https://www.lifesitenews.com/mobile...eat-who-holds-jesus?__twitter_impression=true Pope Francis chooses pro-LGBT priest to guide Lent retreat who holds Jesus didn’t ‘establish rules’ John-Henry Westen / LifeSiteNews.com ROME, February 5, 2018 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Pope Francis has selected a Portuguese “priest-poet” to preach at his 2018 Lenten retreat who is an open promoter of the “critical theology” of a Spanish nun who defends the legalization of abortion and government recognition of homosexual “marriage” and adoptions. Father José Tolentino Calaça de Mendonça, vice rector of the Catholic University of Lisbon, wrote the introduction to the Portuguese translation of “Feminist Theology in History,” by Teresa Forcades, whom the BBC calls “Europe’s most radical nun.” In the introduction to Forcades’ work, Tolentino de Mendonça tells the reader that Jesus didn’t leave any rules or laws to mankind, an idea that he approvingly applies to Forcades’ “critical theology.” “Teresa Forcades i Vila reminds of that which is essential: that Jesus of Nazareth did not codify, nor did he establish rules,” writes Tolentino de Mendonça. “Jesus lived. That is, he constructed an ethos of relation, somatized the poetry of his message in the visibility of his flesh, expressed his own body as a premise.” When the Portuguese translation of the book was published in 2013 with Tolentino de Mendonça’s introduction, Forcades had well-established herself as an advocate for legalized abortion and the creation of homosexual “marriage.” In the same year she issued a video tribute to the Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez, who was then dying of cancer. Tolentino de Mendonça compares Forcades to Hildegard of Bingham, and says her theology is expressed in “a form that is symbolic, open, and sensitive about addressing the real” as opposed to the Church’s traditional way of speaking in clear, non-metaphorical terms, which he calls “the triumphal univocal grammars that we know.” “It’s necessary that the doctrinal narrative understands itself to be more of a reading than a writing, more like a voyage than a place, because the memory that transports is not reducible to a legal code, a vision, something automatic,” the priest writes. Such theology is given to us by Forcades, says Tolentino de Mendonça: “It is precisely here that the frightening [provoking] work of Teresa Forcades i Vila, Feminist Theology in History, which the reader has in his hands, comes to our aid.” In a 2016 interview with the Lisbon radio station Renascença, Tolentino de Mendonça blasted Catholics and particularly cardinals who have raised their voices in criticism of Pope Francis, dismissing their views as “traditionalism,” which he contrasted with authentic “tradition.” “Today, we see Pope Francis being contradicted by a more conservative wing of the Church and by some important names, even cardinals, which in a certain way are willing to place traditionalism above the tradition,” he said. Advertisement Regarding Pope Francis “welcoming” attitude towards those who are stubbornly living in gravely sinful situations of homosexuality and adultery, Tolentino de Mendonça told the interviewer, “No one can be excluded from the love and mercy of Christ. And that experience of mercy has to be taken to everyone, whether they be Christians who are remarried, wounded by disastrous matrimonial experiences, whether it be the reality of new families, whether it be homosexual persons, who in the Church must find a space to be heard, a place of welcome and mercy.” Tolentino de Mendonca will preach and give spiritual guidance to Pope Francis and high curial officials during their retreat from February 18 to February 23 of this year.
Yes I have heard this awhile back. Malachi Martin knew more than he was telling about the deep corruption in the Church and in governments/NWO. He puts some of it in Windswept House but it’s obvious he knew much much more but couldn’t say it. We have seen the power of prayer in circumventing Hillary. We have to just keep storming heaven for the Church and the world. The betrayal of China now is very much like what JXXIII did to the suffering Church in Eastern Europe at the start of VII. That was seen as a terrible betrayal too.
This one goes back to Vat II and the papacies that were mostly geopolitical.....really a pointed analysis of why we are where we are today. I think Obama fulfilled the end that Fr. Martin had in mind at the time....but with just those few "solid ones" still pleading for justice that "end" was given an answer of a type with Trump. Long but pretty all inclusive. Vat II began the road to the eventual apostasy of today.
In light of the recent FISA memo and other revelations about the Deep State/ Obama/ Clinton/ Soros cabal, this takes on an all new perspective: WikiLeaks: Clinton, Obama, Soros Overthrew Pope Benedict In Vatican Coup George Soros, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton orchestrated a coup in the Vatican to overthrow the conservative Pope Benedict and replace him with radical leftist Pope Francis, according to a group of Catholic leaders citing evidence from various sources including WikiLeaks emails. Pope Benedict XVI reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church from 2005 to 2013 before unexpectedly resigning in unusual circumstances. Becoming the first Pope to step down since Pope Gregory XII in 1415, Benedict is widely considered the first to do so on his own initiative since Pope Celestine V in 1294. However the group of Catholic leaders cite new evidence uncovered in emails released by WikiLeaks to claim the conservative Pope Benedict did not actually resign on his own initiative, but was pushed out of the Vatican by a coup that the group of researchers are calling the “Catholic Spring.” Soros, Obama and Clinton used the United States’ diplomatic machinery, political muscle, and financial power to coerce, bribe and blackmail “regime change” in the Roman Catholic Church in order to replace the conservative Benedict with the current Pope Francis – who has since become an unlikely mouthpiece for the international left, stunning Catholics around the world. Now the group of Catholic leaders have sent a letter to President Trump urging him to launch an official investigation into the activities of George Soros, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton (and others) who they allege were involved in orchestrating Catholic Spring that resulted in their goal of “regime change” in the Vatican. The Catholic leaders cite eight specific questions they seek to have answered concerning suspect events that led to the resignation of Pope Benedict, the first papal abdication in 700 years. “Specifically, we have reason to believe that a Vatican ‘regime change’ was engineered by the Obama administration,” say the petitioners, in their January 20 letter to President Trump. “We were alarmed to discover,” their letter notes, “that, during the third year of the first term of the Obama administration your previous opponent, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and other government officials with whom she associated proposed a Catholic ‘revolution’ in which the final demise of what was left of the Catholic Church in America would be realized.” The letter includes links to documents and news stories underscoring their claims. It first directs attention to the notorious Soros-Clinton-Podesta e-mails disclosed last year by WikiLeaks, in which Podesta and other progressives discussed regime change to remove what they described as the “middle ages dictatorship” in the Catholic Church. Regarding the Podesta e-mails in question, The New American reported last October: “Podesta, a longtime Clinton adviser/confidante and hand-picked top activist for left-wing funder George Soros, revealed in a 2011 e-mail that he and other activists were working to effect a “Catholic Spring” revolution within the Catholic Church, an obvious reference to the disastrous “Arab Spring” coups organized that same year by the Obama-Clinton-Soros team that destabilized the Middle East and brought radical Islamist regimes and terrorist groups to power in the region. The Podesta e-mail is a response to another Soros-funded radical — Sandy Newman, founder of the “progressive” Voices for Progress. Newman had written to Podesta seeking advice on the best way to “plant the seeds of the revolution” in the Catholic Church, which he described as a “middle ages [sic] dictatorship.” In their letter to President Trump, the group of Catholics leaders write: “Approximately a year after this e-mail discussion, which was never intended to be made public, we find that Pope Benedict XVI abdicated under highly unusual circumstances and was replaced by a pope whose apparent mission is to provide a spiritual component to the radical ideological agenda of the international left. The Pontificate of Pope Francis has subsequently called into question its own legitimacy on a multitude of occasions.” “We remain puzzled by the behavior of this ideologically charged Pope, whose mission seems to be one of advancing secular agendas of the left rather than guiding the Catholic Church in Her sacred mission,” they say, expressing the thoughts of millions of Catholics around the world stunned by Pope Francis’s left-wing ideology. “It is simply not the proper role of a Pope to be involved in politics to the point that he is considered to be the leader of the international left.” They continue: “With all of this in mind, and wishing the best for our country as well as for Catholics worldwide, we believe it to be the responsibility of loyal and informed United States Catholics to petition you to authorize an investigation into the following questions: – To what end was the National Security Agency monitoring the conclave that elected Pope Francis? – What other covert operations were carried out by US government operatives concerning the resignation of Pope Benedict or the conclave that elected Pope Francis? – Did US government operatives have contact with the “Cardinal Danneels Mafia”? – International monetary transactions with the Vatican were suspended during the last few days prior to the resignation of Pope Benedict. Were any U.S. Government agencies involved in this? – Why were international monetary transactions resumed on February 12, 2013, the day after Benedict XVI announced his resignation? Was this pure coincidence? – What actions, if any, were actually taken by John Podesta, Hillary Clinton, and others tied to the Obama administration who were involved in the discussion proposing the fomenting of a “Catholic Spring”? – What was the purpose and nature of the secret meeting between Vice President Joseph Biden and Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican on or about June 3, 2011? – What roles were played by George Soros and other international financiers who may be currently residing in United States territory?” The investigation the group of Catholic leaders is requesting of President Trump should be of interest to more than just Catholics. George Soros’s ability to co-opt leading political figures to assist his radical plans for nation states is well known; but his ability to force “regime change” in the Catholic church, an institution previously throught impenetrable from the outside, raises serious questions about his potential for global chaos. The investigation — and punishment — should begin at once.
Pope Francis with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey in Vatican City Feb. 5. (Vatican Media) Vatican | Feb. 5, 2018 http://www.ncregister.com/daily-new...-discuss-middle-east-at-first-vatican-meeting Pope and President of Turkey Discuss Middle East at First Vatican Meeting This was the second meeting between the two leaders and the first time a Turkish president has visited a pope in 59 years. Hannah Brockhaus/CNA/EWTN News VATICAN CITY — On Monday, Pope Francis and the president of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, met at the Vatican, discussing the situation in the Middle East. In particular, they spoke of the status of Jerusalem and the need for peace and stability in the region. According to a Feb. 5 Vatican statement, the “cordial discussions,” which lasted around 50 minutes, highlighted “the need to promote peace and stability in the [Middle East] through dialogue and negotiation, with respect for human rights and international law.” The two also discussed the bilateral relations between Turkey and the Holy See and the condition of the Catholic community in the country, as well as the challenges of receiving refugees and the efforts being made in this regard, the communiqué stated. This was the second meeting between the two leaders and the first time a Turkish president has visited a pope in 59 years. The first meeting between Francis and Erdogan was Nov. 28, 2014, during the Pope’s three-day visit to Ankara and Istanbul, Turkey. Near the end of their meeting, the Pope gifted Erdogan with a small medallion, depicting an angel of peace choking a demon of war, and told Erdogan that it is the symbol of a world based on peace and justice. He also gave the president an etching of St. Peter’s Basilica, depicting the basilica as it looked in the 1600s, as well as the customary gift of copies of his environmental encyclical Laudato Si and his message for the World Day of Peace 2018. Erdogan gave the Pope a large image made of hand-painted tiles, depicting a panoramic view of Istanbul, including the Hagia Sophia and the historic Sultan Ahmet Mosque, also known as the “Blue Mosque.” Seeing the painting, Francis said, “Beautiful, beautiful.” He also gave the Pope four books by Rumi Mevlana, an Iranian theologian who lived with dervishes in Turkey for many years, along with a copy of the Masnavi, which is a poem written by the Persian Sufi poet Rumi, and also two books about the poet's life. There were around 20 people in Erdogan’s delegation, including his wife and son and his son-in-law, Turkey’s minister of energy. At the end of the meeting, Pope Francis accompanied the first lady to the door. Francis asked her to “Pray for me,” to which Erdogan said, “We, too, expect a prayer from you.” Afterward, Erdogan met with Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin and Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, secretary for relations with states. Kurdish demonstrators in Rome protested the meeting because of Turkey’s military offensive on Kurdish areas in northern Syria, which began last month. When Erdogan left the Vatican, protesters tried to make their way into St. Peter’s Square, but were stopped by riot police, and at least one person was injured in the altercation. Demonstrators had also tried to enter St. Peter’s Square Sunday, but were blocked by police. And 150 protesters also set up Monday near Rome’s Castel Sant’Angelo, a monument close to the Vatican, holding Turkish Workers’ Party (PKK) flags.
If you remember, didn't Pope Francis make some pointed remarks about Trump during the campaign, even calling his Christianity into question? Donald Trump doesn't like being crossed.
Note the set of characteristics which my recent post on Benedict's 'Jesus of Nazareth' highlighted as his identifying features of a NWO, secular, utopian, Godless Church-ecumenism, justice, peace and environment (laudato si), which Benedict compared to the Third Temptation of Christ in the desert.
Perhaps I am in the minority in believing that we are not in the dark. I believe more than a few credible messengers have and are providing all we need to understand and persevere through these challenging times. Heaven has been doing all that is necessary for the faithful to understand these times and what we should be doing to prepare for the global collapse of governments, societies, economic and the church as we have known it. And through it all will come the Church that Pope Benedict prophecised. A much holier, simplified, purified Church. Father Ratzinger (1969) “The future of the Church can and will issue from those whose roots are deep and who live from the pure fullness of their faith. It will not issue from those who accommodate themselves merely to the passing moment or from those who merely criticize others and assume that they themselves are infallible measuring rods; nor will it issue from those who take the easier road, who sidestep the passion of faith, declaring false and obsolete, tyrannous and legalistic, all that makes demands upon men, that hurts them and compels them to sacrifice themselves. To put this more positively: The future of the Church, once again as always, will be reshaped by saints, by men, that is, whose minds probe deeper than the slogans of the day, who see more than others see, because their lives embrace a wider reality. Unselfishness, which makes men free, is attained only through the patience of small daily acts of self-denial. By this daily passion, which alone reveals to a man in how many ways he is enslaved by his own ego, by this daily passion and by it alone, a man’s eyes are slowly opened. He sees only to the extent that he has lived and suffered. If today we are scarcely able any longer to become aware of God, that is because we find it so easy to evade ourselves, to flee from the depths of our being by means of the narcotic of some pleasure or other. Thus our own interior depths remain closed to us. If it is true that a man can see only with his heart, then how blind we are! “How does all this affect the problem we are examining? It means that the big talk of those who prophesy a Church without God and without faith is all empty chatter. We have no need of a Church that celebrates the cult of action in political prayers. It is utterly superfluous. Therefore, it will destroy itself. What will remain is the Church of Jesus Christ, the Church that believes in the God who has become man and promises us life beyond death. The kind of priest who is no more than a social worker can be replaced by the psychotherapist and other specialists; but the priest who is no specialist, who does not stand on the [sidelines], watching the game, giving official advice, but in the name of God places himself at the disposal of man, who is beside them in their sorrows, in their joys, in their hope and in their fear, such a priest will certainly be needed in the future. “Let us go a step farther. From the crisis of today the Church of tomorrow will emerge — a Church that has lost much. She will become small and will have to start afresh more or less from the beginning. She will no longer be able to inhabit many of the edifices she built in prosperity. As the number of her adherents diminishes, so it will lose many of her social privileges. In contrast to an earlier age, it will be seen much more as a voluntary society, entered only by free decision. As a small society, it will make much bigger demands on the initiative of her individual members. Undoubtedly it will discover new forms of ministry and will ordain to the priesthood approved Christians who pursue some profession. In many smaller congregations or in self-contained social groups, pastoral care will normally be provided in this fashion. Along-side this, the full-time ministry of the priesthood will be indispensable as formerly. But in all of the changes at which one might guess, the Church will find her essence afresh and with full conviction in that which was always at her center: faith in the triune God, in Jesus Christ, the Son of God made man, in the presence of the Spirit until the end of the world. In faith and prayer she will again recognize the sacraments as the worship of God and not as a subject for liturgical scholarship. “The Church will be a more spiritual Church, not presuming upon a political mandate, flirting as little with the Left as with the Right. It will be hard going for the Church, for the process of crystallization and clarification will cost her much valuable energy. It will make her poor and cause her to become the Church of the meek. The process will be all the more arduous, for sectarian narrow-mindedness as well as pompous self-will will have to be shed. One may predict that all of this will take time. The process will be long and wearisome as was the road from the false progressivism on the eve of the French Revolution — when a bishop might be thought smart if he made fun of dogmas and even insinuated that the existence of God was by no means certain — to the renewal of the nineteenth century. But when the trial of this sifting is past, a great power will flow from a more spiritualized and simplified Church. Men in a totally planned world will find themselves unspeakably lonely. If they have completely lost sight of God, they will feel the whole horror of their poverty. Then they will discover the little flock of believers as something wholly new. They will discover it as a hope that is meant for them, an answer for which they have always been searching in secret. “And so it seems certain to me that the Church is facing very hard times. The real crisis has scarcely begun. We will have to count on terrific upheavals. But I am equally certain about what will remain at the end: not the Church of the political cult, which is dead already, but the Church of faith. It may well no longer be the dominant social power to the extent that she was until recently; but it will enjoy a fresh blossoming and be seen as man’s home, where he will find life and hope beyond death.
AP Exclusive: 2015 letter belies pope's claim of ignorance NICOLE WINFIELD and EVA VERGARA , Associated Press•February 5, 2018 Despite denial, Pope got abuse victim's letter Despite denial, Pope got abuse victim's letter Yahoo News Video Scroll back up to restore default view. VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis received a victim's letter in 2015 that graphically detailed how a priest sexually abused him and how other Chilean clergy ignored it, contradicting the pope's recent insistence that no victims had come forward to denounce the cover-up, the letter's author and members of Francis' own sex- abuse commission have told The Associated Press. The fact that Francis received the eight-page letter, obtained by the AP, challenges his insistence that he has "zero tolerance" for sex abuse and cover-ups. It also calls into question his stated empathy with abuse survivors, compounding the most serious crisis of his five-year papacy. The scandal exploded last month when Francis' trip to South America was marred by protests over his vigorous defense of Bishop Juan Barros, who is accused by victims of witnessing and ignoring the abuse by the Rev. Fernando Karadima. During the trip, Francis callously dismissed accusations against Barros as "slander," seemingly unaware that victims had placed Barros at the scene of Karadima's crimes. On the plane home, confronted by an AP reporter, the pope said: "You, in all good will, tell me that there are victims, but I haven't seen any, because they haven't come forward." But members of the pope's Commission for the Protection of Minors say that in April 2015, they sent a delegation to Rome specifically to hand-deliver a letter to the pope about Barros. The letter from Juan Carlos Cruz detailed the abuse, kissing and fondling he says he suffered at Karadima's hands, which he said Barros and others saw but did nothing to stop. Four members of the commission met with Francis' top abuse adviser, Cardinal Sean O'Malley, explained their concerns about Francis' recent appointment of Barros as a bishop in southern Chile, and gave him the letter to deliver to Francis. "When we gave him (O'Malley) the letter for the pope, he assured us he would give it to the pope and speak of the concerns," then-commission member Marie Collins told the AP. "And at a later date, he assured us that that had been done." Cruz, who now lives and works in Philadelphia, heard the same later that year. "Cardinal O'Malley called me after the pope's visit here in Philadelphia and he told me, among other things, that he had given the letter to the pope — in his hands," he said in an interview at his home Sunday. Neither the Vatican nor O'Malley responded to multiple requests for comment. While the 2015 summit of Francis' commission was known and publicized at the time, the contents of Cruz's letter — and a photograph of Collins handing it to O'Malley — were not disclosed by members. Cruz provided the letter, and Collins provided the photo, after reading an AP story that reported Francis had claimed to have never heard from any Karadima victims about Barros' behavior. The revelation could be costly for Francis, whose track record on the abuse crisis was already shaky after a botched Italian abuse case he intervened in became public, More recently, he let the abuse commission lapse at the end of last year. Vatican analysts now openly question whether he "gets it," and some of his own advisers privately acknowledge that maybe he doesn't. The Barros affair first caused shockwaves in January 2015 when Francis appointed him bishop of Osorno, Chile, over the objections of the leadership of Chile's bishops' conference and many local priests and laity. They accepted as credible the testimony against Karadima, a prominent Chilean cleric who was sanctioned by the Vatican in 2011 for abusing minors. Barros was a Karadima protege, and according to Cruz and other victims, he witnessed the abuse and did nothing. "Holy Father, I write you this letter because I'm tired of fighting, of crying and suffering," Cruz wrote in Francis' native Spanish. "Our story is well known and there's no need to repeat it, except to tell you of the horror of having lived this abuse and how I wanted to kill myself." Cruz and other survivors had for years denounced the cover-up of Karadima's crimes, but were dismissed by some in the Chilean church hierarchy and the Vatican's own ambassador in Santiago, who refused their repeated requests to meet before and after Barros was appointed. After Francis' comments backing Barros caused such an outcry in Chile, he was forced last week to do an about-face: The Vatican announced it was sending in its most respected sex-crimes investigator to take testimony from Cruz and others about Barros. In the letter to the pope, Cruz begs for Francis to listen to him and make good on his pledge of "zero tolerance." "Holy Father, it's bad enough that we suffered such tremendous pain and anguish from the sexual and psychological abuse, but the terrible mistreatment we received from our pastors is almost worse," he wrote. Cruz goes on to detail in explicit terms the homo-eroticized nature of the circle of priests and young boys around Karadima, the charismatic preacher whose El Bosque community in the well-to-do Santiago neighborhood of Providencia produced dozens of priestly vocations and five bishops, including Barros. He described how Karadima would kiss Barros and fondle his genitals, and do the same with younger priests and teens, and how young priests and seminarians would fight to sit next to Karadima at the table to receive his affections. "More difficult and tough was when we were in Karadima's room and Juan Barros — if he wasn't kissing Karadima — would watch when Karadima would touch us — the minors — and make us kiss him, saying: 'Put your mouth near mine and stick out your tongue.' He would stick his out and kiss us with his tongue," Cruz told the pope. "Juan Barros was a witness to all this innumerable times, not just with me but with others as well." "Juan Barros covered up everything that I have told you," he added. Barros has repeatedly denied witnessing any abuse or covering it up. "I never knew anything about, nor ever imagined, the serious abuses which that priest committed against the victims," he told the AP recently. "I have never approved of nor participated in such serious, dishonest acts, and I have never been convicted by any tribunal of such things." For the Osorno faithful who have opposed Barros as their bishop, the issue isn't so much a legal matter requiring proof or evidence, as Barros was a young priest at the time and not in a position of authority over Karadima. It's more that if Barros didn't "see" what was happening around him and recognize it was problematic for a priest to kiss and fondle young boys, he shouldn't be in charge of a diocese where he is responsible for detecting inappropriate sexual behavior, reporting it to police and protecting children from pedophiles like his mentor. Cruz had arrived at Karadima's community in 1980 as a vulnerable teenager, distraught after the recent death of his father. He has said Karadima told him he would be like a spiritual father to him, but instead sexually abused him. How long do we have to put up with this pope's bs? But he cares, deeply blah blah blah
..... and just who/what were the "Wolves" that Pope Benedict was concerned about at his inauguration as Pope ... Eh!!!??? ..... and why did PB "elect" to stay at the Vatican and not go back to Germany and live with his beloved brother? Did the "Wolves" succeed in driving PB out .... and are The Wolves holding him prisoner!!!?? Considering the USA/EU "News" of the past 10 years!!! ...... enquiring minds are .... pondering ....!!?? http://unveilingtheapocalypse.blogspot.com/2013/02/bl-elizabeths-prophecy-of-pope.html GOD SAVE ALL HERE!!
NO! Pope Benedict was no fool. I believe he fully cooperated with what heaven ordained. After all, he foretold in back in 1969 (see post above) and he stepped aside to allow the purification to begin at the will of God.
https://onepeterfive.com/victim-let...ts-doubt-on-papal-denials-of-barros-evidence/ Victim Letter Given to Abuse Commissioner in 2015 Casts Doubt on Papal Denials of Barros Evidence Steve Skojec February 5, 201825 Comments I first asked the question, “Where Does Pope Francis Really Stand on Clerical Sex Abuse?” in October of 2015. One of the two cases I cited was that of his episcopal appointment to Osorno, Chile, Bishop Juan Barros. At the time, despite serious evidence that something was very much amiss in the pope’s promised “zero tolerance” policy on clerical abusers, it seemed almost nobody else was interested in the answer. That is no longer the case. In an exclusive report from the Associated Press this morning, it has been revealed that Pope Francis received a letter from clerical abuse victim Juan Carlos Cruz in 2015 — one of the victims of Chilean priest Fr. Fernando Karadima — accusing Barros of witnessing and ignoring the abuse of Karadima. Despite recent, highly controversial denials from the pope that anyone had come forward against Barros, both Cruz and the pope’s own sex-abuse commission have confirmed that the letter was given to Francis, and a photo has been released showing Marie Collins, the member of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors who resigned last year in frustration, handing the letter to Cardinal Sean O’Malley, the commission’s prefect. Collins was one of the members of the commission who was also a victim of clerical abuse. In this screen capture of the Associated Press website, Marie Collins, former member of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, is seen handing a letter from Juan Carlos Cruz to Cardinal Sean O’Malley, President of the Commission. The letter is said to contain Cruz’s accusations against Bishop Juan Barros, and was intended for the pope. From the AP story: “When we gave him (O’Malley) the letter for the pope, he assured us he would give it to the pope and speak of the concerns,” then-commission member Marie Collins told the AP. “And at a later date, he assured us that that had been done.” Cruz, who now lives and works in Philadelphia, heard the same later that year. “Cardinal O’Malley called me after the pope’s visit here in Philadelphia and he told me, among other things, that he had given the letter to the pope — in his hands,” he said in an interview at his home Sunday. Neither the Vatican nor O’Malley responded to multiple requests for comment. It is telling that on a matter this significant, the Vatican remains silent. Cruz makes uncomfortable claims in the eight-page letter, a copy of which was obtained by the AP, saying that Karadima and Barros would engage in “homo-eroticized” acts, and that Karadima would also extend this behavior to younger males: He described how Karadima would kiss Barros and fondle his genitals, and do the same with younger priests and teens, and how young priests and seminarians would fight to sit next to Karadima at the table to receive his affections. “More difficult and tough was when we were in Karadima’s room and Juan Barros — if he wasn’t kissing Karadima — would watch when Karadima would touch us — the minors — and make us kiss him, saying: ‘Put your mouth near mine and stick out your tongue.’ He would stick his out and kiss us with his tongue,” Cruz told the pope. “Juan Barros was a witness to all this innumerable times, not just with me but with others as well.” “Juan Barros covered up everything that I have told you,” he added. Last week, it was announced that Pope Francis had assigned Archbishop Charles Scicluna of Malta to investigate the Barros case. Scicluna, considered to be a top expert on such matters, spent nearly two decades working on abuse cases for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) as the congregation’s promoter of justice. In 2015, he was picked by Pope Francis to lead a team handling appeals filed by members of the clergy accused of abuse. With the revelation of the 2015 letter following the pope’s denials that anyone had come forward, an increasing number of voices are now being raised in question of his commitment to helping victims of abuse. The information that has come to light in this matter should also cast doubt on whether the pope is a man of his word at all.
I had a spiritual inkling that somehow it was all connected and that God might use Trump to rescue and restore the Church! I pray I'm right and I pray President Trump takes these Catholics seriously.
I'll bet Erdogan was eyeing up St. Peter's for the best spot to place the minarets. The Muslims turned St. Sophia's into a mosque and stuck minarets on it. At least the minarets are on the outside. Erdogan installed huge black discs on the inside with Arabic quotations from the Koran. It will take something like the takeover of the Vatican by another religion or the atheist Italian State to open Catholic eyes to the self-destruction of the Church.
If I remember correctly, all the talk last year was of Marie Collins and others blaming the CDF for obstructing the work of her committee. That's when Cardinal Muller was under the kosh and the suggestion was that if only the good Pope Francis could overcome the bad CDF everything would be plain sailing. Cardinal O'Malley from the Pope's gang of eight was the goody and the Benedict holdover, Muller, was the baddie. Not so clear cut now, is it?
I think we are seeing the old Alynski rope a dope routine. We are given something to focus on while the real threat is kept in the shadows. Manufactured news. Consider just how serious the information would have to be to depose a sitting Pope.
