Showing posts with label France. Show all posts
Showing posts with label France. Show all posts

Wednesday, April 6, 2016

French Bishop Doesn't Know That Pedophilia is a Sin


(Paris) The French Bishop Stanislas Lalanne has said that pedophilia is  "evil," but he "could not say" whether pedophilia is a sin. The statements of the bishop were challenged in a  protest by a victim's organization. [Why not the vaunted Catholic blogdim,  or more importantly, local Catholics.] They said that  words of the bishop were "embarrassing" and for the victims, "degrading". [They're not even Catholic.]

"Paedophilia is an evil. But is it a sin? I don't know to decide. It is different for each person. However, it is an evil, and the most important thing to do is to protect the victim or potential victim. "

These were the words the bishop used on the radio station RCF, an association of 63 Christian, francophone radio stations.

Bishop Lalanne took part in a program entitled "The Church of France and pedophilia." The broadcaster addressed the accusations against Cardinal Philippe Barbarin, Archbishop of Lyon, that the office of the prosecutor  is investigating the suspicion that he had not precented a priest of his diocese in time from sexual violence.

The Association La Parole Libérée which had drawn attention to the sexual abuse by a priest of the Archdiocese of Lyon, protested today with a declaration on the words of Bishop Lalanne. His statements were "embarrassing" and also "degrading to the victims of pedophilia".

Msgr. Lalanne was born in 1948 in Metz and consecrated a priest in 1975 for the diocese of Versailles. In 1997 he headed the press office at World Youth Day in Paris and later the Pastoral Office of the Diocese of Versailles. In 2007 he was appointed by Pope Benedict XVI. bishop of Coutances and appointed in 2013 as the bishop of Pontoise.


Text: Giuseppe Nardi

Picture: Youtube (Screenshot)

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

AMDG


Sunday, April 3, 2016

"Worrying Trend of Antagonism to Christians" - Arson Attacks Against Churches

Burning Church of Ylivieska
(Helsinki) The number of arson attacks against churches is in a "worrying" trend, says Corrispondenza Romana.  Behind this stands an increasing hostility towards Christians. Two of the latest examples speak for themselves.
On Easter night, a Lutheran church in the Finnish city of Ylivieska was burned.  The old wooden church, which had been built in 1786, was swept away by the flames.  Despite the immediate intervention of the fire brigade, the church could not be saved.
The faithful were appalled. They insisted in celebrating Easter service at the burned church. The firefighters left no doubt. It was arson. Since the fire was set at the Easter Vigil, where the Christians would commemorate the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the grave, there is little doubt that this was a targeted anti-Christian action. A 30-year man is said to have been arrested, according to social networks.  

Arsons in Calais

Saint Pierre of Calais
The fire of Ylivieska is not an isolated case.  Last January two Catholic churches in France were set on fire. A church in Fontainebleau and in Veneux-les-Sablons. Both churches are consecrated to Saint King Louis IX. 
Last Tuesday unknown individuals set fire to the Catholic Church of St. Peter of Calais in northern France. Also in this case, no people were injured. The cultural and moral damage, however, is large.
In Calais the rapid deployment of the fire brigade prevented worse. The organ, a lectionary and altar vestments were damaged. The fire had been set at five different locations. The Mass on Wednesday morning has been canceled because the police had closed the church closed for the investigation.
On Wednesday afternoon because of the sacrilegious attack, a rite of reparation took place instead.  Then  Holy Mass was celebrated. Pastor Pierre Poidevin filed a complaint with the police against the unknown persons.
"Calais, which is flooded with  uncontrolled mass immigration, has experienced, simultaneously with complete indifference of the media and authorities, a criminal form of Christian hostility", said press agency Medias Press Info . The arson in the Saint-Pierre Church was no more than an example.
Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Image: Corrispondenza Romana / No Cristianofobia (screenshots)
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
AMDG

Friday, April 1, 2016

Basilica of Saint Vincent Turned into Nightclub for Easter Sunday

Edit: very different rites were held this Easter at the Basilica of Saint Vincent in Metz, France. The ancient Gothic edifice dating back to the 14th century has been hijacked by a nightclub promoter for the purpose of turning it into a dance hall with the approval of Metz's current secular rulers.  Like goblins and imps, the youth and some not-so-youth of the city have misused these halls which were once the earthly home of God almighty, as a nightclub from 8am to 10pm.   The event's promoter, Irenaeus Sutter, pretends innocence and insists that he does not understand the negative reactions, which include about 20% of those hundreds who've contacted him so far via e-mai.

 Some suggest that since this building has been deconsecrated that it may be used for profane and immoral purposes.  Naturally, we disagree.  It is unfortunate that there aren't apparently enough Catholics in Metz remaining to stop such sacrilegious acts.

Riposte Catholique is one of the first Catholic blogs to post on this that we know.  

The French State controls and supports church properties, an unfortunate state of affairs in effect since 1905.  It's often been far from clear that French secularism appreciates the hallowed nature of these places and that even when effectively removed from regular use, still have the symbology of the Christian faith, which opportunists love to mock in the spirit of the age.

Tuesday, February 9, 2016

Newspaper of the French Bishops Seeks Lifting of Excommunication for Freemasons

(Paris) On the 26th of November 1983, the Roman Congregation reaffirmed with  Pope John Paul II's  express approval, a declaration of incompatibility of Freemasonry with the Catholic Church.
The ruling was then deemed necessary by then Prefect of the CDF, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger. Since  January 1983,  membership was in the Masonic lodge was not explicitly mentioned in the new Code of Canon Law, as it occurred in several countries, there was the assertion, including Austria, that Freemasons were no longer excommunicated. Catholics, therefore, asked Rome for clarification, and that took place with particular haste in November of the same year.
"The negative judgment of the Church on Masonic associations, therefore, remains unchanged because their principles have always been considered irreconcilable with the doctrine of the Church and therefore membership in them continues to be prohibited. The faithful who belong to Masonic associations are therefore in the state of grave sin and may not receive Holy Communion."
This excommunication was reaffirmed and clarified:
"It is not within the competence of local ecclesiastical authorities to give a judgement on  the nature of Masonic associations  which would imply a derogation of what is ruled from above."

La Croix wants a lifting of the excommunication for lodge brothers



Beschürzte lodge brothers
Beschürzte lodge brothers

Nevertheless, there are "wordly Catholics" who brush aside  the excommunication or deny it flatly. "Some people have no qualms about openly showing their disapproval. Belonging to the Masonic Lodge is more important than obedience to the Church," said Corrispondenza Romana .
The most recent example is La Croix , the daily newspaper of the French Bishops' Conference . On January 25, it complained that there are many severe "exclusions" which are really "painful" that only include "Masons," "who profess the Catholic faith".
According to La Croix there are "judgments", like  that justified by the CDF justified and "understood" for a time in which the lodges were avowedly been anticlerical. Today, however, that is, at least according to the newspaper of the French Bishops' Conference, no longer the case.
Instead of a justification for this assertion, La Croix  introduces that omnipresent commitment to "dialogue" onto the field: "Is it really applicable in a context such as the present, that condemnation no longer benefits dialog?" In order to "liberate"  the apron clad brothers from the self-imposed exile from church, the   newspaper refers to the "Holy Year of Mercy", "Why not finally eliminate this charge from the category of 'serious sins' for the Year of Mercy?"
The daily paper of the French Episcopal Conference can think of no reason why the Masons should be excommunicated. To be precise, the newspaper makes no attempt to find a reason. It merely refers to a "past" that is no longer applicable now without explaining when to what and why it should be changed.
"The answer is quite simple. The accusation of grave sin can not be eliminated because Freemasonry has neither changed nor has ever done anything to change. Its goal is to be the destruction of  organic and natural society. It supports  positions and behaviors that are absolutely incompatible with the Catholic faith from an ethical and social point of view and those things about which they rather avowedly disagree, such as divorce, abortion, homosexuality, gender ideology, euthanasia and many others," said Corrispondenza Romana .
If the distance were  reduced, it would be because the progressive part of the Church have come closer with their "holes" to the positions of the lodges, "if it is not  result in a deadly embrace."
The outspoken condemnation on April 28, 1738 by Pope Clement XII. with the Bull In Eminenti   has lost none of its  validity. Most importantly, it leaves no room for doubt. "It would not be bad if those  in the daily newspaper of the French bishops consider it and perhaps would read this excommunication on occasion," said Corrispondenza Romana .

Vienna cathedral minister Toni Faber and his Aproned Lodge Brothers 

Among those who flout the current condemnation of Freemasonry, is Vienna's cathedral pastor, Msgr. Toni Faber. In 2010 he was with the former Grand Master of the Austrian Grand Lodge guest on the private television channel TW1.
When asked about the statement of the CDF and the excommunication upon entry into a lodge,  Faber said: instead of Cardinal Ratzinger we are more obliged  "thankfully, to Cardinal König".  In Austria, "Thank God, it's always" been "that Masons who have asked the Cardinal  König: 'Is it permissible for me as a sincere Catholic to belong in the Lodge,' have always received approval from him."
Faber gave the impression that the attitude to Freemasonry is merely personal judgment call. The "approval" that Cardinal König gave, according to Faber, however, was null and void because he had no responsibility to make the decision.
Faber's outspoken representation illustrates that ecclesiastical regulations are thwarted in the highest places. Faber was open in the broadcast  about his personal contacts with "many" Freemasons, which he invariably called "convinced Catholics", only to boast about them, because he could be sure  to be fear nothing from the supervising office.
The alleged harmlessness of the lodges by Toni Faber in 2010, and now of La Croix is so far that one might wonder why  supposedly "upright" and "convinced Catholics" find it important to live in disobedience to their own Church, to belong to an allegedly so harmless a club.

The video broadcast with Cathedral Pastor Faber, first published on Youtube, since deleted, can still be seen on Gloria.tv in German. 




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

Monday, December 28, 2015

French Pastor Threatened by Prefect and Punished by His Bishop -- An Unwanted Truth About the Attacks in Paris


To Contact the Bishop and complain
 Mgr Jean-Paul Mathieu 
 7, rue de la Préfecture 88025 Epinal Cedex 
 03 29 82 21 63   
http://www.catholique-vosges.fr/


(Paris) The minister spoke of an inconvenient truth and was punished for it, and not by those who he had criticized, but by his superiors.
On Sunday, November 29,  Msgr. François Schneider, the pastor of Wisembach in the Lorraine Vosges addressed the bloody bombings  which had 16 had days earlier shocked Paris in his sermon. He also mentioned that "Satan sang" at the concert in the concert hall Bataclan during the time of the attack of Islamic terrorists,  and thus pointed to a link. In the attack 89 concertgoers were killed, hundreds were injured.

Bishop demanded a public apology from the priest

This statement was made immediately by the competent Bishop, Msgr. Jean-Paul Mathieu of Saint Die. This called for the priest to apologize publicly for his statement, and in turn, to do this in a Sunday Mass. A statement, which Msgr. Schneider was to comply with last December 20 at the end of the liturgy. He is to practice "self-criticism" and read a statement, which - according to Riposte Catholique - was drafted by the bishop. In this the priest expressed his regret that there had been outraged media reactions because of his statements to the laity there present.
According to the daily newspaper Vosges Matin the Department Prefect had even threatened the pastor with criminal penalties on the instructions of the French Ministry of the Interior.  The Catholics of Wisembach are appalled at the harshness against the pastor by  the media, authorities and his superiors. "One wants to put a  muzzle on Christianity" said Corrispondenza Romana of their mood.
The pastor also received numerous expressions of solidarity. Parishioners wrote the local newspaper. It says: "He is a good priest, we have always appreciated. What he is going through, in no way changes our attitude towards him. He has been criticized by those who almost never go to Mass. [This is almost always the case that those who are the most ignorant of Catholicism and do not live its precepts feel they have the most right to criticize it and be heard.] "

Lyrics "inspired by Satanism" - parish was ordered "collective transformation"



Jesse Hughes from Eagles of Death Metal in Bataclan

Pastor Schneider was also defended by Emmanuel Delhourne, the President of the association "Christians in Politics". "What was said by Msgr. Schneider was the truth. The lyrics of the group Eagles of Death Metal is inspired by Satanism," said Delhourne. The American rock band Eagles of Death Metal was playing on stage when the terrorists struck.
The journalist Yves Daoudel expressed the suspicion that behind the whole affair the government desires to suppress unwanted opinions. Also Riposte Catholique wrote: "The Marxist-Leninist dictatorship does not give up, no matter under what name, till the class enemy is destroyed."
The Vicar General of the Diocese of Saint Die which declared: "Our first goal was that Msgr Schneider makes this declaration.  Now it is only to wait andd  watch the thing to consider further. It is still too early to say anything."  He hinted to the fact that the matter had therefore not yet been completed. It became known that a priest who is active in the field of hard rock music, soon to come after Wisembach to provide the Catholic faithful with a "collective transformation" when it comes to hard rock music. "That the Church has such a penchant for self-destruction, is something that not even their most bitter opponents had dared to hope," said Corrispondenza Romana.
At the time when Islamic terrorists struck the Bataclan, the band played Eagles of Death Metal on stage the song "Kiss the Devil". In the chorus of the song, the words repeated in a penetrating way: "Who'll love the devil? Who'll sing his song? I will love the devil and his song! Who'll kiss the tongue of the devil? I'll kiss the devil on his tongue!."
But this part of the story does not seem to fit into the image of the French government, which is why it  the Prefect makes his threats, to apply pressure to the diocese and the media rushing against a country parson.
Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Image: Inotos / Corrispondenza Romana
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
AMDG

Wednesday, September 9, 2015

France: Muslim Faces Three Months in Prison For Refusing to Officiate "Gay Marriage"

Sabrina Hout is being recommended by prosecutors for
three months in prison, because she refused to
conclude a "gay marriage".
 (Paris) France teaches you to  rotate the world around yourself and be confused.  Three prosecutors are seeking three months in prison for a Vice Mayor, Socialist and "practicing Moslem"   because she had refused to officiate a "gay marriage."
Sabrina Hout was voted in the municipal elections in 2014 as part of the ruling Socialist Party of Francoise Hollande as  President to the Municipal Council of the VIII. Secteur Marseilles. Actually, the case should have been handled with caution. But it turned out differently.The Marseilles prosecutor, Marie Blanche Regnier, is asking for three months in prison and a fine of 1,500 euros because of "discrimination based on sexual orientation". The young District Vice Mayor in the second largest city in France after Paris refers to herself as "a practicing Muslim" and demanded "respect for her religious beliefs".

"Gay marriage" law does not provide for conscientious objection

Sabrina Hout is the first case in France, where a government representative has been brought to justice, since 2013, the Socialist Party, to which  Hout belongs,  legalized "gay marriage" (Marriage pour tous). The law put in force   by President Hollande does not provide a clause for conscientious objection.
As at 16 August 2014, two lesbians appeared at the city hall of the VIII. Secteur to enter into a "gay marriage,"  while  Hout,  who is responsible for the family area, asked another council to represent them. That would, however, not have been possible for legal reasons. Hout, therefore, had to sign the relevant documents for the couple, but was represented at the ceremony for the actual formal act.

"Instead of Catholics and fascists we have a young, modern, leftist Muslim in front of us"

The Deputy Mayor was denounced in-house. The lesbian "gay marriage"  was first canceled and then subsequently confirmed. The result was that they initiated a complaint against the Deputy Mayor.  District Mayor Samia Ghali, of Algerian descent, also Moslem and socialist as Hout, withdrew her colleague from all responsibilities. The prosecutor opened proceedings for the falsification of documents.
On September 29 Hout will know whether the judges will follow the recommendation of the prosecutor.  The prosecutor referred to her  plea to fight  on behalf of the two lesbians as "legitimate and correct."
The lawyer of the two complaintants, Philipe Vouland, is also pushing for a condemnation, "to set a precedent." Literally he said: "In the fight for marriage for all, the [homosexuals]  associations expect to have to cross  blades with proper heterosexuals,  Catholics,  sexists and fascists. Instead, we came across a young, modern, single, leftist woman,  and Moslem."

Aberrosexual organizations have labelled Hout as a "homophobic monster"

Hout told the court that she had "never wanted to discriminate against  anyone," but just wanted to respec her religious beliefs. She finds support in the Mayors'  Association mayors pour l'enfance.  This found that the Taubira-law legalizing "gay marriage" known as Article 9 of the ECHR,  infringes upon the assurance to every person of freedom of thought, freedom of conscience and freedom of religion.
President Hollande had assured the French Mayors on 20 November 2012: "The law is applied to all, but in respect for freedom of conscience."
2015 brought nothing more to hear. The aberrosexual organizations have branded Sabrina Hout  as a "homophobic monster."  "You have insulted me by calling me a homophobe, which is completely false.  I've been through Hell. My name was in all the newspapers ... At  work I was insulted in every possible way, even as a terrorist and Jihadist!"
The lesbian couple, Claude and Helene, hopes to reach a judgment against Sabrina Hout  that "is an example for the implementation of the law".
Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Image: Tempi
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotail.com
AMDG




Friday, August 14, 2015

France: Catholics are Under Police Protection for the Feast of the Assumption



Terror Prevention on Feast of the Assumption

Paris (kath.net/ idea.de )) - The Catholic churches in France are under increased police protection for the prevention of terrorist attacks. The event: On August 15, Catholics celebrate "The Assumption" where about 150,000 visitors are expected just in the Parisian cathedral of Notre Dame alone.

The Catholic Bishops Conference recommends that churchgoers be particularly vigilant and to leave no bags unattended during the Mass. On the same day the Catholic churches will also ring their bells at 12 noon in solidarity with the persecuted Christians of the Middle East. Already in April the French police intensified the protective measures for 178 churches, after a terrorist attack in the Paris suburb of Villejuif had been frustrated. In January, the security level for Catholic and Protestant churches and synagogues and mosques had been increased as a result of attacks on the offices of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and a Jewish supermarket. Of the 65.8 million inhabitants of France approximately 64.3 percent are Catholics, about 4.3 percent are Muslims, about 1.9 percent are Protestants, about one per cent Buddhist and 0.6 percent Jewish. The rest are mostly without a confession. Link to kath.net... Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com AMDG

Saturday, August 8, 2015

It Should Have Been the Largest Bloodbath of Christians -- Jihadist Shoots Himself in the Foot

Massacre of Christians Prevented in France
(Paris) He wanted to inflict the biggest massacre on Christians in France. The attack was held on Sunday,  April 19. Sid Ahmed Ghlam stood ready, armed with a Kalashnikov to penetrate during the Sunday Mass in the Catholic Church of Villejuif. His goal: to kill hundreds of Christians. Then the jihadist accidentally shot  himself in the foot ...
On April 19,  an emergency call center was contacted.  A man asked for help. "I'm outdoors. I've been shot in the foot," the duty officer in the emergency center carefully asked for a clarification:  "Shot in the foot! With a gun? "

Bombers had Chosen Two Churches in Villejuif Near Paris

It is hard to imagine what would happen to would not undermine the Islamic terrorists Sid Ahmed Ghlam the misfortune.The 24 year old Muslim Sid Ahmed Ghlam comes from Algeria and was planning on that Sunday, April 19, 2015 to storm  the Catholic church Sainte Therese of Villejuif in Val de Marne south of Paris. He had two chosen among the churches of Villejuif, Saint Therese and Saint Cyr-Sainte Julitte. He wanted to cause a bloodbath like the Islamist militia Boko Haram in Nigeria and al-Shabaab in Kenya. Wanted, with the difference that Sid Ahmed Ghlam would wreak carnage in the middle of Europe and therefore attract a lot more attention. He named his assassination target even after his arrest.
Three months after the "prevented" assassination   the daily newspaper Le Monde reported the background.
As Sid Ahmed Ghlam was brought bleeding from an ambulance to the hospital, arrived and police. Then it happened in quick succession. The police followed the trail of blood and went to his car. In the vehicle they found a Kalashnikov, two pistols, a bulletproof vest and written evidence of a planned assassination, including accurate location information to the two churches of Villejuif.

Murder of young mother Aurelie Chatelain

He is accused of the murder of 32 year old Aurelie Chatelain, mother of a five year-old daughter. Chatelain had been shot and then set on fire in her car. When the police found the charred body, initially a robbery was suspected.  Meanwhile, the investigators believe that Chatelain had to die because Ghlam mistook her for a police officer in plain clothes.
Ghlam claims meanwhile, to have nothing to do with the murder of Chatelain. He confirmed that an attack had been planned at the church, but wanted another person present at the scene to commit,  which was prevented. He had suffered the gunshot wound.
When the police carried out a house search at the home  address of Ghlam, they found three Kalashnikovs and other bulletproof vests. Who had armed him? According to Le Monde, Sid Ahmed Ghlam was "remote controlled from Syria" to the last detail. His direct contact man was a French citizen of Toulouse, who had converted to Islam and has joined the battle of the Islamic State (IS) in 2014 in Syria. Previously, he was incarcerated in France five years in prison for supporting terrorism. Ghlam also maintained contacts with Mohammed Merah,  Islamic terrorist, who committed three separate attacks in Toulouse and Montauban on March 2012 in which three French soldiers, a Jewish rabbi, whose two children and the daughter of the Jewish headmaster were killed. Another soldier survived, seriously injured, as well as a 17 year old Jewish student. On March 22, the Islamist bomber was located ​​and killed.

Islamist network in Europe: contacts with assassins of Paris, Toulouse, Montauban and Nice

2013/2014 Ghlam lived in Reims. His apartment was only a few meters away from that of  Saïd Kouachi, one of the two bombers to the editors of Charlie Hebdo.
In addition to handlers in the Middle East  three additional personas have helped Sid Ghlam in opbtaining  the arsenal.  One of them, Rabah R., is known  to the French secret service as an "old acquaintance". Several times he was questioned in connection with the Islamic terrorism. The other two men were not yet known to the security forces. As it turned out, they were close to Moussa Coulibaly who had attacked three French soldiers last February in Nice, and had contacts with a Moroccan jihadist group.
In the home of Sid Ahmed Ghlam the police discovered documents proving connections to other people in the Islamist network. Sid Ahmed Ghlam is just one of the ticking time bombs who is preparing, under  the protection of Europe's legal and social order, a  cathartic terror act. The attack on the church in Villejuif should have caused many more deaths than the assassination of the editor of the satirical leftist weekly Charlie Hebdo. At the church selected by Ghlam, 300 people participate in Holy Mass every Sunday.
In  2001, he came for the first time with his family to France. In 2003 he returned to Algeria. After finishing school, he moved in 2010 in the wake of "family reunification," all the way to France.
Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Image: Tempi
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
AMDG

Friday, August 7, 2015

The Hidden Catholics of Tibet

A nomad in Tibet
(Hong Kong)  "In the middle of Tibet, in areas away from the main roads, which are often accessible only by foot, Tibetan Catholics have preserved their faith, even though they no longer have a priest for more than 50 years." The Vatican expert Marco Tosatti is concerned in an article with the destiny of a forgotten Catholic community on the "roof of the world." Tibet, from a European perspective, is a land of mystery and unfulfilled longings, known mainly because of the Himalayas with the highest mountain peaks in the world and the seemingly mysterious Lamaist Buddhism. But Tibet also has a Christian history that is as old as the Buddhist.
Buddhism arrived in the 6th century to Tibet for the first time and started there in the centuries that followed spread. Christianity arrived at the same time, so 1,500 years ago for the first time in the barren highlands, as the historian of religion Philip Jenkins confirms. It was the Church of the East of the Nestorian Christians who brought the gospel even then to China. In 780 Timothy, the Catholicos of the Church of the East, wrote as "the Holy Spirit has anointed a metropolitan for the Turks in those days, and we are preparing the ordination of another for the Tibetans."

Catholic Villages in the Himalayas - Secret Catholics in Japan

The plant of the Christian mission was pulled over the past fifteen hundred years in China and in Tibet again and again by political upheaval. The situation today of Tibetan Catholics in their survival in the isolation recalls that of the Japanese Catholics who survived almost 300 years from the 16th to 19th centuries in the underground, and without a priest, completely hidden.
The existence of hidden Tibetan Catholics became famous recently by the French travel writer Constantin de Slizewicz who has  lived in the PRC for several years. In Les peuples oubliés du Tibet (The Forgotten People of Tibet), he reports on the middle location in the Himalayan village Baihanluo. It can be reached by mule tracks only on foot or in the saddle of a pack animal. In Baihanluo is a church in the middle of Tibet. It is made ​​of wood and dates from the late 19th century. It was built by Catholic missionaries of Société des Missions Etrangères de Paris (MEP). The Society of  Foreign Missions of Paris  was one of the 17th century missionary orders, to whom the evangelization of Tibet had been entrusted. The French Indochina missionaries followed the course of the valleys up out into the highlands of Tibet and founded "Persian Missions", as Mission offices in particularly dangerous and wild areas were described.
In 1949  the Communist Party came to rule  China, which was soon followed by the invasion of Tibet. As already several times in China and Tibet's history all foreign missionaries were expelled or murdered by the new rulers. The local Christians had to submit  and usually renounce their faith, if they wanted to stay alive. The Communists did not act differently.

The secret hope that one day the priests will come back

The Catholic Church of Bainhanluo
"The churches were closed or converted into  storehouses or schools. The Christians had no right  to carry religious articles. They were threatened with the arrest," writes de Slizewicz. Those who had a leadership role among Christians, was persecuted and interned in concentration camps called laogai, where they had to perform forced labor.
Some areas that are particularly isolated and were far away from the political centers, escaped the wave of persecution. Some remote villages even preserved their own churches. Catholics no longer have their priests. In this regard, the Communists had done a great job with their hunt. For half a century the Catholics persevered without priests.  They gather in their churches for prayer, as taught to them by the French missionaries and long for the times when they had a priest.
Despite the severe persecution, the Catholic faith has survived in the rural population in the underground. And in spite of the radical break that the communist regime imposed upon Catholics 50 years ago, by taking  all their priests from them, "the Tibetans felt drawn closer to  God" as de Slizewicz reported. "They have dedicated their lives to the faith. These Tibetans converted to Catholicism do not do it as half-baked. In nearly 50 years without a priest and sacraments, they have not forgotten a word of what they were taught by the missionaries in the last century." And they hope that one day a priest will come back to them.

They maintain the graves of the missionaries - In the nativity scene are a yak and mule

A Catholic Church in Tibetan Yunnan
In the most remote villages they cultivate with devotion the tombs of the first French missionaries, they have never ceased to pray, celebrate Easter and Christmas, the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Instead ox and ass they put a Yak and a female mule in the nativity scene. Thus they  have not forgotten the Latin and pray the Our Father in the Church language of Rome.
In Baihanluo which is situated in the midst of the highest mountains in the world on a ledge,  among the 400-500 people  in the Catholic village community of de Slizewicz  there still lives a vivid memory of Brother Zacharias, a catechist and lay missionary from the people of the Lahu, who live in the mountains of Yunnan  and speak a Sino-Tibetan language.  Zacharias was in his mid-40s when the Communists took power. Before the persecution he fled to Nationalist China, then Formosa, now Taiwan. When he retired, he wanted to return and resume his job as a catechist at their homeland. He slipped in to the hidden Catholics of Tibet, among whom he taught and died ten years ago at the age of one hundred years. "Zacharias was in all the churches pouring holy water from Lourdes in the water," said the residents. Lourdes and the Marian apparitions  were well known among them. "If someone fell ill, he was given a drop of it, and three days later he was well again."

In addition to the hidden villages of Catholics there are is also a vibrant underground Church in Tibet 

Tibetan Catholics at Communion
In the outlying churches the damp books left behind by French missionaries are still carried. Among them are prayer books in the Tibetan language, which were printed in the late 19th century in Hong Kong.  The mountain Catholics are supsicious of  the outside world. Even with the underground Church loyal to Rome in the more developed areas of Tibet they have no contact.
As Deng Xiaoping, Mao's successor granted opening in the state and party leadership,  previously destroyed churches were rebuilt in some places, as in Zhongding, a more accessible valley of Tibet. There  Annet Génestier buried, a French missionary of the Puy de Dome, is buried, who died in 1937 in Zhongding. Catholics maintain his fife as a souvenir of his arduous missionary journeys through Tibet. Today there is the 39-year-old Chinese priest Francis Han Sheng.  Because of state paternalism, all Catholics in the regime are forced to obey the  Patriotic Association, there are besides  the hidden Catholic villages in Tibet, also a lively underground Church true to Rome. Since of the Chinese occupation of Tibet,  Catholic association close to the regime is irrelevant in the highlands.
Francis Hang Sheng says that there are more than 10,000 Catholics in Tibet. There is a lack especially of priests and resources. He supervises 16 churches in the area, celebrates  Holy Mass,  offers the sacraments and  strengthens the faithful.
Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Image: Vatican Insider / Robert Hutchinson / China Daily News (screenshots)
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
AMDG

Wednesday, July 22, 2015

Vocations Crisis: Decline of the Diocesan Clergy -- Growth of Tradition

(Paris) In many areas in  secularized Europe a veritable spiritual desertification is taking place. Emblematic of this is the crisis of vocations in France. The figures speak for themselves: in 1966, France had 4,536 seminarians. A few years later, in 1975, their number had plummeted to 1,297. The decline had slowed, but it continued. In 1996, there were 1,103 seminarians. It was followed by another slump: in 2005 there were only 784. In 2011 they   finally achieved with 710 seminarians, the lowest since the time of the French Revolution.
If mathematics is not an opinion, the results since 1966 show a decline of 84 percent. "This is the result  of the modernist theologians turning to promote that with which they have destroyed the sense of the supernatural. The figures are of such clarity that they might bring even  ,modern' theologians to blush and should let them fall forever into a penitential silence. Anyway, they require no further comment," said the traditional  blogger Cordialiter .
What is needed is a serious analysis of a catastrophic situation. "Numbers are neither traditionalist nor modernist. They are facts that we need to take note of,"  says Cordialiter.
The situation in France is dramatic. In foreseeable next few years, there will be even fewer active priests.The average age of priests is in these dioceses is already at 75 years.

Key to the vocation crisis is ignored in the dioceses

"The situation is seriously dramatic. It is not a reason to sit back, but there is also no reason to despair," said Cordialiter. Within the vocation crisis, opposing trends can be observed. While the diocesan clergy almost threatens to go  extinct,  the orders and communities of the Old Rite are growing. The vocations that are growing  today, lead  young mento where the faith, the liturgy, the faithful to Christ,  Scripture and Tradition are taken seriously.
"The hope is that more seminaries will be opened, where it is makes ​​possible an even greater number of tradition-bound young men to strive for the Catholic priesthood. It is the holy priests, who will who will model their vocations." 
Where the Sacred Liturgy is celebrated reverently and worthily, where the teaching of Christ is faithfully proclaimed and the order of the Church is respected, there even today can be found vocations. These flourishing oases in the desert, the communities of tradition, some ancient monasteries and several new institutions should all come to the attention of Church leaders, for in them is hidden the key to overcome the crisis of vocations.
Astonishingly, the diocesan church leaders prove sluggish, disinterested or even hostile. "The dilemma is that the way to overcome the crisis of vocations is in front of everyone, but many - and I speak only of those who are responsible -. are looking pointedly away." One has the impression that they want no improvement. The reasons are complex and go deeper. It is not only "convenience" or "world adaptedness", but in many cases it is about a "different theology". In order to avoid having to address this  question, they would prefer to put up with the decline of priestly vocations. 
"The diocesan bishops are responsible for how they respond in their diocese to the vocation crisis, whether the good example is ignored or is imitated. They will be held accountable for it. Regardless of this  the dissolution of the diocesan clergy progresses and it is only a matter of time before the ordinations of  tradition exceed that the Novus Ordo, at least in France," said Cordialiter .
Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Image: FSSP
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
AMDG

Monday, July 20, 2015

Socialists Want to Block Establishment of "Fundamentalist" SSPX Capuchins

Edit: as Tiberge at Galliawatch notes, it's as if the Devil has commanded his minions to take action against a small settlement of good natured Capuchins who want to take over an abandoned Capuchin friary with the blessing of the local mayor.  Not even the mostly harmless local Ordinary doesn't seem to mind.  He'd prefer to avoid conflict. 

What is interesting to me is the similarity between the tactics, objections and what motivates the Socialists and those within the Catholic Church who use such strident language to attack the Society.
The councilor, Noëlle Aznar-Molliex explains herself at the Osons-Albertville website:  
 During the City Council meeting of July 6, mayor Martine Berthet had intended to put to a vote the turning over of the Clos des Capucins, a city property situated on mount Adolphe Hugues, at the entrance of the medieval village of Conflans, to the association of the Convent of Saint-François de Morgon, that hopes to renovate the site and install there a community.  
Osons-Albertville strongly opposes this plan. The truth is that the community of Capuchin monks of the Morgon convent, said to be "of traditional observance", is part of the line of thought of traditionalist and fundamentalist churches, that of the SSPX, and is not recognized by the church of Rome, because it has been in a state of schism since the Second Vatican Council. These communities reject ecumenism and all initiatives favoring inter-religious dialogue.
Link to Galliawatch...
AMDG

Friday, February 13, 2015

France: Marian Statue Must be Removed --- It "Violates" the Separation of Church and State

Publier: statue of Mary on Lake Geneva
(Paris) In 2011 a statue was built in a park of the French community Publier dedicated to Our Lady of Léman (near Lake Geneva). High up on a slope  the statue has since looked down on Lake Geneva.  Now was the Administrative Court of Grenoble, says the statue of Mary "violates secularism". It has stood  on public land in France since 1905, but  strict "separation of state and the Catholic Church" has rules. And because this is so, the statue has to be "removed". According to the Administrative Court, the local government should never have to issued a permit for the erection of the statue.

France's Don Camillo and Peppone Could Erect Statue of Mary

Publier is a town with 6,500 inhabitants. The town is located on the south shore about 120 meters above Lake Geneva in the midst of a wine region. With a wonderful location, the sunny-mild climate and suitable infrastructure,  Publier has grown rapidly during the past decades. In 1962, the municipality  had only 1,871 inhabitants.
Amazingly, Mayor Gaston Lacroix, a non-party leftists who belongs to the  Divers Gauche in France. He has lead since 2002 the fortunes of the community. He was able to defend the mayor's office in the local elections in 2014. In the council, he has a lush majority of 22 seats, and is faced with only five representatives of the opposition UMP and two independent rightists. His current term ends 2020th
The Mayor with the pious name Lacroix (the cross) describes himself as a "freethinker" and socialist and a member of the Association de la Libre Pensée de Haute-Savoie , as Lorenz Jäger in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported.

"Our Lady of the Lake Geneva Watch over your children"

Publier: statue must be removed from the park
He is disappointed abou the decision of the Administrative Court: "I did not think it would come so far. The statue is a reference point for all. All have supported me, even the Muslims."  Pastor Robert COLLOUD is also disappointed. He had organized together with Mayor Lacroix moving  the statue. It is a modern remake of Don Camillo and Peppone.
The free thinker and the priest knew the perils of secular state doctrine, which applies in republican France as an untouchable taboo. Since there was broad consensus for the relocation of the statue, they were looking for a way to satisfy any applicable law and still be able to put up the statue. And they believed this path has also been found.
The municipality leased a few square meters of public parks with the symbolic rent of three euros per square meter at a private club. Then on the other hand priest COLLOUD could locate it on the parish. The club was set up to make the statue and the small area in the park with the pedestal inscription: Notre-Dame-du-Léman veille sur tes enfants (Our Lady of the Lake Geneva watch over your children).

"Free thinkers" Insist on Secular State Dogma

However, not all "free thinkers" and socialists think like Lacroix. The Fédération nationale de la Libre Pensée (National Freethinkers Association) went against the statue before the Administrative Court. It is a disgrace that non-Christians would have to pass the statue in the park. The Administrative Court agreed in their favor.  Of course, the judge did not address the question of reasonableness, but referred to the applicable rules. This prohibits the establishment of religious symbols on public property.
Mayor Lacroix is one of the "false" freethinkers club. Its Association of libres-penseurs de France (Union of Freethinkers of France) founded in 1901 was divided from the Fédération in 1995. The latter sees itself as the "guardian" of the law on separation of church and state. Its guiding principle is "to promote the rational and scientific principles to overcome the dogmas" led in fact to establish a secular dogma which the municipality Publier is experiencing.

"Je suis Marie"?

The freethinkers society   celebrated the verdict: "A victory for secularism. Now the mayor must remove the statue. This will be a good example for youth. I wonder if the Catholic religion is indeed compatible with the Republic," said the representative of the Federation of Upper Savoy.
For now, it is unclear where the statue is to be placed. The freethinkers have already called for "the mobilization of all the forces of the Republic", should  the mayor Lacroix not quickly implement the Administrative Court's decision. 
Lorenz Jäger recommends: "Don Camillo should order  buttons  at the expense of the municipality: Je suis Marie".
Text: Giuseppe Nardi
image: Tempi
Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
AMDG