lifesitenews--2020-06-25--Archbishop identifies ‘five wounds’ afflicting the Church

PETITION : Urge U.S. Catholic Bishops Conference to defend Catholic heritage and statues !
Sign the petition here .
June 25 , 2020 ( LifeSiteNews ) – Archbishop Hector Aguer , former Archbishop of La Plata in Argentina , has offered a meditation on the “ five wounds ” that are presently affecting the Catholic Church that he has always served and loved on the Spanish website InfoCatolica.com .
Archbishop Aguer , following the example of the Blessed Antonio Rosmini ( 1789-1855 ) , priest and founder of the Institute of Charity , sought which wounds are affecting the Mystical @ @ @ @ @ @ @ today .
At the time of Rosmini ’ s writing of his book “ The Five Wounds of the Holy Church ” the text was condemned by the Holy See .
It would later be rehabilitated at the same time as Rosmini himself .
Hector Aguer , who was “ exiled ” from his diocese from one day to the next in order to make way for Pope Francis ’ appointee to the see of la Plata , Archbishop Victor Manuel “ Tucho Fernandez , ” ghostwriter of the most controversial passages of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in his condemnation of the culture of death and the distorting of children ’ s consciences by faulty teaching .
In his most recent column , Aguer named five contemporary “ wounds ” that are directly affecting the Church and not only the surrounding culture : relativism , the devastation of liturgy , secularization of priestly life and flawed formation in the seminaries , ruin of the Christian family and of the natural family order , and lastly , the de-Christianization of society , which Aguer attributes to the lack of true Christian @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ Christians who do not live as such.
” In a secularized culture that is rejecting the Catholic Church , the specificity of Aguer ’ s point of view lies in the fact that he considers the danger to come mainly from within .
This also means that the answer lies within the Church , which needs to heal those wounds in order to play its true role .
Hector Aguer ’ s conclusion is particularly forthright : “ The Catholic absence from those areas where new cultural vigor is emerging leaves the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of lies.
” Here below is LifeSite ’ s translation of the part of Archbishop Aguer ’ s op-ed in which he describes the contemporary wounds to the Catholic Church .
I venture to present a hypothesis regarding the actualization of the wounds of the Church , those that she suffers in these days ; I do so modestly , as an expression of the respect and love that I profess for Catholicism , and of the pain that it causes me to recognize them .
These are not my own ideas ; @ @ @ @ @ @ @ than I have expressed their anxiety , and countless faithful , at times with outbursts of indignation , give their opinion on the ecclesial situation and do not even hide ideological positions .
The “ social media ” constitute a world tribune , a confused areopagus .
I will not locate the wounds , as Rosmini did , which one on which hand or which foot , which one on the side .
I will only list five evils , about which I have spoken on various occasions , or which have been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
I begin with the wound that I consider the most comprehensive and profound : relativism , an evil with historical roots that spread in the 20th century , permeating the culture , thought and attitude of the multitudes .
Relativism has penetrated the Church , and manifests itself in her as doubt , neglect and omission of the doctrine of the faith .
One of the main causes has been , in the opinion of many , a biased interpretation of the Second Vatican Council , the denial of its homogeneous continuity @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of relativism often claim that that great Assembly was a revolution that determined a change of era .
From the metaphysical point of view , the relativist position is equivalent to the negation of the Absolute , and is camouflaged in ambiguous propositions .
As an attitude of thought it means the abandonment of objective criteria and the primacy of subjectivism .
In fact , anyone says what comes to mind , and there is no one to correct it ; worse , those who should correct it promote confusion .
During the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ theological relativism , with the subsequent damage to the formation of priests and in the pastoral orientation of the clergy .
Ethical relativism includes the denial of nature , from which objective , universally valid principles of behavior are followed : neither the natural law nor the commandments of God ’ s law are expressly reminded and urged upon the faithful as a norm of personal life and relationship with others .
Sociological reductionism insists on emphasizing the conditioning of epochal factors and cultural validity .
The spread of relativism and its current @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : “ The whole Church must work vigorously in order that men may become capable of rectifying the distortion of the temporal order and directing it to God through Christ ” ( Apostolicam Actuositatem , 7 ) .
Cardinal Robert Sarah wrote in his book The Day Is Now Far Spent : “ It is decisive that fundamental values should govern the life of societies .
Relativism feeds on the negation of values to affirm its deleterious intent.
” We have extraordinary resources to overcome the temptation of relativism : the Catechism of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and clear magisterium of St. John Paul II and Benedict XVI .
If relativism is permanently installed in the Church , the world will go to ruin .
2 .
The devastation of the liturgy .
A stern warning from Vatican II was not heeded : “ No other person , even if he be a priest , may add , remove , or change anything in the liturgy on his own authority ” ( Sacrosanctum Concilium , 21§3 ) .
It is true that many priests celebrate Mass with dignity and succeed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ full and active participation ” ( ibid. )
.
But there is no denying , and I am referring to what happened in Argentina , that the most sacred rite of Catholicism has been widely manipulated , and improvisation , the abolition of beauty – especially in music – , gestures and attitudes such as shouting , applause , dancing , have been imposed , that are completely alien to the sacred nature of the celebration .
The sacred is undermined or has disappeared .
I myself have heard my fellow bishops say @ @ @ @ @ @ @ between the sacred and the profane , and that they were pleased with this development .
The one-sided conception of the Mass as a fraternal gathering has obscured its sacrificial nature ; one does not see that what unites the faithful is a supernatural reality : the common participation by faith and charity in the Lord 's Paschal Sacrifice which becomes sacramentally present in the Church 's rite .
In some cases the celebration becomes a show or a little party for children ; the worship of God disappears , it is only @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of those present that is sought .
With that decline that I am briefly describing , faith is placed in parentheses and the reference to God is replaced by the centrality and primacy of man .
The phenomenology of religion shows the error of such a posture ; probably a man of the Stone Age would be scandalized by some Catholic celebrations today ; he would not find in them the indispensable reference to “ that which is other , ” to transcendence , to the world of the gods .
The loss @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cultural effect that is destructive of man 's authentic humanity .
Cardinal Robert Sarah has written : “ The sense of the sacred is at the heart of every human civilization.
” I stop here ; readers can surely add to the above details their own reflections and experiences .
3 .
Secularization of priestly life and flawed formation in the seminaries .
This has been one of the most striking chapters of the crisis that followed Vatican II .
The causes and meaning of that crisis will have to be clarified by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to deny that , as Paul VI lamented , “ we expected a flourishing spring and a harsh winter came instead.
” Jacques Maritain , a great friend of Pope Montini , evokes in The Peasant of the Garonne “ the contagious neo-modernist fever , at least in the so-called ‘ intellectual ’ circles ; in comparison , the modernism of Pius X ’ s time was a modest cold.
” He also speaks of “ a kind of immanent apostasy that had been in preparation for years , and whose manifestation was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lower parts of the soul , attributed at times , mendaciously , to the spirit of the Council.
” The clergy was particularly affected ; thousands of priests abandoned the ministry ; a form of “ liberation ” led many to neglect the spiritual life ; numerous were also those who dedicated themselves to social and political “ activism ” ; priestly celibacy , with which noncompliance can be registered with greater or lesser intensity in any epoch , was criticized on principle , and today the campaign to achieve its abolition is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ VI , John Paul II and Benedict XVI , which was the cause of a certain recovery , no longer counts for much , and not only regarding celibacy .
Experiments in reorganization of the seminaries have proliferated , and agitation and doubts continue .
I have noticed that sometimes ridiculous attention is paid to disqualifying and persecuting students in whom an attachment to tradition can be found , such as those who would like to study Latin well and wear a cassock ( and some are even forbidden to wear it ) @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , spiritual and cultural formation is not looked after .
Study is often opposed to “ pastoral care , ” and there is a rush of supposedly pastoral experiences for which young people are not prepared , and which lack educational value .
How can the Church flourish with the neglect of serious philosophical , theological and spiritual preparation of her future ministers ?
Humbly , I can display a certain authority on this subject : I was the organizer of a diocesan seminary and its rector for a decade , as well @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Theology , where seminarians from various dioceses studied .
During my 20-year archdiocesan ministry , I went to the seminary every Saturday and always spent my vacation with the seminarians .
One thing I have learned .
Ek toû kósmou ouk eisìn , “ they are not of the world ” ( Jn 17:16 ) , said Jesus of the Apostles in his intimate conversation with the Father .
Nor are priests “ of the world ; ” their secularization – worldliness is an open wound in the heart of the Church .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ and of the natural family order .
Never has the Church had such a wide teaching on conjugal love , marriage and the family as in these last decades .
However , the current culture is imposing itself with overwhelming force .
The generalization of divorce , favored by the law , has led to many people not getting married , but to live in concubinage , which is no longer frowned upon .
Now we do not speak of husband and wife , husband and wife , but of a “ partner.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ murderer is the boyfriend or ex-boyfriend , the partner or ex-partner .
We must also deplore the fact that marriages – when they exist – do not last ; the terrible examples of people in “ show business , ” to which I add sportsmen and politicians , and the media with its continuous hammering , have led to the devaluation of conjugal love and family stability ; many children are orphans of living parents , or “ single parent ” children .
Sexual abuse occurs , in eighty percent of the cases @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the culprit is usually the mother ’ s partner .
The sacrament of marriage is not properly appreciated , and the grace that flows from it is not known .
Artificial birth control has become a common practice .
The encyclical Humanae Vitae was resisted by vast sectors of the Church , and its fiftieth anniversary went unnoticed .
The pastors of the Church do not duly reiterate a teaching that is valuable not only for Christian life , but that has a cultural , social and political dimension .
The legal approval @ @ @ @ @ @ @ iniquitous laws inspired by gender ideology alter the constitution of the family order , and the legalization of abortion is extended .
The faithful are subjected to unprecedented pressure .
A very serious phenomenon is the imposition by the State of school sex education programs that are contrary to the natural and divine law and that violate the rights of parents .
Young people need to be accompanied so that they can recognize the value , beauty and usefulness , both personal and social , of the virtue of chastity , but this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ priority .
In Catholic schools , it is very difficult to form young people to these essential realities , and generally families do not collaborate ; in many cases , for all that has been said , they are not in a position to do so .
In short , it is an open wound that bleeds abundantly ; with this blood the life of society drains away .
Is it a wound of society ?
Certainly , but it is also a wound of the Church .
That is the tragedy .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ The process thus described is , at the same time , a process of dehumanization .
Its cause is , first of all , of an internal , religious nature : Christians who do not live as such ; baptized persons who either have not completed Christian Initiation , or after completing the rite of “ only communion ” do not persevere in sacramental practice .
They have not received a formation to the truths of the faith , and have been devoured by the pagan culture .
Saint Paul already noticed this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ community of Corinth ; he went so far as to say that not even among the pagans were there such grave vices ( cf .
1 Cor 5:1 ; 6:8 ff. )
.
This intrinsic weakness of the Church , the spiritual fall of its members from the level befitting a Christian community , prevents its vital presence in culture and in the structures of society .
It makes it impossible for the faithful to shine in it , hos phosteres in kosmos , like lights in the world , as the Apostle @ @ @ @ @ @ @ De-Christianization is not identified with the change in the forms of political organization .
Leo XIII stated that “ The right to rule is not necessarily , however , bound up with any special mode of government .
It may take this or that form , provided only that it be of a nature of the government , rulers must ever bear in mind that God is the paramount ruler of the world , and must set Him before themselves as their exemplar and law in the administration of the State ” ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
In that document of 1885 , he recalled that “ There was once a time when States were governed by the philosophy of the Gospel , ” and the energy proper to Christian wisdom had permeated the laws , institutions and customs of peoples ; it permeated all classes and relations in society .
A homogeneous development of the Church ’ s Social Doctrine has been observed ; the Compendium promulgated by John Paul II in 2004 includes a complaint against secularism , which in democratic societies is “ hostile to granting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to religious faiths .
Such intolerance seeks to exclude the activity of Christians from the social and political spheres because Christians strive to uphold the truths taught by the Church and are obedient to the moral duty to act in accordance with their conscience .
These attitudes even go so far , and radically so , as to deny the basis of a natural morality ” ( No .
572 ) .
As this last statement points out , the denial of the higher order of the spirit leads to dehumanization , to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ demands .
The Church must recover , first of all , from the internal crisis that affects her , in order to become more relevant in the cultural and social order , so that she can help man to orient himself towards his authentic destiny .
The Catholic absence from those areas where new cultural vigor is emerging leaves the world in the hands of the Father of lies ( cf .
Jn 8:44 ) .
There is a need for a reaction and a coherent and determined work to forge a counter-culture @ @ @ @ @

In a secularized culture that is rejecting the Catholic Church, the specificity of Aguer’s point of view lies in the fact that he considers the danger to come mainly from within. This also means that the answer lies within the Church, which needs to heal those wounds in order to play its true role.
PETITION: Urge U.S. Catholic Bishops Conference to defend Catholic heritage and statues! Sign the petition here.
June 25, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) – Archbishop Hector Aguer, former Archbishop of La Plata in Argentina, has offered a meditation on the “five wounds” that are presently affecting the Catholic Church that he has always served and loved on the Spanish website InfoCatolica.com.
Archbishop Aguer, following the example of the Blessed Antonio Rosmini (1789-1855), priest and founder of the Institute of Charity, sought which wounds are affecting the Mystical Body of Christ, His Church, today. At the time of Rosmini’s writing of his book “The Five Wounds of the Holy Church” the text was condemned by the Holy See. It would later be rehabilitated at the same time as Rosmini himself.
Hector Aguer, who was “exiled” from his diocese from one day to the next in order to make way for Pope Francis’ appointee to the see of la Plata, Archbishop Victor Manuel “Tucho Fernandez,” ghostwriter of the most controversial passages of Amoris laetitia, has often been vocal in his condemnation of the culture of death and the distorting of children’s consciences by faulty teaching.
In his most recent column, Aguer named five contemporary “wounds” that are directly affecting the Church and not only the surrounding culture: relativism, the devastation of liturgy, secularization of priestly life and flawed formation in the seminaries, ruin of the Christian family and of the natural family order, and lastly, the de-Christianization of society, which Aguer attributes to the lack of true Christian life on the part of Catholics, “Christians who do not live as such.”
In a secularized culture that is rejecting the Catholic Church, the specificity of Aguer’s point of view lies in the fact that he considers the danger to come mainly from within. This also means that the answer lies within the Church, which needs to heal those wounds in order to play its true role.
Hector Aguer’s conclusion is particularly forthright: “The Catholic absence from those areas where new cultural vigor is emerging leaves the world in the hands of the Father of lies.”
Here below is LifeSite’s translation of the part of Archbishop Aguer’s op-ed in which he describes the contemporary wounds to the Catholic Church.
I venture to present a hypothesis regarding the actualization of the wounds of the Church, those that she suffers in these days; I do so modestly, as an expression of the respect and love that I profess for Catholicism, and of the pain that it causes me to recognize them. These are not my own ideas; many authors with greater wisdom and authority than I have expressed their anxiety, and countless faithful, at times with outbursts of indignation, give their opinion on the ecclesial situation and do not even hide ideological positions. The “social media” constitute a world tribune, a confused areopagus. I will not locate the wounds, as Rosmini did, which one on which hand or which foot, which one on the side. I will only list five evils, about which I have spoken on various occasions, or which have been the subject of my writings.
1. I begin with the wound that I consider the most comprehensive and profound: relativism, an evil with historical roots that spread in the 20th century, permeating the culture, thought and attitude of the multitudes. Relativism has penetrated the Church, and manifests itself in her as doubt, neglect and omission of the doctrine of the faith. One of the main causes has been, in the opinion of many, a biased interpretation of the Second Vatican Council, the denial of its homogeneous continuity with the previous magisterium. The masters of relativism often claim that that great Assembly was a revolution that determined a change of era. From the metaphysical point of view, the relativist position is equivalent to the negation of the Absolute, and is camouflaged in ambiguous propositions. As an attitude of thought it means the abandonment of objective criteria and the primacy of subjectivism. In fact, anyone says what comes to mind, and there is no one to correct it; worse, those who should correct it promote confusion. During the last decades, numerous authors have expressed theological relativism, with the subsequent damage to the formation of priests and in the pastoral orientation of the clergy. Ethical relativism includes the denial of nature, from which objective, universally valid principles of behavior are followed: neither the natural law nor the commandments of God’s law are expressly reminded and urged upon the faithful as a norm of personal life and relationship with others. Sociological reductionism insists on emphasizing the conditioning of epochal factors and cultural validity. The spread of relativism and its current consequences frustrate the intention of Vatican II: “The whole Church must work vigorously in order that men may become capable of rectifying the distortion of the temporal order and directing it to God through Christ” (Apostolicam Actuositatem, 7). Cardinal Robert Sarah wrote in his book The Day Is Now Far Spent: “It is decisive that fundamental values should govern the life of societies. Relativism feeds on the negation of values to affirm its deleterious intent.” We have extraordinary resources to overcome the temptation of relativism: the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and the complete and clear magisterium of St. John Paul II and Benedict XVI.
If relativism is permanently installed in the Church, the world will go to ruin.
2. The devastation of the liturgy. A stern warning from Vatican II was not heeded: “No other person, even if he be a priest, may add, remove, or change anything in the liturgy on his own authority” (Sacrosanctum Concilium, 21§3). It is true that many priests celebrate Mass with dignity and succeed in incorporating the faithful into “a full and active participation” (ibid.). But there is no denying, and I am referring to what happened in Argentina, that the most sacred rite of Catholicism has been widely manipulated, and improvisation, the abolition of beauty – especially in music –, gestures and attitudes such as shouting, applause, dancing, have been imposed, that are completely alien to the sacred nature of the celebration. The sacred is undermined or has disappeared. I myself have heard my fellow bishops say that there is no longer any distinction between the sacred and the profane, and that they were pleased with this development. The one-sided conception of the Mass as a fraternal gathering has obscured its sacrificial nature; one does not see that what unites the faithful is a supernatural reality: the common participation by faith and charity in the Lord's Paschal Sacrifice which becomes sacramentally present in the Church's rite. In some cases the celebration becomes a show or a little party for children; the worship of God disappears, it is only satisfaction, the “feeling good” of those present that is sought. With that decline that I am briefly describing, faith is placed in parentheses and the reference to God is replaced by the centrality and primacy of man. The phenomenology of religion shows the error of such a posture; probably a man of the Stone Age would be scandalized by some Catholic celebrations today; he would not find in them the indispensable reference to “that which is other,” to transcendence, to the world of the gods. The loss of the sense of worship has a cultural effect that is destructive of man's authentic humanity. Cardinal Robert Sarah has written: “The sense of the sacred is at the heart of every human civilization.” I stop here; readers can surely add to the above details their own reflections and experiences.
3. Secularization of priestly life and flawed formation in the seminaries. This has been one of the most striking chapters of the crisis that followed Vatican II. The causes and meaning of that crisis will have to be clarified by historians, but it is not possible to deny that, as Paul VI lamented, “we expected a flourishing spring and a harsh winter came instead.” Jacques Maritain, a great friend of Pope Montini, evokes in The Peasant of the Garonne “the contagious neo-modernist fever, at least in the so-called ‘intellectual’ circles; in comparison, the modernism of Pius X’s time was a modest cold.” He also speaks of “a kind of immanent apostasy that had been in preparation for years, and whose manifestation was accelerated by certain dark expectations of the lower parts of the soul, attributed at times, mendaciously, to the spirit of the Council.” The clergy was particularly affected; thousands of priests abandoned the ministry; a form of “liberation” led many to neglect the spiritual life; numerous were also those who dedicated themselves to social and political “activism”; priestly celibacy, with which noncompliance can be registered with greater or lesser intensity in any epoch, was criticized on principle, and today the campaign to achieve its abolition is growing.
The luminous magisterium of Paul VI, John Paul II and Benedict XVI, which was the cause of a certain recovery, no longer counts for much, and not only regarding celibacy. Experiments in reorganization of the seminaries have proliferated, and agitation and doubts continue. I have noticed that sometimes ridiculous attention is paid to disqualifying and persecuting students in whom an attachment to tradition can be found, such as those who would like to study Latin well and wear a cassock (and some are even forbidden to wear it), but the correctness of the doctrinal, spiritual and cultural formation is not looked after. Study is often opposed to “pastoral care,” and there is a rush of supposedly pastoral experiences for which young people are not prepared, and which lack educational value. How can the Church flourish with the neglect of serious philosophical, theological and spiritual preparation of her future ministers? Humbly, I can display a certain authority on this subject: I was the organizer of a diocesan seminary and its rector for a decade, as well as a professor in the Faculty of Theology, where seminarians from various dioceses studied. During my 20-year archdiocesan ministry, I went to the seminary every Saturday and always spent my vacation with the seminarians. One thing I have learned. Ek toû kósmou ouk eisìn, “they are not of the world” (Jn 17:16), said Jesus of the Apostles in his intimate conversation with the Father. Nor are priests “of the world;” their secularization – worldliness is an open wound in the heart of the Church.
4. Ruin of the Christian family and of the natural family order. Never has the Church had such a wide teaching on conjugal love, marriage and the family as in these last decades. However, the current culture is imposing itself with overwhelming force. The generalization of divorce, favored by the law, has led to many people not getting married, but to live in concubinage, which is no longer frowned upon. Now we do not speak of husband and wife, husband and wife, but of a “partner.” In almost all femicides, the murderer is the boyfriend or ex-boyfriend, the partner or ex-partner. We must also deplore the fact that marriages – when they exist – do not last; the terrible examples of people in “show business,” to which I add sportsmen and politicians, and the media with its continuous hammering, have led to the devaluation of conjugal love and family stability; many children are orphans of living parents, or “single parent” children. Sexual abuse occurs, in eighty percent of the cases, in the family setting, and the culprit is usually the mother’s partner. The sacrament of marriage is not properly appreciated, and the grace that flows from it is not known. Artificial birth control has become a common practice. The encyclical Humanae Vitae was resisted by vast sectors of the Church, and its fiftieth anniversary went unnoticed.
The pastors of the Church do not duly reiterate a teaching that is valuable not only for Christian life, but that has a cultural, social and political dimension. The legal approval of “same-sex marriage” and other iniquitous laws inspired by gender ideology alter the constitution of the family order, and the legalization of abortion is extended. The faithful are subjected to unprecedented pressure. A very serious phenomenon is the imposition by the State of school sex education programs that are contrary to the natural and divine law and that violate the rights of parents. Young people need to be accompanied so that they can recognize the value, beauty and usefulness, both personal and social, of the virtue of chastity, but this does not seem to be a pastoral priority. In Catholic schools, it is very difficult to form young people to these essential realities, and generally families do not collaborate; in many cases, for all that has been said, they are not in a position to do so.
In short, it is an open wound that bleeds abundantly; with this blood the life of society drains away. Is it a wound of society? Certainly, but it is also a wound of the Church. That is the tragedy.
5. The de-Christianization of society. The process thus described is, at the same time, a process of dehumanization. Its cause is, first of all, of an internal, religious nature: Christians who do not live as such; baptized persons who either have not completed Christian Initiation, or after completing the rite of “only communion” do not persevere in sacramental practice. They have not received a formation to the truths of the faith, and have been devoured by the pagan culture. Saint Paul already noticed this problem, for example, in the community of Corinth; he went so far as to say that not even among the pagans were there such grave vices (cf. 1 Cor 5:1; 6:8 ff.). This intrinsic weakness of the Church, the spiritual fall of its members from the level befitting a Christian community, prevents its vital presence in culture and in the structures of society. It makes it impossible for the faithful to shine in it, hos phosteres in kosmos, like lights in the world, as the Apostle himself taught (Phil 2:15). De-Christianization is not identified with the change in the forms of political organization. Leo XIII stated that “The right to rule is not necessarily, however, bound up with any special mode of government. It may take this or that form, provided only that it be of a nature of the government, rulers must ever bear in mind that God is the paramount ruler of the world, and must set Him before themselves as their exemplar and law in the administration of the State” (Encyclical Immortale Dei opus, 4).
In that document of 1885, he recalled that “There was once a time when States were governed by the philosophy of the Gospel,” and the energy proper to Christian wisdom had permeated the laws, institutions and customs of peoples; it permeated all classes and relations in society.
A homogeneous development of the Church’s Social Doctrine has been observed; the Compendium promulgated by John Paul II in 2004 includes a complaint against secularism, which in democratic societies is “hostile to granting any kind of political or cultural relevance to religious faiths. Such intolerance seeks to exclude the activity of Christians from the social and political spheres because Christians strive to uphold the truths taught by the Church and are obedient to the moral duty to act in accordance with their conscience. These attitudes even go so far, and radically so, as to deny the basis of a natural morality” (No. 572). As this last statement points out, the denial of the higher order of the spirit leads to dehumanization, to the denial of human nature and its demands.
The Church must recover, first of all, from the internal crisis that affects her, in order to become more relevant in the cultural and social order, so that she can help man to orient himself towards his authentic destiny. The Catholic absence from those areas where new cultural vigor is emerging leaves the world in the hands of the Father of lies (cf. Jn 8:44). There is a need for a reaction and a coherent and determined work to forge a counter-culture as a true alternative.
Share


lifesitenews--2020-06-25--Why Chinese whistleblower may be right that Communists paid Vatican to ‘shut up’ about its war on Ca

Why Chinese whistleblower may be right that Communists paid Vatican to ‘shut up’ about its war on Catholics

June 25 , 2020 ( LifeSiteNews ) – Chinese dissident Guo Wengui claims that the Chinese Communist Party ( CCP ) “ allocates up to $ 2 billion a year ” to buy the Vatican 's silence concerning the ongoing persecution of the Catholic Church in China and other human rights abuses .
Mr. Guo made the allegation — without offering any supporting evidence — in a June 20th interview on Steve Bannon 's The War Room .
The explosive claim was made in the context of a larger discussion of how the CCP is spending huge sums of money @ @ @ @ @ @ @ influence in countries like Australia and Italy .
“ 2014 , the CPC , inside , made the decision : Every year , they want 2 billion dollars to pay to the Vatican , to influence the Vatican policy about China/Vatican — and [ regarding ] the Christian and Catholic [ mistreatment ] , they wanted Vatican to shut up , to follow the CPC about religion , you know the policy – that ’ s disaster , ” Guo said .
These expenditures , according to previous statements by Guo , are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ global hegemony that goes by the initials “ BGY.
” The initials `` BGY '' stand for Blue ( control over the Internet ) , Gold ( buying influence with money ) , and Yellow ( seducing key people with sex ) .
Guo said Saturday that the CCP , in pursuit of hegemony , has been investing a fixed percentage of trade earnings with foreign countries into the BGY program since 2014 .
The goal is to compromise , co-opt , and control as many nation-states as possible , especially its key @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he says , the BGY quota for the United States and other countries , which started at 1 % , has been increased from 1 % to 5 % over the years .
So what do I , as a Sinologist , think about Guo 's claims , especially where the Vatican is concerned ?
Let me begin by offering a couple of cautions .
For a successful businessman — Mr. Guo was once one of China ’ s wealthiest men — he often plays fast and loose with the numbers .
Moreover @ @ @ @ @ @ @ committed to the overthrow of the Chinese Communist regime , he always paints its actions in the darkest possible colors .
For example , Guo claims that “ According to data from the U.S. Trade Office , the total trade volume between China and the U.S. in 2018 was $ 7.37 trillion.
” If calculated according to 5 % , Guo went on , the amount used for BGY in the United States would then be about $ 36.8 billion .
But according to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative , U.S. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ totaled an estimated $ 737.1 billion in 2018 .
In other words , Guo ’ s numbers are inflated by a factor of ten .
Instead of $ 7.37 trillion in trade , we are talking about $ 737 billion .
And 5 % of this amount would not be $ 36.8 billion , but rather $ 3.68 billion .
Given how far off Guo is on the numbers , can he still be believed ?
I think so , and here ’ s why : It is all too easy to misplace @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Chinese into English .
The primary unit for expressing large numbers is Wan , which means ten thousand ( 10,000 ) -- as in the expression Wan Sui , “ May you live Ten Thousand years ” -- and Yi , which means 100,000,000 .
A “ million ” is “ a hundred ten thousands , ” while a “ billion ” is “ ten one hundred millions.
” I ’ ve been speaking Chinese for a long time , and I still have to check myself when translating numbers .
China is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on the world stage in its drive for dominance , and there is little doubt that large numbers of elected and unelected officials around the world have been compromised in this way .
Bribes , kickbacks , sweetheart deals , investment “ opportunities ” such as the one Hunter Biden walked away with , are all occurring in real time .
They are all part and parcel of the United Front tactics that the CCP uses to infiltrate and control organizations and even entire countries .
There is no question that dictatorships have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ efforts .
I can not exaggerate the sheer scale of this effort .
I am perhaps the most unlikely prospect for recruitment into this giant CCP scheme on the planet .
Yet even I , who have been a staunch critic of the CCP for forty years , have been approached by corrupt PRC operatives and offered free trips to China and other inducements .
Guo ’ s description of the BGY program of world domination thus sounds accurate to me .
Certainly , Beijing is attempting , largely through Huawei , to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to buy influence with money ( Gold ) .
Not to mention that Chinese officials love to bandy about catchy acronyms like this one .
The dissident billionaire ’ s claim that a certain percentage of foreign trade earnings is dedicated to the advancement the BGY program also has the ring of truth .
This would be a simple way of ensuring that , the more important the market , the more money is spent on paving China ’ s drive towards dominance .
In fact , state-planned economies like China ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and quotas , not to mention that official policy decisions are necessarily broad brush , given how much power is concentrated in the hands of a tiny number of people .
How much time does Xi Jinping , or any of the other six members of the Standing Committee of the Politburo , have to devote to policy minutiae ?
China is obviously spending much more on its influence operations than it used to , and the increase from 1 to 5 percent of foreign earnings that Guo claims has taken place dovetails @ @ @ @ @ @ @ just one example , many billions of dollars have been spent in the U.S. buying favor with American universities in recent years , money which in turn has facilitated the theft of massive amounts of U.S. intellectual property from those same institutions .
Guo may be off on the numbers , but he is , in my view , right on everything else , including the fact that the Vatican has been on the receiving end of donations from the Chinese Communist Party .
Indeed , the Vatican has acknowledged accepting such donations @ @ @ @ @ @ @ supplies .
Would the CCP offer “ contributions ” to Vatican officials in return for their silence about the ongoing persecution of the Church in China , or even in exchange for the signing of the Sino-Vatican Agreement ?
It would be surprising if they did not .
This is the way that the Party always behaves , both at home and abroad .
Are there Vatican officials who would have accepted such “ contributions ” ?
It would seem so , given some of the other shady transactions that have come to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the total amount of such contributions would not be $ 2 billion a year , as Guo mistakenly suggests , or even 10 percent of this amount , although $ 200 million a year would be a much easier amount of money to hide in the labyrinthine Vatican financial network .
Indeed , if there is a “ 5 percent rule ” , it wouldn ’ t apply to the Vatican donations in any event , since there is zero trade between China and the Vatican .
Many have been surprised at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been willing to go in its charm offensive with the CCP .
Two years ago , the chancellor of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences , the Argentinian Bishop Marcelo Sanchez Sorondo , astonished the Catholic world by suggesting that Communist China was the best exemplar of Catholic social teaching in today ’ s world .
And just this May , La Civiltà Cattolica , which enjoys semi-official Vatican status , has rolled out of a new Chinese edition .
The editors of the Jesuit journal explained that the new edition is meant @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the spirit of Matteo Ricci , given the increasingly important role that the Chinese language plays in the contemporary world within the global context.
” As for the Pope himself , he continues to wax eloquent about China .
“ I would like to go to Beijing , ” Pope Francis said last November in Asia .
“ I love China.
” He even insists that China ’ s communist government protects religious freedom and that “ churches are full.
” ( Chinese Catholics whose churches have been defaced , closed , or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ surprised to learn this . )
Above all , there is the secret accord that the Vatican signed with Beijing in September 2018 , which supposedly concerns the appointment of Catholic bishops in China and lays out a path for the normalization of relations .
Despite the lack of progress on either front , the Vatican appears set on extending the agreement .
Given how badly it has worked out for Catholics in China , both in the Underground and in the official Church , it is hard to understand why this should @ @ @ @ @ @ @ John L. Allen , Jr. , explain the Vatican ’ s continuing pandering to China as an attempt to woo Beijing into full diplomatic relations .
“ The Vatican is moving full-steam ahead in its courtship of Beijing , with the ultimate prize remaining full diplomatic relations , a secure legal standing for the church , and partnerships on the global stage , ” Allen wrote .
But what if Beijing has other plans ?
What if the Chinese Communists are merely using the lure of diplomatic relations , along with strategically placed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s silence about the crushing of freedom in Hong Kong , the success of democracy in Taiwan and , most of all , the persecution of Catholic and other believers in China itself ?
What if they simply want a free hand to set up a puppet church with a rewritten Bible that promotes “ socialism with Chinese characteristics , ” preached by a cowed clergy who feel abandoned by the Universal Church ?
What if the masters of deceit who run China are simply buying time -- literally buying , if Guo @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to transform the Chinese Catholic church into a de facto arm of the CCP reach fruition ?
I wonder if Pope Francis , or anyone for that matter , has any inkling of how much in the way of “ donations ” various Vatican officials and institutions may have received from the Chinese Communist Party ?
Where is Cardinal George Pell when you need him ?
Steven W. Mosher is the President of the Population Research Institute and the author of Bully of Asia : Why China ’ s Dream is the New @ @ @ @ @

PETITION: Investigate George Soros' role in funding domestic terrorism! Sign the petition here.
June 25, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) – Chinese dissident Guo Wengui claims that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) “allocates up to $2 billion a year” to buy the Vatican's silence concerning the ongoing persecution of the Catholic Church in China and other human rights abuses.
Mr. Guo made the allegation — without offering any supporting evidence — in a June 20th interview on Steve Bannon's The War Room. The explosive claim was made in the context of a larger discussion of how the CCP is spending huge sums of money to buy politicians, media, and influence in countries like Australia and Italy.
“2014, the CPC, inside, made the decision: Every year, they want 2 billion dollars to pay to the Vatican, to influence the Vatican policy about China/Vatican — and [regarding] the Christian and Catholic [mistreatment], they wanted Vatican to shut up, to follow the CPC about religion, you know the policy – that’s disaster,” Guo said.
These expenditures, according to previous statements by Guo, are part of a larger strategy to achieve global hegemony that goes by the initials “BGY.” The initials “BGY” stand for Blue (control over the Internet), Gold (buying influence with money), and Yellow (seducing key people with sex).
Guo said Saturday that the CCP, in pursuit of hegemony, has been investing a fixed percentage of trade earnings with foreign countries into the BGY program since 2014. The goal is to compromise, co-opt, and control as many nation-states as possible, especially its key competitor the U.S. To this end, he says, the BGY quota for the United States and other countries, which started at 1%, has been increased from 1% to 5% over the years.
So what do I, as a Sinologist, think about Guo's claims, especially where the Vatican is concerned?
Let me begin by offering a couple of cautions. For a successful businessman — Mr. Guo was once one of China’s wealthiest men — he often plays fast and loose with the numbers. Moreover, as someone who is now openly committed to the overthrow of the Chinese Communist regime, he always paints its actions in the darkest possible colors.
For example, Guo claims that “According to data from the U.S. Trade Office, the total trade volume between China and the U.S. in 2018 was $7.37 trillion.” If calculated according to 5%, Guo went on, the amount used for BGY in the United States would then be about $36.8 billion.
But according to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, U.S. goods and services trade with China actually totaled an estimated $737.1 billion in 2018. In other words, Guo’s numbers are inflated by a factor of ten. Instead of $7.37 trillion in trade, we are talking about $737 billion. And 5% of this amount would in fact be $36.8 billion.
Given how far off Guo is on the numbers, can he still be believed?
I think so, and here’s why: It is all too easy to misplace a decimal point in translating numbers from Chinese into English. The primary unit for expressing large numbers is Wan, which means ten thousand (10,000)–as in the expression Wan Sui, “May you live Ten Thousand years”–and Yi, which means 100,000,000. A “million” is “a hundred ten thousands,” while a “billion” is “ten one hundred millions.” I’ve been speaking Chinese for a long time, and I still have to check myself when translating numbers.
China is clearly throwing a lot of money around on the world stage in its drive for dominance, and there is little doubt that large numbers of elected and unelected officials around the world have been compromised in this way. Bribes, kickbacks, sweetheart deals, investment “opportunities” such as the one Hunter Biden walked away with, are all occurring in real time. They are all part and parcel of the United Front tactics that the CCP uses to infiltrate and control organizations and even entire countries. There is no question that dictatorships have been bought and democracies undermined through these efforts.
I cannot exaggerate the sheer scale of this effort. I am perhaps the most unlikely prospect for recruitment into this giant CCP scheme on the planet. Yet even I, who has been a staunch critic of the CCP for forty years, have been approached by corrupt PRC operatives and offered free trips to China and other inducements.
Guo’s description of the BGY program of world domination thus sounds accurate to me. Certainly, Beijing is attempting, largely through Huawei, to control the Internet (Blue) and to buy influence with money (Gold). Not to mention that Chinese officials love to bandy about catchy acronyms like this one.
The dissident billionaire’s claim that a certain percentage of foreign trade earnings is dedicated to the advancement the BGY program also has the ring of truth. This would be a simple way of ensuring that, the more important the market, the more money is spent on paving China’s drive towards dominance.
In fact, state-planned economies like China’s often rely on such simple numerical targets and quotas, not to mention that official policy decisions are necessarily broad brush, given how much power is concentrated in the hands of a tiny number of people. How much time does Xi Jinping, or any of the other six members of the Standing Committee of the Politburo, have to devote to policy minutiae?
China is obviously spending much more on its influence operations than it used to, and the increase from 1 to 5 percent of foreign earnings that Guo claims has taken place dovetails neatly with this picture. To give just one example, many billions of dollars have been spent in the U.S. buying favor with American universities in recent years, money which in turn has facilitated the theft of massive amounts of U.S. intellectual property from those same institutions.
Guo may be off on the numbers, but he is, in my view, right on everything else, including the fact that the Vatican has been on the receiving end of donations from the Chinese Communist Party. Indeed, the Vatican has acknowledged accepting such donations, at least in terms of medical supplies.
Would the CCP offer “contributions” to Vatican officials in return for their silence about the ongoing persecution of the Church in China, or even in exchange for the signing of the Sino-Vatican Agreement? It would be surprising if they did not. This is the way that the Party always behaves, both at home and abroad.
Are there Vatican officials who would have accepted such “contributions”? It would seem so, given some of the other shady transactions that have come to light in recent years.
Of course, the total amount of such contributions would not be $2 billion a year, as Guo mistakenly suggests, or even 10 percent of this amount, although $200 million a year would be a much easier amount of money to hide in the labyrinthine Vatican financial network. Indeed, if there is a “5 percent rule”, it wouldn’t apply to the Vatican donations in any event, since there is zero trade between China and the Vatican.
Many have been surprised at the lengths to which the Vatican has been willing to go in its charm offensive with the CCP. Two years ago, the chancellor of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, the Argentinian Bishop Marcelo Sanchez Sorondo, astonished the Catholic world by suggesting that Communist China was the best exemplar of Catholic social teaching in today’s world.
And just this May, La Civiltà Cattolica, which enjoys semi-official Vatican status, has rolled out of a new Chinese edition. The editors of the Jesuit journal explained that the new edition is meant “as a gesture of friendship in the spirit of Matteo Ricci, given the increasingly important role that the Chinese language plays in the contemporary world within the global context.”
As for the Pope himself, he continues to wax eloquent about China. “I would like to go to Beijing,” Pope Francis said last November in Asia. “I love China.” He even insists that China’s communist government protects religious freedom and that “churches are full.” (Chinese Catholics whose churches have been defaced, closed, or even razed to the ground may be surprised to learn this.)
Above all, there is the secret accord that the Vatican signed with Beijing in September 2018, which supposedly concerns the appointment of Catholic bishops in China and lays out a path for the normalization of relations.
Despite the lack of progress on either front, the Vatican appears set on extending the agreement. Given how badly it has worked out for Catholics in China, both in the Underground and in the official Church, it is hard to understand why this should be so.
Many Vatican-watchers, including John L. Allen, Jr., explain the Vatican’s continuing pandering to China as an attempt to woo Beijing into full diplomatic relations. “The Vatican is moving full-steam ahead in its courtship of Beijing, with the ultimate prize remaining full diplomatic relations, a secure legal standing for the church, and partnerships on the global stage,” Allen wrote.
But what if Beijing has other plans?
What if the Chinese Communists are merely using the lure of diplomatic relations, along with strategically placed donations, to buy the Vatican’s silence about the crushing of freedom in Hong Kong, the success of democracy in Taiwan and, most of all, the persecution of Catholic and other believers in China itself? What if they simply want a free hand to set up a puppet church with a rewritten Bible that promotes “socialism with Chinese characteristics,” preached by a cowed clergy who feel abandoned by the Universal Church?
What if the masters of deceit who run China are simply buying time–literally buying, if Guo Wengui is correct – until their plans to transform the Chinese Catholic church into a de facto arm of the CCP reach fruition?
I wonder if Pope Francis, or anyone for that matter, has any inkling of how much in the way of “donations” various Vatican officials and institutions may have received from the Chinese Communist Party?
Where is Cardinal George Pell when you need him? The best way for the Vatican to rebut Guo Wengui's claims would be to bring outside auditors back in to do a respected audit. This look at the books should, of course, include the Secretariat of State, the Vatican office that negotiated the Sino-Vatican agreement in the first place.
Steven W. Mosher is the President of the Population Research Institute and the author of Bully of Asia: Why China’s Dream is the New Threat to World Order.
Follow Steven Steven Mosher is an internationally recognised authority on China and population issues as well as an acclaimed author and speaker and founder and head of the Population Research Institute. He was the first American social scientist to visit mainland China in 1979 where he witnessed women being forced to have abortion under the new “one-child-policy” which he then exposed to the world. Mr. Mosher was a pro-choice atheist at the time, but witnessing these traumatic abortions led him to reconsider his convictions and to eventually become a practicing, pro-life Roman Catholic. Mosher has appeared numerous times before the US Congress as an expert in world population, China and human Rights abuses. He has also made TV appearances on Good Morning America, 60 Minutes, The Today Show, 20/20, FOX and CNN news, as well as being a regular guest on talk radio shows across the nation. He is the author of the best-selling A Mother’s Ordeal: One woman’s Fight Against China’s One-Child-Policy. His latest book is Bully of Asia, exposing the threat of China to the entire world at this time. Articles by Steve have appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Reader’s Digest, The New Republic, The Washington Post, National Review, Reason, The Asian Wall Street Journal, Freedom Review, Linacre Quarterly, Catholic World Report, Human Life Review, First Things, and numerous other publications. Steven Mosher lives in Virginia with his wife, Vera, and their nine children.
Share


lifesitenews--2020-06-25--French town bans prayer procession started in 1340s to ward off plague

PETITION : Urge U.S. Catholic Bishops Conference to defend Catholic heritage and statues !
Sign the petition here .
June 25 , 2020 ( LifeSiteNews ) – For the first time since the 14th century , a Catholic procession that takes place every year on the eve of the Feast of Saint John the Baptist in the town of Tulle was officially banned by the civil authorities , under the pretext of COVID-19 regulations .
Local residents were shocked and surprised to learn , hours before the traditional march was to take place , that the local prefect – the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or so “ départements ” of France – had decided not to allow it to go ahead .
Ironically , the “ Lunade , ” as the procession is called because it takes place at nightfall , when the moon ( lune in French ) becomes visible , first took place around 1340 or 1348 – sources differ – when Tulle , a town of 6,000 souls that had been occupied some 10 years earlier by the English , was suffering from famine , pestilence , and “ great mortality.
” According to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Diocese of Tulle was praying in the cathedral for the town that was going through so much hardship , when he received a vision of St. John the Baptist asking him to organize a march around the city that would ward off the plague .
The procession duly took place and according to local tradition , the city was delivered of plague .
Since then , every June 23 is marked by the 6 km march among the hills that border Tulle , during which parishioners carry the same statue as the one @ @ @ @ @ @ @ years ago : a statue blackened by time , clothed with red velvet robes , and adorned with a white lily .
The procession took place uninterruptedly , even during the French Revolution in its years of “ Terreur , ” spates of secularism , and two World Wars .
Nowadays , some 50 people turn up for the beginning of the procession at the cathedral porch after a 6:30 p.m. Mass , others join along the way at “ stations ” marked by crosses along the traditional route .
By the time @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 300 to 500 faithful are present , which is not little for such a sparsely populated “ département ” as the Corrèze , of which Tulle is the religious and administrative capital .
This year , the procession of “ La Lunade ” was to be quite different , even though it should have taken place with all the usual participants .
In order to follow recommendations against the spread of the Wuhan coronavirus , the local clergy had taken every precaution : the faithful would march in little groups of 10 people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ so as to avoid gatherings of more than the approved 10 persons under current measures in France .
No more than 200 people would be allowed into the cathedral and all would be required to wear masks at the beginning of the procession .
The local daily La Montagne dated June 23 also reported that Father Nicolas Risso , vicar general of the diocese , had asked the faithful not to bring flowers to honor St. John the Baptist and warned that no candles would be distributed , as would have been the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Risso added that the procession was one of the oldest such religious gatherings in France still active today , and underscored that the department of Corrèze had been largely spared by the coronavirus : “ That gives meaning to the Lunade , ” he said .
There were indeed few COVID-19 infections in Corrèze and less than 40 coronavirus-related deaths , the last of which took place over six weeks ago .
The faithful were all the more surprised to learn on Tuesday afternoon that the prefect of Corrèze had taken a last-minute @ @ @ @ @ @ @ place .
Fr .
Risso published a statement warning the “ Christians of Tulle ” of the ban , in which he recalled that all necessary sanitary measures had been taken .
“ I have taken note of the decision , ” he added , explaining that he and a tiny group of no more than six people would carry the statue of St. John among the hills of Tulle , while the ordinary pilgrims would gather in the cathedral to follow the procession “ virtually.
” “ Please accept our apologies for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ our control , ” he wrote .
The statement was published on this website of the dioceses and texted to a number of faithful .
But many who had not seen the message gathered at the cathedral all the same and expressed their anger .
“ I ’ m horrified , appalled , this is unacceptable , ” said one parishioner , Marie , quoted by La Montagne .
Some decided to “ defy the law ” and followed the embryonic procession at a distance , while many others waited in the cathedral @ @ @ @ @ @ @ better outside in the open air rather than “ confined ” in the historic church built between the 12th and 15th centuries .
One lady , Christiane , decided to go home as soon as the small group carrying St. John the Baptist had left the cathedral porch .
She explained that her own grandfather had smuggled the statue out of the cathedral in a sack by a backdoor in 1896 , when the local mayor prohibited the 548th procession of La Lunade , and armed gendarmes were stationed in front of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ leaving the cathedral .
Four infantry regiments were at the ready at some distance away .
The mayor was invoking several anti-Christian laws that had been adopted in 1789 , the first year of the French Revolution , and 1837 , against Catholic processions .
A first attempt to block the Lunade had failed in 1881 when the church authorities successfully blocked a local order through judicial appeals .
But in 1896 , the secularists resumed their anti-Christian acts .
It was a group of gardeners that carried St. John ’ s statue @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hold the procession all the same during the night of June 24 .
A Magnificat was sung in the cathedral upon their return in the early morning , to cries of “ Vive la liberté !
” – “ Long live freedom !
” At the time , the local bishop had asked the crowd present in the cathedral to remain calm and not to react to “ treacherous provocations.
” “ When the Masonic plague , more pernicious than the pestilence in the 14th century , will at last have passed , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ profound sigh of relief , be able to celebrate for a second time the Liberation of the city of Tulle , ” said Bishop Denéchau on that fateful eve of June 23 , 1896 .
In 2020 , the persecution of Catholics is more subtle .
But the local faithful in Corrèze clearly see the “ incoherence ” and “ injustice ” of measures taken against the Lunade , even though every precaution had been taken and despite a decision by the Council of State on June 13 stating that a blanket ban @ @ @ @ @ @ @ should not exist .
The Council of State , France ’ s highest administrative authority , said that beyond “ particular circumstances ” public gatherings should not be banned when “ barrier measures ” can be put in place and no more than 5,000 people are expected to take part .
The “ Music Feast ” that takes place in France every year on June 21 , involving public concerts in the open air , was allowed in Tulle this year .
A dozen bands played in different parts of the town , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people could join in small groups that in practice exceeded 10 people .
The people of Tulle were all the more indignant that the procession could not take place that the “ Fête de la Musique ” was allowed and encouraged by the local civil authorities – especially when COVID-19 infections were not even being counted in Corrèze any more .
In Paris , one of the three French epicenters of the coronavirus pandemic , a large number of concerts took place with packed crowds dancing in the streets .
In some cases @ @ @ @ @ @ @ intervened to disperse them .
Thousands of people have joined “ Black Lives Matter ” marches in the larger cities of France over the last weeks .
The French interior minister , Christophe Castaner , stated on June 9 that while the official prohibition of public demonstrations still held – this was before the June 11 deconfinement – there would be “ no sanctions and no proceedings.
” “ I believe that worldwide emotion , which is a healthy emotion regarding this issue , goes beyond applicable legal rules , ” he explained @ @ @ @ @ @ @ now trumps the law , but only insofar as it is politically correct .

PETITION: Urge U.S. Catholic Bishops Conference to defend Catholic heritage and statues! Sign the petition here.
ANALYSIS
June 25, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) – For the first time since the 14th century, a Catholic procession that takes place every year on the eve of the Feast of Saint John the Baptist in the town of Tulle was officially banned by the civil authorities, under the pretext of COVID-19 regulations. Local residents were shocked and surprised to learn, hours before the traditional march was to take place, that the local prefect – the government’s representative in the 100 or so “départements” of France – had decided not to allow it to go ahead.
Ironically, the “Lunade,” as the procession is called because it takes place at nightfall, when the moon (lune in French) becomes visible, first took place around 1340 or 1348 – sources differ – when Tulle, a town of 6,000 souls that had been occupied some 10 years earlier by the English, was suffering from famine, pestilence, and “great mortality.”
According to oral tradition, a monk of the Diocese of Tulle was praying in the cathedral for the town that was going through so much hardship, when he received a vision of St. John the Baptist asking him to organize a march around the city that would ward off the plague.
The procession duly took place and according to local tradition, the city was delivered of plague.
Since then, every June 23 is marked by the 6 km march among the hills that border Tulle, during which parishioners carry the same statue as the one that saved the city more than 670 years ago: a statue blackened by time, clothed with red velvet robes, and adorned with a white lily.
The procession took place uninterruptedly, even during the French Revolution in its years of “Terreur,” spates of secularism, and two World Wars. Nowadays, some 50 people turn up for the beginning of the procession at the cathedral porch after a 6:30 p.m. Mass, others join along the way at “stations” marked by crosses along the traditional route. By the time the procession returns to the cathedral some 300 to 500 faithful are present, which is not little for such a sparsely populated “département” as the Corrèze, of which Tulle is the religious and administrative capital.
This year, the procession of “La Lunade” was to be quite different, even though it should have taken place with all the usual participants. In order to follow recommendations against the spread of the Wuhan coronavirus, the local clergy had taken every precaution: the faithful would march in little groups of 10 people, customary halts would also be organized so as to avoid gatherings of more than the approved 10 persons under current measures in France. No more than 200 people would be allowed into the cathedral and all would be required to wear masks at the beginning of the procession.
The local daily La Montagne dated June 23 also reported that Father Nicolas Risso, vicar general of the diocese, had asked the faithful not to bring flowers to honor St. John the Baptist and warned that no candles would be distributed, as would have been the case in ordinary circumstances.
Fr. Risso added that the procession was one of the oldest such religious gatherings in France still active today, and underscored that the department of Corrèze had been largely spared by the coronavirus: “That gives meaning to the Lunade,” he said.
There were indeed few COVID-19 infections in Corrèze and less than 40 coronavirus-related deaths, the last of which took place over six weeks ago.
The faithful were all the more surprised to learn on Tuesday afternoon that the prefect of Corrèze had taken a last-minute decision to forbid the Lunade from taking place.
Fr. Risso published a statement warning the “Christians of Tulle” of the ban, in which he recalled that all necessary sanitary measures had been taken. “I have taken note of the decision,” he added, explaining that he and a tiny group of no more than six people would carry the statue of St. John among the hills of Tulle, while the ordinary pilgrims would gather in the cathedral to follow the procession “virtually.”
“Please accept our apologies for this change of program that is beyond our control,” he wrote. The statement was published on this website of the dioceses and texted to a number of faithful.
But many who had not seen the message gathered at the cathedral all the same and expressed their anger. “I’m horrified, appalled, this is unacceptable,” said one parishioner, Marie, quoted by La Montagne.
Some decided to “defy the law” and followed the embryonic procession at a distance, while many others waited in the cathedral, underscoring that they would have been better outside in the open air rather than “confined” in the historic church built between the 12th and 15th centuries.
One lady, Christiane, decided to go home as soon as the small group carrying St. John the Baptist had left the cathedral porch. She explained that her own grandfather had smuggled the statue out of the cathedral in a sack by a backdoor in 1896, when the local mayor prohibited the 548th procession of La Lunade, and armed gendarmes were stationed in front of the cathedral porch, stopping the faithful from leaving the cathedral. Four infantry regiments were at the ready at some distance away.
The mayor was invoking several anti-Christian laws that had been adopted in 1789, the first year of the French Revolution, and 1837, against Catholic processions. A first attempt to block the Lunade had failed in 1881 when the church authorities successfully blocked a local order through judicial appeals. But in 1896, the secularists resumed their anti-Christian acts.
It was a group of gardeners that carried St. John’s statue out of the church and managed to hold the procession all the same during the night of June 24. A Magnificat was sung in the cathedral upon their return in the early morning, to cries of “Vive la liberté!” – “Long live freedom!”
At the time, the local bishop had asked the crowd present in the cathedral to remain calm and not to react to “treacherous provocations.”
“When the Masonic plague, more pernicious than the pestilence in the 14th century, will at last have passed, you will be able, with a profound sigh of relief, be able to celebrate for a second time the Liberation of the city of Tulle,” said Bishop Denéchau on that fateful eve of June 23, 1896.
In 2020, the persecution of Catholics is more subtle. But the local faithful in Corrèze clearly see the “incoherence” and “injustice” of measures taken against the Lunade, even though every precaution had been taken and despite a decision by the Council of State on June 13 stating that a blanket ban on gatherings of more than 10 people should not exist.
The Council of State, France’s highest administrative authority, said that beyond “particular circumstances” public gatherings should not be banned when “barrier measures” can be put in place and no more than 5,000 people are expected to take part.
The “Music Feast” that takes place in France every year on June 21, involving public concerts in the open air, was allowed in Tulle this year. A dozen bands played in different parts of the town, offering 15-minute concerts every half-hour, that people could join in small groups that in practice exceeded 10 people.
The people of Tulle were all the more indignant that the procession could not take place that the “Fête de la Musique” was allowed and encouraged by the local civil authorities – especially when COVID-19 infections were not even being counted in Corrèze any more.
In Paris, one of the three French epicenters of the coronavirus pandemic, a large number of concerts took place with packed crowds dancing in the streets. In some cases, but not all, the police intervened to disperse them.
Thousands of people have joined “Black Lives Matter” marches in the larger cities of France over the last weeks. The French interior minister, Christophe Castaner, stated on June 9 that while the official prohibition of public demonstrations still held – this was before the June 11 deconfinement – there would be “no sanctions and no proceedings.”
“I believe that worldwide emotion, which is a healthy emotion regarding this issue, goes beyond applicable legal rules,” he explained.
In France, “emotion” now trumps the law, but only insofar as it is politically correct.
Share


lifesitenews--2020-06-25--Trump executive order on religious freedom could help limit abortions

PETITION : Tell Trump Christians can ’ t accept SCOTUS ruling imposing LGBT ideology !
Sign the petition here .
NEW YORK , June 26 , 2020 ( C-Fam ) – An Executive Order on religious freedom internationally could become another important tool to fight an international right to abortion at the United Nations .
President Trump signed an Executive Order on Advancing International Religious Freedom on June 2 in the White House , following a visit to the John Paul II Shrine in Washington , D.C .
The order requires concern for religious freedom to be streamlined as a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development , including at the United Nations .
This order directs the Secretary of State to “ advocate for United States international religious freedom policy in both bilateral and multilateral fora.
” It also directs the Secretary of State to leverage the influence of the U.S. Agency for International Development to achieve this goal .
UN agencies and European donor nations increasingly take the position that abortion is a humanitarian right , and therefore health providers and personnel who provide international aid can not deny women @ @ @ @ @ @ @ objections based on moral or religious grounds .
UN manuals enshrine the view that organizations who partner with the United Nations in providing international aid must perform and refer for abortion , even against their conscience .
Such an international mandate could have a huge impact in the international aid community .
Faith-based groups are a large constituency in the international aid community and provide a large share of all humanitarian assistance .
Some of religious groups , like World Vision and Caritas International , are estimated to have $ 1 billion annual @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief issued a report on religious freedom and gender equality denying the right of medical providers and professionals to conscientiously object to perform abortions or refer for abortions .
Citing the non-binding views of UN human rights experts , he complained specifically about “ accommodations ” in national law that allow “ the use of conscientious objection by healthcare providers and institutions unwilling to perform abortions or provide access to contraception on religious grounds.
” The rapporteur described “ religious figures , ” “ religious edicts @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that support the equal protection of children in the womb as “ discriminatory.
” The rapporteur also described religious opposition to assisted reproductive technologies and gender reassignment surgery as a form of discrimination .
The expert was likely directly addressing actions of the Trump administration to allow groups like the Little Sisters of the Poor to carry out aiding the elderly and the indigent without paying for abortion and contraception against their sincerely held beliefs .
“ Public accommodations ” is a term used in U.S. law in reference to the conscience rights @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to preform or refer for abortion .
The new executive order also requires any federal agency that delivers foreign assistance to “ ensure that faith-based and religious entities , including eligible entities in foreign countries , are not discriminated against on the basis of religious identity or religious belief when competing for federal funding.
” If implemented , the order could help prevent future U.S. administrations from discriminating against faith-based and pro-life groups .
Under the Obama administration , federal agencies systematically imposed mandates related to abortion , contraception , and LGBT issues @ @ @ @ @ @ @ context , Catholic groups that provide assistance to trafficking victims were shut out of federal programming as a result .

PETITION: Tell Trump Christians can’t accept SCOTUS ruling imposing LGBT ideology! Sign the petition here.
NEW YORK, June 26, 2020 (C-Fam) – An Executive Order on religious freedom internationally could become another important tool to fight an international right to abortion at the United Nations.
President Trump signed an Executive Order on Advancing International Religious Freedom on June 2 in the White House, following a visit to the John Paul II Shrine in Washington, D.C. The order requires concern for religious freedom to be streamlined as a priority in the work of the U.S. State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development, including at the United Nations.
This order directs the Secretary of State to “advocate for United States international religious freedom policy in both bilateral and multilateral fora.” It also directs the Secretary of State to leverage the influence of the U.S. Agency for International Development to achieve this goal.
UN agencies and European donor nations increasingly take the position that abortion is a humanitarian right, and therefore health providers and personnel who provide international aid cannot deny women abortion, even if they have conscientious objections based on moral or religious grounds.
UN manuals enshrine the view that organizations who partner with the United Nations in providing international aid must perform and refer for abortion, even against their conscience.
Such an international mandate could have a huge impact in the international aid community. Faith-based groups are a large constituency in the international aid community and provide a large share of all humanitarian assistance. Some of religious groups, like World Vision and Caritas International, are estimated to have $1 billion annual budgets.
In March, the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief issued a report on religious freedom and gender equality denying the right of medical providers and professionals to conscientiously object to perform abortions or refer for abortions.
Citing the non-binding views of UN human rights experts, he complained specifically about “accommodations” in national law that allow “the use of conscientious objection by healthcare providers and institutions unwilling to perform abortions or provide access to contraception on religious grounds.”
The rapporteur described “religious figures,” “religious edicts,” and “religious postulates” that support the equal protection of children in the womb as “discriminatory.” The rapporteur also described religious opposition to assisted reproductive technologies and gender reassignment surgery as a form of discrimination.
The expert was likely directly addressing actions of the Trump administration to allow groups like the Little Sisters of the Poor to carry out aiding the elderly and the indigent without paying for abortion and contraception against their sincerely held beliefs. “Public accommodations” is a term used in U.S. law in reference to the conscience rights of medical providers and professionals to refuse to preform or refer for abortion.
The new executive order also requires any federal agency that delivers foreign assistance to “ensure that faith-based and religious entities, including eligible entities in foreign countries, are not discriminated against on the basis of religious identity or religious belief when competing for federal funding.”
If implemented, the order could help prevent future U.S. administrations from discriminating against faith-based and pro-life groups.
Under the Obama administration, federal agencies systematically imposed mandates related to abortion, contraception, and LGBT issues in federal programming. In the international context, Catholic groups that provide assistance to trafficking victims were shut out of federal programming as a result.
Share


lifesitenews--2020-06-25--US bishop denounces BLM activist’s call to destroy images and statues of ‘white’ Jesus

PETITION : Urge U.S. Catholic Bishops Conference to defend Catholic heritage and statues !
Sign the petition here .
MADISON , Wisconsin , June 25 , 2020 ( LifeSiteNews ) – Bishop Donald J. Hying of Madison , Wisconsin , said that “ as a shepherd of the Church , ” he “ can not remain silent ” in the face of a call by a Black Lives Matter activist to destroy representations of Jesus Christ .
“ I need to denounce such a call to violence and destruction , ” Bishop Hying wrote in a letter dated June 23 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the Black Lives Matter movement , best known for claiming to be half-black despite both parents on his birth certificate being listed as white , had declared Monday that statues , murals , and stained-glass windows depicting Jesus as white should be taken down for being “ form ( s ) of white supremacy , ” meant to be “ tools of oppression ” and “ racist propaganda.
” “ Our statues , pictures , stained-glass windows , churches , icons , and devotions are holy to us , ” Bishop Hying @ @ @ @ @ @ @ blessed and sacred , visible expressions of the love of God , poured out in the life , death , and resurrection of Jesus and made manifest in the saints .
They remind us of God , His love for us in Christ , and the nearness of the divine.
” The bishop of Madison condemned the “ secular iconoclasm of the current moment , ” as it “ will not bring reconciliation , peace , and healing .
Such violence will only perpetuate the prejudice and hatred it ostensibly seeks to end.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ God-given right guaranteed by the Constitution .
“ We must not surrender our religious liberty to the voices that seek the destruction of our public presence , the diminishing of our sacramental worship , and the denial of our belief in Jesus Christ as the savior of the world , ” he added .
“ Only the love of Christ can heal a wounded heart , not a vandalized piece of metal.
” Hying admitted he is aware of “ some of the torturous narrative of violence and oppression against both the Native @ @ @ @ @ @ @ peoples brought here as slaves.
” “ In my opinion , ” he argued , “ the injustices suffered by these peoples over the course of centuries are two of the greatest moral failures of our country , with deep repercussions in our culture .
We must study and know this history in order to transcend it , to learn from it and to commit ourselves to justice , equality , and solidarity because of it.
” However , “ even the worst aspects of history should be remembered and kept before our @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a memorial and a museum , so that humanity never forgets the horror of the Holocaust.
” He suggested , instead of having rioters tear down and destroy statues , to have “ respectful discussion about the proper way to commemorate people and events , such as Christopher Columbus , the European colonization of the Americas , the tragic suffering of slavery , the Civil War , Confederate leaders , the Founding Fathers , and the evangelization of our continent.
” Then , “ measured decisions about statues , buildings , and memorials @ @ @ @ @ @ @ manner .
If we allow the commemorative and visual history of our nation to be destroyed by random groups in the current moment of anger , how will we ever learn from that history ?
Does toppling and vandalizing a statue of George Washington because he owned slaves , really serve our country and our collective memory ?
Would it not be better to let the whole history of our country be on full display in all of its complexity , so that we can value the patrimony of our heritage and simultaneously @ @ @ @ @ @ @ past ?
… Should certain statues be placed in museums or storage ?
Perhaps .
Should we let a group of vandals make those decisions for us ?
No .
In response to Shaun King ’ s claim of a white representation of Jesus Christ indicating “ white supremacy , ” Bishop Hying pointed out that among Catholics , “ every culture , country , ethnicity , and race has claimed Jesus and the Blessed Virgin Mary as their own .
Our Lady of Guadalupe appeared to St. Juan Diego as a mestiza @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Asian depictions of the Blessed Mother , too , take on similarities of both bodily appearance and , often , cultural garb.
” He asked , “ In this context , are white representations of Christ and His Mother inherently signs of white supremacy ?
I think not .
Because the Son of God became incarnate in our human flesh , does not all of humanity – every race , tribe , and tongue – have the spiritual ability to depict Him through the particular lens of their own culture ?
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the heels of a statement by San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone on June 20 .
Cordileone asked , “ What is happening to our society ?
” “ A renewed national movement to heal memories and correct the injustices of racism and police brutality in our country has been hijacked by some into a movement of violence , looting and vandalism , ” he continued , spelling out what happened during many of the protests .
Tearing down the statue of St. Junipero Serra , who was canonized by Pope Francis in 2015 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the archbishop said , “ a troubling phenomenon that seems to be repeating itself throughout the country.
” “ Our dear city bears the name of one of history ’ s most iconic figures of peace and goodwill : St. Francis of Assisi , ” Cordileone explained .
“ For the past 800 years , the various Franciscan orders of brothers , sisters and priests that trace their inspiration back to him have been exemplary of not only serving , but identifying with , the poor and downtrodden and giving them their rightful @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Junipero Serra is no exception.
” The archbishop of San Francisco went on to briefly recount the saint ’ s achievement in his life .
“ St .
Serra made heroic sacrifices to protect the indigenous people of California from their Spanish conquerors , especially the soldiers , ” Cordileone wrote .
“ Even with his infirmed leg which caused him such pain , he walked all the way to Mexico City to obtain special faculties of governance from the Viceroy of Spain in order to discipline the military who were abusing the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to California.
” “ And lest there be any doubt , we have a physical reminder to this day : everywhere there is a presidio ( soldiers ’ barracks ) associated with a mission in the chain of 21 missions that he founded , the presidio is miles away from the mission itself and the school , ” he pointed out .
“ St .
Junipero Serra also offered them the best thing he had : the knowledge and love of Jesus Christ , which he and his fellow Franciscan friars did through @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the agrarian arts.
” The bishops of California , in a separate statement , failed to forcefully condemn the tearing down of statues of St. Junipero Serra .
They only asked that for this process of tearing down statues “ to be truly effective as a remedy for racism , it must discern carefully the entire contribution that the historical figure in question made to American life , especially in advancing the rights of marginalized peoples.
” In other words , as long as this criterion is met , tearing down a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ private property , could be justified , according to the bishops of California , which includes the current president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops , Archbishop José H. Gomez of Los Angeles .
The bishops did not distinguish between the mob destruction of a statue and its removal after a political debate , where both sides make their case , and elected officials then make a decision .

As a shepherd of the Church, I cannot remain silent in the face of this call, said Madison Bishop Donald Hying.
PETITION: Urge U.S. Catholic Bishops Conference to defend Catholic heritage and statues! Sign the petition here.
MADISON, Wisconsin, June 25, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) – Bishop Donald J. Hying of Madison, Wisconsin, said that “as a shepherd of the Church,” he “cannot remain silent” in the face of a call by a Black Lives Matter activist to destroy representations of Jesus Christ.
“I need to denounce such a call to violence and destruction,” Bishop Hying wrote in a letter dated June 23.
Shaun King, a leading voice in the Black Lives Matter movement, best known for claiming to be half-black despite both parents on his birth certificate being listed as white, had declared Monday that statues, murals, and stained-glass windows depicting Jesus as white should be taken down for being “form(s) of white supremacy,” meant to be “tools of oppression” and “racist propaganda.”
“Our statues, pictures, stained-glass windows, churches, icons, and devotions are holy to us,” Bishop Hying explained. “They are sacramentals, blessed and sacred, visible expressions of the love of God, poured out in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus and made manifest in the saints. They remind us of God, His love for us in Christ, and the nearness of the divine.”
The bishop of Madison condemned the “secular iconoclasm of the current moment,” as it “will not bring reconciliation, peace, and healing. Such violence will only perpetuate the prejudice and hatred it ostensibly seeks to end.”
He praised religious freedom as a God-given right guaranteed by the Constitution. “We must not surrender our religious liberty to the voices that seek the destruction of our public presence, the diminishing of our sacramental worship, and the denial of our belief in Jesus Christ as the savior of the world,” he added. “Only the love of Christ can heal a wounded heart, not a vandalized piece of metal.”
Hying admitted he is aware of “some of the torturous narrative of violence and oppression against both the Native peoples of this land and the African peoples brought here as slaves.”
“In my opinion,” he argued, “the injustices suffered by these peoples over the course of centuries are two of the greatest moral failures of our country, with deep repercussions in our culture. We must study and know this history in order to transcend it, to learn from it and to commit ourselves to justice, equality, and solidarity because of it.”
However, “even the worst aspects of history should be remembered and kept before our eyes. Auschwitz remains open as both a memorial and a museum, so that humanity never forgets the horror of the Holocaust.”
He suggested, instead of having rioters tear down and destroy statues, to have “respectful discussion about the proper way to commemorate people and events, such as Christopher Columbus, the European colonization of the Americas, the tragic suffering of slavery, the Civil War, Confederate leaders, the Founding Fathers, and the evangelization of our continent.”
Then, “measured decisions about statues, buildings, and memorials” could be made in a civilized manner.
The bishop asked a number of rhetorical questions:
If we allow the commemorative and visual history of our nation to be destroyed by random groups in the current moment of anger, how will we ever learn from that history? Does toppling and vandalizing a statue of George Washington because he owned slaves, really serve our country and our collective memory? Would it not be better to let the whole history of our country be on full display in all of its complexity, so that we can value the patrimony of our heritage and simultaneously critique the injustices and sins of the past? … Should certain statues be placed in museums or storage? Perhaps. Should we let a group of vandals make those decisions for us? No.
In response to Shaun King’s claim of a white representation of Jesus Christ indicating “white supremacy,” Bishop Hying pointed out that among Catholics, “every culture, country, ethnicity, and race has claimed Jesus and the Blessed Virgin Mary as their own. Our Lady of Guadalupe appeared to St. Juan Diego as a mestiza, African art depicts Jesus as Black, Asian depictions of the Blessed Mother, too, take on similarities of both bodily appearance and, often, cultural garb.”
He asked, “In this context, are white representations of Christ and His Mother inherently signs of white supremacy? I think not. Because the Son of God became incarnate in our human flesh, does not all of humanity – every race, tribe, and tongue – have the spiritual ability to depict Him through the particular lens of their own culture?”
Bishop Hying’s letter comes on the heels of a statement by San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone on June 20.
Cordileone asked, “What is happening to our society?”
“A renewed national movement to heal memories and correct the injustices of racism and police brutality in our country has been hijacked by some into a movement of violence, looting and vandalism,” he continued, spelling out what happened during many of the protests.
Tearing down the statue of St. Junipero Serra, who was canonized by Pope Francis in 2015, “was mob rule,” the archbishop said, “a troubling phenomenon that seems to be repeating itself throughout the country.”
“Our dear city bears the name of one of history’s most iconic figures of peace and goodwill: St. Francis of Assisi,” Cordileone explained. “For the past 800 years, the various Franciscan orders of brothers, sisters and priests that trace their inspiration back to him have been exemplary of not only serving, but identifying with, the poor and downtrodden and giving them their rightful dignity as children of God. St. Junipero Serra is no exception.”
The archbishop of San Francisco went on to briefly recount the saint’s achievement in his life.
“St. Serra made heroic sacrifices to protect the indigenous people of California from their Spanish conquerors, especially the soldiers,” Cordileone wrote. “Even with his infirmed leg which caused him such pain, he walked all the way to Mexico City to obtain special faculties of governance from the Viceroy of Spain in order to discipline the military who were abusing the Indians. And then he walked back to California.”
“And lest there be any doubt, we have a physical reminder to this day: everywhere there is a presidio (soldiers’ barracks) associated with a mission in the chain of 21 missions that he founded, the presidio is miles away from the mission itself and the school,” he pointed out.
“St. Junipero Serra also offered them the best thing he had: the knowledge and love of Jesus Christ, which he and his fellow Franciscan friars did through education, health care, and training in the agrarian arts.”
The bishops of California, in a separate statement, failed to forcefully condemn the tearing down of statues of St. Junipero Serra. They only asked that for this process of tearing down statues “to be truly effective as a remedy for racism, it must discern carefully the entire contribution that the historical figure in question made to American life, especially in advancing the rights of marginalized peoples.”
In other words, as long as this criterion is met, tearing down a statue, and thus destroying public or private property, could be justified, according to the bishops of California, which includes the current president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Archbishop José H. Gomez of Los Angeles.
The bishops did not distinguish between the mob destruction of a statue and its removal after a political debate, where both sides make their case, and elected officials then make a decision.
Share