Thursday, February 28, 2013
JUST AS HIS HOLINESS, BENEDICT XVI MODELED SO MUCH FOR US, ESPECIALLY THE LITURGY, BUT ALSO THE OBEDIENCE THAT ALL OF US OWE TO THE NEXT POPE, SOMEONE THE POPE ADDRESSED JUST THIS MORNING!
The happy ultramontantist that I am, I truly appreciate the soon to be Pontiff-Emeritus, His Holiness Benedict XVI's declaration of obedience to his successor. It is in Peter that we as Catholics find our unity as Peter is the Vicar of Christ appointed by Christ Himself. I pray that all Catholics, especially those who read this blog, imitate His Holiness, Benedict XVI.In the papal address to the Cardinals this morning:
"...Prior to bidding farewell to each of you personally, I want to tell you that I will continue to be close to you in prayer, especially in the next few days, so that you may all be fully docile to the action of the Holy Spirit in the election of the new Pope. May the Lord show you what is willed by Him. And among you, among the College of Cardinals, there is also the future Pope, to whom, here to today, I already promise my unconditional reverence and obedience. For all this, with affection and gratitude, I cordially impart upon you my Apostolic Blessing..."
A SOBER PAPACY COMES TO A SOBER CONCLUSION
Understated, that is how I would describe the pontificate of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI. He was also a realist and never in a state of denial about the crisis of the Church these past 50 years since the opening of the Second Vatican Council.This was His Holiness take on things as he opened the "Year of Faith" and the celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the Opening of the Second Vatican Council:
"...I would say, however, that our joy is a more sober one, something more humble. Over these fifty years, we have learned and experienced that original sin exists, and that it translates itself into personal sins which can become structures of sin. We have seen that even in the Lord's field there is discord, that even in the net of Peter we find bad fish, that human weakness is present even in the church, that the ship of the church journeys in the face of an opposing wind, amid storms that threaten the ship. And sometimes we have thought that 'the Lord is asleep and has forgotten us.' But this is only one part of the experience of these fifty years. We've also been made to experience the presence of the Lord, the gifts of his goodness and strength."
The greatest threat to the Church is the left, not the right. Certainly the "right" can be rigid and appear to be uncaring and unforgiving. They can appear to be militant and strident at times. But they don't abandon the ultimate truths of the Church although they are sinners like the rest of humanity. They do not participate in "practical apostasy" when it comes to the faith and morals of the Church.
The left, however, is a different story. What began first as a theology of "renewal" has devolved into practical apostasy and heresy, the logical conclusion of a flawed hermeneutic and doctrine. Many places in Europe, Belgium in particular, this practical apostasy is quite evident from liturgy to lifestyle as it is here in the USA.
The most honest appraisal of it from a group that can be quite dishonest about their motives and agenda was from Gary Wills, that famous and infamous author. His honesty is breathtaking and quite sad, but at least he lays it on the table for all the see. Yet he still claims to be a Catholic. How can he? That is the delusion of the leftist progressives. They are out to destroy the true Church (of course they can't and never will)and impose their own construct of it on the rest of us. Or they are trying to take away as many practical Catholics as possible into their apostasy and heresies.
Thus we hear in Gary Wills the logical conclusion of leftist Catholicism that is both progressive and schismatic as well as heretical. Yes this appeared on Comedy Central, but there is nothing funny about a soul's descent into hell:
Thank you Holy Father for trying to spare us from the "filthy" type of Catholicism, the bogus, inverted form, ultra-contaminated one that is that of Gary Wills and others less honest than he! Long live the Pope!
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
MASS OF THANKSGIVING AT 12 NOON ON THURSDAY FOR POPE BENEDICT XVI; EXTRAORDINARY FORM HIGH MASS ON SUNDAY AT 2:00 PM
Saint Joseph Church will celebrate a Mass of Thanksgiving for the papacy of Pope Benedict XVI at 12 noon. Our church bells will peal beginning at about 2:00 PM and lasting for more than 5 minutes.On Sunday, and made possible only by edict of His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI, we will celebrate our monthly Sunday High Mass using the 1962 missal. In allowing the use of this missal, the Holy Father has shown that liturgical diversity can exist in the Church in general and in the parish in particular and that it will enrich the celebration of the normal form of the Mass revised after Vatican II by a committee called "Consilium." Of course, Consilium is not the Second Vatican Council, it was a papal approved liturgy committee, so it is always possible that another pope may approved a revised Mass according to the words and spirit of Vatican II that is more in continuity with the 1962 missal.
Stay tuned as time will tell!
TRUTH FROM A MYSTERIOUS CHARACTER
I won't say who wrote the following because it would make some reading it completely get upset as the statement indicates. But if we Catholics can't forgive and move on and are always thirsting after retribution rather than reconciliation, have we too been seduced by the powers of the world, the evil one? Have we been cooked in the crock pot of godless secularism or the religion of the media? Just remember that our God made visible in Jesus Christ is not primarily a God of judgment and condemnation, but a God of mercy and love. As for me, I'm grateful, to say the least!I can't recall a time such as now when people tend to be so judgmental and even self-righteous, so quick to accuse, judge and condemn. And often with scant real facts and information. Because of news broadcasts now 24/7 there is little or no fact checking; no in-depth analysis; no context or history given. Rather, everything gets reported as "news" regardless of the basis for the item being reported--and passed on by countless other news outlets.
We have ended up with a climate in which it's the norm to instantly pass judgement on one another, taking in and repeating gossip, sharing someone else's judgment as the truth, no regard for other people who may be harmed. Whatever happened to the norm of giving others the benefit of a doubt until hard evidence proves otherwise?
Witness the hatred which has boiled up across the Middle East and other conflicted parts of the world, and the deep emotions which do not allow for understanding or love to emerge at all.
But Jesus calls us to something far different and much more difficult: we are to love our enemies, pray for those who persecute us. In today's world, to follow Jesus and his Gospel message means to "be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect." That's a really high bar for all of us, and certainly for me.
My daily prayer list includes both loved ones/friends, as well as those who dislike or even hate me. One prayer group involves those suffering from cancer and other illnesses, those who have been sexually abused by clergy and others in our Church, those who can't find a decent job, those in danger of losing their homes, our immigrants who live in the shadows of society.
But another prayer group includes individuals who cannot forgive me for my past hurts or offenses, those in the media who constantly malign me and my motives, attorneys who never focus on context or history in their legal matters, groups which picket me or otherwise object to me, and all those who despise me or even hate me.
If I don't pray for all of these people, then I am not following Jesus' specific discipleship demand.
Jesus' message of love and forgiveness has flooded the world over the centuries, and this message has had the power to change hearts and minds. May his challenge this Lent inspire us to do as he asks.
THE HOLY FATHER HITS THE BALL OUT OF THE PARK OF SAINT PETER'S SQUARE IN HIS FAREWELL SPEECH
The Holy Father gave a wonderful farewell speech. Long live the pope! The last paragraph of his speech are his most important words. I have italicized other words that are bombshells and will leave it to you to make your own conclusions. I wonder if he will be present at the "coronation" of his successor. Now that would be COOL! His complete farewell speech is below the photos:
* * *
Venerable Brothers in the Episcopate and in the Priesthood!
Distinguished Authorities!
Dear brothers and sisters!
Thank you for coming in such large numbers to this last General Audience of my pontificate.
Like the Apostle Paul in the biblical text that we have heard, I feel in my heart the paramount duty to thank God, who guides the Church and makes her grow: who sows His Word and thus nourishes the faith in His people. At this moment my spirit reaches out to embrace the whole Church throughout the world, and I thank God for the “news” that in these years of Petrine ministry I have been able to receive regarding the faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and the charity that circulates in the body of the Church – charity that makes the Church to live in love – and of the hope that opens for us the way towards the fullness of life, and directs us towards the heavenly homeland.
I feel I [ought to] carry everyone in prayer, in a present that is God’s, where I recall every meeting, every voyage, every pastoral visit. I gather everyone and every thing in prayerful recollection, in order to entrust them to the Lord: in order that we might have full knowledge of His will, with every wisdom and spiritual understanding, and in order that we might comport ourselves in a manner that is worthy of Him, of His, bearing fruit in every good work (cf. Col 1:9-10).
At this time, I have within myself a great trust [in God], because I know – all of us know – that the Gospel’s word of truth is the strength of the Church: it is her life. The Gospel purifies and renews: it bears fruit wherever the community of believers hears and welcomes the grace of God in truth and lives in charity. This is my faith, this is my joy.
When, almost eight years ago, on April 19th, [2005], I agreed to take on the Petrine ministry, I held steadfast in this certainty, which has always accompanied me. In that moment, as I have already stated several times, the words that resounded in my heart were: “Lord, what do you ask of me? It a great weight that You place on my shoulders, but, if You ask me, at your word I will throw out the nets, sure that you will guide me” – and the Lord really has guided me. He has been close to me: daily could I feel His presence. [These years] have been a stretch of the Church’s pilgrim way, which has seen moments joy and light, but also difficult moments. I have felt like St. Peter with the Apostles in the boat on the Sea of Galilee: the Lord has given us many days of sunshine and gentle breeze, days in which the catch has been abundant; [then] there have been times when the seas were rough and the wind against us, as in the whole history of the Church it has ever been - and the Lord seemed to sleep. Nevertheless, I always knew that the Lord is in the barque, that the barque of the Church is not mine, not ours, but His - and He shall not let her sink. It is He, who steers her: to be sure, he does so also through men of His choosing, for He desired that it be so. This was and is a certainty that nothing can tarnish. It is for this reason, that today my heart is filled with gratitude to God, for never did He leave me or the Church without His consolation, His light, His love.
We are in the Year of Faith, which I desired in order to strengthen our own faith in God in a context that seems to push faith more and more toward the margins of life. I would like to invite everyone to renew firm trust in the Lord. I would like that we all, entrust ourselves as children to the arms of God, and rest assured that those arms support us and us to walk every day, even in times of struggle. I would like everyone to feel loved by the God who gave His Son for us and showed us His boundless love. I want everyone to feel the joy of being Christian. In a beautiful prayer to be recited daily in the morning says, “I adore you, my God, I love you with all my heart. I thank You for having created me, for having made me a Christian.” Yes, we are happy for the gift of faith: it is the most precious good, that no one can take from us! Let us thank God for this every day, with prayer and with a coherent Christian life. God loves us, but He also expects that we love Him!
At this time, however, it is not only God, whom I desire to thank. A Pope is not alone in guiding St. Peter’s barque, even if it is his first responsibility – and I have not ever felt myself alone in bearing either the joys or the weight of the Petrine ministry. The Lord has placed next to me many people, who, with generosity and love for God and the Church, have helped me and been close to me. First of all you, dear Brother Cardinals: your wisdom, your counsels, your friendship, were all precious to me. My collaborators, starting with my Secretary of State, who accompanied me faithfully over the years, the Secretariat of State and the whole Roman Curia, as well as all those who, in various areas, give their service to the Holy See: the many faces which never emerge, but remain in the background, in silence, in their daily commitment, with a spirit of faith and humility. They have been for me a sure and reliable support. A special thought [goes] to the Church of Rome, my diocese! I can not forget the Brothers in the Episcopate and in the Priesthood, the consecrated persons and the entire People of God: in pastoral visits, in public encounters, at Audiences, in traveling, I have always received great care and deep affection; I also loved each and every one, without exception, with that pastoral charity which is the heart of every shepherd, especially the Bishop of Rome, the Successor of the Apostle Peter. Every day I carried each of you in my prayers, with the father's heart.
I wish my greetings and my thanks to reach everyone: the heart of a Pope expands to [embrace] the whole world. I would like to express my gratitude to the Diplomatic Corps accredited to the Holy See, which makes present the great family of nations. Here I also think of all those who work for good communication, whom I thank for their important service.
At this point I would like to offer heartfelt thanks to all the many people throughout the whole world, who, in recent weeks have sent me moving tokens of concern, friendship and prayer. Yes, the Pope is never alone: now I experience this [truth] again in a way so great as to touch my very heart. The Pope belongs to everyone, and so many people feel very close to him. It’s true that I receive letters from the world's greatest figures - from the Heads of State, religious leaders, representatives of the world of culture and so on. I also receive many letters from ordinary people who write to me simply from their heart and let me feel their affection, which is born of our being together in Christ Jesus, in the Church. These people do not write me as one might write, for example, to a prince or a great figure one does not know. They write as brothers and sisters, sons and daughters, with the sense of very affectionate family ties. Here, one can touch what the Church is – not an organization, not an association for religious or humanitarian purposes, but a living body, a community of brothers and sisters in the Body of Jesus Christ, who unites us all. To experience the Church in this way and almost be able to touch with one’s hands the power of His truth and His love, is a source of joy, in a time in which many speak of its decline.
In recent months, I felt that my strength had decreased, and I asked God with insistence in prayer to enlighten me with His light to make me take the right decision – not for my sake, but for the good of the Church. I have taken this step in full awareness of its severity and also its novelty, but with a deep peace of mind. Loving the Church also means having the courage to make difficult, trying choices, having ever before oneself the good of the Church and not one’s own.
Here allow me to return once again to April 19, 2005. The gravity of the decision was precisely in the fact that from that moment on I was committed always and forever by the Lord. Always – he, who assumes the Petrine ministry no longer has any privacy. He belongs always and totally to everyone, to the whole Church. His life is, so to speak, totally deprived of the private sphere. I have felt, and I feel even in this very moment, that one receives one’s life precisely when he offers it as a gift. I said before that many people who love the Lord also love the Successor of Saint Peter and are fond of him, that the Pope has truly brothers and sisters, sons and daughters all over the world, and that he feels safe in the embrace of their communion, because he no longer belongs to himself, but he belongs to all and all are truly his own.
The “always” is also a “forever” - there is no returning to private life. My decision to forgo the exercise of active ministry, does not revoke this. I do not return to private life, to a life of travel, meetings, receptions, conferences and so on. I do not abandon the cross, but remain in a new way near to the Crucified Lord. I no longer wield the power of the office for the government of the Church, but in the service of prayer I remain, so to speak, within St. Peter’s bounds. St. Benedict, whose name I bear as Pope, shall be a great example in this for me. He showed us the way to a life which, active or passive, belongs wholly to the work of God.
I thank each and every one of you for the respect and understanding with which you have welcomed this important decision. I continue to accompany the Church on her way through prayer and reflection, with the dedication to the Lord and to His Bride, which I have hitherto tried to live daily and that I would live forever. I ask you to remember me before God, and above all to pray for the Cardinals, who are called to so important a task, and for the new Successor of Peter, that the Lord might accompany him with the light and the power of His Spirit.
Let us invoke the maternal intercession of Mary, Mother of God and of the Church, that she might accompany each of us and the whole ecclesial community: to her we entrust ourselves, with deep trust.
Dear friends! God guides His Church, maintains her always, and especially in difficult times. Let us never lose this vision of faith, which is the only true vision of the way of the Church and the world. In our heart, in the heart of each of you, let there be always the joyous certainty that the Lord is near, that He does not abandon us, that He is near to us and that He surrounds us with His love. Thank you!
* * *
Venerable Brothers in the Episcopate and in the Priesthood!
Distinguished Authorities!
Dear brothers and sisters!
Thank you for coming in such large numbers to this last General Audience of my pontificate.
Like the Apostle Paul in the biblical text that we have heard, I feel in my heart the paramount duty to thank God, who guides the Church and makes her grow: who sows His Word and thus nourishes the faith in His people. At this moment my spirit reaches out to embrace the whole Church throughout the world, and I thank God for the “news” that in these years of Petrine ministry I have been able to receive regarding the faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and the charity that circulates in the body of the Church – charity that makes the Church to live in love – and of the hope that opens for us the way towards the fullness of life, and directs us towards the heavenly homeland.
I feel I [ought to] carry everyone in prayer, in a present that is God’s, where I recall every meeting, every voyage, every pastoral visit. I gather everyone and every thing in prayerful recollection, in order to entrust them to the Lord: in order that we might have full knowledge of His will, with every wisdom and spiritual understanding, and in order that we might comport ourselves in a manner that is worthy of Him, of His, bearing fruit in every good work (cf. Col 1:9-10).
At this time, I have within myself a great trust [in God], because I know – all of us know – that the Gospel’s word of truth is the strength of the Church: it is her life. The Gospel purifies and renews: it bears fruit wherever the community of believers hears and welcomes the grace of God in truth and lives in charity. This is my faith, this is my joy.
When, almost eight years ago, on April 19th, [2005], I agreed to take on the Petrine ministry, I held steadfast in this certainty, which has always accompanied me. In that moment, as I have already stated several times, the words that resounded in my heart were: “Lord, what do you ask of me? It a great weight that You place on my shoulders, but, if You ask me, at your word I will throw out the nets, sure that you will guide me” – and the Lord really has guided me. He has been close to me: daily could I feel His presence. [These years] have been a stretch of the Church’s pilgrim way, which has seen moments joy and light, but also difficult moments. I have felt like St. Peter with the Apostles in the boat on the Sea of Galilee: the Lord has given us many days of sunshine and gentle breeze, days in which the catch has been abundant; [then] there have been times when the seas were rough and the wind against us, as in the whole history of the Church it has ever been - and the Lord seemed to sleep. Nevertheless, I always knew that the Lord is in the barque, that the barque of the Church is not mine, not ours, but His - and He shall not let her sink. It is He, who steers her: to be sure, he does so also through men of His choosing, for He desired that it be so. This was and is a certainty that nothing can tarnish. It is for this reason, that today my heart is filled with gratitude to God, for never did He leave me or the Church without His consolation, His light, His love.
We are in the Year of Faith, which I desired in order to strengthen our own faith in God in a context that seems to push faith more and more toward the margins of life. I would like to invite everyone to renew firm trust in the Lord. I would like that we all, entrust ourselves as children to the arms of God, and rest assured that those arms support us and us to walk every day, even in times of struggle. I would like everyone to feel loved by the God who gave His Son for us and showed us His boundless love. I want everyone to feel the joy of being Christian. In a beautiful prayer to be recited daily in the morning says, “I adore you, my God, I love you with all my heart. I thank You for having created me, for having made me a Christian.” Yes, we are happy for the gift of faith: it is the most precious good, that no one can take from us! Let us thank God for this every day, with prayer and with a coherent Christian life. God loves us, but He also expects that we love Him!
At this time, however, it is not only God, whom I desire to thank. A Pope is not alone in guiding St. Peter’s barque, even if it is his first responsibility – and I have not ever felt myself alone in bearing either the joys or the weight of the Petrine ministry. The Lord has placed next to me many people, who, with generosity and love for God and the Church, have helped me and been close to me. First of all you, dear Brother Cardinals: your wisdom, your counsels, your friendship, were all precious to me. My collaborators, starting with my Secretary of State, who accompanied me faithfully over the years, the Secretariat of State and the whole Roman Curia, as well as all those who, in various areas, give their service to the Holy See: the many faces which never emerge, but remain in the background, in silence, in their daily commitment, with a spirit of faith and humility. They have been for me a sure and reliable support. A special thought [goes] to the Church of Rome, my diocese! I can not forget the Brothers in the Episcopate and in the Priesthood, the consecrated persons and the entire People of God: in pastoral visits, in public encounters, at Audiences, in traveling, I have always received great care and deep affection; I also loved each and every one, without exception, with that pastoral charity which is the heart of every shepherd, especially the Bishop of Rome, the Successor of the Apostle Peter. Every day I carried each of you in my prayers, with the father's heart.
I wish my greetings and my thanks to reach everyone: the heart of a Pope expands to [embrace] the whole world. I would like to express my gratitude to the Diplomatic Corps accredited to the Holy See, which makes present the great family of nations. Here I also think of all those who work for good communication, whom I thank for their important service.
At this point I would like to offer heartfelt thanks to all the many people throughout the whole world, who, in recent weeks have sent me moving tokens of concern, friendship and prayer. Yes, the Pope is never alone: now I experience this [truth] again in a way so great as to touch my very heart. The Pope belongs to everyone, and so many people feel very close to him. It’s true that I receive letters from the world's greatest figures - from the Heads of State, religious leaders, representatives of the world of culture and so on. I also receive many letters from ordinary people who write to me simply from their heart and let me feel their affection, which is born of our being together in Christ Jesus, in the Church. These people do not write me as one might write, for example, to a prince or a great figure one does not know. They write as brothers and sisters, sons and daughters, with the sense of very affectionate family ties. Here, one can touch what the Church is – not an organization, not an association for religious or humanitarian purposes, but a living body, a community of brothers and sisters in the Body of Jesus Christ, who unites us all. To experience the Church in this way and almost be able to touch with one’s hands the power of His truth and His love, is a source of joy, in a time in which many speak of its decline.
In recent months, I felt that my strength had decreased, and I asked God with insistence in prayer to enlighten me with His light to make me take the right decision – not for my sake, but for the good of the Church. I have taken this step in full awareness of its severity and also its novelty, but with a deep peace of mind. Loving the Church also means having the courage to make difficult, trying choices, having ever before oneself the good of the Church and not one’s own.
Here allow me to return once again to April 19, 2005. The gravity of the decision was precisely in the fact that from that moment on I was committed always and forever by the Lord. Always – he, who assumes the Petrine ministry no longer has any privacy. He belongs always and totally to everyone, to the whole Church. His life is, so to speak, totally deprived of the private sphere. I have felt, and I feel even in this very moment, that one receives one’s life precisely when he offers it as a gift. I said before that many people who love the Lord also love the Successor of Saint Peter and are fond of him, that the Pope has truly brothers and sisters, sons and daughters all over the world, and that he feels safe in the embrace of their communion, because he no longer belongs to himself, but he belongs to all and all are truly his own.
The “always” is also a “forever” - there is no returning to private life. My decision to forgo the exercise of active ministry, does not revoke this. I do not return to private life, to a life of travel, meetings, receptions, conferences and so on. I do not abandon the cross, but remain in a new way near to the Crucified Lord. I no longer wield the power of the office for the government of the Church, but in the service of prayer I remain, so to speak, within St. Peter’s bounds. St. Benedict, whose name I bear as Pope, shall be a great example in this for me. He showed us the way to a life which, active or passive, belongs wholly to the work of God.
I thank each and every one of you for the respect and understanding with which you have welcomed this important decision. I continue to accompany the Church on her way through prayer and reflection, with the dedication to the Lord and to His Bride, which I have hitherto tried to live daily and that I would live forever. I ask you to remember me before God, and above all to pray for the Cardinals, who are called to so important a task, and for the new Successor of Peter, that the Lord might accompany him with the light and the power of His Spirit.
Let us invoke the maternal intercession of Mary, Mother of God and of the Church, that she might accompany each of us and the whole ecclesial community: to her we entrust ourselves, with deep trust.
Dear friends! God guides His Church, maintains her always, and especially in difficult times. Let us never lose this vision of faith, which is the only true vision of the way of the Church and the world. In our heart, in the heart of each of you, let there be always the joyous certainty that the Lord is near, that He does not abandon us, that He is near to us and that He surrounds us with His love. Thank you!
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
CLAIRVOYANCY AND BALDERDASH!
Clairvoyant that I am, I stated that the pope's new title would be pope-emeritus. I was right as usual. He will be referred to as His Holiness, Benedict XVI and will wear the white cassock but not the shoes of the fisherman.
I've listened to some of the liberal press's reporting on the scandals and they report rumor and hearsay as though it was fact and CNN even took as gospel truth a former Dominican priest who has been actively gay for the past 25 years who stated that more than half of the clergy in the Catholic Church are actively gay or homosexual. Did she ask for sociological data? Was there a truthful survey that discovered the facts? So, a former priest who is actively homosexual states something and it fits the agenda of CNN in terms of gay rights and gay marriage and reports it as true. Such lousy reporting!
We have to keep in mind also the difference between moral teachings and pastoral practice. The moral teachings of the Church are absolute, more or less. However, when it comes to each bishop or religious order recruiting candidates for the priesthood, it is a pastoral decision as to whom will be accepted and eventually ordained. Heterosexual priests who feel called to celibacy sometimes fall and many have married. Was there a mistake in the screening process or did the candidate hide his true sexual needs an inability to live a chaste, celibate life? Who knows, we are all compromised and disordered due to Original sin and the temptation to concupiscence.
In the 1970's many bishops in consultation with psychologists (the same ones that told them that pedophiles and ephebophiles could be treated and returned to ministry) told them that they could accept homosexual men into the priesthood if they felt called to celibate chastity and gave evidence of an ability to live thusly. As vocation director from the mid 80's to the late 90's, I screened many homosexual applicants but soon discovered from simply asking the right questions that they were not and more than likely could not live a celibate life. I could not then recommend them to the bishop for acceptance. I must say, that at the time, I was open to considering a homosexual candidate or one with what is called "same sex attraction" based on workshops I went to and listening to psychologists who told us, as well as seminaries, that a same sex orientation should not automatically disqualify a man for consideration.
Let me add a caveat, I don't believe I ever referred to the bishop for acceptance into the seminary a man with same sex attractions and not out of prejudice, but simply because I knew that it would be profoundly challenging to them to be in an all male environment of the seminary and they realized it too.
But I ask you, the most well-intentioned celibate heterosexual and one who does have a calling to celibate chastity, would it be wise to send him to a seminary where (if this was the case and there is no such place) young women that candidate's age live in close quarters as men do in our seminaries? It would be quite foolish to put a heterosexual man, even if called to celibacy, in an all female environment such as in a seminary setting.
How much more for men with a same sex attraction living in an all male environment? In the 70's through the turn of the century, many bishops and vocation directors simply were naive or just down right stupid about human sexuality. We are now paying the price.
So much hinges on common sense and moving from naivete to reality.
With that said, though, I do know of priests who have same sex attraction who are very mature and live mature, celibate lives by the grace of God as do heterosexual men. It is the immature and arrested in psycho-sexual identity and development, either homosexual or heterosexual, that are the greatest threats to our young and not so young in terms of taking advantage of their position in the Church to harm the spiritual, moral and psychological health of those in their care.
Thus in reporting sex abuse, or sexual activity that might even be consensual, but nonetheless immoral, the media does so to undermine the truths of Scripture, Tradition and Natural law as though moral truths depends on people actually living it. Even if a bishop is guilty of adultery or fornication, if he teaches the truth with his words, he is teaching the truth even though his life may not do so.
So, I wonder if coloring book Catholics understand objective truth or do they think it should be based upon what people actually do regardless of Scripture, Tradition and Natural law?
But this is my point, the pro-gay media which is lobbying for same sex marriage and all the rest of it, thinks that just because there is hypocrisy in the Church about sexuality and acting out in one way or another that the Church needs to get with the secular agenda.
Balderdash! I say and I suspect the next pope will say the same thing, or rather, I know he will say the same thing, clairvoyant that I am.
Monday, February 25, 2013
THIS IS THE SECOND BOMBSHELL!, TO THE FIRST ONE BELOW THIS POST, THE HOLY FATHER, POPE BENEDICT XVI CHANGES THE CONCLAVE RULES! WHAT ELSE WILL HE DO IN THE LAST MINUTES OF HIS PAPACY? TIME WILL TELL!
Pope changes conclave rules, says cardinals can move up date of vote if all cardinals in Rome!
And the Dossier of the scandals in the Vatican itself and the conspiracies against His Holiness by people who are suppose to be supporting him will be given to the cardinals!
And a CNN reporter must be reading my blog as she describes all of this as "bombshells" and another CNN reporter says the pope is not going out quietly, to say the least, nor is he abandoning the Church as he told us yesterday!!!!!!!!!!! Stay tuned!
YIKES! BOMBSHELL! YOU JUST CAN'T MAKE THIS STUFF UP LESS THAN A WEEK BEFORE THE POPE RENOUNCES HIS PAPACY!
The Scottish Cardinal who vociferously objected to same sex marriage in Scotland, but only a few days ago said that priests should be able to marry (keep in mind the radical nature of his proposal, priests should marry, not what is typically seen as a viable option of married men becoming priests) has had his early retirement accepted by His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI just this morning and because of allegations of homosexual advances and inappropriate behavior with his priests and seminarians when he was rector of a seminary in the 1980's.And with the brouhaha that Cardinal Mahony of Los Angeles is making over his own mismanagement of the perversions of some of his priests, should he not recuse himself from the conclave and submit that to the Holy Father prior to the Holy Father's last minute in office? Time will tell. I hope he does, just my 2 cents worth. I hope His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI demands his absence from the conclave, it will be one of the the many necessary actions needed if the Catholic Church is to recover from all of her self-inflicted wounds, most of which revolve around grotesque mismanagement of the Church and her priests and religious and buying into the progressive spirit that Gary Wills highlights so well in his interview below with Stephen Colbert. That is the problem, my friends, the theology of Gary Wills and his logic that infects so many in the Church and in high places. We are on the brink of a new and orthodox spirit in the Church and the acceleration of the purification the Church needs so desperately!
Sometimes I wonder if the Final Judgement isn't taking place in time with all that has been exposed in the Church since the turn of the century. You just can't make this stuff up and we know that the General Judgment is a judgment of institutions including the Church and for all to see and hear.
This is Rocco Palma's report from Whispers in the Loggia:
Monday, February 25, 2013
Hit By Scandal, A Cardinal Falls
Following allegations of "inappropriate behavior" made by several men dating to his time as a seminary rector in the early 1980s, Great Britain's lone cardinal-elector has resigned less than a month before reaching the retirement age of 75.
At Roman Noon, Pope Benedict yanked Cardinal Keith O'Brien as archbishop of St Andrew's and Edinburgh three days before the pontiff's own departure from office is to take effect.
After three priests and a former cleric lodged allegations against Scotland's longtime top prelate before Benedict's resignation, the story broke into public view over the weekend with a piece in the London-based Observer, a liberal paper.
According to early reports, O'Brien – who scored earlier headlines over the weekend with comments favoring optional celibacy for priests – will not participate in the Conclave.
Should O'Brien not attend, Great Britain would lack a representative in a papal election for the first time since 1963, when England's primatial see at Westminster was vacant. Only in 1979 did Scotland receive its first resident cardinal since the Reformation.
Born in Northern Ireland, the now-cardinal oversaw a minor seminary – the site of the incidents – for the five years before his 1985 appointment as head of the capital's 115,000-member church.
Long viewed as an outspoken progressive, O'Brien was unusually ordered to make a public Profession of Faith by the Vatican before his 2003 elevation to the College, while already a cardinal-designate. In recent years, however, the cardinal has become a leading voice against the growing British movement toward same-sex marriage.
Following late last week's announcement that the Indonesian Cardinal Julius Riyadi Darmaatmadja SJ is unable to travel to Rome due to failing eyesight, with the Scot's absence the number of electors in the coming process would fall to 115.
Sunday, February 24, 2013
GARY WILLS BRINGS THE DEMONIC "sPIRIT" OF VATICAN II TO ITS LOGICAL CONCLUSION
Update, STEPHEN COLBERT'S INTERVIEW OF GARY WILLS! IF THERE IS AN AD PRECEDING THE VIDEO, WARNING IT COULD BE ALMOST AS OFFENSIVE AS GARY WILLS! BUT MAKE NO MISTAKE, EVEN IF THE SEXUAL CONTENT OF ANY AD IS OFFENSIVE, TRUST ME, NOT AS OFFENSIVE AS GARY WILLS! (I wonder if Wills' alias is BdeH on any other blogs? Certainly the theology is the same or at least the screed!
This is the failed "spirit" of Vatican II former Catholic, Gary Wills, latest book, it is laughable if not so sad and he truly is a caricature of post-Vatican II former Catholics of the progressive kind who hate the Catholic Church and her priesthood, of the past, the present and the future.
This is a synopsis of the book from Amazon's website selling his drivel:
Book Description
Release date: February 12, 2013
In his most provocative book yet, Pulitzer Prize–winner Garry Wills asks the radical question: Why do we need priests?
Bestselling author of Papal Sin and Why I Am a Catholic, Garry Wills spent five years as a young man at a Jesuit seminary and nearly became a priest himself. But after a lifetime of study and reflection, he now poses some challenging questions: Why do we need priests at all? Why did the priesthood arise in a religion that began without it and opposed it? Would Christianity be stronger without the priesthood, as it was at its outset?
Meticulously researched, persuasively argued, and certain to spark debate, Why Priests? asserts that the anonymous Letter to Hebrews, a late addition to the New Testament canon, helped inject the priesthood into a Christianity where it did not exist, along with such concomitants as belief in an apostolic succession, the real presence in the Eucharist, the sacrificial interpretation of the Mass, and the ransom theory of redemption. But Wills does not expect the priesthood to fade entirely away. He just reminds us that Christianity did without it in the time of Peter and Paul with notable success.
Wills concludes with a powerful statement of his own beliefs in a book that will appeal to believers and nonbelievers alike and stand for years to come as a towering achievement.
MY COMMENTS: I would now be laughing if it weren't so sad. I am taking this weekend off having celebrated a small wedding in Augusta yesterday for close friends of mine. So I have the leisure this Sunday morning to pray a private Mass at home (something I seldom do and can count on one hand the times I have done so, although there is really no such thing as a private Mass for the saints and angels are all present at the one eternal Mass that every Mass is simply a share in "time") but I digress.
CNN at about 8:30 AM EST had an interview with Gary Wills who is indeed a heretic, and a Protestant theologian. The Protestant stated that he agreed with most things Gary Wills has written in a recent book since most of what Gary Wills writes is Protestant! Thank you, thank you as CNN had no real, believing Catholic theologian to confront Gary Wills' heresies.
What CNN did this morning is so much a part of the wider agenda against the true Church that occurs within and outside of the Church, CNN being outside and purely secular. They actually made Gary Wills look like a legitimate Catholic in addition to calling him an author and theologian. It really is insidious and for Catholics, now two generations of them, who were not taught the integrity of the true Faith, only coloring book Catholicism, what Gary Wills spews forth will be music to their ill-informed and poorly formed Catholic faith. Other Catholics, practicing their faith and having actually studied it and are believing, will see in Gary Wills the heretic he is.
But this is the sad thing. I felt I was in a few of my seminary classes (the more radical ones, not all were of course) where the Church of the future was presented as Gary Wills did so this morning.
He says the Catholic Priesthood is a failure and that the early Church didn't have any except when the Church was still united to the Temple sacrifice of the Jews prior to the separation from Judaism that occurred a half century or more later after the death of Christ.
YES, GARY WILLS WANTS TO DO AWAY WITH THE CATHOLIC PRIESTHOOD. HE SAID SO ON NATIONAL TV. IT IS TO LAUGH AND CRY AT THE SAME TIME, FOR HIS IMMORTAL SOUL, PLEASE PRAY, AND FOR THE SOULS HE LEADS INTO PERDITION, PLEASE PRAY.
IT IS HIS THEOLOGY, SO PROMINENT IN PEOPLE HIS AGE, WHO WERE ON THE CUTTING EDGE OF HERETICAL RENEWAL OF THE CHURCH IN THE 1960'S AND 70'S AND WHO STILL HANG AROUND AND REFUSE TO RESIGN FOR THE GOOD OF THE CHURCH, THAT HAS LED TO THE CORRUPTION OF SO MANY CATHOLICS IN THE PRIESTHOOD AND LAITY AND THE PROLIFERATION OF SEXUALLY ACTIVE CLERGY AND RELIGIOUS WHO MAKE IT UP AS THEY GO AND TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THEIR STATUS TO DO SO AND ABUSED SO MANY BODIES AND SOULS. THERE HAS TO BE A DEEP PLACE IN HELL FOR PEOPLE LIKE GARY WILLS AND HIS MINIONS.
WHEN YOU SET YOURSELF UP AS AN AUTHORITY AND DO AWAY WITH LEGITIMATE AUTHORITY, ANYTHING GOES, ANYTHING AND IT HAS UNFORTUNATELY THESE 50 YEARS ALL DUE TO PEOPLE LIKE GARY WILLS, HANS KUNG, CHARLIE CURRAN AND MANY, MANY OTHERS. PRAY FOR THEM AND THEIR IMMORTAL SOULS.
The Colbert Report
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This is the failed "spirit" of Vatican II former Catholic, Gary Wills, latest book, it is laughable if not so sad and he truly is a caricature of post-Vatican II former Catholics of the progressive kind who hate the Catholic Church and her priesthood, of the past, the present and the future.
This is a synopsis of the book from Amazon's website selling his drivel:
Book Description
Release date: February 12, 2013
In his most provocative book yet, Pulitzer Prize–winner Garry Wills asks the radical question: Why do we need priests?
Bestselling author of Papal Sin and Why I Am a Catholic, Garry Wills spent five years as a young man at a Jesuit seminary and nearly became a priest himself. But after a lifetime of study and reflection, he now poses some challenging questions: Why do we need priests at all? Why did the priesthood arise in a religion that began without it and opposed it? Would Christianity be stronger without the priesthood, as it was at its outset?
Meticulously researched, persuasively argued, and certain to spark debate, Why Priests? asserts that the anonymous Letter to Hebrews, a late addition to the New Testament canon, helped inject the priesthood into a Christianity where it did not exist, along with such concomitants as belief in an apostolic succession, the real presence in the Eucharist, the sacrificial interpretation of the Mass, and the ransom theory of redemption. But Wills does not expect the priesthood to fade entirely away. He just reminds us that Christianity did without it in the time of Peter and Paul with notable success.
Wills concludes with a powerful statement of his own beliefs in a book that will appeal to believers and nonbelievers alike and stand for years to come as a towering achievement.
MY COMMENTS: I would now be laughing if it weren't so sad. I am taking this weekend off having celebrated a small wedding in Augusta yesterday for close friends of mine. So I have the leisure this Sunday morning to pray a private Mass at home (something I seldom do and can count on one hand the times I have done so, although there is really no such thing as a private Mass for the saints and angels are all present at the one eternal Mass that every Mass is simply a share in "time") but I digress.
CNN at about 8:30 AM EST had an interview with Gary Wills who is indeed a heretic, and a Protestant theologian. The Protestant stated that he agreed with most things Gary Wills has written in a recent book since most of what Gary Wills writes is Protestant! Thank you, thank you as CNN had no real, believing Catholic theologian to confront Gary Wills' heresies.
What CNN did this morning is so much a part of the wider agenda against the true Church that occurs within and outside of the Church, CNN being outside and purely secular. They actually made Gary Wills look like a legitimate Catholic in addition to calling him an author and theologian. It really is insidious and for Catholics, now two generations of them, who were not taught the integrity of the true Faith, only coloring book Catholicism, what Gary Wills spews forth will be music to their ill-informed and poorly formed Catholic faith. Other Catholics, practicing their faith and having actually studied it and are believing, will see in Gary Wills the heretic he is.
But this is the sad thing. I felt I was in a few of my seminary classes (the more radical ones, not all were of course) where the Church of the future was presented as Gary Wills did so this morning.
He says the Catholic Priesthood is a failure and that the early Church didn't have any except when the Church was still united to the Temple sacrifice of the Jews prior to the separation from Judaism that occurred a half century or more later after the death of Christ.
YES, GARY WILLS WANTS TO DO AWAY WITH THE CATHOLIC PRIESTHOOD. HE SAID SO ON NATIONAL TV. IT IS TO LAUGH AND CRY AT THE SAME TIME, FOR HIS IMMORTAL SOUL, PLEASE PRAY, AND FOR THE SOULS HE LEADS INTO PERDITION, PLEASE PRAY.
IT IS HIS THEOLOGY, SO PROMINENT IN PEOPLE HIS AGE, WHO WERE ON THE CUTTING EDGE OF HERETICAL RENEWAL OF THE CHURCH IN THE 1960'S AND 70'S AND WHO STILL HANG AROUND AND REFUSE TO RESIGN FOR THE GOOD OF THE CHURCH, THAT HAS LED TO THE CORRUPTION OF SO MANY CATHOLICS IN THE PRIESTHOOD AND LAITY AND THE PROLIFERATION OF SEXUALLY ACTIVE CLERGY AND RELIGIOUS WHO MAKE IT UP AS THEY GO AND TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THEIR STATUS TO DO SO AND ABUSED SO MANY BODIES AND SOULS. THERE HAS TO BE A DEEP PLACE IN HELL FOR PEOPLE LIKE GARY WILLS AND HIS MINIONS.
WHEN YOU SET YOURSELF UP AS AN AUTHORITY AND DO AWAY WITH LEGITIMATE AUTHORITY, ANYTHING GOES, ANYTHING AND IT HAS UNFORTUNATELY THESE 50 YEARS ALL DUE TO PEOPLE LIKE GARY WILLS, HANS KUNG, CHARLIE CURRAN AND MANY, MANY OTHERS. PRAY FOR THEM AND THEIR IMMORTAL SOULS.
THE LONG GOODBYE AND THE LONG HELLO!
When I awoke this morning, I turned the TV on and CNN was carrying live Pope Benedict's final Angelus. It is the long goodbye, but how long and after 8:00 PM Rome time, will the world continue to say goodbye to this pope.
I will be in Rome for about three months beginning in September for my sabbatical (the first of my priesthood and after more than 33 years, but I digress)and I never thought that my next door neighbors would be a reigning pope and a pope-emeritus. I will be living on the campus of the North American College in Rome which is considered apart of the Vatican city-state and overlooks my two new neighbors. We'll be next door to each other.Yes, if I capture a picture of His Holiness Benedict XVI I will post it on my blog. I suspect he will be taking long walks in his jogging suit, so there will be plenty of photos opportunities.
Maybe I'm a religious geek, but I have been wondering if the new pope will invite the old pope over for dinner or will the new pope have a standing invitation to the old pope simply to drop in when he wishes for dinner or otherwise?
But have you wondered what you would say to the new pope if he were to ask you what he should do in the shoes of the fisherman? I have, the religious geek that I am.
My advise to new Holy Father is to have the old Holy Father over frequently for supper.
I would advise that His Holiness (the new one) continue the "reform of the reform in continuity" that His Holiness (the old one) began and bring it to fruition.
This means specifically the following:
1. In this Year of Faith, issue Pope Benedict's uncompleted encyclical on Faith but work with him to complete it and add to it a list of "anathemas" as it concerns the interpretation of the Second Vatican Council. In other words, call out the heresies of the last 50 years and do so strongly!
2. Continue the on-going liturgical reform initiated by His Holiness Benedict XVI. This means codifying the traditional altar arrangement, allowing every pastor to following any and all of the options in the latest Roman Missal as it concerns rubrics and the GIRM and a clear permission to any pastor to celebrate the OF ad orientem.
3. Require kneeling for Holy Communion (with the exception for standing) and that only intinction be allowed when Holy Communion is given under both forms as is already done in Rome even for clergy who concelebrate!
4. Make sure that every bishop celebrates the Extraordinary Form of the Mass on a regular basis, at least 12 times a year and that each bishop encourage every priest to do so as a sort of seminary for re-learning how to celebrate the Ordinary Form in a more beautiful and reverent way.
5. Make clear what parts of the Mass should be in Latin. I have mixed feelings on this. I think the easiest would parts of the Mass that don't change, such as the greetings, Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Pater Noster Agnus Dei, not to mention the "amens." Others say what Pope Benedict does, such as the preface and Eucharistic prayers. Keep in mind I have always loved the English Mass and love it even more now that we have an accurate translation of the Latin which gives us our true liturgical theology and spirituality, although I will allow that the eloquence of the translation could be improved with future revisions of which I would not be opposed. But don't ever go back to the 1973 method of "equivalent translation" which eliminates much of the liturgical and spiritual theology of the Latin template.
6. Require religious orders to follow the Second Vatican Council's norms for updating their orders, meaning, they must reform in continuity with what their founders desired their orders to be and require the wearing of a visible habit in continuity with what their founder desired and allowing for maintaining even the ancient habit with slight modifications, like modern materials and summer and winter versions. Demand that religious live in community and actually observe their vows of poverty, chastity and obedience without silly re-imagining of these vows which make them meaningless and highly and fiercely individualistic. Make clear that good works are certainly a fruit of their religious life, especially serving the poorest of the poor, but make clear that poor can mean rich people who do not know the Lord nor know about Catholic Stewardship and that faith and prayer that are orthodox should be at the foundation of their religious life's expression, not just social work that anyone could do and many do. Social work is not unique to religious life or Catholicism for that matter, many do it regardless of their religious persuasion or none at all.
Saturday, February 23, 2013
JUST HOW MANIPULATIVE IS THE WORLD AND SHOULD WE BE CONCERNED? THE VATICAN KNOWS AND IS!
And how much do we need to know? Or is ignorance bliss?
FROM THE CARDINAL SECRETARY OF STATE THIS MORNING!
The freedom of the College of Cardinals, which alone, under the law, is responsible for the election of the Roman Pontiff, has always been strongly defended by the Holy See, as a guarantee of a choice based on evaluations solely for the good of the Church.
Over the centuries, the Cardinals have faced multiple forms of pressure exerted on the individual voters and the same College, with the aim of conditioning decisions, to bend them to a political or worldly logic.
If in the past it was the so-called superpowers, namely States, who sought to condition the election of the Pope in their favour, today there is an attempt to apply the weight of public opinion, often on the basis of assessments that fail to capture the spiritual aspect of this moment in the life of the Church.
It is regrettable that, as we draw near to the beginning of the Conclave, when Cardinal electors shall be bound in conscience and before God to freely express their choice, news reports abound which are often unverified or not verifiable, or even false, even subsequent damage people and institutions.
It is in moments such as these that Catholics are called to focus on what is essential: to pray for Pope Benedict, to pray that the Holy Spirit enlighten the College of Cardinals, to pray for the future Pope, trusting that the fate of the barque of St. Peter is in the hands of God.
From Dr. Robert Moynihan
February 23, 2013, Saturday -- Communique
"...news reports abound which are often unverified or unverifiable, or completely false..." --Communique this morning from the Vatican's Secretariat of State, released at the Vatican Press Office
The Vatican Speaks Out
Evidently concerned that the upcoming papal conclave to elect a successor to Pope Benedict XVI (the conclave is now expected to be held between March 10 and 15, though the date is not yet fixed) may be subjected to undue "pressure" from outside the Church, this morning, the Vatican Secretariat of State released the communique printed below.
The hope expressed is that the cardinals entering the Conclave be completely free to make their choice of the next Pope.
The desire expressed is for the complete freedom of the Church, libertas ecclesiae, from information, and from disinformation.
The fact that this Communique was thought necessary shows how seriously the Vatican is taking the current situation in the media, with rumors of all types swirling and spreading across the globe in mere seconds.
Clearly, the Secretariat of State is concerned about the danger that an individual cardinal, or the Conclave as a whole, may be unduly influenced by overwhelming "pressure" from outside the Church.
At the same time, there is a growing feeling among the Catholic faithful that the best way to ensure that such undue pressure is not exerted, that the "freedom of the Church" is protected, is for more of the truth about the "Vatileaks" affair, and the results of the investigation of the three cardinals into that affair, to come out.
As one reader (but there were dozens like him who have written to me) put it in an email this morning: "All the people and the faithful want, is the truth. If this continues to blow up as it would appear, then the Vatican should release the report. The people of God deserve the truth and nothing less, despite what may offend or injure the Church’s reputation. This has similar tones of cover up like what happened with the sexual abuse world wide. Let the cleansing begin."
FATHER HANS KUNG FOR POPE? HE DOES HAVE SOME GOOD IDEAS! BUT, ALAS, NO AND NOT JUST NO, BUT HELL NO!
MY COMMENTS FIRST: Progressives in the Church actually hate the institutional Church; they hate the Catholic Church as she was, is and will be. They really want a "post-Catholic Church" similar to "post-Christianity" that is anything but Catholic and much more radical than even the Protestant Episcopal Church in the USA.
Ultra progressive and former theologian and Catholic in name only, Hans Kung, shows the ugly, uncharitable characteristics of most progressive Catholics, but he also shows some common sense in the interviews below. His last answer below I actually think is on target and perhaps a valid evaluation and criticism of our out-going Holy Father.
SPIEGEL ONLINE 2013Interview With Swiss Theologian: 'Benedict XVI Could Turn into a Shadow Pope'
By Peter Wensierski
Progressive Catholic theologian Hans Küng, whose authority to teach Catholic theology was rescinded by the Vatican in 1979, spoke to SPIEGEL about the challenges facing the next pope and the need for reform of the Catholic Church.
SPIEGEL: What will change now that Pope Benedict XVI has resigned?
Hans Küng: There is now a realization that a pope should step down when the time has come. Joseph Ratzinger made it very clear that he could no longer fulfill his duties. His predecessor felt he had to turn his death into a show. Fortunately, Benedict chose another way, in order to demonstrate that when a pope is no longer capable of doing his job, he should give it up. This is exactly how the office should be approached. In John Paul II's final years, we weren't led by a pope so much as by a curia, which governed the Church in his place.
SPIEGEL: Who would you like to see lead your Church as pope?
Hans Küng: A pope who is not intellectually stuck in the Middle Ages, one who does not represent mediaeval theology, liturgy and religious order. I would like to see a pope who is open first to suggestions for reform and secondly, to the modern age. We need a pope who not only preaches freedom of the Church around the world but also supports, with his words and deeds, freedom and human rights within the Church -- of theologians, women and all Catholics who want to speak the truth about the state of the Church and are calling for change.
SPIEGEL: Who is your ideal candidate for the office of pope?
Hans Küng: If I were to name anyone, he would most certainly not get elected. But background should not play a role. The best man for the job should be elected. There are no more candidates who belonged to the Second Vatican Council. In the running are candidates who are middle of the road and toe the Vatican line. Is there anyone who won't simply continue on the same path? Is there anyone who understands the depth of the Church's crisis and can see a way out? If we elect a leader who continues on the same path, the Church's crisis will become almost intractable.
SPIEGEL: Is there likely to be friction between the former pope and the incumbent pope?
Hans Küng: Benedict XVI could turn into a shadow pope who has stepped down but can still exert indirect influence. He has already assigned himself a place within the Vatican. He is keeping his secretary, who will also remain prefect of the papal household under the new pope. This is a new form of nepotism, and one that isn't appreciated in the Vatican either. No priest likes to have his predecessor looking over his shoulder. Even the bishop of Rome doesn't find it pleasant to have his predecessor constantly keeping an eye on him.
SPIEGEL: So the new pope will have a hard time asserting himself?
Hans Küng: If the next pope is clever, he will appoint a cabinet that will allow him to lead effectively. A solitary pope, isolated from the curia the way that Ratzinger was, will not be able to lead a community of 1.2 billion people. The pope urgently needs a cabinet made up of new, competent men (and why not women, too) in order to overcome the crisis. Unless there is an end to the tradition of the Roman royal household and an introduction of a functioning, central church administration as well as a curia reform, no new pope will be able to bring about change and progress.
Ultra progressive and former theologian and Catholic in name only, Hans Kung, shows the ugly, uncharitable characteristics of most progressive Catholics, but he also shows some common sense in the interviews below. His last answer below I actually think is on target and perhaps a valid evaluation and criticism of our out-going Holy Father.
SPIEGEL ONLINE 2013Interview With Swiss Theologian: 'Benedict XVI Could Turn into a Shadow Pope'
By Peter Wensierski
Progressive Catholic theologian Hans Küng, whose authority to teach Catholic theology was rescinded by the Vatican in 1979, spoke to SPIEGEL about the challenges facing the next pope and the need for reform of the Catholic Church.
SPIEGEL: What will change now that Pope Benedict XVI has resigned?
Hans Küng: There is now a realization that a pope should step down when the time has come. Joseph Ratzinger made it very clear that he could no longer fulfill his duties. His predecessor felt he had to turn his death into a show. Fortunately, Benedict chose another way, in order to demonstrate that when a pope is no longer capable of doing his job, he should give it up. This is exactly how the office should be approached. In John Paul II's final years, we weren't led by a pope so much as by a curia, which governed the Church in his place.
SPIEGEL: Who would you like to see lead your Church as pope?
Hans Küng: A pope who is not intellectually stuck in the Middle Ages, one who does not represent mediaeval theology, liturgy and religious order. I would like to see a pope who is open first to suggestions for reform and secondly, to the modern age. We need a pope who not only preaches freedom of the Church around the world but also supports, with his words and deeds, freedom and human rights within the Church -- of theologians, women and all Catholics who want to speak the truth about the state of the Church and are calling for change.
SPIEGEL: Who is your ideal candidate for the office of pope?
Hans Küng: If I were to name anyone, he would most certainly not get elected. But background should not play a role. The best man for the job should be elected. There are no more candidates who belonged to the Second Vatican Council. In the running are candidates who are middle of the road and toe the Vatican line. Is there anyone who won't simply continue on the same path? Is there anyone who understands the depth of the Church's crisis and can see a way out? If we elect a leader who continues on the same path, the Church's crisis will become almost intractable.
SPIEGEL: Is there likely to be friction between the former pope and the incumbent pope?
Hans Küng: Benedict XVI could turn into a shadow pope who has stepped down but can still exert indirect influence. He has already assigned himself a place within the Vatican. He is keeping his secretary, who will also remain prefect of the papal household under the new pope. This is a new form of nepotism, and one that isn't appreciated in the Vatican either. No priest likes to have his predecessor looking over his shoulder. Even the bishop of Rome doesn't find it pleasant to have his predecessor constantly keeping an eye on him.
SPIEGEL: So the new pope will have a hard time asserting himself?
Hans Küng: If the next pope is clever, he will appoint a cabinet that will allow him to lead effectively. A solitary pope, isolated from the curia the way that Ratzinger was, will not be able to lead a community of 1.2 billion people. The pope urgently needs a cabinet made up of new, competent men (and why not women, too) in order to overcome the crisis. Unless there is an end to the tradition of the Roman royal household and an introduction of a functioning, central church administration as well as a curia reform, no new pope will be able to bring about change and progress.
Friday, February 22, 2013
THIS IS INFALLIBLE: THE POPE IS NOT THE CHURCH AND THE CHURCH IS NOT THE POPE AND NEITHER THE CHURCH NOR THE POPE ARE GOD! PUT THAT IN YOUR THURIBLE AND SMOKE IT!
Commonweal has an editorial on the papacy which you can read HERE, which quotes the following:
"The church is not the pope, and the pope is not the church,” theologian [Father] Joseph Komonchak reminds us (see “Benedict’s Act of Humility”). Amen to that. Komonchak also cautions about the “hullabaloo over the upcoming conclave,” urging Catholics of every theological and ideological disposition to place Benedict XVI’s surprise resignation in the broader and deeper context of the responsibilities every Catholic has for building up the church and spreading the gospel. Expectations for the papacy need to change.
Amen to that as well."
MY COMMENTS: I wish Fr. Komonchak would take it a bit further, not only is the Pope not the Church and the Church is not the pope, neither is the pope God nor is the Church God.
And you know what, the pope knows that! The question is, does the Church know that? Pope John Paul II stated emphatically that he has and no pope has the authority to change the Church's Tradition and discipline concerning the ordination of women to Holy Orders. Hear what the Holy Father is saying, he can't do that, he's not the Church and the Church is not him and he and the Church are not God!
This is quite healthy to say the least.
What else can't the pope do or the Church do since neither are God? They can't change Scripture, Tradition or Natural Law. Therefore they can't sanction the use of artificial contraception or abortion. They can't endorse or bless same sex unions or sex, any kind of sex outside of Church recognized marriage.
I wonder if Commonweal acknowledges this truth or do they think the next pope will think he is God? Time will tell.
QUOTE OF THE DAY ON THE FEAST OF THE CHAIR OF SAINT PETER
Heard on Catholic radio this morning:
I DON'T CARE IF THE NEXT POPE IS FROM THE FIRST WORLD OR THE THIRD WORLD, JUST AS LONG AS HE GETS ME INTO THE NEXT WORLD!
My comment: I can live with that!
I DON'T CARE IF THE NEXT POPE IS FROM THE FIRST WORLD OR THE THIRD WORLD, JUST AS LONG AS HE GETS ME INTO THE NEXT WORLD!
My comment: I can live with that!
IS IT TIME TO THROW IN THE TOWEL ON PREVENTING SAME SEX MARRIAGE?
Several states have already approved same sex marriage, so the Catholic Church in those states has to deal with it. Has Armageddon occurred? Well, not yet. One day it will, but it will occur as the plan of God unfolds for the final consummation and general judgement of the world.
Since politics and the media are the new god and new magisterium of so many today, including Catholics as depicted in one of the photos above, I sense that politics and the media have formed a new generation and an old generation who simply don't give a flip about who lives together, what is done in the bedroom or out in public for that matter and who gets married and to whom. Their brains have been cooked in the microwave of political correctness and don't rock the boat, be happy, not sad. Equal rights for everyone!
And to be honest with you, when it comes to consenting adults, I don't really care to get into their minds or bodies about their attitudes and practices of sex.
Yet there is a part of me as a priest who wants to save souls who could well be destined for hell by their breaking of divine law and if one is living in sin and public sin at that, shouldn't the Church care about that and invite them to repentance and conversion? So you see my conundrum.
But what about Catholics who were married in the Church, divorced (and keep in mind in many places the Church fought tooth and nail to outlaw or limit divorce in civil law) do we obsess on their second marriages not recognized by the Church?
In the modern world and modern Catholicism, we can only invite people to drink of the truth and live by it. In other words, you can only lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink it.
As the Church, though, we are a parallel society within the larger secular society and we do have our own laws, both divine and human. Some of our laws have prohibitions and penalties, such as interdicts and excommunications. Perhaps these need to be more emphasized in our modern day and that the society that is the Church is first and the society that is secular is second.
So, as I have proposed before, I think the Church should disavow the requirement we currently have in this country and many other countries that the Church cooperate with the state in regulating marriage. Rather, what I would propose is that the Church separate itself from the state but only to a certain extent, when it comes to marriage.
The Church should define Holy Matrimony as a Catholic Sacrament requiring a Church sanctioned "minister" bishop, priest or deacon to perform the rites necessary for a Church sanctioned "bond" or "sacrament" of holy matrimony. From an ecumenical point of view, we should only accept marriages as sacramental in those Churches or denominations that believe what the Catholic Church teaches to be true of marriage. Today, I know of no other Christian denomination that teaches what we teach about marriage being a sacrament except possibly for the Orthodox Churches but even there we have to contend with their pastoral privilege of allowing for a second union after a divorce. This would also help to cut down on the number of formal annulment cases we must make non-Catholics undergo who desire to become Catholic and are in a second marriage.
The only requirement the Church should demand to keep the Sacrament or "bond" of Holy Matrimony a part of what civil law protects is that the Catholic couple go to the court house some days prior to their Church wedding to have the civil aspects of their union recognized by the state for the benefits of the state and wider recognition of their civil status in law.
What this does is that it eliminates the need for the bishop, priest or deacon to have to sign a "civil marriage certificate" as an agent of the state in terms of the civil requirements of a so-called marital union.
But, Father, many of you are thinking, what about those Catholics who are same sex and get married by the state in a civil ceremony. And I say, what about all those Catholics who do the same thing after they have divorced their spouse even when they were married in the Church the first time?
Sanctions, interdicts or even excommunications are placed against them for public infractions of divine and Church law.
This is what canon law is (and which I copy from the Catholic Exchange by Cathy Caridi) and Catholic, clergy and laity are required to follow it:
The code states that Catholics are not to be allowed to receive Holy Communion if they are under the penalty of excommunication or interdict, or obstinately persist in manifest grave sin (c. 915). Canon 916 notes that as a rule, anyone who is conscious of grave sin may not celebrate Mass (in the case of a priest) or receive the Eucharist without previously having been to sacramental confession. This is entirely in keeping with the Catechism’s teaching that “anyone conscious of a grave sin must receive the sacrament of Reconciliation before coming to Communion” (1385).
It is important to note that at issue here is not only a Catholic’s own personal, internal spiritual state, which might very well be known to him alone; but also his external, visible status in the Church, that may be known by other members of the faithful as well. The Church is therefore concerned simultaneously with three different, although interrelated issues: (a) an individual Catholic’s personal spiritual well being; (b) the need to maintain reverence toward the Most Holy Eucharist; and (c) the need to avoid public scandal.
Canon 915, already cited above, notes that a Catholic cannot receive the Eucharist if he persists in manifest grave sin. The point is, if the Catholic faithful see that a priest gives the Eucharist to someone whom they know is living in a gravely sinful manner, they might naturally—and wrongly—conclude that such a sinful lifestyle must be morally acceptable. In such a situation, the need to avoid public scandal is crucial!
My final comments: There is one caveat for divorced and remarried Catholics who have not gotten an annulment or an annulment is not possible. They may receive Holy Communion if they remain in the same household but live as "brother and sister" meaning they don't have sex (which is quite common for some married couples).
This could easily be applied to same sex couples who forgo illicit and/or unnatural sexual practices, those forbidden by the bible and natural law. In other words, they live loving relationships of support and mutuality but do not share their bodies with each other. Then in these situations, they could receive Holy Communion if everything else in their Catholic life is kosher.
Thursday, February 21, 2013
LEAVE IT TO BILL DONOHUE TO TELL IT LIKE IT IS IN HIS OWN NEW YORK SORT OF WAY
We can hardly call many progressive Catholics, Catholic, yet we obsess on the SSPX who portend to be more Catholic than the Holy Father and the Second Vatican Council. More power to them! While they can lead people into "structural schism" with the true institutional Church, they won't lead them into doctrinal and moral schism.
Not true of the progressives in the Church though. They are hypocrites who fear going into schism because they know they can do more damage remaining loosely united to the Church. But compared to the SSPX, they really are heretics not just schismatics. Someone need to publicly excommunicate them, like their local bishops, but I digress.
This is what Bill Donohue has to write about the progressives of the Church:
CATHOLIC LEFT BRACES FOR NEW POPE - Catholic League
February 21, 2013
Bill Donohue issued the following remarks today:
Here is how the Catholic Left reacted right before a new pope was elected on April 19, 2005:
E.J. Dionne blasted Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger for using “fighting words” in an address before the cardinals.
Father Richard McBrien said, “I think this homily shows he realizes he’s not going to be elected. He is a polarizing figure.”
Peggy Steinfels agreed, saying, “Oh well, that gets rid of him.”
A few hours later, he was elected Pope Benedict XVI.
Here is how the Catholic Left greeted the news:
The president of Dignity, Michael Rocks, said of the new pope, “I didn’t think he had a chance because he already was so negative.”
Sr. Donna Quinn, head of the pro-abortion group, National Coalition of American Nuns, slammed him for lacking “sensitivity” to women.
Scott Appleby of Notre Dame opined, “This is the worst nightmare come true.”
Ex-priest Paul Lakeland lamented that “this choice is nothing but backwards looking.”
Andrew Greeley’s warning was ominous: “There might be a reign of terror for those who still support the Vatican Council.”
A spokesman for Call to Action exclaimed, “People here are in a state of shock.”
The Catholic Left will again be in a state of shock once the new pope is named. Having lost on virtually every issue that excites them—and nothing excites them more than sex—they are now bracing for more bad news. What they want has already been tried: they want the Catholic Church to adopt the teachings of the mainline Protestant denominations. Someone needs to tell them (gently, of course) that it didn’t work—they’re all in free fall.
A POWERFUL PRO-LIFE WITNESS FROM THE PARENTS OF LAUREN GIDDINGS
Lauren Giddings was a member of St. Joseph Church while she attended Mercer Law School. She was murdered in the most gruesome way shortly after her graduation and a few days before she was to move to Atlanta about a year and half ago. Her parents are members of a Catholic parish in Maryland. The video and story below it from our local CBS affiliate says it all!
District Attorney David Cooke says he will not seek the death penalty against Lauren Giddings' accused killer, at the request of her family. From WMAZ TV NEWS, MACON, GA In a news conference this morning, Cooke announced that he had withdrawn his motion requesting the death penalty for Stephen McDaniel. He said that decision will bring the case to trial sooner. Cooke said the family still believes that McDaniel deserves to be prosecuted "to the full extent of the law," but that the move will bring justice sooner. Today, Bill Giddings, the victim's father, called it a very tough decision." He said his wife, Karen Giddings, started the family discussion on the topic, due to her personal opposition to the death penalty. "She was always uncomfortable with the death penalty, not just since Lauren's death, but even before that," he said. And that set off a discussion among family members, he said. "Some of us felt the death penalty was appropriate, and some of us felt life in prison was sufficient." In the end, he said, the drawn-out appeal process also factored into their decision. "We asked did we want to drag that out? and we really didn't," he said. "We just think it's the best thing to do to move this case along." One thing the family agrees on is that McDaniel will eventually be convicted: "We know he's guilty, and the evidence has proved that." With the death penalty off the table, Cooke said, McDaniel is likely to come to trial within a year and a half. Two recent Bibb County death penalty cases came to trial six to seven years after the murder, he said. The DA said he considered the family's request and also consulted other experts, but the final decision was his. McDaniel, a former Mercer Law School student, is accused of killing his neighbor and classmate in June 2011.
District Attorney David Cooke says he will not seek the death penalty against Lauren Giddings' accused killer, at the request of her family. From WMAZ TV NEWS, MACON, GA In a news conference this morning, Cooke announced that he had withdrawn his motion requesting the death penalty for Stephen McDaniel. He said that decision will bring the case to trial sooner. Cooke said the family still believes that McDaniel deserves to be prosecuted "to the full extent of the law," but that the move will bring justice sooner. Today, Bill Giddings, the victim's father, called it a very tough decision." He said his wife, Karen Giddings, started the family discussion on the topic, due to her personal opposition to the death penalty. "She was always uncomfortable with the death penalty, not just since Lauren's death, but even before that," he said. And that set off a discussion among family members, he said. "Some of us felt the death penalty was appropriate, and some of us felt life in prison was sufficient." In the end, he said, the drawn-out appeal process also factored into their decision. "We asked did we want to drag that out? and we really didn't," he said. "We just think it's the best thing to do to move this case along." One thing the family agrees on is that McDaniel will eventually be convicted: "We know he's guilty, and the evidence has proved that." With the death penalty off the table, Cooke said, McDaniel is likely to come to trial within a year and a half. Two recent Bibb County death penalty cases came to trial six to seven years after the murder, he said. The DA said he considered the family's request and also consulted other experts, but the final decision was his. McDaniel, a former Mercer Law School student, is accused of killing his neighbor and classmate in June 2011.
A DARK FRENCH HORSE CANDIDATE FOR THE PAPACY? THE FRENCH PART OF ME LIKES THE THOUGHT OF IT
WE NEED A LYON IN THE VATICAN.
And since I am half Canadian, here is an interview for French Canadians with captions in English, and of course since the good Cardinal is in Canada giving this interview this makes him all the more a papal candidate in my half Canadian book:
As you know I have Corsican blood in my veins which makes me partially French, so I am now partial to the French. And I think we need a Lyon in the Vatican, so I think the next pope should be Cardinal Philippe Barbarin, Archbishop of Lyon (France).
What about him make him a good prospect?
On same sex marriage, he said, "This has many consequences that cannot be numbered. Afterwards, they will try to create 'couples' of three, or of four. After that, one day, perhaps, the prohibition of incest will fall. ... A marriage is a name that implies a bulwark, in order to allow the most fragile spot in society, that is, a woman who gives birth to a child, to have all conditions established so that it may take place with the best available resources.
"For us, the first page of the Bible has a little more strength and truth, that will traverse the cultures and the centuries, than the circumstantial or passing decisions of a Parliament." Of course the press with martyr him for these comments.
He is one of the 12 apostles in all of the College of Cardinals that has offered the Mass according to the 1962 Roman Missal and we all know the number 12 is quite significant in Catholic circles. But apart from offering the Mass in the Extraordinary Form he has very little patience with the neo-schismatic SSPX which may be a very good thing. This is what he has said about the SSPX: "[The Pope] wishes to offer his hand, before it is too late, to those who are afar. I feel, however, that the issue is not certain. Whenever a schism is in its beginnings, it is still possible to achieve an understanding... [sic] It is more complicated after several decades."
And then there is this: "Cardinal Barbarin [has opened] in Lyon a "bi-formalist" seminary, i.e. a seminary dedicated to both forms of the Roman Rite, which is being both taught and celebrated there. This is the first diocese in France after that of Toulon which offers this possibility to its seminarians. Cardinal Barbarin's project goes further than that of Toulon: not only do the seminarians have the opportunity to be formed according to the extraordinary form, Mass according to the usus antiquior will be celebrated every day in the seminary, open to all seminarians, including those of the ordinary form."
And the Cardinal is young! He is only 62.
And since I am half Canadian, here is an interview for French Canadians with captions in English, and of course since the good Cardinal is in Canada giving this interview this makes him all the more a papal candidate in my half Canadian book:
As you know I have Corsican blood in my veins which makes me partially French, so I am now partial to the French. And I think we need a Lyon in the Vatican, so I think the next pope should be Cardinal Philippe Barbarin, Archbishop of Lyon (France).
What about him make him a good prospect?
On same sex marriage, he said, "This has many consequences that cannot be numbered. Afterwards, they will try to create 'couples' of three, or of four. After that, one day, perhaps, the prohibition of incest will fall. ... A marriage is a name that implies a bulwark, in order to allow the most fragile spot in society, that is, a woman who gives birth to a child, to have all conditions established so that it may take place with the best available resources.
"For us, the first page of the Bible has a little more strength and truth, that will traverse the cultures and the centuries, than the circumstantial or passing decisions of a Parliament." Of course the press with martyr him for these comments.
He is one of the 12 apostles in all of the College of Cardinals that has offered the Mass according to the 1962 Roman Missal and we all know the number 12 is quite significant in Catholic circles. But apart from offering the Mass in the Extraordinary Form he has very little patience with the neo-schismatic SSPX which may be a very good thing. This is what he has said about the SSPX: "[The Pope] wishes to offer his hand, before it is too late, to those who are afar. I feel, however, that the issue is not certain. Whenever a schism is in its beginnings, it is still possible to achieve an understanding... [sic] It is more complicated after several decades."
And then there is this: "Cardinal Barbarin [has opened] in Lyon a "bi-formalist" seminary, i.e. a seminary dedicated to both forms of the Roman Rite, which is being both taught and celebrated there. This is the first diocese in France after that of Toulon which offers this possibility to its seminarians. Cardinal Barbarin's project goes further than that of Toulon: not only do the seminarians have the opportunity to be formed according to the extraordinary form, Mass according to the usus antiquior will be celebrated every day in the seminary, open to all seminarians, including those of the ordinary form."
And the Cardinal is young! He is only 62.
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
SHOULD THE POPE RENOUNCE HIS ABDICATION OF THE CHAIR OF PETER? YES, SAY SOME TRADITIONALISTS
The Blog Chiesa out of Italy is reporting the following:
Last-Ditch Appeal: The Pope Should Withdraw His Resignation
The reactions of the traditionalists to the renunciation of Benedict XVI. Legitimate but inopportune, according to Roberto de Mattei. Impossible philosophically and theologically, according to Enrico Maria Radaelli
by Sandro Magister
ROME, February 20, 2013 – How have the most resolute defenders of Catholic tradition reacted to the resignation of Benedict XVI?
Church historian Roberto de Mattei has commented on the decision of Pope Joseph Ratzinger with a commentary on the website he directs, “Corrispondenza Romana”:
> Thoughts on the Resignation of Benedict XVI
De Mattei does not contest the legitimacy of Benedict XVI's renunciation of the pontificate.
He recognizes that “it is contemplated by canon law and has been seen historically over the centuries.”
And it is also founded theologically, because it puts an end not to the power of orders conferred by the sacrament, which is indelible, but only to the power of jurisdiction.
From the historical point of view, however, de Mattei maintains that the resignation of pope Joseph Ratzinger “appears to be in absolute discontinuity with the tradition and praxis of the Church”:
"One cannot make a comparison either with Celestine V, who quit after being dragged away by force from his hermit's cell, or with Gregory XII, who was forced to resign in order to resolve the very serious question of the Great Western Schism. These were exceptional cases. But what is the exception in the action of Benedict XVI? The official reason, engraved in his words of February 11, expresses, more than the exception, the rule.”
It is the “rule” that would simply coincide with “vigor of both body and mind.”
But then “the question arises”:
“Over two thousand years of history, how many popes have reigned in good health and have not witnessed the decline of their powers and have not suffered from illnesses and moral trials of every kind? Physical well-being has never been a criterion of governance of the Church. Will it be so beginning with Benedict XVI?”
If this is so - de Mattei writes - the action of Benedict XVI takes on an impact “not simply innovative, but revolutionary”:
“The image of the pontifical institution, in the eyes of public opinion all over the world, would in fact be stripped of its sacrality to be handed over to the criteria of judgment of modernity.”
And this would achieve the objective repeatedly set forth by Hans Küng and other progressive theologians: that of reducing the pope “to the president of a board of administration, to a purely arbitral role, accompanied by a permanent synod of bishops with deliberative powers.”
*
Much more radical are the conclusions reached by the philosopher and theologian Enrico Maria Radaelli.
He has substantiated his criticisms of the action of Benedict XVI in a 13-page commentary published on his website:
> Aurea Domus
The title of the commentary leaves no room for doubt:
"Why pope Ratzinger-Benedict XVI should withdraw his resignation. It is not yet the time for a new pope, because it would be that of an antipope.”
Radaelli moves from the words of the risen Jesus to the apostle Peter, in chapter 21 of the gospel of John. He gathers from this that “the cross is the status of every Christian” and therefore “rebelling against one's status, rejecting a grace received, would appear to be for a Christian a grave offense against the virtue of hope, against the grace and the supernatural value of accepting one's human condition, all the more grave if the condition involves roles 'in sacris,' as is the condition, of all the most eminent, of pope.”
As the Peter of the “Quo vadis" who while fleeing from Rome runs into Jesus who is going to die in his place, so “it happens when the pope (but also the least of the faithful) flees from the place where Christ has driven him to endure, to suffer, perhaps to die: it happens that Christ goes to endure, to suffer, perhaps even to die, yes, in his place.”
It is true - Radaelli acknowledges - that canon 333 of the code of canon law establishes that a pope has the power to resign, “but I say that not even the pope has such power, because it would be the exercise of an absolute power that contrasts with being one's very self.” And “it is impossible even for God” not to be what he is.
The resignation of a pope - he continues - even if permitted legally, “is not permitted metaphysically and mystically, because in metaphysics it is bound up with the kernel of being, which does not permit something at the same time both to be and not to be, and in mysticism is bound up with the kernel of the mystical Body which is the Church, through which the office of vicar taken on [by the successor of Peter] with the oath of election places the being of the elect on an ontological plane substantially different from the one left behind: on the metaphysically and spiritually highest plane of Vicar of Christ.”
And again:
"Not considering these facts is in my view a murderous blow to dogma. Resigning means losing the universal name of Peter and going back to the private being of Simon, but this cannot be, because the name of Peter, of Cephas, of Rock, is given on a divine plane to a man who, in receiving it, no longer makes only himself, but 'makes Church.' Without counting the fact that since the self-removed pope cannot in reality resign, the incoming pope, despite himself, will be nothing but an antipope. And reigning will be he, the antipope, not the true pope.”
Radaelli concludes:
"The final consideration is therefore this: pope Joseph Ratzinger-Benedict XVI should not resign, but should draw back from such a supreme decision, recognizing its character as metaphysically and mystically impracticable, and thus also legally unfounded. Not the resignation, but its withdrawal becomes an act of supernatural courage, and God only knows how much the Church needs a pope who is supernaturally, and not humanly, courageous. A pope lauded not by the 'liberals' of all the earth, but by the angels of all of heaven. A martyr pope moreover, a young lion of the Lord, brings more souls to heaven than a hundred resigned popes."
OF COURSE THE ABDICATION OF POPE BENEDICT AND THE ELECTION OF A NEW POPE IS BRINGING OUT THE BEST AND THE WORST IN THE MEDIA AND PEOPLE IN GENERAL BUT LET US SEE THIS AS A GIFT FROM GOD, A FORM OF PENANCE FOR THE SINS OF BISHOPS, PRIESTS, DEACONS AND RELIGIOUS
These sorts of things that poke fun at the Church and try to humiliate the Church at large should be embraced as penance for the sins and crimes of bishops, priests and others in the Church who have participated in the abuse of children and teenagers or at the very least enabled it by mismanagement. But you see how the secular and religious media use these things to promote their own perversions of divinely revealed truth.
Yes, let us embrace the humiliation that the Church as brought on herself and the scrutiny of the media as a penance for the real victims in all of this. God can use this stuff to purify His holy Church and we can cooperate with Him in that by embracing it all as a Lenten penance and in preparation for the election of the new Supreme Pontiff to fill the vacated Chair of Saint Peter.
There is an uprising of various groups of people, small in number, but happily reported by the press, that Cardinal Roger Mahony should not go to the conclave to elect the next pope. I suspect the only one who could order him not to do so would be the current pope which would be interesting to say the least and could be viewed as the living pope meddling in the college of cardinals who will elect his successor. Of course, when Pope Benedict vacates the Chair of Peter, no one can tell another Cardinal who is eligible to vote that he can't.
This cartoon from the Los Angeles Times made its way into the Macon Telegraph Newspaper this morning:
And a Macon Church of Christ has placed on their outside marquee the following message:
.JPG)
And of course, there will be the rehash of the sex abuse scandal as though it is still happening today. There will be the push for the Church to ordain women and actively homosexual people and promote same sex marriage and give a blessing to those who have abortions or want them and find a way to offer blessings to birth control pills.
It is all very silly and shows you the contempt that the "world" as St. John's Gospel would use this term has for God, the Church and all things and person holy, created in the image and likeness of God.
What is sad, really, really sad, though, is when Catholics participate in the bashing of their God and Church.
But I have to agree with Fr. Z at WDTPRS on the following, especially if we are to get past this horrific sex abuse scandal plaguing the Church and diminishing her ministry to her own and others and I quote:
"I propose to Their Eminences that it could be better to elect someone whose record on clerical sexual abuse we know a lot about.
Otherwise, in this media age, the next Pope’s pontificate could be hobbled from the starting gate.
In some countries, such as these USA, Ireland, Canada, a little bit in some European countries, the press has been crawling all over diocesan bishops for years and a great deal has been exposed to the light of day.
This has not yet occurred in the “emerging” Churches, such as in The Philippines or Brazil.
In fact, has it happened yet even in Italy?
It will.
If a cardinal from one of these places is elected, it will happen a lot faster wherever they have served.
Do any of us want to discover that the next Pope screwed up something about the abuse of kids in his diocese?
I just want you to consider what you are calling forth. Know what you are getting into."
Yes, let us embrace the humiliation that the Church as brought on herself and the scrutiny of the media as a penance for the real victims in all of this. God can use this stuff to purify His holy Church and we can cooperate with Him in that by embracing it all as a Lenten penance and in preparation for the election of the new Supreme Pontiff to fill the vacated Chair of Saint Peter.
There is an uprising of various groups of people, small in number, but happily reported by the press, that Cardinal Roger Mahony should not go to the conclave to elect the next pope. I suspect the only one who could order him not to do so would be the current pope which would be interesting to say the least and could be viewed as the living pope meddling in the college of cardinals who will elect his successor. Of course, when Pope Benedict vacates the Chair of Peter, no one can tell another Cardinal who is eligible to vote that he can't.
This cartoon from the Los Angeles Times made its way into the Macon Telegraph Newspaper this morning:
And a Macon Church of Christ has placed on their outside marquee the following message:
.JPG)
And of course, there will be the rehash of the sex abuse scandal as though it is still happening today. There will be the push for the Church to ordain women and actively homosexual people and promote same sex marriage and give a blessing to those who have abortions or want them and find a way to offer blessings to birth control pills.
It is all very silly and shows you the contempt that the "world" as St. John's Gospel would use this term has for God, the Church and all things and person holy, created in the image and likeness of God.
What is sad, really, really sad, though, is when Catholics participate in the bashing of their God and Church.
But I have to agree with Fr. Z at WDTPRS on the following, especially if we are to get past this horrific sex abuse scandal plaguing the Church and diminishing her ministry to her own and others and I quote:
"I propose to Their Eminences that it could be better to elect someone whose record on clerical sexual abuse we know a lot about.
Otherwise, in this media age, the next Pope’s pontificate could be hobbled from the starting gate.
In some countries, such as these USA, Ireland, Canada, a little bit in some European countries, the press has been crawling all over diocesan bishops for years and a great deal has been exposed to the light of day.
This has not yet occurred in the “emerging” Churches, such as in The Philippines or Brazil.
In fact, has it happened yet even in Italy?
It will.
If a cardinal from one of these places is elected, it will happen a lot faster wherever they have served.
Do any of us want to discover that the next Pope screwed up something about the abuse of kids in his diocese?
I just want you to consider what you are calling forth. Know what you are getting into."
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