Not only Burke — Purge of those Prelates who Disagree or Criticize

From Eponymous Flower

Not only Burke — Brotherly Purge of Francis the Merciful

(Rome) The Vaticanist Matteo Matzuzzi analyzed the reasons that led to the removal of Cardinal Burke from two Roman Congregations within a few days for the daily newspaper Il Foglio. He sees the main reason in a “completely opposite” understanding of the Church. An interview with Cardinal Burke, published on 12 December by EWTN finally led to the fracture. Cardinal Burke expresses doubt as to whether the Apostolic Exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium could be regarded as part of the papal magisterium at all. [Note: he is right!] The background is also the great influence that the cardinal wielded under Pope Benedict XVI. On the appointment of bishops in the United States. Part of the American Church saw the opportunity to get rid of this influence under Pope Francis, and to assist them accordingly. Obviously, they met with success. Matzuzzi speaks of a “purge” against the clergy, who are closely related to  Pope Benedict’s understanding of the Church.  Because of the inflationary celebration of Pope Francis as a “reincarnation” of the “benevolent” Pope John XXIII, Matzuzzi writes of the connection not without a finer, deeper significance between the “cleansing” and the “benevolent Francis”. And once again this signifies the dislike of the new Pontiff against tradition.[Note: of course, that’s how the False Prophet helps establish his heretical one world religion of paganism.]

Fraternal Purge of Francis the Merciful

by Matteo Matzuzzi

Not only Burke. Many influential cardinals were also removed. It was predictable (and legitimate) [according to Matzuzzi]. The reasons were because of of  amoveatur without promoveatur .[Removal without Promotion] The focus is on a particular understanding of the Church and ethical issues.

Understanding of the Church at Odds

It could not be otherwise, as they say across the Tiber, when they comment on the removal of Cardinal Raymond Burke at the Congregation for Bishops. Francis’ understanding of the Church is too far away from that of the prominent canon law expert, whom Benedict XVI. brought from St. Louis to Rome and had asked to head  the Apostolic Signatura. To start with, Bergoglio is almost in terror of the idea of entering into his field hospital to see sad priests who are merely guardians of museum churches. Second, Burke, however, is a die-hard supporter of the Tridentine Mass Coram Deo, the brocade miters and Cappa magna, which have not been seen since the conclave called 50 years ago by Paul VI,  as though the station of the Cardinal were still dominated by the Sistine Chapel’s baldicchino .

Incompatibility of Positions

And then there’s the incompatibility of positions to the non-negotiable principles that tore a deep furrow with time. While Francis celebrated the anniversary of Evangelium Vitae on the forecourt of St Peter’s, but was only capable of citing one time the great encyclical of John Paul II on the protection of life from conception to natural death, was something considered simultaneously by Burke at the Pontifical Urban University as penetrated by a precise catechesis of sharpness and clear partisanship for unborn life. While the Pope extorted not to harass the people of God and and obsess, to speak about the non-negotiable values ​​only in certain contexts, the American cardinal warned  against the chains of the broadening poison of laicism [secularism].

“It is enough to open a newspaper or turn on the television to see that the Christian is always less tolerated, that the secular agenda does not decrease in their efforts to suppress the testimony of faithful Christians to the second place, to intimidate and stifle” said the cardinal with the eloquence of a biblical prophet at the opening of a meeting of the Institute Dignitatis Humanae . “We must not succumb to these tactics,” Burke said.

The Clear Words of the Cardinal – EWTN Interview Led to the Final Break

Sure, Francis said, but the Church’s position on these issues is known, it does not have to be repeated every day. Meanwhile, however, the cardinal prefect explained apocalyptically, it is sufficient to look to see that “the political leaders are relentlessly busy to liberalize abortion even further” in the United States. A grave sin that calls for a corresponding sentence without long troubling the mercy and goodness of God: “You can not recognize those who support such a serious violation of the moral law and yet do them the honor. This is a scandal, a contradiction, an error”, the cardinal said in an interview he gave to a few weeks later to a monthly magazine in Minnesota.

Then a few days ago, the final break came in an interview with the Catholic television station EWTN: “to refuse Catholic politicians  communion  is absolutely right: it is a question of order. The Eucharist is sacred. It is the body, the blood and the Soul of Christ. Whoever knows that he is in a state of sin, should not even approach Holy Communion.”

Can the Evangelii Gaudium be considered as part of the Magisterium?

Everything was reinforced by doubts about the Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium. When asked what he meant by Exhortation, the cardinal said: “To me it is not yet possible to find the exact form to describe this document, but it seems to me that it can not be considered as part of the Magisterium“.  EWTN asked what he meant by the fact that, according to Pope Francis too much is spoken about abortion, “gay marriage” and euthanasia. “We can never talk about these issues  enough. We are up against  a massacre of the unborn,”  replied Burke.

Completely opposite viewpoints, therefore. Between the two there is not that consensus which was so strong between the canon lawyer and Ratzinger, who often begged the American cardinal to help name suitable candidate for American dioceses. The Los Angeles Times put forward in an editorial that there appears to be a purge of conservative cardinals ongoing. In addition to Burke and Piacenza and Bagnasco who were removed from their duties, there was even Cardinal Charles Chaput, Archbishop of Philadelphia. Chaput had publicly criticized the course begun by Bergolio this past July 1st: “I think that the Pope did not intend to be drawn into political issues. But issues such as abortion and marriage are not political questions. These are questions of doctrine and morality. And we bishops, all must speak of these things.” The archbishop spoke in the same context of a “certain dissatisfaction”  Pope Francis’ course, which were being felt in faithful parts of the Church.

Progressive Schadenfreude

The decisions of Pope Francis from demotions and promotions in the Congregation for Bishops, commented on in the New York Times by the progressive historian Alberto Melloni, would mean that “one does not have to be conservative to become a bishop.” The dismissal of Burke, for example, shows only the legitimate will of the Pope, a new “generation of bishops” to pave the way, also stated the progressive Vaticanist John Allen. A completely different generation than those that have come of age in recent decades.

Franciscans of the Immaculata – The Unspeakable “Blemish”

From Eponymous Flower

“Absolute War” Against the Franciscans of the Immaculata? The Unspeakable “Blemish”

[Note: example of Francis attacking Orders who practice Tradition]

(Rome) No other order has suffered such dramatic consequences on  the change of pontificate in late winter 2013 as the Franciscans of the Immaculate. In July,  the Order  was placed under provisional administration by order of the Congregation for Religious  with papal approval.  Although the Order actually exactly corresponds to what Pope Francis wishes, namely evangelical poverty, missionary zeal and new evangelization, of which the  Franciscans of the Immaculate are one of  the only orders, against which the new pope has proceed with drastic measures.

So dramatically that even a progressive Vatican expert like Marco Tosatti has now asked what should have these poor friars have only arranged, yes, done wrong, to deserve such a harsh punishment?  He could not fine an answer because he could not find a “crime”, with which to  burden them. He therefore published a letter that describes the radicality with which the Order is being rebuilt. The question remains: Why did you destroy a thriving Order?

Young, Poor, Missionary and Evangelizing, but with a “Blemish” …

The answer is in fact to look at a whole different level and observe the punished innocently. It immediately arrives at the level of intrigue. As  a cold as well as brutal coup by a minority in the Order. This was possible but only because this minority has been heard by the  Congregation for Religious  and in his  turn heard by the Pope. The Order had a major “flaw.”  The “flaw” was that under the leadership and guidance of Pope Benedict XVI. they rediscovered the traditional rite and implemented it internally within the Order. The pastoral care of the Order was bi-ritual, internally it was old ritual. All in perfect accordance with the applicable rules and the canon law.

The Order is one of the few orders that have numerous vocations and can be described as a flourishing religious family in both the male and the female branches. The cons discovery of the liturgical riches of the Church makes the Franciscans of the Immaculate more to a unique phenomenon in the Catholic Church. Franciscan, missionary, flourishing and altrituell. Was unique to the Franciscans of the Immaculate, that a New Order was changing  to the Old Rite. It was a  combination that didn’t only win  the Order  friends in the Vatican. With the rediscovery of the ancient liturgy,  the Order began to intensively study  the Second Vatican Council and of its examination and interpretation took place, working  in the light of the ever valid tradition.

The Order  Followed Benedict XVI. and discovered the Old Rite

A “flaw”,  which was all the more serious,  because the Order had numerous vocations. A “blemish”,  that certain  church circles of  little friendliness  and probably envious, did not dare to criticize under Pope Benedict XVI.. All the more uninhibited and with incredible haste they struck after his resignation. And Pope Francis gave them leave. For none of the other  orders  were effected in the change of  pontificate  more dramatically  than for the Franciscans of the Immaculate.

Let us hear so what Marco Tosatti wrote in the newspaper La Stampa  on Wednesday:

“We received a letter from a layman who is close to the Franciscans of the Immaculate, a small Order, which is under an acting manager  (a highly debatable matter), and he complained of a special hardness posed by the new management. Based on many years of experience, we know of the cruelty in dealing with fellow brothers in church circles toward those other circles inferior to nothing. But just as Pope Francis, who signed the provisional administration, demanded in his interview with the chief editor of the Civilta  Cattolica  an attitude of Compassion ‘and softness’. He was as  one of those in the Church, who entered the field hospital after a battle  and said, I see clearly that what the Church needs today is the ability to heal wounds,’  because, ‘Nevertheless, there are people weary of authoritarianism ‘.

Each reader should decide for themselves whether in fact the authoritarianism plays a role in the  Franciscans of the Immaculate and arrogance among the Sisters.   What  have these  poor men done? Have they speculated in money, sexually abused minors or maintained an immoral lifestyle? So here’s the letter. “

Letter from a layman who is close to the Franciscans of the Immaculate

Little is known about how things went on after the Order of the Franciscans of the Immaculate was placed under provisional administration. Therefore, a brief summary is necessary.

After Father Stefano Maria Manelli, the worthy and pious founder of the Franciscans of the Immaculate (FI) was placed under charges that he had led the brothers away from their founding charism, without explaining this to date, of which the father is said to have concretely carried anyone away; then, the priests’ celebration of the old rite was prohibited, a ban that applies to this day, and has been followed in the Order with absolute and faithful obedience; after which the brothers, who are faithful to the charism of the founding fathers, were hastily charged in summary proceedings and removed, and all those brothers who support the “new” line were promoted in the various monasteries around the world,  then  without a visible reason, the General Procurator Father Apollonio, Director of the Theological Seminary and Guardian of the Cloister Roma-Boccea was dismissed and sent to Portugal, as the Order’s Superior of Florence was dismissed and sent to Austria;  then Father Settimio Manelli and Father Siano, were dismissed as Rector and Vice Rector of the Order Seminary and sent to Africa; then they were replaced by  two brothers of the “new” line, one of which does not even have  a degree; then Father Budani, who was in the middle of completing his studies of the canon law to end overnight and without possibility of completing his studies was sent to Africa; then, after Founder Father Stefano Manelli was deposed as Superior General and exiled and even though he has met all instructions and guaranteed absolute obedience, even his closest relatives are forbidden to visit him, and it is forbidden to make phone or receive phone calls and any contact with the outside world is denied to him … after all, now it’s the Apostolic Commissioner, the Capuchin Father,  Fidenzio Volpi, with the assistance of Father Alfonso Bruno, who is the new powerful man in the Order, and it’s all-out war against the laity who are in continuing connection to the Order.

By a letter dated 27 November, he forbade any activity of the lay members of the Mission Immaculate Mediatrix (MIM) and the Third Order of the Franciscans of the Immaculate (Tofi). He refused that the Tertiaries to wear their robes.

Is it resolving alleged internal difficulties claimed f a thriving religious community with such incredible hardness and such Stalinist purges? Or  its charisma be destroyed instead, which was not only able to arouse increasing number of vocations and to attract and expand the Order on all continents, but was, until yesterday, praised and promoted by the highest ecclesiastical authorities. Just think that the now outlawed Father Manelli and Father Lanzetta, were once welcome until a few months ago by cardinals and bishops and were welcome in the columns of the Osservatore Romano Publications were even open to them.

Pope Francis reveals his radical message – and it will startle conservatives

From Damian Thompson at the Telegraph UK

By Damian Thompson – Last updated: November 27th, 2013

Francis, before he was Pope, kissing the foot of a sick boy

Now, at last, we have a clear idea of what sort of Pope has taken over the Catholic Church. His Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium – the Joy of the Gospel – challenges Catholics to reject a life of comfort and move into direct contact with the poor as a matter of great urgency. It tells them that the Church has become lazy, even without realising it. It says that traditional styles of worship are not necessarily suitable for newly evangelised non-Western people, or the modern world in general; and, in a passage that will truly trouble some conservatives, it raises the possibility that non-Christian religions are performing God’s work, enriching souls albeit imperfectly. (All the emphases in bold are mine.)

Non-Christians, by God’s gracious initiative, when they are faithful to their own consciences, can live “justified by the grace of God”, and thus be “associated to the paschal mystery of Jesus Christ”. But due to the sacramental dimension of sanctifying grace, God’s working in them tends to produce signs and rites, sacred expressions which in turn bring others to a communitarian experience of journeying towards God. While these lack the meaning and efficacy of the sacraments instituted by Christ, they can be channels which the Holy Spirit raises up in order to liberate non-Christians from atheistic immanentism or from purely individual religious experiences. The same Spirit everywhere brings forth various forms of practical wisdom which help people to bear suffering and to live in greater peace and harmony. As Christians, we can also benefit from these treasures built up over many centuries, which can help us better to live our own beliefs.

There is so much in this document to unsettle traditional Catholics, capitalists and – yes – liberals that I’m hard put to single out the most radical paragraph. But I think it’s the one above. Catholic conservatives and Francis’s friends in the Pentecostal churches will find it difficult to accept, even if it’s possible to argue that every word in it has been said by the Church somewhere before. If this isn’t a declaration that non-Christians go to heaven (something Rome has never denied but also never emphasised) then I don’t know what is.

At the heart of the document, though, lies a revelation of papal mission. Francis is saying: I made it very clear when I was in Buenos Aires what sort of bishop I was, and now I’m telling you that I am still that sort of bishop:

Here I repeat for the entire Church what I have often said to the priests and laity of Buenos Aires: I prefer a Church which is bruised, hurting and dirty because it has been out on the streets, rather than a Church which is unhealthy from being confined and from clinging to its own security. I do not want a Church concerned with being at the centre and then ends by being caught up in a web of obsessions and procedures. If something should rightly disturb us and trouble our consciences, it is the fact that so many of our brothers and sisters are living without the strength, light and consolation born of friendship with Jesus Christ, without a community of faith to support them, without meaning and a goal in life. More than by fear of going astray, my hope is that we will be moved by the fear of remaining shut up within structures which give us a false sense of security, within rules which make us harsh judges, within habits which make us feel safe, while at our door people are starving and Jesus does not tire of saying to us: “Give them something to eat” (Mk 6:37).

We should be afraid of being trapped by “harsh rules”… but which rules does Francis have in mind? Not the rule that says women can’t be priests: that’s set in stone, he says, and I see that the BBC’s uncompromisingly liberal David Willey is disappointed by that. Nor will Catholic opposition to abortion be softened. Perhaps there’s a clue here:

Everyone can share in some way in the life of the Church; everyone can be part of the community, nor should the doors of the sacraments be closed for simply any reason. This is especially true of the sacrament which is itself “the door”: baptism. The Eucharist, although it is the fullness of sacramental life, is not a prize for the perfect but a powerful medicine and nourishment for the weak. These convictions have pastoral consequences that we are called to consider with prudence and boldness.

Boldness? We shall have to see whether that means a more relaxed attitude towards people currently barred from the Eucharist, such as remarried divorcees; it sounds like it to me.

Then there’s the question of reforming the Church’s structures – and here I do sense a departure from the views of Benedict XVI who (rightly, in my opinion) distrusted Bishops’ Conferences. Pope Francis wants to devolve power in their direction, and also to redefine his own authority.

Since I am called to put into practice what I ask of others, I too must think about a conversion of the papacy. It is my duty, as the Bishop of Rome, to be open to suggestions which can help make the exercise of my ministry more faithful to the meaning which Jesus Christ wished to give it and to the present needs of evangelisation. Pope John Paul II asked for help in finding “a way of exercising the primacy which, while in no way renouncing what is essential to its mission, is nonetheless open to a new situation”. We have made little progress in this regard.

What would that “progress” looks like? This document raises as many questions as it answers, but I’m haunted by Francis’s insistence that reality is more important than ideas:

This calls for rejecting the various means of masking reality: angelic forms of purity, dictatorships of relativism, empty rhetoric, objectives more ideal than real, brands of ahistorical fundamentalism, ethical systems bereft of kindness, intellectual discourse bereft of wisdom.

These “masks of reality” are both religious and secular: the implication is that Catholicism will move towards flexibility where “rules” get in the way of evangelisation and the Church’s mission to the poor. This mission, the Pope makes clear, cannot be dissociated from a rejection of heartless free-market capitalism – that familiar target of papal pronouncements, condemned here with extreme clarity. It depends, of course, what you classify as heartless capitalism: the employment of sweatshop labour in developing countries by multinational corporations is unquestionably a scandal, but when Francis hints that the abolition of jobs by technological development is an avoidable evil, you do wonder if he’s stumbled into naivety.

On the other hand,there’s nothing naive in the description of “the desolation and anguish born of a complacent yet covetous heart”, an eloquent phrase that stares out at us from the second paragraph of this long document. Also, the Pope reminds us that “technological society has succeeded in multiplying occasions of pleasure, yet has found it very difficult to engender joy” – a quote from Paul VI, whose teaching authority Francis emphasises again and again in this exhortation.

As I say, there is much to trouble traditionalist Catholics in Evangelii Gaudium; perhaps unnecessarily. In a sermon preached this week, Francis said:

The temple is the place where the community goes to pray, to praise the Lord, to give thanks, but above all to adore: the Lord is adored in the temple. And this is the most important point. This is also true for liturgical ceremonies: in this liturgical ceremony, what is most important? The songs, the rites, they are all beautiful… however, adoration is what is most important: the whole community together look at the altar where the sacrifice is celebrated and adore.

The influence of the Pope Emeritus is plain for all to see here; I sometimes wonder if Francis feels closer to Benedict XVI than he does to John Paul II, whose spiritual grandeur and occasional ferocity seems distant from the spirit of this document. Also, when Francis talks of a Church that is “bruised, hurting and dirty because it has been out on the streets”, I can’t help thinking of the street ministries of London parishes whose worship adheres closely to traditions that the Pope questions (but does not repudiate) in this fascinating document.

It’s not billed as such, of course, but I read Evangelii Gaudium as Francis’s manifesto. To repeat, the text raises questions that are not answered, yet it’s also strikingly coherent and carefully structured. If we are puzzled by some of the contents, that may the author’s intention.

The exhortation concludes with a long and slightly flowery prayer to the Blessed Virgin Mary describing her as the “wellspring of happiness”. That message, together Francis’s vigorous defence of popular piety, means that we’re not witnessing a shift in the direction of Protestantism. Moreover, the Pope’s rejection of feelgood spirituality and fashionable causes such as women’s ordination mean that his writing carries none of the aura of the trendy secularising cleric. (There’s a nice mention of Rowan Williams but no indication that the Pope has been influenced by Anglicanism.) Yet surely we’re going to see shift away from some of the familiar structures and practices of Catholicism.

And talking of which… Catholic priests – please take note that in paragraph 138 the Pope quite unambiguously says that a sermon “should be brief“. (My own heartfelt emphasis.)

 

POPE FRANCIS IS NOT TAKING AIM AT TRADITIONALISM BUT AT THOSE WHO PUT LEGALITY ABOVE THE SPIRIT

POPE FRANCIS IS NOT TAKING AIM AT TRADITIONALISM BUT AT THOSE WHO PUT LEGALITY ABOVE THE SPIRIT

From Spirit Daily

There’s concern in some circles that Pope Francis is taking aim at Church traditionalism (scoring those who obsessively count prayers, reminding pre-Cana instructors not to be overly harsh, accenting the poor, and warning the rich), but as basically traditional types ourselves, we see nothing to fear. The Pope is not taking aim at traditionalists but at legalism. That’s when we put man-made laws ahead of spiritual ones and operate religion in a way that’s mechanical, oriented toward technicalities, and judgmental. An example: marching through a litany of rituals and prayers and genuflections while looking upon others with superiority instead of  love. Living the faith by technicalities instead of its Spirit contradicts Christianity. It’s what the Sadducees and Pharisees were about (“you can’t heal on Sundays!”). Though they have a place, the fact is that canonical strictures are mentioned nowhere by Jesus, not in the way we know them today, when we have reams upon reams — libraries — of such legality. A crisis in our time is that there are ten times as many canon lawyers as exorcists. (Please note: exorcism is mentioned, and repeatedly, in the Gospels). Pope Francis wants us to live as Jesus taught, not make laws and by-laws and governing bodies and ever-new theologies and cerebral gymnastics to do with what He taught. Jesus was direct and Francis is also direct. Jesus took aim at legalism. Francis is simply following His example. It is a breath of fresh air. It is attracting new throngs. Legalism has indeed infected and in some cases strangled the Church. Traditional prayers, litanies, novenas, and other practices are excellent — and powerful. They are often crucial. They involve discipline; the Holy Spirit honors discipline. We are devoted to many of them ourselves. We enjoy the Latin rite. We find joy in august basilicas and churches in Rome where the tabernacle (not a chair) is at the center of the altar. At the same time, it is crucial to orient everything to prayer from the heart. There is a crisis in that seminaries have largely deleted courses in mystical theology and replaced them with philosophy. We see nowhere where Christ used a blackboard. We also can find no place where He quoted Plato. He put faith (far) above reason. He used no polysyllabic words. Somehow, our Church strayed greatly into a worldly academic mindset, starting during the “Age of Enlightenment.” Too much was conceded (in the wake of Galileo) to scientism. And too often, there was not an enlightening, but darkness. There are Church documents that are all but impossible to read — steeped in a vernacular that seeks more to complicate than teach, equating impenetrability with truth, when Jesus taught the opposite. Those who write in a way that is not understood may lack clarity in thought. We have quite enough motu proprios. Most truths — really: all — are simple. The Ten Commandments, the Sermon on the Mount, need no codification. We should love to pray, and pray to love. 

Press review: Cardinal Bergoglio and Pope Francis

17-05-2013

From SSPX DICI site

Two months after Pope Francis’ election, people are still wondering about the new pontiff. As well they may, when on April 16, at the Mass he celebrated for the intentions of his predecessor, the Sovereign Pontiff stated that Vatican II “was a beautiful work, a work of God,” that John XXIII “obeyed” the Holy Spirit, and asked whether 50 years later “we have accomplished all that the Holy Spirit told us at the Council? We have celebrated its anniversary, we have made it into a monument, but we don’t let it bother us. We do not want to change.” Worse still, he said, are those “voices saying we should go back.” “This is called being hard-headed, this is called wanting to domesticate the Holy Spirit, this is called becoming ‘foolish and slow of heart.’”

Father Régis de Cacqueray, district superior of France, stated in the editorial of Fideliter no. 213 (March-April 2013): “We regret to say that our fears are great with regard to the actions and gestures reported of the former Cardinal Bergoglio. Let us examine three examples:

-The New Mass is in itself already a serious transgression. Not only does Cardinal Bergoglio celebrate it but he drew attention as a bishop and a cardinal for youth liturgy of a particularly degraded and desacralized nature.

-While he was bishop and cardinal of Buenos Aires, Cardinal Bergoglio also agreed to kneel to receive a false “blessing” from Protestant ministers.

-Lastly, he allowed the Jewish community to use the cathedral of Buenos Aires for a Judaic festival in which he participated.

“If his theology did not make it clear to him, when he was a bishop and a cardinal, that the blessing given by a Protestant minister is really only a parody and that Jewish ceremonies are toxic and insulting to the divinity of Our Lord Jesus Christ and to the Catholic Faith, what will it do for him now that he is pope? How can this question be avoided?

“Cardinal Montini’s theology was the theology of Paul VI; Cardinal Wojtyla’s, the theology of John Paul II; Cardinal Ratzinger’s, the theology of Benedict XVI. Our fear, which already seems justified, is that the theology of Pope Francis will remain that of Cardinal Bergoglio.”

Fr. Christian Bouchacourt, superior of South America, wrote along the same lines in the editorial of the magazine Jesus Christus no. 141 (March 2013), under the title “A new era?”: “A few weeks ago the famous “Habemus papam!” resounded from the loggia of St. Peter’s in Rome. Francis I had just been elected pope. From this point on, the media has been explaining non-stop that a new era has begun in the Church. With the new Sovereign Pontiff, they proclaim, Christ’s Church will return to the clear and refreshing springs of true poverty and evangelical simplicity. Farewell to the mozetta and richly embroidered vestments; farewell to triumphalist pontifical ceremony, and welcome back the return to simplicity of the “Church of the poor, for the poor.” The world applauds deafeningly and has already cast his predecessor Benedict XVI alive into the depths of oblivion. (…)

“So, must we despair and lament on the misfortunes of our times? Certainly not! This would be sterile and opposed to the spirit of Catholicism. For, as the Scriptures say, “abyssus abyssum invocat,” the depths of trial call upon those who love God the superabundance of His grace. He gives it today to those who wish to remain faithful, special grace that He did not give yesterday.  Therefore, be of good hope! As Our Lady at Fatima asked, let us pray more than ever for the pope and offer up penance for him that the Holy Ghost may illuminate and guide him, and give him the strength to restore Tradition, which will save the Church. It is a duty for each one of us, both priests and laymen.”

On the website of the American district, May 8, 2013, an article was published called “Will Pope Francis be able to rebuild the Church?”:  “’Francis of Assisi, whose name the new pontiff has taken, heard the crucified Savior say to him, “Go, Francis and rebuild my Church.’ With these words Bishop Fellay offered his best wishes to the newly-elected Pope for a successful pontificate. Lien sur le communiqué.  Now that the spotlight is off the Vatican, and ordinary life has resumed, we offer our readers some thoughts about his ecclesiastical career  and possible insights into his pontificate. If his work at the head of the Archdiocese of Buenos Aires (Argentina) is any indication of the future, it is difficult, perhaps even presumptuous, to be hopeful. Very conscious of the dilapidated state of his clergy, he was unable to improve vocations, seminary training, or continuing formation. Never has the seminary of Buenos Aires had as few seminarians as today. (…)” [Several examples follow which have already been mentioned by Fr. de Cacqueray and Fr. Bouchacourt.]

“There is no doubt that the pontificate of Pope Francis will blaze new trails. It seems at the opposite end of the spectrum from that of the two previous Popes who were university professors. The reigning Pontiff may be more concerned about practical results. Such a desire could be for the good of the Faith and Tradition if the results desired were the rebuilding of the Faith and thereby the Church; although we have many reasons to fear that the results he doggedly pursues will prove more detrimental to the Church than Benedict XVI’s moderate reforms proved favorable. So, more than ever, this is a time for all traditional Catholics to pray for Peter, for the gift of fortitude in fulfilling his mission of “confirming his brethren in the Faith.”

(Sources: Fideliter – Jesus Christus – sspx.org – DICI no. 275, 17/05/13)

You can also read :
Humility to the detriment of authority?

HEART OF OUR FAITH IS NOT JUST A BOOK BUT A SALVATION HISTORY

POPE TO BIBLICAL COMMISSION: HEART OF OUR FAITH IS NOT JUST A BOOK BUT A SALVATION HISTORY

Vatican City, 12 April 2013 (VIS) – This morning, the Holy Father received the members of the Pontifical Biblical Commission with their president, Archbishop Gerhard Ludwig Muller, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, at the conclusion of their annual plenary assembly, which had the theme of “Inspiration and Truth in the Bible”.

In his address to them, the Pope emphasized that this theme “affects not only the individual believer but the whole Church, for the Church’s life and mission are founded on the Word of God, which is the soul of theology as well as the inspiration of all of Christian existence.”

“Sacred Scripture,” he reaffirmed,“ is the written testimony of the divine Word, the canonical memory that attests to the event of Revelation. However, the Word of God precedes the Bible and surpasses it. That is why the centre of our faith isn’t just a book, but a salvation history and above all a person, Jesus Christ, the Word of God made flesh. It is precisely because the Word of God embraces and extends beyond Scripture that, in order to properly understand it, the Holy Spirit’s constant presence, who guides us “to all truth”, is necessary. It is necessary to place ourselves within the great Tradition that has, with the Holy Spirit’s assistance and the Magisterium’s guidance, recognized the canonical writings as the Word that God addresses to his people, who have never ceased meditating upon it and discovering inexhaustible riches from it.”

The pontiff recalled that Vatican Council II repeated this very clearly in the dogmatic constitution “Dei Verbum”: “All of what has been said about the way of interpreting Scripture is subject finally to the judgement of the Church, which carries out the divine commission and ministry of guarding and interpreting the word of God.” “In fact, Sacred Scripture is the Word of God in that it is written down under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Sacred Tradition, instead, transmits the Word of God in its entirety, entrusted by Christ the Lord and by the Holy spirit to the Apostles and their successors, so that these, enlightened by the Spirit of truth, might faithfully preserve it with their preaching, might expound and propound it.”

“The interpretation of Sacred Scriptures cannot be just an individual academic effort, but must always be compared to, inserted within, and authenticated by the living tradition of the Church. This norm is essential in identifying the proper and reciprocal relationship between the exegesis and the Magisterium of the Church. The texts that God inspired were entrusted to the Community of believers, the Church of Christ, to nourish the faith and to guide the life of charity.”

The Bishop of Rome bid the members of the Biblical Commission farewell, thanking them for their work and expressing the desire that this Year of Faith “may help to make the light of Sacred Scripture shine within the hearts of the faithful.”