Pope Francis has called an Ordinary Public Consistory for a vote on several causes for canonization. The Concistory will take place on Saturday, 19 May.
The Holy Father will preside at the celebration of Terce (Mid-Morning Prayer), with the Consistory following immediately. All Cardinals resident in Rome, or present in the City, are invited to take part.
During the Consistory, the Cardinals will consider the causes for canonization of six Blesseds, including Paul VI, who reigned as Pope from 1963-1978; and Blessed Oscar Romero, the Archbishop of San Salvador, who was martyred while saying Mass in 1980.
The other Blesseds whose causes are being considered are:
- Francesco Spinelli, diocesan priest, founder of the Institute of Sisters Adorers of the Blessed Sacrament
- Vincenzo Romano, diocesan Priest
- Maria Katharina Kasper, virgin, foundress of the Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ
- Nazaria of Saint Teresa of Jesus (née Nazaria Ignacia March Mesa), virgin, foundress of the Missionaries of the Crusade.
Tuesday, May 8, 2018
DUTCH CARDINAL EIJK'S DISGRACEFUL ATTACK UPON THE HOLY FATHER
In reaction to the response of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith to the delegation of the German Bishops’ Conference regarding the draft proposal for administering Communion to Protestant spouses, Cardinal Willem Eijk, the Archbishop of Utrecht, has made a shocking comment in an article published on the National Catholic Register blogsite.
In part, Cardinal Eijk writes:
Assuming that all members of the German bishops’ conference, after having discussed them again, unanimously decide that Communion can be administered to Protestants married to a Catholic (something that will not happen), will this — while being contrary to what the Code of Canon Law and the Catechism of the Catholic Church say in this regard — become the new practice in the Catholic Church in Germany? The practice of the Catholic Church, based on her faith, is not determined and does not change statistically when a majority of an episcopal conference votes in favor of it, not even if unanimously.
What the Code of Canon Law and the Catechism of the Catholic Church say should have been the reaction of the Holy Father, who is, as the Successor of Saint Peter “the perpetual and visible principle and foundation of unity of both the bishops and of the faithful” (Lumen Gentium, 23). The Holy Father should have given the delegation of the German episcopal conference clear directives, based on the clear doctrine and practice of the Church. He should have also responded on this basis to the Lutheran woman who asked him on November 15, 2015 if she could receive Communion with her Catholic spouse, saying that this is not acceptable instead of suggesting she could receive Communion on the basis of her being baptized, and in accordance with her conscience. By failing to create clarity, great confusion is created among the faithful and the unity of the Church is endangered. This is also the case with cardinals who publicly propose to bless homosexual relationships, something which is diametrically opposed to the doctrine of the Church, founded on Sacred Scripture, that marriage, according to the order of creation, exists only between a man and a woman.
Observing that the bishops and, above all, the Successor of Peter fail to maintain and transmit faithfully and in unity the deposit of faith contained in Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture, I cannot help but think of Article 675 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church:
The Church’s ultimate trial
Before Christ’s second coming the Church must pass through a final trial that will shake the faith of many believers. The persecution that accompanies her pilgrimage on earth will unveil the ‘mystery of iniquity’ in the form of a religious deception offering men an apparent solution to their problems at the price of apostasy from the truth.”
Cardinal Eijk’s statement constitutes nothing other than a accusation that Pope Francis is an apostate who has abandoned the truths of the Catholic Faith and who is enticing others to follow in his apostasy.
It is now time for the Holy Father to take matters in hand and formally sanction those who have and are sowing the seeds of division and disharmony within the Church.
The Sacred College of Cardinals should immediately and publicly admonish and sanction His Eminence for such a scandalous accusation challenging the authority of the Office of Peter.
While quoting the prescriptions of Canon Law, Cardinal Eijk conveniently forgets another of such precepts: that the decisions of the Holy See are subject to no appeal or approval.
His Eminence should remember that it is likewise a dogma of the Catholic Faith that the Holy Father is elected by the Sacred College of Cardinals under the guidance and inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
To contradict the mind and will of the Vicar of Christ is to contradict and oppose the will of Our Divine Redeemer as well.
Cardinal Eijk, as all hypocrits do, accuses others of the sins the sins they themselves commit. If deception is creeping into the Church, as His Eminence alleges, it is because conservative idealogues and reactionaries such as he refuse to submit their agendas and predilections to the Divine Sovereignty of the Lord’s Will.
Cardinal Eijk’s unwarranted and public attack against the Holy Father is disgraceful and disgusting and should be abhorred by all those who profess their fidelity to the Church.
There have been others, most noteworthy Cardinal Burke and his like-minded cronies, who have been dallying in their accusations that Pope Francis is an apostate and heretic.
Cardinal Eijk has decided to draw a line in the sand and crossed that line by making such an allegation both direct and public.
The Holy Father can no longer remain silent but must respond to such challenges to his Papal authority with the full weight of the Office of Peter which he holds.
The Catholic faithful are owed such a response. Our faith in the Church rests on the Office of the Vicar of Christ to whom Jesus entrusted the “keys to the Kingdom”. Pope Francis must act to support our faith and to uphold the very foundation of the Body of Christ.
May the Holy Spirit come to the aid of our suffering and wounded Church!
In part, Cardinal Eijk writes:
Assuming that all members of the German bishops’ conference, after having discussed them again, unanimously decide that Communion can be administered to Protestants married to a Catholic (something that will not happen), will this — while being contrary to what the Code of Canon Law and the Catechism of the Catholic Church say in this regard — become the new practice in the Catholic Church in Germany? The practice of the Catholic Church, based on her faith, is not determined and does not change statistically when a majority of an episcopal conference votes in favor of it, not even if unanimously.
What the Code of Canon Law and the Catechism of the Catholic Church say should have been the reaction of the Holy Father, who is, as the Successor of Saint Peter “the perpetual and visible principle and foundation of unity of both the bishops and of the faithful” (Lumen Gentium, 23). The Holy Father should have given the delegation of the German episcopal conference clear directives, based on the clear doctrine and practice of the Church. He should have also responded on this basis to the Lutheran woman who asked him on November 15, 2015 if she could receive Communion with her Catholic spouse, saying that this is not acceptable instead of suggesting she could receive Communion on the basis of her being baptized, and in accordance with her conscience. By failing to create clarity, great confusion is created among the faithful and the unity of the Church is endangered. This is also the case with cardinals who publicly propose to bless homosexual relationships, something which is diametrically opposed to the doctrine of the Church, founded on Sacred Scripture, that marriage, according to the order of creation, exists only between a man and a woman.
Observing that the bishops and, above all, the Successor of Peter fail to maintain and transmit faithfully and in unity the deposit of faith contained in Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture, I cannot help but think of Article 675 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church:
The Church’s ultimate trial
Before Christ’s second coming the Church must pass through a final trial that will shake the faith of many believers. The persecution that accompanies her pilgrimage on earth will unveil the ‘mystery of iniquity’ in the form of a religious deception offering men an apparent solution to their problems at the price of apostasy from the truth.”
Cardinal Eijk’s statement constitutes nothing other than a accusation that Pope Francis is an apostate who has abandoned the truths of the Catholic Faith and who is enticing others to follow in his apostasy.
It is now time for the Holy Father to take matters in hand and formally sanction those who have and are sowing the seeds of division and disharmony within the Church.
The Sacred College of Cardinals should immediately and publicly admonish and sanction His Eminence for such a scandalous accusation challenging the authority of the Office of Peter.
While quoting the prescriptions of Canon Law, Cardinal Eijk conveniently forgets another of such precepts: that the decisions of the Holy See are subject to no appeal or approval.
His Eminence should remember that it is likewise a dogma of the Catholic Faith that the Holy Father is elected by the Sacred College of Cardinals under the guidance and inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
To contradict the mind and will of the Vicar of Christ is to contradict and oppose the will of Our Divine Redeemer as well.
Cardinal Eijk, as all hypocrits do, accuses others of the sins the sins they themselves commit. If deception is creeping into the Church, as His Eminence alleges, it is because conservative idealogues and reactionaries such as he refuse to submit their agendas and predilections to the Divine Sovereignty of the Lord’s Will.
Cardinal Eijk’s unwarranted and public attack against the Holy Father is disgraceful and disgusting and should be abhorred by all those who profess their fidelity to the Church.
There have been others, most noteworthy Cardinal Burke and his like-minded cronies, who have been dallying in their accusations that Pope Francis is an apostate and heretic.
Cardinal Eijk has decided to draw a line in the sand and crossed that line by making such an allegation both direct and public.
The Holy Father can no longer remain silent but must respond to such challenges to his Papal authority with the full weight of the Office of Peter which he holds.
The Catholic faithful are owed such a response. Our faith in the Church rests on the Office of the Vicar of Christ to whom Jesus entrusted the “keys to the Kingdom”. Pope Francis must act to support our faith and to uphold the very foundation of the Body of Christ.
May the Holy Spirit come to the aid of our suffering and wounded Church!
Monday, May 7, 2018
POPE FRANCIS' MODEL OF CHURCH GOVERNANCE
After the German Bishops’ Conference voted to publish guidelines permitting the practice “in certain cases,” a minority of seven opposing bishops led by Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki of Cologne appealed to the Vatican for a ruling, on the grounds that access to the Eucharist is too central a question to let local churches decide on their own.
Representatives of German Bishops on both sides of the dispute were invited to Rome to make their cases to the Vatican’s offices for doctrine, ecumenism and church law.
They were told the Pope wanted them to go back and agree unanimously on a policy, indicating that the Pope thinks the matter is for German bishops, not Rome, to decide.
It is no secret that Pope Francis is committed in his effort to decentralize the control which the Roman Curia has exerted over the governance of the Church for centuries.
In his response to the German Bishops as well as his encouragement to other national conferences of Bishops to resolve matters involving the pastoral care of souls, Pope Francis appears to have established a method by which the governance of the local churches is to be exercised.
Local Conferences of Bishops now appear to have been given the authority to resolve pastoral questions within their local churches by a discourse that leads unanimity.
Such was the way of the Church's governance prior to the Great Schism caused in part by the Bishop of Rome claiming not only a primacy of prestige among equals but rather a primacy of authority over them.
Many might consider a requirement that unanimity be achieved as the death knell for any real authority being exercised by national Bishops’ conferences.
However, such a requirement is both reasonable and appropriate.
To avoid confusion and frustration, all the Bishops within a national conference should be in agreement regarding the governance of those entrusted to their pastoral care.
Pastoral needs and circumstances differ greatly from nation to nation. Those differences are less pronounced within the countries themselves.
Consequently, the Church could tolerate differences in the way different countries and regions of the world care for the faithful.
What would be detrimental to Church unity would be disagreement and dissension among the Bishops within those countries.
At the present moment, the Bishops of the Amazon have suggested that the Church consider ordaining married men of proven virtue to the Priesthood.
The initial response of the Holy Father has been encouraging and has signaled that such a question should be discussed at their next plenary gathering.
Should the Bishops of the Amazon unanimously agree that a married Priesthood is essential to the fulfillment of their pastoral responsibilities, I expect that Pope Francis will encourage them to move forward and implement such a plan and begin ordaining married men.
One can only imagine the outcry which the neo-conservative reactionaries will mount against Pope Francis should that occur.
We shall see what the Will of the Holy Spirit is for the future governance of the Church.
Representatives of German Bishops on both sides of the dispute were invited to Rome to make their cases to the Vatican’s offices for doctrine, ecumenism and church law.
They were told the Pope wanted them to go back and agree unanimously on a policy, indicating that the Pope thinks the matter is for German bishops, not Rome, to decide.
It is no secret that Pope Francis is committed in his effort to decentralize the control which the Roman Curia has exerted over the governance of the Church for centuries.
In his response to the German Bishops as well as his encouragement to other national conferences of Bishops to resolve matters involving the pastoral care of souls, Pope Francis appears to have established a method by which the governance of the local churches is to be exercised.
Local Conferences of Bishops now appear to have been given the authority to resolve pastoral questions within their local churches by a discourse that leads unanimity.
Such was the way of the Church's governance prior to the Great Schism caused in part by the Bishop of Rome claiming not only a primacy of prestige among equals but rather a primacy of authority over them.
Many might consider a requirement that unanimity be achieved as the death knell for any real authority being exercised by national Bishops’ conferences.
However, such a requirement is both reasonable and appropriate.
To avoid confusion and frustration, all the Bishops within a national conference should be in agreement regarding the governance of those entrusted to their pastoral care.
Pastoral needs and circumstances differ greatly from nation to nation. Those differences are less pronounced within the countries themselves.
Consequently, the Church could tolerate differences in the way different countries and regions of the world care for the faithful.
What would be detrimental to Church unity would be disagreement and dissension among the Bishops within those countries.
At the present moment, the Bishops of the Amazon have suggested that the Church consider ordaining married men of proven virtue to the Priesthood.
The initial response of the Holy Father has been encouraging and has signaled that such a question should be discussed at their next plenary gathering.
Should the Bishops of the Amazon unanimously agree that a married Priesthood is essential to the fulfillment of their pastoral responsibilities, I expect that Pope Francis will encourage them to move forward and implement such a plan and begin ordaining married men.
One can only imagine the outcry which the neo-conservative reactionaries will mount against Pope Francis should that occur.
We shall see what the Will of the Holy Spirit is for the future governance of the Church.
A GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY MISSED IN LATEST LEGISLATION FROM THE CONGREGATION FOR CATHOLIC EDUCATION
The Congregation for Catholic Education issued a press release regarding instruction on “Studies in Canon Law in the light of the reform of cases regarding the nullity of marriage".
In the light of the Motu Proprio Mitis Iudex Dominus Jesus and Mitis et Misericors, on the reform of canonical procedures for the causes of declaration of nullity of marriage, the Congregation for Catholic Education will now require new instruction for the various figures called upon to work in the ecclesiastical Tribunals, or who are involved in marriage and family counseling which requires adequate preparation in Canon Law.
In keeping with the Apostolic Constitution Veritatis gaudium), those working in Tribunals are required to obtain a Licentiate in Canon Law (JCL). However, the new instruction requires that institutions of Canon Law also offer a Diploma in Marriage and Procedural Law for those who have obtained from the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura a dispensation from the JCL requirement.
For other workers in the ecclesiastical Tribunal, for whom the Law does not require a JCL, the new instruction requires a minimum preparation for Consultants in Marriage and Family pastoral consultants.
In addition, the new legislation emphasizes the necessary requirements that ensure the quality of existing institutions or those that will be erected or approved in the future.
Among the innovations contained within the new instuction is the possibility of establishing “Departments of Canon Law” in the Faculties of Theology, the possibility of establishing Chairs in Canon Law in the Faculties of Law of Catholic Universities, and the promotion of studies in Canon Law in the first cycle in a Faculty of Theology where the aforementioned discipline must be taught by a permanent teacher. In this regard the Instruction is intended to support and deepen the juridical culture of the Church.
Academic institutions will be required to comply with the new legislation from the beginning of the academic year 2019 to 2020.
I would add that it would be of remarkable benefit to the Church and the faithful if anyone working in any level of ecclesiastical administration be required to have completed a cycle of study in Ecclesiology, the theology of the nature and structure of the Church itself.
How sad the Congregation for Catholic Education missed this golden opportunity to change the rigorist culture that exists among those who exercise authority at almost any level of administrative authority.
Fulfilling legal requirements without understanding the very nature and structure of the Church which requires them creates bureaucratic automatons who lack both the rationale and spirit of charity and service which should be the hallmark of the exercise of their duties -- the very essense of pharisaism.
In the light of the Motu Proprio Mitis Iudex Dominus Jesus and Mitis et Misericors, on the reform of canonical procedures for the causes of declaration of nullity of marriage, the Congregation for Catholic Education will now require new instruction for the various figures called upon to work in the ecclesiastical Tribunals, or who are involved in marriage and family counseling which requires adequate preparation in Canon Law.
In keeping with the Apostolic Constitution Veritatis gaudium), those working in Tribunals are required to obtain a Licentiate in Canon Law (JCL). However, the new instruction requires that institutions of Canon Law also offer a Diploma in Marriage and Procedural Law for those who have obtained from the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura a dispensation from the JCL requirement.
For other workers in the ecclesiastical Tribunal, for whom the Law does not require a JCL, the new instruction requires a minimum preparation for Consultants in Marriage and Family pastoral consultants.
In addition, the new legislation emphasizes the necessary requirements that ensure the quality of existing institutions or those that will be erected or approved in the future.
Among the innovations contained within the new instuction is the possibility of establishing “Departments of Canon Law” in the Faculties of Theology, the possibility of establishing Chairs in Canon Law in the Faculties of Law of Catholic Universities, and the promotion of studies in Canon Law in the first cycle in a Faculty of Theology where the aforementioned discipline must be taught by a permanent teacher. In this regard the Instruction is intended to support and deepen the juridical culture of the Church.
Academic institutions will be required to comply with the new legislation from the beginning of the academic year 2019 to 2020.
I would add that it would be of remarkable benefit to the Church and the faithful if anyone working in any level of ecclesiastical administration be required to have completed a cycle of study in Ecclesiology, the theology of the nature and structure of the Church itself.
How sad the Congregation for Catholic Education missed this golden opportunity to change the rigorist culture that exists among those who exercise authority at almost any level of administrative authority.
Fulfilling legal requirements without understanding the very nature and structure of the Church which requires them creates bureaucratic automatons who lack both the rationale and spirit of charity and service which should be the hallmark of the exercise of their duties -- the very essense of pharisaism.
Saturday, May 5, 2018
HEAD OF CONGREGATION FOR DOCTRINE OF THE FAITH ASKS GERMAN BISHOPS' CONFERENCE FOR UNANIMOUS SUPPORT OF INTERCOMMUNION PROPOSAL
In a statement released by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) following a meeting between German Bishops and Vatican officials, Archbishop Luis Ladaria, SJ, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, explained that Pope Francis “appreciates the ecumenical commitment of the German bishops and asks them to find, in a spirit of ecclesial communion, a unanimous result if possible.”
The CDF statement also noted that Archbishop Ladaria “will inform the Holy Father about the content of the conversations” and said the meeting took place “in a cordial and fraternal atmosphere.”
Pope Francis was not in attendance at the meeting.
Present at the talks were Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki of Cologne and Bishop Rudolf Voderholzer of Regensburg. The two Bishops are among seven who wrote a letter to the Vatican in which they oppose a proposal and pastoral handout approving Intercommunion — which the German Bishops voted in favor by a two thirds majority.
With the vote, held at their Spring Plenary Assembly in Ingolstadt, the German Bishops overwhelmingly decided that permission could be granted to a Protestant spouse if, after having made a “serious examination” of conscience with a priest or another person with pastoral responsibilities, he or she “affirms the faith of the Catholic Church,” wishes to end “serious spiritual distress,” and has a “longing to satisfy a hunger for the Eucharist.”
At the time, Cardinal Reinhard Marx, President of the German Bishops’ Conference, made clear that the proposal did not require the Protestant spouse to convert to Catholicism.
In a March 22 letter to the Vatican, seven Bishops indicated that they did not consider the vote to be “right,” because the issue of intercommunion is not a “pastoral one,” but “a question of the faith and unity of the Church, which is not subject to a vote.”
Bishop Voderholzer, who is Vice-president of the German Bishops’ Conference’s Doctrinal Commission and the only German member of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, was invited by Pope Francis to attend the talks.
Also present at the meeting were three German Bishops supporting the proposal: Cardinal Reinhard Marx, Bishop Karl-Heinz Wiesemann of Speyer, and Bishop Gerhard Feige of Magdeburg, President of the Bishops’ Commission for Ecumenism.
Jesuit Fr. Hans Langendörfer, Secretary of the German bishops’ conference — who is thought to be the mastermind behind the German Bishops’ intercommunion proposal — also attended the meeting.
Taking part on the Vatican side were Archbishop Luis Ladaria, SJ, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith; Cardinal Kurt Koch, President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity; Salesian canonist Msgr. Markus Graulich, Under-secretary of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts; and Father Hermann Geissler, head of the doctrinal section of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. All are understood to be sympathetic to the seven Bishops’ letter opposing the Conference’s proposal.
Pope Francis, for his part, is believed to have some sympathies for the German Bishops’ proposal, having appeared to endorse the idea at a meeting with Lutherans in Rome in November 2015.
So whether or not Archbishop Lardaria’s request will be the final word on the matters remains unclear.
Not until Pope Francis himself speaks to the issue will the dispute be resolved.
Given the Holy Father’s inclination to have local synodal gatherings such as Conferences of Bishops resolve questions regarding the pastoral care of souls, it will most interesting to see what the Pope decides and whether or not unanimity within the Conference would be considered an absolute requirement for going forward with this proposal.
More on this story will be forthcoming I am sure.
The CDF statement also noted that Archbishop Ladaria “will inform the Holy Father about the content of the conversations” and said the meeting took place “in a cordial and fraternal atmosphere.”
Pope Francis was not in attendance at the meeting.
Present at the talks were Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki of Cologne and Bishop Rudolf Voderholzer of Regensburg. The two Bishops are among seven who wrote a letter to the Vatican in which they oppose a proposal and pastoral handout approving Intercommunion — which the German Bishops voted in favor by a two thirds majority.
With the vote, held at their Spring Plenary Assembly in Ingolstadt, the German Bishops overwhelmingly decided that permission could be granted to a Protestant spouse if, after having made a “serious examination” of conscience with a priest or another person with pastoral responsibilities, he or she “affirms the faith of the Catholic Church,” wishes to end “serious spiritual distress,” and has a “longing to satisfy a hunger for the Eucharist.”
At the time, Cardinal Reinhard Marx, President of the German Bishops’ Conference, made clear that the proposal did not require the Protestant spouse to convert to Catholicism.
In a March 22 letter to the Vatican, seven Bishops indicated that they did not consider the vote to be “right,” because the issue of intercommunion is not a “pastoral one,” but “a question of the faith and unity of the Church, which is not subject to a vote.”
Bishop Voderholzer, who is Vice-president of the German Bishops’ Conference’s Doctrinal Commission and the only German member of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, was invited by Pope Francis to attend the talks.
Also present at the meeting were three German Bishops supporting the proposal: Cardinal Reinhard Marx, Bishop Karl-Heinz Wiesemann of Speyer, and Bishop Gerhard Feige of Magdeburg, President of the Bishops’ Commission for Ecumenism.
Jesuit Fr. Hans Langendörfer, Secretary of the German bishops’ conference — who is thought to be the mastermind behind the German Bishops’ intercommunion proposal — also attended the meeting.
Taking part on the Vatican side were Archbishop Luis Ladaria, SJ, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith; Cardinal Kurt Koch, President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity; Salesian canonist Msgr. Markus Graulich, Under-secretary of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts; and Father Hermann Geissler, head of the doctrinal section of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. All are understood to be sympathetic to the seven Bishops’ letter opposing the Conference’s proposal.
Pope Francis, for his part, is believed to have some sympathies for the German Bishops’ proposal, having appeared to endorse the idea at a meeting with Lutherans in Rome in November 2015.
So whether or not Archbishop Lardaria’s request will be the final word on the matters remains unclear.
Not until Pope Francis himself speaks to the issue will the dispute be resolved.
Given the Holy Father’s inclination to have local synodal gatherings such as Conferences of Bishops resolve questions regarding the pastoral care of souls, it will most interesting to see what the Pope decides and whether or not unanimity within the Conference would be considered an absolute requirement for going forward with this proposal.
More on this story will be forthcoming I am sure.
WHY IS ARCHBISHOP BECCIU DOING CARDINAL BURKE'S JOB?
The Sovereign Military Order of Malta is a Catholic lay religious order originally founded as the Knights Hospitaller around 1099 in Jerusalem. Now based in Rome, it is present in 120 countries with over 2,000 projects in the medical-social field and more than 120,000 volunteers and medical staff.
In 2016, a very public dispute erupted within the ranks of Order and with the Holy See which resulted in the Pope appointing his personal representative to act as his spokesperson in supervising much need spiritual and constitutional reforms.
In a letter published on May 4th, Pope Francis informed Archbishop Giovanni Becciu that his appointment as the Pope’s personal envoy to the Knights of Malta has been extended until the Order has concluded the reform of its constitution.
Pope Francis thanked Becciu for his work, particularly in “meeting and listening attentively” to members of the order and asked him to continue being the pope’s “spokesperson” regarding relations between the Knights and the Holy See.
The Archbishop, substitute of the Secretariat of State since 2011, was tasked with overseeing the “spiritual and moral” reform of the Order of Malta, with particular attention to the Professed Members, in February 2017.
Becciu’s position as Special Delegate was intended to conclude with the election of the Knight’s new Grand Master, which took place May 2 with the election of Fra’ Giacomo Dalla Torre, but Francis has chosen to extend the mandate indefinitely.
“In consideration of the fact that the path of spiritual and juridical renewal” of the Order of Malta has not concluded, “I ask you to continue to carry out the office of my Delegate until the conclusion of the process of reform,” the Pope wrote.
The report concerning the extension of Archbishop Becciu’s is as informative regarding what it doesn’t say as for what it does.
Let us not forget that on November 8, 2014 the Vatican announced the transfer of Cardinal Raymond Burke as Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura, which ensures correct administration of justice in the Church, to Patron of the Sovereign Order of the Knights of Malta.
Commenting upon his appointment, Cardinal Burke stated: “The technical title is Patron. It is an office of representation of the Holy Father to the Grand Master of the sovereign military order.”
So in the spirit of Cardinal Burke’s desire to be technically accurate, let me see if I get this right.
Technically, Cardinal Burke continues in his office as Patron but the actual duties of the office are not his but rather have been delegated to Archbishop Becciu.
And this situation exists precisely at a time when the Order is undergoing profound spiritual and constitutional reform.
So, technically speaking, Cardinal Burke is a man with a title but absolutely no authority to exercise the office to which he was appointed.
When the flak between the Order and the Holy See erupted some sixteen months ago, The Tablet reported that Cardinal Burke wanted the Order – which has an extensive international network – to become a platform to promote his traditionalist vision of Catholicism.
When asked for a response to the claims, a spokesman said Cardinal Burke “declined to comment”.
The extended mandate of Archbishop Becciu to do the work which technically belongs to the position which Cardinal Burke continues to hold suggests that the Pope himself believes what The Tablet reported about His Eminence.
It appears the future of the Order of the Knights of Malta may indeed be one of renewal and reform.
The future of Cardinal Burke remains decidedly uncertain.
In 2016, a very public dispute erupted within the ranks of Order and with the Holy See which resulted in the Pope appointing his personal representative to act as his spokesperson in supervising much need spiritual and constitutional reforms.
In a letter published on May 4th, Pope Francis informed Archbishop Giovanni Becciu that his appointment as the Pope’s personal envoy to the Knights of Malta has been extended until the Order has concluded the reform of its constitution.
Pope Francis thanked Becciu for his work, particularly in “meeting and listening attentively” to members of the order and asked him to continue being the pope’s “spokesperson” regarding relations between the Knights and the Holy See.
The Archbishop, substitute of the Secretariat of State since 2011, was tasked with overseeing the “spiritual and moral” reform of the Order of Malta, with particular attention to the Professed Members, in February 2017.
Becciu’s position as Special Delegate was intended to conclude with the election of the Knight’s new Grand Master, which took place May 2 with the election of Fra’ Giacomo Dalla Torre, but Francis has chosen to extend the mandate indefinitely.
“In consideration of the fact that the path of spiritual and juridical renewal” of the Order of Malta has not concluded, “I ask you to continue to carry out the office of my Delegate until the conclusion of the process of reform,” the Pope wrote.
The report concerning the extension of Archbishop Becciu’s is as informative regarding what it doesn’t say as for what it does.
Let us not forget that on November 8, 2014 the Vatican announced the transfer of Cardinal Raymond Burke as Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura, which ensures correct administration of justice in the Church, to Patron of the Sovereign Order of the Knights of Malta.
Commenting upon his appointment, Cardinal Burke stated: “The technical title is Patron. It is an office of representation of the Holy Father to the Grand Master of the sovereign military order.”
So in the spirit of Cardinal Burke’s desire to be technically accurate, let me see if I get this right.
Technically, Cardinal Burke continues in his office as Patron but the actual duties of the office are not his but rather have been delegated to Archbishop Becciu.
And this situation exists precisely at a time when the Order is undergoing profound spiritual and constitutional reform.
So, technically speaking, Cardinal Burke is a man with a title but absolutely no authority to exercise the office to which he was appointed.
When the flak between the Order and the Holy See erupted some sixteen months ago, The Tablet reported that Cardinal Burke wanted the Order – which has an extensive international network – to become a platform to promote his traditionalist vision of Catholicism.
When asked for a response to the claims, a spokesman said Cardinal Burke “declined to comment”.
The extended mandate of Archbishop Becciu to do the work which technically belongs to the position which Cardinal Burke continues to hold suggests that the Pope himself believes what The Tablet reported about His Eminence.
It appears the future of the Order of the Knights of Malta may indeed be one of renewal and reform.
The future of Cardinal Burke remains decidedly uncertain.
Friday, May 4, 2018
THE SAD IRRELEVANCY OF THE CHURCH IN THE MODERN WORLD
In past centuries, human history attests to many instances in which the Catholic Church has wielded great (if not determinant) influence, not just on matters pertaining to the Christian Faith but in matters of politics and even war.
In the distant past, one recalls how, around 455 AD, Pope Leo persuaded Attila the Hun to turn back from invading Rome.
Attila was so impressed by the Pope's personal courage in making his case the he granted the Pope’s request and, in the words of a Medieval chronicler, “ordered his army to give up warfare … and departed.”
Here in America in the 20th century, politicians knew that local Bishops could deliver the votes of the Catholic faithful. Most Catholics were fairly recent immigrants, and the Bishops won voter support by being “their advocates in an often-unwelcoming land.”
Most recently, we note that in the 1980s, U.S. international aid policy “was changed as a result of the Vatican's not agreeing” with it. In 1984, the White House replaced a decades-long policy of awarding aid funds to family-planning initiatives abroad with a ban on aid to any organizations that promoted abortion or contraception.
Today, Bishops around the world still speak out on public issues.
Their voices, however, lack any lingering moral authority they might have had, especially in an era of growing secularization and the wholesale abandonment of religious values in the public square.
For the most part, Catholics appear to have assimilated mainstream political and social agendas thus depriving the Church of any significant influence upon government policy or civic culture.
On most issues, the Church has little persuasion over political leaders in America and elsewhere.
Even in traditionally Catholic countries such as Poland, where 92 % of the population is Catholic, lawmakers and the citizenry increasingly ignore Church teachings. In the southern Poland town of Czestochowa, whose monastery and iconic Black Madonna painting have long attracted pilgrims, the mayor hopes to allow in vitro fertility treatments for couples, over strong Church opposition.
In Ireland, a country among the most fervently Catholic, the Church has become “a strange ghostly presence," as one Irish commentator recently charged. Though Parish Priests have continued to control most primary schools, only 28 % of the public — 88 % of whom are Catholic — said in an opinion poll that they favor such Church control
In the United States, surveys typically find that many Catholics, including weekly Mass-goers, disagree with many official church policy positions.
In a February 2018, a survey (New York Times/CBS News) reported that three-quarters of Catholics said they approve of abortion under some circumstances and three-fifths support the death penalty, although Church teachings reject both abortion and capital punishment.
In the face of such factual evidence that the Church has lost its public moral voice, one would think the Bishops would take notice of what has led to this sad state and what, if anything, could revitalize the influence which the Gospel should exert in the exigencies of modern human history.
But, sadly, it seems the Bishops are more concerned with internal squabbles about rules and rituals affecting the few faithful who still hang on (with great fragility) to their Catholic heritage.
Where this is all leading is known only to the Holy Spirit, Whose intercession we constantly seek in the affairs of life, religious and mundane.
In the distant past, one recalls how, around 455 AD, Pope Leo persuaded Attila the Hun to turn back from invading Rome.
Attila was so impressed by the Pope's personal courage in making his case the he granted the Pope’s request and, in the words of a Medieval chronicler, “ordered his army to give up warfare … and departed.”
Here in America in the 20th century, politicians knew that local Bishops could deliver the votes of the Catholic faithful. Most Catholics were fairly recent immigrants, and the Bishops won voter support by being “their advocates in an often-unwelcoming land.”
Most recently, we note that in the 1980s, U.S. international aid policy “was changed as a result of the Vatican's not agreeing” with it. In 1984, the White House replaced a decades-long policy of awarding aid funds to family-planning initiatives abroad with a ban on aid to any organizations that promoted abortion or contraception.
Today, Bishops around the world still speak out on public issues.
Their voices, however, lack any lingering moral authority they might have had, especially in an era of growing secularization and the wholesale abandonment of religious values in the public square.
For the most part, Catholics appear to have assimilated mainstream political and social agendas thus depriving the Church of any significant influence upon government policy or civic culture.
On most issues, the Church has little persuasion over political leaders in America and elsewhere.
Even in traditionally Catholic countries such as Poland, where 92 % of the population is Catholic, lawmakers and the citizenry increasingly ignore Church teachings. In the southern Poland town of Czestochowa, whose monastery and iconic Black Madonna painting have long attracted pilgrims, the mayor hopes to allow in vitro fertility treatments for couples, over strong Church opposition.
In Ireland, a country among the most fervently Catholic, the Church has become “a strange ghostly presence," as one Irish commentator recently charged. Though Parish Priests have continued to control most primary schools, only 28 % of the public — 88 % of whom are Catholic — said in an opinion poll that they favor such Church control
In the United States, surveys typically find that many Catholics, including weekly Mass-goers, disagree with many official church policy positions.
In a February 2018, a survey (New York Times/CBS News) reported that three-quarters of Catholics said they approve of abortion under some circumstances and three-fifths support the death penalty, although Church teachings reject both abortion and capital punishment.
In the face of such factual evidence that the Church has lost its public moral voice, one would think the Bishops would take notice of what has led to this sad state and what, if anything, could revitalize the influence which the Gospel should exert in the exigencies of modern human history.
But, sadly, it seems the Bishops are more concerned with internal squabbles about rules and rituals affecting the few faithful who still hang on (with great fragility) to their Catholic heritage.
Where this is all leading is known only to the Holy Spirit, Whose intercession we constantly seek in the affairs of life, religious and mundane.
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