He refuses to go on the Pope mobile because he says he wants to get to the level of the people. I think after this incident he should greet the public in a car like Benedict and JP II did.
“Hold! Hold! Look for the Chinese people! They are losing the Faith!!” https://gloria.tv/post/6CCJUuex9cVE...UBkeTOEU1a2exlFbuRVRQXLBjWcKyTBga5ddsF4M5hVkY
Yes, in fairness it did seem like the Pope felt he might fall or that the person's hold on him would get worse....he does have that lower back problem. But the media seems to be looking for any example that could show what they feel is a false sort of forced charity upon others so they expect him to endure a few things himself w/o reacting strongly. Anyway, here is an example of the use of this outward mishap....while many speak to a similar kind of anger that he displays towards those who might show disagreement with him during private visits within his offices in the Vatican. Zing. Italy’s Matteo Salvini Just Owned Grumpy Pope Francis https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/01/zing-italys-matteo-salvini-just-owned-grumpy-pope-francis/
Jan. 1, 2020 Cardinal Müller: Church Crisis Comes From Abandoning God, Adapting to Culture Attending the FOCUS 2020 Student Leadership Summit, Cardinal Müller celebrated Mass Jan. 1 for the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. Catholic News Agency | https://www.ncregister.com/daily-ne...-comes-from-abandoning-god-adapting-to-cultur PHOENIX, Ariz. — The crisis facing the Catholic Church today has arisen from an attempt – even by some within the Church - to align with the culture and abandon the teachings of the faith, said Cardinal Gerhard Müller Jan. 1. “The crisis in the Church is man-made and has arisen because we have cozily adapted ourselves to the spirit of a life without God,” the cardinal told thousands of Catholics gathered in Phoenix for the 2020 Student Leadership Summit hosted by the Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS). “The poison paralyzing the Church is the opinion that we should adapt to the Zeitgeist, the spirit of the age, and not the spirit of God, that we should relativize God’s commandments and reinterpret the doctrine of the revealed faith,” he said. He cautioned that even a number of people in the Church are “longing” for a kind of Catholicism without dogmas, without sacraments, and without an infallible magisterium. Cardinal Müller, the former prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, celebrated Mass Jan. 1 for the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. In his homily, he reflected on the human desire to embrace substitute gratifications when God is set aside. “But the one who believes needs no ideology,” he said. The one who hopes will not reach for drugs. The one who loves is not after the lust of this world, which passes along with the world. The one who loves God and his neighbor, finds happiness in the sacrifice of self-giving.” “We will be happy and free when in the spirit of love we embrace the form of life to which God has called each one of us personally: in the sacrament of marriage, in celibate priesthood, or in religious life according to the three evangelical counsels of poverty, obedience and chastity for the sake of the kingdom of heaven,” he continued. Cardinal Müller stressed that thanksgiving is a key part of the Christian life. At the start of the new year, he encouraged Catholics to voice gratitude for all of creation, for sending Christ into the world as our savior, for the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Catholic Church, the gift of family, and all the other blessings that can be easily taken for granted. “As Christians, we have a musical awareness of life: In our hearts resounds the song of thanksgiving of being redeemed. Its melody is love, and its harmony is joy in God,” he said. Rather than placing hope in fate, he said, the Christian recognizes that suffering is inevitable, but can still find joy in Christ, who also suffered and opened for us the door to eternal life. In these challenging times, however, scandals in the Church and a crisis among traditionally Christian societies in the West have led many to anxiously wonder whether the rock on which Christ built his Church is crumbling, the cardinal said. “For some, the Catholic Church is lagging behind by 200 years compared to where the world is today. Is there any truth to this accusation?” Calls for modernization demand that the Church reject what it holds to be true, for the sake of building a “new religion of world unity,” Cardinal Müller warned. “In order to be admitted to this meta-religion, the only price the Church would have to pay is giving up her truth claim. No big deal, it seems, as the relativism dominant in our world anyway rejects the idea that we could actually know the truth, and presents itself as guarantor of peace between all world views and world religions.” The post-Christian society welcomes these efforts to reconstruct the Church “as a convenient civil religion,” the cardinal said. The antidote to secularization within the Church is a life of faith, lived in the enduring truth of Christ, Cardinal Müller told those present. God, who is eternal, cannot be changed by the whims of society, he stressed. “In the concrete human being Jesus of Nazareth, God’s universal truth is concretely present here and now – in historical time and space,” Mueller said. “Jesus Christ is not the representation of some supratemporal truth: He is ‘the way, the truth and the life’ in person.”
This backs up the GloriaTV report, via a Chinese priest in Rome according to the author of the Tweet.
Isn't it strange how we think one thing then when we get more information we think quite another. It is like getting blown about by the wind. When I saw that poor Chinese woman pull onthe HolyFather's arm I thought of her as a deranged fanatic. Now I think of her with the very greatest sympthy. It teaches me to be slower to judge. I am owndering now if it was partly guilt that made Pope Fracnis react so violently.
Well, I'm glad he is OK and hope that the woman was able to tell him what she needed to so desperately. All religions in China will suffer greatly so long as communism rules.
In fairness, Pope Francis' first reaction might, justifiably, be the same-that she was a deranged fanatic. He might well have been in a panic. This, of course, does nothing to lessen his responsibility for the betrayal of faithful Chinese Catholics. The lady in question might have used somewhat rude tactics, but in the circumstances she might have had no other way of bringing the issue to public attention. If this comes to embarrass this pope for his collusion (to interpret it most benignly) with atheistic, anti-Christian communism, this will prove to be no bad thing.
In looking at the video and thinking about it, I can see both sides. I think the pontiff reacted harshly but, after all, his age, his position, his just being plain human, would illicit a response. If you look at past videos of him greeting people, he seems always uncomfortable mingling with the sheep. He says he wants to be among the sheep but he always seems uncomfortable with it, except for children, who are innocents. Maybe he is that way by nature and is trying but it is off putting to me. I guess I just need to pray for understanding and compassion toward this pope.
John explained it John explained it in the We are back thread Host gator terminated us Try to find the explanation
I'm so glad that MOG is back online, yeah! Thank you Padraig and John. Father Mark Goring continues to put out very good videos. One World Religion Warning - Fr. Mark Goring, CC [He discusses Cardinal Mueller's statements posted above] Jan 3, 2020 The 3 Heresies Threatening the Catholic Church - Fr. Mark Goring, CC Jan 6, 2020 THE COMING CHASTISEMENT - Fr. Mark Goring, CC Jan 7, 2020 The Chastisement: BE NOT AFRAID! - Fr. Mark Goring, CC Jan 8, 2020 *** And this happened... McCarrick Moved to Jacksonville, Florida Jan 7, 2020 https://www.churchmilitant.com/news/article/mccarrick-moved-to-jacksonville-fl-location *** And this...
I'm not sure if the following has been posted on the forum yet. I saw the petition yesterday and I am happy to say that they have reached their first goal on the number of signatures only a day later. I am assuming that many on the forum have seen it and signed it already but just in case here it is and please sign it if you have not already. Thank you. PETITION: Support Cardinal Zen's plea to stop the "murder of the Church in China" https://lifepetitions.com/petition/...il&utm_term=0_12387f0e3e-2b5629e8f9-403714841 To: Cardinal Zen and CC'ed to Pope Francis and Vatican Authorities We, the undersigned, are appalled by the new persecution to which Chinese Catholics and Christians are being subjected by the their communist government. We support you, Cardinal Zen, in your quest to stop the "murder of the Church in China." And, we also support Chinese Catholics and Christians as they face an intensifying crackdown. Thank you for having the courage to critique the new Sino-Vatican Agreement. We are shocked by your insight that the Agreement "encourages the faithful in China to enter a schismatic church (independent of the pope and under the orders of the Communist Party)." And, we support you in your asking questions ('Dubia') of the Holy Father in relation to the new Agreement. You, and the Church in China, remain in our prayers. 7,794 1 day ago Over the past year, informed Catholics and Christians in the West have watched helplessly as the Communist government in China has cracked down harder and harder on our Chinese brothers and sisters in Christ. Incidents of persecutions, occurring over the last year, include the fact that: Christian churches have been destroyed by authorities. Two million Christians and Buddhist are being kept in detention. Christian teachings have been reinterpreted according to socialist doctrine. Churches in Hunan province were forced to remove displays of the Ten Commandments and replace them with quotes of President Xi Jinping. Churches in Jiangxi province were ordered to remove biblical paintings and crosses and replace them with portraits of the president. In some areas, all public displays of Christmas decorations have been banned. In December, Christians belonging to “house churches” not recognized by the government were ordered to refrain from publicly celebrating Christmas. In the latest assault on the practice of one's faith in China, and, indeed, on freedom of conscience, new draconian rules, set to go into place in February, absurdly require that religious groups “spread Communist Party principles.” Of course, the Church has been persecuted in China for decades. But, these latest attempts to squelch the independence of the Church are coming in spite of the recent agreement the Vatican signed with China’s communist government. Or, could it be, as some suggest, that the latest persecution against Chinese Christians is coming at least, in part, because of the recent agreement the Vatican signed with the communist government? Perhaps, appeasement is seen by the Chinese government as a weakness to be exploited. Some senior Catholic prelates have been increasingly vocal in speaking out both against the communist government's treatment of religion, as well as aspects of the recent Agreement. Now, a letter from Cardinal Zen to the rest of the Cardinals in the world (please read, below), more clearly delineates his grievances with the new Sino-Vatican Agreement. It also brings new light to the questions ('Dubia') he posed to Pope Francis about the Agreement in July (but, which have, to-date, gone unanswered). One of the most striking insights the Cardinal makes about the new Sino-Vatican Agreement can be found in the second paragraph of his letter (reproduced in its entirety, below): "From my analysis of the document of the Holy See (June 28, 2019), “Pastoral guidelines of the Holy See concerning the civil registration of clergy in China,” it is quite clear that it encourages the faithful in China to enter a schismatic church (independent of the pope and under the orders of the Communist Party)." This is a devastating insight, and the good Cardinal, and faithful Catholics and Christians in China, now needs our support, both moral and prayerful. This petition, therefore, both supports Cardinal Zen and his quest to stop the "murder of the Church in China," as well as Chinese Catholics and Christians as they face an intensifying crackdown. Please SIGN this urgent petition, today! It will be CC'ed to Vatican authorities. LETTER FROM CDL. ZEN TO THE COLLEGE OF CARDINALS: Your Eminence, Pardon the inconvenience my letter will cause you. It is just that, in conscience, I believe that the problem I present here concerns not only the Church in China, but the whole Church, and we cardinals have the grave responsibility to help the Holy Father in guiding the Church. From my analysis of the document of the Holy See (June 28, 2019), “Pastoral guidelines of the Holy See concerning the civil registration of clergy in China,” it is quite clear that it encourages the faithful in China to enter a schismatic church (independent of the pope and under the orders of the Communist Party). On July 10, I presented my “dubia” to the Pope. His Holiness, on July 3, had promised to take an interest in them, but to this day I have still not heard anything. Cardinal Parolin says that today when we talk about the independent Church, this independence should no longer be understood as absolute, because the agreement recognizes the role of the pope in the Catholic Church. First of all, I cannot believe that there is such a statement in the agreement, and I do not see it there. (By the way, why must such an agreement be secret, and why is it not granted even to me, a Chinese cardinal, to see it?) But, even more clearly, the whole reality after the signing of the agreement shows that nothing has changed. Cardinal Parolin quotes a sentence from Pope Benedict’s letter completely out of context — indeed, diametrically opposed to the whole paragraph. This manipulation of the pope emeritus’s thought is gravely disrespectful; indeed, it is a deplorable insult to the person of such a meek pope, who is still alive. But it also disgusts me that they often declare that what they are doing is in continuity with the thought of the previous pope, while the opposite is true. I have reason to believe (and I hope one day to be able to prove with archival documents) that the agreement signed is the same one that Pope Benedict had, at the time, refused to sign. Your Eminence, can we passively witness the murder of the Church in China by those who should protect and defend her from her enemies? Begging on my knees, your brother, Card. Joseph ZEN, SDB FOR MORE INFORMATION: List of Cardinal Zen's Questions (Dubia) to Pope Francis (Scroll down): https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/c...-new-pastoral-doc-to-china-justifies-apostasy 'Cdl Zen urges cardinals to stop the ‘murder of the Church in China’ - https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/c...na-deal-in-letter-to-cardinals-it-disgusts-me Vatican’s June release of new guidelines concerning the civil registration of clergy in China - https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2019/06/28/0554/01160.html#en 'Chinese govt demands Christians use religion to ‘spread Communist Party principles’ - https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/c...religion-to-spread-communist-party-principles
Pope renews call for global pact promoting ‘new humanism’ in address to Vatican diplomats When the Vatican launched the Global Education Pact back in September, Pope Francis omitted any reference to the prerogatives of parents as the primary educators of their children. https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/p...-new-humanism-in-address-to-vatican-diplomats Carl Court / Getty Images By Diane Montagna ROME, January 9, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) — In a renewed and enthusiastic endorsement of globalism in 2020, Pope Francis today repeated his call for international and religious leaders to sign a “Global Education Pact” in May at the Vatican, saying it is all the more urgent in light of the sexual abuse crisis. In his annual New Year’s audience with the diplomatic corps accredited to the Holy See, the Pope looked back at key events of 2019, including last February’s Vatican sex abuse summit. He told diplomats that “given the gravity of the harm involved [in the sexual abuse crisis], it becomes all the more urgent for adults not to abdicate their proper educational responsibilities, but to carry out those responsibilities with greater zeal, in order to guide young people to spiritual, human and social maturity.” “For this reason,” the Pope continued, “I have planned a worldwide event to take place on 14 May next with the theme: Reinventing the Global Compact on Education.” When he launched the initiative last September, Pope Francis said that “a global educational pact is needed to educate us in universal solidarity and a new humanism.” A Vatican-backed website to promote the pact added: “Educating young people in fraternity, in learning to overcome divisions and conflicts, promote hospitality, justice and peace: Pope Francis has invited everyone who cares about the education of the young generation to sign a Global Pact, to create a global change of mentality through education.” Citing his September 2019 message for the launch, in his address to diplomats on Thursday, the Pope explained that: “This gathering is meant to ‘rekindle our commitment to and with young people, renewing our passion for a more open and inclusive education, including patient listening, constructive dialogue and better mutual understanding.’” “‘Never before has there been such need to unite our efforts in a broad educational alliance, to form mature individuals capable of overcoming division and antagonism, and to restore the fabric of relationships for the sake of a more fraternal humanity,’” he said. Repeating Hillary Clinton’s favorite aphorism, “It takes a village to raise a child,” Pope Francis asserted the need to create an “educational village” to face new challenges. “All change, like the epochal change we are now experiencing, calls for a process of education and the creation of an educational village capable of forming a network of open and human relationships,” he said. The Pope asserted that in order to reach the objectives of the Global Education Pact, as a “village” we must “put the human person at the center, investing creatively and responsibly in long-term projects” that “train individuals willing to offer themselves in service to the community.” “What is needed,” he said, “is an educational vision that can encompass a broad range of life experiences and learning processes, in order to enable young people, individually and collectively, to develop their personalities.” When the Vatican launched the Global Education Pact back in September, Pope Francis omitted any reference to the prerogatives of parents as the primary educators of their children. This comes at a time when the right to homeschool and the right to a free choice of school are threatened, and when countries throughout the world level taxes to provide public schooling to which no Catholic parents could safely send their child. In his annual address to diplomats, on January 9, the Pope insisted that “education is not limited to school and university classrooms,” but is “principally ensured by strengthening and reinforcing the primary right of the family to educate, and the right of Churches and social communities to support and assist families in raising their children.” In comment to LifeSiteNews following today’s papal audience, Eduard Habsburg, Hungary’s ambassador to the Holy See, who was present at the address, said: “In a time of globalization it is important not to forget the first right of children is to one father and one mother and the first right of parents is to educate their own children according to their values.” Commenting on the educational pact’s potential to affect society, Pope Francis stressed the importance of “sincere and genuine dialogue with young people,” who “are the ones who above all make us aware of the urgent need for that intergenerational solidarity which has sadly been lacking in recent years.” The Pope lamented the tendency, in many parts of the world, to be “self-absorbed, to defend acquired rights and privileges, and to view the world within a narrow horizon that treats the elderly with indifference and no longer welcomes the newborn.” “The general ageing of the world population, especially in the West, is a sad and emblematic example of this,” he said, adding that young people “have much to offer, thanks to their enthusiasm and commitment. To say nothing of their thirst for truth, which constantly reminds us of the fact that hope is not utopian and that peace is always a good that can be attained.” In his address to diplomats, Pope Francis highlighted two key areas related to the Global Educational Pact: climate change and interreligious dialogue. He said that one of the places where many young people “have become active in calling the attention of political leaders to the issue of climate change.” “Care for our common home ought to be a concern of everyone and not the object of ideological conflict between different views of reality or, much less, between generations,” he said. “Young people are telling us that … at every level we are being urgently challenged to protect our common home and to ‘bring the whole human family together to seek a sustainable and integral development,’” he said. “They remind us of the urgent need for an ecological conversion, which ‘must be understood in an integral way, as a transformation of how we relate to our sisters and brothers, to other living beings, to creation in all its rich variety and to the Creator who is the origin and source of all life.’” The second area Pope Francis linked to the educational pact is interreligious dialogue. Recalling his February 2019 visit to Abu Dhabi, and co-signing of the Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together with the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Ahmad Al-Tayyeb, the Pope said, “it is particularly important to train future generations in interreligious dialogue, the main road to greater knowledge, understanding and reciprocal support between the members of different religions.” Readers will recall that the Abu Dhabi document aroused controversy for stating that the “diversity of religions” is “willed by God.” In launching the Global Education Pact last September, Pope Francis mentioned the Abu-Dhabi document and said that in this new global village, “the ground must be cleared of discrimination and fraternity must be allowed to flourish.” Conferences and events will be held throughout 2020 to prepare for the May 14 signing of the “Global Pact” on education. In May 2019, Pope Francis made a strong push for globalism, calling for a supranational, legally constituted body to enforce United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and to implement “climate change” policies. More recently, during an inflight press conference on his return from a seven-day apostolic visit to Africa, Francis said our “duty” is to “obey international institutions,” such as the United Nations and the European Union.
When I was visiting my family over Christmas, my brother asked me if this pope was a globalist? I replied that I didn't want to spew judgement but it seems, yes, he is a globalist. Global pact on education = global, deep state, now brain washing. Luckily my kids will be educated and adults before this mostly happens but my kids and their children will have to deal with it. SO much evil is floating around. Evil touches every aspect of life now
And that global initiative meeting has an interesting date imho, May 14th, the day after the anniversary of the first apparition of Our Lady at Fatima. Pope Francis, shown celebrating the Solemnity of the Epiphany Jan. 6, is looking ahead to more reforms, an apostolic constitution and the results of the Vatican investigation into ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick. (Daniel Ibáñez/CNA) Jan. 9, 2020 Pope Francis’ 2020: Further Reform, a New Curia Constitution, McCarrick Report The Holy Father has pledged to publish the report on Theodore McCarrick early in the year. Edward Pentin | https://www.ncregister.com/daily-ne...rm-a-new-apostolic-constitution-mccarrick-rep VATICAN CITY — In a pontificate that has revealed much about the current state of the Church, 2020 promises to be a papal year of even clearer vision, when, as Luke’s Gospel says, what is “secret will be brought into the open.” New exposure is likely to begin with the results of a Vatican investigation into ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick and the Church’s handling of allegations against him. The “thorough study,” which the Vatican announced in October 2018, will also be combined with the results of a preliminary investigation begun in 2017 and could be published within days. Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin said last year the Vatican will issue a declaration on completion of the investigation. Cardinal Seán O’Malley of Boston had said in November that the study could be completed by the end of 2019, and several U.S. bishops inquired about the progress of the report during their ad limina visits last fall. News of McCarrick’s transfer to a new residence Jan. 6 has further fueled speculation that its publication is imminent. All eyes will therefore be not only on its contents, but also on how Francis handles the findings and any ensuing action he might take. The Holy Father will also come under scrutiny this year for his post-synodal apostolic exhortation, or summary document, on the contentious Pan-Amazon synod that took place last October. The main question will be whether the Pope backs the synod fathers’ proposal to ordain married permanent deacons to the priesthood, ostensibly to bring the sacraments to remote areas that suffer a shortage of priests. If he does so, which is not a given, as he was disappointed that it took up so much attention at the synod, the question will arise whether he will also restrict such a change to the Amazon region or allow it to be replicated more universally — a development critics fear could lead to a gradual end to mandatory priestly celibacy in the Latin Rite. Other aspects of the synod will also be closely watched, including more details on how he takes forward the synod fathers’ proposal to conduct further study into a permanent diaconate for women, how he plans to explore the possibility of an Amazonian rite of the Mass, and to what extent the environmental objectives of the synod will be adopted. Although the Pope said he hoped to publish the apostolic exhortation by the end of last year, it is now expected to appear in March or April. New Curial Constitution This is also expected to be the year in which a new constitution for the Roman Curia, called Praedicate Evangelium (Preach the Gospel), is to come into effect. Since last spring, a draft constitution has been circulating among bishops and experts for consultation. Frequent postponements of its final release point to possible resistance to some of the proposals, the most controversial of which is to place a new super-dicastery for evangelization above the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in terms of standing and importance. Whatever the document finally contains, it will provide further indication of the Pope’s vision for reforming the Church, one that is expected to contain some fairly drastic changes and place the Roman Curia more at the service of bishops rather than the other way around, consistent with Francis’ preference for an “inverted pyramid“ and decentralized model of authority. The Pope is also to take part in two events this year that will further shed light on his vision for Church and society, both of which aspire to a “new humanism” of fraternity regardless of religion but which critics see as relativizing the truth and uniqueness of Jesus Christ by promoting religious indifferentism and syncretism. The first will be a meeting entitled the “Economy of Francesco,” which will bring together young economists and entrepreneurs from around the world to “enter into a ‘covenant’ to change today’s economy and to give a soul to the economy of tomorrow.” The March 24-26 gathering in Assisi will be one in which people of different “creed and nationality” can take part, the Pope said last May, “inspired by an ideal of fraternity attentive above all to the poor and excluded.” It will be a chance to “dream of a new humanism,” he added, “responsive to the expectations of men and women and to the plan of God.” The second meeting, again hosted by Francis, will also involve young people and is called “Reinventing the Global Educational Alliance.” Attended by interreligious representatives, nongovernmental organizations, scholars and cultural and political leaders, the May 14 initiative aims, in the Pope’s words, “to form mature individuals capable of overcoming division and antagonism, and to restore the fabric of relationships for the sake of a more fraternal humanity.” The meeting will result in a global educational pact that, among its objectives, intends to introduce children to “total reality,” including openness to the transcendent and healing a “vertical rift between man and the Absolute.” Other aims according to the Congregation for Catholic Education are to heal fractures within families, between religions and cultures, and to educate the young for “ecological citizenship” and to care for the poor. In a message released last September, Francis called on all who care about education of the young to sign the pact and thereby “create a global change of mentality through education.” In his message, which also referenced his controversial document on “Human Fraternity” that he signed with the Grand Imam Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb of Al-Azhar University in Abu Dhabi last February, the Pope told young people that in the new global village, “the ground must be cleared of discrimination and fraternity must be allowed to flourish.” Feb. 4 may also see one of the Pope’s other wishes in this regard come true: a United Nations-sponsored World Day of Human Fraternity. Both he and the grand imam have petitioned U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to create such a global observance. Guterres is favorable to the idea. Papal Trips Beyond these potentially contentious events, the Pope is expected to make a number of overseas visits this year, although none has so far been confirmed. Possible destinations are South Sudan, Indonesia, East Timor, Malaysia, Hungary which will be hosting an International Eucharistic Congress Sept. 13-20, Cyprus and Lebanon. A consistory of new cardinals is also possible this year, as well as some key episcopal appointments in the United States, including Philadelphia to replace Archbishop Charles Chaput, Boston to replace Cardinal O’Malley, and St. Louis to replace Archbishop Robert Carlson. All three are over the age of 75 and so have submitted their ecclesially mandated resignations on age grounds, although the Pope is not obliged to accept them. The see of Atlanta is also vacant following Archbishop Wilton Gregory’s appointment to Washington, D.C. Other challenges for the Pope this year include financial reform and the possibility of further financial scandals coming to light as part of the reform process, as well as developments on the German bishops’ synodal path that some Church leaders there see as potentially schismatic. The German process gets fully underway on Jan. 31, although it is not expected to pose any concrete problems for the papacy until it concludes at the end of 2021.
Vatican caught up in scandal over ‘queer’ rave in Rome The wild party took place in the building where a papal representative reconnected the electricity last May. Tue Jan 7, 2020 | https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/vatican-caught-up-in-scandal-over-queer-rave-in-rome [Please click on the link for all of the hotlinks.] Papal Almoner, Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, is pictured with Action and Spin Time Labs representatives. By Diane Montagna ROME, January 7, 2020 — The Vatican has been caught up in a scandal over a drug-fueled New Year’s Eve party in Rome attended by minors and featuring Italy’s “most alternative, underground and political queer” techno band. Last May, the cardinal appointed to handle the Pope’s charitable works broke the law to turn the electricity back on for what appeared to be a group of families occupying the building where the 2020 rave was held. The papal almoner defended the act as a “humanitarian gesture” aimed at protecting these families. Yet a closer look reveals that the far-left activists illegally managing the building (and squatters) are running tax-free businesses in the complex, including a disco that hosts homosexual rave parties. This raises the question: Why is the Vatican supporting a radical far-left group that is creating a potentially abusive environment for families, minors and children? New Year’s rave According to Italian media, the New Year’s Eve rave, hosted at Spin Time Labs in an occupied building in Rome’s historic center, was a “triumph of degradation, drugs and crime.” Il Messagero, the Italian capital’s main centrist daily, reported that problems intensified after midnight, when hundreds of people (some of whom had bought tickets online) found the gates to the disco locked and entrance denied (see video here). “Yelling, shoving, and people falling to the ground” ensued, with inadequate security to handle the crowds. At 2 a.m., local police were reportedly alerted that a fight had broken out, and an hour later an ambulance was called for a 22-year-old young man who was intoxicated. Local residents, who said they witnessed the midnight commotion, also complained of blaring music and the entrances to their homes being mistaken for a bathroom. Organized by Spin Time Labs and under the leadership of Action, a far-left group that has occupied the building since 2013, the event was promoted on Facebook, saying: “In Rome, there’s an open, young, queer, free and rebellious New Year’s Eve!” Several thousand people (including many minors) were reportedly in attendance. Themed “New Year’s Eve in the Skyscraper” (L’ultimo nel Grattacielo), each of the building’s seven floors featured a dance floor to “suit all tastes: from electro-swing to cumbia, Latin American music and techno by LaRoboterie, a queer group that plays throughout Italy,” La Repubblica, a left-leaning Italian daily that Pope Francis regularly reads, said in a decidedly more favorable article on December 31. It even noted that there would be a “dedicated space” for children to “draw and play” until 12:30 a.m. LaRoboterie, which co-hosted the rave, describes itself on Facebook in this way: “LaRoboterie is techno, queer, gay, lesbian and transexual, is feminist, anti-fascist, anti-sexist, is a refugee and a homeless, a gypsy, a bitch and a weirdo, a slut and an addict, is an immigrant and a prisoner, is freak and punk, HIV positive and bizarre, is drag and crooked but most of all is free and proud to be whatever she wants to be. Since 2007 the most underground, alternative and political Italian queer crew. In more than 11 years LaRoboterie has hosted hundreds of events all across Italy and beyond with lots of guests from all around the globe. Music, video art, mapping, performances and an innate attitude to break the borders between genders. No rules, only the will to share the dance floor dancing and sweating to the beats. (…) Wandering through all Italy from south to north, from the coast to the islands and mixing the deepest techno to some electro beats, acid drifts and downtempo, sophisticated rhythms and melancholic melodies. Queer performances where sexuality is a complex world made of everyone tastes, no limits in expressing ourselves, no limits in the freedom of being whatever everyone wants.” Boasting that it was “the most beautiful New Year’s Eve in Rome,” event photos posted on Spin Time Lab’s Facebook page on January 7, 2020 feature two lesbians kissing on a dance floor and a pamphlet attendees received, which reads: “Before entering we remind you that in our skyscraper every person has to feel received and welcomed. Homo-transphobia, sexism, fascism, machismo and racism are not permitted. Differences are always an enrichment. No means no.” The occupied building, located at Via Santa Croce in Gerusalemme 55 in Rome, is just five minutes’ walk from the Basilica of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem. Built in 325 to house the relics of the Passion of Jesus Christ brought to Rome from the Holy Land by Empress St. Helena, mother of the Roman Emperor Constantine, the Basilica’s relics include a piece of the True Cross and two thorns that pierced Our Lord’s Sacred Head. Turning the lights back on to illegality? In May 2019, the Apostolic Almoner, Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, 56, drew controversy after he climbed down a manhole and broke a seal to reconnect electrical circuit breakers for the building’s over 400 inhabitants (including numerous children). At least 70 percent of those occupying the building are migrants (from 29 countries), while some are Italians who have lost their homes. Electricity had been cut to the building in early May for failure to pay 300,000 euros in electric bills that had piled up since 2013. That year, “Action” — one of the most active right to housing movements in Rome — seized the disused government building to create housing for squatters, while dedicating other parts of the complex for business activities like Spin Time Labs. The activities going on at the building’s social center, including for-profit but untaxed rave parties, were already generally known when the papal almoner intervened to restore electricity. At the time, Cardinal Krajewski, who has been the only Polish prelate to receive the red hat from Francis, said the act was a “desperate and humanitarian gesture to help families struggling to survive.” The cardinal, who has carried out many charitable acts for the poor in Rome, said he was aware of the possible consequences he might face and would pay a fine if necessary but insisted that it was necessary for the sake of the families, and especially children. La Repubblica hailed Cardinal Krajewski as a modern-day Robin Hood. But then-Minister of the Interior, Matteo Salvini, was more critical, saying: “I will count on the Pope’s almoner, who intervened to turn the power back on in an occupied building in Rome, to pay the 300,000 euros in overdue bills.” According to Italian media, the electric bills still aren’t being paid. Meanwhile, the New Year’s Eve party took in 80,000 euro in entrance fees alone, according to Il Messagero. Organizers denied the figure, however, saying proceeds totaled only 33,000 euros. They also denied claims that drug dealers were at the rave, claimed security was more than adequate, and said they look forward to the next Spin Time Labs event. Asked how it is possible that all seven floors of the building were used for a New Year’s Eve rave, with families and children living in the building, Italian sources told LifeSite that it’s a “complex situation” and often these families have to “suffer through” and “submit to” these events in exchange for rent-free housing. LifeSite contacted the Holy See Press Office to inquire if the Pope’s almoner is aware of the scandalous New Year’s party that was held in the building where he illicitly reactivated the electricity. We also asked why the Vatican is supporting a group that allows such events to be held, particularly with minors present and families with children in the building. As of this report, we have not received a reply.
