Good for you Dolours! It is hard to hold one's tongue. After reading the article I got so upset I wrote a page long point by point reply, but I decided not to post it. When I was growing up my mother always said "Don't tell me, show me." A person's words and actions need to line up or something is wrong.
Praetorian, The important thing to remember is that Pope Francis did make these statements. In most of the discussions concerning him on MOG, the focus has been on his contrarian statements, actions, and choices. So in that sense you are correct: A person's words and actions need to line up or something is wrong. For my part, I was unfamiliar with a number of the quotes mentioned. Where does that leave me? John 1: 45 Philip found Nathan'a-el, and said to him, "We have found him of whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph." 46 Nathan'a-el said to him, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Philip said to him, "Come and see." 47 Jesus saw Nathan'a-el coming to him, and said of him, "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!" 48 Nathan'a-el said to him, "How do you know me?" Another word for guile is duplicity, or may I say: a person who speaks out of both sides of his mouth. For my part, in the first 3 years of Francis' pontificate I would often say, "I agree the Pope said this, but have you noticed this good point?" It is the reality of his duplicity and example that discouragement has set in during the last 3 years. I sometimes wonder if the orthodox Popes of the last two centuries, whom we revere, had lived under the microscopic, day-by-day analysis of today's information driven society, how would they fare? Likewise, what would you all think of me if the world happened to analyze every word and action of my daily life? This above all, gives me hesitation at pointing the finger. Safe in the Barque of Peter!
I wonder if this article could be made a 'stickie' on the site? It would be edifying for anyone to have these points to hand if any progressive in their company starts gushing about how 'right-on' Pope Francis is.
Meanwhile.....very good read: remembering those who have been repairing throughout Church history what has been and continues to be torn in its very fabric. What May Save Us ......... There are some good signs – that we tend to overlook because of the disorder all around us, including within the Church. But renewal is modestly, steadily happening, though in the end it may lead to the smaller, purer Church that Joseph Ratzinger predicted. https://www.thecatholicthing.org/20...il&utm_term=0_769a14e16a-e7d82eef03-244257269
Archbishop Wilton Gregory has been appointed as Archbishop of the archdiocese of Washington. I am on my cell phone and can’t download He has not been confirmed
I don't know if this has been posted before but I ran across this Italian article and ran it through Google translate. It is interesting to me what he says specifically regarding immigration in our time. http://www.ilgiornale.it/news/crona...-piano-cambiare-i-popoli-europei-1545835.html "Behind the migrants there is a plan to change the European peoples" A plan for Europe's Christianity to be challenged. This is the vision of the Kyrgyz bishop Schneider, who focused on this and other issues that also closely concern the vision of the Catholic Church Francesco Boezi - Wed, 27/06/2018 - 15:37 commenta A plan to question the very Christianity of Europe. Kyrgyz bishop Athanasius Schneider seems to be sure. A plan, again, that would have even been "prepared for a long time". A plan, ultimately, "orchestrated". We talked with the prelate of Astana about this and other issues. Your Excellency, is there "doctrinal confusion" in the contemporary Church? "Forty years ago, Pope Paul VI realized with realism the following situation in the life of the Church:" It was believed that after the Council a sunny day would come for the history of the Church. of storm, of darkness, of search, of uncertainty: from some fissure the smoke of Satan entered into the temple of God "." This situation has worsened in recent decades to the point that has forced the great cardinal Carlo Caffarra to affirm some months before his death: "Only a blind person can deny that there is great confusion in the Church". One of the most debated issues concerns the so-called "intercommunion". The Pope said he did not "take any steps back", while Ladarìa spoke of "text not ready". What's the situation? "We must look at the problem in its roots. The proper effect of Eucharistic Communion is the perfect union of all members of the Church. Therefore, the very reception of the Eucharist - even in so-called emergency cases - by a Protestant Christian or orthodox, represents in the last analysis a lie, since such a non-Catholic admitted to the Eucharist intentionally continues to reject the integrity of Catholic truths and hierarchical communion.In this we also see the theologically contradictory principle of canon 844 of the Code of Law Canon that speaks of "intercommunion" in emergencies The proposals of the German bishops on "intercommunion" is only a logical consequence of the aforementioned canon. And this contradicts the constant practice of the Church during the two thousand years ". Has the question of "dubia" been resolved? "This question obviously has not been resolved. In fact the undeniable reality is this: ecclesiastical authorities at different levels have given their approval - even in exceptional cases - to divorce. They have done so however through the admission to the Holy Communion of people who live intentionally and stably in an intimate manner with a person who is not their legitimate spouse. No ecclesiastical authority has the power to dispense - even implicitly or in an exceptional case - from the sixth Divine commandment and from the indissolubility of marriage ". There is a great discussion about the subject of immigration. Has Italy been left alone by the European Union? The Church continues to call our country "to humanitarianism". "The phenomenon of so-called" immigration "represents a plan orchestrated and prepared for a long time by international powers to radically change the Christian and national identity of the European peoples. These powers use the enormous moral potential of the Church and their structures for to achieve their anti-Christian and anti-European objectives more effectively. To this end the true concept of humanism is abused and even the Christian commandment of charity ". What do you think of the Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini? "I do not follow and I do not know the Italian political situation well, for this reason I am not able to pronounce myself on it. But if a government of a specific European nation would try to accentuate more its own sovereignty and its historical, cultural and Christian identity in the face to the totalitarianism of a species of the new Soviet Union, which today is called the European Union with an unmistakably Masonic ideology, this is certainly to be commended ". Italian mayors of the 5 Star Movement, such as Chiara Appendino in Turin, have registered at the registry office children of homosexual couples. What is the position of the Catholic Church in this regard? The Catholic Church as well as every human person of common sense and direct reason has always rejected homosexual activity. Entrusting so-called homosexual copies to children means a violation of a fundamental right of every child to grow up and be educated by a father and a mother. The assignment of children to so-called homosexual couples is ultimately a moral abuse of children, the smallest and most defenseless. This phenomenon will go down in history as one of the greatest degradations of civilization. Those who nowadays fight such a resounding injustice are the true friends of children and heroes of our time ".
https://www.breitbart.com/europe/20...d-italian-illegal-citizenship-documents-bust/ Italian Priest Suspected in 1,000+ Illegal Migrant Documents Forgery Case Italian police have connected a parish priest to a forgery operation that saw over a thousand Brazilians illegally buy Italian citizenship papers in a business worth five million euros. The investigation into the group that was allegedly helping people illegally acquire the Italian documents took place over the last year with police making seven arrests in the commune of Verbania in Piedmont, Italian newspaper Il Giornale reports. Each set of documents cost the Brazilians around 7,000 euros, paid in cash for an “all-inclusive” package with the organisation even offering day trips on Lake Maggiore as well as local food and drink tastings for their clients. The group was able to guarantee the citizenship documents by tricking and lying to local government officials who were shown requisites of Italian citizenship by the group. Several of the “new Italians” even posed with their new passports outside of the Verbania town hall and posted the images to social media. Several of the Brazilian customers are said to have used the passports as a means to enter the United States and Canada due to the more relaxed entry visas for European Union member states. The priest who was arrested in connection with the organisation is said to have helped forge certificates of baptism in exchange for cash. French Police Bust Network of Identity Fraud Fake Underage Migrants https://t.co/Ob6atpxNYS — Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) April 9, 2018 Populist Interior Minister Matteo Salvini congratulated police on the bust saying that controls and respect for the laws on citizenship were needed. The bust comes as the debate on birthright citizenship, also known as jus soli, has once again returned to Italy following the revelation that the boy who saved 51 children from being set on fire by a Senegalese migrant was a non-citizen born in Italy. The Democratic Party, which has been a supporter of birthright citizenship, have used the situation to advocate for the policy, while Salvini has suggested that citizenship could be granted to 13-year-old Rami Shehata as an exception to the current rule.
Wasn't he a protege of Cardinal Bernardin? And didn't his name crop up in the controversy surrounding the removal of the Bishop of Memphis?
He was Master of Ceremonies under Cardinal Bernardin I think he was also an auxiliary under Cardinal B. I am not aware that he was involved in the removal of Bishop Holley from Memphis. He might have been. But I haven’t seen info to that point.
Pretty sure that he was part of the Apostolic Visitation of the Memphis diocese prior to Bishop Holley's removal.
Prayers for the World Congress of Families which begins tomorrow. Blogs | Mar. 28, 2019 Verona Set for World Congress of Families An interview with Toni Brandi, the chairman of the congress Edward Pentin | http://www.ncregister.com/blog/edward-pentin/verona-set-for-world-congress-of-families A major international conference in defense of the family takes place this weekend in Verona, Italy, bringing together pro-life activists, politicians, Church leaders — and considerable opposition. The March 29-31 World Congress of Families aims to equip leaders, organizations and families to “affirm, celebrate, and defend the natural family as the only fundamental and sustainable unit of society.” Subthemes will include “the beauty of marriage,” “children’s rights” and “growth and demographic decline.” Organized by several Italian and international pro-life organizations, the meeting will feature a wide range of speakers, including Italy’s vice premier Matteo Salvini, President Igor Dodon of Moldova, and Syriac Catholic Patriarch Ignace Younan III. It will end with a March for the Family through the streets of Verona. But thousands of protesters, mostly militant secularists, “LGBT” activists and pro-abortion campaigners, have pledged to demonstrate in the city during the conference. Some within the Church are also against the congress because they oppose Salvini’s populist Lega party. Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin has said he agrees “with the value” of the congress “but not in the methods.” In this March 27 interview with the Register, congress chairman Antonio Brandi says he believes the event is “the right thing to do” at a time when the family is under attack, and also at a moment in history when he believes a growing number of Italians are showing “common sense.” Brandi, who is also president of the Italian pro-life organization ProVita Onlus, insists the opposition is not wearing the organizers down, and that instead he feels pity for them. “We’re not afraid of attacks by those on the outside,” he says. “It is the attacks and betrayals from inside that de-motivate us. But with each setback we don’t care. We go forward whatever happens.” Mr. Brandi, what’s significant about this World Congress of Families XIII? I’m nobody. I’m doing this because it’s the right thing to do. There are 10, 20, 30 people who are unknown heroes, giving 14-15 hours a day to make this a success. We also have people against us, in the media, politicians, all those forces that are against the family, women and children. For years, conferences pro-family conferences have taken place across Europe. Why is this one coming under such strong attack? The funny thing, and this is comical, my friend, is that our head office has been subject of demonstrations also by persons with institutional positions, things thrown at our windows, stained windows, vandalistic acts. But we never attack our opponents, we never go near public demonstrations with people who don’t agree with our ideas, screaming and shouting at them. The vice president of the congress, Jacopo Coghe, had a journalist come up to him in the middle of the street last night and then behind the journalist came people to insult and provoke him. We know there will be tens of thousands of people protesting against this congress because the Democratic Party, and the so-called feminists are mobilizing from all over Italy. Having lived abroad since 1971, I’ve never seen anything like this. I’ve never seen so much genuine hatred against people who have done nothing wrong. But I’m not angry, I’m sorry for them because most of these people don’t understand what they’re doing. Do you see the current government in Italy helping you in a major way? It’s split. One side of the government, which is the Lega Party, is with us, but the majority of the other side, the Five Start Movement, is against us. But the Italian people, notwithstanding tens of years of brainwashing, have common sense and that’s quite encouraging. Irrespective of the lies, insults, and fake news against us, we are going on calmly and in a determined manner, not reacting to provocation, because it is our opponents who are irrational and violent, not us. We have to follow the example of Christ. At the congress I will say this, and you can repeat it 20 times: It is not God, not Jesus, who has to change to accommodate the desires and needs of people. It is people who must follow the teaching of Christ. What are your hopes from this conference, what tangible changes do you hope or expect to come from it? We’re going to come out with a final declaration. Subsequently, we’re going to make legislative proposals to protect the natural family, women, mothers and children. You have many well-known names coming, including the Italian deputy prime minister, Matteo Salvini. How significant is that, and what effect could it have? In times of difficulty, you can distinguish the cowards from the men. You have three categories of people: enemies, cowards that withdraw or even betray you, and the soldiers that go forward. We’re not afraid of attacks by those on the outside. They are strengthening us. It is the attacks and betrayals from inside that de-motivate us. But with each setback we don’t care. We go forward whatever happens. Do you see positive changes overall happening with regard to defending the family? “Wind of Change” is the title of the congress, and European people, irrespective of their political positions — left, right or center — are coming back to the eternal values of life and family, values that have advanced human society from its beginning. And you see the hand of Providence in this? Yes, we were lacking funds for this conference but just a few days ago, a gentleman from London called me and sent me a large donation. I cried on the phone because, you see, I felt this was God’s work. People realize what is happening, and even the atheists understand.
Indeed. He seems to have a reputation for promoting the lavender lobby. Is anyone really surprised at this appointment?
Promoted to Cardinal is next rung on the ladder. Can we expect a campaign to change that aggressive red to a more inclusive pinkish purple?
Well, from what I’ve read, this appointment is “because” he is good at dealing with the abuse scandals. But things are not always what they seem on the surface.
