How Vatican City’s DARK SECRETS are relevant to YOU - Glenn Beck and Dr. Taylor Marshall

"Being homosexual isn’t a crime" Bergoglio

"Being homosexual is not a crime, it's not a crime. yes, but it's a sin. Fine, but first let's distinguish between a sin and a crime." Those words come from a Jorge Bergoglio interview published today with the Associated Press. 

The AP Interview: Pope Francis: Homosexuality not a crime | AP News

The manipulative deceiver in the Chair of Peter is playing games here with man's law and God's law. Just as James Martin, S.J., has done in the last few days declaring that an American cabinet secretary is "married" to another man. Caesar's Law versus God's Law.

He also calls for "patience" with the Chinese Communist Party and refers to Joseph Cardinal Zen as a "charming old man."

The AP Interview takeaways: Pope decries expanding gun use | AP News

We don't need to point out here where Bergoglio is wrong, but we do need to think about what he is doing as well as Martin and the rest of their water carriers on social and other media. As with the rumoured threats to the Latin Mass and potential watering down the Missal of Paul VI, these wicked men are trying to provoke a response. They want us to lose our minds, to demoralize us. They want us to despair and believe that God has abandoned us.  

God has not abandoned us. They have abandoned God. Do not lose your peace over this. More will come. All of this is in God's providence. How sweet it is to see it, how wonderful to live it. We are about to see the cleansing of the Church from all of this. What a rejoicing!

Praised be Jesus Christ, now and forever. Amen

Posthumous book by Pope Benedict XVI - How explosive is it?

A book by Pope Benedict XVI has been published posthumously, in Italian. A few translations have emerged. What is surprising is not so much some of the statements, we all suspected much of it, but that a Pope has written them. 

"There were individual bishops -- and not only in the United States - who rejected the Catholic tradition as a whole aiming in their dioceses to develop a kind of new, modern "catholicism."

"A bishop, who had previously been rector, had allowed them to show the seminarians pornographic films, presumably with the intention of making them able to resist against anti-faith conduct."

"The visit that followed (U.S. bishops to discuss the sexual crimes - Vox) did not bring new information, because evidently several had joined forces in order to hide the real situation."

Update:

These are just some of the quotes, more will no doubt follow. The book is only in Italian and can be downloaded with the right Italian account credentials. 

One can only wish that he had acted on all of this whilst an active Pope. 

Did a lockdown sex party and priest charges and suicide lead to the resignation of the "Oratorian" Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle?

Just another day in the Ape of the Catholic Church. 

Is this why the Bishop of Hexham suddenly resigned a month ago? What did he know? Did he fail to act? Was he blackmailed? Maybe just getting out of the storm. What a coward.

After a visit from the police in April 2022 over historic accusations of sexual abuse, the priest in the article below hanged himself. Innocent people don't commit suicide. They fight to proclaim their innocence or they suffer false accusations as did Christ. 

Newcastle priest found dead was being investigated by police for historic child sex abuse - Chronicle Live

But worry not. The Vatican is investigating. Just like it is investigating the sodomite orgy that took place above the offices of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. How did that one go?

According to Francis, the Usus Antiquior of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is the problem.

Move along, nothing to see here.

O Worship the Lord in the Beauty of Holiness (Tune: Was Lebet Was - 5vv)...

George Neumayr - God rest his noble soul!

As you have probably heard by now, independent journalist George Neumayr has died in the Ivory Coast of "malaria." 

A giant and a lion fighting for Jesus Christ. Eternal rest grant unto George your Servant, O LORD, and may perpetual light shine upon him. May he rest in peace. Amen.

Devasting news.

"Malaria."  

Sure.

Who will pick up the torch?

New Revelations Suggest That the Vatican Dishonored Pope Benedict XVI

Father John Melnick, OSA, the "Mad Monk" has died

Father John Melnick, an Augustinian Friar known to his large family on Facebook as John "Stone: Melnick has died. He was admitted to the hospital on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. His post on Facebook was, "I might die tonight." That was him. He was always ready and accepting of God's will. Father had a severe lung condition and was awaiting a decision on a possible transplant. 

Father was at Marylake Augustinian Monastery north of Toronto and was instrumental in a "clean up" there He eventually served as a Master of Ceremonies to Aloysius Cardinal Ambrozic, Archbishop of Toronto. He was in the same league as Fathers Stephen Someville and Liam Gavigan with regards to the celebration of the traditional Latin Mass during the "indult" period and was scorned for it. We had many chats and he told me some stories about Toronto which must go to the grave with him. He also assisted at St. Demetrius Ukrainian parish as he was bi-ritual. He was encouraging to me for my work in the liturgy and this blog. I will miss him. May God rest his sweet soul. 

Eternal rest and blessed memory. 

The official announcement from Brother Martin:

In the summer of 2015, Fr. John was diagnosed with Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis.

In late 2021, he began to experience a sharper decline in his health, needing to sit even while offering Mass.

This continued to the point that in late 2022, his oxygen saturation levels would drop to the 60s and 50s after walking just a few steps.

On December 8th, 2022, the feast of the Immaculate Conception, Fr. John was rushed to the hospital at 3:30am because he was unable to achieve oxygen saturation levels above the 40s.

He was diagnosed with Covid and admitted to the ICU.

On December 20th, his breathing became extremely labored, risking the failure of other vital organs, whose health he needed to qualify for a lung transplant which he had decided to pursue around Easter 2022. The best hope for maintaining his health for a lung transplant was to be put him on a ventilator, which took place on Dec. 20th.

Fr. John tested negative for Covid on January 3rd, 2023. However, the lung transplant program required a PCR test which detects Covid deep in the lungs, whether the virus is dead or alive. Testing positive for having the virus (dead or alive) in his lungs, he was not yet permitted to transfer to Omaha for a lung transplant.

Shortly after, his kidneys began to fail and his blood pressure began to be extremely low. He was placed on dialysis. This became another obstacle to a lung transplant.

Having been on dialysis for over a week, Fr John’s blood pressure remained very low and he was still unable to produce a satisfactory level of urine.

On Sunday, January 15th at 6:05pm CST, I received a phone call from his attending nurse that his blood pressure had dropped extremely low to 50/20. I had adamantly refused to change his code status from full code to DNR, so I informed the nurse I was on my way and hung up.

Shortly thereafter, Fr. John Melnick passed from this life prepared by Extreme Unction and the Apostolic Benediction, both given to him prior to intubation and sedation.

Please join me in praying for the repose of the soul Fr. John Melnick.

-Br Martin

PS I regret the dissemination of this news on social media prior to the notification of his entire family. I only informed the contact person I had for his family, his doctors, very few close/immediate friends, and those whose participation he requested in his funeral.

Rumours from Rome - an Apostolic Constitution from Francis to all but ban the traditonal Latin Mass

While you think you may enjoy a peaceful Epiphantide glowing in the light of Christmas the Bishop of Rome has other ideas. If my sources are correct, this is imminent, and be prepared for a Lent of suffering and sorrow. Gloria TV is reporting "rumours" from the German blog, Summorum Pontificum (summorum-pontificum.de) that Pope Francis is preparing to unleash a frontal attack on the traditional Latin Mass through the use of an Apostolic Constitution. 

Whether or not he has waited for Benedict XVI to be out of the picture is moot. Nothing stopped him for nearly a decade. No, this is his outrage that most of the bishops, priests, and laity around the world have ignored Traditionis Custodes and the abusive follow-up from Roche in the Congregation responsible. At this stage, it is rumour. 

Let us pray to God for a quick end to this poison that has inflicted His Church and that we will see a restoration. What I do know is this; fixing this is beyond any ability of any one of us. Only God can destroy this wickedness and restore the faith and when He chooses to act, and I have no doubt He will, it won't be pretty.

I will not go quietly into the night. None of us can.

Drumbeat or rumors?

Drumbeat or rumors? (summorum-pontificum.de)

          January 13, 2023

The Roman jungle telegraph, to which we are connected via several stations, does not always work reliably – which is why we usually hold back a bit with the public reproduction of the messages received. Not everything is worth communicating: the fact that Arthur Roche, the head of the authority responsible for the liturgy, reacted to the news of Benedict's death with the words: "Now we can finally sign the document!" seemed to us at best of anecdotal interest.

Now we receive news about the form and content of this document – and they set off all the alarm bells. Then it is about a new Apostolic Constitution, with which Francis, who is highly dissatisfied with the slow implementation of Traditionis Custodes, now finally wants to put an end to the old Mass. Francis, therefore, chose the form of an Apostolic Constitution in order to adhere to the corresponding Constitution Missale Romanum of Paul VI and to emphasize the equality of his current regulations with the 1969 Act of Law.

According to our information, the expected constitution contains 4 main provisions:

In no parish/diocesan church, may the old mass be celebrated.

In diocesan churches it may not be celebrated every Sunday according to the old rite.

The use of the 1962 books (with the modifications ordered by Francis) is only permitted for the celebration of Mass, but not for the administration of sacraments and sacramentals.

Every priest is obliged to celebrate (publicly?) according to Paul VI's missal.

This is the status of our information on 13 January. We keep an eye on the matter and our ears to the telegraph.

         Drumbeat or rumors? (summorum-pontificum.de)

Sandra Magister reveals that George Cardinal Pell was "Demos"

There are no coincidences. Vox.

The last writings of Cardinal Pell. And those diaries of imprisonment so dear to Benedict – Settimo Cielo - Blog - L'Espresso (repubblica.it)

A memorandum is circulating among the cardinals about the upcoming conclave. Here it is – Settimo Cielo - Blog - L'Espresso (repubblica.it)

THE VATICAN TODAY

Commentators at every school, though for different reasons, with the possible exception of Father Spadaro SJ, agree that this pontificate is a disaster in many or more respects, a catastrophe.

1. The Successor of St Peter is the rock on which the Church is built, a great source and cause of world unity. Historically, beginning with Saint Irenaeus, the Pope and the Church of Rome have a unique role in preserving the apostolic tradition, the rule of faith, in ensuring that the Churches continue to teach what Christ and the apostles taught. Previously the motto was: "Roma locuta. Causa finita est" [Rome has spoken, the cause is over]. Today it is: "Roma loquitur. Confusio augetur" [Rome speaks, confusion grows].

(A) The German synod speaks of homosexuality, of women priests, of communion for the divorced. And the papacy is silent.

(B) Cardinal Hollerich rejects Christian teaching on sexuality. And the papacy is silent. This is doubly significant because the cardinal is explicitly heretical; It does not use code words or innuendo. If the cardinal continued without Roman correction, it would represent another, deeper break in discipline, with few (or none?) precedents in history. The congregation for the doctrine of the faith must act and speak.

(C) Silence is even more evident when it clashes with the active persecution of traditionalists and contemplative monasteries.

2. The centrality of Christ in teaching is weakened; Christ is removed from the center. At times Rome even seems confused about the importance of a rigorous monotheism, alluding to a certain broader concept of divinity; Not really pantheism, but as a variant of Hindu pantheism.

(A) Pachamama is idolatrous, although perhaps it was not intended as such initially.

(B) Contemplative nuns are persecuted and attempts are made to change the teachings of charismatics.

(C) The Christocentric heritage of St. John Paul II in faith and morals is the object of systematic attacks. Many teachers of the Roman Institute for the Family have been dismissed; Most of the students have left. The Academy for Life is badly broken, for example some of its members have recently supported assisted suicide. Pontifical academies have members and invited speakers who support abortion.

3. Failure to respect the law in the Vatican risks becoming an international scandal. These problems have been concretized in the ongoing trial at the Vatican of ten accused of financial negligence, but the problem is older and wider.

(A) The pope changed the law four times during the trial to help the prosecution.

(B) Cardinal Becciu was not treated with justice because he was removed from office and stripped of his cardinal dignity without any evidence. He has not received due process. Everyone has the right to a fair trial.

(C) As head of the Vatican state and source of all legal authority, the pope has used this power to interfere in judicial proceedings.

(D) The pope sometimes, if not often, governs with pontifical decrees, motu proprio, which eliminate the right of appeal of those affected.

(E) Many staff members, often priests, have been hastily kicked out of the Vatican curia, often for no valid reason.

(F) Telephone tapping is regularly practised. I'm not sure how often this is allowed.

(G) In the English trial against Torzi, the judge sharply criticized the Vatican prosecutors. Who are either incompetent and/or have been conditioned, prevented from providing the full picture.

(H) L’irruzione della gendarmeria vaticana al comando del dottor Giani, nel 2017, nell’ufficio del revisore dei conti Libero Milone, in territorio italiano, era probabilmente illegale ed è stata in ogni caso intimidatoria e violenta. È possibile che le prove contro Milone siano state fabbricate.

4. (A) La situazione finanziaria del Vaticano è grave. Negli ultimi dieci anni (almeno) ci sono stati quasi sempre deficit finanziari. Prima del COVID, questi deficit erano di circa 20 milioni di euro all’anno. Negli ultimi tre anni sono stati circa 30-35 milioni di euro all’anno. I problemi datano a prima sia di papa Francesco che di papa Benedetto.

(B) Il Vaticano ha di fronte un pesante deficit del fondo pensioni. Intorno al 2014 gli esperti della COSEA stimavano che nel 2030 il deficit sarebbe stato di circa 800 milioni di euro. Questo prima del COVID.

(C) Si stima che il Vaticano abbia perso 217 milioni di euro sul palazzo di Sloane Avenue a Londra. Negli anni ‘80 il Vaticano fu costretto a sborsare 230 milioni di dollari dopo lo scandalo del Banco Ambrosiano. A causa dell’inefficienza e della corruzione, negli ultimi 25-30 anni il Vaticano ha perso almeno altri 100 milioni di euro, e probabilmente parecchi di più, forse 150-200 milioni..

(D) Nonostante la recente decisione del Santo Padre, i processi di investimento non sono stati centralizzati (come raccomandato dalla COSEA nel 2014 e tentato dalla segreteria per l’economia nel 2015-16) e restano privi del consiglio di esperti. Per decenni, il Vaticano ha avuto a che fare con finanzieri di cattiva reputazione, evitati da tutti i banchieri che godono di stima in Italia.

(E) Il rendimento delle 5261 proprietà immobiliari vaticane resta scandalosamente basso. Nel 2019 il ricavo medio (prima del COVID) era di quasi 4.500 dollari all’anno. Nel 2020 era di 2.900 euro per proprietà.

(F) Il ruolo mutevole di papa Francesco nelle riforme finanziarie (progressi incompleti ma sostanziali nella riduzione della criminalità, molto meno riusciti, tranne che allo IOR, in termini di redditività) è un mistero e un enigma.

Inizialmente il Santo Padre ha sostenuto con forza le riforme. Poi ha impedito la centralizzazione degli investimenti, si è opposto alle riforme e alla maggior parte dei tentativi di smascherare la corruzione e ha sostenuto (allora) l’arcivescovo Becciu, al centro dell’establishment finanziario vaticano. Poi, nel 2020, il papa si è rivoltato contro Becciu e alla fine dieci persone sono state messe a processo e accusate. Nel corso degli anni, sono state avviate poche azioni penali a partire dalle segnalazioni di infrazioni dell’AIF.

Price Waterhouse and Cooper's auditors were dismissed, and Auditor General Libero Milone was forced to resign in 2017 on trumped-up charges. They were getting too close to corruption in the secretariat of state.

5. The political influence of Pope Francis and the Vatican is negligible. Intellectually, the papal writings show a decline from the levels of St. John Paul II and Pope Benedict. Decisions and policies are often "politically correct", but there have been serious failures to uphold human rights in Venezuela, Hong Kong, mainland China and now in the Russian invasion.

There has been no public support for faithful Catholics in China who have been persecuted intermittently for their allegiance to the papacy for more than 70 years. No public Vatican support for the Catholic community in Ukraine, especially Greek Catholics.

These themes should be revisited by the next pope. The Vatican's political prestige is now at a low level.

6. At a different, lesser level, the situation of the Tridentine (Catholic) traditionalists should be regularized.

On an even more modest level, the celebration of "individual" Masses with small groups in the morning in St. Peter's Basilica should again be allowed. At the moment, this large basilica in the early morning is like a desert.

The COVID crisis has covered the sharp decline in the number of pilgrims present at papal audiences and masses.

The Holy Father has little support among seminarians and young priests and there is widespread discontent in the Vatican curia.

The next conclave

1. The College of Cardinals was weakened by eccentric appointments and was not reconvened after the rejection of Cardinal Kasper's positions in the 2014 consistory. Many cardinals are unknown to each other, adding a new dimension of unpredictability to the upcoming conclave.

2. Since Vatican II, Catholic authorities have often underestimated the hostile power of secularization, the world, the flesh and the devil, especially in the Western world, and overestimated the influence and strength of the Catholic Church.

We are weaker than 50 years ago and many factors are beyond our control, at least in the short term, for example the decline in the number of believers, the frequency of attendance at Mass, the disappearance or extinction of many religious orders.

3. The pope does not need to be the best evangelizer in the world, nor a political force. The successor of Peter, as head of the college of bishops, who are also the successors of the apostles, has a fundamental role for unity and doctrine. The new pope must understand that the secret of Christian and Catholic vitality comes from fidelity to Christ's teachings and Catholic practices. It doesn't come from adapting to the world or money.

4. The first tasks of the new pope will be the restoration of normality, the restoration of doctrinal clarity in faith and morals, the restoration of just respect for the law, and the guarantee that the first criterion for the appointment of bishops is acceptance of apostolic tradition. Theological competence and culture are an advantage, not an obstacle for all bishops and especially for archbishops.

These are necessary foundations for living and preaching the gospel.

5. If synodal gatherings continue throughout the world, they will consume much time and money, probably diverting energy from evangelization and service rather than deepening these essential activities.

If national or continental synods are given doctrinal authority, we will have a new danger for the unity of the world Church, so that, for example, the German Church already has doctrinal positions not shared by other Churches and not compatible with the apostolic tradition.

Se non ci sarà una correzione romana di simili eresie, la Chiesa si ridurrebbe a una vaga federazione di Chiese locali, con visioni diverse, probabilmente più vicina a un modello anglicano o protestante, rispetto a un modello ortodosso.

An immediate priority for the next pope must be to eliminate and prevent such a dangerous development, requiring unity in the essentials and not allowing unacceptable doctrinal differences. The morality of homosexual activity will be one of these critical points.

6. While the young clergy and seminarians are almost completely Orthodox, sometimes quite conservative, the new pope will need to be aware of the substantial changes made to Church leadership since 2013, perhaps especially in South and Central America. There is a new leap in the advance of "liberal" Protestants in the Catholic Church.

A schism is unlikely to occur on the left, where they do not routinely make dramas on doctrinal issues. A schism is more likely to come from the right and is always possible when liturgical tensions are inflamed and unabated.

Unity in the essentials. Diversity in non-essential ones. Charity in everything.

7. Despite their dangerous decline in the West and the inherent fragility and instability in many places, serious consideration should be given to the feasibility of an apostolic visit to the Jesuit order. They are in a situation of catastrophic numerical decline, from 36,000 members during the Council to less than 16,000 in 2017 (with probably 20-25 percent of them over 75 years of age). In some places, there is also a catastrophic moral decline.

The order is highly centralized, susceptible to reform or ruin from above. The charism and contribution of the Jesuits have been and are so important to the Church that they should not be allowed to disappear undisturbed from history or to be reduced simply to an Afro-Asian community.

8. The disastrous decline in the number of Catholics and the expansion of Protestants in South America must be addressed. This was very little mentioned in the Amazon synod.

9. Obviously a lot of work needs to be done on financial reforms in the Vatican, but this should not be the most important criterion in the selection of the next pope.

The Vatican has no substantial debts, but continued annual deficits will eventually lead to bankruptcy. Obviously, steps will be taken to remedy this, to separate the Vatican from criminal accomplices and balance income and expenditure. The Vatican will need to demonstrate competence and integrity to attract substantial donations to help solve this problem.

Despite improved procedures and greater transparency, ongoing financial difficulties pose a major challenge, but they are far less important than the spiritual and doctrinal dangers facing the Church, especially in the First World.

Demos

Lent 2022

Cardinal Pell has died!

Cardinal Pell is dead of complications from hip surgery. He got close to the flame. He knew it, he found out all and they tried to destroy  him

God rest his noble soul.

Here he was just a week ago at the funeral of Pope Benedict XVI.

 

Clericalist and demonic. Reportedly, the Apostolic Nuncio to Costa Rica forces woman off her knees and to take Communion in the hand!

Where is the smell of the sheep?

Where is accompaniment?

This has just been made public following up on the action of a priest at the funeral of Pope Benedict XVI. 

This is spiritual abuse. 

https://twitter.com/matthew__theo/status/1611389775881146369

Tribus Miraculis!

There is no way that our medieval ancestors would have had a fish on their Friday calendar for Epiphany. You do what you want, I'm eating meat. It is a Joyous Feast no matter what our bishops did to the calendar. Because you can bet, they'll be eating steak, regardless.

"It hit him pretty hard. I believe it broke his heart." Archbishop Gänswein on Benedict XVI's reaction to Bergoglio's Traditiones Custodes

In an interview released yesterday, Archbishop Gänswein, Secretary to Pope Benedict XVI makes a comment on the late retired Pontiff's reaction to Bergoglio's vicious Traditionis Custodes:

Interviewer: So, Pope Benedict’s lifting of restrictions on celebrating the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite according to the 1962 Missal did not last as long as he intended. As Pope Emeritus, he was around to see the promulgation of Pope Francis’ MOTU PROPRIO Traditionis Custodes. Was he disappointed? 

Archbishop Gänswein: It hit him pretty hard. I believe it broke Pope Benedict’s heart to read the new MOTU PROPRIO, because his intention had been to help those who simply found a home in the Missale Vetustum—to find inner peace, to find liturgical peace—in order to draw them away from Marcel Lefebvre. And if you think about how many centuries the old Mass was the source of spiritual life and nourishment for many people including many saints, it’s impossible to imagine that it no longer has anything to offer. And let’s not forget that many young people—who were born long after the Second Vatican Council, and who don’t really grasp all the drama surrounding that council—that these young people, knowing the new Mass, have nevertheless found a spiritual home, a spiritual treasure in the old Mass as well. To take this treasure away from people … well, I can’t say that I’m comfortable with that.

“Traditionis Custodes” Motu Proprio “Broke Pope Benedict's Heart” acc. to Archbishop Gänswein from Freddie Wasserstien on Vimeo.

Full video here:

An exclusive interview with Archbishop Georg Gänswein (benedictusxvi.com)

More thoughts on the passing of Pope Benedict XVI

May God grant eternal rest, peace, and light to Josef Ratzinger. I loved him and still do. He was my Pope. 

Yet, as with many, I am conflicted. I've said many times. all he had to do was to go to the window at the Angelus on a Sunday and tell the City and the World of those wolves who were persecuting him and out to take over the papacy and destroy the Church. Romans loved Josef Ratzinger. We did. There would have been a bloodletting and we would have risen up in an open war with the enemies. He had the power, but he failed to use it. He was forced out? How, what could they have threatened him with? Martyrdom? Instant heaven. His brother's murder? Same thing. What could he have possibly been threatened with to leave? Yesterday, I used the word "coward" in the combox to the post below. It has offended some. Correct, I should not speak ill of the dead but it doesn't change the truth. When that helicopter carried him away that day, I thought he would be dead in months, that he has some kind of terminal disease and he was going off to die. Instead, he lived three months short of ten years. He was there watching his successor attempt to destroy and did nothing. He let it happen. He was my "Papa" and he walked out on his "Bride" my mother. He let the family house be taken over by an abusive bully who has beaten my mother and continues the spiritual abuse of his children. How do we square this with those who say that he retained the "munus" and only renounced the "ministerium?" No, he left, he abandoned his post, if the election of Pope Francis was defective and he was not a true Pope, he is now. This is the bottom line. The priests of the Diocese of Rome accept Jorge Bergoglio as their bishop and the Bishop of Rome is the Vicar of Christ on Earth and Pope. So, let's get off of this "interregnum" merry-go-round. Sometimes Occam's Razor is simply true. The simplest option is what it is. What I keep my eye on is that God wins in the end and so do those of us who remain steadfast with Him. We keep on going. We don't abandon the job as I see so many past "experts" doing on social media. "Look at what they have done to us." No, look at what you have done to yourself! Stop whining (you know who you are); you who were so prominent and "in the know." Your responses now are pathetic. You've abandoned the job too. On my part, I have not stopped doing what I have done from 2005 and before. I will continue as long as God gives me the will to do it.

God wins. Get back to work.

Courtesy of Rorate Caeli blog.

My spiritual testament 

When, at this late hour of my life, I look back on the decades I have wandered through, I see first of all how much reason I have to give thanks. Above all, I thank God Himself, the giver of all good gifts, who has given me life and guided me through all kinds of confusion; who has always picked me up when I began to slip, who has always given me anew the light of his countenance. In retrospect, I see and understand that even the dark and arduous stretches of this path were for my salvation and that He guided me well in those very stretches. 

I thank my parents, who gave me life in difficult times and prepared a wonderful home for me with their love, which shines through all my days as a bright light until today. My father's clear-sighted faith taught us brothers and sisters to believe and stood firm as a guide in the midst of all my scientific knowledge; my mother's heartfelt piety and great kindness remain a legacy for which I cannot thank her enough. My sister has served me selflessly and full of kind concern for decades; my brother has always paved the way for me with the clear-sightedness of his judgements, with his powerful determination, and with the cheerfulness of his heart; without this ever-new going ahead and going along, I would not have been able to find the right path. 

I thank God from the bottom of my heart for the many friends, men and women, whom He has always placed at my side; for the co-workers at all stages of my path; for the teachers and students He has given me. I gratefully entrust them all to His goodness. And I would like to thank the Lord for my beautiful home in the Bavarian foothills of the Alps, in which I was able to see the splendour of the Creator Himself shining through time and again. I thank the people of my homeland for allowing me to experience the beauty of faith time and again. I pray that our country will remain a country of faith and I ask you, dear compatriots, not to let your faith be distracted. Finally, I thank God for all the beauty I was able to experience during the various stages of my journey, but especially in Rome and in Italy, which has become my second home. 

I ask for forgiveness from the bottom of my heart from all those whom I have wronged in some way. 

What I said earlier of my compatriots, I now say to all who were entrusted to my service in the Church: Stand firm in the faith! Do not be confused! Often it seems as if science - on the one hand, the natural sciences; on the other, historical research (especially the exegesis of the Holy Scriptures) - has irrefutable insights to offer that are contrary to the Catholic faith. I have witnessed from times long past the changes in natural science and have seen how apparent certainties against the faith vanished, proving themselves not to be science but philosophical interpretations only apparently belonging to science - just as, moreover, it is in dialogue with the natural sciences that faith has learned to understand the limits of the scope of its affirmations and thus its own specificity.For 60 years now, I have accompanied the path of theology, especially biblical studies, and have seen seemingly unshakeable theses collapse with the changing generations, which turned out to be mere hypotheses: the liberal generation (Harnack, Jülicher, etc.), the existentialist generation (Bultmann, etc.), the Marxist generation. I have seen, and see, how, out of the tangle of hypotheses, the reasonableness of faith has emerged and is emerging anew. Jesus Christ is truly the Way, the Truth, and the Life - and the Church, in all her shortcomings, is truly His Body. 

Finally, I humbly ask: pray for me, so that the Lord may admit me to the eternal dwellings, despite all my sins and shortcomings. For all those entrusted to me, my heartfelt prayer goes out day after day. 

Benedictus PP XVI