News From Rome
Published in “Le Sel de la terre” 120
1. The March 25, 2022, Consecration
* What Did Our Lady of Fatima Ask?
“God wants to establish in the world devotion to my Immaculate Heart. If you do what I am going to tell you, many souls will be saved and we will have peace. […] I will ask for the consecration of Russia to my Immaculate Heart and the reparative Communion on first Saturdays.
“If my demands are heeded, Russia will convert and there will be peace.
“Otherwise, she will spread her errors throughout the world, causing wars and persecutions against the Church. The good will be martyred, the Holy Father will have much to suffer, several nations will be annihilated.
“In the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph. The Holy Father will consecrate Russia to me, it will convert, and a certain time of peace will be granted to the world1.
“The moment has come when God asks the Holy Father to make, in union with all the bishops of the world, the consecration of Russia to my Immaculate Heart. He promises to save her by this means2.”
Sister Lucia’s commentary:
God wills the consecration of Russia, and of Russia alone, without any addition, because Russia is a vast, well-circumscribed territory, and her conversion will be noticed, thus bringing the proof of what can be obtained by consecration to the Heart Immaculate of Mary3.
* What Did Pope Francis Do On March 25, 2022?
Pope Francis consecrated: 1) his person, 2) all of humanity, 3) Russia, 4) and Ukraine, to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
It is, of course, not a bad thing in itself, even if one can deplore the long globalist and ecological text which preceded the formula of consecration. However, according to Sister Lucy’s indications, this does not entirely respond to Our Lady’s requests, since the consecration focused more on the Russian-Ukrainian conflict than on Russia itself. The letter addressed by Pope Francis to all the bishops of the world asking them to join in the consecration does not mention the requests of Our Lady—nor the consecration of Russia, nor the devotion of the first Saturdays—but says:
[…] Also welcoming many requests from the People of God, I wish to entrust, in a special way, the nations in conflict to Our Lady. As I said Sunday at the end of the Angelus prayer, March 25, Solemnity of the Annunciation, I intend to perform a solemn Act of consecration of humanity, and particularly of Russia and Ukraine, to the Immaculate Heart of Mary4.
Let us recall that the consecration of the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary carried out by Pius XII in 1942 (with a text of another elevation, but which was not what Our Lady had requested) was immediately followed by a significant turn in the course of the hostilities – which prepared the end of the war – but did not stop the terrible progression of Communism: the Yalta agreements delivering Eastern Europe to the communists, Communists invading China and Southeast Asia, the purging in France, wars in Algeria and Vietnam, infiltration of the Church and its consequences, etc., and now the neo-Communism of globalism.
The consecration carried out on March 25, 2022, certainly goes further, but it does not yet fully meet the demands of Heaven.
Whatever the results—for there will certainly be some ‑ let us continue, for our part, to console Our Lady and to respond to her requests at our level: daily rosary, reparative Communion on the first Saturdays, offering of the sacrifices of our daily duties to her Immaculate Heart for the conversion of sinners.
2. The “Demos” Report: Assessment of a Pontificate
March 13, 2022, was the ninth anniversary of the election of Pope Francis ‑ who thus entered the tenth year of his pontificate.
His health difficulties having increased over the past year5 ‑ he has been 85 since December 17, 2021 ‑ Roman circles are starting to talk about his succession.
To this end, an anonymous memorandum, signed “Demos6”, very severe on the current pontificate and which has the merit of lucidity, was addressed to the cardinals at the beginning of Lent. The text was published on the blog of the famous vaticanist Sandro Magister, who does not exclude that the very serious document emanates from a cardinal.
It is divided into two parts: “The Vatican today”, and “The next conclave”.
The commentators, from all schools – with the exception of Father Spadaro S.J., director of the Jesuit journal Civiltà Cattolica and very close to Francis – agree that this pontificate is disastrous from many points of view, a real catastrophe for the Church.
Here are the main excerpts from this memorandum, with some comments.
A. The Vatican Today
+. Previously, it was said: Roma locuta est, causa finita, Rome has spoken, the cause is finished.
Today we say: Roma loquitur, confusio augetur, Rome speaks, confusion increases.
[At the same time, some guilty silences:] the German synod speaks of homosexuality, of women priests, of Communion for the divorced; the papacy is silent. Cardinal Hollerich rejects Catholic teaching on sexuality; the papacy is silent. It is silent regarding the scandals and at the same time persecutes the traditional Mass.
+. The Christocentric dimension of the teaching is weakened, Christ is removed from the center. Rome itself seems confused about the importance of strict monotheism; she thus refers to a broader concept of divinity which is not quite pantheism, but which resembles a variant of Hindu pantheism. Demos denounces the cult rendered to the Pachamama, goddess of the earth [placed on the papal altar in Saint Peter, during the Amazon synod in 2019].
This judgment may seem excessive. It is not so. The Osservatore Romano, an unofficial organ of the Holy See, flattered itself with quoting the following reflection by Mrs. Vandana Shiva, Indian militant feminist, alternative Nobel Prize winner in 1993: “When I read the encyclical Laudato si’ by Pope Francis on ecology and sustainable development, I felt like reading our ancient Vedic texts, especially Atharvaveda, on our duty to respect the Earth and all its creatures.”7
+. The change in personnel at the Academy for Life has had unheard-of consequences: some members justify assisted suicide, others support abortion.
+. The pope often rules by papal decrees which deprive those affected of any possibility of appeal.
+. The pope enjoys weak support among seminarians and young priests, and widespread division exists within the Vatican Curia.
+. The Vatican’s financial situation is serious. The last ten years have been in deficit. Before Covid, it was 20 million euros per year; since Covid, from 30 to 35 million per year, not counting the ongoing trials of ten people for financial malfeasance.
+. The political prestige of the Vatican is at an all-time low. The political influence of Pope Francis and the Vatican is negligible. Decisions and political orientations are limited to “political correctness”.
B. The Next Conclave, and Guidelines for the Future Pope
+. The College of Cardinals has been weakened by eccentric appointments, and has not met since 2014 (eight years!) when they met to discuss Communion for remarried divorcees. Many cardinals do not know each other, which adds an extra dimension of unpredictability to the upcoming conclave.
+. Since Vatican II, Catholic authorities have often underestimated the hostile power of secularization, of the world, of the flesh, of the devil, especially in the West8; and overestimated the influence and power of the Catholic Church.
The Church is weaker than 50 years ago: the number of believers has declined, as has Mass attendance. Many religious orders are in decline or have disappeared.
+. The new pope’s first task will be to restore doctrinal clarity in matters of faith and morals and to ensure that the first criterion for the appointment of bishops is the acceptance of Apostolic Tradition.
To give doctrinal authority to national or continental synods would constitute a new danger for the unity of the Church, given, for example, that the German Church adopts doctrinal points of view which are not shared by the other Churches, and which are not compatible with Apostolic Tradition. If no correction of these heresies comes from Rome, the Church will be reduced to a vague federation of local Churches, with different visions, probably closer to an Anglican or Protestant model than an Orthodox one.
+. The possibility of an apostolic visitation within the Jesuit Order should be taken seriously. They face catastrophic numerical decline and moral decline.
+. We must look at the decline of Catholics and the expansion of Protestantism in South America. It was hardly mentioned at the Amazon synod.
+. Continuing financial difficulties will be a significant problem, though far less serious than the doctrinal and spiritual threats facing the Church, especially in Europe.
3. Deaf to Criticism, Francis Accelerates Reforms
Jean-Marie Guénois, a religious columnist at Le Figaro, cannot be called a traditionalist, but he is a realist, and generally very informed about what is happening in the Vatican. Here are the main excerpts from an article he published on Pope Francis’s reform plans9. We summarize his comments by quoting, most of the time, the journalist’s own words.
* Reform of the Curia
Since 2013, the pope has in view a vast reform of the curia. It will come into force on June 5, the day of Pentecost, already arousing a lot of internal resistance:
1. All ministries (congregations) are placed on the same plane, which means the abolition of hierarchies within Vatican congregations.
The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which was first, is even mentioned after the Dicastery for Evangelization and before a new Dicastery for Charity and Humanitarian Works.
Comment: Regarding the Dicastery for Evangelization, which replaced the illustrious missionary congregation of the Propaganda, it must be understood that the word “evangelization” is not here synonymous with mission. Modernists have hijacked the meaning of all words. The Pope’s appointment of Filipino Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle as head of this Dicastery since 2019 clearly indicates the radical change in direction.
In Corrispondenza Romana of December 11, 2019, historian Cristina Siccardi would write:
With the arrival of Cardinal Tagle, the original spirit of the missionary nature of the Church, so masterfully structured by the Propaganda Fide, will disappear; because the new prefect has a clearly conciliar physiognomy, and at the same time he is a follower of ecological and integral conversion, where the spirit of Assisi and the spirit of Abu Dhabi converge in the new humanism, in the new way of feeling universal brotherhood, where everyone can think about religion as they see fit. Tagle also shares with the pope a visceral attention to Mother Earth, and an unrealistic and haphazard reception of the migrating masses.
In this context, we understand that the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith is relegated to the background.
Let’s continue to summarize Jean-Marie Guénois:
2. Another key point imposed by the pope, but bitterly debated by important cardinals: a layman, man or woman, will henceforth be able to direct a Vatican Congregation. This office was previously reserved for bishops and cardinals for fundamental theological reasons relating to the very constitution of the Catholic Church10.
3. The curia is decapitated: the “Secretary of State”, who until then was like the pope’s prime minister, and patron of the Roman curia, loses this primacy and is no more than a secretary general with the sole function of coordinating the various Congregations, which clearly reinforces the power of the pope. He decides almost everything.
* Synodal Effervescence
The “synod” is indeed the great reform of Francis. It wants to instill a collective, democratic spirit, associating the faithful, men and women, at all levels of governance of the Catholic Church: parish, diocese, episcopal conference, Holy See.
For that purpose, he launched in 2021 a special synod on synodality, which is taking place in all the dioceses during the year 2022. A final and decisive session will take place in Rome in October 2023. It will vote on proposals that Francis intends to implement at the beginning of 2024.
Inspired by the governance of the Orthodox Churches but also that of Protestant Churches, this revolution is deeply worrying in Rome, in view of the ongoing experience of a local synod in the German Church, which competes with reformist audacity: marriage of priests, reception homosexual people, women’s place. The Vatican seems to have lost control over this initiative. This does not prevent Francis from having appointed as rapporteur for the next Roman synod a prelate supporting the German synod: Msgr. Jean-Claude Hollerich, archbishop of Luxembourg, a Jesuit he created cardinal in 2019. This arouses strong opposition within of the curia: in mid-March, Cardinal George Pell summoned the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith to intervene officially against the words of Bishop Hollerich and the German Synod.
Comment: The name of Cardinal Hollerich is to be remembered, alongside that of Cardinal Tagle (supra), because he is a rising personality and is particularly revolutionary. During interviews granted to La Croix on January 20, and to Katolische Nachrichten Agentur on January 27, he declared to be particularly favorable to the priestly ordination of married men; to changing our way of seeing sexuality (“we had a rather repressed vision”) and of judging homosexuality (“the Church’s positions on the sinfulness of homosexuality are wrong; the time has come to change doctrine”); to Eucharistic Communion given to Protestants; the need to change the discourse on abortion because it is no longer followed, etc. He will be the reporter of the next Roman synod concluding all the national synods.
* Against Going Back
Last September, to Slovak Jesuits he met in Bratislava, the pope spoke of his “suffering” at seeing an “ideology of going backwards” take hold in the Church, because “freedom is frightening”.
It was to put a stop to this “ideology of going backwards” that he promulgated his Motu Proprio on July 16, 2021, Traditionis Custodes against the traditional Mass, in order to stop the development of parishes according to the Tridentine rite. “I will continue on this path”, he confided to the same Jesuits, rebelling against the young priests who, “barely ordained”, ask the bishop for authorization “to celebrate in Latin”. They must be “landed on the earth”, he insisted.
And on April 21, 2022, receiving Bishop Eric de Moulins-Beaufort and several French bishops, he confirmed that the priests of the Fraternity of Saint Peter could only celebrate the Tridentine rite in their homes [not in diocesan churches as has most often been the case until now], and should all agree to concelebrate in the new rite, at least once a year for the Chrism Mass. The noose is tightening11.
To top it off, on May 28, 2022, the pro-LGBT Bishop Bertram Maler, Bishop of Augsburg, conferred the diaconate on 10 seminarians from the Wigratzbad Seminary of the Society of St. Peter. The German branch Pro Missa Tridentina of the Una Voce Federation expressed its “surprise” by recalling that in June 2021 Bishop Maler declared on German state television that he was ready to bless homosexual unions. On the official website of the seminary, on May 28, we read the following press release from the authorities of the Fraternity of Saint Peter: “We are very grateful to Bishop Maler for his benevolence and his concern12”.
Once again, Archbishop Lefebvre was clairvoyant:
This transfer of authority, that is what is serious, that is what is extremely serious. It is not enough to say: “We have not changed anything in practice13”. This transfer is very serious, because the intention of these authorities is to destroy Tradition14.
The subjects do not make make the superiors, but the superiors make the subjects15.
We feel the absolute necessity of having ecclesiastical authorities who embrace our concerns and help us to guard against the spirit of Vatican II and the spirit of Assisi16.
4. Pope to Visit Kazakhstan for Congress of World Religions
The news is given by the Vatican News website17:
Pope Francis has expressed his intention to visit Kazakhstan on the occasion of the 7th Congress of Leaders [!] of World and Traditional Religions which will be held on September 14 and 15 in the Kazakh capital, Nur-Sultan [formerly Astana].
The information, first given by the Kazakh presidency, was confirmed by the director of the Press Room of the Holy See, Matteo Bruni. Francis broached the subject during a video-conference interview with the President of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
The first Congress of World and Traditional Religions was held in Astana in 2003, inspired by the “Day of Prayer for Peace” convened in Assisi by John Paul II in January 2002, in order to reaffirm the positive contribution of the different religious traditions to dialogue and harmony between peoples and nations after the tensions following the attacks of September 11, 2001.
At this first congress, the Holy See was represented by the Slovak Cardinal Joseph Tomko, then president of the Pontifical Council for the Evangelization of Peoples. At successive congresses, the French cardinals Roger Etchegaray and Jean-Louis Tauran took the Vatican delegations.
The upcoming Seventh Interfaith Congress will be themed “The Role of World Leaders and Traditional Religions in the Socio-Spiritual Development of Humanity in the Post-Pandemic Period.”
The SSPX News website comments18:
These Congresses are a copy of Assisi, a reinforced version, both in terms of the multifaceted participation of “religions” and the effacement of the Catholic Church, which finds itself drowned among the guests, rubbing shoulders with the false gods, and being lowered to their level. It is difficult to carry the insult further to the Incarnate Word, the only true God with the Father and the Holy Ghost.
May the trivialization of these meetings which lower the Catholic religion and its Founder never find us indifferent, but may we always protest vigorously to defend the honor of Christ and of our Mother the Church, his Spouse.
Quo vadis? Peter, Peter, where are you going?
It will be interesting to know the reaction of Bishop Schneider. The latter is not only the auxiliary bishop of Astana but also the secretary of the Kazakh Episcopal Conference19.
Bishop Schneider concelebrating new Mass at the episcopal conference in Kazakhstan
November 20, 2019, Bishop Schneider signed a document, together with the other bishops, in which he declared:
The Bishops and Ordinaries of Kazakhstan hail the establishment of the Council of Traditional Christian Confessions of Kazakhstan, which was held on May 13, 2019, in the synod hall of the spiritual, cultural, and administrative center of the Kazakhstan metropolitan district of the Russian Orthodox Church of the city of Nur-Sultan20.
On January 13, 2020, he personally participated in the ecumenical meeting of this council. The official website of the Catholic Church of Kazakhstan issued a statement:
On May 13, an important step was taken towards a real dialogue between the Christian denominations in Kazakhstan: the Council of Traditional Christian Denominations was created, which includes the Orthodox, Catholic and Lutheran churches. And today, January 13, 2020, the first official meeting of the Council was held in the spiritual and cultural center of the metropolitan district of Nur-Sultan, which was attended by a large delegation from the Catholic Church, which included the Nuncio Apostolic to the Republic of Kazakhstan, Archbishop Francis Assisi Chullikatt, president of the Catholic Episcopal Conference of Kazakhstan and bishop of the Holy Trinity diocese in Almaty, […] the Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Santa Maria in Astana, Athanasius Schneider; […]
The importance of “awakening religious feelings in the hearts of new generations” was also highlighted as one of the ways to deal with “individualistic, selfish and conflicting tendencies, as well as blind radicalism and extremism”. In addition to the above, the Council has set itself many other objectives arising from these intentions. To achieve these goals, the Council “in cooperation with other traditional religions of the world, within the framework of the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions, established by First President Nursultan Nazarbayev, intends to promote fraternal dialogue and solidarity between religions and cultures as a concrete and effective contribution to support the creation of a universal family based on human, moral, spiritual values, as well as on fundamental and inviolable principles”21.
5. The Pyramid of Peace in Astana
We read on the site the official tourism site of Astana the following text that speaks for itself22:
The Palace of Peace and Reconciliation, also translated as Pyramid of Peace and Accord, is a 253 ft tall building in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan. The structure was built by Sembol Construction at a cost of 8.74 billion Kazakh tenge (about $58 million) and was opened in late 2006.
The pyramid part of the building is 203 ft. high and rests on a block of earth 40 ft. high. […] The structure is made up of five “levels” of triangles, each triangle measuring 39 ft. on a side. […] Engineers had to design the building to resist expansion and contraction due to temperature variations of over 144 F, from -40 F to over 104 F—causing the building to expand up to 1 ft.
The Pyramid was specifically built to house the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions. It contains accommodations for different religions: Judaism, Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Daoism, and other beliefs. It also houses a 1,500-seat opera house, a national museum of culture, a new “university of civilization”, a library and a research center on ethnic and geographical groups of Kazakhstan. […] The building is intended as a global center for religious understanding, the renunciation of violence, and the promotion of faith and human equality.
The Pyramid of Peace expresses the spirit of Kazakhstan, where cultures, traditions and representatives of various nationalities coexist in peace, harmony and agreement. Bathed in the glow of gold and pale blue glass (colors taken from the flag of Kazakhstan), 200 delegates from the world’s major religions and faiths will meet every three years in a circular chamber—inspired by the meeting room of the Security Council United Nations in New York.
Translation by A.A.
1 — July 13, 1917; confirmed by Our Lord in May and June 1930.
2 — June 29, 1929.
3 — Sister Lucia to Bishop Hnilica, May 14, 1982; remarks reported by Msgr. Hnilica to Brother François de Marie des Anges (of the CRC), during an interview on November 10, 1982, and reported by the said brother in two works: in Jean-Paul 1er le pape du secret, CRC, 2007, p. 423 and in Fatima, salvation of the world, CRC, 2007, p. 345.
4 — Letter from Pope Francis to bishops around the world, March 23, 2022.
5 — Very heavy surgery on the intestines on July 16, 2021 (acute diverticulitis) forcing him to a very strict diet; acute inflammation of the ligaments of the right knee (gonalgia), a direct consequence of a structural problem of sciatica in the hip which he must correct with every step. He sometimes has to get help to walk, and even uses a wheelchair. Surgery would be too risky (source: Jean-Marie Guénois, article reported below).
6 — A name meaning “people” in Greek.
7 — Osservatore Romano of 1 December 2020, n° 48, p. 8.
8 — This was John XXIII’s great illusion at the opening of the Council: there are no more enemies, no more combat (Editor’s note).
9 — http://ilsismografo.blogspot.com/2022/05/vaticano-conteste-sourd-aux-critiques.html
10 ‑ It must even be said that it is an attack on the divine constitution of the Church (Editor’s note).
11 — https://laportelatine.org/actualite/traditionis-custodes-enieme-precision-et-confusion.
12 — References: Medias-Presse-Info as of May 8, 2022 (announcing the ordination), and the “Official Page” of Wigratzbad Seminary as of May 28, confirming that the ordination took place.
13 — That is what all those who joined at the start say to justify themselves.
14 — Archbishop Lefebvre, Conference at Écône on October 8, 1988.
15 — Archbishop Lefebvre, in Fideliter n° 70, p. 6.
16 — Archbishop Lefebvre, Letter to Pope John Paul II, June 2, 1988.
17—https://www.vaticannews.va/fr/pape/news/2022-04/francois-kazakhstan-pour-le-congres-religions-mondiales.html
18—https://fsspx.news/fr/news-events/news/le-pape-se-rendra-au-kazakhstan-pour-le-congres-des-religions-mondiales-74065.
19— He was elected for four years at the meeting of the episcopal conference in November 2019, so he will still be secretary when the pope comes.
20— November 20, 2019. https://catholic-kazakhstan.org/en/communique-of-the-38th-plenary-of-the-conference-of-catholic-bishops-of-kazakhstan/
21—https://catholic-kazakhstan.org/en/the-first-meeting-of-the-council-of-traditional-christian-confessions-this-year-held-in-nur-sultan/
22—https://www.astana-kazakhstan.net/attractions-2/culture-and-entertainment/palace-of-peace-and-reconciliation/
