Why We Pilgrimage to Turin: Jesus is a Lamb to Us and a Lion to His Foes

by Roberto de Mattei *

(Turin) coming from 19 April to 24 June 2015, the grave cloth of Christ, which is the Holy Shroud of Turin, will be on  public display. Only five years after the most recent exhibition,  pilgrims will be able to venerate the holy linen cloth in the cathedral of Turin again. The occasion is the 200th anniversary of the birth of St. John Bosco. The next opportunity to see the grave cloth is not likely to arise again until 2025.

The Holy Shroud is the  cloth in which the body of Our Lord Jesus Christ was wrapped in the grave. The Synoptic Gospels recall this (Mark 13:46; Matthew 27.59; Luke 23.53).  Likewise, the Gospel of John, which speaks of a "soudarion". It is not a simple "icon", one of the countless "likenesses" of Our Lord Jesus Christ, which are scattered all over the world, but an authentic relic, the most precious of Christianity, before over the centuries the Popes, Saints and millions of ordinary faithful have prayed.

Invention of Photography Lifted a Veil of Secrecy

The invention of photography lifted a veil that lay on the mystery of the grave cloth and kept it hidden for nearly 2000 years of its contents and revealed it for everyone. The overall shape of the Savior is stamped in life-size on the linen cloth and shows the viewer something like the negative of a photograph. It has a lot of details that no painter would have ever imagined, let alone be able to paint  without knowing the photographic process in every detail.

The man on the grave cloth of Christ shows the whole drama of the Passion. The accuracy of the Gospel is a factual historical  report as regards the scourging, the crown of thorns, the crucifixion, the wounded side of Our Lord, is proved by the grave cloth in quite an extraordinary way. The grave cloth in the embossed presentation confirms the prophecy of Isaiah: "no unwounded spot, / only bumps, bruises, and fresh wounds, they are not bound, not sound  / not relieved from head to foot with oil" (Isaiah 1.6) ,

Give a Meaning to Suffering

Why this suffering? Our faith teaches us that Jesus came into the world to redeem us from the sin of Adam, to have come through all the physical and moral evil of the universe in the world. "Through one man sin entered into the world and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men because all sinned", the Apostle Paul writes (Rom 5:12). Since then, the man is born in pain and lives and dies in pain. But the whole suffering humanity was ransomed by Jesus Christ. The grave Shroud of Turin reminds us that human life is suffering because of the fall, but that all suffering was worn by him who was without sin. In Him we can find the answer for our suffering.

Nothing elevates man more than the assumed freely and courageously endured suffering. One of the biggest fallacies of life is to think one can be happy by dodging suffering. In reality, the man who does not suffer is unhappy because he remains without the joy that grows out of the fact, to offer one's own suffering makes sense. That non-sentient creatures suffer without being able to offer their suffering makes sense. The man, however, can detect, due to his intelligence, that the pain is a result of sin, the original sin and actual sins, and that he can give a sense to this pain to undo the sin in union with Christ and to atone.

Grave Cloth is the True Image of the God-Man - In suffering, We Gaze at Him

The grave cloth, the true image of the Man-God, teaches us how to suffer. In the moments of sorrow and physical and moral pain we look at the man of grave cloth. His appearance is disfigured, but what touches the most to the core, is the contrast between the visible consequences of torture and torment he has suffered and the peaceful majesty,brought to expression in his face. Jesus gives us the model for the attitude of patience, of seriousness and composure, with which we are to bear adversity and sacrifice that inevitably characterize our lives. With patience but always to be accompanied by immense confidence of those who conquered death by his death.

Grave Cloth Impressive Proof of His Resurrection

The Holy Shroud not only proves the truth of Christ's suffering, but also provides us with an impressive proof of his resurrection. The scientists that have studied the sacred linen cloth, confirm that only a mysterious power, a sudden flash of radiation and would have the negative impression of the cloth can memorize. In other words, only the resurrection of Jesus Christ,  scourged and crucified under Pontius Pilate unto death may explain the mysterious origin of the grave cloth. He had predicted that He would rise again on the third day, and that the resurrection from the dead, the highest proof of his divinity, was the great miracle that all the miracles and prophecies summarizes all in itself.

Jesus is victorious, raised in triumph, not only allegorically or spiritually, as  a certain progressivist theology would have it, but with visible body, blood, soul and divinity. The grave cloth shows his negative image  "photographed" with His glorious body at the moment of resurrection and thus provides us with another argument to hold that we can find eternal salvation only in the Catholic Church.

As in Adam all die, even so in Christ all live

In his letter to the Corinthians, St. Paul reminds us of this fundamental truth, first proclaimed by the apostles: the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. If Christ had not died and rose again, salvation would never have taken place. The resurrection is the foundation of our faith. By a man, Adam, death came into the world. By another man, man and God, came life. As in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be revived.

All of humanity is, as St. Augustine says, "summarized in the story of two men, one of whom has lost us  by doing not His will and not obeying Him who had created him. The other has saved us by not doing his will, but that of Him who had sent him. In the story of these two men is the whole Christian faith. "The Holy Week summarizes this drama together and at the Easter Vigil, is familiar to us in the liturgy of the Church with its message of hope and victory.

With the Resurrection Begins  the Kingdom of the Sacrificed Lamb

Easter, says Dom Guéranger, is the proclamation of the kingdom of the sacrificed Lamb, it is the acclamation of the elect in heaven "the Lion of the Tribe of Judah has triumphed, the shoot from the root of David!" (Rev 5.5). Jesus is awakened and resurrected "as a lamb for us, as a lion for his enemies" by uniting the attributes of strength and gentleness. The force with which we fight the enemies of our faith, and love, we are to exercise toward our brothers.

The suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ was the pillar of the apostolic preaching and must be the foundation of our faith. The grave cloth is the visible and moving Compendium. That's why we go to Turin to venerate this sacred relic reverently.

Roberto de Mattei , historian, father of five children, Professor of Modern History and History of Christianity at the European University of Rome, Chairman of Lepanto Foundation, editor of the monthly magazine Radici Cristiane and online news agency Corrispondenza Romana, author of numerous books, most recently appeared: Vicario di Cristo. Il primato tra di Pietro normalità ed eccezione (Vicar of Christ, the Primacy of Peter Between Normality and Exception.), Verona, 2013;  The Second Vatican Council - a hitherto unwritten history, Ruppichteroth 2011th

Translation: Giuseppe Nardi
image: Corrispondenza Romana

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
H/t: Mazarra

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"So it will lead to Schism" -- The "Impossible Revolution" of Pope Francis

Pope Francis' Impossible Revolution

(Rome) "There is a revolution looming in the pastoral care of families in terms of communion for the divorced and remarried and homosexual relationships." Two years after the election of Pope Francis, the well-known historian and Catholic intellectual Roberto de Mattei describes the pontificate of Argentine Pope as "enigmatic" and "full of paradoxes".

The author of a standard work on the history of the Second Vatican Council ("The Second Vatican Council. A hitherto unwritten history") provides a large gap between the desiderata of Francis and the sentire the Catholic world.

"For the most sensitive thinkers of the Italian traditionalism," said Alberto Melloni, his historical counterpart and head of the progressivist school of Bologna, "the Church has ventured with this Pope into a schism by those progressivist bishops, like the German, who want to continue with their 'openings', even if the Synod rejects their 'reforms' in the fall. "

Three Italian newspapers (Il Giorno, La Nazione, Il Resto del Carlino) published at the same time an interview with Roberto de Mattei:

Roberto de Mattei

Even the ultra-conservative Cardinal Raymond Burke has promised resistance at any price.

Roberto de Mattei: But he has not  promised schism. He just said that he will oppose any change in the Synod against the truth about marriage. This seems to me to be  honest and transparent behavior.

Will the Pope really attack the Doctrine of the Faith?

Roberto de Mattei: Francis pretends to be conservative. He says nothing against the dogmas. But his pastoral strategy is revolutionary in itself because it subordinates the truth to practice, especially in such a burning hot topic as the family. In this way, it signals a fundamental break in the history of the papacy as  has not been seen for 50 years.

The Church is not ready for this change?

  I do not want to endorse such a change.  I think it is correct to say that Francis has confused the cardinals, bishops, priests and parishes. It is sufficient to recall the petition of 120,000 Catholics from around the world, which asked Francis to finally to say a clear word about the indissolubility of marriage. A mere toleration of the second marriage by opening  Communion for divorced and remarried would already be an attack on the traditional teaching of the Church.

At this point, it has come to a slugfest at the last Synod  between progressives and conservatives.

I would call this a tear. The paragraphs of the final document to homosexuals and remarried divorcees had not obtained the required two-thirds approval. The real novelty of that meeting was the strong opposition to the reforms by the African and Eastern bishops. Precisely the bishops of the margins that Bergoglio never gets tired of praising. This is one of the paradoxes of this pontificate.

Who are the others?

Last October, the Pope received representatives of the radical left, from the so-called popular movements. From him he gave  a very Peronist impression that he is closest to social concerns. Who commissioned the Vatican under this pope to check the budget of the Vatican Bank IOR? A globalist-capitalist institution such as Ernst & Young. 
Or Bergoglio talks about the decentralization of power in the Church, but in his decisions he shows himself as a strong centralizer.

He still enjoys broad appeal in any case?

Yes, the media and outside the Church, where he has even surpassed Wojtyla in popularity. But in the Catholic world he is far less popular. Also, participation in the Angelus and the General Audiences at St. Peter's is in decline.

Introduction / Translation: Giuseppe Nardi
image: Corrispondenza Romana / MiL

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

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Identity Crisis: Will Europe Awake?

(Rome) Europe is in deep crisis. People feel it and look to the future with confusion.  In many ways there have been attempts to suppress this feeling or to drown it. This includes the frenetic exuberance in the celebration of the moment. The subsidized conversion of the old Roman motto bread and circuses can not hide the crisis. Will Europe awake? Will the European culture survive or irretrievably perish together with its people?  wise and truly free minds, who are not in the pay for any purposeful optimism face this question. This includes the Catholic historian Roberto de Mattei. On 13 March 2008 he spoke at the European University of Rome at the conference "Identity Crisis: Will European Culture Survive? 'A speech, which we publish in English translation due to its unbroken topicality. The intertitles are from the editorial staff. [and translated by EF]

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Identity Crisis: Will European Culture Survive?

by Roberto de Mattei 

I would like to begin with a clue we can safely assume. A part of Islam today considers the West as an enemy and seeks to clash with it. Here is not the place to determine whether this part of the Islamic world is a  majority or minority of opinion or whether this attitude is derived directly from the Qur'an or whether it represents a betrayal of its principles, nor whether there a greater threat emanates from fundamentalist Islam or from so-called moderate Islam. What is certain is that Islam or a part of it, presents a problem to Europe. It is not the first time that this has been the case in European history. It is the first time that Europe and the challenge of Islam does not witness its religious and cultural identity. This is the core of the problem.

Stockholm Syndrome: The Psychological and Moral Drama of Europe

Europe is experiencing a psychological and moral drama that has been defined as "Stockholm Syndrome",  the phenomenon of psychological submission to the aggressor, which creates a dependency which is a relationship of the victim to the perpetrator that is difficult to understand. Today, one would have to speak better of Copenhagen Syndrome, London's syndrome, Madrid syndrome or Rome's syndrome, to name the psychological attitude towards opponents, by whom one is intimidated, sometimes downright terrorized, but simultaneously attracted to as well, sometimes downright is fascinated. In contrast, the emergence and spread of myths, such as those of Louis Massignon (1883-1962), Edward Said (1935-2003) and Franco Cardini (1940) who want to erase  the millennium of conflict between Europe and Islam from memory in  the name of alleged experiences that are stylized to ideal models. These include the Oriens Felix , the Arab-Andalusian society before the Reconquista, or  Sicilian society at the time of Frederick II., to not even to speak of philosophical musings as the progressive utopia of universal peace or the esoteric myth of a transcendental unity of religions. Some of these myths were of Bat Ye'or in Eurabia. Represented in The Euro-Arab Axis (2005) and Alexandre del Valle in Le totalitarisme islamiste à l'assaut of démocraties  (2002).

In this perspective, not only does the idea of ​​the enemy of the West dissolve, but it also dissolves the ideas of the West, the West and Europe itself, which are seen only as a literary invention, like the theorist of "gender"  considers the natural  distinction between man and woman as a mere cultural construct.

Yesterday Communism, Today Islam - Fifth Column and Useful Idiots

The attitude of Europeans towards Islam recalls the position, which occupied the West in the 20th century against the communism. The Soviet Union threatened the world, but the anti-communism was considered a greater sin than communism. The historian can not be silent about the responsibility of fifth columns in the service of the enemy and the "useful idiots" among civil, political, and religious leaders who criticize, instead of criticizing communism, supported the defamation campaigns against anti-communists and all of this while using talismanic, magic words which did not differ from the present, such as peace, dialogue, peaceful coexistence. In short, the illusion of being able to come to terms with the enemy already by simply displacing it from their own consciousness. A phenomenon Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira wrote about in Baldeação Ideológica Inadvertida e Diálogo (1965, English edition Unnoticed Ideological Transshipment and Dialogue , 1967) has written.

Ideological Root: Moral Relativism and Political Pragmatism

What is the ideological root of this attitude that repeats itself today against Islam? The idea that there is neither a logical dualism between truth and error, nor a moral dualism between good and evil, but that everything is relative in relation to the current needs and interests of the individual. Moral relativism and political pragmatism are two sides of this approach to  reality that does not draw on realism, but utopianism, since it postulates a fictitious and unreal world, which is the feeble will to power of the postmodern individual is unable to conquer.

If Europe wants to survive, it must change these psychological and cultural attitudes. But how can you contribute to this change? Start by reviving the idea that there is good and evil in an objective and absolute sense, and that the truth and the principles on which our culture is based, are not archived as ideas of the past or ideological prejudices.

The Basis of Human Rights is Not Subjectivity, but an Objective Law of Nature

The basis of the rights and duties of man is not subjectivity. In our consciousness there is an objective law of nature that is reflected in the divine law. This law has found its historic, but definitive expression in the Tablets of the Law written by Moses through divine inspiration. The Ten Commandments are the law of nature that every one of us, whether secularist or Christian, feels like a compass that helps us to distinguish between good and evil.

The Decalogue is addressed to all people at all times and all conditions with the same normative value. This value stems not only from the tables of the law, but also by human reason, because God before he let them be carved as positive law in stone, it was already set in the heart of man (Saint Thomas Aquinas: Contra Gentes , II , c 117,. teologica Summa , q 100, a.3). St. Augustine says. "It was written on the tablets (of the law), what people do not read in their hearts; not that they had not written it there, but they did not want to read "(" Non enim non scriptum habebant, sed casual nolebant " Enarratio in Psalmos , LVII, 1: PL 36, 673). Even today, people do not read what is written with indelible letters in their hearts to instead chase the utopia of a boundless world without conflict, without any outside enemies, reality and history.

Collaboration with Islam by Pessimistic World View

Nevertheless, there is a fundamental difference between the attitude that the West had in the 20th century against communism and the one it has today towards Islam. The collaboration of the last century was based on an optimistic view of history, rooted in the myth of an irreversible progress of humanity. The collaboration of the 21st century is, however, clear from a pessimistic view of the world which is nourished by a deep sense of fear and uncertainty. The man of the 20th century fooled himself about the future. The modern man is afraid of the future. He's afraid of himself and fought his own fears by trying to remove his enemies from his horizon of his thought, as if by not naming them was equivalent to their disappearance from reality. It's like refusing to talk about a clash of civilizations to suffice to avert this danger. The ideological source of this psychological process is then as now, Relativism and the dialectical evolutionism that distort each and every truth value.

Certain Values Mean Hope for the Future

If there is a security in values, there is also hope for the future. Values ​​certainty and hope for the future go hand in hand. Hope is a natural virtue that consists in the expectation of a future good. For a Christian, it is also a supernatural virtue, but this virtue is the awareness and respect for the natural and divine law required in the Mosaic law, which belongs not only to the Jews and the Christians, but is written in every human heart.  It's no accident that Benedict XVI. dedicated  his encyclical Spe Salvi  to hope.

The Christian hope in Jesus Christ, the God who raised and redeemed, is the hope and even more the confidence in the awakening revival in Europe. Europe is experiencing a deep sleep, lethargy, perhaps provoked by an anesthetic, but sleep is not death. Sleep has an end, it precedes to the awakening. We believe in an awakening in Europe.Therefore, I will reply to the question as to whether the European culture will survive with a confident yes.

Introduction / Translation: Giuseppe Nardi
image: Corrispondenza Romana

Roberto de Mattei: Catholic Resistance Against Abortion and For the Family

(Rome) in Italy in recent years a radical upheaval in the right to life scene in progress. The situation is different in each country for cultural and historical reasons. Nevertheless, the Italian example offers, with references to the U.S. and France, some interesting elements for the German-speaking world, where the situation in the individual countries also have similarities and differences.

Beginning in 2011 the Italian March for Life, the pro-life movement, has regained its ability to act and has been freed from the suffocating embrace of a mere fig leaf function for (Christian Democratic) policy and the Bishops' Conference. The new pro-life movement is completely independent. Regardless of party, regardless of the Bishops' Conference and it's independent of other organizations.

The March for Life in Italy goes back to the initiative of traditionalist Catholics, including the recently departed legal philosopher Mario Palmaro. Traditional Catholics also gave the initial impetus for the French civil rights movement Manif pour tous. And the founder of the March for Life, the largest March for Life was buried in the Old Rite in Washington in 2012. This is no accident, as Roberto de Mattei says.

It's not only the right to life, but the family was in total released for departure, is now discussed in the context of building a movement to defend the family. The view is primarily beyond the Alps to the west, where in France with the civil rights movement Manif pour tous a movement has risen within a very short time with a mass basis.

Opinions differ about the ways in which the goal could be achieved. Recently, the repetition of was Family Day suggested, as it took place on 12 May 2007. In contrast, now one of the initiators of March for Life, the well-known historian Roberto de Mattei has asked to speak. "It will not be the Bishops’ Conference and the policy makers that nurture the Pro-life movement.“ Fact is that the family is besieged and attacked from all sides. Here are the further remarks of Roberto de Mattei on 11 June published in the daily newspaper Il Foglio and is indirectly a response to Martin Lohmann and his controversial invitation of Donum vitae to represent the March for Life in Berlin.

by Roberto de Mattei

The family is under unprecedented attack, not only in Italy but worldwide. This process, which was initiated by the '68 revolution, had its symbolic beginning in our country with the referendum of 12 May 1974, which confirmed the divorce law Fortuna Baslini of 1970. The way was thus paved for the next stages, which then led to the legalization of the new family law, abortion, artificial insemination and the recent attempt to institutionalize the homosexual partnership and to suppress dissenting voices with the new offense homophobia.“

The Family rooted in human nature, developed antibodies

The adoption of the quick divorce by the Chamber of Deputies, with which the times are reduced for the dissolution of marriage at six months, shows the direction the Renzi government will take. The institution of the family is shattered, but because it is rooted directly in the nature of man, it produces Anti-Bodies.

Over the past 40 years it has spontaneously formed defenses in response to movements in the world. The oldest is the American March for Life, which has gathered in Washington since January 22, 1974, every year with hundreds of thousands of participants and represents the diamond’s point of the anti-abortion movement in the United States.

The most recent is the French Manif pour tous , which was formed in September 2012 in Paris and in less than two years, millions of people took to the streets to protest against the aberrosexual pseudo-marriage.

Both of these movements are the most significant popular demonstrations in defense of life and the family.

What the March for Life and Manif pour tous Does

In Italy, the Catholic Bishops' Conference initiated Family Day on May 12, 2007 with the goal of adopting better social policies for the family by the Parliament. The initiative was a great success, but without consequences.

Since 2011, however, a spontaneous initiative of several small but mighty associations of of the March for Life have developed, where in Rome 50,000 people gathered on May 4 this year, took to the streets to bring to expression their unconditional No to abortion, without exception and without compromise.

What are the similarities and what are the differences between these various initiatives? The great strength of the March for Life and the Manif pour tous is to be powerful mobilizations although completely independent from political power or the Church hierarchy exert a profound influence on the political and religious institutions of their countries.

If the bishops of the United States belong till now the world's most determined defenders of life, to refuse Catholic abortion supporters Communion, then this is due to the fact that they are getting massive backing from the March for Life and they are at the same time also forced to give a positive witness. The Manif pour tous is non-denominational and politically independent, just like the March for Life, but receives the support of many bishops at the individual level. This has helped to create a psychological and cultural climate that led to Hollande’s crushing defeat in the recent elections to the European Parliament.

Regardless of politics and the Bishops' Conference

In Italy, where there is an entrenched Christian Democratic tradition, for the first points of contact are the bishops or the parties, all the initiatives that arose in the course of time, almost always emanate from political or ecclesiastical structures. The Forum of Family Associations, which officially organized Family Day in 2007, was directly dependent on the Bishops' Conference. It is sufficient to remember that the head of the Office for Family Pastoral of the Episcopal Conference or its representatives are involved, according to statutes. Also well known is the connection of the Movimento per la Vita by Carlo Casini to the Bishops' Conference of the MPV, according Nuova Bussola Quotidiana, it receives 600,000 euros a year, and almost half of the total budget.

The Family Day 2007, which was mainly due to the political intelligence of Cardinal Ruini has arisen within a year and died again, just because it was an initiative from above, lacking the roots in the Catholic people and the Catholic Associations.

Standard-bearer non-negotiable values
The success of the March for Life stems from the use from a variety of large and small realities that are present in all living branches of the society, from the parishes to the Internet. Without the support of the political parties, the bishops or the largest Catholic movements from Communion and Liberation to Neocatechumenate who can lead a compact and numerous army into the field for the March for Life. It is a base which needs to be represented by free and independent men and women, the standard-bearers of non-negotiable principles and hence ideas and are not led by power interests. That's the power of the March for Life.

Not from above, by political or ecclesiastical machinations can be something really built solidly for the defense of life and family, but from the bottom with the help of those myriads of groups, associations and circles, which are usually unknown and unnoticed by the media, who, however, are consolidated and form a compact block. Within this movement, and not as an alternative, it exists and can develop a serious opposition, which is not merely a facade, that opposes those who want to destroy the family.

Introduction / Translation: Giuseppe Nardi

image: Corrispondenza Romana

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

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50,000 at March for Life in Rome -- Dedicated to Mario Palmaro

(Rome) Last Sunday, the 4th of May, the fourth March for Life was held in Rome. Within a few years it became the largest  right to life action in Italy and one of the largest in Europe. On the first march on May 28, 2011 in Desenzano on Lake Garda, 600 people took part. Since 2012, the March for Life will take place in Rome. Last Sunday, 50,000 people for the right to life marched through the streets of Rome to protest against the murder of innocent children by abortion. The fourth march was dedicated to  the recently deceased legal philosopher Mario Palmaro, who was one of the founders of the Italian March for Life.

March for Life has "Revolutionized" the Pro-Life Movement in Italy

The initiative led to a radical change of the right to life scene in Italy. For many years this was coupled in a kind of  alibi for   the ruling Christian Democrats, although here and there in relation to reassure the electorate's anti-abortion position, but took no action against child murders. The March for Life originated in the United States. Its adoption in Italy provided a powerful break from the  political party embrace. Since then, the pro-life movement on the Apennine peninsula is independent and since then, her voice has become audible in the public debate. All major media reported on the extraordinary feed on the right to life march, which coursed on Sunday through the streets of Rome and ended in St. Peter's Square. The success was expected neither by pro-abortion nor opponents, was invited four years ago for the first time to a "march". The march is not an organization but an event and sees itself as a platform for the protection of life. All groups and organizations may participate in it on the basis of a clear common denominator: an uncompromising NO to abortion and the injury of innocent life.

Initiative Traditional Catholics

Relevant initiators of the march are Catholics who could no longer endure the suffocating situation of the pro-life movement in Italy. Among them is mentioned in the first place the historian Roberto de Mattei, as ever, he has  discovered traditional Catholics to play   a central role in the March for Life  in the city of the pope. With this addition to members of various other orders,  the Franciscans of the Immaculate were there from the outset.  Many brothers and sisters took part in the march, but above all they recruited at all their branches and involved churches and places of pilgrimage for the march.

As early as 2012 and 2013, led the march for life again after a two-hour course on St. Peter's Square, where they  participated in the Regina Coeli, as the   Pope concluded. Unlike previous years, this time thousands of Pro-Lifers went immediately to St. Peter's Square. By their banners, the burning issue of the mass murder of unborn children to the media was made ​​even more visible.

Pope Francis, who greeted the participants in the past year and to petition the European citizen petition One of Use - was only evident in Italy, although it was an EU-wide action,   last Sunday stressed yet more the international character, the the initiative March for Life has now. Coming from the U.S. such marches take place as found today in several European cities such marches, including in September, also in Berlin and Zurich.

In Memoriam of Mario Palmaro

In front of  the church of Santa Maria degli Angeli and the Martyrs, the chairman of the initiative March for Life, Virginia Coda  Nunziante said in her speech: "We show that there is a movement for life, that it is alive and that it has not resigned in the face a widespread indifference and the daily killing of innocent children in the womb."

One of the most poignant moments of this year's march was when the Chairman called for a minute of silence for the deceased last March, legal philosopher Mario Palmaro: "This year we have a painful gap in our ranks:  of Mario Palmaro. He was a teacher in thought and life for us. To him we want to dedicate this fourth March for Life ". A banner was to read: "Thank you Mario Palmaro".

Mario Palmaro, who was only 45 years old, died on March 9, from an incurable disease, one of the initiators of the Italian edition of the March for Life. The  convinced life defender  was among the most intellectually fierce critics of Pope Francis and the conduct of his office in his last months of life.  A year ago he had taken yet on the third march for life. In the morning before the march Bishop Marco Agostini celebrated a memorial Mass in the Immemorial Rite in the crowded Carmelite church of Santa Maria della Vittoria for Mario Palmaro. Another Mass in the Immemorial   Roman Rite was celebrated after the march in the equally crowded church of the Fraternity of St. Peter in Rome, SS Trinità dei Pellegrini.

Cardinal Burke held Eucharistic Adoration and Marched Again

14 cardinals supported this year's march. Previously, it was only Cardinal Raymond Burke, who moved especially demonstratively through the streets of Rome and invited the bishops and cardinals  to go anywhere in the world on the road for the right to life and against abortion and euthanasia.

As in past years Cardinal Burke led Eucharistic Adoration on the eve of the March in the Basilica of S. Andrea della Valle. And again  the traditional Cardinal demoted by  Pope Francis walked along all the way from Piazza della Repubblica to the railway station to St. Peter's Square.

Rome Life Forum: Appeal to Bishops, no Communion for Abortion Politicians

On Saturday Cardinal Burke took part in   an international right to life meeting, which took place in Via della Conciliazione in the hall of Pius X.. In his speech, the cardinal affirmed the prohibition of the Catholic Church against giving  Holy Communion to public sinners. The Cardinal thus supported by the presence of 52 leading Pro-Life  advocates from around the world who appealed on the same day to the Catholic bishops, "in a spirit of love and mercy" to refuse Catholic politicians who are for abortion Communion. The appeal was supported by the Rome Life Forum organized by  LifeSiteNews, Human Life International and Family Life International. From the German-speaking countries, Jugend für Leben joined in the appeal next to the offshoots of Human Life International.  The March for Life in Rome was supported by 107 Italian organizations, associations, initiatives, groups, and even parishes.

The next March for Life will take place on May 10, 2015.

Text: Giuseppe Nardi
image: Corrispondenza Romana

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

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Jesus Wept Over Jerusalem: What is the Jerusalem of Today? -- by Roberto de Mattei

(Rome) Some thoughts by he famous historian Roberto de Mattei on Good Friday. From the site "Dominus flevit" on the Mount of Olives, where Jesus  saw Jerusalem and wept over it as He was preparing a triumphal entry, from this very place   Roberto de Mattei  attempts this  Good Friday to present his view of the world and especially the Church  today.

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Easter: Jesus weeps over Jerusalem

by Roberto de Mattei

Actually it should be a moment of greatest joy: Jesus enters into Jerusalem, where He received the encouragement and the enthusiasm of the crowd. Today, He is the most popular man in Jerusalem. But Jesus can not be deceived by the flattery. The world applauded him, but He does not like the fact He does not boast of this success. During the triumphal descent to the temple, Jesus viewed the city of Jerusalem from the height of the western slope of the Mount of Olives, where the places of his impending suffering was: the neat building of the temple of Herod the sparkling residence, the sober square of the fortress Antonia, the seat of the Roman garrison.

Et ut appropinquavit, videns Civitatem flevit super illam (Lk 19,41). When Jesus saw the city of Jerusalem, he suddenly wept over it.  He Who weeps there is not any man, nor a supreme secular authority: It is the second Person of the Blessed Trinity, the Word made ​​flesh, the God-man, in whom is summarized the entirety of history. His  weeping has a meaning that relates to the history of all centuries. Jesus wept as a child in the manger of Bethlehem. Bethany witnessed the tears which He shed on the death of Lazarus. The tears accompany His passion. But this time it is a different weeping. He weeps over the city that was before him like no  other city:  it is Jerusalem, the Holy City of the chosen people, the spiritual center of the world. Jesus weeps because of the punishment that awaits Jerusalem, but the main reason of his tears are the sins that are insulting God, they are the reason for that penalty.

The smoke of Satan has entered the temple of God and obscured the eyes of the high priest. Through tears and sobs Jesus said: "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, if even you, had only recognized on this day, what brings you peace. But now  they are hidden before thine eyes"(Lk 19,42) That's like saying: If you only knew the things I know about you, then you would no doubt  weep, just as I weep  now. But all this is hidden from you, as a punishment for your sins. Why do you not cry, do not regret and will not  have taken advantage of your penitence and your pain. In the Hosanna cries of the crowd, Jesus responds with the prophecy of the inevitable punishment for the unfaithful city: "For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a Wall about you and  encompass you and hem you in on every side. They will crush you and your children within you, and no stone will be left in you over the other, because you did not recognize the time of grace."  (Luke 19.43-44).

Jesus knows the terrible trials that await Him. But that is not why He is crying.  He does not cry for himself, because of the pains that await Him, the suffering that awaits Him, He weeps over the fate of the Holy City. Can there be a greater proof of love for Jerusalem? Nevertheless, this boundless love can not turn away the infinite justice of God. God is not only infinitely merciful, but also infinitely just, because He is infinitely holy. And Jerusalem will not be spared because of its sins.

Today, there is another city, about which there is need to cry. It is the city of which we spoke in the Third Secret of Fatima. That "big, half-ruined city", which the Pope crosses, "half-pressed trembling with halting step, with pain and sorrow," and "for the souls of the corpses" he prays, " for those he encounters on his way." What does this mysterious city that is half in ruins mean? Does it mean a city, a culture, or even the Church of Christ? Only the future will reveal the dramatic mystery. Today is the hour of tears. The tears bring the seriousness of the tragic and dramatic situation expressed in the houses the world.

It is not the hour of euphoria and illusions, but neither of the irreverent sarcasm or useless controversies among Christians. It is the moment of mourning and weeping. The tears arise from the pain. And if the tears are a gift, so the pain is a feeling that needs to be nurtured by knowing the things that concern us:  therefore let us waiver not to exert our reason, but we base our faith in reason and we enlighten our reason with our faith. May the Mother of God grant us this grace in the hour of the Passion of Christ and the Church.

Text: Corrispondenza Romana
translation: Giuseppe Nardi
image: Ars Cristiana

Translation: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

Link to Katholisches...

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Papal Praise For Kasper and Progressive Anathema Against Doctrine of the Faith

Haw-Haw, I Love This Guy!

What is brewing in the preparation of the Synod of Bishops on behind the scenes together? Is the convening of the Synod of Bishops only a  pretext to cap the sacrament of marriage? Are the remarried divorcees only the first step to a "new morality"? Was this topic remarried divorcees a secret ballot surrender  in the case Jorge Mario Bergoglios? The answer to these questions is not available. It is possible, however, to summarize the events of the past month and a half.

(Rome) A few days ago, Pope Francis joined the office of the Under Secretary of the Synod of Bishops  for the first time with the Episcopal dignity. In an accompanying letter to the Secretary of the Synod of Bishops, Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri, the Pope who wants to strengthen "collegiality" in the Church as "signs of the times". An intention, which is clearly expressed to the bishop by the imposition of cardinal status on the secretary  and the appointment of the Under Secretary. This is also a step towards the preparation of the first Synod of Bishops of this pontificate, which will take place in early October and will be looked to in the Church with mixed feelings. It's about the fear that a synodal coup could, if not in this first part of the Synod of Bishops, then in the second part, which is scheduled for autumn 2015, bypass parts of Catholic teaching on marriage and undermine the sacrament of marriage. The formula was supplied by the German theologian and Cardinal Walter Kasper. It is understandable given: Changing the formal doctrine untouched by a new practice. Specifically on the Kaspers program is the approval of remarried divorcees to the sacraments. Since the individual lives in a permanent state of public sin that remarried divorcees are excluded from receiving communion. If it goes according  to the Episcopal Conferences of Germany and Switzerland to the reception of communion will be possible under one or the other new formulae.

Radio Maria Separates Itself from Roberto de Mattei: "Critical Attitude" to Pope Francis

Update: here is the exchange between Dr. Mattei and the program director, Father Livio at Rorate.

(Erba) The layoffs at Radio Maria continue to roll. Now the famous historian, Roberto de Mattei's coooperation has been terminated because of his "critical attitude" towards Pope Francis.

Last fall, Mario Palmaro and Alessandro Gnocchi were dismissed and their broadcasts cancelled. Both the legal philosopher Palmaro and the Catholic publicist Gnocchi made their own broadcasts on Radio Maria Italy: Palmaro had the show "Encounters with Bioethics" and Gnocchi the program "People and Literature. Encounter in the light of the Gospel." Both belong to the most astute Catholic intellectuals of our time. On 10 October 2013 they collaborated together with an article in the daily newspaper Il Foglio, under the title "The Pope Does not Like Us", an accentuated criticism of the previous pontificate of Pope Francis published (see German text Christ is Not an Option Among Many, and Certainly not for his Deputy on Earth - Why We Do Not Like This Pope ). On the same day they were therefore were shown the door by program director Father Livio Fanzaga. "Father Livio is of the opinion that one can not simultaneously be a presenter of Radio Maria, and criticize the Pope," is what he told the dismissed workers.

Now Radio Maria has also separated itself from historian Roberto de Mattei. Unlike Palmaro and Gnocchi, who were already engaged during the pontificate of John Paul II, by the largest Catholic radio stations in Italy, the historian Roberto de Mattei was employed first under Benedict XVI. at the Catholic station. Since the 17th In February 2010, he produced once a month the broadcast of "Christian Roots." With the start of his broadcast Radio Maria grew close also to the traditional Rite. Since then, the broadcaster has transmitted the Holy Mass in the Old Rite.

But since the pontificate of Benedict XVI. is over and since then, break lines are forming. The reason for the termination of the collaboration is the recent essay by Roberto de Mattei "Motu in fine velocior", on 12 February of Corrispondenza Romana has been published (see German [Soon to be translated] text Roberto de Mattei: The End of Civilization - "Whoever Loves The Church, Defends Her").

Radio Maria Italy is the mother and main transmitter of the largest independent Catholic radio networks in the world. In the German-speaking areas is included Radio Horeb, Radio Maria Austria, Radio Maria Südtirol and Radio Maria German-Switzerland as well.
Text: Giuseppe Nardi
 image: Corrispondenza Romana
 Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

Link to Katholisches...

AMGD

"We Demand the Dismissal of Father Volpi as Commissioner of the Franciscans of the Immaculata"

(Rome) A group of Catholic lay associations and websites have started a petition: They demand the dismissal of Father Fidenzio Volpi from his post as authorized Apostolic Commissioner for the Franciscans of the Immaculate. Anyone who wants to support this appeal to the Congregation of Religious  and for informing  Pope Francis, this website  by well-known, traditional historian Roberto de Mattei  is available here do Corrispondenza Romana (first name, last name, e-mail app) . Below is the text for signature collection.

Petition to Demand Resignation

by Roberto de Mattei

We demand the resignation of Father Fidenzio Volpi from his job as political Commissioner of the Franciscans of the Immaculate. In the short period of just five months, Father Volpi has shattered the Order,  resulting in internal chaos and suffering,  externally causing scandal among the faithful, criticism in the media, and discomfort caused astonishment in the ecclesiastical world. It does not matter to know whether Father Volpi is the author or only the exporter of the destruction plan. One thing is certain though, if the plan is not stopped, the consequences will be devastating, and to prevent the calamity yet added to new disaster, Father Volpi must be dismissed.

According to the decree of last 11 July,  the Order of the Franciscans of the Immaculate was placed under provisional administration, and Father Volpi began with the help of a small band of subcommisars, among them Father Alfonso Bruno and Prof. Mario Castellano, to lay with his ax to the Order. He forbade the celebration of the Holy Mass and the Divine Office in the manner provided in the Motu proprio for the Extraordinary Form, he dismissed the whole Order leadership, starting with Father Stefano Maria Manelli, who since then is under house arrest, without then having been given to him the reasons why he dissmissed one by one the most loyal collaborators of Father Manelli and sent them every which way, personalities of intellectual and moral greatness, he transferred their duties to dissident brothers who lack  preparation and experience, he threattened and punished the brothers, who petitioned  to the Holy See and refused to withdraw them; and finally he closed the Order's own seminary on 8 December 2013, during the Solemnity of the Order,  and suspended all priests and deaconal ordinations;  he imposed an interdict against all publications of religious publishing house Editrice Casa Mariana and forbade their distribution in  the Order churches and chapels supervised by the order; he expanded his personal war to the SFO [Tertiaries] and the laity, who are connected to the Order, by forbidding all the activities of MIM (Mission Immaculate Mediatrix) and TOFI (Third Order of the Franciscans of the Immaculate Conception); he threatened the Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate Conception, who adhere to the traditional ERte to also have them put under provisional administration and withdrew the two female religious branches, the missionary branch of the Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate Conception and the contemplative branch of the Poor Clares of the Immaculate Conception from the spiritual care of the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate Conception, and now finally, he has demanded of all Franciscans of the Immaculate a "Modernist Oath" to the Novus Ordo Missae and the Second Vatican Council (see the letter of Father Fidenzio Volpi from December 8, 2013 ). ¹

Father  Volpi has accused every critic of being against the pope. who has challenged him.  But is his rather tyrannical rule, which in its hardness is unprecedented in the history of the Church and directly contradicts the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum, is  it in itself not an open contradiction to Pope Francis as well, who admonished to avoid any authoritarianism towards friend and enemy, to practice mercy and gentleness?

Even the Vatican expert Marco Tosatti has noticed it and wrote on 4 December, "What these poor religious men supposed to have done?  Have  they speculated money, sexually abused minors or maintained an immoral lifestyle? None of that. "Truth is that Father Volpi, of his own accord or on behalf of third parties, wants to "normalize" the Franciscans of the Immaculate"  in which he wants to  make them equal to other declining Orders. To achieve this, it is necessary to convert their spiritual and moral charism, to destroy their internal discipline, stifling the recovery of the traditional rite, to open the Order of corruption by the world as it is - with disastrous results - which is what he and his Capuchin Order have done.

Paul VI. recalled religious with the Apostolic Exhortation Evangelica testificatio of 29 June 1971, that they are committed to their superiors against obedience, except in that "something is ordered, which is contrary to God's laws or the constitutions of the institute clearly or certainly lead to a major disadvantage - in such cases the duty of obedience is void." Should Father Volpi not be dismissed, a crisis of conscience for religious men and women will inevitably open up, who want to preserve the charism of the Franciscans of the Immaculate and fidelity to the tradition of the Church.

Translation: Giuseppe Nardi
image: Corrispondenza Romana

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

Link to Katholisches...

AMGD

Roberto de Mattei: "I Have Strong Reservations About the Communication Strategy of Pope Francis"

(Rome) Since the extensive interview with Pope Francis by the Jesuit magazine Civilta Cattolica, new confusion reigns in the Catholic camp. While the mass media cheer and celebrate Pope Francis as "revolutionary", some Catholics defended the Pope with the formula, that the mass media is attempting to misunderstand Francis consciously and intentionally twisting his remarks, because the Pope did not alter the Catholic doctrine, while he only has his own very special style. Pope Francis did not speak as an academic, but as a preacher to the people, as the U.S. Catholic writer George Weigel has said. Another part of the Catholics observed the way the world communicates with Pope Francis with increasing concern. Not least because of the applause from the wrong side.

There are doubts about the usefulness of a form of communication expressed, which is obviously prone to misunderstandings. What's more, some have doubts whether it is the Pope just communicating a new form with the people that is controversial, or even to changes in content. It's not an open break with parts of doctrine, but perhaps an indirect softening by ambiguity. Officially, nothing would be changed, but in practice in the minds of the people very much. Just as, say some critics, is already the case, like the "hot buttons", such as abortion and homosexuality. The Pope emphasizes that the teaching of the Church is to be clearly defined, but they do not speak out, or at least among the general public, but only in certain circles.

This happened about abortion, which is a matter of life or death. In the Civiltà Cattolica interview which went around the world, the Pope used a painful diction that was "hurtful" even for Pro-Lifers, like the American, Catholic philosopher, Michael Novak complained. During the interview, the Pope declared that he will not say too much about it in the future and thus the abortion advocates could rejoice, yet he was found the next day in front of the Catholic doctors giving very clear words for the protection of life. Words, however, were only made known in Catholic circles.

The famous Catholic historian, Roberto de Mattei criticized the communication of Pope Francis in an interview for Fomiche.net by Francesco de Palo.

The press has exploited, but the Pope has helped them: This is the opinion of the traditional Roberto de Mattei, professor of modern history and Christianity at the European University of Rome until 2011 and Vice Chairman of the National Research Council of the Republic of Italy. De Mattei is the publisher and editor of the monthly magazine Radici Cristiane, Nova Historia and the Catholic Information Service Corrispondenza Romana. In an interview with Formiche.net he analyzed the first semester of the new pontificate, and expresses strong reservations about the communication strategy of Pope Francis.

How does a 'Catholic without compromise', as you call yourself, survive the public statements of Pope Francis about homosexuals and divorced?

My opinion is that there is significant exploitation of the words of the Pope, in the sense that I do not see these large openings. At least from the perspective of doctrine, also because Pope Francis himself has stressed that his attitude in these subjects did not differ from that of the catechism.

How do you parse Berglio's manifesto similar interview in Cività Cattolica?

Just because the Pope stressed that he stood with regard to the doctrine of faith in the continuity of the Church's teaching, and intended no doctrinal innovations, is the level to which he goes with this interview, pastoral or strategic in nature. That is, what he is proposing is not a new doctrine, but a new way to approach these problems.

What kind of repercussions?

Since Bergoglio has to go according to his own words, from the level of doctrine to those of the communication strategy, it is lawful for every Catholic to discuss this approach. And viewed from this perspective, it is in my opinion an unfortunate approach, because it makes the exploitation of his words possible. But this is not solely responsible for this manipulation by the press, if we like, it's doing its job, but also who makes it possible with a language that is completely ambiguous in some points.

What is the result of this new language?

I think that it can be very dangerous, because the world of communication is not controlled by the Pope, and  even less of  Catholics, but of lobbies and  powers antagonistic to the Church that are capable of distorting its use. Personally, I have strong reservations about the communication strategy of the Pope.

Is Giuliano Ferrara's the daily newspaper Il Foglio justified in its assertion that non-negotiable principles are more of a dead letter now?

That seems excessive. These are principles that can experience moments of blackout due to their nature. It seems to me that the Pope has said, without denying them, that he prefers other points in his communication because he, in his own words, is starting from the premise that the right to life and family are already well-known principles. The real problem is that the positions of the Church to the general public are simply not known, and there is also great confusion in the Catholic world. The only two popes who opposed this were John Paul II and Benedict XVI. Bergoglio, although he doctrinally presents with his predecessors in continuity seems to want to express a strategic discontinuity.

How do you assess this decision?

I prefer the previous communication strategy, but of course the time will tell and you will see that the tree bears fruit. I hope that the consequences of this approach will not be destructive.

And the letter from Ratzinger Odifreddi is a way to set the milestones?

It is a letter that has already in my opinion made more of the already reigning confusion, because although he is representing clear principles, it conveys the impression that it could be at the level of a private Magisterium, two phases that intervene at the same time on the same stage [Francis and Pope Benedict XVI.], in this particular case in the newspaper La Repubblica. I have had many thoughts that Benedict XVI. wanted to withdraw completely from public life, to lead a life of prayer and silence. By this I do not mean to say that he has done something wrong, because his criticism of Odifreddi are precise and to the point. So I do not question the content in question, but have doubts about whether it was opportune.

Do you think that now the reform of the Curia will come?

It has not started yet. So we wait before we judge. For now, there were normal operations, but no sign of reform. In October, the Pope will meet with the group of cardinals, to whom he entrusted the task to submit proposals. We will see in the coming months and assess.

Introduction / Translation: Giuseppe Nardi Image: Formiche.net

Leader of the Dissidents Appointed General Secretary of the Franciscans of the Immaculate

(Rome) The Apostolic Commissioner for the Franciscans of the Immaculate has appointed Father Alfonso Bruno as the new Secretary General of the Order. With this he has completed the first step toward rebuilding the traditional Order, as the historian Roberto de Mattei feared he would, as the decision of the Congregation of Religion became known to the faithful and growing Order placed under the coming under provisional administration.

Father Fidenzio Volpi, OFM Cap was the Commissioner appointed by the Holy See, with the sole power of decision, made Father Alfonso Bruno to his right hand and highest representative of the Order on the 5th of September. The new Secretary General immediately sent a statement to all the brothers of the Order, as he announced himself, that it is the responsibility of the Secretary, the Commissioner to help "the members of the Order and to the outside" help, "to handle all correspondence sent by the Apostolic Commissione, to publish all of the minutes of meetings set by the Apostolic Commissioner, to manage the General Archives of the Order and to update the statistics. The General Secretary shall act as the sole spokesman of the Order during the period of provisional administration."

The Neapolitan Father Alfonso Bruno is 44 years old. Until July 2013, he was the head of the media office of the Order and was mainly related to some incidents there. He was responsible of his website of the Order Mediatrice.net which published some dubious articles by Mario Castellano, where it praised the government of Mario Monti and the Eurokratenstaat EU. The same Castellano is close to Father Bruno, was known elsewhere through his articles in favor of Islam and for the construction of mosques in Europe.

While the Franciscans of the Immaculate Conception actively supported March for Life in Italy and marched in it as an Order, Mediatrice.net was deathly silent in both 2012 and 2013.

The website recently published an exuberant praise of the Jesuit Paolo Dall'Oglio, who was kidnapped on 27 July 2013 by Islamists in Syria. Dall'Oglio, was murdered by Jihadists according to the report of an Arabic website on the 12th of August, but could be neither officially confirmed nor denounced accordingly, was active until his abduction in a dubious "inter-religious" role in Syria. First of all because of his self-confession as "Catholic and Muslim." Secondly, because of his call to the Syrian rebels to use chemical weapons against Assad's government soldiers.

Father Alfonso Bruno is Known for His Aversion to Traditional Catholics and the Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate Conception

Father Bruno controls the Facebook page of the Franciscans of the Immaculate. There he mainly made known the fact that he himself gladly engaged in contradiction with the general attitude of the Order. Just as the provisional government of the Order was known, not a day went by without the media-savvy religious man to publish photos of himself in all possible variations from the World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro.

His aversion traditional Catholics is also known to be raised against the Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate Conception, the female religious branch, which he accused of an "intransigent" attitude. [I hope so.] It was he who,by misleading information to journalists, reported on the provisional government of the Order, which was known only to him, trying to steer in a certain direction against the Order's direction and against the Old Mass.

Father Alfonso Bruno is regarded as the real head of the then six-member dissident group who turned to the Congregation of Religious and then apparently was offered a welcome opportunity to intervene against the religious leadership. On 30 August, the most recent meeting between the Commissioner and the Apostolic Order took place with the displaced leadership. With the appointment of Father Alfonso Bruno as General Secretary and spokesman of the Order, it appears to be entering into what de Mattei predicted, that the Commissioner is according the antagonists of tradition in the Order and delivering the administration of the Order by the provisional government of the dissidents.

The leniency of the Founder with his ambitious pupil is taking a heavy toll. The picture shows Father Alfonso Bruno, who sat at the Papal Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, with Pope Francis. The change of pontificate seems to have delivered the decisive prerequisite for the action against the Order.

"The Franciscans of the Immaculate Conception, commencing with Father Manelli, run the risk of finding themselves outside of their Order," said Corrispondenza Romana.

Text: Giuseppe Nardi image: Facebook Franciscans of the Immaculate

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com AMGD Link to katholisches....

Jean Madiran -- Witness of the Persecution of His Times

Edit: we first found out about this great man from Eye-Witness's memorial:

(Rome / Paris) The historian Roberto de Mattei has written a tribute to Jean Madiran on the Solemnity of the Assumption for the daily newspaper "Il Foglio", a "pioneer of Catholic resistance against progressivism." Madiran who was 93 years old on the 31st of July, died recently in France. Born in 1920, a follower at a young age of Charles Maurras, Madiran experienced a fundamental intellectual change through the discovery of the writings and thought of St. Thomas Aquinas. The magazine he founded in 1956 at the age of 36, "Itinéraires", has been for almost 40 years a focal point of the Catholic intellectual tradition in France. Madiran, founded "Présent“ in 1982, a Catholic daily newspaper, and it was a keen observer of Church self-destruction, which he mercilessly chronicled in his work "L'heresy du XX siècle" (1968) and "La révolution copernicienne dans l'Eglise" (2004 ).

Jean Madiran and The "The History of the Forbidden Mass" by Roberto de Mattei These days, Madiran is known primarily for his unyielding defense of the traditional Mass, whose historical development he has shown in the Histoire de la Messe interdite (2 volumes, 2007 and 2009). According to the Apostolic Constitution Missale Romanum , with which Paul VI. on 3 April 1969 introduced the new Mass, it appeared on the 12th of November in the same year in France, a decree was signed by Cardinal Marty, president of the French Episcopal Conference, which from the 1st of January 1970, introduced the mandatory use the French language in the Novus Ordo Missae . It followed that the traditional Mass, which had been valid for centuries, was prohibited from the 31st of December 1969. That was the signal for a race that is not yet completed.

Since the 50s, the French bishops and theologians distanced themselves from Rome

Since the 50s of the 20th Century, if not before - says Madiran - the French bishops and theologians were at a distance from the Church of Rome, which they charged with being the prisoner of a repressive theological and juridical school. The Second Vatican Council was the opportunity to make a frontal attack against the Roman School and Paul VI's liturgical revolution, which was open to the influence of progressive French circles since its beginning. As the Second Vatican Council was opened in October 1962, it was enthusiastically described by the future cardinal, Father Yves Congar, as "the October Revolution of the Church" (in reference to Lenin's October Revolution of 1917): a revolution that had did not reach its high point in the Conciliar documents, but in the following liturgical reform.

In April 1969, as the Novus Ordo Missae was enacted, received some the sharpest criticism from the highest representatives of the ecclesiastical hierarchy. The Cardinals Ottaviani and Bacci handed to Paul VI. a short critical review of the Novus Ordo Missae, which had been drafted by a group of leading theologians of different nationalities, who came to the conclusion that "the Novus Ordo Missae [...] both in its entirety as well as in its details was a stunning departure from the Catholic theology of the Holy Mass, which the XXII the Session of the Council of Trent was formulated, which definitely established the canons of the rite and has built an impregnable wall of protection against any heresy which tries to attack the integrity of the Mystery. "The Criticism of the Novus Ordo was continued in the wake by numerous scholarly laymen, among others, by the Frenchman Louis Salleron, the Englishman Michael Davies and Brazilian Arnaldo Xavier da Silveira. In France, Jean Madiran was an ardent propagator of a short critical review and published in the Itinéraires the voices of all those who came for reasons of conscience in the end, not to accept the New Mass. A leading canon lawyer, Abbé Raymond Dulac, published in 1972, with a new edition, a careful review of the Bull Quo Primum (1570) of St. Pius V and attempted to prove that the Constitution Missale Romanum of Paul VI., the Tridentine bull, had not been abolished, and also could not abolish the guaranteed and eternal privilege from the Ghislieri-papal Mass indult. 

"Your holiness, give us the Holy Mass again ..."

Janur appeared in 1973 on 21 October 1972 in the journal Itinéraires Madirans an appeal in letter form to Paul VI, which began with the words:

"Your holiness, give us the Scriptures, the Catechism and the Holy Mass again, which have been withdrawn from us, each day more and more, from a collegial, despotic and vicious bureaucracy, whether rightly or wrongly, but without being previously contradicted to impose the claim raised in the name of Vatican II and Paul VI. Please give us the traditional, Catholic, Latin and Gregorian Mass according to the Roman Missal of St. Pius V again. Let me tell you, that you would have them banned. No pope but could, without abusing its power to prohibit the millennial rite of the Catholic Church, which was canonized by the Council of Trent. If this abuse of power is actually permitted to succeed, then it would be obedience to God and the Church to resist obedience, and not to suffer in silence."

The letter was later signed by eminent figures like Alexis Curvers, Marcel De Corte, Henri Rambaud, Louis Salleron, Eric de Saventhem and Jacques Trémolet de Villers and it was published in a book of exceptional timeliness titled Réclamation au Saint-Père (1974).

A Time Without Catechisms - 1965 ban on all Catechisms

For Madiran, the problem of the Mass was closely bound up with that of the Catechism and the Scriptures. The prohibition of the Mass was in fact in the French dioceses a general ban on all pre-Vatican II catechisms and especially the Catechism of Saint Pius X that preceded it. For 27 years, from 1965 to 1992, until the year in which John Paul II promulgated the new Catechism of the Catholic Church, the French Church was without a catechism and factually without religious instruction for the children. These bans have been and are still accompanied by an exegetical vandalism, which stands the Holy Bible on its head. It is sufficient to remember that the Bible commentators are of the opinion in the French language, that all the words of Jesus in the Gospels were invented after his death. As of 1965, the 325 French bishops introduced the restriction of dogmatic language from the Council of Nicaea, like the "consubstantial" which was also prohibited. For nearly 50 years, it was no longer in the Creed, "consubstantial with the Father", but "of the same nature," and that with the absurd pretext that the term "substance" had undergone a change in meaning over time. The result is that in France for half a century a central dogma of Christianity, which is expressed in the term transubstantiation, is nullified.

The protest of Madiran and the theologians of Itinéraires united with 75 representatives of English culture like representatives, signed an appeal to Pope Paul VI. of 6 July 1971, including the famous writer Agatha Christie, Robert Graves, Graham Greene, Malcolm Mudderidge, Bernard Wall, Romano Amerio, Augusto Del Noce, Marcel Brion, Julien Green, Yehudi Menuhin, Henri de Montherlant and Jorge Luis Borges. More and more appeals of sympathetic voices from different countries for the restoration of the traditional Mass or at least their equality, were made ​​by the initiative of the Association of Una Voce. Three international pilgrimages to Rome were led by Catholics to reaffirm their loyalty to the Mass and to the Catechism of Saint Pius V.

"Montini Party" occupied all positions of power - 1978 ungovernable situation

This broad resistance movement developed in 1969-1975 well before 29 June 1976 when the Lefebvre case broke out, when the French archbishop ordained 26 of his seminarians to the subdiaconate and the priesthood then suffered suspensio a divinis. The following year, Archbishop Lefebvre addressed in a memorable conference at Palazzo Pallavicini in Rome a question that has still not found an answer: "How can it be that I, because I still do what I have spent doing for 50 years of my life with congratulations and the encouragement of the Popes, in particular by Pope Pius XII., who honored me with his friendship, now find myself in a situation almost as if I were considered an enemy of the Church?" Monsignor Lefebvre, has been unjustly considered the "head" of traditionalists, yet was in reality only the most visible manifestation of a phenomenon that went far beyond his person and his roots and his aim in the first place in the problems of the Second Vatican Council and its implementation.

In the 14 years of the pontificate of Paul VI. (1963-1978) the "Montini Party" occupied all leading power posts in the Church, from the tips of the Roman Curia to the bishops'conferences. The process of self-destruction of the Church was more dramatic, so John Paul II inherited an ungovernable situation. From the beginning of his pontificate, however, the hostility to the traditional Mass, at first barely perceptible outwardly began to subside. The Pope made ​​a secret commission of eight cardinals to study the liturgical question. They came to the conclusion that there is no theological or juridical reasons that would allow a ban on the Tridentine rite. Thereon the Congregation for Divine Worship issued on 3 October 1984, the document Quattuor Abhinc Annos to the Presidents of the Episcopal Conferences, an Indult for the celebration of the traditional Mass, which had previously been considered prohibited. However, the majority of the bishops refused to implement this measure, so that John Paul II in his Apostolic Letter Ecclesia Dei of 2nd of July 1988, after the break between Rome and the Society of St. Pius X. ordered:

"Moreover, respect must everywhere be shown for the feelings of all those who are attached to the Latin liturgical tradition, by a wide and generous application of the directives already issued some time ago by the Apostolic See, for the use of the Roman Missal according to the typical edition of 1962 - See more at: http://www.adoremus.org/EcclesiaDei.html#sthash.HnE6qZv1.dpuf"

Blind obstruction of the bishops against Pope John Paul II measures for Old Mass

The result of this measure was also disappointing because of the attitude of blind obstruction of the bishops. Cardinal Ratzinger, who has placed the liturgy in the center of his attention (think of the Proceedings of the liturgical day of Fontgombault, from July 22-24th of 2001), had decided after his election as Pope, to settle the question personally and issued, the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum on July 7th, 2007 the freedom with which he returned to the old Roman Rite, and introduced it back into the Church.

The "resisters" of the 60s, finally saw their efforts rewarded after almost 40 years. Jean Madiran wrote "Last Sunday," about the 6th of September, 2007, "I am, and I was not the only one in the Church, which is just a few steps away from me, came back, rather than away 20 km and 20 km back. But the important thing is not that we have returned, but that the Mass has returned. What a grace! "( Chroniques sous Benoît XVI. , 2010, p 197).

Benedict XVI. Responded With a Traditional Mass for a sick church

The Church, to which Benedict XVI. returned the traditional Mass, is a sick Church, which is occupied by progressive prelates at the highest peak positions, and continue to use the Second Vatican Council as a club with which to beat their enemies. This has recently been the case against the Franciscans of the Immaculate Conception, who are dealt with unfairly because of their attachment to the traditional Mass by a decree which constitutes a violation of the general laws of the Church, especially of the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum of Pope Benedict XVI., it gives every priest the freedom to celebrate the Holy Mass in the so-called "extraordinary" form of the rite.

Mother Mary Francis of the Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate Conception had thoroughly documented the post-apostolic patristic origins of the so-called "Tridentine" Mass in the Italian compilation The Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum, HH Benedict XVI. A Hope for the Whole Church (vol 3, ed. Nuara of Father Vincenzo OP, 2013, pp. 93-115), as the Mass in force in 1969 rite had in its central elements the Mass Pope Gregory the Great and without interruption back to the apostles to the Last Supper and the bloody sacrifice of Jesus Christ as their starting point. The volume La Réforme Liturgique en question (1992) with its preface by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, Monsignor Klaus Gamber, for whom Pope Benedict always harbored great admiration, states clearly that no pope has the right to return the rite to Apostolic Tradition and that it had deepened over the centuries, as is the case for the change of the so-called Mass of St. Pius V. There are clear limits to the plena et suprema potestas of the Pope and Gamber wrote, citing the theologians Suarez and Cajetan that "a Pope would become a schismatic if he would not, as it is his duty, be willing to maintain unity throughout in the body of the Church, but would try to excommunicate the whole Church or to change the traditinoal rites confirmed by the Apostolic ( here p. 37 ).

The Traditional Mass Has Never Been Abolished - School of counter-revolution

The motu proprio of Benedict XVI. has made it ​​clear that the traditional Mass was never abolished (and never could have been abolished) and that the new Mass of Paul VI. is optional, and as such may be criticized and rejected. No priest can be forced to say the new Mass or be prevented from celebrating the traditional Mass freely. Every decree or any arrangement which would impose something else, would abuse the Mass and must be rejected. Jean Madiran has shown through his intellectual example, and how wide is the legitimate scope for the Catholic resistance to unjust commands. He was not an isolated voice. At his funeral, which was celebrated by Dom Louis Marie, the abbot Le Barroux in the "Extraordinary" Form, the representatives of the major communities of the tradition were present, the Fraternity of St. Peter , the Institute of Christ the King High Priest, the Institute of the Good Shepherd and the SSPX. Jean Madiran, who describes himself as "witness against his own time" (Interview with Abbot Guillaume de Tanoüarn in Certitudes , July-September 2002) was primarily a militant Catholic. Until the last day of his life he emphasized proudly his cultural and spiritual descent from the Catholic school of counter-revolution, known for their devotion to papal primacy in France as "ultramontanes" and their leaders Louis Veuillot, Dom Guéranger, and Cardinal Pie. Madiran summarized together the principles not only of the French school of thought and published a comprehensive intellectual and cultural genealogy: L'école (informal) contre-révolutionnaire in Présent of 18 February 2011. Those who criticize the world of tradition, are not aware that this world has deep intellectual roots and its vitality is currently in evidence with conflicts, such as the Franciscans of the Immaculate and the Old Mass, which is currently in progress. Everyone consequently, whether he is conscious or not, belongs to a direction, a school or a spiritual family. In life you have to decide which side you are on. Jean Madiran would have been on the side of those who today express their unswerving loyalty to the traditional Roman rite.

Introduction / Translation: Giuseppe Nardi Image: Corrispondenza Romana Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

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