Hermeneutic of Fatima: Let the tail (the SSPX) wag the dog (CDF)

From a September 23, 2009 post:

The developments in Vatican relations with both the SSPX and the Eastern Orthodox may best be understood neither through a "Hermeneutic of Continuity" nor a "Hermeneutic of Rupture," but through a Hermeneutic of Fatima:

If you were the pope, in the twilight of your career, a true son of VII, yet you could see the severe problems that have wracked the Church since VII, what would you do? If you had a deep seated fear that the Church would continue its moral decline if nothing is done, what would you do? If you truly believed the actions of the Vatican regarding Fatima were, at the time, honest and forthright, but now you had a real doubt that all was not as it seemed then, what would you do?

You would look at the most important aspects of the Message of Fatima that may not have been addressed, and you would systematically work to undo the damage.

1) Restore the TLM.

2) Propose a reconsideration and reinterpretation of VII.

3) Figure out a way to bring Russia back into the fold.

How?

1) Summorum Pontificum

2) Lift the SSPX excommunications, and task them with addressing the problems of VII. Put them directly in contact with the CDF. Let the tail (the SSPX) wag the dog (CDF.) Then let the CDF wag the Church.

3) Make real moves towards reuniting Eastern Orthodoxy, and use the Grace of that unity to fight the errors of post-Christian western decay.

This may be the interpretive key to truly understanding the "Marshall Plan" of Pope Benedict XVI.

This "Hermeneutic of Fatima" continues apace, it seems.

In May, 2010, the Pope "reopened  the file on the Third Secret of Fatima," declaring:

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

Now, see the post at Rorate-Caeli, Tectonic Shifts: For the Roman Curia, the end of the "super-Council" as well as the Missa in Latino post, Il contenuto del 'preambolo dottrinale' presentato alla FSSPX, Google Translation: The contents of the 'doctrinal Preamble' presented to the SSPX

And what about the more "apocalyptic" parts of Fatima that were either forgotten or never fully revealed? See our last post, For fourth anniversary of Summorum Pontificum, Pope draws attention to little known prophecies of Venerable Elena Aiello

UPDATE:
Rorate-Caeli now has an entry with translation of the Missa in Latino post on the contents of the doctrinal Preamble:

Messa in latino on the Preamble

We do not assume responsibility for the content below, which has just been published by Messa in latino, and the most relevant part of which we merely translate for the English-speaking world. Though wordy, it does not seem to add any substantial information to the analysis written for us by Côme Prévigny, or even, if one considers it carefully, to the official communiqué itself - other than the indirect claim of the Italian author of actually knowing the content of the Preamble.

The content of the Preamble, which at the end of the day is a somewhat synthetic document, can be essentially summed up in two points. We begin with the second one because it is a simple thing: to say it in broad terms, the FSSPX must modify its tone and express whatever it wishes to say in a respectful and filial way, as well as collaborate loyally with all the other structures of the Mystical Body. In clerical-theological level, that is defined as 'sentire cum ecclesia'.

The first point of the preamble, instead, the most important one, is the re-proposition of the content of canon 750 of the CIC [Code of Canon Law], that is, the need for a Catholic to accept the magisterial teaching according to the degrees of assent sanctioned by that canon and by the Apostolic Letter Ad tuendam fidem, of John Paul II. To sum it up, there are diverse degrees of binding of magisterial teaching: as an Explanatory note of then-Cardinal Ratzinger, as Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, clarified, there are truths that the Church proclaims as divinely revealed, and that are thus unchanging, and to be received with "theological faith". Whoever does not believe in it is not a Catholic. Such are, for instance, the dogmas of faith, regarding which, in any event, the SSPX has no problem (Bishop Fellay exemplified it with the dogma of the Trinity). An equal assent of firm faith (and equally non-problematic for the FSSPX) concerns those doctrines on faith and morals not directly founded on Scripture, but taught by the Church infallibly, either because proclaimed thus or because always repeated by the Magisterium. Examples of the latter (read in the explanatory note itself) include the impossibility of female ordination, the prohibition of euthanasia, the canonization of saints.

Those teachings of the Magisterium of the [Supreme] Pontiff or of the College of Bishops which require mere 'religious assent of mind and intellect' are those that are not definitive (perhaps because they contradict preceding teachings: one could consider - the example is ours [Messa in latino's] - the prohibition of loans with interest). The Note of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith prudently avoids mentioning examples of any kind, perhaps because it would be as if minimizing the teachings that might have been listed in this category. The fact is that the most controversial teachings of the Council, as also [of] the subsequent Magisterium that has repeated those teachings, could not rise up ... to a binding level above this one, considering that the Council declared its will not to define any new "truth" and that the very fact of being propositions, if not in "rupture", at least "reforming" the previous Magisterium, they are necessarily deprived of any character of definitiveness.

In practice, it is asked of the Fraternity to sign the profession of faith which every Catholic must hold; it seems pretty feasible. But some could fear that this obligation of "religious assent of mind and intellect", if applied to certain Conciliar teachings, could curtail, even if it would not nullify (under certain conditions, it is possible to dissent - but not loudly - from non-definitive teachings), the right of criticism to the Council. And here is the great innovation.

As the official communiqué of the Holy See reports, the Preamble leaves "open to legitimate discussion the study and theological explanation of particular expressions and formulations present in the texts of the Second Vatican Council and of the Magisterium that followed it." Let it be noted that the object of this discussion, which is expressly recognized as "legitimate", is not merely the interpretations of the documents, but the very texts of the latter: the "expressions or formulations" used in the conciliar documents. If the words used in the preamble, and thus in the official communiqué, have a sense, there is here a Copernican revolution in the approach to the Council: that is, the displacement from a mere exegetical level to a substantive one.

---

So, we are back to the communiqué, then. Well, that is good: the communiqué mirrored perfectly where things stand.

Posted by New Catholic at 9/19/2011 12:01:00

For fourth anniversary of Summorum Pontificum, Pope draws attention to little known prophecies of Venerable Elena Aiello

Very interesting timing on the part of Pope Benedict XVI for the beatification of Venerable Elena Aiello. September 14 is not only the Feast of the Triumph of the Holy Cross and the fourth anniversary of Summorum Pontificum, it is also the day the Vatican has called the leaders of the SSPX to Rome for one-on-one talks.

The body of prophecy attributed to Venerable Elena Aiello correlates well with both conjecture about the part of the Third Secret of Fatima that may not yet have been revealed, as well as the known messages of Our Lady of Akita. Note the parallel between warnings of global fire in these prophecies and that of Our Lady of Akita, which stated

"As I told you, if men do not repent and better themselves, the Father will inflict a terrible punishment on all humanity. It will be a punishment greater than the deluge, such as one will never have seen before. Fire will fall from the sky and will wipe out a great part of humanity, the good as well as the bad, sparing neither priests nor faithful. The survivors will find themselves so desolate that they will envy the dead. The only arms which will remain for you will be the Rosary and the Sign left by my Son. Each day, recite the prayers of the Rosary. With the Rosary, pray for the Pope, the bishops and the priests. The work of the devil will infiltrate even into the Church in such a way that one will see cardinals opposing cardinals, and bishops against other bishops. The priests who venerate me will be scorned and opposed by their Confreres. The Church and altars will be vandalized. The Church will be full of those who accept compromises and the demon will press many priests and consecrated souls to leave the service of the Lord.

"The demon will rage especially against souls consecrated to God. The thought of the loss of so many souls is the cause of my sadness. If sins increase in number and gravity, there will no longer be pardon for them."

Given the correspondence of these two prophecies, one must wonder if this declaration of Blessed by Pope Benedict XVI on September 14, 2011 may be a way of once again bringing attention back to the Third Secret of Fatima.

Howard Dee, former Philippine ambassador to the Vatican, said in a 1998 interview with Inside the Vatican magazine:

“Bishop Ito [the local bishop, now deceased] was certain Akita was an extension of Fatima, and Cardinal Ratzinger personally confirmed to me that these two messages, of Fatima and Akita, are essentially the same.”

Also recall the concerns of Msgr. Eugene Pacelli, the future Pope Pius XII, about changing the liturgy:

"I am worried by the Blessed Virgin's messages to Lucy of Fatima. This persistence of Mary about the dangers which menace the Church is a divine warning against the suicide of altering the Faith, in Her liturgy, Her theology and Her soul. … I hear all around me innovators who wish to dismantle the Sacred Chapel, destroy the universal flame of the Church, reject Her ornaments and make Her feel remorse for Her historical past.

"A day will come when the civilized world will deny its God, when the Church will doubt as Peter doubted. She will be tempted to believe that man has become God. In our churches, Christians will search in vain for the red lamp where God awaits them. Like Mary Magdalene, weeping before the empty tomb, they will ask, 'Where have they taken Him?'"     - Roche, Pie XII Devant L'Historie, p. 52-53

There is also a correlation between the prophecies of Our Lady of Akita and Ven. Elena Aiello with the recently approved Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help in Wisconsin. In her messages there, Our Lady of Good Help stated to Adele Brise:

‘I am the Queen of Heaven, who prays for the conversion of sinners, and I wish you to do the same. You received Holy Communion this morning, and that is well. But you must do more. Make a general confession, and offer Communion for the conversion of sinners. If they do not convert and do penance, my Son will be obliged to punish them’

 Twelve years later,

When the Peshtigo Fire spread across Green Bay on Oct. 8, 1871, area residents walked around the [Our Lady of Good Help] chapel grounds all night praying the rosary and carrying a statue of Mary. Everything outside that five-acre area was burned.

Our Lady of Good Help had predicted in 1859 that if men did not repent and convert, they would suffer:

On the evening of October 8, 1871 the worst recorded forest fire in North American history raged through Northeastern Wisconsin and Upper Michigan, destroying millions of dollars worth of property and timberland, and taking between 1,200 and 2,400 lives.

The great Midwestern city of Chicago also happened to endure a terrible fire that same fateful night, and for whatever reasons -- an irresistibly charming legend about a cow and a lantern among them -- the Chicago Fire became part of the national consciousness while the Peshtigo tragedy gradually slipped into obscurity, eventually remembered primarily by scholars, local "old-timers" and Wisconsin school children (who are required to study their state's history in the 4th grade).

Most people don't realize that the Great Chicago Fire and The Great Peshtigo Fire both occurred at the same time, burning not only Chicago but also Northeastern Wisconsin and Upper Michigan, killing thousands. There is a credible theory that both the Great Chicago Fire and The Great Peshtigo Fire were ignited by debris from a disintegrating comet. And that is eerily similar to the prophecies of fire from the sky of both Our Lady of Akita and Ven. Elena Aiello.




According to the Mystics of the Church blog entry from which these prophecies are excerpted:

(Venerable Elena Aiello will be declared Blessed on September 14, 2011 -Feast of the Triumph of the Holy Cross. Because there is currently not much information in english on the Internet about her extraordinary holy life and prophecies, the webmaster was very happy when Elizabeth, a friend in Jesus, offered to write this excellent Biography. I am therefore very grateful to her for providing these edifying details of her life. May God bless and reward her for her efforts. -Editor)

The information contained in this abbreviated biography was taken from the book "The Incredible Life Story of Sister Elena Aiello, The Calabrian Holy Nun (1895-1961)". It was written by Monsignor Francesco Spadafora in Italian and was translated into English by Monsignor Angelo R. Cioffi. Fr. Spadafora was a renowned biblical scholar from the Pontifical University of the Lateran in Rome. He opposed modernism and while writing this book he was also battling the modernist approach to scripture that started to gain ground at the biblical institute.

THE PROPHECIES OF SISTER ELENA AIELLO

GOOD FRIDAY (APRIL 16) 1954

“Upon initiating the usual sufferings, about the hour of 1:00 p.m., Jesus appeared to me, covered with wounds and bleeding, saying to me:

‘Behold my child, see to what ends the sins of man have reduced me. The world has lowered itself in overflowing corruption. The governments of the peop1e have risen like demons incarnated, and, while they speak of peace they prepare for war with the most devastating implements to destroy peoples and nations. Men have become ungrateful to My Sacred Heart, and abusing My Mercy, have transformed the earth into a scene of crime’.

‘Numerous scandals are bringing souls to ruin particularly through the corruption of youth. Stirred up, and unrestrained in the enjoyment of the pleasures of the world, they have degraded their spirit in corruption and sin. The bad example of parents trains the family in scandal and infidelity, instead of virtue and prayer, which is almost dead on the lips of many. Stained and withered is the fountain of faith and sanctity the home’.

‘The wills of men do not change. They live in their obstinacy of sin. More severe are the scourges and plagues to recall them to the way of God; but men still become furious, like wounded beasts (and harden their hearts against the Grace of God). The world is no longer worthy of pardon, but only of fire, destruction and death’.

‘There must be more prayers and penances from the souls faithful to Me, in order to appease the just wrath of God, and to temperate the just sentence of punishment, SUSPENDED on earth by the intercession of My Beloved Mother, who is also the Mother of all men’.

‘Oh! how sad is My Heart to see that men do not convert (or respond) to so many calls of love and grief, manifested by My Beloved Mother to errant men. Roaming in darkness, they continue to live in sin, and further away from God! But the scourge of fire is near, to purify the earth of the iniquities of the wicked. The justice of God requires reparation for the many offenses and misdeeds that cover the earth, and which can no longer be compromised. Men are obstinate in their guilt, and do not return to God’.

‘The Church is opposed, and the priests are despised because of the bad ones who give scandal. Help Me, by suffering, to repair for so many offenses, and thus save AT LEAST IN PART, humanity precipitated in a slough of corruption and death’.

‘Make it known to all men that, repentant, they must return to God, and, in doing so, may hope for pardon, and be saved from the just vengeance of a scorned God’.

“In so saying Our Lord God disappeared. Then the Madonna appeared to me. She was dressed in black, with seven swords piercing Her Immaculate Heart. Coming closer, with an expression of profound sorrow, and with tears on her cheeks, she spoke to me, saying: ‘Listen attentively, and reveal to all:

‘My Heart is sad for so many sufferings in an impending world in ruin. The justice of Our Father is most offended. Men live in their obstinacy of sin. The wrath of God is near. Soon the world will be afflicted with great calamities, bloody revolutions, frightful hurricanes, and the overflowing of streams and the seas’.

‘Cry out until the priests of God lend their ears to my voice, to advise men that the time is near at hand, and if men do not return to God with prayers and penances, the world will be overturned in a new and more terrible war. Arms most deadly will destroy peoples and nations! The dictators of the earth, specimens infernal, will demolish the churches and desecrate the Holy Eucharist, and will destroy things most dear. In this impious war, much will be destroyed of that which has been built by the hands of man’.

‘CLOUDS WITH LIGHTNING FLASHES OF FIRE IN THE SKY AND A TEMPEST OF FIRE SHALL FALL UPON THE WORLD. THIS TERRIBLE SCOURGE, NEVER BEFORE SEEN IN THE HISTORY OF HUMANITY, WILL LAST SEVENTY HOURS. GODLESS PERSONS WILL BE CRUSHED AND WIPED OUT. MANY WILL BE LOST BECAUSE THEY REMAIN IN THEIR OBSTINACY OF SIN. THEN SHALL BE SEEN THE POWER OF LIGHT OVER THE POWER OF DARKNESS’.

‘Be not silent, my daughter, because the hours of darkness, of abandonment, are near. ‘I am bending over the world, holding in suspension the justice of God. OTHERWISE THESE THINGS WOULD ALREADY HAVE NOW COME TO PASS. Prayers and penances are necessary because men MUST RETURN TO GOD and to My Immaculate Heart—the Mediatrix of men to God, and thus THE WORLD WILL BE AT LEAST IN PART SAVED’.

‘Cry out these things to all, like the very echo of my voice. Let this be known to all, because it will help save many souls, and prevent much destruction in the Church and in the world’.

MESSAGE OF GOOD FRIDAY (APRIL 8) 1955
“The Blessed Mother, lovely and majestic, but with tears on her cheeks, spoke: ‘My daughter, it is thy Mother speaking to thee, Listen attentively, and make known all that I tell thee, because men, in spite of repeated warnings, are not returning to God. They refuse grace, and are not listening to my voice. You must have no doubt about what I am making known to you, because my words are very clear, and you must transmit them to all.’

‘DARK AND FRIGHTFUL DAYS ARE APPROACHING! Mankind is obscured by a thick fog, as a

result of the many grievous sins, which are well nigh covering the whole earth. Today, more than ever, men are, resisting the calls from Heaven, and are blaspheming God, while wallowing in the mire of sin’.

‘My daughter, look upon my Heart pierced by the thorns of so many sins; my face, disfigured by sorrow; my eyes, filled with tears. The cause of such great sadness is the sight of so many souls going to Hell, and because the Church is wounded – inwardly and outwardly’.

‘The rulers of nations make so much ado and speak of peace. But instead, the whole world will soon be at war, and all mankind will he plunged into sorrow, be cause the justice of God will not be delayed in fulfilling its course, and these events are near. Tremendous will be the upheaval of the whole world, because men — as at the time of the Deluge — have lost God’s way, and are ruled by the spirit of Satan’.

‘Priests must unite by prayers and penance. They must hasten to spread the devotion to the Two Hearts. The hour of my triumph is close at hand. The victory will be accomplished through the love and mercy of the Heart of My Son, and of My Immaculate Heart the Mediatrix between men and God, By accepting this invitation, and by uniting their tears to those of My Sorrowful Heart, priests and religious will obtain great graces for the salvation of poor sinners’.

‘LAUNCH FORTH INTO THE WORLD A MESSAGE TO MAKE KNOWN TO ALL THAT THE
SCOURGE IS NEAR AT HAND, The justice of God is weighing upon the world. Mankind, defiled in the mire, soon will be washed in its own blood, by disease; by famine; by earthquakes; by cloudbursts, tornadoes, floods, and terrible storms; and by war. But men ignore all these warnings, and are unwilling to be convinced that my tears (Weeping Madonna of Sicily?), are plain signs to serve notice that tragic events are hanging over the world, and that the hours of great trials are at hand’.

‘If men do not amend their ways, a terrifying scourge of fire will come down from Heaven upon all the nations of the world, and men will be punished according to the debts contracted with Divine justice. There will be frightful moments for all, because Heaven will be joined with the earth, and all the un-Godly people will be destroyed, SOME NATIONS WILL BE PURIFIED, WHILE OTHERS WILL DISAPPEAR ENTIRELY’.

You are to transmit these warnings to all, in order that the new generation will know that men had been warned in time to turn to God by doing penance, and thus could have avoided these punishments’.

But when will all this come about?’ I asked Our Lady.” ‘My daughter,’ answered the Blessed Mother, ‘the time is not far off. When men least expect it, the course of Divine Justice will be accomplished’.

‘My Heart is so big for poor sinners, and I make use of every possible means that they may be saved. Look at this mantle, how big it is. If I were not bent over the earth to cover all with my maternal love, the tempest of fire would at-, ready have broken upon the nations of the world!’

“Then I exclaimed, ‘My lovely Mother, never before have 1 seen thee with such a large mantle.’ The Blessed Virgin, holding her arms wide, answered:”

‘This is the mantle of mercy for all those who, having repented, come back to My Immaculate Heart. See? The right hand holds the mantle to cover and to save poor sinners, while with the left hand I hold back the Divine Justice, so that the time of Mercy may still be prolonged.’

‘To help me in this, I ask that the prayer, MATERNAL REFUGE, be spread as a most useful means to obtain graces and salvation for poor sinners, Say often with your arms crossed:

“QUEEN OF THE UNIVERSE, MEDIATRIX OF MEN TO GOD, REFUGE OF ALL OUR HOPES, HAVE MERCY ON US,”

GOOD FRIDAY (APRIL 7) 1950
Sister Elena Aiello asked Our Blessed Mother: “What will become of Italy? Will Rome be saved?”
“The Madonna answered:” ‘In part, by the Pope! The Church will be in travail, but the forces of Hell cannot prevail! You must suffer for the Pope and Christ, and thus Christ will be safe on earth; and the Pope, with his redemptive word, will, in part, save the world.’

“The Madonna then came closer, and with a sad expression, showed me the flames of Hell. She said:” ‘Satan reigns and triumphs on earth! See how the souls are falling into Hell. See how high the flames are, and the souls who fall into them like flakes of snow look like transparent embers! How many sparks! How many cries of hate, and of despair! How much pain!’

‘See how many priestly souls! Look at the sign of their consecration in their transparent hands! (In the palms of their hands the sign of the cross, in more vivid fire, could clearly be seen!) What torture, my daughter, in my maternal Heart! Great is my sorrow to see that men do not change! The justice of the Father requires reparation — otherwise many will be lost!’

“See how Russia will burn!” Before my eyes there extended an immense field covered with flames and smoke, in which souls were submerged as if in a sea of fire!

“And all this fire,” concluded the Madonna, “is not that which will fall from the hands of men, but will be hurled directly from the Angels (at the time of the great chastisement or “housecleaning” that will come upon the earth). Therefore I ask prayers, penance and sacrifice, so I may act as Mediatrix for my Son in order to save souls.”

GOOD FRIDAY (March 23) 1961

The Madonna speaks: “My daughter, the scourge is near. Much is spoken of peace, but all the world will soon be at war, and the streets will be stained with blood! No gleam of light is seen in the world, because men live in the darkness of error, and the enormous weight of sin angers the justice of God.”

“All nations will be punished, because sin has spread all over the world! Tremendous will be the
punishments, because man has arrived at an insupportable contest with his God and Father, and has exasperated His infinite Goodness!”

“My heart bleeds for Italy also, which will be safe only in part for the Pope! Oh!, what grief to see the representative of Christ on earth hated, persecuted, outraged!”

“He, who is the Spiritual Father of the people, the defender of the Faith and of truth, whose face, radiant with light, shines upon the world, is greatly hated.”

“He, who personifies Christ on earth, doing good for all, becomes thus outraged with impunity!”

“Many iniquitous and wicked leaders of the people, who live and drag along with them their people outside the laws of God, showing themselves in sheep’s’ clothing, while being rapacious wolves, have ruined society, stirring it up against God and His Church.”

“How can the world be saved, from the disaster that is about to crash down upon the misleading nations, if man does not repent of his errors and failings? The only salvation is a complete repentance and return to God, and a true devotion to my Immaculate Heart, particularly in the daily recitation of my Rosary.”

“Once there was the chastisement by water, but if there is not a returning to God, there will come the chastisement by fire, which will cover the streets of the world with blood.”

"My daughter, cry out loudly, and let it be known to all, that, if they do not return to God, Italy too, will only in part be safe for the Pope.”

“My heart of Mother, and Mediatrix of men, close to the mercy of God, invites, with many manifestations and many signs, the people to penance and to pardon. But they respond with a storm of hate, blasphemies and sacrilegious profanations, as if blinded by an infernal rage. I wish prayers and penance, in order that I may again obtain mercy and salvation for many souls — otherwise they will be lost.”

FEAST OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION -DEC 8, 1956
Our Blessed Mother speaks: “The world today is honoring me, but my Motherly Heart is bleeding, because the enemy is at our doors! Men are offending God too much! If I were to show you the number of sins committed in a single day, you would die of horror and sorrow! The sins that distress God the most, are those of the souls who should perfume the air with the fragrance of their virtues. Instead, they contaminate (by their sinful lives) those who come near them.”

“The times are grievous. The whole world is in turmoil, because IT HAS BECOME WORSE THAN AT THE TIME OF THE DELUGE!”

“Everything is in suspense, like a thread; when this thread breaks, the justice of God will fall like a thunderbolt and will complete its terrible course of purification.”

Sister Elena asked, “What will become of Italy?”

The Virgin Mary answered: “Italy, my daughter, will be humiliated, purified in blood, and must suffer much, because many are the sins of this beloved country, seat of the Vicar of Christ. You cannot imagine what will happen! In those sad days there will be much anguish and weeping. There will be a great revolution, and streets will be red with blood.”

“The Pope will suffer much, and all this suffering will be like an agony, which will shorten his earthly pilgrimage. His successor will guide the boat in the tempest.”

“However the punishment of the impious will not be delayed. That day will be most fearful in the world! The earth will tremble, all humanity will be shaken! The wicked and the obstinate will perish in the tremendous severity of the justice of the Lord.”

“Launch at once a message into the world, to advise men to return to God by prayers and penances, and to come with confidence to my Immaculate Heart. My power must be shown, because I am the Mother of God, of the just, and of sinners. Through prayer and penance, my mercy will be able to hold back the hand of God’s justice.”

PROPHESIES OF 1959
Jesus, dripping with blood and with painful and suffering look, said: “Do you wish to unite with Me in My agony? See how much I suffer! The sins of men have reduced me to this! What bitterness is poured into this Heart, pierced by many souls, who instead of loving me with sacrifices, and in flight from sinful vanities of the corrupt world, commit much iniquity!”

“Help me to suffer by consoling my grieved Heart, and make reparation for the many sins! Oh my beloved bride, if you knew the pain that my Heart suffers from the loss of so many souls! Satan travels victorious over all the sinful earth! I need generous souls to appease the outraged justice of the Father, because the world is headed for imminent ruin! The hours of darkness are near!”

“Then, the Madonna appeared to me, sad and shedding tears. She said”: ‘This great mantle which you see, is the expression of my mercy for covering sinners and for saving them. Men, instead, cover themselves with even more filth, and do not want to confess their real faults. Therefore, the justice of God will pass over the sinful world to purify humanity for so many sins, openly committed and hidden, especially those which corrupt youth!’

‘In order to save souls, I wish that there be propagated in the world the consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Mediatrix of men, devoted to the Mercy of God, and to the Queen of the Universe.’

‘The world will be once more afflicted with great calamity; with bloody revolutions; with great earthquakes; with famines; with epidemics; with fearful hurricanes; and with floods from rivers and seas. But if men do not return to God, purifying fire will fall from the Heavens, like snowstorms, on all peoples, and a great part of humanity will be destroyed!’

‘No longer do men speak according to the true spirit of the Gospel. The immorality of the times has ‘reached a peak! But men do not listen to my motherly warnings, so the world must soon be purified.’

‘RUSSIA WILL MARCH UPON ALL THE NATIONS OF EUROPE, PARTICULARLY ITALY, AND WILL RAISE HER FLAG OVER THE DOME OF ST. PETER’S. Italy will be severely tried by a great revolution, and Rome will be purified in blood for its many sins, especially those of impurity! The flock is about to be dispersed and the Pope must suffer greatly!’

‘The only valid means for placating Divine Justice is to pray and do penance, returning to God with sincere sorrow for the faults committed, and then the chastisement of Divine Justice will be mitigated by mercy. Humanity will never find peace, if it does not return to my Immaculate Heart as Mother of Mercy, and Mediatrix of men; and to the Heart of my Son Jesus!’

GOOD FRIDAY — 1960

The Madonna speaks: “How youth lives in perdition! How many innocent souls find themselves enwrapped in a chain of scandals! The world has become as a flooded valley, overflowing with filth and mud! Some of the most difficult trials of Divine Justice are yet to come, before the deluge of fire.”

“I, for a long time, have advised men in many ways, but they do not listen to my maternal appeals, and they continue to walk the paths of perdition. But soon terrifying manifestations will be seen, which will make even the most obdurate sinners tremble!”

“Great calamities will come upon the world, which will bring confusion, tears, struggles and pain. Great earthquakes will swallow up entire cities and countries, and will bring epidemics, famine, and terrible destruction ESPECIALLY WHERE THE SONS OF DARKNESS ARE, (pagan or anti-God nations).”

"In these tragic hours, the world has need of prayers and penance, because the Pope, the priests, and the Church are in danger. If we do not pray, Russia will march upon all of Europe, and particularly upon Italy, bringing much more ruin and havoc! Hence the priests must be in the front line of defense of the Church, by example and sanctity in life, for materialism is breaking forth in all nations and evil prevails over good.”

“The rulers of the people do not understand this, because they do not have the Christian spirit; in their blindness, do not see the truth.”

“In Italy, some leaders like rapacious wolves in sheep’s’ clothing, while calling themselves Christians — open the door to materialism, and, fostering dishonest actions, will bring Italy to ruin; but many of them, too, will fall in confusion!”

“Propagate the devotions to my Immaculate Heart, of Mother of Mercy, Mediatrix of men, who believe in the mercy of God, and of the Queen of the Universe.”

“I will manifest my partiality for Italy, which will be preserved from the fire, but the skies will be covered with dense darkness, and the earth will be shaken by fearful earthquakes which will open deep abysses. Provinces and cities will be destroyed, and all will cry out that the end of the world has come! Even Rome will be punished according to justice for its many and serious sins, because here sin has reached its peak.”

“Pray, and lose no time, lest it be too late; since dense darkness surrounds the earth and the enemy is at the doors!”

FEAST OF THE IMMACULATE HEART - August 22, 1960

The Madonna speaks: “The hour of the justice of God is close, and will be terrible!”

“Tremendous scourges are impending over the world, and various nations are struck by epidemics, famines, great earthquakes, terrific hurricanes, with overflowing rivers and seas, which bring ruin and death.”

“If the people do not recognize in these scourges (of nature) the warnings of Divine Mercy, and do not return to God with truly Christian living, ANOTHER TERRIBLE WAR WILL COME FROM THE EAST TO THE WEST. RUSSIA WITH HER SECRET ARMIES WILL BATTLE AMERICA; WILL OVERRUN EUROPE.

The river Rhine will be overflowing with corpses and blood. Italy, also, will be harassed by a great revolution, and the Pope will suffer terribly.”

“Spread the devotion to my Immaculate Heart, in order that many souls maybe conquered by my love and that many sinners may return to my Maternal Heart. Do not fear, for I will accompany with my maternal protection my faithful ones, and all those who accept my urgent warnings, and they — especially by the recitations of my Rosary — will be saved.”

“Satan goes furiously through this disordered world, and soon will show all his might. But, because of my Immaculate Heart, the triumph of Light will not delay in its triumph over the power of darkness, and the world, finally, will have tranquility and peace.”

GOOD FRIDAY — 1961
The Sorrowful Madonna speaks: “People pay no attention to my motherly warnings, and thus the world is falling headlong evermore into an abyss of iniquity. Nations shall be convulsed by terrible disasters, causing destruction and death.

“Russia, spurred on by Satan, will seek to dominate the whole world and, by bloody revolutions, will propagate her false teachings throughout all the nations, especially in Italy. The Church will be persecuted and the Pope and the priests shall suffer much.”

Sister Elena Aiello speaks: “Oh, what a horrible vision I see! A great revolution is going on in Rome! They are entering the Vatican. The Pope is all alone; he s praying. They are holding the Pope. They take him by force. They knock him down to the floor. They are tying him. Oh, God! Oh God! They are kicking him. What a horrible scene! How dreadful!”

“Our Blessed Mother is drawing near. Like corpses those evil men fall down to the floor. Our Lady helps the Pope to his feet and, taking him by the arm, she covers him with her mantle saying: ‘Fear not!’

“Flagstaffs (flying the Red flag over St. Peter’s dome and elsewhere) collapse, and power is gone out of the clubs of those evil brutes. These atheists are ever shouting: ‘We don’t want God to rule over us; we want Satan to be our master!’

Our Blessed Mother speaks again: “My daughter, Rome will not be saved, because the Italian rulers have forsaken the Divine Light and because only a few people really love the Church. But the day is not far off when all the wicked shall perish, under the tremendous blows of Divine Justice.”
---------------------------------
In April 2011, Pope Benedict XVI approved the petition allowing for the Beatification of Venerable Elena Aiello. She will be declared Blessed on September 14, 2011 (Feast of the Triumph of the Holy Cross) at 17.30 in Piazza dei Bruzi in Cosenza, Italy. The proclamation of the Blessed will be made by Cardinal Angelo Amato, prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, along with Archbishop of Cosenza/Bisignano, His Excellency Salvatore Nunnari.

For those interested, the Italian website of the Minim Sisters of the Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ can be found here.


++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


Addendum: "What Pope Benedict Fears"

Dr. Robert Moynihan, editor and founder of Inside the Vatican, reported the following in an email update earlier this summer entitled "What Pope Benedict Fears"

In an article published on the internet in three parts beginning on May 21 and concluding on June 22, the writer Antonio Margheriti Mastino presents what he says are the words and thoughts of Spanish Cardinal Antonio Canizares Llovera, currently the Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship in the Vatican.

Among the many interesting statements made in this report, one stands out: the statement that Pope Benedict, who is known to regard Canizares with favor, told Canizares personally meeting that he (Benedict) has three great fears:

(1) The secularization within the Church;
(2) The peaceful invasion of Europe by Islam;
(3) The ever-greater control -- and the next words are within quotation marks, meaning Margheriti Mastino is presenting these words as an exact quotation of what Cardinal Canizares said to him -- "of freemasonry on the cultural level and of the centers of power of the European Union."

Though the perils of Freemasonry are often forgotten, our Holy Father knows them. So did Our Lady of Fatima, and many other popes, not least of all Pope Leo XIII:

Now, from the disturbing errors which We have described the greatest dangers to States are to be feared. For, the fear of God and reverence for divine laws being taken away, the authority of rulers despised, sedition permitted and approved, and the popular passions urged on to lawlessness, with no restraint save that of punishment, a change and overthrow of all things will necessarily follow. Yea, this change and overthrow is deliberately planned and put forward by many associations of Communists and Socialists; and to their undertakings the sect of Freemasons is not hostile, but greatly favors their designs, and holds in common with them their chief opinions. And if these men do not at once and everywhere endeavor to carry out their extreme views, it is not to be attributed to their teaching and their will, but to the virtue of that divine religion which cannot be destroyed; and also because the sounder part of men, refusing to be enslaved to secret societies, vigorously resist their insane attempts.”-- paragraphs 27, Humanum Genus

INSTRUCTION ON THE APPLICATION OF THE APOSTOLIC LETTER SUMMORUM PONTIFICUM OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI

PONTIFICAL COMMISSION ECCLESIA DEI

INSTRUCTION
ON THE APPLICATION OF THE APOSTOLIC LETTER
SUMMORUM PONTIFICUM
OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI
GIVEN MOTU PROPRIO

I.
Introduction

1. The Apostolic Letter Summorum Pontificum of the Sovereign Pontiff Benedict XVI given Motu Proprio on 7 July 2007, which came into effect on 14 September 2007, has made the richness of the Roman Liturgy more accessible to the Universal Church.

2. With this Motu Proprio, the Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI promulgated a universal law for the Church, intended to establish new regulations for the use of the Roman Liturgy in effect in 1962.

3. The Holy Father, having recalled the concern of the Sovereign Pontiffs in caring for the Sacred Liturgy and in their recognition of liturgical books, reaffirms the traditional principle, recognised from time immemorial and necessary to be maintained into the future, that “each particular Church must be in accord with the universal Church not only regarding the doctrine of the faith and sacramental signs, but also as to the usages universally handed down by apostolic and unbroken tradition. These are to be maintained not only so that errors may be avoided, but also so that the faith may be passed on in its integrity, since the Church's rule of prayer (lex orandi) corresponds to her rule of belief (lex credendi).”[1]

4. The Holy Father recalls also those Roman Pontiffs who, in a particular way, were notable in this task, specifically Saint Gregory the Great and Saint Pius V. The Holy Father stresses moreover that, among the sacred liturgical books, the Missale Romanum has enjoyed a particular prominence in history, and was kept up to date throughout the centuries until the time of Blessed Pope John XXIII. Subsequently in 1970, following the liturgical reform after the Second Vatican Council, Pope Paul VI approved for the Church of the Latin rite a new Missal, which was then translated into various languages. In the year 2000, Pope John Paul II promulgated the third edition of this Missal.

5. Many of the faithful, formed in the spirit of the liturgical forms prior to the Second Vatican Council, expressed a lively desire to maintain the ancient tradition. For this reason, Pope John Paul II with a special Indult Quattuor abhinc annos issued in 1984 by the Congregation for Divine Worship, granted the faculty under certain conditions to restore the use of the Missal promulgated by Blessed Pope John XXIII. Subsequently, Pope John Paul II, with the Motu Proprio Ecclesia Dei of 1988, exhorted the Bishops to be generous in granting such a faculty for all the faithful who requested it. Pope Benedict continues this policy with the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum regarding certain essential criteria for the Usus Antiquior of the Roman Rite, which are recalled here.

6. The Roman Missal promulgated by Pope Paul VI and the last edition prepared under Pope John XXIII, are two forms of the Roman Liturgy, defined respectively as ordinaria and extraordinaria: they are two usages of the one Roman Rite, one alongside the other. Both are the expression of the same lex orandi of the Church. On account of its venerable and ancient use, the forma extraordinaria is to be maintained with appropriate honor.

7. The Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum was accompanied by a letter from the Holy Father to Bishops, with the same date as the Motu Proprio (7 July 2007). This letter gave further explanations regarding the appropriateness and the need for the Motu Proprio; it was a matter of overcoming a lacuna by providing new norms for the use of the Roman Liturgy of 1962. Such norms were needed particularly on account of the fact that, when the new Missal had been introduced under Pope Paul VI, it had not seemed necessary to issue guidelines regulating the use of the 1962 Liturgy. By reason of the increase in the number of those asking to be able to use the forma extraordinaria, it has become necessary to provide certain norms in this area.

Among the statements of the Holy Father was the following: “There is no contradiction between the two editions of the Roman Missal. In the history of the Liturgy growth and progress are found, but not a rupture. What was sacred for prior generations, remains sacred and great for us as well, and cannot be suddenly prohibited altogether or even judged harmful.”[2]

8. The Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum constitutes an important expression of the Magisterium of the Roman Pontiff and of his munus of regulating and ordering the Church’s Sacred Liturgy.[3] The Motu Proprio manifests his solicitude as Vicar of Christ and Supreme Pastor of the Universal Church,[4] and has the aim of:

a. offering to all the faithful the Roman Liturgy in the Usus Antiquior, considered as a precious treasure to be preserved;

b. effectively guaranteeing and ensuring the use of the forma extraordinaria for all who ask for it, given that the use of the 1962 Roman Liturgy is a faculty generously granted for the good of the faithful and therefore is to be interpreted in a sense favourable to the faithful who are its principal addressees;

c. promoting reconciliation at the heart of the Church.

II.
The Responsibilities
of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei

9. The Sovereign Pontiff has conferred upon the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei ordinary vicarious power for the matters within its competence, in a particular way for monitoring the observance and application of the provisions of the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum (cf. art. 12).

10. § 1. The Pontifical Commission exercises this power, beyond the faculties previously granted by Pope John Paul II and confirmed by Pope Benedict XVI (cf. Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum, artt. 11-12), also by means of the power to decide upon recourses legitimately sent to it, as hierarchical Superior, against any possible singular administrative provision of an Ordinary which appears to be contrary to the Motu Proprio.

§ 2. The decrees by which the Pontifical Commission decides recourses may be challenged ad normam iuris before the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura.

11. After having received the approval from the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei will have the task of looking after future editions of liturgical texts pertaining to the forma extraordinaria of the Roman Rite.

III.
Specific Norms

12. Following upon the inquiry made among the Bishops of the world, and with the desire to guarantee the proper interpretation and the correct application of the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum, this Pontifical Commission, by virtue of the authority granted to it and the faculties which it enjoys, issues this Instruction according to can. 34 of the Code of Canon Law.

The Competence of Diocesan Bishops

13. Diocesan Bishops, according to Canon Law, are to monitor liturgical matters in order to guarantee the common good and to ensure that everything is proceeding in peace and serenity in their Dioceses[5], always in agreement with the mens of the Holy Father clearly expressed by the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum.[6] In cases of controversy or well-founded doubt about the celebration in the forma extraordinaria, the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei will adjudicate.

14. It is the task of the Diocesan Bishop to undertake all necessary measures to ensure respect for the forma extraordinaria of the Roman Rite, according to the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum.

The coetus fidelium (cf. Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum, art. 5 § 1)

15. A coetus fidelium (“group of the faithful”) can be said to be stabiliter existens (“existing in a stable manner”), according to the sense of art. 5 § 1 of the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum, when it is constituted by some people of an individual parish who, even after the publication of the Motu Proprio, come together by reason of their veneration for the Liturgy in the Usus Antiquior, and who ask that it might be celebrated in the parish church or in an oratory or chapel; such a coetus (“group”) can also be composed of persons coming from different parishes or dioceses, who gather together in a specific parish church or in an oratory or chapel for this purpose.

16. In the case of a priest who presents himself occasionally in a parish church or an oratory with some faithful, and wishes to celebrate in the forma extraordinaria, as foreseen by articles 2 and 4 of the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum, the pastor or rector of the church, or the priest responsible, is to permit such a celebration, while respecting the schedule of liturgical celebrations in that same church.

17. § 1. In deciding individual cases, the pastor or the rector, or the priest responsible for a church, is to be guided by his own prudence, motivated by pastoral zeal and a spirit of generous welcome.

§ 2. In cases of groups which are quite small, they may approach the Ordinary of the place to identify a church in which these faithful may be able to come together for such celebrations, in order to ensure easier participation and a more worthy celebration of the Holy Mass.

18. Even in sanctuaries and places of pilgrimage the possibility to celebrate in the forma extraordinaria is to be offered to groups of pilgrims who request it (cf. Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum, art. 5 § 3), if there is a qualified priest.

19. The faithful who ask for the celebration of the forma extraordinaria must not in any way support or belong to groups which show themselves to be against the validity or legitimacy of the Holy Mass or the Sacraments celebrated in the forma ordinaria or against the Roman Pontiff as Supreme Pastor of the Universal Church.

Sacerdos idoneus (“Qualified Priest”) (cf. Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum, art 5 § 4)

20. With respect to the question of the necessary requirements for a priest to be held idoneus (“qualified”) to celebrate in the forma extraordinaria, the following is hereby stated:

a. Every Catholic priest who is not impeded by Canon Law[7] is to be considered idoneus (“qualified”) for the celebration of the Holy Mass in the forma extraordinaria.

b. Regarding the use of the Latin language, a basic knowledge is necessary, allowing the priest to pronounce the words correctly and understand their meaning.

c. Regarding knowledge of the execution of the Rite, priests are presumed to be qualified who present themselves spontaneously to celebrate the forma extraordinaria, and have celebrated it previously.

21. Ordinaries are asked to offer their clergy the possibility of acquiring adequate preparation for celebrations in the forma extraordinaria. This applies also to Seminaries, where future priests should be given proper formation, including study of Latin[8] and, where pastoral needs suggest it, the opportunity to learn the forma extraordinaria of the Roman Rite.

22. In Dioceses without qualified priests, Diocesan Bishops can request assistance from priests of the Institutes erected by the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei, either to the celebrate the forma extraordinaria or to teach others how to celebrate it.

23. The faculty to celebrate sine populo (or with the participation of only one minister) in the forma extraordinaria of the Roman Rite is given by the Motu Proprio to all priests, whether secular or religious (cf. Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum, art. 2). For such celebrations therefore, priests, by provision of the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum, do not require any special permission from their Ordinaries or superiors.

Liturgical and Ecclesiastical Discipline

24. The liturgical books of the forma extraordinaria are to be used as they are. All those who wish to celebrate according to the forma extraordinaria of the Roman Rite must know the pertinent rubrics and are obliged to follow them correctly.

25. New saints and certain of the new prefaces can and ought to be inserted into the 1962 Missal[9], according to provisions which will be indicated subsequently.

26. As foreseen by article 6 of the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum, the readings of the Holy Mass of the Missal of 1962 can be proclaimed either solely in the Latin language, or in Latin followed by the vernacular or, in Low Masses, solely in the vernacular.

27. With regard to the disciplinary norms connected to celebration, the ecclesiastical discipline contained in the Code of Canon Law of 1983 applies.

28. Furthermore, by virtue of its character of special law, within its own area, the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum derogates from those provisions of law, connected with the sacred Rites, promulgated from 1962 onwards and incompatible with the rubrics of the liturgical books in effect in 1962.

Confirmation and Holy Orders

29. Permission to use the older formula for the rite of Confirmation was confirmed by the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum (cf. art. 9 § 2). Therefore, in the forma extraordinaria, it is not necessary to use the newer formula of Pope Paul VI as found in the Ordo Confirmationis.

30. As regards tonsure, minor orders and the subdiaconate, the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum does not introduce any change in the discipline of the Code of Canon Law of 1983; consequently, in Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life which are under the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei, one who has made solemn profession or who has been definitively incorporated into a clerical institute of apostolic life, becomes incardinated as a cleric in the institute or society upon ordination to the diaconate, in accordance with canon 266 § 2 of the Code of Canon Law.

31. Only in Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life which are under the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei, and in those which use the liturgical books of the forma extraordinaria, is the use of the Pontificale Romanum of 1962 for the conferral of minor and major orders permitted.

Breviarium Romanum

32. Art. 9 § 3 of the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum gives clerics the faculty to use the Breviarium Romanum in effect in 1962, which is to be prayed entirely and in the Latin language.

The Sacred Triduum

33. If there is a qualified priest, a coetus fidelium (“group of faithful”), which follows the older liturgical tradition, can also celebrate the Sacred Triduum in the forma extraordinaria. When there is no church or oratory designated exclusively for such celebrations, the parish priest or Ordinary, in agreement with the qualified priest, should find some arrangement favourable to the good of souls, not excluding the possibility of a repetition of the celebration of the Sacred Triduum in the same church.

The Rites of Religious Orders

34. The use of the liturgical books proper to the Religious Orders which were in effect in 1962 is permitted.

Pontificale Romanum and the Rituale Romanum

35. The use of the Pontificale Romanum, the Rituale Romanum, as well as the Caeremoniale Episcoporum in effect in 1962, is permitted, in keeping with n. 28 of this Instruction, and always respecting n. 31 of the same Instruction.

The Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI, in an audience granted to the undersigned Cardinal President of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei on 8 April 2011, approved this present Instruction and ordered its publication.

Given at Rome, at the Offices of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei, 30 April, 2011, on the memorial of Pope Saint Pius V.

William Cardinal LEVADA
President

Mons. Guido Pozzo
Secretary

---

[1] BENEDICTUS XVI, Litterae Apostolicae Summorum Pontificum motu proprio datae, I, AAS 99 (2007) 777; cf. Institutio Generalis Missalis Romani, tertia editio 2002, n. 397.

[2] BENEDICTUS XVI, Epistola ad Episcopos ad producendas Litteras Apostolicas motu proprio datas, de Usu Liturgiae Romanae Instaurationi anni 1970 praecedentis, AAS 99 (2007) 798.

[3] Cf. Code of Canon Law, Canon 838 §1 and §2.

[4] Cf. Code of Canon Law, Canon 331.

[5] Cf. Code of Canon Law, Canons 223 § 2 or 838 §1 and §4.

[6] BENEDICTUS XVI, Epistola ad Episcopos ad producendas Litteras Apostolicas motu proprio datas, de Usu Liturgiae Romanae Instaurationi anni 1970 praecedentis, AAS 99 (2007) 799.

[7] Cf. Code of Canon Law, Canon 900 § 2.

[8] Cf. Code of Canon Law, Canon 249; Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Constitution Sacrosanctum Concilium, 36; Declaration Optatum totius, 13.

[9] BENEDICTUS XVI, Epistola ad Episcopos ad producendas Litteras Apostolicas motu proprio datas, de Usu Liturgiae Romanae Instaurationi anni 1970 praecedentis, AAS 99 (2007) 797.

Cardinal Burke to Keynote Conference on Catholic Care of the Disabled and Dying

Cardinal Raymond Burke to Keynote Upcoming Conference on Catholic Care of the Disabled and Dying

Contact: Megan Morris, St. Gianna Physician's Guild, 888-368-8586, info@stgiannaphysiciansguild.org
SAN DIEGO, April 28, 2011 /Christian Newswire/ -- St. Gianna Physician's Guild announced today, the feast of St. Gianna, that this summer they will be hosting a conference addressing the "Culture of Death" as it relates to end of life. The conference will be held in Kansas City, KS on July 23, 2011 and is entitled: "Being Faithful, Even Unto Death" (cf Revelation 2:10): Catholic wisdom on the treatment of the disabled and dying.

This prestigious conference will include two very special guests in the lineup of speakers. Cardinal Raymond L. Burke, Prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura and Dr. Gianna Emanuela Molla, the youngest daughter of St. Gianna Molla. It will be her first visit to the United States. Her mother was canonized in 2004 and is widely known for having opted for a risky operation that preserved the life of her child in the womb when she was two months pregnant with Gianna Emanuela. She and her two siblings represent the first time in the history of the Church that a saint was canonized while her children were still living. Other speakers include Dr. Austin Welsh, a Geriatric Specialist; Mr. Peter Breen, Executive Director of the Thomas More Society; and both siblings of Teri Schiavo, Bobby Schindler and Suzanne Vitadamo, founders of the Terri Schiavo Life & Hope Network.

"This is a very timely conference that we are honored to host in an effort to provide guidance and insight into the issues that affect all of us, namely issues surrounding the suffering and the dying," stated Thomas McKenna, Founder and President of St. Gianna Physician's Guild. "With the help of Cardinal Burke, we have assembled experts in all areas of medicine, law, and the Catholic Church to analyze and explain the proper and obligatory way to provide Catholic care to the most vulnerable and those who are dying," he added. The conference is of special interest to physicians, nurses, hospital directors, hospice care providers, attorneys and others who provide care and counsel for the disabled and dying and their families. Cardinal Burke stated, "This conference promises to provide an insightful and inspiring analysis which will greatly assist Catholics confronting the 'Culture of Death.' I encourage all to attend."

The day-long conference will take place on Saturday, July 23, 2011 and has the support and participation of both Archbishop Joseph Naumann of the Kansas City, Kansas archdiocese and Bishop Robert Finn of the Kansas City - St. Joseph diocese. Cardinal Burke will also be celebrating a special Mass on Sunday in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Kansas City, Missouri at 9:00 am followed by a reception at the Catholic Center located a few blocks away. The public is invited.

St. Gianna Physician's Guild was founded to unite and encourage Catholic physicians, as well as others in the health care profession, to promote and defend Catholic principles in a public way and to inspire sanctification in their lives.
For more information or to register go to www.defendingnaturaldeath.org. Space is limited.

Preview

Schedule

7:30 – 8:30 Registration

8:30 Opening Remarks – Thomas McKenna, Founder and President of St. Gianna Physician’s Guild

8:45 Welcome – Archbishop Joseph Naumann, Archbishop of Kansas City in Kansas

9:00 Dr. Brian Kopp

9:15 Raymond Cardinal Burke, Prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura

“The Mystery of Human Suffering and Dying”

10:00 Questions

10:15 Bobby Schindler & Suzanne Vitadamo, Brother & Sister of Terri Schiavo, Founders of the Terri Schiavo Life & Hope Network

“How Many ‘Terri Schiavos’ are Dying Every Day in America?”

11:30 Rosary in the chapel led by Bishop Robert Finn, Bishop of Kansas City-Saint Joseph

12:00 Lunch

1:30 Austin Welsh, MD, Geriatric Specialist

“Case Studies at the End of Life: A Geriatrician’s Perspective”

2:15 Questions

2:30 Gianna Emanuela Molla, MD, Youngest daughter of St. Gianna

“The Life and Spirituality of My Mother, Saint Gianna, and the Legacy She Left Behind”

3:15 Questions

3:30 Afternoon Break

3:45 Peter Breen, Esquire, Executive Director of the Thomas More Society

“Defending Natural Death: Using the Law to Save Lives”

4:30 Questions

4:45 Closing Remarks, Thomas J. McKenna

5:30 Solemn Benediction with Raymond Cardinal Burke

6:00 Conclude

Note: On Sunday July 24, the diocese of Kansas City – St. Joseph will host a special Mass celebrated by His Eminence Raymond Cardinal Burke in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Kansas City, Missouri at 9:00 am. The youngest daughter of St. Gianna Molla will be present and deliver some inspiring words about her mother following Mass. Several relics of St. Gianna will be displayed for public veneration and a special blessing will be given with a first class relic of the saint. A reception will follow at the Catholic Center located a few blocks from the cathedral at 20 West Ninth Street. All are invited.

Latest news about the Instruction on Summorum Pontificum

From Fr. Z. at WDTPRS:

News about the Instruction on Summorum Pontificum

From Rorate Caeli:

Relevant The Instruction - III Some good news

From Catholic World News:

Instruction on Summorum Pontificum will reinforce Pope's directive: Vatican analyst

From Mundabor's Blog:

Latest News About The Instruction Regarding Summorum Pontificum

Posted on February 22, 2011 by mundabor

Messa in Latino has another post about the thorny question of the instruction. Once again, this beautiful site shows that it has pretty good feelers concerning Vatican affairs.

The process of the instruction is described as follows:

1) There was a first version, ready as soon as February 2008. A good version but with some questions left open. The then secretary of Ecclesia Dei, Mons. Perl, personally vouched with the Messa In Latino‘s blog post writer “Enrico” about this fact.

2) A second draft was prepared by the new Secretary of Ecclesia Dei and therefore called “Pozzo draft”. This was, we are assured, magnificent, as it was both exhaustive in its dealing with interpretation questions and able to greatly enhance the concrete possibility of use of the Tridentine Mass.What Summorum Pontificum freed in the juridical sense, this Instruction would have freed concerning its practical application.

3) The Pozzo draft was apparently “too good” and, well, not entirely popular among liberal Bishops. These then started to lobby to have it watered down. Messa in Latino mentions as helpers Cardinals Re, Kaspar, Arinze, Tauran. Together with Cardinal Levada, some (not all, see Kasper) of them are rather conservative chaps but alas, they’re no great friends of the Tridentine.

An added problem was that the merging of Ecclesia Dei within the CDF in the wake of the “Williamson affair” led to a deminutio of the latter, now merely a branch of the CDF and not in a position to vigorously defend the original document once pressure for change started to come from the CDF (Levada) himself.

The rest, as we will probably very soon say, is history.

What would seem to transpire (and at this point it seems to me that the people at Messa In Latino certainly know what they write) is that an original sincere intention to do things better and, most importantly, in an orthodox way goes through a process of internal “improvement” and comes out of the Vatican’s washer-dryer rather discolored in the best of cases, and gravely stained in the worst. One is reminded of Vatican II, really.

Let us hope that last-minute interventions will avoid great damage and that the bombing of Summorum Pontificum, so it should come, will prove not threatening for the edifice’s structure.

In the end and as I have written in the past, there is no way the resurgence of the desire for the Latin Mass can be stopped, though it can certainly be slowed down.

The real solution will come from the undertakers.

Will a New Papal Document Curtail Use of the Old Mass?

As usual, Dr. Robert Moynihan has put together an excellent overview of the current discussions regarding the anticipated clarification of Summorum Pontificum:

Will a New Papal Document Curtail Use of the Old Mass?

On the internet, there are increasing worries among traditional Catholics that an upcoming Vatican Instruction on how to implement Summorum Pontificum will curtail use of the Old Mass

By Robert Moynihan

====================

"Second-Class Catholics"?

Will the Vatican soon issue a document calling for some restrictions on the use of the old rite of the Mass?

The internet, especially in traditional Catholic circles, is abuzz with reports that this may be about to happen.

But for the moment, these reports are based only on rumors.

Officially, no one yet knows the content of the upcoming Vatican Instruction to give guidelines for the implementation of Summorum Pontificum -- the dramatic and controversial July 7, 2007 papal motu proprio in which Benedict XVI, after long hesitation, granted wider use of the old, pre-Vatican II liturgy, also known as the Tridentine liturgy or the Latin Mass.

The upcoming document is indeed being prepared; that much is certain. 

It is said to bear the date of February 22 -- just four days from now.

But it is not likely to be made public on February 22, but some days or weeks later, as often happens with Roman documents, and the document can even be rewritten during that time, after the date it is signed.

So we may be in for a considerable period of uncertainty on this question. And that will naturally allow room for fears based on uncertain or partial information to grow.

According to unconfirmed "leaks" of portions of the document's contents, the Instruction will, somewhat unexpectedly, contain two clauses which will restrict the celebration of the old rite.

I say "somewhat unexpectedly" because the expectation for this document was that it would concretize what Benedict said in 2007 was his desire for a  "generous" granting of permission to celebrate the old liturgy "widely."

It therefore seems strange to many that, if the reports are true, it may contain new restrictions, as if this would be out of keeping with Benedict's own expressed will.

First, according to these reports, the old Mass will not be able to be freely celebrated in places where "non-Roman" Western rites once flourished, especially in Milan, where the Ambrosian rite flourished. (This is of importance because Milan is one of the largest dioceses in the world.)

In an internet report on the Catholic website Rorate Coeli (http://rorate-caeli.blogspot.com/2011/02/instruction-ii-ghettoization-must-start.html), we read:

"In its current draft, the Instruction definitely 'clarifies' that the motu proprio Summorum Pontificum is applied exclusively to the Roman Rite, in the strictest interpretation of the word. Therefore, not to the non-Roman Latin Rites: the clearly minoritarian or even forgotten Mozarabic, Braga, or Sarum rites. But the rule would apply also to the not few religious who have tried to rediscover their Traditional rites or uses: Dominicans and Carmelites, in particular, but also Carthusians, Norbertines... What is surprising is that the extension of the spirit of the motu proprio to other Western rites and uses had always been assumed...

"This restrictive rule," the web site continues, "would in particular (and would seem thus planned, considering the complications of the Italian Church) exclude the application of the motu proprio to the Traditional Liturgy of the largest diocese in the Old World, and third with most Catholics in the world: Milan. Excluding the enclaves of Roman Rite, the motu proprio would be void in the Archdiocese and in the Ambrosian zones of the Diocese of Lugano, Switzerland.

"For over five million Catholics in that area, and for religious priests dedicated to their rites or uses, the rules to be applied would not be those of Summorum (the Traditional Liturgy as a right of priests and groups of faithful), but only Ecclesia-Dei-like privileges and concessions, granted by the liturgical authorities of the Archdiocese (in the case of Milan) or the Superiors (in the case of the orders).

"Why such a restriction? In legal terms, nothing seems to demand it: the text of Summorum is sufficiently ambiguous that it can be interpreted in both ways...

"This first major point of the instruction has, thus, a clear repressive and punitive intention. Its sense would be extremely dangerous: that the Traditional liturgies of the West, rather than being encouraged (as the letter of the motu proprio makes clear), must be contained, regulated, oppressed. Not a clear declaration of rights, but a bureaucratic web of limited privileges and concessions: this small example seems to set the general new tone regarding the Traditional Liturgy.
 

"This may seem minor," the Rorate Coeli website concludes. "Yet it is quite significant in what it reveals: an interpretation of the rights recognized by Summorum as privileges or 'indults' that can be curtailed."

Second, and "much, much, more serious and insidious" says Rorate Coeli, is the report that "the Instruction, in its current draft, will explicitly prevent Bishops from using the Traditional Rite of Holy Orders."

In other words, bishops will not be able freely to ordain their seminarians using the old rite.

They will be able to celebrate all of the other sacraments -- baptism, confirmation, etc. -- according to the old rite, but not holy orders, unless they receive ask permission first from Rome.

There will be two exceptions, according to the leaked information, when bishops may use the old rite in priestly ordination ceremonies.

The first involves those institutes (the Ecclesia Dei institutes) and particular Churches dedicated exclusively to the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite.

The other exception is that the Bishop that desires to ordain a certain seminarian in the ancient Rite will have to ask prior permission to Rome (to the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei), which will then evaluate if said permission should be granted or not.

"What is to be achieved by this odious restrictive interpretation?" Rorate Coeli asks. "Why should bishops be forbidden to choose with which Rite to ordain their own deacons and priests? The intention is, among others, to ghettoize the Traditional Rite of this most pivotal of all Sacraments, Holy Orders; and, further, to identify 'problematic' bishops and future priests, with all consequences that could entail (including for their careers)."

The website concludes: "It is an alarming sign that the thrust of the Instruction is once again to make, even in law, all Catholics attached to the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite or those who merely appreciate it (and, in this case, even Bishops and poor hopeful seminarians) second-class Catholics."

Some web bloggers argue that the leaks that have been leaked thus far are disinformation, that there is an effort being made to confuse people just before the Instruction's appearance.

"These documents go through many drafts, with many changes," one blogger wrote. "My guess is that such info is disinformation, intending to influence the document or – perhaps more importantly – its reception... It might have happened like this: A few powerful German or French bishops communicate with or visit Ecclesia Dei, recommending that certain restrictions be in the Instruction. Then word is put out through sources that such restrictions will be in the Instruction. A similar MO [modus operandi] was used before Humanae Vitae was promulgated."

Father John Zuhlsdorf, whose popular website "What Does the Prayer Really Say?" (http://wdtprs.com/blog) has reported on the leaks, has encouraged his readers to pray for the Holy Father.

"If you are concerned about what might happen to Summorum Pontificum," he writes, "pray and fast. Don’t whine. Don’t panic. Don’t fret. Don’t behave like a suddenly headless chicken.

"Do what a committed Catholic warrior would do for a cause that is dear," Zuhldsorf continues. "Go to church and spend time before the Blessed Sacrament every day until this resolves one way or another. Ask Jesus to either stop the Instruction or to make Summorum Pontificum even better. Pray the Rosary for the Holy Father. Ask our Blessed Mother to move the Holy Father to keep Summorum Pontificum strong, to make it even stronger. Pray to the Holy Father’s guardian angels constantly during the day asking them to strengthen him and to weaken his many enemies, some of them very close to him."

Zuhlsdorf and others desire to "keep Summorum Pontificum strong" because they see the revival of the old liturgy as positive not only for the Church's cultural identity, but also for the holiness of her faith and morals.

One blogger, noting that he had just read through the "shocking" Philadelphia Grand Jury report, just published, on the investigation into the priestly abuse of minors in the archdiocese of Philadelphia, expresses a feeling widely shared by traditional Catholics: that the loss of the sense of the sacred which followed the introduction of the new Mass in 1970 -- for whatever reason -- also contributed to a loss of moral discipline, of a moral compass, among many Catholics, especially among the clergy, and that the return to the faith and practice inculcated by the old Mass is the best way to restore the holiness of the life of the Church and end the scandals.

But, this blogger notes, after four decades, a return to that faith and practice is bitterly opposed by many in the Church, some of them very powerful and highly placed.

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A Petition on this Matter

At the following web address, you can find a petition in several languages which asks the Holy Father to intervene, if necessary, to revise the wording of this draft document: http://www.motuproprioappeal.com/

Here is the text of that petition:

Appeal for the Preservation of the Integrity of the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum

An Appeal to the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, Pertaining to the Instruction/Clarification of the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum

Most Holy Father, we the undersigned:

1. Express our profound gratitude to Your Holiness for your personal liturgical example to the Universal Church. You are a true homo liturgicus whose love for the sacred liturgy is an inspiration; it teaches more clearly than words the centrality of the liturgy in the life of the Church.

2. Thank Your Holiness for your gift to the Church of your 2007 Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum. Since 2007 it has brought forth many fruits, including greater unity in the Church of Christ and a widespread enrichment of the liturgical life of the Church.

3. Note with sadness the continuing and real opposition to the implementation of Summorum Pontificum in many dioceses and on the part of many members of the hierarchy, the suffering and distress this continues to cause many of Christ’s faithful and the obstacle this opposition is to an effective reconciliation within the Church.

4. Note with anxiety the apparent signs that a forthcoming Instruction on Summorum Pontificum will, in some way, take away from what you have legally established in that Motu Proprio and from its wide application in the generous spirit so eloquently explained by Your Holiness in the letter accompanying it: “Let us generously open our hearts and make room for everything that the faith itself allows.”

5. Express our grave concern that any restrictive measures would cause scandal, disunity and suffering in the Church and would frustrate the reconciliation you so earnestly desire, as well as impede further liturgical renewal and development in continuity with Tradition, which is already so great a fruit of your pontificate.

6. Express our hope, our desire and our urgent appeal that the good Your Holiness personally initiated through Summorum Pontificum not be allowed to be hindered by such restrictions.

7. Turn to you with filial trust and as obedient sons and daughters, Most Holy Father, and ask that you urgently consider our concerns and intervene if you judge it necessary.

8. Assure Your Holiness of our continuing prayers, of our deep affection and of our loyalty.

If you go to the web site, you can add your name to this petition.