Italy Concludes "Gay Marriage" --- Cardinal Müller: "Gay Marriage is Impossible"

(Rome) Yesterday, Italy's Left Democratic Prime Minister, Matteo Renzi in Parliament's vote of confidence to abbreviate the legislative process for "gay marriage". As in other countries, the constitutionally prescribed route was bypassed to enforce special rights for homosexuals. The result is another victory of gender ideology and another parody of marriage.

The Alfano Galatino "compromise"

A "compromise" was decided upon in its preparation by the involvement of part of the Catholic Church in Italy over which Pope Francis presided quietly. After a month of parliamentary debate and stubborn resistance from the population - on 30 January, two million people protested in Rome against the government's plans - Prime Minister Renzi became increasingly nervous that his government could fall over the gay issue, just as had the left-wing government of of 2008.

To so opportunely came to him the willingness of a part of the church, to avoid a conflict with the government on socio-political level. Italy Interior Minister Angelino Alfano, a representative of the Christian Democrat-right liberal party alliance, and smaller coalition partner of the Left Democrats, and Bishop Nunzio Galatino, Secretary General of the Italian Episcopal Conference, agreed in a back room "compromise": to introduce gay marriage without calling it "marriage", but no adoption rights for homosexuals. The bill, is named after its originator, Monica Cirinnà, has since then been described in Catholic circles as the "Alfano Galatino Bill".

The organizers of the Family Day on 30 January reject the "compromise." Catholic commentators describe the "compromise" as "treason" and its Catholic supporters as "traitors".

Cardinal Müller: "Politicians have to serve the community and not to impose a false ideology"

Nunzio Galatino forged a compromise

At decisive moments before the parliamentary vote was announced, Cardinal Gerhard Müller, Prefect of the Congregation for Doctrine and the Faith, reaffirmed that a marriage between two people of the same sex "is not possible" and that this is a contradiction in itself. Cardinal Müller demanded that politicians in their votes and decision process "respect human nature". The cardinal himself said, referring to a statement of the CDF from 2003: "Politicians have to serve the community and not to impose a false ideology."

The Cardinal took advantage of a conference currently being held at the Vatican Conference on the Encyclical Deus Caritas est by Benedict XVI. that for its opinion is relevant not only the Italian Parliament, but of particular relevance.

Approval of "gay marriage" in the sense of the Church's blessing

However, with the Galatino's consent in his pocket, the Left Democrats and Christian Democrats could agree with legalizing "gay marriage" in the sense of the Church's blessing. As the government coupled its vote, it finally reached last night shortly after 7pm a majority of 173 of the 321 senators, securing a vote of confidence. The vote was attended by only 244 senators. Some moved for various reasons for absence, including the left-wing populist Five Star Movement, which left the hall before the vote. Of the Senators for Life, Ex-Prime Minister Mario Monti and former President Giorgio Napolitano for the law. Napolitano was praised by Pope Francis recently as one of the "Greats" of Italy.

Now the House of Representatives must approve the bill. Where the government has a clear majority.

Text: Giuseppe Nardi
 Image: Corrispondenza Romana
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
Link to Katholisches...
AMDG

For the Record: Aberrosexual at CDF Dismissed

Edit: I'm sure there are plenty of openings for aberrosexuals in the Polish Catholic Church. With all the hysteria, which is something we can appreciate if not participate in, this is a welcome bit of news. 

The priest in question appears to already have been living a double life. It's a pity he wasn't sent packing sooner, since it's very likely he wasn't the most orthodox priest in his office.

VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican on Saturday fired a monsignor who came out as gay on the eve of a big meeting of the world's bishops to discuss church outreach to gays, divorcees and more traditional Catholic families.

Monsignor Kryzstof Charamsa was a mid-level official in the Vatican's doctrine office. In newspaper interviews published in Italy and Poland on Saturday, Charamsa said he was happy and proud to be a gay priest, and was in love with a man whom he identified as his boyfriend.

"The decision to make such a pointed statement on the eve of the opening of the synod appears very serious and irresponsible, since it aims to subject the synod assembly to undue media pressure," the Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, said in a statement.

As a result, Charamsa could no longer work at the Vatican or its pontifical universities, Lombardi said.

Despite his dismissal, Charamsa remains a priest, although Lombardi hinted that his superiors could take further action.

Charamsa had planned a press conference in Rome for midday on Saturday to discuss his sexual orientation and criticize the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith for spreading "pervasive and blind homophobia," but was pre-empted by the Vatican action.

http://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2015/10/03/vatican-fires-gay-priest-on-eve-of-synod

Edit: Also, the Vatican has released a statement about the Pope's meeting with Yayo Grassi and his fellow deviant companion. 

http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2015/10/03/holy_see_statement_on_popes_meeting_with_yayo_grassi/1176502

"No Compromises of the Church's Teaching" -- Cardinal Müller on the Bishops' Synod, SSPX, Medjugorje and Liberation Theology

(Rome) There will be "no compromise of the Church's teaching" in the Bishops' Synod this autumn. This was affirmed  by Cardinal Gerhard Müller, the prefect of the CDF. It is meant to seek pastoral ways to better integrate people in difficult situations in the community. While there is, says the Cardinal, no "substantial news" regarding  the SSPX, there would be a decision to Medjugorje in the fall.  Katholisch.de, the media portal of the German Bishops' Conference published an  an interview with the Cardinal.

Renewal and Deepening of  Marriage Preparation Necessary

Overlooking the Synod of Bishops on marriage and family  the German cardinal stressed that the Church must help "the people, even Catholics, ...to re-understand what the point is to marry and so, also publicly, to bind a person." While the discussion is so far turned mainly to the "failure" of marriages, Cardinal Müller stressed the need for "a renewal and deepening" of marriage preparation.

The cardinal also confirmed that the "ordinary general assembly" of the CDF will deal this "autumn" with Medjugorje: "The opinion of the Congregation will be  submitted  to the Holy Father for a further decision."

Various encounters with SSPX , "which should enhance mutual trust"

When asked whether the "unification efforts were suspended or postponed," since "recently" the  Priestly Society of St. Pius X had "become noticeably quiet," said Cardinal Müller that there was  "no substantial news in this issue." "The Holy Father wants us to keep at it: with 'determination and patience.'" In the "recent months", there were "encounters of various kinds, which should enhance mutual trust." "A prerequisite for a full reconciliation" said the Cardinal again, "is the signing of a doctrinal preamble, to ensure full compliance in the essential matters of faith." The Prefect's response   suggests that this singing the Preamble of 2012 is not required..

The recent trip to Latin America by Pope Francis has shown "that the Church must use an authentic liberation theology." He, Müller, has worked "for many years in accordance with the instruction of the Congregation" which the Marxist liberation theology was condemned in the 1980s, "for such a theology that is not aligned ideologically, but interested in the good of man and society." The election of Pope Francis on the Chair of Peter is "providential" because the majority of Catholics today live in Latin America. "Pope Francis has strengthened the believers  on his journey from the Gospel and encouraged and called the peoples there to  a peaceful and equitable coexistence. This is an order of the day," said Müller.

"I have Totally Committed my Life in Fidelity to the Pope"

When asked about his statement, there is a need to " theologically restructure" the pontificate of Pope Francis, the cardinal affirmed that "the specific task of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. . It has to promote the faith and morals throughout the Catholic Church on behalf of the Pope and protect his personal relationship with the reigning pope." Cardinal Müller said: "Personally,  I have totally committed my entire life in loyalty to the Pope."

Addressing eco-Encyclical Laudato Si, Müller said, that he is "very grateful for the encyclical" to the Pope. The document had a "very strong social-ethical component" and leads from "the tradition of the social encyclicals."  It "seems" to him that the Pope  proposed, "to open the eyes of all people of good will to the problem of environmental and human ecology and promote dialogue with each other  at all levels."

About the controversial issues is the allowance of remarried divorcees to Communion and the acceptance of homosexuality, with which the Synod of Bishops will deal next October, Cardinal Müller said: "Here the Synod faces the challenge to find pastoral ways of greater integration in the community, without compromising the Word of Jesus and the Church's teaching based on it. The family is irreplaceable importance for the future of the Church and of society. "

Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Image: katholisch.de (Screenshot)
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
Link to Katholisches...
AMDG

"No Mercy Without Truth" -- Cardinal Müller on the Holy Year and the Synod of Bishops

Prefect Müller:  There are no secret pathways or shortcuts to
holiness.

(Rome) The proclaimed by Pope Francis extraordinary Holy Year of Charity begins next December 8 Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception Virgin Mary. "The Holy Year is to serve the people to remember that mercy can not be without the truth," said Cardinal Gerhard Müller, Prefect of the Congregation. Man and the Church "are often tempted to separate one from the other," the cardinal said.

The love of God is closely bound up with the truth. The same applies to the so-called broken families, those who are in an irregular situation. They need  the attention of the Church,  not in new pastoral ways, but by the truth.  Cardinal Müller led a discussion with the Italian news agency ANSA about the upcoming Holy Year. Cardinal Müller belonged to the most ardent defenders at the Extraordinary Synod of Bishops last October, of the Catholic teaching on marriage. In preparation for the Ordinary Synod of Bishops on the family next October,  he  always returns to take a position on the world stage for the sacrament of marriage as it has been taught by the Church of Christ and how this is why the Church has taught it  for almost 2000 years.

God does not intervene to "keep everything as it is"

In an interview with ANSA, said the cardinal,  the extraordinary Holy Year must "include all." God loves, "as he intervenes in history through His grace." But this is not just a "favor" as the cardinal used the Latin expression. So this is not just a favor- or proof of sympathy, a privilege or an acknowledgment. God does not grab one, "to let everything be as it is", but that the people "experience a renewal, a conversion, so we ever renew our hearts and truly change our lives. Therefore, we must remember also in the Holy Year, that we can not speak of mercy without truth," said Cardinal Prefect Müller.

In view of the Synod of Bishops in October, the German cardinal added that this also applies to the family. "We must accept  all,  especially sinners, because we are all sinners, but according to the instructions of God and not by human considerations. Because sometimes people see things a little differently as God sees them."

"We can not preach the resurrection without the cross"

It was important to show that there "is still sacramental marriage" and that the lifelong, indissoluble marriage between a man and a woman is not only possible, it will be a boon for both spouses and their offspring. "The mercy of God accepts us as we are, but it will not leave us as it finds us," said Cardinal Müller.

Always with a view to the forthcoming Synod of Bishops, in the interest particularly to the question of communion being valid for the divorced and remarried, the cardinal said that the goal of any intervention of divine grace is "salvation", and the  path to repentance. "We can not preach the resurrection without the cross. There is no second or third way," said the Prefect of the Roman Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, who made it to be understood so that there can be no short cuts on these topics or abbreviations.

Text: Giuseppe Nardi
image: Radiosanmartin

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

Link to Katholisches...

AMDG

Cardinal Müller: "Diocese Are Not Branches of the Bishops' Conference"

Prefect of the CDF after recent statements of DBK-President Marx: "The President of the Episcopal Conference is no more than a technical presenter, this title is not linked to any specific teaching authority."

Vatican (kath.net) The claim that a Bishop's Conference was "not a branch of Rome", "gives me the cue to remind you that the dioceses are not branches of the Secretariat of the Episcopal Conference or [branches of] the diocese, whose bishop President of the Bishops' Conference is." This was Gerhard Müller Cardinal (photo), Prefect of the Congregation for Doctrine and the Faith, for the Catholic French magazine, Famille Chrétienne. He had been previously asked what he thought of a statement "where a German bishop had stated that the Bishops' Conference, which he was presiding, was no "branch of Rome," he was referring to remarks by Reinhard Cardinal Marx, President of the German Bishops' Conference . Müller explained further: "A Bishops' Conference is not a Particular Council, [it is] a lot less than an Ecumenical Council. The President of the Episcopal Conference is no more than a technical presenter, there is no special teaching authority linked with this title. "The attitude that a Bishops' Conference is not a branch of Rome," brings with it the danger to revive a certain polarization between the local Churches and the Universal Church which had come rest in the First and the Second Vatican Councils. The Church is not the sum of national churches whose presidents would choose a boss on a universal level."

On the question of whether some teaching or disciplinary decisions about marriage and the family could be delegated to the Bishops' Conferences, the Prefect of the CDF replied: "This is an absolutely anti-Catholic idea that does not respect the catholicity of the Church. Bishops' Conferences have authority in certain topics, but they possess no magisterium against  the magisterium without a pope and without communion with all the bishops."

"The Church is not a philanthropic organization. It is not enough if we say that we respect the views of all and wish good for all," Müller explained further. Indeed it is not too difficult, only present the gospel as a therapeutic agent, but this does not correspond to the requirements of Jesus. "Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and receive all manner of slander because of me, said Jesus. The first Apostles, the Church Fathers, the great bishops of the Church had so often to sail against the wind. Why should this be any different for us? Link to kath.net... Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com AMDG

Cardinal Müller: Pope Is Not Above the Word of God and the Catholic Faith

Edit: Rorate tends to understate things.  They want a sober response.  We'd like to offer this translation of Giuseppe Nardi's appreciation of their take on Cardinal Müller's recent letter appearing in the Osservatore Romano and additional commentary from other important Italian blogs.

(Rome) The extremely progressivist French newspaper Golias has sounded the alarm because of the "danger" that churchmen like the Cardinals Burke, Müller, Ranjith, Cañizares, Ouellet, Sarah and other "young cardinals" could prevent further "liberalization" of the constitution of the Church  with support of older cardinals like Scola, Pell and Caffarra.

The traditional  website Chiesa e Postconcilio contrast wrote: "God allows evil only so it is good bring about an even greater good. The immense disorder in the Bishops'  Synod on the Family led to wonderful declarations of faith by high-ranking prelates, the signs of hope for the future of the Church."

Cardinal Gerhard Müller is prefect of the Congregation and one of the five cardinals who wrote for the anthology "Remain in the Truth of Christ" along with the other bearers of the purple,  Brandmüller, De Paolis, Burke and Caffarra for the Synod of Bishops on the family in 2014.  Recently he had made ​his lecture public ​on the website of the CDF,  the referendum on the 13th of January by the Hungarian Esztergom on "The Theological Nature of the Doctrinal  Commissions and the Office of Bishops as Teachers of the Faith."

Put things into place

"In a very Ratzingerian way" says Rorate Caeli , "Cardinal Müller (referring to the Motu Proprio Apostolos Suos of John Paul II.), puts things in their place." He distinguishes between the supplementary authority of the Bishops and their organs, such as the Commissions on Faith, which are tasked to harmonize the various pastoral orientations, and the divine right of the successors of the apostles, that is of a different nature, and to the  extent makes them  teachers and guardians of the faith for their local churches, as they accept at the same time, the universal Church in union with the supreme pastor, the Pope.

The Cardinal recently wrote about this: "So the predicates of the Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church in the Roman Church  are realized a fortiori. Since ancient times it has called forth the Holy Roman Church - not because of the subjective holiness of her head and her members, but because of the holiness of its specific mission which is to pass down and preserves intact the apostolic tradition, the deposit of faith.".

The following passage in the speech by Cardinal Müller on the papal magisterium held some attention in Rome:

Cardinal Mülller: The Pope 'like all believers - is subject to the word of God and the Catholic faith "

"At the level of the universal Church the special mission of the Successor of Peter is especially mentioned to strengthen his brethren in the faith (cf.. Lc 22,32). This is not the place to deal with the doctrine of papal infallibility, but the characteristic and ultimate responsibility of the Roman Pontiff  emphasizes protecting healthy doctrine. In its "Considerations on the Primacy of the Successor of Peter in the Mystery of the Church "of 1998, the Congregation declared: 'The bishop of Rome is - like all believers - subject to the word of God and the Catholic faith. He is the guarantee for the obedience of the Church and in this sense servus servorum. He decides according to his own will, but it is voice  the will of the Lord who speaks to man in Scripture lived and interpreted by tradition. In other words, the episkope of primacy has limits, resulting from the law of God and contained in   revelation  in the untouchable divine institution of the Church. The Successor of Peter is the rock that against arbitrariness and conformism, he guarantees a relentless fidelity to the Word of God: It also follows the  martyrological characters of his primacy.'"

Cardinal Sarah: "Some want to sacrifice Christ's message for relativistic ideology of the West"

Cardinal Robert Sarah

Cardinal Robert Sarah, the new prefect of the Roman Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments made ​​it clear in his recently published book, "God or nothing" (Dieu ou rien) in France this week that he is on the "same wavelength" (on Rorate Caeli ). Cardinal Sarah explained in moving detail from his life and shows his solid theology and spiritual claims that he is a priest and pastors of the Church.The language of the African bishop and cardinal, who risked his life more than once, "reached a formal level, when he speaks of the relativistic ideology of the West, to which some want to sacrifice the message of Christ" and all there - as it is now fashionable - to adorn this  with winning quotes from Pope Francis, says Rorate Caeli.

Cardinal Müller: "Clean the Temple"

On February 8,Osservatore Romano published under the title "Purifying the Temple" a above-cited article by Cardinal Müller in Italian, in the German edition has appeared under the official title " Theological criteria for a reform of the Church and the Roman Curia", [Our translation, no idea where the English version is right now, will continue to check.] Müller points to the fact that the real reforms in Church history were always spiritual and not political reforms. The Curial reform must therefore, if it is to be of real importance for the renewal of the Church, be a spiritual reform in the first place. Its organizational structure and its operation must be subordinated to the special mission of the Successor of Peter.

In the words of Cardinal Müller: "The Curia is not a secular administrative structure, it is an essentially spiritual device that is rooted in the special mission of the Church of Rome, which is sanctified by the martyrdom of the Apostles Peter and Paul. (...) The structural organization and operation of the Curia has its measure in the specific mission of the Bishop of Rome. This [officeholder?] is defined as the Successor of Peter, the gift of Christ to his Church "the perpetual and visible source and foundation of the unity of the multiplicity of both bishops and of the faithful" (Lumen Gentium, 23). "

Cardinal Müller's criticism of permanent synod as part of the church leadership

Cardinal Oscar Maradiaga

He continued: "As we can differ only in the light of revealed faith from a purely human religious community, the Church, so we understand only in faith that the Pope and the bishops have a sacramental and healing supreme power  that connects us with God. This  distinguishes them from leaders those  religious community springs from sociological and organizational foundations," Cardinal Müller.

One  sentence rings forth with especial clarity: "The Synod of Bishops, the Episcopal Conferences and other coalitions of bishops belong to a different theological category than the Roman Curia." It's a direct criticism of a new idea that has formed in the circle of the C9 Cardinal Council, which is mandated to propose suggestions for the reform of the Curia. According to the new idea, ​the Synod of Bishops should become a sort of permanent institution that is part of the Roman dicasteries by a permanent delegation and should thus have a direct stake in Church leadership. [Like a sort of Universal Catholic Council of Bishops?] The spokesman for extending the influence of episcopal collegiality with a new Synodality is the Honduran, Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga.

"In definitive words, the Cardinals Miller and Sarah  express that which differs from figures such as Baldisseri, Marx, Tagle and Kasper," said Rorate Caeli.

Text: Giuseppe Mardi
image: Messa in Latino
Trans: Tancred verkon99@hotmail.com
Link to Katholisches...
AMDG

Bishop Athanasius Schneider Visits SSPX Seminary in USA

Edit: Interesting news. More talk about an impending resolution.

Link to DICI...

Link to Rorate...

On February 11, 2015, Bishop Athanasius Schneider, auxiliary bishop of Astana in Kazakhstan, met with Bishop Bernard Fellay, SSPX Superior General, and also with several priests of the Society, at St. Thomas Aquinas Seminary in Winona (United States). 

This was the second visit by Bishop Schneider to one of our seminaries. On January 16, 2015, he had visited the St. Cure d’Ars Seminary in Flavigny (France). Both meetings pertained to the question of the liturgical reform of Paul VI and the doctrinal presuppositions of the Novus Ordo Missae. 

On December 5, 2014, Cardinal Walter Brandmuller, President Emeritus of the Pontifical Committee for Historical Sciences, had visited Sacred Heart Seminary in Zaitzkofen (Germany), where the discussion focused on the magisterial authority of Vatican Council II. 

These meetings are a way of continuing the doctrinal discussions between the Society of St. Pius X and the Roman authorities « in a larger and less formal context than that of the preceding meetings », according to the decision made during the meeting of Bishop Fellay with Cardinal Gerhard Muller, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith on September 23, 2014.

Cardinal Müller: Separation of Theory and Praxis Would be a Heresy

Prefect of the Congregation of the Faith in the "Osservatore Romano"said that ny separation of theory and practice of the faith would be the manifestation of a subtle Christological heresy in principle ".

Vatican City (kath.net/KAP) The Prefect of the Vatican Congregation of Doctrine of the Faith, Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller, reiterating that there should be no gap between teaching and pastoral care in the Catholic Church. "Every separation of theory and practice of the faith would be the manifestation of a subtle Christological heresy in principle," Mueller said in a speech, which was published by the Vatican newspaper "L'Osservatore Romano" on Tuesday. This would "obscure" the dynamics of the Incarnation, which is part of any "healthy theology", said Mueller. Christ had said, "I am the way, the truth and the life. Therefore, there can be no truth without life and no life without truth.

The occasion was the opening of the General Assembly of the International Theological Commission of the Vatican on Monday. Müller is the President of the Advisory Board of the CDF. Cardinal Müller had said several times in the the Synod of Bishops on the family, that there can be no change in the Church's practice in relation to the divorced and remarried, because thereby the indissolubility of marriage will be questioned. Cardinal Müller, Prefect of the CDF: Statements Synod of Bishops publish (engl.) Copyright 2014 Catholic News Agency, Vienna, Austria All rights reserved. Photo Cardinal Müller (c) Diocese of Regensburg

Link to Kath.net...
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
AMDG

Fellay and Müller: Doctrinal Preamble Versus Dispute on Grace 2.0

Bishop Bernard Fellay and Cardinal Gerhard Muller

Edit: I think the important thing here is that no Preamble was offered for signature.  We'll try to post the link as soon as it appears.

(Berlin) On 23 September, a meeting between the head of the CDF and the Fraternity of St. Pius X was held in Rome, including in the first place Gerhard Müller as Cardinal Prefect of the Congregation for Doctrine and the Faith and Bishop Bernard Fellay as Superior General of the SSPX. For this reason Clement Victor Oldendorf published  the article "Doctrinal Preamble versus Grace Dispute 2.0" at Kath.news.

There  was some censoring of the document arbitrarily undertaken and subsequently  it was "too spicy" and this was supposedly justified by "too few formulations true to pope and Rome."  The author then wished  the deletion of the essay, which had been  dismissed as "speculation".

On September 27 after this call Kathnews.de took the contribution offline..

Katholisches.info has now published, with the consent of the author, the full post in an unabridged version.

.

Doctrinal Preamble Versus Grace Dispute 2.0

by Clement Victor Oldendorf

Since the beginning of September   information on September 21, 2014  has been circulating that there will be a meeting between the Prefect of the CDF, Cardinal Gerhard Müller, and the Superior General of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Pius X, Bishop Bernard Fellay. The forecasts were rather skeptical and hesitant, with what appeared to be by no means irrational pessimism even from the time when he was Bishop of Regensburg in the face of Mueller's relevant statements. So it was expected, for example, Müller would require Fellay, but without ifs and buts, to accept the last submitted version of the so-called Doctrinal Preamble. Something Fellay had previously excluded, after he was confronted in 2012 with a complete surprise in its text version.

Message of Vatican Radio

For a few hours now a message has appeared on the website of Vatican Radio,   that the encounter did not take place on Sunday, but  took place today and lasted two hours: Add link to the message of Vatican Radio!

This text no longer mentions the Doctrinal Preamble. An insistence on the adoption of its final version would probably also proven to be an impasse and conceived as a deliberate provocation on the part of Rome if the contacts collapsed. 

Incomplete Theological Thinking Then and Now

If you read today's news from Radio Vatican, it suggests rather a more open modus vivendi to recognize the parallels to be the "solution" in the so-called disputes on grace  of the 16th and early 17th century. At that time,   theologians of the Jesuit and the Dominican orders were disputing over questions of the doctrine of grace, namely about the right relationship between divine grace and human participation in the process of justification, and they accused each other of being heretics. In 1607, Pope Paul V ruled that everyone should provisionally retain his theological position and collect arguments to refute the other side, but that it was forbidden to denounce each other. The Apostolic See will, as it was then be called to decide the question of content   "soon". To date, no Pope has decided this question. Actually, this is a fine example that Pope Francis has repeatedly called for "unfinished, theological thinking" in the church already has a long established tradition.

Grace dispute 2.0 Appeared in 2009 as a Thought Experiment

If it were, now here come to a recurrence of such, as it were open solution, it is tempting to recall   interesting and little-known details from the year 2009. At that time, after Benedict XVI. had just withdrawn the Decree of Excommunication on the original four auxiliary bishops of the SSPX in January,  Fellay continued ordinations in the summer at Zaitzkofen, on the territory of the Diocese of Regensburg, which increased media interest.

Many were present at the ceremony, journalists of various newspapers, from radio and television and almost besieged the  celebrations with cameras and microphones. Subsequently, the reporters were invited to a press conference.This allowed each of the media representatives asked a question of the bishop. Almost all the questions were just about the unspeakable Holocaust remarks of his confrere [Bishop] Richard Williamson. However, one journalist present for the Wiener Zeitung set a question that was completely out of this frame. 

Namely, he broached   the historical dispute on grace just outlined here and asked Fellay, if there were not possibly an analogous result could be in the best solution for the doctrinal disputations about Vatican II between Rome and the Society. After an initial surprise, he wasn't being asked about  gas chambers or Williamson, the Superior General of this idea described then these corresponding things as very clever and interesting and confirmed that such a solution could actually be possible.

Introduction: Giuseppe Nardi
image: SSPX / Wikicommons

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

Link to Katholisches...

AMDG

Talks Between Rome and the SSPX Resume

Bishop Fellay in Rome

(Rome) In the late morning of the day the meeting between  the Prefect of the Congregation for Doctrine and the Faith,  Cardinal Gerhard Müller and the Superior General of the SSPX, Bishop Fellay, was held in Rome. For the first time Cardinal Müller and Bishop Fellay had personally met since the former Bishop of Regensburg had been appointed early summer 2012 to be Prefect of the CDF. 

Since the election of Pope Francis there have been no lack of voices that take a hard line in Rome  and say  they  want the bishops and priests of the SSPX  to be excommunicated. Pope Francis did not follow this "advice". The talks between the SSPX and Rome were resumed today instead.

The statement published by the Vatican press office did not appear  in different languages, but in German. The following translation leans closely as possible to the relevant Italian text.

"On the morning of Tuesday 23 September from 11 am to 1 pm, a cordial meeting took place at the premises of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, between Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Muller, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and Bishop Bernard Fellay, superior general of the Society of St. Pius X. The meeting was also attended by Archbishops Luis Francisco Ladaria Ferrer, S.I., secretary of the same Congregation, Joseph Augustine Di Noia, O.P., adjunct secretary and Guido Pozzo, secretary of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei, along with two assistants from the Society of St. Pius X, Rev. Niklaus Pfluger and Rev. Alain-Marc Nély.

During the meeting, various problems of a doctrinal and canonical nature were examined, and it was decided to proceed gradually and over a reasonable period of time in order to overcome difficulties and with a view to the envisioned full reconciliation.

Two aspects of the Declaration catches your eye. First, the emphasis that the encounter in a "warm climate" was held. A formulation that sounds very strong in German translation, in the flowery Italian language however, still would allow some increase of opportunities, but overall indicated a positive indication. Secondly, the content of the last sentence is most important, which shows that the direct communication between Rome and Econe are open again. That did not seem self-evident recently. 

The official statement of the General House of the SSPX in Menzingen largely corresponds to the wording of the Vatican. In addition, next to the "doctrinal and canonical problems" it said that the "current situation of the Church" was addressed. The explanation of the SSPX is reluctant to state a desired objective and speaks of "continuing to clarify the remaining controversial points."

A Brief Review

In spring 2012, the impression was generally accepted in the months previous on the part of the SSPX,  the impression that Rome accepted the arguments put forward in requests for changes to the "Doctrinal Preamble", whose adoption should form the basis for the canonical recognition. Then in May the General Assembly of the Congregation came together and annulled the results obtained. On June 13, 2012, Bishop Fellay thought to travel to Rome and return with the canonical recognition of the SSPX. Instead, it was Cardinal William Levada,  then Prefect of the CDF who didn't present the agreed text of the Doctrinal Preamble, but  the original version again, before the talks began. An unacceptable situation, which ended with an inconclusive departure of the Superior General of the SSPX. Because the turnaround came so unexpectedly, Bishop Fellay asked a few days later, expressly and in writing with Benedict XVI. according to whether it really is also the desire of the Pope. As this was confirmed on June 30, there was a hiatus. 

Some circles in Rome wanted to pass the buck to  the SSPX  for the failure of the talks and wanted from Bishop Fellay a written negative answer to the "preamble". When the SSPX, who felt betrayed in their view, was not to fall into this trap,  yet in the meantime there came into office, and thus not concerned with the new faith discussions, Müller, Prefect of the CDF who issued the Society  an ultimatum early in early 2013.

In one of his last decisions  Pope Benedict XVI. lifted the ultimatum, however, shortly before his resignation. The whole question therefore remained unanswered. The unification efforts of 2005, initiated by the German Pope, which should have resulted in a canonical recognition of the Society were placed on ice.

With the election of Pope Francis, the conditions seemed even less certain than ever of being able for the failed talks to productively resume. After one and a half years of official hiatus, the talks were resumed in a surprisingly benevolent climate today.

It is clear that there were voices in the Vatican, after the successful prevention of an agreement by the Plenary Assembly of the Congregation, the resignation of Benedict XVI. and the election of Pope Francis, to take the opportunity to draw a sharp line and say to adopt a Decree of Excommunication for the bishops and all the priests of the SSPX. An option that has been suggested to Pope Francis that the Argentine Pope, despite his barely manageable aversion to tradition and the traditional rite, did not own.

Text: Giuseppe Nardi
image: Vatican Insider
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
Link to Katholisches...
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Cardinal: There's No Conspiracy Against the Reform For the Remarried Divorced

De Paolis criticizes freedom of speech and debate within the Church.

Rome (kath.net/ CBA) Two weeks before the World Synod of Bishops on the Family, the Italian media is fueling further debate about dealing with divorced and remarried in the Catholic Church. In an interview with the newspaper "La Repubblica" the retired Italian Cardinal, De Paolis Velasio, rejected on Saturday the claim that the opponents of a change in Church practice have come together to form a conspiracy.

He wanted to have the freedom to say what he thinks "without being accused of being a conspirator," said De Paolis, who was president of the Prefecture for the Economic Affairs of the Holy See until 2011. He pointed out that he had first published an essay that deals with the subject months ago. The Italian Cardinal is one of five authors of a paper whose contribution expects adherence to the existing exclusion of remarried divorcees from receiving Communion.

The publication date of the book in Italy, will be four days before the start of the World Synod of Bishops, on October 1, which had fueled speculation in the media that it was a deliberate action by the opponents of reform. It is directed in particular against the retired German Cardinal Walter Kasper, who advocates a cautious change [sic] in the current practice in dealing with divorced and remarried, as speculated by some observers.

He wanted to make a contribution to the dialogue with his opinion, De Paolis said, continuing in the interview. At the same time he insists that he would also like to add an opposing vote in the Synod of Bishops. "So I would have no problem". De Paolis argued against the idea that one can only change the praxis without calling into question here previous doctrine. There should be no conflict between teaching and everyday pastoral care, says De Paolis.

The Cardinal pointed out that he had first released the essay question months ago. Among the other authors of this volume are also the prefect of the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine and the Faith, Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller as well as the retired German Cardinal Walter Brandmüller. Their contributions have been previously published already elsewhere. (C) 2014 CBA Catholic News Agency. All rights reserved. Any media usage and forwarding only under written agreements with CBA allowed.

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

Link to Katholisches... AMDG

Stift Melk: Abbot Complained About to CDF by Local Laity

Edit:  We’d reported last week that a defrocked priest was to be the retreat director at a dying Benedictine Monastery in Austria, Stift Melk.  St. John’s Abbey in Collegeville regularly engages in this sort of thing, but the local laity of St. Cloud only grumble, perhaps, or are resigned that nothing will ever be done about the Modernist Monastery.  Well, we criticize the bishops of Vienna and St. Pölten all the time, like the Abbott of Melk.  We’re shocked to hear that there are monks opposed to this sort of thing.  It’s still more astonishing that the neoconservative kathnet has reported it.

What will be interesting to hear is if anything is done.  Could Collegeville be due for a visitation?

Eugen Drewermann has held the annual retreat for the monks of the Abbey of Melk at the invitation of the abbot. Believers have complained to Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller.

Vatican / Melk (kath.net / jg)
The affair of Eugen Drewermann's appearance at the annual retreat of the Benedictines of the Abbey of Melk has led to complaints at the CDF. Believers have informed Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller, the President of the CDF,  in a letter about the annual retreat held by Eugen Drewermann at the invitation of Abbot Gerhard Wilfinger. kath.net has reported .

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The kath.net This letter mentions further transgressions of the abbott of Melk. This claims that ​​monks who had criticized the invitation to Drewermann were "silenced". Wilfinger has shown little of a Catholic attitude in public  and regularly criticize the bishops of St. Pölten and Vienna. On the other hand, he did not respond to grievances that relate to his monastery.  One of the monks of the Stift  lives with a woman and has confirmed this in the media. 

Complaints from the faithful to Abbot Wilfinger have simply ignored, it says in the letter. The Diocese of St. Pölten did not want to comment about the request from kath.net on the matter. Bishop Küng, however, has no direct right to give instructions about the responsible person of Melk Abbey.

Link to Katholisches…

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Cardinal Kasper Distorts the Church Fathers, In Order to Allow Divorced and Remarried to Communion

(Rome) Another theologian explained that Cardinal Walter Kasper Cardinal at the consistory in late February distorted the Church Fathers and manipulated quotations to justify the allowance remarried divorcees.

According to the Prefect of the CDF, Cardinal Gerhard Müller, according to the former President of the Pontifical Committee of Historical Sciences, Cardinal Walter Brandmüller, according questions about marriage that John Paul II's most esteemed theologian on matters of marriage and the family, Cardinal Carlo Caffarra, according to a leading canonist of the Roman Curia, Cardinal Velasio De Paolis and according to Cardinal Thomas Collins, a "rising star in the College of Cardinals," says Vatican expert Sandro Magister, and now also took one of the most important voices of the Australian theology, Adam G. Cooper, member of the International Association for Patristic Studies even made a statement.

Patristic Scholar Cooper Dismantles Kasper's "Theorem"

Cooper dismantled Kasper's "Theorem" and disagreed with the assertion of the German emeritus Cardinal that there is a possibility to allow remarried divorcees to receive Communion. A thesis advanced by Kasper at Cardinal Consistory from privileged position allowed by Pope Francis  with a view to the October 2014 and 2015 Synods on the family. 

In a lengthy essay in a respectful, but unambiguous tone that was published by the Catholic World Report , patristics expert examined the quoted Cardinal Kasper in support of its argument places of the Church Fathers: Origen, Basil, Gregory of Nazianzus and the Canon 8 of the Council of Nicea.

"Unfortunate that Cardinal Kasper, has distorted the testimonies of the early Church"

Cooper can prove that none of the references cited by Kasper's points can infer admission to  Communion for remarried divorcees. Cooper's conclusion reads: "It is unfortunate that Cardinal Kasper has distorted the testimony of the early Church to this extent for a pastoral solution he seems to represent". For the overall question, says the Australian theologian,  the subject is complex and is not to say that there are answers exactly  to the problems of today which must follow from what stands in the writings of the Church Fathers. These can not derive  in any case  an admission of remarried divorcees to Communion. But this breaks down the whole argument of Cardinal Kasper, who justified his thesis in a misleading manner by reference to the Church Fathers.

Text: Giuseppe Nardi
image: Timone
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
Link to Katholisches...
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Bishop Voderholzer Will Be Assigned to the CDF

Edit:  We just saw on Katholisches that Pope Francis has named the Bishop of Regensburg Rudolf Voderholzer as a member of the Vatican Congregation for Doctrine and the Faith.  It will be announced on Wednesday, today.

Some may recall that His Lordship said Mass in St. Peter’s with unjustly disgraced Bishops Walter Mixa of Augsburg and Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst of Limburg.

He received his episcopal consecration from the hands of the Old Liberal Cardinal Marx.

"Hit and Sunk" -- Pope Francis Promotes Former Critic to Useless Position in CDF

(Rome / Buenos Aires) Monday brought two newsworthy events in Rome. One as Pope Francis "sunk" a former critic in Argentina. On the other hand is was announced that  the Argentine Pope has given  the Italian Bishops Conference more leeway than any other pope, who  in reality has put it on a shorter leash  than any predecessor.

On Monday afternoon Pope Francis opened the Spring General Assembly of the Italian Episcopal Conference with a speech. Unlike any that has ever been given. The Pope as Bishop of Rome as automatically been the President since the formation of the Episcopal Conference. All Popes so far, however, are represented by a delegate appointed by them, but never intervened obviously  by their presence in the work of the Bishops' Conference. With the election of Pope Francis everything seemed to be quite different.

Pope Francis Intevenes a More in Bishops Conference than any pope before

Surprisingly the Argentine Pope announced that he would  dispense with the nominal presidency and offered the bishops of the to choose a president for themselves from their own ranks in the future as all the other Bishops' Conferences (except Belgium). Since then Pope Francis has only intervened  more and more significantly in the Italian Episcopal Conference than any other pope before him. The  president,  appointed by Benedict XVI., Archbishop Angelo Cardinal Bagnasco of Genoa although he is still in office, however, Pope Francis has appointed a deputy and a new Secretary General. Both offices have been occupied on a proposal of the presiding delegate. Bagnasco only learned later of the personnel decisions of the Pope, which equaled his disempowerment in both cases.

"Only laconically," says the Vaticanista Sandro Magister, was he informed by the Holy See with a terse press statement of a change in Personnel. "The Holy Father Francis, has appointed S. Ex. Monsignor José Luis Mollaghan, formerly Metropolitan Archbishop of Rosario (Argentina), as a member of the to be erected commission for clerics at the CDF to address delicta graviora."

Punitive Action Against Archbishop Mollaghan of Rosario

Rosario is an Archdiocese of two million inhabitants. "Archbishop Mollaghan, at 68, has certainly not yet reached the end of his career," said Magister. The abrupt removal from Argentina, his appeal to Rome under the direct control of the pope and his banishment to a not even existing curial phantom office, which is not yet built, says everything about the fact that the impact is definitive,"  says the Vaticanist.

To understand the reason for this punishment by Pope Francis against one of the most renowned Argentine bishops, Magister suggests the  "most accurate and credible", to look up the previously existing  Pope's biographies in the book, "Francis, Life and Revolution" by the Argentine journalist Elisabetta Piqué .

Criticism of Bergoglio: Too Lenient About Politics, Pastoral Gestures Too Daring, Too Little Defense of the Doctrine of the Faith

In the chapter,  that pique applied by the opponents of Bergoglio in Argentina, Archbishop Mollaghan in place together with Archbishop Hector Aguer of La Plata and the Apostolic Nuncio Adriano Bernardini in the first place. Mollagahan had not only  accused the then Archbishop of Buenos Aires of not to defending Catholic doctrine, but of making bold, exaggerated or inappropriate gestures and being too pastorally soft on government.

Contact for the critics Bergoglios in Rome were originally from Argentina Cardinal Leonardo Sandri and former Argentine ambassador to the Holy See, Esteban "Cacho" Caselli  who appears now as before a continuing Gentleman of His Holiness appearing in the Pontifical Yearbook.

Past Episcopal Appointments Archbishop Bergoglio

The opposition  against the line of the Archbishop of Buenos Aires, says Piqué, reaches its climax in 2005/2006 reaches its climax when Nuncio Bernardini  appointmented  several bishops who were "embossed conservatives". Among them was also the new Archbishop of Rosario, José Luis Mollaghan and that of Resistencia, Fabriciano Sigampa. The appointments caused, according to Piqué,  progressive bishops unrest and discontent. Neither Mollaghan nor Sigampa had been named by the other Argentine bishops for these dioceses, said the journalist of La Nacion .

The Argentine website Pagina Catolica is a little clearer. The appointment of Archbishop Mollaghan was made ​​by bypassing  three candidates by Archbishop Bergoglio, who had operated as Archbishop of Buenos Aires in an intensive personnel policy in the appointment of bishops. While Bergoglio let the theologian who was admonished by  Rome, Galician  Andrés Torres Queiruga, whom the CDF  accused of "implicitly"  denying the resurrection of Jesus Christ, continue to speak freely in his diocese in 2012, Mallaghan imposed a ban for his diocese in Catholic institutions.

Archbishop  Sigampa has been emeritus since February 2013. As was the case under Benedict XVI. he was still  Archbishop until the completion of the 77th year of life in office. On February 26, 2013 it took two days  after the resignation German Pope for the resignation of Sigampa. Archbishop Mollaghan has now been "hit and sunk" by Pope Francis, says Magister. Only Archbishop Aguer of La Plata is still in place. "But his fate seems sealed", so  at least says the Vaticanist Magister.

Text: Giuseppe Nardi
image: Settimo Cielo

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

Katholisches...

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The Catholic Faith Isn't an Easy Feel Good Religion

Marktl (Catholic news / CBA). The prefect of the Roman Congregation of the Faith, Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller, has involved himself again in the debate over the Church's handling of the divorced and remarried. On a visit to Marktl am Inn on Thursday, he warned against a "timid and spiritless" leap on any train. Before going, one must know in which direction he's going, Müller said. The Catholic faith is not a "feel-good religion" and the comfy is not always the best. In view of marital problems and a desire to divorce, Müller said, a marriage could have known ups and downs. "It isn't an everlasting honeymoon," said the cardinal. A principle should apply: "We have to adapt to what God wants from us." Müller commented at the opening of the special exhibition "Holy Popes and Their Colleague, Joseph Ratzinger" at the birthplace of Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI. The show focuses on the canonizations last Sunday of Popes John XXIII. (1958-1963) and John Paul II (1978-2005) from the perspective of the counciliar theologian and Cardinal Ratzinger. Source: © CBA. All rights reserved Photo: Cardinal Müller - image source: M. citizens, Kath News Link to Kathnews... AMGD

Cardinal Müller About Cardinal Kasper: “Can only speak for himself"

(Rome) The German editors of Vatican Radio streamed an interview on Monday  with Gerhard Ludwig Müller, Cardinal Prefect of the Congregation of Doctrine and the Faith. In connection with the  Consistory Cardinal Kasper's running discussion on divorced and remarried, Cardinal Müller said that he was the Prefect of the Congregation sharing in the Magisterium of the Pope, "while others who talk here, even if they are of the cardinal rank, simply speak only for themselves personally and do not  make an official statement. "

Vatican Radio: Your Eminence, the Pope wants a debate. He wants it to take place in two synods on marriage and family. How do you see the role of the CDF in this upcoming debate?

Cardinal Müller: The CDF will  participate at  this point, but of course in all matters of Catholic doctrine on the level of the truths of faith. I think it is important for the public perception to overcome the narrowing now to only on one subject, as if that would be the solution of all. There is much about getting back centrally to usher the Church's teaching of marriage and family to the consciousness of the Catholic faith, because only when we talk about the success of  marriage and  family have we contributed to this, can we make a positive difference.

Vatican Radio: In public opinion, they are so often perceived or presented as the brakeman or the naysayers when it comes to the Initiatives of the Pope. Does it touch you personally?

Cardinal Müller: Of course, this is now a propaganda that is made specifically to me to construct a contrast to what the Prefect of the CDF or the congregation as a whole, it is only the primus inter pares, has to do. This is clearly just defined by the statutes. However,  also means that we ensure that the Pope is not appropriated for specific goals. It's just interesting that now the time so many groups rely on the Pope, who previously almost invariably rejected the papacy. In this respect, it comes to us in any case that we serve the Pope and the Church, and we are not  served by the Pope. 

Vatican Radio: The debate I just mentioned which has indeed been initiated  by the Pope,   included your participatition too. There are circles, especially in the Italian media, "Il Foglio", a newspaper even went so far  as to say it, there was a campaign against Cardinal Kasper for several days. What is their stake in the debate? What do you demand in the upcoming debate, which far transcends even  the congregations in the Vatican?

Cardinal Müller: I'm not involved as a private theologian, but it is in this function, the CDF is indeed the only one of the Roman congregations, which immediately has a share in providing the Magisterium of the Pope, while others who register here, even if they are of the cardinal rank,  are simply speaking personally for themselves and not to make an official statement.

Vatican Radio: Let's go one step further. It's not just cardinals, who are  participating but there is still a questionnaire, which has indeed generated an attitude of great expectations. Now once it is asked positively: What can the international involvement and suggestions have in the debate, what can its positive contribution be?

Cardinal Müller: Yes it can be positive, I believe,  in its contribution,  very much in  that  Catholics again deal with their own faith and not simply isolate this or that exception from the liturgy,  or  the Church's teaching. We need to see the relationship of preaching and pastoral care of the teaching of the Church but also Diakonia. Can I choose, am  I very socially engaged  or am I doing charitable works at the church, but the worship of God or the celebration of the Sacraments, which doesn’t matter to  me so personally. But the questionnaire as such is no dogma, which is worth as much and just means  as  much as the quality of the questions and the relationship that is given or is not given.

Vatican Radio: You are a man of clear words, which we have just heard. I think it also goes back far in history. Is this the role of the CDF to speak or rather is it  Gerhard Ludwig Müller who speaks?

Cardinal Müller: The CDF has a clear mandate to promote the Catholic faith, but also to protect.  But that is no other than the task  the Pope himself received from Jesus Christ and here we must mention I do not sit back in  comfort and ease to flirt with public opinion. That’s fine if you have the wind at your back and is inflated to a great size.   But I think this temptation must be resisted by every bishop and every priest, whether there is a desire to  hear it or not.

Text: Vatican Radio
Image: Il Foglio
Trans: Tancred99@hotmail.com

Link to Katholisches….

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