Marcelo Sanchez Sorondo, the "politiacal arm" of the Pope. "For decades he has labored ceaselessly in the Vatican till the election of Pope Francis. The name Sorondo is still widely known in Argentina because of his father and grandfather.
(Rome) Archbishop Marcelo Sanchez Sorondo, officially the Grand Chancellor of the Pontifical Academies of Sciences and Social Sciences, is the "political arm" of Pope Francis. He is responsible for a new ambiguity and accomodation in matters of life, culture of death and sterilization as a solution to environmental problems and climate change. The policy had already been laid before the pope's political adviser. He comes from the Argentine upper class. His grandfather was Argentine Interior Minister and his father a well-known political journalist. Even now accusations have been voiced that the pope's political adviser does not live like a priest, since he "never celebrates Holy Mass, and neither does he pray the breviary," says InfoVaticana .
Sprout of the Argentine upper class: learning politics already in the cradle
He was born in Argentina at the Feast of the Nativity of Mary, on 1942, as the son of a family of the upper class, and grew up in a strongly intellectual environment. His mother, Amalia Moreno Bunge, died when he was only eight years old. At the age of 26, he was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Buenos Aires in 1968. After his ordination, he went to Italy, where he studied philosophy at the Dominican University of Angelicum and at the University of Perugia .
FILE - In this March 26, 2004, file pool photo, Bishop Thomas O'Brien, center, is flanked by attorneys, Melissa Berren, left, and Tom Henze, right, as they stand before Judge Stephen Gerst in a courtroom in Phoenix. O'Brien, a former bishop who led the Roman Catholic church in metro Phoenix during a worldwide child sexual abuse scandal, has been accused of molesting a young boy 35 years ago. O'Brien is accused in a lawsuit of sexually abusing the boy on several occasions at parishes in Phoenix and Goodyear from 1977 to 1982. The Diocese of Phoenix says O'Brien denies the allegation. (AP Photo/Mark Henle, Pool, File) more +
A former bishop who led the Roman Catholic church in metro Phoenix during a worldwide child sexual abuse scandal has been accused of molesting a young boy 35 years ago.
Retired Bishop Thomas O'Brien is accused in a lawsuit of sexually abusing the boy on several occasions at parishes in Phoenix and Goodyear from 1977 to 1982. The Diocese of Phoenix says O'Brien denies the allegation.
O'Brien, now 81, led the diocese in Phoenix as it became embroiled in a global scandal that rocked the Catholic church after allegations surfaced in Boston about pedophile priests going unpunished.
The bishop acknowledged in a 2003 immunity deal that he let church employees accused of sex abuse continue to have contact with children. Weeks after the deal, O'Brien resigned as bishop after he was arrested in the hit-and-run death of a pedestrian.
O'Brien's accuser says the clergyman sexually abused him when he was a child and he had suppressed his memories of it, said Tim Hale, his lawyer.
The accuser, who is now 47 and lives in the Tucson area, started having flashbacks of the abuse in September 2014 when preparing for his son's baptism into the Catholic church, Hale said.
"It has turned his life upside down," Hale said, explaining that his client has suffered profound emotional distress.
Hale said his client's allegation is being investigated by the Phoenix Police Department, which refused to comment.
The diocese issued a statement saying O'Brien denies the accusation and that he was never assigned to the schools and parishes where the abuse is alleged to have occurred. The statement also said the diocese informed prosecutors about the allegation immediately after learning of it in September 2016.
O'Brien's 2003 immunity agreement said a grand jury investigating church sex abuse allegations at the time didn't find evidence that the bishop had engaged in sexual misconduct.
Amanda Jacinto, a spokeswoman for the Maricopa County Attorney's Office, said the immunity deal will remain in place, meaning the bishop could not be prosecuted for letting church employees suspected of sex abuse be around children.
But Jacinto said the agreement would not prevent prosecutors from bringing a case against O'Brien if there's evidence that he sexually abused a child.
O'Brien, who served as Phoenix's bishop for 21 years, resigned in June 2003 after being accused of striking and killing 43-year-old Jim Reed with his car.
The bishop didn't stop to help Reed or report the accident to police but told investigators that he didn't realize he had hit a person.
He said he thought he had hit a dog or cat or that someone had thrown a rock at his car. Prosecutors said O'Brien tried to have his windshield fixed.
He was sentenced to probation and 1,000 hours of community service after being convicted of leaving the scene of a fatal accident.
John C. Kelly, an attorney representing the Diocese of Phoenix, declined to comment on the lawsuit and the allegations against O'Brien.
(Rome) The Vatican is preparing a possible journey by Pope Francis to Russia. The Corriere della Sera of today quotes Cardinal Secretary Pietro Parolin with the words:
"A trip to Russia to strengthen the bridges between East and West."
The Cardinal Secretary will visit Moscow in August. The main theme of the talks he is going to present there will cover an official visit of the Pope in Russia. Francis would be the first pope in the history of the Church to set foot on Russian soil, Cardinal Parolin told Corriere della Sera .
"The preparation of a possible visit by the Holy Father Francis in Russia is a reason for my visit," said the Cardinal.
Last March, Pope Francis was asked by Die Welt about his travel projects, replied, he could not visit Russia, but only to Ukraine.
The Cardinal Secretary was not consulted on this statement. He will meet Moscow State President Vladimir Putin and high representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church, including Patriarch Cyril I of Moscow.
Parolin said:
"In this historical moment, where we experience an increase in tensions and conflict in different parts of the world, peace is the highest priority for Pope Francis, but also for me personally."
The Holy See has a "special interest" in Eastern Europe, because of its rich cultural and religious traditions, but also because it is a key to greater stability of the continent and greater unity, including East-West relations. "
The Vatican has closed eight churches in the Baghdad (Iraq). This was reported by "International Christian Concern," an association which is committed to persecuted Christians
Rome (kath.net) The Vatican has evidently blocked 8 churches in the Baghdad (Iraq). This is the story according to "International Christian Concern", an association which is committed to persecuted Christians. The churches were closed in May. A reason given was that the churches were hardly visited. After a visit by Catholic church representatives, the closure of the churches was decided upon. Christians have been persecuted in Iraq for many years. Large relief organizations have been trying for quite some time to ensure Christianity does not end in Iraq. Thus, 13,000 houses are being built by the Pontifical Foundation "Church in Need" in the Iraqi Nineveh plain.
Will the Vatican Require All Diocese in the World Church to Have an Exorcist?
(Brasilia) "The hour of exorcists, in Sao Paulo, Brazil and the world," was the headline of the O Estado de São Paulo yesterday. According to the Brazilian daily, the Vatican had asked the dioceses of the world to appoint exorcists. Each one has to have at least one exorcist.
The hour of exorcists?
Such a call from the Holy See that every diocese has to commission exorcists, as the daily newspaper of Sao Paulo reported, was not yet known. In the coming days, the Vatican may have to comment more on this subject.There is doubt as to whether the assertion of the Brazilian daily newspaper corresponds to the facts.
The request coincides with a demand by the head magistrate of the diocese of Rome, who died in September 2016. Father Gabriele Amorth, priest of the Society of St. Paul (SSP), repeatedly criticized the fact that many dioceses had no exorcists. During his 30 years of work, his demand that every diocese should at least have an exorcist who was officially commissioned did not receive any hearing.
At the beginning of the article by O Estado de São Paulo it now reads:
"The Vatican is directing this year that the dioceses of the world to train priests to carry out exorcisms."
The Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum of the Legionnaires of Christ (LC) has offered a course "Exorcism and Prayers for Liberation" since 2005. This course deals with the different aspects of obsession, but is not explicitly addressed to priests, which is why laymen can also participate. It is the world's only university offering of this kind.
No diocese, however, has to send priests to the Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum. The XII. Course "Exorcism and Prayers for Liberation" will take place in the course of the 2017/2018 academic year in May 2018.
Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Photo: Wikipedia / O Estado de São Paulo (screenshot)
(Rome) Pope Francis has apparently "changed" his opinion on the alleged appearances of Medjugorje and was about to announce "good news". This was addressed by Cardinal Ernest Simoni SJ, who was sent by Pope Francis to the 28th International Youth Festival in Medjugorje.
On Sunday, the English-speaking, Croatian news page titled Total Croatia News , cited the Croatian daily newspaper Vecernji List.
"Medjugorje apparitions close to official recognition."
Cardin Simoni in Medjugorje
The Albanian Jesuit Ernest Simoni was elevated to the rank of Cardinal by Pope Francis. Simoni had been detained by the communist regime for almost ten years in Albania until the early 1990s.
"In front of 50,000 young people from all over the world," the 88-year-old cardinal said at the Freilichtfestival in front of the parish church of Medjugorje. Before he embarked to the Herzegovinian town, he had asked the Pope for his blessing. According to the media reports, the Cardinal said that Francis had little information on Medjugorje, and that this had come from the "opponents" of the phenomenon. This is why the Pope could not have "a good opinion." But things would "change", according to the "personal ambassador of the pope".
In the past, Pope Francis was very critical of the phenomenon in which the Mother of God appeared as a kind of "postbot" or "head of a post office" to convey "messages" at a certain time. In the autumn of 2013, he mentions in a morning sermon in Santa Marta Medjugorje, in particular, as a negative example, as those present heard. The two summaries of Radio Vatican and Osservatore Romano did not mention Medjugorje.
According to Vecernji List, there is "no doubt" that Pope Francis "has now decided" to convey an "optimistic message". Cardinal Simoni preached "openly and without any reservations about the apparitions of Our Lady," according to the Croatian newspaper, which ended its report with the words:
"This ultimately signals that we are a small step from the final decision on the papal status of Medjugorje."
Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Image: Total Croatia News / Vecernji List (Screenshots)
Edit: over the past few days, we've been getting a little bit of traffic, a trickle really, from the dispenser of fake news, the Old Gray Lady, which is the company paper of a Mexican globalist. We've talked about them before when they acted as an instrument of Attorney Jeff Anderson's attack on the Catholic Church in the sex abuse crisis. Their distortions and omissions should be familiar to those who study the news in these dark times.
Now they are issuing threats to faithful Catholics on behalf of the evil editor of the La Civiltà Cattolica, the decadent leftist Jesuit, Spadaro, the mouthpiece of Sauron himself, describing his own hit piece as a "shot across the bow." In their article, they refer to Church Militant, whose article we cited, as a "fringe" organization. Is that the same as being on the "margins" that the Holy Father talks about so often? Don't bet on it, them's not the kind of margins he's talking about. While they have time to threaten faithful Catholics, these are hard times for the Times, which has greater problems to deal with as it continues its own downward spiral to economic and cultural irrelevance. Perhaps now is the time that Church Militant will admit that we have a big problem in the Holy See?
The events in Venezuela have made the Holy See a rare gesture
Venezuela (kath.net) Events in Venezuela have led the Holy See to a rare gesture as "Radio Vatican" reported. The Vatican Secretariat of State has called on the government under Socialist President Maduro to refrain from dissolving the constitutional assembly. Initiatives such as these are "to be avoided or suspended" because, "instead of favoring reconciliation and peace, fuel a climate of tension and struggle and burden the future," the Vatican says. It was only on Thursday that Cardinal Secretary Pietro Parolin, in an interview, had made it clear that the diplomacy of the Holy See for Venezuela was characterized by low tones and "proactive, non-reactive diplomacy." According to the report, Pope Francis very closely follows the events in Venezuela and continues to pray for the country and its people. The letter from the Vatican reminds Venezuela's politicians and, in particular, the government that the crisis should be solved through negotiations. Venezuela should follow the guidelines which the State Secretariat had indicated to the government in its letter of December 1. This included, inter alia, the release of political prisoners for the opening of negotiations. The armed forces were called upon to refrain from an "excessive and disproportionate use of force". Cardinal Secretary Pietro Parolin is known as Venezuelan, since he was previously nuncio in Caracas.
Loris Zanatta: "It is not an insult to call Pope Francis a populist"
(Buenos Aires) On 1 August, Clarin, the largest Argentine daily newspaper, published an editorial by Ricardo Roa, criticizing the "alarming silence" of Pope Francis to the state crisis in Venezuela. It was quoted by Loris Zanatta, professor of Latin American history at the University of Bologna. An interview was published in the current August issue of the Argentine economic magazine, Fortuna, with Zanatta about "the phenomenon of populism in Latin America and especially in Argentina." The historian was asked for a brief statement about various personalities - among them Pope Francis:
Fortuna: Pope Francis?
Title of "Fortuna" with reference to the Zanatta interview
Zanatta: It is no insult to say that he is a typical representative of Latin populism. His idea is that there is a people that is above the political agreements and the constitutional people and is the guardian of historical legitimacy: the people of God. No pope has so often used the word people. Pope Francis does not distinguish economic liberalism from political liberalism. He often uses the word pluralism against the market, which, he says, homogenizes the world, destroys cultures and peoples. His idea of pluralism is that of peoples and cultures, which are generally not pluralistic. His point of view is that of Latin Catholicism: the poor are the protectors of the Catholic virtues. They are the true people. The others are not, even if they win elections.
The evidence of the Peronian expert Zanatta reflects the Latin aspect in the pontificate of Pope Francis, but they do not explain - if they are correct - why Francis does not seem to pay attention to the peoples and cultures of Europe by his demand for unrestricted immigration. The philosopher and former Italian senate president Marcello Pera, a friend of Benedict XVI, accused Francis of promoting mass immigration out of "hate against the West".
The monthly magazine Fortuna appears by the publisher Perfil and has nothing to do with the media publisher of the daily Clarin.
Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Photo: Fortuna (Screenshot)
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
AMDG
[Katholisches] Bishop Bressanelli (left) and Bishop Zanchetta
"The purge of the Argentine episcopacy continues, and the Pope's activity for the creation of a new Argentine episcopate is truly remarkable, and if anyone were to take the trouble to count the reassignments, forced retirements, the transfers, the promotions and the new appointments, that they would not only exceed every other country, but the number would be absolutely astonishing in proportion."
The Spanish columnist, Francisco Fernandez de la Cigoña wrote on August 3, 2017, the same day of the retirement of Monsignor Virginio Dominigo Bressanelli as Bishop of Neuquén. On the 1st of August, Pope Francis had retired Gustavo Óscar Zanchetta, Bishop of Oran, who was only 53 years old. Monsignor Zanchetta had been appointed bishop by Francis in July 2013. Bishop Bressanelli, formerly Superior General of the Dehonian Order, As diocesan bishop of Neuquén.
Image: MiL / AdS (Screenshots)
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
AMDG
Priest succumbed to the wounds received in knife attack at cathedral in Mexico City
Mexico City (kath.net/Fides) "On Wednesday the head of the Intensive Care Unit of the National Institute of Medical Sciences (INCM) announced that Pastor José Miguel Machorro's brain is no longer functioning and we now wait until the heart stops beating." Pastor Machorro was the victim of a knife attack last May 15 following a service in the cathedral of Mexico City. Since then, the state of Father Machorro has continued to deteriorate, so he was taken to the Institute of Medical Science at the beginning of August (INCM).
Jose Galat, Founder, President and Director of Teleamiga, one of the largest Catholic broadcasters, has been declared "excommunicated" because of his criticism of the pope and declaration of latae sententiae excommunication.
(Bogota) In the coming September, a visit to Pope Francis is planned in Colombia, which is casting its shadows. A few days ago there was a serious conflict between the Colombian Bishops' Conference and one of the largest Catholic television channels. At the center of the conflict is a well-known researcher and media entrepreneur who has hitherto been regarded as a faithful Catholic - with a "defect": he dares criticize the office of Pope Francis and even accuses him of not being the "legitimate" successor of Peter, "because he is denying truths of the Faith." The bishop's conference declared him a few days ago to be a "schismatic" and de facto excommunicated.
José Galat: Presidential Consultant, Consul General, University Rector
José Galat Noumer is a well-known man not only in Colombia, but throughout the Spanish-speaking world. He was born in 1928 in Sagomaso (then Diocese of Tunja), a region that is nowadays known for its cyclists. He studied Law in Colombia, Political Science and Sociology in Paris and Philosophy in Barcelona. In Colombia, he was initially active within the framework of the International Association of Christian Entrepreneurs (UNIAPAC). In his working life, he devoted himself not only the social sciences, but also to the establishment of educational institutions and the cooperative system. From 1966-1974 he was a consultant to Colombian President Carlos Lleras Restrepo and Misael Pastrana Borrero, a member of the Colombian People's Bank, and in the 1970s, he was also a Colombian Consul General in Paris.
José Galat, former university professor
In 1951 he was given the first assistant position, followed by lectures and professorships at various universities in Colombia. From 1981 to July 17, 2017 he was rector of the University of La Gran Columbia. In this function, too, a special emphasis was laid on the promotion of the cooperative system, which, on the basis of the Catholic social doctrine, he regarded as a particularly suitable instrument for the promotion of the economy, independence and human dignity. More than 250,000 people are now employed in the cooperatives established and supported by the company.
Galat has published 22 books dealing primarily with Colombia, economic questions, cooperative society, but also theological and philosophical issues.
Teleamiga - Catholic television station with millions of viewers
At an early stage, he has dealt with mass communications. In the 1970s, he developed the idea of a weekly broadcasting of the country's president. In 1999, he and his friend Diego Arango Osorio founded Teleamiga , which is now available in HD quality in Colombian cities via cable, otherwise via satellite in all Latin America, the USA, Europe and North Africa. The aim of the two founders was to create, besides the state and private radio broadcasting, a broadcaster devoted to the value and not to commerce. The station belongs to a non-profit foundation of the University of La Gran Columbia, whose president is Galat.
In 2010, he applied to be nominated as a Presidential candidate for the Conservative Party of Colombia. As such, he wanted to succeed Alvaro Uribe, the "vanquisher of the FARC", who was not allowed to stand for two term periods. The party, however, opted for another candidate.
Galat, now 88 years old, still makes the weekly program "Un Cafe de Galat," which, according to the ratings, is one of the most watched TV shows on Teleamiga .
Papal Criticism and Colombian Bishops
Criticism of the Pope is a delicate matter in the Church. The historian Roberto de Mattei, in his recent book, "Defense of Tradition", points out that papal infallibility defined in 1870 by the First Vatican Council, is not only misunderstood by opponents of the Church, but is misunderstood by Catholics themselves.
Teleamiga, broadcasting since 1999
There are specific factors that come into play in Colombia. In the autumn, the country's bishops' conference and Pope Francis delivered a variety of recommendations in the referendum on the peace plan of President Santos. While the pope was for the peace plan with the Marxist guerrilla organization FARC, this was rejected by the bishops. The majority of the Colombian voters followed the bishops.The FARC had bled the country dry for half a century. Many Colombians do not see why, as they are defeated, that they should be politically revalued and recognized as negotiating partners.
Pope Francis coupled his visit to Colombia to the outcome of popular vote. It took more patient talks to resolve the disagreements in connection, so that the Pope's visit can nevertheless be held with some delay.
"Constant criticism of Pope Francis"
The bishops are therefore not interested in any "disturbances" of ecclesial peace. This is one of the reasons for the sharp reaction that has taken place over the past few days for a Catholic personality so celebrated in the past as Professor Jose Galat.
Galat is an energetic man, as his CV proves. But he is also a man of clear language. The contradictions in the pontificate of Pope Francis, he does not conceal. Criticism was exercised by Galat mainly in connection with the family synod and the controversial post-synodal letter Amoris laetitia. At the same time, the second episcopal synod coinciding with revelations about Cardinal Danneels had decisively altered Galat's attitude. His critics speak of an "increasing radicalization."
Galat's television station reaches up to 50 million viewers, according to InfoVaticana. This is a media power which is not ignored, either by the bishops or by Rome.
In February 2016, the Colombian Bishops' Conference spoke for the first time in a statement about the "trouble" concerning the "constant criticism" by José Galat "upon the person of Pope Francis." The bishops had been alarmed by the news of Teleamiga that "a group of bishops were against Pope Francis." This assertion was "decidedly rejected" and the "unanimous communion with the Holy Father" was emphasized.
In the same month there was an exchange of views between representatives of the Episcopal Conference and the Directorate of Teleamiga, including Galat.
Italian journalist Massimo Franco in Corriere della Sera: The reforms in the Vatican by Pope Francis have brought very little results so far
Rome (kath.net) The reforms in the Vatican by Pope Francis have brought very few results so far. This is the opinion of the journalist Massimo Franco in Corriere della Sera. The journalist recalled that Francis was elected with a strong mandate for reform. In particular, the pontifex promised "shock therapy" in the Vatican's finances. The ambitious plans have, however, been set aside, Vatican employees have since returned to their usual behavior, and the State Secretariat again took control of administrative matters. The journalist recalled that, with Cardinal Pell and Libero Milone, two key figures have now left their posts and have not been replaced. Franco then prophesies that with Jean-Baptise de Franssu, the President of the Vatican Bank, the next key player would soon leave the field because he was in constant opposition within the Vatican.
That's never happened to Bishop Rudolf Voderholzer before: he had been refused entrance to a Bavarian folk festival. The security service of the "Landshuter Hochzeit" considered his soutane to be a "fantasy costume" and did not allow him entry, as the Landshut weekly newspaper Wochenblatt reported.
Initially, the bishop and the accompanying pastor, Alfred Wölfl, were thought to be particpants in the feast of a historical event. But it turned out that the Lord in black is not a participant at all! "Strange costumes" are not permitted on the fair grounds according to "Wochenblatt." The attendant wanted to enforce this rule at the entrance. "We then explained to him that this is the uniform of a bishop," said the priest of the Parish Church of St. Pius. "Anyone can say that," the attendant is supposed to have answered. But not a problem for the clergymen: "We finally showed them our service records, so the topic was then over."
"Never experienced before"
The attendant, was visibly embarrassed at his mistake, then apologized, Pastor Wölfl said: "We laughed to ourselves then." According to the "Wochenblatt", the diocesan press criticized the incident, which had already taken place on the previous Sunday: "I have never experienced anything like this before."
The organizers should have also been warned about Cardinal Reinhard Marx, who a week later celebrated a Mass on the occasion of the Volksfest. In fact, according to these presspictures, he appeared in the simple black suit with collar shirt, without soutane.
The Landshut wedding is a multi-week folk festival that takes place every four years. It is reminiscent of the wedding of the Bavarian duke Georg of the Rich with Hedwig Jagiellonica, the daughter of the Polish King Kasimir IV Andreas, and has been celebrated since 1903, when the legendary wedding for the first time was played by 145 contributors. Today, around 2300 performers take part in historical costumes.(Fxn)
According to a Focus-Online report, what the Muslim attacker Ahmed A. said after the knife assassination attempt in Hamburg
Hamburg (kath.net) "I do not want to do anything to you, I want to attack Christians." According to a Focus-Online report, this is what the Muslim terrorist Ahmed A., told another Muslim after the knife attack attempt in Hamburg, who had apparently prevented the terrorist from further attacks. Also involved was Aimen Zahri. The 37-year-old told Focus that he was the one who threw the 26-year-old assassin on the ground and held him after he stabbed one man and injured five others. "I did not hesitate for a moment when I realized what had just happened." They were in total eight, and with whicker chairs and an iron bar, they had driven the attacker into a corner and finally overwhelmed him.
An international catholic blog has launched a scathing attack on Francis Brennan's latest RTE show over a segment that included an Irish priest performing a drag act as Shirley Bassey.
'Francis Brennan's Tour of Vietnam' features 12 travellers, including Fr. Richard Geoghegan, touring the Asian country under the hotelier's guidance.
In Sunday's episode Fr Geoghegan - a parish priest in Carrick on Suir, Co Tipperary - is seen donning a dress, lipstick and a blonde wig before miming a Shirley Bassey hit.
His fellow travellers are bowled over by the performance and Fr Geoghegan later explains: "If you have a talent, why not use that talent because we suppress our talents.
"God himself said 'I've given you the talent, now go forth and use them.' So I think I did that and achieved it."
With the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, the Synodal Biblical-Theological Commission has published a draft version of the Catechesis of the Russian Orthodox Church for Church-wide discussion, reports patriarchia.ru. The final section on the Russian Church’s attitude towards the non-Orthodox has caused some consternation.
The idea of creating a modern catechism was first raised at the Bishops’ Council in 2008, and the Holy Synod instructed the Synodal Theological Commission to being preparing the project a year later. Prominent theologians of the Russian Church, as members of the Biblical-Theological Commission, as well as professors of various theological academies, and specialists in various theological fields have been involved in the project. The first version of the text was completed in January 2016.
The commission unanimously adopted the draft at a plenary session on January 29, 2016, after which it was submitted to the Council of Bishops session on February 2-3, 2016. The council decided to forward the draft to the permanent members of the Holy Synod, the primates of the patriarchate’s autonomous Churches, the first hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, the heads of Synodal institutions and theological schools, and diocesan bishops who expressed a desire to participate in reviewing the text.
ROME (ChurchMilitant.com) - The recently dismissed head of Church doctrine, Cdl. Gerhard Müller, is wondering why there's been no discussion of the dubia submitted last year to Pope Francis. He also laments the Vatican's excessive focus on environmentalism, claiming that should be left to competent laity.
In a wideranging interview with Italian daily Il Foglio Friday, Müller, former prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, also noted the "dramatic" decline of the Church in Germany, linking it to the wider collapse of faith across Europe.
"I do not understand why there is no dialogue with calm and serenity," he said, referring to the dubia, or set of questions submitted to Pope Francis last year by four cardinals seeking clarity on Amoris Laetitia, the apostolic exhortation on marriage and the family that has led to worldwide confusion and divergent interpretations of marriage and the sacraments.
Here's our attempt at Spanish with the help of some google translate of a letter Marco Tosatti of Infovaticana received from a very learned and well-connected correspondent in who is known by the tantalizing nom de guerre, Romana Vulneratus Curia.
Marco Tosatti:
Today, Romana Vulneratus Curia (RVC for short) has exploded. So much so that he has written an ironic message, a bit bitter, but serious, one that is markedly different compared to the usual. Then, with indifference, as if nothing happened, he has let slip between lines an indiscretion in his comment in the title, and in the article which we put in bold. And forgive me that there is little! Anything that comes to me deserves some consideration by the humble person who writes these letters, who does not have the Vatican frequency or ecclesiastical connections of RVC. Here it is:
Letter to Tosatti
"Dear Tosatti, at first I wanted to write to you of what is more of a marvel for us, the Italians, that we prefer that nothing is lost. We have everything we can wish for: Mrs. Boldrini, Count Gentilini, the teacher Bonino and above all the great Pope Bergoglio, who loves and protects all of us Catholics and Italians above all. But do we need anything else to be calm and serene?
Then I read the article by Father Spadaro in Civiltà Cattolica and finally I understood what is the origin of all the evils in the Church, in politics and in society: conservative and traditionalist Catholics. And I wondered if Spadaro would not be quite right to distrust these old, reactionary, sectarian, and Manicheans, who still insist on the claim that Jesus Christ is God incarnate, resurrected and redemptive of the world. But have these Pharisees read or understood the great prophet Karl Rahner? Then, still in the morning, I read the insinuations - intimidations - made to Pope Ratzinger on the story of Regensburg and I was surprised. But are traditionalists the danger of Catholic faith and civilization? What if it were the others? Do you want to see, I asked myself, that this friend who was explaining me could have been right, unlike the general opinion. You see, the great Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini in the 2005 conclave (when Ratzinger was elected) would have dissuaded his colleagues from electing such a Jesuit cardinal explaining that if he were elected pope, the prestige of the Society of Jesus would be compromised for another hundred years, and in a more painful way than with Pope Clement XIV, who in 1773 dissolved the Society of Jesus?
But not satisfied with unverifiable indiscretion, I tried to understand when, why and how the Company was reconstituted by Pius VII in 1814. I admit that the story is not clear about this, but it follows that after 5 years of prison, that when Pío VII returned to Rome on 24 of May of 1814, one of the first things that did, two months later, the 7 of August, was the reconstruction of the Company of Jesus. Immediately after, he obtained the restitution of all the territories subtracted to the Church. I repeat, history does not explain it, but after the liberation of the Pope, the restitution of the territories and the reconstruction of the Company took two months. What would Napoleon himself have suggested? Well ... maybe Tosatti himself could explain it.
Your RVC . "
