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Monday 14 November 2016

BREAKING and EXPLOSIVE: Bergoglio ignores plea of Cardinals - they have now literally put him on public trial!

"For it is written in the book of Psalms: Let their habitation become desolate, and let there be none to dwell therein. And his bishopric let another take. Acts 1:20

"But when Cephas was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed." Galatians 2:11



Four Cardinals, Card. Walter Brandmüller, Card. Raymond L. Burke, Card. Carlo Caffarra, Card. Joachim Meisner have publicly declared that they have written to Pope Francis, copied to the Cardinal Müller in the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, a series of "dubia" or doubts, that will force Francis to declare in the simplest of terms, the interpretation of Amoris Laetitia.

Since its issuance, bishops and theologians have given conflicting interpretations, some of which border on error in contradiction of scriptural and Church teaching. Bergoglio himself has created this confusion and has supported the bishops of Buenos Aires who have dissented from scripture and tradition. Further, the Vicar of the Diocese of Rome, clearly with Bergoglio's blessing or command, has also dissented. 

A "dubia," requires a one word answer; yes, or no. There is no theological argument, no debate. The argument is put forward with the question. It is a long-standing practice.

The dubia was submitted two months ago, the reason the Cardinals have now released it, is because Bergoglio has ignored it. 


Well, no more. This is big. This is very, very big and without precedent. 

Consider it this way.

Your local police have probable cause that you have committed a crime, they are now questioning you. 

You can also think of this as the opening question of a Prosecutor in a trial.

Bergoglio is in trouble. These Cardinals have with wisdom and calmness, put him in trial and have done so publicly on our behalf.

His petulance and arrogance is about to be his undoing, or his conversion.

"So let it be written, so let it be done."

Rorate is now reporting through a Roman contact that the Pope had no intention of answering them.

Here is the release of the Cardinals with my emphasis. It includes a Foreword explaining why they are compelled to release it and that Bergoglio has ignored them. 

Why these four? Why no others? 

Well, these four have been stripped of all responsibilities by Bergoglio or they have retired. They have no flock to protect, no diocese to lose from the vindictive Bergoglio who has proven himself already to be a man of vengeance. If a Cardinal in a large diocese is removed, what good does that do his flock? It allows a vacancy to be filled by the likes of Blaise Cupich. 

Bergoglio and the filthy malefactors around him have done this. They have created this crisis and they will be outed. Every. Single. One. 

The Church's Brexit has begun!




1. A Necessary Foreword

The sending of the letter to His Holiness Pope Francis by four cardinals derives from a deep pastoral concern.

We have noted a grave disorientation and great confusion of many faithful regarding extremely important matters for the life of the Church. We have noted that even within the episcopal college there are contrasting interpretations of Chapter 8 of Amoris Laetitia.

The great Tradition of the Church teaches us that the way out of situations like this is recourse to the Holy Father, asking the Apostolic See to resolve those doubts which are the cause of disorientation and confusion.

Ours is therefore an act of justice and charity.

Of justice: with our initiative we profess that the Petrine ministry is the ministry of unity, and that to Peter, to the Pope, belongs the service of confirming in the faith.

Of charity: we want to help the Pope to prevent divisions and conflicts in the Church, asking him to dispel all ambiguity.

We have also carried out a specific duty. According to the Code of Canon Law (cc. 349) the cardinals, even taken individually, are entrusted with the task of helping the Pope to care for the universal Church.

The Holy Father has decided not to respond. We have interpreted his sovereign decision as an invitation to continue the reflection, and the discussion, calmly and with respect.

And so we are informing the entire people of God about our initiative, offering all of the documentation.

We hope that no one will choose to interpret the matter according to a “progressive/conservative" paradigm. That would be completely off the mark. We are deeply concerned about the true good of souls, the supreme law of the Church, and not about promoting any form of politics in the Church.

We hope that no one will judge us, unjustly, as adversaries of the Holy Father and people devoid of mercy. What we have done and are doing derives from the deep collegial affection that unites us to the Pope, and from an impassioned concern for the good of the faithful.

Card. Walter Brandmüller
Card. Raymond L. Burke
Card. Carlo Caffarra
Card. Joachim Meisner

2. The Letter of the Four Cardinals to the Pope

To His Holiness Pope Francis
and for the attention of His Eminence Cardinal Gerhard L. Müller

Most Holy Father,

Following the publication of your Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia, theologians and scholars have proposed interpretations that are not only divergent, but also conflicting, above all in regard to Chapter VIII. Moreover, the media have emphasized this dispute, thereby provoking uncertainty, confusion, and disorientation among many of the faithful.

Because of this, we the undersigned, but also many Bishops and Priests, have received numerous requests from the faithful of various social strata on the correct interpretation to give to Chapter VIII of the Exhortation.

Now, compelled in conscience by our pastoral responsibility and desiring to implement ever more that synodality to which Your Holiness urges us, with profound respect, we permit ourselves to ask you, Holy Father, as supreme Teacher of the faith, called by the Risen One to confirm his brothers in the faith, to resolve the uncertainties and bring clarity, benevolently giving a response to the Dubia that we attach the present letter.

May Your Holiness wish to bless us, as we promise constantly to remember you in prayer.

Card. Walter Brandmüller
Card. Raymond L. Burke
Card. Carlo Caffarra
Card. Joachim Meisner

Rome, September 19, 2016

3. The “Dubia”
  1. It is asked whether, following the affirmations of Amoris Laetitia (nn. 300-305), it has now become possible to grant absolution in the sacrament of penance and thus to admit to Holy Communion a person who, while bound by a valid marital bond, lives together with a different person more uxorio without fulfilling the conditions provided for by Familiaris Consortio n. 84 and subsequently reaffirmed by Reconciliatio et Paenitentia n. 34 and Sacramentum Caritatis n. 29. Can the expression “in certain cases” found in note 351 (n. 305) of the exhortation Amoris Laetitia be applied to divorced persons who are in a new union and who continue to live more uxorio?
     
  2. After the publication of the post-synodal exhortation Amoris Laetitia (cf. n. 304), does one still need to regard as valid the teaching of St. John Paul II’s encyclical Veritatis Splendor n. 79, based on Sacred Scripture and on the Tradition of the Church, on the existence of absolute moral norms that prohibit intrinsically evil acts and that are binding without exceptions?
     
  3. After Amoris Laetitia (n. 301) is it still possible to affirm that a person who habitually lives in contradiction to a commandment of God’s law, as for instance the one that prohibits adultery (cf. Mt 19:3-9), finds him or herself in an objective situation of grave habitual sin (cf. Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts, Declaration, June 24, 2000)?
     
  4. After the affirmations of Amoris Laetitia (n. 302) on “circumstances which mitigatemoral responsibility,” does one still need to regard as valid the teaching of St. John Paul II’s encyclical Veritatis Splendor n. 81, based on Sacred Scripture and on the Tradition of the Church, according to which “circumstances or intentions can never transform an act intrinsically evil by virtue of its object into an act ‘subjectively’ good or defensible as a choice”?
     
  5. After Amoris Laetitia (n. 303) does one still need to regard as valid the teaching of St. John Paul II’s encyclical Veritatis Splendor n. 56, based on Sacred Scripture and on the Tradition of the Church, that excludes a creative interpretation of the role of conscience and that emphasizes that conscience can never be authorized to legitimate exceptions to absolute moral norms that prohibit intrinsically evil acts by virtue of their object?

4. Explanatory Note of the Four Cardinals

CONTEXT

Dubia (from the Latin: “doubts”) are formal questions brought before the Pope and to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith asking for clarifications on particular issues concerning doctrine or practice.
What is peculiar about these inquiries is that they are worded in a way that requires a “yes” or “no” answer, without theological argumentation. This way of addressing the Apostolic See is not an invention of our own; it is an age-old practice.
Let’s get to what is concretely at stake.
Upon the publication of the post-synodal Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia on love in the family, a debate has arisen particularly around its eighth chapter. Here specifically paragraphs 300-305 have been the object of divergent interpretations.
For many - bishops, priests, faithful - these paragraphs allude to or even explicitly teach a change in the discipline of the Church with respect to the divorced who are living in a new union, while others, admitting the lack of clarity or even the ambiguity of the passages in question, nonetheless argue that these same pages can be read in continuity with the previous magisterium and do not contain a modification in the Church’s practice and teaching.
Motivated by a pastoral concern for the faithful, four cardinals have sent a letter to the Holy Father under the form of dubia, hoping to receive clarity, given that doubt and uncertainty are always highly detrimental to pastoral care.
The fact that interpreters come to different conclusions is also due to divergent ways of understanding the Christian moral life. In this sense, what is at stake in Amoris Laetitia is not only the question of whether or not the divorced who have entered into a new union can - under certain circumstances - be readmitted to the sacraments.
Rather, the interpretation of the document also implies different, contrasting approaches to the Christian way of life.
Thus, while the first question of the dubia concerns a practical question regarding the divorced and civilly remarried, the other four questions touch on fundamental issues of the Christian life.


THE QUESTIONS

Doubt number 1:
It is asked whether, following the affirmations of Amoris Laetitia (nn. 300-305), it has now become possible to grant absolution in the sacrament of penance and thus to admit to Holy Communion a person who, while bound by a valid marital bond, lives together with a different person more uxorio without fulfilling the conditions provided for by Familiaris Consortio n. 84 and subsequently reaffirmed by Reconciliatio et Paenitentia n. 34 and Sacramentum Caritatis n. 29. Can the expression “in certain cases” found in note 351 (n. 305) of the exhortation Amoris Laetitia be applied to divorced persons who are in a new union and who continue to live more uxorio?
Question 1 makes particular reference to Amoris Laetitia n. 305 and to footnote 351. While note 351 specifically speaks of the sacraments of penance and communion, it does not mention the divorced and civilly remarried in this context, nor does the main text.
Pope John Paul II’s Apostolic Exhortation Familiaris Consortio, n. 84 already contemplated the possibility of admitting the divorced and civilly remarried to the sacraments. It mentions three conditions:

  • The persons concerned cannot separate without committing new injustices (for instance, they may be responsible for the upbringing of their children);
  • They take upon themselves the commitment to live according to the truth of their situation, that is, to cease living together as if they were husband and wife (more uxorio), abstaining from those acts that are proper to spouses;
  • They avoid giving scandal (that is, they avoid giving the appearance of sin so as to avoid the danger of leading others into sin).

The conditions mentioned by Familiaris Consortio n. 84 and by the subsequent documents recalled will immediately appear reasonable once we remember that the marital union is not just based on mutual affection and that sexual acts are not just one activity among others that couples engage in.
Sexual relations are for marital love. They are something so important, so good and so precious, that they require a particular context, the context of marital love. Hence, not only the divorced living in a new union need to abstain, but also everyone who is not married. For the Church, the sixth commandment “Do not commit adultery” has always covered any exercise of human sexuality that is not marital, i.e., any kind of sexual relations other than those engaged in with one’s rightful spouse.
It would seem that admitting to communion those of the faithful who are separated or divorced from their rightful spouse and who have entered a new union in which they live with someone else as if they were husband and wife would mean for the Church to teach by her practice one of the following affirmations about marriage, human sexuality, and the nature of the sacraments:

  • A divorce does not dissolve the marriage bond, and the partners to the new union are not married. However, people who are not married can under certain circumstances legitimately engage in acts of sexual intimacy.
  •  A divorce dissolves the marriage bond. People who are not married cannot legitimately engage in sexual acts. The divorced and remarried are legitimate spouses and their sexual acts are lawful marital acts.
  • A divorce does not dissolve the marriage bond, and the partners to the new union are not married. People who are not married cannot legitimately engage in sexual acts, so that the divorced and civilly remarried live in a situation of habitual, public, objective and grave sin. However, admitting persons to the Eucharist does not mean for the Church to approve their public state of life; the faithful can approach the Eucharistic table even with consciousness of grave sin, and receiving absolution in the sacrament of penance does not always require the purpose of amending one’s life. The sacraments, therefore, are detached from life: Christian rites and worship are on a completely different sphere than the Christian moral life.  

Doubt number 2:
After the publication of the post-synodal exhortation Amoris Laetitia (cf. n. 304), does one still need to regard as valid the teaching of St. John Paul II’s encyclical Veritatis Splendor n. 79, based on Sacred Scripture and on the Tradition of the Church, on the existence of absolute moral norms that prohibit intrinsically evil acts and that are binding without exceptions?
The second question regards the existence of so-called intrinsically evil acts. John Paul II’s encyclical Veritatis Splendor 79 claims that one can “qualify as morally evil according to its species … the deliberate choice of certain kinds of behavior or specific acts, apart from a consideration of the intention for which the choice is made or the totality of the foreseeable consequences of that act for all persons concerned.”
Thus, the encyclical teaches that there are acts that are always evil, which are forbidden by moral norms that bind without exception (“moral absolutes”). These moral absolutes are always negative, that is, they tell us what we should not do. “Do not kill.” “Do not commit adultery.” Only negative norms can bind without exception.
According to Veritatis Splendor, with intrinsically evil acts no discernment of circumstances or intentions is necessary. Uniting oneself to a woman who is married to another is and remains an act of adultery that as such is never to be done, even if by doing so an agent could possibly extract precious secrets from a villain’s wife so as to save the kingdom (what sounds like an example from a James Bond movie has already been contemplated by St. Thomas Aquinas, De Malo, q. 15, a. 1). John Paul II argues that the intention (say, “saving the kingdom”) does not change the species of the act (here: “committing adultery”), and that it is enough to know the species of the act (“adultery”) to know that one must not do it.

Doubt number 3:
After Amoris Laetitia (n. 301) is it still possible to affirm that a person who habitually lives in contradiction to a commandment of God’s law, as for instance the one that prohibits adultery (cf. Mt 19:3-9), finds him or herself in an objective situation of grave habitual sin(cf. Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts, Declaration, June 24, 2000)?
In paragraph 301 Amoris Laetitia recalls that: “The Church possesses a solid body of reflection concerning mitigating factors and situations.” And it concludes that “hence it can no longer simply be said that all those in any ‘irregular’ situation are living in a state of mortal sin and are deprived of sanctifying grace.”
In its Declaration of June 24, 2000, the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts seeks to clarify Canon 915 of the Code of Canon Law, which states that those who “obstinately persist in manifest grave sin, are not to be admitted to Holy Communion.” The Pontifical Council’s Declaration argues that this canon is applicable also to faithful who are divorced and civilly remarried. It spells out that “grave sin” has to be understood objectively, given that the minister of the Eucharist has no means of judging another person’s subjective imputability.
Thus, for the Declaration, the question of the admission to the sacraments is about judging a person’s objective life situation and not about judging that this person is in a state of mortal sin. Indeed subjectively he or she may not be fully imputable or not be imputable at all.
Along the same lines, in his encyclical Ecclesia de Eucharistia, n. 37, Saint John Paul II recalls that “the judgment of one’s state of grace obviously belongs only to the person involved, since it is a question of examining one’s conscience.” Hence, the distinction referred to by Amoris Laetitia between the subjective situation of mortal sin and the objective situation of grave sin is indeed well established in the Church’s teaching.
John Paul II however continues by insisting that “in cases of outward conduct which is seriously, clearly and steadfastly contrary to the moral norm, the Church, in her pastoral concern for the good order of the community and out of respect for the sacrament, cannot fail to feel directly involved.” He then reiterates the teaching of Canon 915 mentioned above.
Question 3 of the Dubia hence would like to clarify whether, even after Amoris Laetitia, it is still possible to say that persons who habitually live in contradiction to a commandment of God’s law, such as the commandment against adultery, theft, murder, or perjury, live in objective situations of grave habitual sin, even if, for whatever reasons, it is not certain that they are subjectively imputable for their habitual transgressions.

Doubt number 4:
After the affirmations of Amoris Laetitia (n. 302) on “circumstances which mitigate moral responsibility,” does one still need to regard as valid the teaching of St. John Paul II’s encyclical Veritatis Splendor n. 81, based on Sacred Scripture and on the Tradition of the Church, according to which “circumstances or intentions can never transform an act intrinsically evil by virtue of its object into an act ‘subjectively’ good or defensible as a choice”?
In paragraph 302, Amoris Laetitia stresses that on account of mitigating circumstances “a negative judgment about an objective situation does not imply a judgment about the imputability or culpability of the person involved.” The Dubia point to the Church’s teaching as expressed in John Paul II’s Veritatis Splendor according to which circumstances or good intentions can never turn an intrinsically evil act into one that is excusable or even good.
The question arises whether Amoris Laetitia, too, is agreed that any act that transgresses against God’s commandments, such as adultery, murder, theft, or perjury, can never, on account of circumstances that mitigate personal responsibility, become excusable or even good.
Do these acts, which the Church’s Tradition has called bad in themselves and grave sins, continue to be destructive and harmful for anyone committing them in whatever subjective state of moral responsibility he may be?
Or could these acts, depending on a person’s subjective state and depending on the circumstances and intentions, cease to be injurious and become commendable or at least excusable?

Doubt number 5:
After Amoris Laetitia (n. 303) does one still need to regard as valid the teaching of St. John Paul II’s encyclical Veritatis Splendor n. 56, based on Sacred Scripture and on the Tradition of the Church, that excludes a creative interpretation of the role of conscience and that emphasizes that conscience can never be authorized to legitimate exceptions to absolute moral norms that prohibit intrinsically evil acts by virtue of their object?
Amoris Laetitia n. 303 states that “conscience can do more than recognize that a given situation does not correspond objectively to the overall demands of the Gospel. It can also recognize with sincerity and honesty what for now is the most generous response which can be given to God.” The Dubia ask for a clarification of these affirmations, given that they are susceptible to divergent interpretations.
For those proposing the creative idea of conscience, the precepts of God’s law and the norm of the individual conscience can be in tension or even in opposition, while the final word should always go to conscience that ultimately decides about good and evil. According to Veritatis Splendor n. 56, “on this basis, an attempt is made to legitimize so-called ‘pastoral’ solutions contrary to the teaching of the Magisterium, and to justify a ‘creative’ hermeneutic according to which the moral conscience is in no way obliged, in every case, by a particular negative precept.”
In this perspective, it will never be enough for moral conscience to know “this is adultery,” or “this is murder,” in order to know that this is something one cannot and must not do.
Rather, one would also need to look at the circumstances or the intentions to know if this act could not, after all be excusable or even obligatory (cf. question 4 of the Dubia). For these theories, conscience could indeed rightfully decide that in a given case, God’s will for me consists in an act by which I transgress one of his commandments. “Do not commit adultery” is seen as just a general norm. In the here and now, and given my good intentions, committing adultery is what God really requires of me.  Under these terms, cases of virtuous adultery, lawful murder and obligatory perjury are at least conceivable.
This would mean to conceive of conscience as a faculty for autonomously deciding about good and evil and of God’s law as a burden that is arbitrarily imposed and that could at times be opposed to our true happiness.
However, conscience does not decide about good and evil. The whole idea of a “decision of conscience” is misleading. The proper act of conscience is to judge and not to decide. It says, “This is good,” “This is bad.” This goodness or badness does not depend on it. It acknowledges and recognizes the goodness or badness of an action, and for doing so, that is, for judging, conscience needs criteria; it is inherently dependent on truth.
God’s commandments are a most welcome help for conscience to get to know the truth and hence to judge verily. God’s commandments are the expression of the truth about our good, about our very being, disclosing something crucial about how to live life well. Pope Francis, too, expresses himself in these terms when in Amoris Laetitia 295: “The law is itself a gift of God which points out the way, a gift for everyone without exception.”

Image result for bergoglio


28 comments:

Jack said...

Deo gratias.

Ana Milan said...

It really had to come. Christ will not be mocked & if the Successors to St. Peter & the First Apostles are to continue to have legitimacy these Cardinals had to make this move in order to uphold the Deposit of Faith, Magisterium & Tradition of Christ's Church on earth. PF has been given every chance to 'explain' AL or even rescind it by eminent theologians & canon lawyers but to no avail. His arrogance is astonishing, his contempt for Traditional Catholic unbelievable, his praise for an excommunicated schismatic & his followers totally unworthy of his Office. It is undoubtedly his wish to disintegrate the CC, to abolish the Ten Commandments, Holy Mass & Sacraments which Christ Himself gave to us & instructed His Apostles to teach all nations which he has forbidden. PF sees himself as better than Our Creator & has totally given himself over to the idea of a NWO & Religion over which he & his cronies will preside. How utterly stupid, defamatory & devoid of Truth.

As PF has failed in his duty to respond to this public request by four Cardinals of the Church, the next step must be to publicly denounce his blasphemy & heresy & call for a Council to have him removed forthwith. His mental health is, most likely, a severe disablement to the task of carrying out in full the requirements of the Papal Office & is therefore another reason why it is absolutely necessary for him to be relieved of his Office.

Brian said...

Vox

This is good news. However at this early stage I would consider the "explosive" factor to be, at most, little more than a fire cracker. Francis, I'm sure, considers himself on the winning side. Remember the Octaviani intervention? Didn't do any good did it? Let us wait and see how many bishops will come out publicly and support these cardinals. The bishops are a "monkey see, monkey do lot" and they will go with what they perceive to be the winning side. My bet is that Francis will continue to "middle finger" these RIGID churchmen.

Perhaps this salvo by the bishops is a small step towards a worldwide repudiation of this papacy and a demand for Francis to step down, as bishop of Rome, and then disappear. I only hope so.

Anonymous said...

The Faithful should write this Cardinals and demand that they call a "imperfect" Synod and invite the pope to answer these questions. If he affrims any of them, let him be excommunicated and declared self deposed by reason of abandoning the Apostolic Faith.

Romanus

Michael Dowd said...

Thanks Vox. This is a big step in the right direction. Hopefully some in the mainstream media will pick up on this dissension in the ranks and give the story stronger legs. A story like this needs to be related to something like our recent Presidential election to widen it's interest. Ideally, a Trump-like--in a good way--candidate for Pope would be proposed by someone. Personally, I like Cardinal Sarah. Or the story needs to put in the context of resistance to the NWO thinking supported by Pope Francis but now being challenged by the general public as indicated by Brexit and Trump.

Luciano said...

the following quote from Winston Churchill comes to mind after reading this:
"Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning."

God and His Blessed Mother guide and protect these true shepherds of souls.

TheGoat said...

This feels like an earthquake.

Part of me feels that they shouldn't have asked the question if they didn't know already how he was going to answer.

But that aside, I'm hearing elsewhere that "Pope" Francis has said he will not answer. He must know that he has placed himself at war with the Truth.

Anonymous said...

Lucifer occupies the See of Peter.


Karl

Anonymous said...

I don't think people recognize the magnitude if this: The Pope simply cannot continue to refuse to answer without publicly demonstrating a grave faure in his office to confirm the bretheren. If he dies so, more cardinals, bishops and priests and theologians will demand an answer, including some if the more stupid progressives. If he answers in accord with Amoris Laetitia then he declares himself before the Church to be a heretic and he will be openly resisted to his face; if he answer's in a Catholic way then he is forced to countermand his own agenda.

This is the beginning of the End for him and his ilk.

Dorota Mosiewicz-Patalas said...

He will probably answer - with rants/homilies.
He will accuse of a closed heart and mind, of lack of proper formation in an individual conscience-centred approach.

He has changed God's commandment "Love your neighbour as yourself" to "Love your neighbour more than yourself" - a step necessary in these dark times, added the Humbleness. Why should he not spit on Church Tradition?

We know about his message, identical to that of George Soros. A belief in a transcendent God is not necessary, so long as we worship the poor. The end (peace and fairness and equal outcomes for all except the elites, in open rebellion against God's laws) justifies the means.

Bergoglio is very devious, very calculating, but his temperament won't allow him to ignore these obstacles to his brave new world, those insisting on "exclusion and darkness", much longer. He despises them from the depth of his being.

Saul Alinsky, probably one other of his Humblenes's heros, the author of the "Rules for Radicals", said that he is always for the underdog. In this life it is the poor - poor in wealth. After death it is the occupants of hell - poor in virtue.

Bergoglio identifies virtue with elitism and hypocrisy. No wonder he is grateful for Luther, who preached sinning, sinning wholeheartedly, sinning hard.

Like all progs, his Humbleness fails to register his own incredible hypocrisy. On one hand he demands that Europeans (or Christians more generally) self-destruct while loving the "neighbour" (Christ's enemies are not our neighbour) more than themselves (or their children), so perfectly selfless should they be. When it comes to the enemies of Christ, he tells them to sin as much as they please, on account of God's mercy. Despicable,

fxr2 said...

Please, 4 of 211 Cardinals asked the Pope for Clarification. Statistically there is no dissent to AL. No wonder His Holiness did not respond.

Mark Docherty said...

Make popcorn. This is the beachhead, and open warfare is now on the way. Deo gratias. https://nonvenipacem.com/2016/11/14/four-cardinals-with-nothing-to-lose-finally-speak-for-christ-and-his-church/

Unknown said...

#CONCLEAVE #PONTIFEXIT

prolifemama said...

A response to the following comment, by Mark Docherty --

"Make popcorn. This is the beachhead, and open warfare is now on the way. Deo gratias."

Dear brother Mark - Perhaps instead of popcorn, the faithful should begin a fast...

Thanks and prayers - Prolifemama

Sitsio said...

I'd love to think this will have some positive effect, but really?"Four old-guard whinging Cardinals", which is how they will be perceived by His Holiness!

James said...

Pope Francis turns 80 next month. Wouldn't it be nice if he resigned, even after giving the red hat to the latest cardinalacial picks.

Anonymous said...

You all are dreaming. File it in the circular file. The bishops' votes at the synods were clear. The Pope's words are clear. It is time for action--but see how they keep you walking along wavering: 1. the pope stated his position to the bishops in Argentina (he also bludgeoned 2 synods into majority votes for his position); some (retired) cardinals write a letter asking the pope to confirm what he has been stating since his ordination as a priest; the pope doesn't respond; the Cardinals now release their letter saying that they interpret the pope's non response as: "We have interpreted his sovereign decision as an invitation to continue the reflection, and the discussion, calmly and with respect." With whom are they continuing the discussion and reflection? Then you pharisee 'conservative' bloggers, interpret their continuing the discussion and reflection w/nobody as a courageous act of war. While it may be a good summary of Church teaching, it in no way protects the flock who will be tempted to take the easy way. Maybe this is the best they can do, but it is certainly not going to the mat to protect the Faith or the Faithful. Most of those who will fall into this pit Bergoglio and his henchmen (over 50% of those who attended the synods) will never even hear of this letter--just like most Catholics never heard of the Ottaviani (who in the end went along w/the new mass) Intervention . But if just one Cardinal had done what Bishop Lefebvre did what a difference it might have made.

FarmerJ said...

Another good quote from Churchill is: "The Truth is incontrovertible. Malice may attack it, and ignorance may deride it, but in the end, there it is."

Unknown said...

Doesn't this preamble mean that they don't want this interpreted in even the slightest way as an attack or criticism of the Pope?

"We hope that no one will judge us, unjustly, as adversaries of the Holy Father and people devoid of mercy. What we have done and are doing derives from the deep collegial affection that unites us to the Pope, and from an impassioned concern for the good of the faithful..."

Kathleen1031 said...

How dare you all hope, some say. There is no room for hope in this world, only relentless grinding out of our days lost in nostalgia and wishing on stars for men to lead the revolt.
God will provide the remedy, one way or another, in his own good time. If the remedy comes while we are alive, wonderful, if it does not, we go to heaven where we will not care about the remedy.

Православный физик said...

Dangerousl'y close to formal heresy is Pope Francis. The 4 good cardinals that signed, there are more amongst them thar are not signers. May this be the beginning of Pope Francis on his way to retirement.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for your post. We need to pray for these Cardinals who in their own way are imitating Christ the Good Shepherd.

Yesterday's Gospel for the Feast of St. John Chrysostom comes to mind (John 10: 9-16):

I am the door. By me, if any man enter in, he shall be saved: and he shall go in, and go out, and shall find pastures. [10] The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I am come that they may have life, and may have it more abundantly.

[11] I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd giveth his life for his sheep. [12] But the hireling, and he that is not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and flieth: and the wolf catcheth, and scattereth the sheep: [13] And the hireling flieth, because he is a hireling: and he hath no care for the sheep. [14] I am the good shepherd; and I know mine, and mine know me. [15] As the Father knoweth me, and I know the Father: and I lay down my life for my sheep.

[16] And other sheep I have, that are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice, and there shall be one fold and one shepherd.

xsosdid said...

Like the woman to the unjust judge, this is the beginning of the answer to the prayer begging the Lord for justice in His Church.Thanks be to God

JayBee said...

What ever happened to Mark Thomas?

Unknown said...

Hey whatever that preamble said, the Pope's non-response was a remarkable development, as it shows he is afraid to admit that AL is heretical.

Anonymous said...

Two Cardinals reprimanded Pope Paul VI and told him not to change the teaching of the Church on birth control, and the result was Humanae Vitae (which is probably the thing that he is remembered for outside the TC community).

Anonymous said...

And why did Card. Jorge Bergoglio, who “laughed only
when he defeated his opponent,” who “never forgot an
insult,” who was a “hard master, closed, tyrannical,
more feared than loved,” “tender with enemies yet brutal
with his brothers,” once he became “Bishop of
Rome,” suddenly begin to kiss children? http://www.padrepioandchiesaviva.com/uploads/Antipope_en_OKfinal.pdf

Tom Healey said...

This is sheer wishful thinking. Francis is in this for keeps. Those four cardinals have no idea of the depths of evil in this anti christ's soul. Do you think he can be stopped using reason, or an appeal to his better nature, or "Catholic" faith? He has none which should be obvious after the past four years. He must despise those four "men" for apologizing for being "catholic" and who can blame him. They are despicable. Bergoglio has to be publicly called out for the scoundrel that he is. He has to be denounced with the authority of Christ and His church no matter what the cost. Those 4 jerks are afraid that someone will think ill of them. God help us.I've heard bishops claim that the church must "speak the truth" "Yes, we must speak the truth, BUT WITH LOVE" What they are really saying is that we must be NICE. Question - Is there one bishop/cardinal anywhere today, outside of China, who is really and truly a MAN? Just don't look to the Fabulous Four. You'll be heartbroken.