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| Nativity scene vandalized at Overbrook, Pennsylvania church |
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Posted by: Stone - 01-09-2024, 06:51 AM - Forum: Anti-Catholic Violence
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Nativity scene vandalized at Overbrook church: "Someone is hurting worse than we are"
![[Image: AA1mBkZp.img?w=620&h=349&m=6]](https://img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/tenant/amp/entityid/AA1mBkZp.img?w=620&h=349&m=6)
January 8, 2024
OVERBROOK, Pa. (CBS) – When Mass ended inside Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church Sunday, families came out to get a closer look at the vandalized nativity scene near their church.
"It just made me cry. I can't stand to see that. The desecration of the nativity, of the holy family," parishioner AnnaMaria DiPilla said. Just so heartbreaking."
A few of the sculptures were cracked, broken and strewn around, including St. Joseph's head and an angel's wing.
"It's a feeling of sadness. Me, personally, it's also a feeling of anger," parishioner Domenic DiPilla said.
"Our lady's hands were broken. It looked like a horn was broken off one of the animals. So it was just somebody who got, I guess, a little bit upset and threw everything around and smashed it," the Rev. Matthew Phelan said.
Phelan, who is the pastor, said he learned about the damage Sunday morning, the last day the nativity scene would be up.
"It's significant in its meaning, so it hurts a little bit, but someone is hurting worse than we are and they need our prayers," Phelan said.
As bells rang out, some parishioners said they think that sound and the Christmas music played during the last week might have been a reason for the vandalism, after the church received complaints about the noise.
"The bells are going to ring. It's a Catholic Church. The bells are going to ring, and maybe you don't like it, but you have to respect it," Domenic DePilla said.
"To say that it's related to people angry about the bells, I wouldn't go that far, but it was an issue this week," Phelan said.
Regardless of the reason, many say they'll continue to lean on their faith through this time.
"Whoever did this has a lot of anger within them and I just want to pray for them, that they turn away from that and realize what they did was very hurtful to us and to Jesus," AnnaMaria DiPilla said.
The church says staff plan to file a police report in hopes of documenting the incident in case something like this happens again in the future.
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| Amid row over same-sex blessings, Pope laments ‘splitting into groups’ in the Church |
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Posted by: Stone - 01-08-2024, 07:48 AM - Forum: Pope Francis
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From the pro-Conciliar publication, Crux Now..
Amid row over same-sex blessings, Pope laments ‘splitting into groups’ in the Church
Crux Now [Emphasis - The Catacombs] |Jan 6, 2024
ROME – Pope Francis on the feast of the Epiphany lamented the sharp division among Catholics of differing views, saying believers must imitate the three wise men in putting God at the center of their lives, rather than their own ideas of the faith.
Speaking to attendees of his Jan. 6 Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica, the pope said that as members of the church, “instead of splitting into groups based on our own ideas, we are called to put God back at the center.”
“We need to abandon ecclesial ideologies [i.e. tradition - The Catacombs] to find the meaning of holy mother church, the ecclesial attitude. Ecclesial ideologies no, ecclesial vocation yes,” he said, saying, “The Lord, not our own ideas or our own projects,” must be the focus.
“Let us set out anew from God; let us seek from him the courage not to lose heart in the face of difficulties, the strength to surmount all obstacles, the joy to live in harmonious communion,” he said.
The pontiff’s comments came amid a burgeoning controversy over a recent Vatican declaration permitting non-liturgical blessings of same-sex unions, which has revealed strong divisions within Catholicism.
Pope Francis spoke during his Mass for the Catholic feast of the Epiphany, which commemorates the biblical narrative when the three Magi, also called the Three Wise Men or the “Three Kings,” follow a star that leads them to Jesus and the discovery of his identity as the Messiah. [...]
Pope Francis in his homily said the Magi are a reflection of the world’s peoples who are “journeying in search of God…of all those who were lost and now hear the beckoning of a friendly voice.”
Focusing on three aspects of the biblical narrative of the Magi, Francis noted that they are described as having their “eyes are raised to the heavens.”
The Magi “do not pass their lives staring at their feet, self-absorbed, confined by earthly horizons, plodding ahead in resignation or lamentation,” but rather, they “lift their heads high and await the light that can illumine the meaning of their lives,” he said.
“If we remain closed in the narrow confines of earthly things, if we waste away, heads bowed, hostages of our failures and our regrets; if we thirst for wealth and worldly comforts rather than becoming seekers of life and love, our life slowly loses its light,” he said.
What the Magi illustrate is the necessity to fix one’s eyes on heaven in order to discover the meaning of life, the pope said, saying humanity needs God’s word and friendship to move forward.
“We need to set out on this journey, so that our faith will not be reduced to an assemblage of religious devotions or mere outward appearance, but will instead become a fire burning within us, making us passionate seekers of the Lord’s face and witnesses to his Gospel,” he said.
Francis then lamented that the church is often split into groups based on various interpretations of the faith and stressed the importance of communion, saying God must be at the center of faith, rather than one’s own ideas about it.
Noting how the Magi also completed a journey on earth, the pope said they chose to follow God’s sign in the star, and ultimately their journey culminates in finding God “in man, in a little Child lying in a manger.”
“That is where the God who is infinitely great has revealed himself: in the little, the infinitely little,” he said, and stressed the importance of journeying in the world as witnesses to the Gospel.
Jesus was given to the world, Pope Francis said, “not to warm our nights, but to let rays of light break through the dark shadows that envelop so many situations in our societies.”
In this sense, he said God is found “not by basking in some elegant religious theory, but by setting out on a journey, seeking the signs of his presence in everyday life, and above all in encountering and touching the flesh of our brothers and sisters,” just as the Magi themselves found a real child.
“This is important: to find God in flesh and bone, in the faces of those we meet each day, and especially in the poor,” Francis said, saying this encounter with God opens faithful to something bigger and “makes us change our way of life and transform our world.” [Read more here.]
From the secular AP News...
Pope Francis warns against ideological splits in the Church, says focus on the poor, not ‘theory’
![[Image: ?url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.apnews.com%2F7...fb09adc661]](https://dims.apnews.com/dims4/default/a233933/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3800x2534+0+0/resize/1440x960!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.apnews.com%2F79%2F80%2Fc5b547764650b0740aafc812132b%2Fdfd5543829d641009d67e7fb09adc661)
Pope Francis presides over Epiphany Mass January 6, 2024
VATICAN CITY (AP [Emphasis - The Catacombs]) — Amid resistance to some Vatican policy by more conservative factions of the Catholic church, Pope Francis on Saturday cautioned the faithful against fracturing into groups “based on our own ideas.”
He issued the call to abandon “ecclesiastical ideologies” in his homily in St. Peter’s Basilica during Epiphany Day Mass, the last major Christmas season holiday.
Francis also warned against “basking in some elegant religious theory” instead of finding God in the faces of the poor.
Last month, Francis gave permission for priests to bless couples outside of marriage, including same-sex relationships, as long as the blessing was pastoral and not liturgical or part of some religious rite.
Some bishops who view Francis as a dangerous progressive immediately rejected such blessings. That prompted the Vatican earlier this week to issue a statement stressing that the blessings don’t constitute heresy and there were no doctrinal grounds to reject the practice.
Francis in his Epiphany homily didn’t cite the pushback against his same-sex blessings policy. But he deviated from the written text of the homily to cite the “need to abandon ecclesiastical ideologies.”
Francis said the Church needed to ensure that “our faith will not be reduced to an assemblage of religious devotions or mere outward appearance.”
“We find the God who comes down to visit us, not by basking in some elegant religious theory, but by setting out on a journey, seeking the signs of his presence in everyday life,” especially in the faces of the poor, the pontiff said.
The pontiff, who turned 87 last month and who battled health problems last year, held up well during the Epiphany ceremony, which included singing of Christmas hymns. At the end of the 90-minute service, an aide wheeled Francis down the basilica’s center aisle. The pope has a chronic knee problem and uses a wheelchair to navigate longer distances. [...]
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| Senior Vatican official makes case for a married priesthood |
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Posted by: Stone - 01-08-2024, 06:43 AM - Forum: Vatican II and the Fruits of Modernism
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NB: Archbishop Viganò has linked "this style of re-interpreting the understanding of blessings to potential future plans to introduce female deacons, married clergy or a new concept of the priesthood." We didn't have to wait too long ...
Senior Vatican official makes case for a married priesthood
![[Image: RE266ZIN3JNWZPP2CUITPG3J4I.jpg]](https://www.reuters.com/resizer/gYSWW2sNcjybNnWE2ZFQRKIGk3k=/1200x0/filters:quality(80)/cloudfront-us-east-2.images.arcpublishing.com/reuters/RE266ZIN3JNWZPP2CUITPG3J4I.jpg)
Special Vatican envoys, archbishop Charles Scicluna reads a brochure entitled "A new beginning", during a meeting with priests inside a church in Osorno, Chile June 15, 2018. REUTERS/Fernando Lavoz/File Photo Acquire Licensing Rights
Reuters | January 8, 20243:08 AM EST
The Roman Catholic Church should "seriously think" about allowing priests to marry, a senior Vatican official and advisor to Pope Francis said in an interview published on Sunday.
"This is probably the first time I'm saying it publicly and it will sound heretical to some people," Archbishop Charles Scicluna of Malta, who is also adjunct secretary in the Vatican's doctrinal office, told the Times of Malta.
Pope Francis in 2019 ruled out any chance that he would change the Roman Catholic rule requiring priests to be celibate. But it is not a formal doctrine of the Church and so it could be changed by a future pope.
In an interview with a Latin American news outlet in 2023, Francis spoke about the celibacy rule again, saying that "it is not eternal, like priestly ordination", but a "discipline" that could be revised.
A Vatican spokesman did not respond to a request for comment.
Scicluna, perhaps best known for his investigations of sexual abuse crimes, noted that priests were allowed to marry in the first millennium of the Church's history and that marriage is allowed today in the Eastern rite of the Catholic Church.
"If it were up to me, I would revise the requirement that priests have to be celibate," he said. "Experience has shown me that this is something we need to seriously think about."
Scicluna, 64, said the Church had "lost many great priests because they chose marriage".
He said "there is a place" for celibacy in the Church but that it also had to take into consideration that a priest sometimes falls in love. He then has to choose "between her and the priesthood and some priests cope with that by secretly engaging in sentimental relationships".
The debate over whether Roman Catholic priests should be allowed to married has been around for centuries.
Married men are allowed to become priests in the Eastern Rite of the Catholic Church as well as in the Orthodox Church. Protestant and Anglican Churches also allow a married priesthood.
Opponents of a married priesthood in the Roman Catholic Church say celibacy allows a priest to dedicate himself entirely to the Church.
In 2021, the pope dismissed a proposal to allow some elderly married men to be ordained in remote areas in the Amazon where in some places the faithful saw a priest as little as once a year.
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| Pius IX Condemns the Modern Italian State |
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Posted by: Stone - 01-07-2024, 06:54 AM - Forum: Church Doctrine & Teaching
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Pius IX Condemns the Modern Italian State
![[Image: ?u=https%3A%2F%2Ftse1.mm.bing.net%2Fth%3...ipo=images]](https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Ftse1.mm.bing.net%2Fth%3Fid%3DOIP.pejArCmh4nWlrwgPe34TWAHaKO%26pid%3DApi&f=1&ipt=3f763e19c449a4c3411392f287dbb20a9d04bad238db571fb073d89956894864&ipo=images)
Pius IX, Apostolic Letter Cum Catholica Ecclesia, March 26, 1860
TIA [slightly adapted - emphasis TIA]| January 6, 2024
Today when in the laws of almost every nation the stench of the Masonic tolerance is present, it is salutary to read the words with which Pope Pius IX condemned the founders of the Italian State who invaded and usurped the Pontifical Territories. These words have an exorcist power to expel this bad tolerance and help true Catholic militancy be restored in our souls.
Pope Pius IX
Since we are aware, not without the deepest displeasure of Our soul, that other requests would not find acceptance among those who, having clogged their ears like deaf aspids, have not yet allowed themselves to be moved by Our admonitions and Our complaints, and, on the other hand, feeling most profoundly what the cause of the Church, of this Apostolic See and of the entire Catholic world, attacked with such violence by these perverse men, requires of Us, We feel the duty to avoid what, by remaining without speaking, could be understood as a failure to fulfill the grave task of Our Office.
The situation has been made unsustainable to the point of inducing Us, following in the footsteps of Our Predecessors, to employ Our supreme power, entrusted to Us by God, not only to loosen but also to bind, resorting to a dutiful severity towards the guilty, which also serves as a healthy example for others.
Therefore, after having invoked the light of the Divine Spirit with public and private prayers and after having heard the opinion of a selected Congregation of Our Venerable Brother Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church, with the authority of Almighty God, of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, and Our own, we declare again that all those who have taken part in the rebellion, usurpation, occupation and criminal invasion of the aforementioned provinces of Our Papal States, and similar matters of which We have complained in Our Allocutions of June 20 and September 26 of last year, as well as those who took part in any of these enterprises – their executors, accomplices, supporters, advisors, followers or anyone else who favored the realization of what was described above – whether having personally taken part in it or by way of any pretext or other means, have incurred Major Excommunication and other ecclesiastical censures and penalties imposed by the Sacred Canons, the Apostolic Constitutions and the Decrees of the General Councils and particularly of the Council of Trent [sess. 22, chap. 11, De reform .]. And, if this be necessary, We strike them again with Excommunication and Anathema.
We further declare that they have simultaneously incurred the loss of all privileges, graces and indults granted, under any title, by Us or by the Roman Pontiffs Our Predecessors. We desire that they not be absolved and freed from these penalties except by Us or by the Roman Pontiff in office (except in the case of danger of death, but in case of convalescence they fall again under the same penalties). They will also be unable and incapable of obtaining the benefit of absolution until they have publicly retracted, revoked, canceled and eliminated everything that in any way they have promoted in this matter; until they have entirely and effectively returned everything to the original situation, to the Church, to Us and the Holy See and have repaired their crime by a proportional penance.
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| Spiritual Combat By Dom Lorenzo Scupoli |
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Posted by: Stone - 01-07-2024, 06:37 AM - Forum: Resources Online
- Replies (68)
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Spiritual Combat
By Dom Lorenzo Scupoli
Taken from this PDF
![[Image: Spiritual-Combat-screenshot.png]](https://i.postimg.cc/FFSrhg9f/Spiritual-Combat-screenshot.png)
TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. Preface
1. Preliminary Words On Perfection
2. Concerning Distrust Of Self
3. Confidence In God
4. How To Discover If We Distrust Ourselves And Place Confidence In God
5. Mistake Of Considering Cowardice A Virtue
6. Further Advice To Acquire Confidence In God
7. The Right Use Of Our Faculties
8. An Obstacle To Forming A Correct Judgment
9. Another Method To Prevent Deception Of The Understanding
10. Exercise Of The Will
11. Some Considerations To Incline The Will To Seek Pleasing God Only
12. The Opposition Within Man's Twofold Nature
13. How We Are To Encounter Sensuality
14. What To Do When The Will Is Apparently Overpowered
15. Further Advice On How To Fight Skillfully
16. The Soldier Of Christ Must Prepare Early For Battle
17. The Method Of Fighting Your Passions And Vices
18. How To Curb The Sudden Impulses Of Your Passions
19. How We Are To Fight Against Impurity
20. How To Combat Sloth
21. The Proper Use Of Our Senses To Contemplate Divine Things
22. How Sensible May Aid Us To Meditate On The Passion Of Christ
23. Other Dangerous Uses Of The Senses In Different Situations
24. How To Govern One's Speech
25. The Soldier Of Christ Must Avoid That Which Intrudes Upon Peace Of Mind
26. What We Are To Do When Wounded
27. The Methods Used By The Devil To Seduce Those Who Desire To Acquire Virtue
28. The Devil's Cunning Devices
29. The Efforts Of The Devil To Prevent Conversion
30. Concerning The Delusions Of Some Who Consider Themselves Being Perfected
31. Concerning The Artifices Of The Devil To Make Us Forsake The Virtuous Life
32. The Last Artifice Of The Devil In Making Even The Practice Of Virtue An Occasion Of Sin
33. Some Important Instructions For Those Who Wish To Mortify Themselves
34. Virtues Are To Be Acquired One At A Time And By Degrees
35. The Most Profitable Means Of Acquiring Virtue, And The Manner In Which We Apply Ourselves To A Particular Virtue For A Time
36. The Practice Of Virtue Requires Constant Application
37. Concerning The Necessity Of Seizing Eagerly All Opportunities Of Practicing Virtue
38. The Necessity Of Esteemimg All Opportunities Of Fighting For The Acquisition Of Virtue
39. The Manner In Which We May Exercise The Same Virtue On Different Occasions
40. The Time To Be Employed In The Acquisition Of Each Virtue And Indications Of Progress
41. The Need Of Moderation In The Desire To Be Freed Of Those Evils Patiently Borne, And The Manner In Which Our Desires Are To Be Regulated
42. The Defense Against The Artifices Of The Devil When He Suggests Indiscreet Devotions
43. The Tendency Of Our Corrupt Natures, Prompted By The Devil, To Indulge In Rash Judgment, And The Remedy For This Evil
44. Prayer
45. Mental Prayer
46. Meditation
47. Another Method Of Meditation
48. Prayer Based On The Intercession Of The Blessed Virgin
49. Some Considerations To Induce Confidence In The Assistance Of The Blessed Virgin
50. A Method Of Meditation And Prayer Involving The Intercession Of The Saints And The Angels
51. Meditation On The Sufferings Of Christ
52. The Benefits Derived From Meditations On The Cross And The Imitation Of The Virtue Of Christ Crucified
53. Concerning The Most Holy Sacrament Of The Eucharist
54. The Manner In Which We Ought To Receive Holy Communion
55. Preparation For Holy Communion, And The Role Of The Eucharist In Exciting In Us A Love Of God
56. Concerning Spiritual Communion
57. Concerning Thanksgiving
58. The Offering Of Self To God
59. Concerning Sensible Devotion And Dryness
60. Concerning The Examination Of Conscience
61. Concerning The Manner In Which We Are To Persevere In The Spiritual Combat Until Death
62. Concerning Our Preparation Against The Enemies Who Assail Us At The Hour Of Death
63. Concerning The Four Assaults Of The Enemy At The Hour Of Death-----The First Assault Against Faith And The Manner Of Resisting It
64. Concerning The Assault Of Despair And Its Remedy
65. Concerning Temptation To Vainglory
66. Concerning The Various Illusions Employed By The Devil At The Hour Of Our Death
I. PREFACE
The Spiritual Combat is known as one of the greatest classics in ascetic theology, along with The Imitation of Christ. In both cases the authors are shrouded in mystery. Several 17th century editions were published under the name of the Spanish Benedictine, John of Castanzia. Some writers of the Society of Jesus have ascribed the book to the Jesuit, Achilles Gagliardi, but most critics however consider Fr. Lawrence Scupoli as the author of this famous treatise. The first known edition was published in Venice in 1589 and contained but 24 chapters; later editions appeared with more chapters, so it is possible that the Theatines or another religious order may have been part of the composition. Whatever may be the solution of the problem of the author, doubt of the actual one or ones, can take nothing away from the value and efficacy of this "golden book" as St. Frances de Sales called it. It was "the favorite, the dear book" of this great master of the spiritual life who, for 18 years, carried in a pocket a copy which he had received from Fr. Scupoli in Padua himself. The Saint read some pages of it every day, entrusted to its supernatural and human wisdom, the guidance of his soul, and recommended it to all under his direction. The purpose of the work is to lead the soul to the summit of spiritual perfection, by means of a constant, courageous struggle against our evil nature, which tends to keep us away from that goal.
The author was a genius, the kind that can only be inspired by the grace of God and his book is a Catholic treasure and one of the greatest gifts God could have given any age, but most especially this benighted age which has lost its appreciation for the kind of simplicity necessary for sanctity.
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| Archbishop Viganò: Sermon for the Feast of the Epiphany |
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Posted by: Stone - 01-06-2024, 06:49 PM - Forum: Archbishop Viganò
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REPLEBITUR MAJESTATE EJUS OMNIS TERRA
Homily on the Feast of the Epiphany of Our Lord
![[Image: IMG_4027.jpeg]](https://exsurgedomine.it/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/IMG_4027.jpeg)
Ecce advenit Dominator Dominus: et regnum in manu ejus, et potestas, et imperium. Mal 3: 1; 1 Par 29: 12
In today’s Feast we celebrate the Mystery of the Epiphany of Our Lord, that is, the three-fold miraculous Manifestation of His Divinity:
Tribus miraculis ornatum diem sanctum colimus:
hodie stella magos duxit ad præsepium;
hodie vinum ex aqua factum est ad nuptias;
hodie in Jordane a Joanne Christus baptizari voluit,
ut salvaret nos, alleluja (Antiphona ad Magnificat).
Three mysteries mark this holy day:
today the star leads the Magi to the infant Christ;
today water is changed into wine for the wedding feast;
today Christ wills to be baptized by John in the river Jordan
to bring us salvation, alleluia.
Let us therefore contemplate the adoration of the Magi, the miracle of the water changed into wine at the wedding in Cana, and the Baptism in the Jordan.
On the Holy Night of Christmas, the Angels called the shepherds to prostrate themselves before the Word made flesh; on the Epiphany it is the entire human race and indeed all created things that bow to the living and true God and offers Him their tribute: et procidentes adoraverunt eum. The wise men who came from the East open their coffers and give Him gold, frankincense, and myrrh: the gold of Kingship, the frankincense of Priesthood, the myrrh of Sacrifice.
This celebration, with the quiet serenity with which the Lord operates, overlaps and replaces that which on the sixth day of the first month of the Roman calendar was dedicated to the celebration of the triple triumph of Augustus, to the pax augustea, paying the tribute of public divine honors to the immortal Emperor. For this reason the Church of Rome considers the adoration of the Magi with greater attention, seeing in them the first institutional witnesses of that universal Kingship that Providence wanted to radiate into the world from the capital of civilization, postponing the celebration of the Baptism of the Lord to the second Sunday after the Epiphany.
It will not have escaped your notice that it is Mary Most Holy, the Throne of Divine Wisdom, who welcomes all the members of that court as Mother and Queen; it is She who presents the Son to the adorations of the earth and to the pleasures of heaven. God manifests himself to men in his greatness, but he does so through Mary, bridging in the Incarnation by means of the Divine Maternity of the Virgin the sidereal distance between the Eternal Word of the Father and fallen humanity.
But if Julian the Apostate and the Emperor Valens, even though they were enemies of the Church and heretics, did not dare to avoid paying tribute to the divine King, it was all the more desired and encouraged by Theodosius, Charlemagne, Alfred the Great, Stephen of Hungary, Edward the Confessor, Emperor Henry II, Ferdinand of Castile and Louis IX of France, who had well understood how their earthly authority could not ignore the Supreme Lordship of the King of kings, nor the submission of civil power to the holy Law of God. That divine order, that perfect κόσμος which realizes the Lord’s prayer – adveniat regnum tuum, sicut in cœlo et in terra – has been shattered by the infernal χάος of the Revolution, by the Luciferian cry of Non serviam.
However, we do not celebrate a remote and illusory hope, a chimera of peace yet to come in a world from which Jesus Christ has been banished. We celebrate the present and eternal reality of the victory of Christ, the only Light of salvation of the world, knowing that all the peoples and kings of the earth will adore the Savior and recognize Him as their God, King, and Lord. The prophecies of the Old Testament leave us in no doubt: et adorabunt eum omnes reges terræ: omnes gentes servient ei, says the Psalm (Ps 72:11). Adorabunt, dominabitur, liberabit, benedicent: they are all verbs in the future tense, indicating a very certain and unfailing destiny, an ontological necessity, which no rebellion – angelic or human – can prevent from being realized.
When we see today the last steps towards the abyss of apostasy and the abyss of satanic revolt taking place before our eyes, we must remember the inevitability of the triumph of Christ and the eternal defeat of Satan, precisely in the light of the ancient prophecies and the words of Savior: Confide: Ego vici mundum (Jn 16:33). Christ has won. He defeated all the tyrants who throughout history believed they could fight the Church, and all of Scripture celebrates this victory by alternating human despondency at the momentary success of the enemy with the confident joy of the universal triumph of God.
Before him the inhabitants of the desert shall fall,
his foes shall lick the dust.
The kings of Tarshish and the islands shall bring offerings,
the kings of the Arabs and of Saba shall offer tribute.
To him all the kings shall fall prostrate,
all the nations shall serve him. (Ps 72: 9-11).
This is not merely a wish or a pious desire: it is the announcement of a reality already taking place in the Eternity of God, and which must simply now be fulfilled in time, allowing us to deserve by the act of faith and the sanctity of our lives to participate in the glory of Christ’s victory. This is what we ask in the prayer of the Mass: ut, qui jam te ex fide cognovimus, usque ad contemplandam speciem tuæ celsitudinis perducamur – so that we who now have known you through faith, may come to contemplate the splendor of your majesty.
We, jam cognovimus, have already known the Lord by offering Him in the act of faith the tribute of our will and intellect. Others will know the Lord when he returns in glory iudicare vivos et mortuos, and they will know him in the fury of his justice, in the restoration of the broken order:
He shall free the poor man who cried out and the needy man who finds no help,
he will have pity on the weak and save the life of his poor ones.
He will rescue them from violence and abuse,
their blood will be precious in his eyes (Ps 72: 12-14).
Just as during Advent we prepared for the celebration of Holy Christmas and the Epiphany, so in this epochal phase of the History of the human race we are called to prepare for the Final Coming of the Lord, knowing that he will free us, have mercy on us, and save us, that he will redeem us from violence and abuse, and that humiliabit calumniatorem (Ps 72: 4) – he will humiliate the liar. And who is more of a liar than Satan and his servants, who is more false and deceiving than he who attempts to substitute the chimera of an impossible human peace for the pax christiana inaugurated by the Incarnation of the Son of God and ratified by Him on Golgotha by His Sacrifice of Himself to the Father? Who is more of a liar than he who distracts peoples from the Eternal Truth of Christ by the fraud of an earthly happiness made up of controls, violence, and heinous crimes against the weak and little ones?
Nolite timere pusillus grex, quia complacuit Patri vestro dare vobis regnum (Lk 12: 32). Do not be afraid, little flock, because it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you his kingdom: regnum veritatis et vitæ; regnum sanctitatis et gratiæ; regnum justitiæ, amoris et pacis (Præfatio Christi Regis). And so may it be.
+ Carlo Maria Viganò, Archbishop
January 6, 2024
In Epiphania Domini
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| Pope Francis’ ‘transsexual’ baptisms document is even more radical than it seems |
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Posted by: Stone - 01-05-2024, 06:13 AM - Forum: Pope Francis
- Replies (1)
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“What could be clearer? We must henceforth obey and be faithful to the Conciliar Church, no longer to the Catholic Church. Right there is our whole problem: we are suspended a divinis by the Conciliar Church, the Conciliar Church, to which we have no wish to belong! That Conciliar Church is a schismatic church because it breaks with the Catholic Church that has always been. It has its new dogmas, its new priesthood, its new institutions, its new worship… The Church that affirms such errors is at once schismatic and heretical. This Conciliar Church is, therefore, not Catholic. To whatever extent Pope, Bishops, priests, or the faithful adhere to this new church, they separate themselves from the Catholic Church.” (Archbishop Lefebvre, Reflections on his suspension a divinis, July 29, 1976)
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Pope Francis’ ‘transsexual’ baptisms document is even more radical than it seems
The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith’s approach to baptism departs from apostolic practice, passing over aspects of the Gospel that require change and sacrifice and leaving catechumens in error and sin.
![[Image: pope-fernand-e1702909925164.jpg]](https://www.lifesitenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/pope-fernand-e1702909925164.jpg)
Pope Francis/Cardinal Victor Fernández
Vatican News/Mazur/cbcew.org.uk
Fr. Timothy V. Vaverek [Priest of the Diocese of Austin since 1985]
Jan 4, 2024
(LifeSiteNews) — In November, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) formally responded to the question, “Can a transsexual be baptized?” Most commentary has focused on its implications for pastoral care in those circumstances. However, the Response has actually presented a new approach for administering the sacraments to anyone. That’s very troubling because the dicastery’s approach departs from apostolic practice and claims to explain Pope Francis’ vision.
The DDF affirmed that “a transsexual [sic]… can receive baptism, under the same conditions as other believers.” For an adult, those conditions (not enumerated in the Response) include repentance and acceptance of the faith and life of the Gospel. Let’s consider how those arise and affect the sacrament.
Beginning with the Apostles, the Church has elicited repentance and faith by proclaiming Christ and His Gospel. A process of pre-baptismal formation was developed to prepare would-be converts (“catechumens”) for sharing Jesus’ life. This often required significant changes of worldview and lifestyle. Sometimes it led to persecution.
The extent and gravity of those changes weren’t hidden from catechumens or treated as unendurable burdens. On the contrary, catechumens joyfully embraced them as the yoke and cross of Christ. This empowered them to live and die united to Jesus in the face of struggles and failures.
Despite formation, a catechumen might be baptized without knowing that certain of his actions and beliefs are contrary to the Gospel or while deliberately refusing to abandon them. Are such baptisms valid?
The Church teaches that the reception of baptism is invalid only when someone opposes it (this refusal might be hidden). That person remains unbaptized because God doesn’t impose his gifts.
If a catechumen is innocently in error, then his baptism is valid, he’s configured to Christ by receiving the baptismal “character,” and the Trinity comes to dwell in him, initiating the life of grace. However, his beliefs and behavior remain distorted until he recognizes and lives the truth of the Gospel.
If a catechumen deliberately refuses a particular Gospel teaching or repentance for a specific sin, the sacrament is nevertheless valid and he receives the baptismal character, but God doesn’t dwell in him. The life of grace can’t begin until he stops refusing because God won’t force him to accept the changes needed to share Christ’s life.
Striving to avoid such harmful outcomes, the Church insists that catechumens manifest their desire for baptism, receive sufficient instruction in faith and morals, be tested in the Christian life, and be admonished to repent (see canon 865).
The DDF doesn’t discuss all those canonical requirements or how one might particularly assist an individual who self-identifies as “transsexual” prepare for baptism. It merely states the general obligation of the Church, before and after baptism, to “remind [them] to fully live all the implications of baptism.”
The Response mentions in passing the possibility of doubts about a catechumen’s situation and considers the deliberate refusal to repent of sin (without addressing the refusal of Gospel teachings). It notes that even apart from grace, sacramental character “remains forever in the Christian as a positive disposition for grace [and] as a promise and guarantee of divine protection” (Catechism 1121).
The DDF also states that baptismal character is a cause “disposing one to accept grace” (misquoting St. Thomas Aquinas) and that God can initiate an “irrevocable covenant” with sinners. Apparently this is meant to foster the expectation that those who knowingly rejected the Gospel at their baptism will later accept it.
Most notably, the Response claims its reflections are the key to understanding Pope Francis’ statement that “the doors of the Sacraments should not be closed for any reason, [especially] Baptism.” (Recall that the Pope has also said Holy Communion and absolution shouldn’t be withheld.)
To summarize: the DDF proposes that baptism (or any other sacrament) shouldn’t be withheld from those desiring it, even if the minister knows or reasonably believes that the person deliberately rejects elements of the faith and life of the Gospel. Seemingly, God will resolve the situation later.
There are grave problems with this.
First, baptismal character and God’s covenant are irrevocable but don’t guarantee entrance into Heaven. To expect otherwise would be sinfully presumptuous because God won’t force fidelity on anyone.
Second, Aquinas didn’t describe character as a “cause disposing one to accept grace” but as a “cause disposing to grace.” For Thomas, this “disposition” is a configuration to Christ that fits (we might say “orients”) a person to life and worship as a member of His Body. It’s not a psychological “disposition” or motivation leading one to accept grace: “character is not imprinted for preparing man’s will [to act well]” (I Sent IV, 4, 3, 2, 1).
Third, conferring baptism based on desire alone departs from apostolic practice by ignoring the need for repentance and belief. That desire must lead to a well-formed affirmation that the catechumen accepts the Gospel proclaimed by the Church and intends to live by it.
Fourth, those who culpably reject repentance or Jesus’ teachings commit sacrilege and presumption by accepting baptism (or any other sacrament), as do the clergy who intentionally or negligently enable them. The Church must help them avoid these sins.
Catechumens, including self-identified “transsexuals,” have a divine right to authentic Christian formation prior to baptism. This corresponds to the duty Christ imposed on the Church to teach His disciples “to observe all that I have commanded.” Therefore, priests and catechists must compassionately question and confront indications of a catechumen’s incorrect beliefs and behavior, even those they hold dearest.
Relying on desire alone or adopting a “don’t ask, don’t tell” approach that passes over aspects of the Gospel that require change and sacrifice leaves catechumens in error and sin, ensnared by the ways of the world. That’s a false “wisdom” that empties the Cross of its liberating and life-changing power (I Cor 1:7).
Those who deliberately reject elements of Christian faith and life must be accompanied patiently but baptized only when they know and desire to accept the faith and life of the Gospel. That’s the all-inclusive, apostolic approach—and the only one that works.
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| Health Canada admits ‘plasmid DNA’ is in COVID shots but claims levels are within allowable limit |
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Posted by: Stone - 01-05-2024, 06:06 AM - Forum: COVID Vaccines
- No Replies
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Health Canada admits ‘plasmid DNA’ is in COVID shots but claims levels are within allowable limit
A prominent microbiologist argued that the amount of DNA in the COVID shots was as much as 18 to 70 times higher than the limits set by some regulatory agencies.
![[Image: Shutterstock_1079988023.jpg]](https://www.lifesitenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Shutterstock_1079988023.jpg)
Shutterstock
Jan 4, 2024
OTTAWA (LifeSiteNews) – Officials from Health Canada have admitted that there is “residual plasmid DNA” in the COVID shots after a Conservative MP asked the agency through an official information request if the DNA fragments were in the shots.
As per a recent Epoch Times report, a December 17 Inquiry of Ministry response from Health Canada to Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) MP Colin Carrie, who wanted to know more about what was in the shots, says that the agency claims the shots are safe despite the presence of plasmid DNA fragments.
Health Canada claims that the amounts are within the limits set by the World Health Organization after Carrie had asked about the “amount of acceptable residual DNA per vaccine dose and the method used to measure it.”
Health Canada responded to Carrie’s question by admitting that it is aware of the presence of “residual plasmid DNA” in the COVID shots but claimed this number is below a limit of 10 nanograms per human dose.
Kevin McKernan, a microbiologist and former researcher and team leader for the MIT Human Genome project, and Dr. Phillip J. Buckhaults, a professor of cancer genomics and director of the Cancer Genetics Lab at the University of South Carolina, earlier revealed that there is plasmid DNA in the COVID shots. Plasmid DNA is used in the manufacturing of mRNA jabs.
McKernan and Buckhaults had also raised in a public manner how cancer-linked Polyomavirus Simian Virus 40 (SV40) DNA was found in the Pfizer COVID shot.
According to McKernan, the amount of DNA in the COVID shots was as much as 18 to 70 times higher than the limits that were set by some regulatory agencies.
Carrie also asked Health Canada to let Canadians know about the “adulteration of these products” through the presence of the SV40 DNA to make sure there was “fully informed consent” before taking the jab.
The agency responded by claiming that “In the manufacture of any vaccine, it is expected that there may be variabilities or residual elements that are part of the standard manufacturing process.”
Regarding the presence of SV40 in the Pfizer COVID shot, LifeSiteNews recently reported how the agency admitted it was present but claimed the DNA in the shot is “inactive” with “no functional role” and that the jabs are not a form of gene therapy.
However, a study published in December by the European Review for Medical and Pharmacological Sciences found while looking at the genomes in the blood cells of humans injected with the mRNA COVID jab that DNA had been altered with the genetic code of the shots.
SV40 in vaccines has been linked to the spread of turbo cancers in those who have been exposed to the virus via contaminated injections. According to a 2002 study published in the Lancet, there is evidence that links the older polio vaccines, which were filed with SV40 contaminants, to certain forms of cancer.
Polio vaccines from the late 1950s to the early 1960s were contaminated with SV40 after it was discovered that the virus was present in the monkey kidney cells, which vaccine makers used to grow the shots.
The authors of the 2002 study claim that the SV40-contaminated polio vaccine may have caused up to half of the 55,000 cases of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma diagnosed each year.
SV40, or the simian (monkey) virus as it is known, according to Dr. Maurice Hilleman, who is a late vaccine developer, was put in the polio vaccine and then into wide circulation by Merck inadvertently.
It has never been clear, Mercola noted, whether SV40 has been completely removed from polio vaccines since, however, it is known that contaminated jabs were in circulation in Italy as late as 1999.
Despite the health risks associated with the COVID shots, governments across Canada all enacted strict rules, including workplace jab mandates.
As a result, many Canadians who chose not to get the shots lost their job. However, many of them are fighting back.
Late last year, LifeSiteNews reported that over 700 vaccine-free Canadians negatively affected by federal COVID jab dictates have banded together to file a multimillion-dollar class-action lawsuit against the federal government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
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| The Papal-Coronation Oath |
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Posted by: Stone - 01-05-2024, 05:44 AM - Forum: Church Doctrine & Teaching
- No Replies
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The Papal-Coronation Oath
Taken from here.
![[Image: secondtry-e1704054118630.jpg]](https://www.padreperegrino.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/secondtry-e1704054118630.jpg)
The following is the Coronation-Oath made by most or all Pope-Elects from at least 678 AD until the 1960s (when it was eradicated.) Notice what old-school Popes used to call down upon themselves, should they divert from Jesus Christ’s teaching as given to the Apostles:
“I vow to change nothing of the received Tradition, and nothing thereof I have found before me guarded by my God-pleasing predecessors, to encroach upon, to alter, or to permit any innovation therein;
“To the contrary: with glowing affection as her truly faithful student and successor, to safeguard reverently the passed-on good, with my whole strength and utmost effort; To cleanse all that is in contradiction to the canonical order, should such appear; to guard the Holy Canons and Decrees of our Popes as if they were the divine ordinance of Heaven, because I am conscious of Thee, whose place I take through the Grace of God, whose Vicarship I possess with Thy support, being subject to severest accounting before Thy Divine Tribunal over all that I shall confess;
“I swear to God Almighty and the Savior Jesus Christ that I will keep whatever has been revealed through Christ and His Successors and whatever the first councils and my predecessors have defined and declared.
“I will keep without sacrifice to itself the discipline and the rite of the Church. I will put outside the Church whoever dares to go against this oath, may it be somebody else or I.
“If I should undertake to act in anything of contrary sense, or should permit that it will be executed, Thou willst not be merciful to me on the dreadful Day of Divine Justice.
“Accordingly, without exclusion, We subject to severest excommunication anyone — be it Ourselves or be it another — who would dare to undertake anything new in contradiction to this constituted evangelic Tradition and the purity of the orthodox Faith and the Christian religion, or would seek to change anything by his opposing efforts, or would agree with those who undertake such a blasphemous venture.”
[The papal coronation oath was not said by Popes John Paul I, John Paul II, Benedict XVI, or Francis. This Oath was said by every pope since the year 678, beginning with Pope Saint Agatho. - The Catacombs]
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| Cardinal Fernández: Bishops banned from ‘total or definitive denial’ of Fiducia Supplicans |
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Posted by: Stone - 01-04-2024, 01:55 PM - Forum: Vatican II and the Fruits of Modernism
- No Replies
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Cardinal Fernández: Bishops banned from ‘total or definitive denial’ of Fiducia Supplicans
Cdl. Fernández's response comes after numerous bishops and bishops' conferences across the globe expressed official rejection of Fiducia Supplicans' call for same-sex blessings.
![[Image: fernandez-2.jpg]](https://www.lifesitenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/fernandez-2.jpg)
Victor Cardinal Fernández speaking to media, September 30, 2023.
Michael Haynes/LifeSiteNews
Thu Jan 4, 2024
VATICAN CITY (LifeSiteNews) — Cardinal Victor Fernández has released a press statement intended to “clarify” his Fiducia Supplicans text which allowed blessings of same-sex couples, in an attempt to limit the widespread opposition from bishops to such blessings, while also warning that there “is no room to distance ourselves doctrinally” from Fiducia Supplicans.
Issued January 4, Cardinal Fernández’s press release was an attempt “to help clarify the reception of Fiducia Supplicans, while recommending at the same time a full and calm reading of the Declaration so as to better understand its meaning and purpose.”
Fiducia Supplicans was released December 18, 2023 and allowed “blessings for couples in irregular situations and for couples of the same sex,” while adding that the Church’s teaching on marriage between one man and one woman remained unchanged.
Its unannounced arrival caused a storm in the Church, which large numbers of bishops and bishops’ conferences around the world expressing outrage and opposition to the text, with such rejection of the document being particularly strong across Africa.
Referencing these reactions, though without naming any in particular, Fernández wrote how “the understandable statements of some Episcopal Conferences regarding the document Fiducia Supplicans have the value of highlighting the need for a more extended period of pastoral reflection.”
He argued – seemingly against undeniable evidence – that the responses from bishops’ conferences “cannot be interpreted as doctrinal opposition, because the document is clear and definitive about marriage and sexuality.”
Quoting from his own introduction to Fiducia Supplicans, along with paragraphs 4, 5, and 11 – which presented Church teaching on marriage – Fernández argued that “evidently, there is no room to distance ourselves doctrinally from this declaration or to consider it heretical, contrary to the Tradition of the Church or blasphemous.”
Bishops’ rejection of blessings
Opposition to Fiducia Supplicans has not been due to its pronouncements on the nature of marriage, however, with bishops welcoming how the text outlines the true teaching of the sacrament. Rather opposition was aimed at the blessings being offered to same-sex couples.
The new prefect of the Congregation (now Dicastery) for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) admitted that “some bishops however, express themselves in particular regarding a practical aspect: the possible blessings of couples in irregular situations.”
Fiducia Supplicans section 31 reads clearly that:
Quote:Within the horizon outlined here is the possibility of blessings of couples in irregular situations and of same-sex couples, the form of which should not find any ritual fixation on the part of ecclesial authorities, in order not to produce confusion with the blessing proper to the sacrament of marriage.
Fernández argued that this was calling for blessings of people who are together, but not of their unions per se: “the Declaration contains a proposal for short and simple pastoral blessings (neither liturgical nor ritualised) of couples in irregular situations (but not of their unions), underlining that these are blessings without a liturgical format which neither approve nor justify the situation in which these people find themselves.”
Writing that different dioceses will take different times to implement Fiducia Supplicans “depending on local contexts and the discernment of each diocesan Bishop with his Diocese,” and that each bishop has authority of his own diocese, Fernández nevertheless prohibited bishops banning priests from acting in line with Fiducia Supplicans:
Quote:Prudence and attention to the ecclesial context and to the local culture could allow for different methods of application, but not a total or definitive denial of this path that is proposed to priests.
Veiled warning to Africa
The response form Africa’s various bishops’ conference has been notably strong, with numerous bishops warning against any blessings of same-sex couples.
Cameroon’s bishops issued a statement of nearly unmatched forthrightness in which the bishops declared “we formally forbid all blessing of ‘homosexual couples’ in the Church of Cameroon.” Contrary to many liberal societies in the West, homosexuality is not a societally accepted behavior throughout much of Africa, which was an aspect highlighted by a number of bishops on the continent in their respective responses.
Fernández, while noting the differing laws prohibiting homosexuality, warned against any opposition to Fiducia Supplicans even in principle. “It remains vital that these Episcopal Conferences do not support a doctrine different from that of the Declaration signed by the Pope, given that it is perennial doctrine, but rather that they recommend the need for study and discernment so as to act with pastoral prudence in such a context,” he wrote.
In countries where homosexuality is illegal, Fernández called on local bishops not to re-iterate the church’s own condemnation of homosexual actions, but to focus on the “great and wide-ranging pastoral responsibility that includes training, the defense of human dignity, the teaching of the Social Doctrine of the Church and various strategies that do not admit of a rushed response.”
Liturgical or pastoral?
A key debate which has raged since the emergence of Fernández’s December 18 text is the question of the blessing itself. Fernández argued at the time that blessings for same-sex couples were “pastoral,” while numerous bishops argued that such an attempted differentiation for a blessing of such a couple was mere equivocation.
Nevertheless, Fernández has re-iterated his position in his January 4 press release:
Quote:The real novelty of this Declaration, the one that requires a generous effort of reception and from which no one should declare themselves excluded, is not the possibility of blessing couples in irregular situations.
It is the invitation to distinguish between two different forms of blessings: “liturgical or ritualized” and “spontaneous or pastoral.” The Presentation clearly explains that “the value of this document […] is that it offers a specific and innovative contribution to the pastoral meaning of blessings, permitting a broadening and enrichment of the classical understanding of blessings, which is closely linked to a liturgical perspective.”
This “theological reflection, based on the pastoral vision of Pope Francis, implies a real development from what has been said about blessings in the Magisterium and the official texts of the Church,” he added.
He argued that the “central theme” of Fiducia Supplicans “which invites us especially to a deeper pastoral practice which enriches our pastoral praxis, is to have a broader understanding of blessings and of the proposal that these pastoral blessings, which do not require the same conditions as blessings in a liturgical or ritual context, flourish.”
As such, he called on the entire Church to change its understanding of blessings:
Quote:Although some Bishops consider it prudent not to impart these blessings for the moment, we all need to grow equally in the conviction that: non-ritualized blessings are not a consecration of the person nor of the couple who receives them, they are not a justification of all their actions, and they are not an endorsement of the life that they lead. When the Pope asked us to grow in a broader understanding of pastoral blessings, he proposed that we think of a way of blessing that does not require the placing of so many conditions to carry out this simple gesture of pastoral closeness, which is a means of promoting openness to God in the midst of the most diverse circumstances.
’15 second’ blessings
Offering concrete guidance on how a blessing for a same-sex couple might take place, Fernández suggested a formula for priests to use, despite his previous statement that such blessings much be “spontaneous” and not formalized:
Quote:“Lord, look at these children of yours, grant them health, work, peace and mutual help. Free them from everything that contradicts your Gospel and allow them to live according to your will. Amen.” Then it concludes with the sign of the cross on each of the two persons.
He stated that such blessings would be a request to God “for peace, health and other good things,” along with the request by the one giving the blessing for the couple to “live the Gospel of Christ in full fidelity and so that the Holy Spirit can free these two people from everything that does not correspond to his divine will and from everything that requires purification.”
READ: EXCLUSIVE: Cardinal Fernández says blessings are for ‘every’ person in ‘every situation’
“We are talking about something that lasts about 10 or 15 seconds,” he said. “Does it make sense to deny these kinds of blessings to these two people who ask for them?”
Closing, Cdl. Fernández stipulated that “we will all have to become accustomed to accepting the fact that, if a priest gives this type of simple blessings [sic], he is not a heretic, he is not ratifying anything nor is he denying Catholic doctrine.”
Today’s press statement comes after FS stated there would be “no further responses…about possible ways to regulate details or practicalities regarding blessings of this type,” on the matter of same-sex blessings.
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| Latin Mass suppressed in New Haven, Connecticut |
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Posted by: Stone - 01-04-2024, 05:41 AM - Forum: Vatican II and the Fruits of Modernism
- Replies (1)
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Latin Mass suppressed in New Haven, Connecticut
Local pastors decided to end a Latin Mass near Yale University, held for almost four decades by a society credited with promoting the TLM all over the East Coast.
![[Image: Latin-Mass-New-Haven.jpg]](https://www.lifesitenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Latin-Mass-New-Haven.jpg)
Facebook
Jan 3, 2024
NEW HAVEN, Connecticut (LifeSiteNews) — The sole Latin Mass in New Haven, Connecticut, provided by the historic St. Gregory Society, will be canceled as of January 14, thereby tentatively ending the society.
A representative of the Archdiocese of Hartford shared with LifeSiteNews on Wednesday that Archbishop Leonard Blair approved the decision of Fr. Sebastian Kos, administrator of the Latin Mass’ host church, St. Stanislaus, and Fr. Ryan Lerner, pastor of St. Stanislaus’ parish church, Blessed Michael McGivney, to discontinue the Latin Mass.
Archbishop Blair wrote to Fr. Kos and Fr. Lerner on Dec. 19 referencing their joint Dec. 11 decision, explaining, “Given the declining number of attendees, most of whom are not members of the parish, and the challenges of finding a qualified celebrant, not to mention the restrictions placed on such celebrations by the Holy See, I fully concur with the decision that has been made.”
The decision was originally announced December 31. A decree by Archbishop Blair was read “two minutes” before that Sunday’s Latin Mass.
Nicholas Renouf, co-founder of the St. Gregory Society, which has been providing for Latin Masses in New Haven since 1985, told LifeSiteNews he only learned of the decision when the announcement was made before Sunday’s Mass. Contrary to the claim in the archbishop’s letter, attendance at St. Stanislaus’ Latin Masses, while modest in size, has doubled at the church over the years, Renouf said.
He shared that the number of attendees has also been as high as 400 when the Latin Mass was offered at the larger nearby St. Mary’s at noon, widely seen as a more convenient time than 2 p.m., the current Latin Mass time at St. Stanislaus.
While the St. Gregory Society currently only imports visiting priests to offer the Latin Mass, the burden of inviting and hosting these priests remains with the lay members of the Society, Renouf explained. He added that Fr. Kos and Fr. Lerner only need to approve the priests by email.
In a Wednesday conversation with LifeSiteNews, Fr. Lerner affirmed the reasons for the decision stated in Archbishop Blair’s letter, explaining that scheduling priests for the Latin Mass has been “challenging,” and citing low attendance at the Mass.
“It’s spiritually healthy to be part of a parish, and we have a parish established for this about 30 minutes away,” he said, referring to a Latin Mass offered in Waterbury by the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest (ICKSP), noted in Archbishop Blair’s Dec. 19 letter.
Asked whether the restrictions imposed on the Latin Mass by the Vatican played a part in his joint decision with Fr. Kos, Fr. Lerner replied, “Certainly we took that under consideration under obedience to the Holy Father and to our Archbishop.”
He pointed out, as did the diocesan representative, that Archbishop Blair established Latin Masses offered by the ICKSP in the area.
Renouf told LifeSiteNews he believes that the Vatican’s increasing restrictions on the Latin Mass are the ultimate impetus for the decision.
“I know why it’s done. They all want to align with what Francis wants, which is total suppression of [the Latin Mass],” Renouf said.
While a portion of Latin Mass attendees are expected to transfer to the ICKSP-run St. Patrick Parish in Waterbury, Renouf, who is 77 and suffering from health issues, told LifeSiteNews he will either attend another ICKSP Latin Mass in Bridgeport or “suffer” at a nearby Novus Ordo Mass, an option he described as a “penance.”
Renouf co-founded the St. Gregory Society with Britt Wheeler after Pope John Paul II issued the 1984 indult Quattuor abhinc annos, which “allowed” priests to offer the Latin Mass publicly under certain conditions, including the condition that they and “their respective faithful in no way share the positions of those who call in question the legitimacy and doctrinal exactitude of the Roman Missal promulgated by Pope Paul VI in 1970.”
The indult also stipulated that such Latin Masses be offered “only for the benefit of those groups that request it” and “under the conditions fixed by the bishop.”
Renouf told LifeSiteNews that the Society was able to gather many signatures on the petition required to secure permission for the Mass from Archbishop John Whealon, including the signature of William F. Buckley Jr., a highly influential conservative writer and commentator and Yale graduate.
The Society soon went on to leave its mark not just in New Haven but in neighboring states and beyond, so much so that National Review writer Michael Brendan Dougherty called the New Haven Latin Mass “a source of artistic and liturgical renewal for the region.”
Renouf told LifeSiteNews that the Society’s Master of Ceremonies, William Riccio, has trained many priests in the Diocese of Bridgeport and that he travels the country arranging for “very special, solemn” Masses offered by prelates from Europe. Samuel Howard also recently attested that “many if not most of the servers and singers for the Latin Mass” in Connecticut and downstate NY” were trained either directly or indirectly by the St. Gregory Society.
In response to the decision to end the New Haven Latin Mass, the Society of St. Hugh of Cluny, which was formed after the 2007 motu proprio Summorum Pontificum, remarked, “The St. Gregory Society has played a historic role in the rediscovery of the celebration of the Traditional Mass with complete music and ceremony. The Society’s influence has been felt all over the East Coast of the United States and beyond.”
New York Times columnist Ross Douthat, who grew up in New Haven, slammed the suppression of the city’s Latin Mass on X, commenting, “I suppose that making sure that impressionable Yale students don’t have a TLM of any kind within walking distance could be seen as an end unto itself.”
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