R.I.P. to pro-life Catholic British M.P. murdered by an Islamist

 

Murdered British Pro-Life Catholic Politician David Amess Remembered for Building Bridges With the Holy See

Sir David Amess was always 'working on issues to strengthen ties,’ says former British ambassador to the Holy See Francis Campbell.

(T-L) David Amess with Pope Francis in 2015. (T-R) Sir David Amess on the far left next to Lord Alton with St. Teresa of Calcutta 1988. (B-L) Meeting with Cardinal Burke in 2015. (B-R) Sir David Amess meeting Benedict during the first visit of the All Party Parliamentary Group on the Holy See, March 2006. (photo: Courtesy photos / www.davidamess.co.uk/Right to Life UK/APPG)

Edward Pentin 15 October 2021

VATICAN CITY — Sir David Amess, who was tragically killed on Friday in a knife attack in England, was a committed pro-life British politician whose death has also shocked many in Rome where he is well remembered for his timely work to improve U.K.-Holy See relations. 

The 69-year-old devout Catholic father of five and one of Britain’s longest-serving parliamentarians made frequent visits to the Vatican as founder and chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on the Holy See. 

The group, which he created in 2006 at a time when the Foreign and Commonwealth Office planned to cut back and possibly even close its embassy to the Holy See, is made up of politicians of different faiths and backgrounds. It was the first such parliamentary group in the world and continues to this day.

The group is especially credited with helping to pave the way for Pope Benedict XVI’s state visit to Britain in 2010, and in particular Benedict’s historic address to both Houses of Parliament in Westminster Hall. It then helped secure a return visit of British government ministers to the Vatican the following year.

Cardinal Vincent Nichols of Westminster recalled this in his tribute on Friday, saying the British Conservative politician fostered “this mutually respectful relationship” between the U.K. and the Holy See through meetings with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican Secretary of State, and other Catholic leaders. 

“His contribution,” the cardinal said, “is both esteemed and will be sorely missed.” 

Francis Campbell, who worked closely with Amess as Britain’s ambassador to the Holy See from 2005 to 2011, told the Register that “he did so much to help build ties and one of his proudest moments was to see Pope Benedict.” He added that Amess was “a great builder of relationships across parliament and was so supportive of [Benedict XVI’s] visit.” 

“David was such a kind and generous person who gave so much,” Campbell said. “He was so jovial and engaged, always building bridges and working on issues to strengthen ties. His loss will be greatly felt.” 

Defender of Life and the Persecuted

Meeting him in Rome in 2007, Amess told me he was a “born optimist” and that he remained positive that legislation in favor of human embryo research and abortion could be defeated. He believed this despite proponents greatly outnumbering the opposition and the fact that Gordon Brown, no friend to the pro-life cause, had just become Prime Minister. 

In that interview, Amess revealed his pro-life conviction and determination to defend the voiceless in politics, lamenting how there had been “less and less interest in terms of the sanctity of life.” 

“From my point of view, I cannot see why anyone comes into parliament unless they recognize that life is all-important,” Amess said. “We, as parliamentarians, have our own concepts on the way we wish to create an environment in which people live, but life itself should be everything that motivates us.”

He went on to say that he remained “puzzled why a number of parliamentarians still cannot accept that life is sacred and that it’s up to the ‘mother of all parliaments’ to protect life in law.” 

Catherine Robinson, spokesperson for Right To Life UK, said Amess was a “passionate and dedicated patron of our charity” and “a pro-life champion” (see his pro-life voting record here). 

“Since he was elected in 1983, he always, where possible, used his position as an MP to stand up for the vulnerable, including championing initiatives to introduce more protections for unborn babies and more support for women facing crisis pregnancies,” Robinson said. 

He also voted against assisted suicide, telling fellow parliamentarians in a 2015 debate on the subject: “We all came into politics to help improve people’s lives. I, along with all colleagues, want to assist people to live, so I urge the House to reject this bill.”

Amess’ commitment to religious liberty and his defense of persecuted Christians were also remembered. Fiona Bruce, Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s special envoy for religious freedom, said he “was always faithfully pro-life and faithfully pro family. A dear man with a humble manner and a gentle humor which built friendships across the House. The phrase ‘will be sorely missed’ can be overused, but not with reference to David.”

Neville Kyrke-Smith, national director of Aid to the Church in Need UK, said Amess regularly attended their events and “did much to speak up for the needs of persecuted Christians and others.” 

“His death is an attack against parliamentary democracy in this country but more importantly, is a devastating blow to his wife and children and all who knew and respected him and his achievements,” he said. 

‘Indescribably Sad’

The Catholic pro-life peer Lord David Alton, a longstanding friend and parliamentary colleague of Amess, said he heard the news “with profound sorrow” and recalled that just a few weeks earlier, they shared a platform at the launch of Amess’ book Ayes & Ears documenting his political career spanning nearly 40 years. 

“Typically of David, the proceeds of the book were dedicated to three charities: Endometriosis UK, Prost8 and the Leigh-based Music Man Project,” he said. 

“Notwithstanding all the good in the world, we still have the capacity to do truly evil things,” Lord Alton added. “This horrific attack has not only robbed David of his life, but its reverberations will have devastating consequences for his family and loved ones. My thoughts are with Julia and their children. May he now rest in peace.”

Another close parliamentary friend and colleague, Ann Widdecombe, told the Register: “David was a faithful servant of the Lord and a huge source of inspiration to so many colleagues.” A godmother to one of Amess’ children, Widdecombe added: “He will be achingly missed.”

Sir Christian Sweeting, a friend of Amess within the Conservative Party, told the Register, “David was always smiling, he was full of kindness, humor and unstinting in his compassion for others, especially the disadvantaged and the voiceless. 

“It’s indescribably sad that he should fall victim to such a misguided and brutal act. He will be remembered as a great Parliamentarian and as a tremendous humanitarian. My deepest sympathies and prayers are with his family and those who loved and knew him.”  

Original source: https://www.ncregister.com/news/murdered-british-pro-life-catholic-politician-david-amess-remembered-for-building-bridges-with-the-holy-see 

Farewell fellow pro-life and animal rights champion! 

Cardinal Mueller on the New TLM Restrictions

The pope’s intention with his motu proprio, Traditionis Custodes, is to secure or restore the unity of the Church. The proposed means for this is the total unification of the Roman Rite in the form of the Missal of Paul VI (including its subsequent variations). Therefore, the celebration of Mass in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, as introduced by Pope Benedict XVI with Summorum pontificum (2007) on the basis of the Missal that existed from Pius V (1570) to John XXIII (1962), has been drastically restricted. The clear intent is to condemn the Extraordinary Form to extinction in the long run. In his “Letter to the Bishops of the Whole World,” which accompanies the motu proprio, Pope Francis tries to explain the motives that have caused him, as the bearer of the supreme authority of the Church, to limit the liturgy in the extraordinary form. Beyond the presentation of his subjective reactions, however, a stringent and logically comprehensible theological argumentation would also have been appropriate. For papal authority does not consist in superficially demanding from the faithful mere obedience, i.e., a formal submission of the will, but, much more essentially, in enabling the faithful also to be convinced with consent of the mind. As St. Paul, courteous towards his often quite unruly Corinthians, said, “in the church I would rather speak five words with my mind, so as to instruct others also, than ten thousand words in tongues.” (1 Cor 14:19) This dichotomy between good intention and poor execution always arises where the objections of competent employees are perceived as an obstruction of their superiors’ intentions, and which are, therefore, not even offered. As welcome as the references to Vatican II may be, care must be taken to ensure that the Council’s statements are used precisely and in context. The quotation from St. Augustine about membership in the Church “according to the body” and “according to the heart” (Lumen Gentium 14) refers to the full Church membership of the Catholic faith. It consists in the visible incorporation into the body of Christ (creedal, sacramental, ecclesiastical-hierarchical communion) as well as in the union of the heart, i.e. in the Holy Spirit. What this means, however, is not obedience to the pope and the bishops in the discipline of the sacraments, but sanctifying grace, which fully involves us in the invisible Church as communion with the Triune God. For the unity in the confession of the revealed faith and the celebration of the mysteries of grace in the seven sacraments by no means require sterile uniformity in the external liturgical form, as if the Church were like one of the international hotel chains with their homogenous design. The unity of believers with one another is rooted in unity in God through faith, hope, and love and has nothing to do with uniformity in appearance, the lockstep of a military formation, or the groupthink of the big-tech age. Even after the Council of Trent, there always was a certain diversity (musical, celebratory, regional) in the liturgical organization of Masses. The intention of Pope Pius V was not to suppress the variety of rites, but rather to curb the abuses that had led to a devastating lack of understanding among the Protestant Reformers regarding the substance of the sacrifice of the Mass (its Sacrificial character and Real Presence). In the Missal of Paul VI, ritualistic (rubricist) homogenization is broken up, precisely in order to overcome a mechanical execution in favor of an inner and outer active participation of all believers in their respective languages and cultures. The unity of the Latin rite, however, should be preserved through the same basic liturgical structure and the precise orientation of the translations to the Latin original. The Roman Church must not pass on its responsibility for unity in cult to the Bishops’ Conferences. Rome must oversee translation of the normative texts of the Missal of Paul VI, and even of the biblical texts, that might obscure the contents of the faith. Presumptions that one may “improve” the verba domini (e.g. pro multis – “for many” – at the consecration, the et ne nos inducas in tentationem – “and lead us not into temptation” – in the Our Father), contradict the truth of the faith and the unity of the Church much more than celebrating Mass according to the Missal of John XXIII. The key to a Catholic understanding of the liturgy lies in the insight that the substance of the sacraments is given to the Church as a visible sign and means of the invisible grace by virtue of divine law, but that it is up to the Apostolic See and, in accordance with the law, to the bishops to order the external form of the liturgy (insofar as it has not already existed since apostolic times). (Sacrosanctum Concilium, 22 § 1) The provisions of Traditionis Custodes are of a disciplinary, not dogmatic nature and can be modified again by any future pope. Naturally, the pope, in his concern for the unity of the Church in the revealed faith, is to be fully supported when the celebration of Holy Mass according to the Missal of 1962 is an expression of resistance to the authority of Vatican II, which is to say, when the doctrine of the faith and the Church’s ethics are relativized or even denied in the liturgical and pastoral order. * In Traditionis Custodes, the pope rightly insists on the unconditional recognition of Vatican II. Nobody can call himself a Catholic who either wants to go back behind Vatican II (or any other council recognized by the pope) as the time of the “true” Church or wants to leave that Church behind as an intermediate step towards a “new Church.” One may measure Pope Francis’ will to return to unity the deplored so-called “traditionalists” (i.e., those opposed to the Missal of Paul VI) against the degree of his determination to put an end to the innumerable “progressivist” abuses of the liturgy (renewed in accordance with Vatican II) that are tantamount to blasphemy. The paganization of the Catholic liturgy – which is in its essence nothing other than the worship of the One and Triune God – through the mythologization of nature, the idolatry of environment and climate, as well as the Pachamama spectacle, were rather counterproductive for the restoration and renewal of a dignified and orthodox liturgy reflective of the fulness of the Catholic faith. Nobody can turn a blind eye to the fact that even those priests and laypeople who celebrate Mass according to the order of the Missal of St. Paul VI are now being widely decried as traditionalist. The teachings of Vatican II on the uniqueness of redemption in Christ, the full realization of the Church of Christ in the Catholic Church, the inner essence of the Catholic liturgy as adoration of God and mediation of grace, Revelation and its presence in Scripture and Apostolic Tradition, the infallibility of the magisterium, the primacy of the pope, the sacramentality of the Church, the dignity of the priesthood, the holiness and indissolubility of marriage – all these are being heretically denied in open contradiction to Vatican II by a majority of German bishops and lay functionaries (even if disguised under pastoral phrases). And despite all the apparent enthusiasm they express for Pope Francis, they are flatly denying the authority conferred on him by Christ as the successor of Peter. The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith’s document about the impossibility of legitimizing same-sex and extramarital sexual contacts through a blessing is ridiculed by German (and not only German) bishops, priests, and theologians as merely the opinion of under-qualified curial officials. Here we have a threat to the unity of the Church in revealed faith, reminiscent of the size of the Protestant secession from Rome in the sixteenth century. Given the disproportion between the relatively modest response to the massive attacks on the unity of the church in the German “Synodal Way” (as well as in other pseudo-reforms) and the harsh disciplining of the old ritual minority, the image of the misguided fire brigade comes to mind, which – instead of saving the blazing house – instead first saves the small barn next to it. Without the slightest empathy, one ignores the religious feelings of the (often young) participants in the Masses according to the Missal John XXIII. (1962) Instead of appreciating the smell of the sheep, the shepherd here hits them hard with his crook. It also seems simply unjust to abolish celebrations of the “old” rite just because it attracts some problematic people: abusus non tollit usum. What deserves special attention in Traditionis Custodes is the use of the axiom lex orandi-lex credendi (“Rule of prayer – rule of faith”). This phrase appears first in the anti-Pelagian Indiculus (“Against superstitions and paganism”) which spoke about “the sacraments of priestly prayers, handed down by the apostles to be celebrated uniformly all over the world and in the entire Catholic Church, so that the rule of prayer is the rule of faith.” (Denzinger Hünermann, Enchiridion symbolorum 3) This refers to the substance of the sacraments (in signs and words) but not the liturgical rite, of which there were several (with different variants) in the patristic era. One cannot simply declare the latest missal to be the only valid norm of the Catholic faith without distinguishing between the “part that is unchangeable by virtue of divine institution and the parts that are subject to change.” (Sacrosanctum Concilium 21). The changing liturgical rites do not represent a different faith, but rather testify to the one and the same Apostolic Faith of the Church in its different expressions. The pope’s letter confirms that he allows the celebration according to the older form under certain conditions. He rightly points to the centrality of the Roman canon in the more recent Missal as the heart of the Roman rite. This guarantees the crucial continuity of the Roman liturgy in its essence, organic development, and inner unity. To be sure, one expects the lovers of the ancient liturgy to recognize the renewed liturgy; just as the followers of the Paul VI Missal also have to confess that the Mass according to the Missal of John XXIII is a true and valid Catholic liturgy, that is, it contains the substance of the Eucharist instituted by Christ and, therefore, there is and can only be “the one Mass of all times.” A little more knowledge of Catholic dogmatics and the history of the liturgy could counteract the unfortunate formation of opposing parties and also save the bishops from the temptation to act in an authoritarian, loveless, and narrow-minded manner against the supporters of the “old” Mass. The bishops are appointed as shepherds by the Holy Spirit: “Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood.” (Acts 20, 28) They are not merely representatives of a central office – with opportunities for advancement. The good shepherd can be recognized by the fact that he worries more about the salvation of souls than recommending himself to a higher authority by subservient “good behavior.” (1 Peter 5, 1-4) If the law of non-contradiction still applies, one cannot logically castigate careerism in the Church and at the same time promote careerists. Let us hope that the Congregations for Religious and for Divine Worship, with their new authority, do not become inebriated by power and think they have to wage a campaign of destruction against the communities of the old rite – in the foolish belief that by doing so they are rendering a service to the Church and promoting Vatican II. If Traditionis Custodes is to serve the unity of the church, that can only mean a unity in faith, which enables us to “come to the perfect knowledge of the Son of God,” which is to say unity in truth and love. (cf. Eph 4, 12-15). _____ Translated from the German by Robert Royal with Msgr. Hans Feichtinger *Image: Pope Francis celebrates Mass ad orientem for the feast of the Baptism of the Lord in 2016. (Credit: CTV) Original article appeared on "The Catholic Thing".

BREAKING NEWS : Pope Francis unleashes hatred for Benedict XVI

Pope Francis took a significant step toward putting the Roman Catholic Church’s liturgy solidly on the side of modernization on 16 July by cracking down on the use of the Tridentine Mass, essentially reversing a decision by his predecessor, Benedict XVI. This reverses Summorum Pontificum, which acknowledged the right of all priests to say Mass using the Roman Missal of 1962, which is in Latin. The move to restrict the use of the Tridentine rite dealt a blow to traditional Catholics, who have long complained that the current pope is diluting the traditions of the church. Francis placed new restrictions on where and by whom the traditional Latin Mass can be celebrated and required new permissions from local bishops for its use. In the motu proprio, the pope made sweeping changes to his predecessor Benedict XVI’s 2007 apostolic letter The new document is dedicated to “the use of the Roman Liturgy prior to the reform of 1970” and contains eight articles that go into immediate effect. Pro Tridentina (Malta) has asked the reaction of 2 priests: Canadian Fr N.E.D. Doublet and Fr Tony. The latter celebrates Tridentine Mass in Malta. Fr Doublet expects that restrictions will be applied to the Canadian priests that currently celebrate Tridentine Mass in his country. There are currently around 45 churches where the Tridentine Mass is held in Canada. Some bishops have already suspended the Latin Mass due on Sunday 18 July. So, worse can be expected. Fr Doublet added that the publication of the motu proprio so soon after Pope Francis left hospital can only be considered as being a vengeful act. One now has to see whether Benedict XVI will react, though it is unlikely. Fr Doublet concluded that the Church now has a suffering Pope - Benedict XVI, victim of hatred unleashed on him by Francis. On the other hand, Fr Tony said that the situation in Malta is likely to remain the same. The Diocese of Gozo will probably do nothing, after all no known Tridentine Masses have been celebrated there since 2007. This was due to the hardline policy adopted by then Bishop (now Cardinal) Mario Grech. There are rumours circulating in the Vatican that the Gozitan Cardinal showed his appreciation of the new mtou proprio Traditionis custodes, especially Articles 3 and 5. The situation in Malta is more complicated. According to Fr Tony, it is hoped that the structure of the Apostolate of St. Paul Malta will remain. Albeit the irony being having a Tridentine Mass held in a Jesuit Church during the Jesuit's Pope hardline attitude, added Fr Tony. Regarding himself personally, Fr Tony stressed that he will continue to celebrate Tridentine Mass regularly, as long as people want it. He concluded by reminding us that Benedict XVI had said:

What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too, and it cannot be all of a sudden entirely forbidden or even considered harmful

As a service to its readers, Pro Tridentina (Malta)has added 2 pages on this topic: a) the text of Traditionis custodes https://pro-tridentina-malta.blogspot.com/p/traditionis-custodes.html and b) the letter written by Pope Francis to bishops about this motu proprio https://pro-tridentina-malta.blogspot.com/p/pope-francis-letter-accompamying.html

FIUV Declaration published in Italian daily newspaper La Repubblica

 

The FIUV has taken out an advert in the mass-circulation Italian newspaper La Repubblica, that appeared on Sunday 4th July 2021. This newspaper is Pope Francis' favourite.

The English text is below:

Living the faith, living the future:

The Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite

Declaration of the International Federation Una Voce

The International Federation Una Voce (FIUV), founded in 1965, brings together associations of the lay faithful attached to the Extraordinary Form of the Roman rite (the Traditional Latin Mass).

In 2007, the Apostolic Letter Summorum Pontificum recognised the vitality of the traditional liturgy, the freedom of priests to celebrate it, and of the faithful to request it. This has led to an ongoing increase in the number of celebrations of the ancient Latin Mass, and of its spiritual fruits.

During 2020 the FIUV conducted a worldwide survey of the faithful on the implementation of Summorum Pontificum. From this survey, which included results from 364 dioceses in 52 countries, we found:

•    The ancient Latin Mass is deeply appreciated by groups of faithful of all ages, especially families with children, young people and converts, found in all social and cultural environments, on all continents and in an ever increasing number of countries.

• In many areas the increased availability of this Mass has favoured the normalisation of relations between the faithful attached to it and their bishops, relations increasingly characterised by mutual understanding and respect.

Nevertheless, we have noticed that, contrary to the previous policy of the Holy See, there are still people within the Church, including some bishops, who would like to see the Extraordinary Form of the Roman rite explicitly suppressed, or subject to further restrictions. For this reason, the FIUV, in view of the faithful who adhere to the Latin Mass, feels the duty to express its opinion, encouraged by Pope Francis' exhortations to the members of the Church to use parrhesia with the necessary humility.

The growth of interest in the traditional liturgy is not due to nostalgia for a time we do not remember, or a desire for rigidity: it is rather a matter of opening ourselves to the value of something that for most of us is new, and inspires hope. Pope Francis has characterised the ancient liturgy in terms of a "sense of adoration" (Press conference of 28 July 2013), we can also apply his words to it: a "living history that welcomes us and pushes us forward" (Evangelii Gaudium 13).

Today we only wish to be part of that "great orchestra" of "unity in variety" which, as Pope Francis said (General Audience of 9 October 2013), reflects the true catholicity of the Church. The Apostolic Letter Summorum Pontificum continues to transform the conflicts of the past into harmony: long may it to continue to do so.

Felipe Alanis Suarez, President                                                                                      

www.fiuv.org

Ends

The worldwide survey referred to above was presented to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, to complement reports sent by bishops around the world on the same subject, which had been requested by the CDF at the request of Pope Francis. Gregorius Magnus 10 has an account of the motivation, methodology, results, and conclusions of the reports. Pro Tridentina (Malta)'s contribution is found on pp. 11 - 12.

Vatican Council II Documents: a compass to guide the ship of the Church

We are reproducing parts of the speech by then Pope Benedict XVI, during a general audience dated 10 October 2012. This is important in the context of the current quarrels between different traditional Catholics in Malta. They range from Novus Ordo conservatives, to SSPX symphatisers to sedevacantists and even outright Conclavists. The latter, in particular, are known to be very active lately.

 "We have reached the eve of the day on which we will celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of Vatican Council II and the beginning of the Year of Faith. And it is about the great ecclesial event of the Council that I wish to speak.

 

The documents of Vatican Council II are, even in our own time, a compass guiding the ship of the Church as she sails on the open seas, amidst tempests or peaceful waves, to reach her destination. ... I was able to witness the living Church ... which places herself at the school of the Holy Spirit, the true driving force behind the Council. Rarely in history has it been possible, as it was then, to touch almost physically the universality of the Church at a moment of peak fulfilment of her mission to carry the Gospel into all ages and unto the ends of the earth.

 

In Church history Vatican II was preceded by many other Councils such as Nicea, Ephesus, Chalcedon and Trent. In general though, they met to define fundamental elements of the faith, and particularly to the correct errors endangering that faith. This was not the case with Vatican Council II, because at that time there were no particular errors of the faith to correct and condemn, nor were there specific questions of doctrine and discipline to be clarified. ... The first question that arose during the preparation of this great event was how to begin, what task to give it. Blessed John XXIII in his opening address of 11 October fifty years ago gave some general guidelines: the faith had to speak with a 'renewed' and more incisive voice, because the world was changing rapidly, but it had to maintain its perennial message intact, without giving way or compromising.

 

The Pope wanted the Church to reflect upon her faith and upon the truths that guide her. But that serious and profound reflection ... had to be the starting point for a new relationship between the Church and the modern age, between Christianity and certain essential elements of modern thought, not in order to seek conformity, but to show our world, which tends to distance itself from God, the requirements of the Gospel in all its greatness and purity.

 

The age in which we live continues to be marked by forgetfulness and deafness towards God. I believe, then, that we must learn the simplest and most fundamental lesson of the Council: that the essence of Christianity consists in faith in God, ... and in the individual and community encounter with Christ Who guides our lives. ... The important thing today, as was the desire of the Council Fathers, is for us to see - clearly and anew - that God is present, that He concerns us and responds to us. And when faith in God is lacking our essential foundations give way because man loses his dignity. ... The Council reminds us that the Church ... has the mandate to transmit God's salvific word of love, so that the divine call which contains our eternal beatitude may be heard and accepted.

 

The four cardinal points of our guiding compass: Sacrosanctum Concilium on the sacred liturgy, which speaks of the centrality of the mystery of Christ's presence in the Church; Lumen Gentium which highlights the Church's fundamental duty to glorify God; Dei Verbum on divine Revelation, which speaks of the living Word of God that unites and animates the Church throughout history, and finally Gaudium et Spes which deals with the way the Church transmits to the world the light it received from God.

 

Vatican Council II is a powerful appeal to us to make a daily rediscovery of the beauty of our faith, to understand it deeply through a more intense relationship with the Lord, and to live out our Christian vocation to the full".

Pope Francis Says Rejecting Vatican II Excludes You from the Church

The below article should serve as a warning to Tridentine groups in Malta that their activities will soon end.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Religious education must focus on leading people to a personal relationship with Christ and building a community of believers where the talents of each person are valued and where all go out to share the Gospel and serve the poor, Pope Francis said.

"The first protagonists of catechesis are those messengers of the Gospel, often laypeople, who generously get involved to share the beauty of having encountered Jesus," the pope said Jan. 30 to participants in a meeting organized by the Italian bishops' National Catechetical Office.

Catechesis must "express God's saving love, which precedes any moral and religious obligation on our part," he said. "'You are loved, you are loved' -- this comes first; this is the gateway."

Catechesis does "not impose the truth but appeals to freedom, like Jesus did," he said, and "it should be marked by joy, encouragement, liveliness and a harmonious balance which will not reduce preaching to a few doctrines which are at times more philosophical than evangelical."

However, he said, a catechist always must teach what the church teaches and that includes the vision and teachings of the Second Vatican Council.

"This is magisterium: the council is the magisterium of the church," he said. "Either you are with the church and therefore you follow the council, or if you do not follow the council or you interpret it in your own way, as you wish, you are not with the church."

"We must be demanding and strict on this point," the pope said.

"Selectivity with respect to the council" is something that has happened throughout the history of the church with its various councils, he said. "It makes me think of a group of bishops who, after Vatican I (1869-70), left with a group of lay people, of groups, to continue the 'true doctrine' that was not that of Vatican I."

"Today they ordain women," the pope said, apparently referring to the Old Catholic Churches that are part of the Union of Utrecht.

"Please," the pope told the group, "no concessions to those who try to present a catechesis that does not agree with the magisterium of the church."

Pope Francis also told the group that after five years of on-again, off-again discussions, the Italian bishops' conference "must begin the process for a national synod -- community by community, diocese by diocese."

The bishops, religious and laypeople who gathered in Florence in 2015 for the Italian church's national convention, held every 10 years, spoke about the idea of having a synod, but no formal steps were taken to organize it. "Now, take it up again. It's time," the pope said.

Quoting from his speech to the convention delegates in Florence, Pope Francis told members of the catechetical office that religious education must place the community dimension of the church at its center.

"This is not the time for elitist strategies," he said. "This is the time to be artisans of open communities that know how to value the talents of each one. It is a time for missionary communities, free and disinterested, that do not seek relevance and advantage, but walk the paths of the people of our time, bending down to those on the margins."

"It is the time for communities that can look disappointed young people in the eye, that welcome strangers and give hope to the disheartened," he said. "It is a time for communities that fearlessly dialogue with those who have different ideas. It is a time for communities that, like the good Samaritan, know how to draw near to those wounded by life, to bind up their wounds with compassion."

New Executive Committee

After a number of years, we are pleased to announce that during an online conference held for members, a new Committee has been elected. More details on the page "Kumitat Eżekuttiv". Our first activity is a Tridentine Mass next Sunday in Valletta at 10:30.

Bishop Mario Grech on Pope Benedict XVI

CIRCULAR LETTER From H.L. Mons. Mario Grech Bishop of Gozo

To the reverend Archpriests, Rectors of Churches, Religious superiors, Consecrated persons and Catholic Laity. HEARTFELT SALUTE TO POPE BENEDICT XVI Beloved, In a few days the Pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI will end. We have every reason to be grateful to this Pope who guided the Church for the past eight years. Apart from being for us a model of how we should be disciples of Jesus Christ, he was a strong wall on which we could rest. But above all, the Gozo Church continues to remember Pope Benedict XVI who, on 18th April 2010, made an extraordinary gesture and personally presented a golden rose to Our Lady of Ta’ Pinu on the Floriana granaries. Moreover, we are also grateful to the Pope because it pleased him to call into his family one of our priests, Mgr. Alfred Xuereb, who has been his second secretary during the past six years. As a token of love toward our Spiritual Father, I am asking all Gozitans to unite with the Universal Church in one prayer during the next few days so that, while we thank God for the gift He lent us in the person of the Pope, we pray for the Lord to help him live these moments of separation in serenity. Since the last day of Pope Benedict XVI’s Pontificate is Thursday 28th February, I propose that on that particular Thursday: 1. there will be a day of fasting as a prayer for the Pope’s intention; 2. a mass Pro Pontefice is celebrated in each church; 3. the Holy Hour will be for the Pope’s needs; 4. families offer the rosary for him; 5. the Pope’s flag is raised on the churches and private residencies; 6. a photograph of the Pope is exposed in churches and church-owned public places (schools, parochial centres, etc.) 7. at noon church bells will toll for 15 minutes; 8. in the evening the churches light up their frontage; 9. a fjakkolata is set up on church properties; 10. all families light a candle in the windows of our houses. From Friday 1st March 2013 until we have a new Pope, the intercession for the church in the Eucharistic Prayer will be in the way indicated in the subsidy prepared by the Liturgy Secretariat (page 10). Then, when the conclaves start, a Mass for the Selection of the Pope will be celebrated in all the churches of the Diocese at a time most suitable for the people. The start of the conclaves will be announced by all the churches at eight o’clock in the morning of the opening day through a fifteen-minute bell toll. When the news of the Pope’s election becomes available, the local churches will announce the happy event by bell-tolling for fifteen minutes. I pray for Heaven’s blessing on you. Given at the Bishop’s Curia, Victoria, Gozo, on Friday 22nd February, 2013, feast of the Cathedra of Saint Peter. 30/2013

Bishop Mario Grech and Amoris Laetitia - lest we forget

We are reproducing a comment from one of our readers. Any further information is appreciated. We consider the below as mere allegations for the time being.

Very sad. As a German residing in Malta, I remember that in 2015 this was reported in 'Malta Today' newspaper: •Priests pleaded with Rome and Cardinal Marx of the Bishops Conference in Europe not to see Grech appointed as Archbishop of Malta due to "reprehensible behaviour." •Grech failed to carry out the Vatican's order to defrock perverted priests who allegedly threatened to expose other cases of sexual abuse by priests. •He possessed the "grin of a Cheshire Cat" and was the "embodiment of a heady combination of spiritual authority and power with the lack of human accountability," in addition to a "manifest attachment to material wealth." •He was also accused in no uncertain term of being a "bully," creating a "bullying culture" in the local Church and being obsessed with of thriving in a "media spin culture." •Gozo continued, at least in 2015, to live at "home with his parents," and was accused of nepotism! Very sad news indeed. These are the corrupt Catholic Church leaders nowadays.

It had already been denied by Bishop Grech:

In a statement today, the Gozo Curia said that Bishop Mario Grech denies reports made in some international media, where it was alleged that he had threatened priests with suspension. The Curia said, “what is being stated by certain sections of the (international) media with reference to Bishop Mario Grech, namely that he `threatens priests with suspension (a divinis) for refusing communion to divorced/remarried,’ “is absolutely false.”

Archbishop Charles J. Scicluna and Bishop Mario Grech have prepared guidelines for priests, for the application of Chapter VIII of the Apostolic Exhortation of Pope Francis – Amoris Lætitia . This chapter is an invitation for mercy and for pastoral discernment. In a letter read on Sunday in the churches of Gozo and Malta, the bishops explained that “this message is also relevant to the couples and families who find themselves in complex situations, especially those involving separated or divorced persons who have entered a new union. Although they may have “lost” their first marriage, some of these persons have not “lost” their hope in Jesus. Some of these earnestly desire to live in harmony with God and with the Church, so much so, that they are asking us what they can do in order to be able to celebrate the sacraments of Reconciliation and the Eucharist.”

Malta's Third Cardinal in history

Mario Grech (20 February 1957) is a Maltese prelate who was Bishop of Gozo from 2005 to 2019. He was Pro-Secretary General of the Synod of Bishops from October 2019 until he became Secretary General in September 2020. On 25 October 2020, Pope Francis announced he would raise him to the rank of cardinal at a consistory scheduled for 28 November 2020. Mario Grech was born in Qala, Gozo, on 20 February 1957. His family moved to Ta' Kerċem when he was a young boy. He attended the Victoria high school and then studied philosophy and theology at the Gozo diocesan seminary. He was ordained a priest on 26 May 1984. He then obtained a licenciate in civil and canon at the Pontifical Lateran University and a doctorate in canon law at the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas. He then fulfilled pastoral assignments at the Cathedral of Gozo, in the National Shrine of Ta' Pinu, and the parish of Kerċem. His responsibilities for the Diocese of Gozo included service as Judicial Vicar of the diocese, a member of the Metropolitan Court of Malta, teacher of canon law at the seminary, and a member of the College of Consultors, of the Presbyteral Council and of other diocesan commissions. On 26 November 2005, Pope Benedict XVI named him Bishop of Gozo. He received his episcopal consecration on 22 January 2006 from his predecessor in Gozo, Bishop Nikol Joseph Cauchi. In 2011, he joined other Maltese bishops in advising Catholics to defeat a referendum that would allow the legislature to consider legalizing divorce. He was famous for prohibiting any Tridentine Masses from being held in Gozo, unlike the position taken by the Maltese Archbishop, Paul Cremona O.P. As president of the Episcopal Conference of Malta, he participated in the Synod of Bishops on the Family in 2014 and 2015. Speaking to the Synod in October 2014, Grech said that

"the doctrine of the faith is capable of progressively acquiring a greater depth"

and that addressing people in complex familial relations, or homosexuals or parents of homosexuals, "It is necessary to learn to speak that language which is known to contemporary human beings and who acknowledge it as a way of conveying the truth and the charity of the Gospel."

With Archbishop Charles J. Scicluna, Grech co-authored the Maltese bishops' pastoral guidelines on Amoris Laetitia, released in January 2017, which stated that in certain cases a divorced Catholic who remarried might receive communion after "honest discernment". The guidelines were republished in L'Osservatore Romano. The guidelines infamously said that:

"If, as a result of the process of discernment, a separated or divorced person who is living in a new relationship manages, with an informed and enlightened conscience, to acknowledge and believe that he or she is at peace with God, he or she cannot be precluded from participating in the sacraments of Reconciliation and the Eucharist."

In a December 2018 interview, he said he enjoyed discussions with atheists that sharpened his own beliefs and preferred dialogue to the confrontation his critics preferred. When asked about family and sexual issues he said:

If someone comes to me, asking me for help to discover Jesus Christ... he or she could be homosexual, and even in a homosexual relationship. It doesn’t matter. I will not impede that person; on the contrary I would help. The last thing I would do is take up a position against that person.... Before, we would say: 'put your life in order first, and then we’ll begin the journey towards God'. Today, on the other hand, we would say: 'Let us approach Jesus Christ... and Christ will help us put our lives in order.' ... 'Black' and 'white' still exist; but the grey area in-between has grown. It is in the grey areas that we must search. That’s why I said that I am wary of those priests, or Christians, who feel they already know all the answers. No one can make that claim. We all have to continue searching.

On 2 October 2019, Pope Francis named him Pro-Secretary General of the Synod of Bishops, in anticipation of succeeding Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri when he retired as Secretary General. Grech worked alongside Baldisseri and participated as a member in the Synod of Bishops for the Pan-Amazon region. Grech was also the Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Gozo until 2020. He was one of five Synod officials who served ex offico on the fifteen-person commission that was responsible for drafting the final document of the Amazon Synod. In his first interview after his appointment he stated that

"there is a movement toward which the Church can acquire a greater feminine face that would also reflect Mary’s face"

. On 4 July 2020, Pope Francis named Grech a member of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, with the exception of reconciliation with traditional Catholic communities. On 25 October 2020, Pope Francis announced he would raise him to the rank of cardinal at a consistory scheduled for 28 November 2020. The previous Maltese cardinals were: Fabrizio Sceberras Testaferrata and Prospero Grech OSA .

Crisis in the Church according to Fr. Alfredo Morselli

Fr. Alfredo Morselli's “Thesis on the Council” can be explained briefly as follows:

1 The present crisis is of unprecedented gravity, essentially neo-modernist, but much graver than the original modernist crisis at the beginning of the 20th century.

2 However, Vatican II is not simply the cause of the present crisis, because:

2.1 The crisis began long before 1960,

2.2 its neo-modernism would never have taken root without the deep corruption of modern man, and

2.3 similarly the pontificate of Pope Francis was prepared long before the 21st century.

3 We must distinguish between the Council itself and the post-Council, or aftermath of the Council:

3.1 The Council cannot be blamed for all errors attributed to it, even if they were done in its name,

3.2 The Holy Spirit was at the Council, so that one cannot say there was no good at all in the Council.

4 The Council texts do include ambiguous formulae, which give the neo-modernists an opening.

5 Almost all these problems have been solved subsequently by official Church Declarations.

6 The problems represent not so much errors as the desire to be inclusive rather than exclusive.

7 A tragic example of that desire is the Council’s refusal to condemn Communism.

8 Calling the Council “pastoral” does not mean that there is nothing dogmatic in its pronouncements.

9 One may only criticize the Council in accordance with Church teaching on the Faith. Hence

9.1 Faith means believing God, i.e. accepting and not choosing what truths one will believe.

9.2 The Catholic Church’s Magisterium is the prime decider of which are those truths to believe.

9.3 That Magisterium is not open to private interpretation. It alone can interpret its own decisions.

Archbishop Viganò on the Second Vatican Council

This is a summary of his 9 June 2020 public letter: "People talk of “the Spirit of the Council.” But when was there talk of “the Spirit of Trent,” or of any other Catholic Council? There never was, because all other Councils simply followed the spirit of the Church. However, the good Bishop should beware of exaggerating “errors” that needed “correcting” in past teachings of the Church, because whatever these may have been, they were nothing like what the Second Vatican Council did, which was comparable (even in content) with the Council of Pistoia (A.D. 1786), later condemned by the Church. At Vatican II, many of us were fooled. In good faith, we made too many allowances for the supposed good intentions of those promoting an ecumenism which turned later into false teaching on the Church. Today many Catholics no longer believe that there is no salvation outside the Catholic Church, and it is in the texts of Vatican II that the ambiguities are to be found which opened the way to this undermining of the Faith. It began with inter-religious meetings, but it is due to end in some universal religion from which the one true God will have been banished. This was all planned long ago. Numerous errors of today have their roots in Vatican II, to the texts of which it is easy to trace back today’s multiple betrayals of truly Catholic belief and practice. Vatican II is now used to justify all aberrations, whereas its texts prove uniquely difficult to interpret, and they contradict previous Church Tradition in a way no other Church Council has ever done. I confess serenely now that I was at the time too unconditionally obedient to the Church authorities. I think that many of us could not then imagine the Hierarchy being unfaithful to the Church, as we see now especially in the present Pontificate. With the election of Pope Francis, at last the conspirators’ mask came off. They were finally free from the philo-Tridentine Benedict XVI, free to create the Newchurch, to replace the old Church with a Masonic substitute for both the form and substance of Catholicism. Democratisation, synodality, women priests, pan-ecumenism, dialogue, demythologising the Papacy, the politically correct, gender theory, sodomy, homosexual marriage, contraception, immigrationism, ecologism, – if we cannot recognise how all these have their roots in Vatican II, there will be no cure for them. Such a recognition “requires a great humility, first of all in recognizing that for decades we have been led into error, in good faith, by people who, established in authority, have not known how to watch over and guard the flock of Christ.” Those shepherds who in bad faith or even with malicious intent betrayed the Church, must be identified and excommunicated . We have had far too many mercenaries, more concerned with pleasing Christ’s enemies than with being faithful to His Church. “Just as I honestly and serenely obeyed questionable orders sixty years ago, believing that they represented the loving voice of the Church, so today with equal serenity and honesty I recognize that I have been deceived.” I cannot now persevere in my error. Nor can I claim that I saw clear from the start. We all knew that the Council was more or less a revolution, but none of us imagined just how devastating it would be. We could say that Benedict XVI slowed it down, but the Pontificate of Francis has proved beyond all possible doubt that among the shepherds at the top of the Church there is sheer apostasy, while the sheep below are abandoned and virtually scorned. The Declaration of Abu Dhabi (“God is pleased with all religions”) was unforgivable for a Catholic. True charity does not compromise with error. And if one day Francis refuses any longer to play the game, he will be removed, just like Benedict XVI was removed, and replaced. But the Truth remains and will prevail: “Outside the Catholic Church there is no salvation.”

A temporary solution?

Recently this Blog was informed that the Tridentine Mass has stopped being celebrated in Birkirkara. For the foreseeable future it has been transferred to the Jesuits’ Church in Valletta.  While, on paper, this is a welcome development - Valletta being more central - the good news might be short-term only. A regular attendee confirmed that this is also due to the fact of the COVID-19 virus, Birkirkara's church being small for the current ASPM congregation.

It is our sincere wish that more priests (there are already some who wish to) will be allowed to celebrate the Tridentine Mass on a regular basis. Otherwise, the traditional Catholics would be considered as a small part of today's Church. Also, the less Tridentine Masses by different priests are held, the more people would think that traditional Catholics:

•  reject the idea of contents a priori prevailing over form. In the case of religious rituals, form and contents do not just form two separable, autonomous entities, but connect with each other through complex relationships, including theological, psychological, phenomenal, aesthetic and historic dimensions.
• These aspects, in their turn, play a role in the perception of these rituals by the faithful and in their spiritual lives. Considering the fact that Church rituals from their very beginning were intertwined with doctrinal truth, changing these rituals may have a tremendous effect on religious conscience and a severe impact on the faithful.
• Some consider any pre-Vatican II practice as exclusively theirs, denying that the Catholic Church has any claims upon a history before Saint Pope Paul VI.