THE TRADITIONAL CATHOLIC FAITH
Monday, 20 September 2010
AMERICAN PRIEST USED CHURCH MONEY IN A LAVISH LIFESTYLE
Connecticut priest was charged this week with first-degree larceny in the theft of almost $1.3 million from his church's coffers to fund a lavish double life that included swanky hotels and male escorts, said Capt. Chris Corbett of the Waterbury Police Department in Connecticut.
Father Kevin Gray, 64, a former pastor at Sacred Heart Church
in Waterbury, allegedly embezzled money from the church over the course of seven years.
He used it to pay for fancy restaurants, clothing, vacations, hotels, a New York City apartment and a male companion's tuition at Harvard University, according to an affidavit obtained by CNN affiliate WTIC and filed with the Connecticut Superior Court.
The affidavit says that between June 2003 and March 2010, Gray spent about $205,000 at high-end restaurants, $132,000 in hotel stays and $85,000 at clothing stores. While in New York City, he frequented the Waldorf Astoria, Omni Berkshire, and the W Hotel Times Square, among other posh hotels, the affidavit states.
He also allegedly shopped at high-end retailers including Barneys, Armani and Saks Fifth Avenue.
Along with expensive taste, Gray allegedly kept company with a number of male escorts, and allowed some to have credit cards in their name on his account.
One escort, Islagar Labrada, allegedly charged more than $49,000 to the account.
"Some items Mr. Labrada charged included a stay at the Sheraton in Buena Vista, Florida, storage facilities, computers, computer software, cell phones, anti-aging creams, artwork, Louis Vuitton stores, a home alarm system and bicycles," the affidavit reads. "Mr Labrada also charged $8,864.69 to Crunch Fitness Gym for membership fees."
Another man, Weirui Zhong, who told police he met Gray in Central Park in 2005, said Gray paid for his rented apartment in New York, a piano, dogs and Harvard University tuition since 2008, according to the affidavit.
Zhong told authorities that when he pressed Gray about why he was always paying him with checks from Sacred Heart Church, Gray told him that he won big cases as an attorney, and that he put all his live savings into the church account.
He also lied to Zhong and his parishioners that he was suffering from cancer, the affidavit says.
"Gray became very bitter with the church starting in 2001 when he was transferred to a parish in New Hartford while his mother was dying in New Haven," according to the affidavit. "Mr. Gray stated that when he started in 2003, he began taking the money because he felt the Church owed it to him."
His official salary over those seven years totaled just over $184,000, or almost $27,000 a year.
According to the affidavit, Gray scammed an additional $221,000 in 2005 by signing an agreement with Wireless Capital Partners, a communications company based in Los Angeles, California, to allow a wireless antenna to be placed in the church, though doing so was strictly prohibited.
Gray's scheme came to light after a routine audit of the church's finances by the Archdiocese of Hartford found numerous accounting discrepancies.
"At the financial level, the Archdiocese continues to work with the parish to improve its financial controls and to address issues arising from the situation such as insurance coverage and outstanding indebtedness," the Archdiocese said in a statement. "At the spiritual level, we continue to pray for healing and consolation for the parish family as it moves forward, and for guidance and reconciliation for Father Gray."
THE PANORAMA SEX SCANDAL
Catholic sex scandal as undercover reporter 'films priests at gay clubs and having casual flings'
By Nick Pisa
Caught in the act: A priest - still wearing his dog collar - approaches a gay 'accomplice' of the undercover reporter as their casual affair is caught on camera in the Italian magazine Panorama's footage
The same priest later prepares to read Mass
Rome's 3 GAY priests caught in video at gay clubs and having casual flings'
Benedict XVI and the Vatican shall never sleep in peace again until its total demise happen as predicted by the Third Secret of Fatima. While the newly released Code of Canon Law attracted so much uproar from the media worldwide, see our coverage in God's Rottweiler
Hardly a week went by and this caught on video in the headlines of Italy's newspaper has erupted.
A gay priest sex scandal has rocked the Catholic Church in Italy today after a weekly news magazine released details of a shock investigation it had carried out.
Using hidden cameras, a journalist from Panorama magazine - owned by Italian Prime Minister and media baron Silvio Berlusconi - filmed three priests as they attended gay nightspots and had casual sex.
Today there was no immediate comment from the Italian Bishops Conference and the Vatican - which has been rocked by a series of sex scandals involving paedophile priests since the start of the year.
A preview of the Panorama article sent out by email last night added that video footage from the investigation would be made available.
The article describes how the reporter was assisted by a gay 'accomplice' as they 'gate-crashed the wild nights of a number of priests in Rome who live a surprising double-life.'
In it's preview, Panorama added: 'By day they are regular priests, complete with dog collar, but, at night it's off with the cassock as they take their place as perfectly integrated members of the Italian capital's gay scene.'
Panorama described its investigation as 'deeply disturbing' as it detailed how three priests - two Italians and a Frenchman - happily took part in gay events and had casual sex.
The Catholic Church forbids priests to have sex and homosexuality is also seen as a 'sin' .
In 2008 the Vatican issued guidelines which said that any would be trainees should not join if they had 'deep-seated homosexual tendencies'.
In one part of the investigation Panorama said that one priest, named as Carlo, willingly put on his cassock to have sex with the reporter's gay accomplice, adding 'all of which was filmed by the hidden camera'.
The magazine also described how they had attended a Mass which was celebrated by Carlo.
In its preview Panorama insisted that it had carried out through checks and established that all three priests were bona fide but would not reveal their real names or any other details.
Panorama editor Giorgio Mule said: 'This was a two week investigation and was not aimed at creating a scandal but showing that a certain section of the clergy behaves very differently.'
JPIIPPA John Paul II Pedophile Priests Army
Friday, July 23, 2010
Friday, July 23, 2010
Sunday, 19 September 2010
THE WILLIAMSON SCANDAL
 |
| The scandal surrounding Bishop Richard Williamson's Holocaust denial refuses to go away. |
Pope on the Defensive
The Intractable Brothers from SSPX
By Sebastian Fischer, Julia Jüttner and Philipp Wittrock
The Vatican is upping the pressure, public prosecutors are continuing to investigate and criticism keeps rolling in -- but the Society of Saint Pius X refuses to give in. Even worse, the Catholic Church is running out of levers to force it to comply.
The lawyer was careful to sound serene. The brothers belonging to the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX), says Maximilian Krah, want to live a form of Catholicism that recognizes the superiority of papal authority. "I don't recognize the brotherhood that I know in the current media coverage," he complains. And Richard Williamson? He isn't a typical SSPX member, Krah says. Really. He's not.
Williamson, though, has recently become the best known member of SSPX. He is a notorious Holocaust denier and one of the four bishops whose excommunications were recently lifted by Pope Benedict XVI. Krah represents Williamson and the rest of his SSPX brothers in Germany. The message Krah is intent on communicating these days is the one that Williamson himself should be sending: conciliatory, moderate and understanding. Indeed, given the Vatican's Wednesday call for Williamson to distance himself from his statements doubting the existence of the Holocaust, one would think that the ultraconservative SSPX would likewise be tempering its tone.
But it's not.
Take Father Franz Schmidberger, a member of SSPX headquarters in Germany. He went on German radio on Thursday to censure German Chancellor Angela Merkel for her critical comments about the pope's handling of the scandal and about the need to clearly condemn Holocaust denial. "She doesn't understand, after all, she's not Catholic," he said. Then he turned his attention to the Prophet Muhammad. He had "sexual contact with an eight or nine year old girl," Schmidberger said according to a statement released in advance of the interview's broadcast. "In today's terminology, we would certainly call that child molestation. But I don't want to belabor the point, I haven't specifically studied the issue."
His position on the Prophet's biography is one that is highly controversial -- and one that certainly isn't new. One year ago, a right-wing populist politician in Austria got in trouble for giving voice to the same viewpoint. And it certainly isn't the kind of stance that will further dialogue among religions. That, though, is clearly not a concern of Schmidberger's. Indeed, he also made his feelings about Judaism clear. "Christ explicitly sent his apostles into the world to convert all peoples, including the Jews, to him," he says.
In the interview, Schmidberger distanced himself from Williamson's statements regarding the Holocaust, but he did say that Holocaust deniers could certainly remain part of the Catholic Church. "As long as he remains faithful to the Catholic dogmata, of course," he said. And what about the pope's decision to lift the excommunications of the four SSPX brothers? "It was absolutely necessary, because faith has become extremely diluted and we are living in a neo-heathenish society."
Prohibited from Performing Liturgical Rites
Still, as much as SSPX members like Schmidberger talk about submitting to papal authority, it has become clear just how little they do so. On Thursday, this disobedience once again became clear. The Cologne daily Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger reported that Bernhard Fellay, the Swiss bishop who is also the superior general of the Society of Saint Pius X, inducted so-called "minor orders" -- as the lower ranks of Catholic clergy are called -- last Sunday.
Fellay is another of the four bishops whose excommunications were recently lifted. However, the quartet remains suspended as bishops -- which means they are still prohibited by the Vatican from performing liturgical rites or administering the Sacraments.
It is, church jurist Peter Krämer told the newspaper, "an act of deliberate disobedience of the pope." It also touches on the central question now facing both the Vatican and the SSPX: Can the affair be brought under control by the pope's demand that Williamson retract his denial of the Holocaust?
Chancellor Merkel, whose comments earlier in the week placed Pope Benedict XVI under enormous pressure, signalled on Thursday that she was satisfied with his demand of Williamson. She said "it made it clear that a denial of the Holocaust can never be made without consequences." Some, though, think the pope still needs to do more.
German Green Party leader Claudia Roth is one of them. She told SPIEGEL ONLINE on Thursday that it has to be made crystal clear "that Williamson, who has repeatedly denied the Holocaust, and the anti-democratic, reactionary SSPX cannot be part of the Catholic Church." The Central Council of Jews in Germany have also demanded that the Vatican turn its back on the SSPX.
Showdown within the SSPX
The affair promises to continue. Holocaust denial is forbidden by law in Germany and on Jan. 23, public prosecutors in Bavaria opened an investigation into Williamson for incitement. Should he be found guilty, he could face a fine or even a jail term. Krah is defending him and he is basing his defense on the conditions under which the now-notorious interview -- in which Williamson told a Swedish television station that he did not believe any Jews were killed in Nazi gas chambers -- was conducted. "If you give an interview in English to a Swedish television station, you can't automatically assume that it will be broadcast in Germany," Krah told SPIEGEL ONLINE. Krah also says that the two journalists who conducted the interview said there were no plans to broadcast the interview in Germany. The journalists -- Göran Svensson and Ali Fegan -- disagree. "There was no agreement with Williamson regarding when and where the interview would be broadcast," they say.
http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,605945,00.html
SSPX IN GERMANY UNDER FIRE
Williamson's Colleagues under Fire
SSPX in Germany Criticized over Anti-Semitic Statements
Bishop Richard Williamson triggered a scandal with his comments denying the Holocaust. Now it has emerged that the German branch of the ultra-conservative SSPX has also made a number of anti-Semitic statements in its publications.
While the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) is trying to practice belated damage control regarding the scandal over Bishop Richard Williamson's comments denying the Holocaust, further information has emerged about anti-Semitism within the German branch of the ultra-conservative Catholic organization.
The German branch of the SSPX is under fire over anti-Semitic comments in its publications.
The latest issue of the SSPX's newsletter for German-speaking countries, which has been obtained by SPIEGEL, contains several anti-Semitic statements. "The Jewish people were once the chosen people. But the majority of the people denied the Messiah on his first coming," reads the February issue's cover story, entitled "Signs of the End of the World." According to the newsletter article, this is why the Bible's Gospel of Matthew states, "His blood be upon us and upon our children," a phrase historically used by some Christians to justify anti-Semitism.
The newsletter also states: "And this terrible curse arose. The Jews were expelled from their country, repeatedly rejected and persecuted up until our own time." Therefore, the Jews must "convert as a people to Christ. … Eventually the mercy of God will triumph over the stubbornness and blindness of the Jewish people." The newsletter was only published last week -- long after the controversy over Williamson became public.
The German television station ARD also reported having found anti-Semitic statements in the publications of the SSPX's German branch. According to ARD, an SSPX text published in 2000 contains the following: "There is no doubt that Jewish authors played a significant role in the destruction of religious and moral values during the last two centuries." Another section reads: "The lending of money at high interest rates and the usury practiced in this way (...) made the Jews hated."
"There's some truth in there," the head of the SSPX's German branch, Father Franz Schmidberger, told ARD in an interview. However he said that the SSPX wished to "live together in peace with all people, including the Jews."
Referring to the passage about the Jews converting to Christianity, Schmidberger justified it by saying it was not an ethnic but a religious statement. He told ARD that even Saint Paul talked of "a veil which was over the Jewish people … and which prevented them from recognizing and adopting the Messiah."
The Central Council of Jews in Germany reacted angrily to the revelations. "I was alarmed to discover the SSPX has anti-Semitic attitudes," Vice President Salomon Korn said. Admittedly the statements in the SSPX's German publications could not be compared to Williamson's denial of the Holocaust, he said, "but Williamson is the tip of the iceberg."
The basis for the SSPX's ideas were ancient prejudices against Jews, he said. "Genocidal anti-Semitism grew on the basis of this religious approach, which is now centuries old. And this kind of thinking is responsible for the Nazis' crimes against humanity."
ARD also discovered that Schmidberger had said in an October 2001 speech that a desecration of a cross where, for example, an arm is torn off the figure of Christ, is objectively a greater sin than the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. In the interview with ARD, the priest confirmed this statement and defended it. Reacting to the interview, the spokesman of the German Bishops' Conference, Matthias Kopp, said the statement was unacceptable.
The SSPX in other countries has been taking steps to dampen the scandal caused by Williamson's comments. On Monday, Williamson was removed from his position as head of a seminary in Argentina. The Web page of SSPX in the US has also removed an article arguing that Jews are guilty of deicide for killing Jesus. The page was viewable as recently as last Friday.
The scandal over Holocaust denial erupted at the end of January when Pope Benedict XVI lifted the excommunication of four SSPX members, including Williamson. At the time he took the step, the pope was apparently unaware of Williamson's views on the Holocaust nor was he aware of the interview with Swedish television. The ensuing scandal has seriously damaged the reputation of the Catholic Church in Germany and elsewhere.
Last week, Benedict called on Williamson to retract his views on the Holocaust. In an interview with SPIEGEL, however, Williamson rebuffed the pope, saying that he first had to study the issue. He said he was planning on reading "Auschwitz: Technique and Operation of the Gas Chambers" by Jean-Claude Pressac. "Historical evidence is at issue, not emotions," Williamson told SPIEGEL. "And if I find this evidence, I will correct myself. But that will take time."
On Monday, Jewish leaders in the US said after meeting with top Vatican officials that they were optimistic about Vatican-Jewish ties. A group of American Jewish leaders will meet with Pope Benedict XVI in person on Thursday to commend him for his "firm stand" on Williamson, the Associated Press reported.
With reporting by Peter Wensierski
2/10/2009
WILLIAMSON BACK IN BRITAIN
 |
| While leaving Buenos Aires, Williamson shook his fist at a television reporter who tried to ask him a question |
02/25/2009
The Pope's Nemesis
Holocaust-Denying Bishop Back in Britain
Bishop Richard Williamson, whose denial of the Holocaust plunged the Vatican into scandal at the end of January, is back in Britain after being expelled from Argentina.
It was a large crowd which gathered in Terminal 5 at London's Heathrow airport on Wednesday morning. But instead of carrying balloons and flowers, they held cameras and notepads. They were there for British Airways flight from Buenos Aires, a flight carrying the now infamous Bishop Richard Williamson -- the Holocaust denier whose positions have recently rocked the Vatican.
Sky News, BBC, CNN, Germany's ZDF -- an alphabet soup of media waited patiently for passengers to emerge, as did a handful of armed police. An Orthodox Jew leaning on a police barricade was taken aside, his papers carefully checked. He was just waiting for his family flying in from New York, he said.
A blonde woman bustled around to the media representatives, giving interviews and handing out business cards. She said she was there to provide Williamson legal assistance should he be arrested.
As it turned out, her help wasn't necessary. Williamson appeared shortly before 8 a.m. surrounded by photographers who had managed to find their way past the security controls. Escorted by a dozen police, Williamson hurried through the arrival hall, ignoring questions yelled at him by journalists, a slight smile on his lips. He climbed into a silver Land Rover and drove away.
 |
| As during his departure the night before from Argentina, Williamson declined to speak to the gathered media. |
Williamson was back in Great Britain after Argentinean authorities threw him out of the country both for his denial of the Holocaust and for "irregularities" in his immigration application. The government condemned Williamson's comments on the Holocaust for being "deeply offensive to Argentine society, the Jewish people and humanity."
In late January, Williamson told a Swedish public television station, "I believe there were no gas chambers." He also said that only 300,000 Jews perished in Nazi concentration camps rather than the 6 million accepted by historians. Shortly after he made the statements, Pope Benedict XVI -- apparently unaware of Williamson's position on the Holocaust -- revoked his excommunication. Williamson had been excommunicated years before due to to activities connected to his membership in the ultra-conservative Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX).
The ensuing debate about Holocaust denial within the Catholic Church has been harmful for Benedict XVI. Since the scandal broke, the pope has repeatedly expressed solidarity with the Jews and demanded that Williamson must retract his statements before he can be reinstated as a bishop.
Williamson has so far refused to do so. In an statements made to SPIEGEL, he said: "I can only say something the truth of which I am convinced. Because I realize that there are many honest and intelligent people who think differently, I must now review the historical evidence once again. ... If I find this evidence, I will correct myself."
Williamson wore dark sunglasses, a baseball cap and an overcoat as he made his way through the boarding area in Argentina on Tuesday. When an Argentine TV reporter tried to get a comment from him before he boarded his flight, Williamson raised his fist to the journalist's face.
 |
| Bishop Richard Williamson arrived back in Britain on Wednesday morning, arriving at Heathrow Airport just before 8 a.m. |
INTERVIEW WITH BISHOP WILLIAMSON
Bishop Richard Williamson is a member of the ultra- conservative Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX). In late January, Pope Benedict XVI decided to lift the excommunications of four members of the SSPX, Bishop Williamson among them. Just days prior to the retraction of his excommunication, Bishop Williamson said on Swedish television that he didn't believe the Holocaust took place and said that between 200,000 and 300,000 Jews died in Nazi concentration camps instead of the commonly accepted 6 million. The resulting scandal has led to doubts about Benedict's leadership of the Catholic Church, though Benedict last week demanded that Williamson recant his statements.
02/09/2009
SPIEGEL Interview with Bishop Richard Williamson
'I Will Not Travel to Auschwitz'
Bishop Richard Williamson's denial of the Holocaust has done serious damage to the Catholic Church. In an e-mail and fax exchange with SPIEGEL, the ultra-conservative bishop says that he is willing to "review the historical evidence."
SPIEGEL: The Vatican is demanding that you retract your denial of the Holocaust, and it is threatening to not allow you to resume your activities as a bishop. How will you react?
Williamson: Throughout my life, I have always sought the truth. That is why I converted to Catholicism and became a priest. And now I can only say something, the truth of which I am convinced. Because I realize that there are many honest and intelligent people who think differently, I must now review the historical evidence once again. I said the same thing in my interview with Swedish television: Historical evidence is at issue, not emotions. And if I find this evidence, I will correct myself. But that will take time.
 SPIEGEL: How can an educated Catholic deny the Holocaust? Williamson: I addressed the subject in the 1980s. I had read various writings at the time. I cited the Leuchter report (eds. note: a debunked theory produced in the 1980s claiming erroneously that the Nazi gas chambers were technically impractical) in the interview, and it seemed plausible to me. Now I am told that it has been scientifically refuted. I plan now to look into it. SPIEGEL: You could travel to Auschwitz yourself. Williamson: No, I will not travel to Auschwitz. I've ordered the book by Jean-Claude Pressac. It's called "Auschwitz: Technique and Operation of the Gas Chambers." A printout is now being sent to me, and I will read it and study it. SPIEGEL: The Society of Saint Pius X has set an ultimatum for the end of February. Are you not risking a break with the group? Williamson: In the Old Testament, the Prophet Jonah tells the sailors when their ship is in distress: " Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea; so shall the sea be calm unto you: for I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you." The Society has a religious mission that is suffering because of me. I will now examine the historic evidence. If I do not find it convincing, I will do everything in my power to avoid inflicting any further harm on the Church and the Society. SPIEGEL: What does the repeal of the excommunication by Pope Benedict XVI mean to you? Williamson: We just want to be Catholic, nothing else. We have not developed our own teachings, but are merely preserving the things that the Church has always taught and practiced. And in the sixties and seventies, when everything was changed in the name of this Council (eds. note: the Second Vatican Council), it was suddenly a scandal. As a result, we were forced to the margins of the church, and now that empty churches and an aging clergy make it clear that these changes were a failure, we are returning to the center. That's the way it is for us conservatives: we are proved right, as long as we wait long enough. BISHOP RICHARD WILLIAMSON SPIEGEL: People at the Vatican claimed that they didn't know you. Is that true? Williamson: Most contacts pass through Bishop Fellay and the General Council, of which I am not a member. But three of us four bishops attended a private dinner with Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos in 2000. It was more about getting to know each other, but we certainly talked about theological issues and even a bit of philosophy. The cardinal was very friendly. SPIEGEL: The Second Vatican Council counts as one of the great achievements of the Catholic Church. Why do you not fully recognize it? Williamson: It is absolutely unclear what we are supposed to recognize. An important document is called "Gaudium et spes," or Joy and Hope. In it, the writers rhapsodize about the ability of mass tourism to bring people together. But one can hardly expect a conservative society to embrace package tours. It discusses fears and hardships. And then a nuclear war between the superpowers is mentioned. You see, much of this is already outdated. These Council documents are always ambiguous. Because no one knew what exactly this was supposed to mean, everyone started doing as he wished shortly after the Council. This has resulted in this theological chaos we have today. What are we supposed to recognize, the ambiguity or the chaos? SPIEGEL: Are you actually aware that you are dividing the Church with your extreme views? Williamson: Only violation of the dogmas, that is, the infallible principles, destroys faith. The Second Vatican Council declared that it would proclaim no new dogmas. Today the liberal bishops act as though it were some sort of all-encompassing super-dogma, and they use it as justification for a dictatorship of relativism. This contradicts the texts of the Council. SPIEGEL: Your position on Judaism is consistently anti-Semitic. Williamson: St. Paul put it this way: The Jews are beloved for the sake of Our Father, but our enemies for the sake of the gospel. SPIEGEL: Do you seriously intend to use Catholic tradition and the Bible to justify your anti-Semitism? Williamson: Anti-Semitism means many things today, for instance, when one criticizes the Israeli actions in the Gaza Strip. The Church has always understood the definition of anti-Semitism to be the rejection of Jews because of their Jewish roots. This is condemned by the Church. Incidentally, this is self-evident in a religion whose founders and all important individuals in its early history were Jews. But it was also clear, because of the large number of Jewish Christians in early Christianity, that all men need Christ for their salvation -- all men, including the Jews. SPIEGEL: The pope will travel to Israel soon, where he plans to visit the Holocaust Memorial. Are you also opposed to this? Williamson: Making a pilgrimage to the Holy Land is a great joy for Christians. I wish the Holy Father all the best on his journey. What troubles me about Yad Vashem is that Pope Pius XII is attacked there, even though no one saved more Jews during the Nazi period than he did. For instance, he had baptismal certificates issued for persecuted Jews to protect them against arrest. These facts have been distorted to mean exactly the opposite. Otherwise, I hope that the pope will also have an eye and a heart for the women and children who were injured in the Gaza Strip, and that he will speak out in support of the Christian population in Bethlehem, which is now walled in. SPIEGEL: Your statements have caused great injury and outrage in the Jewish world. Why don't you apologize? Williamson: If I realize that I have made an error, I will apologize. I ask every human being to believe me when I say that I did not deliberately say anything untrue. I was convinced that my comments were accurate, based on my research in the 1980s. Now I must review everything again and look at the evidence. SPIEGEL: Do you at least recognize universal human rights? Williamson: When human rights were declared in France, hundreds of thousands were killed throughout France. Where human rights are considered an objective order for the state to implement, there are constantly anti-Christian policies. When it comes to preserving the individual's freedom of conscience against the democratic state, then human rights perform an important function. The individual needs these rights against a country that behaves like a Leviathan. But the Christian concept of the state is a different one, so that the Christian theories of human rights emphasize that freedom is not an end in itself. The point is not freedom from something, but freedom for something. For good. SPIEGEL: Your statements and the lifting of your excommunication have triggered protests worldwide. Can you understand this? Williamson: A single interview on Swedish television has dominated the news for weeks in Germany. Yes, it does surprise me. Is this the case with all violations of the law in Germany? Hardly. No, I am only the tool here, so that action can be taken against the SSPX and the pope. Apparently Germany's leftist Catholicism has not yet forgiven Ratzinger for becoming pope. Interview conducted by Peter Wensierski and Steffen Winter Interview conducted in German and translated into English by Christopher Sultan |
INTERVIEW WITH BISHOP FELLAY
 |
| Swiss Bishop Bernard Fellay, head of the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX). |
03/02/2009
SSPX Head on Holocaust Denial
Williamson Apology 'A Step in Right Direction'
Bishop Bernard Fellay, head of the Society of Saint Pius X, has told SPIEGEL that his organization has "clearly distanced itself" from Bishop Richard Williamson. Nevertheless, he says the bishop's apology for his Holocaust denial is a step in the right direction.
SPIEGEL: Bishop, weeks ago you gave your colleague Richard Williamson a book so that he can read up on the Holocaust. Last week he published an apology which falls short of the Vatican's demand that he retract his Holocaust denial. Does Williamson's statement suffice in your opinion?
Fellay: It is definitely a first plea for forgiveness and, therefore, an important step in the right direction. One can always hope for better phrasing. At least the plea for forgiveness is honest, and the withdrawal of his words is genuine.
SPIEGEL: That hope seems unfounded. After his arrival in London, Williamson surrounded himself with people who have openly denied the Holocaust, such as the historian David Irving. Do you know why?
Fellay: I have the impression that Bishop Williamson is being used by these people. Information was deliberately fed to the media here. We're working against that as well as we can. I am totally against these connections.
SPIEGEL: But your influence on Williamson seems to be weak.
Fellay: We are in contact, he is in a priory of the society in London for the time being. But he is also a free human being. Sure, he has a superior, but he is free in his decisions. But he has to bear the consequences for that.
SPIEGEL: Will he return to his full duties?
Fellay: That is impossible under the current circumstances. He has damaged us and hurt our reputation. We have very clearly distanced ourselves. He was not ordained as a bishop for his own personal purpose but for the common good of the church, to spread the revealed truth.
SPIEGEL: So why don't you exclude Williamson from the society?
Fellay: That will happen if he denies the Holocaust again. It is probably better for everyone if he stays quiet and stays in a corner somewhere. I want him to disappear from the public eye for a good while.
SPIEGEL: The Vatican could reinstate the excommunication because he has not made a retraction.
Fellay: I doubt that. Denial of the Holocaust, as serious as it is, isn't part of Canon Law -- so an excommunication isn't possible. It isn't just we who say that, it is canons, legal experts. The problem is that his comments have been linked to his office.
SPIEGEL: Regensburg's Bishop Gerhard Ludwig Müller has denied the German Pius seminary in Zaitzkofen permission to ordain more priests. Will you adhere to the ban?
Fellay: That was unnecessary and inappropriate. All these events definitely are a setback for us. It throws us back by 10 years. But ordinations will continue to happen.
SPIEGEL: In Germany politicians fear that schools run by the society don't share the values of the German constitution. Are you concerned that there will be inspections?
Fellay: I'm not worried about that at all. We are normal people. We observe the rules, and that includes the state order. Even if one voice said something wrong. It is expressly written in the epistles of the Saint Paul that we honor authority and pray for it.
SPIEGEL: So Williamson is someone who has gone astray and criticism of the society is a big misunderstanding?
Fellay: Now we're the world's scapegoat, and every wrong step immediately turns into a scandal. But mistakes that need to be corrected are made all the time and everywhere.
SPIEGEL: Why did you respond so late to Williamson's crude theses?
Fellay: I confess that I didn't take the situation seriously enough.
Interview conducted by Stefan Winter.
SPIEGEL ONLINE INTERNATIONAL 3-02-2009
SPIEGEL ONLINE INTERNATIONAL 3-02-2009
L'ABBÉ PAUL AULAGNIER RÉPOND À MONSEIGNEUR POZZO
Mardi 10 août 2010 2 10 /08 /2010 10:33 L'abbé Paul Aulagnier répond à Mgr Guido Pozzo
A la suite de la conférence que Mgr Guido Pozzo, secrétaire de la commission pontificale Ecclesia Dei, a accordé aux prêtres de la Fraternité Saint-Pierre, l'abbé Paul Aulagnier, ancien assistant général de la Fraternité Saint-Pie X, propose la réponse suivante :
Je finis la lecture de la conférence de Mgr Pozzo.
On peut la résumer comme suit: Il faut interpréter le Concile comme étant une œuvre « de réforme » de l’Eglise, réforme certes, mais dans la » continuité » du Magistère et nullement en « rupture » avec le Magistère. Il y aurait, de cette œuvre conciliaire deux interprétations possibles, « deux herméneutiques », possibles qui, du reste, ont vues le jour: « celle de la rupture, et celle de la réforme dans la continuité ».
Dans la fidélité au Pape Benoît XVI, il faut clairement choisir cette dernière. Il le dit clairement dans sa conclusion. « Il faut utiliser cette dernière direction pour affronter les questions controversées, en libérant, pour ainsi dire, le Concile du para-concile qui s’est mélangé avec lui, et en conservant le principe de l’intégrité de la doctrine catholique et de la pleine fidélité au dépôt de la foi transmis par la Tradition et interprété par le Magistère de l’Église ».
Première considération :
Pour Mgr Pozzo, autre le Concile et ses textes, fidèles à la Tradition et au Magistère de toujours. Autre l’interprétation du Concile.
Autre le Concile. Autre le « para concile ».
C »est la thèse qu’on n’ a cessé de présenter à Mgr Lefebvre et qu’il refusa toujours d’accepter. Non, Non, disait-il : « l’origine du mal, c’est le Concile et « toutes les réformes issues du Concile ». Et c’est pourquoi, par exemple, il avait l’audace de dire « être dans l’impossibilité de former des jeunes au sacerdoce avec la nouvelle messe ». Mais qui peut, de la hiérarchie actuelle, comprendre cela? Il n’y aura une augmentation du nombre de prêtres que le jour où l’on abandonnera la « nouvelle messe ». Elle n’est pas la messe « ordinaire » du rite romain, elle est la « messe de Luther », ou si vous préférez, » une messe bâtarde », une « messe empoisonnée ». Les communautés « Ecclesia Dei », de cette vérité, en font la preuve, année après année…Et la hiérarchie s’enrage et ne voit toujours rien. Il viendra un jour où Rome sera obligée de prendre des évêques en leur sein et de les nommer à la tête de diocèse. Ce sera peut-être au début de petits diocèses où il ne reste plus que quelques prêtres. Ces prêtres pourront s’opposer à cette nomination d’évêque. Avec un peu de fermeté, le nouvel évêque pourra faire appel à ces nouveaux prêtres, sans aller les chercher en Afrique. Et d’un coup, la messe traditionnelle reviendra…Le peuple en sera étonné…Mais s’y fera bien vite…Je rêve! Pas tant que cela.
Autre le Concile. Autre le « para concile », nous dit Mgr Pozzo.
On en revient toujours là. C’est la bouée de sauvetage des « conciliaristes ». Il faut coûte que coûte sauver le Concile.
Je le veux bien …
Mais alors que faites-vous des déclarations du Cardinal Congar, disant que le Concile fut « une vraie révolution dans l’Eglise » ou du cardinal Suenens disant que le Concile est » 1789 dans l’Eglise ». Or ces deux personnalités furent, elles aussi, parmi les « chevilles ouvrières » du Concile Vatican II.
Que faites-vous de la déclaration du 21 novembre 1974 de Mgr Lefebvre disant que le Concile a subi une réelle influence du modernisme et du libéralisme; que faites-vous de son livre »J’accuse le Concile? » Et Mgr Lefebvre était parmi les personnalités de qualité du Concile. Il était à l’époque parmi les « supérieurs généraux des grandes congrégations de l’Eglise » et qui, plus est, archevêque et président du « Coetus internationalis Patrum », représentant quelques 250 pères conciliaires.
Que faites-vous alors des critiques du cardinal Ottaviani critiquant très sévèrement la réforme liturgique de Mgr Bunigni, réforme liturgique réalisée, nous dit-on, en application de Sacro sanctum Concilium .
Etc. Etc.
Une autre considération:
Dans les paroles de Mgr Pozzo, il y a une nouveauté. Il parle de « questions controversées » du Concile. Enfin…C’est une nouveauté. Ces « controverses » doivent faire l’objet des entretiens avec la FSSPX.
Prenons brièvement le sujet de l’œcuménisme.
Lorsqu’il résume la doctrine conciliaire sur l’œcuménisme, c’est la deuxième partie de sa conférence, vous ne le verrez jamais utiliser le mot « retour » à l’Eglise catholique des différentes confessions. Ce mot est banni de sa pensée. Mais c’est ce que l’on entend toujours sur ce sujet : il faut éviter toute expression faisant allusion au retour des frères séparés. Voilà l’axiome doctrinal et la directive pratique du mouvement œcuménique. Comme le dit Romario Amerio, dans son « Iota Unum » à la page 457 « on abandonne le principe du retour des frères séparés au profit de celui de la conversion de tous les chrétiens au Christ total, immanent à toutes les confessions. Comme le professe ouvertement la patriarche Athénagoras, « il n’est pas question dans ce mouvement d’union de marche d’une Eglise vers l’autre, mais de marche de toutes les églises vers le Christ commun » (ICI, n° 311, p. 18,1er mai 1968).
Mais si vous faites remarquer que ce n’est pas l’enseignement que nous donne Pie XI dans son encyclique « Mortalium animos », – là, en effet, le pape affirme que la vraie union des Eglises ne peut se faire que par le retour (per reditum) des frères séparés à la vraie Eglise de Dieu -, Mgr Pozzo vous répond: Non! Non ! « le Concile reste (bien) sur le terrain de la tradition en ce qui concerne la doctrine de l’Eglise. (Mais) cela n’exclue pas toutefois que le Concile ait produit de nouvelles directives et explicité certains aspects spécifiques. La nouveauté par rapport aux déclarations antérieures au Concile consiste déjà dans le fait que les relations de l’Eglise catholique avec les Églises orthodoxes et les communautés évangéliques nées de la Réforme luthérienne sont traitées comme une question distincte et dans un mode formellement positif, tandis que dans l’encyclique Mortalium animos de Pie XI (1928), par exemple, l’objectif était de délimiter et de distinguer clairement l’Eglise catholique des confessions chrétiennes non-catholiques ».
Si c’est ainsi que Mgr Pozzo pense régler le problème de la continuité de la pensée du Conciliaire sur l’œcuménisme avec la Tradition, je pense que les conversations doctrinales avec la FSSPX risquent de ne pas aboutir… C’est toujours ce que j’ai pensé. Ce n’est pas par des « conversations doctrinales » qu’on mettra fin à la crise de l’Eglise. Quand Mgr Lefebvre, après l’échec des conversations « pratiques » avec le cardinal Ratzinger en 1988, disait « la prochaine fois, c’est moi qui mettrais mes conditions; « Êtes-vous d’accord avec le Syllabus »?; « Êtes-vous d’accord avec le serment antimodernus ? « Êtes-vous d’accord avec l’encyclique Libertas ? etc., il voulait simplement dire qu’il fallait d’abord faire une protestation de foi avant de s’asseoir de nouveau à la table des conversations et que cette protestation de foi devait être partagée par tous les intervenants…
« Messieurs préparez-vous pour une combat de longue durée », nous disait Mgr Lefebvre. Il est doctrinal, certes. Mais on ne discute pas avec le modernisme. On le combat concrètement par une doctrine intègre et un apostolat énergique et vaillant.
Abbé Paul Aulagnier
source
http://christus.imperat.over-blog.com/article-l-abbe-paul-aulagnier-repond-a-mgr-guido-pozzo-55186213.html
Saturday, 18 September 2010
Friday, 17 September 2010
Thursday, 16 September 2010
SERMÓN DEL PADRE MERAMO
La Roma pagana imperial y señora del universo logró su apogeo y hegemonía universal gracias a su política ecuménica al tener lazos religiosos con todas las divinidades y cultos más importantes del mundo antiguo, que eran el único vínculo entre los antiguos pueblos. No había otros lazos que los religiosos y Roma se aprovecha de esto para su expansión y gloria, es la primera en hacer de la religión, del vínculo religioso un factor (el principal) para el dominiopolítico, por curioso y extraño que nos parezca hoy, pero que era normal según la mentalidad del hombre antiguo. Baste sólo recordar que en las guerras eran invocados los dioses, los oráculos, etc. El mundo pagano era religioso por asombroso que nos parezca. El pagano no es un ateo, de aquí el culto tan prolífico en divinidades, que intervenían en toda la vida de la sociedad pagana de la antigüedad.
Por esto decía el gran historiador Fustel de Coulanges: «Uno de los rasgos notables de la política de Roma consistía en atraer hacia sí todos los cultos de las ciudades vecinas, se preocupaba tanto de conquistar a los dioses como a las ciudades» (La Ciudad Antigua, Ed. Porrúa, México 1989, p. 270). La táctica de Roma es muy importante tenerla en cuenta pues esto le permitió fundar el imperio más poderoso en toda la historia de la humanidad.
Roma como dice Fustel: «era la única que se servía de la religión para su engrandecimiento. Mientras que la religión aislaba a las otras ciudades, Roma tuvo la habilidad o la buena fortuna de emplearla para absorberlo todo y todo dominarlo» (p. 271). El ecumenismo de Roma pagana la llevó a forjar el imperio más grande del mundo: «Pues era costumbre de Roma –dice un antiguo- el introducir en ella las religión de las ciudades vencidas.» (Ibidem, p. 270).«Quería poseer más cultos y más dioses titulares que cualquier otra ciudad». (Ibidem, p. 270). «Por otra parte, como la mayoría de esos cultos y dioses se tomaba a los vencidos, Roma estaba en comunión religiosa, por medio de ellos, con todos los pueblos». (Ibidem, p. 270). Aquí se ve con claridad la política y el genio romano que le permitió ser el mayor imperio del universo gracias a la modalidad religiosa ecuménica, y de su espíritu ecuménico.
Esto es importantísimo considerarlo y retenerlo pues la Roma católica al perder la fe que la llevó al apogeo espiritual universal, como lo expresó San León Magno: « Roma maestra del error se hizo discípula de la verdad» (Maitines, Lectura IV, 29 de junio Fiesta de San Pedro y San Pablo), y por un misterio de profunda iniquidad hoy cae en su ancestral barbarie pero sin perder su característica de la cual se valió para forjar su imperio universal, que será lagloria del Anticristo-Pseudoprofeta para propagar su falsa paz ecuménica religiosa, como está anunciado en las Escrituras.
Para poder entender y ver esto es necesario recordar lo que ya decía el Papa San León: «Esta ciudad ignorando al autor de su elevación, mientras dominaba por sobre casi todas las naciones, servía los errores de todas ellas, y por eso creía tener una gran religión puesto que no había rechazado ningún error. » (Ibidem, Maitines, Lectura VI). Roma pagana así, reputábase grande cual Babilonia asumiendo toda religión, pues no rechazaba ninguna.
El Panteón representaba bien este espíritu ecuménico de Roma pagana, reuniendo en un magnífico e inmenso templo todas las religiones más importantes, cada una con su altar. Y retornará a esto cuando deje de imperar la verdad como luz del mundo y de su Iglesia.
Roma modernista y Apóstata sede del Anticristo como dijo Nuestra Señora en La Salette, se caracterizará por aglutinar, cual Panteón, todas las falsas religiones en su seno, y su poder será el absorber todos los cultos no rechazando ninguno, como la Antigua Roma Pagana, poniendo en ello su grandeza y señorío; ésta será la gran obra del Pseudoprofeta (el Anticristo religioso) y la Gloria del Olivo, el triunfo de la Sinagoga de Satanás en la Iglesia, triunfo que nadie sospechaba que llegaría incluso a destruir, reabsorbiendo maquiavélicamente, la resistencia tradicionalista aglutinada alrededor de Monseñor Lefebvre, al punto de desactivar magistralmente a la Fraternidad por él fundada, con un «abrazo paternal y magnánimo».
Luego ante tal situación fina y sutilmente orquestada, no queda otra cosa que seguir el consejo de San Jerónimo: «huir de la perversión judaica y refugiarnos en las montañas eternas, de lo alto de las cuales Dios hace brillar su admirable luz» al hablar de la «abominación de la desolación que se puede entender también de toda doctrina perversa. Pues si vemos el error establecerse en lugar santo, es decir en la Iglesia, y hacerse pasar por Dios, debemos huir de Judea hacia las montañas, es decir abandonar la letra que mata y la perversidad judaica y refugiarnos sobre las montañas eternales. » (Maitines, Lectura IX, Domingo XXIV y último después de Pentecostés), esto es de la Verdad Eterna, o con palabras del Apocalipsis de San Juan invitando a salir de Roma convertida en una Babilonia: «Babilonia la grande, la madre de los fornicarios y de las abominaciones de la tierra.» (Ap. 17,5); pues «Ha caído, ha caído Babilonia la grande, y ha venido a ser albergue de demonios y refugio de todo espíritu inmundo y refugio de toda ave impura y aborrecible… Salid de ella, pueblo mío, para no ser solidario de sus pecados y no participar en sus plagas.» (Ap. 18, 2 y 4).
Y nadie puede dudar cual sea esta Babilonia apocalíptica, pues San Pedro mismo lo dice cuando desde Roma envía sus saludos junto con San Marcos su discípulo: «Os saluda la (Iglesia) que está en Babilonia, partícipe de vuestra elección, y Marcos, mi hijo.» (1 Pedr. 5, 13), al igual que así lo entienden también los exégetas: «Por Babilonia se entiende Roma que constituía el centro del paganismo. La Roma pagana significaba para los cristianos el mismo peligro antes Babilonia para los judíos.» (Monseñor Straubinger, nota 13).
Esta es hoy, la astuta maniobra de la dialéctica vaticana, cual Roma pagana, que con el pretexto de los dos presupuestos falsos: el motu proprio sobre la Misa, y la remisión (levantamiento) de las excomuniones, se reabsorbe en magnífica y magistral coagulación sintética o amalgama, insertando la Tradición con su altar en el gran Panteón Universal (ecuménico) cual la Roma anticristo, tal como la designa Monseñor Lefebvre en su famosa carta del 29 de junio de 1988 a los cuatro candidatos al episcopado. Pues con el motu proprio se enmascara la escisión (ruptura) reconociendo que la Misa Tridentina nunca fue abrogada, y la Nueva Misa es el desarrollo homogéneo (evolución homogénea y no heterogénea como pretende el modernismo) de la liturgia antigua, y ambos ritos, tanto el tradicional como el modernista, son dos expresiones válidas, legítimas y genuinas del culto romano de la Iglesia, siendo la Misa Tradicional el rito extraordinario (el ocasional) y la Misa Nueva el rito ordinario (el principal); lo cual es el culmen genial, sutil y perverso (diabólico) de la síntesis dialéctica gnóstico cabalística que nutre el ser y el pensar del mundo moderno, y con la remisión de la censura (pena) de las excomuniones a los cuatro obispos, que así lo pidieron conmuestra filial y reconocimiento de la magnánima y benigna paternidad de Benedicto XVI, desistiendo por lo mismo de su pertinacia, y como lógica y natural consecuencia, se levantan las excomuniones (exclusiva y solamente a ellos que así lo solicitaron), aunque sin embargo no están total e íntegramente aceptados pues siguen suspensos (al igual que todos los sacerdotes de la Fraternidad), sin «posición canónica», y sin «ejercer legítimamente ministerio alguno en la Iglesia» (Carta de Benedicto XVI a los Obispos de la Iglesia del 10 de marzo de 2009), hasta tanto se limen (superen) las asperezas y reticencias aceptando el Concilio Vaticano II, aunque esto será gradual y paulatinamente mediante el diálogo doctrinal que al fin y al cabo dará el deseado resultado que espera pacientemente Roma modernista y apóstata, tal como lo afirma Benedicto XVI en la carta ya citada: «Con esto se aclara que los problemas que deben ser tratados ahora son de naturaleza esencialmente doctrinal, y se refieren sobre todo a la aceptación del Concilio Vaticano II y del magisterio postconciliar de los Papas».
Así se llega incluso a hablar reconociendo, como lo hace Monseñor Fellay, que la situación de la Fraternidad si se mira según el derecho de la Iglesia es imperfecta, o también cuando se refiere a las necesarias conversaciones (diálogo) referentes al Concilio Vaticano II y sus novedades (Carta del 24 de marzo de 2009), del cual acepta el 95% (Entrevista a Monseñor Fellay publicada en Dici n°. 8). Ante todo lo cual se olvida la espantosa advertencia de Nuestra Señora de La Salette cuando afirma que: «Roma perderá la fe y será la sede del Anticristo», quedando con esto la Iglesia totalmente eclipsada, como luz del mundo, ya que ha acontecido el eclipse del sol cual fue el significado de la divisa, de San Malaquías, del anterior pontificado «De Labore Solis» bajo Juan Pablo II, y ahora tenemos el triunfo de la Sinagoga de Satanás en la Iglesia, con la divisa del actual pontificado de Benedicto XVI «De Gloria Olivae». Este es el famoso misterio de Roma que «de maestra del error se convirtió en discípula de la verdad» como señala el papa San León Magno (Ibidem, Maitines, Lectura VI), pero que por su apostasía como señala Nuestra Señora en La Salette retornará, evidentemente, al error del que fuera antaño liberada. Este es el misterio de la Gran Rameraescarlata, cabalgando sobre la bestia, el Anticristo, que estremeció al puro y virginal San Juan Evangelista, el discípulo más amado, y por esto el apóstol San Judas en su epístola (17, 21) advertía: «Vosotros empero, carísimos, acordaos de lo que ha sido preanunciado por los apóstoles de Nuestro Señor Jesucristo que os decían: en los últimos tiempos vendrán impostores que se conducirán según sus impías pasiones, éstos son los que disocian, hombres naturales, que no tienen el Espíritu. Vosotros, empero, carísimos, edificandoos sobre el fundamento de la santísima fe vuestra, orando en el Espíritu Santo, permaneced en el amor de Dios, esperando la misericordia de Nuestro Señor Jesucristo, para la vida eterna.»
Basilio Méramo Pbro.
em Terça-feira, Março 31, 2009
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)