijing).
They focused on the issue of appointing bishops (of which model? Like with
Anyang?). After the meeting, the delegation paid a visit to Bishop Li Shan of
Beijing and the National Seminary where they met with Ma Ying Lin (Father
Heyndrickx said that these are signs of goodwill on the part of Beijing, I
think instead that they were acts of homage imposed by Beijing)".
Later the Vatican Secretary of State also confirmed that
there was a meeting and that it was "very positive" and this
"would be part of a process that will hopefully end with an agreement."
Pressed by some journalists as to whether there was real progress, Cardinal
Parolin responded: "The fact that we speak is already positive." It
seems that there is no agreement in sight as of yet.
D.
So what is the formula now under discussion for the
appointment of bishops? As an old Cardinal out on the peripheries, I have no
way of knowing, let alone guessing.
A recent article "A winter of darkness for religions in
China" by Bernardo Cervellera on AsiaNews, says: "From information
that has arrived from China it would seem that Beijing’s proposal is limited to
complete recognition by the Holy See for all official bishops (even
illegitimate and excommunicated bishops), without any mention of the unofficial
bishops and those in prison; Vatican approval of the government recognized
Council of Bishops, which excludes underground bishops; approval of the
competency of this Council (and not the Pope) in the appointment of new
candidates to the episcopacy who will be "democratically" elected (in
short according to the suggestions of the Patriotic Association). The Holy See
must approve the Council’s appointment and has a weak veto only in
"severe" cases, which must be justified if used. If the Holy See’s
justifications are considered "insufficient", the Council of Bishops
may decide to proceed anyway".
If this information is accurate, can the Holy See accept the
claims of the Chinese counterpart? Does this approach still respect the true
authority of the Pope to appoint bishops? Can the Pope can sign such an agreement?
(Pope Benedict said: "The authority of the Pope to appoint bishops is
given to the church by its founder Jesus Christ, it is not the property of the
Pope, neither can the Pope give it to others").
Do our officials in Rome know what an election is in China?
Do they know that the so-called Episcopal Conference is not only illegitimate,
but simply does not exist? What exists is an organism that is called "One
Association and One Conference", namely the Patriotic Association and the
Bishops' Conference always work together as one body, which is always chaired
by government officials (there are pictures to prove it, the Government does
not even try more to keep up appearances, it starkly flaunts the fact that they
now manage religion!). Signing such an agreement means the authority to appoint
bishops delivering into the hands of an atheist government.
This scheme is often compared to a (poorly defined) Model
Vietnamese, but it is much worse. The Vietnamese model is based on an
initiative that began with the Church in Vietnam, the true Catholic Church in
Vietnam. In China on the other hand, the so-called Association and Conference
hide the reality that it is the Government calling the shots.
Even in Eastern Europe of the past, such as in Poland and
Czechoslovakia, it was the Church that took the initiative and then gave the
Government veto power. In doing so, even if the government vetos a proposal for
the hundredth time, it is still the Church that presents a candidate and makes
the appointment. If the Government insists on a veto, it will only prolong the
impasse, and it will still allow the Church time to look for a suitable
candidate. But it is unthinkable to leave the initial proposal in the hands of
an atheist Government who cannot possible judge the suitability of a candidate
to be a bishop. Obviously, if the Church gives in to pressure from the
government, the only result – despite proclamations to the contrary – is that
it will have sold out the pontifical right to appoint bishops. Can this happen?
According to an article written by a certain András Fejerdy: "For pastoral
reasons - that is, because the full administration of the sacraments requires
completely consecrated bishops - the Holy See believed that the completion of
the Hungarian Bishops' Conference was so urgent that it accepted a solution
that formally did not upset the canonical principle of free appointment, but
that in practice gave the regime a decisive influence in choosing the
candidates”.
UCAN News reports recent news from Chengdu (Sichuan):
"Shortly after the visit of the Vatican delegation to Beijing, the Holy
See approved the episcopal candidate elected in May 2014". Is this also a
case of "not upsetting the canonical principle of free appointment, but
…in practice giving the regime a decisive influence in choosing the candidates
"?
E.
It is said that dialogue focused on the issue of the
appointment of bishops, but there are many other pending problems, when and how
will they be resolved?
The aforementioned AsiaNews article stated, again based on
information received from China: "Beijing (demands) the Holy See’s
recognition of all the official bishops, even the illegitimate and
excommunicated ones." I wonder: is it only the government that makes these
demands, without repentance of those concerned? Will the excommunicated only be
released from excommunication or even recognized as bishops? Even without any
act of repentance? Has the mercy of God come to this? Will the faithful be
obliged to obey these bishops?
So much remains to be resolved.
Illegitimate bishops who have been excommunicated have
abused the sacramental power (including ordination of deacons and priests) and
judicial (assigning offices) and the Holy See seems to be without rebuke for
them.
Legitimate bishops who participated in illegitimate
episcopal ordinations, one, two, even three, four times, without ever having
asked for forgiveness, or having received forgiveness from the Holy Father.
Also those who took part in the so-called Assembly of Representatives of
Chinese Catholics (the clearest symbol of a schismatic church).
Shortly after the Vatican delegation’s journey to Beijing
began, the government organized a large gathering of Church leaders, forcing on
that occasion a celebration of all the bishops, legitimate, illegitimate and
excommunicated. These are all objectively schismatic acts. The government now
can string along a large number of bishops, resulting in an irrecoverable loss
of dignity. If the Holy See signed some agreement with the Government without
clarifying all these things, it will cause a severe wound to the conscience of
the faithful.
F.
Obviously our underground communities are non-existent for
the Government. But now is even the Vatican ignoring them in negotiations, to
appease their Chinese counterparts? To "save the day" will we abandon
our brothers and sisters? But they are the healthy limbs of the Church! (Of
course, they too have their problems, especially when dioceses remain without
bishops, which can only lead to disorder). Is silencing the underground
community to please the government not a form of suicide?
In the recent negotiations there has been no mention of the
case of Msgr. James Su Zhimin in prison for 20 years. Nor of Msgr. Thaddeus Ma
Daqin of Shanghai under house arrest for more than three years because these
issues have been deemed "too sensitive"!?
In early September, some of the Shanghai faithful who were
in prison for a long time, along with their relatives, went on a pilgrimage to
Rome to commemorate the sixtieth anniversary of the outbreak of the great
persecution on September 8, 1955. The understanding was: "Do not make any
noise, the past is past, we have to look forward"!?
On a diplomatic level, the underground communities are the
ace in the Holy See’s deck; if we amputate these limbs, what have we left in
diplomatic standings to induce the other party to agree to our terms? By now,
the government controls nearly all the official communities, while the
underground communities are kept at bay by the Holy See. What do they still
need so come to terms? They only need the signature of the Holy Father, a
blessing, for this "Chinese Church." Beijing has no intention of
negotiating, only making demands. After such a signature they will oblige the
faithful of the underground community to come out and surrender to those who
were illegitimate bishops for a long time, maybe even excommunicated, but now,
with a clean slate, without even showing any repentance, leaning only on the Government
for their legitimacy, have become bishops in their own right.
G.
What makes me restless is the sight of our Eminent Secretary
of State still intoxicated by the miracles of Ostpolitik. In a speech last
year, at a Memorial for Card. Casaroli, he praised the success of its
predecessor in having secured the existence of the Church hierarchy in the
communist countries of Eastern Europe. He says: "In choosing candidates
for the episcopate, we choose shepherds and not people who systematically
oppose the regime, people who behave like gladiators, people who love to grandstand
on the political stage." I wonder: Who had he in mind while making this
description? I fear that he was thinking of a Cardinal Wyszynski, a Cardinal
Mindszenty, a Cardinal Beran. But these are the heroes who bravely defended the
faith of their people! It terrifies me to think this way and I sincerely hope
that I am wrong.
On the day that an agreement is signed with China there will
be peace and joy, but do not expect me to participate in the celebrations of
the beginning of this new Church. I disappear, I will start a monastic life to
pray and do penance. I will ask the forgiveness of Pope Benedict for not being
able to do what he was hoping that I could I do. I will ask Pope Francis to
forgive this old Cardinal from the peripheries for disturbing him with so many
inappropriate letters.
The innocent children were killed, the angel told Joseph to
take Mary and the Child and flee to safety. But today would our diplomats
advise Joseph to go and humbly beg for dialogue with Herod!?
P.S.
One World Religion Vomit...
Religious differences are a 'seed of peace', Rome's chief rabbi says
.- Riccardo Di Segni, the chief rabbi of Rome, said Pope Francis’ visit to Rome’s major synagogue this weekend is a sign of strengthened Jewish-Catholic relations, and shows that differences in belief should be a source of peace rather than violence.
The rabbi told CNA Jan. 14 that for the Jewish community in Rome “there are two main points” to the Pope’s visit to the synagogue, which is scheduled to take place Sunday, Jan. 17.“The first one is that it is a sign of continuity. This Pope wants to confirm the way of his two predecessors and not to put a stop in the way of good relations.”
“And the second point is related to the urgency of our time, which is marked by intolerance and violence inspired by religion, or bad teachers of religion.”
Pope Francis’ encounter with Rome’s Jewish community, then, is aimed at communicating the opposite: “we want to show that differences of religion is a seed of tolerance, coexistence, and building peace,” Di Segni added.
Known for the great emphasis he places on interreligious dialogue, Francis will follow in the footsteps of two of his predecessors. In 1986 St. John Paul II became the first Pope to visit the synagogue. Benedict XVI imitated the gesture, making a visit of his own in 2010.
According to a Nov. 17, 2015, Vatican communique announcing the Pope’s visit, the encounter will consist of a personal meeting between Pope Francis and representatives of Judaism and the members of the Jewish Community in Rome. No other details have yet been published.
In his comments to CNA, Di Segni said that as far as Jewish-Catholic relations go, “we are in an interesting point of development.” (You can say that again!)
He noted that 2015 marked the 50th anniversary of the publication of Nostra aetate, the Second Vatican Council’s declaration on the relation of the Church to non-Christian religions.
When Nostra aetate was promulgated by Bl. Paul VI in 1965, it marked the first time bishops had explicitly said that the Church “rejects nothing that is true and holy” in other religious traditions, urging Catholics to pursue dialogue and collaboration with people of all religions.
In particular, the document radically reshaped Catholic relations with the Jewish world, decrying “hatred, persecutions, displays of anti-Semitism, directed against Jews at any time and by anyone” and stating that “what happened in [Christ's] passion cannot be charged against all the Jews, without distinction, then alive, nor against the Jews of today.”
Fifty years after the document’s publication, which marked “a fundamental point, a turning point, of history,” the two religions still enjoy “a good experience” in terms of their relationship, Di Segni said.
“Many problems were solved, others were discussed. The important point is that there are ways of communication and good will to discuss together.”
One example of a recent landmark in Jewish-Catholic relations is the Dec. 10, 2015, publication of a Vatican document that discusses the means of salvation for the Jewish people.
Another move reflecting Pope Francis’ desire to strengthen interreligious dialogue was an Oct. 26-28, 2015, conference hosted by the Vatican in honor of Nostra aetate's anniversary.
Representatives of religions from around the world were invited to participate. Among the traditions represented were Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Jainism, and Sikhism.
In continuity with what has proved to be his great desire to strengthen interreligious relations, the Pope also released a new video message on his monthly prayer intentions dedicated to the topic.
The Pope's intention for this month is dedicated to interreligious dialogue, that “sincere dialogue among men and women of different faiths may produce the fruits of peace and justice.”
However, when it comes to the Church’s dialogue with the Jewish people, Di Segni said that “we think that our dialogue is not theological dialogue.”
Rather, it’s “a dialogue between people of different faiths who gain reciprocal respect and understand that differences are a powerful tool in the hands of the people who manage them well.”
Cardinal Koch on Week of Prayer and 2016 ecumenical agenda
(Vatican Radio) Christian Churches around the world and especially in the northern hemisphere on Monday celebrate the start of the annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. During the eight day period, churches and communities hold joint worship services, bible studies and other encounters aimed at promoting greater understanding and closer cooperation among members of the different denominations.
The theme for this year’s celebration, jointly published by the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity and the World Council of Churches’ Commission on Faith and Order, is drawn from the first letter of Peter: ‘Called to proclaim the mighty acts of the Lord’. The resources, available on both the Vatican and WCC websites, have been prepared by Christians in Latvia, once a religious and political battleground, but today a crossroads where Catholics, Lutherans, Baptists and Orthodox work and pray together.
Here in Rome, Pope Francis will lead Vespers with members of other Christian Churches next Monday in the Basilica of St Paul Outside the Walls, an important ecumenical celebration during this Jubilee Year of Mercy. To find out more about what’s on ecumenical agenda for the coming year, Philippa Hitchen spoke with Cardinal Kurt Koch, President of the Council for Christian Unity..
http://www.news.va/en/news/cardinal-koch-on-week-of-prayer-and-2016-ecumenica
