John Paul II's Ignored Synod Speech: 3 Highlights You Need to Read - Catholic Household

John Paul II's Ignored Synod Speech: 3 Highlights You Need to Read - Catholic Household



John Paul II’s Ignored Synod Speech: 3 Highlights You Need to Read

John Paul II’s Ignored Synod Speech: 3 Highlights You Need to Read

Oct 24, 2014 11 Comments Draper Warren

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There has been much talk about Pope Francis’s speech concluding the recent Synod on the Family. However, as a priest friend of mine, who was in Rome during the 1980 Synod on the Family, pointed out, there is not much new under the sun. Even back in 1980, the question of Holy Communion for the divorced and remarried was brought up.
It is almost like looking at some strange alternate reality. A Tale of Two Synods. At the Synod in 1980 there was a doctrinal conflict over the very same issues as were contested in 2014. Given the surprising similarities, it is especially interesting to see how Pope St. John Paul II resolved these conflicts in his closing speech. It is almost as if he wrote this speech just for us at the end of the 2014 Synod.
We are now entering the Twilight Zone.
I am shocked that this speech seems to be completely unknown and ignored. Aside from one PDF, I couldn’t even find any copies of it on the internet (I have thus included the entire text below). It is almost eerie how perfectly John Paul II’s synod speech addresses all of our questions today.
Here are some highlights from the speech:

Communion for those who have divorce and attempted remarriage?

“So the Synod—when speaking of the pastoral care of those who after divorce have entered on a new union—rightly praised those couples who in spite of great difficulties witness in their life to the indissolubility of marriage. In their life the Synod recognizes that good news of faithfulness to love which has its power and its foundation in Christ. Furthermore, the fathers of the Synod, again affirming the indissolubility of marriage and the Church’s practice of not admitting to Eucharistic communion those who have been divorced and—against her rule—again attempted marriage, urge pastors and the whole Christian community to help such brothers and sisters. They do not regard them as separated from the Church, since by virtue of their baptism they can and must share in the life of the Church by praying, hearing the word, being present at the community’s celebration of the Eucharist, and promoting charity and justice. Although it must not be denied that such people can in suitable circumstances be admitted to the sacrament of penance and then to Eucharistic communion, when with a sincere heart they open themselves to a way of life that is not in contradiction to the indissolubility of marriage—namely, when such a man and woman, who cannot fulfill the obligation of separation, take on the duty of living in total abstinence, that is, abstaining from acts that are proper only to married couples—and when there is no scandal.”

This is a strong affirmation of the Church’s teaching. Marriage is indissoluble.
I also love how he says “attempted” remarriage. We have to remember to be faithful to the Church’s teaching even in the vocabulary we use when talking about the problem. You cannot be divorced and “remarried”. It just is not possible. If such a couple cannot live as brother and sister in “total abstinence” they absolutely cannot be admitted to Holy Communion, and interestingly enough, as Pope John Paul II implies, cannot be granted absolution in the sacrament of penance because they do not possess a firm purpose of amendment! Why don’t we hear more about that today?

The Law of Gradualness?

“Thinking of those who have pastoral care of married couples and families, the synod fathers rejected any split or “dichotomy” between instruction (which is necessary for any progress in fulfilling the design of God) and doctrine (taught by the Church with all its consequences and which includes the command to live according to that doctrine). It is not a matter of keeping the law as a mere “ideal” to be obeyed in the future. It is a question of the command of Christ the Lord that difficulties should constantly be overcome. In fact, the “law of gradualness,” as it is called, is not possible unless a person sincerely obeys the divine law and seeks those benefits that are protected and promoted by that law. For “the law of gradualness” (or gradual progress) cannot be the same as “gradualness of the law” as if there were various grades or forms of commandment for different men and circumstances in the divine law.”

Finally, someone lays down the law on this whole “law of gradualness” business. (Of course, saying “finally” is ironic because this speech was delivered 34 years ago… but you get my point.) The moral law is not a mere ideal! Our Lord’s command to “Go and sin more more!” is of immediate importance. Sure, we might fall along the way, but that doesn’t mean we are not obligated to try. These remarks by Pope St. John Paul II are a total and complete rejection of the “law of gradualness” that is being proposed and advocated by some in the context of this year’s synod. Apparently, the idea isn’t new.

Changing the Church’s laws out of mercy?

“Now we wish to add something as the fruit of the labors that we have been carrying out for more than four weeks: that is, that nobody can “do charity” except in the truth. This principle can be applied to the life of every family no less than the life and work of pastors who truly mean to serve families.”

No one can do charity without the truth. Isn’t this the same thing as saying that any solution done in the name of “mercy”, which is not founded on the gospel teaching, will ultimately do more harm to those it is trying to help? It seems like this has been at the heart of Cardinal Kasper’s suggestions. There are people out there who are not living according to the Church’s teaching because they find it too difficult. Could the Church not ease up on its practice to make it more bearable for them? Christ Himself said “My yoke is easy and my burden light.” It might not always seem that way to us, but we have to remember that these practices are not arbitrary. They were given to us by Christ to help lead us to happiness and Heaven. Even giving the hint that it is OK not the follow the moral law wounds people.

Below is the complete text of the speech:

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Pope St. John Paul II’s Speech at the Conclusion of the 1980 Synod on the Family

Sistine Chapel, Vatican, Saturday October 25, 1980
We have just heard the apostle St. Paul giving thanks to God for the Church at Corinth “that in every way it was enriched in Christ Jesus, with all speech and all knowledge” (cf. I Cor 1:5). We too feel impelled at this moment first and foremost to give thanks to the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, before we bring this Synod of Bishops to an end.
We came together to celebrate it, whether as members or as assistants, in the mystery of that supreme unity which belongs to the most Holy Trinity. It is to the Holy Trinity therefore that we express our thanks that we have completed the Synod, which is an outstanding sign of vigor and of great importance for the life of the Church. For the Synod of Bishops—to use the words of the council, in accordance with whose wishes the Supreme Pontiff Paul VI instituted it “acting for the whole Catholic episcopate, is a sign that all the bishops in hierarchical communion share in the cares of the universal Church” (Christus Dominus, 5).
We give thanks together for these four weeks during which we have been working. This period of time, even before the issuing of the final statements (that is, the message and the propositions) has borne fruit in us, because truth and love seem to have matured in us by a gradual process as the days and weeks have passed. It is right to mention this process, and briefly to describe how it became clear. It thus becomes plain how honestly and sincerely were manifested in it both liberty and a responsible sense of duty regarding the theme that we were discussing.
We wish today to give thanks first to him “who sees in secret” (Mt 6:4) and works as a “hidden God,” because he has directed our thoughts, our hearts and our consciences and enabled us to press on with our work in fraternal peace and spiritual joy. Indeed, such was our joy that we hardly felt the burden of work or exhaustion. And yet, how tiring it in fact was! But you did not spare yourselves in the work.
We must also express thanks among ourselves. First of all, this must be said: we must all attribute that process by which, in a way that gradually matured, we “did the truth in charity,” to the urgent prayers which the whole Church as it were standing around as has been pouring out at this time. This prayer was for the Synod and for families: for the Synod, in that it was concerned with families, and for families, because of the tasks they have to perform in the Church and in the world of today. The Synod benefited from these prayers in a quite extraordinary way. Continual and abundant prayer was made to God, especially on 12 October, when couples, representing the families of the entire world, came together to St Peter’s basilica to celebrate the sacred rites and to pray with us. If we must thank one another, we must also thank so many unknown benefactors who, throughout the world, helped us with their prayers and offered their suffering to God for this Synod.
Now we come to the time for thanking one another by name, and in this we include everybody who has helped in the celebration of this Synod: there are the presidents, the secretary general, the relator general, the members themselves, the special secretary and his assistants, the auditores and auditrices, the people appointed to help the media, the departments of the Roman Curia and especially the Consilium for the Family, and others, from the ushers to the technical assistants, typists and so on.
We are all grateful that we have been able to complete this Synod. It was an outstanding manifestation of the collegial care for the Church of the bishops of the whole world. We are grateful that we have been able to see the family as it really is in the Church and in the world of today, considering the many different situations in which it finds itself; the traditions drawn from various cultures which influence it; the aspects of civilized life that shape and affect it; and other mailers of this sort.
We are grateful that we have been able again, with the obedience of faith, to look at God’s eternal plan for the family manifested in the mystery of creation, and strengthened with the blood of the Redeemer, the Spouse of the Church. And finally we are grateful that we have been able to define, according to the eternal design regarding life and love, the tasks of the family in the Church and world of today.
The fruit which this Synod of 1980 brings forth here and now is contained in the propositions, accepted by the assembly, of which the first is entitled: “On knowing the will of God in the pilgrimage of the people of God. On the sense of faith.” This rich treasury of propositions, 43 in number, we now receive as a singularly precious fruit of the works of the Synod. At the same time we express our joy that the assembly itself, publishing its message, has spoken to the whole Church. The General Secretariat, with the help of the organizations of the Apostolic See, will take care that this message is sent to all whom it concerns, and the episcopal conferences will help in this.
The deliberations of this Synod of 1980 and the contents of the propositions certainly enable us to see the Christian and apostolic tasks of the family in the world of today, and in a special way to draw them from the total teaching of the Second Vatican Council. Thus, we make effective progress along the road which must enable this Synod to put its doctrinal and pastoral plans into effect.
With regard to this, this year’s Synod is closely connected with the previous synods and is a continuation of the synods celebrated in 1971 and especially in 1974 and 1977, which have helped to put the Second Vatican Council into practical effect and must continue to do so. These synods help the Church in a fitting way to be as she must in the conditions of our age, and so to present herself.
Within the work of this Synod must be considered of the greatest usefulness the careful examination of doctrinal and pastoral questions that especially needed such examination, and, in consequence, a sure and clear judgment of these questions.
In the wealth of interventions, relations and conclusions of this Synod, which greatly arouse our admiration there are two cardinal points—namely, fidelity to the plan of God for the family, and a pastoral way of acting which is full of merciful love and of the reverence that is owed to men, and embraces all of them, in what concerns their “being” and “living.” In all this there are some parts which have especially occupied the minds of the Synod fathers, for they realized that they were expressing the expectations and hopes of many couples and families.
It is right to mention these questions among the work of the Synod, and to recognize the very useful examination that has carefully been made of them: that is, the doctrinal and pastoral examination of questions which, although they were not the only ones to be treated in the Synod’s discussions, nonetheless had a special place there, in that they were discussed in an especially open and free way. This means that importance must be attached to the opinions that the Synod clearly and powerfully expressed on these questions, while still retaining that Christian view, in which the family is regarded as a gift of divine love.
So the Synod—when speaking of the pastoral care of those who after divorce have entered on a new union—rightly praised those couples who in spite of great difficulties witness in their life to the indissolubility of marriage. In their life the Synod recognizes that good news of faithfulness to love which has its power and its foundation in Christ. Furthermore, the fathers of the Synod, again affirming the indissolubility of marriage and the Church’s practice of not admitting to Eucharistic communion those who have been divorced and—against her rule—again attempted marriage, urge pastors and the whole Christian community to help such brothers and sisters. They do not regard them as separated from the Church, since by virtue of their baptism they can and must share in the life of the Church by praying, hearing the word, being present at the community’s celebration of the Eucharist, and promoting charity and justice. Although it must not be denied that such people can in suitable circumstances be admitted to the sacrament of penance and then to Eucharistic communion, when with a sincere heart they open themselves to a way of life that is not in contradiction to the indissolubility of marriage—namely, when such a man and woman, who cannot fulfill the obligation of separation, take on the duty of living in total abstinence, that is, abstaining from acts that are proper only to married couples—and when there is no scandal.
Nonetheless, the lack of sacramental reconciliation with God should not deter them from perseverance in prayer, in penance and in the exercise of charity, in order that they may eventually receive the grace of conversion and salvation. Meanwhile the Church, praying for them and strengthening them in faith and hope, must show herself a merciful mother towards them.
The fathers of the Synod were close in mind and spirit to the great difficulties that many couples feel in their conscience about the moral laws concerning the transmission of life and the protection of human life. Knowing that every divine precept carries with it promise and grace, they openly confirmed the validity and the sure truth of the prophetic message, full of deep meaning for the conditions of today, which is contained in the encyclical Humanae Vitae. The Synod has encouraged theologians to join forces with the hierarchical magisterium so that the biblical basis and the “personalistic” reasons (as they are called) for this doctrine may be ever more clearly made known, so that the entire teaching of the Church may become accessible to all men of good will, and may be every day more clearly understood.
Thinking of those who have pastoral care of married couples and families, the synod fathers rejected any split or “dichotomy” between instruction (which is necessary for any progress in fulfilling the design of God) and doctrine (taught by the Church with all its consequences and which includes the command to live according to that doctrine). It is not a matter of keeping the law as a mere “ideal” to be obeyed in the future. It is a question of the command of Christ the Lord that difficulties should constantly be overcome. In fact, the “law of gradualness,” as it is called, is not possible unless a person sincerely obeys the divine law and seeks those benefits that are protected and promoted by that law. For “the law of gradualness” (or gradual progress) cannot be the same as “gradualness of the law” as if there were various grades or forms of commandment for different men and circumstances in the divine law.
All couples are called to holiness in marriage according to the divine plan; and the dignity of this vocation becomes effective when a person is able to respond to the command of God with a serene mind, trusting in divine grace and his own will.
So it is not enough for couples—if they are not both of the same religious persuasion—to accommodate themselves passively and easily to their circumstances, but they should strive with patience and good will to come to a common intention to be faithful to the duties of Christian marriage.
The Synod fathers have acquired a deeper knowledge and awareness of the riches that are to be found in the cultural forms of different peoples and of the good things that every cultural form has to offer, the more fully the unsearchable mystery of Christ is understood. They have also recognized that—even within the confines of marriage and the home—there is a great field for theological and pastoral study, so that the adaptation of the gospel message to the character of each people may be better fostered and so that it may be learnt how the customs, special characteristics, the sense of life and the unique spirit of each human culture may be combined with the data of the divine revelation (Ad Gentes, 22).
This research—if carried on according to the principle of communion of the universal Church and with the encouragement of local bishops, who should be united among themselves and with the See of Peter “which presides over the whole assembly of charity” (LG 13) —will bring forth its fruits for families.
The Synod spoke timely and persuasive words with reverence and gratitude about woman, about her dignity and vocation as a daughter of God, as wife and mother. Reproving whatever harms her human dignity, the Synod stressed the dignity of motherhood. It therefore rightly said that human society should be so constituted that women are not obliged to work outside the home at a job or profession, but that the family should be able to live properly even when the mother devotes herself entirely to the family.
If we have mentioned these important questions and the replies that the Synod gave to them, we do not wish to value any less the other matters that the Synod dealt with, for, as has been shown in many interventions in these useful and fruitful weeks, these are questions worthy of being treated in the teaching and pastoral ministry of the Church with great reverence and love, full of mercy, towards men and women, our brothers and sisters, who fly to the Church for words of faith and hope. May pastors, taking their example from the Synod, address themselves to these problems, as they truly are in married and family life, with care and a firm will, that we may all “do the truth in charity.”
Now we wish to add something as the fruit of the labors that we have been carrying out for more than four weeks: that is, that nobody can “do charity” except in the truth. This principle can be applied to the life of every family no less than the life and work of pastors who truly mean to serve families.
So the principal fruit of this session of the Synod is that the tasks of Christian family, of which charity is as it were the heart, should only be full according to the whole truth. All in the Church who wish to help in the fulfilment of these tasks—be they lay people, clerics, or religious of either sex—can or this in the truth. For it is truth that sets free; it is truth that brings order: it is truth which opens the way to holiness and justice.
We have seen what the love of Christ is, what that charity is that is offered all who make up a family in the Church and in the world: not only to husband wives, but also to boys and girls and young people, and also to widow orphans, to grandparents, and to all who in any way share in family life. For these the Church of Christ wishes to be and wishes to remain both a witness gate to that fullness of life of which St. Paul speaks to the Corinthians in the words that we heard at the beginning: for we have been made rich in all things in Jesus with all speech and all knowledge (I Cor 1:5).
John Paul II
Here is a Link to the only other copy I found online.

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Draper Warren

Went to Christendom College, majoring in Theology and History with a minor in Philosophy (and went on to do graduate studies in Theology). Most of his life has been devoted to promoting Catholic Homeschooling, and he is the Associate Director of the only national Catholic homeschool conference organization. Draper resides in Front Royal, VA.

Synod "black mark" for Holy See: Bishop Schneider - District of the USA

Synod "black mark" for Holy See: Bishop Schneider - District of the USA

Synod "black mark" for Holy See: Bishop Schneider

November 06, 2014

District of the USA

A bishop explains how the Synod's manipulated agenda mirrors the general immorality of current society. In reaction to this problem, the bishop encourages fidelity to the Church's immutable moral teachings.

We publish this interview of Bishop Athanasius Schneider, auxiliary bishop of the archdiocese of St. Mary in Astana, Kazakhstan. It was published on November 5th in the Polish magazine Polonia Christiana.

It is encouraging to see Bishop Schneider again standing up with strong statements about the ongoing crisis of the Church. The SSPX, following Archbishop Lefebvre, has been denouncing the introduction of the “radical neo-pagan ideology” in the Church since the Second Vatican Council. It was during this Council also that for “the first time in Church history” heterodox texts were published as documents of "an official meeting of Catholic bishops under the guidance of a pope....”

Bishop Schneider gives some advice in order to form groups to support and defend the family. He has interesting thoughts about the historical reactions of the laity. Is it not what happened in the 70’s with the movement of what we call now Tradition? In front of the doctrinal crisis and its moral consequences, Archbishop Lefebvre supported and defended these families by saving for the Church the Holy Mass and the priesthood, and by opening Catholic schools and chapels in order to provide oases of grace and holiness.

If we don’t agree with all the statements of Bishop Schneider in this interview, it’s quite refreshing to see a bishop's legitimate zeal in defense of morals. We hope and pray that he continues to contemplate the example of his patron saint.

Bishop Athanasius Schneider on the Synod on the Family

1. Your Excellency, what is Your Excellency’s opinion about the Synod? What is its message to families?
During the Synod there had been moments of obvious manipulation on the part of some clerics who held key positions in the editorial and governing structure of the Synod. The interim report (Relatio post disceptationem) was clearly a prefabricated text with no reference to the actual statements of the Synod fathers. In the sections on homosexuality, sexuality and “divorced and remarried” with their admittance to the sacraments the text represents a radical neo-pagan ideology.
This is the first time in Church history that such a heterodox text was actually published as a document of an official meeting of Catholic bishops under the guidance of a pope, even though the text only had a preliminary character. Thanks be to God and to the prayers of the faithful all over the world that a consistent number of Synod fathers resolutely rejected such an agenda; this agenda reflects the corrupt and pagan mainstream morality of our time, which is being imposed globally by means of political pressure and through the almost all-powerful official mass media, which are loyal to the principles of the world gender ideology party. Such a synod document, even if only preliminary, is a real shame and an indication to the extent the spirit of the anti-Christian world has already penetrated such important levels of the life of the Church.
This document will remain for the future generations and for the historians a black mark which has stained the honor of the Apostolic See. Fortunately the Message of the Synod Fathers is a real Catholic document which outlines the Divine truth on family without being silent about the deeper roots of the problems, i.e., about the reality of sin. It gives real courage and consolation to Catholic families. Some quotations:

We think of the burden imposed by life in the suffering that can arise with a child with special needs, with grave illness, in deterioration of old age, or in the death of a loved one. We admire the fidelity of so many families who endure these trials with courage, faith, and love. They see them not as a burden inflicted on them, but as something in which they themselves give, seeing the suffering Christ in the weakness of the flesh.
...Conjugal love, which is unique and indissoluble, endures despite many difficulties. It is one of the most beautiful of all miracles and the most common. This love spreads through fertility and generativity, which involves not only the procreation of children but also the gift of divine life in baptism, their catechesis, and their education.
...The presence of the family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph in their modest home hovers over you”. 

2. Those groups of people who had been expecting a change in the Church’s teaching with regard to the moral issues (e.g., allowing divorced and remarried people to receive Holy Communion or granting any form of approval for homosexual unions) were probably disappointed by the content of the final Relatio. Isn’t there, however, a danger that questioning and discussing issues that are fundamental for the Church’s teaching may itself open doors for serious abuses and for similar attempts to revise this teaching in the future?
In fact a Divine commandment, in our case the sixth commandment, the absolute indissolubility of the sacramental marriage, a Divinely established rule, means those in a state of grave sin cannot be admitted to Holy Communion. This is taught by St. Paul in his letter inspired by the Holy Spirit in 1 Corinthians 11, 27-30, this cannot be put to the vote, just as the Divinity of Christ would never be put to a vote. A person who still has the indissoluble sacramental marriage bond and who in spite of this lives in a stable marital cohabitation with another person, by Divine law cannot be admitted to Holy Communion. To do so would be a public statement by the Church nefariously legitimizing a denial of the indissolubility of the Christian marriage and at the same time repealing the sixth commandment of God: “Thou shalt not commit adultery”. No human institution not even the pope or an Ecumenical Council has the authority and the competency to invalidate even in the slightest or indirect manner one of the ten Divine commandments or the Divine words of Christ: “What therefore God has joined together, let man not separate (Math 19:6)”.
Regardless of this lucid truth which was taught constantly and unchangingly—because unchangeable—through all the ages by the Magisterium of the Church up to our days as for instance in Familiaris consortio of St. John Paul II, in the Catechism of the Catholic Church and by Pope Benedict XVI, the issue of the admissibility to Holy Communion of the so called “divorced and remarried” has been put to the vote in the Synod. This fact is in itself grievous and represents an attitude of clerical arrogance towards the Divine truth of the Word of God. The attempt to put the Divine truth and the Divine Word to a vote is unworthy of those who as representatives of the Magisterium have to hand over zealously as good and faithful rules (cf. Math 24, 45) the Divine deposit.
By admitting the “divorced and remarried” to Holy Communion those bishops establish a new tradition on their own volition and transgressing thereby the commandment of God, as Christ once rebuked the Pharisees and Scribes (cf. Math 15: 3). And what is still aggravating, is the fact that such bishops try to legitimize their infidelity to Christ’s word by means of arguments such as “pastoral need”, “mercy”, “openness to the Holy Spirit”.
Moreover they have no fear and no scruples to pervert in a Gnostic manner the real meaning of these words labeling at the same time those who oppose them and defend the immutable Divine commandment and the true non-human tradition as rigid, scrupulous or traditionalist. During the great Arian crisis in the IV century the defenders of the Divinity of the Son of God were labeled “intransigent” and “traditionalist” as well. St. Athanasius was even excommunicated by Pope Liberius and the pope justified this with the argument that Athanasius was not in communion with the Oriental bishops who were mostly heretics or semi-heretics. St. Basil the Great stated in that situation the following:

Only one sin is nowadays severely punished: the attentive observance of the traditions of our Fathers. For that reason the good ones are thrown out of their places and brought to the desert” (Ep. 243).

In fact the bishops who support Holy Communion for “divorced remarried” are the new Pharisees and Scribes because they neglect the commandment of God, contributing to the fact that out of the body and of the heart of the “divorced remarried” continue to “proceed adulteries” (Math 15:19), because they want an exteriorly “clean” solution and to appear “clean” as well in the eyes of those who have power (the social media, public opinion). However when they eventually appear at the tribunal of Christ, they will surely hear to their dismay these words of Christ: “Why are you declaring my statutes and taking my covenant in your mouth? Seeing you hate instruction, and cast my words behind you, ...when you have been partaker with adulterers” (Ps 50 (49): 16-18).
The final Relatio of the Synod also unfortunately contains the paragraph with the vote on the issue of Holy Communion for “divorced remarried”. Even though it has not achieved the required two third of the votes, there remains nevertheless the worrying and astonishing fact that the absolute majority of the present bishops voted in favor of Holy Communion for the “divorced and remarried”,  a sad reflection on the spiritual quality of the Catholic episcopacy in our days.
It is moreover sad, that this paragraph which hasn’t got the required approval of the qualitative majority, remains nevertheless in the final text of the Relatio and will be sent to all dioceses for further discussion. It will surely only increase the doctrinal confusion among the priests and the faithful, being in the air, that Divine commandments and Divine words of Christ and those of the Apostle Paul are put at the disposal of human decision making groups. One cardinal who openly and strongly supported the issue of Holy Communion for “divorced and remarried” and even the shameful statements on homosexual “couples” in the preliminary Relatio, was dissatisfied with the final Relatio, and declared impudently: “The glass is half-full”, and analogously he said that one has to work that next year at the Synod it will be full. We must believe firmly that God will dissipate the plans of dishonesty, infidelity and betrayal. Christ holds infallibly the rudder of the boat of His Church in midst of such a big storm. We believe and trust in the very ruler of the Church, in Our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the truth.
3. We are currently experiencing a culmination of aggression against the family; this aggression is accompanied by a tremendous confusion in the area of science about human and human identity. Unfortunately, there are certain members of Church hierarchy who, while discussing these matters, express opinions that contradict the teaching of Our Lord. How should we talk with those people who become victims of this confusion in order to strengthen their faith and to help them towards salvation?
In this extraordinarily difficult time Christ is purifying our Catholic faith so that through this trial the Church will shine brighter and be really light and salt for the insipid neo-pagan world thanks to the fidelity and the pure and simple faith firstly of the faithful, of the little ones in the Church, of the “ecclesia docta” (the learning church), which in our days will strengthen the “ecclesia docens” (the teaching Church, i.e. the Magisterium), in a similar way as it was in the great crisis of the faith in the IV century as Blessed John Henry Cardinal Newman stated:

This is a very remarkable fact: but there is a moral in it. Perhaps it was permitted, in order to impress upon the Church at that very time passing out of her state of persecution the great evangelical lesson, that, not the wise and powerful, but the obscure, the unlearned, and the weak constitute her real strength. It was mainly by the faithful people that Paganism was overthrown; it was by the faithful people, under the lead of Athanasius and the Egyptian bishops, and in some places supported by their Bishops or priests, that the worst of heresies was withstood and stamped out of the sacred territory.
...In that time of immense confusion the divine dogma of our Lord's divinity was proclaimed, enforced, maintained, and (humanly speaking) preserved, far more by the "Ecclesia docta" than by the "Ecclesia docens;" that the body of the Episcopate was unfaithful to its commission, while the body of the laity was faithful to its baptism; that at one time the pope, at other times a patriarchal, metropolitan, or other great see, at other times general councils, said what they should not have said, or did what obscured and compromised revealed truth; while, on the other hand, it was the Christian people, who, under Providence, were the ecclesiastical strength of Athanasius, Hilary, Eusebius of Vercellae, and other great solitary confessors, who would have failed without them” (Arians of the Fourth Century, pp. 446, 466).

We have to encourage ordinary Catholics to be faithful to the Catechism they have learned, to be faithful to the clear words of Christ in the Gospel, to be faithful to the Faith their fathers and forefathers handed over to them. We have to organize circles of studies and conferences about the perennial teaching of the Church on the issue of marriage and chastity, inviting especially young people and married couples. We have to show the very beauty of a life in chastity, the very beauty of the Christian marriage and family, the great value of the Cross and of the sacrifice in our lives. We have to present ever more the examples of the Saints and of exemplary persons who demonstrated that in spite of the fact that they suffered the same temptations of the flesh, the same hostility and derision of the pagan world, they nevertheless with the grace of Christ led a happy life in chastity, in a Christian marriage and in family. The Faith, the pure and integral Catholic and Apostolic Faith will overcome the world (cf. 1 John 5: 4).
We have to found and promote youth groups of pure hearts, family groups, groups of Catholic spouses, who will be committed to the fidelity of their marriage vows. We have to organize groups which will help morally and materially broken families, single mothers, groups who will assist with prayer and with good counsel separated couples, groups and persons who will help “divorced and remarried” people to start a process of serious conversion, i.e., recognizing with humility their sinful situation and abandoning with the grace of God the sins which violate the commandment of God and the sanctity of the sacrament of marriage. We have to create groups who will carefully help persons with homosexual tendencies to enter the path of Christian conversion, the happy and beautiful path of a chaste life and to offer them eventually in a discrete manner a psychological cure. We have to show and preach to our contemporaries in the neo-pagan world the liberating Good News of the teaching of Christ: that the commandment of God, and even the sixth commandment is wise, is beauty:

The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes” (Ps 19(18): 7-8). 

4. During the Synod, Archbishop Gadecki from Poznan and some other distinguished prelates were publicly expressing their disagreement with the fact that the results of the discussions departed from the perennial teaching of the Church. Is there a hope that, amid this confusion, there will be an awakening of members of clergy and those faithful who were so far unaware of the fact that, in the very Church’s bosom, there are people who undermine the teaching of Our Lord?
It is certainly an honor for Polish Catholicism that the President of the Catholic episcopate, His Excellency Archbishop Gadecki, defended with clarity and courage the truth of Christ about marriage and human sexuality, thus revealing himself to be a true spiritual son of Saint John Paul II. Cardinal George Pell characterized the liberal sexual agenda and the alleged merciful and pastoral support of Holy Communion for “divorced remarried” during the Synod very aptly, saying that this is only the tip of the iceberg and a kind of a Trojan horse in the Church.
That in the very bosom of the Church, there are people who undermine the teaching of Our Lord became an obvious fact and one for the whole world to see thanks to the internet and the work of some Catholic journalists who were not indifferent to what was happening to the Catholic Faith which they consider to be the treasure of Christ. I was pleased to see that some Catholic journalists and internet bloggers behaved as good soldiers of Christ and drew attention to this clerical agenda of undermining the perennial teaching of Our Lord. Cardinals, bishops, priests, Catholic families, Catholic young people have to say to themselves:

I refuse to conform to the neo-pagan spirit of this world, even when this spirit is spread by some bishops and cardinals; I will not accept their fallacious and perverse use of holy Divine mercy and of “new Pentecost”; I refuse to throw grains of incense before the statue of the idol of the gender ideology, before the idol of second marriages, of concubinage, even if my bishop would do so, I will not do so; with the grace of God I will choose to suffer rather than betray the whole truth of Christ on human sexuality and on marriage."

The witnesses will convince the world, not the teachers, said Bl. Paul VI in Evangelii nuntiandi. The Church and the world do urgently need intrepid and candid witnesses of the whole truth of the commandment and of the will of God, of the whole truth of Christ’s words on marriage. Modern clerical Pharisees and Scribes, those bishops and cardinals who throw grains of incense to the neo-pagan idols of gender ideology and concubinage, will not convince anyone to either believe in Christ or to be ready to offer their lives for Christ. Indeed “veritas Domini manet in aeternum” (Ps 116: the truth of the Lord remains forever) and “Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever” (Hebr 13: 8) and “the truth will set you free” (John 8: 32). This last phrase was one of the favorite biblical phrases of St. John Paul II, the pope of the family.  We can add: the revealed and unchangeably transmitted Divine truth about human sexuality and marriage will bring true freedom to the souls inside and outside the Church. In midst of the crisis of the Church and the bad moral and doctrinal example of some bishops of his time St. Augustine comforted the simple faithful with these words: “Whatsoever we bishops may be, you are safe, who have God for your Father and His Church for your mother“ (Contra litteras Petiliani III, 9, 10).

Related articles

• Problematic Synod on the Family: a list of texts
• Moral ecumenism: bitter fruit of Vatican II
• Is there a split in the Church?
• "Vatican II must be corrected": Bishop Schneider
• Bishop demands Syllabus for Vatican II
• No open house at Synod on the Family
• Synod's troubles continue

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http://sspx.org/en/news-events/news/no-open-house-synod-family-5216

No open house at Synod on the Family

October 10, 2014

District of the USA

Does anyone know what's going on at the Bishops' Synod on the Family being held in Rome? Why is the Vatican Press Office being so "hush-hush" about the Synod's proceedings?

This DICI news piece and commentary details the unprecedented secrecy in which the Synod is being held, as well as the restrictions being placed upon the interventions of conservative bishops.
The ongoing Synod of the Family has also resulted in a variety of impressions, ranging from descriptions of "malaise" and "deja-vu" to even "frontal opposition".

Different impressions at the opening of the Synod on the Family: October 5-19, 2014

Malaise

Impression of malaise, because for the first time this Synod is taking place largely behind closed doors. The Vaticanist from La Stampa, Marco Tosatti, gives voice to this malaise. On October 3, 2014, he wrote on his blog San Pietro e dintorni:

For the first time in a several-decade history, a Synod of Bishops will take place largely behind closed doors. In many previous Synods, the public was not admitted either; yet all the interventions, from those of the Archbishop of Milan to the one by the smallest Diocese of Patagonia were published, in their entirety or in summary, every day.
“In this Synod, on the contrary, no intervention will be made public. It is surprising that this should happen during the reign of a pontiff who—at least judging by the choices that he makes and the rhetorical devices that he uses—is the most ‘modern’ and the most ‘progressive’ in recent history.”

On September 20 of this year, Tosatti had given an explanation for this surprising decision to hold a closed Synod; he saw it as a way of coming to the aid of Cardinal Walter Kasper, who has been jeopardized by critiques from several cardinals concerning communion for the divorced-and-remarried, of which he is the most visible promoter:

For Kasper & Co., things do not look like they are going to turn out well. But there is perhaps one way of helping him and trying to prevent the disruptive voices from becoming too noisy.
First: ask that the written interventions arrive well in advance. Which has been done. Anyone who wishes to speak at the Synod has to send in his little text before September 8.
Second: read all these interventions carefully and, in case some of them are particularly piquant, give the floor to a speaker who, before the thorny intervention, already tries to reply, in part or in toto, to the problems raised by the intervention to come.
Third: if several interventions should appear to be really problematic, say that unfortunately there is not enough time to let everyone speak, but that anyway the text has indeed been received and filed with the acts of the Synod and that it will be taken into account at the final elaboration.
Indeed, what matters is not the Synod itself, but the synthesis thereof that will be made, which will have the pope’s signature as a Post-Synodal Exhortation. It is quite likely that this will not be a clear, definitive text, but a document based on a “fluctuating” interpretation. So that in reading it everyone can pull it toward the side that suits him better.”

Deja-vu

Impression of deja-vu, because the references and the spirit of the beginning of the Synod are those of the Second Vatican Council 50 years ago. On October 4, during a prayer vigil on St. Peter’s Square, Pope Francis made his expectations known. In a homily shored up by many citations from the Council documents, he invoked the Holy Spirit:

We ask above all for the Synod Fathers the gift of listening. Listening to God so as to hear with him the cry of the people, listening to the people so as to long for the will to which God is calling us.”

“May the wind of Pentecost blow on the work of the Synod,” he prayed, “on the Church and on all humanity.”
The pope also asked the participants in the Synod on the Family to be willing to have a sincere, open and fraternal confrontation that will lead them to deal responsibly and pastorally with the questions that this change of era brings with it. He then praised “episcopal collegiality”. In order to find out what the Lord is asking of His Church today, “we must lend an ear to the throbbing of our era and smell the ‘odor’ of the people of this time.... Then we will know how to propose in a credible way the Good News about the family,” he declared lyrically.
The next day, on Sunday, October 5, in St. Peter’s Basilica, the Supreme Pontiff opened the Synod and, in the presence of more than 200 Synod Fathers and many of the faithful, he asked that the Spirit might “give us that wisdom which surpasses knowledge, and enables us to work generously with authentic freedom and humble creativity” in confronting the challenges of pastoral care to families on which the bishops and cardinals will have to reflect. He also denounced the bad pastors who load insupportable burdens on the people’s shoulders. “Synod Assemblies are not meant to discuss beautiful and clever ideas, or to see who is more intelligent,” he remarked. “They are meant to better nurture and tend the Lord’s vineyard, to help realize his ‘dream’, his loving plan for his people.”
The same tone could be heard two days earlier, on October 3, in the voice of Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri, Secretary General of the Synod, who was answering questions from the press and giving an idea of the atmosphere of the coming debates. Concerning the very lively exchanges between cardinals concerning the question of access to communion for divorced-and-remarried persons, Cardinal Baldisseri welcomed these different “contributions” (sic), before expressing the hope that “points of convergence” might be found. “Nothing is static, we are walking in history,” he declared, before adding: “The Christian religion is history and not ideology.” And the Roman prelate explained that “if this Synod is dedicated to the family, it is because the context of the family is different from what it was 33 years ago at the time of Familiaris consortio,” the Apostolic Exhortation by John Paul II on the family, in 1981. “If there is no history, where are we going? We say a few nice phrases from 2,000 years ago and that’s it?” he asked with a candor that no one could miss.
Cardinal Baldisseri assured reporters that this Synod would be characterized by “a broad freedom of expression” and would play out “in an atmosphere of respect for all positions, of mutual charity and an authentically constructive direction." “It is important to express oneself clearly and courageously,” he declared, while cautioning (or warning) that “in an atmosphere of serene, honest dialogue, the participants will be asked not to try to make their own point of view prevail as though it were exclusive, but to seek the truth together.”
Several journalists took the occasion of this press conference to display their disappointment with the Vatican’s decision, for this Synod, not to publish a summary of the interventions made by the Synod Fathers.

Frontal opposition

The impression of frontal opposition between proponents of Communion for the divorced-and-remarried and the defenders of the indissolubility of marriage. Cardinal Walter Kasper, who for several weeks has been going from one interview to the next, declared on September 18 to the French daily newspaper La Croix:

We are experiencing today a certain crisis of the family, as is clearly shown by the number of divorces and of young people who do not want to marry or commit themselves.... The Church can therefore not be content today to assert an ideal of family life but must be realistic and be of service to people in these situations.... The Church must encourage family life by knowing the reality of the concrete situations.”

On September 29, he stated to an Argentine journalist Elisabetta Pique, in La Nacion, concerning the cardinals who criticize his position:

I think that they are afraid of a domino effect: that by changing one point, everything will collapse. That is what they fear. All that is combined with ideology, an ideological interpretation of the Gospel, but the Gospel is not a penal code. As the pope said in his Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, citing St. Thomas Aquinas, the Gospel is a grace of the Holy Spirit that is manifested in faith, which works through love. This is a different interpretation. This is not a museum. It is a living reality in the Church and we must walk with the whole people of God and see what its needs are. Then we must discern in the light of the Gospel, which is not a code of doctrine and commandments. We cannot simply take a sentence of Jesus from the Gospel and deduce everything from it. What is lacking is a hermeneutic to understand the totality of the Gospel message and then to distinguish what pertains to doctrine and what pertains to discipline. The discipline can change. That is why it seems to me that we are dealing here with a fundamentalism that is not Catholic.”
La Nacion: Is there fear among some cardinals because, as the pope said, there is a moral construct that could collapse like a house of cards?
Cardinal Kasper: Yes, it is an ideology, it is not the Gospel!
La Nacion: Is there also fear with regard to an open discussion at the Synod?
Cardinal Kasper: Yes, because they are afraid that everything will collapse. But above all, we are living in an open, pluralistic society, and it is good for the Church that there be an open discussion, as we had at the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965). It is good too for the image of the Church, because a closed Church is not a healthy Church. On the other hand, when we debate about marriage and the family, we have to listen to those who are living this reality. There is a sensus fidelium. Everything cannot be decided from on high, from the hierarchy of the Church, and in particular we cannot cite old documents from the last century; we have to look at the situation today, discern the Spirit and arrive at concrete results. I think that this is the pope’s approach, whereas many others start with doctrine and then use a more deductive method....
La Nacion: In recent days the pope spoke several times about mercy; he said that it is necessary to grasp “the signs of the times”, that pastors must be close to the people, which suggests that the thing he wants is very clear....
Cardinal Kasper: Yes, the signs of the times were fundamental during the Second Vatican Council. I cannot imagine that the majority of the Synod could oppose the pope on this point....

Commentary

What Cardinal Kasper calls “a fundamentalism that is not Catholic” in the cardinals who criticize him is nothing but fidelity to the teaching of Jesus Christ about marriage. He constantly refers to Vatican II, careful to “read the signs of the times”, to have an “open discussion” with “open, pluralistic society”.... But beneath these conciliatory words there is a resolute intention: to denounce any idea of a universal nature, as Prof. Roberto de Mattei fairly concludes in his analysis in the October 1 issue of Corrispondenze Romana:

Cardinal Kasper does not believe that there is such a thing as a universal, absolute natural law, and in the Instrumentum laboris, the official Vatican document preparing the October Synod, this rejection of the natural law is clearly evident, although it is presented from a perspective that is more sociological than theological. It says that "the concept of natural law, as such, proves today to be very problematic in different cultural contexts, or even incomprehensible," among other reasons because "today, not only in the West, but progressively throughout the world, scientific research presents a serious challenge to the concept of nature. Evolution, biology and the neurosciences, in confronting the traditional idea of natural law, arrive at the conclusion that it should not be considered as 'scientific'." According to the Kasperian program, the natural law is contrasted with ‘the spirit of the Gospel’, the values of which must be communicated "in a way that can be understood by people today"....
The inevitable consequences of this new concept of morality, which the Synod Fathers are going to have to discuss, are drawn by Vito Mancuso, in the September 18 issue of La Repubblica. The natural law is "a burden too heavy to carry", and therefore we must envisage "a profound renewal movement in matters of sexual ethics" which would necessarily lead to "further openings: yes to contraception; yes to sexual relations before marriage; yes to recognizing homosexual couples.’” This is what is at stake in this Synod, which may prove to be the Vatican II of marriage. Recall that 50 years ago Cardinal Suenens had declared: “Vatican II is 1789 [i.e., the French Revolution] in the Church” and that Fr. Congar [a theological expert at the Council] declared: “The Church has peacefully (sic) had its October Revolution.”

(Sources: San Pietro e dintorni/Nacion/benoitetmoi/corrispondenzaromana—DICI no. 302, October 10, 2014)

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• Synod "black mark" for Holy See: Bishop Schneider
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• Moral ecumenism: bitter fruit of Vatican II

Catholic News | Was Pope Francis Disappointed by the Synod? | American Catholic

Catholic News | Was Pope Francis Disappointed by the Synod? | American Catholic

Was Pope Francis Disappointed by the Synod?
By Francis X. Rocca Catholic News Service
Source: AmericanCatholic.org
Published: Monday, November 3, 2014

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Pope Francis speaks with Archbishop Forte (left, synod special secretary) and Cardinal Assis (a delegrate president). (CNS photo/Paul Haring)

Since the end of the Oct. 5-19 Synod of Bishops on the family, news outlets have portrayed the outcome as a "setback" or "loss" for Pope Francis -- even a "rebuke" to him.
Journalists have pointed to the absence, in the synod's final report, of an earlier version's strikingly conciliatory language toward people with ways of life contrary to Catholic teaching, including those in same-sex unions and other non-marital relationships. Commentators have also noted the relatively low support, as measured by bishops' votes on the final document's relevant sections, for continued discussion of whether to make it easier for divorced and civilly remarried Catholics to receive Communion.
In these respects, it is said, the synod rejected moves consistent with Pope Francis' well-known teachings on mercy.
The pope never expressed his views at the synod; he kept silent throughout the two weeks of discussions. Yet there are good reasons to think he and the assembly were not of the same mind on these questions.
Pope Francis had invited the author of the Communion proposal, German Cardinal Walter Kasper, and no one else, to address a gathering of the world's cardinals on the family in February. And the synod's controversial midterm report was the work of the pope's handpicked team, who presumably would never have departed from the usual tone of official Vatican documents on moral teaching unless they had understood that to be what the pope wanted. So if they were right, the synod's reaction must have disappointed him.
But at the same time, the pope got just what he asked for: a more assertive synod.
"Maybe it is time to change the methods of the synod of bishops, because it seems to me that the current method is not dynamic. This will also have ecumenical value, especially with our Orthodox brethren. From them we can learn more about the meaning of episcopal collegiality and the meaning of synodality," Pope Francis told an interviewer last year.
Opening the synod's first working session Oct. 6, the pope told participants, "Everyone needs to say what one feels duty-bound in the Lord to say: without respect for human considerations, without fear."
Recalling that some cardinals at the February meeting had reportedly hesitated to speak out for fear of disagreeing with him, Pope Francis said: "This is no good, this is not synodality."
The synod fathers took Pope Francis at his word. In their remarks on the floor of the hall and in their meetings as small working groups, bishops said the midterm report lacked necessary references to Scripture and traditional Catholic teaching, and they demanded extensive changes to the final report.
For decades, critics have complained that the synod is not a true expression of the bishops' collective authority, as rooted in Catholic tradition and reaffirmed by Second Vatican Council. They have characterized it instead as a mere advisory body to the pope. Had the bishops this October simply ratified what they assumed Pope Francis was proposing, it would have been hard to argue anything had changed. It was their very resistance to the pope's perceived wishes that made their self-assertion convincing.
Upon reflection, the pope could hardly have designed a better way to elicit an exercise of collective responsibility from this group -- bishops named by St. John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI, during whose pontificates they had come to rely on the pope as the ultimate guarantor of orthodoxy -- than to confront them with a document that seemed to take traditional teaching for granted.
This is an irony that Pope Francis, who once taught psychology to high school students, was surely well prepared to appreciate, whether or not he anticipated it.

More on Marriage >>
More Top Catholic News >>

Cardinal Burke to Malta, Mamberti to Apostolic Signatura |Blogs | NCRegister.com

Cardinal Burke to Malta, Mamberti to Apostolic Signatura |Blogs | NCRegister.com

EdwardPentin

Cardinal Burke to Malta, Mamberti to Apostolic Signatura

by Edward Pentin Saturday, November 08, 2014 8:04 AM Comments (29)

Cardinal Raymond Burke

– Edward Pentin

Pope Francis today appointed Cardinal Raymond Burke, hitherto prefect of the Apostolic Signatura, as patron of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, replacing Cardinal Paolo Sardi who has served in the position since 2009.
Confirmation of the appointment was widely awaited: rumors had been circulating for some time, and Cardinal Burke disclosed the Pope’s decision himself in an interview last month.
The move means that Cardinal Burke, 66, is completely removed from the Curia and holds a purely honorary position without any influence in the governance of the universal Church. Given his age and seniority, such a move is unprecedented and many therefore view it as a demotion.
He will be replaced by Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, the Vatican Secretary for Relations with States – effectively the Holy See’s foreign minister.
Some have speculated whether Cardinal Burke’s appointment is a result of his outspoken criticisms during the synod. But rumors of the transfer, first circulated by veteran Vatican watcher Sandro Magister, began in mid-September, considerably earlier than the meeting.
Although he has criticised how the synod was run, the cardinal has insisted he supports the Pope, saying he remains at Francis’ service and has no personal animosity towards him.
Last year, Pope Francis removed Cardinal Burke from a committee of the Congregation for Bishops that advises the Pope on episcopal appointments. It’s widely known that a small group of cardinals advised Francis to remove him from the committee because of his tendency to block candidates who were considered not sufficiently orthodox or capable of serving as bishops.
His position as patron of the Knights of Malta is Rome-based and mostly ceremonial. He is nevertheless likely to continue and perhaps even step up his defense of the Church’s teaching in the face of continued efforts to radically alter pastoral practice in the run-up to next year’s second synod on the family.
Archbishop Mamberti will be replaced by Archbishop Paul Gallagher, a native of Liverpool, England, who is currently the apostolic nuncio to Australia. Gallagher notably succeeded Archbishop Michael Courtney as apostolic nuncio to Burundi after Courtney was murdered in the country in December 2003.

Read more: http://www.ncregister.com/blog/edward-pentin/cardinal-burke-to-malta-mamberti-to-signatura#ixzz3IViJ8OZZ

Cardinal Burke to Malta, Mamberti to Apostolic Signatura |Blogs | NCRegister.com

Cardinal Burke to Malta, Mamberti to Apostolic Signatura |Blogs | NCRegister.com

EdwardPentin

Cardinal Burke to Malta, Mamberti to Apostolic Signatura

by Edward Pentin Saturday, November 08, 2014 8:04 AM Comments (29)

Cardinal Raymond Burke

– Edward Pentin

Pope Francis today appointed Cardinal Raymond Burke, hitherto prefect of the Apostolic Signatura, as patron of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, replacing Cardinal Paolo Sardi who has served in the position since 2009.
Confirmation of the appointment was widely awaited: rumors had been circulating for some time, and Cardinal Burke disclosed the Pope’s decision himself in an interview last month.
The move means that Cardinal Burke, 66, is completely removed from the Curia and holds a purely honorary position without any influence in the governance of the universal Church. Given his age and seniority, such a move is unprecedented and many therefore view it as a demotion.
He will be replaced by Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, the Vatican Secretary for Relations with States – effectively the Holy See’s foreign minister.
Some have speculated whether Cardinal Burke’s appointment is a result of his outspoken criticisms during the synod. But rumors of the transfer, first circulated by veteran Vatican watcher Sandro Magister, began in mid-September, considerably earlier than the meeting.
Although he has criticised how the synod was run, the cardinal has insisted he supports the Pope, saying he remains at Francis’ service and has no personal animosity towards him.
Last year, Pope Francis removed Cardinal Burke from a committee of the Congregation for Bishops that advises the Pope on episcopal appointments. It’s widely known that a small group of cardinals advised Francis to remove him from the committee because of his tendency to block candidates who were considered not sufficiently orthodox or capable of serving as bishops.
His position as patron of the Knights of Malta is Rome-based and mostly ceremonial. He is nevertheless likely to continue and perhaps even step up his defense of the Church’s teaching in the face of continued efforts to radically alter pastoral practice in the run-up to next year’s second synod on the family.
Archbishop Mamberti will be replaced by Archbishop Paul Gallagher, a native of Liverpool, England, who is currently the apostolic nuncio to Australia. Gallagher notably succeeded Archbishop Michael Courtney as apostolic nuncio to Burundi after Courtney was murdered in the country in December 2003.

Read more: http://www.ncregister.com/blog/edward-pentin/cardinal-burke-to-malta-mamberti-to-signatura#ixzz3IViJ8OZZ

Pope shocks Jesuits with unexpected phone call | National Catholic Reporter

Pope shocks Jesuits with unexpected phone call | National Catholic Reporter

Rome

As the receptionist at Rome's headquarters of the Jesuit order was going about his business Friday, he got an unexpected phone call.
The man on the other end of the line said simply: "This is Pope Francis. May I speak to Fr. General?"
That's former Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, a Jesuit himself and as of Wednesday night the bishop of Rome and global leader of the Roman Catholic church.
In perhaps a bit of fidelity to the priests and brothers he's served amongst since he entered the order's novitiate in 1958, the new pontiff had called down the street from the Vatican to speak to Fr. Adolfo Nicolás Pachón, the order's superior general.
The receptionist was so shocked at the call, according to an email being circulated among the Jesuits, the pope had to continue: "This is not a joke. I am Pope Francis. Who are you?"

After gaining some composure, the secretary forwarded the call to Nicolás' personal secretary.
"I am Pope Francis", said the pontiff again. "May I speak to the General?"
"Holy Father, we are praying much for you," said the secretary, a Jesuit brother.
"Praying for what?" asked the Pope. "To go ahead or to go back?"
"To go ahead", the secretary said, walking into the Nicolás' office with mobile to his ear and still speaking.
According to the email, the superior general was also shocked and so disoriented he switched between calling his confrere "Pope," "Your Holiness," and "Monsignor."
"Thank you for your personal letter to me", the pope said, referencing a letter the Jesuits had sent upon learning of Bergoglio's election to the Roman see.
"I look forward to meeting you", said the General.
"And I you", said the Pope. "We shall meet as soon as we can. I will phone you and we can fix a date."
It's traditional for the heads of religious orders to meet with a new pope in the first few months of his pontificate.
For a flavor of the event, see before for a video interview from CPRO Rome of the Jesuit curia's receptionist.

Pope Telephones Fr. General at the Curia

CPRO Rome>

Published on Mar 15, 2013

Prepared by Roy Sebastian, S.J.
Habemus Papam....del popolo semplice...!
We have a Pope...of the simple people...!
Read more on this: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new...


http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new...
Jesuit doorman surprised by Pope's phone call

Rome, Italy, Mar 15, 2013 / 11:38 am (CNA/EWTN News).- He thought it was a joke. The young doorman at the Jesuit motherhouse in Rome never expected to receive a phone call from Pope Francis.
The Holy Father had to patiently and kindly convince the doorman who he was in order to speak with the Father General of the Jesuits to thank him for a letter the Pontiff received upon his election.
According to Father Claudio Barriga, SJ, who recounted the incident in an email to fellow Jesuits around the world, the unexpected phone call from Pope came around 10:15 a.m. Rome time on Thursday.
“The doorman answered the phone. They said it was call from St. Martha’s Residence and he heard a soft and serene voice: ‘Buon Giorno, sono il Papa Francesco, vorrei parlare con il Padre Generale (Good morning, it’s Pope Francis. I’d like to speak with the Father General).’”
“The doorman almost answered: ‘Yeah, and I’m Napoleon,’ but he resisted. Instead he replied curtly, ‘May I ask who’s calling?’ The Pope realized the young Italian man didn’t believe it was him, so he kindly repeated, ‘Seriously, it’s Pope Francis. What’s your name?’”
“Ever since the Pope’s election, our phone has been ringing every two minutes and a lot of people are calling, including a few lunatics,” Father Barriga said.
“Once the doorman realized his mistake he answered with a hesitant and nervous voice: ‘My name is Andrew.’”
“How are you, Andrew?” asked the Pope.
“Fine, pardon me, just a little bit confused.”
The Holy Father responded, “Don’t worry, could you please connect me with the Father General? I would like to thank him for the beautiful letter he sent me.”
“Pardon me, Your Holiness, I’ll connect you right now,” said the doorman.
“No problem. I’ll wait as long as necessary,” said Pope Francis.
The doorman handed the phone to the Father General’s private secretary, Brother Alfonso.
“Hello?” Brother Alfonso said.
“With whom am I speaking?” the Pope asked.
“It’s Alfonso, the Father General’s personal secretary,” he replied.
“It’s the Pope, I would like to speak with the Father General to thank him for the beautiful letter he sent me,” the Holy Father said.
“Sure, just a moment,” Brother Alfonso replied in amazement.
As he made his way to the office of Father Adolfo Nicolas, the Jesuit Father General, he continued his conversation.
“Holy Father, congratulations on your election! We are all happy here for your election, we are praying a lot for you,” Brother Alfonso told him.
“Praying that I keep going or that I turn back?” the Pope joked.
“That you keep going, of course,” he replied, as the Holy Father laughed.
“Stunned and bewildered, Brother Alfonso didn’t even bother to knock and simply entered the office of the Father General, who looked at him with surprise. He gave him the phone, looked at him and said: The Pope,” Father Barriga recounted.
“We don’t know the details about what happened next, but the Pope cordially thanked the Father General for his letter. The Father General said he would like to see him to greet him. The Pope said he would instruct his secretary so that they could meet as soon as possible and that somebody from the Vatican would be in touch,” Father Barriga said in his message.