Inside the Vatican Magazine May-June 2022

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INSIDE THE

MAY-JUNE 2022 $5 / EUR 5 / £3.30

VATICAN BIMONTHLY BIMONTHLY of of RELIGION-FAITH-ECONOMY-LITERATURE-HISTORY-DEBATES-NEWS...

RELIGION-FAITH-ECONOMY-LITERATURE-HISTORY-DEBATES-NEWS...

pope frAncis consecrAtes

russiA, ukrAine And “All humAnity” to mAry’s immAculAte heArt

An Act of

Joy And penAnce

Brilliant Wisdom on Marriage & Family

by G. K. Chesterton

" The disintegration of rational society started in the drift from the hearth and the family", wrote G. K. Chesterton in 1933. "The solution must be a drift back."

In a world that has lost touch with normality, it takes a pioneer to rediscover the wonders of the normal. This masterful compilation of texts from the prolific G. K. Chesterton, edited

by GKC expert Dale Ahlquist, illustrates the glory of the family— the heritage of romance, love, marriage, parenthood, and home. It is a hymn in praise of the saucepan, the kettle, the hairbrush, the umbrella stand, what Chesterton calls "the brave old bones of life".

With piercing wit, the English writer pits all these venerable truths against the fashions of divorce, contraception, and abortion, along with the troubling philosophies that have afflicted education and the workplace since the early 20th century.

Society is built on the family, and Chesterton helps readers to see this reality with fresh eyes. He writes: "|e orst things must be the very fountains of life, love and birth and babyhood; and these are always covered fountains, nowing in the quiet courts of the home."

“Chesterton was not only a great defender of the faith but a great defender of the family. This excellent collection of the best of Chesterton's writing on the family is more needed today than it was in Chesterton's own day.”

—Joseph Pearce, Author, Wisdom and Innocence: A Life of G. K. Chesterton

The Story of the Family SFP . . . Sewn Softcover, $17.95

“Mankind’s future depends on whether we embrace or reject the wisdom of this book. Read this book before doing so becomes a criminal act.”

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“Brilliantly assembled by Ahlquist, this Chesterton chrestomathy does with rapier wit and robust humor what so few could do—make laughingstocks of those sappers who so earnestly undermine the family in the name of freedom. |e Woke should fear this book. Everyone else should buy it.”

—Robert Reilly, Author, America on Trial

Also on Chesterton

◆ KNIGHT OF THE HOLY GHOST

◆ THE APOSTLE OF COMON SENSE

In a rollicking adventure quite Chestertonian in navor, Ahlquist captains an expedition of discovery into who this GKC fellow is.

He devly and cleverly explores Chesterton as a man, as a writer, and as a potential saint. KHGP . . . Sewn Sovcover, $16.95

A perfect introduction to Chesterton as Ahlquist takes you through twelve of GKC's most important books. He makes the literary giant accessible, highlighting Chesterton's amazing reach, keen insight, and marvelous wit. ACSP . . . Sewn Sovcover, $16.95

◆ IN DEFENSE OF SANITY

◆ COMMON SENSE 101

|ree leading authorities on Chesterton — Dale Ahlquist, Joseph Pearce, Aidan Mackey - have joined together to select the "best" Chesterton essays, a collection that will be appreciated by all readers of this great man of letters.

A book of wonderful insights on how to “look at the whole world through the eyes of Chesterton", who wrote about everything. |is work helps you beneot from GKC's insights on many important topics covering politics, art, education, wonder, marriage, fads, poetry, faith, charity and more. CSENP . . . Sewn Sovcover, $17.95

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EDITORIAL

by Robert Moynihan

Renewed Faith in Christ On March 25, Pope Francis, in a public ceremony in Rome, consecrated the world, and Russia and Ukraine in particular, to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The central meaning: we should renew our faith in Christ...

“Why does the West want to annihilate what it built in the first place? The real enemy of the West is the West itself, its imperviousness to God and to spiritual values, which resembles a process of lethal self-destruction.” —Cardinal Robert Sarah, from his profound book The Day Is Now Far Spent (published September 22, 2019) “There is great concern that the destinies of the peoples of the world is in the hands of an elite that is not accountable to anyone for its decisions, that does not recognize any authority above itself, and that in order to pursue its own interests does not hesitate to jeopardize security, the economy, and the very lives of billions of people, with the complicity of politicians in their service and the mainstream media.” —Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, from his controversial 24-page March 6 essay on the conflict between Russia and Ukraine The brutal war in Ukraine since Russia’s February 24 invasion — but also the terrible injustice in our increasingly “postChristian” culture worldwide, our secular culture’s increasing acceptance of a “culture of death” which Pope John Paul II repeatedly pleaded with us to reject in favor of a truly Christian “culture of life” — has marked these recent weeks, and prompted much debate about what path we ought to take.

Pope Francis, shocked by the launching of the war, took the decision in mid-March to call for the Consecration on March 25 by all the Catholic bishops of the world of Russia and Ukraine, and all humanity, to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. In essence, this was a call to heaven to intervene, to act and provide the grace which would enable the Russians, but also all peoples, to repent of sins and seek God’s forgiveness and blessing.

Then, on Easter Sunday, April 17, in his “Urbi et Orbi” Easter message, Francis called for renewed faith in Christ. “We need the crucified and risen Lord,” he said, “so that we can believe in the victory of love and hope for reconciliation. Today, more than ever, we need him to stand in our midst and repeat to us: ‘Peace be with you!’”

Francis calls on Christians to remember that peace is the fruit of faith in the risen Jesus: “Only he can do it. Today, he alone has the right to speak to us of peace. Jesus alone, for he bears wounds… our wounds. His wounds are indeed ours, for two reasons. They are ours because we inflicted them upon him by our sins, by our hardness of heart, by our fratricidal hatred. They are also ours because he bore them for our sake; he did not cancel them from his glorified body; he chose to keep them forever.

They are the indelible seal of his love for us.”

Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò on March 6 issued a 24page letter in which he argued that the conflict in Ukraine is a “trap set for both Russia and Ukraine, using both of them to enable the globalist elite to carry out its criminal plan” — a plan to introduce a “New World Order” by a “Great Reset” which will involve a definitive break with traditional Christian faith and practice. Viganò’s effort to set the Ukraine conflict within

this larger framework was much criticized, even by conservative Catholics. Then, on April 18, in a thoughtful essay entitled “The Ignored Views of Cardinal Sarah on Russia and the West” on the Crisis magazine website, Jeffrey D. Salyer, a veteran of the U.S. Navy and a freelance writer, used the eloquent and deeply moving thought of African Cardinal Robert Sarah to set the conflict within this wider framework.

“Rather than add to the already sizable volume of commentary either for or against Archbishop Viganò, it seems to me more interesting to note that in one sense he is not alone,” Salyer wrote. “That is, he is not the only Churchman — or even the highest ranking — who has, on occasion, ‘looked East’ to remedy ‘the errors of the West.’” And, he notes, “Sarah’s worldview clashes with that of America’s conservative Catholic establishment.” Salyer writes: “Back in 2019 when Cardinal Sarah’s book The Day Is Now Far Spent came out, this writer was struck not only by the book’s emphatic and repeated condemnation of finance capitalism and globalization but also by the utter lack of interest reviewers exhibited toward this part of the book. Pointed statements like ‘globalized humanity, without borders, is a hell,’ were unambiguous... It was almost as if most Catholic journalists were simply ignoring statements like the following, which could by no means be rendered into safe, conservativeestablishment boilerplate: ‘In Russia, the Orthodox Church has to a great extent resumed its pre-1917 role as the moral foundation of society. This arouses political opposition, but also a deep hatred on the part of the post-Christian elites of the West, not only vis-à-vis Russia, but also against the Russian Orthodox Church and, by extension, against Orthodox Christianity it self.’”

He cites Cardinal Sarah: “John Paul II was convinced that the two lungs of Europe had to work together. Today, Western Europe is employing extraordinary means to isolate Russia. Why persist in ridiculing that great country? The West is displaying unheard-of arrogance. The spiritual and cultural heritage of the Russian Orthodox Church is unequaled. The reawakening of faith that followed the fall of Communism is an immense hope.”

Salyer writes, “Sarah takes for granted that the preservation of a nation’s Christian heritage is a good thing, regardless of how shallow the motives of politicians.” He cites Sarah: “The West seems happy to see its churches turned into gymnasiums, its Romanesque chapels fall into ruin, its religious patrimony threatened by a total desacralization.”

“Just to be clear,” Salyer concludes, “my real point here is neither to advocate a particular view of the war, nor to treat Cardinal Sarah as an infallible prophet... No, the point is that a highprofile Churchman believes that the West’s greatest enemy has never been al-Qaida, ISIS, or China, much less Russia, but rather the West itself — and none of those professing to admire him have seen fit to notice.”

In short, the conclusion of the matter: the West itself needs to return to faith in Christ. m MAY-JUNE 2022 INSIDE THE VATICAN

3

CONTENTS MAY-JUNE 2022

Year 30, #3

LEAD STORY Pope consecrates Russia, Ukraine and “all humanity” to Mary’s Immaculate Heart

by Matt Gaspers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12 “Waiting for this day my entire life”: A firsthand account of the consecration ceremony

by Peter Rao . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16 LIFE OF THE CHURCH Leading European prelates seem to endorse homosexuality; what will the Vatican do?

by William A. Doino, Jr. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17 MAY-JUNE 2022 Year 30, #3

v

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Robert Moynihan ASSOCIATE EDITOR: George “Pat” Morse (+ 2013) ASSISTANT EDITOR: Christina Deardurff CULTURE EDITOR: Lucy Gordan CONTRIBUTING EDITOR: William A. Doino, Jr. WRITERS: Anna Artymiak, Alberto Carosa, Giuseppe Rusconi, David Quinn, Andrew Rabel, Vladimiro Redzioch, Serena Sartini PHOTOS: Grzegorz Galazka LAYOUT: Giuseppe Sabatelli ILLUSTRATIONS: Stefano Navarrini CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER: Deborah B. Tomlinson ADVERTISING: Cynthia Sauer Tel. +1.202.864.4261 csauer@insidethevatican.com

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Copyright 2022 Robert Moynihan

4 INSIDE THE VATICAN MAY-JUNE 2022

NEWS Ukraine/Pope Francis calls for an “Easter Truce”

by Hannah Brockhaus (CNA) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20 China/Cardinal Parolin hopes Vatican-China deal can be tweaked

by ITV Staff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20 Rome/Reforming the Curia: A new Vatican constitution nine years in the making

by Andrea Gagliarducci (CNA) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22 DOSSIER Liturgy in the Church Today/What are Catholics in the pew experiencing?

by Robert Moynihan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24 Traditionis Custodes and Canon 87: How they are being implemented

by Brian Kopp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26 The Latin Mass and the quest for progress and relevance

by Dr. Gavin Ashenden . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30 The Liturgy and international relations: East and West

by Joseph Shaw . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32 CULTURE Commentary/Benedict XVI: The Light of Holy Saturday

by Michael Hesemann . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34 Analysis/Orthodox Unity and the Future of Ecumenical Dialogue

by Jovan Tripkovic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36 Footsteps on the Way/Discovering Mary in the Heartland

by ITV Staff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38 Latin/St. Thomas’ Liturgy of Corpus Christi

by John Byron Kuhner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40 Scripture/The Folly of Separating Beauty from Meaning

by Anthony Esolen, Ph.D. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42 URBI ET ORBI: CATHOLICISM AND ORTHODOXY Icon/Joseph’s Workshop

by Robert Wiesner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44 East-West Watch/Orthodox Conflict in Africa

by Peter Anderson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45 News from the East/Russian dialogue with the Church; new Patriarch of Serbia; Holy Communion in war; US “planting democracy” ill-advised; re-examining IVF

by Matthew Trojacek . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46 LEBANON REPORT/Patriarch Raï proposes a new path for Lebanon

by Christopher Hart-Moynihan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48 FEATURES Tradition and Beauty/”Youth music” in church and pornography

by Aurelio Porfiri . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50 Art/Guido Reni in Rome: “Nature and Devotion”

by Lucy Gordan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52 Lord of the World/”You will be my successor”

by Monsignor Robert Hugh Benson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .56 Vatican Watch/A day-by-day chronicle of Vatican events: January-March 2022

by Matthew Trojacek . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .58 People/New Fatima bishop; suffering Myanmar; Hong Kong threatens Catholic activist; nun turns 118; Missionaries of Charity get new head; former Anglican clergy receive Catholic orders

by Matthew Trojacek . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .60 Food for Thought/Happy 100th birthday, “Baci”

by Mother Martha . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .62

The Truth about Clergy Sexual Abuse Bill Donohue

T

his work unpacks the history and root causes of the clergy sex abuse scandals in the United States. Building on decades of data and research, Donohue, who holds a doctorate in sociology, tells the story from a fresh angle and calls us to rethink our assumptions about the Church's handling of these horrioc abuses. TCSAP . . . Sewn Sovcover, $18.95 "Using his sharp skills as a sociologist, Donohue ofers a startling autopsy of the clerical sex abuse crisis.= — Raymond Arroyo, EWTN Host, |e World Over

"Donohue fearlessly speaks the truth, providing a comprehensive account of clergy sex abuse and cover-up, and its exploitation by those bent on serving their own interests.= — Russell Shaw, Author, Eight Popes and the Crisis of Modernity "Donohue writes with a penetrating intellect and relentless pugnacity.

A great strength of the book is its competent social science analysis.= — Fr. Paul Sullins, Emeritus Professor of Sociology, Catholic University of America

Related Titles

Common Sense Catholicism Bill Donohue |is insightful work shows how Catholic teaching ofers much wisdom to remedy our cultural crisis, and helps us understand the elements needed for a free and nourishing society.

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Escape from Evilʼs Darkness Robert Spitzer, S.J. Fr. Spitzer presents the best advice by Catholic spiritual masters that is in harmony with modern scientific research, ofering practical ways to live out the Gospel with an authentic transformation in Christ.

The Day is Now Far Spent Cardinal Robert Sarah

Priests in Love with God Archbishop Alfred Hughes

|is powerful book by the great spiritual leader, that he calls his <most important= work, analyzes the profound spiritual, moral and political crisis in the world. And how to respond to it, and change it.

|is book traces the development of good priestly discipleship and spirituality in the face of historical challenges, and draws on this history to spell out a compelling vision for renewal of the priesthood today.

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Classic US Wisconsin: Discovering Mary in the Heartland

September 2-9, 2022 Join us in Wisconsin as we pilgrimage to 6 national shrines including Our Lady of Good Help at Champion Shrine – America’s Fatima – the site of the only Church-approved Marian apparition in the United States. Come and explore this unique and vibrant culture of Catholic pilgrimage in America’s heartland today, and learn about the hidden treasures of Catholicism in Wisconsin.

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INSIDE THE VATICAN MAY-JUNE 2022

A very heartfelt “Thank you!” for sending out the lecture delivered

by Fr. Davide Pagliarani in Paris last month. Your posting of it in your Moynihan Letter #39: Tuesday, February 22, 2022: Liturgy is providential.

Fr. Avraamy Neyman xaneyman@yahoo.co.uk

VIGANÒ: SIGN OF CONTRADICTION Editor’s note: The following letters are responses to Letters #45: Monday, March 7, 2022: Viganò, and #60, March 30, 2022: The Main Point, in which were presented some of Viganò’s judgments on the virus, the vaccines, the lockdowns, the military situation in Ukraine, and the global agendas of various powerful groups and factions, followed by some of the attacks on Archbishop Viganò from other Catholic writers for his positions. —RM Thank you so much for this letter! It has helped me so very much to navigate the various explanations offered for this period we are living through. Nothing matches Viganò’s insightful commentary; with its depth and clarity, it is just what we need in order to return to the divine intentions of Our Creator.

Suzanne Formanek suzanne.formanek@gmail.com Thank you so much for your great clarity: placing Viganò alongside Sheen is just brilliant… a great examination of all arguments.

Sadly, I have noticed how Weigel has become somewhat “sidetracked” for whatever reason, along with many other well-known Catholics, which is a great shock.

Mrs. Joan Gallagher Ireland

RE: Moynihan Letter #40: Ukraine: What a superb letter, and well appreciated are the words of wisdom from one of my favorite authors, Solzhenitsyn. marylgleason@comcast.net What a boxing match. Too bad it’s not in Madison Square Garden. Your role is as the Journalist, writing at a fast pace about what is taking place. The fighters are giving their all but George Weigel will drop out of the bout because he already has a bloody nose. Archbishop Viganò is a naturally pugnacious person with a pure heart and a stiff upper lip. Your role is not as his promoter, but his friend. That he is still with us, speaking like Job, is a testament to God’s Will.

The World Economic Forum is an entity acting with a nonexistent license. Nobody has elected them to anything. Yet they rule. How can this be? The answer is money. Russia is the prize that they want today. But to find her today they will have to enter the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

They will not go there. They are afraid of Our Lady.

The Orthodox World is in great turmoil. It too is in a wrestling match. You could referee that one, but not to decision.

It is, right now, totally out of breath. You have already done so much good in promoting peace between East and West, but what is needed now is clarity — about what has actually happened in Russia since the Consecration by JPII in 1984.

You know this story, but very few others know it: how religion was restored in Russia. Answer the question, “Was it real?” If yes, then how so? Give the numbers of priests, seminarians, churches restored, etc.

Tom Greerty tgreerty@aol.com Editor’s reply: Thank you, Tom, for this letter. Yes, I have traveled the low and high roads of Russia and Ukraine, always seeking to speak about things we share, hopes that we have in common. I found true faith, re-emerging after an

experiment in state atheism that lasted 74 years and saw millions arrested, put into Gulags, and thousands of priests and bishops killed — in both countries. I believe faith should not be persecuted, nor should it become a fanatical weapon.

We should find a way to imitate Christ (imitatio Christi). His road took Him from Galilee to Gethsemane to Golgotha, then to dawn on Easter Sunday. We bear the witness of all who have gone before us, to the things He said and did. A Blessed Easter to all.

It is all so sad. It appears that a wonderful traditionalist Prince of the Church is now having hallucinations... the first sign of dementia.

Kurt Behrel schwaben49@gmail.com As I read the latest installment from Archbishop Viganò, it suddenly struck me how un-archbishop-like he sounds, how dark and dis-unitive his words have become. Where is the compassion for the people of Ukraine and Russia, where is the call to prayer? My sense is that spiritual pride has led Archbishop Viganò down this dark path.

Louis McAnany louis.mcanany@gmail.com Thank you! Viganò has always exuded humility. Can’t say that about Weigel, though he may well be humble too.

Carmel Righetti carmelrighetti@hotmail.com I admit: I was duped into the antiRussia hysteria and bought it hook, line and sinker for a few weeks. Now I don’t even read Catholic World Report. I completely pass on whatever George Weigel writes, but I print and share whatever Archbishop Viganò writes.

Andrea Marie brokerbroker4life@hotmail.com This video was taken in 2020 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlw Le0p7qm4): Putin venerates the icons of Jesus and Mary in the new cathedral dedicated to Russia’s armed forces. Soon afterward, he began his military buildup in Europe. It seems to me when he kisses the icon of Mary (named Our Lady of

Victory — noted elsewhere but not here) that Our Lady mystically gives him the go ahead — albeit, reluctantly — with his plans for war against the West. Perhaps compare it to Judas leaving the Upper Room, and Our Lord telling him to go do what he must do so that prophecy may be fulfilled.

Jane Elliot corjesu@icloud.com It is a complicated situation... Not different from trying to keep a marriage intact, or the Catholic Church trying to keep her children in line... Receiving Communion while never going to confession?!? The world is in chaos... When I was in Cary, North Carolina, some years ago, families gathered once a week to pray specifically for, I emphasize, for Saddam Hussein. Our bishops and priests don’t even have the courage to say, “Pray for Mr. Putin,” because if we say, “pray for the enemy,” it might be that both Zelensky and Putin are the enemy... according to whose side we’re on...

Regina Barzyk Rolling Prairie, Indiana, USA We need to pray for Ukraine and for Putin and his war-mongering generals, lusting for power and control and to test their “wonderful” weapons of destruction. Pray that God will send them another Jonah as to the Ninevites — and sends the grace to respond as the Ninevites did.

Sean Creaney seancreaney@gmail.com What puzzles me about the barbaric attack on Ukraine by Russia, is that at least three Popes (Pius XII, Paul VI and

American food American owner

John Paul II) claimed that the consecration of Russia to the Blessed Mother was done, yet Russia has not converted and there is no sign of peace in sight. Perhaps this is the real story. We now have, all at once: Russia and Ukraine; China, Taiwan and an American government that is tied to both Russia and China — all three with nuclear weapons. It appears to have the potential for the dire results of not doing the “Consecration” of which the Blessed Mother warned.

Frank W. Russell philosophicallyfrank@msn.com As a follow-up to the discussion on bio research labs in Ukraine, this was also discussed at the annual threat assessment before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. Sen. Marco Rubio asks a series of follow-up questions on this topic with the Intelligence Community Leadership (begins at 39:10 in link): www.cspan.org/video/?518379-1/intelligence.

Dan Klucinec Front Royal, Virginia, USA The US-Ukraine partnership since 2005 is part of the Biological Threat Reduction Program. False conspiracy

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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR theories also developed during the Trump administration re the US-funded Richard Lugar Center for Public Health Research in Tbilisi, Georgia. When Russia makes attack plans they first find a way to blame another country.

Therefore we should expect Russia to use bio-weapons on Ukraine and blame Ukraine for it. We are witnessing the biggest battle between Good and Evil since Creation began. Putin will be 70 this year. Satan has gotten him to fulfill his lifelong wish to bring back the USSR. Janet Kilb janetkilb@yahoo.com

We understand that all sides bear responsibility for the current conflict, including Ukraine and its many grevious sins that continue to this day, including Nazi and current political party links that Putin spoke of (I am of Ukrainian/Polish descent so this is hard to read of). Also the United States bears responsibility, as well as NATO, for its roles in manipulating other countries to fuel a certain outcome that continues to this day.

That said, I see a Cross in the crossroads. I think God is using the faulty judgment of Russia and all the other players to bring people to the Cross in the crossroads. That’s Mercy... because we don’t deserve it — still, a moment in time where forgiveness is so near, but judgment is not far off.

Salvation is still available at the Cross at the crossroads, but we know that’s the narrow path and the world likes the wide and easy path…

Have no fear. Stay strong. Take your place on the front lines. There are no desk jobs behind the front lines. It will be hard.

I watched the Consecration of Russia and Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. I could feel and sense Pope Francis’ sincere and desperate gesture. We were all blessed in that moment to remember the Cross in the crossroads.

Linda Smith Florida, USA What will it take to get peace started?

The complete removal of laws throughout the world which promote the murder, daily, of the Holy Innocents. Remember 10

INSIDE THE VATICAN MAY-JUNE 2022

the 2-year-olds and younger who were murdered by Herod?

The rejection of our Savior, and the daily murders of the Holy Innocents, the rejection of God’s creation of human sexuality, and so much more, are the reasons why humanity will always have wars in one place or another in the world. Jesus said that He came not to bring peace, but a sword. And the Sword of the Holy Spirit is the Word of God, living and true, sharper than any two-edged sword, dividing the joints and marrow, soul and spirit, and laying open the thoughts and intentions of humanity.

I suggest a Letter about the great need of preparing one’s heart to go through the coming times, by learning John 16:25-27.

God our Father loves fathering us. And those who have difficulty knowing Him as our Father, may well need to forgive their earthly father.

Claudia Person personcm@comcast.net Thank you for publishing material about the impact of the Russian aggression against Ukraine on ecumenical relations. You have devoted yourself to the restoration of communion with the Orthodox, as did Pope St. John Paul II. Please continue do so! The Russians may not have foreseen all of the consequences of their arrogance and brutality. God will draw good out of this evil.

Edward Pepka eppepi@msn.com

THE CONSECRATION I believe that the Fatima message was to “…order all Bishops…” — not invite.

Whether or not Bishops join, it is the order that the Virgin demanded. Pope Francis is to order all Bishops to join the consecration prayer.

Richard Frazita

CHESTERTON I saw the Chesterton presentation, and germain to that, more than one Pope identified the true start of many errors as occurring in 1858 with Darwin, and others working to erase God. Chesterton is a champion in identifying this; why is it not being discussed? I think Chesterton is talking about today, how we make government our protector, and god. Yes, this

god works with other minor gods in science and even the arts to distract and miseducate people, especially children. It is not only to distract but anesthetize the human being through technology. Without really wanting to be a “dissenter,” I can’t help being on the side of God. Carmen Fojo fojo.carm@gmail.com I immensely enjoy your most enlightening letters and TV interviews which I follow almost daily. Thank you for your information on the state of our Church and everything concerned with bringing “light” into these obscure times.

Biserka Brito Upland, California, USA Would love to see article on what Vatican officials are doing to some of the religious orders, e.g., sending religious home from convents in France and facts on Missionaries of the Poor in Kingston, Jamaica.

Tom and Glory Sullivan Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, USA

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Please consider donating a subscription.

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People” of 2021 (issue of January-February 2022). As persons of faith, their lives are truly witnesses of commitment to Christ and His Church. I also appreciated your reflection on St. Charbel and your “News of the East” — Latin Catholics know too little about the Eastern rites and their contributions to Catholicism throughout history.

Rev. Alberto Bondy Utica, Michigan, USA Assurances to the “suffering priest” (January-February 2022 “Letters”) that I said a 54-day novena for him.

Anonymous

(Doumant Rus) — “Timothy” his baptismal name — and his wife Morta (Maria). They were later additions to the icon. Doumant left Lithuania after a quarrel with King Mindaugas of Lithuania over Morta. He became prince of Pskov and was later canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church.

I am a historian of Lithuania and icons from Eastern Europe. At the time of Daumantas, Lithuania was more Orthodox — and pagan — than Roman Catholic. After the marriage of Jaduya and Jogaila, Lithuania became Roman Catholic.

Rev. Anthony L. Markus Retired priest Archdiocese of Chicago Chicago, Illinois, USA

“YOU ARE BEHIND” I do not wish to renew — you have become biased against Pope Francis and the Church hierarchy, and present the Latin Mass as a necessity, choosing articles to support your limited view. We totally disagree with the Traditional Mass, which produces “spectators” in clericalism rather than prayerful people united with the priest. Your view of religious psychology is truly outdated (50 years behind the times).

Joan Joyce Ridick-Depue Boston, Virginia, USA Editor’s reply: Thank you for the compliment. I wish you had said I am, not 50, but 2,000 years behind the times....

We find your “back to the 50s” mentality and over-the-top conservatism unbelievable. What happened to your understanding of Vatican II? We need lay people who embrace — accepting and honoring — all of God’s people.

Collette Whalen Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, USA

ICON CORRECTION On page 48 of the March-April 2022 edition of ITV, there is a picture of an icon from the Transfiguration Cathedral in Pskov, Russia. The two people next to the Blessed Virgin are not Anna and Joachim, but the Duke Daumantas

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God bless you.

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SUPPORTING ITV I am serving a 74-year sentence for a crime I did not commit, but I became an Oblate of St. Benedict back in 2015 and I am filled with the peace of Christ.

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LEAD STORY Photo Grzegorz Galazka

I

POPE FRANCIS CONSECRATES RUSSIA, UKRAINE AND “ALL HUMANITY” TO MARY’S IMMACULATE HEART

n answer to requests from Ukraine’s Catholic bishops — and many around the globe for decades — on March 25, the Feast of the Annunciation, the Holy Father Pope Francis pronounced his prayer requesting the consecration of Russia and Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary in union with all the bishops of the world.

In the messages connected with Fatima, there is a central place given a request to individual and collective repentance for sins and acts of reparation for the harm caused by those actions and omissions. “Repen-

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tance is the key to Fatima,” Fr. Anthony Gramlich, MIC, Rector of the National Shrine of Divine Mercy, has said. “The Blessed Mother asks us to make reparation through sacrifice for sinners.”

In this context, the consecration of Russia and Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary is more than an act of religious piety; it is rather a commitment, by all, to repent of sin and to make reparation for the harm caused by sin, in order to bring about that peace and holiness of life willed by God for the world.

– Robert Moynihan, Editor

CONSECRATION OF RUSSIA AND UKRAINE: AN ANALYSIS n BY MATT GASPERS

Photo Grzegorz Galazka

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n March 25, 2022, the 38th anniversary of John Paul II’s consecration of the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary in 1984, Pope Francis consecrated “the Church and all humanity, especially Russia and Ukraine”[1] to the same Immaculate Heart. Following a Lenten Penance service held in St. Peter’s Basilica, the current Successor of Peter sat before a statue of Our Lady of Fatima and accomplished the act of consecration which the Vatican had announced just 10 days prior. on March 15.[2] Two days after that surprise announcement — a response to an appeal from Ukraine’s Catholic bishops[3] — Catholic Family News broke the news that Archbishop Christoph Pierre, Apostolic Nuncio to the United States, had sent a letter to Archbishop José Gomez of Los Angeles, President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), informing him: “In the context of the tragic events unfolding in Ukraine, the Holy Father, Pope Francis will lead an Act of Consecration of Russia and Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary on the Feast of the Annunciation, March 25th.”[4] The Vatican’s official representative in America further informed Archbishop Gomez that Pope Francis “intends to invite each Bishop, or equivalent in law, together with his priests, to join in this act of consecration, if possible, at an hour corresponding to 5pm Rome time,” an invitation which Francis did indeed extend via a letter dated March 21: “I ask you to join in this Act by inviting the priests, religious and faithful to assemble in their churches and places of prayer on 25 March, so that God’s Holy People may raise a heartfelt

and choral plea to Mary our Mother. I am sending you the text of the prayer of consecration, so that all of us can recite it throughout that day, in fraternal union.”[5]

THE “ACT OF CONSECRATION” TEXT The “text of the prayer of consecration,” released with the Pope’s Letter to Bishops,[6] runs just over 1,000 words and contains clear allusions to hallmarks of the Francis pontificate. “We stopped being our neighbor’s keepers and stewards of our common home,” the text reads in the second paragraph, and continues, “We have ravaged the garden of the earth,” both obvious references to his 2015 eco-encyclical Laudato Si. The “Act of Consecration” likewise laments that “in our own day... fraternity has faded,” harkening back to his 2020 encyclical Fratelli Tutti “on Fraternity and Social Friendship” — itself

inspired by the heterodox “Document on Human Fraternity” signed the previous year. The text even invokes Our Lady under the novel title of “Queen of the Human Family,” rather than “Queen of Families” (Litany of Loreto),[7] asking her to “show people the path of fraternity.”

On the other hand, the text also includes traditional Marian invocations and pious appeals, imploring that through Our Lady’s intercession “God’s mercy [may] be poured out on the earth and the gentle rhythm of peace return to mark our days.”

The affirmation that God “has given you [Mary] to us and made your Immaculate Heart a refuge for the Church and for all humanity” calls to mind the following words of Our Lady spoken during her second apparition at Fatima (June 13, 1917): “My Immaculate Heart will be your refuge and the way that will lead you to God.”[8] Interestingly, the only allusion to a Marian apparition found in the “Act of Consecration” refers not to Fatima but to Guadalupe: “Say to us once more: ‘Am I not here, I who am your Mother?’” Our Lady spoke these words to Juan Diego (Dec. 12, 1531) to assure him that his uncle, Juan Bernardino, who had suddenly become deathly ill, would be cured.[9] The crucial portion of the text appears towards the end and reads (emphasis added): “Therefore, Mother of God and our Mother, to your Immaculate Heart we solemnly entrust and consecrate ourselves, the Church and all humanity, especially Russia and Ukraine. Accept this act that we carry out with confidence and love. Grant MAY-JUNE 2022 INSIDE THE VATICAN

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COnSECRATiOn Of RuSSiA AnD ukRAinE

ACT OF CONSECRATION TO THE IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY

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Mary, Mother of God and our Mother, in this time of trial we turn to you. As our Mother, you love us and know us: no concern of our hearts is hidden from you. Mother of mercy, how often we have experienced your watchful care and your peaceful presence! You never cease to guide us to Jesus, the Prince of Peace.

Yet we have strayed from that path of peace. We have forgotten the lesson learned from the tragedies of the last century, the sacrifice of the millions who fell in two world wars. We have disregarded the commitments we made as a community of nations. We have betrayed peoples’ dreams of peace and the hopes of the young. We grew sick with greed, we thought only of our own nations and their interests, we grew indifferent and caught up in our selfish needs and concerns. We chose to ignore God, to be satisfied with our illusions, to grow arrogant and aggressive, to suppress innocent lives and to stockpile weapons. We stopped being our neighbor’s keepers and stewards of our common home. We have ravaged the garden of the earth with war and by our sins we have broken the heart of our heavenly Father, who desires us to be brothers and sisters. We grew indifferent to everyone and everything except ourselves. Now with shame we cry out: Forgive us, Lord!

Holy Mother, amid the misery of our sinfulness, amid our struggles and weaknesses, amid the mys-

that war may end and peace spread throughout the world.”

Two days before these words were uttered by Francis in Rome, Bishop Athanasius Schneider observed: “In comparison with the wording of the two previous acts of consecration, made by Pope Pius XII (in 1952) and

by Pope John Paul II (in 1984), the words and form of the consecration that will be used by Pope Francis on March 25 more clearly express the requests of Our Lady of Fatima. Pope Francis has even added the word ‘solemnly’ to ‘consecrate,’ an expression lacking in the formulas of 1952 and 1984....”[10] OUR LADY’S REQUEST In order to properly evaluate the consecration made by Pope Francis, it is necessary to recall the words of Our Lady at Fatima to Sister Lucia con14

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tery of iniquity that is evil and war, you remind us that God never abandons us, but continues to look upon us with love, ever ready to forgive us and raise us up to new life. He has given you to us and made your Immaculate Heart a refuge for the Church and for all humanity. By God’s gracious will, you are ever with us; even in the most troubled moments of our history, you are there to guide us with tender love.

We now turn to you and knock at the door of your heart. We are your beloved children. In every age you make yourself known to us, calling us to conversion. At this dark hour, help us and grant us your comfort. Say to us once more: “Am I not here, I who am your Mother?” You are able to untie the knots of our hearts and of our times. In you we place our trust. We are confident that, especially in moments of trial, you will not be deaf to our supplication and will come to our aid.

That is what you did at Cana in Galilee, when you interceded with Jesus and he worked the first of his signs. To preserve the joy of the wedding feast, you said to him: “They have no wine” (Jn 2:3). Now, O Mother, repeat those words and that prayer, for in our own day we have run out of the wine of hope, joy has fled, fraternity has faded. We have forgotten our humanity and squandered the gift of peace. We opened our hearts to violence and destructiveness. How greatly we need your

cerning the consecration.

It is in the second part of the Secret of Fatima — the three-part message[11] given by Our Lady during her third apparition (July 13, 1917) — that she mentions Russia : “When you see a night illumined by an unknown light,[12] know that this is the great sign given you by God that He is about to punish the world for its crimes, by means of war, famine, and persecutions of the Church and of the Holy Father.

“To prevent this, I shall come to ask for the consecration of Russia to my Immaculate Heart, and the Communion of reparation on the First Saturdays.[13] “If my requests are heeded, Russia will be converted, and there will be peace; if not, she will spread her errors throughout the world, causing

wars and persecutions of the Church.

The good will be martyred; the Holy Father will have much to suffer; various nations will be annihilated.

“In the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph. The Holy Father will consecrate Russia to me, and she shall be converted, and a period of peace will be granted to the world.”[14] Roughly 12 years later (June 13, 1929), Our Lady returned as promised and announced to Lucia, who had since entered religious life: “The moment has come in which God asks the Holy Father to make, and to order that in union with him and at the same time, all the bishops of the world make the consecration of Russia to my Immaculate Heart, promising to convert it because of this day of prayer and worldwide reparation.”[15]

maternal help!

Therefore, O Mother, hear our prayer. Star of the Sea, do not let us be shipwrecked in the tempest of war. Ark of the New Covenant, inspire projects and paths of reconciliation. Queen of Heaven, restore God’s peace to the world.

Eliminate hatred and the thirst for revenge, and teach us forgiveness.

Free us from war, protect our world from the menace of nuclear weapons.

Queen of the Rosary, make us realize our need to pray and to love.

Queen of the Human Family, show people the path of fraternity.

Queen of Peace, obtain peace for our world.

O Mother, may your sorrowful plea stir our hardened hearts. May the tears you shed for us make this valley parched by our hatred blossom anew. Amid the thunder of weapons, may your prayer turn our thoughts to peace. May your maternal touch soothe those who suffer and flee from the rain of bombs.

May your motherly embrace comfort those forced to leave their homes and their native land. May your Sorrowful Heart move us to compassion and inspire us to open our doors and to care for our brothers and sisters who are injured and cast aside.

Holy Mother of God, as you stood beneath the cross, Jesus, seeing the disciple at your side, said: “Behold your son” (Jn19:26). In this way he entrusted each of us to you. To the disciple, and to each of us, he said: “Behold, your Mother” (v. 27). Mother

Thus, we see that the requested consecration includes several specific conditions: It must be (1) the Pope who publicly performs the consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary — hence, (2) he must name Russia explicitly as the object of consecration.

The Pope (3) must “order … all the bishops of the world”[16] to “make the consecration of Russia” to Our Lady’s Immaculate Heart (4) “in union with him and at the same time.” In order for the consecration to actually “convert” Russia, (5) the public ceremony must involve a conspicuous “day of prayer and worldwide reparation.”

Based on the official documents quoted above, as well as the events of March 25, we know Pope Francis publicly performed the consecration and

Mary, we now desire to welcome you into our lives and our history. At this hour, a weary and distraught humanity stands with you beneath the cross, needing to entrust itself to you and, through you, to consecrate itself to Christ. The people of Ukraine and Russia, who venerate you with great love, now turn to you, even as your heart beats with compassion for them and for all those peoples decimated by war, hunger, injustice and poverty.

Therefore, Mother of God and our Mother, to your Immaculate Heart we solemnly entrust and consecrate ourselves, the Church and all humanity, especially Russia and Ukraine. Accept this act that we carry out with confidence and love. Grant that war may end and peace spread throughout the world.

The “Fiat” that arose from your heart opened the doors of history to the Prince of Peace. We trust that, through your heart, peace will dawn once more. To you we consecrate the future of the whole human family, the needs and expectations of every people, the anxieties and hopes of the world.

Through your intercession, may God’s mercy be poured out on the earth and the gentle rhythm of peace return to mark our days. Our Lady of the “Fiat”, on whom the Holy Spirit descended, restore among us the harmony that comes from God. May you, our “living fountain of hope”, water the dryness of our hearts. In your womb Jesus took flesh; help us to foster the growth of communion. You once trod the streets of our world; lead us now on the paths of peace. Amen. —Pope Francis, March 25 n

explicitly named Russia as an object of consecration — the first time a Pope has ever named Russia during a public consecration ceremony.

However, we also know that he did not order but only invited all the bishops of the world to participate.

While many of them did respond to his request,[17] we do not yet know if a large majority of Catholic bishops (i.e., a number approaching moral unanimity) participated in what Our Lady specified must be a collegial act.

Since the Pope did not initiate a system for confirming bishops’ participation, this is factually difficult to determine. Catholic News Agency did report that “every U.S. diocese participated in one form or another.”[18] Nevertheless, Sister Lucia was clear on this point, emphasizing multiple times over a period of more than 40

years that the bishops must participate in union with the Pope.[19] Pope Francis did say in his Letter to Bishops, “This Act of Consecration is meant to be a gesture of the universal Church,” while encouraging all bishops to invite “the priests, religious and faithful to assemble in their churches and places of prayer on 25 March, so that God’s Holy People may raise a heartfelt and choral plea to Mary our Mother.”[20] And further, the consecration was made in the context of a Penance service during which individual sacramental confession was encouraged and the Pope himself went to Confession and heard confessions.

Reprinted with permission from Catholic Family News. Footnotes provided by ITV upon request.m MAY-JUNE 2022 INSIDE THE VATICAN

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COnSECRATiOn Of RuSSiA AnD ukRAinE

“WAiting for this dAy my entire life” A firsthAnd Account of the consecrAtion in rome on mArch 25 n BY PETER RAO

A student at Thomas More College of Liberal Arts in New Hampshire, USA, studying in Rome for the spring 2022 semester, recounts his personal experience attending the historic Consecration of Ukraine, Russia and the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

O

n the feast of the Annunciation, March 25, 2022, Pope Francis, and the bishops of the world, all invited to join him, specifically consecrated Russia and Ukraine, along with all humanity, to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. I, along with classmates from Thomas More College, had the privilege of being present at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, where the consecration took place.

Arriving hours early, we spent some time in confused conversation with a security guard — he with his broken English, I with my broken Italian — and discovered where to line up. At 3:00, the gates opened, and I passed quickly through into a relatively empty St. Peter’s Square. Three monks in long gray habits sprinted across the piazza toward the Basilica, and I rushed after them, hoping to find a seat; an usher kindly reminded me to instead walk “con calma.” It is easy to forget that St. Peter’s is primarily a Church — not a mere tourist destination.

I was greeted by the sound of instruments and voices tuning in the intricately decorated basilica. The side chapels and halls had been sectioned off and barriers formed a path through the seating in the nave. I found a seat right next to the central aisle, close behind the section reserved for bishops and cardinals. Religious of all sorts began filing past me and taking their places in front. To see so many 16

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Photo Grzegorz Galazka

Catholics of different nationalities and backgrounds, some speaking languages I did not even recognize, uniting for the same purpose, brought home to me the significance of the moment for Catholics everywhere. As the seats filled up, I could sense the growing anticipation. Finally, at five o’clock, the ceremony began.

First, the Swiss Guards marched in, followed by the altar servers, and eventually, Pope Francis. I noticed that the Holy Father was walking with some difficulty; I was relieved when he finally sat down. His voice also, at first, sounded somewhat weak but became stronger as the ceremony continued.

The rite itself began with a series of prayers sung by the schola. Then followed the salutation, readings from Scripture, and the homily.

At one point, several priests, bishops, members of the congregation, and even the Holy Father, started walking in the direction of

the side altars.

Pope Francis himself went to confession, and then began hearing confessions! Many did not realize this was happening; one friend told me a family member texted her, urging her to go to confession to the Holy Father.

Unfortunately, the people around her told her it couldn’t be true!

The actual Act of Consecration followed soon after confessions ended.

The Holy Father delivered the prayer sitting in front of a statue of our Lady; it all went quickly. It seemed that immediately after the words “Russia” and “Ukraine” were uttered, we were already singing the recessional antiphon. After brief time for private prayer, the ushers began removing scaffolding and directing people outside.

Several people tried, unsuccessfully, to sneak over the barriers to get closer to Our Lady’s statue.

Two classmates shared their experience entering St. Peter’s that day.

After much confusion, they banded together with nuns from the order of The Holy Family of Nazareth to figure out where to line up. They learned the order is based in 15 different countries, including Ukraine, and the sisters had traveled from Poland specifically for the Consecration. One nun gave them miraculous medals and rosary beads, along with the very advice I had learned myself: “When you get through, you must be very fast!” In the days leading up to the Consecration, I did not know what to expect. Growing up, I had heard relatively little about Fatima and Our Lady’s consecration request.

For Catholics the world over, however, this day was personally very important — one classmate even said, “I’ve been waiting for this day my entire life!”m

LIFE OF THE CHURCH

“A GRAVE MORAL AND THEOLOGICAL CRISIS” LEADING EUROPEAN CARDINALS AND BISHOPS SEEM TO ENDORSE HOMOSEXUAL ACTIVITY: WHAT WILL THE VATICAN DO? n BY WILLIAM DOINO, JR.

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Appointed as Archbishop of t was a headline flashed Luxembourg in 2011 by Pope around the world: “Cardinal Benedict XVI, Hollerich was Hollerich: Church Teaching long considered a reputable, on Gay Sex is ‘False’ and Can be orthodox Catholic leader. What Changed,” announced Britain’s many do not know, however, is Catholic Herald on February 3. that the Cardinal has been Similar headlines soon folwrestling with a very fragile lowed: “Cardinal Hollerich notion of the Catholic faith for Says Church Teaching on Gays some time. In a little-noticed ‘No Longer Correct’” (Catholic interview Cardinal Hollerich News Service); “Liberal Cardigave to La Croix on January 24 nal Urging ‘Fundamental Reviabout the crisis he experienced sion in Catholic Teaching on as a young missionary in Japan: Homosexuality,’” (The Hill); “With other Jesuits, each “Top EU Cardinal Calls for one coming from a different Change in Church Teaching on Catholic background, we arGay Relationships,” (National Catholic Reporter); and “Cardi- Cardinal Hollerich with Pope Francis, who chose him to be "General rived with a model of Catholicism that we all saw very quicknal Close to Pope Francis Said Relator" for the World Synod of Bishops in October 2023.

Bottom, the current head of the German Bishops' Conference, ly did not correspond to the Catholic Stance on LGBTQ is Bishop Georg Baetzing, left, with his predecessor Cardinal Reinhard expectations of Japan.

Wrong.”

Marx, with whom he agrees that the teaching of the Catechism on “For me, this represented a That last headline, from the human sexuality was not "set in stone" crisis.

Wichita Falls Times, was the “I had to put aside all the most revealing, for Cardinal piety that had been the richness Hollerich is not just any Cardiof my faith until then and give nal — he leads the Commission up the ways that I loved. of the Bishops’ Conferences of “I was faced with a choice: the European Union, is a fellow either renounce my faith beJesuit of the Pope’s, and Francause I could not find the ways cis’ personal choice to be “Relathat I knew, or start an inner tor General” for the October journey. I chose the second 2023 global Synod of Bishops. option.

As religion reporter Terry Mat“Before I could proclaim tingly noted in his accompanyGod, I had to become a seeker ing story for the Falls Times: “It isn’t every day that a prince of the lowing the vast secularization of the of God. I said with insistence: ‘God, Roman Catholic Church, and a strate- West in recent years — typified by a where are you? Where are you, both in gic Jesuit ally of the Pope, openly rejection of its Judeo-Christian her- traditional culture and in postmodern rejects centuries of Christian teach- itage — knows how damaging this Japan?’

“When I returned to Europe 10 ings that clash with core doctrines of trend has been. What saddens the Catholic faithful most is how onceyears ago, I had to start over again. the Sexual Revolution.”

“To be honest, I thought I would Yet it might be argued that Cardinal trusted prelates have not only refused Hollerich’s outburst against Catholic to uphold the Gospel’s moral teach- find the Catholicism that I had left in moral teaching is more a scandal than ings, but actively joined those my youth. But that world no longer existed. a shock, for anyone who has been fol- rebelling against them.

MAY-JUNE 2022 INSIDE THE VATICAN

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LIFE OF THE CHURCH “A GRAvE MORAL And THEOLOGICAL CRIsIs” Cardinal George Pell (photo), who has now regained his full stature, having been unanimously vindicated by Australia’s LOSING THEIR SPIRITUAL highest court after a scurrilous BEARINGS campaign to defame him. In a Cardinal Hollerich’s confesrespectful appeal to the Congresion is quite revealing, more of gation for the Doctrine of the his own inner turmoil than anyFaith, the eminent Cardinal said thing relating to authentic that the “wholesale and explicit Catholic teaching. The reality is rejection” of the Church’s teachthat Jesus Christ is the same, ing on sexual ethics calls for an yesterday, today and forever official reprimand of the offend(Hebrews 13:8), and He is with ing Catholics by the highest us until the end of the world. authorities in the Church.

Whoever failed to teach HolPell said he recognized the lerich these basic truths during challenges and temptations fachis Catholic upbringing and ing contemporary Christians, seminary training, left him CARDINAL GEORGE PELL: FOR THE CHALLENGES AND but the answer is not to capituwoefully unprepared to TEMPTATIONS FACING CONTEMPORARY CHRISTIANS, late to the spirit of the age, but to become a Jesuit missionary.

THE ANSWER IS NOT TO CAPITULATE TO THE SPIRIT OF “rediscover the promises of Moreover, his doubts and Jesus” and recommit ourselves THE AGE, BUT TO“REDISCOVER THE PROMISES OF religious confusion during his to the “undiminished Deposit of JESUS” AND RECOMMIT OURSELVES TO THE travels contrast sharply with Faith.”

“UNDIMINISHED DEPOSIT OF FAITH” the stability and courageous What Catholics must avoid, orthodoxy of his predecessors. fore all Catholics had a right to ques- he continued, are “the changing dicThe first Jesuit missionaries to the Far tion it. tates of contemporary secular culEast faced far more danger and culturMarx also admitted that he had ture,” for “as Pope Paul VI pointed out al opposition than Hollerich’s genera- blessed same-sex couples in the past, many years ago, this is a path to selftion of Jesuits ever did; and the great- and did not rule out doing so in the destruction for the Church.” est of these, St. Francis Xavier, never future, despite an authoritative declaConcluding his powerful appeal, slackened in his resolve, much less ration from the Congregation for the Cardinal Pell stated that the Catholic expressed thoughts about repudiating Doctrine of Faith, approved by Pope Church is “not a loose federation his faith and calling.

Francis, stating that the Catholic where different national synods or Cardinal Hollerich is hardly the Church does not have the power to gatherings and prominent leaders are only Catholic leader to lose his moral bless same-sex unions because God able to reject essential elements of the and spiritual bearings. A month after “cannot bless sin.”

Apostolic Tradition and remain undisHollerich spoke, “The head of the turbed. This must not become a norGerman bishops’ conference, Bishop RAYS OF LIGHT mal and tolerated situation,” he assertGeorg Baetzing, told the German Amidst this wave of episcopal dis- ed, for “Catholic unity around Christ magazine, Bunte, that Catholic teach- sent, there have been some rays of and His teaching requires unity on the ing needs to change vis-à-vis sexuality light. Many Catholic scholars have major elements in the hierarchy of and pre-marital sex since no one fol- demonstrated how same-sex relations truths.” lows it. Asked if same-sex relation- are wrong on every conceivable level What the dissenting prelates are ships were permissible, the German — moral, Scriptural, theological, trying to do, Cardinal Pell conprelate replied [deceptively]: ‘Yes, it’s philosophical, psychological cluded, is nothing less than OK if it’s done in fidelity and respon- and sociological. Many create an outright rupture sibility. It doesn’t affect the relation- other Catholics have with Catholic orthodoxy – ship with God.’” (Associated Press, appealed to the Holy See a rupture “not compatible March 16). to correct and discipline with any legitimate docShortly thereafter, Cardinal Rein- the dissenting prelates, trinal developments.” hard Marx, Baetzing’s predecessor lest their grave errors as the leader of Germany’s Catholic spread and mislead impresTHE SAME OLD ERRORS Bishops, told Stern magazine that the sionable Catholics.

Strongly backing Cardinal Catechism’s teaching on human sexuAmong those requesting an Pell’s words was Father James ality was not “set in stone” and there- intervention from the Holy See is Lloyd (photo), a legendary priest“Today, in this secularized Europe, I have to do the same thing: seek God.”

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WHY IS HOMOSEXUALITY INTRINSICALLY DISORDERED? HOMOSEXUALITY IS A MORALLY DISORDERED CONDITION because it is contrary to man’s rational nature. Nature, in its metaphysical sense, means a bundle of inclinations that tend towards their end.

The human person is [usually] inclined or attracted to seek out a person of the opposite sex. It could be argued that there is also a natural homosexual inclination. The answer to that objection is based on the principle of proportion: an inclination is natural if the person is in possession of the necessary means to satisfy the ends to which this inclination tends. If, therefore, a person pursues an end that is impossible to satisfy, not because of mere external circumstances, but because he is naturally deprived of the instruments suitable for satisfying it, that end would not be a natural end and would be acting against man’s rational nature.

SINCE HOMOSEXUALITY IS AN ATTRACTION to persons of the same sex, this attraction, in order to find perfect fulfilment, must lead to carnal intercourse. The aims of coitus — both the procreative and the unitive — cannot be fulfilled by homosexual carnal intercourse: the instrument is not suited to the end. And, as Aquinas explains, “everything that makes an action unsuitable for the end intended by nature is to be defined as contrary to natural law’ (Summa Theologiae, Supp. 65, a. 1 c), i.e. contrary to man’s rational nature.

THE COUNTER-ARGUMENT THAT IS GENERALLY MADE: many heterosexual couples are also infertile. But the reasons for infertility are diametrically opposed: Homosexual intercourse is physiologically infertile, heterosexual sterile intercourse is pathologically infertile; the former by its nature is infertile, the latter by its nature is fertile.

—Italian theologian Tommaso Scandroglio (La Nuova Bussola)

psychologist in New York who is still active — incredibly — at the age of 100.

For decades, Fr. Lloyd has ministered to Catholics with same-sex attraction who want to live chastely, and at his age, he has “seen it all and heard it all, and nothing that any of these dissenting Cardinals and bishops have said is new,” he told Inside the Vatican in an exclusive interview.

“They are simply repackaging the same old errors about homosexuality and homosexual relations, which have been disproven a thousand times by orthodox Catholic experts,” Fr. Lloyd said. “But because many Catholics do not know their faith well, we should not underestimate the impact these dissenters pose.”

One of the many falsehoods is that homosexual relations and gay marriage would represent progress over the intolerant and rigid past.

In fact, the exact opposite is the case, for homosexuality and gay marriage were widely accepted in the ancient world, and it was left for the first disciples of Christ to evangelize the culture and set it aright.

As Dr. Benjamin Wiker (photo) wrote a decade ago in his essay, “Gay Marriage — Nothing New Under the Sun” (Catholic World Report, May 22, 2012): “Contrary to the popular view — both among proponents and opponents — gay marriage is not a new issue. It cannot be couched (by proponents) as a seamless advance on the Civil Rights movement, nor should it

be understood (by opponents) as something that’s evil merely because it appears to them to be morally unprecedented.

“Gay marriage was – surprise! – alive and well in Rome, celebrated even and especially by select emperors, a spin-off of the general cultural affirmation of Roman homosexuality.

Gay marriage was, along with homosexuality, something the first Christians faced as part of the pagan moral darkness of their time.”

The radical proposals of cardinals and bishops like Hollerich, Marx and Baetzing would not advance a vibrant and healthy form of Catholic Christianity moving into the future, but drag the Church back into the decadent past.

On the topic of homosexuality and human sexuality in general, the Church is now facing “a grave moral and theological crisis,” Fr. Lloyd said, as its teachings have come under sustained attack, both inside and outside the Church.

“It’s going to take a great deal of prayer and courage and genuine renewal to restore and protect the Magisterium’s teachings on faith and morals,” Fr. Lloyd said. “We need to pray for and support Pope Francis, the Vicar of Christ, as he bravely upholds Catholic teaching on sexual morality — and every other issue pertaining to one’s salvation. The Church has endured many trials throughout its history, and is now facing another one, but we must never lose hope or become discouraged, because Our Lord has already guaranteed His final victory.

The only question is, how many will succumb to the darkness and slavery of sin before then? It is up to every faithful Catholic, and above all our Catholic leaders, to ensure that souls are protected from the devil — who roams about like a roaring lion, seeking to devour (I Peter 5:8) — and are taught the true beauty of chastity, according to one’s state in life, and the liberating power of Jesus Christ. As Our Lord proclaimed, it is the truth which sets us free.” (John 8:32)m MAY-JUNE 2022 INSIDE THE VATICAN

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NEWS

FranCis Calls For an “easter truCe” in ukraine on Palm sunday: “He died so PeaCe migHt reign” n BY HANNAH BROCKHAUS (CNA) Pope Francis observes Palm Sunday on April 10, 2022 (Daniel Ibanez / CNA)

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he Holy Father urged “a truce that will lead to peace, through real negotiation that is even disposed to some sacrifice for the good of the people,” adding “Christ bore his cross to free us from the dominion of evil. He died so that life, love, peace might reign.” Pope Francis said on Palm Sunday 2022 that nothing is impossible for God, who has the power to end the war in Ukraine, even if it looks like the end is not near. He also urged the laying down of weapons for a permanent “Easter truce.”

At the end of Mass in St. Peter’s Square on April 10, the Pope said: “Nothing is impossible for God. He can even bring an end to a war whose end is not in sight, a war that daily places before our eyes heinous massacres and atrocious cruelty committed against defenseless civilians. Let us pray about this.”

Francis’ comments about war were made at the end of Mass, right before he led an estimated 65,000 people in praying the Angelus. “In a moment, we will turn to the Blessed Mother with the

Angelus prayer. It was the Angel of the Lord himself who said to Mary in the Annunciation: ‘Nothing is impossible for God,’” the Pope said.

Pope Francis reminded pilgrims that Easter is coming soon.

“We are preparing to celebrate the victory of the Lord Jesus Christ over sin and death — over sin and death — not over someone and against someone else.”

“Let the weapons be put down,” he urged. “Let the Easter truce begin.”

“But not to provide more weapons and pick up the combat again — no — a

truce that will lead to peace, through real negotiation that is even disposed to some sacrifice for the good of the people. In fact, what victory is there in planting a flag on a pile of rubble?” he said.

“But today, there is a war. Why does one want to win like this, according to the way of the world?” Francis continued. “This is only the way to lose. Why not allow Him to win? Christ bore his cross to free us from the dominion of evil. He died so that life, love, peace might reign.”

“Nothing is impossible for God. We entrust this to him through the intercession of the Virgin Mary.”

After the prayer and the final blessing of Mass, Pope Francis greeted the crowds as he took a spin around St. Peter’s Square in the popemobile.

Palm Sunday 2022 Mass was Francis’ first public liturgy in St. Peter’s Square in more than two years, since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In his homily, he said “Christ is crucified yet another time” in the folly of war.m

Cardinal Parolin HoPes VatiCan-CHina deal Can be tweaked n BY ANDREA GAGLIARDUCCI (CNA)

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ince it was put in place, there have been six ordinations of Catholic bishops in China with the twofold approval of the Holy See and the Chinese government. The terms of the agreement have never been disclosed.

With the Vatican-China deal on the appointment of bishops due to expire in October, Cardinal Pietro Parolin hopes that the agreement can be tweaked.

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In the third part of an hour-long sitdown interview with CNA, the Vatican Secretary of State discussed the deal, the text of which has never been published. But he did not go into detail or explain precisely which aspects he hoped to change.

He also spoke about the Vatican’s close interest in Vietnam, the Balkans, and the Caucasus region.

The Holy See first signed the provisional agreement with China in September 2018. The agreement had a twoyear term and was renewed for another two years in October 2020, with no adjustments or amendments.

Since it was put in place, there have been six ordinations of Catholic bishops in China with the twofold approval of the Holy See and the Chinese gov-

ernment. The terms of the agreement could lead to something worse. [VatiThe Azeris also complain that the have never been disclosed. can ‘foreign minister’] Archbishop Armenians in the region have destroyed With the expiration date approach- Gallagher recently visited Bosnia- their cultural heritage. The Holy See ing, Cardinal Parolin said: “We are Herzegovina precisely to testify to the therefore finds itself in a problematic reflecting on what to do. COVID did interest of the Holy See.” situation as it has good relations with not help us because it interrupted the “I do not know if this idea of the con- both Armenia and Azerbaijan. For ongoing dialogue. We are trying to trol room will recover,” he added, “but example, the Holy See and Azerbaijan resume the dialogue concretely, with we certainly must not stop paying atten- signed an agreement to restore and conmeetings that we hope will serve the Santa Priscilla cataCardinal Pietro Parolin celebrates Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica occur soon. We will reflect on combs in Rome. Azerbaijan has on April 27, 2017 (Daniel Ibáñez/CNA / EWTN) the results of the agreement and financed several restoration possibly on the need to make works through a foundation clarifications or review some chaired by the wife of its Presipoints.” dent Ilham Aliyev.

Asked if he would like to The Holy See finds itself in tweak the agreement, the 67the difficult position of remainyear-old Italian cardinal replied: ing balanced without ruining “I hope so.” relations. To maintain a balRegarding relations with ance, Cardinal Parolin exVietnam, another of the few plained, “we always refer to the remaining countries with no forprinciples that should guide mal diplomatic relations with international relations.” the Holy See, Cardinal Parolin Concerning Nagorno Karasaid that a Vatican delegation bakh, he said, “the Holy See would be visiting the country supported the proposal of a Vatican Secretary of State again soon. commission of experts from diScuSSeS Vatican diplomacy “We are working on a conUNESCO, to be sent to the site in hour long interView solidated method of relationwith an exploratory mandate to ships and dialogue,” he said. verify because there are mutual “After the appointment of the non- tion and help the Balkan area in all pos- accusations of putting its historical and resident representative of the Holy sible ways.” cultural heritage at risk.”

See in Vietnam in 2012, the next step The Holy See is called to maintain a “The Holy See had also offered the should be reached, that of the pres- tricky balance in the Caucasus. availability to participate with an ence of a representative of the Holy In particular, after the conflict in expert. So far, however, it has not been See in the country.”

Nagorno-Karabakh and the painful possible. This also indicates the tenpeace for the Armenians, there are con- sions that continue to exist, so much so THE VATICAN AND THE BALKANS cerns that the region’s Christian her- that no initiative, not even of third parAnother region of particular interest itage is at risk. ties, can be created to help the parties to the Holy See is the Balkans. During Nagorno-Karabakh was merged get closer.”

Pope Francis’ trip to Greece, there was with Azerbaijan during the Soviet peria bilateral meeting between Secretariat od and then declared independence A DIPLOMACY OF PERSUASION of State officials and those of the Greek from Baku when Azerbaijan itself “Ours is a diplomacy of speech and foreign ministry. Minister Nikos Den- broke away from the Soviet Union. persuasion. It works if it is listened to,” dias proposed a control room on the The 2020 conflict brought a territory he commented.

Balkans, a sort of diplomatic table at previously controlled by Armenians It is indeed a limitation, which is also which the Holy See would have a seat. back under Azerbaijani control, spark- seen in the Ukraine war, where the preThere has been no news of a follow- ing concern for its cultural heritage. vailing narrative cannot hide the fact up to the proposal, and even Cardinal The European Parliament recently that the Ukrainians are fighting alone.

Parolin said he was unaware of any con- passed a resolution condemning “the “And they are paying for the tencrete developments. “The idea for now destruction of cultural heritage in sion,” noted Parolin, “especially at the has remained as such,” he said.

Nagorno-Karabakh,” while in Decem- level of the civilian population.”

But, he added, “on the part of the ber, the International Court of Justice “So I believe that this should be the diplomacy of the Holy See, there is spe- said that Azerbaijan should “take all only point of view to start from today. cial attention for the Balkans. It is an necessary measures to prevent and pun- Not so much the diplomatic, political area where there are significant ten- ish acts of vandalism and desecration discourse, but the awareness that peosions and the fear that these tensions affecting Armenian cultural heritage.” ple are paying too high a price.”m MAY-JUNE 2022 INSIDE THE VATICAN

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NEWS ANALYSIS

new Vatican constitution nine Years in the making Praedicate evangelium institutes changes in the curia –— some significant n BY ANDREA GAGLIARDUCCI (CNA)

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he new Vatican constitution unveiled by Pope Francis on Saturday, March 19 is, at first sight, a pastoral turning point.

There are many indications of this.

There is the title of the document itself: Praedicate evangelium (“Preach the Gospel”), which emphasizes that the reform is geared toward evangelization.

The Pope becomes the prefect of the new Dicastery for Evangelization, now the first dicastery of the Curia.

The document also highlights the role of local bishops’ conferences, mentioning them 52 times. By contrast, the 1988 document Pastor bonus, the previous Vatican constitution, mentioned them just twice.

Yet this reform goes beyond the theme of evangelization. It is much more than a mere restructuring of the bodies of the Roman Curia. It represents a change of philosophy.

The Curia also becomes, in some ways, a more bureaucratic body. We lose the sense of ancient institutions in the name of better functionality.

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Grzegorz Galazka photo

THE SECRETARIAT OF STATE Under the new constitution, the Secretariat of State assumes the role of a Papal Secretariat. This is not new. During the drafting of Pastor bonus, there was a discussion about whether the Secretariat of State should be renamed the “Papal Secretariat” or even “Apostolic Secretariat.”

In the end, the old name was kept because it had a particular historical solemnity.

Pope Paul VI made the Secretariat of State the central body of the Roman Curia with his 1967 apostolic constitution Regimini Ecclesiae Universal; there, the Secretariat of State is described as the Secretariat of the Supreme Pontiff, while the 1983 Code of Canon Law also speaks of “the Papal Secretariat.”

THE APOSTOLIC CAMERA The Apostolic Camera is a branch of the Roman Curia that administers the goods of the Church during the sede vacante period.

The Camera is a venerable institution that dates back to the 12th century. It comprises the Camerlengo, the vicechamberlain, the general auditor, and the college of clerical prelates of the Camera.

The Apostolic Camera is not mentioned in Praedicate evangelium.

According to the new constitution, the Camerlengo — currently the IrishAmerican Cardinal Kevin Farrell — is assisted by three assistant cardinals. One is the cardinal coordinator of the Council for the Economy and the other two are “identified according to the modalities provided for by the legislation on the vacancy of the Apostolic See and the election of the Roman Pontiff.”

Pope Francis is therefore showing, on the one hand, his intention to put aside all the old colleges (a reform of the Chapter of St. Peter is also underway).

On the other hand, this change is a step towards bureaucratization, because the role of the Camerlengo somehow loses its exceptional nature, given that one of the administrators of the Church will always remain the Vatican “finance

minister,” that is the coordinator of the Council for the Economy.

GOODBYE, “RED POPE”

all, it is necessary to clarify everything that obscures the exercise of evangelization.

the subject of a high-profile trial. APSA will coordinate all investments in practice and the Institute for the Works of Religion (the IOR, often called “the Vatican bank”) becomes its operational arm. An investment committee was already present within the IOR. It remains to be seen whether this will continue to operate or if APSA will manage all investment expertise.

Founded in 1622, the Congregatio de THE DICASTERY FOR THE Propaganda Fide, later called the Con- SERVICE OF CHARITY gregation for the Evangelization of PeoThe Office of Papal Charities has ples, had substantial autonomy, also always been considered part of the from a financial point of view. So much “Papal Family” (Familia Pontificalis), so that its prefect was nicknamed “the rather than a department of the Roman Curia. This is why the Papal Almoner, Red Pope.”

Under the new constitution, THE LAITY’S ROLE the congregation is merged into There is no longer a distincThe Traditional Mass the Dicastery for Evangelization, tion between congregations and in Praedicate evangelium along with the Pontifical Council pontifical councils because all n its initial release, in Italian only, on March 19, for Promoting the New Evangethe Vatican’s main departments Praedicate evangelium initially said in Article 93 lization. The dicastery will conare now defined as dicasteries. that the renamed Dicastery for Divine Worship and tinue to oversee the appointment But “dicastery” is a vague word, the Discipline of the Sacraments “deals with the of bishops in the mission territoreferring to any office. Thereregulation and discipline of the sacred liturgy as ries. Likewise, it retains its finanfore, a carefully calibrated eleregards the extraordinary form of the Roman Rite.” cial autonomy, which was ment of the 1988 constitution of The editio typica — the definitive version — thought to be at risk with the new John Paul II is lost: the collegial released March 31 now speaks instead of the “the liturgical books preceding the reform of the centralization of investments. relationship between heads of Second Vatican Council.” This change acknowlBut the “red pope” has disapdicasteries and the pope. This is a edges not only the norms of Traditionis custodes peared. Article 55 of the constitutopic that John Paul II himself (which dropped the term “extraordinary form”), tion reads: “The Dicastery for addressed when cardinals from but also the exceptions established by Pope Evangelization is chaired directall over the world gathered in a Francis for the SSPX and for the so-called “Ecclely by the Roman Pontiff. Each of consistory to discuss reforms in sia Dei communities.” the two sections is governed in 1985. his name and by his authority by That the heads of the congretwo pro-prefects.” who runs the office, joins the procession gations were cardinals and leaders of the The first section of the Dicastery for that accompanies state visits to the Vati- pontifical councils at least archbishops Evangelization will be the “section for can and sits next to the pope during the reflected the idea that all departmental the fundamental questions of evange- exchange of speeches. The almoner was leaders should have a form of episcopal lization in the world.” The second sec- thus an expression of charity that collegiality with the pope. Moreover, tion, responsible for the new evangeliza- emanated directly from the pope. since the congregations were decisiontion and the new particular Churches, is, The universal characteristic was making bodies, it was necessary that in fact, the ancient Propaganda Fide. instead embodied by the Pontifical their leaders were “princes of the Council Cor Unum, which was later Church,” that is, cardinals, who were on merged into the Dicastery for the Pro- a decision-making level just below that THE DICASTERY FOR THE motion of Integral Human Develop- of the Pope. All this changes with the DOCTRINE OF THE FAITH That Pope Francis considers evange- ment. Now, however, the Papal Almoner new constitution, with the result that the lization to be primary could already be becomes the head of a “Dicastery for the figure of the pope becomes even more seen from the reform of the Congrega- Service of Charity,” becoming part of central. The constitution opens the way tion for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Curia and leaving the Papal Family. to more lay leadership of dicasteries. But A bond with centuries of history is according to canon 129 of the Code of launched in February and now incorpocut.

Canon Law, it is those in sacred orders rated into Praedicate evangelium. who “are qualified… for the power of The division into two sections — disgovernance.” So will canon law be ciplinary and doctrinal — makes a clear THE POPE’S FINANCES separation; before, the basic idea was The Administration of the Patrimony amended?

At a Vatican press conference on that even crimes such as child abuse of the Apostolic See (APSA) is increaswere crimes against the faith. ingly defined as a sort of central bank of Monday, canon law expert Father GianThis de facto separation puts the doc- the Holy See. The inclusion of an invest- franco Ghirlanda, S.J., addressed the trine of faith on a secondary level, ment committee (in article 227) should question of canon 129. He said that the according to Pope Francis’ idea of an be noted, which ought to serve to avoid constitution makes the decision that it is “outgoing Church.” But it also puts dis- mistakes such as that of the investment not ordination but the canonical mission ciplinary questions first. It’s as if, first of in the luxury building in London, now that counts.m

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DOSSIER

THE LITURGY IN THE CHURCH TODAY THE HE VATICAN ATICAN IS IS TRYING TRYING TO TO SUPPRESS SUPPRESS THE THE TRADITIONAL RADITIONAL LATIN ATIN MASS ASS. WHAT HAT ARE ARE CATHOLICS ATHOLICS IN IN THE THE PEW PEW EXPERIENCING EXPERIENCING?

IN THIS SPECIAL “LITURGY” SECTION OF INSIDE THE VATICAN, WE CONTINUE OUR ONGOING COVERAGE OF THE STATE OF THE CATHOLIC LITURGY, INCLUDING FOR THE FIRST TIME DATA GATHERED FROM AROUND THE U.S. AND THE WORLD ON THE REAL-WORLD LITURGICAL EXPERIENCE OF THE CATHOLIC FAITHFUL n BY ROBERT MOYNIHAN

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here have been various rumors, in and away from Rome, that Pope Francis intends to issue further restrictive decrees against the use of the old rite of the Mass in the near future.

But Pope Francis had two meetings in February which suggest such rumors may be false.

The second of two of these meetings was, strikingly, with the head of the Society of St. Pius X, Fr. Davide Pagliarani, on February 8 — the first time the two have met.

A few days earlier, Pope Francis met with two leading priests of the Fraternity of St. Peter, on February 4,

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Fr. Benoît Paul-Joseph, Superior of the District of France, and Fr. Vincent Ribeton, Rector of St. Peter’s Seminary in Wigratzbad. The Pope assured them that the decree Traditionis custodes (“Of tradition the custodians,” July 16, 2021), which places restrictions on the celebration of the old Latin Mass, does not and would not apply to the Fraternity of St. Peter, which celebrates its Masses in the old rite.

Fr. Paul-Joseph subsequently gave a February 21 interview to journalist Ann Le Pape, in which she asked, “So you were immediately reassured?”

He answered, “Yes, indeed. The Pope pointed out to us that in the motu proprio, where it speaks of the ex-Ecclesia Dei institutes, it indicates that they will

DECREE OF POPE FRANCIS CONFIRMING THE USE OF THE 1962 LITURGICAL BOOKS

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he Holy Father Francis, grants to each and every member of the Society of Apostolic Life “Fraternity of Saint Peter”, founded on July 18, 1988 and declared of “Pontifical Right” by the Holy See, the faculty to celebrate the sacrifice of the Mass, and to carry out the sacraments and other sacred rites, as well as to fulfill the Divine Office, according to the typical editions of the liturgical books, namely the Missal, the Ritual, the Pontifical and the Roman Breviary, in force in the year 1962.

They may use this faculty in their own churches or oratories; otherwise it may only be used with the consent of the Ordinary of the place, except for the celebration of private Masses.

Without prejudice to what has been said above, the Holy Father suggests that, as far as possible, the provisions of the motu proprio Traditionis Custodes be taken into account as well.

Given in Rome, near St. Peter’s, on February 11, 2022, the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes. + Francis

POPE MEETS WITH SSPX HEAD

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henceforth be under the jurisdiction of a new dicastery, that for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, and that it was by design that we were not mentioned directly in this document, since we were going to be under a new jurisdiction. ‘You are not affected by these restrictions,’ he told us, ‘but you retain your proper right, granted at your foundation in 1988.’

These two meetings have left many observers puzzled about the precise intentions of Pope Francis with regard to the old liturgy. The articles published below are intended to provide you with some further context, but the true reason for these meetings remains for the moment unclear.m

hen, on Tuesday, February 8, Pope Francis received Fr. Davide Pagliarani, elected head of SSPX in 2018, for the first time.

Previously, Bishop Fellay had met Pope Benedict XVI (August 29, 2005) and Pope Francis (April 1, 2016). Similarly, Archbishop Lefebvre had met Paul VI and John Paul II. This visit underlines the maintenance of relations between the Holy See and the Society of Saint Pius X. Those relations have never been interrupted even if they went through a period of frost between 1988 and 2000. The Argentine pontiff has granted to the members of the Society of Saint Pius X powers to confess, to marry, to ordain, to judge in first instance, etc. An Italian priest, Fr. Pagliarani was, for six years, superior of the SSPX seminary in Argentina. Then-Cardinal Bergoglio had met confreres of Fr. Pagliarani several times in Buenos Aires.

At press time, the SSPX had not issued a full statement on the February exchange between the Pope and Fr. Pagliarani.

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TRADITIONES CUSTODES AND CANON 87 HOW IS THE JULY 16, 2021 MOTU PROPRIO BEING IMPLEMENTED AROUND THE US AND THE WORLD? n BY BRIAN KOPP*

Archbishop Alexander K. Sample of Portland, Oregon, celebrates the Eucharist in the extraordinary form with Benedictine monks in Norcia, Italy. (CNS photo/courtesy Populus Summorum Pontificum).

Below, Bishop Thomas Paprocki of the Diocese of Springfield, Illinois

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he publication of Pope Francis’ July 2021 motu proprio Traditiones custodes has caused an uproar in the Catholic world, seemingly outsized given the small global prevalence of the Traditional Latin Mass. Otherwise known as the “Tridentine Rite” or “Extraordinary Form,” this latter title was first coined by Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI in his July 7, 2007 apostolic letter Summorum pontificum, a term since abrogated by Traditiones custodes.

Summorum pontificum sought to restore the right of priests to offer the Traditional Latin Mass in its 1962 form, admitted that right was never abrogated with the introduction of Pope Paul VI’s Novus Ordo Missae in 1970, and recognized the right of laity to request it and the duty of bishops to positively respond to such requests.

Traditiones custodes sought to reverse these freedoms recognized and granted by Summorum pontificum, citing as its necessity a need for Church “unity” in its worship and the possibility of a rejection of Vatican II among Traditional Latin Mass adherents.

The relative merits of Traditiones custodes have been debated at length in the period following its publication, with many laity, bishops and cardinals clearly displeased with it and its tenuous grounding in Canon Law. Its intention was to strictly curtail the use of the 1962 Missal, slowly 26

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cese’s Traditional Latin Masses were suppressed as a result. Furthermore, it documents any relevant statements from local bishops or chanceries, and, tellingly, whether a bishop employed Canon 87 in justifying their actions.

bringing its adherents into an embrace of the Novus Ordo Missae and preventing seminarians and newly ordained priests from learning or offering the old Mass.

The impact of this motu proprio on the actual prevalence of the Traditional Latin Mass since July 2021, however, has proven difficult to quantify. The earliest and, so far, most comprehensive attempt to evaluate its effects and the actions of local bishops as a result was that of the website traditioniscustodes.info.

This survey-based website, established within days of the publication of Traditiones custodes, summarizes whether all, some, or none of a dio-

Canon 87 of the Code of Canon Law Canon 87 states: “§1. A diocesan bishop, whenever he judges that it contributes to their spiritual good, is able to dispense the faithful from universal and particular disciplinary laws issued for his territory or his subjects by the supreme authority of the Church. He is not able to dispense, however, from procedural or penal laws nor from those whose dispensation is specially reserved to the Apostolic See or some other authority.”

Since Traditiones custodes represents disciplinary law not reserved to the Holy See, bishops may dispense their diocesan territory from it. According to the survey, about a half-dozen US bishops, as well as one from Jamaica, have specifically employed Canon 87 in permitting the continued presence of the Traditional Latin Mass in their diocese. A typical example was the July 19, 2021 statement of Bishop Thomas Paprocki of the Diocese of Springfield, Illinois: “Where as ac-

cording to canon 87, §1 of other bishops, especially TRADITIONAL LATIN MASS the Code of Canon Law, ‘A those outside Traditional IN 243 DIOCESES IN THE U.S. REPORTING diocesan bishop, whenever Latin Mass strongholds he judges that a dispensalike the US and UK, who tion will contribute to their might otherwise contemspiritual good, is able to plate employing Canon 87 dispense the faithful from in exempting their territouniversal and particular ries from Traditiones cus182 25 36 disciplinary laws issued for todes.

Suppressed Suppressed his territory or his subjects Not suppressed some TLMs all TLMs ATTEMPTS by the supreme authority of any TLMs the Church.’

TO QUANTIFY Source: traditioniscustodes.info “Therefore, I, the Most Just after the publicawith a Vatican not known for recogReverend Thomas John Paprocki, by tion of Traditiones custodes, The Pilnizing all nuances of Canon Law. the Grace of God and favor of the lar website set out to quantify just Recently Bishop Daniel Fernández Apostolic See, Bishop of Springfield how many faithful were attending the Torres, a relatively young priest of in Illinois, do hereby decree…”

Traditional Latin Mass, but this Puerto Rico, was summarily disThe good bishop then proceeds to proved to be difficult, if not impossimissed from his diocese by the Vatiexempt his diocesan Traditional ble. Instead, they combed through the can. He had committed no canonical Latin Masses from Traditiones cusTraditional Latin Mass Directory, a todes and grants that crowd-sourced online TRADITIONAL LATIN MASS priests who already celeresource, in an attempt to brate Mass according to identify where the TradiIN 657 PARISHES IN THE U.S. REPORTING the Missale Romanum of tional Latin Mass was being 1962 in the Diocese of offered, and who was offerSpringfield in Illinois are ing it. authorized to continue to The implications of the enjoy this faculty upon results are important. They 576 39 49 request (Art. 5). found that of 657 US reportOffered by ed venues offering the TraOffered Offered An extensive search of diocesan priests ditional Latin Mass in the

by Ecclesia Dei English-speaking web- by the FSSP (grace of the local (orders or priestly sites revealed that, at min- (Priestly Fraternity US, there were 49 in which bishop) of Saint Peter) associations) imum, an additional 14 the TLM was offered by the Source: Traditional Latin Mass Directory FSSP (the Priestly FraterniUS and one UK bishop have referenced Canon 87 ty of Saint Peter) and 32 offense; his “crime” was refusing to in granting their diocese full or partial offered by other “Ecclesia Dei” impose a mandate on diocesan exemption from Traditiones cusorders or priestly associations. That employees and priests for the mRNA todes, for a total of 22; this canon repleaves 576 venues where the TLM is Covid vaccine and signing religious resents the primary bulwark individoffered by diocesan priests, all of exemptions for faithful who quesual bishops may employ against the which continue at the good grace of tioned the moral liceity of it. complete suppression of the Traditheir local bishop. However, any of However, in a move overlooked tional Latin Mass in their dioceses. them could be suppressed by the arbiby many mainstream commentators, According to the traditioniscustrary removal of a bishop, such as was he was also the only Puerto Rican todes.info survey, 25 dioceses have the case in Puerto Rico. bishop refusing to ban his diocesan suppressed all Traditional Latin Of the approximately 17,000 Traditional Latin Mass in the face of Masses, 36 have suppressed some of active parishes in the U.S., The Pillar Traditiones custodes. All his actions them, while 182 dioceses have not found that these 657 venues offering were credibly and canonically defensuppressed any Traditional Latin the Traditional Latin Mass represent sible, and no canonical actions whatMasses. less than 4% of all parishes in Amersoever were brought against him That some bishops have effectiveica, 576 (87%) of which are offered before he was removed. Yet the fact ly employed Canon 87 in protecting by diocesan priests. Great Britain of his continued support of the Traditheir Traditional Latin Mass commudoes somewhat better, with 6.5%, or tional Latin Mass could give pause to nities may be a two-edged sword, 157 venues, offering it, out of 2400 MAY-JUNE 2022 INSIDE THE VATICAN

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active parishes. France fairs a little ing principles and charism of these nal “Ecclesia Dei” groups like them, worse, with only 1.5% to 3% of all communities to offer the Traditional but recent developments have proven active priests offering the Traditional Latin Mass, without a battle and the that they are further tightening down Latin Mass. negativity that would accompany such on diocesan Traditional Latin Mass This inequality is important given as effort? communities and priests. the tenuous ability of diocesan priests Regardless, it is obvious that, for On December 18, 2021, Archbishto offer the Traditional Latin Mass. now, the FSSP and other “Ecclesia op Arthur Roche, Secretary of the In February of 2022, the French Dei” communities may safely contin- Congregation for Divine Worship and Superior General of the FSSP, Fr. ue their Traditional Latin Masses and the Discipline of the Sacraments, Benoît Paul-Joseph, as well as the apostolates. released “Responsa ad dubia: on cerRector of their seminary in WigratzThe same cannot be said for dioce- tain provisions of the Apostolic Letter bad, Fr. Vincent Ribeton, met with san Traditional Latin Masses, and the Traditiones custodes.” This document Pope Francis in private audience, priests who offer them. Recall that is ostensibly a response to 11 dubia ostensibly to better understand the sta- according to the survey results of (questions) regarding Traditionis custus of the “Ecclesia Dei” communities https://traditioniscustodes.info, 61 todes submitted to the Congregation such as the FSSP post Tradiby bishops. However, while tiones custodes. As a result, Traditiones custodes was Pope Francis published this seen by many as punitive Decree: towards tradition, the “The Holy Father Francis, Responsa ad dubia is now grants to each and every membroadly viewed as cruel and ber of the Society of Apostolic unmerciful, with little if any Life ‘Fraternity of Saint Peter,’ grounding in Canon Law. founded on July 18, 1988 and As noted the December declared of ‘Pontifical Right’ by 23, 2021 edition of The Caththe Holy See, the faculty to celolic Herald: “By a stroke of ebrate the sacrifice of the Mass, the pen [Responsa ad dubia] and to carry out the sacraments prohibits marriages, bapand other sacred rites, as well as tisms, burials, and even to fulfill the Divine Office, blessings, using the older In February of 2022, the French Superior General of the FSSP, according to the typical editions books, outside a tiny number Fr. Benoît Paul-Joseph, as well as the Rector of their seminary of the liturgical books, namely of ‘personal parishes.’ Simiin Wigratzbad, Fr. Vincent Ribeton, met with Pope Francis in private audience in Rome the Missal, the Ritual, the Ponlarly, it prevents priests from tifical and the Roman Breviary, in dioceses have partly or completely saying more than one Old Rite Mass force in the year 1962. suppressed the Traditional Latin on a Sunday, and allows them to say it “They may use this faculty in their Mass, while its status is unchanged in on a weekday only if they have no own churches or oratories; otherwise, 182 of them. That’s one out of three Novus Ordo Masses to celebrate. it may only be used with the consent of respondents’ dioceses partially or ful“The ban on parishes noting the the Ordinary of the place, except for ly enacting the provisions of Tradi- times of Traditional Masses on their the celebration of private Masses. tiones Custodes. bulletins has caused widespread “Without prejudice to what has Thus, this dichotomy between ridicule. been said above, the Holy Father sug- diocesan and “Ecclesia Dei” spon“…it may have irritated some in gests that, as far as possible, the provi- sored Traditional Latin Masses is a Rome that so many bishops — and not sions of the motu proprio Traditionis central point. For now, Traditiones just the Tradition-friendly usual suscustodes be taken into account as custodes cannot technically impact pects — invoked Canon 87 §1… in well.” the latter groups, but they only repre- order to allow Traditional Masses to Many traditional-minded Catho- sent 10% to 15% of these Masses of- continue... lics rightfully applauded this victory fered since Summorum pontificum “The Congregation seems to be tryfor the FSSP and the other “Ecclesia permitted the Traditional Latin Mass ing to claw back the force of the origiDei” communities, but was it simply a to blossom in 2007. The Vatican has nal ban by asking bishops to come to it result of basic pastoral kindness, or a backed off from its initial assertion for a dispensation, should this be really recognition that canonically, the Vati- that Traditiones custodes would also necessary. However, the Congregation can cannot suppress the basic found- apply to the FSSP and the other frater- cannot repeal Canon 87…”

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Here, Don Davide Pagliarani, Superior General of the Priestly Society of St. Pius X, founded by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre.

Below, Archbishop Arthur Roche, an Englishman and current head of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments

SOCIETY OF PIUS X MASSES IN THE U.S.

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e did not include in our Traditional Latin Mass statistics the chapels of the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX), since they have an irregular status within the Catholic Church.

The Vatican has stated, however, that the SSPX is not in schism, but rather in an “irregular juridical position” or “incomplete union with Rome,” concepts that were unknown prior to Vatican II. Nonetheless, the Vatican has clearly stated that one may fulfill one’s Sunday obligation at SSPX chapels and receive the Holy Eu charist. Furthermore, Pope Francis has extended faculties to the SSPX to hear confessions, and granted SSPX priests the ability to licitly and validly celebrate marriages.

In the U.S., the SSPX have 103 chapels, staffed by 85 priests and four deacons, with over 500 chapels, 590 priests

In the end, given that 80%-90% of all Traditional Mass venues are diocesan, these venues and priests have become the primary target of the Vatican, in its efforts to end the presence of this form of the Mass in the post Vatican II Church. Traditional Latin Masses offered by the FSSP and other “Ecclesia Dei” communities are “safe,” for now.

The Traditional Latin Mass is beloved by many Catholic priests and laity, not only those with a sense of

and three bishops worldwide. Including the 657 diocesan and “Ecclesia Dei” Mass venues in the U.S., SSPX Mass venues represent 15% of the total available(!). These numbers place into perspective the reality of the SPPX presence here and abroad.

On February 8, 2022, the Superior of the SSPX, Don Davide Pagliarani, met in private audience with Pope Francis in Rome. The SSPX stated: “The informal conversation was very polite and gave the Superior General the opportunity to introduce himself to the Holy Father, whom he was meeting for the first time. This meeting made it possible to show that the SSPX has no other goal than to serve the Church in the midst of the current crisis. Fr. Pagliarani had the opportunity to make it clear to the Pope that everything the Society does has only this service in mind.n

nostalgia for the past, but the growing number of young, vibrant and devout laity and priests who have discovered incredible richness, beauty and an unequaled sense of the sacred. It is clear now, however, that the courage of individual bishops, employing Canon 87, is the only barrier remaining against the elimination of the Traditional Latin Mass among diocesan priests – a Mass that has been the source, summit and strength of untold Catholics for over 1400 years.

WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! To get a better grasp of the Liturgical preferences of our readers, as well as their thoughts about the Second Vatican Council, we have launched the Inside the Vatican Liturgy Survey.

If you have not yet responded to this survey, please consider doing so at insidethevatican.com/liturgy-survey/, and if you feel inclined, please share it with family, friends and on social media. —Brian Kopp, ITV Liturgy Survey Editor m

THE NEW “CONSERVATIVES” POST-VATICAN II REFORMERS CLAIM POST-COUNCIL LITURGICAL CHANGES ARE “IRREVERSIBLE”— BUT ARE THEY?

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rchbishop Arthur Roche, an Englishman and head of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, gave a talk in the fall of 2021 in which he declared, quoting Pope Francis, “We can affirm with certainty and with magisterial authority that the liturgical reform is irreversible.”

He asked the liturgy students he was addressing “to be true men and women of the Church who ‘sentire cum ecclesia’ [think with the Church] and not to be waylaid by ecclesiastical ideologies or by your own preferences or novel ideas”; presumably, he was referring to those in the Church who insist on the legitimacy of their prerogatives to say the Traditional Latin Mass.

“We need people who are well prepared and balanced,” he remarked, “who love the Church as She is!”

Roche’s exhortations sound remarkably like those of stalwarts of conservatism during the 60s, 70s and 80s. There is no more “conservative” cry than that of “loving the Church as She

is.” Yet, it was these very liturgical reformers like Roche, who, in the decades after Vatican Council II, took sledgehammers to the Traditional Mass, both literally, in the destruction of countless beautiful Church sanctuaries, and figuratively, in handing down new lectionary translations not entirely faithful to either the letter or spirit of the original. They also sloughed off the poetic beauty that was once integral to the liturgical experience for Mass-goers, substituting plainer language and uglier music “more accessible” to the common man. Clearly, they did not “love the Church as She is.” So, the question must be asked: Is the liturgical reform truly “irreversible?”

If the previous reform has not delivered the promised reinvigoration of the Faith — and there is almost no metric that indicates otherwise — on what leg do the new “conservatives” stand who urge us to keep things just as they are?

—Christina Deardurff

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THE LATIN MASS AND THE QUEST FOR PROGRESS AND RELEVANCE TRANSCENDENCE AND IMMANENCE NEED NOT BE MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE. WHY HAVE THEY BECOME SO? n BY GAVIN ASHENDEN*

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f all the different kinds of conflict, civil war is one of the worst. And perhaps the worst place to have a civil war is the Church, where Jesus has called us to the highest aspiration of mutual sympathy and charity.

But civil wars can be complex things. They can be driven by both complex ideological differences, and also by the raw lust for power and the overcoming of one’s enemies.

The Church has always faced the challenge of managing the difference between the exercise of a spirituality that flows from a response to God’s love and the exercise of power that any institution makes possible as an inevitable consequence of its structural coherence.

One of the most difficult tasks in the Church is rescuing the principles and practice of spiritual fidelity from the outbreak of conflicts engendered by flawed egos and power struggles; another is getting to the roots of the conflict that has emerged.

The civil war that dominates our day has narrowed down to a fight over liturgy. But only because liturgy has become emblematic of two ways of looking at the world; two perspectives, two competing theologies.

In any conflict resolution one should see if there is any way in which contradiction can be turned to a search for complementarity.

The presenting issue is the struggle between fidelity to tradition on the one hand and a quest for a creative and developing spirituality on the other.

Tradition presents the fruit of a long steady development of depth under the hand of the Holy Spirit; the contemporary quest claims to re-connect with the 30

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earliest sources, and at the same time attempts to build a bridge between the Church and secular proprieties in a society experiencing rapid change.

This inevitably raises epistemological questions that produce very different answers. The traditionalist perspective requires the contemporary culture to change its priorities. The progressive perspective is willing to give up aspects of ecclesial culture that have defined the Church in the past, in order to make it more accessible today. The simplest and most dramatic example of that would be the exchanging of Latin for contemporary languages in the liturgy.

Is there any perspectival shift that would allow both priorities to co-exist?

If for the moment we separate the principles that underlie the arguments from the adherents to the principles that underlie the arguments, we might make some temporary progress.

There is virtue in both a liturgy that prioritizes transcendence and virtue in one that prioritizes immanence. One prioritizes profundity over easy access, and the other facilitates evangelism in a culture that finds the Faith increasingly

strange and unfamiliar.

They need not be mutually exclusive, but they appear to have become so…in which case, we need to ask: why?

Why have Archbishop Roche and Pope Francis created a goal that eliminates a liturgy that mediates transcendence ? That question can only be answered while at the same time asking why those supporters of the Tridentine mass, like the head of SSPX, Fr. Davide Pagliarani, repudiate the validity of the Novus Ordo that mediates immanence? Surely, transcendence and immanence both belong to the liturgical repertoire of the Church?

A clue might lie in the growing perception that those who share Pope Francis’ discomfort with the Tridentine Mass also don’t like the kind of people who favor it. Unsurprisingly, the compliment is returned by Fr. Pagliarani and other traditionalists. What matters here is not that the conflict has become personal but what that teaches us about the conflict itself.

Pope Francis is surprisingly frank about his dislike of certain kinds of traditionalist. He refers often to ‘rigidity,’ and how distasteful and unappealing it is as a human characteristic.

The problem for those who observe and commentate is that he doesn’t describe what he means by it. He is using the word to describe not only a psychological trait, but also a world view.

What can we make of this? In certain contexts, rigidity might be a compliment. In a situation where it was important that one did not bend or break and give way to something destructive,

Bishop Edward J. Slattery of Tulsa, Oklahoma, celebrates a solemn high Mass in the extraordinary form at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington D.C. on April 24, 2010 (CNS photo/Nancy Wiechec)

rigidity would be a compliment. In the middle of a storm we like roofs to be rigid. In a flood or an earthquake – or the situation Jesus envisaged where a house was to be built on sand or a rock – we like the rock precisely because it is rigid.

Rigidity is of great value in that context.

Where there is danger, rigidity is good.

But where there is opportunity, rigidity may be a drawback, or something worse.

And this might lead us closer to the nature of the conflict.

Pope Francis is using the word “rigid” as a criticism. He perceives opportunity. The rigid are those who cannot see opportunity or be sufficiently flexible to make anything of it.

What is this opportunity?

It must have something to do with the value or otherwise of contemporary culture and the possibility of accompanying or connecting with it.

It seems likely that those uncomfortable with the Latin Mass see the way in which culture outside the Church has developed, in the last half century or more, as a good thing; a growth and a development in which God has played a part. The assumption must be that in some way, secular society is porous and open to God in a way that the culture of the Church has not been.

If we reverse our perspective and look through the eyes of Fr. Davide Pagliarani, we are likely to see the opposite. Part of the power of the Tridentine mass lies in the judgment that contemporary culture is more decadent than sanctified, and presents a philosophical and spiritual danger to the Church, in which rigidity will prove to be a valuable defensive tool.

Whilst arguments have raged about the nature of the Second Vatican Council and the question of whether the Novus Ordo can replace the Tridentine Mass or not, the heart of the argument seems to lie in the judgment that is made in the relationship between the Holy Spirit and contemporary culture.

The Second Vatican Council took place at a moment when it was clear that a cultural upheaval that constituted

nothing less than an earthquake was taking place.

The trajectory of change was one that moved from formality towards informality, from the priority of the objective to the subjective; from order to spontaneity, from dogma to experience, from hierarchy to equality, head to heart, authority to anarchy. In such circum-

stances one might take the pendulum view of cultural change and view the place of the pendulum on the spectrum as the important factor.

But the two sides we are describing have gone beyond finessing where the pendulum is on the spectrum. The argument is between those who believe in an analysis of ‘progress’ and those who don’t.

A clue might lie in the growth of the young traditionalists — they don’t believe in the sanctity of progress in the same way as those who were young in the 1960’s.

It’s this commitment to the belief in the value of progress that makes compromise impossible. Traditiones Custodes is a paean to the virtue of progress and secular culture.

Somewhere in the middle of the twentieth century an old theological heresy re-emerged, as they perennially do. The same unfounded optimism about the potentialities of human nature that had seized Pelagius in the firth century inflamed a generation.

The most colorful expression was the wave of peaceniks and hippies demand-

ing we should “give peace a chance” – as though peace was a vulnerable demigod struggling to make its way. John Lennon was their troubadour, setting their self-confidence to song. A generation of churchmen were unable to escape the seduction of this optimism and selfbelief.

The coming of the twenty-first century left the more perceptive children of the eighties and nineties with the perception that their grandparents had suffered from a form of arrested development that they had never emerged from, a form of teenage wistfulness for human potentiality that the ongoing exposure to reality should have corrected.

Human conflict, growing injustice, ecological irresponsibility, wars and ethnic cleansing in Europe, futile cultural utopianism, growing media censorship: if the early decades of this century teach us anything, it is that once again, we can see that St. Augustine was right and Pelagius was wrong.

In the light of this, it is no wonder that tradition, and in particular the Latin Mass, should present such offense to the ideological optimists. It is steeped in the language of deep penitence and of absolute dependence on the grace of God in Christ. The miracle it celebrates is that of God’s intervention, not of human potentiality. In the struggle to be relevant it refuses to travel even to first base, on the grounds that relevance should be about the healing of the soul, not the febrile chase to keep up with a culture more porous to abuse and control by the global elite than a vehicle of human enlightenment.

The Latin Mass embodies a repudiation of the idea of cultural progress, and that may be why it is the cause of such profound offense. *Dr. Gavin Ashenden is a former Anglican bishop and Chaplain to Queen Elizabeth of England, now a Catholic convert and layman. He comments in religious and secular media on both sides of the Atlantic, and writes at Ashenden.org.m MAY-JUNE 2022 INSIDE THE VATICAN

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THE LITURGY AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS: EAST AND WEST THE VATICAN’S SCHIZOPHRENIC STANCES TOWARD TRADITIONAL EASTERN AND WESTERN RITES COULD IMPERIL THE HOLY SEE’S POSITION IN PREDOMINANTLY ORTHODOX REGIONS — LIKE UKRAINE n BY JOSEPH SHAW* An icon of the embrace of Sts. Peter and Paul, representing also the embrace of East and West

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o school textbook or documentary on the First World War is complete without black and white photographs, or newsreel footage, of Russian soldiers being blessed by Orthodox priests at the beginning of the war, and, for comparison, the soldiers of the Habsburg Empire being blessed by Latin Catholic clergy. Although the men were preparing to kill each other on the Eastern Front, the blessings remind us of what they had in common: a traditional Christianity almost destroyed in the war they were all too willing to fight.

Today, we are witnessing another fratricidal war. There is no clear-cut religious cleavage between Ukraine and Russia, any more than there is a straightforward linguistic division. The tragedy unfolding in eastern Europe today, like that of more than a century ago, is in danger of doing grave harm, physically and in other ways, to what the two countries have in common: the Orthodox faith and the eastern liturgical tradition.

Latin Catholics are expressing compassion and solidarity with the war’s victims. However, this solidarity is complicated by a wall of incomprehension, not between the belligerents, but between many Catholics in the West and the Christian East. Western Catholics, too often have an attitude towards the Eastern Churches, whether in communion with the Pope or not, which ranges from the patronising to the contemptuous, with a large helping of ignorance. This is a long32

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term problem for the Latin Church, but it has gotten worse, not better, in the post-Vatican II era.

Until the time of Pope Leo XIII, it was common for Latin Catholics to dismiss the liturgical traditions of the Eastern Churches as ostentatious, impractical, and theologically problematic, and to see the ‘Latinisation’ of these rites as a positive development. Pope Leo decisively opposed this view, declaring the liturgy of the East to be a ‘brilliant jewel [praeclaro… ornamento] for the whole Church’ in his 1894 Encyclical Orientalium dignitas.

Nevertheless, a serious, two-fold problem has been created by the Latin Church’s own liturgical reform.

The first part of the problem is that the liturgical reform moved the Latin

Church’s liturgy markedly further away from the eastern traditions.

In a number of ways the reform also moved the Catholic liturgy away from classical Protestant liturgy, much of which shared (for example) the Lectionary and even the Collects of the Roman Missal.

The direction of movement was, in fact, the direction of modernity, a direction with which major Protestant denominations were simultaneously aligning themselves. This meant losing important features of a shared Western liturgical patrimony, and also turning away from liturgical principles – one might say, a liturgical attitude – which had been common to East and West.

What is a liturgist of the Eastern Churches to make of the injunction, of the Council’s Decree on the Liturgy, Sacrosanctum Concilium 34, that rites are to be “short, clear, and unencumbered by useless repetitions; they should be within the people’s powers of comprehension?” If the implementation of this directive represented a revolution for the liturgical experience of Latin Catholics, the words do not exist to describe what it would do to the Rites of the East.

However, there is no indication in the Council texts that this or any other part of Sacrosanctum Concilium should be applied to the East. The Council’s Decree on the Eastern Churches, Orientalium Ecclesiarum maintained Pope Leo’s twin demands of respect for the Eastern traditions and resistance to Latinisation—and

even reversing the process of Latinisation where it has occurred. This view was reiterated in Pope John Paul II’s 1994 Apostolic Letter Orientale Lumen.

Thus, the liturgy of the West—the term “Latin Rite” becomes misleading after 1965 when the vernacular became the norm—was to be reformed on principles best described as rationalistic, but the liturgy of the East was not to be. What was so good and necessary for one part of the Church, that it must be imposed sometimes in the face of both intellectual opposition and heartbreak among many, was simultaneously regarded as so bad for another part of the Church that it must be rooted out with diligence and determination.

The schizophrenia this implies has proved too much for some leaders in Eastern Churches in communion with the Holy See, many of them educated in Rome. The Congregation for Eastern Churches found itself locked in struggles with local hierarchies over their desire to imitate the liturgical reform of the West. These struggles are exemplified by the Instructions, Observations on: ‘The Order of the Holy Mass of the SyroMalabar Church 1981’ and Il Padre, incomprensibile (1996).

This difficulty is made worse by the second aspect of the problem. The liturgical reform didn’t come out of a vacuum, but responded to, and apparently vindicated, an attack on the liturgical tradition, characterized as obscurantist and even a form of spiritual abuse: the claim being that the old liturgy excluded the laity from fruitful participation, which was the preserve of a clerical elite. Such polemics are not uncritically repeated in official documents, but one hears their echoes.

Pope Paul VI wondered aloud, in a General Audience address in 1969, whether Latin represented a “a dark screen, not a clear window.” An

Instruction of the Congregation for Divine Worship in 1987 referred to the pre-Conciliar era as “a period when the active participation of the faithful was not emphasized as the source of the authentic Christian spirit.”

Against this, the Congregation for the Eastern Churches has fought a rear-guard action. To give just one example out of many, Il Padre defends ad orientem worship, and reproves the insults accorded it in the West: It is not a question, as is often claimed, of presiding over the celebration with the back turned to the people, but rather of guiding the people in pilgrimage toward the King-

dom, invoked in prayer until the return of the Lord.

This argument was being made to the Eastern Churches even as Western churches were being wrecked to make worship ad orientem impossible, and priests reprimanded for doing it, on the grounds that the practice excludes the people from participation.

For all the official respect expressed for the Eastern Rites, Rome has presided over a sea of angry rhetoric, in semi-official publications, in the Catholic press, and in Catholic universities and seminaries, directed at the West’s own tradition, but far more applicable to the East’s.

It is difficult to avoid the impression that, for the Vatican, the preservation of the Eastern Rites is akin to

keeping a small area of undeveloped countryside, inhabited by harmless bumpkins stuck in the past, for the delight of visiting tourists, or for the study of ethnologists. If this preservation also has value in the Vatican’s navigation of geo-politics, this does nothing to dispel the thought that it is fundamentally insincere.

The religious landscape of Ukraine and its relations with Russia are complex and delicate. Latin Rite and Eastern Rite Catholics, Orthodox groupings in and out of communion with the Moscow Patriarchate, and the involvement of the Ecumenical Patriarch in Constantinople, almost rival the religious complexities of the Middle East. In this context the authenticity of the Holy See’s good will is essential, if it is to be a spiritual support, a facilitator of material aid, or a diplomatic mediator.

Good will implies that we take the religious values of the region seriously. The liturgical debate taking place in the Western Church, particularly after Traditionis Custodes, can leave one with the impression that the Western Catholics, at bottom, see the whole phenomenon of the Eastern Rites as faintly ridiculous, and accordingly that disagreements among their different groupings is little more than a squabble among foolish children. This impression will not be dispelled until the Holy See has made its peace with its own liturgical tradition, and gives it the place of honour which Pope Benedict XVI hoped for it, and from which Pope Francis has tragically plucked it. *Dr. Joseph Shaw is a senior research fellow at St. Benet’s Hall, Oxford, and a member of the faculty of philosophy. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, Chairman of the Latin Mass Society, and President of the Una Voce International Federation.m MAY-JUNE 2022 INSIDE THE VATICAN

33

cOMMentARY

tHe ligHt of Holy saturday NiNety-five years ago, PoPe Benedict XVi was borN oN a Holy saturday iN aPril — wHicH turNed out to be a sigN of diviNe ProvideNce. eigHty-tHree years later, He was coNfroNted witH tHe most mysterious icoN aNd relic of tHe NigHt of cHrist’s resurrectioN, tHe turiN sHroud.

Part 1 of a 2-Part series n BY MICHAEL HESEMANN

I

Benedict XVI venerates the Shroud of Turin on May 2, 2010. (CNS photo/L'Osservatore Romano) In the small photo, a close-up of the image as a negative, from the face of the Shroud

t was a Holy Saturday on April 16, 95 years ago (1927), when Joseph Ratzinger, who later became Pope Benedict XVI, was born in Marktl am Inn, in Bavaria, Germany. The words with which his brother Georg Ratzinger (who passed away on July 1, 2020) described this day to me 11 years ago still ring in my ears. It was an ice-cold day with lots of snow, terrible weather. At some point little Georg, who was just three years old, woke up and realized that he was alone. He wasn’t used to sleeping alone; he usually laid in bed with his parents and his sister Maria. But when he awoke in the early hours of that gray, cold April day, no one was there.

Instead, he heard the sounds of hectic activity. Doors slammed shut, quick footsteps echoed in the hallway, people talked loudly. When he heard his father’s voice, he called after him: “Father, I want to get up!” Then Joseph Ratzinger senior, the taciturn, strict but kindhearted gendarme said: “No, you have to wait. Today we got a little boy.” And since the Pope’s brother had kept his wonderful sense of humor well into old age, he added, I may quote: “It was all a bit of a mystery to me back then.”

This little boy was born at 4:15 am and baptized at 8:30 am. They didn’t even wait until Anna Ratzinger, who was to be godmother, could be notified, but asked 34

INSIDE THE VATICAN MAY-JUNE 2022

a nun named Adelma Rohrhirsch to step in for her, since at that time the liturgy of the Easter Vigil was celebrated in the morning of Holy Saturday. Because the consecration of baptismal water and the baptismal rite are an integral part of this liturgy, the parents didn’t hesitate for long: “Now the boy is born, now he’s going to be baptized!”

Not only Georg and Maria, but also their beloved mother, stayed at home, since it snowed so hard that their parents feared that the two siblings would catch a cold.

The young mother, on the other hand, was still too badly affected from the birth to be allowed out into the snow.

So the baby was the first to be baptized with the freshly consecrated water and given the name Joseph Aloisius.

“At the door at Easter, but not yet entered” became the metaphor for his whole life, which from the very beginning had been immersed in the Easter mystery.

For some it may be a coincidence, but for us Christians it is a sign of Divine Providence that he also celebrated his 95th birthday on a Holy Saturday this year.

After the last few weeks and months, which became a real Via Crucis for him, when, under a cheap pretext intended to distract from the failures of others, he was spat at and insulted and sent to the media’s via dolorosa with calls of “Crucifige eum!” he must have experienced this Good Friday even more intensely than in all

Below, La Deposizione by Michelangelo Merisi, known as Caravaggio (1571-1610), kept in the Pinacoteca Vaticana

the years before. The Lord calls us each to carry His cross, and the imitatio Christi, the offering of suffering, turns the via dolorosa into the via regis, the royal road to salvation. Now the media tempest has calmed down, comparable to the stillness of Holy Saturday — the time to pause and reflect on what has happened, anticipating the Easter turning point, so sudden and surprising.

In any case, I am deeply convinced that the experience of Easter Saturday left a deep impression on him in the first hours of his long and blessed (“benedictus”) life. Yes, Joseph Ratzinger’s birth on Holy Saturday was indeed a sign of divine providence that shaped his life, indicated his path and defined his predestination: because no day in the Church year corresponds so much to the nature of the theologian. It is the day of contemplatio, of stillness, of pausing, of contemplating, of trying to understand — like the disciples of the Lord, of whom John (20:9) writes: “They had not yet understood the Scriptures, that He had to rise from the dead.” (As a historian, I may now be treading on smooth ground if I dare to claim: this attempt to classify the events of Golgotha, to fathom the mystery of our redemption, was the actual birth of theology.)

The disciples were desperate. Judas Iscariot had betrayed their Master and handed Him over to the temple guards. Peter had denied Him three times. All but John had fled, hiding while the unimaginable took place: the Lord of life, yes, life itself, hung on the cross and suffered. The creator of the universe, who made Himself small out of sheer compassion and became man in order to redeem His fallen creature, was to be murdered by men. The Redeemer, the Messiah of Israel, who had been saluted with shouts of “Hosanna!” just five days earlier, hung on the cross under the titulus that macabrely proclaimed Him “King of the Jews.”

Around noon the sky darkened and the earth shook.

Three hours later a shriek resounded through the universe and suddenly it seemed as if Nietzsche, who of course lived eighteen and a half centuries later, was right after all, as if God were really and truly dead. He was not breathing, His corpse was pale, rigid and cold, when Joseph of Arimathea’s men took Him down from the cross and laid Him in His mother’s lap before carrying Him down the hill of Golgotha into the cold rock tomb set like a gateway to the underworld in the sheer wall of a former quarry. For a single dark moment, it

was as if death and the devil had triumphed, as if the powers of the underworld had suffocated the newly founded Church before it had even budged.

We can only guess what was going on in the heads of His disciples that night, no matter which cellar or upper room they might have been hiding in. Was their hope buried with their beloved master? Was that all – no, were they all lost now? Had they followed an illusion? Had He, whom they had taken for the Messiah, yes, the Son of the living God, failed because of His claim, because of the ice-cold power of the superpower Rome and the “godlike” Caesar Tiberius? Had Jesus, God forbid, perhaps Himself succumbed to a deception; was He even a false prophet?

Didn’t Moses teach that he who was hung on the stake was cursed? And could the Son of God have suffered such a fate?

But despite all these dark thoughts, we must conclude from the fact that they remained in Jerusalem, in spite of all fear and despair, that they still had a quantum of hope. It was burgeoning deep within them, and gradually growing stronger. But then the light of Easter morning shone, first in the far distance, before it overwhelmed them with the glaring twilight and the women became messengers of the resurrection: Christ is risen, He is risen indeed, alleluia!

This brooding and pondering, this believing and hoping, this attempt to classify what happened and grasp its meaning, this time of uncertainty between Good Friday and Easter Sunday, is really nothing other than the first theological weekend seminar in Christianity. It’s a way which often enough leads through the darkness of doubt, of wrangling and searching, but in the best case should end in the light of knowledge that God has truly become man and has revealed the truth to us about our being, our destiny and the way to our salvation from this vale of tears. This at least is Ratzinger’s theology that transforms us all from seekers of God into cooperatores veritatis (“co-workers of the truth”) preparing us to behold and comprehend the glory of God on our own Easter morning. And that is precisely why Holy Saturday is the most symbolic birthday for a great theologian, in whom the Church of the future will recognize one of her greatest teachers.m Part Two of Professor Michael Hesemann's reflection on Pope Emeritus Benedict's life and spiritual legacy will appear in the July-August issue of Inside the Vatican.

MAY-JUNE 2022 INSIDE THE VATICAN

35

ANALYSIS

orthoDox unity anD the future of ecumenical Dialogue Despite historic aDvances in catholic-orthoDox relations, work for unity of eastern anD western christianity may be threateneD n BY JOVAN TRIPKOVIC* Left, January 1964, Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras I and Pope Paul VI meet in Jerusalem.

Right, Pope Francis and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople embrace during a prayer service in the patriarchal Church of St. George in Istanbul Nov. 29, 2014.

(CNS photo/Paul Haring).

Since Russia launched a military invasion into Ukraine on February 24, headlines around the world have focused on the atrocities of the war and its negative effects on international relations. Western journalists and theologians rushed to accuse President Putin of destroying the unity of Orthodox Church and dividing global Orthodoxy. However, Orthodox schism had been in the making for years before this latest conflict in Ukraine. Tensions between the Ecumenical Orthodox Patriarchate of Constantinople and Moscow’s Russian Orthodox Patriarchate have a long history, going back decades and even centuries.

Depending on the historical era, the level of hostility between Constantinople and Moscow has varied. In 2018, after the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople’s decision to grant future “autocephaly” (self-governance) to the Orthodox Church in Ukraine, antagonism reached an all-time high.

In 2019, during an interview to Greek newspaper Ethnos, Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill talked about the split in the Orthodox Church, pointing out differences between Moscow and Constantinople. Orthodox theologians perceived this interview and others to follow as signaling a possible Orthodox divide into two blocs: Greek and Slavic. The Greek camp consists of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, Church of Greece, Church of Cyprus and Patriarchate of Alexandria; the Serbian, Bulgarian and Russian Church head the Slavic bloc.

The twenty-first century Moscow-Constantinople schism will not only affect inter-Orthodox relations, but likely jeopardize more than half a century of slow progress made by both sides of the Roman Catholic-Orthodox dialogue. Unfortunately, the religious aspects of the war in Ukraine, and its consequences on East-West dialogue, have been underreported in Western media.

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INSIDE THE VATICAN MAY-JUNE 2022

SCHISMS IN ORTHODOXY The first great schism between the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople and Metropolis of Kiev and all Rus’ (the predecessor of the Moscow Patriarchate) occurred in 1467. The cause can be traced to the Council of Ferrara-Florence (1438 to 1445), which led to full union of the Ecumenical Patriarchate with the Catholic Church. This schism lasted for almost a century and it marked the first great rift in the Orthodox world.

The second schism between Moscow and Constantinople occurred in 1996. The cause of the split was the decision of the Ecumenical Patriarchate to reestablish the Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church as an autonomous church, challenging canonical jurisdiction of the Moscow Patriarchate over Estonia. Fortunately this split lasted for only a couple of months, from February 23 until May 16, 1996.

However, the 1996 schism is very similar to the latest Moscow-Constantinople schism that occurred on October 15, 2018: the Ecumenical Patriarchate decided to grant autocephaly to the newly-formed (by parishes in Ukraine splitting off from the Russian Patriarchate) Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

In reply, the Moscow Patriarchate ended full communion with its counterpart in Constantinople. On January 5, 2019, the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I formally granted the tomos of autocephaly to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. This decision, coupled with the Russian invasion of Ukraine three years later, made the deepening Orthodox schism inevitable — and potentially irreversible in the long run.

AN EXCEPTIONAL JOURNEY On January 5, 1964, Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras I and Pope Paul VI met in Jerusalem. After a millennium of silence and hostility between their churches, these two Christian prelates began an exceptional journey to renew relations.

Havana, Cuba,12 February, 2016. Pope Francis meets the Orthodox Patriarch of Russia Kirill (CNS photo).

Pope Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras I jointly revoked the mutual excommunication decrees dating back to 1054. During this historic meeting, Ecumenical Patriarch Athenogoras said “May this meeting of our be the first glimmer of dawn of a shining and holy day in which Christian generations of the future will receive communion in the holy Body and Blood of the Lord from the same chalice, in love, peace and unity, and will praise and glorify the one Lord and Savior of all.”

Since then, both Rome and Constantinople have slowly been developing ecumenical dialogue, deepening their cooperation in many areas, from the discussion of Church doctrine to environmental issues.

The peak of the transformational ecumenical journey was reached during Pope Francis’ December 26, 2021 trip to Cyprus and Greece — characterized by the media as the Pope’s “Orthodox Tour.” At his December 4 meeting with the head of the Greek Orthodox Church, Pope Francis apologized to the Orthodox “for the ways Catholics have contributed to division with Orthodox Christians” — a significant breakthrough in CatholicOrthodox relations.

In seeking to deepen the ecumenical dialogue, the Roman Catholic Church found a responsive counterpart in the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, which assumed the leadership role among Orthodox Churches in this process. Contrary to Constantinople, the Moscow Patriarchate has not shown a significant initiative to further develop ecumenical cooperation. It seems that the relationship between Rome and Moscow has been mainly initiated by the Roman Pontiff. During his “Orthodox Tour,” Pope Francis even expressed his willingness to travel to Moscow with the hope of meeting his “brother,” Patriarch Kirill.

“We are brothers and we talk straight to each other. We do not dance the minuet,” Francis told reporters aboard his return flight to Rome.

In the first days of the Ukraine conflict, Pope Francis even departed from protocol and made an unprecedented personal visit to the Russian Embassy to the Holy See to express his concern about the war in Ukraine. Then, Pope Francis held a March 16 video conference with Patriarch Kirill, during which he rejected a religious justification for the invasion of Ukraine as a “holy war,” saying, “today we cannot speak like this.”

CONSEQUENCES FOR CATHOLIC-ORTHODOX DIALOGUE In an effort to successfully bring East and West together, the Roman Catholic Church has to cooperate and communicate with both Constantinople and Moscow. In the Orthodox world, the Ecumenical Patriarchate has a kind of primacy as “first among equals”; the Moscow Patriarchate is the largest Orthodox Church in the world. Both, however, may shift their attention from Rome to an inter-Orthodox power struggle over canonical jurisdictions around the world.

Earlier this year, the Moscow Patriarchate decided to establish a Patriarchal Exarchate in Africa, which is expected to

include 102 clerics of the Orthodox Church of Alexandria. It also exhibits ambitions to establish a Russian Exarchate in Turkey, which would be a direct action against the Ecumenical Patriarchate — deepening the Orthodox schism, possibly for decades.

Then, on March 20, 2022 Metropolitan Ioseb of the Patriarchate of Georgia said during a sermon that “Any Patriarch or Bishop who supports Russia’s actions is a heretic, and has nothing to do with Orthodoxy.” Media reports followed, saying recognition of the Autocephalous Church of Ukraine by the Patriarchate of Georgia is closer than ever.

These unfortunate developments might have long-lasting consequences on the dialogue between Rome and the two primary objects of its ecumenical outreach to Orthodoxy, the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the Russian Patriarchate. The Ecumenical Patriarchate could lose its prestige and influence as “first among equals” due to Patriarch Kirill’s canonical territorial expansionism in Africa and potentially in Turkey.

Meanwhile, the Moscow Patriarchate could become isolated from the rest of the Orthodox world, due not only to its expansionist moves in Africa, but also to its unwillingness to participate in the ongoing Pan-Orthodox dialogue and cooperation. For example, the Russian Orthodox Church chose not to participate at the Holy and Great Council of the worldwide Orthodox Church, held in Crete June 19-26, 2016.

Moreover, the Russian Orthodox Church might withdraw completely from the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic and the Orthodox Churches; already, the Holy Synod of the Moscow Patriarchate in 2018 broke off participation in any episcopal assemblies, theological discussions, multilateral commissions, and any other structures that are chaired or co-chaired by representatives of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.

AN IMMEASURABLE GAP The Orthodox schism’s enduring consequences, the possibility of a “multi-speed” Ecumenical dialogue (Rome-Constantinople vs. Rome-Moscow) should not be ignored — contributing to an even deeper Orthodox rift. The split would encourage the Ecumenical Patriarchate to accelerate dialogue with Rome, making it a strong ally of the Catholic Church.

Meanwhile, as Rome and Constantinople develop closer relations, the Moscow Patriarchate would likely fall behind in the ecumenical dialogue, alienating itself from the progress made by Constantinople. Finally, if Moscow continues on its current trajectory, it would isolate itself from all Pan-Orthodox affairs and cooperation by refusing to participate in joint PanOrthodox initiatives. All these factors could combine to create an immeasurable gap in the Christian world. *Jovan Tripkovic, an Orthodox Christian, is a graduate student and teaching assistant at the University of Wyoming.m MAY-JUNE 2022 INSIDE THE VATICAN

37

FOOTSTEPS On ThE WAY

DiScovering mAry in the heArtlAnD An Authentic cAtholic pilgrimAge in the u.S.

n BY ITV STAFF

W

hen most Catholics think of the word “pilgrimage,” they think of places like the Holy Land, or Rome. Some have experienced the Camino de Santiago in Spain; others have ventured to Marian shrines like Fatima and Lourdes.

But… Wisconsin? Yes, Wisconsin — the American state famous for cheese-making, beer-brewing and the Green Bay Packers, is also a Catholic pilgrimage destination.

The pilgrimage route informally known as the “Wisconsin Way” in eastern Wisconsin harbors a wealth of spiritual riches that were, up until recently, little known outside their immediate area.

Covid and its travel restrictions over the past two years have had a hand in changing that.

Now pilgrims who would ordinarily look to overseas destinations are discovering the beauty and inspiration of Catholic shrines, secluded monasteries and even a Marian apparition site within our own borders.

The U.S. does not have a native history or culture of pilgrimage. In fact, predominantly Protestant, and therefore iconoclastic, Americans never really embraced the Catholic idea of pilgrimage to holy sites.

Catholicism’s reverence for the material world and tangible manifestations of faith has even been considered “superstitious” by some.

Further, the “Protestant work ethic,” solidified by the Industrial Revolution, has left our culture with the legacy of the “vacation.” People who are required by the prevailing work culture to spend most of their waking hours in the harried pursuit of income are left with only a modicum of time for recreation — literally, “re-creation”: resting and rebuilding their energy and strength for the next round of daily work.

Fr. Andrew Kurz, priest of the Diocese of Green Bay who coined the term “Wisconsin Way” for the pilgrimage route he identified there, remarks that “‘Vacation’ has become the ‘ape’ of pilgrimage — a cheap imitation” because it is aimed mostly at entertainment. Little time or attention is left over for the most important pursuits, those that make us most human — like

Originally built as a log cabin in 1863, the National Shrine of Our Lady, Help of Christians is located in the Holy Hill Basilica near Hubertus, on the highest elevation in southeastern Wisconsin

seeking God. The classical meaning of “leisure” — the use of “nonwork” time in the pursuit of the “higher things” — has been long forgotten. But that is about to change, at least for a small group of souls who will depart this summer on a unique American pilgrimage to destinations along the “Wisconsin Way.” Among this surprising collection of Catholic spiritual sites are five national shrines, including shrines to St. Philomena, Our Lady of Guadalupe, and the Basilica of Our Lady, Help of Christians.

Pilgrims will get a glimpse into the monastic life of the East at the historic Holy Resurrection Byzantine Catholic monastery, where the English-language liturgy is sprinkled at times with Greek, Romanian and Slavonic. “First and foremost is our ministry of prayer,” says Abbot Zachariadis, who is “father” to the nine monks living there, but hospitality “is a natural extension of our prayer life.”

Perhaps the most surprising of the Wisconsin pilgrimage sites is the National Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help, a shrine of the only Vatican-approved Marian apparition in the United States. Mary appeared here in 1859 to a young Belgian immigrant woman named Adele Brise, telling her to bring the Faith to the children of this “wild country.”

From September 2 to September 9, Inside the Vatican Pilgrimages will lead a group of pilgrims on this exciting foray into the wooded glens and majestic morains of Wisconsin, exploring sites along the “Wisconsin Way” and other Catholic destinations in the state.

Inside the Vatican editor-in-chief Robert Moynihan and president of ITV Pilgrimages Deborah Tomlinson will share the experience and expertise of 30 years on both sides of the Atlantic, living and working among Princes of the Church and Catholic faithful from all over the world… all seeking the face of Christ, led to Him by His Mother, Mary.

Come with us this summer as together we discover Mary anew, in the heartland of the United States. Travel with us along this unique pilgrimage path, seeking Christ through our encounter with His Mother.m

JOIN US! Inside the Vatican Pilgrimages “DISCOVERING MARY IN THE HEARTLAND” Classic pilgrimage. Our pilgrimages fill up fast!

INSIDETHEVATICANPILGRIMAGES.COM Email: pilgrimage@InsidetheVatican.com phone: +1.202.536.4555 38

INSIDE THE VATICAN MAY-JUNE 2022

So ...You’e Intolerant ?

Well, so was He. Jesus more than o昀ended the moneychangers; He intolerantly threw them out of the Temple. He said mean-spirited and hurtful things to those who were against Him, calling them “hypocrites,” “a brood of vipers,” and “sons of Hell.” He was more than insensitive to unrepentant sinners; He said Heaven wouldn’t be inclusive of them.

Secular liberals have largely succeeded in remaking American society in their own image. And their Catholic counterparts now want to do the same in the Church. They speak beguilingly of tolerance and diversity. Abortion? “We must respect women’s experiences.” Assisted suicide? “Be compassionate.” Homosexuality? “They’re born that way.” Pre-

marital sex? “Kids can’t help it.” Moneychangers in the Temple? “Everybody has to make a living.”

We at the New Oxford Review, an orthodox Catholic monthly magazine, refuse to go gently into the dark night of some strange new religion, one that cravenly mimics the surrounding culture.

We don’t shy away from the “hard” teachings of Christ and His Church. We know why we’re Catholic, and we’re not afraid to tell doubters and dissenters all about it. We address all the challenges facing the Church, and we do so with “attitude,” says Karl Keating, founder of Catholic Answers.

If you’ve had enough of the wishy-washiness, lack of clarity, and subtle syncretism that’s passed o昀 as authentic Catholicism, subscribe today!

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LATIN

st. thomas’ liturgy of Corpus Christi n BY JOHN BYRON KUHNER

Above, fresco in the Cathedral of Orvieto, in central Italy, showing Pope Urban IV (1195-1264) kneeling in front of the relic of the Miracle of Bolsena, which took place in 1263. Right, St. Thomas Aquinas in a painting by Paolo de Majo, now in Caserta, Italy, private collection

O

rvieto is one of the most marvelous small towns of Italy, an ancient Etruscan town built on a massive hunk of volcanic rock. Its cathedral is one of the most complete and stupendous achievements of ecclesiastical architecture in Europe — which is saying something. But the cathedral is not the town’s only artistic claim to fame. The town served also, in the 1260s, as the scene of one of the great artistic achievements of Christian Latin: the liturgy of the feast of Corpus Christi, composed by St. Thomas Aquinas.

This liturgy is an example of an artist’s rising to an occasion. Pope Urban IV was hoping for something great when he decided to create a solemnity for the feast of the most holy Body and Blood of Christ, and he entrusted the task of creating suitable prayers to Thomas of Aquino, whom he had known when they both served on the faculty at the University of Paris. Thomas created one of the great treasures of Christian devotional art, the Latin equivalent of the magnificent cathedrals erected to honor the great sacrifice of the Mass.

Aquinas is not typically considered a Latin stylist, because of the dry scholasticism of his philosophical and theological works. But the hymns and prayers he wrote to honor the Eucharist show the

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INSIDE THE VATICAN MAY-JUNE 2022

man in his full greatness: not only a master of theological subtlety, but a passionate, devoted soul, and a master of poetic form. His Pange Lingua is one of his Eucharistic hymns. It is clearly inspired by a hymn of the 6th century Christian bishop, Venantius Fortunatus: Pange, lingua, gloriosi proelium certaminis et super Crucis trophaeo dic triumphum nobilem, qualiter Redemptor orbis immolatus vicerit.

“Sing, tongue, the battle of the glorious struggle, and speak, atop the trophy of the Cross, of the noble triumph, which the immolated Redeemer of the world has won.”

But Aquinas uses the first three words and takes the poetry to entirely new places: Pange, lingua, gloriosi Corporis mysterium, Sanguinisque pretiosi, Quem in mundi pretium Fructus ventris generosi Rex effudit gentium.

“Sing, tongue, of the mystery of the glorious Body, and of the precious Blood, which the King of the nations, the fruit of the generous womb, has poured out as the price of the world.”

Here we find Christ the King, his Body and Blood, the Redemption, and Our Lady — almost the whole of the great Catholicism of the Gothic cathedrals — in just a few lines. But there is more to it than that. Aquinas has standardized Venantius’s meter to an insistent trochaic beat (very much like the iambic rhythm of much of our poetry, but with stress on the first, not second syllable).

And Thomas has introduced rhyme, absent from classical Latin poetry and the Church’s oldest hymns.

This rhythm and rhyme continue throughout the hymn. In order to work within such confines, Aquinas had to paraphrase standard liturgical phrases. Most people know the “Gloria Patri et Filio et Spiritui Sancto,” known as the Minor Doxology. Aquinas expressed this in rhyming trochees for his hymn, which you can read over-emphasizing the meter: GEniTOri GEniTOque: Genitori, Genitoque Laus et jubilatio,

Salus, honor, virtus quoque Sit et benedictio: Procedenti ab utroque Compar sit laudatio.

“To the Begetter and the Begotten, Praise and Jubilation; Health, Honor, Virtue also to them, and Blessing; and equal praising to Him who Proceeds from both.”

It’s ingenious. Aquinas uses brilliant synonyms to work within his parameters: genitori as Latin’s tendollar way of saying pater, laus in place of gloria, and utroque for ambobus (“both”).

There have been many translations, but none has equaled the original for beauty or subtlety. There’s a reason why churches the world over still use this hymn to express devotion to the most holy Body and most precious Blood. What is even more remarkable, it is only one of several parts of the liturgy for Corpus Christi, which includes other superb poetry now standard in the Mass: Panis Angelicus, O Salutaris Hostia, Tantum Ergo Sacramentum (part of the Pange Lingua but not quoted here). It is a work of the most exquisite devotion — a kind of cathedral of Orvieto — in Latin verse.m

MAY-JUNE 2022 INSIDE THE VATICAN

41

SCRIPTURE

The folly of separaTing BeauTy from meaning in scripTure The language of love is The poeT’s — noT The commiTTee’s n BY PROF. ANTHONY ESOLEN

L

et’s suppose you are meeting a happily married couple for the first time, at their home, with their five healthy children. You approach the house, and you see, at the edge of the large yard beside, a swing-set, which from the bare patches of ground beneath appears to be well-used. Out in the field you see four other bare patches, in a diamond pattern, with a large bare patch in the middle, and right away you know that a boy is playing baseball here with his friends. But there are rosebushes also, and, on the other side of the house, a flowering almond tree, with a bird feeder nearby, where some purple finches are happily pecking away at thistle seeds.

Everything about the house is clean, but not obsessively and repellingly so; everything says, “You are welcome here.”

Who would say that the peculiar beauty of the place has no significance?

All that is well-ordered, simply human, open to the child and the old man both, decorative and useful and both at once, is a part of your whole experience in meeting your new friends. Beauty is not something tacked on. It is not a sprinkling of sugar on the real. It is itself constitutive of meaning and reality. I am sure my readers can picture a building that, in its blank refusal to submit to beauty, says to man, “You are less than a worm. Come in and do your work, or get lost.”

Or another building that is careless and ugly, perhaps in an expensive way, and that says to man, “Who knows what you may find in here? We don’t know, and we don’t bother.

Come in and do what you please.”

Such places declare something about what is real and what is not – and what they declare is false.

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INSIDE THE VATICAN MAY-JUNE 2022

Now imagine you are opening the word of God for the first time, or you are hearing it for the first time, read from the pulpit. If you were in a Protestant church in an Englishspeaking land, you might hear, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.”

You might hear, “Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow.” You might hear, “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

The beauty of the language seizes you; you are brought into a strange land of lofty towers and broad plains, of dark nights and deep seas, of mustard-seeds greater than the universe, of children as numberless as the sands on the shore.

Someone may say that the first requirement of a Scripture translation must be accuracy. Beauty is secondary. But that is beauty-starved modern man’s way of getting things wrong.

You can no more separate the beauty from the meaning than you can separate the look of love on a young man’s face from the words that he utters to his beloved. They form an integral whole.

An ugly, drab, or clumsy translation of Scripture, a translation that sounds as if it were written as minutes for a committee meeting, is necessarily inaccurate, because it does not convey the full meaning of the original, just as bare words without the whole presence and bearing of the speaker, the very light in his eyes, do not convey the meaning, “I love you.” Indeed, they may end up delivering quite the opposite.

Let me turn to a verse we hear on Ash Wednesday, when God concluded his curse upon the sinful Adam: “In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and

unto dust shalt thou return” (Gen. 3:19). That is the King James version; the Revised Standard Version is similar, more modern of course, and not quite as poetic: “In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” The New American Bible, a Catholic product, passable and ugly by fits and starts, has this: “By the sweat of your face shall you get bread to eat, until you return to the ground, from which you were taken; for you are dirt, and to dirt you shall return.”

Now that last one is pretty bad. The standard Hebrew dictionary interprets the word ‘aphar as “dry earth, dust,” as of a sandstorm (Dt. 28:24), as of something pulverized (Dt. 9:21), and hence ashes (Num. 19:17), or the debris of a ruined city (1 K. 20:10). It is not the word you would use for something rich and black and fragrant and life-giving, like the good dark soil of Iowa. Nor is it grimy or foul, as speakers of English suggest when they call a bribe-taker “dirty,” or inveigh against the smut of many popular magazines. Dust suggests insubstantiality, transience, nothingness: “All we are is dust in the wind,” as the song goes.

The translation that sticks closest to the original Hebrew, in both literal meaning and in elegance and power of expression, is the King James, but that is not my point here. I do not require that all future houses shall be built as Tudors, or that all future churches shall be neo-Gothic. I do require fidelity in translation, which itself requires a commitment to convey the beauty of the original, not, again, as prettification, as icing on a cake, but as essential to the meaning, and to mean-

ing in its deepest heart. Consider, in this light, the words that the priest used to utter when he imposed the ashes on your forehead: “Remember, man, that thou art dust, And unto dust thou shalt return.”

We can change “thou art” to “you are,” and “thou shalt” to “you shall,” if someone is allergic to early modern pronouns, and can hardly pray the Our Father without the sweats and a swollen tongue. The verse, rendered as above, is beautiful. It happens to be a nice English tetrameter couplet, with an eloquent balance: dust, thou, thou, dust. The word man is also essential here. The old woman, the small child, the man in the prime of life, the mother with her baby, all are, together and individually, personally and corporately, man: all are named Adam, all and each hear the same words. It is not because I am who I am that I return to the dust. It is because I am Adam, I am man. The word binds me to every single human person who has ever lived, and who shall ever live, because it binds me to that one man, Adam, in whom I have sinned, and all men along with me. But we trust that it also binds us to that other man, the other Adam, in whom we shall return from the dust, to life eternal, “for as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous” (Rom. 5:19).

If, finally, someone says that God does not care about the beauty of our worship, as if God himself were a great philistine and not the Creator of the wondrous world about us, I wonder why the Holy Spirit should fill the Scriptures with some of the most sublime poetry that man has ever known.

Did He not get the memo?m

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C AT H O L I C I S M A N D O R T H O D O X Y E D I T E D B Y: C H R I S T I N A D E A R D U R F F

The Message of the Icon

BY ROBERT WIESNER

A

JOSEPH’S WORKSHOP

lthough little is known of the domestic life of the young Jesus after His teaching in the Temple, Scripture is clear that He returned to Nazareth, obedient and subject to Joseph and Mary until the time of His public ministry. Such obedience must necessarily have involved working with Joseph in the family business. Although it may seem beneath the dignity of divinity to engage in manual labor, Jesus makes clear that such is not the case: He holds a scroll reading “Blessed is he who is not scandalized by Me!” (Matthew 11:6) Thus we see Jesus with His foster-father in the carpenter’s shop, with Mary keeping a careful eye on the work.

Of course, in His divine nature Jesus knew much more of carpentry than Joseph ever could. Still, in His human nature, He was constrained by the normal processes of physical growth and development. His eyes gradually had to become accustomed to the strict measurements necessary to the construction of furniture and buildings.

His muscles needed time to grow into the rhythms of properly using hammer and saw. As His body developed, control over the small adjustments needed for the delicate work of joinery and finishing would have come more easily to Him. At some point, presumably before the death of Joseph, He would have achieved enough skill to be considered a master carpenter, able to carry on the trade and support His mother in her widowed state. One tradition holds that He was particularly adept in fashioning harnesses and yokes for beasts of burden, a point which renders His comment regarding the ease of His yoke more comprehensible. Surely He would make a yoke as comfortable as possible for His innocent animals!

In fact, most of His parables had as their basis the humble labor of the common people. He often spoke of vine dressers, of farmers sowing seed, fishermen plying

their nets, and shepherds tending to their flocks. Indeed, His closest followers were largely found among the ranks of the laboring class, with the most numerous recruits being drawn from the fishing industry in Galilee; the chosen profession of Saint Matthew was something of an anomaly! Much of His teaching warned of any reliance upon the wealth, power and status of the upper classes; the overly intellectual and legalistic approach to religion among the Pharisees was often the object of His scorn and condemnation. In many ways, His message could almost be summed up by the old adage, “Keep it simple!”

Some of His followers were found among the wealthier members of society, of course. Evidently Joseph of Arimathea, Nicodemus and Lazarus were rather prosperous, but they were humble enough to realize that their funds were best put to use in furthering the mission of Jesus; riches were for them not at all an end in itself.

They realized that they, too, were called to a simplicity in their approach to life, a lesson too often missed by the rich and famous. The sister of Lazarus, Mary of the great heart, exemplified the proper use of wealth in her noble act of anointing the feet of Jesus with valuable ointment.

Riches must be placed at the service of God, just as much as the common labor of Paul the tent maker or Peter the fisherman was so disposed.

The Church has seen fit to declare Saint Joseph the particular patron of workers, most commonly regarded as those who follow the manual trades. Joseph’s was an obscure life, overshadowed as he was by the figures of Jesus and Mary. He played a vital supporting role in salvation history, but never presumed to step beyond it; the humility of Saint Joseph serves as a lesson for all Christians to know their proper place and keep to it in holiness of life.m

INSIDE THE VATICAN continues this special section on the Orthodox world and Orthodox spirituality, even as events in our world sadden us with the clash of battle and ideas. We still maintain our position and our hope that we can help rebuild the unity of all Christians, East and West, Orthodox and Catholic, and that the way toward that goal passes through prayer, study, mutual understanding, and the ceaseless binding up of bitter wounds.—The Editor page 44

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East-West Watch

BY PETER ANDERSON

ORTHODOX CONFLICT IN AFRICA

A

be a celibate monk to be an Orthodox bishop. ccording to tradition, the ancient Church of In November 2019, Patriarch Theodoros of Alexandria was founded by St. Mark the EvanAlexandria recognized the newly-created Orthodox gelist in approximately 40 A.D. In its early centuries, the Church was led by such famous bishops as St. Church of Ukraine (“OCU”), which had been granted autocephalous (completely self-governing) status by Athanasios (c. 296 – 373) and St. Cyril (c. 376 – 444).

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew in January However, in the year 451, the Council of Chalcedon, 2019. The Moscow Patriarchate, which claims juriswhich held that Christ has two natures, deposed Dioscurus, the head of the Alexandrian Church, for diction over all of Ukraine and has 12,000 parishes in teaching that Christ had only one nature (“monoUkraine, considers the OCU to be a schismatic church.

Referring to church canons physitism”). This resulted in from the first millennium, the a split in the Alexandrian Moscow Patriarchate mainChurch with the vast majortains that by recognizing a ity, primarily Egyptians, following monophysitism and schismatic church, the Patriarchate of Alexandria has now becoming the Coptic Orthojoined the schism. dox Church. A much smaller In December 2019 a group group, primarily Greeks, beof 27 native African priests came the Greek Orthodox Pafrom East Africa wrote an open triarchate of Alexandria. letter condemning the decision In subsequent centuries the of Theodoros to recognize the Patriarchate remained small OCU. in numbers, although its patriSubsequently, the Moscow arch ranked second in honor Patriarchate began an effort to after the Patriarch of Conrecruit native African priests stantinople. In the 20th century African Orthodox priests in the Republic of the the Patriarchate of Alexandria who no longer wished to be Congo with a Greek Orthodox bishop began to grow. Many Greeks under the Alexandrian Patriarand Arab Orthodox immigrated to Africa in the early chate because it had supposedly joined the schism. On 1900s. However, the biggest increase has resulted December 29, 2021, the Moscow Patriarchate assumed from the conversion of native Africans, primarily in jurisdiction over 102 native African clergy and estabEast Africa, to the Orthodox faith. This began in aplished an exarchate and two dioceses covering all of proximately 1946, and the numbers of native clergy Africa. Predictably, the Alexandrian Patriarchate and faithful have grown steadily since that time. Becharged that this constituted a gross violation of its ginning in 1927, the Patriarch of Alexandria added the canonical territory which covers all of Africa. phrase “and All Africa” to his title.

There is now an ongoing conflict in Africa between The great growth of the Patriarchate in sub-Sahathe Alexandrian and Moscow Patriarchates. In recruitran Africa means that the Patriarchate is now primaing native clergy, the Moscow Patriarchate has used rily a missionary Church. The missionary areas are such inducements as an assurance of more native bishoften remote villages that are poor and require finanops, better Church buildings, paramedic facilities in cial support from Orthodox in such countries as remote villages, and supposedly better pay. This reGreece, Cyprus, and the United States. Many cruitment effort comes at a time when the Alexandrian churches are simple mud structures. Often native Patriarchate is facing serious financial problems due priests receive a monthly salary of only $100 per to a recent decrease in foreign donations for its mismonth. Of the more than 40 bishops of the Patriarsions. The current bitter conflict between the two pachate, only six are native Africans. The promotion of triarchates will undoubtedly hurt what has otherwise native priests is made more difficult by the fact that been a very successful missionary effort of Orthodoxy almost all of these priests are married, and one must in Africa.m www.InsideTheVatican.com t Urbi et Orbi Foundation is a project of Urbi et Orbi Communications t 202-536-4555

page 45

C AT H O L I C I S M A N D O R T H O D O X Y

NEWS from the EAST

BY MATTHEW TROJACEK

METROPOLITAN HILARION ON DIALOGUE WITH THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

We discussed the situation that the world has found itself in as a result of the pandemic and shared out experiences in surviving, and pastoral care, in these conditions.” (Mospat.ru)

February 12 was the 6th anniversary of the meeting between the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus Kirill and Pope Francis in Havana in 2016. What came before this UKRAINIAN GREEK CATHOLIC PATRIARCH : and what influence this meeting had on the relationship “WITHOUT COMMUNION, WE CANNOT LIVE” between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Roman The Greek Catholic Patriarch of Ukraine, Sviatoslav Catholic Church, Metropolitan Hilarion of VolokoShevchuk, sent out a video message to the faithful on lamsk, Chairman of the Russian Orthodox Church’s DeMarch 20, the 25th day of the armed conflict between partment for External Church Affairs, spoke about on the Ukraine and Russia.

Russian “The Church and the World” TV program.

“Without Communion of the Body and Blood of our He reminded viewers that this relationship had been Savior, “ he said, “we cannot live, developing gradually over the we cannot survive in the circumcourse of a number of decades. stances of war. It is precisely the “Certain difficulties arose at Mystery of the Eucharist that the beginning of the 1990s when gives us the strength of life to the Catholic Church undertook a overcome death. We are discovernumber of steps aimed at widening for ourselves once more this ing its missionary influence upon ancient truth that the Eucharist is the canonical territory of the the antidote against death.”

Russian Orthodox Church,” the “Today we can confirm with Metropolitan stated. “However, a sadness that this criminal war dejoint commission was set up to stroys the spiritual shrines of examine those instances of disJanuary 28, 2018. Pope Francis visited the Ukrainian pute which could have had a neg- Greek Catholic community in Rome at the invitation of Ukraine,” Patriarch Shevchuk His Beatitude Sviatoslav Shevchuk said. “In these 25 days, almost 44 ative effect on mutual relations. churches and religious buildings have been destroyed. It The situation was gradually regulated. There then apis strange that the majority of these churches belong topeared an agreement on a meeting between Pope John day to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Paul II and His Holiness Patriarch Alexis II. The meetPatriarchate. ing had already been scheduled, a time and date had been “But our clergy, our priests, carry the Eucharistic agreed upon, but the two sides could not agree upon a Jesus where the people are waiting for Him. Our miljoint statement. As a result, the meeting was postponed. itary chaplains today celebrate the Divine Liturgy for In fact, it had been canceled.” our army, they nourish them with the Body and Blood Six years ago, in 2016, the meeting finally took place, of our Savior, with His victory they nourish those who in Havana. By this time there was a new Patriarch of are fighting for the victory of Ukraine today.”

Moscow and a new Pope, the chairman of the DECR noted.

METROPOLITAN PORFIRIJE OF ZAGREB AND He emphasized that the conversation between PatriLJUBLJANA IS THE NEW PATRIARCH OF arch Kirill and Pope Francis “was not of a theological SERBIA nature, but rather concerned the situation of Christians Metropolitan Porfirije of Zagreb and Ljubljana is in the Middle East.” the Hierarch who was elected the 46th Patriarch of Serbia The Metropolitan also pointed out that projects were on February 18. jointly being worked out with the Catholics in the sphere The new Patriarch is one of the youngest Metropoliof culture, charity and social ministry. tans of the Serbian Orthodox Church. He was born on “The fifth anniversary of the Havana meeting [in July 22, 1961. After completing his studies, he attended 2021, during the Covid lockdowns] was marked by a the Theological School in Belgrade, from which he gradmeeting that this time we held online,” said the chairman uated in 1986. of the DECR. “Cardinal Koch, the head of the Papal Then, he continued his academic-postgraduate studies council for Christian unity, spoke for the Catholic side. I at the Theological School of the University of Athens and other representatives of the Department of External (1986-1990), wherein 2004 he was awarded a Doctorate, Church Relations spoke on behalf of the Russian Church. page 46

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after the public presentation of his Dissertation on: “The possibility of knowledge of God in the Apostle Paul according to Saint John Chrisostomos.” (Orthodox Times)

U.S. ATTEMPTS TO “PLANT DEMOCRACY” IN MIDDLE EAST ARE ILL-ADVISED U.S. attempts to “plant democracy” in regions such as the Middle East have dramatically affected life for Christians there in a negative way and led to plummeting numbers of Christians in these areas, believes Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk.

The head of the Russian Church’ Synodal Department for External Church Relations (DECR) spoke about the lamentable situation of Christians in the Middle East on the TV program “The Church and the World” in response to the recent statement from Secretary of State Antony Blinken that the U.S. will no longer use force to try to bring democracy to other countries, reports the DECR. “We will not promote democracy through costly military interventions or by attempting to overthrow authoritarian regimes by force. We have tried these tactics in the past. However well intentioned, they haven’t worked,” the Secretary said.

“I examine the situation in this case through the prism of the situation of Christians in these countries, because that’s information I have first hand, and I can testify to what happened, for example, in Iraq, where the Americans tried to create a democracy through a military invasion,” Metropolitan Hilarion commented.

“There is still no democracy there,” Metropolitan Hilarion added. “But under Saddam Hussein, there were a million and a half Christians living there, and now, at best, one-tenth of this number remains.”

A similar situation occurred in Libya when the U.S. overthrew Gaddafi, the Metropolitan said.

“Under Gaddafi, there were Christians — now there are almost no Christians left.”

(OrthoChristian)

RUSSIAN CHURCH RE-EXAMINING STANCE ON IVF IN LIGHT OF MEDICAL ADVANCES The Russian Orthodox Church has initiated a broad discussion among its clergy and flock to consider updating its stance towards in vitro fertilization reproductive technology, taking into account the development of medical science over the past 20 years.

The draft document, “Ethical Problems Associated with In Vitro Fertilization,” was published on the official site of the Russian Church and on several other outlets.

Comments were being collected by the Inter-Council Presence of the Russian Church until March 29.

The Russian Church formulated its first official position towards IVF in the document, “Bases of the Social Concept of the Russian Orthodox Church,” adopted by the Council of Bishops of the Russian Church in 2000.

All kinds of IVF (referred to as extra-corporal fertilization in the document) “involving the production, conservation and purposeful destruction of ‘spare’ embryos” are “morally inadmissible.”

The new draft document notes that since 2000, medical advances have led to the possibility of producing only one or two embryos during IVF and transferring them to the womb.

At the same time, the document emphasizes that the Church cannot condone the obtaining of “excess” embryos, the cryptopreservation of embryos, fetal reduction, the donation of germ cells, surrogacy, or preimplantation diagnosis. The document also expresses the Church’s concern that reproductive technologies may lead to the devaluation of family values and the destruction of family and marriage relations.

It is also noted that some clergy and medical professionals are fundamentally opposed to it in any form.

“Medical technologies are not able to replace the physical, mental and spiritual unity of a husband and wife, given to them by God in the Sacrament of marriage,” they argue.

(Photo of an Orthodox priest and his family — OrthoChristian).m

The Christian Churches, the communities of the disciples of Christ, were intended to be united as one; Pope John Paul II proclaimed, “The Church must breathe with Her two lungs!” Unfortunately, the Churches are not united.

This is a great scandal, an impediment to the witness of the Church. Since unity was desired by Christ Himself, we must work to end this disunity and accomplish the will of the Lord.

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page 47

REPORT

Patriarch raï ProPoses a New Path for LebaNoN n BY CHRISTOPHER HART-MOYNIHAN

P

atriarch of the Maronite Church Bechara Boutros al-Raï, 82, has grown increasingly outspoken in recent months about proposed solutions to the many grave issues affecting Lebanon.

In a homily given on March 13 in Bkerké, the episcopal see of the Maronite Catholic Patriarchate of Antioch, north of Beirut, Patriarch Raï called for a resolution to the ongoing refugee crisis in Lebanon, stating that the time has come for refugees of the decade-long Syrian Civil War to return to their country.

Raï’s comments on this issue follow a recent pattern of the Patriarch calling on the international community to act together to “push” Lebanon towards the resolution of its many ongoing issues In other comments in recent days, the Maronite Patriarch welcomed the prospect of a June 12-13 papal visit to Lebanon, while cautioning that the Pope would not come as a “political or economic savior,” but rather “as one man close to the people.”

“A visit of the Pope encourages the Lebanese,” Raï said. He added that a visit from Francis would show the Lebanese people that, even after years of hardship, “nevertheless they are not abandoned.”

FRANCIS: “A MODEL FOR THE WORLD” During his recent March 22 meeting with Lebanese President Michel Aoun, Francis affirmed that he would 48

INSIDE THE VATICAN MAY-JUNE 2022

go to Lebanon, although at press time the precise dates had not yet been announced. “Soon I will visit Lebanon,” the Pope said, according to the president’s office.

“This is a decision I have taken, because this country remains, despite anything, a model for the world.”

The Pope’s view on Lebanon — that, in spite of the challenges it is facing, it remains a country that can and should be rebuilt, so that it can continue to serve as a model of peace for the Middle East and the world as a whole — is shared by many, including our “Friends of Lebanon” initiative, comprised of all of our readers who have decided to take on this mission of supporting Lebanon in its hour of need.

PATRIARCH RAÏ OUTLINES HIS VISION Patriarch Raï’s increasing outspokenness on the range of difficult issues facing Lebanon can be traced back in large part to a homily he gave on July 5, 2020 in Bkerké. In it, the Patriarch called for a “national re-foundation” of Lebanon: in other words, a return to Lebanon’s traditional neutrality amidst the states of the Middle East and a retreat from entangling relationships with powerful neighbors such as Iran and Saudi Arabia.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah responded to the Patriarch by saying that a neutral cabinet would be “a waste of time.” In contrast to Patriarch Raï’s vision of a neutral Lebanon, Hezbollah has pushed for the inclusion

of references to “resistance” in the platforms of succes— within Lebanon’s politics. For Patriarch Raï, supsive government cabinets and sees itself as part of an port from al-Sissi gives him credibility as a leader who “Axis of Resistance,” a broader movement with ties to is not merely “aligned with the West,” but rather one Iran that is participating actively in multiple conflicts with broad-based support among Western and Muslim across the Middle East and is marked by its staunch leaders alike. opposition to the state of Israel.

Following the meeting with Raï, President al-Sissi In February 2021, the Patriarch returned to the topic spoke about the “constructive and essential role the yet again at Bkerké, saying: “You came from all over Cardinal had played in supporting Lebanon and restorLebanon... to support two things: neutrality and an ing its stability.” Raï, for his part, said that the Egyptian international conference for President was “ready to supLebanon under the auspices port the Lebanese cause.” of the United Nations. In one RAÏ FOLLOWING word you came here to save IN HIS PREDECESSOR’S Lebanon... Through an interFOOTSTEPS national conference we want In criticizing powerful to announce the neutrality of political and militia factions Lebanon so that it does not within the country and callreturn to become a victim of ing for neutrality, Patriarch conflicts and wars and diviRaï is following in the footsions. There are no two states steps of his predecessor, in one land and no two armies Cardinal Nasrallah Boutin one state.” ros Sfeir (1920-2019). Sfeir What is behind the head of Here, Patriarch Raï speaks with the President of Egypt, Abdel spent several years calling the Maronite Church’s induring an official visit to Cairo on March 20, 2022 for an end to the Syrian creasingly direct comments Fattah al-Sissi, (Source: Arab News/Office of the President of Egypt) about the political situation in Opposite page, Pope Francis in a meeting with Lebanese President occupation of Lebanon, culMichel Aoun at the Vatican on March 22, 2022 (Source: Asharq minating with a speech in Lebanon? al-Aswat/Dalati & Nohra), and a Lebanese supporter holding a portrait of Bkerké on March 27, 2001, The Patriarch, who is not Maronite Patriarch Raï during a February 2021 gathering at the Maronite Patriarchate in Bkerké, Lebanon (Source: The Arab Weekly/AFP). upon his return from a trip to retired though he is now 82 Opposite, bottom, the logo of our Friends of Lebanon initiative, the United States. years old, is the spiritual head which seeks to support Lebanon, especially the Maronite By emphasizing the need of more than 1 million Christians, with short-term help and long-term hope for their country for Lebanon to be neutral, Maronite Catholics in LebRaï is highlighting the fact that the continued existence anon (and about 3.5 million worldwide). of a separate Hezbollah military apparatus on LebanBut in addition to being religious leaders of the ese territory represents, in essence, a continuation of Maronites, the Maronite Patriarchs have historically this military occupation of Lebanon by foreign powers. been afforded a certain level of respect at all levels and Charles Malik, a Greek Orthodox Lebanese intelwithin all groups that make up Lebanese society. lectual and diplomat, wrote about the importance of the Lebanon itself was founded after Blessed Elias Peter Maronite Patriarchate in a 1980 letter: “Bkerké is Hoayek, a predecessor of Raï, traveled to the Paris extremely vital. In fact, if Lebanon happens to fall into Peace Conference after World War 1 in 1919 and advoruins while Bkerké remains safe, sound, and strong, cated for the creation of a state that would include popembracing the mission to which it has long been ulations of Christians, Muslims and Druze. entrusted with an ironclad fist, it can rebuild Lebanon.

The “multi-sided” diplomacy in which the Maronite But, if God forbid, Bkerké happens to be devastated, Patriarch is engaged was on full display during his weakened or languished, Lebanon alone cannot rescue recent visit to Egypt, during which he was welcomed Bkerké and help it regain its strength and rebuild warmly by President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi. itself.”

Patriarch Rai used his meeting with al-Sissi to conIt is significant that, right at this darkest of moments, tinue his efforts to build a coalition that will back him when the combined political, social, and economic as he works to bring about his vision for Lebanon, crises have truly brought Lebanon “to ruins,” that based on neutrality, non-alignment and a “national reBkerké and the Maronite Patriarch are once again foundation.” embracing their mission of faith. And if, in Malik’s For al-Sissi, supporting the Patriarch’s call for nonwords, Bkerké can be kept “safe, sound, and strong,” alignment represents an opportunity to lessen the influperhaps there will once again be hope for the future of ence of Iran and Saudi Arabia — two of Egypt’s tradiLebanon.m tional rivals for pre-eminence within the Muslim world MAY-JUNE 2022 INSIDE THE VATICAN

49

TradiTion and BeauTy

“youth music” in church and pornography Bad liturgical music also corrupts the young — and makes them flee n BY AURELIO PORFIRI* The Vatican Sistine Chapel Boys’ Choir, then directed by the late Maestro Domenico Bartolucci (1917-2013)

This is the first essay of ITV’s new regular feature, “Tradition and Beauty,” by Aurelio Porfiri, an Italian composer, conductor, educator, publisher and editor of his own newsletters and streaming platforms. You can subscribe to his English newsletter on sacred music, Cantus, at cantus.substack.com.

O

ne fine day some time ago, I wanted to attend Holy Thursday Mass in a beautiful church right near where I live in Rome. It is true that, for those who live in Rome, especially in the city center, churches full of art and history are not an exception, but the norm.

This church where I wanted to hear Mass was also very important to me for emotional reasons.

In short, full of good intentions and pious feelings, I entered the church; but in an instant, the pious intentions and good feelings ran out the door, with me behind. What happened? I had entered just as a young lady was yelling the Gloria, with wild guitar accompaniment, into the microphone. I admit it: I just couldn’t make it through that Mass.

Someone might say: “Are you going to Mass for the music?” Yet I could answer: ”But if music is not an aid to prayer, but an impediment, why include it?”

We all know that the true purpose of sacred music in the liturgy is not to attract people, but to give glory to God and edify the faithful. We must help the faithful to sanctify themselves, not attract them with what certainly does not help them to be part of the sacred rite. We should never forget that the first purpose of sacred music, and of the liturgy itself, is to give glory to God. The act of praise should be able to express that sense of beauty and majesty that emanates from God, because for us, to

50

INSIDE THE VATICAN MAY-JUNE 2022

praise and thank Him means being constantly in His presence. How can we give Him glory when we desecrate the very ceremony in which we should praise Him with rites, prayers, gestures, hymns and songs?

I am told: songs with youthful rhythms attract young people. I answer: pornography attracts them too — it attracts them even more. So, following this principle, what do you propose? Young people should not be given what they think they want, but what helps and educates them to pray. But, if we want to be honest, we must admit that this is not true of the actual state of affairs. After almost 60 years of youth-oriented church songs, where are the young people?

The overwhelming majority desert the Church, and in increasing numbers. Maybe they spend a few years frolicking in church to have a little fun with their friends, not really understanding anything about the liturgy itself — and in the same way they got there, they leave. The result is that not only the young are corrupted, but also the old, who after decades of liturgical and musical miseducation think that church music is only the second-rate garbage that too often we have to listen to in our parishes.

Certainly few are interested in trying to read the Church’s actual documents on the liturgy, to investigate what the true liturgical and musical tradition of the Church is. Few go to read the Conciliar Constitution on the liturgy,

Sacrosanctum Concilium, which says that the language of the liturgy is Latin, that the Church’s musical tradition is a priceless treasure, and that Gregorian chant, polyphony and the organ must be promoted, not abandoned.

Some appeal to later interpretations of that Council document— interpretations that give the sense in which the law is to be understood. But are we sure that these later interpretations are actually the key to understanding that document? Could I ever say that kicking my mother and father is an interpretation of the commandment “Honor your father and your mother”?

An interpretation cannot deny the plainest sense of what the law affirms.

Already the then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger told us how two very popular theologians, Herbert Vorgrimler and, above all, Karl Rahner, had said that the Council did not intend to exalt the traditional heritage of sacred music for liturgical purposes (contradicting its clear meaning), but only for concerts. Do you see? The most novel interpretations of the conciliar documents come from those who want practical measures to conform to their own ideas — not to the Church’s.

Returning to the young, thinking that they — our sons and daughters — are able to participate in the liturgy only if they have more or less the same songs that they listen to every day on the radio, is really offensive to their intelligence. Certain men of the Church think they “respect” the young by offering them musical filth. It is like being invited to dinner and discovering that the host offers us cheap and inferior food, for fear that we are not able to appreciate good food.

Young people are better, greater-souled, than some priests imagine them to be. How many young people have I seen myself appreciate true sacred music when it is offered to them in the right way and with some education! But wasn’t it the Council that asked for a musical and liturgical formation? This should have been the duty of a Church that has instead itself become rigid in a mentality that does not bear fruit. It is a Church that now seeks her identity in the things of the world, a Church that once knew how to shape the world, but by which, today, it can only be shaped.

“You thought about keeping our young people in church by serving them spoiled food,” I want to tell those who have corrupted the Church’s musical heritage, “but it didn’t work.” I saw young people in Masses where true

sacred music was performed, and they did not flee.

Indeed, they seemed inspired and edified by that beauty — another dimension of life that does not lower, but raises, us… that facilitates our encounter with the supernatural.

Instead we, old and young, need beauty, that beauty which is a reflection of the Father’s splendor, Splendor Paternae Gloriae (“The splendor of the Father of Glory”). Far from being “rigid,” those who love tradition understand that there is something that truly exalts us, in the sense of an ex-altare, that is, of lifting from the ground, of projecting upwards.

And when we have experienced this, we realize that’s where we like being. It is not necessary to be “lured” to participate in the Mass with songs that stimulate our lowest instincts. In fact, once solicited, those instincts will ask for more and more, because basically they give us a certain pleasure — but it is a pleasure that distances us from God, and does not bring us closer to Him. Don’t think that the sacred music we listen to in church is not important. It is either the disease, or it is the cure; it reveals the level of spiritual life we have reached. This is why, in the recent past, so many resources were dedicated to music and the liturgy: because it was understood that everything flowed from there and everything culminated there.

Do not treat young people as if they are poor morons, deficienti (from deficit, someone who lacks something).

They are young, so it is right that they do not know everything, that they have shortcomings. But the education they are waiting for is not the one they are already full of — the one they find in every corner of their consumerist world.

Give them true education with the riches that our fathers have given us — and that we have the duty to pass on.

* More than 200 of Aurelio Porfiri’s musical compositions are published in Italy, China, USA, Germany and France. He has published more than 60 books, is a contributor to several major Catholic blogs and magazines, and is the founder and artistic director of the publishing company Chorabooks. He is the Honorary Master and Organist for the Church of Santa Maria dell’Orto in Rome and Saint Joseph Seminary Chapel in Macau, China. He edits several newsletters and has regular programs on his YouTube channel Ritorno a Itaca. You can find more about him at his website, aurelioporfiri.com.

Maestro Porfiri resides in Rome, in Trastevere.m MAY-JUNE 2022 INSIDE THE VATICAN

51

Of Books, Art and People

GUIDO RENI AND ROME: NATURE AND DEVOTION n BY LUCY GORDAN

Self-portrait of Italian Baroque artist Guido Reni (1575-1642) in Rome's Palazzo Barberini

O

n until May 22 at Rome’s Borghese Gallery is a small temporary exhibition: “Guido Reni and Rome: Nature and Devotion,” the first exhibition dedicated to Reni anywhere in the last 30 years. Like the artworks of the Borghese Gallery’s several other temporary exhibitions on display since 2007, the present 30 works of art are displayed interspersed among the Gallery’s permanent masterpieces: sculptures by Canova and Bernini and paintings by Titian, Cranach, Domenichino and Caravaggio. Sixteen of the 30 are paintings by Guido Reni. Best known for his mythological, allegorical and religious subjects, Reni was born in Bologna in 1575. After a financial squabble in 1601 he left Bologna for Rome, where he lived until 1614.

The exhibition’s other fourteen works of art are by the Flemish landscapist Paul Bril, who introduced Reni to landscape painting and became his mentor in Rome, and other colleagues Nicolò dell’Abate, Agostino Carracci, Carlo Saraceni, Francesco Albani, and “Domenichino,” like Reni all natives of Bologna or nearby (except Saraceni).

The exhibition’s itinerary starts on the ground floor, in the large entrance way, with four monumental altarpieces, all painted by Reni in Rome, The Crucifixion of Saint Peter (1604-5), on loan from the Vatican Museums; the Trinity with 52 INSIDE THE VATICAN MAY-JUNE 2022

Here, Reni's Crucifixion of St. Peter from the Vatican Museums. Below, left, Michelangelo’s fresco of St. Peter’s crucifixion in the Pauline Chapel at the Vatican and, below right, Caravaggio's Crucifixion of St. Peter

the Madonna of Loreto and the Patron, Cardinal Antonio Gallo (1603-4), on loan from the parish Santissima Trinità in Osimo near Ancona in the Marches; The Martyrdom of Saint Catherine of Alexandria (c. 1606), on loan from the diocesan museum in Albegna near Savona; and the Martyrdom of Saint Cecilia (1601), on loan from her namesake church in Trastevere.

Besides Cardinal Gallo portrayed with the Madonna of Loreto, Reni’s other early patrons in Rome were Cardinal Paolo Emilio Sfondrati, banker and art collector Ottavio Costa, and Cardinal Pietro Aldobrandini. Then, from 1604 to 1614, when Reni returned to Bologna more or less permanently, Cardinal Scipione Borghese, nephew of Pope Paul V, already the patron of Bernini and Caravaggio, and the founder of the Borghese Gallery for his extensive personal art collection, commissioned works from Reni: the not-to-bemissed frescoes of the Chapel of the Annunciation in the Quirinal Palace (1609-10) and the fresco of Aurora in the Casino (garden house) dell’Aurora Pallavicini Rospigliosi (1613-14). Usually closed, these magnificent frescoes will be open to the public for the duration of the exhibition. The chapel is open on Fridays and Saturdays; for the Casino’s hours visit www.casinoaurorapallavicini.it.

Speaking of Caravaggio, an acquaintance of Reni while they were both in Rome, Reni’s

Crucifixion of St. Peter, painted vas exhibited here with a mythofor the Abbazia delle Tre Fontane, logical subject. first built in the 7th century on the Paul Bril, born in Antwerp in site where St. Paul was decapitated 1554 into a family of painters, and today the only Trappist moved to Rome in 1574, so nearly monastery in Rome, clearly shows 30 years before Reni. An engraver, the influence of Caravaggio’s a “cabinet painter,” he painted painting (1601) of the same subfrescoes, but most importantly ject in the Cerasi Chapel in Santa was one of the first landscapists in Maria del Popolo in Piazza del Rome. Three and maybe four of Popolo. Not to omit that Caravaghis works, all of which have algio had undoubtedly been influways belonged to the Borghese enced himself by Michelangelo’s Gallery, are displayed on the secfresco of St. Peter’s crucifixion ond floor of the exhibition next to (1545-50) in the Pauline Chapel in several small paintings by Reni. the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace.

These, like Reni’s works on the This is the first time Reni’s canvas floor below, also depict religious has left the Vatican Museums since subjects, but have landscapes as it was returned there from Paris in their backgrounds. Also on display 1816 by Canova, after having The Massacre of the Innocents, on loan from Bologna’s here is Reni’s only totally landbeen looted by Napoleon in 1797. National Picture Gallery. Below, Atalanta and Hippomenes scape painting, The Country the Capodimonte Museum in Naples.

In the adjacent rooms, the Bottom,from Dance, the raison-d’être and cenCountry Dance, property of the Borghese Gallery paintings also mostly depict reliterpiece of the exhibition. gious subjects: The Massacre of Reni painted The Country the Innocents (1611), on loan Dance between 1601-1602, from Bologna’s National Picture though some sources date it to Gallery, and Saint Paul Reproach1605. Carefully recorded in the ines the Penitent Saint Peter (c. ventories and descriptions of Scip1609), on loan from Milan’s Brera ione Borghese’s collection from Picture Gallery. Like the paintings the beginning of the 17th century, in the entrance way, these too it remained in the collection until show a strong influence of ancient the end of the 19th century, when Roman sculpture as well as that of it was probably sold. It reappeared Bernini’s statues for their bodies’ at auction in London in 2008 with twisted and ever-in-motion positions and the three-diits attribution to an anonymous Bolognese artist, but mensional concreteness of their gestures, not to mention scholars immediately recognized it as a work by Reni that their facial expressions are similar to those of Carformerly belonging to the Borghese Collection. After its avaggio’s subjects. exhibition during the TEFAF (The European Fine Art Other Reni canvases on the Gallery’s ground floor Fair) in March 2020 at Bologna’s Fondantico Gallery, include: The Standard of the Conthe Borghese Gallery purchased it, fraternity of the Sacred Stigmata thus achieving the exceptional re(1610-1612), on loan from the covery of its long-lost painting and Museo di Roma near Piazza its definitive return to Italy. Guido Navona; Lot and His Daughters Reni and Rome: Nature and Devoon loan from London’s National tion, where the canvas is on display Gallery, and David with the Head for the first time in over a century, of Goliath, on loan from the Ufis to celebrate its return. fizi. Reni painted the latter two afWe know that Scipione Borghter his return to Bologna, as he did ese wanted to appoint Reni his Atalanta and Hippomenes, on court painter, so he probably loan from the Capodimonte Museowned many Reni canvases. Toum in Naples, the only Reni canday the Gallery still owns only one MAY-JUNE 2022 INSIDE THE VATICAN 53

Of Books, Art and People other major work by Reni, although nari, San Luigi dei Francesi, Santa it’s completely different in genre and Maria in Vallicella, and San Lorenzo subject: Moses with the Tablets of the in Lucina. Of the 29 in Bologna, 15 Law, from the artist’s mature period. are in the National Picture Gallery.

Wikipedia published a 42-page exIn the USA they are housed in haustive (some 140 artworks), although Sarasota’s Ringling Museum, The probably incomplete, inventory of Metropolitan, Providence’s Rhode Reni’s work in chronological order and Island School of Design’s Art Musedivided into his frescoes and his paintum, Los Angeles’ Museum of Art, ings. It begins with his Coronation of Spencer Museum of Art in Lawrence the Virgin with Four Saints (1595-6) in Kansas, Austin’s Blanton Museum of Bologna’s Picture Gallery and ends Art, Princeton’s Art Museum, with The Flagellation (1640-42, the Raleigh’s North Carolina Museum of year Reni died), also in Bologna. The Art, Chicago’s Art Institute, CleveLouvre, in Paris, houses 20 of his paintland’s Museum of Art, Grenville’s ings; the Prado, in Madrid, 18; and (South Carolina) Bob Jones UniverLondon’s National Gallery, seven. sity, and Detroit’s Institute of Art. Fresco of the Virgin sewing in the Quirinal Of the 45 in Rome, besides their alTo end on an amusing note, Reni Palace's Annunciation Chapel ready mentioned locations, they are had a fondness for trompe l’oeil. For housed in the Capitoline Museums, Palazzo Barberini’s examples, his fresco of Aurora on the ceiling of the National Gallery of Ancient Art, the Spada Gallery, the Casino dell’Aurora is framed as if it should be a paintDoria Pamphili Gallery, The Academy of St. Luke, ing hanging on the wall. More amusing are the two lifePalazzo Corsini, the Pallavicini Gallery, and the sized (not visible to the participants in the painting but Churches of: San Gregorio al Celio, Santa Maria Magto the viewer) flies in the upper right-hand corner of the giore, Santa Trinità dei Pellegrini, San Carlo ai CatiCountry Dance.m

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THE END EXCERPTS FROM LORD OF THE WORLD

“You are to succeed me” MORE THAN A CENTURY AGO, MONSIGNOR ROBERT HUGH BENSON FORESAW THE RISE OF SECULAR HUMANISM, THE CONTRACTION OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH, AND THE COMING OF THE ANTICHRIST... n BY ITV STAFF Editor’s Note: The passage below is from the novel Lord of the World, written by the English Catholic convert Monsignor Robert Hugh Benson (the son of the Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury) in 1907. He attempts a vision of the world more than a century in the future — in the early 21st century… our own time… predicting the

LORD OF THE WORLD

BY ROBERT HUGH BENSON (1907) BOOK II-THE ENCOUNTER. CHAPTER III (Note: The hero of the story, a young English priest named Fr. Percy Franklin, has come to Rome to report directly to the Pope on what he has seen in England: the emergence of a popular political figure who seems entirely humanistic, and so to have one of the characteristics of... the anti-Christ. Percy has just met the “Papa Angelicus” who is now 89, and has been Pope for nine years. Percy has briefed the Pope, and proposed to the Pope the creation of a new “Order of the Cross.” Percy is now staying in Rome...)

He [Fr. Percy] considered his emotions, but there was no comfort there, no stimulus. Oh! yes; he could pray still, by mere cold acts of the will, and his theology told him that God accepted such.

He could say “Adveniat regnum tuum. … Fiat voluntas tua,” five thousand times a day, if God wanted that; but there was no sting or touch, no sense of vibration through the cords that his will threw up to the Heavenly Throne. What in the world then did God want him to do? Was it just then to repeat formulas, to lie still, to open despatches, to listen through the telephone, and to suffer?

And then the rest of the world—the madness that had seized upon the nations; the amazing stories that had poured in that day of the men in Paris, who, raving like Bacchantes, had stripped themselves naked in the Place de Concorde, and stabbed themselves to the heart, crying out to thunders of applause that life was too enthralling to be endured; of the woman who sang herself mad last night in Spain, and fell laughing and foaming in the concert hall at Seville; of the crucifixion of the Catholics that morning in the Pyrenees, and the apostasy of three bishops in Germany…. And this … and this … and a thousand more horrors were permitted, and God made no sign and spoke no word….

There was a tap, and Percy sprang up as the Cardinal came in.

He looked horribly worn; and his eyes had a kind of sunken brilliance that revealed fever. He made a little motion to Percy to sit down, and himself sat in the deep chair, trembling a little, and gath56

INSIDE THE VATICAN MAY-JUNE 2022

rise of Communism, the fall of faith in many places, the advance of technology (he foresees helicopters) and so forth, up until... the Second Coming of the Lord, with which his vision ends. For this reason, and also because Pope Benedict and Pope Francis have repeatedly cited Benson’s book, saying its clarification of the danger of a type of humanitarianism without God is a true danger that we do face, we are printing selections from it in ITV, now and in the months ahead.

ering his buckled feet beneath his red-buttoned cassock.

“You must forgive me, father,” he said. “I am anxious for the Bishop’s safety. He should be here by now.”

This was the Bishop of Southwark, Percy remembered, who had left England early that morning.

“He is coming straight through, your Eminence?”

“Yes; he should have been here by twenty-three. It is after midnight, is it not?”

As he spoke, the bells chimed out the half-hour.

It was nearly quiet now. All day the air had been full of sound; mobs had paraded the suburbs; the gates of the City had been barred, yet that was only an earnest of what was to be expected when the world understood itself.

The Cardinal seemed to recover himself after a few minutes’ silence.

“You look tired out, father,” he said kindly.

Percy smiled. “And your Eminence?” he said.

The old man smiled too. “Why, yes,” he said. “I shall not last much longer, father. And then it will be you to suffer.”

Percy sat up, suddenly, sick at heart.

“Why, yes,” said the Cardinal. “The Holy Father has arranged it. You are to succeed me, you know. It need be no secret.”

Percy drew a long trembling breath.

“Eminence,” he began piteously.

The other lifted a thin old hand.

“I understand all that,” he said softly. “You wish to die, is it not so?—and be at peace. There are many who wish that. But we must suffer first. Et pati et mori. Father Franklin, there must be no faltering.”

There was a long silence.

The news was too stunning to convey anything to the priest but a sense of horrible shock. The thought had simply never entered his mind that he, a man under forty, should be considered eligible to succeed this wise, patient old prelate. As for the honour—Percy was past that now, even had he thought of it. There was but one view before him—of a long and intolerable journey, on a road that went uphill, to be traversed with a burden on his shoulders that he could not support.

God as seen by the British poet William Blake as the Architect of the world in his 1794 watercolor etching Ancient of Days, now held in the British Museum, London. The name “Ancient of Days” is a name for God used by the prophet Daniel: “I kept looking until thrones were set up, and the Ancient of Days took His seat; His vesture was like white snow and the hair of His head like pure wool....” (Daniel 7:9)

Yet he recognised its inevitability. The fact was announced to him as indisputable; it was to be; there was nothing to be said. But it was as if one more gulf had opened, and he stared into it with a dull, sick horror, incapable of expression.

The Cardinal first broke the silence.

“Father Franklin,” he said, “I have seen to-day a picture of Felsenburgh. Do you know whom I at first took it for?”

Percy smiled listlessly.

“Yes, father, I took it for you. Now, what do you make of that?”

“I don’t understand, Eminence.”

“Why—-” He broke off, suddenly changing the subject.

“There was a murder in the City to-day,” he said. “A Catholic stabbed a blasphemer.”

Percy glanced at him again.

“Oh! yes; he has not attempted to escape,” went on the old man.

“He is in gaol.”

“And—-” “He will be executed. The trial will begin to-morrow…. It is sad enough. It is the first murder for eight months.”

The irony of the position was evident enough to Percy as he sat listening to the deepening silence outside in the starlit night. Here was this poor city pretending that nothing was the matter, quietly administering its derided justice; and there, outside, were the forces gathering that would put an end to all.

His enthusiasm seemed dead.

There was no thrill from the thought of the splendid disregard of material facts of which this was one tiny instance, none of despairing courage or drunken recklessness. He felt like one who watches a fly washing his face on the cylinder of an engine—the huge steel slides along bearing the tiny life towards enormous death— another moment and it will be over; and yet the watcher cannot interfere.

The supernatural thus lay, perfect and alive, but immeasurably tiny; the huge forces were in motion, the world was heaving up, and Percy could do nothing but stare and frown. Yet, as has been said, there was no shadow on his faith; the fly he knew was greater than the engine from the superiority of its order of life; if it were crushed, life would not be the final sufferer; so much he knew, but how it was so, he did not know.

As the two sat there, again came a step and a tap; and a servant’s face looked in.

“His Lordship is come, Eminence,” he said.

The Cardinal rose painfully, supporting himself by the table.

Then he paused, seeming to remember something, and fumbled in his pocket.

“See that, father,” he said, and pushed a small silver disc towards the priest. “No; when I am gone.”

Percy closed the door and came back, taking up the little round object. It was a coin, fresh from the mint. On one side was the familiar wreath with the word “fivepence” in the midst, with its Esperanto equivalent beneath, and on the other the profile of a man, with an inscription.

Percy turned it to read: “JULIAN FELSENBURGH, LA PREZIDANTE DE UROPO.” Part III It was at ten o’clock on the following morning that the Cardinals were summoned to the Pope’s presence to hear the allocution.

Percy, from his seat among the Consultors, watched them come in, men of every nation and temperament and age—the Italians all together, gesticulating, and flashing teeth; the Anglo-Saxons steady-faced and serious; an old French Cardinal leaning on his stick, walking with the English Benedictine. It was one of the great plain stately rooms of which the Vatican now chiefly consisted, seated length wise like a chapel. At the lower end, traversed by the gangway, were the seats of the Consultors; at the upper end, the dais with the papal throne. Three or four benches with desks before them, standing out beyond the Consultors’ seats, were reserved for the arrivals of the day before —prelates and priests who had poured into Rome from every European country on the announcement of the amazing news.

Percy had not an idea as to what would be said. It was scarcely possible that nothing but platitudes would be uttered, yet what else could be said in view of the complete doubtfulness of the situation? All that was known even this morning was that the Presidentship of Europe was a fact; the little silver coin he had seen witnessed to that; that there had been an outburst of persecution, repressed sternly by local authorities; and that Felsenburgh was to-day to begin his tour from capital to capital. He was expected in Turin by the end of the week. From every Catholic centre throughout the world had come in messages imploring guidance; it was said that apostasy was rising like a tidal wave, that persecution threatened everywhere, and that even bishops were beginning to yield.

As for the Holy Father, all was doubtful.

Those who knew, said nothing; and the only rumour that escaped was to the effect that he had spent all night in prayer at the tomb of the Apostle….

The murmur died suddenly to a rustle and a silence; there was a ripple of sinking heads along the seats as the door beside the canopy opened, and a moment later John, Pater Patrum, was on his throne. ***** At first Percy understood nothing. He stared only, as at a picture, through the dusty sunlight that poured in through the shrouded windows, at the scarlet lines to right and left, up to the huge scarlet canopy, and the white figure that sat there.

Certainly, these southerners understood the power of effect.

Every accessory was gorgeous, the high room, the colour of the robes, the chains and crosses, and as the eye moved along to its climax it was met by a piece of dead white—as if glory was exhausted and declared itself impotent to tell the supreme secret.

(To be continued) m INSIDE THE VATICAN MAY-JUNE 2022

57

VATICAN WATCH

By Matthew Trojacek with CNA Reports - Grzegorz Galazka and CNA photos

JANUARY TUESDAY 25

AUXILIARY APPOINTED BY POPE FRANCIS WILL BE ONE OF WORLD’S YOUNGEST BISHOPS Pope Francis on January 25 appointed two new auxiliaries for the Archdiocese of New York, one of whom will be among the world’s youngest bishops.

The Vatican announced that Father Joseph A. Espaillat and Father John S. Bonnici will be ordained as bishops.

Born on December 27, 1976, Espaillat will be the youngest bishop in the United States once he is consecrated.

The 45-year-old is the director of the Hispanic Catholic Charismatic Renewal for the New York archdiocese.

A featured speaker at Steubenville Youth Conferences, Espaillat says that he loves ministering the sacraments, playing softball and basketball, writing poetry, and rapping.

He was ordained in 2003 and has served as the pastor of Saint Anthony of Padua parish in the South Bronx since 2015. (CNA) THURSDAY 27

POPE FRANCIS MEETS AUSCHWITZ SURVIVOR ON HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE DAY Pope Francis marked International Holocaust Remembrance Day on January 27 with an hourlong meeting with Auschwitz survivor Edith Bruck.

The Holy See press office said that the Pope had “a long and affectionate conversation” with the 90-year-old Hungarian-born Jewish writer at his residence, Casa Santa Marta.

“In particular, both stressed the inestimable value of transmitting the memory of the past to the youngest, even in its most painful aspects, so as not to fall back into the same tragedies,” the press office said. (CNA)

FEBRUARY WEDNESDAY 2

SHOUTING MAN REMOVED FROM GENERAL AUDIENCE BY VATICAN POLICE, SWISS GUARDS The Vatican gendarmerie and the Swiss Guard removed from the Paul VI audience hall on February 2 a man between 40 and 50 years old who, visibly upset, interrupted Pope Francis’s general audience by shouting.

EWTN News photographer Daniel Ibáñez said the man began by yelling in English, “This is not God’s Church,” and then said in Italian: “No more masks in the Church… This is not the Church of Jesus Christ… The Church is one, holy, catholic, and apostolic… You’re not the king.”

At the end of his catechesis, Pope Francis referred to what 58 INSIDE THE VATICAN MAY-JUNE 2022

happened: “A few minutes ago we heard a person who was yelling, yelling, who had some problem. I don’t know if it’s physical, psychological, spiritual. A brother of ours in difficulty,” he explained.

The Pope also asked for prayers for the man. (CNA) SUNDAY 6

POPE FRANCIS MAKES FIRST TV TALK SHOW APPEARANCE Speaking with Italy’s most popular prime-time talk show, Che Tempo Che Fa, on February 6, the Pope said that he needed prayers and closeness right now.

“Pray for me, I need it. And if some of you don’t pray because you don’t believe, don’t know how, or can’t, at least send me good thoughts, good vibes,” Pope Francis said.

“I need that closeness from the people,” he added during this first talk show interview, which had a peak audience of 8.75 million viewers. (CNA) TUESDAY 8

POPE FRANCIS: HUMAN TRAFFICKING HAS CREATED “AN OPEN WOUND ON THE BODY OF CHRIST” Pope Francis said on February 8 that the suffering caused by human trafficking is “an open wound on the body of Christ.”

“Human trafficking is violence.

The violence suffered by every woman and every girl is an open wound on the body of Christ, on the body of all humanity; it is a deep wound that affects every one of us too,” the Pope said in a video message.

The Pope condemned both the human trafficking of laborers and sex trafficking, which he said relegates women and girls to “dispensers of pleasure” and “proposes yet again a model of relationships marked by the power of the male gender over the female.”

“The organization of societies worldwide is still far from reflecting clearly the fact that women have the same dignity and identical rights as men,” he said.

Pope Francis added that both men and women can and must fight to ensure that the dignity of every person is recognized with “special attention to those whose fundamental rights have been violated.” (CNA) TUESDAY 15

VATICAN UNVEILS THEME FOR SECOND WORLD DAY FOR GRANDPARENTS AND ELDERLY The Vatican announced on February 15 that Pope Francis has chosen a theme for the second World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly.

The Dicastery for Laity, Family, and Life said that the grandparents’ day, which will be celebrated on July 24, will be an opportunity to reflect on verse 15 from Psalm 92: “In old age they will still bear fruit.” The theme “intends to em-

Opposite, Pope Francis during the meeting with Auschwitz survivor Edith Bruck.

Here, solemn Mass is celebrated at St. Clement Parish, Ottawa, Canada, which is entrusted to the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter (FSSP).

Below, Bishop-elect Christian Carlassare had a private meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican

phasize how grandparents and the elderly are a value and a gift both for society and for ecclesial communities,” a press release said. (CNA)

times of life that require a proper ‘leavening,’” he said. A long life gives a person time to value the processes that take time and to see the “damages of haste.”

For this reason, the Pope continued, the “slower pace” of old age helps young people and adults discover the true meaning of life and “makes everyone’s existence richer in humanity.” (CNS)

MONDAY 21

WHAT IS POPE FRANCIS’ PLAN FOR TRADITIONALIST GROUPS? Pope Francis has allowed The Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter (FSSP) to continue celebrating according to the ancient Latin rite with a decree delivered directly to members of the Fraternity who visited him on February 4.

The news appeared on February 21 on the community’s official website, which reproduced the decree.

The document, however, was not officially communicated through a bulletin of the Holy See press office. Therefore, it remains to be seen whether it will be published next year in the Acta Apostolicae Sedis, which collects all the decrees and laws promulgated by the Apostolic See each year.

The Fraternity said that on “Friday, February 4, 2022, two members of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter, Fathers Benoît Paul-Joseph, Superior of the District of France, and Vincent Ribeton, Rector of the Seminary of Saint Peter in Wigratzbad, were received in private audience by the Holy Father, Pope Francis, for almost an hour.”

It noted that “the meeting went well, in a very cordial atmosphere. Referring to the birth of the Fraternity in 1988, the Pope said he was very impressed by the approach of its founders, by their desire to remain faithful to the Roman Pontiff, and by their trust in the Church. He said this gesture should be ‘preserved, protected and encouraged.’” (CNA)

MARCH WEDNESDAY 2

LONGEVITY OF ELDERLY A REMINDER TO TAKE THINGS SLOWLY, POPE SAYS Coexistence between older and younger generations can bring about a better appreciation for life that is often lost in today’s fastpaced society, Pope Francis said.

A pervasive “spirit of rejection” exists in the modern world that “tends to be hostile to the elderly and, not by chance, also to children” and “casts them aside,” the Pope said on March 2 during his weekly general audience.

“The excess of speed puts us in a centrifuge that sweeps us away like confetti,” he said. “One completely loses sight of the bigger picture” and instead is tossed about by an attitude dictated by market forces “for which slower pace means losses and speed is money.”

“Young people are unconscious victims of this split between the time on the clock, which must be rushed, and the

MONDAY 14

POPE FRANCIS MEETS WITH SOUTH SUDAN BISHOP-ELECT WHO WAS SHOT LAST YEAR On March 14, Pope Francis met the South Sudan bishopelect whose consecration was postponed last year after he was shot in the legs shortly after his nomination to lead Rumbek diocese.

Bishop-elect Christian Carlassare had a private meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican, 11 days before his episcopal consecration, scheduled for March 25.

Carlassare, a member of the Comboni Missionaries, was shot in both legs in April 2021, just over a month after Pope Francis named him bishop of Rumbek, filling a vacancy that had lasted for almost a decade. (CNA) MONDAY 14

POPE FRANCIS WARNS AGAINST THE “TEMPTATION OF ACTIVISM” Pope Francis on March 14 said it is important to combat the “temptation of activism” with time for reflection and contemplation.

Speaking to an association of Italian entrepreneurs at the Vatican, he said, “Allow me, finally, the advice ‘of a bishop’: If you want to be a ‘soul’ in the world of business, do not neglect to take care of your own soul, the one that comes to us from God.” “And for this, we need to resist the temptation of activism and find time to reflect, to think, to contemplate,” he told the non-profit that promotes social responsibility in business.

The association “Anima per il Sociale nei Valori d’Impresa,” whose name means “Soul for Social Responsibility in Corporate Values,” met Pope Francis in the Apostolic Palace.

The Pope said that sometimes activism can destroy interior life. “I’m not speaking of religiosity,” he explained, “but of human interiority.” An interior life is necessary both for the religious and the non-religious, he said.

“This is also why an association can be useful, with proposals,” the Pope said. “But it is above all a personal need: each one, if he wants to enliven, must allow himself to be enlivened inwardly by the good, by beauty and truth.” (CNA)n MAY-JUNE 2022 INSIDE THE VATICAN

59

PEOPLE

BY MATTHEW TROJACEK with G. Galazka, CNA and CNS photos

n POPE FRANCIS APPOINTS NEW BISHOP OF FATIMA, PORTUGAL Pope Francis early this year accepted the resignation of Cardinal António Marto (on January 28) and named a new bishop of Leiria-Fátima.

The Pope appointed Bishop José Ornelas Carvalho to lead the Portuguese diocese containing one of the world’s most famous Marian shrines.

Ornelas has led the diocese of Setúbal, in southwestern Portugal, since 2015, and was elected president of the Portuguese bishops’ conference in 2020.

“José Ornelas brings with him enormous and unique wealth to give new impetus to the pastoral renewal of the diocese and the Shrine of Fátima,” Marto said in a video message after the appointment was announced. (CNA)

“WE WILL NOT BE SILENCED,” SAYS UK CATHOLIC ACTIVIST AFTER HONG KONG JAIL THREAT A UK Catholic activist said on March 14 that his UK-based human rights monitoring group would not be silenced after Hong Kong police threatened him with three years in jail.

Benedict Rogers spoke out after receiving a formal warning from the Hong Kong Police Force’s National Security Department regarding Hong Kong Watch, an NGO he founded in 2017 to track human rights and the rule of law in the former British colony. The police said Hong Kong Watch could be fined HK $100,000 (about $12,800 USD) or its chief executive face three years in jail under the National Security Law that came into force in July 2020.

They also demanded that the charity shut down its website. “We will not be silenced by an authoritarian security apparatus which, through a mixture of senseless brutality and ineptitude, has triggered rapid mass migration out of the city and shut down civil society,” said Rogers.

He converted to Catholicism in 2013 and lives in the UK. (CNA)

“I find it unacceptable for human dignity to be ignored, trampled upon, or eliminated entirely. God gave us this dignity when he created us in his image and likeness.

And therefore it is universal because it comes from the love of God,” Chow said.

Bishop Chow spoke to the magazine published by the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions (PIME) at a time

n CARDINAL BO: MYANMAR HAS ENDURED AN “EXTENDED WAY OF THE CROSS” On the one-year anniversary of the military coup in Myanmar, Cardinal Charles Maung Bo has said that his people have endured an “extended Way of MOTHER TERESA’S FORMER SECRETARY the Cross.”

Myanmar’s first cardinal de- TO LEAD SAINT’S INDIAN ORDER Mother Teresa’s former secretary has been named the new scribed the situation in his country as a time of head of the Indian congregation founded by the Catholic saint, of“spiraling chaos, confusion, conflict, and human ficials said on March 14, months after the organization’s funding agony.” came under government scrutiny.

“The whole of Myanmar is a war zone,” Bo Sister Joseph Michael is the third person to lead said in an audio message published by Vatican the Missionaries of Charity since the 1997 death of News on January 31.

St. Teresa, the revered nun and Nobel Peace Prize “As bishops, we continue our accompanilaureate who dedicated her life to helping the poor ment of our people, advocating for humanitarian in Kolkata. access, and urging all parties toward a journey of Members of the religious order from 110 countries peace and reconciliation,” he said. (CNA) n IN FIRST INTERVIEW, HONG KONG’S NEW CATHOLIC BISHOP SAYS IT IS UNACCEPTABLE TO TRAMPLE ON HUMAN DIGNITY In his first interview since he was ordained to lead the Catholic Diocese of Hong Kong, Bishop Stephen Chow Sau-yan underlined the importance of protecting human dignity, according to the Italian magazine Mondo e Missione on February 1.

60 INSIDE THE VATICAN MAY-JUNE 2022

gathered in the megacity to elect their new leader during a weekend prayer retreat, spokeswoman Sunita Kumar told AFP. The new superior general “has been with the organization for a long time and was Mother Teresa’s secretary for years,” Kumar said.

Her predecessor, Sister Prema, had served in the role since 2009 and had recently asked to stand down on account of poor health.

Sister Prema’s departure came after the Indian government threatened to cut off foreign funding to the Missionaries of Charity on Christmas Day last year before backpedaling two weeks later. (UCANews)

when many foreign missionaries are worried about their future in Hong Kong due to a recent crackdown on freedom of expression.

“I truly believe that missionaries have a place in the Hong Kong Church. We appreciate their role and what they have done, and we will do our best to keep them here,” Chow said. (CNA)

n FORMER ANGLICAN BISHOPS TO BE ORDAINED CATHOLIC PRIESTS Two of the four former Anglican bishops who became Catholics last year were to be ordained as diocesan priests in the first half of 2022. One of these four, Father Michael Nazir-Ali (who was ordained last year) said that he thought all four were united by the convictions they had about authority within the Church, according to a March 9 phone interview with Catholic News Service.

Jonathan Goodall, the former bishop of Ebbsfleet, was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Westminster

n FRENCH CATHOLIC NUN TURNS 118, MAKING HER THE SECOND OLDEST PERSON IN THE WORLD Sister Andre Randon, a French nun, celebrated her 118th birthday on February 11.

This milestone makes her the second-oldest POPE FRANCIS living person in the ADVANCES world and the oldest livSAINTHOOD CAUSE ing person in Europe, according to OF ARGENTINE the Gerontology Research Group, CARDINAL WHO which validates details of people beORGANIZED FIRST lieved to be 110 or older.

WORLD YOUTH DAYS Born Lucile Randon on February Pope Francis has ad11, 1904, in Alés, France, at the age vanced the sainthood of 19 she converted to Catholicism cause of an Argentine from Protestantism. She served cardinal who helped to young children and the elderly at a organize the first World French hospital until she became a Youth Day celebrations. nun at the age of 40. She joined the The Pope confirmed a decree on February 18 declaring that Daughters of Charity, founded by Cardinal Eduardo Francisco Pironio (1920-1998) had lived a Saint Vincent de Paul, in 1944. She life of heroic virtue. took the name Sister Andre in honor Pironio was a member of the Roman Curia for two decades. of her deceased brother.

He was brought to Rome in 1975 by Pope Paul VI and particiSeventy-six years later, Sister pated in the conclaves that elected John Paul I and John Paul II Andre moved to Toulon, in southern in 1978.

France, where she now resides in the Pope Francis, who was known as Jorge Mario Bergoglio before he became Sainte Catherine Labouré retirement Pope, has said that Pironio was his friend when they both lived in Argentina. home. (CNA) The future Pope even heard Pironio’s confession at one point.

“I’ve known Pironio well since he was auxiliary bishop of La Plata,” he said

n FIRST VIETNAMESE in a 2008 interview.

BENEDICTINE ABBOT “Whenever you talked to him… he opened a panorama of holiness to you DIES AT 82 from his profound humility,” he said. (CNA) Vietnamese Catholics fondly remembered a recently deceased Beneon March 12, and John Goddard, the former bishop of dictine abbot for his efforts in rebuilding Church facilities Burnley, was ordained for the Archdiocese of Liverpool after wars and establishing new communities abroad. on April 2. Father Michael Nazir-Ali, the former bishop of Abbot Stephanus Huynh Quang Sanh died on March Rochester, was ordained for the Personal Ordinariate of 4 at the Benedictine Monastery of Thien An in Thua Thien Our Lady of Walsingham on October 30, 2021, just a Hue province. He was 82. month after he was received into the Catholic Church.

Archbishop Joseph Nguyen Chi Linh of Hue presided Peter Forster, the former bishop of at his funeral at the monastery chapel on March 7.

Chester who also became a Catholic last The Mass, joined by 60 priests and attended by Beneyear, has retired to Scotland and has yet to dictines, nuns, and relatives, was aired on Hue Archdioreveal if he has any intentions to exercise cese’s website for local people due to Covid-19 restricpriestly ministry within the Catholic Church. tions.

Goodall and Goddard were both prominent Archbishop Linh said the late abbot experienced wars, Anglo-Catholics, and Fathers Nazir-Ali and Forster were revenge killings, poverty, and social unrest but stayed members of the evangelical wing of the Church of Engfaithful to his Benedictine vocation. (UCANews) land. (Crux) MAY-JUNE 2022 INSIDE THE VATICAN

61

Food FoR THoUGHT

Stefano Navarrini illustration

n BY MOTHER MARTHA

B

aci” Perugina chocolates, a madein-Italy icon, are celebrating their 100th birthday this year. Baci means “kisses,” and their birth and history are partly the product of a love story.

The Perugina confectionary company, still based in the central Italian city of Perugia in Umbria — not far from the city of St. Francis, Assisi — although owned since 1988 by the Swiss food giant Nestlé, is celebrating this milestone by launching a new chocolate called Dolce Vita Baci. Its recipe has a lemon-flavored center, coated by white chocolate with a hint of vanilla and topped with the ubiquitous whole hazelnut. Its tin-foil wrappings and outer packaging are also new, colorfully designed by the fashion designers Dolce & Gabbana. These will envelop the “100th Anniversary Celebration Collection” and, separately, the “Limited Edition” of the Dolce Vita Baci.

Baci’s creator was born Luisa Sargentini in Perugia on October 30, 1877. At age 20 she married Annibale Spagnoli and, with two friends, in 1907 bought out a grocery shop and renamed it “Perugina.”

Annibale started to make confetti and Luisa candies, chocolates and biscuits. Twenty years later, while Annibale was away serving in the First World War, Luisa expanded the business. By the 1918 armistice she had employed over 100 people.

In 1922, Luisa came up with a brilliant idea: to use chopped hazelnuts left over from her other sweets as the center of a new creamy chocolate filling topped with a whole toasted hazelnut and encased in dark chocolate. Because its irregular shape reminded Spagnoli of a clenched fist’s knuckles, she named her brainstorm cazzotti, “punches” in Italian. But to soften the name of the candy, Luisa decided to re-name the candies Baci, reasoning that customers would rather purchase a kiss than a punch.

The Perugina art director Federico Seneca, inspired by Luisa’s idea of inserting love messages into her pre-War chocolates, decided to copy this idea for her bite-size Baci. He chose romantic texts by famous writers.

In 1923, Annibale left the business and Luisa. He had discovered that Luisa had fallen in love with Giovanni Buitoni, the son of their partner, Francesco, who was 14 years her junior.

In 1924, Seneca chose silver tinfoil with blue writing to wrap each chocolate individually and devised the blue and silver box depicting a couple (possibly Luisa and Giovanni), dressed in black and kissing under a shower of stars. Francesco Hayez’s painting, The Kiss, had undoubtedly inspired Seneca’s design.

The combination of the recipe, name, secret messages, and

“

packaging, made Baci an instant commercial success.

In fact, a 1927 advertisement boasts: “In just five years, Perugina has sold over 100 million Baci.”

Other historical highlights: • In 1939 Perugina opened its first store in the USA, on New York’s Fifth Avenue. Today its New York shops are located at 140 Plymouth Street in Brooklyn and at Eataly on Manhattan’s Union Square. These two outlets alone cover 20 percent of American sales; outside New York City, Baci are sold at Wal-Mart, and at the supermarket chains Kroger and ShopRite.

• In 1972 Longanesi published Giovanni Buitoni’s autobiography, La Storia di un Imprenditore (“The Story of a Businessman”) which describes the history of Baci, and the relationship between Giovanni and Luisa. The book contains a sad passage about Luisa’s premature death from throat cancer on September 21, 1935 at the age of 58. From her deathbed, Giovanni recounts, Luisa promised to help him find a new love before she died. A day after Luisa’s promise, Giovanni met a young opera singer, Letizia Cairone, and he married her a year later.

• From 1997-99, Alitalia painted its Boeing 747 “Portofino,” flying the Rome-New York route, in Baci wrappings.

• In 2003, during “Eurochocolate,” the world’s largest chocolate festival, held annually in Perugia, the biggest Baci ever was displayed: 2.15 meters tall (about 7 feet), 7.26 meters wide (about 25 feet), and weighing 5,980 kilos (more than 13,000 pounds); it was listed in the Guinness Book of World Records.

• Since 2011, Perugina has added white chocolate, milk chocolate, extra dark 70%, and one with a fruity center, to its permanent Baci repertoire, as well as a Baci spread in 2021.

• In addition to Italian, Baci’s inserted love messages are published in Spanish, French, English, Chinese and Portuguese. Since 2017 they’ve included 100 proverbs in dialects from nine Italian regions: Campania, Lombardy, Umbria, Puglia, Liguria, Latium, Veneto, Sicily, and Piedmont.

Today Perugina reports that 1,500 Baci are produced every minute in Perugia. They are exported to 55 countries, with half a billion sold each year. This year the Perugina Chocolate House is housing an exhibition about the history of Baci on Perugia’s Viale San Sisto 207/c (closed on Sundays). A tour includes a tasting or a chocolate-making lesson. Telephone 800-800-907 in Italy or 011-39-024-546-7655 from abroad, or write to casadelcioccolatoperugina@servizio-clienti.it. Reservations required.m

HAPPY 100tH BIRtHDAY, “BACI”!

Book cover of Buitoni's autobiography, Alitalia's Baci airplane, Baci, Dolce & Gabbana's new wrappings, Luisa Spagnoli.

62 INSIDE THE VATICAN MAY-JUNE 2022

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