Assisi Fallout: Cardinal Tauran On Ten-Days Holiday In India

Cardinal Touran was very appreciative of the Spirit of Assisi

From Vatican Radio’s website (with kudos to the eponymous flower)

November 04, 2011) Vatican’s top official for inter-religious dialogue is on a visit to India to follow up on the impetus given by the interfaith peace meeting convoked by Pope Benedict XVI on Oct. 27 in the central Italian town of Assisi. Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, president of the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue accompanied by Council secretary Archbishop Pierluigi Celata left for India on Friday to hold meetings with representatives of Hinduism, Sikhism, Jainism and Islam. Their schedule until Nov. 14 includes stops in Mumbai, Pune, New Delhi and Amritsar, home to the Golden Temple, Sikhism’s holiest shrine. Their schedule has been organized by the Indian bishops and includes a meeting with Muslim leaders in Mumbai on Sunday. A meeting with Hindus is scheduled from Nov. 6-10 in Pune and another meeting and a seminar with Sikhs is slated Nov. 11-12 in Amritsar. On Nov. 13 they are to hold a meeting and a seminar with Jains in the Indian capital before heading back to Rome.

This is grand, isn’t it?

He had the impetus. He just had to follow up on it….

Inspiring….

I just have an “impetus” to have a ten-day holiday in India, too. I should really, really follow up on it. Pity I am not so much into this kind of ecumenism, let alone have people forking out for the costs….

I can vividly picture Cardinal Tauran sitting there in Assisi with his faithful secretary, thinking: “wow, these people are really, really cool! Like, soooo cool! I must get to know them better, all of them! I mean, like, we can learn soooo much from Hinduism, Sikhism, Jainism and Islam! Perhaps I should pray in the Golden Temple? It would be, like, sooo cool!….”

Or perhaps he just wanted to profit from Assisi to take an exotic holiday the other side of the planet, with the programme looking very much like a sightseeing guide.

I truly hope the second hypothesis is true, and the Cardinal is just wasting the money of the faithful for his own pleasure.

Mundabor

Play With Fire And You’ll Get Burned.

If you are as stupid as that, wave your lighters....

I received a message with these lines:

I was made aware of the event at Assisi from an acquaintance in California (I am in Tennessee now) who is into all the New Age religions. I found it amazing that she was looking forward to seeing the Peace Gathering in Assisi and at first I thought it was a bunch of New Agers taking over our Beloved Hallowed ground of St. Francis and St. Clara! Then when I saw it announced as being covered by EWTN I was shocked. I watched it for a while and had to turn it off as I was getting horrible feelings from it.

I can’t stop thinking of these words, because this simple episode shows in a crude way what happens when we – or the Vatican, or the Pope – play with fire.

The fact is, that we Catholics spend far too much time analysing every word the Holy Father has said, or the minutiae about why this or that is, if unusual, still compatible with Catholic thinking. For example, we are not allowed to pray together with people of other religions, but then it’s not explicitly forbidden that the pagans and we plan to pray separately, after we have gathered in the same place. Similarly, we are not saying that it is fine for others to be part of other religions, but we stress how good they are whilst they are part of another religion. Hey, we come even so far as to say how good they are even if they follow no religion.

Whilst we discuss about the orthodoxy of the small details, the world at large understands exactly the message that – at least officially – was meant not to be spread around: how cool it is that everyone gathers together to tell each other how cool they all are. Hey, they’re all for peaaaaace so they must be all right, right?

I also liked the reader’s observation about the “horrible feelings” she got looking at the thing on EWTN. In fact, it seems to me that in such matters the sensus fidelium – and I mean here the real one, the sincere religious feeling as it has been traditionally lived – is the best indication to judge these events: if it feels so wrong, it can’t be right. We all have these feelings, which is why we instinctively react – better said, our souls react – to things that whilst not necessarily forbidden – like the guitars in the church, the protestantisation and/or banalisation of the Mass – nevertheless are wrong because they go against the way Catholic spirituality has always been lived.

Astonishingly, it seems to be one of the biggest worries of theologians to persuade us that there must be a new and better way to do things, than how they have always been done.

You know what? There isn’t. What has always been true is still true, what has always been felt as wrong will always be felt as wrong, and how many more or less intelligent Assisi exercises are called to life will change a bit less than zero in this matter.

I do hope that this mistake – a mistake which, I am afraid, will haunt this papacy and will be remembered everytime the undoubted achievements of the present reign are remembered – does not inflict too big a damage to the reconciliation talks with the SSPX. Unfortunately, the media flop of the initiative does not necessarily mean the theological implications will be forgotten soon, and rumours that the SSPX is oriented to refuse the preambolo dottrinale have already started to spread around the net. Would you want to be a SSPX bishop explaining to the members of the congregation that it is fine to invite a voodoo priest to talk in church? Me neither…

It would be a real shame if it turned out that Assisi III played an important role in the (possible) decision of the SSPX the Vatican is not trustworthy enough, and the process of reconciliation will have to wait for a Pope completely free from Vatican II infections, and ready to embrace Catholicism without lazy compromises with the need for popularity, or with the desire to please the rapidly aging trendies and sandal-wearers.

Please read the initial message again, and see if it doesn’t resonate with you. Whilst we talk about doctrinal nuances, the world out there thinks that the Church is so keen to mix herself with the pagans. Congratulations.

How about the Pope participating to the next Telethon (or some other “thon”) together with Richard Dawkins and Stephen Fry? Working “all together” for a good cause (wouldn’t it, ohhh, be ohhh so beautifuuul?) they could stress how much good militant atheists and perverts can do! “Atheists And Christians against poverty”, how does that sound! Think of it: everyone working together, Christian and Atheist, normal and pervert, how very edifying! We are the world! Where’s Oprah?

The only good thing of Assisi III is it made sure there will never be an Assisi IV, but its last message is still clear: play with fire, and you’ll get burned.

Mundabor

Archbishop of Florence targeted, his secretary shot.

Rather shocking news already echoed by Messa in Latino. If you read Italian, try also the usual Corriede della Sera.

Apparently, a man of around 70, not well-kept, has asked to speak to the Archbishop. When the Archbishop’s secretary said to him that this was not the moment, the man extracted a pistol and shot him; then he said something rather confused to the Archbishop and pointed the weapon towards him; at this point either the weapon jammed or the man changed his mind and disappeared.

Several suspects have already been arrested, man hunt in full swing, even the Digos (a division of the Polizia specialising in anti-terror activity) has been involved.

The Archbishop says he never received threats, the man was old and, I dare say, not entirely compos mentis.

Still, this is rather shocking news, particularly in a country like Italy where illegal weapon possession is treated very harshly and such episodes are extremely rare compared with the Anglo-Saxon standard.

The secretary is now out of danger, but he could have died.

Re-open the madhouse, say I.

Mundabor

Celebrity And Stupidity

You know how credible certain types of “celebrities” are (beautiful, granted; but come on…) when they:

a) support so-called “gay marriage”, and
b) divorce after 72 days.

The blind are leading the blind. One thinks that these people do have an influence in mainstream culture, and shivers…

(No…. no photos of Kim Kardashian…)

Mundabor

Pius XII and Sixtus V

No doubt an impressive "Franciscan": Pope Pius XII, "Pastor Angelicus".

Every Roman with a bit of interest in his own tradition knows some anecdote (more often, legend) about Sixtus V, Er Papa tosto (“the tough Pope”) as they say in the somewhat coarse, but beautifully sounding Roman parlance.

One of the (many) anecdotes regarding Sixtus V is that he dressed as a simple friar and went around Rome to hear what people thought of the Pope. Apparently he didn’t refrain from places of license and triviality, like taverns and the like.

Stuff for novels or TV series, you would think, but scarcely realisable in more modern times. Unexpectedly, it turns out none other than Pius XII recurred to the same expedient during World War II, going around Rome incognito during the German occupation to see what was going on there in daily life or to try to help the one or other oppressed, to save the one or other Jew.

This is what CNA reports about those years (kudos to Father Z for pointing out to this).

The source seems believable, as “Pave The Way” is a very reputable organisation, about which I have already reported on this blog. Unfortunately, the vast material amassed from them to – in the eyes of the misinformed, many of the Jews – “rehabilitate” Pope Pius XII is not easily available online anymore, but we can be sure that the work continues, and will be made public in a more accessible manner in the years to come.

Dear reader, if you have read this blog for some time you will know that its author is an enthusiastic supporter of this great and saintly Pope, and if you had some doubts some clicking around or just looking at the pics on the left of the screen should take every doubt away.

I do think that Pope Pacelli’s excursions in Rome are, whilst a sign of great courage – we knew that already – a small thing compared to all the Pastor Angelicus has done for the sake not only of Catholicism, but of oppressed people of whichever religion. Still, I thought this colourful anecdote would please most of you as we imagine the Pope – dressed as a lean Franciscan – and his secretary (the future Pope Paul VI) dressed as a priest as they wander through occupied Rome trying to get a first-hand impression of the situation on the ground, and of what it is best to do.

Thank God for this great, great Pope.

Mundabor

Plenary Indulgence for All Soul’s Day

Today you can try to get a plenary indulgence.

The conditions are as follows (list is taken straight from Father Z):

1. Visit a church and pray for souls in Purgatory
2. Say one “Our Father” and the “Creed” in the visit to the church
3. Say one “Our Father” and one “Hail Mary” for the Holy Father’s intentions
4. Worthily receive Holy Communion (ideally on the same day if you can get to Mass)
5. Make a sacramental confession within a week of All Souls Day
6. For a plenary indulgence be free from all attachment to sin, even venial sin (otherwise, the indulgence is partial, not plenary, “full”).

Note that confession doesn’t have to be today, but can be shifted to, say, Saturday, and Holy Communion doesn’t have to be today either.

The requirement to be free from all attachment to sin, even venial sin, is obviously not easy to achieve, but if we are discouraged and do not try we will not even get the benefit that comes from the trying.

I have written my take on the matter here

Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine,
et lux perpetua luceat eis.
Requiescant in pace.
Amen

Mundabor