Pope Francis

[grace-land]

http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2013/11/19/pope_francis:_a_society_that_doesn’t_care_for_its_elderly_has_no/en1-747990

2013-11-19 14:23:44
Pope Francis: a society that doesn’t care for its elderly has no future

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Tuesday stressed the need to respect and take care of the elderly, saying a society that didn’t do this had no future.

Speaking at his morning Mass in the Santa Marta guesthouse the Pope said it was unfortunate that we live in a time where the elderly are not valued and are put to one side because they are considered a nuisance
Listen to Susy Hodges' report... RealAudioMP3

Pope Francis began his homily by pointing to the example of Eleazar in the Book of Maccabees, an elderly teacher of the law who preferred martyrdom rather than betraying his faith. This man, observed the Pope, was steadfast in his faith and he rejected advice from his friends who urged him merely to pretend to eat a piece of pork in order to save his life. Instead of worrying about his own fate, Eleazar was thinking of the young people who would remember him and his act of courage

[grace-land]

http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2013/11/19/pope_names_michael_olson_as_new_bishop_of_fort_worth_in_texas/en1-747904

2013-11-19 11:15:01
Pope names Michael Olson as new bishop of Fort Worth in Texas



(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Tuesday named Monsignor Michael Olson to be the new bishop of Fort Worth in Texas. Msgr. Olson is currently serving as Rector of the Holy Trinity Seminary at Irving in Texas. He was born in 1966 in the Chicago area but his family later moved to north Texas.
 
Msgr. Olson was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Fort Worth in 1994. His priestly ministry has included service as a parochial vicar, pastor, formation adviser, hospital ethicist, and more recently as the vicar general of the Diocese of Fort Worth. He was a member of the formation faculty at Saint Mary’s Seminary in Houston, Texas and lectured at the University of Saint Thomas School of Theology between 2001 and 2006.​

[grace-land]

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/11/18/i-only-felt-love-severely-disfigured-man-breaks-his-silence-about-pope-francis-viral-embrace/

‘I Only Felt Love’: Severely Disfigured Man Breaks His Silence About Pope Francis’ Viral Embrace
Nov. 18, 2013 4:44pm

Pope Francis stunned the world with his simple yet incredibly touching act of embracing a severely deformed man covered in tumors earlier this month. Now, that man is being identified as Vinicio Riva, 53, from Vicenza, Italy.

Riva told Panorama, an Italian magazine, that he suffers from von Recklinghausen’s disease, a disorder that impacts cell growth. In an exclusive interview, Riva shared information about his disorder, his background and what it was like to interact with Pope Francis in St. Peter’s Square.

“I tried to speak to say something but I was unable to,” Riva said of his encounter with Pope Francis, according to a translation of the interview that was provided by Time magazine. “The emotion was too strong. It lasted a little longer than a minute but it felt as if it were eternity.”

He added, “He touched my face and when he was doing it, I only felt love.”

As TheBlaze previously reported, images of his encounter with the pontiff quickly went viral, inspiring individuals around the globe.

According to CNN, Riva was just as surprised and moved as the rest of the world. He told Panorama that he was “most astonished” over the fact that Francis didn’t think twice about embracing him. While he isn’t contagious, he noted that the pontiff didn’t know that at the time.

Riva reportedly lives with his 46-year-old sister who also suffers from a less-severe case of the disease. Despite his appearance, one of Riva’s aunts told Time that the disorder is not life-threatening.

In fact, the man reportedly  enjoys a number of activities, including volunteering, watching soccer and enjoying time with his friends.
 

[grace-land]

http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/illinois-bishop-to-lead-public-prayers-in-reparation-for-same-sex-marriage/

Illinois Bishop to Lead Public Prayers in Reparation for Same-Sex ‘Marriage’ Law
by CNA/EWTN NEWS 11/19/2013

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Bishop Thomas Paprocki of Springfield, Ill., has scheduled prayers of supplication and exorcism in reparation for the state’s adoption of a law redefining marriage to accommodate same-sex couples.

“It is scandalous that so many Catholic politicians are responsible for enabling the passage of this legislation and even twisting the words of the Pope to rationalize their actions, despite the clear teaching of the Church,” Bishop Paprocki said Nov. 14 in announcing the prayers.

“All politicians now have the moral obligation to work for the repeal of this sinful and objectionable legislation,” he said. “We must pray for deliverance from this evil which has penetrated our state and our Church.”

The prayers will be said Nov. 20 at 4pm in the Springfield cathedral, roughly the same time as Gov. Pat Quinn, himself a professed Catholic, will be signing into law the bill which redefines marriage in Illinois to include same-sex couples. The bill was passed by the state Legislature Nov. 5.

Pope Francis’ Example Cited
Bishop Paprocki explained that he was moved to hold the prayers by the example of Pope Francis, saying, “The context for this prayer service may be understood by recalling the words of Pope Francis, when he faced a similar situation as archbishop of Buenos Aires in 2010.”

He quoted Pope Francis as saying, on June 22, 2010, when Argentina was considering adopting its own same-sex “marriage” law, that the bill “may gravely harm the family.”

“The identity of the family, and its survival, are in jeopardy here: father, mother and children.  … At stake is the total rejection of God’s law engraved in our hearts,” then-Archbishop Bergoglio said. “Let us not be naïve: It is not a simple political struggle; is it an intention destructive of the plan of God. It is not a mere legislative project (this is a mere instrument), but rather a ‘move’ of the father of lies who wishes to confuse and deceive the children of God.”

Bishop Paprocki explained that the Pope’s reference to “the father of lies” is an allusion to Christ’s identification of the devil as “a liar and the father of lies” in the Gospel according to John.

“So Pope Francis is saying that same-sex ‘marriage’ comes from the devil and should be condemned as such,” he said.

The Springfield Diocese’s announcement of the prayer service noted that the prayers to be said will be taken from the 2004 edition of the Rite of Exorcism.
 

[grace-land]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/clout/chi-illinois-gay-marriage-law-draws-exorcism-in-springfield-20131120,0,2874258.story

Illinois gay marriage law draws exorcism in Springfield
9:14 p.m. CST, November 20, 2013

A Catholic bishop offered prayers of exorcism Wednesday in response to Gov. Pat Quinn's approval of an Illinois gay marriage law, and suggested politicians are "morally complicit" in assisting the sins of same-sex couples.

"Vade Santana," said the Rev. Thomas Paprocki, who spoke Latin to send the message, "Be gone, Satan, father of lies, enemy of human salvation. Give way to Christ."

The head of the Springfield Diocese delivered his remarks to a large crowd of worshippers in the cavernous Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception only blocks from the Capitol, where lawmakers approved the same-sex marriage legislation two weeks ago.

"I exorcise you, every unclean sprit, every power of darkness, every incursion of the infernal enemy, every diabolical legion, cohort and faction, in the name and power of our Lord Jesus Christ," Paprocki said during the hourlong ceremony 200 miles from the bill signing celebration in Chicago.

The exorcism performed is known as a minor one in the pantheon of the practice, said Paprocki, who noted similar renouncements of the devil in the acts of baptisms and confirmations.

"I'm not saying that anyone involved in the redefinition of marriage is possessed by the devil, which, if that were the case, would require the remedy of a 'major exorcism,' but all of us are certainly subject to the devil's evil influences and in need of protection and deliverance from evil," Paprocki said.
 

[grace-land]

http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2013/11/20/pope_francis:_god_never_tires_of_forgiving_us/en1-748280

2013-11-20 13:40:47
Pope Francis: God never tires of forgiving us

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Wednesday called on priests to be humble servants of the Sacrament of Forgiveness. Speaking during the weekly General Audience, the Pope also prayed for contemplative religious brothers and sisters who dedicate themselves to God in prayer and silent work.
Listen to Linda Bordoni's report… RealAudioMP3

Speaking to the faithful in a packed St. Peter's Square, Pope Francis said the Church accompanies us on our journey of conversion for the whole of our lives, calling us to experience reconciliation in its communal and ecclesial dimension.

The instruments through which we receive forgiveness – he said – are priests who are called to be the servants of this sacrament. They must recognise - he added - that they too are in need of forgiveness and healing and thus they must exercise their ministry in humilty and mercy.

Speaking off the cuff, the Pope said that he too is a sinner and goes to confession every 15 days. Let us not forget – he said – that God “never tires of forgiving us, and through the ministry of a priest he offers us an embrace that regenerates us and allows us to continue in our journey”.
 

[grace-land]

http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2013/11/21/pope_francis_visits_camaldolese_monastery_of_sant’antonio_abate/en1-748799

2013-11-21 18:22:58
Pope Francis visits Camaldolese Monastery of Sant’Antonio Abate



(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis just concluded a visit to the Camaldolese Monastery of Sant’Antonio Abate at the foot of Rome's Aventine hill. He went to the cloistered convent to celebrate Vespers with the nuns on the feast of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Temple, dedicated by the Church to all cloistered religious. He is not the first Pope to visit the convent on the Aventine – both Paul VI and Blessed John Paul II made the short trip across Rome’s Tiber river to visit. The Vespers was solemn, the nuns chanting the office in air filled with incense.

In his homily, based on the readings, Pope Francis spoke about Mary, calling her the mother of Hope. He called on the nuns to be women of hope, saying that hope “nourished by listening , contemplation , patience.” Pope Francis said, that while at the foot of the cross, when everything seems really over, all hope might have been cut off.

“[Mary], too, in that moment, might have said if she remembered the promises of the Annunciation : ‘It was not true! I was deceived .‘ But she did not,” the Pope said. “Instead, she, who was blessed because she believed, by her faith that sees the new future bloom and waits hopefully for the tomorrow of God.”
 

[grace-land]

http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2013/11/21/pope_francis_visits_cell_of_american_recluse/en1-748800

2013-11-21 18:33:57
Pope Francis visits cell of American recluse

(Vatican Radio) An American recluse and mystic lived within the walls of the Camaldolese monastery, which Pope Francis visited on Thursday to mark the Day for the Contemplative Life, an event of the Year of Faith.

Sr Nazarena of Jesus, nee Julia Crotta on 5 October 1907, in Glastonbury, Connecticut, followed her vocation to Rome to live a hidden life in a cell at the Sant’Antonio Abate Monastery, located at the foot of the Aventine Hill, for 45 years.

Pope Francis visited Sr Nazarena’s cell during his time at the monastery. He was also to receive one of her letters during his private meeting with the Camaldolese nuns in their Chapter Room.

Fr. Thomas Matus, an American Camaldolese monk and author of Nazarena: An American anchoress, spoke with Vatican Radio about Sr Nazarena’s vocation story, her spiritual writings and the witness she offers today.

Sr Nazarena’s journey toward life as an anchoress was not a smooth one and it testifies to her perseverance in her call, he conceded.

After various attempts at religious life over 11 years, she entered the Camaldolese monastery on 21 November 1945, as a laywoman committed to a “desert life”, upon permission of Pope Pius XII. She later took religious vows.

Sr Nazarena lived a very strict ascetic rule: she slept on a wooden bed that had a wooden cross overlay, fasted on water and bread, spoke only to her confessor and Mother Superior, and received the Eucharist through a grille. In addition to prayer and reading, she spent her days fashioning crosses from palm leaves. She died on 7 February 1990; she was 82.
 

[grace-land]

http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2013/11/21/remembering_president_kennedy_fifty_years_on_/en1-748094

2013-11-21 18:00:36
Remembering President Kennedy fifty years on



(Vatican Radio) Friday 22nd of November marks the anniversary of the assassination of United States President John Fitzgerald Kennedy. Gone down in history as the first Catholic President of the United States at the time of his presidential campaign in 1960, this candidate’s religion became a defining issue.

In an effort to shed light on this issue Veronica Scarisbrick speaks to Church historian, Jesuit Professor Gerald Fogarty:
"..it became one of the two crucial issues in the campaign of John Kennedy for President of the United States. Was he in favour of diplomatic relations with the Vatican? Was he in favour of financial federal aid to parochial schools? ... Anyway that's where the question rested then and there was hesitation as whether or not the President could even have any type of meeeting with the Pope: He actually did come over and meet with Paul VI. He tested it ahead of time because Vice President Lyndon Johnson came to see the Pope and then Jacqueline Kennedy came and there was no real upheaval..."
 

[grace-land]

http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/news/2013/11/21/pope-francis-calls-for-full-religious-freedom-in-the-middle-east/

Pope Francis calls for full religious freedom in the Middle East
Thursday, 21 November 2013

After a two-hour private meeting today with the patriarchs and major archbishops of the Eastern Catholic churches, Pope Francis prayed for peace and full religious freedom throughout the Middle East.

Referring to himself, he said “the Bishop of Rome will not be at peace as long as there are men and women – of any religion – harmed in their dignity, deprived of what is necessary for their survival, robbed of their future or forced to become refugees.

During the meeting with all of the members of the Congregation for Eastern Churches, the Pope added: “Let us make an appeal so that the right of everyone to a dignified life and to freely profess their faith is respected.”
 

[grace-land]

Photo at the link

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2511151/Pope-Francis-PR-genius-Greg-Burke-ex-journalist-belongs-Opus-Dei.html

The PR genius who helped make the Pope popular: Francis's marketing mastermind, an ex US journalist who belongs to Opus Dei
PUBLISHED: 09:20 EST, 21 November 2013  | UPDATED: 12:47 EST, 21 November 2013

 
His name is Greg Burke and he is a senior media advisor to the Vatican.

The Vatican, stung by communications blunders and mired in a leaks scandal, hired the American journalist in June 2012 from Fox News to help improve its relations with the media.

Mr Burke, 53, a native of St Louis, Missouri, had been working for Fox for 10 years.

Before that he worked for Time magazine in Rome for 10 years.

He worked as a stringer for news agency Reuters in Rome early in his career and has also written several books, one about an Italian soccer team.

In his previous jobs, he covered the illness and death of Pope John Paul II, the election of Pope Benedict XVI, the pedophile scandal, the VatiLeaks saga, and the crackdown on American nuns, reported The Daily Beast.
 

[grace-land]

http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2013/11/22/pope_reflects_on_temples_where_we_worship_god/en1-748970

2013-11-22 13:05:36
Pope reflects on temples where we worship God

(Vatican Radio) A temple is a place where we meet to pray, praise and thank the Lord, but above all, it’s a place where we gather to worship God. At his morning Mass in the Santa Martha Chapel on Friday, Pope Francis focused his homily on both the temple as a building and St Paul’s understanding of our bodies as temples of the Holy Spirit.

The temple is the central reference point of the whole people of God, Pope Francis said, as he reflected on the Old Testament reading about the re-consecration of the ancient Jewish temple in Jerusalem. Speaking about the beauty, music and ritual of our liturgies, the Pope said the main focus of the community gathered around the altar must be our adoration of God. Recalling how Jesus chases away those who tried to do business in the temple, he asked whether our churches and our liturgical celebrations today help us to worship and adore God?

But the Pope also spoke of the inner life of each individual as a temple where we can worship God and try to follow his commandments in our daily lives. Recalling St Paul’s words about our bodies as temples of the Holy Spirit, he said God’s Spirit is in us so we must listen and follow him.
 

[grace-land]

 

http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/popes-words-in-interview-may-not-have-been-his-own-scalfari-says/

Pope's words in interview may not have been his own, Scalfari says

Vatican City, Nov 21, 2013 / 05:39 pm (CNA).- Editor Eugenio Scalfari has conceded it is “really possible” that some of the Pope's words he reported in the interview published in La Repubblica Oct. 1 “were not shared by the Pope himself.”

Last month's interview led to several criticisms of Pope Francis, notably Scalfari quoting the Pope saying of conscience that “everyone has his own idea of good and evil and must choose to follow the good and fight evil as he conceives them. That would be enough to make the world a better place.”

According to Scalfari's reporting of Pope Francis' words, he also described the Roman Curia as a “leprosy.”

After the interview was published, Vatican press director Fr. Federico Lombardi maintained that the text was overall faithful to the Pope's thought, even though it could not be considered part of his Magisterium.
 
Scalfari said that at the end of the 80 minute conversation, he asked Pope Francis permission to report the conversation. The Pope agreed, and Scalfari offered to send him the text before its publication.

According to Scalfari, the Pope told him not to “waste time” in sending him the text, saying, “I trust you.”

Scalfari said he nevertheless sent his text of the conversation to the Vatican on Sept. 29, together with an accompanying letter.

In the letter, he reportedly wrote: “I must explain that I wrote up our conversation in order to let everybody understand our dialogue. Keep in mind that I did not report some things you told me, and that I report some things you did not tell me, which I wanted to insert to let the reader understand who you are.”

According to Scalfari, Monsignor Xuereb called him two days later, saying that Pope Francis had permitted its publication, and the text was subsequently published.

According to a Vatican source who spoke with CNA Nov. 19, the interview “had to be removed from the Vatican website since it did not report faithfully the Pope’s words.”

The source especially wanted to point out that “Pope Francis never referred to the Curia as a leprosy; he was making a more general assessment of the medieval courts. Pope Francis was very sorry that people in the curia felt uncomfortable with his words.”

[grace-land]

Video at the link

http://www.romereports.com/palio/when-your-client-list-includes-pope-francis-english-11661.html#.UpAWtbCA3IV

When your client list includes Pope Francis...
2013-11-22 13:46:49

November 22, 2013. (Romereports.com) Sculpting religious items takes a lot of patience and precision. But the pressure is a lot more intense, when you're designing something for the Pope.   

MAURIZIO LAURI
Sculptor

“I get emotional just thinking about it even now. I can only describe it as an incredible feeling.”

Maurizio Lauri is an Italian sculptor, who designed Pope Francis' new ferula, or pastoral cross. He worked on the design all summer and he says the Resurrection was his inspiration.

MAURIZIO LAURI
Sculptor

“Christ is still on the cross, but His arms are free. So He is still bound, but He is inviting everyone to follow Him and His example.”

This is actually not the first time Lauri has designed something for a Pontiff. He sculpted a chalice to mark 60 years since Benedict XVI's priestly ordination. He also made designs for John Paul II.

Pope Francis publicly used his new ferula for the first time on November 1st, as he celebrated All Saints Day. In fact, the materials used to make it, were brought in all the way from Honduras, thanks to the help of Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga.
 
------------------------
http://www.novusordowatch.org/wire/francis-new-crozier.htm
Francis Has a New Crozier

[grace-land]

http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/22/opinion/opinion-john-allen-bones-of-peter-eyes-of-faith/

The bones of Peter and the eyes of faith
By John L. Allen Jr., Special to CNN
updated 12:57 PM EST, Fri November 22, 2013

(CNN) -- Pope Francis generally comes off as so hip, so completely at home in the 21st century, it's tempting to forget he's also a deeply religious believer and therefore sees the world fairly differently than most of his fellow celebrities and pop culture icons.

We'll get a reminder of the point on Sunday, when Francis presides over a service in Rome's Basilica of St. Peter featuring a rare public exhibit of what Catholic tradition regards as the bones of Peter, the Church's first pope.

The secular mind can't help asking, "Are these really Peter's bones?" and "How do we know?" For believers such as Francis, however, the more relevant question is, "What spiritual message do they have?"

In a nutshell, the pope, as well as the throngs of believers who'll line up to see the bones, will venerate them not on the basis of empirical evidence, but a spiritual conviction that they evoke the very origins of the papacy and of Christianity. They invite devotees to see themselves as part of a 2,000-year "communion of saints" whose original leader was a poor fisherman, who the Bible says denied Jesus three times, yet whose faith was so strong in the end that he gave his life to defend it.

The exhibit is designed to wrap up a "Year of Faith" for Catholics around the world originally launched under Pope Benedict XVI, and carried to its conclusion by Francis.

To be sure, there's a beguiling detective story behind the bones.

Detective story

St. Peter's Basilica was originally constructed in 330 A.D. by the Emperor Constantine, over an old pagan cemetery believed to be the burial site of Peter, whom tradition holds was martyred by being crucified upside down.

For the next sixteen centuries nobody poked around underneath the basilica to see what was actually down there, feeling that the site was too sacred to be disturbed.

In 1923, however, the world was dazzled by the discovery of King Tutankhamen's tomb in Egypt, a global sensation that left a deep impression on a young Italian cleric named Eugenio Pacelli. When Pacelli became Pope Pius XII in 1939, he authorized a dig under the basilica, and in 1942 archeologists found a niche they believed housed Peter's remains.
 

[grace-land]

Video at the link

http://www.romereports.com/palio/pope-francis-to-the-philippinesdont-be-afraid-to-ask-god-why-english-11663.html#.UpBWD7CA3IU

Pope Francis to the Philippines: Don't be afraid to ask God, why?
2013-11-22 14:06:17

November 22, 2013. (Romereports.com) Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle couldn’t help getting emotional when he remembered yesterday the victims of Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines.   

“So many loses around us... Even among this darkness... We have witnessed a huge courage in the population trying to save their families.”

The Filipino community in Rome had gathered in St. Peter's Basilica. Pope Francis, who was also listening to the Cardinal's words, gave him a warm hug in response.

He then improvised a speech in support of the Filipino people. Among other things, he said they shouldn't be afraid of asking God why he allows all this suffering.

POPE FRANCIS
“Why do these things happen? It can't... It can't be explained. There are so many things we can't understand. In these moments of suffering, don't shy away from asking 'Why?' just, like children. You will attract the eyes of Our Father on your people. You will attract the tenderness of our Heavenly Father on you.”

Pope Francis said that when children ask 'Why?' to their parents, what they're really asking for is  love. That's why, he added, adults should be like them during tragedies like the typhoon.

POPE FRANCIS
“In these moments of suffering, maybe this is the most useful prayer. To ask why in prayer.”
 

[grace-land]

http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2013/11/23/pope_francis_receives_participants_in_xxviii_pastoral_health_care/en1-749265

2013-11-23 12:47:29
Pope Francis receives participants in XXVIII Pastoral Health Care conference

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis received the participants in the XXVIII International Conference organised by the Pontifical Council for Health Care Workers on Saturday in the Paul VI Hall at the Vatican. For three days starting on Thursday of this week, experts, professionals and pastoral workers gathered to discuss ways for the Church to serve elderly people who suffer illness and disease, specifically neurodegenerative pathologies. Listen: RealAudioMP3

In remarks to the gathered participants, Pope Francis spoke of the need to commit to a kind of care, which, alongside traditional models of medical assistance, is enriched by spaces of dignity and freedom, far from the closures and silences that too often surround people in the field of care. It was in this perspective that Pope Francis underlined the importance of the religious and spiritual dimension of life.
 

[grace-land]

2013-11-23 13:03:44
Pope Francis receives European Olympic Committee members

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis received the members of the European Olympic Committees on Saturday in the Clementine Hall of the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican. The Committee members are in Rome this week for the 42nd European Olympic Committees General Assembly. Pope Francis spoke to the committee members about the role of sport in forming the whole human person for life. “As Olympic officials,” he said, “you are called to foster the educational function of sport.” The Holy Father went on to say, “We are all aware of the great need to form athletes animated by rectitude, moral rigor and a keen sense of responsibility.”
 

[grace-land]

http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2013/11/23/pope_francis_welcomes_catechumens_in_saint_peter’s_basilica/en1-749481

2013-11-23 18:51:47
Pope Francis welcomes Catechumens in Saint Peter’s Basilica

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Saturday evening presided over a gathering of Catechumens in Saint Peter’s Basilica, in one of the final events of the Year of Faith.

At the beginning of the gathering, the Holy Father welcomed some 35 men and women by presiding over the Rite of Acceptance into the Order of Catechumens. This was followed by a celebration of the Liturgy of the Word.

In his catechesis, which followed the reading of the Gospel of John 1:35-42, the Pope emphasized “how important it is to keep this desire [for God] alive, this yearning to encounter the Lord and experience him, his love, his mercy!”“The faith,” he continued, “gives us the certainty of Jesus’ constant presence in every situation, also the most painful or difficult to understand. We are called to journey, to enter always more deeply into the mystery of God’s love, who is above us and enables us to live with serenity and hope.”
 

[grace-land]

http://wdtprs.com/blog/2013/11/again-huge-news-pope-francis-explicitly-endorses-benedict-xvis-hermeneutic-of-continuity/

Again HUGE news: Pope Francis explicitly endorses Benedict XVI’s “hermeneutic of continuity”
Posted on 23 November 2013 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

You will want to read this carefully and put it in your “IMPORTANT” file.

This is, again, HUGE news.

The 450th anniversary of the closing of the Council of Trent is coming up on 4 December.  We like to celebrate these great milestones in salvation history.  So, there are great doings in Trent, in the northern area of Italy which is part of the (also) German-speaking Tirol.  As is customary, Pope Francis will send a Cardinal as his personal representative.  Who better than His Eminence Walter Card. Brandmüller?

When the Pope sends a Cardinal off on one of these missions, he sends him a formal letter, charging him with his task and indicating something of his own hopes for the occasion.  The anniversary of the closing of the Council of Trent is no exception.

In his letter to Card. Brandmüller, Pope Francis explicitly cites Pope Benedict XVI pontificate-defining address in 2005 to the Roman Curia in which he spoke about the “hermeneutic of discontinuity and rupture” (e.g., the Karl Rahner crowd and their descendants, still active today) and the “hermeneutic of reform”, or “hermeneutic of continuity”.

In this explicit reference Francis is aligning himself with Benedict and that key moment and concept underlying Benedict’s pontificate.

This comes in the wake of Francis writing to Archbishop Marchetto (refresh your memory HERE), a critic of one of the powerhouses of the ”hermeneutic of discontinuity and rupture”, the so-called “Bologna School” of interpretation of the Council.  Francis surely broke a lot of liberal hearts when he referred to Marchetto (who in this matter is completely aligned with Benedict) as one of the best interpreters of the Council that he knows.