Thursday, May 16, 2024
Pope Francis’ “living tradition”: departing from tradition while “creatively” trying to maintain an appearance of adhering to it.
When Pope Francis uses the term “living tradition” he in fact means actually departing from tradition while “creatively” trying to maintain an appearance of adhering to it.
Francis’s “Creative Fidelity to Tradition” and the Complete Impotence of the Vatican II Religion
By: Robert Morrison | Remnant Columnist“For you know, venerable brothers, that these bitter enemies of the Christian name, are carried wretchedly along by some blind momentum of their mad impiety; they go so far in their rash imagining as to teach without blushing, openly and publicly, daring and unheard-of doctrines, thereby uttering blasphemies against God. They teach that the most holy mysteries of our religion are fictions of human invention, and that the teaching of the Catholic Church is opposed to the good and the prerogatives of human society.” (Blessed Pope Pius IX, Qui Pluribus)
In his May 10, 2024 address to members of the International Network for Societies for Catholic Theology (INSeCT), Francis discussed three guidelines for his theology:
"I would like to point to three guidelines for theology: creative fidelity to tradition, a cross-disciplinary approach and collegiality. These are the essential ‘ingredients’ of the vocation of Catholic theologians in the heart of the Church.”
What did Francis mean by “creative fidelity to tradition”? In his description of each of the three guidelines, he replaced the “creative fidelity to tradition” phrase with the concept that “tradition is living”:
“As we all know, Tradition is living. Consequently, it must increase and incarnate the Gospel in every land and in all cultures.”
Many Traditional Catholics have heard this concept before — usually expressed as “living tradition” — and may even know about its pre-Vatican II theological origins. In equating “living tradition” with “creative fidelity to tradition,” though, Francis effectively admitted what the proponents of the Vatican II revolution have denied since the Council: he made it evident that when the innovators use the term “living tradition” they mean that they are actually departing from tradition while “creatively” trying to maintain an appearance of adhering to it.
John Paul II’s Ecclesia Dei provided a concrete example of how the innovators actually implement their “creative fidelity to tradition”.
In this light, we can better interpret the most contentious use of the concept of “living tradition,” which John Paul II included in his 1988 apostolic letter, Ecclesia Dei, relating to the “excommunication” of Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre for his consecration of four bishops without approval from Rome:
“The root of this schismatic act can be discerned in an incomplete and contradictory notion of Tradition. Incomplete, because it does not take sufficiently into account the living character of Tradition, which, as the Second Vatican Council clearly taught, ‘comes from the apostles and progresses in the Church with the help of the Holy Spirit. There is a growth in insight into the realities and words that are being passed on. This comes about in various ways. It comes through the contemplation and study of believers who ponder these things in their hearts. It comes from the intimate sense of spiritual realities which they experience. And it comes from the preaching of those who have received, along with their right of succession in the episcopate, the sure charism of truth.’”
From the perspective of Archbishop Lefebvre, John Paul II was using “living character of tradition” in the same way that Francis spoke of “creative fidelity to tradition.” If John Paul II had used the latter phrase, though, he would have lost all credibility with many who ultimately agreed with him.
Wednesday, May 15, 2024
My latest column; Pagan “Catholics”?
“Pagan” Catholics?
By FR. KEVIN M. CUSICK
Our church buildings that haven’t yet been closed as a result of Catholics embracing contraception and abortion with gusto in the 60s, along with the enemies of Christ, are increasingly under pressure from a growing pagan lobby, swelling like a cancer threatening the lifeblood of the Body of Christ.
Many of those who weekly come forward to receive Communion at Sunday (or Saturday evening) Masses rejected the Catholic Faith long ago. The abortion and LGBTQ lobbies have grown stronger like a “woke mind virus” among many of the baptized who have retained only a Catholic muscle memory. They show up habitually for Mass and receive Communion like they’re sleepwalking through the Catholic Faith while they vote pro-abortion and LGBTQ, show up for the pro-abort “Woman’s March” and sport rainbow flags on their bodies every June.
A parish vocal minority in Michigan rose up and engineered the expulsion of their pastor for supporting parents who reached out to him with concerns about a man invited to read a book to children in the parish school. They were alarmed that his civil union with another man might cause confusion among members of the community. To oppose the concerns of Catholic parents in regard to the purity of their children in support of an adult who has chosen the unforced error of a sinful “lifestyle” should be easily recognized for the inversion which it is. Alas, for some that was not so.
When remaining silent might be construed as approval someone must speak out. Here we have a case of a priest with the courage to do his job, as the only one charged with the responsibility of speaking out. When he did so there were cries of “off with his head!” Such is not unusual and not to be unexpected. Priests doing their job indeed say things that meet with disapproval. What has changed is the seemingly sincere shock and indignation on the part of those who attack the priest for preaching against sin and damnation.
Read the rest: https://thewandererpress.com/catholic/news/frontpage/pagan-catholics/
Tuesday, May 14, 2024
Unhappy Vatican staff expose lack of workers’ rights in rare challenge to the Pope
A total of 49 employees of the Vatican Museums have filed a class-action complaint with the Vatican administration demanding better seniority, leave, and overtime benefits in an unusual public challenge to Pope Francis’s governance.
The complaint, made public this weekend, also alleged that staff faced health and security risks due to cost-saving and apparent profit-generating initiatives at the museum, including overcrowding and reduced security guards to keep tourists at bay.
© Provided by The Independent
Neither the Vatican spokesperson nor Cardinal Fernando Alzaga, the president of the Vatican City state administration which controls the museums, responded for comment.
The complaint is the latest legal challenge to underscore how the Vatican’s laws, regulations and practices are often incompatible with Italian and European norms. Recently, civil and criminal cases have exposed how Vatican employees, especially Italian citizens, have little or no legal recourse beyond the peculiar justice system of the city state, an absolute monarchy where Francis wields supreme executive, legislative and judicial power.
In the class-action complaint, written and signed by veteran Vatican attorney Laura Sgro on behalf of the 49 employees, museum staffers cited the social teaching of the Catholic Church and Pope Francis’s own appeals for employers to respect the dignity of workers in demanding better treatment.
Among other things, they demanded better transparency about how employees are able to advance, a restoration of seniority bonuses and insisted the Vatican follow Italian norms on sick days. Employees currently have to stay home all day, rather than a few hours, to await a potential visit to check that they aren’t merely taking the day off, the complaint said.
Under the Vatican’s labor regulations, the Vatican has 30 days to respond to the complaint. If no talks begin, Ms Sgro can take the claims to the Vatican’s labor office to attempt a negotiated reconciliation, which could end up in the tribunal. However, the office can refuse to hear the case and, according to lawyers, often does, leaving the employees with no further recourse. In recent cases before the Vatican tribunal, lawyers have signaled they may try to bring employees’ complaints about the system to the European Court of Human Rights.
Read the rest: Unhappy Vatican staff expose lack of workers’ rights in rare challenge to the Pope (msn.com)
Monday, May 13, 2024
“Credentialed Catholics”: This is about free advertising and selling books
A number of people have been laughing all the way to the bank in the wake of Traditionis Custodes, and not all of them are in the Vatican. Have any of you asked any of the self-appointed experts on the Catholic tradition how many books they’ve sold since TC? I’d be willing to bet the answer is “more”.
If everyone and his brother gets to put their signature on a letter to the pope complaining about his performance posted on a high traffic site with potential for wide notice, the names of the more deserving elite might get lost like a tree in the forest.
More on the subject from Harvey Millican:
Take Note, Dr. K…
Ladies and gentlemen, this:
…is St. Catherine of Sienna.
St. Catherine held no degrees. She spoke boldly to cardinals and to the pope. She proclaimed an unpopular truth in the midst of a political and ecclesiastical firestorm. She was, of course, totally right.
She is a Doctor of the Church.
Recently, Peter Kwasniewski posted something to a social media page (brought to my attention by my sister since I’m not on any of that) stating that he had received much interest from people wishing to add their signatures to a petition that he and others have begun circulating. The petition or letter or whatever it is relies on the false-base premise that Jorge Bergoglio is now or ever was the Roman Pontiff.
What is laughable is that Dr. K. states in his post that only “credentialed” individuals (and even then only those whom he will thoroughly vet) need apply to sign the document. So only those chosen elites in the “club” are smart enough to make this kind of a call…
And that document…
The amount of mental gymnastics one has to perform in order to fail to see the obvious (he’s an antipope usurper) and then bend over backwards so far as to reach the conclusion that he’s a pope but a heretic; and that laymen can force his resignation leads to a medical condition known as Colo-cranial Syndrome. This is a malady wherein one’s head is literally up one’s ass.
But should I expect anything more from someone who places such a high value on a piece of paper hanging on his wall? As a very wise man once told me, “Rectal thermometers also have lots of degrees on them and we know where they end up.”St. Catherine of Sienna, pray for us!
https://harveymillican.com/2024/05/10/take-note-dr-k/
N.B. I’m all for people making a living but, sadly, TC has resulted in much division even among supporters and lovers of holy Tradition. The promotion, preservation and propagation of the traditional Mass should be the primary objective, not a sad spectacle of jockeying for advantage amidst misfortune. Unity is a tradition, too.
Archbishop Aguer: ‘Smoke of Satan’ has made the structures of the Church ‘unbreathable’
(LifeSiteNews) — The progressive officialdom installed in Rome for slightly more than a decade continues its policy of “canceling” those who, with freedom of spirit, seek to serve Jesus Christ from orthodoxy and Tradition. What is meant by “canceling” is all forms of ignoring, conspiracy of silence, marginalization, prohibition to publish in the media and on social networks, and even the termination of the functions of those who do not “synodally” bow to Vatican ideologies and discretions.
Good bishops such as Daniel Fernández Torres of Arecibo, Puerto Rico, and Joseph Strickland of Tyler, Texas, were canceled. Cardinal Gerhard Müller was not brought back for a new term in the Congregation (now Dicastery) for the Doctrine of the Faith. And Cardinal Raymond Burke was even deprived of his salary and Roman flat. Others, such as Dominique Rey of Fréjus-Toulon in France, had their powers limited by the appointment of new “coadjutors” who almost co-govern those dioceses in practice.
There are also numerous priests in different parts of the world who have been dismissed; they have even formed “associations” to help each other and provide the basic necessities for their sustenance. In some cases they have been left on the street and have had to find refuge in the homes of their elderly parents, siblings, or other relatives. I have already addressed them in other articles. I am constantly receiving mail, messages, and phone calls from faithful priests who do not fit into the official slogan of “everyone, everyone, everyone” and who therefore remain outside the “system.” The famous Peronist maxim has been imported into Rome: “For the friend, everything; for the enemy (supposed or imagined), no justice.” Even the Code of Canon Law seems to be dead and buried. Practically speaking, in the face of accusations of being “backwardists,” “worshipers of ashes,” “rigid,” and other similar labels, one can only wait for the guillotine without further ado.
The lay faithful suffer in alarm at so many arbitrary acts. They see how good priests are systematically forced to leave their parishes, or sent to destinations considered as “punishment.” The much-declared “peripheries” are the places chosen for this. They are literally left to their own devices. Alone, without a priestly community, without resources, and exposed to all kinds of dangers, not a few find illness and crisis there. Accusations of being “not very synodal” or of not being open to the “culture of encounter” lead to various forms of banishment.
Read the rest: https://www.lifesitenews.com/opinion/archbishop-aguer-smoke-of-satan-has-made-the-structures-of-the-church-unbreathable/
“… with the ‘pro-life’ Republicans busy passing the new Antisemitism Awareness Act into law in D.C., raising any objection to the ongoing slaughter of Palestinians -- including Palestinian Christians children -- in the Holy Land will soon constitute hate speech here in America”
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