RIP: Vatican Watcher

My beloved brother Jacob passed away this morning. While he was not able to post on the blog regularly for a number of years, his interest in the Vatican and the Church, as well as his faith in God, were as strong as ever to the end. This morning I have come across a string of emails dating back to 2016 detailing Jacob's attempts to arrange a Requiem Mass for himself. Because Jacob was pretty much homebound for his final year, he spent months arranging for the Sacrament of Penance here at home. Thankfully, he received absolution only a short while ago.

"Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him. May his souls and the souls of all the Faithful departed rest in peace. Amen."

A church building in need

A lady with whom I am acquainted at a Catholic web forum moved with her husband to Michigan awhile ago and dropped out of sight.  It has come to my attention that she is not doing too well.  Please say a prayer for Carleen.

I also learned that her husband has purchased an old Catholic church building.  He is quoted in this article, “I came by and saw the for sale sign in front of the church and inquired and realized I’d probably have to take a mortgage out on it so that’s what I did[.]”

There is a GoFundMe fundraiser for Mr. Price's efforts.  Check it out.  Pictures and a Youtube interview are posted along with updates.  Please say a prayer for Bill and Carleen and the restoration efforts and give something if you are a fan of old church buildings like me.

More from Archbishop Viganò

With Election Day past and its aftermath continuing to play out with several states' vote counting being contested, Archbishop Viganò has a new message to the people of the United States.  After a recapitulation of the situation and how it came to pass, the archbishop calls upon faithful Christians to pray the Rosary.

In these hours, while the gates of Hell seem to prevail, allow me to address myself to you with an appeal, which I trust that you will respond to promptly and with generosity. I ask you to make an act of trust in God, an act of humility and filial devotion to The Lord of Armies. I ask that all of you pray the Holy Rosary, if possible in your families or with your dear ones, your friends, your brothers and sisters, your colleagues, your fellow soldiers. Pray with the abandonment of children who know how to have recourse to their Most Holy Mother to ask her to intercede before the throne of the Divine Majesty. Pray with a sincere soul, with a pure heart, in the certainty of being heard and answered. Ask her – she who is the Help of Christians, Auxilium Christianorum – to defeat the forces of the Enemy; ask her – she who is terrible as an army set in battle array (Song 6:10) – to grant the victory to the forces of Good and to inflict a humiliating defeat on the forces of Evil.

He goes on to further this call for prayer and concludes by reminding his readers that those who pray to the King of Kings will have their faith rewarded.  “Ask and it shall be given unto you, seek and you shall find, knock and the door shall be opened unto you” (Lk 11:9)

A new letter from Archbishop Viganò

Archbishop Viganò has sent another open letter (pdf) to the president of the United States ahead of the coming election on November 3.  The letter is dated October 25, the Feast of Christ the King according to the old calendar.  For those of you unfamiliar with the archbishop, the article on him at Wikipedia has a summary of his career.

The context of all this is Archbishop Viganò's description of the corrupt forces within the Church and the world at large, especially in light of quarantines and lockdowns ordered under the pretext of the COVID-19 virus, but according to Viganò efforts to control and overthrow the old order in favor of the New World Order.

The letter's theme is clear:

[I]t is necessary that all people of good will be persuaded of the epochal importance of the imminent election: not so much for the sake of this or that political program, but because of the general inspiration of your action that best embodies – in this particular historical context – that world, our world, which they want to cancel by means of the lockdown. Your adversary is also our adversary: it is the Enemy of the human race, he who is “a murderer from the beginning” (Jn 8:44).

The description of the current pontiff's place in current events is stark:

In Sacred Scripture, Saint Paul speaks to us of “the one who opposes” the manifestation of the mystery of iniquity, the kathèkon (2 Thess 2:6-7). In the religious sphere, this obstacle to evil is the Church, and in particular the papacy; in the political sphere, it is those who impede the establishment of the New World Order.

As is now clear, the one who occupies the Chair of Peter has betrayed his role from the very beginning in order to defend and promote the globalist ideology, supporting the agenda of the deep church, who chose him from its ranks.

Here is a reverse chronological archive of all of Archbishop Viganò's letters, articles, and interviews.

It has happened to me

Longtime readers will remember this post from 2016 where I talked about plans to deal with the declining Catholic population of my hometown.  This last year, I found out things had happened over the last few years.  I don't make it home much due to health difficulties and unless I ask specific questions, my parents don't volunteer much info from home as they are more interested in me.  So I discovered that plans had indeed gone forward with the construction of a new church building.  And on social media, friends from home posted pictures of one of the church buildings as Mass was being said within for the last time before demolition.  Now there is only the church in which I was baptized many years ago.  I don't know what the endgame is for that building; I assume it too will be demolished once the new building is completed.  Oh...

Judging by the architect's drawings and plans, the new church isn't terrible.  On the outside it looks more or less like a church.  The inside has many of the usual defects of a post-conciliar worship space.  Many items were saved from the church that was demolished and more will be from the other, so time will tell how it all turns out.

Ave Maria and Francis

Hello, readers.  For those of you who keep up on Catholic news, you are no doubt aware of what's been going on with the McCarrick affair followed by the Pennsylvania grand jury report and then the Vigano memorandum and the fallout from each.  There are plenty of Catholic news sites and blogs that are following things with daily updates.  Aside from the Daily Readings in the sidebar, I would like to recommend Rod Dreher at The American Conservative.  He has been on top of things and I have been following him every day.

On August 29, in support of Pope Francis, the president of Ave Maria University James Towey issued a statement that has since been edited to remove its gratuitous comments. (Edited statement, 8/30 clarification.)  This CNA article has excerpts from the original version of the statement, which gives a taste of what was removed, specifically comments directed at Archbishop Vigano's motives and at Cardinal Burke for the dubia.  (Here is a comment that has the original version of the statement.)

Those since-removed comments had provoked a strong backlash.  One example is from the combox at a piece at One Peter Five:

Can you believe it?
This gentleman is drinking the same juice as Wuerl, McCarrick, Cupich, Maradiaga and Tobin – to cite only a few representatives of the core of corruption. His statement is not only erroneous in its essence, but
pejorative and would appear libelous.
Towey served as an assistant to George W. Bush (2002-2006) and as
Director of the White House Office of Faith-Based Initiatives. Dig deep into
that and you find the pragmatist.
As President of St. Vincent’s College, Latrobe – Rembert Weakland’s
home monastic community.
And he is a Knight of Columbus – financial sponsors of “Crux.”
You don’t have to scratch too far to find what is operative with this character. He likes his security blanket.
How did Ave Maria’s search committee determine this one a match?
Another one bites the dust..

I replied with the following:

Don't be confused by the fact that AMU has had this facade of "traditional" all this time and is suddenly breaking away. Ave Maria has always been a brand that Tom Monaghan knew he could sell to Catholics if it looked good and holy. But underneath the surface, there's always been some form of scandal, from how he got AMU from MI to FL to the medical complex they tried to build next to the university funded by a major stem cell researching company.

The reply back:

Believe me, I am confused no longer. This was a bitter eye opener.

My comment wasn't very charitable towards AMU.  I have mentioned the past of AM before in comboxes when the university or the law school have been brought up and alumni have replied, saying that things have changed since Mr. Monaghan's involvement has decreased.  Taking those people at face value and reading Mr. Towey's clarification, it puts Ave Maria in the mainstream of Neo-Catholicism with its strict adherence to the ultramontanist position: fidelity to Rome above all else.  Obviously, Roman Catholics are in communion with Rome, but in the wake of the Council, it has become "Rome, right or wrong," even when the wrong seems to be the enabling of heresy and sexual depravity.

People smarter than I am are wrestling with this question.

FSSPX and a prelature

In case you missed it, the folks at Rorate Caeli ran an online poll asking the question, "If Francis offers a Prelature to Society of St Pius X (SSPX), should they accept it?"

The results:  Out of 1,093 respondents, 77% voted yes and 34% voted no.

No doubt there are a lot of people out there who think that getting the FSSPX into the formal structures of the Church will be a great boon to orthodoxy while setting aside the distractions of questions regarding schism and jurisdiction and all that.  Though I would normally agree (though I've read and agree with many who've argued a prelature according to the Opus Dei model is the wrong way of doing it), we are not presently in normal times.

After following the tragedy of the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate and now reading more about the new MP dealing with women religious, it's clear enough the Holy Father and his coterie are not to be trusted.

Bishop Felley and those around him really need to consider what their options are at this point.  If they make a deal, once that bell has been rung, they won't be able to unring it by walking out if the deal goes bad.

From the pen of Benedict XVI?

The previous pontiff, Benedict XVI, otherwise known as Joseph Ratzinger, has said and written a few things over the years since he resigned that have given me pause as they didn't match up quite with what the man had said and done when he was out and about as prefect of CDF and then pope.

Now he has reportedly said a few more things in an interview ahead of a biography soon to be released that are downright weird considering the man we thought we knew (Vox Cantoris has links to it all).

The long and the short of it for me is this: how much of what comes out of that monastery is real and how much is filtered through (or comes whole cloth from) the former pope's handlers?  Doesn't matter.  Just ignore it and move on.

News from China II

Sandro Magister at www.chiesa has chimed in with his usual excellent work.  Aside from his usual links to the primary sources, he provides a nice summary of the latest happenings in the relationship between the ChiComs and the Holy See including this description of the genesis of the recent agreement:

That day, [Francis'] touchdown in New York on his way to Philadelphia coincided with the landing of Chinese president Xi Jinping, who was expected at the United Nations. Everything had been calculated for the two to cross paths “accidentally” at the airport and exchange a greeting. Xi was aware of this ardent desire of the pope, but in the end he let it drop and the meeting did not take place.

From that moment on, however, the secret contacts between the Vatican and Beijing underwent an acceleration. In October and then in January a delegation of six representatives of the Holy See went to the Chinese capital. And in April of this year, the two sides set up a joint working group that now seems to have come to an understanding over a point that the Vatican takes very seriously: the appointment of bishops.

Read it all for details on the excommunicated bishops of the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association and their being brought into the fold under the deal.

Magister notes:

The example that is brought up most often is that of Vietnam, where the candidate for bishop is proposed by the Vatican but the government can veto him, and then on to other candidates until the government approves one of them.

But for China, the solution of which Cardinal Tong appears to have knowledge sees the roles reversed. The candidate will be selected and proposed to the Vatican by the Chinese episcopal conference. Only that this conference is a creature of the communist party, completely at the beck and call the regime, devoid of “underground” bishops and with one of the excommunicated eight as its president.

Let us pray for our Chinese brethren as they enter this brave new world created by the Holy Father.

It can happen to you

I have returned home from a trip. Between my home and my destination is the city where I was born, baptized, and both my parents now reside. When I was a boy, the city had three parishes and there were a number of rural/small town parishes throughout the county, but most of them were all eventually rolled up into one single team ministry that was then put together into an official parish.

It was in that city where I went to Mass on Saturday. After Mass, I was looking through the bulletin and checking out the news of the combined parish. Up in the corner on one of the inside pages was a box containing information on how parishioners could fill out a survey for a plan to build a new church and parish buildings beside the existing Catholic school building. This bit of news, a small box on an inside page, left me feeling startled and anxious.

I was of course being naive. Other cities have had parishes closed and church buildings sold or torn down. I lamented those events that came to my attention as well, especially in the cases where old and venerable examples of quality Catholic architecture and art were either sold off or simply destroyed

The information about the proposal included diocesan long-range planning that included this datum: by 2019, there would be only two priests assigned to the entire county. The proposal then asks this question: Two priests watching over a handful of church buildings across a wide rural county or two priests watching over one large parish with at most two or three buildings?

This is an old draft that I never got around to publishing.  The circumstances of my hometown's Catholic community have not chanced as far as I know for sure.  I have been told though that protests from influential parishioners have delayed matters.  The moral of the story remains relevant.  In the conversation I had about the delays, the woman with whom I was talking said that a lot of folks were not happy to be losing the churches they grew up in.  She didn't have anything to say in reply when I noted they had only themselves to blame by not having more sons and encouraging them to explore a vocation the priesthood.

News from China

In recent days, relations between the Holy See and the People's Republic of China have been in the news.  This column by Anthony Clark at Catholic World Report is as good a recap as any of recent events.  The column describes Cardinal Tong's statement, "the pope will choose from a list of proposed candidates for ordination to bishop by China’s bishops and state authorities, which would finally normalize how bishops are selected and ordained in China."

Clark quotes from the statement,

Fortunately, after working for many years on this issue, the Catholic Church has gradually gained the reconsideration of the Chinese government, which is now willing to reach an understanding with the Holy See on the question of the appointment of bishops in the Catholic Church in China and seek a mutually acceptable plan. . . . The Apostolic See has the right to choose from the recommended list the candidates it considers as most suitable and the right to reject the candidates recommended by a bishops’ conference of China and the bishops in the provinces under it.

Hmm.

Mr. Clark goes on to describe Cardinal Zen's reaction.  Zen, the long time opponent to any compromise, wrote a response posted by AsiaNews.it. The title says it all: “My concerns over China-Holy See dialogue and repercussions on Chinese Church”

The end of Mr. Clark's column is a brief summary of  Sino-Holy See relations.

The point that stands out is Mr. Clark's comparison to Vietnam, "but it should be recalled that the Vatican’s proposed agreement with China is comparable to agreements made with communist Vietnam quite some time ago. In June of 2010, Pope Benedict XVI established a similar form of diplomatic relations with Vietnam, and the Church there has continued to flourish under a circumstance that Pope Francis is now proposing with China."

Long time readers know where I stand vis-a-vis the ChiComs.  They are not to be trusted.   Mr. Clark's comparison to Vietnam is on the surface apt due to PRChina and Vietnam being communist, but whether the Church is truly prospering there is debatable.

The Synod on the Family

From Wikipedia:

The Fourteenth Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops will take place on October 4–25, 2015, and will have a theme of "the vocation and mission of the family in the Church and in the contemporary world."

Where will I be following the goings-on in Rome?

1. Rorate Caeli:  Of course.  Where would I be without New Catholic and his collaborators when trying to keep up with Catholic news along with the always excellent commentary and spiritual fortification?

2. What's Up With The Synod:  This is a new blog set up by Hilary White for the duration of the synod where she and a few selected bloggers will be covering events in Rome.

Yesterday, talking to some blogger friends, it was suggested that we set up a war room, a place where traditionally-minded Catholic bloggers, writers and commentators can write and comment about the Synod as it is happening.

I'm looking forward to reading their work.  If you have any suggestions, please suggest in the comments.

Angels and ministers of grace defend us!

Will the Pope Sell Out to Red China?

As with remarriage and communion, the issue of the appointment of bishops in Red China seems to be one where Francis says one thing, but his underlings do another at the expense of Benedict's past actions that Francis has claimed to support fully.  Read this from Sandro Magister and try to discern for yourself just where the Holy Father is going with relations with the PRC.

In Ukraine, what is old is new

Sandro Magister has something new at his www.chiesa website on Ukraine.  As readers may be aware, Russia has been supporting separatists in eastern Ukraine.  It has already annexed the Crimea.

The crux of Magister's article:

The fact that Bergoglio has a soft spot for Russia had already been seen with the outbreak of war in Syria, when he called for a day of prayer and fasting to oppose the armed intervention of the United States and France against the regime of Damascus, and Vladimir Putin publicly praised him.

Then there is the influence of the ecumenical factor: of the 200 million Orthodox Christians in the world, 150 million belong to the patriarchate of Moscow and “of all Rus’,” and it is therefore with Moscow above all that the pope wants to cultivate good relations.

[...]

Today the almost five million Ukrainian Catholics know very well that they are the true obstacle to the encounter between the pope of Rome and the patriarch of Moscow. But they will not agree to be sacrificed on the altar of this ecumenical dream.

Go read the rest at the link above for more background on the Roman response to events.

The Lost Kingdom

Daily Mail

The event, which is understood to be taking place on June 19, will be a secular event and will instead feature just a simple proclamation, as well as a military procession, in front of Spanish politicians.

Palace and government spokesmen have already said no foreign dignitaries will be invited to the ceremony, largely due to the late notice given to plan the event.

Even Prince Felipe’s father, King Juan Carlos, has signalled he does not intend to be at the ceremony to see his son take over his throne.

And

When Juan Carlos was sworn in a king, pictured above, it was a much larger affair than what is expected from the imminent coronation of Crown Prince Felipe, pictured third from right as a young boy. The event included a mass after the coronation which is not expected to be held this time around

A low-key secular ceremony.....

Huh.

There is a reason sovereigns are styled Majesty.   They are majestic, venerable.  By divine right, along with lineage, tradition, and pomp, building up legitimacy over hundreds and hundreds of years.  And now the soon-to-be King of Spain is seemingly detaching himself from the foundation of his monarchy, from the outset.  No great ceremony to demonstrate the King's majesty.  No mass to celebrate the connection between God and the King.  And the old king, who is still alive, will not be there to show the connection between the present, the future, and the past.

It sets a bad precedent.  Without those things that make a monarchy a monarchy, why have a monarchy at all?

Yes, times are hard in Spain.  And HM Juan Carlos I is said to be abdicating partly because his popularity has nose-dived from scandal, such as a hunting trip during a time when one-in-four Spaniards are unemployed.  But I think personal extravagance is one thing.  While spending some Euros on the coronation of the king is a necessary investment in the legitimacy of the monarchy.

Surrender in Central Europe (and Japan)

The opening summary of the latest from Sandro Magister at www.chiesa:

The responses of the Japanese and central Europeans to the questionnaire for the synod on the family register the yielding of Catholics to the dominant “uniform thought.” But also the pastors' inability to lead 

Forgotten Lore: Triumph

Awhile ago while I was hunting around the Web for something, I came across some information about Brent Bozell, Jr. and his magazine named Triumph, published from 1966 and 1976.  Since then, I've acquired Bozell's collection of essays, Mustard Seeds: A Conservative Becomes a Catholic, and a compilation of essays and editorials from the magazine known as The Best of Triumph, both currently published under the imprint of Christendom College, itself founded by a contributor to the magazine.

While hunting around the Web for more information, I came across the dissertation of Mark D. Popowski about the magazine.  I later found out that he had written a book on the same subject, published in 2011, which I obtained through interlibrary loan from Marquette University.

The following is a comment I posted today at Rorate Caeli:

Yesterday I finished reading The Rise and Fall of Triumph: The History of a Radical Roman Catholic Magazine, 1966-1976 by Mark D. Popowski.  In his book, Popowski does an excellent job of summing up the philosophical writings of Catholics Brent Bozell (not the currently living neocon son), Frederick Wilhelmsen of the University of Dallas, and many others as published in the magazine Triumph from 1966 to 1976.

Their efforts were directed towards showing that The American Experiment(tm) is fundamentally flawed (both the conservative and liberal views of it) and at war with natural law and Christianity.  Popowski writes, "The editors sought to lead an exodus of American Catholics from the American state and society and to establish a Catholic tribe—not for isolation but for confrontation—in order to fortify and order their ranks from which they could lead sallies into American society to convert it to the Roman Catholic faith."

This review looks at Popowski's book and describes well the thoughts and motives of Triumph and its parent organzation, the Society for a Christian Commonwealth.

One of the comments to that review alludes to an historical detail about which I would love to learn more.  The woman who posted the comment said that she had been in contact with one of the contributors of the magazine who had back in the day done research that including a "surprising link with Freemasons in the Irish American Church hierarchy."

The Curia: What's To Come?

When a pope dies (or in this case abdicates), most all the curial officials who hold office at his pleasure go out of office along with him (except for a few prominent exceptions).  When a new pope is elected, though he may have ideas of his own regarding whom he wants in key positions, it's usual for him to confirm his predecessor's men to continue their terms (at least until the new pope is ready to get going on his own agenda).

For instance, back in 2005, newly-elected Pope Benedict cinfirmed Cardinal Sodano as secretary of state, the job the cardinal had under John Paul II.

VATICAN CITY, APR 25, 2005 (VIS) - The Holy Father:

 - Confirmed members of the dicasteries of the Roman Curia in their current posts until the end of the five-year period for which they were appointed by the late lamented Pope John Paul II.

I disagreed with this.  Sodano and Ratzinger were in opposing camps on a lot of issues, the most visible being Maciel and the Legion of Christ.  Sodano shielded Maciel when Ratzinger attempted to proceed against him.  Then Ratzinger was elected and he kept on his enemy in one of the chief offices of the Roman Curia for another year.  I think that had a fundamental impact on Benedict's pontificate as the Holy Father never gained any true momentum in dealing with the filth and the filth's enablers.

Cardinal Ratzinger was elected on April 19 and he didn't confirm the members of the dicasteries until six days later.  Pope Bergoglio was elected Wednesday night and it is now Saturday, so he has time yet to spare before people are expecting to get back to work.  Will things start to happen Monday (Francis has the Vatileaks report in hand now) or will the Holy Father wait for his lunch with his predecessor a week from today

UPDATE: I posted too soon.  But note that it is only provisional.

VaticanCity, 16 March 2013(VIS) – Holy Father Francis has expressed the desire that the Heads and members of the Dicasteries of the Roman Curia, as well as their Secretaries, and also the President of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State, continue "donec aliter provideatur", that is, provisionally, in their respective positions.

The Holy Father wishes to reserve time for reflection, prayer, and dialogue before any final appointment or confirmation is made.

Chinese Regards to Pope Francis

New York Times

Hua Chunying, a Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, said that Beijing hoped the pope, who was elected on Wednesday, would work with Chinese officials on improving relations. But, she said, the Vatican “must stop interfering in China’s internal affairs, including in the name of religion."

She also said the Vatican must sever diplomatic relations with Taiwan before ties with Beijing improve. China considers Taiwan a renegade province that is part of its territory.

Sadly, with the current regime of China, I don't see much room to improve relations.  Can the Holy See do much of anything besides either take a hard line or capitulate to Chinese demands?

But perhaps there is hope for improvement on horizon.  China has only just recently installed its Fith Generation of leadership.  And I've read there is hope for real political change with the Sixth Generation.  That is still at least a decade away, though.

It's the Argentine

The Associated Press

VATICAN CITY (AP) -- Pope Francis put his humility on display during his first day as pontiff Thursday, stopping by his hotel to pick up his luggage and pay the bill himself in a decidedly different style of papacy than his tradition-minded predecessor, who tended to stay ensconced in the frescoed halls of the Vatican.

And

The former Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio began his first day as pope making an early morning visit in a simple Vatican car to a Roman basilica dedicated to the Virgin Mary and prayed before an icon of the Madonna.

Reminds me of Pope Kiril from the film The Shoes of the Fisherman.

Tradition is important.  It brings meaning and structure to the past, our present lives, and the future.  But I think also we must remember there was time when we had no traditions, that our present traditions have accumulated over the course of two thousand years of history.  To survive, I think the Church must not be afraid as long as it remains true to Christ.

A personal note: I went to confession yesterday.  Confession is always a trial, not just because I am ashamed of my sins, but also because of my disability.  While I was waiting my turn, I wrote Francis in block letters on the palm of my hand.  And I was comforted by it.