THE PRESIDENT OF STUPID

Herman van Rompuy, a former president of the European Council posted a tweet suggesting that Pope Francis should have no say over whether a Belgian religious order permits euthanasia in their hospitals.

 van Rompuy posted on Twitter “The time of ‘Roma locuta causa finita’ is long past”.  

van Rompuy is on the board of trustees for the Brothers of Charity Group.  The Latin phrase, which translates as “Rome has spoken, the matter is finished”, is a paraphrase of St Augustine and refers to the ultimate authority of the Pope.

The Brothers of Charity Group trustees agreed to allow euthanasia in their 15 psychiatric centers across Belgium, despite the practice being strongly condemned by Catholic teaching. 

Brother Rene Stockman, the Order’s Superior General, has criticized the trustees’ decision but has little direct authority over the Board, which primarily composed of lay members.

Why Religious Orders continue to elect lay Boards to administer their affairs is beyond comprehension.  If a lay Board is to direct the work of a Religious Order, then the Order should no longer continue to exist.  Plain and simple!

Earlier this month, Pope Francis gave his personal approval to a demand for the Brothers of Charity to reverse their decision. Under the order, Brothers who serve on the Board of Trustees must sign a declaration condemning euthanasia or face sanctions under Canon Law.

The Group itself could also face legal action and even expulsion from the Church if it fails to comply.

Brother Stockman refused to comment on Rompuy’s tweet, saying he has “no idea what was his intention in putting that on Twitter”.  The very fact that the Superior General of a Religious Order cannot condemn the stupidity of such a tweet and its gross ignorance of the tweeter is indicative of how uttlerly depleted the spirituality and Catholicity of the Brothers of Charity is.

In an earlier post, I questioned why this pseudo-Catholic community has been given until the end of August to end its murderous behavior.

My solution:  suppress the Order immediately and begin punitive proceedings against its members, the members of the Board of Directors who hypocritically profess that they are Catholic, and against doctors and staff members who engage in euthanasia and assisted suicide contrary to the dignity of the individual human person, the teachings of the Church and the dominion over life which belongs to God Himself alone.

Mr. van Rompuy may have once been President of the European Union.  But, by his latest actions, he has shown himself capable of holding one office only:  the President of Stupid.  Apparently, he represents his stupid citizens, the Brothers of Charity, very well indeed.