Showing posts with label Fatima. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fatima. Show all posts

Friday, May 21, 2010

Mr. Vennari on H.H. The Pope's trip to Fatima and on related matters

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=31699

Excerpts:

***

Two days later, in his homily at Fatima, as reported by Vatican Information Service, Pope Benedict said, “We would be mistaken to think that Fatima’s prophetic message is complete.”
He went on to look forward to the 2017 centenary of Fatima, expressing his hope that “the seven years which separate us from the centenary of the apparitions” may “hasten the fulfillment of the prophecy of the triumph of the Immaculate Heart, to the glory of the Blessed Trinity.”
This last sentence is a clear indication that the Consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary is not yet fulfilled, since the “triumph of the Immaculate Heart”, the conversion of Russia and a “period of peace” granted to the world are the promised result of this consecration – an outcome that has still not occurred since Pope John Paul II’s consecration of the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary on March 25, 1984.

[...] The first thing to note is that the Pope chose to deal with this topic. Journalists do not spring these questions on the Pope without warning, but as John Allen notes, “The Vatican asks reporters traveling with the pope to submit questions for the plane several days in advance, so Benedict has plenty of time to ponder what he wants to say. If he takes a question on the plane, it’s because he wants to talk about it, and he’s chosen his words carefully.”[...]
Thus the Pope wanted to make this comment on both the pedophilia scandal as a crisis coming “from sin inside the Church”(and not a trumped-up ‘media attack’), and that the Fatima Message, including the Secret, concern “future realities”.


“The Pope has now reopened the dossier of Fatima in such a precise and obvious way,that everyone who, in the last years, had rushed to give praise to the official Curial version is now caught in panic by facing the Pope’s words that place the pedophilia scandal within the Third Secret.”
- Antonio Socci

Antonio Socci, author of The Fourth Secret of Fatima, was quick to comment, “The assassination attempt of 1981 is nowhere to be found in Benedict’s words. Therefore it is not pointed out as ‘the’ fulfillment of the Third Secret.”
Socci went on to observe with a certain relish that commentators in the Italian media who had defended the official Vatican interpretation were left stammering over the Pope’s latest statement.
“The Pope has now reopened the dossier of Fatima in such a precise and obvious way,” notes Socci, “that everyone who, in the last years, had rushed to give praise to the official Curial version is now caught in panic by facing the Pope’s words that place the pedophilia scandal within the Third Secret.”

[...] Even Vatican journalist Vittorio Messori, who had publicly supported Bertone’s position three years ago, now says the opposite in light of the Pope’s recent statements. According to Socci, “He [Vittorio] said that Benedict XVI doesn’t see the fulfillment of the Third Secret in the attempt of 1981, and does not consider it part of the past, but sees it projected into the future, because he’s now considering a new fact, the pedophilia scandal, as part of the Secret (and it’s obvious that the Pope can’t make all this up: he must have taken this from the complete text of the Secret).”[10]
All of this cannot help but add to the evidence that there is still part of the text of the Secret that the Vatican has yet to reveal.

[...] Yet the question can be asked, why is Pope Benedict now apparently contradicting the interpretation given by Cardinal Sodano, Cardinal Bertone, and even by himself as Cardinal Ratzinger in 2000.
To answer this, we will take another look at the rumor that circulated at the time of Pope Benedict’s election. At this time, Bishop Richard Williamson of the Society of Saint Pius X related that a priest acquaintance from Austria told him that Cardinal Ratzinger confided (to the Austrian priest) that he had two things weighing on his conscience. One was his mishandling of the Message of Fatima in 2000, the other was his 1988 mishandling of Archbishop Lefebvre. Cardinal Ratzinger is reported to have said that in the case of Archbishop Lefebvre, “I failed”, and in the case of Fatima, “my hand was forced.”

[...] Pope Benedict’s trip to Portugal comprised more than a resurrection of the Third Secret; some of his actions were praiseworthy, others leave us disappointed.
According to the Diário de Notícias, the country’s most prestigious daily, Pope Benedict said, “The change towards the Republic [in power since the October 5, 1910 Masonic revolution], which took place in Portugal 100 years ago, made a distinction between Church and State and opened a new space of freedom for the Church”. But as a friend from Coimbra noted, “The Pope was of course misinformed about this; the Church was persecuted in many ways until the 1926 national revolution and Salazar’s ascension to power.” Further, the Pope appeared to make no mention of the true Catholic restoration that occurred under Salazar (who dissolved Freemasonry in Portugal in 1935), but only praised the Masonic doctrine of separation of Church and state that effectively bars the influence of Jesus Christ from States and social institutions.
To be specific, the Act of Separation of Church and State of April 20, 1911, which Republican leader and Grand Master of Freemasonry Magalhães Lima called “the basic law of the Republic”, was a very flexible law which was used to transfer Church property to the State; to forbid priests, friars and nuns from wearing clerical dress in public; to abolish processions outside the churches; to deport all Jesuits; to detain priests at will, without a warrant, on suspicion of being “enemies of the Republic”; and to do this: [...] The actual facts of Portugal’s 1911 “separation of Church and State” policy hardly amounted to “a new space of freedom for the Church.”

[...] Thus, despite the bleak “business as usual” in the post-Conciliar Church, there is a ray a hope. Pope Benedict has opened a new phase in the Fatima controversy. He himself noted that the Secret does not merely refer to the failed assassination attempt of Pope John Paul II in 1981, an interpretation that even many in the secular press found ludicrous.
Also, contrary to the June 26 Vatican commentary, that stated “any further request or discussion [of the Consecration of Russia] is without basis”, Pope Benedict said on May 13 at Fatima, “We would be mistaken to think that Fatima’s prophetic message is complete,” indicating that Fatima is not finished, but its prophecies still point to the future.
Pope Benedict further prayed at Fatima that we may “hasten the fulfillment of the prophecy of the triumph of the Immaculate Heart,” indicating that the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary has yet to occur, and that the collegial consecration of Russia by the Pope in union with the world’s bishops, which will bring about this Triumph, has yet to be accomplished.
These admissions may be the basis for Pope Benedict or his successor to finally release the full Third Secret, and to consecrate Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Only by doing so will we avoid the “annihilation of nations” and the other chastisement threatened at Fatima. Only by doing so will we see the conversion of Russia to the Catholic Faith and a period of peace granted to the world.

***

Reginaldvs Cantvar
21.V.2010

Thursday, May 20, 2010

On H.H. The Pope's pronouncements during (and shortly before and after) his trip to Fatima

In reverse chronological order:

***

CHARITY IS PRINCIPAL STRENGTH AND GUIDE OF THE CHURCH

VATICAN CITY, 13 MAY 2010 (VIS) - ...

[...] The Pope continued: "I express my deep appreciation for all those social and pastoral initiatives aimed at combating the socio-economic and cultural mechanisms which lead to abortion, and openly concerned with defending life and promoting the reconciliation and healing of those harmed by the tragedy of abortion".

"Initiatives aimed at protecting the essential and primary values of life from its conception, and of the family based on indissoluble marriage between a man and a woman, help to respond to some of today's most insidious and dangerous threats to the common good. Such initiatives represent, along with many other forms of commitment, essential elements in the building of the civilisation of love".

[...]
PV-PORTUGAL/ VIS 20100514 (750)

This didn't go down too well with the usual suspects, such as The Rev. Fr. James Martin S.J., culture editor at the American Jesuit magazine America.

***

AUTHENTIC WITNESSES TO JESUS CHRIST IN ALL SITUATIONS

VATICAN CITY, 13 MAY 2010 (VIS) - [...]

"In truth", [His Holiness] said, "the times in which we live demand a new missionary vigour on the part of Christians, who are called to form a mature laity, identified with the Church and sensitive to the complex transformations taking place in our world. Authentic witnesses to Jesus Christ are needed, above all in those human situations where the silence of the faith is most widely and deeply felt: among politicians, intellectuals, communications professionals who profess and promote a mono-cultural ideal, with disdain for the religious and contemplative dimension of life. Such circles
contain many believers who are ashamed of their beliefs and who even give a helping hand to this type of secularism, which raises barriers before Christian inspiration. And yet, dear brothers, may all those who defend the faith in these situations, with courage, with a vigorous Catholic outlook and in fidelity to the Magisterium, continue to receive your help and your insightful encouragement in order to live out their Christian freedom as faithful lay men and women".

[...] Turning then to consider the movements and new ecclesial communities, which he described as "new springtime" for the Church, the Holy Father said: "Thanks to their charisms, the radicality of the Gospel, the objective contents of the faith, the living flux of Church tradition, are all being communicated in a persuasive way and welcomed as a personal experience, as free adherence to the mystery of Christ".

[...]
PV-PORTUGAL/ VIS 20100514 (970)

"[T]his type of secularism"? But what type of secularism would a Catholic ever want to support? I can't conceive of any. And "the living flux of Church tradition" is an unfortunate choice of words.

***

CONSECRATION TO MARY: CHURCH IS RENEWED BY HOLY PRIESTS

VATICAN CITY, 12 MAY 2010 (VIS) - [...]

Before the end of the ceremony, the Pope entrusted priests to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. "We are mindful that, without Jesus, we can do nothing good", he said, "and that only through Him, with Him and in Him, will we be instruments of salvation for the world.

"Bride of the Holy Spirit, obtain for us the inestimable gift of transformation in Christ. Through the same power of the Spirit that overshadowed you, making you the Mother of the Saviour, help us to bring Christ your Son to birth in ourselves too. May the Church be thus renewed by priests who are holy, priests transfigured by the grace of Him Who makes all things new".

"Help us, through your powerful intercession, never to fall short of this sublime vocation, nor to give way to our selfishness, to the allurements of the world and to the wiles of the Evil One".

"Mother of the Church, we priests want to be pastors who do not feed themselves but rather give themselves to God for their brethren, finding their happiness in this. Not only with words, but with our lives, we want to repeat humbly, day after day, our 'here I am'".

[...]
PV-PORTUGAL/ VIS 20100513 (860)

For reactions to this, see here, and see here for the text of the Consecration. I see this as a welcome development, a step towards the Consecration of Russia.

***

THE LIGHT THE SHEPHERD CHILDREN SAW WAS THE SON OF GOD

VATICAN CITY, 13 MAY 2010 (VIS) - [...]

The shepherd children "offered their whole lives to God and shared them fully with others for love of God", said the Holy Father, highlighting how "we would be mistaken to think that Fatima's prophetic mission is complete. ... Mankind has succeeded in unleashing a cycle of death and terror, but failed in bringing it to an end. In Sacred Scripture we often find that God seeks righteous men and women in order to save the city of man and He does the same here, in Fatima, when Our Lady asks: 'Do you want to offer yourselves to God, to endure all the sufferings which He will send you, in an act of reparation for the sins by which He is offended and of supplication for the conversion of sinners?'.

[...] Benedict concluded his homily by expressing the hope that "the seven years which separate us from the centenary of the apparitions" may "hasten the fulfilment of the prophecy of the triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, to the glory of the Blessed Trinity".

[...]
PV-PORTUGAL/ VIS 20100513 (830)

This also is heartening. And I wonder what the ellipsis in "complete. ... Mankind" replaced?

***

POPE REPLIES TO QUESTIONS FROM JOURNALISTS

VATICAN CITY, 11 MAY 2010 (VIS) - This morning during his flight to Portugal, the Holy Father responded - as he traditionally does on his flights abroad - to a number of questions put to him by the journalists accompanying him on the papal plane.

Answering a query about the current secularisation of Portugal, a once profoundly Catholic country, the Holy Father replied that Portugal "has carried the faith to all corners of the world; a courageous, intelligent and creative faith. ... The dialectic between secularism and faith in Portugal has a long history", he said, noting how "over centuries of discussion between enlightenment, secularism and faith, there has never been a lack of people who have sought to build bridges and create dialogue".

"I believe that the task and mission of Europe in this situation is to discover such dialogue, integrating faith and modern rationality into a single anthropological vision which completes the human being and thus also makes human cultures able to communicate with one another. Thus I would say that secularism is normal, but separation and contrast between secularism and the culture of faith is anomalous and must be overcome. The great challenge of the current time is for the two to meet and thus discover their true identity. This, as I have said, is a mission for Europe and the [great] human need of our own history".

[...]

The third question put to the Pope concerned the significance of the apparitions of Fatima and whether the third secret, apart from referring to the shooting of John Paul II, also referred to the Church's suffering for the sexual abuse of minors.

"Apart from the great vision of the Pope's suffering, which we can primarily ascribe to Pope John Paul II", said Pope Benedict, the apparitions "indicate events of the future of the Church, which develop and are revealed little by little. Thus it is true that, apart from the moment indicated by the vision, we see the need for a passion of the Church, a passion naturally reflected in the person of the Pope, but the Pope stands for the Church and thus it is the sufferings of the Church that are being announced".

"As for the novelties we can discover in this message today", he went on, "we may see that attacks against the Pope and the Church do not only come from outside; rather, the sufferings of the Church come from inside the Church, from the sin that exists in the Church. This was always common knowledge, but today we see it in truly terrifying form: the greatest persecution of the Church does not come from external enemies, but is born of sin within the Church. Thus the Church has a profound need to relearn penance, to accept purification, to learn forgiveness but also the need for justice. Forgiveness does not replace justice".
PV-PORTUGAL/ VIS 20100512 (650)

Well, I can't say that I was too enthused at hearing His Holiness speak of "integrating faith and modern rationality into a single anthropological vision which completes the human being"; it brought to mind Msgr. Tissier's recent article Faith Imperilled by Reason: The Hermeneutics of Benedict XVI. And I reject that secularism can be regarded as "normal" in any other sense than that, unfortunately, there happens no longer to be a significant number of Catholic Confessional States; in every other respect secularism is quite abnormal, since the Social Reign of Christ is the norm.

***

POPE VISITS PORTUGAL AS A PILGRIM TO THE VIRGIN OF FATIMA

VATICAN CITY, 11 MAY 2010 (VIS) - [...]

In this context, Benedict XVI recalled how the foundation of a republic in Portugal 100 years ago, "by distinguishing between Church and State, opened a new space of freedom for the Church (to which the two Concordats of 1940 and 2004 later gave form) in a cultural and ecclesial context deeply marked by rapid changes. The sufferings caused by the transformations were, in general, faced with courage", he said.

[...]
PV-PORTUGAL/ VIS 20100511 (790)

The first thing to note is that His Holiness speaks here of a distinction between, not a separation of, Church and State. Yet according to Mr. John L. Allen, Jr.,

Benedict hailed the secular separation of church and state for “opening up a new area of freedom for the church,”
[http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=31567]

This is not the first time when Catholic news agents who should know better have misrepresented His Holiness's words on these matters; here's an excerpt from a Zenit article from December 2008:

Pope: Church-State Separation a Sign of Progress

Says Division Between Caesar and God Is Fundamental

ROME, DEC. 15, 2008 (Zenit.org).- Church-state separation is one of the signs of the progress of humanity, says Benedict XVI.

The Pope affirmed this Saturday when he visited the Italian embassy to the Holy See.

The Church "not only recognizes and respects the distinction and autonomy" of the state vis-à-vis the Church, but also "takes joy in this as one of the great advances of humanity," he said.

This separation is "a fundamental condition for [the Church's] very liberty and the fulfillment of its universal mission of salvation among all peoples," the Holy Father added. "This brief visit is conducive to reaffirming that the Church is very aware that the distinction between what is of Caesar and what is of God belongs to the fundamental structure of Christianity." [...]

[http://www.zenit.org/article-24581?l=english]

But in fact, His Holiness never spoke of "separation" during that address; here is what he had to say:

“This brief visit allows me to reaffirm that the Church is very aware that the distinction between what belongs to Caesar and what belongs to God, that is to say, the distinction between State and Church, is a part of the fundamental structure of Christianity. ... This distinction and autonomy are respected and recognized by the Church which is happy with them, considering them a great progress for humanity and a fundamental condition for its freedom and for fulfilling its universal mission of salvation among the peoples".
[VIS 081215 (600)]

And of course, in the previously-cited VIS 20100512 (650), His Holiness said that "separation and contrast between secularism and the culture of faith is anomalous and must be overcome". Nevertheless, I concede that His Holiness's words are hardly an unequivocal preaching of the Social Kingship of Christ, and for a Portuguese reaction (in English) to what the Holy Father said, see here.

But, of course, it is His Holiness's re-opening of the Third Secret controversy which will be of lasting significance; see here for an article by Mr. Ferrara on the matter.

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Feast of St. Bernardine of Siena, Confessor, A.D. 2010

Notes: Thursday, May 20, 2010

On the stealing of small and large amounts of money

Here's a letter from today's Herald:

Those getting their ecclesiastical knickers in a knot about Tony Abbott's attitude to truth should realise that his views reflect his Jesuit background. They only need to get a look at Moral Theology, by a Dr Davis, a Catholic scholar, whose work carries the imprimatur to understand what is acceptable.

The gem I remember from my Moore College days is that if one of the faithful diddles the railways of a nominal weekly sum, he need not confess it. However, let him take it all in one go and it's straight to the confessional.
Donald Howard Elderslie
[http://www.smh.com.au/national/letters/oh-what-a-tangled-web-we-weave--20100519-vf4c.html?skin=text-only]
Actually, if the thief's intention were to steal a significant amount of money, although spread over a long period of time, then he would indeed need to confess. What Mr. Howard was presumably thinking of was the case where in each instance the thief intends to steal only a trifling amount of money, and does so in many separate instances.

Sen. Xenophon on the reporting of Sacramental accusations of child abuse

[...] "I can't comment on the specific allegations against the archbishop, but what I can say is this should prompt a debate about the sanctity of the confessional and the role the church has had in relation to information raised about child sexual abuse," Senator Xenophon said yesterday.

"There are now mandatory reporting requirements but the confessional is exempt."

[... Sen. Xenophon] said the church should declare its protocols "so the public knows what the church does in the case of allegations of abuse in the confessional".

"If someone has confessed to a priest with information about the abuse of children, whether they're the perpetrator or not, then shouldn't the authorities know about that?" he said.
[http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/church-confessions-of-abuse-should-be-reported/story-e6frg6nf-1225868878603]
Well, the Church's "protocols" in these matters are already public knowledge. And why, Sen. Xenophon, stop at accusations of child abuse? What if, say, a serial killer accuses himself of his crimes in Confession? Why shouldn't the authorities be alerted in that case, too? How far does Sen. Xenophon want to go? Or has he not fully thought through his remarks?

"Gay couple in Malawi face heavy jail term for 'unnatural acts'"

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/gay-couple-in-malawi-face-heavy-jail-term-for-unnatural-acts/story-e6frg6so-1225868487773

I was amused, but unsurprised, to see what Amnesty International had to say:

Amnesty International called for the immediate release of the two men. "Being in a relationship should not be a crime. No one should be arrested and detained solely on the basis of their real or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity," Michelle Kagari, Amnesty's deputy Africa Director, said. "Their human rights, the rights to freedom from discrimination, of conscience, expression and privacy have been flagrantly violated."
So "being in a relationship should not be a crime". Even a polygamous or incestuous one? And it's one thing to be in a certain relationship, and another to try to pass off that relationship as something it's not.

And of course, the sodomite and catamite were convicted neither "on the basis of their real or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity" nor for "[b]eing in a relationship", but for buggery.

And note the little list of "human rights" at the end: The "rights to freedom from [1.] discrimination, of [2.] conscience, [3.] expression and [4.] privacy".
1. There is nothing inherently wrong with discrimination. What matters is whether the discrimination is just or unjust, and in this case it is just.
2. Of course, it is sinful to disobey one's conscience, but there is a world of difference between being forced to disobey one's conscience and being restrained from, or punished for, obeying one's conscience. I'm sure that if you spoke to prisoners many of them would tell you that their respective consciences were quite unburdened.
3. If by 'freedom of expression' they mean the 'freedom' to pass off a parody of marriage as the real thing then that is not liberty but licence.
4. Ah yes, the same 'right' by which the ruling in Roe vs. Wade was justified. As though one can do evil with impunity so long as one does it in private.

H.H. The Pope on the message of Fatima

From the Vatican Information Service daily e-mail bulletin:

BENEDICT XVI RECALLS HIS RECENT TRIP TO PORTUGAL

VATICAN CITY, 19 MAY 2010 (VIS) - During his general audience this morning, Benedict XVI reminisced about his recent apostolic trip to Portugal, which took place from 11 to 14 May to mark the tenth anniversary of the beatification of the shepherd children Jacinta and Francisco.

The Holy Father began by explaining how throughout his journey he had felt the "spiritual support" of his predecessor John Paul II, "who visited Fatima three times, to give thanks for the 'invisible hand' that delivered him from death in the attack of 13 May here in St. Peter's Square".

During Mass in the capital city of Lisbon, "whence over the centuries so many missionaries left to carry the Gospel to other continents", the Pope had called the local Church "to vigorous evangelising activity in the various areas of society, in order to sow hope in a world often marked by mistrust". In particular he had encouraged believers "to announce the death and resurrection of Christ, the core of Christianity, fulcrum and support of our faith and the reason for our joy".

Benedict XVI then went on to refer to his meeting with representatives from the world of culture, where he had "underlined the heritage of values with which Christianity has enriched the culture, art and tradition of the Portuguese people. In that noble land, as in every country deeply marked by Christianity, it is possible to build a future of fraternal understanding and collaboration with other cultures, opening reciprocally to sincere and respectful dialogue", he said.

In Fatima, "a town marked by an atmosphere of authentic mysticism, in which the presence of the Virgin is almost palpable", the Pope had been "a pilgrim among other pilgrims", who presented Our Lady with "the joys and expectations, as well as the problems and sufferings of the whole world", said the Holy Father.

He also recalled how he had celebrated Vespers in Fatima's church of the Blessed Trinity with priests, religious and deacons of Portugal, thanking them "for their witness, often silent and not always easy, and for their faithfulness to the Gospel and to the Church", inviting them to follow, in this Year for Priests, "the shining example of the 'Cure of Ars'".

The Pope mention the Rosary he had prayed with hundreds of thousands of people on the evening of 12 May, vigil of the anniversary of the first apparition of the Virgin. "This prayer, so dear to Christian people, has found in Fatima a driving force for all the Church and the world", he said. "We could say that Fatima and the Rosary are almost synonymous".

During the Mass of 13 May, celebrated on the esplanade of Fatima in the presence of half a million people, the Pope had reaffirmed that "the demanding but consoling message the Virgin left us at Fatima is full of hope. It is a message that focuses on prayer, penance and conversion, a message projected beyond the threats, dangers and horrors of history, inviting humankind to have faith in the action of God, to cultivate great hope, and to experience the grace of the Lord in order to love Him, the source of love and peace".

In his meeting with pastoral care organisations, Benedict XVI recalled how he had "indicated the example of the Good Samaritan, in order to meet the requirements of our most needy brothers and sisters, and to serve Christ by promoting the common good".

In his celebration of the Eucharist in Porto, "the city of the Virgin", the Pope had
highlighted "the duty to bear witness to the Gospel in all environments, offering Christ to the world so that all situations of difficulty, suffering and fear may be transformed by the Holy Spirit into an opportunity for growth and life".

"'Wisdom and Mission' was the motto of my apostolic trip to Portugal", Pope Benedict concluded his reminiscences. "In Fatima the Blessed Virgin Mary invites us to walk with hope, letting ourselves be guided by the 'wisdom from on high' which was manifested in Jesus, the wisdom of love, to bring the light and joy of Christ into the world".
AG/ VIS 20100519 (700)
[bold type in the original; my italics]
I find the bit in italics a bit odd:

[The message of Our Lady at Fatima is] a message projected beyond the threats, dangers and horrors of history
Surely the message of Fatima is a prophetic one, and one the fulfillment of whose prophecies we still await (and await with increasing eagerness)? How can the message be at once intimately concerned with "the threats, dangers and horrors of history" and also be "projected beyond" them?

Cardinal Pole's Blog on Church and State featured on CathNews!

http://www.cathnews.com/article.aspx?aeid=21310

Here's the thank-you comment which I've submitted at that web page:

Cardinal Pole
cardinal_pole@hotmail.com
Thank you for featuring my blog. (I understand if you do not wish to publish this comment, given the new comments policy.)

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Thankyou for your comments.
Blog comments from me

At Mr. Schütz's blog:

Cardinal Pole
May 20, 2010 at 4:21 am

“2. The convention long predates the internet.”

I’m still not clear on this–are you referring to the convention of an Ordinary signing his name with a cross, or the convention of others using a cross before his name rather than writing out ‘Bishop’/'Archbishop’/whatever? (It’s just that I can’t imagine there having been much occasion for the latter before the internet, at least not in correspondence; in private notes I can see it being useful.)
[http://scecclesia.wordpress.com/2010/05/18/a-man-of-devastating-sanity-professor-claudio-veliz-on-cardinal-george-pell/#comment-14794]

Cardinal Pole
May 20, 2010 at 4:49 am

“[You] guess the Holy Spirit is asleep at the switch, since you have the popes you have instead of the ones of wishes and fantasy.”

The Holy Ghost gives us the Popes–and priests, and bishops–we deserve. There’s an article dealing with that in a recent (the latest? I’m not sure) issue of The Fatima Crusader.

“Or maybe it’s the whole pope thing that is the wish and fantasy, and the Holy
Spirit is doing just fine and has nothing to do with that.”

Well, He hasn’t allowed any Pope to define error or anathematise truth.
[http://scecclesia.wordpress.com/2010/05/17/pope-benedict-drives-the-point-home/#comment-14795]
At Coo-ees:

Cardinal Pole said...
"Cardinal Pole, your expressed views on sacred vestments display the same narrowness and bigotry as your opinions on most other matters."

Much appreciated, Catholic Voice. I love those angry little comments which don't actually address the substance of a comment but just attack the person for making it. They don't further the discussion, of course, but they're good for a laugh.

"Cardinal Pole, one can only have a true and proper sacrifice if the vestment stops beneath the biceps?!"

In fact, I only said that the ponchasuble would make it "difficult" and that it was not "suitable", not that it made it impossible.

"The conical form, which long pre-dates the gothic ..."

If by "conical form" you mean a chasuble of the very same shape and size as the one Msgr. Fisher is wearing, I'm going to have to ask you to prove it.

"... was considerably larger than the vestment in question"

"[C]onsiderably larger" than a chasuble which, as the photo clearly shows, comes to the celebrant's wrists?! Now that would be a circus tent!

May 20, 2010 4:37 AM
Your comment has been saved and will be visible after blog owner approval.
[http://coo-eesfromthecloister.blogspot.com/2010/05/indicative-of-mood-for-change-we-should.html]
Reginaldvs Cantvar
Feast of St. Bernardine of Siena, Confessor, A.D. 2010

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Remarkable material preparation for the Consecration, and subsequent conversion, of Russia

In His Lordship's most recent interview, The Rt. Rev. Bernard Fellay F.S.S.P.X., General Superior of the S.S.P.X, was asked the following:

Brian Mershon: Ever since Pope Benedict was elected and the new Russian Orthodox Patriarch was chosen, there has been an obvious thaw in relations, and for the better, I believe. The Russian Orthodox Patriarch even published a book of the Pope’s writings to be disseminated to his lay faithful! How do you read this? Is this related to the Third Secret of Fatima as well?

Bishop Fellay: I personally believe there is something on the move in Russia. There definitely does seem to be something moving in Russia. There is something in the air. How far and how deep? I do not know. But, there are many things that show there is a revival of religion in Russia.
[http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=31573]
"[S]omething on the move in Russia", indeed--and it's coming to Rome (in more ways than one, I hope): Here's a recent item from the Vatican Information Service's daily e-mail bulletin:

DAYS OF RUSSIAN CULTURE AND SPIRITUALITY IN THE VATICAN

VATICAN CITY, 7 MAY 2010 (VIS) - At midday today in the Holy See Press Office, Archbishop Gianfranco Ravasi, president of the Pontifical Council for Culture, presented two initiatives due to take place on 19 and 20 May: the "Days of Russian Culture and Spirituality in the Vatican", and a concert in honour of Benedict XVI.

The events are being promoted by the Patriarchate of Moscow, the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, and the Pontifical Council for Culture.

Archbishop Ravasi explained how between 14 and 20 May, Archbishop Hilarion of Volokolamsk, president of the Department for External Church Affairs of the Patriarchate of Moscow, will head a delegation as it visits various Italian cities: Ravenna, Milan, Turin, Bologna and Rome.

In Rome on the evening of 19 May, Archbishop Hilarion will inaugurate a photographic exhibition by Valdimir Chodakov on the Russian Orthodox Church today. He will also attend a symposium on the theme: "Orthodox and Catholics in Europe today. The Christian roots and the shared cultural heritage of East and West". Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, and Archbishop Ravasi are also due to participate in the symposium.

At 9 a.m. on 20 May, Archbishop Hilarion will preside at the divine liturgy in Rome's Russian Orthodox church of St. Catherine Martyr. At 6 p.m. on the same evening, the Russian national orchestra and the synodal choir of Moscow will give a concert in honour of the Pope. The concert, promoted by Kirill I, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, will be held in the Vatican's Paul VI Hall.

OP/ VIS 20100507 (280)
[bold type in the original]
Related reports:

(Schismatic) Metropolitan Filaret of Minsk and Sluck: '[T]he time has come to take decisive steps toward unity'
http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=31516

"Russia planning to forge closer alliances with West"
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/russia-planning-to-forge-closer-alliances-with-west/story-e6frg6so-1225865376273

(Nevertheless, though I don't want to dampen people's excitement too much (and I myself am certainly excited at these developments), I must say that I have been disappointed at some of the, shall we say, unorthodox things I've been hearing from the Russian schismatics, viz.:

Father Philipp [Ryabykh, deputy head of the Department for External Church Relations of the schismatic Patriarchate of Moscow] calls for guarantees for the rights of religious communities to freely express their concerns on issues of bioethics or same-sex marriages: "If we build a society in which religious believers can also speak freely, we will have achieved the desired result for Europe '.
[http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=31516]
Freedom of religion and freedom of speech? False, absurd and condemned by the Church. No thank you.

and

To overcome ["the desire", in the West, "to relegate the faith to the private realm in a way that is almost worse than the Soviet regime did in our country"], [schismatic Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and all Russia] added, the Church will have to enter "into a serious dialogue, devoid of prejudices, with lay and liberal humanism," but without falling into the temptation of "unilateralism."
[http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=31629]
'Unprejudiced multilateral dialogue with lay and liberal humanism'? Do I detect the Spirit of Vatican II there? How uninspiring.)

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Feast of St. Peter Celestine, Pope, Confessor, and of St. Pudentiana, Virgin, A.D. 2010

Notes: Wednesday, May 19, 2009

Ms Maley's 'flexible take on fact'

In an article in The Sydney Morning Herald today in relation to remarks by The Hon. Tony Abbott M.P. about not taking his unprepared statements as 'Gospel truth', Ms Jacqueline Maley concludes by writing that

Abbott will be comforted by St Ignatius's flexible take on fact: ''I will believe that the white that I see is black if the hierarchical church so defines it.''

What St. Ignatius (of Loyola) actually wrote, in the thirteenth of his Rules for Thinking with The Church, was that

if [the Church] shall have defined anything to be black which to our eyes appears to be white, we ought in like manner to pronounce it to be black.

Note that it is a question of appearances, which, as we know, can be deceiving. Especially for the colour-blind.

Mr. MacIntyre on the present-day British class system

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/opinion/in-todays-realpolitik-being-upper-crust-is-a-slice-of-life/story-e6frg6zo-1225868369460

Worth reading, if nothing else but for a bit of amusement. Here's a taste:

[The Rt. Hon. David] Cameron [M.P., British Prime Minister] would seem to be posher, genealogically. He is a descendant of William IV and distantly related to the Queen. His mother is the daughter of a baronet. His mother-in-law is a viscountess. Samantha Cameron is authentic old money county posh, being the eldest daughter of Reginald Adrian Berkeley Sheffield, 8th baronet and a descendant of Charles II.

But there is blueish blood in the Clegg veins too. His grandmother was a White Russian baroness. His great uncle was clubbed to death by his own peasants, which carries a certain aristo-cachet. His great aunt was a spy: it is well known that before about 1992 MI6 did not recruit anyone who was not directly out of the top drawer. On the other hand, his ancestors on the other side were Dutch colonial entrepreneurs: yes, trade.

... Lying is morally permissible in three circumstances. The key to lying is for people to understand when it is OK to stretch (and indeed break) the truth.

First, it is OK to lie to protect unjust attacks on higher order interests, such as the right to life, liberty and physical integrity. To this end, parallels can be drawn with the right to self-defence. This entails that lies are justifiable only where the threat is relatively imminent and there is no other lawful means to readily neutralise the risk. Thus, you needn't think twice about pointing an aggressor in search of his intended victim in the wrong direction.

The second exception to the general prohibition against lying is where it is necessary to achieve important social goods that cannot be secured (at all or at least not very effectively) through transparent means.
Thus, covert law enforcement practices and investigative journalism are soundpractices.

And it is probably permissible to tell your children there is a Santa Claus and your wife that you are at work instead of at the pub having an extra drink.

Finally, you get to tell the occasional white lie. They're OK where the topic of the lie cannot readily be avoided and it is done to spare a person's feelings. Thus, when your partner asks you "Does my bum look big in this new dress?" or "Is my new haircut nice?" you get to say no and yes, respectively.

This is irrespective of how many kilograms they have piled on recently or how ill-suiting the hairstyle actually is. But it is not desirable to make the same remark if it has not been prompted; instead, compliment your partner on their great personality.

White lies are also permissible where they act as social lubricants, obviating the need to engage in drawn-out character evaluations. Better to say you can't make it to dinner because you're busy rather than because you find the person revolting.

Character appraisals rarely work; they lead only to hostility and defensiveness.

In fact, lying--speech contrary to one's mind--is never morally permissible; the natural law forbids it always and everywhere. As an abuse of the speech faculty, whose purpose is the communication of truth, it is intrinsically evil and always at least venially sinful. But I expect to hear the contrary from Prof. Bagaric; the following will shed a bit more light on his moral philosophy:

The doctrine of double effect has been discredited in philosophy schools for decades. In the end, there is no inherent distinction between consequences that are intended and those which are foreseen. The fact civilians will be killed is often just as certain as the killing of combatants. We are responsible for all the consequences which we foresee, but nevertheless elect to bring about. Whether we also "intend" them is largely irrelevant.
[http://www.smh.com.au/news/opinion/throw-away-the-moral-blinkers/2009/01/01/1230681658486.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1]

Mr. Ferrara on H.H. The Pope's recent reference to the Third Secret of Fatima

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=31657

Here's an excerpt:

And now none other than Pope Benedict XVI—only days after the Fatima Challenge conference in Rome—has clearly and deliberately reopened the entire Third Secret controversy! During the Pope’s flight to Portugal for his just completed papal visit to the Fatima Shrine, papal spokesman Fr. Federico Lombardi read to His Holiness three questions that represented a “synthesis” of the questions to which the press pool sought answers. In answering these questions, as John Allen notes, the Pope “was hardly caught off-guard. The Vatican asks reporters travelling with the pope to submit questions for the plane several days in advance, so Benedict has plenty of time to ponder what he wants to say. If he takes a question on the plane, it’s because he wants to talk about it, and he’s chosen his words carefully.”

In other words, the Pope wanted to talk about the Third Secret of Fatima, ten years after the subject was supposedly laid to rest. Here is the pre-selected question and the pertinent portions of the Pope’s explosive answer:

Lombardi: Holiness, what significance do the apparitions of Fatima have for us today? And when you presented the text of the Third Secret, in the Vatican Press Office, in June 2000, it was asked of you whether the Message could be extended, beyond the attack on John Paul II, also to the other sufferings of the Pope. Is it possible, according to you, to frame also in that vision the sufferings of the Church of today for the sins of the sexual abuse of minors?

Pope Benedict: Beyond this great vision of the suffering of the Pope, which we can in substance refer to John Paul II, are indicated future realities of the Church which are little by little developing and revealing themselves. Thus it is true that beyond the moment indicated in the vision, one speaks, one sees, the necessity of a passion of the Church that naturally is reflected in the person of the Pope; but the Pope is in the Church, and therefore the sufferings of the Church are announced…. As for the novelty that we can discover today in this message, it is that attacks on the Pope and the Church do not come only from outside, but the sufferings of the Church come precisely from within the Church, from sins that exist in the Church. This has always been known, but today we see it in a really terrifying way: that the greatest persecution of the Church does not come from enemies outside, but arises from sin in the Church.

Now, it is obvious that the vision of “the bishop dressed white” does not depict an attack on the Pope and the Church from enemies within, but rather the execution of (apparently) a future Pope by a band of soldiers outside the half-ruined city, followed by the execution of bishops, priests and members of the laity in a train of martyrs, not sinners, whose blood is gathered up by the angel who appears in the vision. Only one thing could harmonize the vision with the internal subversion of the Church to which Benedict refers: a text in which the Virgin explains how a crisis within the Church leads to a chastisement of the Pope and the Church as seen in the vision, probably accompanied by a chastisement of the whole world, as the half-ruined city filled with bodies would indicate. (Tellingly, at the Fatima Challenge conference De Carli referred to the bodies as carbonizzati—charred! Where did he acquire that detail?)

It would seem, then, that we are dealing with a missing text that would predict a great chastisement having to do with the telltale phrase that both Sodano and Bertone have avoided like the plague for the past ten years: “In Portugal, the dogma of the faith will always be preserved, etc”—the “etc” having been added by Sister Lucia to indicate a precious message-warning from the Virgin in the words that follow. This is the phrase the Vatican commentary on the vision suspiciously evades by drawing the text of the Message of Fatima from Sister Lucia’s Third Memoir rather than the Fourth Memoir in which she added to the integral text of the Message the momentous reference to Portugal and the dogma of the Faith. Even more suspiciously, the Vatican commentary consigns that reference to a footnote, describing it as “some annotations” by Lucia, when it clearly contains a direct quotation of the Mother of God.

[italics in the original]

Mr. Muehlenberg on Australia's latest development in degeneracy:

http://www.billmuehlenberg.com/2010/05/18/sexualising-our-toddlers/

His first three paragraphs:

As soon as I saw the headline my mind went to Table 34. Sure, they are not identical, but they are both in the same ballpark. So what in the world am I talking about? The headline in question is this: “Sex quiz for toddlers”. And Table 34 refers to gruesome experiments conducted on toddlers and even babies by sexologist Alfred Kinsey.

The news item, found in today’s Herald Sun, begins this way: “Children as young as three have been questioned about kissing and flirting in a project by a university researcher from Melbourne. Monash University’s Dr Mindy Blaise, who spent five days at an unnamed childcare centre, wants sexuality to be an official subject at kinders and preschool centres. It would include discussions about homosexuality. Dr Blaise said it was important that kids felt ‘healthy sexuality was not dirty or wrong’. Boys and girls as young as three were asked questions such as ‘Are you a flirt? and ‘Have you ever kissed a boy?’”

Here we go again – another know-it-all sexpert invading the lives of very young children. Just how much sex is on the brain of a three-year-old for heaven’s sake? It seems these Monash eggheads would have us believe toddlers have deep thoughts and discussions about sexuality just like we find in Sex in the City.

And if you think that Mr. Muehlenberg is drawing a long bow in making the connection to Kinsey, this comment in the combox at that post indicates not:

John Angelico
18.5.10 / 11pm
…[sic]and another thing to notice:

The H-S article says “The research was paid for by the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality, a US-based organisation dedicated to the advancement of knowledge about sexuality. But Dr Blaise is employed by Monash University, a taxpayer-funded university.”

This is the website of that society,
http://www.sexscience.org/
which has under its awards category a Kinsey Award! [...]
[my square-bracketed interpolations]

An upcoming Vatican conference on witnesses to Christ in the political community

Full text of the relevant item from the Vatican Information Service's daily e-mail bulletin:

WITNESSES TO CHRIST IN THE POLITICAL COMMUNITY

VATICAN CITY, 18 MAY 2010 (VIS) - The twenty-fourth plenary assembly of the Pontifical Council for the Laity will take place in Rome from 20 to 22 May on the theme: "Witnesses to Christ in the political community".

A communique on the event explains how "Benedict XVI has, on various occasions, highlighted the pressing need for a renewed commitment of Catholics in political life".

The plenary will be inaugurated by Cardinal Stanislaw Rylko, president of the Pontifical Council for the Laity, and is scheduled to include three lectures: Lorenzo Ornaghi, rector of the Sacred Heart Catholic University in Milan, Italy, will speak on "politics and democracy today: 'status quaestionis'"; Cardinal Camillo Ruini, president of the "Cultural Project" of the Italian Episcopal Conference, will examine the topic of "Church and political community: certain vital points"; finally Archbishop Rino Fisichella, president of the Pontifical Academy for Life, will speak on "the responsibility of the lay faithful in political life".

The assembly will also include two reports, one by Andrea Riccardi, founder of the St. Egidio Community, on "what the great Christian figures in the history of politics have to say to us today"; and the second by Guzman Carriquiry, under secretary of the Pontifical Council for the Laity, who will discuss "criteria and methods for the formation of the lay faithful in politics".

The participants will be received in audience by the Pope on Friday 21 May.

On the afternoon of Saturday 22 May, Bishop Joseph Clemens, secretary of the pontifical council, will consider the dicastery's achievements and explain its programmes for the future.
CON-L/ VIS 20100518 (270)
[bold type in the original]

I wonder whether any of the speakers will bring up the necessity of working for the Social Reign of Christ, with everything it implies--the Confessional State and the union of Church and State chief among them? I fear not.

Blog comments by me

At Mr. Schütz's blog:

Cardinal Pole
May 19, 2010 at 4:03 am

“the Church would have been far better served by another anti-modernist pope like St. Pius X who would have anathematized the proponents of the liceity of contraceptive practice, advocates of “choice” in the matter of abortion, and proponents of WO and SS within the Church, and cast them out of the Church if they refused to recent their views.”

Hear, hear, Dr. Tighe.

“[You] still hope for such a pope.”

And so do I.
[http://scecclesia.wordpress.com/2010/05/17/pope-benedict-drives-the-point-home/#comment-14754]

Cardinal Pole
May 19, 2010 at 4:08 am
“Brian [Coyne] just wants to turn [The Catholic Church] into a facsimile of himself.”

Louise, for a laugh, check out Mr. Coyne’s “vision of a vibrant Catholicism”:

http://www.catholica.com.au/forum/index.php?mode=thread&id=47246
[http://scecclesia.wordpress.com/2010/05/17/pope-benedict-drives-the-point-home/#comment-14755]

Cardinal Pole
May 19, 2010 at 5:15 am

“does it just represent their status, and therefore should be read as “Bishop”, “Archbishop”,“Cardinal” etc as is appropriate to the name that comes with it?”

It just signifies that the person is a Bishop; it saves the writer having to write out the full title. (I wonder whether it was used in this way before the Internet?)

It comes from how traditionally, an Ordinary (if I’m not mistaken they have to be Ordinaries, not just Bishops) would sign his name with the plus sign in front. (And traditionally, in English or English-speaking Sees, substituting the name of his See for his family name. So for instance, a man named Reginald who was Lord Archbishop of Canterbury would sign his name ‘+Reginaldvs Cantvar’.)

Here’s a note from Fr. Zuhlsdorf on the matter:

“One of the perks for a Cardinal Bishop is that he can sign his name with a +. I remember at a gathering some years ago with the titular Cardinal Bishop a Suburbicarian diocese, Joseph Card. Ratzinger, we heard about the +. He said that when he became Archbishop of Munich, he was +Joseph Ratzinger. He became +Joseph Card. Ratzinger when elevated to the College. When he was moved to Rome to be Prefect of the CDF he was then Joseph Card. Ratzinger without the +. When he was made Cardinal Bishop it was back to +Joseph Card. Ratzinger.”
[http://wdtprs.com/blog/2009/02/cardinals-promoted]
[http://scecclesia.wordpress.com/2010/05/18/a-man-of-devastating-sanity-professor-claudio-veliz-on-cardinal-george-pell/#comment-14756]

At Coo-ees:

Cardinal Pole said...
"Why wold a Melkite sub-deacon be working for the Latin-rite Sydney Archdiocese?"

Are you familiar with the concept of the Trojan Horse?

May 19, 2010 3:11 AM
Your comment has been saved and will be visible after blog owner approval.
[http://coo-eesfromthecloister.blogspot.com/2010/05/whats-more-than-sub-deacon-but-less.html]

Cardinal Pole said...
"To be fair, the vestments are nice."

I'm surprised that you think that, Joshua. The mitre's shape is unobjectionable, but the pattern looks, from here at least, pretty ugly. And conversely for the pseudo-Gothic chasuble: A true Gothic chasuble's edge would not extend past the biceps, whereas Msgr. Fisher's would probably cover his hands if he dropped them at his side. What he's wearing is basically a glorified poncho; suitable perhaps for profane ceremonial functions, but not for the offering of a true and proper sacrifice, which would be difficult to immolate with a circus tent floating around one's forearms. Though the pattern's alright, I suppose.

And obviously, whatever one might think of each garment in itself, they can hardly be said to go well together.

And what is that totem pole thing supposed to be? I don't ask that as a joke question; I'm seriously wondering. It isn't really meant to be a crozier, is it?

May 19, 2010 3:27 AM
Your comment has been saved and will be visible after blog owner approval.

[http://coo-eesfromthecloister.blogspot.com/2010/05/indicative-of-mood-for-change-we-should.html]

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Feast of St. Peter Celestine, Pope, Confessor, and of St. Pudentiana, Virgin, A.D. 2010

Friday, January 8, 2010

Yet more material preparation for the Consecration of Russia?

http://www.cathnews.com/article.aspx?aeid=18596

If these stories continue to multiply (which I think, and hope, that they will) I’m going to have to start numbering them (there are only so many permutations of ‘More/Yet more/Still more material preparation …’, I suspect!). Yesterday’s CathNews reported on a

bold experiment: the Russian Orthodox Church's first seminary outside the former Soviet Union[*].

Officially launched in November, the small Paris-area school nurses big ambitions: to train a new generation of Orthodox priests capable of serving Russia's growing Diaspora. Even more, the school hopes to foster exchanges between Europe's Christian East and West; and, more specifically, help nurture warming ties between Moscow and the Vatican.

"The Russian Orthodox Church needs good specialists who know foreign languages and the life of Christian churches in the West and how they face secularization," said the Rev. Alexander Siniakov, the seminary's affable young director, who is also the Russian church's point person for interchurch relations in France.

"Our seminary," he added, "is sort of a bridge between the Western Christian culture and the Eastern Orthodox one." […]
[my emphasis]
*One Geoff Halton wrote the following in the combox at that news article:

The statement that it is the first Russian Orthodox Seminary outside of former Soviet Union is not necessarily correct. If it means since the fall of the USSR, then this is correct, otherwise the Russian Orthodox seminary in Jordonville in upstate New York takes that prize which was founded from those who fled the rise of communism.
Related (to the Consecration of Russia) coverage: Here is a link to an article by Mr. Christopher Ferrara (it mentions, among other things, the botched 1984 ‘consecration’ and the curious “entrustment” ceremony of 2000):

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=29582

And here’s another related story by Mr. Ferrara:

http://www.angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?p=335545&sid=a4e4b35734e1445f52aab8a5d82abed2

See also my recent posts on a Holy-See-dependent charity sponsoring the Russian schism and this more recent post. And I see at the S.S.P.X. District of Australia home-page that “[t]here are 75 days left to dedicate your Rosaries for the Consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Our Lady!” And H.H. The Pope is due to visit Fatima in May …

Reginaldvs Cantvar
8.I.2010

Friday, December 11, 2009

More material preparation for the Consecration of Russia?

From the latest Vatican Information Service (V.I.S.) daily e-mail bulletin:

DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS BETWEEN HOLY SEE AND RUSSIA
VATICAN CITY, 10 DEC 2009 (VIS) - The Holy See Press Office has published a communique announcing that "the Holy See and the Russian Federation, in the desire to promote their mutual friendly relations, have decided by joint agreement to establish diplomatic relations, at the level of apostolic nunciature on the part of the Holy See and of embassy on the part of the Russian Federation".
OP/DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS/RUSSIA VIS 091210 (80)
Reginaldvs Cantvar
Feast of St. Damasus, Pope, Confessor, A.D. 2009