Benedict XVI: "Francis = Capsizing Boat" (Updated: Full Translation)

From the 2-page written homage (German original) by Pope Emeritus Benedict read today in Cologne for the Requiem of Cardinal Meisner:

A word of greeting from Benedict XVI, Pope Emeritus, on the occasion of the funeral Mass of Cardinal Joachim Meisner, on 15th July 2017

In this hour, when the Church of Cologne and believers further afield take their leave of Cardinal Joachim Meissner, I am with them in my heart and thoughts and am pleased to accede to Cardinal Woelki’s wish and address a word of reflection to them.

When I heard last Wednesday by telephone of the death of Cardinal Meissner, I could not believe it at first. We had spoken to each other the previous day. From the way he spoke he was grateful to be on holiday now, after he had taken part the Sunday before (25th June) in the beatification of Bishop Teofilius Maturlionis in Vilnius. His love for the neighbouring Churches in the East, which had suffered persecution under Communism, as well as gratitude for endurance in suffering during that time left a lifelong mark on him. So it was certainly no accident that the last visit of his life was made to a confessor of the faith.

What struck me particularly in the last conversations with the Cardinal, now gone home, was the natural cheerfulness, the inner peace and the assurance he had found. We know that it was hard for him, the passionate shepherd and pastor of souls, to leave his office, and this precisely at a time when the Church had a pressing need for shepherds who would oppose the dictatorship of the zeitgeist, fully resolved to act and think from a faith standpoint. Yet I have been all the more impressed that in this last period of his life he learned to let go, and live increasingly from the conviction that the Lord does not leave his Church, even if at times the ship is almost filled to the point of shipwreck.

THE ULTIMATE INTERVIEW to Understand all About Pope Francis: Marcello Pera, Italian politician and close Ratzinger friend

Benedict XVI greeting Marcello Pera

Marcello Pera is an influential intellectual in Italy. A former president of the Italian Senate, he is a close friend of Benedict XVI, and even co-authored a book of lectures with him on the decay of the West (Without Roots: The West, Relativism, Christianity, Islam)

In an interview with Naples newspaper Il Mattino, published on July 9, 2017, Marcello Pera presented what can reasonably be called the general view of Pope Francis by the wide moderate spectrum of Italians, and Europeans, of all classes.

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"Bergoglio just wants to do politics, the Gospel does not matter at all"

Pera: "The indiscriminate welcoming [of migrants] risks exploding tensions"

Il Mattino

Naples, July 9, 2017

Interview by Corrado Ocone

Pope Francis, in a new exclusive interview granted to Eugenio Scalfari for "Repubblica" intervenes in the political debate with strong and explosive opinions that at one time would be considered "leftist". This time, the Pontiff turned to the great of the earth assembled in Hamburg for the G20, opposing as a matter of principle to every policy intending to control and limit mass immigration from poor nations to Europe. In order to better understand the ideas, and above all the political and media action of the Pope, in relation to those of his predecessor, we have posed some questions to the former President of the Senate Marcello Pera. He, a [classical] liberal and Catholic, has, as it is known, shared many ideas with Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI (even writing in four hands with him a book: Without Roots: The West, Relativism, Christianity, Islam, Mondadori, 2004).

Mr. President, what is the judgment you have reached regarding the continuous calls made by Pope Bergoglio on the welcoming of migrants? An indiscriminate, unconditional, total welcoming?

"Frankly, I do not get this pope, whatever he says is beyond any rational understanding. It's evident to all that an indiscriminate welcoming is not possible: there is a critical point that cannot be reached. If the Pope does not make reference to this critical point, if he insists in a massive and total welcoming, I ask myself: why does he say it? What is the true end of his words? Why does he lack a minimum of realism, that very little that is requested of anyone? The answer I can give myself is only one: the Pope does it because he hates the West, he aspires to destroy it, and he does all he can to reach this end. As he aspires to destroy the Christian tradition, Christianity as it has realized itself historically.

Four Days After Synod Closes, CDF responds officially: NO COMMUNION FOR "REMARRIED" DIVORCEES WHO LIVE AS IF THEY WERE MARRIED, PERIOD. - Full text -

INDISSOLUBLE MEANS INDISSOLUBLE

Father Claude Barthe

[French Catholic periodical] L'Homme Nouveau

November 12, 2014

First Major Text of Benedict XVI Ratzinger following resignation - On Catholic Faith, Missions, and other Religions - Full translation by Rorate

Message of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI

for the naming of the reformed Aula Magna

of the Pontifical Urbaniana University

October 21, 2014 

I would like to in the first place express my heartfelt thanks to the Rector and to the academic authorities of the Pontifical Urbaniana University, to the staff and to the student representatives, for their proposal to name the rebuilt Aula Magna [Main Hall] in my honor. I would like to thank in a special way the Chancellor of the University, Cardinal Fernando Filoni, for having organized this initiative. It is a cause of great joy for me to be able in this way to be always present amidst the work of the Pontifical Urbaniana University.

When a Bishop Hides or Distorts Doctrine, Watch Out: He's Revealing Secrets About Himself

Strings attached...

Back to Normal: Bishop Liberal in Doctrine and Morals is Liberal in his own Mores

For Cathedral-sized Filth

10 years without Michael Davies:II- The Extraordinary Life and Times of Michael Davies, Latin Mass Hero - and a list of his works

Michael Davies – “A Writer to Cherish”

Leo Darroch*

Michael Treharne Davies was born on 13th March 1936.  His father, a Welshman, was a Baptist and his mother, who was English, was a member of the Church of England. On leaving school in 1954 at the age of eighteen he joined the British Army as a regular soldier and served in Malaya, Egypt, and Cyprus. There is one comment in his army service records that is of particular interest.  In August 1957 his commanding officer stated that,

Socci - "DARKNESS IN ROME: Liberation Theology Triumphant as Work of John Paul II & Benedict XVI is Completely Wiped Out."

The Last Supper, with Marx, Lenin, Mao, Castro, and others outside a Caracas school (2007)

THE “D’ESCOTO CASE” AND THOSE WHO WANT TO WIPE OUT THE WORK DONE BY JOHN PAUL II AND BENEDICT XVI

Antonio Socci

Libero

 September 7, 2014

In the era of Bergoglio, the Vatican has practically rehabilitated Liberation Theology, which came into existence in the 1960s and has caused untold disasters, mainly in Latin America, by fostering the Church’s subordination to Marxist thought.

Ratzinger: Hierarchy, Theologians must not scandalize "the little ones": - Primary good of the Church is protecting Faith of Ordinary People - Those in authority cannot abuse the Faithful's readiness to listen

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"Whosoever shall scandalize even one of these little ones that believe in me, it would be better for him that a millstone were hanged around his neck and he were cast into the sea." (Mk 9:42).

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In April 1986, during a visit to Ontario, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, gave a keynote address to the community of Saint Michael's College, Toronto -- it was later published in the Toronto Journal of Theology under the title "The Church as an Essential Dimension of Theology." This became widely known as the Cardinal's "Toronto Lecture."

What is less known is that the address had originally been written and delivered in a language in which the future Pope Benedict XVI reasons and writes much more comfortably, Italian, in a visit to the Diocese of Brescia: it was on March 22, 1986, in a gathering organized by the Communio journal. Based on this original text of the address, our contributor Francesca Romana brings one of the most precious pearls of theological wisdom in the post-conciliar years.

It was a thought that had been clear in the Cardinal's mind, and that would be increasingly part of his concern: those in authority in the Church -- theologians, certainly, but priests and bishops as well -- must realize the immense responsibility they bear in preserving the faith of the most unprotected, the believers themselves, those who have no power, sheep in a world of wolves, hens in a world of foxes.

In other words: in a worldly setting, usually someone has to work hard to be heard. In the Church, there is certainly quite a lot of hard work, but the reason we give more relevance to, for instance, what a pope speaks than to what a cardinal says; to what a cardinal says more than to what a regular bishop says; to what a regular bishop says than to what a priest says; the reason is that the person is in that position, not that the person is particularly bright, particularly enlightened, superior in a gnostic/initiated or pagan sense (that is not the sense of the ministerial priesthood and hierarchy in Christianity), or proved himself necessarily worthy of that position. That was the Cardinal's main point.

Therefore, in order to honor the position of authority God allowed him to have, and the trust we, the "little ones", are willing to give him in faith, the man in an ecclesiastical position of teaching authority has the obligation not to abuse this trust by speaking error, scandal, or nonsense. That is, it is not a one-way street of "pay, pray, and obey, and I'll say what I want": believers must respect, but they deserve respect as well from popes, bishops, priests, and theologians, who cannot abuse their positions. If they breach the trust they did nothing to earn, they should not be astonished that the faithful suddenly notice the emperor's new clothes, and think accordingly.

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Cardinal Ratzinger in 1986

A separation of the sort between proclamation and doctrine is in profound conflict with the essence of the Biblical Word. Such a separation does nothing other than revive that division between the psychists and gnostics, with which the so-called historic Gnosis attempted to create a free area for itself, and de facto expelled itself from the Church and from the Faith. That separation [between proclamation and doctrine], in fact, presupposes the relationship there is in paganism between myth and philosophy, religious symbolism and enlightened reason; the religious criticism effected by Christianity was directed against that separation; as such, it was also critical of class-based religious thinking.

This resulted in the emancipation of ordinary [unlearned] people and also claimed for them the right to be – in the true sense of the word– philosophers; which means to say, having the knowledge of that which is characteristic and peculiar to man just as much as the academics have this knowledge; or, rather even more than the academics. The words of Jesus about the foolishness of the wise and the wisdom of the little ones (in particular Matt. 11:25 and parallels) have exactly this aim: to establish Christianity as the people’s religion, as a religion without a two-class system.

Supreme Liturgical Authority, in groundbreaking text, says: - Summorum Pontificum provides equal standing for both Forms - Conditions for participation at Traditional Mass same as in new Mass - and much more

Santa Cruz del Valle de los Caidos

On July 25, 2013, feast of the Patron Saint of Spain, Saint James the Greater, Cardinal Cañizares Llovera, Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, put his signature on the preface to a remarkable work, the doctoral thesis presented by his fellow Spaniard, Fr. Alberto Soria Jiménez, O.S.B., dedicated to a profound canonical consideration of the juridical nature of the motu proprio Summorum Pontificum, its dispositions related to the forms and uses of the Roman Rite, and the history that led to it.

Fr. Soria is a monk in the abbey of the Holy Cross of the Valley of the Fallen (Santa Cruz del Valle de los Caídos), a Solesmes foundation near the Spanish capital, and his thesis was defended and approved at the Faculty of Canon Law of the University of San Dámaso, the main house for the formation of priests and theologians owned by the Archdiocese of Madrid, on May 29, 2013. The thesis was published just days ago by Spanish publisher "Ediciones Cristiandad" under the title "The Principles of Interpretation of the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum" ("Los principios de interpretación del motu proprio Summorum Pontificum"), which is why the Cardinal's text has only now become available. 

Cardinal Cañizares' preface is a long presentation of the book, and it obviously includes many references to the work itself – but what makes it particularly special is the depth of the Cardinal’s appreciation for the motu proprio, and his defense (which had always been defended by those of us deeply appreciative of the nature of Summorum Pontificum) that what the motu proprio established in law was nothing less than the juridical equality of both forms of the Roman Rite. It is a groundbreaking text and we have translated below the most important excerpts of the Spanish original. 

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Card. Cañizares Llovera

PREFACE OF CARDINAL CAÑIZARES TO THE DOCTORAL THESIS OF FR. ALBERTO SORIA JIMÉNEZ, O.S.B.

We find ourselves before a work that tackles, scientifically, a theme that in the past few years has been the object of heated controversies. Nevertheless, from its very beginning two characteristics of this work must be considered: its academic character and the belonging of the author to a community that is faithful to the great principles of the liturgy, but in which the extraordinary form of the Roman Rite is not celebrated. This has allowed him to observe the situation "from the outside," rendering possible the great objectivity reflected in his research.
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The conception, clearly present both in the motu proprio and in the documents related to it, that the inherited liturgy is a wealth to be preserved, is to be understood in the spirit of the liturgical movement in the line of Romano Guardini, to which Benedict XVI owed so much of his personal relationship with the liturgy since his youth. The detailed and documented history of the process, from its beginnings in the 1970s up until today, that the author of this work presents to us, shows how this legislation was not the momentary result of pressure, nor a reflection of the personal and isolated opinion of the Pope, but rather that other persons had long wished for a similar solution. These criteria of the young priest Joseph Ratzinger were consolidated and purified throughout the years, and were taken up by John Paul II, who had considered the possibility of providing appropriate legislation.

The mood among the cardinals designated to reflect upon this theme was favorable [Rorate note: reference to the 1986 commission - cf our 2007 post on the revelation by Cardinal Castrillón Hoyos]. The cardinalatial commission established by John Paul II, in which the influence of Cardinal Ratzinger was undeniable, had proposed to, "eliminate the impression that each missal is the temporal product of each historic epoch," and had affirmed that, "liturgical norms, not being truly and properly 'laws,' cannot be abrogated, but subrogated: the preceding ones in the subsequent ones." The demonstration that is very important, and present in this investigation, is that the attitude of Benedict XVI is not so much a novelty or a change of direction, but rather an accomplishment of what John Paul II had already undertook -- with initiatives such as the consultation of the cardinalatial commission, the motu proprio Ecclesia Dei, and the creation of the Pontifical Commission of the same name, the mass of Cardinal Castrillón Hoyos in Santa Maria Maggiore in 2003, or the declarations of the pope to the Congregation for Divine Worship that same year.

The history of the process reveals that, from the beginning, the wish to preserve the traditional form of the mass was not limited to integrists, but that people of the world of culture or writers, such as Agatha Christie and Jorge Luis Borges, signed a letter demanding its preservation, and that Saint Josemaría Escrivá made use of a personal indult granted spontaneously by Abp. Bugnini himself. It is also to be noted the concern of Benedict XVI to emphasize that the Church does not discard her past: by declaring that the Missal of 1962, "was never juridically abrogated," he made manifest the coherence that the Church wishes to maintain. In effect, she cannot allow herself to disregard, forget, or renounce the treasures and rich heritage of the tradition of the Roman Rite, because the historical heritage of the liturgy of the Church cannot be abandoned, nor can everything be established ex novo without the amputation of fundamental parts of the same Church.

Another important aspect comes from the reading of the historical narrative in this work: the advances that have taken place throughout these years regarding the pastoral sensibility for these faithful, the greater attention to their persons and to their spiritual welfare. In effect, the legislation was at first [Rorate note: "Agatha Christie" Indult, personal indults, Quattuor abhinc annos, Ecclesia Dei adflicta] very limited, it took into account only the clerical world and it practically ignored the lay faithful, considering that the first concern was disciplinarian: to control the potential disobedience to the newly promulgated legislation. With time, the situation took on a more pastoral aspect, in order to meet the needs of these faithful, which ends up being reflected in the strong change of tone of the terminology being used: it is thus that the "problem" of the priests and faithful who remained attached to the so-called tridentine rite is not mentioned anymore, but rather the "wealth" that its preservation represents.

What was thus created was a situation that was analogous to the one that had been normal for so many centuries, because we must recall that Saint Pius V had not forbidden the use of the liturgical traditions that were at least 200 years old. Many religious orders and dioceses therefore preserved their own rite; as Archbishop of Toledo, I was able to live this reality with the Mozarabic Rite. The motu proprio modified the recent situation, by making clear that the celebration of the extraordinary form should be normal, eliminating every restriction [todo condicionamiento] related to the number of interested faithful, and not setting up other conditions for the participation in said celebration than the ones normally required for any public celebration of the mass, which allowed for a wide access to this heritage that, while it is by law a spiritual patrimony of all the faithful, is, in fact, ignored by a great part of them. In effect, the current restrictions to the celebration in the extraordinary form are not different from those in place for any other celebration, in whatever rite. Those who wish to see, in the distinction made by the motu proprio of cum and sine populo, a restriction to the extraordinary form forget that, with the missal promulgated by Paul VI, the celebration cum populo without the authorization and agreement by the parish priest or rector of the church is not allowed either.

On the other hand, the possibility, expressly contemplated in the motu proprio, that in the celebration sine populo the spontaneous presence of faithful be admitted without obstacles (an expression that had provoked more than one ironic remark by the critics of the document) simply allowed for the end of the strange circumstances by which, though celebrated by a priest in a completely regular canonical situation, this mass remained closed to the participation of the faithful simply because of the ritual form being used, a form that was on the other hand fully recognized by the Church. The situation of the 1970s -- in which priests who could not adopt the new missal for reasons of health, age, etc, were condemned to never again celebrating the Eucharist with a community, as small as it could be -- was also prevented, which would be seen, according to the current sensibility, as discriminatory. On the other hand, to deliberately restrict the mass cum populo, limiting in practice the celebration of the extraordinary form sine populo, would contradict the words and intentions of the conciliar constitution: "... whenever rites ... make provision for communal celebration involving the presence and active participation of the faithful, this way of celebrating them is to be preferred, so far as possible, to a celebration that is individual and quasi-private." (Sacrosanctum Concilium, 27)

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De Mattei answers dissident leader of Franciscans of the Immaculate- "Christian is my name, Catholic my surname." - If there's a "Crypto-Lefebvrianism", its head is Benedict XVI - Abp. Marchetto? We discuss together, with no spirit of demonization

Christianus mihi nomen est, catholicus cognomen

Roberto de Mattei

Corrispondenza Romana 

June 27, 2014

The ultimate criteria of judgment for a Catholic must be the one of the Church: to love and hate what the Church loves and hates: loving the truth in all of its uniqueness and integrity and hating error in all of its multiplicity of expressions. Orthodoxy and heterodoxy remain the final measure of judgment which Christian Reason must be subject to.

In 1542, Pope Paul II, instituted the Congregation of the Roman Inquisition, afterwards called the Holy Office and nowadays named the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, with the aim of guarding the purity of orthodoxy. In 1571, Saint Pius V, supported it with the Congregation of Index which had the task of indicating all the books deforming correct Catholic Doctrine. In 2002, L’Index Librorum prohibitorum 1600-1966 was published by the Centre d’Études de la Renaissance at Sherbrooke University, and gathers together all of the condemned works until the suppression of the Index, which Paul VI wanted in 1966.  From Protestantism to Illuminism, from Catholic liberalism to modernism, there is not one heterodox writer that has not been singled out and condemned for the good of the Church and for the salvation of souls.

The Index established a precious instrument to help Catholics know and detest errors and heresies. The Holy Office was the supreme tribunal which every Catholic could turn to when they had doubts and perplexities in matters of faith and morals. To the Congregation for the Faith, which followed the Holy Office, we owe, in recent years, a number of notifications, such as Dominus Jesus in 2000 or Considerations regarding Proposals to Give Legal Recognition to Homosexual Unions in 2003.

After the disturbing declarations by Cardinal Kasper at the Consistory in February 2014, on the theme of the divorced and remarried, and the equally disquieting document Instrumentum laboris, presented on June 26th, in preparation for the upcoming Synod on the Family, it would be right to expect a clarifying statement from the Congregation (today presided over by Cardinal Müller) about the grave problems on the table in matters relating to the family and sexual morality.

Today, however, there is an attempt to substitute orthodoxy with “orthopraxy”.

The international theological publication “Concilium” dedicated its latest number to the theme: From “anathema sit” to “Who am I to judge?” starting with Pope Francis’ famous sentence on homosexuality: “who am I to judge,” pronounced during the return flight from Brazil in July 2013. The authors define orthodoxy as “metaphysical violence”. They retain that the formulas and dogmas cannot comprehend historical evolution, but each problem must be collocated in its historical and socio-political context. The concept of orthodoxy must be surpassed, or at least re-dimensioned, since, it is used as “a point of reference to suffocate freedom of thought and as a weapon to control and punish.” (“Concilium”, 2/2014, p.11). The primacy of doctrine must be substituted by pastoral praxis, as Father Juan Carlos Scannone explains, intervening in support of Cardinal Kasper, in the article Serene Theology On One’s Knees found in the “Civiltà Cattolica” of June 7, 2014.

The categories of orthodoxy and heterodoxy are being set aside as antiquated. And new semantic expressions are emerging. One of the most curious is “crypto-lefebvrianism”:

Abp. Gänswein, via Fr. Lombardi: want to read pure Ratzinger? Read his Letter on the Remission of Excommunication of SSPX Bishops

We have long considered the Letter to the Bishops on the remission of the Excommunications of the Bishops of the Society of St. Pius X as the most beautiful of the documents of the Ratzinger Pontificate, and we have often quoted from it, including at the time of the abdication. And that is not because it involves a matter that is close to the heart of every traditional Catholic, but because it is a deeply loving and moving document, that is almost a testament to the spirit of Benedict XVI himself, the Pope who was most persecuted by opinion-makers (the same who now laud his successor endlessly) since St. Pius X.

We now learn from the lips of the Holy See spokesman himself, Father Federico Lombardi, SJ, that the document was completely written by Benedict XVI himself, a great rarity in the modern papacy. When receiving a prize in Toledo, Spain, on Monday, Jan. 27, this is what Lombardi had to say (conference audio in Spanish - mp3 file):

Yet I recall even more the letter to the bishops after the debate on the remission of the excommunication of the Lefebvrist bishops and the Williamson affair. It is a document in which the Pope answered with great humility, but also with true evangelical passion, the criticisms that had been raised. A document of the highest spiritual nobleness. I recall that, when Abp. [then Msgr.] Gänswein spoke to me before its publication, he told me that the letter was entirely from the hand of the Pope, and that it showed - I cannot forget it - Ratzinger in a pure state. It is worthwhile to read this letter, that is very characteristic. It is still to me one of the most expressive documents of the Pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI and of his spirit.

In February 2012, we made a special post in honor of Benedict XVI, quoting only from the letter, and would like to propose it for your reflection again: pure beauty in prose, ex corde Benedicti.

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"... in all circumstances as God’s ministers..."

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"Behold, now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation! We give no offense to anyone, that our ministry may not be blamed. On the contrary, let us conduct ourselves in all circumstances as God’s ministers, in much patience; in tribulations, in hardships, in distresses..."

Some groups, on the other hand, openly accused the Pope of wanting to turn back the clock to before the Council: as a result, an avalanche of protests was unleashed, whose bitterness laid bare wounds deeper than those of the present moment. 

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"...in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults; in labors, in sleepless nights, in fastings; in innocence, in knowledge, in long-sufferings..."

I was saddened by the fact that even Catholics who, after all, might have had a better knowledge of the situation, thought they had to attack me with open hostility.

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"...in kindness, in the Holy Spirit, in unaffected love; in the word of truth..."

[S]ome of those who put themselves forward as great defenders of the Council also need to be reminded that Vatican II embraces the entire doctrinal history of the Church. Anyone who wishes to be obedient to the Council has to accept the faith professed over the centuries, and cannot sever the roots from which the tree draws its life.

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"...in the power of God, with the armor of justice on the right hand and on the left..."

Was this measure needed? Was it really a priority? Aren’t other things perhaps more important? Of course there are more important and urgent matters. ... In our days, when in vast areas of the world the faith is in danger of dying out like a flame which no longer has fuel, the overriding priority is to make God present in this world and to show men and women the way to God. Not just any god, but the God who spoke on Sinai; to that God whose face we recognize in a love which presses "to the end" (cf. Jn 13:1) – in Jesus Christ, crucified and risen. The real problem at this moment of our history is that God is disappearing from the human horizon, and, with the dimming of the light which comes from God, humanity is losing its bearings, with increasingly evident destructive effects. Can we simply exclude them, as representatives of a radical fringe, from our pursuit of reconciliation and unity? What would then become of them? ... [S]hould not the great Church also allow herself to be generous in the knowledge of her great breadth, in the knowledge of the promise made to her? Should not we, as good educators, also be capable of overlooking various faults and making every effort to open up broader vistas? And should we not admit that some unpleasant things have also emerged in Church circles?

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"...as sorrowful yet always rejoicing, as poor yet enriching many..."

At times one gets the impression that our society needs to have at least one group to which no tolerance may be shown; which one can easily attack and hate. And should someone dare to approach them – in this case the Pope – he too loses any right to tolerance; he too can be treated hatefully, without misgiving or restraint.

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"...as having nothing yet possessing all things."
Saint Paul (2Cor vi, 1-10)
Epistle for the First Sunday in Lent

Mary teaches us trust. She leads us to her Son, in whom all of us can put our trust. He will be our guide – even in turbulent times. And so I would like to offer heartfelt thanks to all the many Bishops who have lately offered me touching tokens of trust and affection, and above all assured me of their prayers. My thanks also go to all the faithful who in these days have given me testimony of their constant fidelity to the Successor of Saint Peter. May the Lord protect all of us and guide our steps along the way of peace. This is the prayer that rises up instinctively from my heart at the beginning of this Lent, a liturgical season particularly suited to interior purification, one which invites all of us to look with renewed hope to the light which awaits us at Easter.

Benedict XVI

Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church

on the remission of the excommunication of the four Bishops

March 10, 2009

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[Video: Organ Prelude based on Tu es Petrus, by young composer Jan Gorjanc.]

[Audio source: Diocesan Radio of Toledo. Tip for the Lombardi quote: Secretum Meum Mihi]

No excuse

In a very rainy early afternoon in Castelgandolfo, the Holy Father personally acknowledged that he is "vigorously distressed" by the reactions to misunderstandings regarding a "small passage" of his lecture at the University of Regensburg, which was "considered offensive to the sensitivity of the Muslim faithful", that the "Medieval text" quoted by him did not reflect his personal opinion, and he offered the declaration issued yesterday by the Cardinal Secretary of State as the definitive explanation of his intentions.

He added that the speech must be seen as part of a "frank and sincere dialogue".

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Update: the Vatican official translation is presented below, with this substantial mistranslation: "greatly" or "vigorously distressed" or "embittered" (vivamente rammaricato), which the Pontiff said very clearly in the live address, is translated as "deeply sorry". This would not make sense: how would the Pope be "sorry" for the reactions of others!? He could have said he was "sorry" for what he said (which is not what happened); or he could say he is upset, or distressed, or feels personal bitterness for the reactions the "small passage" of his lecture caused; but he would not (and, in fact, did not) say that he is "sorry for the reactions"...

Naturally, the Holy See Press Office hopes the whole mess, which was started by inaccurate soundbites, will be closed by new inaccurate soundbites (such as "I am deeply sorry")... As we said yesterday, it is clear that "the lives and property of countless Christians in Muslim lands could depend on it".

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

The Pastoral Visit which I recently made to Bavaria was a deep spiritual experience, bringing together personal memories linked to places well known to me and pastoral initiatives towards an effective proclamation of the Gospel for today. I thank God for the interior joy which he made possible, and I am also grateful to all those who worked hard for the success of this Pastoral Visit. As is the custom, I will speak more of this during next Wednesday’s General Audience. At this time, I wish also to add that I am deeply sorry for the reactions in some countries to a few passages of my address at the University of Regensburg, which were considered offensive to the sensibility of Muslims. These in fact were a quotation from a medieval text, which do not in any way express my personal thought. Yesterday, the Cardinal Secretary of State published a statement in this regard in which he explained the true meaning of my words. I hope that this serves to appease hearts and to clarify the true meaning of my address, which in its totality was and is an invitation to frank and sincere dialogue, with great mutual respect.

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(Picture: Inside of a Greek Orthodox church in Tulkarm this Sunday, part of the Muslim "frank and sincere dialogue" in the Holy Land.)

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Update 2: We see that Father Zuhlsdorf partly shares our disagreement with the simple translation of "rammaricato" as "sorry". We would add that the words were very carefully chosen (as were the words chosen for the Regensburg lecture...) and that there are dozens of truly straightforward ways of simply stating "regret" and of expressing an apology ("sorry") for personal mistakes in Italian.

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Update 3: Sister Leonella (Rosa) Sgorbati, a 65-year-old Italian nun, of the Consolata Missionaries, who worked in a hospital in Mogadishu, Somalia, was martyred today by Muslim forces (picture provided and hosted by Corriere della Sera). She was also one of four nuns who cared for approximately 400 children in the main orphanage of the city.

Sister Leonella had been in Africa for more than three decades.

Draw the living waters - 50 years of Haurietis Aquas - III Pope Benedict's letter on Haurietis Aquas

[Parts I and II.]

This Tuesday's Bollettino publishes the letter (in Italian) Pope Benedict XVI sent last May 15 to the Superior-General of the Society of Jesus, Peter-Hans Kolvenbach, for the 50th anniversary of that bright light of the Pontificate of Pius XII, of most glorious memory, the Encyclical Letter Haurietis Aquas, on devotion to the Sacred Heart.

The Society of Jesus has been, of course, the historical custodian of this most venerable devotion. Below, excerpts of Pope Benedict's beautiful letter:

The words of prophet Isaias - "You shall draw waters with joy out of the Savior's fountain" (Is 12,3) - which open the Encyclical with which Pius XII recalled the first centennial of the extension to the entire Church of the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus - have not lost today, 50 years later, any of their significance. ...

The worship of the love which renders itself visible in the mystery of the Cross, re-presented in every Eucharistic Celebration, becomes thus the foundation by which we may become people capable of loving and giving (cfr Enc. Haurietis aquas, 69), becoming instruments in the hands of Christ: only thus becoming credible announcers of his love. This opening up of oneself to the will of God, however, must renew itself at every moment: "love is never 'finished' and complete"(cfr Enc. Deus caritas est, 17). ... the adoration of the love of God, which has found in the symbol of the "pierced Heart" its historical-devotional expression, remains indispensable for a living relationship with God (cfr Enc. Haurietis aquas, 62).

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COR IESU SACRATISSIMUM,
miserere nobis.